Page 189 of 410
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 7:19 am
by Algot Runeman
railbird
noun
Slang
A horseracing enthusiast, especially one who watches races at the outer rail of the track.
Mike Haw
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Harry eyed the two birds at the rail. They were ready to cheer for CheezeBalz, their favorite nag in the next race. He snapped their photo before they turned back to be typical raucus
railbirds with the others with bets on the race.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 8:08 am
by Algot Runeman
echopraxia
Pronunciation: /ˌekōˈpraksēə/
noun
Psychiatry
meaningless repetition or imitation of the movements of others as a symptom of psychiatric disorder.
Origin:
early 20th century: modern Latin, from Greek ēkhō 'echo' + praxis 'action'
Brian J. Matis
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Eric eagerly emulated the actions of his father. He cupped his hand to block the imaginary breeze, struck the twig on a rock and inhaled deeply as he put the stick to the end of the rolled paper tube. His father didn't seem to notice. Would doctors consider this as borderline
echopraxia?
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 2:32 pm
by voralfred
I wonder whether an irresistible impulse to make up, and post, a sentence using a word that Algot just posted is a mild (or maybe severe ?) form of echopraxia.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 3:18 pm
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
voralfred wrote:I wonder whether an irresistible impulse to make up, and post, a sentence using a word that Algot just posted is a mild (or maybe severe ?) form of echopraxia.
I think not.
In our case
echopraxia is a misnomer. We actually have
idiosyncratic OCD.
In short, we're harmless idiots.
It won't go away, so just ignore it.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 7:34 am
by Algot Runeman
languor
Pronunciation: /ˈlaNG(g)ər/
noun
1the state or feeling, often pleasant, of tiredness or inertia:he remembered the languor and warm happiness of those golden afternoons
2an oppressive stillness of the air:the afternoon was hot, quiet, and heavy with languor
Origin:
Middle English: via Old French from Latin, from languere (see languish). The original sense was 'illness, disease, distress', later 'faintness, lassitude'; current senses date from the 18th century, when such lassitude became associated with a sometimes rather self-indulgent romantic yearning
NeilsPhotography
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Lips slack by the middle of Cinco de Mayo, Juan enjoyed the
languor of his "buzz." Time for a good nap.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 7:50 am
by Algot Runeman
maquillage
Pronunciation: /ˌmäkēˈ(y)äZH/
noun
makeup; cosmetics.
Origin:
French, from maquiller 'to make up', from Old French masquiller 'to stain'
Laura
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Maria manipulated Marco with her
maquillage. Their next time together could be called makeup sex.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 9:07 am
by voralfred
Though I feel at this moment a serious languor (if you look at me now you couldn't tell me from Juan on Cinco de Mayo, but for the laptop on my lap), I will pretend to have enough energy to play on the WOTD thread. Such maquillage !
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 1:48 pm
by Algot Runeman
voralfred wrote:Such maquillage
As I understand the rules, every clown must decide on the pattern for makeup by making up a new one.
No such rules exist in our challenge at WotD.
All are welcome to make up any old blather no matter what their personal make up or, indeed, whether or not they apply
maquillage (right or left).
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 12:40 pm
by Algot Runeman
patella
Pronunciation: /pəˈtelə/
noun (plural patellae /-lē/)
Anatomy
the kneecap
Origin:
late 16th century: from Latin, diminutive of patina 'shallow dish'
Eric Schmuttenmaer
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Pete plunked his Red Sox cap on his
patella (knee cap) when his science teacher asked him to take it off his head in class. Pete commented, "I am the only person I know who has three knee caps."
The teacher gave him 10 points of extra credit.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 1:26 pm
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote:patella
I have been wondering whether a
Pata Negra ham has been cured with or without the
patella?
Anyway, take care to inspect the nails of a
Jamón Ibérico de Bellota. If the pig's nails were painted black, then the ham was illegally named and is not genuine
Microsoft Windows® Pata Negra.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 11:08 am
by Algot Runeman
deontology
Pronunciation: /ˌdēänˈtäləjē/
noun
Philosophy
the study of the nature of duty and obligation
Origin:
early 19th century: from Greek deont- 'being necessary' (from dei 'it is necessary') + -logy
Record Cover Image from YouTube where you can also hear the song!
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I felt a duty to do due diligent
deontology to study the story of Dion and the Belmonts because I was once actually a "Teenager in Love."
[ Laurie: Light Hearted Liberty taken in the Serious Study of Spelling. ]
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 10:41 am
by Algot Runeman
sockdolager
Pronunciation: /säkˈdôlijər/
noun
informal
1a forceful blow.
2an exceptional person or thing.
Origin:
mid 19th century: probably a fanciful formation from sock
Image Credit:
Cary Bass
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At first, I was sure that
sockdolager would mean a doll made from an old sock and to represent an old person instead of being a baby doll. But then, I did one of those head smack things which some people also describe as a "head-desk." It was, naturally, a forceful blow. I'm feeling the pain now, even a day after this word appeared in my email box. I've also decided to give up on that "exceptional person" idea.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 12:34 pm
by Algot Runeman
o-o
Pronunciation: /ˈōˌō/
(also oo)
noun (plural o-os)
a honeyeater (bird) found in Hawaii, now probably extinct, which had a thin curved bill and climbed about on tree trunks.
Genus Moho, family Meliphagidae
Origin:
late 19th century: from Hawaiian
Image Credit:
sanickels
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"Probably extinct" made me think "uh-oh" when I read the note about the
o-o. This week, I also read that the
turtle dove may go extinct in 8 years in Britain. Then I read that back in Hawai'i, on Mona Loa, the measurement of carbon dioxide will go
above 400 parts per million for the first time in scads of years. Add to that, I'm reading
NOS4ATU by Joe Hill.
Oh, Oh, indeed.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 4:45 pm
by Algot Runeman
incuse
Pronunciation: /inˈkyo͞oz, -ˈkyo͞os/
noun
an impression hammered or stamped on a coin.
verb
[with object]
mark (a coin) with a figure by impressing it with a stamp.
adjective
hammered or stamped on a coin.
Origin:
early 19th century: from Latin incusus 'forged with a hammer', past participle of incudere, from in- 'into' + cudere 'to forge'
Image Credit:
Yamanaka Tamaki
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I wonder if someone claims having coined the word incuse and is stamping around for the injustice of having dictionaries say it came from Latin like all sorts of other impressive words.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 10:30 am
by Algot Runeman
antinomy
Pronunciation: /anˈtinəmē/
noun (plural antinomies)
a contradiction between two beliefs or conclusions that are in themselves reasonable; a paradox.
Origin:
late 16th century (in the sense 'a conflict between two laws'): from Latin antinomia, from Greek, from anti 'against' + nomos 'law'
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It is something of an
antinomy that I have many times used "paradox" in conversation, but until this morning, had not seen or heard the term
antinomy. I don't draw a significant conclusion from this except to say "It's Greek to me." Is it that my primary language, English, is more often derived from Latin instead of Greek?
Did Latin spread into our language base by conquest during the Roman Empire?
A tiny bit of "research" lead me to notice that the Greek letters for English P and R are Π and Ρ which are also in the Cyrillic alphabet. So maybe Greek influence spread northeast while Latin influence spread northwest. Do east European and Russian people say
antinomy more often than "paradox"?
[ Just to confirm my first reading this morning of
antinomy was confused by my glance-reading of "antimony" which has no apparent etymological connection. ]
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 11:04 am
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote:antinomy
As
antonymy and
antinomy both mean opposite, the same thing in fact, then why are there two spellings for the same concept?
Another English paradox?
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 8:29 am
by Algot Runeman
dreck
Pronunciation: /drek/
(also drek)
noun
informal
rubbish; trash:this so-called art is pure dreck
Origin:
early 20th century: from Yiddish drek 'filth, dregs', from a Germanic base shared by Old English threax; probably related to Greek skōr 'dung'
Image Credit:
Stephen Wolfe
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"Your streets are my trashcan." seems to be the statement made when a smoker tosses a cigarette butt to the ground before entering a building. It evidences a
dreck of the mind.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 8:16 am
by Algot Runeman
bruxism
Pronunciation: /ˈbrəksizəm/
noun
the involuntary or habitual grinding of the teeth, typically during sleep.
Origin:
1930s: from Greek brukhein 'gnash the teeth' + -ism
Image Credit:
The Swedish History Museum
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Bob ran his tongue along the reduced ridges of his teeth. At 50,
bruxism had reduced his adult teeth to stubs. The big question was whether to replace them with crowns like his friend Tom, but that cost over $25,000. The thought of dentures that might slip out while he was teaching made him shivver, though.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 1:31 pm
by voralfred
I wonder if the inhabitants of Brussels (Bruxelles, in French) are more inclined to bruxism than the average.
But certainly, the inhabitants of Antwerp would not dare..... They know who would take care of them if they did....
me: shudders....
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 3:36 pm
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
voralfred wrote:I wonder if the inhabitants of Brussels (Bruxelles, in French) are more inclined to bruxism than the average. ...
Do note that
Bruxelles are female. The men are
Bruxieurs. NOT Bruxeurs, those latter are
bruxism patients.
There are more examples of this linguistic quirk:
The citizens of Mons, Belgium are female
Monselles and male
Monsieurs.
There is no strict spelling rule though. Marseille, France has
Marseillettes (Marseillaises is a female brass band, IIRC) and
Marseilleux.
Ever wondered about
Mayonnaise? It's the farmer's wife.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 7:17 am
by Algot Runeman
skewbald
Pronunciation: /ˈskyo͞oˌbôld/
adjective
(of an animal) with irregular patches of white and another color (properly not black). Compare with piebald.
noun
a skewbald animal, especially a horse.
Origin:
mid 17th century: from obsolete skewed 'skewbald' (of uncertain origin), on the pattern of piebald
Image Credit:
Gerald Ferreira
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Sophie was a screwball. She shaved her head like a cue ball. For a pet she bought a big dog that was notably
skewbald.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 9:55 am
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote:skewbald
I've seen photographs of Amerinds, Inuits, Saami and Mongols wearing
skewbald furs.
But grandma never did. In her day it wasn't fashionable at all.
When I was a student (in the 60's) I've known a disco that had seats covered with
skewbald cowhide with its natural fur. But after a few years no pelt was left, it had become just
bald coarse leather.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 5:28 pm
by Algot Runeman
quack [definition 2]
Pronunciation: /kwak/
noun
a person who dishonestly claims to have special knowledge and skill in some field, typically in medicine: [as modifier]:quack cures
Origin:
mid 17th century: abbreviation of earlier quacksalver, from Dutch, probably from obsolete quacken 'prattle' + salf, zalf (see salve1)
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After failing to heed the warning shout, "Duck!" Mark needed to call for medical help to deal with the concussion. In his addled condition, he called a local quack instead of dialing 911.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 7:07 pm
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote:quack
Often attempts were made to imitate a duck's feathery coat.
Many
quacks were tarred and feathered but the results were never satisfactory. They always made the wrong noises too.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 6:54 pm
by Algot Runeman
terroir
Pronunciation: /terˈwär/
noun
the complete natural environment in which a particular wine is produced, including factors such as the soil, topography, and climate.
(also goût de terroir /go͞o də/) the characteristic taste and flavor imparted to a wine by the environment in which it is produced.
Origin:
French, land, from medieval Latin terratorium
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The trouble with Tony's terroir was that it was just downhill from the Metropolitan Midden. He whined about it, but there were no wine sales.
[ On the road,,,WotD fit in when possible over weekend. Carry on. ]