The Internet Book Database of Fiction

Algot Runeman wrote:autochthon

There's one peculiar country where ALL the inhabitants are autochthons, even the immigrants.

It's the elusive Autochthonia, a kingdom outside Middle Earth and stil a blank spot on all available maps.

zeitgeist

Pronunciation: /ˈtsītˌgīst, ˈzīt-/

noun
[in singular]
the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time: the story captured the zeitgeist of the late 1960s

Origin:
mid 19th century: from German Zeitgeist, from Zeit 'time' + Geist 'spirit'


Johann Antunes

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The spirit of our own times, based on popular reading habits, is apparently trying to divide itself between enthusiasm for Wizards, Zombies and Vampires. Actual ghosts are passé (ahem) Time will tell if the zeitgeist is recognized from our reading fascinations.

Algot Runeman wrote:zeitgeist

Fortunately geistiche Getränke are more or less constant in any Zeitgeist.
Of course I mean the spirits of 30 v% content or more, like genuine Scotch, Bourbon, Calvados, Mezcal, Stroh, Grappa, Metaxa and such.

clamant

Pronunciation: /ˈklāmənt, ˈklam-/

adjective
forcing itself urgently on the attention: the proper use of biotechnology has become a clamant question

Derivatives
clamantly
adverb

Origin:
mid 17th century: from Latin clamant- 'crying out', from the verb clamare


Ellen Fitzsimons

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>--->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>--->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Today's email evaluation was no clamant event. It didn't happen until late afternoon, very unusual. Nonetheless, the word of the day is now here.

Algot Runeman wrote:clamant

After a couple of minutes, the spiffy young man returned and offered her a glass of Bubblinger.

Grandma noticed that his navigation through the crowd had drawn enough clamant attention to restore his aplomb. To also restore his freedom she suggested he perform the same service to a group of three lovely young ladies pretending they hadn't seen him.

aposiopesis

Pronunciation: /ˌapəˌsīəˈpēsis/

noun (plural aposiopeses /-sēz/)
Rhetoric
the device of suddenly breaking off in speech.

Derivatives
aposiopetic
Pronunciation: /-ˈpetik/ adjective

Origin:
late 16th century: via Latin from Greek aposiōpēsis, from aposiōpan 'be silent'


David Lytle

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Anticipating the New England arrival of Sandy, I am warning you that the WotD may need to be of your own choice. IF the electricity goes out here, there will be an aposiopesis associated with the lack of a network connection. It just won't matter that the laptop battery works. The modem/router won't.

End of weather alert.

Algot Runeman wrote:aposiopesis

Didn't the ancient Egyptians pray to Aposiosepis to relieve them of hiccups?
I thought they had to quickly and correctly recite the god's name three times in a row.

skeevy

Pronunciation: /ˈskēvē/

adjective
informal
unpleasant, squalid, or distasteful: a skeevy Vegas motel

Origin:
1970s: from Italian schifo 'repugnance, disgust'


Spatch

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Sam had a decidedly skeevy craving for money.

Algot Runeman wrote:skeevy

Pronunciation: /ˈskēvē/

adjective
informal
unpleasant, squalid, or distasteful: a skeevy Vegas motel

Origin:
1970s: from Italian schifo 'repugnance, disgust'

(...)

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Sam had a decidedly skeevy craving for money.

And as everybody knows: it is very dangerous to live in a skeevy place.
Or, in Italian :
"E Pericoloso Schifersi"

acquittance

Pronunciation: /əˈkwitns/

noun
Law, dated
a written receipt attesting the settlement of a fine or debt.

Origin:
Middle English: from Old French, from aquiter 'discharge (a debt)' (see acquit)


Sancho McCann

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FINE ANT'S FINANCE
Like all Formicidae, Jacques could easily bear much more than his own weight, so carrying the debt was just fine until nearly the end. It swelled in a balloon moment just before the bank clerk wrote the acquittance and Jacques handed over the last payment with its final, swelled interest charge.

inglenook

Pronunciation: /ˈiNGgəlˌno͝ok/

noun
a space on either side of a large fireplace.

Origin:
late 18th century: from Scots ingle + nook



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To be both warm and close to the cooking, Charlotte sat in a chair in the inglenook to the right of the fireplace with her sewing.

asinine

Pronunciation: /ˈasəˌnīn/

adjective
extremely stupid or foolish: Lydia ignored his asinine remark

Derivatives
asininity
Pronunciation: /ˌasəˈninitē/ noun

Origin:
late 15th century: from Latin asininus, from asinus 'ass'


Diamond Geyser

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The only thing more stupid than an asinine remark is an asiten remark.

[I revert to form from time to time.]

Algot Runeman wrote:asinine...
The only thing more stupid than an asinine remark is an asiten remark.

Well now! I grant you that the WotD is the place par excellence to commit such remarks.
But you'll have to agree that my comments were never silly or asinine at all, but always ad rem, very witty and highly intelligent.

Voralfred's on the other hand ... ( and )

Also, at 176 pages of WotDs we're well passed asiten posts, aren't we?
Finally, if asinine is derived from ass, why is it written with one s?

Algot Runeman wrote:asinine...
The only thing more stupid than an asinine remark is an asiten remark.

E Pericoloso Sporgersi wrote: Finally, if asinine is derived from ass, why is it written with one s?

This remark is not asinine, but I would call it asiseven or even asieight :
asinine is not derived from ass, but from the latin asininus. Changing the final us into a single e would not change the number of s earlier in the radical.
But the change in english was much more dramatic : of the original radical, only the very beginning as remains. No wonder the s got doubled !

panache

Pronunciation: /pəˈnaSH, -ˈnäSH/

noun
1flamboyant confidence of style or manner: he entertained Palm Springs society with great panache
2 historical a tuft or plume of feathers, especially as a headdress or on a helmet.

Origin:
mid 16th century: from French, from Italian pennacchio, from late Latin pinnaculum, diminutive of pinna 'feather'


Nate Bolt

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Little Feather tended the cooking fire with panache, keeping the fire ashes from becoming pan ash and ruining the eggs and hash she was cooking for her father. He would not appreciate ash ashes in his hash.

Algot Runeman wrote:panache

When he woke up, Bond found he was sitting in a softly upholstered reclining chair. He badly needed to scratch his crotch but was unable to do so because he was quite thoroughly immobilised with multiple zip ties.

From a large video screen in front of him a malevolent face squinted at him.

The face said: "Ah, awake, I shee. Well, mishter Bond, shurely you didn't exshpect to tail me unobshervedly on my own turf. We shpotted you whole we were shtill sheveral tensh of milesh away from here. I'm afraid it'sh the end of the line for you. Firsht off, when I push thish red button, your nishe Ashton Martin ish toasht. Then it shall be your turn but only after you shpill your gutsh. Literally, I may shay."

Of course the villain's lisp turned his intended dramatic panache into a parody. The director yelled: "Cut, Cut!"
...
(Sorry, I've found no images of an Ashton Martin)

pneuma

Pronunciation: /ˈn(y)o͞omə/

noun
Philosophy
(in Stoic thought) the vital spirit, soul, or creative force of a person.

Origin:
Greek, literally 'that which is breathed or blown'



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No matter, the pneuma of Newman never made Jerry Seinfeld like him.
Many mathematicians based their academic souls on the "New Math", but it has faded in popularity.
Adopted children get a new Ma out of the deal.
Well, I guess I've blown enough smoke for today.

Algot Runeman wrote:pneuma

My little Nemo has a full size spare wheel. But it's held underneath by a kind of winch mechanism between the rear wheels. Just checking the pneumatic's inflation pressure is an annoying chore because I have to lower it and pull it out from under to reach the valve. It gets my hands all dirty with mud and sometimes disgusting unprintables.

My new foot pump kept in the car will make that redundant and, in case of an actual flat tyre, will still allow me to adjust the spare's pressure. And the unmentionables ... oh well, it's an emergency, right?

I wonder how far this guy will get?

I am allergic to bullshit. During this period of non-stop political ads, my allergy causes me to sneeze with considerably frequency and force. After unwillingly viewing fifteen consequetive minutes of nauseating political ads, my sneezing fit acquired the rapidity of a machine gun coupled with the force of a category 5.9 hurricane. It was such an extreme situation that I felt my pneuma expelled into the atmosphere at the precise moment that the contents of my bladder were expelled into my underpants!

ChoChiyo wrote:... the contents of my bladder were expelled into my underpants!

That's easily remedied.

Just apply a wingless sanitary napkin with the adhesive side UP.
(Caution; You may need a prior waxing).

Of course that doesn't help suppressing the pneuma ...

espresso

\eh-SPRESS-oh\

noun
1: strong coffee brewed by forcing steam through finely ground darkly roasted coffee beans
2: a cup of espresso

EXAMPLES

Joan couldn't begin her day without at least one cup of espresso to wake her up.

((Note that my email did NOT include today's WotD. Don't know why. Chose this one instead.))
Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of- ... WbOhihy.99


Stefano J. Attardi

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Let me express my distress that the espresso isn't express. Oh, why must I wait for the caffeine jolt?

E Pericoloso Sporgersi wrote:

ChoChiyo wrote:... the contents of my bladder were expelled into my underpants!

That's easily remedied.

Just apply a wingless sanitary napkin with the adhesive side UP.
(Caution; You may need a prior waxing).

Of course that doesn't help suppressing the pneuma ...

Why bother with waxing? If the adhesive is strong enough--it will take care of the waxing process upon removal!

Now that my pneuma is gone, I'm considering becoming a politician myself. Lack of a pneuma seems to be a prerequisite for all career politicians.

rabblement

Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

n. Idle, silly talk; babblement.
n. A tumultuous crowd or assemblage; a disorderly rout; a rabble.
n. Refuse; dregs.

This word comes from the Middle English ‘rablen,’ speak in a rapid, confused manner, probably imitative of hurry and confusion.


badlyricpolice

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Rousing the rabble was the job of John and Sam Adams during the middle years of the 18th century in the American colonies. Their method wasn't rabblement, however, it was a call to arms and a dumping of taxed tea into Boston Harbor.

[Another day without the expected email. Switching sources. Wordnik, starting today.]

Algot Runeman wrote:rabblement

I'm sure rabblement is of a kind with crogglement, frazzlement, mugglement and election campaigns.

Those esoteric concepts are incomprehensible to a humble muggle like me.

Recently the regional rabblement roused to read Rabelais while resisting relaxing to Ravel.

Arrrrh!