GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

reify

Pronunciation: /ˈrēəˌfī/
verb (reifies, reifying, reified)
[with object] formal
make (something abstract) more concrete or real:these instincts are, in humans, reified as verbal constructs

Origin:
mid 19th century: from Latin res, re- 'thing' + -fy

-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-␀-

Math wishes to reify "number" beyond the simple sense of one vs. many.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

reify

That he deified her, was a bit too strong to describe my grandpa's adoration. But he certainly thought my grandma was a goddess reified in the flesh.

[Algot Runeman]

dickens

Pronunciation: /ˈdikinz/
noun
[in singular] informal dated
used for emphasis, euphemistically invoking the Devil:they work like the dickens she was in a dickens of a rush
(the dickens) used when asking questions to express annoyance or surprise:what the dickens is going on?

Origin:
late 16th century: probably a use of the surname Dickens





Darn, what the dickens will I do now? It's icing outside. I need to shop.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

dickens... Darn, what the dickens will I do now? ...

Could "What the dickens!" be a mondegreen of what was originally "What the clickens!" but badly printed by a misaligned typewriter?

Another example: I usually have to read "darn" and "dam" twice to make sure which it is.

[Algot Runeman]

doozy

Pronunciation: /ˈdo͞ozē/
(also doozie)
noun (plural doozies)
informal, chiefly North American
something outstanding or unique of its kind:it’s gonna be a doozy of a black eye

Origin:
early 20th century: of unknown origin


Photo Credit: Michael

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That car is a real doozy!

[Algot Runeman]

duumvirate

Pronunciation: /d(y)o͞oˈəmvərit/
noun
a coalition of two people having joint authority or influence.

Origin:
mid 17th century: from Latin duumviratus

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dean and Don were too dumb to form an effective duumvirate.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Merry Christmas. Health and happiness to you, today and all the days that follow.

[Algot Runeman]

bizarrerie

Pronunciation: /biˈzärərē/
noun (plural bizarreries)
a thing considered extremely strange and unusual, typically in an amusing way:the bizarreries of small talk

Origin:
mid 18th century: from French, from bizarre



☊☋☊☋☊☋☊☋☊☋☊☋☊☋☊☋☊☋☊☋☊☋☊☋☊☋☊☋☊☋☊☋☊☋☊☋

It is always amazing how my family finds just the right bizarrerie as a Christmas present for me.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

bizarrerie...
It is always amazing how my family finds just the right bizarrerie as a Christmas present for me.

So what's a collector of bizarreries called?

• a bizarrian?
• a bizarrerian?
• a monty python?
• a runeman?

I must admit that I inherited a few bizarreries from my grandma.
Can you guess what use this item is?

The answer is:

Spoiler: show

This thing is a tool to stretch and widen one or more fingers of a leather glove,
to make room for a fat ring or a set of thick fingers.

[Algot Runeman]

tine

Pronunciation: /tīn/
noun
a prong or sharp point, such as that on a fork or antler.

Origin:
Old English tind, of Germanic origin; related to German Zinne 'pinnacle'



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Friends, there is no need to worry,
Fear not the portents nor the signs.
With many branches, many tines,
The next decision needs no hurry.

The road ahead has many forks,
And picking one or choosing which
Will keep me safely from the ditch
Still well ahead of all you dorks.

[Algot Runeman]

xenology

Pronunciation: /zəˈnäləjē/
noun
(chiefly in science fiction) the scientific study of alien biology, cultures, etc..

Origin:
1950s: from Greek xenos 'stranger, foreigner', (adjective) 'strange'



///*^*\\\ ///*^*\\\ ///*^*\\\ ///*^*\\\ ///*^*\\\ ///*^*\\\ ///*^*\\\ ///*^*\\\

"The Zen of Xenology" is my next journal article to be written on a virtual machine using Xen. Did I mention I'm a xenophile living amidst xenophobes?

[Algot Runeman]

steganography

Pronunciation: /ˌstegəˈnägrəfi/
noun
the practice of concealing messages or information within other nonsecret text or data.



Origin:
late 16th century: modern Latin steganographia, from Greek steganos 'covered'+ -graphy

00000h1111111i010101d100011d000111e1111n10100me0101ss11100a111g10101100e

The stegosaurus successfully used steganography to hide messages from the neighborhood Tyranosaurs. It was very easy. They couldn't read anyway.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

steganography

Stephan regularly used calligraphy combined with his own personal encrypting code to hide messages in steganographic jpegs. He proudly called it his secret stephanography.
Though often the image itself was a strong hint to the hidden content.

[Algot Runeman]

comminatory

Pronunciation: /ˈkämənəˌtôrē, kəˈminə-/
adjective
threatening, punitive, or vengeful.

Origin:
early 16th century: from medieval Latin comminatorius, from comminat- 'threatened', from the verb comminari (see commination)


Photo Credit: funkyrobot

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Back in the late quarter of the 1700s Sam Adams might once have uttered the comminatory jibe, "At my bar, you might come in a Tory, but by the time you leave, you'd better be a patriot!"

[Algot Runeman]

deleterious

Pronunciation: /ˌdeliˈti(ə)rēəs/
adjective
causing harm or damage:divorce is assumed to have deleterious effects on children



Origin:
mid 17th century: via medieval Latin from Greek dēlētērios 'noxious' + -ous

----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----

Which is more deleterious to a person's success, action leading to a stumble, or inaction...leading to nothing?

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

deleterious

A while ago (3 months or so) I inadvertently hit the [Del] button at the wrong moment. OOPS!
It had a disastrous effect on a particularly cherished folder (the one with lots of nude pictures) on my external HDD.
Fortunately with Recuva® I managed to restore all wiped images.

Conclusion: Use the [Del] = [Delete key] sparingly and with circumspection, because it can have very deleterious consequences. No wonder that key was so named. Be warned!

[Algot Runeman]

quidnunc

Pronunciation: /ˈkwidˌnəNGk/
noun
archaic
an inquisitive and gossipy person.

Origin:
early 18th century: from Latin quid nunc? 'what now?'



--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?--?...

My sister-in-law turns on the TV as she enters the room, checks her weather app, and then calls someone on the phone. The TV provides visual support behind her rambling conversation. "Oh, oh, turn to channel four!" she says and waits while the channel changes at the other end of the conversation. Then the rambling continues. If it were not archaic, she would easily fit as a quidnunc. With the internet, TV, radio and always ready cellphone contact at hand, it is a perfect time to ressurect quidnunc from disuse.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

quidnunc

And a Happy Quidnunc to you too.

Yes, yes, I know quidnunc doesn't mean new year.

But as always when you give or receive a present, even one totally wrong, it's not the present itself but the sentiment that matters, isn't it? So there you go ...!

[Algot Runeman]

... but the sentiment that matters...

Well, down on the delta, we always said, "It's the sediment that matters."
But that's irriverent and I don't want to irrigate you as the quidnunc turns to 2014.

[Algot Runeman]

zugzwang

Pronunciation: /ˈzəgˌzwaNG, ˈtso͞ogˌtsvaNG/
noun
Chess
a situation in which the obligation to make a move in one’s turn is a serious, often decisive, disadvantage:black is in zugzwang

Origin:
early 20th century: from German Zug 'move' + Zwang 'compulsion'



--- ♜ ♙ ♔ ♙ ♞ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ---

Outside the recreation center, far beyond the board on which his white king was fatally trapped, Hans knew there were changes ahead beynod his control. Zugzwang wasn't limited to a formal competition on 64 squares with alternating colors. His relationship with Bernice was hanging from a seriously frayed thread. Hans expected a confrontation and probable crisis when they both returned to the apartment that evening.

[Algot Runeman]

ka-ching

Pronunciation: /kəˈCHiNG/
(also ker-ching /kə(r)ˈCHiNG/)
noun
used to represent the sound of a cash register, especially with reference to making money:they likely have assets beyond the ka-ching of the cash register

Origin:
early 1990s: imitative


Photo Credit: Matthew Paulson

-----------------------------------------------------------------$0000.00001 (and it's pure profit!)

When they said, "A penny for your thoughts," they also asked for a deep discount. Ka-ching! I am richer for having shared even that little bit.

[Algot Runeman]

gremlin

Pronunciation: /ˈgremlin/

noun
informal
an imaginary mischievous sprite regarded as responsible for an unexplained problem or fault, especially a mechanical or electronic one:a gremlin in my computer omitted a line
an unexplained problem or fault.

Origin:
1940s: perhaps suggested by goblin


Photo Credit: clumsy_juggler

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The gremlins have invaded my automobile (coincidentally, a 30-year-old Gremlin). It is running rough. Of course, driving fast through that big puddle and getting the spark wires wet didn't matter!

[Algot Runeman]

fubsy

Pronunciation: /ˈfəbzē/
adjective (fubsier, fubsiest)
British informal
fat and squat.

Origin:
late 18th century: from dialect fubs 'small fat person', perhaps a blend of fat and chub



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Sandy was so short, she could look fubsy at 120 pounds.

[Algot Runeman]

infographic

Pronunciation: /ˌinfōˈgrafik/
noun
a visual image such as a chart or diagram used to represent information or data: a good infographic is worth a thousand words

Origin:
1960s (as adjective): blend of information and graphic


Full size: (svg) image
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When I was in grade school (more than a week ago), we called an infographic a "poster project." And, of course we used colored pencils and crayons, though we didn't actually use quill pens.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

infographic

I love infographics that tell you what to do.

Particularly the 3-dimensional ones.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

avoision

Pronunciation: /əˈvoiZHən/
(also tax avoision)
noun
the arrangement of one’s financial affairs so as to avoid or minimize tax liability in such a way that it is not clear whether this constitutes lawful avoidance of tax or illegal tax evasion: tax avoision is a consequence of the web of tax rules that has undermined compliance [as modifier]:the higher the tax rate, the more popular the avoision schemes

Origin:
1970s: blend of avoidance (see avoid) and evasion


Screenshot from http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Corporations/Abusive-Tax-Shelters-and-Transactions

£-------------------------------€-------------------------------$-------------------------------¥

Big money makes big avoision. The US company, Microsoft, famously reduces taxes paid to the state of Washington (headquarters) and the US federal government by making Ireland the "profit center" of much of its income. Then, too, it is corporations which lobby the legislatures to influence tax laws. Loopholes of loopholes in loopholes.