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oniomania (O-nee-uh-MAY-nee-uh, MAYN-yuh) noun
Excessive, uncontrollable desire to buy things. [From Latin, from Greek xnios, for sale, derivative of onos, price, + -mania.] "Usually, oniomania leads to financial problems, such as overspending on credit cards and bad credit ratings." Just Ask Us, Current Health 2 (Highland Park, IL), Mar 2, 2001. Oniomania is another word for the urge to shop till you drop, habit of the debit, thrill of the bill. According to a pearl of ancient wisdom, we don't acquire things, things acquire us. In the case of oniomaniacs, it is perhaps the fun of acquiring things that acquires them. Imelda Marcos of the Philippines could be one prime example of this category, also known as shopaholics, though she could be better known as a shoeaholic. This week we'll look at some more uncommon words with common suffixes. -Anu P.S. Come join us for an online chat with Richard Lederer later today. He is the author of numerous books on wordplay, such as "Word Circus," "Crazy English" and "Anguished English." The topic of the chat is "Play of Words." For more details: http://wordsmith.org/chat/lederer.html ............................................................................ The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. -Dante Alighieri, poet (1265-1321) Subscribe: http://wordsmith.org/awad/subscribe.html Unsubscribe: http://wordsmith.org/awad/unsubscribe.html Change address: http://wordsmith.org/awad/address-change.html Gift subscription: http://wordsmith.org/awad/gift.html Pronunciation: http://wordsmith.org/words/oniomania.wav http://wordsmith.org/words/oniomania.ram
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