GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

ingratiate

I wouldn't mind if you'd try to ingratiate yourself with me. But hold the kisses, the mayo and the ketchup.

And please allow me to think about it ...

[Algot Runeman]

prepotent

Pronunciation: /prɪˈpəʊt(ə)nt /
adjective
1 Greater than others in power or influence.
1.1 (Of a breeding animal) showing great effectiveness in transmitting hereditary characteristics to its offspring.

Origin
late Middle English: from Latin praepotent- 'having greater power', from prae 'before, ahead' + posse 'be able'.


James Yeo

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Harry was the prepotent division manager at Starzone Industries. His crew was efficient, happy and very productive. He didn't aspire to run the whole company. That was Benjamin's job and always would be, as far as Harry was concerned. The two of them had been in school together and started the company together. Harry had always been the sidekick, even in school. He was a dedicated friend and took his responsibilities seriously even after all these years.

[Algot Runeman]

sacerdotal

Pronunciation: /ˌsasəˈdəʊt(ə)l , ˌsakə-/
adjective
1 Relating to priests or the priesthood; priestly.
1.1 Theology Relating to or denoting a doctrine which ascribes sacrificial functions and spiritual or supernatural powers to ordained priests.

Origin
late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin sacerdotalis, from sacerdos, sacerdot- 'priest'.


Crosier of Archbishop Heinrich of Finstingen - Wikimedia

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Patrick donned his sacerdotal vestments. He grabbed up the plastic jack-o-lantern and hurried onto the streets. He expected the parishoners to be very generous, but he had his crosier ready to bash their pumpkins if they were stingy.

[voralfred]

sacerdotal

Pronunciation: /ˌsasəˈdəʊt(ə)l , ˌsakə-/
adjective
1 Relating to priests or the priesthood; priestly.
1.1 Theology Relating to or denoting a doctrine which ascribes sacrificial functions and spiritual or supernatural powers to ordained priests.

Origin
late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin sacerdotalis, from sacerdos, sacerdot- 'priest'.


Crosier of Archbishop Heinrich of Finstingen - Wikimedia

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Patrick donned his sacerdotal vestments. He grabbed up the plastic jack-o-lantern and hurried onto the streets. He expected the parishoners to be very generous, but he had his crosier ready to bash their pumpkins if they were stingy.

In french, we have the same word, but in the plural it is spelled sacerdotaux.
So the saying goes, that a priest does not need a car, because he has his vestments sacerdotaux: "ça sert d'auto" = "it serves as an automobile".

OK, even in french, the pun is lame, and when translated, it is even worse....

[Algot Runeman]

Sprachgefühl

Pronunciation: /ˈʃprɑːxɡəˌfuːl , ˈʃpraːxɡəˌfyːl/
noun
[mass noun]
1 Intuitive feeling for the natural idiom of a language: it’s not genes or culture but Sprachgefühl that sets the French apart from the Finns, and the Russians from the Romanians
1.1 The essential character of a language: each language has its own personality, or Sprachgefühl, which limits its speakers to a certain mode of thought

Origin
German, from Sprache 'speech, a language' + Gefühl 'feeling'.


Alexander Meins

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Is it any wonder that speakers of English, the ultimate of language blending, lack a cohesive world view. The Sprachgefühl of English is borrowed, not built-in.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Sprachgefühl

Sprachgefühl relates to speech and language as Fingerspitzengefühl relates to tactile sense, dexterity and, figuratively, tactical insight.

[Algot Runeman]

jaunt

Pronunciation: /dʒɔːnt /
noun
A short excursion or journey made for pleasure: her regular jaunts to Europe
verb
[no object] Back to top
Go on a short journey for pleasure: they went jaunting through Ireland

Origin
late 16th century: of unknown origin. Originally depreciatory, early senses included 'tire a horse out by riding it up and down', 'traipse about', and (as a noun) 'troublesome journey'. The current positive sense dates from the mid 17th century.

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Alan Strakey

Joe jumped in his jalopy intent on a jaunt with Jill. At the bottom end of the driveway, though, he ran out of gas. Jill went off with Jerry instead.

[I would also like to give thanks to the technical staff for getting the forum back online.]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

jaunt
...
Joe jumped in his jalopy intent on a jaunt with Jill. At the bottom end of the driveway, though, he ran out of gas. Jill went off with Jerry instead.

Both jauntily oblivious of Joe's jaundiced eye.

[Algot Runeman]

boscage

Pronunciation: /ˈbɒskɪdʒ /
(also boskage)
noun
[mass noun]
A mass of trees or shrubs: the view from the house is obscured by boscage

Origin
late Middle English: from Old French; ultimately of Germanic origin and related to bush1. Compare with bocage.


ivva イワヲ

Bob could not see the boss's cage through the boscage. Bob and his gang of wild turkeys were trying to sneak up on the cage to free the boss, but Eddie and Frank could not seem to keep their gobs shut. "Gobble, gobble, gobble" kept bursting forth as they moved. Fortunately the other birds in the cage from foreign places were raising a cackling of their own. Bob hoped his crew would be able to reach the boss without getting caught themselves.

[I'm going to guess this is British/English for common usage. It is not a familiar term to me, here in the US. I would be inclined to say "the heavy undergrowth" instead.]

[Algot Runeman]

nexus

Pronunciation: /ˈnɛksəs /
noun (plural same or nexuses)
1 A connection or series of connections linking two or more things: the nexus between industry and political power
1.1 A connected group or series: a nexus of ideas
2 A central or focal point: the nexus of any government in this country is No. 10

Origin
mid 17th century: from Latin, 'a binding together', from nex- 'bound', from the verb nectere.


Playing Futures: Applied Nomadology

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Noble approached the nexus with great care. There was too much chance he would become engulfed in the massive flow of data if he was careless. Cyberspace is not very different from meatspace. One false step at the side of a raging river would be no more dangerous than a slip here. He couldn't even predict which direction he would go if caught in the cascaded waves. Too many diverse trunks lead into or away from this critical node of Worldnet. It needed adjustment, but had resisted change by several others before him. Stability was good, but not in the current state.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

boscage...
[... I would be inclined to say "the heavy undergrowth" instead.]

I wouldn't be surprised to encounter the expression "trimmed boscage" in a girlie magazine.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

nexus

Robert Cailliau and Sir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee together invented and christened it the "World Wide Web".

They might have chosen a shorter name, more in keeping with British and American common usage. It could have been the "Nexus".

But that concept was already taken by Lois McMaster Bujold to a much grander scale.

[Algot Runeman]

syllabub

Pronunciation: /ˈsɪləbʌb /
noun
A whipped cream dessert, typically flavoured with white wine or sherry.

Origin
mid 16th century: of unknown origin.


Sara Maternini

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Sam asked, "Is that it?"

"Just wine-flavored whipped cream?"

"Where's the pie, or ice cream with hot fudge?"

"Syllabub is just silly, Bub!"

"Give me a real dessert!"

[Algot Runeman]

bemire

Pronunciation: /bɪˈmʌɪə /
verb
[with object] archaic
1 Cover or stain with mud: his shoes were bemired from travelling on foot
1.1 (be bemired) Be stuck in mud: better that than have men and horses and wagons all bemired

Origin
mid 16th century: from be- (expressing transitivity) + mire.


Stefan Koopmanschap

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Bea Meyer sat at the edge of the rutted track waiting for the tow truck to come. Her brand new Beemer was bemired beside her. Next time she would be mindful to be more selective in choosing a shortcut.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

bemire

I'm sure that many pop stars love to be admired by a bevy of adoring fans.

I'm equally sure that, very soon, they hate to get bemired in a gaggle of screaming fans. But of course they don't show that; bad PR doesn't sell.

[Algot Runeman]

émigré

Pronunciation: /ˈɛmɪɡreɪ /
noun
A person who has left their own country in order to settle in another, typically for political reasons: Soviet émigrés and defectors [as modifier]: émigré life

Origin
late 18th century (originally denoting a person escaping the French Revolution): French, past participle of émigrer 'emigrate'.



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Edgardo was an émigré. His ties to the home country were strong in spite of being very strained. He expected he would never go back and hoped the pain of that would fade over the years. Though fluent in English, he continued to speak Basque or Spanish with friends and family.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

émigré

The émigrés are slowly being replaced by the expats.

It's the exact same people though, they're not getting willy-nilly shuffled around.

The people stay put, it's only the words that are switched.

P.S. I think the lady pinpoints the correct cup with a laser pointer.

[voralfred]

P.S. I think the lady pinpoints the correct cup with a laser pointer.

You of little faith !
Though putting some smell on the correct cup would work even better (the object is always in the same cup).
Or, even simpler, both the cups and the object inside are metallic. Even though all cups make noise on the support when moved, the object inside produces a different clink. Easy enough to remember where the last clink was heard.

Now I am the one taking the poetry out of this. Shame on me...

[Algot Runeman]

Pollyanna

Pronunciation: /pɒlɪˈanə /
noun
An excessively cheerful or optimistic person: what I am saying makes me sound like some ageing Pollyanna who just wants to pretend that all is sweetness and light

Origin
early 20th century: the name of the optimistic heroine created by Eleanor Hodgman Porter (1868–1920), American author of children's stories.



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She cursed under her breath. They couldn't get over her name. They assumed sweetness and light of the archetype Pollyanna. The coffee was dark and bitter this morning. That, at least, suited her just fine.

[voralfred]

EPS is clearly not a Pollyanna. He does not believe in a world were a cute little cat can play bonneteau (a.k.a Four-cups Monte) and win against the "bonneteuse"...

[Algot Runeman]

disconsolate

Pronunciation: /dɪsˈkɒns(ə)lət /
adjective
Very unhappy and unable to be comforted: she left Fritz looking disconsolate

Origin
late Middle English: from medieval Latin disconsolatus, from dis- (expressing reversal) + Latin consolatus (past participle of consolari 'to console').


Jane McGonigal

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Julie was disconsolate. Her dreams were shattered, no job at this consulate.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

EPS is clearly not a Pollyanna. He does not believe ...

I don't know why but Polyanna always reminds me of this.

Of course the picture is James Stewart and the orchestra is the US Army Airforce Band, but Glen Miller's arrangement is unforgettable, no matter who plays/sings it (though the vocalists sound a bit cheesy nowadays).

P.S. It also reminds me of voralfred's fresh cockatoo.

disconsolate

Sadly, voralfred's remark makes me rather disconsolate ...

[Algot Runeman]

controvert

Pronunciation: /ˈkɒntrəvəːt , ˌkɒntrəˈvəːt /
verb
[with object]
1 Deny the truth of (something): subsequent work from the same laboratory controverted these results
1.1 Argue about (something): the views in the article have been controverted

Origin
mid 16th century: from Latin controversus (see controversy), on the pattern of pairs such as adversus (see adverse), advertere (see advert2).



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Matt protested his innocence, but the twenty pounds of cocaine in his backpack controverted his words.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

controvert

Voralfred is quite extrovert when it comes to cats.

When goaded, he always purrs controvert objections to feline slurs.

[Algot Runeman]

sangfroid

Pronunciation: /sɒ̃ˈfrwɑː /
noun
[mass noun]
Composure or coolness shown in danger or under trying circumstances.

Origin
mid 18th century: from French sang-froid, literally 'cold blood'.

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The fight lasted only a moment. The victor stood looking down at his former opponent. It had not really been a fair contest. Endless hours of training lead to a total calm, sangfroid, for one while fear and anger overwhelmed the other. The victor turned and walked away.