GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[laurie]

...and then dwindled to three as his comments wandered to the failure of the Red Sox to make the playoffs.

You had to mention that...

[Algot Runeman]

adulation

noun
[mass noun]
excessive admiration or praise: he found it difficult to cope with the adulation of the fans

Origin:
late Middle English: from Latin adulatio(n)-, from adulari 'fawn on'


Today is a good day on Flickr

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Ben basked in the adulation of his fans. He also basked in the sun on the beach as he dreamed those fans. He baked until he burned, and woke to the laughter of the girls walking by, pointing at and giggling about his roasted skin.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

adulation

Are you posting at 03:08 am? Insomnia, is it?

Maybe after a bit of adulation of Mister Sandman, you might get to sleep again?

[Algot Runeman]

E.P.S.

Some nights the dogs wake me in the middle, wanting to go out. Once awake, I'm frequently too wired to drop off. A little work at the computer, some reading...too often also a snack, and then back to get another hour or two. Generally up early anyway.

We need time to play with our words, you know.

[Algot Runeman]

mercerize

verb
[with object] (usually as adjective mercerized)
treat (cotton fabric or thread) under tension with caustic alkali to impart strength and lustre: shorts in white mercerized cotton

Origin:
mid 19th century: from the name of John Mercer (died 1866), said to have invented the process, + -ize


Timothy Valentine on Flickr

⚍⚎⚍⚎⚍⚎⚍⚎⚍⚎⚍⚎⚍⚎⚍⚎⚍⚎⚍⚎⚍⚎⚍⚎⚍⚎⚍⚎⚍⚎⚍⚎⚍⚎

Martin Ize went to the store to buy some goods. He got some mercerized thread for mending his pants, Simonize wax to shine his car, some alkalies to clear his drains, some colorfast dyes to decorate his T-shirts and some googly eyes which I surmise he wanted so he could better socialize in spite of his large size. Very wize!

[When it's over we hear the croud's sighs.]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

mercerize

"I beg you, my lord. Have mercy, please?" pleaded the poacher.

"Alright." replied his lordship, "We'll hang you with mercerised rope."

[/My feeble attempt at British humour.]

[Algot Runeman]

nacre

noun
mother-of-pearl.

Derivatives
nacreous
Pronunciation:/-krēəs/
adjective

Origin:
late 16th century: from French, of unknown origin


Penny Mayes on geograph.org.uk

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Bernice, the mother of Pearl, buttoned her blouse. Of course the buttons were actual nacre. She wouldn't have it any other way. Her husband was an oysterman on Chesapeake Bay.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

nacre

The edentulous but otherwise pretty young woman (+/- 35) wanted a dazzling nacreous smile à la Farah Fawcett. She asked me for new a denture to achieve this dream:

Spoiler: show

I told her that highly aesthetic teeth were quite feasible but ... unfortunately, to be able to bite and masticate, she would need a second set of much smaller but functional dentures.

[voralfred]

The edentulous but otherwise pretty young woman (+/- 35) wanted a dazzling nacreous smile à la Farah Fawcett. She asked me for new a denture to achieve this dream:
(...)

edentulous: This word deserves to be a WOTD by itself...

I must have missed something: do you mean that Farah Fawcett also hides a smaller but functional set of dentures?

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

I must have missed something: do you mean that Farah Fawcett also hides a smaller but functional set of dentures?

No, no, not at all.
I have no doubt that sadly mourned Farah had very nice natural teeth, or maybe chemically whitened or at most capped with porcelain facings or crowns.
It's just that I think that movie stars and public performers tend to take much better care of their teeth than the rest of the population. Carla Bruni for example, but I'm sure she takes good care of very much more than just her teeth.

An example very obvious to dentists: In his youth Tom Cruise must have lost an upper left first molar, causing his dental centre line to migrate to the left. Compare Tom Cruise before and after some drastic (and expensive) makeover.
Though I'm not sure whether they moved his teeth or modified his nose :
............... BEFORE ......................................... AFTER


They may also have surgically rotated his entire upper jaw. Eew!

[laurie]

I'm betting Nicole Kidman realigned his jaw before calling her divorce lawyer.

[Algot Runeman]

chaff[definition 2]

noun
lighthearted joking; banter.

verb
[with object]
tease.

Origin:
early 19th century: perhaps from chafe


ceoln on Flickr

☛☛☛☛☛☛☛☛☛☛☛ ☚☚☚☚☚☚☚☚☚☚

Hey, you're not supposed to cry, dummy! This chaff is just lighthearted, teasing banter, you fool! OMG, what a tool!

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

chaff
... This chaff is just lighthearted, teasing banter, ...

He said to his friend, who was driving him home from the dentist [and the dental anesthetic -numb upper lip- hadn't worn off yet]:

"Would you ffass by the drugstore, fflease, old chaff? I need chaffstick. Each year I have this annoying ffrovvlem of chaffed liffs, esffecially during ffrolonged fferiods of cold weather. And STOFF LAUGHING, you idiot!"

[muttering] "Damn sffeech imffediment! That fool druggist will surely sffout chaff at me too."

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

marina
Pronunciation: /məˈrēnə/

noun
a specially designed harbor with moorings for pleasure craft and small boats.

Origin:
early 19th century: from Italian or Spanish, feminine of marino, from Latin marinus (see marine)


Dan Park on Wikipedia



Martin munched the Arroz con mariscos in the marina at Cabo. The sun set, suddenly as it does anywhere near the tropics. Life was good.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

marina
... from Italian or Spanish, feminine of marino, from Latin marinus (see marine)

That one is easy.

Rocco Granata's Marina

[Algot Runeman]

maroon[definition 2]

verb
[with object]
leave (someone) trapped and isolated in an inaccessible place, especially an island: a novel about schoolboys marooned on a desert island

Origin:
early 18th century: from Maroon, originally in the form marooned 'lost in the wilds'


kahunapulej on Flickr

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/----<><><><><><><><><><><

Mary stepped silently over the log. She hoped her maroon blouse wouldn't catch the eye of the lizard basking in a sunny patch. She was always hungry, marooned as she was on this cursed island. She wished the cameras and the producer were available like on that stupid reality show, "Survivor." Then she could take their helicopter home.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

maroon
...

One can wonder why purée de marrons (chestnut puree) is *not* maroon?

[Algot Runeman]

aplomb

noun
self-confidence or assurance, especially when in a demanding situation: Diana passed the test with aplomb

Origin:
late 18th century (in the sense 'perpendicularity, steadiness'): from French, from à plomb 'according to a plummet'


earsaregood on Flickr

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Barbara showed more aplomb than Diana. Barbara was not fazed by holding the snake before her. Diana, on the other hand, passed her test with aplomb when she answered the question: "From what is a prune made?"

[voralfred]

maroon
...

One can wonder why purée de marrons (chestnut puree) is *not* maroon?

(...)

Because though it is called "purée de marrons", it is made out of "châtaignes" (chestnuts). So are "marrons glacés". "Marrons" (horse chesthuts) are not edible....

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Of course this reminds me of Mowgli and Kaa (click on the image to play the video)

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

... Diana, on the other hand, passed her test with aplomb when she answered the question: "From what is a prune made?"

Am I supposed to know what the answer is?
If this is an obscure reference, then it's completely opaque to me.

P.S.
Though prune makes me think of Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlett and company. And of course prune is also French for plum, pruim in Dutch.

In Dutch pruim, besides the name of a fruit, also means 'a prudish wrinkled old spinster', a 'Mrs Grundy'. I wonder if prune has the same connotation in English?

[Algot Runeman]

vexation

noun
the state of being annoyed, frustrated, or worried: Jenny bit her lip in vexation
something that causes annoyance, frustration, or worry: the cares and vexations of life

Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin vexatio(n-), from vexare (see vex)


nosuchsoul on Flickr

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Sid sidetracked his vexation at Albert. There was too much to do today to get off on a tangent. Tomorrow would provide time for both calm contemplation of the event and over-the-top anger if it should prove necessary.

[No doubt, the image is a sidetrack, too!]

[Algot Runeman]

E.P.S.,

A prune is dried from a variety of plum like a raisin from a grape. So, "From what is a prune made?" is properly answered, "A prune is made from a plum...(similar pronunciation: aplomb in U.S.)" You were on the right track, as always.

My "irreverent" comments on the WotD often involve the sounds of the words as they rattle in my brain. The result is an attempt to make a pun.

[laurie]

In Dutch pruim, besides the name of a fruit, also means 'a prudish wrinkled old spinster', a 'Mrs Grundy'. I wonder if prune has the same connotation in English?

Yes, it does, though it isn't used much anymore.

Neither is "Mrs. Grundy", poor dear...

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

... a plum...(similar pronunciation: aplomb in U.S.) ...

Ah, that explains why I didn't "get" it.

I always considered "aplomb" to be French, so, out loud AND in my mind, I pronounce it the French way. Of course the auditive pun was lost on me.

Thanks for explaining.