PoochyB’s Wordstock

And I don’t want to cast aspersions on Yahoo!… they are, after all, a “frenemy” of ours.

as·per·sion
n.  

1. 1. An unfavorable or damaging remark; slander: Don’t cast aspersions on my honesty.
   2. The act of defaming or slandering.
2. A sprinkling, especially with holy water.

That $240 million stake in Facebook ascribed a $15 billion value to the social networking powerhouse.

as·cribe
tr.v.   as·cribed, as·crib·ing, as·cribes

1. To attribute to a specified cause, source, or origin: “Other people ascribe his exclusion from the canon to an unsubtle form of racism” (Daniel Pinchbeck). See Synonyms at attribute.
2. To assign as a quality or characteristic: was quick to ascribe jealousy to her critics.

Brooke Shields did the controversial Calvin Klein jeans ads and the movie Blue Lagoon, which was criticized as prurient by several conservative groups even though a body double was used for all of Shields’ nude scenes.

pru·ri·ent
adj.  

1. Inordinately interested in matters of sex; lascivious.
2. 1. Characterized by an inordinate interest in sex: prurient thoughts.
   2. Arousing or appealing to an inordinate interest in sex: prurient literature.

A year ago, investors like Guan Ling were ebullient.

e·bul·lient
adj.  

1. Zestfully enthusiastic.
2. Boiling or seeming to boil; bubbling.