GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

A home for our "Off-Topic" Chats. Like to play games? Tell jokes? Shoot the breeze about nothing at all ? Here is the place where you can hang out with the IBDoF Peanut Gallery and have some fun.

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Ghost
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Post by Ghost »

Word of the Day for Monday November 14, 2005

aplomb
\uh-PLOM\, noun: Assurance of manner or of action; self-possession; confidence; coolness.

Then, unexpectedly, she picked up a microphone and began to sing. She sang several songs, handling herself with the aplomb of a professional entertainer.
--"Rediscovering Japanese Life at a Bike's Pace," New York Times, April 24, 1988

For all the slings and arrows, he seems almost preternaturally good-natured; set upon by a group of drunken revelers at dinner in Des Moines, . . . he weathers their boozy blandishments and inevitable potato jokes with admirable grace and aplomb.
--"Quayle Running Against His Own Image," Los Angeles Times, August 1, 1999

His initial broadcasting success was due at least as much to his considerable professional aplomb as it was to his father's broadcasting connections.
--John A. Jackson, American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock 'n' Roll Empire

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Aplomb is from the French word meaning "perpendicularity, equilibrium, steadiness, assurance," from the Old French phrase a plomb, from a, "according to" (from Latin ad) + plomb, "lead weight" (from Latin plumbum, "lead").
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,
S Adams
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Word of the Day for Tuesday November 15, 2005

kobold
\KOH-bold\, noun: ÊIn German folklore, a haunting spirit, gnome, or goblin.

Witch, kobold, sprite. . . and imp of every kind.
--A. J. Symington

This world and the other, too, are always present to his mind, and there in the corner is the little black kobold of a doubt making mouths at him.
--James Russell Lowell, Among My Books

The Kobolds were a species of gnomes, who haunted the dark and solitary places, and were often seen in the mines.
--Sir Walter Scott, Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft

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Kobold comes from Middle High German kobolt, "goblin."


Trivia: Cobalt, the metal, "the goblin of the mines," was named by those who had to work it after the kobold, since the ore contains arsenic, which made the miners ill.
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,
S Adams
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Word of the Day for Wednesday November 16, 2005

prestidigitation
\pres-tuh-dij-uh-TAY-shuhn\, noun: Skill in or performance of tricks; sleight of hand.

He was the man who had sat alone in a room for hundreds and hundreds of hours, his fingers manipulating cards and coins until he had learned and could perfectly reproduce every form of prestidigitation found in books of magic lore.
-- Brian Moore, The Magician's Wife

Some modern readers may be less surprised to find that efforts to use accounting prestidigitation to deflect borrowing away from current expenditure speedily came unstuck and that a return to more conventional ideas of financial integrity was rewarded by what seems to be a generation of calm, not entirely due to gaps in the record.
--Peter Rycraft, "Fiscalitat i deute public en dues viles del camp de Tarragona: Reus i Valls, segles," English Historical Review, November 2002

One of his magician friends told me that practitioners of prestidigitation have great respect for their fellow magicians who also hold forth behind the bar.
--Gary Regan, "Tricks and treats: cast a mystical spell on guests with a magician bartender," Nation's Restaurant News, March 3, 2003

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Prestidigitation was adopted from French, from preste, "nimble, quick" (from Italian presto, from Late Latin praestus, "ready at hand") + Latin digitus, "finger." One skilled in sleight of hand is a prestidigitator.
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,
S Adams
felonius
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Post by felonius »

With a devilish grin, stunning aplomb and an endearing tilt of the eyebrow, the kobold instantly produced a heroically-sized mushroom from within the soft folds of his blue-green tunic and held it aloft, breaking into laughter as he did so.

"Bravo!" crowed Syd Barrett. "Masterful prestidigitation, my fine little friend!"


http://www.lyricstime.com/pink-floyd-th ... yrics.html

http://www.geocities.com/julienindica/lit.html
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Word of the Day for Thursday November 17, 2005

rubicund
\ROO-bih-kund\, adjective: Inclining to redness; ruddy; red.

The men are second cousins, around forty, resembling each other not very much, one taller and leaner, less rubicund than the other, who has just returned from California.
--John Lukacs, A Thread of Years

Rubicund from his cocktail, big, broad, lustrous with power, he exuded what Walter Pater called the "charm of an exquisite character, felt in some way to be inseparable from his person."
--Edmund Morris, Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan

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Rubicund comes from Latin rubicundus, "red, ruddy," from rubere, "to be red."
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,
S Adams
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Word of the Day for Friday November 18, 2005

lambent
\LAM-buhnt\, adjective: 1. Playing lightly on or over a surface; flickering; as, "a lambent flame; lambent shadows." 2. Softly bright or radiant; luminous; as, "a lambent light." 3. Light and brilliant; as, "a lambent style; lambent wit."

I have an image in my mind of the soaring vault rising and disappearing into the gray-white silence, the niches in the salt walls where the saints dwelled, the few points of lambent gold glimmering feebly on the altar.
--Richard O'Mara, "The Unapologetic Tourist," New York Times, November 21, 1999

There, in the lambent glow of flashlight or lantern, you find the fragile rock walls covered with thousand-year-old paintings illustrating the life of the Buddha and his teachings.
--Michael O'Sullivan, "The Cave as Canvas: Hidden Images of Worship Along the Silk Road," Washington Post, January 4, 2002

Across the plaza, the lambent moonlight cast shadows on a former convent's facade of saints and angels.
--Stephen Benz, "Our Mailman in Havana," Washington Post, November 19, 2000

She wanted to tell him how she felt and feel that lambent look that was better than sunshine, his look of offering all that was in him.
--Anna Shapiro, "The Scourge," USA Today, July 23, 2001

It [the opera] is also sumptuously orchestrated, gracefully written for the singers, well-suited to the stage action, deeply felt yet tasteful in expression, and, at its best, a lambent, shimmering creation, full of beauty and nuance.
--Tim Page, "Appealing 'Dangerous Liaisons,'" Newsday, September 12, 1994

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Lambent is from the present participle of Latin lambere,"to lick."
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,
S Adams
Darb
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Post by Darb »

In the lambent light of a flickering oil lamp, the lamb bent down and licked the rubicund face of her newborn kid.

Farmer Luigi, meanwhile (who was both lame and also on the lam), was feeling a bit bent out of shape. In fact, the rubescent glow of his apoplectic rage was positively lambent on his face.

Even though the torrential rains had stopped, the rubiginous rubicon was in full flood, and soon, both the farmer, and his lambs, would be swallowed whole.

The farmer shook his fists in helpless rage at the lambent sunset, and cursed the Gods.
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Word of the Day for Monday November 21, 2005

subterfuge
\SUB-tur-fyooj\, noun: A deceptive device or stratagem.

In the end, however, all the stealth and subterfuge were for naught, as the young publicity agent couldn't keep the secret.
--Larry Tye, The Father of Spin

She has also complained . . . that the reporter used subterfuge to interview her, pretending to be the mother of an inmate.
--Roy Greenslade, "Filthy rags," The Guardian, January 11, 2001

He is adept at subterfuge, at gaining entry to factories by masquerading as a laborer, a wholesaler, an exporter.
--Jonathan Silvers, "Child Labor in Pakistan," The Atlantic, February 1996

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Subterfuge comes from Late Latin subterfugium, "a secret flight," from Latin subterfugere, "to flee in secret, to evade," from subter, "underneath, underhand, in secret" + fugere, "to flee." It is related to fugitive, one who flees.
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,
S Adams
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Word of the Day for Tuesday November 22, 2005

maelstrom
\MAYL-struhm\, noun: 1. A large, powerful, or destructive whirlpool. 2. Something resembling a maelstrom; a violent, disordered, or turbulent state of affairs.

The murk became thicker as Zachareesi fishtailed his canoe through a swirling maelstrom of currents pouring past, and over, unseen rocks.
--Farley Mowat, The Farfarers

Suddenly, the Serb cause was thrust into the maelstrom of the Napoleonic Wars.
--Misha Glenny, The Balkans

Always at the center of a maelstrom of activity and contention, he provided good columns for the press.
--Arthur Lennig, Stroheim

Like Captain Ahab, the monomaniacal Harmon draws everyone around him into a maelstrom of trouble.
--John Motyka, review of The Dogs of Winter, by Kem Nunn, New York Times, March 23, 1997

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Maelstrom comes from obsolete Dutch maelstroom, from malen, "to grind, hence to whirl round," + stroom, "stream."
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,
S Adams
Aunflin
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Post by Aunflin »

After I'd succumbed to Martin's malicious subterfuge, I found myself sucked into a maelstrom of lies and deception. :cry:
"A writer's chosen task is to write well and professionally. If you can't keep doing it, then you're no longer a professional, but a gifted amateur." L. E. Modessit, jr.
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Winship
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Post by Winship »

His lambent nature was in fact a carefully crafted subterfuge to hide the maelstrom of emotions that churned beneath.
"We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."
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Word of the Day for Monday November 28, 2005

lassitude
\LASS-uh-tood; LASS-uh-tyood\, noun: Lack of vitality or energy; weariness; listlessness.

The feverish excitement . . . had given place to a dull, regretful lassitude.
--George Eliot, Romola

A long exercise of the mental powers induces a remarkable lassitude of the whole body.
--Edmund Burke, A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful

She felt aged, in deep lassitude and numb despair, and regretted not marrying Mai Dong before he left for the front.
--Ha Jin, Waiting

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Lassitude is from Latin lassitudo, from lassus, "weary, exhausted."
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,
S Adams
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Word of the Day for Tuesday November 29, 2005

billet-doux
\bil-ay-DOO\, noun; plural billets-doux \bil-ay-DOO(Z)\: A love letter or note.

Perhaps she just looked first into the bouquet, to see whether there was a billet-doux hidden among the flowers; but there was no letter.
--William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair

Young lovers in Victorian England, forbidden to express their affection in public and fearful that strict parents would intercept their billets-doux, sent coded messages through the personal columns in newspapers.
--Susan Adams, "I've got a secret,"Forbes, September 20, 1999

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In French, billet-doux means "sweet note" or "short note" (billet, "note" + doux, "sweet," from Latin dulcis).
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,
S Adams
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Word of the Day for Wednesday November 30, 2005

wheedle
\HWEE-d'l; WEE-d'l\, transitive verb: 1. To entice by soft words or flattery; to coax. 2. To gain or get by flattery or guile.

intransitive verb: To flatter; to use soft words.

Editors who wished to carry original work rather than reprints found it necessary to wheedle contributions from readers by decrying inexperience as a reason for not taking up the pen and by offering prizes for submissions.
-- Ronald Weber, Hired Pens

When Wayne and I first moved here, the settlers living within twenty miles were consumed with curiosity about our relationship, and one of 'em tried to wheedle a little matrimonial information out of me.
--Christine Wiltz, The Last Madam

He knew what it looked like to seduce, to intimidate, to wheedle, and to console; to strike a pose or preach a sermon.
--Simon Schama, Rembrandt's Eyes

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The origin of wheedle is uncertain; it is perhaps from Old English wædlian, "to beg, to be a beggar," from wædl, "want, poverty."
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,
S Adams
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Word of the Day for Thursday December 1, 2005

alfresco
\al-FRES-koh\, adverb: In the open air; outdoors.

adjective: Taking place or located in the open air; outdoor.

Turner escaped from the entangled politics of London's art world, where the Royal Academy was marooned in petty disputes, to paint alfresco on the riverbanks.
--Siri Huntoon, "Down by the Riverside," New York Times, November 7, 1993

Outdoor sitting areas all have LAN connections, so that employees can work alfresco.
--Scott Kirsner, "Digital Competition - Laurie A. Tucker," Fast Company, December 1999

I sailed past alfresco cafes filled with young people reading the paper, past restaurants doing a thriving brunch business, and ended up dropping down a fairly steep hill to the water yet again, on an obscure street that ended near a big factory.
--Gary Kamiya, "An ode to Sydney," Salon, September 27, 2000

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Alfresco is from the Italian al fresco, "in the fresh (air)," from al, "in the" (a, "to, in" + il, "the") + fresco, "fresh."
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,
S Adams
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Word of the Day for Friday December 2, 2005

redivivus
\red-uh-VY-vuhs; -VEE-\, adjective: Living again; brought back to life; revived; restored.

Augustine redivivus, R. contends, would find in the history of the present century confirmation of his pessimistic views of human nature.
--Roland J. Teske, "Augustine: Ancient Thought Baptized," Theological Studies, June 1, 1995

She is the young Magda redivivus to the last degree, including the way she arches her eyebrow when she speaks.
--Judith Dunford, "Exit Laughing," Newsday, May 8, 1994

As for Neeson -- of the nose-heavy, asymmetrical countenance and shrewdly darting, soul-searching eyes, he is a lopsided Gary Cooper redivivus -- hardly something to sneeze at.
--John Simon, "Michael Collins," National Review, November 25, 1996

Paulson appears as a Hogarth redivivus, promulgating his views with the same antiacademic and self-protective motivations he finds in Hogarth's rationale for writing the Analysis.
--Therese Dolan, "The Beautiful, Novel, and Strange: Aesthetics and Heterodoxy," The Art Bulletin, March 1, 1998

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Redivivus comes from Latin, from the prefix red-, re-, "again" + vivus, "alive."

Usage note: Redivivus is used postpositively -- that is, after the noun it modifies.
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,
S Adams
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Word of the Day for Monday December 5, 2005

panache
\puh-NASH; -NAHSH\, noun: 1. Dash or flamboyance in manner or style. 2. A plume or bunch of feathers, esp. such a bunch worn on the helmet; any military plume, or ornamental group of feathers.

Dessert included a marvelous bread pudding and a fair bananas Foster, the old-time New Orleans dish, which was prepared with great panache tableside, complete with a flambé moment.
--Eric Asimov, "New Orleans, a City of Serious Eaters." New York Times, July 4, 1999

It is... an inevitable hit, a galvanizing eruption of energy, panache and arrogantly sure-footed stagecraft that comes at a time when theatrical dance is in the doldrums.
--Terry Teachout and William Tynan, "Seamy and Steamy." Time, January 25, 1999

Although Black didn't have many friends and was not among the school's leaders, he was likeable, had panache, and his contemptuous tirades were rarely taken at face value.
--Richard Siklos, Shades of Black: Conrad Black and the World's Fastest Growing Press Empire

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Panache is from the French, from Medieval French pennache, from Italian pinnacchio, "feather," from Late Latin pinnaculum, diminutive of penna, "feather." It is related to pen, originally a feather or quill used for writing.
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,
S Adams
Darb
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Post by Darb »

The count's up to 6, you tossers ... somebody show some panache and hit it outta the park.
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Ghost
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Post by Ghost »

This thread replicates lassitude, apathetic posters who couldn’t or won’t compose a billet-doux to wheedle their lover into a panache engagement at an alfresco setting, enjoying a little wine and cheese, taking pleasure in the sweet music of nature, and sparking their love life ala Romeo and Juliet redivivus.

:wink:
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,
S Adams
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Word of the Day for Tuesday December 6, 2005

logorrhea
\law-guh-REE-uh\, noun: Excessive talkativeness or wordiness.

By his own measure, he is a man of many contradictions, beginning with the fact that he is famous as a listener but suffers from "a touch of logorrhea." He is so voluble that one wonders how his subjects get a word in edgewise.
--Mel Gussow, "Listener, Talker, Now Literary Lion: It's Official." New York Times, June 17, 1997

It's also not good if your date has logorrhea.
--Monte Williams, "8 Minutes in the Life of a Jewish Single: Not Attracted? Next!" New York Times, March 5, 2000

Mr. King, who possesses an enviable superabundance of imagination, suffers from a less enviable logorrhea.
--Michele Slung, "Scare Tactics." New York Times, May 10, 1981

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Logorrhea is derived from Greek logos, "word" + rhein, "to flow."



/ AKA diarrhea of the mouth. :mrgreen:
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,
S Adams
felonius
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Post by felonius »

/ AKA diarrhea of the mouth.
Or the evil twin of loquacious. :lol:
Mr. King, who possesses an enviable superabundance of imagination, suffers from a less enviable logorrhea.
--Michele Slung, "Scare Tactics." New York Times, May 10, 1981
I remember once reading Stephen King describe himself as a sufferer of "diarrhea of the word processor."

At least he doesn't have any
(delusions)
of grandeur or anything. :wink:
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Word of the Day for Wednesday December 7, 2005

assiduous
\uh-SIJ-oo-uhs\, adjective: 1. Constant in application or attention; devoted; attentive. 2. Performed with constant diligence or attention; unremitting; persistent; as, "assiduous labor."

"I can scarcely find time to write you even a Love Letter," Samuel Adams, an assiduous committeeman, wrote his wife in early 1776.
--Pauline Maier, American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence

But he was assiduous in visiting the sick and the poor, however remote their farms and cottages.
--Jan Morris, "With God where the cuckoos sing," Independent, November 23, 1996

But he was a man who by assiduous reading, through his devotion to literature, had become the quintessential successful gentleman, a man who could hold his own with the most cultivated companions.
--Milton Gould, quoted in "For Cooke, a Lasting Memorial," by Peter Finn and Richard Justice, Washington Post, April 11, 1997

But Dr. Frist, who has represented Tennessee in the Senate since 1995, is also enjoying something of a honeymoon among moderate Republicans, the result of assiduous efforts not to isolate a group of senators who will play a vital role in shaping compromises on taxes and Medicare.
--David Firestone, "Frist Forsakes Deal Making to Focus on Party Principles," New York Times, March 13, 2003

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Assiduous is from Latin assiduus, "constantly sitting near; hence diligent, persistent," from assidere, "to attend to," from ad-, "towards, to" + sedere, "to sit."
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,
S Adams
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Post by Ghost »

Word of the Day for Thursday December 8, 2005

sylvan
\SIL-vuhn\, adjective: 1. Of or pertaining to woods or forest regions. 2. Living or located in a wood or forest. 3. Abounding in forests or trees; wooded.

noun: 1. A fabled deity or spirit of the woods. 2. One that lives in or frequents the woods or forest; a rustic.

They probably picture it as a kind of modest conservatory, set in sylvan splendour in some charmingly landscaped garden.
--Sally Vincent, "Driven by daemons," Guardian, November 10, 2001

They choose to live where they do because of the beauty and peacefulness that a sylvan setting affords.
--Henry Petroski, "Step Lively," Washington Post, June 30, 2002

Following the course of the brook, and especially in the ravines, are many poplars and other tall trees, which, together with the bushes and the shrubs, form a dark and labyrinthine wood. . . . It would, in truth, be difficult to imagine anything more secluded and sylvan, more solitary, peaceful, and silent than this spot.
--Juan Valera, Pepita Jimenez

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Sylvan derives from Latin silva, sylva, "a wood or grove."
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,
S Adams
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clong
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Post by clong »

Sylvan is a good William Wordsworth word.
SEPTEMBER 1819
THE sylvan slopes with corn-clad fields
Are hung, as if with golden shields,
Bright trophies of the sun!
Like a fair sister of the sky,
Unruffled doth the blue lake lie,
The mountains looking on. . .
TINTERN ABBEY
. . . If this
Be but a vain belief, yet, oh! how oft-- 50
In darkness and amid the many shapes
Of joyless daylight; when the fretful stir
Unprofitable, and the fever of the world,
Have hung upon the beatings of my heart--
How oft, in spirit, have I turned to thee,
O sylvan Wye! thou wanderer thro' the woods,
How often has my spirit turned to thee! . . .
DESCRIPTIVE SKETCHES TAKEN DURING A PEDESTRIAN TOUR AMONG THE ALPS
. . . More pleased, my foot the hidden margin roves
Of Como, bosomed deep in chestnut groves.
No meadows thrown between, the giddy steeps
Tower, bare or sylvan, from the narrow deeps. . .
ECCLESIASTICAL SONNETS IN SERIES, 1821-22. XXII.
METHINKS that to some vacant hermitage
'My' feet would rather turn--to some dry nook
Scooped out of living rock, and near a brook
Hurled down a mountain-cove from stage to stage,
Yet tempering, for my sight, its bustling rage
In the soft heaven of a translucent pool;
Thence creeping under sylvan arches cool,
Fit haunt of shapes whose glorious equipage
Would elevate my dreams. A beechen bowl,
A maple dish, my furniture should be; 10
Crisp, yellow leaves my bed; the hooting owl
My night-watch: nor should e'er the crested fowl
From thorp or vill his matins sound for me,
Tired of the world and all its industry.
THE PRELUDE - BOOK TENTH
. . . Twice had the trees let fall
Their leaves, as often Winter had put on
His hoary crown, since I had seen the surge
Beat against Albion's shore, since ear of mine
Had caught the accents of my native speech 240
Upon our native country's sacred ground.
A patriot of the world, how could I glide
Into communion with her sylvan shades,
Erewhile my tuneful haunt? It pleased me more
To abide in the great City, where I found
The general air still busy with the stir
Of that first memorable onset made
By a strong levy of humanity
Upon the traffickers in Negro blood;
Effort which, though defeated, had recalled 250
To notice old forgotten principles,
And through the nation spread a novel heat
Of virtuous feeling. . .
ECCLESIASTICAL SONNETS IN SERIES, 1821-22. PART II.
III. CISTERTIAN MONASTERY
"HERE Man more purely lives, less oft doth fall,
"More promptly rises, walks with stricter heed,
"More safely rests, dies happier, is freed
"Earlier from cleansing fires, and gains withal
"A brighter crown."--On yon Cistertian wall
'That' confident assurance may be read;
And, to like shelter, from the world have fled
Increasing multitudes. The potent call
Doubtless shall cheat full oft the heart's desires;
Yet, while the rugged Age on pliant knee 10
Vows to rapt Fancy humble fealty,
A gentler life spreads round the holy spires;
Where'er they rise, the sylvan waste retires,
And aery harvests crown the fertile lea.
RUTH, OR THE INFLUENCES OF NATURE
"Sweet Ruth! and could you go with me,
My helpmate in the woods to be,
Our shed at night to rear;
Or run, my own adopted bride,
A sylvan huntress at my side, 95
And drive the flying deer!
THE PRELUDE - BOOK NINTH
RESIDENCE IN FRANCE
. . . Oft amid those haunts,
From earnest dialogues I slipped in thought,
And let remembrance steal to other times,
When, o'er those interwoven roots, moss-clad,
And smooth as marble or a waveless sea, 440
Some Hermit, from his cell forth-strayed, might pace
In sylvan meditation undisturbed;
As on the pavement of a Gothic church
Walks a lone Monk, when service hath expired,
In peace and silence.
HART-LEAP WELL
. . . And near the fountain, flowers of stature tall
With trailing plants and trees were intertwined,--
Which soon composed a little sylvan hall,
A leafy shelter from the sun and wind. . .
THE EXCURSION - BOOK SEVENTH
THE CHURCHYARD AMONG THE MOUNTAINS
. . . That little shady spot, that sylvan tuft, 50
By which the road is hidden, also hides
A cottage from our view; though I discern
(Ye scarcely can) amid its sheltering trees
The smokeless chimney-top.--
ODE TO LYCORIS. MAY 1817
. . . Lycoris (if such name befit
Thee, thee my life's celestial sign!)
When Nature marks the year's decline,
Be ours to welcome it;
Pleased with the harvest hope that runs
Before the path of milder suns;
Pleased while the sylvan world displays
Its ripeness to the feeding gaze;
Pleased when the sullen winds resound the knell
Of the resplendent miracle. . .
THE WILD DUCK'S NEST
THE imperial Consort of the Fairy-king
Owns not a sylvan bower; or gorgeous cell
With emerald floored, and with purpureal shell
Ceilinged and roofed; that is so fair a thing
As this low structure, for the tasks of Spring,
Prepared by one who loves the buoyant swell
Of the brisk waves, yet here consents to dwell;
And spreads in steadfast peace her brooding wing.
Words cannot paint the o'ershadowing yew-tree bough,
And dimly-gleaming Nest,--a hollow crown 10
Of golden leaves inlaid with silver down,
Fine as the mother's softest plumes allow:
I gazed--and, self-accused while gazing, sighed
For human-kind, weak slaves of cumbrous pride!
IN THE WOODS OF RYDAL
WILD Redbreast! hadst thou at Jemima's lip
Pecked, as at mine, thus boldly, Love might say,
A half-blown rose had tempted thee to sip
Its glistening dews; but hallowed is the clay
Which the Muse warms; and I, whose head is grey,
Am not unworthy of thy fellowship;
Nor could I let one thought--one notion--slip
That might thy sylvan confidence betray.
For are we not all His without whose care
Vouchsafed no sparrow falleth to the ground? 10
Who gives his Angels wings to speed through air,
And rolls the planets through the blue profound;
Then peck or perch, fond Flutterer! nor forbear
To trust a Poet in still musings bound.
There are actually lots more., but that's probably enough of a sampling . . .
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Ghost
Judge Roy Bean
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Post by Ghost »

Word of the Day for Friday December 9, 2005

voluptuary
\vuh-LUHP-choo-er-ee\, noun: A person devoted to luxury and the gratification of sensual appetites; a sensualist.

adjective: Voluptuous; luxurious.

Colette used to begin her day's writing by first picking fleas from her cat, and it's not hard to imagine how the methodical stroking and probing into fur might have focused such a voluptuary's mind.
--Diane Ackerman, "O Muse! You Do Make Things Difficult!" New York Times, November 12, 1989

Though depicted as a decadent voluptuary, she remained celibate for more than half of her adult life.
--Michiko Kakutani, "Cleopatra Behind Her Magic Mirror," New York Times, June 5, 1990

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Voluptuary derives from Latin voluptarius, "devoted to pleasure," from voluptas, "pleasure."
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,
S Adams
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