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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 12:13 pm
by voralfred
This cannot be a banal coincidence. There must be something uncanny about it.

Do you have another solution to this mystery : not only did I log in just 11 minutes after Algot posted the WOTD, but I got immediately an idea for a sentence using it !

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 1:40 pm
by Algot Runeman
voralfred wrote: Mon Jan 17, 2022 12:13 pm This cannot be a banal coincidence. There must be something uncanny about it.

Do you have another solution to this mystery : not only did I log in just 11 minutes after Algot posted the WOTD, but I got immediately an idea for a sentence using it !
:banana: :banana:

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:23 am
by Algot Runeman
thrawn

Pronunciation /θrɔːn/
adjective
Scottish
1 Twisted; crooked.
2 Perverse; ill-tempered.

Origin
Late Middle English Scots form of thrown (see throw), in the obsolete sense ‘twisted, wrung’.

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Shelly and Sean stubbornly stuck with their teen-years dance craze 'the twist'. Their grandchildren thought they were cranky and thrawn.

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 12:06 pm
by Algot Runeman
phubbing

Pronunciation /ˈfʌbɪŋ/
noun
mass noun informal
The practice of ignoring one's companion or companions in order to pay attention to one's phone or other mobile device.

Origin
2012 blend of phone and snubbing (from snub); coined by an Australian advertising agency as part of a marketing campaign with the Macquarie Dictionary.

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Steve is often a schlub but so is Sue. They are always phubbing each other.

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2022 6:26 pm
by Algot Runeman
nithering

Pronunciation /ˈnɪðərɪŋ/
adjective
dialect Scottish, British
Shivering or trembling, as with cold.

Origin
Late 19th century; earliest use found in Francis Robinson (1809–1882). From nither + -ing.

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Neither winter's numb nithering nor suffering from the swelter of summer, the joy of spring and fall.

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 12:34 pm
by Algot Runeman
generate

Pronunciation /ˈdʒɛnəreɪt/
verb
[with object]
1 Produce or create.
1.1 Produce (energy, especially electricity).
1.2 Mathematics Linguistics Produce (a set or sequence of items) by performing specified mathematical or logical operations on an initial set.
1.3 Linguistics Produce (a sentence or other unit, especially a well-formed one) by the application of a finite set of rules to lexical or other linguistic input.
1.4 Mathematics Form (a line, surface, or solid) by notionally moving a point, line, or surface.

Origin
Early 16th century (in the sense ‘beget, procreate’): from Latin generat- ‘created’, from the verb generare, from genus, gener- ‘stock, race’.

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John hoped to generate enthusiasm for his product, so he gave some away to social media influencers.

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 6:14 pm
by Algot Runeman
muppet

Pronunciation /ˈmʌpɪt/
noun
informal, derogatory British
An incompetent or foolish person.

Origin
1980s from Muppet, the generic name given to various puppets and marionettes created by Jim Henson (1936–90) for the children's television programmes Sesame Street and The Muppet Show.

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Sid said,"Yer a sorry muppet, Oscar, livin' the way ya do."
Oscar huffed back, "Ah, shaddup, ya dummy. Least I got a roof over my head."

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 9:09 am
by Algot Runeman
recuse

Pronunciation /rɪˈkjuːz/
verb
[with object]
1 mainly North American Challenge (a judge, prosecutor, or juror) as unqualified to perform legal duties because of a potential conflict of interest or lack of impartiality.
1.1 recuse oneself (of a judge) excuse oneself from a case because of a potential conflict of interest or lack of impartiality.
‘it was the right of counsel to ask a judge to recuse himself from continuing to hear a case because of bias’

Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense ‘reject’, specifically ‘object to a judge as prejudiced’): from Latin recusare ‘to refuse’, from re- (expressing opposition) + causa ‘a cause’. The current sense dates from the early 19th century.

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*You Be the Judge*

We, hereby, recuse
All those who abuse
Or otherwise misuse
Our lovely language.

Though they be puissant
And think that gives them grant
To muddle and weirdly slant
Through idle badinage.

Still hoping for success
To extract us from this mess
I hope you still can bless
This grungy rhyming garbage.

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 1:38 pm
by voralfred
I whole heartedly recuse the use of the phrase
grungy rhyming garbage
to characterise your poem.

Contrariwise your ability to generate sentences, whether in prose or in verse, leaves me all nithering, not of cold, but of pleasure and admiration.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2022 10:10 am
by Algot Runeman
crimp

Pronunciation /krɪmp/
verb
[with object]
1 Compress (something) into small folds or ridges.
1.1 Connect (a wire or cable) by squeezing the end or ends.
1.2 Make waves in (someone's hair) with curling tongs.
2 North American informal Have a limiting or adverse effect on (something)
noun
1 A folded or compressed edge.
1.1 A small connecting piece for crimping wires or lines together.
2 North American informal A restriction or limitation.

Phrases
put a crimp in
North American informal
Have an adverse effect on.

Origin
Old English gecrympan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch krimpen ‘shrink, wrinkle’. Of rare occurrence before the 18th century, the word was perhaps reintroduced from Low German or Dutch.

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Much of what is delivered to us these days is shipped in cardboard boxes which are made by gluing three sheets of heavy grade Kraft paper together. Crimping the middle sheet forms corrugation, adding significant strength to the boxes.

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2022 10:54 am
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote: Mon Jan 24, 2022 10:10 am crimp
For some types of dental filling, dentists used a matrix, a kind of mold, consisting of a metal strip with a tightening mechanism. In the lower left of the image on you can see the instrument used to wind up the curl in the metal strip and thus tightening it.

Could that instrument also be named the crimping tool?

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2022 12:01 pm
by Algot Runeman
E Pericoloso Sporgersi wrote: Mon Jan 24, 2022 10:54 am
Algot Runeman wrote: Mon Jan 24, 2022 10:10 am crimp
For some types of dental filling, dentists used a matrix, a kind of mold, consisting of a metal strip with a tightening mechanism. In the lower left of the image on you can see the instrument used to wind up the curl in the metal strip and thus tightening it.

Could that instrument also be named the crimping tool?
That instrument sounds like a perfect use of "crimping tool".

Over the years, I remember that kind of crimping being done with what what was called 'amalgam' fillings, if I remember correctly. These days, I'm amalgam free, having had every one of my teeth replaced with crowns when most of the old original teeth could not handle the strain any more.

Another clipart came to my mind after the one featuring cardboard, so, naturally, I could not resist making it. The challenge of making an illustration is part of my daily fun. It wasn't all that bad. I had made the clipart of pliers before, so today, it was a matter of organizing a twist of two wires along with an electrical crimp connector.

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2022 9:42 am
by Algot Runeman
moonglade

noun
US
The track made by moonlight on water.

Origin
Mid 19th century; earliest use found in James Russell Lowell (1819–1891), author and diplomat

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Living on the north edge of a pond frequently offers idyllic views of moonglade.

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:01 am
by Algot Runeman
orniscopy

Pronunciation /ɔːˈnɪskəpi/
noun
rare
The observation of birds for the purposes of divination.

Origin
Late 19th century; earliest use found in The Century Dictionary. From ancient Greek ὄρνις bird + -scopy.

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With his passion for orniscopy, Cal divined that his invention, an orniscope, would one day be popular for observing birds. He did not think it would be renamed, telescope.

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[[Disclaimer: There is no connection between the imaginary orniscope and the invention of the telescope as far as I know. I apologize for any confusion I may have caused today, or, in fact, on many other days by using language in a silly way, straying far from solid fact.]]

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 9:06 am
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:01 am orniscopy
Do not confude orniscope with hornyscope.
The first is aimed at birds, the latter at Playboy magazine.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2022 11:02 am
by Algot Runeman
knoll

Pronunciation /nəʊl/
noun
A small hill or mound.

Origin
Old English cnoll ‘hilltop’, of Germanic origin; related to German Knolle ‘clod, lump, tuber’ and Dutch knol ‘tuber, turnip’.

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In the summertime, a knoll is a near-perfect place to have a meeting.

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2022 12:46 pm
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 11:02 am knoll
... related to [...] Dutch knol ‘tuber, turnip’.
Reminds me of:
"Olleke, Bolleke,
Rubens Olleke,
Olleke, Bolleke
KNOL!"

A dutch children's ditty, the equivalent to:
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,
Catch ol' Rubens by the toe.
If he hollers, let him go,
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe."

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2022 9:27 am
by Algot Runeman
myopic

adjective
my·​o·​pic | \ mī-ˈō-pik, -ˈä-pik\

1 medical : not able to clearly see objects that are far away : affected with myopia : nearsighted myopic vision
2 disapproving : only thinking or caring about things that are happening now or that relate to a particular group rather than things that are in the future or that relate to many people

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I'm probably taking a myopic view of the problem. I stink at long-range thinking.

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Although we have used gadzooks before, it is appropriate to note two events where that word is approprate.

1) Lexico offered us that word again today.
2) Lexico is making itself difficult for me to use. I'm getting ads covering the bottom third of the screen along with the huge banner at the top of the page.

I find it almost impossible to view and then to capture the word and definition for use here.

It probably doesn't make any difference to the forum group, but I think I'll be changing the source of words/definitions. Today's myopic comes by way of Merriam-Webster

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2022 4:47 am
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Would you agree that the most important, most significant, most revolutionary and most penetrating invention of humankind is not fire, nor the wheel, nor a weapon, but that this invention is language?

Of course this begs the question: has language ever been WotD?

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2022 10:59 am
by Algot Runeman
career

\ kə-ˈri
verb
careered; careering; careers
intransitive verb
to go at top speed especially in a headlong manner

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The cat careered across the lawn for no apparent reason. Maybe it was celebrating Caturday.

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 7:02 am
by Algot Runeman
flake

noun
\ ˈflāk \
1 : a small loose mass or bit - flakes of snow
2 : a thin flattened piece or layer : chip
3 slang : cocaine
4 : flake tool

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Yesterday's massive nor'easter involved more than just one flake.

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2022 6:26 am
by Algot Runeman
homogeneous

adjective
ho·​mo·​ge·​neous | \ ˌhō-mə-ˈjē-nē-əs, -ˈjēn-yəs \

1 of the same or a similar kind or nature
2 of uniform structure or composition
3 (mathematics) having the property that if each variable is replaced by a constant times that variable the constant can be factored out

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Right after a storm, the snow on a field appears to be homogeneous.

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2022 7:24 am
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote: Mon Jan 31, 2022 6:26 am homogeneous
...
Right after a storm, the snow on a field appears to be homogeneous.

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And dogs, children and spry seniors (Who? I? Nah!) just love to play in it, blithely disturbing the homogeneous blanket.

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2022 11:51 am
by Algot Runeman
garble

verb
gar·​ble | \ ˈgär-bəl \
garbled; garbling\ ˈgär-​b(ə-​)liŋ \

transitive verb
1a to so alter or distort as to create a wrong impression or change the meaning
1b to introduce textual error into (a message) by inaccurate encipherment, transmission, or decipherment
2 to sift impurities from

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Jack garbled his words, "M-mufol uf kaer iss berkern" while trying to be heard over the car's broken muffler.

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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2022 3:25 am
by voralfred
I think I made my career on that thread by garbling the meaning of the words...

Indeed, I was surprised of the rather positive drawing for the word knoll. When first seeing the WOTD in large characters, it gave me a rather bad feeling, that did not, indeed, fit the definition, in smaller size, when I read it.

So why did I have this bad feeling ? Because I had garbled two rather negative words together, knell and toll. I wonder why this combination occurred to me... Not directly from Hemingway ! Maybe from my own "retro-translation" of the french title "Pour qui sonne le glas ?"

Re: Merriam-Webster anything you choose is welcome.

Re: Language : I did not check all 300+ appearances of this word within posts in WOTD. One cannot ask "Was it the WOTD or just within the post ?".
I did check all the appearances of this word within posts by Algot, and also by Ghost, who started to assume the position of Daily Provider of Culture shortly after the thread started. "Language" was not the WOTD in any of those, nor in the few ones that preceded Ghost's tenure. The intermediate period, between Ghost and Algot, if there ever was one, I don't know how to check otherwise than painstakingly. And that would not be homogeneous with my lazy character. Though myopic myself, I'd rather do some night orniscopy by moonglade instead.