GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[felonius]

I was never quite down with the distinction between sycophantic and obsequious, but I think sycophantic is more fun to say. And sycophant. Call me weird, but it always makes me think of a sociopathic elephant...or maybe these ones.

It was during his morning ablutions that Felonius noticed a malodorous reek emanating from his armpits ... which he quickly attended to with bottle of feminine deodorant spray, surreptitiously pressed into cross-gender service.

Are you saying I stink? I always check the medicine cabinet too. You can tell a lot about a woman from that - more so than her refrigerator.

[Darb]

It was during his morning ablutions that Felonius noticed a malodorous reek emanating from his armpits ... which he quickly attended to with bottle of feminine deodorant spray, surreptitiously pressed into cross-gender service.

Are you saying I stink? I always check the medicine cabinet too. You can tell a lot about a woman from that - more so than her refrigerator.

[faithful psychophant]

Oooh, let me slay him for you Master !

You've been much too lenient on him over the years.

Let me <strike>castrate</strike> castigate him for you !

[/mode]

[Ghost]

Word of the Day Wednesday February 28, 2007

surreptitious \suhr-uhp-TISH-uhs; suh-rep-\, adjective: 1. Done, made, or gotten by stealth. 2. Acting with or marked by stealth.

The monitoring is not surreptitious; on the contrary, the defendant and his or her attorney are required to be given notice of the government's listening activities.
-- John Ashcroft, "National Security; Prevention of Acts of Violence and Terrorism", Federal Register 66, no. 211, October 26, 2001

While men's appetites are driven by availability, women's are often driven by cravings. A dab of chocolate here, a pinch of sugar there, and some surreptitious midnight Dairy Queen runs lurk behind a woman's oh-so-virtuous bran breakfast, salad lunch, and grilled fish dinner.
-- Wendy Hubbert, "The skinny on male/female dieting", Redbook, October 1, 2001

Now she made a surreptitious glance toward the doorway into the hall.
-- Naeem Murr, The Boy

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Surreptitious comes from Latin surrepticius, "stolen, secret, surreptitious," from surripere, "to take away secretly; to steal," from sub-, "under" + rapere, "to seize, to snatch."

Was a little busy yesterday:

Word of the Day Archive Tuesday February 27, 2007

ambit \AM-bit\, noun: 1. Circuit or compass. 2. The boundaries or limits of a district or place. 3. An area in which something acts, operates, or has power or control; extent; sphere; scope.

There was little to suggest his future eminence until he came within the ambit of the Vienna Circle, the renowned group of philosopher-scientists whose mission was to replace traditional metaphysics with the clean worldview of modern science.
-- David Papineau, "The Proof Is in the Disproof", New York Times, November 12, 2000

The Department of Enterprise wanted a regulatory regime completely outside the ambit of the Central Bank.
-- Christine Newman, "Departments were having 'turf war', committee told", Irish Times, November 29, 2000

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Ambit is from Latin ambitus, "circuit," from ambire, "to go around," from amb-, "about, around" + ire, "to go."

[felonius]

“What can I get for you?â€

[Darb]

After surreptitiously applying the feminine deodorant spray generously within the ambit of his armpit, Felonius quietly sauntered out of the bathroom.

Back in the bedroom, he glanced with distaste at the sleeping stranger before exiting, and resolved for the umpteenth time to quit drinking. He had no idea who she was. None. When he'd awakened, minutes earlier, it was all he could do to avoid gasping aloud. The woman was ugly enough to sour milk with a glance ... and she looked to be at least twice his age. Worse still, the ID badge on the night table revealed her to be a high party official.

Not good. Not good at all.

[felonius]

Geez. You could have at least made her a cougar. That would be a more palatable ambit.

[Darb]

A cougar, eh ?

/me surreptitiously posts lyrics to ...

"Man Eater", by Hall & Oates

She'll only come out at night
The lean and hungry type
Nothing is new, I've seen her here before
Watching and waiting
Ooh, she's sittin' with you but her eyes are on the door
So many have paid to see
What you think you're gettin' for free
The woman is wild, a she-cat tamed by the purr of a Jaguar
Money's the matter
If you're in it for love, you ain't gonna get too far

• (Oh-oh, here she comes) Watch out boy she'll chew you up
  (Oh-oh, here she comes) She's a man eater
  (Oh-oh, here she comes) Watch out boy she'll chew you up
  (Oh-oh, here she comes) She's a man eater

I wouldn't if I were you
I know what she can do
She's deadly man, she could really rip your world apart
Mind over matter
Ooh, the beauty is there but a beast is in the heart

• (Oh-oh, here she comes) Watch out boy she'll chew you up
  (Oh-oh, here she comes) She's a man-eater
  (Oh-oh, here she comes) Watch out boy she'll chew you up
  (Oh-oh, here she comes) She's a man-eater
  Ooh,
  (Oh-oh, here she comes) Here she comes, Watch out boy she'll chew you up
  (Whoa-oh, here she comes. Watch out) She's a man-eater
  (Oh-oh, here she comes. She's a man-eater) Ooh, she'll chew you up
  (Oh-oh, here she comes) Here she comes, she's a man-eater
  (Oh-oh, here she comes. Watch out) She'll only come out at night, ooh
  (Oh-oh, here she comes) Here she comes, she's a man-eater
  (Oh-oh, here she comes. She's a man-eater) The woman is wild, woo
  (Oh-oh, here she comes) Here she comes. Watch out boy, watch out boy
  (Oh-oh, here she comes) Oh, watch out, watch out, watch out, watch out
  (Oh-oh, here she comes) Yeah, yeah, she's a man-eater
  (Oh-oh, here she comes. She's a man-eater) She's watching and waiting, ooh
  (Oh-oh, here she comes) Oh, she's a man-eater

[CodeBlower]

Worse still, the ID batch on the night table revealed her to be a high party official.

Batches?! We don' nee' no steenking batches!

p.s. I enjoyed the lepoard-loving lapidary leper.

felonius - that's the last time I go along with the herd for drinks ...

[felonius]

Worse still, the ID batch on the night table revealed her to be a high party official.

Let's hope she was impregnable.

[Darb]

Batches?! We don' nee' no steenking batches!

Whoops.

Thank TGC (The Great Chicken) you spotted that before Laurie did, or I'd have been whammed for sure !

p.s. Corrected

[felonius]

Laurie might not be pleased about another member taking a gambit into her traditional ambit, non-pernicious and surreptitious though it was.

[laurie]

Codeblower was kind enough to quote the original mistake so I can still give the miscreant his due punishment.


Brad


Nothing surreptitious about that, folks.

[Ghost]

Word of the Day Friday March 2, 2007

conflagration \kon-fluh-GRAY-shuhn\, noun: 1. A large and destructive fire; a general burning. 2. Something like a conflagration; conflict; war.

When the cane fields were set alight to rid them of snakes and the sky was brilliant with orange and yellow, Kwaku knew that there was a profound meaning in the conflagration and the rain of ash that fell in its aftermath.
-- Roy Heath, Kwaku

Every winter the city seemed to go up in a conflagration of house fires: faulty furnaces, kerosene lamps knocked over, exploding water heaters, damp wiring, bored kids playing with matches, burglars turned arsonists this year, to cover their tracks, always something.
-- Alvin Greenberg, How the Dead Live

Though now we talk about lots of smaller wars, what's to prevent a really big conflagration?
-- Robert D. Kaplan, An Empire Wilderness

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Conflagration comes from Latin conflagratio, from conflagrare, "to burn up," from com-, intensive prefix + flagrare, "to blaze."

[Darb]

Ok, I hired us someone to assist with pronouncing our WOTDs.

You can select different voices ... I'm partial to "Crystal (US)".

Try pasting this into her 'say' box:

I think you should sit down and take a stress pill dave because i am not going to open the pod bay doors and if you force them a conflagration will ensue

[Ghost]

Word of the Day Monday March 5, 2007

galumph \guh-LUHM(P)F\, intransitive verb: To move in a clumsy manner or with a heavy tread.

Then he climbed up the little iron ladder that led to the wharf's cap, placed me once more upon his shoulders and galumphed off again.
-- Alistair MacLeod, Island: The Complete Stories

Lizards patrol the . . . landscape, and giant tortoises galumph on the beaches.
-- Peter M. Nichols, "Galápagos", New York Times, March 30, 2001

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Galumph is probably an alteration of gallop. It was coined by Lewis Carroll in the nonsense poem "Jabberwocky."

[voralfred]

Galumph is probably an alteration of gallop. It was coined by Lewis Carroll in the nonsense poem "Jabberwocky."

I understand that "galumph" is a "portmanteau-word" (another word coined by Lewis Caroll which he defines in "Through the Looking Glass") made of "galop" and "triumph".

[CodeBlower]

What a fun word!

For some reason, it brings back fond memories of Anna Nicole Smith ...

[Darb]

And let's not forget the mighty Jabberwock !

[Ghost]

Word of the Day Tuesday March 6, 2007

indefatigable \in-dih-FAT-ih-guh-bul\, adjective: Incapable of being fatigued; not readily exhausted; untiring; unwearying; not yielding to fatigue.

She was always seeking to add to her collection and was an indefatigable first-nighter at Broadway shows.
-- Meryle Secrest, Stephen Sondheim: A Life

For the next thirteen years, with indefatigable zeal he rummages the libraries for charts and details of the spice trade and Pacific voyages.
-- Alan Gurney, Below the Convergence

Ernest Hemingway was, luckily, an indefatigable letter-writer.
-- Carlos Baker, "A Search for the Man As He Really Was", New York Times, July 26, 1964

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Indefatigable comes from Latin indefatigabilis, from in-, "not" + defatigare, "to tire out," from de-, intensive prefix + fatigare, "to weary."

[voralfred]

Galumphing all around, the indefatigable (though solispistic) Ghost daily brings us the WoTD, while felonious, surreptitiously, tries to use it in a post before any one else among the hoi polloi does. But this time, my lapidary post got into his usual ambit before he did. I just hope no major conflagration will be created by his sycophants because of my raffish and turbid contribution.

[CodeBlower]

((sits ready with roasting-stick and bag of marshmallows -- awaiting the coming conflagration))

[Ghost]

Word of the Day Wednesday March 7, 2007

collegial \kuh-LEE-jee-uhl; -juhl\, adjective: 1. Characterized by or having authority or responsibility shared equally by each of a group of colleagues. 2. Characterized by equal sharing of authority especially by Roman Catholic bishops. 3. Of or relating to a college or university; collegiate. 4. Characterized by camaraderie among colleagues.

These collaborations also tend to be collegial, with the leader perceived as one among equals, rather than as one in possession of unique skills or knowledge.
-- Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration

Through Marshall's own instinct for building consensus and, most important, through the power of collegial discussion, the Justices of that era overcame sharp divisions and succeeded in separating the interests of the Court and of the Constitution from politics.
-- Edward Lazarus, Closed Chambers

[The council] imparted legitimacy to a more democratic or collegial form of church governance, and thus reopened the debate on papal infallibility which Pope Pius IX had attempted definitively to resolve a century earlier at the First Vatican Council.
-- Michael W. Cuneo, The Smoke of Satan

His eccentricities were easily accommodated in the . . . collegial climate.
-- Carole Klein, "Red Brick and Brownstone: A Literary Tour of Gramercy Park", New York Times, March 13, 1988

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Collegial comes from Medieval Latin collegialis, "of or relating to colleagues," from Latin collegium, "an association," from collega, "a colleague, one chosen with [col- for con-, 'with'] another, a partner in office," from con- + legare, "to send or choose as deputy," from lex, legis, "law."

[Darb]

Setting: Collegiate WOTD Committee, Meeting #4,347 {in progress}

Chairman: "Mr. Secretary, please recite the minutes of our previous meeting." he intoned, filled with bored disinterest.

Secretary: "Meeting #4,346 commenced at 6pm sharp. Attendance was 11. We approved our annual budget, which was $497.52. Aside from a brief appearance by the Janitor, who galumphed in while we were in session in order to empty our overflowing trash bin, no business of consequence was conducted. Over on IBDoF/IBList, it was noted that someone successfully used indefatigable in a decent sentence ..."

Secretary {brief pause to shuffle papers, before droning on} "... at 6:22pm, one of the students motioned that we end early, so that we could make 2:1 happy hour at TGI Friday's. The motion was promptly seconded, and I'm sad to report that all but 3 of us raced out of the room before we'd even properly adourned."

Students1-4: Zzzzzzzzzz ...

Students6-9: Zzzzzzzzzz ...

Student5: {stands & salutes}

Chairman: "Yes, Mr ... Mr ..."

Student5: "Johnathan Felice. It might help attendance at our meetings if we could put out a keg, and perhaps do things like offer prizes for most creative WOTD ideas, and perhaps have a wet t-shirt contest."

{all 8 of the other students promptly stir from half-slumber, jump to their feet, and begin enthusiastically gesticulating their approval of the motion}

Chairman: "I'm sorry, Mr. Felice, but I have no desire to see you in a wet T-Shirt."

Student5: "No no no, not me. I meant The Ladies"

Chairman: "This is a WOTD club, not a topless bar. If the board caught wind of it, I'd be burned at the stake in a mighty conflagration."

Secretary: {under his breath} "That might not be a bad thing."

Chairman: "I heard that !"

[laurie]

I wonder if the Chairman is, by chance, named Jerk ... ?

[voralfred]

A collegial cohort of credulous WOTD Committee members were convinced by the confabulations of their utterly uncontrite Chairman to conflate a new excursus to their time-honored conspectus. A conflagration was avoided when the only member who tried to quash this quasi-dictatorial, unqualifiable coertion, and make a casus-belli out of it, fell unconscious, a casualty to a massive cocaine overdose. And the Committee unconscionably followed the Chairamn in a commodious Cokaigne of concensus.