GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

[Algot Runeman]

Well, I'll be flipped, E.P.S.

You have completely overturned and overwhelmed my own minor verso tricks.

[Algot Runeman]

orate

Pronunciation: /ôˈrāt, ˈôrˌāt/

verb
[no object]
make a speech, especially pompously or at length.

Origin:
early 17th century: back-formation from oration


southyrolean

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o---o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

When Ben was determined to orate,
All his friends arranged to show up late.
But he new better than to berate.
When they arrived, he could reiterate.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

orate

Grandpa was not given to orate.

But when the foreign exchange rate for imported furs turned particularly disadvantageous, then he was heard to rant. Boy, could he rant, downright vituperatively! His rants drew crowds galore.

It took all of my grandma's considerable female wiles to calm him down and get him home again.
Not that he complained about it afterwards ... .

[laurie]

1971 - Join the Team!

In my premiere debate
I had to orate...

Made judges irate
Put Coach in a state.

I lost the debate.

[Algot Runeman]

centaur

Pronunciation: /ˈsenˌtôr/

noun
Greek Mythology
a creature with the head, arms, and torso of a man and the body and legs of a horse.

Origin:
via Latin from Greek kentauros, the Greek name for a Thessalonian tribe of expert horsemen; of unknown ultimate origin


http://www.flickr.com/photos/30261128@N04/5175508948/licornenoir

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Clyde S. Dale had weird dreams. Every night he toured the world as a centaur. One morning, he found a horseshoe nail in his sheets. His roommate snickered behind his hand.

[laurie]

We have the Alpha Wolf, the Alpha Dog, the Alpha Gorilla, and the Alpha Male, but who or what is the Alpha Centaur?

Spoiler: show

THE STAR !!!

[Algot Runeman]

derring-do

Pronunciation: /ˌderiNGˈdo͞o/

noun
dated humorous
action displaying heroic courage: tales of derring-do

Origin:
late 16th century: from late Middle English dorryng do 'daring to do', used by Chaucer, and, in a passage by Lydgate based on Chaucer's work, misprinted in 16th-century editions as derrynge do; this was misinterpreted by Spenser to mean 'manhood, chivalry', and subsequently taken up and popularized by Sir Walter Scott


Jack Samuels

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Which hero, dressed in sparkling white of course, will save the day this time?
Clearly it needs to be someone with daring-do!

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

derring-do

Hm, seems a bit drastic to start a root canal treatment.
Still, these old-fashioned derring-do procedures often gave surprising results ...

[Algot Runeman]

pan-pan

Pronunciation: /pan pan/

noun
an international radio distress signal, of less urgency than a mayday signal.

Origin:
1920s: pan from French panne 'breakdown'


John O'Sullivan

------------------------------------------blub--------------------------------------

By the time the photo was taken, pan-pan was no longer adequate to explain the situation.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

pan-pan

After Peter had shot himself in the foot, all the nurses called him Peter Pan-pan.

And for several weeks the hospital staff cheerily sang Pan Pan (My Baby Shot Me Down) and I Panned the Sheriff, but sotto voce of course.

[Algot Runeman]

lambaste

Pronunciation: /lamˈbāst, -ˈbast/

(also lambast /-ˈbast/)

verb
[with object]
criticize (someone or something) harshly: they lambasted the report as a gross distortion of the truth

Origin:
mid 17th century (in the sense 'beat, thrash'): from lam1 + baste3. The current sense dates from the late 19th century


Paul Cross

--------------------------------e----------------------------e---------------------------e-----k-----!

Carla was careful to speak gently to her cooking students. She chose to never lambaste them for their lamb basting technique.

[laurie]

Carla was careful to speak gently to her cooking students. She chose to never lambaste them for their lamb basting technique.

Obviously not Carla Tortelli from Cheers. She lambastes everyone in sight!

[Algot Runeman]

telos

Pronunciation: /ˈteläs, ˈtē-/

noun (plural teloi /ˈteloi, ˈtēloi/)
chiefly Philosophy or literary
an ultimate object or aim.

Origin:
Greek, literally 'end'


Dru Bloomfield

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The three Finnish finishers flagrantly flaunt the finish line banner as their very own telos, leaving their competition to merely follow.

[Algot Runeman]

logy

Pronunciation: /ˈlōgē/

adjective (logier, logiest)
dull and heavy in motion or thought; sluggish.

Origin:
mid 19th century: of uncertain origin; compare with Dutch log 'heavy, dull'


Jo Carter

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This morning, after an annual physical, passed with flying colors, I am, nonetheless, feeling logy. Perhaps it is the recommendation that I eat less and exercise more. Maybe the mere suggestion of exercise makes me feel tired.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

logy

I've always associated logy with a waterlogged foot or ... well, logger's log.
Yes, I know, there's little logic to it.

[laurie]

For me, the definition of logy is 97°F, 98% relative humidity... and no swimming pool in sight.

[Algot Runeman]

hornswoggle
Pronunciation: /ˈhôrnˌswägəl/

verb
[with object] (usually be hornswoggled) informal
get the better of (someone) by cheating or deception: you mean to say you were hornswoggled?

Origin:
early 19th century (originally US): of unknown origin


Benjamin Clark

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Bob wanted to hornswoggle Jamie, but he didn't really know the word. He cheated instead.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

hornswoggle

One memorable vacation my two nieces and I were staying at my grands' small country house. During a rainy evening, we all were playing Monopoly. I was also keeping the bank (quite honestly, above board and beyond reproach, I swear).

After an unfortunate throw of the dice, grandma had to clear a mortgage and sell the street. Grandpa started bidding for it.

Grandma asked him sweetly: "Dear, are you going to hornswoggle me again?"
With a bland expression grandpa replied innocently: "Yes, dear, but later, when the kids are asleep, shall we?"
Grandma gracefully sold the street to grandpa for triple its face value.

At that moment (then only ten years old) I didn't really understand what hornswoggle meant. Only years later did it dawn on me that it was a code word they used in the presence of youngsters but with a meaning entirely different from what a dictionary claims. I mean that my nieces and I were actually hornswoggled, but grandma was something else and, in hindsight, something enjoyable.

I wonder which and how many code words grandma used when my nieces and/or I were underfoot.

[laurie]

I wonder which and how many code words grandma used when my nieces and/or I were underfoot.

Methinks you were an unwitting witness to a whole bunch of Granny's hornswoggling.

[Algot Runeman]

chary

Pronunciation: /ˈCHe(ə)rē/

adjective (charier, chariest)
cautiously or suspiciously reluctant to do something: most people are chary of allowing themselves to be photographed

Derivatives
charily
Pronunciation: /ˈCHe(ə)rəlē/ adverb

Origin:
Old English cearig 'sorrowful, anxious'; related to care. The current sense arose in the mid 16th century


Sasha Wolff

⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚿⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼⚼

Cherry was chary while walking to the dairy.
Her full purse and empty pail she had to carry.
The trip home was less scarry.
Empty purse, full bucket, less wary.

[Algot Runeman]

pablum

Pronunciation: /ˈpabləm/

noun
(also pabulum /ˈpabyələm/)
bland or insipid intellectual fare, entertainment, etc.; pap.

Origin:
mid 17th century (in the sense 'food'): from Latin, from the stem of pascere 'to feed'


John Mosbaugh

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My pappy never pandered to the audience. He spoke plainly, but with vigor and honesty. Pablum was for the others, not for his listeners. Of course, when I was a baby, he fed me pablum as needed.

[laurie]

Pablo's Pumpkin Patch Pub was the real deal. "No watered-down pablum sold here," Pablo claimed. Indeed, from the looks of some of his customers, Pablo's reputation for honesty was well deserved...

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

whatevs

Pronunciation: /(h)wəˈtevz, ˌ(h)wätevz/

exclamation , adverb , & relative pronoun
informal
whatever: [as exclamation]: I’m sure someone will disagree with my summary, but whatevs [as adverb]: we have some potatoes that we could grill too (or mash, or bake, or whatevs) [as pronoun]: I have no set plans and am open to whatevs

Origin:
1990s: alteration of whatever

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No specific issue here, but I'm guessing that "whatever" was just too much to say. Whatevs!

[It is news to me, here in New England, that this word exists. British usage? No skin off my nose. It don't matter to me.]

[laurie]

Whatevs ?????

The "cool" people I know (ie. those aged 12 to 22) usually say "what-ev-ah".