GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

conflate

verb
[with object]
combine (two or more sets of information, texts, ideas, etc.) into one: the urban crisis conflates a number of different economic, political, and social issues

Derivatives
conflation
Pronunciation:/-ˈfleɪʃ(ə)n/
noun

Origin:
late Middle English (in the sense ‘fuse or melt down metal’): from Latin conflat- 'kindled, fused', from the verb conflare, from con- 'together' + flare 'to blow'

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Maybe it is built into us to conflate. Just consider the image. Will men be more apt to purchase bottled tea...what was that brand again?


tgraham on flickr

[Algot Runeman]

missive

noun
often humorous
a letter, especially a long or official one: yet another missive from the Foreign Office
Scots Lawa document in the form of a letter exchanged by the parties to a contract. See also conclude missives at conclude

Origin:
late Middle English (as an adjective, originally in the phrase letter missive): from medieval Latin missivus, from Latin mittere 'send'. The current sense dates from the early 16th century


edgeplot on flickr

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Angus was anxious to achieve his status as Esquire. He eagerly hefted the missive from the law school. High hopes in spite of the hard work ahead.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

missive
noun
often humorous
...

Yeah, right.
I suppose an InterContinental Ballistic Missile is a kind of missive too.
Only its text is illegible upon arrival. Obliterated actually.

I promise to henceforth send InterContinental Digital Missives exclusively. Though I can't guarantee their legibility ...

[umsolopagas]

missive
noun
often humorous
...

Yeah, right.
I suppose an InterContinental Ballistic Missile is a kind of missive too.
Only its text is illegible upon arrival. Obliterated actually.

Isnt all the text still legible from close range? Where would erasure occur?

[Algot Runeman]

pecuniary

adjective
formal
relating to or consisting of money: he admitted obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception

Derivatives
pecuniarily
adverb

Origin:
early 16th century: from Latin pecuniarius, from pecunia 'money', from pecu 'cattle, money'


Tracy O on flickr

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I'd gladly have a pecuniary interest in something if it would make me some real money. All the Monopoly™ bills stacked around me are not doing it for me.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

pecuniary
adjective
formal
relating to or consisting of money: he admitted obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception
...

Not to be confused with either of the words pecuniarly, peculiary, peculinary or percutiary.

BTW.
Did such pecuniar bills ever exist?

[Algot Runeman]

E.P.S. Good eyes. I didn't notice the discrepancy.

Maybe the photo's author was trying to avoid a visit from the FBI. I recall a law that says we cannot duplicate money. Does that have any connection to the "double or nothing" bet? Nah.

[MidasKnight]

EPS, shame on your for doctoring that image.

The original is more ambiguous (is that a 5 or a 3?) but yours is much more clearly a 3 (by design I suppose).

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

EPS, shame on your for doctoring that image.
The original is more ambiguous (is that a 5 or a 3?) but yours is much more clearly a 3 (by design I suppose).

The original image posted by Algot has insufficient resolution.
Compare it with the less compressed 1024 x 768 image
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracy_olso ... otostream/

[Algot Runeman]

ericaceous

adjective
Botany
relating to or denoting plants of the heather family (Ericaceae).
(of compost) suitable for heathers and other lime -hating plants.

Origin:
mid 19th century: from modern Latin Ericaceae (plural), from the genus name Erica (see erica)


Ian Britton on FreeFoto.com

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Wendy and Heather, the Ericaceous twins, rambled through the highland, seeking their brother to give him his lunch.

[Algot Runeman]

precipice

noun
a very steep rock face or cliff, typically a tall one: we swerved toward the edge of the precipice. figurative the country was teetering on the precipice of political anarchy

Origin:

late 16th century (denoting a headlong fall): from French précipice or Latin praecipitium 'abrupt descent', from praeceps, praecip(it)- 'steep, headlong'


coda on flickr

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Cliff divers seek the freedom of their launch over the precipice. For a moment, they feel the motion of a diving hawk. Then they feel the plunge of a darting fish.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

precipice
noun
a very steep rock face or cliff, typically a tall one: we swerved toward the edge of the precipice. figurative the country was teetering on the precipice of political anarchy

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more ..." is an expression most of us have heard before. I'm sure Shakespearean thespians and strippers get bored to death with it.

But there's a group of fellows who declaim something with much deeper meaning. Literally.
The "La Quebrada Cliff Divers" chant "Once more into the precipice, dear friends, once more!" to each other before the show starts.
Though they probably say it in Spanish, I guess.

[Algot Runeman]

As we visualize our words of the day, especially precipice, the bizarre way my brain processes words simply demands that I ask: "What is the next image? What is the post-cipice photo?" (Not looking for an image posting.)

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

... "What is the next image? What is the post-cipice photo?" ...

I think that depends on where the guy lands. In the water or on the rocks ...

[Algot Runeman]

swashbuckle

verb
[no object] (usually as adjective swashbuckling)
engage in daring and romantic adventures with ostentatious bravado or flamboyance: a crew of swashbuckling buccaneers

Origin:
late 19th century: back-formation from swashbuckler


capturingJenna on flickr

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Matty fully intended to swashbuckle, if Mamma would allow it.

[Algot Runeman]

cogent

adjective
(of an argument or case ) clear, logical, and convincing.

Derivatives
cogently
adverb

Origin:
mid 17th century: from Latin cogent- 'compelling', from the verb cogere, from co- 'together' + agere 'drive'


gilest on flickr

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The photo provides clear and cogent argument for keeping your perspective.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

cogent

gilest on flickr
The photo provides clear and cogent argument for keeping your perspective.

I've seen teppanyaki cognizant chefs do that with eggs! Cogent trick, isn't it?
Though I think Columbus unvented it.

[Algot Runeman]

excogitate

verb
[with object] formal
think out , plan, or devise: scholars straining to excogitate upon subjects of which they know little

Derivatives
excogitation
Pronunciation:/ekˌskäjiˈtāSHən/
noun

Origin:
early 16th century: from Latin excogitat- 'found by process of thought', from the verb excogitare, from ex- 'out' + cogitare 'think'


Nathan Sawaya http://www.brickartist.com/lego-art/think.html

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Who would have excogitated that such a great mass of creativity would develop from the invention of small, interconnecting, plastic blocks?

[voralfred]

Wasn't it Dexcartex who wrote : "Excogito, exergo exsum?"

[Algot Runeman]

mazy

adjective (ma·zi·er, ma·zi·est)
like a maze; labyrinthine: the museum's mazy treasure house


C. Frank Starmer, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore http://frank.itlab.us/photo_essays/wrap ... sands.html

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Lucy wasn't lazy,
And certainly wasn't crazy.
She went searching for a daisy.
Got lost in garden; mazy.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

mazy
adjective (ma·zi·er, ma·zi·est)
like a maze; labyrinthine: the museum's mazy treasure house
...
Lucy wasn't lazy,
And certainly wasn't crazy.
She went searching for a daisy.
Got lost in garden; mazy.

Amazing.

[voralfred]

When I was a kid (decades ago, alas) Michel Jazy was a kind of national hero, a living legend. We were all crazy about him. He was never lazy, and no labyrinth was mazy enough to keep him from being the first to pick the daizy.

[Algot Runeman]

plumage

noun
a bird's feathers collectively.

Derivatives
plumaged
adjective
[usually in combination] :a gray-plumaged bird

Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French, from plume 'feather'


ImageMD on flickr

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It is sad to say, but my outdoor cat captures birds. Mostly it is house sparrows. When she is done with them, only the plumage remains.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

plumage
noun
a bird's feathers collectively.
...
It is sad to say, but my outdoor cat captures birds. Mostly it is house sparrows. When she is done with them, only the plumage remains.

When my grandma got her hands on a chicken, the poor thing ended up with no plumage at all. No head either, but I think that was the first thing it lost because the plucking was totally silent.

BTW. In Flanders and the Netherlands the house sparrow is considered an endangered species. Its population has declined by more than 50 %, and up to 90 % in large cities.

[voralfred]

(...)
When my grandma got her hands on a chicken, the poor thing ended up with no plumage at all. No head either, but I think that was the first thing it lost because the plucking was totally silent.

(...)

Did she also behead the rabbits before flaying them for all her beautiful fur coats?
j/k