GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

ratite

/ˈratʌɪt/
adjective
Ornithology
(of a bird) having a flat breastbone without a keel, and so unable to fly.
Contrasted with carinate
noun
Ornithology
Any of the mostly large, flightless birds with a ratite breastbone, i.e. the ostrich, rhea, emu, cassowary, and kiwi, together with the extinct moa and elephant bird.

Origin
Late 19th century: from Latin ratis ‘raft’ + -ite.

==========

I don't want to meet a ratite
In the darkest middle of the night.
There is no doubt I might
Just scream aloud in fright.

Really, everything's all right
There's not a rat in sight
Though, from the name, I might
Confuse the animal, but not on sight.

[Algot Runeman]

interlinear

/ɪntəˈlɪnɪə/
adjective
1 Written or printed between the lines of a text.
1.1 (of a book) having the same text in different languages printed on alternate lines.

Origin
Late Middle English: from medieval Latin interlinearis, from inter- ‘between’ + Latin linearis (from linea ‘line’).

==========

(interlinear writing)
I would write here.
I würde hier schreiben.
Two languages together.
Zwei Sprachen zusammen.
-----------------------

[voralfred]

interlinear

/ɪntəˈlɪnɪə/
adjective
1 Written or printed between the lines of a text.
1.1 (of a book) having the same text in different languages printed on alternate lines.

Origin
Late Middle English: from medieval Latin interlinearis, from inter- ‘between’ + Latin linearis (from linea ‘line’).

==========

(interlinear writing)
I would write here.
I würde hier schreiben.
Two languages together.
Zwei Sprachen zusammen.
-----------------------

(...)

Your poem would have been even more interlinear if instead of alternating english and german, you had alternated two lost languages of ancient Crete, namely linear A and linear B !

[Algot Runeman]

pleasance

/ˈplɛz(ə)ns/
noun
A secluded enclosure or part of a garden, especially one attached to a large house.

Origin
Middle English (in the sense ‘pleasure’): from Old French plaisance, from plaisant ‘pleasing’ (see pleasant).

==========

Patricia perused the pleasance
And soon settled in with her presents.
Surrounded by the flowers,
She wiled away some hours.
Reading her newest book
In the cosy little nook.

[Algot Runeman]

ravenous

/ˈrav(ə)nəs//ˈræv(ə)nəs/
adjective
1 Extremely hungry.
1.1 (of hunger or need) very great; voracious.

Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French ravineus, from raviner ‘to ravage’ (see raven).

The crow stood its ground in the ravine next to the carcass and the wolf which had secured their lunch. Crow was patient, though hungry. The wolf was clearly ravenous, and naturally got first dibs.



[Today's ODO offer was the archaic word "ravin", but archaic terms have raised concern for their usefulness in modern conversation. As luck would have it, the more familiar ravenous has not been used here before, and it looks like it has some common roots with ravin, bringing it along to more modern use...just a bit.]

[Algot Runeman]

avarice

/ˈav(ə)rɪs/
noun
mass noun
Extreme greed for wealth or material gain.

Origin
Middle English: from Old French, from Latin avaritia, from avarus ‘greedy’.

==========

Being greedy just isn't nice
So let me give you some free advice
Share with others. That's doing good.
And avoid developing rude avarice.

[Algot Runeman]

mamaguy

/ˈmaməɡʌɪ/
verb
[with object]West Indian
Try to deceive (someone), especially with flattery or untruths.

Origin
From Spanish mamar gallo ‘make a monkey of’.

==========

Do not even try to bluff fans of the WotD by trying to mamaguy them with fake or reused words.

[It is actually impossible to have a fake word, just a new, unexpected one. They are classified as neologisms.]

[Algot Runeman]

auger

/ˈɔːɡə/
noun
1 A tool resembling a large corkscrew, for boring holes in wood.
1.1 A large tool similar to an auger, used for boring holes in the ground.
2 A marine mollusc of warm seas with a slender tapering spiral shell.

Origin
Old English nafogār, from nafu (see nave) + gār ‘piercer’. The n was lost by wrong division of a nauger; compare with adder and apron.

Brace yourself a bit for this one. I used an auger to make the hole into which I will force fit today's word.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

auger...
Brace yourself a bit for this one. I used an auger to make the hole into which I will force fit today's word.

This auger, and particularly the shape of its crank grip, again makes me think of my infamous augurk, which would also fit in the hole you bored with the bit we had to brace for.

[Algot Runeman]

bungle

/ˈbʌŋɡ(ə)l/
verb
[with object]
1 Carry out (a task) clumsily or incompetently.
1.1 usually as adjective bunglingno object Make or be prone to making many mistakes.
noun
A mistake or badly carried out action.

Origin
Mid 16th century: of unknown origin; compare with bumble.

==========

It is a serious pedestrian bungle
To walk below a python in the jungle.
Unless your brother had kids early,
You'll never be an uncle.

[Algot Runeman]

adviser
(also advisor)

/ədˈvaɪzər//ədˈvīzər/
noun
1 A person who gives advice in a particular field.
1.1 North American (in a school, college, or university) a teacher or staff counselor who helps a student plan a course of study.

Usage
The spellings adviser and advisor are both correct. Adviser is more common, but advisor is also widely used, especially in North America. Adviser may be seen as less formal, while advisor often suggests an official position.

==========

On the advice of my advisers, I visited the university and consulted with my advisor. She offered the recommendation that I consider a career in plumbing after she consulted the records of my grades for freshman computer science courses.

[voralfred]

Indeed my (formal) former advisor, the late lamented M. D. Kruskal, gave me very good advices, both professional and otherwise, which I tried to follow throughout my career (and now that I have retired, for the remaining of my life). They helped me to avoid bungling as I used to.
He was not one of those university big mamaguys who tend to mamaguy their students. And he taught me never to behave as a papagay.
So he was both a great advisor and an excellent informal adviser.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

I have a pair of nifty spectacles.
When I wear them, they keep me from looking at advertisements by blurring them to unreadability, but instead sharply focus on the subject of my attention.

I call these spectacles my advisors.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

I call these spectacles my advisors.

The "eyes" have it. Aye, they do!

[Algot Runeman]

jabber

/ˈdʒabə/
verb
[no object]
Talk in a rapid, excited, and often incomprehensible way.
noun
mass noun
Rapid, excited, and often incomprehensible speech.

Origin
Late 15th century: imitative.

==========

Jaycee listened without paying any real attention and let Marcia ramble on, jabbering about her day. They were good friends.

[Algot Runeman]

packie

/ˈpaki/
(also pakki, paikie)
noun
1 Scottish and English regional (northern). A pedlar; = "packman".
2 NZ informal= "packman"
noun
New England, United States Regional
Package store.

Origin
Mid 19th century; earliest use found in David Vedder (d. 1854), poet. From pack + -y, after packman<br>1980s. From pack- + -y.

Peter Puchera, proud to be a packie, peddling his locally distilled gin, exits the local packie which has just purchased the last of his hooch (the stuff with all the necessary taxman's labels).

[Algot Runeman]

clickbait

/ˈklɪkbeɪt/
noun
mass noun informal
(on the Internet) content whose main purpose is to attract attention and encourage visitors to click on a link to a particular web page.

Origin
1990s: from click and bait.

==========

This link is clickbait. Beware, it is ridiculously recursive, and like much of the Internet, totally pointless!

[Algot Runeman]

plantigrade

/ˈplantɪɡreɪd/
adjective
(of a mammal) walking on the soles of the feet, like a human or a bear.

Origin
Mid 19th century: from French, from modern Latin plantigradus, from Latin planta ‘sole’ + -gradus ‘-walking’.

==========

Pedestrians plod, placing ponderous, plantigrade steps on the road...except on the signs where they don't even have FEET!

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

plantigrade

Michael Jackson was plantigrade, as opposed to prima ballerinas, who often are not. No doubt about it.

Stil, one could wonder if his feet were reversed for his moonwalk. But apparently they were not, he was only temporarily retroplantigrade .

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

socko

/ˈsɒkəʊ/
adjective
North American
informal
Stunningly effective or successful.

Origin
1920s: from sock in the sense ‘forceful blow’ + -o.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Bravo". "Olé", "Huzzah!" cried the various attendees of the socko clown performance.

[voralfred]

The ballet of the ladies hippopotamuses in Disney's Fantasia is definitely socko !
Thank you, EPS, for reminding me of this delightful moment !
However, being ungulates, the hippopotamuses are not plantigrades and not even retroplantigrades.

[Algot Runeman]

quintile

/ˈkwɪntʌɪl//ˈkwɪntɪl/
noun
1 Statistics
Any of five equal groups into which a population can be divided according to the distribution of values of a particular variable.
1.1 Each of the four values of the random variable which divide a population into quintiles.
2 Astrology
mass noun An aspect of 72° (one fifth of a circle).

Origin
Early 17th century: from Latin quintilis (mensis) ‘fifth month, July’, from quintus ‘fifth’.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

In the mathematician's bathroom, the tile above the tub was mostly white, except for an approximate normal distribution grouping of quintiles.

[Algot Runeman]

faerie
(also faery)

/ˈfeɪəri//ˈfɛːri/
noun
mass nounliterary, archaic
1 Fairyland.
1.1 count noun A fairy.
1.2 as modifier Imaginary; mythical.

Origin
Late 16th century (introduced by Spenser): pseudo-archaic variant of fairy.

==--==--==--==--==--==

Some modern fantasy writing is less concerned with a separate faerie world, but, instead, conjoins mythical lives with a "mundane" though unsettled urban environment.

[Algot Runeman]

trebuchet

/ˈtrɛbəʃɛt//ˈtrɛbjʊʃɛt/
noun
A machine used in medieval siege warfare for hurling large stones or other missiles.

Origin
Middle English: from Old French, from trebucher ‘overthrow’.

Tom's model trebuchet design delivered the pebble 30 feet, smashing the LEGO Castle Wall into bits. He felt very medieval.

[Algot Runeman]

slouch

/slaʊtʃ/
verb
1 no object, with adverbial Stand, move, or sit in a lazy, drooping way.
2 dated with object Bend one side of the brim of (a hat) downwards.
noun
1 A lazy, drooping posture or movement.
2 informal usually with negative An incompetent person.
3 A downward bend of a hat brim.

Origin
Early 16th century (in the sense ‘lazy, slovenly person’): of unknown origin. Slouching was used to mean ‘hanging down, drooping’ (specifically describing a hat with a brim hanging over the face), and ‘having an awkward posture’ from the 17th century.

---...---...---...---

Joe slouched against the bus stop shelter. As long as he wasn't going to stride purposefully to his destination, he might as well rest while waiting for the bus.