GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

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Algot Runeman
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Algot Runeman »

Thanks, Darb, for the daily dictionary double dip you have offered us.

In many western stories, there are usually a bunch of rude cullions among the hired hands of the villainous rancher who disdains the "farmers" who have moved into town.

Cullions rarely ride stallions, though the hero frequently does. Is it because he, like his horse, is a stud?
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

Darb wrote:ALTERNATE Word of the Day, for Jan 13th, 2010 (since lapidary is a repeat)

Cullion...
Spelling and meaning of cullion remind me of the french word couillon ...
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=57155
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Darb »

Interesting how the word seems to be a bit stronger in English (re: base/vile) than in French (unsophistocated/uncouth, sometimes with affectionate/bemused overtones of being a social simpleton). In the realm of comedy, Andrew Dice Clay and Sam Kinnison might be examples of the former, and Homer Simpson might be an example of the latter.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by voralfred »

I confirm that "couillon" in French does not usually mean base/vile, but rather harmlessly idiotic. Often indeed there would be affectionate/bemused overtones, sometimes exasperation, but rarely outright hostility. A "couillon" is often a sucker, too, but not necessarily. Goha/Djohe, aka Nasseredine Hodja, and The Good Soldier Švejk are "couillons".
Ben Stiller often plays "couillons". In "Meet the parents" in particular.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

Flemish adopted the word couillon.
But in Flanders it means: bully, pest ... i.e. a person who bullies, pests, torments or plagues people.
That's why
E Pericoloso Sporgersi wrote:Spelling and meaning of cullion remind me of the french word couillon ...
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by CodeBlower »

voralfred wrote:I confirm that "couillon" in French does not usually mean base/vile, but rather harmlessly idiotic.
Darb wrote:Cullion

Origin:
1350–1400; ME culyon, coil(i)on < AF, MF coillon worthless fellow, lit., testicle < VL *cōleōnem, acc. of *cōleō, for L cōleī (pl.) testicles, scrotum
I often wondered where we got the term "nut-job" ..
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Darb »

I suppose Ralph Rotten qualifies as a cuillon then.

Image

Doesn't sound very appetizing to me. :shock:
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Ghost »

Word of the Day Thursday, January 14, 2010

draconian
\dray-KOHN-ee-uhn; druh-\ , adjective; 1. Pertaining to Draco, a lawgiver of Athens, 621 B.C. 2. Excessively harsh; severe.

It was drizzling outside Friday as the governor was unveiling his budget with its painful program cuts that even he called draconian.
-- George Skelton, "The worst budget mess ever", Los Angeles Times, January 11, 2010

In October 1996 Allen publicly admitted that his draconian cost-cutting campaign had had devastating effects on Delta's workforce.
-- Daniel Goleman, Working with Emotional Intelligence

The most straightforward solution would be a draconian crackdown on all unrest -- curfews, house-to-house searches, firing on armed rioters, mass internment, widespread use of capital punishment for terrorists, and so on.
-- John O'Sullivan, "Dangerous Restraint", National Review, April 6, 2004

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Draconian refers to a code of laws made by Draco. Their measures were so severe that they were said to be written in blood.
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Darb »

The decreased rate of virgin sacrifice (which the human communities surrounding the dragon lair had initiated as part of their draconian cost-cutting measures), had the double benefit of having a dragon population-cutting effect.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Ghost »

Word of the Day Friday, January 15, 2010

pallid
\PAL-id\ , adjective; 1. Having an abnormally pale or wan complexion. 2. Lacking intensity of color or luminousness. 3. Lacking in vitality or interest.

The beam was dim by the time it reached the far wall, but the light was enough to illuminate the shape of a pallid and ghostly face, staring back at them through lifeless sockets.
-- Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol

She is a tall, languid young lady with a pallid, oval face and beautiful pale-blue-gray eyes; her hands are extraordinary--long-fingered, flexible, nervously elegant.
-- Truman Capote, In Cold Blood

Between them the ground was bare and the naked chalk showed a pallid, dirty white under the cream-colored elder bloom.
-- Richard Adams, Watership Down: A Novel

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Pallid is from Latin pallidus "pale," from root of pallere "be pale".
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Algot Runeman »

Mark walked slowly along beside the concrete embankment. It was the twentieth place he had tried, and he was getting discouraged. Somewhere in this city, his uncle was living outdoors, homeless. The landlord of his uncle's last apartment had told him to try looking in homeless shelters.

Mark called out "Uncle Joe, It's Mark. Are you here?"

Pallid faces appeared from within makeshift constructions of cardboard and pallets. Some of the structures approached the description of a tiny shack. The biggest place was in a corner of the embankment where two roadbeds crossed above. It actually had some heating pipe with a bit smoke coming from the top. Mark reached the structure and knocked on the frame of a tarp covered doorway. Grizzled beard and flyaway hair surrounded a mostly clean, broad face as the tarp pulled aside.

"Ain't nobody named Joe in this place now," said the surprisingly clear and deep voice. "Was, couple of weeks back. Tall, skinny guy with blond hair cropped short."

"Too bad. That sounds like my uncle, Joe. Any chance he said where he was going?"

"Naw, didn't talk much even while he was here. Left in the middle of the night without stopping for even a cup of coffee. This shack doubles as a kitchen for this place."

Mark's shoulders slumped after a shrug, and reached into his pocket, drawing out a folded paper with his name and address on it. He added a $50 bill and handed it to the big man.

"Just in case he comes back, tell him to call. Make a pot of coffee and some sandwiches from that. Maybe pay back a bit for the time Uncle Joe was here."

The big man took the money and paper, mumbled a sound of thanks and withdrew into the shack. Mark heard someone speak quietly inside, and Mark turned and walked up to the road. It was a big city. There were many homeless making the best of a bad thing by banding together like this. Mark gritted his teeth and quickened his pace. He was determined to find Uncle Joe before Christmas.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Darb »

I was all set to cobble together an amusing piece about a destitute vampire who was looking pallid because he'd tried to turn vegan ... but not only did you beat me to the punch, but you did a FAR better job of it.

/me crumples lesser idea and shoots it into dustbin for zero (0) points.

Well done, Algot. :)
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by voralfred »

Darb went pallid with indignation! The flagitious cullions at Dictionary dot com had done it again. And adding insult to injury, the hypocritical rapscallions did not even have the gut to use twice the very same word. But if the served pallor on May 23, 2005 and pallid today, why not use torpid within a few weeks as well as torpor just a few days ago. To say nothing of the fact that May 17th 2007 was already "flagitious day". Draconian measures mut be taken. Soon.

I know Algot was faster. But often I have absolutely no idea, so whenever I have one, I put my piece in whether I am the first one or not. I do this as a sign that I appreciate Ghost's effort to keep this thread running, to show my interest. Should I rather desist from posting when I a not the first one to do so?
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Darb »

Should I rather desist from posting when I a not the first one to do so?
Oh, by all means post away ... the more the merrier !

I only crumpled my own humor tidbit because it would have been a poor segue coming on the heels of a heart-wrenching reality-tinged post. No great loss on my part. ;)
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Algot Runeman »

Darb wrote:heart-wrenching reality-tinged post
The fiction written about homelessness is, unfortunately, a reality for people who may not be named Mark and Uncle Joe.

Let me repeat the wish that everyone post, whether first, second or thirty-third.

Do not let a bit of fiction prevent any contribution. Most of what I have written as contributions to the WotD has been light and typically frivolous. Pallid puns, painful puns, putrid puns, mainly. WotD is a game of word play, yes?

Never be tempted to take what I write too seriously here. Do not let one post prevent a different one.

Speaking of posts: When one digs a hole in the rich soil of a chick pea field, planning to put a post in it, does a shovel-sliced worm in the dirt become post humus? [Or alternatively, posthumous or post hummus]
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

Algot Runeman wrote:... does a shovel-sliced worm in the dirt become post humus? [Or alternatively, posthumous or post hummus]
No. There's nothing post or past about it. Nor humorous.
The worm's front part grows a new rear end and its rear part grows a new front end.
Though the latter may appear to be an oxymoron.

This is a rare case of "happy end" AND "happy front" too.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Darb »

A deathly torpid Vlad Dracul, after having been nearly destroyed first by drinking from a dangerous dyslexic Dryad (back on page 22ish of this thread), then by having been exposed to a near lethal dose of photonic radiation by a crazed French sub-atomic physicist, and then afterwards dabbling with a misguided self-loathing brush with ethical veganism, was looking decided pallid, if not downright skeletal. Draconian measures were in order if he were to survive, and so he headed off in the direction of a nearby blood bank ... and if an inattentive but otherwise sanguine couillon happened across his path, while passing through the most delapidated part of the city, it would be a flagitious feast for his long famished fangs.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by CodeBlower »

Darb wrote:The decreased rate of virgin sacrifice (which the human communities surrounding the dragon lair had put into effect as part of their draconian cost-cutting measures), was slowly having the desired effect of decreasing the dragon population.
I quite enjoyed this one.

Being a state employee for several years now, I'm used to "draconian cost-cutting measures" .. and their consequences.


.. and then Algot went all serious on me .. ;)


I'll follow-up on VorAlfred's comments by saying that I appreciate the opportunity to practice my less-than-polished schtick now and then .. in the presence of all you master punsters ..

- - -

The Wolfman knocked on his pallid pal's lid. The Count peered out with a merry "Good evening!"
"Budge up, yeh great lump." -- Hagrid, HP:SS
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The gelding is what the gelding is, unlike people who change in response to their perceptions of events that may benefit or threaten their power. -- Lorn, Chapter LXXXII, Magi'i of Cyador
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Darb »

I've since tweaked it a bit, for the better I think.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Ghost »

Word of the Day Tuesday, January 19, 2010

perambulate
\puh-RAM-byuh-layt\ , intransitive verb; 1. To walk about; to roam; to stroll; as, "he perambulated in the park."
transitive verb: 1. To walk through or over. 2. To travel over for the purpose of surveying or inspecting.

Every weekend, the police close off ten to fifteen blocks of some Manhattan avenue. The merchants line the curbs, and the New Yorkers slowly perambulate up and down.
-- Richard Brookhiser, "Island Bazaar", National Review, July 1, 2002

At Syon, we perambulate a succession of rooms of the greatest magnificence, beginning with the entrance hall, with an apse of columns -- characteristic of Adam, all dazzling whiteness.
-- A. L. Rowse, "At Home with History in London", New York Times, January 19, 1986

If you don't like boats -- and it's surprising how many people who come here don't like boats -- you can perambulate the shoreline, take a swim, sit in the lounge and read, or do nothing more than sit on the dock
-- Eric Kraft, Leaving Small's Hotel

She liked to perambulate the room with a duster in her hand, with which she stopped to polish the backs of already lustrous books, musing and romancing as she did so.
-- Virginia Woolf, Night and Day

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perambulate comes from Latin per-, "through" + ambulare, "to walk." The noun form is perambulation.
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Algot Runeman »

When he wasn't attempting a "nap" on the park bench, the man, dressed in several layers of cloth, some layers of newspaper and a hat with ear flaps, perambulated from one end of the park to the other. He hoped to be ignored by the men in blue and the ladies in furs. The slowly settling flakes of snow made him pick up his pace, heading to the bus station. He wasn't planning a trip; it was his destination. Some benches there were almost comfortable, and he could usually get an hour of warmth before the staff rousted him back into the park. He actually hoped it would continue to snow. Clear nights in January let the temperature plummet. Maybe tonight would force him to go to housing; too many others, too close.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by CodeBlower »

Guess I was reading that wrong! I thought perambulate was pronounced PURR-am-byuh-layt ..

.. I was trying to picture a cat in an emergency-vehicle, headed to the hospital ..

(I got nuthin'.)
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Darb »

The athletes perambulated around the stadium during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics, proudly sporting the colors and flag of the nations they represented ... while the pallid spectators and camera crews, most of them badly jet-lagged and used to far warmer climes, shivered and stamped their feet against the cold.
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Ghost »

Word of the Day Wednesday, January 20, 2010

lacuna
\luh-KYOO-nuh\ , noun; plural lacunae \luh-KYOO-nee\ or lacunas 1. A blank space; a missing part; a gap. 2. (Biology) A small opening, depression, or cavity in an anatomical structure.

Like most other writers of his generation, he was a profoundly apolitical being, not from any lacuna in his education but as a matter of principle.
-- Walter Laqueur, "The Artist in Politics", New York Times, May 15, 1983

Between the time of my first memory . . . and my second and third memories, I remember nothing. The lacunae of these years I've been able to fill sketchily from the entries in my baby book, which notes such incidents as my first smile.
-- Jaime Manrique, Eminent Maricones

The exodus of wives, relatives, friends and hangers-on had left a big howling lacuna which wrapped the homestead in webs of glorious nostalgia.
-- Moses Isegawa, Abyssinian Chronicles

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lacuna is from the Latin lacuna, "a cavity, a hollow," from lacus, "a hollow."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
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Re: GAME: Word of the Day

Post by Algot Runeman »

I had an immediate "big idea" for this one, but then .....................................so I gave up. Oh, well.

In spite of that, I appear to have been promoted to "Literature Addict"; but please understand, I never inhaled*.

*
Spoiler: show
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