Spiriferously: David Foster Wallace vs. Google
Scene: I was knocking off my RSS items for the week at my parents' house in Binghamton. My father was reading David Foster Wallace's new collection of essays, Consider the Lobster.
Dad: "Aaron, can you look up a word for me? S-p-i-r-i-f-e-r-o-u-s-l-y."
Me: "Uh, there's one google hit, and it's a chapter excerpt from that book."
Anyone know what 'spiriferously' means? It describes the way a porn star's hair may be styled, as in:
"The closest thing to any kind of Insider table near ours is #182, which according to its black table-tent is reserved for Anabolic Video (not an industry force) and is currently occupied by a spiriferously coiffed and sullenly chewing Dina Jewel (who declines to return Harold Hecuba’s blown kiss) and her escort, a young fellow whom one can easily envision head-butting somebody in a mosh pit. D. Filth confides that this Anabolic guy is a close friend of woodman Vince Vouyer (again, sic), who himself is not up for many ’98 Awards because he spent a good part of the past year in court and/or detention for helping operate an escort service which authorities alleged was not a bona fide escort service at all."
Update: The adjective 'spiriferous' means "having a spiral structure or spiral parts". So in the description above, Ms. Dina Jewel had curly hair. (Thanks Graham and Leah!)