  Word of the Day for Thursday January 29, 2004 soi-disant \swah-dee-ZAHN\, adjective: Self-styled; so-called. The study exposes most varieties of 'human resource management' as a complete waste oftimes promoted by soi-disant gurus and self-serving consultants with an eye for a quick buck. --"Support for an old-fashioned view," [1]Independent, May 12, 1994 The troupe, soi-disant egalitarians, mostly turn out to be royal phonies. --Craig Offman, "Whiz Kid," [2]Time, February 1, 1999 _________________________________________________________ Soi-disant comes from the French, from soi, "oneself" + disant, "saying," present participle of dire, "to say. " 
