GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

reprove

Pronunciation: /rɪˈpruːv/
verb
[with object]
Reprimand (someone): he was reproved for obscenity [with direct speech]: ‘Don’t be childish, Hilary,’ he reproved mildly (as adjective reproving) a reproving glance

Origin
Middle English (also in the senses 'reject' and 'censure'): from Old French reprover, from late Latin reprobare 'disapprove' (see reprobate).



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Remember, fans, word of the day accepts all attempts to use the day's word. We approve, never reprove of any sentence, story, ditty, poem or formal essay you want to offer the group.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

reprove

This proves again that English grammar is fickle.

Of course you may reprove me.
That's your reprobative prerogative and democratic right, even if you're left or abandoned.

[Algot Runeman]

Code: Select all

.C
.R
WORDS -- Why are they so cross? Cannot we use happy words for puzzles?
.S
.S

We do not want to reprove people who play games...

[Algot Runeman]

minacious

Pronunciation: /mɪˈneɪʃəs/
adjective
rare
Menacing; threatening.

Origin
Mid 17th century: from Latin minax, minac- 'threatening' (from minari 'threaten') + -ous.




A counter-example for the word

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Try as I might, I cannot find Minnie Mouse to be minacious. I do not think I've seen evidence that she's raised a fist at Mickey or even Pluto. She might once have frowned at Donald, but I'm not positive of that.

[Algot Runeman]

grok

Pronunciation: /ɡrɒk/
verb (groks, grokking, grokked)
[with object] US informal
1 Understand (something) intuitively or by empathy: corporate leaders seemed to grok this concept fairly quickly
1.1 [no object] Establish a rapport: nestling earth couple would like to find water brothers to grok with in peace

Origin
1960s: a word invented by Robert Heinlein (1907–88), American author.



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The word of the day is designed to help everyone grok an unfamiliar term and then incorporate the definiendum into their own writing.

[Sometimes there is a flurry of understanding and expressiveness. At other times, the word, term, definiendum, when presented, is like whistling in the wind.]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

grok

I wonder how many people grok that Robert A. Heinlein also coined the word for the electro-mechanical concept "waldo", plural "waldoes", short for "Waldo F. Jones' Synchronous Reduplicating Pantograph"?

(Click the image for the IBDoF list entry)

P.S. About algorithm coding I've heard a hacker say: "Grok it or leave it!"

[Algot Runeman]

ecdysiast

Pronunciation: /ɛkˈdɪzɪast/
noun
humorous
A striptease performer.

Origin
1940s: from Greek ekdusis 'shedding', on the pattern of enthusiast.


pictonym

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Charlie and his friends went to The Gent's Club for Charlie's pre-wedding bachelor party. The ecdysiasts were enthusiastic if not truly talented and Charlie enjoyed their efforts.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

ecdysiast

...
WARNING!

Recreational ecdysiasm causes earthquakes!

Malaysia's government has blamed a group of foreign tourists for a magnitude 5.9 earthquake on one of the country's most sacred mountains.

(click on the image)

[Algot Runeman]

transliterate

Pronunciation: /transˈlɪtəreɪt/
/trɑːns-/ /-nz-/
verb
[with object]
Write or print (a letter or word) using the closest corresponding letters of a different alphabet or language: names from one language are often transliterated into another

Derivatives
transliteration
Pronunciation: /-ˈreɪʃ(ə)n/
1 noun
transliterator
2 noun

Origin
Mid 19th century: from trans- 'across' + Latin littera 'letter' + -ate3.



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No matter how you transliterate it, some people will still mispronounce it. Others will completely misconstrue your meaning.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

transliterate


No matter how you transliterate it, some people will still mispronounce it. Others will completely misconstrue your meaning.

That's weird.

No matter how much I transliterate the word "grok", I can't manage to get "moss cow" from it. I always end up with "groink" ...

[Algot Runeman]

noble

Pronunciation: /ˈnəʊb(ə)l/
adjective (nobler, noblest)
1 Belonging by rank, title, or birth to the aristocracy: the medieval palace was once owned by a noble Florentine family the Duchess of Kent and several other noble ladies

Origin
Middle English: from Old French, from Latin (g)nobilis 'noted, high-born', from an Indo-European root shared by know.



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There's no bull about it. John's the great grandson of a noble house. He was high-born, too, on the 18th floor of the hospital, but cannot claim any title, being a citizen of the United States where equality is supposed to matter.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

dime

(Off topic. Just to fill a gap.)

Why is it that helicopters (and other VTOL vehicles) in movies, before actually landing on a dime, always make a 180° turn just before touch down?

Is it to show the machine from all sides? Or to show off the skill of the pilot?

[Algot Runeman]

slip-up

noun
error; an oversight.



A weekend gap lasts less time than some other gaps. Unfortunately, it was not merely the result of being a weekend. The interruption was mental, therefore assuring all that such a slip-up will happen again.

[One wonders why it is an upward slip? Another wonders, "who cares!"]

[Algot Runeman]

livid

Pronunciation: /ˈlɪvɪd/
adjective
1 Furiously angry: he was livid that Garry had escaped
2 Dark bluish grey in colour: livid bruises

Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense 'of a bluish leaden colour'): from French livide or Latin lividus, from livere 'be bluish'. The sense 'furiously angry' dates from the early 20th century.

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Louie was livid. Sam was sad. Everyone else just stood around staring at the ground, embarrassed.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

livid

"Better close all the windows. There's a storm building!
Mark my words, just look how livid the sky is."

(Is this a valid use of livid?)

[Algot Runeman]

"livid sky"

I've certainly read a "bruised sky" description and that combines with the blue-gray color ascribed to the term. Livid as a sky description also fits the "angry" sky of an approaching storm.

I say, "Go for it!"

[Algot Runeman]

spork

Pronunciation: /spɔːk/
noun
A spoon-shaped eating utensil with short tines at the tip.

Origin
Early 20th century: blend of spoon and fork.



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I was hungry. I didn't have a fork. I didn't have tine to go get a fork, but did have a file in my pocket. Hence, the spork.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

spork

Were you eating pork with that spork?

[Algot Runeman]

Were you eating pork with that spork?

Yes, a dork with a spork eating yummy, greasy pork sausages cooked over a campfire!

[Algot Runeman]

rumpus

Pronunciation: /ˈrʌmpəs/
noun (plural rumpuses)
informal
A noisy disturbance; a row: he caused a rumpus with his flair for troublemaking

Origin
Mid 18th century: probably fanciful.


via Peanuts.com

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My memory is that in the 50s and 60s, it was common to have, and send children to, a rumpus room. I guess the children of today are less rambunctious. Everybody seems to want white everywhere, white furniture, white rugs, white vinyl floors and a Swifty system for keeping the light dustiness from accumulating.

[Algot Runeman]

pervade

Pronunciation: /pəˈveɪd/
verb
[with object]
1 (Especially of a smell) spread through and be perceived in every part of: a smell of stale cabbage pervaded the air
1.1 Be present and apparent throughout: the sense of crisis which pervaded Europe in the 1930s

Origin
Mid 17th century (also in the sense 'traverse'): from Latin pervadere, from per- 'throughout' + vadere 'go'.


A Galaxy Far Far Away and a little while ago.

--===--===--===--===--===--===--===--===--===--===--

Lord Darth was glad he had air filtration built into his helmet. Most of the Empire's ships were pervaded with the smell of all the client species used for battle. He also liked the effect the filter had on the sound of his voice, which in its natural state, was rather high pitched and weak.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

pervade

My dad claimed that my grandpa was pervaded through and through with my grandma's devotion.
He said that grandpa positively - for lack of a better word - reeked with grandma's love.

I believe him, but as for the "pervading reek", I think my dad meant grandma's favourite perfume, L'Air du Temps by Nina Ricci, which must have rubbed off on grandpa.

[Algot Runeman]

allegory

Pronunciation: /ˈalɪɡ(ə)ri/
noun (plural allegories)
1 A story, poem, or picture which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one: Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory of the spiritual journey
1.1 A symbol.

Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French allegorie, via Latin from Greek allēgoria, from allos 'other' + -agoria 'speaking'.

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Because it was an allegory,
Charlie wrote a longer story.
No matter how he tried
He just could not briefly fit the whole moral meaning of the tale inside.

[Algot Runeman]

eventuate

Pronunciation: /ɪˈvɛn(t)ʃʊeɪt/
verb
[no object] formal
1 Occur as a result: you never know what might eventuate
1.1 (eventuate in) Lead to as a result: circumstances that eventuate in crime

Origin
Late 18th century (originally US): from event, on the pattern of actuate.

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After some delay, the word of the day is posted. This should eventuate in joy for many and an urge to respond in some.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

eventuate

To my mind, the word eventuate has little merit.
It's neither meat nor fish.

What is it supposed to mean: peeling a pear, coring a pineapple, gutting a young herring, a whale e-vent-uating?

I don't think I'll ever use the word.

What was it again? I've already forgotten it.