GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

memorial

Pronunciation: /mɪˈmɔːrɪəl/
noun
1 A statue or structure established to remind people of a person or event: a memorial to General Robert E. Lee
1.1 [as modifier] Intended to commemorate someone or something: a memorial service in the dead man’s honour
2 chiefly historical A statement of facts, especially as the basis of a petition: the Council sent a strongly worded memorial to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
2.1 A record or memoir: Mrs Carlyle’s Letters and Memorials

Origin
Late Middle English: from late Latin memoriale 'record, memory, monument', from Latin memorialis 'serving as a reminder', from memoria 'memory'.



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This post is in memory of my memory. It is late afternoon on Memorial Day here in the US. A memorial is perhaps something of a substitute for memory. We get a day to remind us to look at the memorial monuments marking moments not to be forgotten. The good news is that I did remember, albeit late, to mention an appropriate word for you to try to remember in the future. If you forget, this post will serve as the memorial, a marker you may use to remind you.

[Algot Runeman]

ruthless

Pronunciation: /ˈruːθləs/
adjective
Having or showing no pity or compassion for others: a ruthless manipulator

Origin
Middle English: from ruth + -less.



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George was ruthless in his belief that he was a self-made success. He ignored anybody who he couldn't somehow use to advance himself.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

ruthless
...
Having or showing no pity or compassion for others: a ruthless manipulator
...

There's a little question nagging me.
Consider a widower whose late wife was named Ruth. Is he now ruthless or Ruthless?

Or would you just say he's single again?

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

biometry

Pronunciation: /bʌɪˈɒmɪtri/
(also biometrics /bʌɪə(ʊ)ˈmɛtrɪks/)
noun
[mass noun]
The application of statistical analysis to biological data.



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Fahrenheit temperature was originally intended to be scaled from the coldest you could get a water and salt mix, marked as zero, and the temperature of a human body, marked as 100. Biometry gradually determined that humans averaged at a temperature of 98.6°F instead of 100°F. As people age, their body temperature tends to drop with a slowing of the metabolism. No wonder retirees often move south!

I guess this also means I should be happy about global warming.

[Algot Runeman]

hogan

Pronunciation: /ˈhəʊɡ(ə)n/
noun
Image of hogan
A traditional Navajo Indian hut of logs and earth.

Origin
Navajo.



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Despite his tendency to suddenly bulk, the Hulk was comfortable living in a hogan when visiting the US west. Living most of his days as Dr. Bruce Banner made hogan life comfortable. Of course, his hosts weren't quite so sanguine about the prospects of needing to completely rebuild.

[Algot Runeman]

propulsion

Pronunciation: /prəˈpʌlʃ(ə)n/
noun
[mass noun]
The action of driving or pushing forwards: they dive and use their wings for propulsion under water

Origin
Early 17th century (in the sense 'expulsion'): from medieval Latin propulsio(n-), from Latin propellere 'drive before (oneself)'.


Tony Hisgett

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If this example sentence lacks the propulsion to move you, then it is up to you to satisfy your own compulsion.

Write your own.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

propulsion

Considering the orientation of the intake compressor vanes, I deduce that they revolve counter-clockwise, as seen in this frontal view, to achieve propulsion from the jet-engine's rear when it's running.

Does its paired engine on the other side of the airplane's fuselage have oppositely oriented vanes?

[Algot Runeman]

rascal

Pronunciation: /ˈrɑːsk(ə)l/
noun
A mischievous or cheeky person, especially a child or man (typically used in an affectionate way): a lovable rascal you are such a rascal!

Origin
Middle English (in the senses 'a mob' and 'member of the rabble'): from Old French rascaille 'rabble', of uncertain origin.

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The cheeky rascal decided to vacation. The result was short shrift for WotD, offering only unadorned verbiage.

[Algot Runeman]

Dannebrog

Pronunciation: /ˈdanəbrɒɡ/
noun
The Danish national flag.

Origin
Danish, literally 'Danish cloth'.


Jacob Bøtter

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If you live in Denmark, fly the Dannebrog. Carry it, too on your yacht, if you have one.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Dannebrog
...
The Danish national flag.
...

Hmm ... it seems to me that Dannebrog is Danish brogue.

[Algot Runeman]

orgulous

Pronunciation: /ˈɔːɡjʊləs/
adjective
literary
Haughty.

Origin
Middle English: from Old French orguillus, from orguill 'pride'. The word was rare from the 16th century until used by Robert Southey and Sir Walter Scott as a historical archaism and affected by 19th-century journalists.

_~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^_

The IBDoF forum software reports, "No posts were found because the word orgulous is not contained in any post." It is, therefore, acceptable to insert this haughty word into a post to tantalize, tempt and trick you into using it somehow. Hah! Good luck to you.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

orgulous

Maybe the British are orgulous when referring to their Union Jack.

And no doubt the French are orgueilleux about their Tricolore.
But I suspect the Danes appear less respectful when mentioning their Dannebrog.

[Algot Runeman]

penology

Pronunciation: /piːˈnɒlədʒi/
noun
[mass noun]
The study of the punishment of crime and of prison management.

Origin
Mid 19th century: from Latin poena 'penalty' + -logy.



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in some US states pecuniary penology has lead to privatization. The state can stand back while a private company runs the prisons for them.

[Algot Runeman]

ressentiment

Pronunciation: /rəˈsɒ̃tɪmɒ̃/
noun
[mass noun]
A psychological state resulting from suppressed feelings of envy and hatred which cannot be satisfied.

Origin
Via German (used by Nietzsche in this sense) from French ressentiment 'feeling'.



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There was general community resentment that John was successful while they were not. But his brother, Joe, suffered ressentiment while feigning pride. Joe sank into despair and drank heavily as a result. The rest of the family never understood.

[Kahrey]

Kahrey was always angry, always bitter, even under the smiles. She attributed these feelings to just being a mean a**hole. Browsing the forums of the IBDoF one night, too anxious to sleep, she learned the reason - she suffered from ressentiment. It was all clear. Finally a self diagnosis via the Internet that didn't mean she was going to die.

(FYI this is in jest. I don't suppress my hatred. In fact, I tend to blurt it out uncontrollably sometimes. )

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

... In fact, I tend to blurt it out uncontrollably sometimes.

Oh please do blurt!
The more, the merrier, said Robin Hood about his men.

[Algot Runeman]

The more, the merrier,

Or perhaps we might say "As you were, Kahrey on!"

Ressentiment will never be a requirement for dropping in to the WotD. Nor will being awake at all hours. Blurting is beneficial to the soul.

[Algot Runeman]

beget

Pronunciation: /bɪˈɡɛt/
verb (begets, begetting; past begot /bɪˈɡɒt/ or archaic begat; past participle begotten /bɪˈɡɒt(ə)n/)
[with object] literary
1 (Especially of a man) bring (a child) into existence by the process of reproduction: they hoped that the King might beget an heir by his new queen
2 Cause; bring about: killings beget more killings

Origin
Old English begietan 'get, obtain by effort' (see be-, get).



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Her creations quite tasty,
Oven work's not hasty.
Beatrice baked to beget.
And sometimes to just forget.

Crullers, rolls and seed-topped bread
Ready, warm and good they said.
Customers lined up each day
Some to buy the best beignet.

Still, each day she thought of him
In uniform he was trim.
Of babies said, "We should wait."
Gone too fast. It was too late.

The shop's goods, her life instead
Begetting each day's fresh bread.
Her smiles back at those who buy
Hide her grief for dreams awry.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

beget
...
Her creations quite tasty,
Oven work's not hasty.
Beatrice baked to beget.
And sometimes to just forget.
...

I say, Algot?
Do you beget these poems at the spur of the moment, like acute IBS?
Or is it existing work brought to the fore?

[Algot Runeman]

The rhymes come unbidden at times, but these verses heed the church clock chimes.
Thoughts bounce around inside my head to emerge as words, or rhymes perhaps instead.
Like the WotD, each day anew, I never can know what expression will show.
There's the answer, as it came. Sorry that it was so lame.

Thank you, E.P.S., for thinking to describe these things as poems.

[Algot Runeman]

sang-de-boeuf

Pronunciation: /ˌsɒ̃dəˈbəːf/
noun
[mass noun]
A deep red colour, typically found on old Chinese porcelain: sang-de-boeuf is the deep red with which ancient Chinese porcelain is often coloured

Origin
French, literally 'ox blood'.



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When I was a boy, I got some new shoes and a shoeshine box for my birthday. The box handle was angled and supported a shoe effectively. There were three cans of polish inside, Black, brown and ox-blood. It would have been so much more elegant if the third had been labelled "sang-de-boeuf." I kept those shoes polished instead of having to sing for my supper (beef, of course).

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

sang-de-boeuf

One can wonder if the name of this sang-de-boeuf colour is derived from the deep red of the Cœur de bœuf tomato?

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

metronome

Pronunciation: /ˈmɛtrənəʊm/
noun
A device used by musicians that marks time at a selected rate by giving a regular tick.

Origin
Early 19th century: from Greek metron 'measure' + nomos 'law'.



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Grathplick walked the busy sidewalk with the other commuters, though he had an artificially even gait, as if controlled by a metronome. He had tried and failed to develop a relaxed, more human, swinging stride. In the end, the walk was always what gave away a metro-gnome.

[Algot Runeman]

Raelian

Pronunciation: /rʌɪˈiːlɪən/
noun
A member of an atheistic cult based on the belief that humans originated from alien scientists who came to earth in UFOs.
adjective
Relating to the Raelians or their beliefs.

Origin
1990s: from Rael, assumed name of Claude Vorilhon, French singer and journalist, author of The Message Given to me by Extraterrestrials (1974).


Designed by Joseph Graham, William Newman, and John Stacy for the USGS

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Ray Lien railed against all mention of Raelians.
He knows for sure we're not from aliens.
He's got the goods on our fatherhoods
All the way back to Pliocene woods.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Raelian...

Designed by Joseph Graham, William Newman, and John Stacy for the USGS
...

If you were to ask me which epoch, besides the present one, would be my secondary choice to live in, it would be one with people but no dinosaurs, nor Raelians.

For very pragmatic reasons I would prefer the late Pleistocene Era:

• Fire is available,
• Single humans are vulnerable, but predators leave our fearsome hunting tribes alone,
• Large and dangerous animals, but also reasonably smaller ones contribute furs for my grandma's clothing and for cosy bedding,
• No obnoxious advertising ...