Meretricious

Meretricious:       means 'gaudy' or 'plausible, but specious', 'deceptively pleasing' or (literally) 'like a prostitute'.

First encountered:   suggested by my friend, Kathy Jones, who also loves words - and likes this one particularly because it's a little bit tricksy.

How it's used:       That is a meretricious argument - meaning it sounds good but it's b******s
                          or she dressed meretriciously - meaning she looks like a hooker.

Why is it tricksy?:   Sounds like it might be a good thing, on account of how it sounds like 'meritorious'.

And here's a strange thing:   both have the same root.  From Latin, Merere which means to earn money, or to deserve.


Gaudy or Gaudi:      http://www.sagradafamilia.cat/