GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

simon-pure

Pronunciation: /sʌɪmənˈpjʊə /
adjective
Completely genuine, authentic, or honest: they were not so simon-pure as the image they presented to the public

Origin
late 18th century: from (the real) Simon Pure, a character in Centlivre's Bold Stroke for a Wife (1717), who for part of the play is impersonated by another character.



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Sam stopped at the crossroads. There was a 4-way stop. He waited a full five seconds before moving across the intersection and down the country road, ten miles from the nearest town. His farm was one of the sections of land which met at the crossroads. The others were unoccupied. Their owners had just walked away from the long-defaulted mortgages leaving their 640 acres to the weeds which could grow. The ground was so poor that no agribusiness even cared to lease the land from the bank. He travelled the road twice a day, but never met a soul until just outside the town where he had a part-time job. "Simon-pure, that's you," said his wife with a wry smile. She, too had a part-time job, though only twice a week. She smiled as she spoke because Sam was also a rock, a hard worker, a loving husband.

[Algot Runeman]

indocile

Pronunciation: /ɪnˈdəʊsʌɪl /
adjective
Difficult to teach or discipline; not submissive.

Origin
early 17th century: from French, or from Latin indocilis, from in- 'not' + docilis (see docile).


William Creswell

/*\_/*\_/*\_/*\_/*\_/*\_/*\_/*\_/*\_________

Just because a roomful of children are sitting quietly, with hands folded on their desks does not mean they are learning. A smiling face may hide an indocile mind, racing along, dreaming of swords, dragons and princesses, heedless of the teacher's lesson plan.

[Algot Runeman]

abstemious

Pronunciation: /əbˈstiːmɪəs /
adjective
Indulging only very moderately in something, especially food and drink: ‘We only had a bottle.’ ‘Very abstemious of you.’

Origin
early 17th century: from Latin abstemius, (from ab- 'from' + a word related to temetum 'alcoholic drink') + -ous.


Bunches and Bits {Karina}

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It is the week after Halloween when parents help their children to learn the meaning of "abstemious." It is New Year's Eve when parents try to understand the word themselves.

[Algot Runeman]

adultescent

Pronunciation: /adʌlˈtɛs(ə)nt /
noun
informal
A middle-aged person whose clothes, interests, and activities are typically associated with youth culture.

Origin
1990s: blend of adult and adolescent.



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Watching I, Carly and "hangin' at the mall" were just a couple of Bob's adultescent activities. Bob's 18-year-old girlfriend also thought his behavior was weird for a guy of 50.

[Algot Runeman]

bethink

Pronunciation: /bɪˈθɪŋk /
verb (past and past participle bethought /-ˈθɔːt/)
(bethink oneself) formal or archaic
Come to think: he bethought himself of the verse from the Book of Proverbs

Origin
Old English bithencan (see be-, think).

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I bethink myself, that I don't use this word. I think I use another instead. As a kid, I knowingly used "bethunk", though, for fun.

[Algot Runeman]

gosling

Pronunciation: /ˈɡɒzlɪŋ /
noun
A young goose.


Jenny Pansing


Origin
Middle English (originally gesling): from Old Norse gǽslingr, from gás 'goose' + -ling, later altered by association with goose.

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It seems like everyone needs a little gosling. It has been too quiet around the WotD topic. Consider yourselves "goslinged."

[Algot Runeman]

whitesmith

Pronunciation: /ˈwʌɪtsmɪθ /
noun
1 A person who makes articles out of metal, especially tin.
1.1 A polisher or finisher of metal goods.

Origin
Middle English: from white (denoting ‘white iron’, i.e. tin) + smith.


William Wallace Denslow - an illustration for The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum

Under a spreading chestnut tree, the village whitesmith stands. (Apologies to Longfellow) I'm going to say that the modern equivalent for this is the mechanical systems worker who creates custom ductwork for hot air heating and air conditioning systems. There are probably few people creating tin cups and the like, though there are books available for the aspiring hobbyist.

[Algot Runeman]

disconcert

Pronunciation: /ˌdɪskənˈsəːt /
verb
[with object]
Disturb the composure of; unsettle: the abrupt change of subject disconcerted her (as adjective disconcerted) Keith looked momentarily disconcerted

Origin
late 17th century (in the sense 'upset the progress of'): from obsolete French desconcerter, from des- (expressing reversal) + concerter 'bring together'.


Martin Ringlein

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Will it disconcert you if we listen to a rap group competition instead of a symphonic concert?

[Algot Runeman]

assuage

Pronunciation: /əˈsweɪdʒ /
verb
[with object]
1 Make (an unpleasant feeling) less intense: the letter assuaged the fears of most members
1.1 Satisfy (an appetite or desire): an opportunity occurred to assuage her desire for knowledge

Origin
Middle English: from Old French assouagier, asouagier, based on Latin ad- 'to' (expressing change) + suavis 'sweet'.


Ville Miettinen
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Jimmy attempted to assuage the anger of the dragons. It didn't fully work. They ate his goat anyway and singed all the hair from his head before flying back to their cavern in the mountains west of his farm.

[voralfred]

I feel guilty for not participating enough to this thread. Perhaps this post will assuage my guilt...If it does not disconcert you to see my reappear after all this time !

[Algot Runeman]

voralfred,

Dropping in, even once in a while, is wonderful. There is only a very little needling associated with this tread, after all. We are all very suave about the repartee (or repartie, as the French would spell it).

[There must be a little French in me. I initially spelled it "repartie" and checked after the fact, attempting unsuccessfully, to assuage my own doubt. I am a traditionally bad speller (it is one of my traditions). From the bad spelling, though, sometimes comes interesting wordplay. As I recently noted on Twitter, "Perish the thought," said the parish priest, whose body shape was distinctly pear-ish."]

[voralfred]

(...)

[ (...) "Perish the thought," said the parish priest, whose body shape was distinctly pear-ish."]

Wasn't that the pear-ish parish priest whose indocile cat was disconcertingly both very purr-ish when with the hominoid parishioners and fearsome to ducklings, goslings and other birdies whom he caused many to perish ? A fearsome bogle was it to them ! I understand its lack of abstemiousness eventually made it quite oleaginous.

[Algot Runeman]

Remember. Relax. Reach repose. It is "Word of the Day" not "Every Word of the Month."

[Algot Runeman]

paramount

Pronunciation: /ˈparəmaʊnt /
adjective
1 More important than anything else; supreme: the interests of the child are of paramount importance
2 [attributive] Having supreme power: a paramount chief

Origin
mid 16th century (in the sense 'highest in jurisdiction' in the phrases lord paramount and paramount chief): from Anglo-Norman French paramont, from Old French par 'by' + amont 'above'.



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It is paramount to remember that in chess, the entire competition is accomplished by a pair-amount of players. And never will the pear amount to the apple in flavor or storage ability.

[Is a two-day verbal parallel permitted?]

[Algot Runeman]

denouement

Pronunciation: /deɪˈnuːmɒ̃ /
(also dénouement)
noun
1 The final part of a play, film, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved: the film’s denouement was unsatisfying and ambiguous
1.1 The outcome of a situation, when something is decided or made clear: I waited by the eighteenth green to see the denouement

Origin
mid 18th century: French dénouement, from dénouer 'unknot'.



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Well knit the plot was not.
The characters weren't really hot.
The story stumbled along too fast.
Denouement was for a simple knot.

[Algot Runeman]

inosculate

Pronunciation: /ɪˈnɒskjʊleɪt /
verb
[no object] formal
Join by intertwining or fitting closely together.

Origin
late 17th century: from in-2 'into' + Latin osculare 'provide with a mouth or outlet' (from osculum, diminutive of os 'mouth'), on the pattern of Greek anastomoun, in the same sense.


Mariëlle
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Barton boasted, "Betty and I can inosculate better than most." He spoke of the ability to kiss for the full one-hour-and-forty-eight-minute movie at the Plaza.

[Algot Runeman]

peccavi

Pronunciation: /pɛˈkɑːviː /
exclamation
archaic
Used to express one’s guilt.

Origin
Latin, literally 'I have sinned'.



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"Peccavi!" exclaimed Joe as he stepped from the bordello. That his tone betrayed no guilt said a lot about his future.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

I've shirked a lot of WotDs lately. High time I catch up.

Here we go:

abstemious
adultescent
assuage
bicephalous
bethink
denouement
disconcert
effulgent
gosling
inanimate
indocile
inosculate
katzenjammer
paramount
peccavi
simon-pure
ullage
valuta
whitesmith

In case it's not immediately obvious, I sorted the missed WotDs in alphabetical order. I thought it was the easiest way to get them all in one go.

[Algot Runeman]

E.P.S.,

High time? Not too much drinking, I hope, just enough!
The list was beautifully organized, for sure, much more meaningful than random order.
Here's hoping you'll drop in again with the next list, maybe in reverse order?

[voralfred]

Peccavi, said the katzenjammer ! I bethink myself, not only have I have disorganized EPS beautiful order, but I mixed in words he had already responded to....
Please don't rebuff me !


oleaginous
abstemious
ullage
denouement
inanimate
whitesmith
indocile
assuage
retroflex
inosculate
paramount
disconcert
adultescent
bicephalous
gosling
simon-pure
effulgent
valuta
bimble

[Algot Runeman]

vigesimal

Pronunciation: /vɪˈdʒɛsɪm(ə)l , vʌɪ-/
adjective
rare
Relating to or based on the number twenty: a vigesimal mathematical system

Origin
mid 17th century: from Latin vigesimus (from viginti 'twenty') + -al.


Gage Skidmore

#!--------------------------------------------------------

Martin rarely mentioned his tendency to think in terms of vigesimal math. It began in grade school when the social studies teacher had all the students memorize the whole speech and share doing the delivery of the Gettysburgh Address by Abraham Lincoln. He had to practice aloud at home, of course, and the family challenged him to understand the words not just repeat them rote. He had barely begun, "Four score and..." when his father interrupted.

"What's a score?"

"Well, it is how you keep track of who is leading in a baseball game," Martin replied. He loved baseball.

"Does that definition fit here?"

Brow wrinkled, Martin paused and realized it didn't make sense. "No way. Must be another meaning."

He reached for his tablet and checked on Google, typing "Define score". He wasn't surprised to see several definitions, and he was very glad to see that his use was listed first. The second talked about a score being twenty.

"A score is twenty," he said but didn't say more.

Instead, he next went to oxforddictionaries.com where there were even more variations. "Scores" was also used in plural to mean a large number of uncertain size. He was about to go to an etymology site, when his mother looked up from her knitting and gently reminded everyone that Martin had a speech to practice.

As he cleared his throat to start again, his dad interrupted once more. "Remind me to tell you a joke about counting past ten." Martin knew he would remember because his mom looked up with a small frown at his dad's comment.

[Algot Runeman]

vicarious

Pronunciation: /vɪˈkɛːrɪəs , vʌɪ-/
adjective
1 Experienced in the imagination through the feelings or actions of another person: this catalogue brings vicarious pleasure in luxury living
2 Acting or done for another: a vicarious atonement

Origin
mid 17th century: from Latin vicarius 'substitute' (see vicar) + -ous.



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Janice always felt the vicarious thrill of walking down the red carpet as she watched the Academy Awards on TV. She dreamed of being a star. What teenager doesn't aspire to something? High school drama productions behind her, she had saved money for a move to Hollywood. Her parents didn't know. They were heartbroken when she was gone, but they were even more surprised when they saw her first movie. She was an instant hit.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

vicarious

Sometimes the vicar got tipsy.
That was always cause for vicarious hilarity.

[Algot Runeman]

verbose

Pronunciation: /vəːˈbəʊs /
adjective
Using or expressed in more words than are needed: much academic language is obscure and verbose

Origin
late 17th century: from Latin verbosus, from verbum 'word'.



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The nurse
was terse.
What's worse,
The doctor was actually quite voluble. He never seemed to be able to get to the point. He rambled on and on, adding conditional elements making his verbose diagnosis almost impossible to follow.

[Algot Runeman]

ingratiate

Pronunciation: /ɪnˈɡreɪʃɪeɪt /
verb
(ingratiate oneself)
Bring oneself into favour with someone by flattering or trying to please them: a sycophantic attempt to ingratiate herself with the local aristocracy

Origin
early 17th century: from Latin in gratiam 'into favour', on the pattern of obsolete Italian ingratiare, earlier form of ingraziare.



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Bob flattered Betty. He wanted to ingratiate himself to her so she would kiss him. Bob liked kisses. So did Betty. She knew his tricks. She hoped he would pull them.