GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

[quote='voralfred"]WOTD is really a good intellectual exercise ![/quote]

As my father routinely said, "Well, well, well; that's a deep subject."

[Algot Runeman]

anthropomorphic

/anθrəpəˈmɔːfɪk/
adjective
1 Relating to or characterized by anthropomorphism.
1.1 Having human characteristics.

Origin
Early 19th century: from Greek anthrōpomorphos (see anthropomorphous) + -ic.

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For the record, this anthropomorphic cat has nothing to do with a famous mouse or the corporation bearing his creator's name.

[Algot Runeman]

naughty

/ˈnɔːti/
adjective
1 (especially of a child) badly behaved; disobedient.
2 informal Mildly rude or indecent, typically because related to sex.
3 archaic Wicked.

Origin
Late Middle English: from naught + -y. The earliest recorded sense was ‘possessing nothing’; the sense ‘wicked’ also dates from late Middle English, and gave rise to the current senses.

==========

I shall not be naughty today. I shall be a good boy. I shall not feature a word we've used before!



[In it's too frequent smarty-pants manner, ODO's word randomizer repeated erudite yet again. Since it was first officially employed here in 2006, it can only be included, though not featured here.]

[Algot Runeman]

amygdaloid

/əˈmɪɡdəlɔɪd/
adjective
technical
Shaped like an almond.

noun
Anatomy
another term for amygdala, a part inside each cerebral hemisphere, involved with the experiencing of emotions.

==========

I apologize, I get very emotional when I think of amygdaloid things. It's a brain thing, I'm sure. Besides, I love almonds!

[Algot Runeman]

bicycle

/ˈbʌɪsɪk(ə)l/
noun
A vehicle consisting of two wheels held in a frame one behind the other, propelled by pedals and steered with handlebars attached to the front wheel.
verb
no object, with adverbial of direction Ride a bicycle.

Origin
Mid 19th century: from bi- ‘two’ + Greek kuklos ‘wheel’.

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My son is taking a bicycle trip this weekend. Please drive safely this holiday weekend, for his sake and for yours!

[Algot Runeman]

asunder

/əˈsʌndə/
adverb
literary, archaic
Apart.

Origin
Old English on sundran ‘in or into a separate place’; compare with sunder.

==========

Shocking Truth

Do not, fair one, make the blunder.
To wander free in the thunder.
It would be no strange wonder
If the lightning tore you asunder!

[Algot Runeman]

mischief

/ˈmɪstʃɪf/
noun
mass noun
1 Playful misbehavior, especially on the part of children.
1.1 Playfulness that is intended to tease or create trouble.

Origin
Late Middle English (denoting misfortune or distress): from Old French meschief, from the verb meschever, from mes- ‘adversely’ + chever ‘come to an end’ (from chef ‘head’).

==========

Joe found out the hard way that his sister loved to cause mischief.

[Algot Runeman]

funhouse

/ˈfʌnhaʊs/
noun
North American
(in an amusement park) a building equipped with trick mirrors, shifting floors, and other devices designed to scare or amuse people as they walk through.

==========

Today, a little pedestrian funhouse illustration because ODO proposed "anamorphic" and it was too close to "anamorphosis" which we've examined before.

[voralfred]

The people who design funhouses are mischievious, if not downright naughty, to build mirrors that cause anamorphosis to make you look amygdaloid, too short and fat, or ridiculously tall and thin, sometimes tear you asunder, and even make you look not anthropomorphic anymore. But I have still not yet seen a mirror that made me look like a bicycle....



In a different thread, I wrote "Well, well, well". I was about to add "that's a deep subject", especially since EPS is one of the few people to visit it, and I assumed he read our exchange on "well up" and intellectual exercises. But then I thought that the few other players might be so puzzled by this private joke they will come even less often... I

[Algot Runeman]

foible

/ˈfɔɪb(ə)l/
noun
1 A minor weakness or eccentricity in someone's character.
2 Fencing - The part of a sword blade from the middle to the point.
Compare with forte because we've used it before

Origin
Late 16th century (as an adjective in the sense ‘feeble’): from obsolete French, in Old French fieble (see feeble). Both noun senses also formerly occurred as senses of the word feeble and all date from the 17th century.

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Ferdinand had a foible
In spite of being a boy bull.
He preferred the scent of flowers
With which he could spend hours.

He cared little for the heifers
The ones his buddies prefers.
And those puffed-up dandy matadores,
Why they're just insufferable bores!

[voralfred]

Two days in a row ?
ODO have a foible for repetitions. Originality is not their forte !

OK, this one is even weaker than my usual very weak ones....

[Algot Runeman]

abolish

/əˈbɒlɪʃ/
verb
[with object]
Formally put an end to (a system, practice, or institution)

Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French aboliss-, lengthened stem of abolir, from Latin abolere ‘destroy’.

==========

The senators voted unanimously to abolish the practice of non-state-sponsored unification of the disparate components of long range nuclear explosive delivery systems as an important step in gun control. They thought their purpose was very clear.

[Algot Runeman]

soused

/saʊst/
adjective
1 (of food, especially fish) preserved in pickle or a marinade.
2 informal - Drunk.

==========

He was tipsy. He was pickled. He was soused. Not to put too fine a point on it, he was drunk.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

soused

There is a fine antidote for his, er ..., ailment. And especially for his looming hangover.

It also happens to be a Dutch delicacy: matjes herring with chopped onion.

Dutch maatjesharing is soused young herring.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

Two days in a row ?

I suspect there is a flaw in the algorithm, just a simple randomizer instead of a randomizer with a list of words used. Still, I don't want to abolish the system. The definitions provided are consistent in format, making them easy to use after doing a small meander, seeking alternate terms from another random source.

[Algot Runeman]

proselytize
(British proselytise)

/ˈprɒsɪlɪtʌɪz/
verb
[with object]
1 Convert or attempt to convert (someone) from one religion, belief, or opinion to another.
1.1 Advocate or promote (a belief or course of action)

==========

Why do I feel that some TV ads come off more like proselytizing than simple promotion?

[Algot Runeman]

despair

/dɪˈspɛː/
noun
mass noun
The complete loss or absence of hope.
verb
[no object]
Lose or be without hope.

Origin
Middle English: the noun via Anglo-Norman French from Old French desespeir; the verb from Old French desperer, from Latin desperare, from de- ‘down from’ + sperare ‘to hope’.

==========

Do not despair. In spite of ODO reaching the nadir of repeating words [again, again, again], we search the vast list of words for a gem, a diamond in the rough, a worthy substitute, a fabulous find.

[Algot Runeman]

deficient

/dɪˈfɪʃ(ə)nt/
adjective
1 Not having enough of a specified quality or ingredient.
1.1 Insufficient or inadequate.
2 dated, offensive Having mental disabilities.

Origin
Late 16th century (originally in the theological phrase deficient cause, denoting a failure or deficiency that has a particular consequence): from Latin deficient- ‘failing’, from the verb deficere (see defect).

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Terry liked a well-balanced breakfast. Today's came up short. The eggs were yoke deficient.

[Algot Runeman]

vague

/veɪɡ/
adjective
1 Of uncertain, indefinite, or unclear character or meaning.
1.1 Thinking or communicating in an unfocused or imprecise way.

Origin
Mid 16th century: from French, or from Latin vagus ‘wandering, uncertain’.

==========

We are in the summer doldrums without even a vague breeze!

[Algot Runeman]

oligopsony

/ɒlɪˈɡɒps(ə)ni/
noun
A state of the market in which only a small number of buyers exists for a product.

Origin
1940s: from oligo- ‘small number’ + Greek opsōnein ‘buy provisions’, on the pattern of monopsony.

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Companies like Ferrari, Bentley and Apple design products for an oligopsony, with the expectation that "everyone" will actually want one. Strangely, they have succeeded.

[Algot Runeman]

haruspication

/hərʌspɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/
noun
mass noun
(in ancient Rome) the interpretation of omens by inspecting the entrails of sacrificial animals.

Origin
Late 19th century: from haruspex + -ation.

==========

Marcus mercifully manipulated the goat's entrails, determining by haruspication that Caesar's ingrown toenail would be cured.

[Algot Runeman]

zounds

/zaʊndz/
exclamation
humorous, archaic
Expressing surprise or indignation.

Origin
Late 16th century: contraction from (God)'s wounds (i.e. those of Christ on the Cross).

==========

Each day the doctor does his rounds.
Through wards and patient rooms galore
Each patient whose troubled voice resounds
Though not a one shouts, "Zounds!"

They moan and whine and grumble
As he visits every patient's bed
From their mouths complaints tumble.
Efficient with his orders, Doc doesn't stumble.

At the end of the day he leaves.
And the next shift begins the job.
Though he's gone, none grieves.
Here comes Nurse Sally, in short sleeves.

More than one of the wounded
Cranes up and now does utter, "Zounds!"

[Algot Runeman]

fluviatile

/ˈfluːvɪəˌtʌɪl/
adjective
technical
Of, found in, or produced by a river.

Origin
Late 16th century: from French, from Latin fluviatilis, from fluviatus ‘moistened’, from fluvius ‘river’.

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The arroyo crossed beneath the road through a culvert designed to let water run, if and when it did. The intermittent nature of desert rains and the resulting powerful, temporary rivers makes an arroyo an odd fluviatile landform feature.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

fluviatile

Some people can be volatile, claiming one opinion today, and the opposite tomorrow.

But that politician was, so to speak, totally fluviatile.
He always ran with the flow of the majority.

[Algot Runeman]

errantry

/ˈɛr(ə)ntri/
noun
mass noun
literary, archaic
The quality or condition of being a traveller, especially a knight, in search of adventure.

He crossed the soggy moors, the mountains and the plains, his persistence a clear sign of knightly errantry.

==========



[Today's word is dedicated to the WotD resident knight who never errs in his adventures, E.P.S.]