brackish ˈbra-kish adjective
1. slightly salty (especially from containing a mixture of seawater and fresh water)
2. distasteful and unpleasant; spoiled by mixture
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The word brackish has appeared in 19 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Feb. 3 in “Mexico’s Last Countercultural Coast” by Freda Moon:
It was my final day in Zicatela and I wanted to make the most of it. So, despite an aversion to tours, I signed up for an evening trip to the bioluminescent Manialtepec lagoon. For 350 pesos (about $17), along with five other travelers I was chauffeured to the lagoon, where we were introduced to our captain and his crew, a father and his grade-school-age son …
… I’d been warned that the moon, one day shy of full, might drown out the bioluminescence. But when the captain instructed us to dip our hands over the side, we left comet-like trails through the warm, black, brackish water as thousands of tiny aquatic organisms defended themselves with light. When we stopped, I lifted my dress over my head and threw myself overboard, my arms and legs turning the water blue and gray as the water became alive.
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