GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

Algot Runeman wrote:". . . . . . . . . . . . . . ."
8)
You *are* prolix today!
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

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exalt
\ ig-ZOLT \
verb:
1.
To praise, glorify, or honor.
2.
To heighten or intensify.
3.
To raise in rank, character, or status; as, "exalted the humble shoemaker to the rank of King's adviser." Quotes:
A show that was merely competent needed something special if it was to run--a couple of hit tunes, something astonishing in design or choreography... or a theatre-filling personality who can exalt ordinary material."
-- Ethan Mordden, Coming Up Roses: The Broadway Musical in the 1950s

They exalt the mysterious imperative of a pay phone ringing on a city street or on a lonely desert highway and eagerly anticipate the intersection of lives when someone feels compelled to pick up that receiver."
-- "If a Pay Phone Rings, Who Will Answer?", New York Times , May 14, 1998

Other cultures worship twins as a divine gift; for instance, the voodoo practitioners of West Africa and Haiti exalt twins as supernatural beings with a single soul, who are to be revered and feared.
-- Lawrence Wright, Twins: And What They Tell Us About Who We Are

Origin:
Exalt comes from Latin exalto, exaltare, to raise high, from ex-, out of (but here simply used intensively; that is, to give emphasis) + altus, high.

Irreverant example:
Actually, when I praise my grandma to HEO, it's in the fervent hope of some of her furry exaltedness rubbing off on me. :)
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by Algot Runeman »

Cindy exulted over her good fortune. Hundreds of emails were filling her computer. Each one extolled the virtue of the work she was doing. Some even sought to exalt her for the excellent benefits which resulted for her clients.

Exiting now.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

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angora
\ ang-GAWR-uh \
noun:
1.
Angora cat.
2.
( often lowercase ) Also, Angora wool. the hair of the Angora goat or of the Angora rabbit.
3.
( often lowercase ) yarn, fabric, or a garment made from this hair.

adjective:
1.
( usually lowercase ) made from a yarn or fabric of the hairs of the Angora goat or Angora rabbit: an angora sweater.
Quotes:
Angora fur is produced in Europe, Chile, China and the United States. Harvesting occurs up to four times a year (about every 4 months) and is collected by plucking, shearing, or collection of the molting fur.
-- Wikipedia

One of the most outgoing and affectionate of all cat breeds, the rare and beautiful Turkish Angora has a fascinating history and is considered a national treasure in its native land.
-- B. Iris Tanner, July 04, 2010; The Cat Fanciers' Association, Inc.

Although the heyday of angora sweaters has long since passed, women who love soft and fuzzy clothing can still find new items in this plush material, as well as vintage pinup styles that evoke an earlier era.

Origin:
from Angora, city in central Turkey (ancient Ancyra, modern Ankara ), which gave its name to the goat, and to its silk-like wool, and to a cat whose fur resembles it. The city name is from the Gk. word for "anchor, bend"

Irreverant example:
One kind of fur and its derived fabric was noticeably absent from my grandma's wardrobe and for very good reason. Grandma positively hated angora wool. Camel and yak and all other types of wool were OK, but angora or mohair were absolutely contraindicated.

My grandma had acute angoraphobia.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by Algot Runeman »

Cat...goat...rabbit. Well, that's some mix of furs. It's the opposite feel from furze, for sure.
Aaah-choo!
Wool is a fine thing. But, begorra, I'm going to pass on wearing angora.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

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mondegreen
\ MON-di-green \
noun:
1.
A word or phrase resulting from a misinterpretation of a word or phrase that has been heard.
Quotes:
Mondegreens can be found in every area of the spoken word, from the record buyer who asks for a copy of the Queen single "Bohemian Rap City" to the schoolchild who is convinced that the Pledge of Allegiance begins "I led the pigeons to the flag."
-- Gavin Edwards, 'Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy: And Other Misheard Lyrics

There is something consoling about Web pages that collect " mondegreens ." Sites featuring these often hilarious examples of misheard song lyrics offer proof, at last, that botching the words to popular songs is a nearly universal human failing.
-- Pamela LiCalzi O'Connell, "Sweet Slips Of the Ear: Mondegreens", New York Times , April 9, 1998

As we've observed, English is a slippery language, strewn with homonymic banana peels, slapstick mondegreens , and tongue twisters. Even fluent speakers of English constantly make mistakes.
-- Steve Rivkin and Fraser Sutherland, The Making of a Name: The Inside Story of the Brands We Buy

Origin:
Mondegreen was coined by Sylvia Wright, US writer, from the line 'laid him on the green' , interpreted as Lady Mondegreen , in a Scottish ballad.

Irreverant example:
I wonder if it was a ribald ballad? :lol:
Once I understood this mondegreen concept -I had to google Pledge of Allegiance - it immediately made me sit up like a vampire smelling a virgin's fear o' moons.
Though mondegreens are by definition non-deliberate, would a topic to collect them, either discovered or made up by the poster, have any success? Are there any objections I start such a thread?
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

BTW, my grandma's angoraphobia was no mondegreen.
It was a genuine, bona fide, deliberate attempt at poking pun at the Roving Punster.
(no typo either)
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

Mondegreen's appearance in WotD, was its absolute opening performance in IBDoF.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by Seresyn »

My favourite mondegreen would be a misheard lyric of an old high school friend. One evening he told me that he always thought AC/DC's "dirty deeds done dirt cheap" was in fact "dirty feet and the thunder chief." Was definitely good for a lengthy giggle.

I think a mondegreens thread would probably be entertaining, at the very least, and possibly worth quite a few laughs.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by Darb »

If I had a penny for every mondegreen I've heard over the years, I'd have a mondo mound of greens.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

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quixotic
\ kwik-SOT-ik \
adjective:
1.
Caught up in the romance of noble deeds and the pursuit of unreachable goals; foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals.
2.
Capricious; impulsive; unpredictable.
Quotes:
Some of his plans were quixotic and much too good for this world, but he never wavered in a cause that he considered just and he commanded the respect of all who opposed him.
-- "Dr. John Dewey Dead at 92; Philosopher a Noted Liberal", New York Times , June 2, 1952

He is buying up commercial buildings in his hometown of Archer City and filling them with used books -- hundreds of thousands of used books gathered from all over the country -- as part of a quixotic scheme to turn this sleepy rural community into a mecca for book lovers.
-- Mark Horowitz, "Larry McMurtry's Dream Job", New York Times , December 7, 1997
Note by EPS: McMurtry's efforts weren't all that quixotic, considering the worldwide proliferation of Book Towns.

I was amazed to learn that he didn't have much experience climbing mountains and that he wasn't intending to do any intensive training for his quixotic expedition.
-- Michael D. Eisner, Work in Progress

Origin:
Quixotic refers to the eccentric, generous idealism of Don Quixote of La Mancha, the hero of a satiric romance by Miguel de Cervantes.

Irreverant example:
1. The word itself is quixotic, it already appeared in the Word of the Day for Monday August 6, 2007

2. Charming but quixotic behavior is one of the salient characteristics of the Knights of The Wobbly Trestle-table, more commonly known as the Knights Errant. In "quixotic" one distinctly hears the word "sot", which tells the usual results of their copiously irrigated weekly meetings.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by Darb »

I always thought the pronunciation of that word was "key-hoe-tic", which I suppose illustrates the Quixotic nature of my self-imagined perspicacity. I'll double check with one of my Spanish-native friends on another site.

Meanwhile, I guess the former WOTD manager at Dic.com quit (or died, or was otherwise replaced recently), because the words have all been above average of late, with fewer of the erstwhile repeats. :thumb:
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

If you wish to pronounce it differently, then say "key-CHA-O-tick". That will leave a really quixotic impression, permanently.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by Darb »

That sounds suspiciously amerind ... are you a spy for the 7 nations, sent to scalp us and turn this site into an online casino ? ;)
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by Algot Runeman »

Ivan Caselevich pedaled rapidly in the bicycle's lowest gear, following the main group of riders by over three minutes with only seven kilometers to go. His attitude seemed quixotic because he had claimed to be a five time winner of the Tour de Siberia. However, he put his detractors to shame as he gradually shifted up through the gears, maintaining his high rotation rate and with 100 meters to go, passed the entire peloton at 80 kph going up the 14 degree grade. Nobody noticed the electric motors built into the hubs of the wheels which were fed by the ultra-efficient solar cell material which made up his riding suit and the buckminsterfullerine battery cells built into every tube of the cycle's frame.

For what it's worth, Ivan passed the drug tests after the race.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by Darb »

:worship:

I suppose it's be a quixotic endeavor at best to claim sun-doping ? ;)
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

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oleaginous
\ oh-lee-AJ-uh-nuhs \
adjective:
1.
Having the nature or qualities of oil.
2.
Containing oil.
3.
Producing oil.
4.
Unctuous; fawning; smarmy.
Quotes:
Oleaginous micro-organisms are considered an attractive alternative source of lipids due to the possibility of reducing the cost of production processes using inexpensive substrates, their ability to synthesize a range of different products, finding more efficacy and strain availability of genetic techniques for improvement.
-- Malena Valdivieso, "MicroBiOil: From Crude Glycerin to Biodiesel", Biodiesel Magazine

Therefore, we must dedicate massive resources to reach the former price, where oil becomes the oleaginous, messy, valueless liquid that it was before the industrial revolution.
-- Lyon Roth, "A green light unto the nations", Globes Online

Origin:
Oleaginous derives from the Latin oleaginus , "of the olive."

Irreverant example:
My grandma was fiercely faithful to grandpa. But she wasn't adverse to pretend to play the flirtation game with male admirers, though her ethics compelled her to never intentionally string them along - indeed she always unequivocally gave fair warning. But when she was unctuously approached by some smarmy man oleaginating up to her, she would connive with grandpa to get rid of the fawning fellow as soon as possible.

Note by EPS:
In deference to Darb's gentle hint,
Darb wrote:Meanwhile, I guess the former WOTD manager at Dic.com quit (or died, or was otherwise replaced recently), because the words have all been above average of late, with fewer of the erstwhile repeats.
I'll use recent WotDs plucked from there.

Nevertheless, I may still resurrect, as it were, a past WotD, if it suits my grandma. :P
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by Seresyn »

Thanks to BP, the Gulf is oleaginous right now, and it infuriates me. This is what happens when I think about it--> :evil: Unfortunately after reading the definition, that was all I could really think about!
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

Let us hope BP manages to contain it soon and that the *Gulf Stream* won't become affected. Western Europe too has had its share of oleaginous disasters.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by Algot Runeman »

The candy had a vaguely oleaginous flavor which probably came from the peanut oil Marge assumed was used during the preparation, but when Marge mentioned it to the clerk behind the counter, she got the distinct impression that he didn't care in spite of his oleaginous comment.

"Madam is certainly welcome to return the unused portion of the package. The company stands behind its products 100 percent, of course. Please fill out our six page, 8 point type, evaluation form and we'll happily return your purchase price."

The clerk neglected to mention that it was actually "fish" oil recently skimmed gathered from the Gulf of Mexico which was used in preparation.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

Algot Runeman wrote:
Please fill out our six page, 8 point type, evaluation form ...
Didn't that clerk specify whether it had to be Arial, Comic Sans MS, Consuelas or Plantagenet Cherokee True Type Font? And printed with oleaginous or hydrophile toner?
How wrude ...
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by Algot Runeman »

E.P.S - wrote:
Arial, Comic Sans MS, Consuelas or Plantagenet Cherokee True Type Font?
The aforementioned form stated clearly, in 6 point type at the end of page 4, that any information entered had to be written in copperplate hand using a freshly prepared goose quill nib.

It was the opinion of the company that soy ink was to be preferred because it preserved more petroleum for vehicular use, but that was an ongoing argument since one of the third cousins, twice removed, of a junior member of the company's board of directors suffered from ague at the mere mention of soy after her thirteenth birthday, when the family cook served soyburgers at the picnic where three of the 406 of her closest friends who attended became mildly discomfited from their consumption, ruining the cousin's entire day.

N.B. It was also preferred by the chairman of the board that the ink be freshly made using the 18th century formula combining a teaspoon each of copperas and tannic acid, a pinch of gum arabic, and a pint of rain or distilled water, but he was nearing retirement and had bigger plans for leaving a final imprint on the board. It might also be worth mentioning that the form had originally been written in Mandarin Chinese and subsequently translated to Arabic before being transcribed from a very water-stained copy by a Greek sailor who passed his work to the company's founder. The form, you see was the core document upon which the fortune's of the company had been based. In the 127 year history of the company, only two properly completed and submitted forms had happened. Lawyers were still appealing the validity of the second form, and the submitter of the first had suffered a fatal stroke after receiving notice of his form's acceptance. Such were the main reasons for the fortunes of the company since no income had ever been returned to dissatisfied customers. The company has thrived because of these multifarious oleagingous machinations.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

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goad
\ GOHD \
verb:
1.
To prick or drive with, or as if with, a goad; prod; incite.

noun:
1.
A stick with a pointed or electrically charged end, for driving cattle, oxen, etc.; prod.
2.
Anything that pricks or wounds like such a stick.
3.
Something that encourages, urges, or drives; a stimulus. Quotes:
The Lakers continue to beat the Suns at their own game. Phoenix entered the series hoping to goad the Lakers into playing at its hyper pace, and the Suns have managed to do that.
-- Sean Deveny, "Total control: Celtics, Lakers Look To Continue Domination" Sporting News

In one breath, the singer would playfully goad the audience, "You're quiet, New York, I'm here to wake you up."
-- Dan Aquilante, "'Rot' the house: Johnny still an easy PiL to swallow", New York Post

Origin:
Goad starts out in Old English as gad , "spearhead", and takes on a more figurative meaning as "to prod as if with a spear" in the 1600s.

Irreverant example:
My grandma, being only human, also had to have her teeth checked regularly. Usually they were okay, but one day, chewing on a buckshot pellet stuck in pheasant meat, she fractured a lower molar.

Her dentist had to apply a trunk anaesthetic to repair the tooth. After the treatment he warned her, "Madam, because of the injection half your lower lip and half your tongue are quite numb. Your speech is very much affected, so for the next three hours you should avoid speaking or letting anyone goad you into a conversation."

"Oh gay" agreed grandma.

"But don't worry, once the anaesthetic wears off, your speech will return to normal."

"Goad!" said grandma.

(you may have to ignore the error message and click a second time to start the YouTube video)
part 1, start watching this part at 05:00 minutes

part 2

part 3 (5 minutes)


Bill Cosby's dental experience
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by Algot Runeman »

Gus had a good idea. Well, at least he thought it so.

Wednesday afternoon about three-thirty, Gus gathered with a group of companions at the local bar. In itself, getting together at the bar on Wednesday was not unusual. However, Gus had also collected a few special items for this particular gathering. In the back of his pickup, there was a goat, an iron hoop tire from an old carriage left to decay behind the barn, a packing crate full of wine (some cheap European stuff labelled "Gwenevere"), a bushel of colorful gourds and the handle from a broken rake.

After a few rounds, Charlie convinced his buddies to help take everything from the pickup to the "lounge room", which was really just a back section of the bar with a couple of big posts marking the division from the main section of the bar.

Charlie put the iron hoop between the posts, tied the goat to both of them so it was standing in the metal ring. He arranged the bottles of wine so they were outside the ring and out of danger from the goat's hooves. Between each bottle and the ring, he placed a gourd (which just happened to be one of the goat's favorite treats.)

In turn Gus and each of his companions goosed the goat to goad the goat to grab a gourd (which it just couldn't reach, of course).

You know what they say, "The devil is in the details."

Goosed goats goaded for gourds generate gyrations which within the confines of the iron hoop called unexpected forces into play.

The iron began to glow and the floor of the bar began to smoke, obscuring the goat. A sudden gust greeted the gang and in the place the goat had stood a demonic figure now stood, one not constrained by shackles as the goat had been.

In semi unison, the group groaned and the bartender, a bystander to this point exclaimed, "Good God, Gus. Goading goats for gourds generates gruesome grief!"

Speaking in a suave voice, the diabolic figure requested refreshment. Gus, grasping the closest green bottle of Gwenevere passed it to the gaunt giant (who steamed slightly), and as the wine worked its way, the diabolic creature remarked, "I guess you were only having a bit of innocent fun, and this excellent vintage has cooled my rage in the most exquisite way" and he disappeared along with all the other bottles, the goat, the hoop, the rake handle. It wasn't until a few moments had passed that anyone was inclined to speak, thanking their personal deities (OMG was a common phrase heard). A few more rounds passed down everyone's gullet and nobody actually noticed that Gus, too, was gone.

I guess it's a gaffe to goad a goat for gourds, after all.

[If you want stories to make sense, it behooves you to avoid goading us for daily responses.]
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

Great Ghu! What a goading story!
Such a literary goal should earn you the Gothic Garter Belt Third Class, at least.
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