GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

farceur

Leslie Nielsen wasn't always the farceur.

Though any moment now, I expect his eyebrows to go up and down like the valves under Robbie's perspex head dome.

Huh? In the SF-movie genre, this is considered one of the great classics.

[Algot Runeman]

nullifidian

Pronunciation: /ˌnʌlɪˈfɪdɪən/
rare
noun
A person having no faith or religious belief.
adjective
Having no faith or religious belief.

Origin
Mid 16th century: from medieval Latin nullifidius (from nullus 'no, none' + fides 'faith') + -an.



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Norm is no kid bein'.
A lot of life he's been in.
No random choice,
He is nullifidian.

[Algot Runeman]

scuzz

Pronunciation: /skʌz/
noun
[mass noun] informal
Something regarded as disgusting or sordid: you can whip all the scuzz into the spare room and shut the door

Origin
1960s: probably an informal abbreviation of disgusting.

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The need always was
A place to put scuzz.
Often a bucket's
The place you may tuck it.

So do not aspire
Scuzz to acquire.
Once a scuzzbucket
You later can't shuck it.

Repute will be ill.
Society nill.
All out of luck it
Is life of scuzzbucket.

[Algot Runeman]

neomenia

Definitions
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

n. The time of new moon; the beginning of the month.
n. In antiquity, a festival held at the time of the new moon.


Original full moon photo: Dave Young

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There is nothing zanier
Than the feast neomenia.
Rosh Codesh, the Law.
Trumpets, burnt lamb, no flaw.

Once a month with no delay.
Stop to feast, not play.
Music played to glorify
Burned meat, God to supply.

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Examples

The neomenia, or first day of the moon, kept according to the law, as a festival; and therefore Saul feasted on that day: and expected the attendance of his family. (The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Book 09: 1 Kings The Challoner Revision)

[Erudite participants in WotD will remember that word from 2006, making it unsuitable for today. Rule #1: No repeats. Today's word, from Wordnik, does not even appear in the English versions of ODO.]

[Algot Runeman]

contre-jour

Pronunciation: /ˈkɒ̃trəˌʒʊə/
/kɔ̃tʀəʒʊʀ/
adjective& adverb
Photography
Having or involving the sun or other light source behind the subject: [as adjective]: a glorious contre-jour effect

Origin
Early 20th century: French, from contre 'against' + jour 'daylight'.

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Today, the posting is sort of contre-jour by being put on the forum at the end of a day instead of the beginning (as seen from the myopic viewpoint of a resident of the US east coast). The waning light is fading over my shoulder instead of coming through a morning window into my face.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

contre-jour

I guess that during yesterday's eclipse, your softly muted contre-jour was enhanced by the abat-jour of your reading lamp.

[Algot Runeman]

No eclipse visible here. There was yet another snow event, a light event in this case, which obscured the sky as it put two inches of new whiteness on our sidewalk. The abat-jour of the snow clouds shaded us, obscuring the contre-jour effects.

[Algot Runeman]

smidgen

Pronunciation: /ˈsmɪdʒɪn/
(also smidgeon or smidgin)
noun
informal
A small amount of something: add a smidgen of cayenne

Origin
Mid 19th century: perhaps from Scots smitch in the same sense.

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No smidgen of peanut butter for my breakfast bagel. I insist on a big glop of it. The same would be true of cream cheese, if I had it. No demitasse of coffee either; the biggest mug I own is in hand.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

smidgen

My grandma never made love for a smidgen. Oh no, she always went whole hog, so to speak.

Though it was grandpa who remained the boar, taking charge of the ... well, ... charge.

[Algot Runeman]

I am more than a smidgen glad to read another snippet from the life and times of your grandparents, E.P.S. It is safe to say the tales are never "boring."

[Algot Runeman]

synecdoche

Pronunciation: /sɪˈnɛkdəki/
noun
A figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in England lost by six wickets (meaning ‘ the English cricket team’).

Origin
Late Middle English: via Latin from Greek sunekdokhē, from sun- 'together' + ekdekhesthai 'take up'.


Maia C

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Sally rides a little pony.
A warrior? That's baloney.
But because of synecdoche
She lost the war. Okey-dokey?

[Algot Runeman]

quodlibet

Pronunciation: /ˈkwɒdlɪbɛt/
noun
1 archaic A topic for or exercise in philosophical or theological discussion: an author of theological lectures and quodlibets
2 literary A light-hearted medley of well-known tunes.

Origin
Late Middle English: from Latin, from quod 'what' + libet 'it pleases'.

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Archaic, arcane,
These words are a pain.
But quodlibet sustain.
It pleases my brain.

[voralfred]

doofus

Pronunciation: /ˈduːfʌs/
(also dufus)
noun (plural doofuses)
North American informal
A stupid person: a doofus who paid an inflated price for a tatty house

Origin
1960s: perhaps an alteration of goofus, or from Scots doof 'dolt'.

(….)

Sorry for having been away so long.
The word doofus irresistibly evokes in my mind the name of the late (lamented ?) Bundeskanzler (Chancellor) of Austria Engelbert Dollfuß, himself a fascist but whose assassination by Austrian Nazis paved the way to the Anschluß, a few years later.
He was nicknamed "Millimetternich" in reference to his size (about 5', give or take an inch, according to the source) and his diplomatic pretentions… Just one thousandth of his role model, the much taller Fürst Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, also much more famous, or rather infamous, depending on whom you ask.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

quodlibet

The flibbertigibbet spouted quodlibets like a doofus.

P.S.
@ Voralfred: It's pure coincidence that this post follows yours so closely, I promise you.

[Algot Runeman]

cynosure

Pronunciation: /ˈsʌɪnəʃʊə/ /ˈsɪnəʃʊə/ /ˈsʌɪnəzjʊə/ /ˈsɪnəzjʊə/
noun
[in singular]
A person or thing that is the centre of attention or admiration: Kirk was the cynosure of all eyes

Origin
Late 16th century: from French, or from Latin cynosura, from Greek kunosoura 'dog's tail' (also 'Ursa Minor'), from kuōn, kun- 'dog' + oura 'tail'. The term originally denoted the constellation Ursa Minor, or the pole star which it contains, long used as a guide by navigators.



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The market slid, slipped and then crashed.
Stock sold slow; few with scant profits cashed.
We were really in a pickle.
Investors dwindled to a trickle.

With high hopes grand we did procure
New VC angel, our cynosure.
He is our guide out of despair,
Charismatic, handsome debonair.

This time next year we'll shout and cheer.
Our new product, goals, direction clear.
No shady deals will we involve.
"Tim Terrific" will all problems solve.

[voralfred]

From all that EPS told us, it is quite clear that his grandma was his grandpa's one and only cynosure.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

cynosure

One day, for a bal masqué, grandma was dressed as a chinese odalisque in diaphanous garments, with make-up to match.

Grandpa, dressed as Kublai Khan, was delighted and he felt quite sinosure with his exotic-looking spouse.

And after the event, back at home, he was no eunuch either.

[voralfred]

Did he also feel Shean O'Shea ?

[Algot Runeman]

eulogy

Pronunciation: /ˈjuːlədʒi/
noun (plural eulogies)
A speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, especially a tribute to someone who has just died: a eulogy to the Queen Mother

Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense 'high praise'): from medieval Latin eulogium, eulogia (from Greek eulogia 'praise'), apparently influenced by Latin elogium 'inscription on a tomb' (from Greek elegia 'elegy'). The current sense dates from the late 16th century.



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Paul was so pretentious that he wrote his own eulogy and had it delivered in print to the entire parish by Federal Express. It is high praise that three people actually read the inroduction before, like the others of the parish, placing the eulogy beside the phone books in the recycling bin.

[voralfred]

eulogy

Pronunciation: /ˈjuːlədʒi/
noun (plural eulogies)
A speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, especially a tribute to someone who has just died: a eulogy to the Queen Mother

(...)

The prefix "eu-" has the same etymology ("good" in ancient Greek) as the prefix "u-" in utopia. The opposite of an utopia is often called a dystopia ( George Orwell's _1984_, Ira Levin's _This perfect Day, etc.)
So I wonder. How many dyslogies were ever delivered in front on the graves of people whose deaths were not lamented ?

[Algot Runeman]

ethnarch

Pronunciation: /ˈɛθnɑːk/
noun
historical
The ruler of a nation or people: the ethnarch of Judea

Origin
Mid 17th century: from Greek ethnarkhēs, from ethnos 'nation' + arkhēs 'ruling'.


Yelp.com

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Charlie sought neither to be king nor ethnarch. His only goal was to take his extended family to higher ground before the flood washed away the annual "Johnson Gathering" campground.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

ethnarch

I have been wondering. What happens to the live ethnarch at the Burning Man festival?

[Algot Runeman]

muliebrity

Pronunciation: /ˌmjuːlɪˈɛbrɪti/
noun
[mass noun] literary
Womanly qualities; womanliness.

Origin
Late 16th century: from late Latin muliebritas, from Latin mulier 'woman'.


Photo Credit James S. Davis via Wikimedia

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Apparently the tech industry does not appreciate muliebrity in its ranks. Women report rude, crude and downright nasty reactions from many male peers. In fact, the males sometimes don't view women as peers.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

muliebrity

IMHO "muliebrity" feels rather unfortunate.

Though I don't know any, no doubt there are mulish inebriate women, just as there are asinine potted men.

Personally I wouldn't use the word in female companionship, for fear of being misunderstood by people unfamiliar with the term.

[Algot Runeman]

frondeur

Pronunciation: /frɒnˈdəː/
/fʀɔndœʀ/
noun
rare
A political rebel.

Origin
French, literally 'slinger', used to denote a rebel taking part in the Fronde.


world4.eu

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Louis XIV was never fond of the nobles known as frondeurs. Though still a child, he thought them too wild, challenging his rule while he was still in school. It has not been reported whether he and his closest friends played the kids' game with those slings known as "frondes" from which the rebels gained their name.

[By the way, for all those who paid the same level of attention in history class as I did, the rumors that Marie Antoinette was a childhood friend of Louis XIV are totally wrong. I just checked. They are three or four generations removed from one another.]