GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

ransack

Pronunciation /ˈransak/
verb
[with object]
1 Go through (a place) stealing things and causing damage.
1.1 Search (a place or receptacle) thoroughly, especially in such a way as to cause harm.

Origin
Middle English from Old Norse rannsaka, from rann ‘house’ + a second element related to sœkja ‘seek’.

==========

After ransacking the house, Sid ran with a sack full of loot (including a lute), jumping many a fence on the way to the fence.



[It may be clear to many that I ransack my brain to reveal the reality that words overlap.]

[voralfred]

Good luck with the common corona cold, voralfred. (said by someone who's mostly wearing masks anywhere indoors other than home...after Covid vaccine and booster.)

Thanks a lot. My wife and I also wear masks everywhere indoors but home, but taking care of our grand-daughter with masks was too hard on her. She was already missing her parents (on a "second-honeymoon" week-end), so not seeing faces she can at least relate to....
We will be eligible for the booster in just 3 more weeks, six months after the second shot. France authorities are absurd: they urge people above 65 to take the booster but won't let us get it even during the sixth month, only when it is completely over !

BTW, I did realize that you ransack your brain to give us a nice example each day. I also ransack mine, but most of the time, sœkjaing in the rann returns a blank...

[Algot Runeman]

donah

Pronunciation /ˈdəʊnə/
noun
(also dona)
informal, dated Australian, New Zealand
A woman or girlfriend.

Origin
Mid 19th century originally British slang, from Spanish doña or Portuguese dona, from Latin domina ‘mistress’.

==========

If your girlfriend is a too-close relative, I guess that makes her a blood donah.
[pun intended]

[Algot Runeman]

patchwork

Pronunciation /ˈpatʃwəːk/
noun
mass noun
1 Needlework in which small pieces of cloth in different designs, colors, or textures are sewn together.
1.1 The craft of sewing in which small pieces of cloth in different designs, colors, or textures are sewn together.
1.2 count noun - A thing composed of many different elements so as to appear variegated.

==========

The melting pot of our political dreams is more typically a patchwork of disparate communities butted up against one another.
[At the extreme, we get variegated (very gated) communities.]

[Algot Runeman]

moniker

Pronunciation /ˈmɒnɪkə/
noun
(also monicker)
informal
A name.

Origin
Mid 19th century of unknown origin.

==========

Recently pro teams are astir
Deciding to modify their moniker,
Taking, at last, full responsibility,
By removing those with an ethnic slur.



[The Cleveland, Ohio Major League Baseball team's change is just one example of the current trend. Last year the National Football League team from Washington, DC removed the "Redskins" moniker and have a temporary "Washington Football Team" placeholder while they decide on a new name.]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

moniker

If they all can handle a new moniker, there's no problem.
After all, what's in a name?

[Algot Runeman]

attacca

Pronunciation /əˈtakə/
verb
in imperative
A musical instruction used to indicate that the next section should follow without a pause.

Origin
Italian, literally ‘join, attach’.

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Life's events too often cram together, seeming to follow the musical attacca imperative. We wish that our symphony had an occasional rest.

[voralfred]

moniker

If they all can handle a new moniker, there's no problem.
After all, what's in a name?

"that whose monikaer is Bellucci
By any other name would look as beautiful ("belle" in French)".

[Algot Runeman]

synonym

Pronunciation /ˈsɪnənɪm/
noun
1 A word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language, for example shut is a synonym of close.
1.1 A person or thing so closely associated with a particular quality or idea that the mention of their name calls it to mind.
1.2 Biology A taxonomic name which has the same application as another, especially one which has been superseded and is no longer valid.

Origin
Late Middle English via Latin from Greek sunōnumon, neuter (used as a noun) of the adjective sunōnumos, from sun- ‘with’ + onoma ‘name’.

==========

For the record, "No" is not a synonym for "maybe".

*Says Bob (Rob, Robert, Robbie, Bobby, Roberto), harking back to moniker*:

Hail is not snow
As you probably know
Some things do match
While others we scratch
Dour can be a synonym
For when we're feeling grim.
But this rhyme's just silly
And, in context, frilly.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

synonym

Though handle actually is a synonym of moniker and nickname, I didn't mean to suggest today's WotD.

[Algot Runeman]

backronym

Pronunciation /ˈbakrənɪm/
noun
(also bacronym)
An acronym deliberately formed from a phrase whose initial letters spell out a particular word or words, either to create a memorable name or as a fanciful explanation of a word's origin.

Origin
1980s blend of back and acronym.

==========

UNIQUE is a potential bacronym of the Word of the Day effort.

(Unused, New, Intriguing, Quotable, Useful Example)



You should, however, realize that this supporting image is NOT a non fungible token (NFT) in spite of it's apparent singularity.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

backronym

Oh yes, SPECTRE is a rather infamous backronym in James Bond movies.

[voralfred]

MACHO (massive compact halo object) and WIMP (weakly interacting massive particle) are also backronyms, monikers for candidates for dark matter.
Who says (astro)physicists have no sense of humor ?

[Algot Runeman]

snicker

Pronunciation /ˈsnɪkə/
verb
[no object]
1 Give a half-suppressed, typically scornful laugh; snigger.
1.1 (of a horse) whinny.

noun
1 A half-suppressed, typically scornful laugh; a snigger.
1.1A whinny.

Origin
Late 17th century imitative.

==========

I think it should be stressed
That a laugh that's half suppressed
Is nowhere near as fun
As a bold and open one.

So snicker if you must
When a bad joke's just a bust.
Otherwise laugh with glee,
And let your joy burst free.



[Nobody has snickered in this forum topic since 2007. What readers have done in the privacy of their own homes is best left unexamined!]

[Algot Runeman]

tachometer

Pronunciation /taˈkɒmɪtə/
noun
An instrument which measures the working speed of an engine (especially in a road vehicle), typically in revolutions per minute.

==========

Maintaining an average city speed allows the engine to stay at a relatively low RPM (measured by the tachometer) and helps conserve gasoline.

[Algot Runeman]

napoo

Pronunciation /naˈpuː/
adjective
informal, dated British
Used to indicate that something is finished, ruined, or inoperative, or that someone is dead.

Origin
First World War representing a pronunciation of French il n'y en a plus or il n'y a plus ‘there is no more’.

==========

I'm afraid this engine is napoo. You may do better to look for new car.



[It is entirely coincidental that yesterday's word was tachometer...with advice to avoid over-stressing the engine with high RPMs.]

[Algot Runeman]

trinket

Pronunciation /ˈtrɪŋkɪt/
noun
A small ornament or item of jewellery that is of little value.

Origin
Mid 16th century of unknown origin.

*Roaming Gnome*

Our gnarly garden gnome
Has no great wish to roam,
But Sue decided she would shrink it
So she could wear it as a trinket.

Around the town each day,
Or at the park to play,
Gone to the sandy beach,
He's certainly extended his reach.

[Algot Runeman]

thinglet

noun
rare
A little thing; a diminutive object or creature.

Origin
Mid 19th century; earliest use found in Thomas Moore.

==========

Thad thought he had lost the thinglet, but it showed up in the back corner of the center desk drawer.



[Yesterday's trinket, the reduced and portable garden gnome, probably qualifies as a thinglet as well, leading to this day being "minimum Monday", as in the minimum effort of making a new illustration.]

[Algot Runeman]

vitrine

Pronunciation /ˈvɪtriːn/
noun
A glass display case.

Origin
French, from vitre ‘glass pane’.

==========

The museum chose to display the glass in a vitrine. The curator, Bob, thought it was cute.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

vitrine

Actually vitrine is not derived from French, it *is* French!

But in (belgian) French and in Flemish the meaning is not so much a glass display case, but usually a storefront window pane.

[Algot Runeman]

But in (belgian) French and in Flemish the meaning is not so much a glass display case, but usually a storefront window pane.

Leading us to the enjoyable season of walking through the retail district for vitrine shopping?

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Leading us to the enjoyable season of walking through the retail district for vitrine shopping?

That's called "vitrine licking" ... sometimes combined with virtual slobbering ...

[Algot Runeman]

hygge

noun
mass noun
A quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture)
Pronunciation
/ˈh(j)uːɡə/ /ˈhʊɡə/

Origin
Danish, from Norwegian.

=========

Gathering with family can bring on hygge, if the family is actually close.

[Algot Runeman]

interject

Pronunciation /ˌɪntəˈdʒɛkt/
verb
[with object]
Say (something) abruptly, especially as an aside or interruption.

Origin
Late 16th century from Latin interject- ‘interposed’, from the verb interjicere, from inter- ‘between’ + jacere ‘to throw’.

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"Wait!" interjected Andrew loudly. Hubbub subsided and all twenty guests turned to him.



(What happened next, is yours to write. These daily donations are writing prompts, after all.)

[Algot Runeman]

enthusiast

Pronunciation /ɪnˈθjuːzɪast/ /ɛnˈθjuːzɪast/
noun
1 A person who is very interested in a particular activity or subject.
2 archaic, derogatory A person of intense and visionary Christian views.

Origin
Mid 16th century (referring to a person believing that he or she is divinely inspired): via late Latin enthusiasta ‘kind of heretic’ from Greek enthousiastēs ‘person inspired by a god’, from enthousiazein (see enthusiasm).

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Alicia is an enthusiast,
Enjoying study of the past.
It, therefore, may be good enough
To say that she's a history buff.