Living in London

Today’s word is shambolic. According to Answers.com it is an adjective, used chiefly as British slang, meaning disorderly or chaotic.

An example from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation:

Now, nearly four months and three chief judges later, the court has actually sat for just 10 days, and those sittings have often descended into shambolic shouting matches between the defence and the bench, peppered with walk-outs. Last week, the defendants boycotted the court, which continued hearing the case without them before adjourning for 10 days. Such scenes have led some observers to label the trial a sham, warning that it may help make a martyr out of Saddam Hussein.

What a great word. Say it a few times and feel how it rolls around in your mouth.

It seems like it might also be used appropriately in discussing the US State of the Union but I could not find an references in US newspapers

We are starting a new category today for words that seem to be common here in the UK but strike our American ears as unusal.

Today's word is nugatory. According to Answers.com it means

1. Of little or no importance; trifling.
2. Having no force; invalid.

Example, from The Observer:

Burke says the time scales are so long as to render nuclear's contribution to climate change by 2020 nugatory. 'If you started today, you would not have a reactor going for 10 years.

Listen to nugatory pronounced here. Of course, the British put the emphasis on the first syllable, rather than the third, as indicated by this pronounciation.