sashay

****************************************************************
Ready to march? Strike up the brand with a 14-day free
trial to Merriam-WebsterCollegiate.com!
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/collegiate_sub.pl?refr=C_wod
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for March 8 is:

sashay   \sash-AY\   verb 
     1 : to make the sliding dance step called chasse
     2 a : walk, glide, go  *b : to strut or move about in an 
ostentatious or conspicuous manner  c : to proceed or move in a 
diagonal or sideways manner

Example sentence:
     Cameras flashed and fans screamed as the latest pop 
princess sashayed down the red carpet.

Did you know?
     The French verb "chasse" ("to make a sliding dance step") 
danced into English unaltered in the early 19th century, but as 
the word gained popularity in America people often had 
difficulty pronouncing and transcribing its French rhythms. By 
1836, "sashay" had begun to appear in print in American 
sources. Authors such as Mark Twain, Zora Neale Hurston, and 
John Updike have all since put their names on the word's dance 
card and have enjoyed the liveliness and attitude "sashay" adds 
to descriptions of movement. They and many, many others have 
helped "sashay" slide away from its French dance origins to 
strut its stuff in descriptions of various walks and moves.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.