These two words, nudiustertian and preferment, are uncommon, but not completely obscure. Of the two, nudiustertian is closer to obscurity. But it is a handy word to know, and dropping it in conversation is always good for a few puzzled looks
Nudiustertian
Nudiustertian (noo-dee-uhs-TUR-shun), is an adjective that places an event the day before yesterday. Nudiustertian is out of date in modern speech, but a good word to drop in conversation if you can get the correct context. Despite how it looks, nudiustertian has nothing to do with nudity. It is simply a single word that can be substituted for the term “the day before yesterday.” As obscure as it is, I place “nudiustertian” in the same category as “fortnight” (14 days, two weeks). This is obscure to Americans but not to the British.
“Nudiustertian is a word I did not know the day before yesterday.”
“When trying to explain when things happened, it is handy to separate today from yesterday, and yesterday from nudiustertian.”
“Wednesday was nudiustertian, not Tuesday.”
Preferment
Preferment, like nepotism, is a form of favoritism. When we talk about nepotism, we mean giving an advantage to someone because of their family relationship. Preferment is a form of favoritism, but it is not based on family relationships. It is based on other non-merit factors, just being preferred.
“Johnny preferred working with men to collaborating with women, so men always received preferment in employee selection.”
“The team needed someone over seven feet tall, so preferment got Tom the job based on his height alone.”
“Preferment explains why so many blondes appear in movies with gentlemen.”
Nudiustertian and Preferment Together
When you put nudiustertian and preferment in the same sentence, you start to see how small things can turn into advantages. Something happened the day before yesterday, and two days later someone was picked for a team because of it.
A nudiustertian choice can quietly set up a preferment outcome without anyone realizing it at the time. Many of the “lucky breaks” people talk about are just nudiustertian moments that aligned with someone’s preference.
“A nudiustertian choice can turn into preferment so quietly that people call it luck instead.”
“Many times, a preferment starts with a nudiustertian moment that nobody noticed at the time.”
“A nudiustertian event can quickly age into a preferment without anyone noticing.”
I would be lying if I said these two were not a struggle separately and together. What started as just two obscure words proved to be difficult, and the pronunciation of “nudiustertian” is still a struggle.
