GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

insidious

Pronunciation: /ɪnˈsɪdɪəs/
adjective
Proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effects: sexual harassment is a serious and insidious problem

Origin
Mid 16th century: from Latin insidiosus 'cunning', from insidiae 'an ambush or trick', from insidere 'lie in wait for', from in- 'on' + sedere 'sit'.

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The insidious advance of infection was relentless. At first there was a scattering of cases in a month. Then a few cases a week, then dozens showed up last week. This week, there have been hundreds a day. The word "pandemic" is popping up in news stories.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

insidious

Ah, now we get to the Star Wars universe:

We've met General Grievous, Darth Sidious, Count Dooku and other Dark Side Adherents and Sith Minions.

Finally we meet Lord Insidious, the most treacherous of them all.

Spoiler: show

BTW.
Most Dutch-speaking people very early on knew that Darth Vader was Luke's father, simply because vader is the Dutch word for father.

Maybe Anakin's Sith name should have been Darth Helm, where helm is the Dutch word for helmet?

[Algot Runeman]

E.P.S.,

Are you attempting to launch an insidious attack on the vast, complex, lore of "Star Wars"?

Barf Vader was never actually considered for his name, though some of us were less impressed with the whole Star Wars thing than we were supposed to be. Luke Mudwalker and Princess Leeva should have had a more serious love interest, or Leeva and Hans Duet...Or maybe Leeva and Chewgumma.

Star Wars stood in the line of standard science fiction/traditional space opera, in which female characters are not very welcome to play real roles. Nor would one expect relationships.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

E.P.S.,
Are you attempting to launch an insidious attack on the vast, complex, lore of "Star Wars"?
...

Are you a fan of Lord Reagon?

[voralfred]

E.P.S.,

Are you attempting to launch an insidious attack on the vast, complex, lore of "Star Wars"?

Barf Vader was never actually considered for his name, though some of us were less impressed with the whole Star Wars thing than we were supposed to be. Luke Mudwalker and Princess Leeva should have had a more serious love interest, or Leeva and Hans Duet...Or maybe Leeva and Chewgumma.

Star Wars stood in the line of standard science fiction/traditional space opera, in which female characters are not very welcome to play real roles. Nor would one expect relationships.

I like very much the idea of the love duet being Chewgumma and the Princess.
But there is one joke that I missed : what is supposed to be funny about "Leeva" for "Leia" ? In fact, "Leia" if sounded "Lei-ah" with a NY accent (dropping initial "H"s) is, it would seem to me, a rather lewd joke. But "Leeva" ?
BTW I am surprised they choose a name that allowed this kind of humor. Or do I have a particularly dirty mind? (or an extremely bad understanding of NY accent ?)

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

...
Or do I have a particularly dirty mind?
...

You think?
So do I.

[Algot Runeman]

Leeva-alone is what I was thinking, the untouchable and relatively icy character, with her hair always up in a spinsterish bun (or two). We were supposed to say "Look at her great buns" I guess, but I couldn't bring myself to it. And, if I recall correctly, it wasn't that the icy nature was played up. She just was not set up as a very interesting love interest. Please don't ask me to go back to watch the entire series to verify my memories. Once through satisfied my mild curiosity.

I was among the minority which thought that "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" was more "science fictiony", and a better movie, than SW. My insidious efforts to stack the Hollywood ballot box was ineffective.

[voralfred]

Leev-a alone! OK
So my Lei-a is not so absurd, is it ?

BTW, EPS :

...
Or do I have a particularly dirty mind?
...

You think?
So do I.

Thanks for you moral support....

[Algot Runeman]

Vorstellung

Pronunciation: /ˈfɔːˌʃtɛlʊŋ/ /ˈfoːɐˌʃtɛlʊŋ/
noun (plural Vorstellungen ˈfoːɐˌʃtɛlʊŋ(ə)n)
Philosophy
A mental image or idea produced by prior perception of an object, as in memory or imagination, rather than by actual perception.

Origin
German.

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The Prophet's Vorstellung was déja vu all over again.

[Algot Runeman]

rumbustious

Pronunciation: /rʌmˈbʌstʃəs/
/rʌmˈbʌstɪəs/
adjective
informal , chiefly British
Boisterous or unruly: rumbustious football fans

Origin
Late 18th century: probably an alteration of archaic robustious 'boisterous, robust'.


Gareth Milner

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Calvin went around the block to avoid the rumbustious crowd. He enjoyed a good time, but today wasn't the day to get involved. Calvin was on the way to his wedding. A stained and rumpled tux wasn't de rigueur in his bride's crowd.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

rumbustious

In my vorstellung there is something lacking in this picture to complete the rumbustiousness of the crowd.

There should be a girl wearing a T-shirt with white stars on a navy-blue background together with her twin sister (the one with the red stripes on white).

[Algot Runeman]

There should be a girl wearing a T-shirt with white stars on a navy-blue background together with her twin sister (the one with the red stripes on white).

I would gladly get rumbustious if you could find a couple of girls to pose for that photo for us.

[Algot Runeman]

Here's my effort to comply with our combined rumbustious wish. The girls are real. Sadly, their graduation gowns are merely imagined.

[Algot Runeman]

splendent

Pronunciation: /ˈsplɛnd(ə)nt/
adjective
archaic
1 Shining brightly.
1.1 Illustrious; great.

Origin
Late 15th century: from Latin splendent- 'shining', from the verb splendere.


Eustaquio Santimano

!==!==!==!==!==!==!==!==!==!==!==!==!==!

A splendent star lead the magi in their quest. Today, there are no magi and stars are often hidden by smog. Times change.

[Algot Runeman]

peculium

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. Private property; a private purse; specifically, in Roman law, that which was given by a father or master to his son, daughter, or slave, as his or her private property

Examples
The "peculium" was the sum of money which a son in his minority was allowed by his father to be in possession of.
The Captiva and the Mostellaria

Note
The word 'peculium' comes from a Latin word meaning 'private property'.


Brian Taylor
---o---o---o---o---o---o---o---o---o---o---o---o---o---o---o---o---o---

My own early childhood peculium was a nickel. I could carry it around. I could spend it. It sometimes was still there the next day, but usually, there was a candy wrapper to show for it.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

peculium

My own early childhood peculium was a nickel. ...

Who is that? Geronimo? Sitting Bull?

They could have assigned a higher denomination for such a history-laden peculium.

[Algot Runeman]

philtre

Pronunciation: /ˈfɪltə/
(US philter)
noun
A drink supposed to arouse love and desire for a particular person in the drinker; a love potion: his philtres and potions

Origin
Late 16th century: from French philtre, via Latin from Greek philtron, from philein 'to love'.



^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^

Joe cautiously decanted the potion through a set of filters. Theory said a gentle touch is requisite for generating an effective philtre. No froth and as little cloudiness as possible were the keys.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

philtre

To me, a glass of beer poured British style, i.e. without froth, looks too much like stale ale or a sly philtre or champagne in a stained coffee mug.

Give me a beer with an impressive "Head", or, as the Flemish say, a "Collar" ("kraag" is the Flemish word) any day.

Of course the US doesn't know what I'm talking about. They drink beer straight from the bottle. ugh!

[Algot Runeman]

gumption

Pronunciation: /ˈɡʌm(p)ʃ(ə)n/
noun
[mass noun] informal
Shrewd or spirited initiative and resourcefulness: the president would hire almost any young man who had the gumption to ask for a job

Origin
Early 18th century (originally Scots): of unknown origin.

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Harry's gumption got him started. His underlying skills and unflagging effort made him a success.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

splendent

So , vulcanologically speaking as Spock would, "resplendent" means "splendent again".
Right?

[Algot Runeman]

elective

Pronunciation: /ɪˈlɛktɪv/
adjective
1 Related to or working by means of election: an elective democracy
1.1 (Of a person or office) appointed or filled by election: he had never held elective office the National Assembly, with 125 elective members
More example sentences
1.2 (Of a body or position) possessing or giving the power to elect: powerful Emperors manipulated the elective body
More example sentences
2 (Of surgical or medical treatment) chosen by the patient rather than urgently necessary: elective surgery
More example sentences
2.1 (Of a course of study) chosen by the student rather than compulsory: elective courses on this subject have always been oversubscribed
noun
chiefly North American
An optional course of study.

Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French electif, -ive, from late Latin electivus, from elect- 'picked out', from the verb eligere (see elect).



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It was entirely my own choice. I took German as an elective course in college. Like French before it, and Spanish afterwards, little has stuck because I live in the land of English-only. Practice makes perfect. Lack of practice makes a mess of language skills.

[Algot Runeman]

definiendum

Pronunciation: /dɪˌfɪnɪˈɛndəm/
noun (plural definienda)
A word, phrase, or symbol which is the subject of a definition, especially in a dictionary entry, or which is introduced into a logical system by being defined. Contrasted with definiens.

Origin
Late 19th century: from Latin, 'that which is to be defined', from the verb definire (see define).


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I guess today's definiendum is "definiendum" and that is that.

[In HTML code this is nicely defined:]
<dl> <!--set up the list-->
<dt>term to define</dt>
<dd>definition of the term</dd>
<dt>another definiendum</dt>
<dd>another definiens</dd>
</dl> <!--end the list-->

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

definiendum
I guess today's definiendum is "definiendum" and that is that.

[In HTML code this is nicely defined:]
<dl> <!--set up the list-->
<dt>term to define</dt>
<dd>definition of the term</dd>
<dt>another definiendum</dt>
<dd>another definiens</dd>
</dl> <!--end the list-->

Show off ...

(Though I admit I couldn't define it better, if at all.)

[Algot Runeman]

Show off ...

So you want SHOW=OFF instead of SHOW=ON?

What value would a non-illustrative definition for the definiendum be?

[voralfred]

Learning the definiens of a definiendum would tell you what the latter is all about. But telling you the definiens does not always let you know how the definiendum is called. This is the entire appeal of crossword puzzles !