GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

whoomp

Pronunciation: /(h)wo͞omp/
(also whoomph /(h)wo͞omf/)

noun
a sudden sound, such as that made by a muffled or distant explosion: the distant whoomp of antiaircraft shells bursting

Origin:
1950s: imitative


penguincakes

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Sarah watched her uncle across the lawn. He carried his plate of food from the buffet. It was piled high. Thank goodness the catering staff was ready for him and the rest of the hungry guests. She turned away and spun back as she heard his chair collapse with a whoomp. Not only was his plate laden, his 400+ pound body was already too large for the rented seating. Another wedding memory.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

whoomp

Ah, I think I see. It's the top superlative.

Making whoomp tops making whoopee?

Like W00t tops Yay?

[Algot Runeman]

noctambulist

Pronunciation: /näkˈtambyəlist/

noun
rare
a sleepwalker.

Derivatives
noctambulism
Pronunciation: /-ˌlizəm/ noun


Derrick Tyson

_O_
/ \
^ ^___________,-------^^^^^^^\ Crash!

When I think of sleepwalking, I think of a somnambulist. A noctambulist sounds like somebody who walks because they cannot sleep, making them an insomniac, perhaps walking, but not in their sleep.

[It also seems a little droll that the term "rare" is applied to the word. I wonder if it also fits when considering the number of people who do walk in their sleep. It it common or "rare"?]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

noctambulist

Maybe noctambulists are also the ambulance crew on night shift duty?
(I'm thinking of Mother, Jugs & Speed here.)

(Okay, okay, I admit it. I'm mostly thinking of Jugs.)

[voralfred]

That's very strange.

In French, a "noctambule" is definitely not a sleepwalker, but an individual who mostly lives at night, having (supposedly) a lot of fun till dawn, then sleeps till sunset and starts again...
Indded, a sleepwalker is called a "somnambule"...

[Algot Runeman]

lurdan

Pronunciation: /ˈlərdn/

noun
an idle or incompetent person.

adjective
lazy; good-for-nothing.

Origin:
Middle English: from Old French lourdin, from lourd 'heavy', lort 'foolish', from Latin luridus 'lurid'



Morgan Johansson

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All my life, I've worked to improve. I've studied. I've practiced. I think I may soon reach my goal: to be a lurdan.

[So, alright. This is an irreverent example based on the work of dear Aunt O'Nym. Without her influence, I might have skipped the studying part.]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

lurdan

This could well be one of the many lurdans loitering along the Palma de Mallorca quay.
It's a pity that the Bosphorus Bridge photobombs the picture.

[Algot Runeman]

anergia

Pronunciation: /aˈnərj(ē)ə/

noun
Psychiatry
abnormal lack of energy.

Origin:
late 19th century: modern Latin, from Greek an- 'without' + ergon 'work'


Palagret

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Bob faced the bathroom mirror with an almost blank stare. The face he saw was undoubtedly his own, but didn't look as Bob expected. The skin was vaguely yellow, not the normal ruddy hue. It was almost too much to spread the shaving cream on his cheeks. The brand new razor blade didn't slide. It moved in shuddering jerks. When, at last, he'd finished the scraping, his cheeks were nicked in a few places and Bob only wiped his face with a towel, not bothering with a rinse. Anergia barely described the way he felt.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

anergia

That's not anergia!
He just discovered that the bench's fresh paint hasn't yet fully dried.

[Algot Runeman]

athetize

Pronunciation: /ˈaTHiˌtīz/

verb
[with object] rare
reject (a passage in a text) as spurious.

Derivatives

athetesis
Pronunciation: /ˌaTHiˈtēsis/ noun

Origin:
late 19th century: from Greek athetos 'without position' + -ize, rendering the Greek verb athetein


Lynn D. Rosentrater

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

I strongly urge you to athetize this passage. There is no point in it. It adds nothing to the argument. It isn't valuable to the cultural commons and has added no value to the lives of anyone.

Students learn to write by writing, and while judicious advice is helpful, there is a gap between knowledge and performance. A steady diet of being closely edited doesn't mean that a student will necessarily internalized what he or she needs to do in future tasks.

http://www.du.edu/writing/documents/13WaysRespondingDougHesse.pdf

[Algot Runeman]

babel

Pronunciation: /ˈbabəl, ˈbā-/

noun
[in singular]
a confused noise, typically that made by a number of voices: the babel of voices on the road
a scene of noisy confusion.

Origin:
early 16th century: from Babel(see Tower of Babel), where, according to the biblical story in Gen. 11:4–9, God made the builders all speak different languages


Alesa Dam

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The international air terminal is one fabulous place to encounter babel. In the first place, you won't typically understand what others are saying: language barrier. In the second place, the conversations will probably be like the ones you do understand at the local pub, which is the best football team, who is the latest love interest of so-and-so star, blah, blah, yadda, yadda. Babel indeed, and like all good airports, there is even a tower.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

babel

Grandpa dearly loved grandma. He happily pampered her to great lengths. Usually ...

Thus he always gallantly accompanied her to all 4 seasons' or more fashion shows and assidiously pretended to be interested, even though he would much rather have stayed at home with a good book. And in spite of the ladies' babel around him, he had to do his utmost to keep awake.

Still, about once a year his interest in the catwalk reversed and suddenly flared up. He always eagerly looked forward to attend the female lingerie fashion show.

[Algot Runeman]

clangor

Pronunciation: /ˈklaNGər/

(British clangour)

noun
[in singular]
a continuous loud banging or ringing sound: he went deaf because of the clangor of the steam hammers

Derivatives
clangorous
Pronunciation: /ˈklaNGərəs/ adjective

Origin:
late 16th century: from Latin clangor, from clangere 'resound'


Todd Martin

---*_____---*_____---*_____---*_____---*_____---*_____---*_____---*_____

Tinnitus troubles some of us. We suffer from a constant clangor inside our own heads (albeit subdued). My own case was exacerbated by a day-long job shoveling gravel from an asphalt driveway. The repetition was clangorous enough to have noticeable after effects ten years later. I now wear sound muffling headphones when I do work with any loud noise.

[voralfred]

clangor

Pronunciation: /ˈklaNGər/

(British clangour)

noun
[in singular]
a continuous loud banging or ringing sound: he went deaf because of the clangor of the steam hammers

(...)
---*_____---*_____---*_____---*_____---*_____---*_____---*_____---*_____

Tinnitus troubles some of us. We suffer from a constant clangor inside our own heads (albeit subdued). My own case was exacerbated by a day-long job shoveling gravel from an asphalt driveway. The repetition was clangorous enough to have noticeable after effects ten years later. I now wear sound muffling headphones when I do work with any loud noise.

I sympathize !
Oh, do I sympathize...
My own tinnitus, about fifteen years old, went through several strengthenings over the first few years until a new doctor finally gave me something to keep it level (not reduce it, of course, this is impossible).
But there was a silver lining to this dark cloud : when I was in hospital for a fruitless attempt to cure the first crisis, a friend gave me the Omnibus "Cordelia's Honour" ("Shards of Honour" and "Barrayar" ) by our resident writer, LMB. And I became an instant addict.
And later,as an added bonus, I have joined this distinguished forum thanks to this addiction, which ultimately is due to this constant clangor in my head...

[Algot Runeman]

chance-medley

noun
Law, rare
the killing of a person accidentally in self-defense in a fight.

Origin:
late 15th century: from Anglo-Norman French chance medlee, literally 'mixed chance', from chance 'luck' + medlee, feminine past participle of medler 'to mix' (based on Latin miscere)


Dinur Blum
Disclaimer: As far as I know no death occurred in this fight.

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Hmm. Let's see. Through absolutely no fault of my own, I find myself in a place where some other fool is eager to fight so I have no option but to fight back. I'm not able to avoid the situation. I'm not able to leave. I must fight. Through no fault of my own, I must strike my opponent with sufficient force to kill. It isn't enough to merely deck the dope and depart. I am forced by totally unavoidable circumstance to kill. Thank heavens, in 66 years of life, I've managed to avoid such chance-medley.

[Noticing that the term is listed as a legal term, I wonder if it applied equally to the Normans and to the Saxons.]

[Algot Runeman]

skoal

Pronunciation: /skōl/

(also skol)

exclamation
used to express friendly feelings toward one’s companions before drinking.

Origin:
early 17th century (a Scots use): from Danish and Norwegian skaal, Swedish skål, from Old Norse skál 'bowl'; perhaps introduced through the visit of James VI to Denmark in 1589. Compare with scale2


Matthew Bietz

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Bob raised his glass. The gathered friends raised theirs, too.
"Skoal," loud and enthusiastic, all around, with one "Cheers" from the lone Brit.
Ceremonial moment over, their empty glasses remained on the table as they turned toward the large screen to see the game begin.
It is nice to think of a sports gathering that isn't completely centered on drinking.
[Fantasy novels are popular, too.]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

chance-medley...
[Noticing that the term is listed as a legal term, I wonder if it applied equally to the Normans and to the Saxons.]

Didn't they both sing medleys perchance?

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

skoal

Though rugby players tend to get muddy but avoid it in their eyes, old Angus said "Mud in your eye!" regardless, and downed his glass too.

P.S. Antwerpian slang says "Schol!" when clinking glasses.

[Algot Runeman]

opacity

Pronunciation: /ōˈpasitē/

noun
the condition of lacking transparency or translucence; opaqueness: thinner paints need black added to increase opacity
obscurity of meaning: the difficulty and opacity in Barthes' texts

Origin:
mid 16th century: from French opacité, from Latin opacitas, from opacus 'darkened'


Dave Makes

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Paul Newman's movie, "Cool Hand Luke", is marvelously remembered for the image of the guard whose sunglasses provided opacity to his gaze on the prisoners.

[Another option is the Jeopardy one, "What is Athens?" (Opa! city)]

[Algot Runeman]

asportation

Pronunciation: /ˌaspərˈtāSHən/

noun
Law, rare
the detachment, movement, or carrying away of property, considered an essential component of the crime of larceny.

Origin:
late 15th century: from Latin asportation-, from asportare 'carry away'


Dave Cross

.....................................................................................$

In our strange digital world, copyright infringement is equated with theft/larceny in spite of the complete lack of asportation of the digital artifact. There it sits in its original location. It is just also in a new location.

[For extra fun, check out an article about the only season with two names.]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

asportation

I guess a thief riding a donkey really is committing assportation.

[For extra fun, check out an article about the only season with two names.]

Don't despair. 'Lente' (spring) survives very well in Dutch, as well as 'herfst' (harvest).

[Algot Runeman]

mumpsimus

Pronunciation: /ˈməmpsiməs/

noun (plural mumpsimuses)
a traditional custom or notion adhered to although shown to be unreasonable.
a person who obstinately adheres to unreasonable customs or notions.

Origin:
mid 16th century: erroneously for Latin sumpsimus in quod in ore sumpsimus 'which we have taken into the mouth' (Eucharist), in a story of an illiterate priest who, when corrected, replied “I will not change my old mumpsimus for your new sumpsimus.”


Tama Leaver

__________________________________________________________ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz...

The method of lecture in a classroom of students is the epitome of mumpsimus. It is the model of "teacher as broadcaster" instead of "mentor in conversation." Putting the lecture on a screen isn't an improvement.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

mumpsimus

The photographer appears to have a stubborn mumpsimus of his own. Why shoot a TV screen with a strobe light?

[Algot Runeman]

pariah

Pronunciation: /pəˈrīə/

noun
1an outcast: they were treated as social pariahs
2 historical a member of a low caste in southern India.

Origin:
early 17th century: from Tamil paṛaiyar, plural of paṛaiyan '(hereditary) drummer', from paṛai 'a drum' (pariahs not being allowed to join in with a religious procession)


Karunakar Rayker

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Beat, hippie, goth...pariahs all, especially if you've a preppie perspective.
If you were a small bird, you'd probably think the photographed pariah kite wasn't welcome either.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

pariah

I guess that, in some circles, she's Pariah Carey ...