Saccade

"Remember, the first scientist to experiment with change blindness was making changes to the page while people were looking directly at it. He was able to do it by introducing the changes during saccadic movement."
["5 Ways Your Brain Is Messing With Your Head" by Brian Walton, Cracked.com*]

NOUN: A rapid intermittent eye movement, as that which occurs when the eyes fix on one point after another in the visual field.
ETYMOLOGY: French, twitch, from Old French, from Old North French saqiuer, to pull, from sac, sack. See sac.
ADJECTIVE: sac·cadic
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Harridan

"'How had she ended up like this, imprisoned in the role of harridan?' Ms. Heller writes of Audrey. 'Once upon a time, her brash manner had been a mere posture — a convenient and amusing way for an insecure teenage bride, newly arrived in America, to disguise her crippling shyness. People had actually enjoyed her vituperation back then, encouraged it and celebrated it. She had carved out a minor distinction for herself as a ‘character’: the cute little English girl with the chutzpah and the longshoreman’s mouth.'"
["Fighting Demons From Left and Right" by Michiko Katutani, NY Times, March 2, 2009 *]

NOUN: A woman regarded as scolding and vicious.
ETYMOLOGY: Possibly from French haridelle, gaunt woman, old horse, nag.
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