GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by **Ghost** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:24 am

Word of the Day Tuesday, July 07, 2009

shibboleth\SHIB-uh-lith; -leth\ , noun: 1.A peculiarity of pronunciation, behavior, mode of dress, etc., that distinguishes a particular group of persons. 2.A slogan; a catchword. 3.A common saying or belief with little current meaning or truth.

Accustomed to the veneer of noise, to the shibboleths of promotion, public relations, and market research, society is suspicious of those who value silence.
-- John Lahr,

The fish oil shibboleth is only the latest to be overturned in recent years. Vitamin supplements and fibre have also been found to provide no benefits.
-- Nigel Hawkes, "Nice idea, but where's the proof?", Times (London), March 24, 2009

Class size is another shibboleth: First, small class sizes do not increase learning, and, second, class sizes have become quite small anyway.
-- Jay Nordlinger, "The Anti-Excusers", National Review, October 27, 2003

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Shibboleth is from Hebrew shibboleth, "stream, flood," from the use of this word in the Bible (Judges 12:4-6) as a test to distinguish Gileadites from Ephraimites, who could not say 'sh' but only 's' as in 'sibboleth'.

[Mode Note] Today's word was a repeat and since I was too busy yesterday to post I used "yesterday's WOTD"

hiram · Post by **hiram** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:38 am

John was a successful car salesman in Japan. However, if he had one demon that kept biting him and his sales figures in the arse it was his love of shibboleths ... such as the difficulty his Japanese customers (who loved of all things pertaining to cowboys and the American 'wild west') had with pronouncing "Wrangler Laredo" - which often got mangled into "Rang-ger-rar Rar-rey-do".

E Pericoloso Sporgersi · Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:22 am

Shibboleth isn't grown in a truck garden, but to me it sounds like yiddish ciboulette.

voralfred · Post by **voralfred** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:40 am

The shibboleth among true LMB fans is to define Mark: anyone who calls him Miles' clone instead of Miles's brother is an outsider who should be shunned by the bona fide fidels (The fate of the Ephraimites may be considered a little bit excessive in that case)

Post by **Ghost** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 8:16 am

Word of the DayThursday, July 09, 2009\

fervid\FUR-vid\ , adjective: 1.Heated or vehement in spirit, enthusiasm, etc. 2.Burning; glowing; intensely hot.

Over the last week, the Cubs opened their home season at Wrigley Field, and the city's Lyric Opera was presenting Richard Wagner's four-opera "Ring des Nibelungen," which meant that two of the world's most fervid fan bases were simultaneously encamped on opposite sides of the Chicago River.
-- Bruce Weber, "Take Me Out to the Opera: In Chicago, a Fan Is a Fan", New York Times, April 16, 2009

The words of fire that from his pen
Were flung upon the fervid page,
Still move, still shake the hearts of men,
Amid a cold and coward age.
-- William Cullen Bryant

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Fervid comes from Latin fervidus "glowing, burning, vehement," from fervere "to boil, glow." The figurative sense of "impassioned" is from 1656.

hiram · Post by **hiram** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 8:43 am

The controversial anti-fur video was a product of the fervid imaginations of the Animals First vegan coalition.

Algot Runeman · Post by **Algot Runeman** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 4:56 pm

Wouldn't an anti fur vid be cool instead of heated?

Do anti fur activists all have dogs like the Mexican Hairless or do they just shave their pets to avoid the danger of poachers?

All these questions make me sooo mad. I'm having fervid angst trying to resolve my cross forum proclivities.

CodeBlower · Post by **CodeBlower** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 9:35 am

E Pericoloso Sporgersi · Fri Jul 17, 2009 10:13 am

I'd like to have a fervid fur vid somewhere on YouTube. I might use it to advertise and be able to sell the antique fur coats (60 - 120 years old) I inherited from my grandma.

Anybody interested?

Post by **Ghost** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 8:10 am

Word of the Day Wednesday, July 22, 2009

glabrous\GLAY-bruhs\ , adjective: 1.Smooth; having a surface without hairs, projections, or any unevenness.

This species has a bluish-tinged body completely covered in white flecking in the typical species, though completely glabrous green variants are also seen without any of the body flecking.
-- Kevin G. Belmonte, "The woolly Astrophytums", The Philippine Star, June 6, 2009

We offered to the rebarbative Senator Patrick Leahy's demands on us amused resistance and the promise to buy the glabrous old boy a proper hairpiece.
-- R Emmett Tyrrell Jr., "Jumpin' Jim Jehoshaphat!", The American Spectator, July 1, 2001

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Glabrous is from Latin glaber, "smooth, bald."

CodeBlower · Post by **CodeBlower** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 8:47 am

I guess a glabrous fur vid is out of the question - no matter how fervid?

E Pericoloso Sporgersi · Wed Jul 22, 2009 8:52 am

I can assure you that my grandma's fur coats have no worn out glabrous spots.

But, except for her luxuriant and gorgeous natural hair in the right places, my fervid grandma herself was delightfully glabrous all over (my grandpa told me).

Post by **Ghost** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:06 am

Word of the Day Thursday, July 23, 2009

protean\PRO-tee-un; pro-TEE-un\ , adjective: 1.Displaying considerable variety or diversity. 2.Readily assuming different shapes or forms.

The [Broadway] musical was ceaselessly protean in these years, usually conventional but always developing convention, twisting it, replacing it.
-- Ethan Mordden, Coming Up Roses

Roosevelt's performance in the civil rights meeting illustrated one of the central operating principles of his protean executive style, a style that transformed the presidency, and the nation: a willingness to delay decisions, change his mind, keep his options open, avoid commitments, or even deceive people in the relentless pursuit of noble objectives.
-- William Doyle, Inside the Oval Office

He was a protean character who constantly adapted to his environment.
-- David Maraniss, The Clinton Enigma

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Protean is derived from Proteus, an ancient Greek god who had the ability to change his shape at will.

E Pericoloso Sporgersi · Thu Jul 23, 2009 9:50 am

Thanks to her collection of different fur coats, my grandma was really protean in her society appearances.

Post by **Ghost** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:06 am

Word of the Day Friday, July 24, 2009

skulk\SKUHLK\ , intransitive verb: 1.To hide, or get out of the way, in a sneaking manner; to lurk. 2.To move about in a stealthy way. 3.To avoid responsibilities and duties. noun: 1.One who skulks. 2.A group of foxes.

When not rummaging under bushes, Mr. Sculley can often be seen skulking in the woods or prowling along the shore.
-- Tom Gilling, The Sooterkin

He was forced to creep and skulk into every place for fear of being taken and hanged.
-- Anthony Wood, Athenae Oxoniensus

He skulked back from the shop with his purchase, hugging the walls, looking at no one, all the more panicky because he knew no other way home.
-- Patrick Chamoiseau, School Days (translated by Linda Coverdale)

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Skulk is from Middle English skulken, ultimately of Scandinavian origin.

E Pericoloso Sporgersi · Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:23 am

Ghost wrote:Word of the Day Friday, July 24, 2009

skulk\SKUHLK\ , intransitive verb: 1.To hide, or get out of the way, in a sneaking manner; to lurk. 2.To move about in a stealthy way. 3.To avoid responsibilities and duties. noun: 1.One who skulks. 2.A group of foxes.
...
Skulk is from Middle English skulken, ultimately of Scandinavian origin.

My grandpa never skulked when my grandma showed herself wearing only a fur coat.

Algot Runeman · Post by **Algot Runeman** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:25 am

The group of gorgeous, tall, blonde, Scandinavian foxes stepped brightly along on their way to the dance. They did all they could to be seen and admired. There was no attempt to hide their presence or intent. They did not sneak and skulk in emulation of their furry namesakes in a skulk of foxes. No formless "herd" of cows either, their sleek, killer good looks seemed more appropriate to a "murder" of crows and their behavior suggested instead a take-charge attitude appropriate to a "pride" of lions.

hiram · Post by **hiram** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 1:30 pm

The battle-hardened denizens of the WOTD thread sauntered along through the relatively placid waters of the internet community. Like the aforementioned Scandinavian ladies, they did not skulk, scurry, fret, or cast furtive glances hither and yon. Oh no. No, no, no. They prowled. They strutted. They were arrogant, and were always ready to do linguistic battle with only the lightest of provocations. Oh and they fought dirty too ... there was no dark depth of perspicacity, nor towering pinnacle of sesquipedalianism, or protean twist of ethnic slang they would not seize upon and stab with in a heartbeat, if they though it'd gain them even the briefest advantage over their intended victims.

It was THEY whom the dreaded Roving Punster, sworn protector of the faceless, mediocre, mouth-breathing hoi polloi, preyed upon with greatest delight.

Algot Runeman · Post by **Algot Runeman** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 4:50 am

Protector?

E Pericoloso Sporgersi · Sat Jul 25, 2009 7:27 am

Algot Runeman wrote:Protector?

He must have botched his latest recipe ...

hiram · Post by **hiram** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 8:10 am

Hey, I was on a roll, with butter ... so smooth me.

Algot Runeman · Post by **Algot Runeman** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 10:36 am

Smooth you?

Why I'll use my rolling pin to flatten you, mash with my egg beater, beat you mercilessly with my whisk(ey). You'll be smooth after all that. Maybe then I can fold you over and with some of that butter to build a croissant I can "jam" down your throat.

[Sorry, bad night, woke up too many times before the light of day could improve my mood. I roux my tone. I regret my sour-as-vinagrette comments. I skulk away now.]

E Pericoloso Sporgersi · Sun Jul 26, 2009 2:25 pm

Not being native to English, this last all sounds Scottish, Welsh, Irish or Tasmanian to me. Could you repeat this in BBC-news-readerish please?

Algot Runeman · Post by **Algot Runeman** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:00 pm

Word Play Translation Services

Smooth you?

Hiram was talking about butter...food and I took the pun/wordplay route to use food terms for their fighting meanings.

Why I'll use my rolling pin to flatten you, flatten/knock down instead of smooth...with a pastry roller mash with my egg beater reduce chunkiness/squash like a bug, beat you mercilessly with my whisk(ey) beat as batter/beat as with a whip, but with a cooking implement called a whisk and with a side reference to the inclination of Hiram to drink. You'll be smooth after all that. Maybe then I can fold you over and with some of that butter to build a croissant I can "jam" down your throat. food reference in "jam" and "jam" forcefully down someone's throat.

The next paragraph handles the need to temper my comments to keep the forum light, especially since I really don't want to fight at all.

[Sorry, bad night, woke up too many times before the light of day could improve my mood. I rouxintended as the food reference, a base for a sauce/rue as in regret my tone. I regret my sour-as-vinagrette comments. I skulk away now.]

hiram · Post by **hiram** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 5:32 pm

Wordplay Translation Services (Cont'd)

"Hey, I was on a roll*, with butter** ... so smooth me***."

* Being "on a roll" ... is deceptively difficult to translate. Think momentum. Think egyptian slaves with a large block of sandstone on rollers heading towards a pyramid ... after they've labored hard to overcome the stone's motionless inertia and get it moving on the rollers, they could be said to be 'on a roll". The expression is similar to someone having built up a "full head of steam" (as in a steam locomotive). The metaphor applies equally to music (picture someone in the middle of an excellent energetic solo performance), rhetoric (developing momentum in one's elegant & forceful delivery), etc.

** This was a sudden mixing of metaphors (from one of intertia/progress to culinary), thus creating play on words (i.e., a pun). If it were music, it'd be a sudden creative twist of beat.

*** The real english slang expression for unrepentingly thumbing one's nose at someone, after committing a mock offense, is to say "so sue me" (as in file a ineffectual lawsuit over the perceived offense) ... however, since it followed my "on a roll with butter" play on words, it became "so smooth me" instead of "so sue me". Mixing metaphors yet again (this time American football), it was basically a linguistic endzone dance, or (if you pefer Nascar) a standing wheelspin ... to help melt the butter into all the nooks and crannies.