GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

peppy

Pronunciation: /ˈpepē/
adjective (peppier, peppiest)
informal , chiefly North American
Lively and high-spirited: stickers bearing peppy slogans



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Airplane pilots have always been peppy. Like their bodies, their spirits are high when the plane slices through the clouds far above the countryside below. Somewhat less obviously, spelunkers are also peppy while deep in the caves below the same countryside.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

peppy

Wouldn't you agree that Virginia "Pepper" Potts is quite peppy?
(Not to mention my grandma.)

[voralfred]

Well, I'd say your Grand-Pappa was even peppier (all the more so when he was alone with her !)

[Algot Runeman]

chatbot

Pronunciation: /ˈtʃatbɒt/
noun
A computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users, especially over the Internet: chatbots often treat conversations like they’re a game of tennis: talk, reply, talk, reply

Origin
1990s: from chat1 + bot2.



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Eye yam nut a chatbot. Eye yam a hooman. You kin tell because I willfully misspell and refuse to use my spellchek program.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

chatbot

Says Quark to Grand Nagus Gint:
"Those hoomaahns are all the same. If they're alone and can't talk and gossip to one another, they'll babble to a chatbot."
"And be careful they don't corner you, or they'll gab your ears off! Just look at what's left of Morn's, over there."

[Algot Runeman]

basilect

Pronunciation: /ˈbasɪlɛkt/
/ˈbeɪsɪlɛkt/
noun
Linguistics
A less prestigious dialect or variety of a particular language. Often contrasted with acrolect.

Origin
1960s: from basis + -lect as in dialect.


Dave Wilson Photography

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Back in 2011, we celebrated the acrolect of Latin. Today, we acknowledge the multitude of basilects of English. I'll speak for the southern drawl, y'all. I'm in no rush to finish my speech. I'll speak respectfully to any person who might be my elder with "sir" or "ma'am". You may look down on me, but my broad smile will make you nervous.

[Algot Runeman]

actinomorphic

Pronunciation: /ˌaktɪnə(ʊ)ˈmɔːfɪk/
adjective
Biology
Characterized by radial symmetry, such as a starfish or the flower of a daisy. Compare with zygomorphic.

Origin
Late 19th century: from Greek aktis, aktin- 'ray' + morphē 'form' + -ic.


Counterpoint Arts

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When it rains, London, viewed from above, appears to be populated mainly by actinomorphic creatures, communing to work on foot.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

OT !

Have you noticed that the WotD is comfortably past the 1 million views.

This calls for congratulations.

So here you go!

[Algot Runeman]

olid

Pronunciation: /ˈɒlɪd/
adjective
literary
Smelling extremely unpleasant.

Origin
Late 17th century: from Latin olidus 'smelling', from olere 'to smell'.


bf5man

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The olid smell rose like a fog from the shoes in the corner near the wood stove. The, residents, a old man and woman, didn't notice. Their olfactory organs, while large, were no longer functioning well. The young visitors did not wish to extend their visit and politely declined the offer of tea.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

olid

Didn't Ovid have olid feet?

Not very compatible with love poetry, I'm afraid.

Maybe he attributed his exile to the olidity of his feet in his "carmen et error".

(Generally people told him to go soak his feet.)

[Algot Runeman]

specialist

Pronunciation: /ˈspɛʃ(ə)lɪst/
noun
1 A person who concentrates primarily on a particular subject or activity; a person highly skilled in a specific and restricted field: he is a specialist in psychometric testing [with modifier]: the study was undertaken by a market-research specialist



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Joe was no polymath. He was a specialist. His rating told him and his co-workers so. The problem was, Joe didn't know what his specialty was. Maybe it was scrubbing bathroom floors or standing endless hours of duty outside the guard shack. He wasn't sure. His lieutenant wasn't sure either. The captain didn't care. The base commander didn't care. They all just hoped their next duty station would be elsewhere, not in the middle of Wyoming.

[Algot Runeman]

outro

Pronunciation: /ˈaʊtrəʊ/
noun (plural outros)
informal
The concluding section of a piece of music or a radio or television programme: we had played enough for the outro

Origin
1970s: from out, on the pattern of intro.

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Mark played the song from start to finish. The beginning and middle were fine. He became agitated for some reason and the ending was not only a finish for the piece, but an outré outro. Loud and loose, jagged and ragged, the coda crashed to silence. The audience went wild.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

outro

A specialist of the outro, Jethro categorically refused to do the intro of the retro bikini exhibition.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

cachalot

Pronunciation: /ˈkaSHəˌlät/
noun
Another term for sperm whale.

Origin
Mid 18th century: from French, from Spanish and Portuguese cachalote, from cachola 'big head'.



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I do not think the bobblehead craze would have been so successful if they named the caricatures cachalots.

Spoiler: show

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

cachalot

If it's all the same to you, I'd very much prefer a lot o' cash over a cachalot.

[Algot Runeman]

prosopagnosia

Pronunciation: /ˌprɒsə(ʊ)paɡˈnəʊsɪə/
/ˌprɒsə(ʊ)paɡˈnəʊzɪə/
noun
[mass noun] Psychiatry
The inability to recognize the faces of familiar people, typically as a result of damage to the brain.

Origin
1950s: modern Latin, from Greek prosōpon 'face' + agnōsia 'ignorance'.


Shannon Kringen

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Peter suffered from a form of prosipagnosia which caused him not to recognize himself in the mirror. Recognizing others, or not, didn't trouble him. He was self-centered to the extreme. He was very confused when he saw what he perceived as different faces each morning as he shaved.

[Algot Runeman]

synergy

Pronunciation: /ˈsɪnədʒi/
(also synergism ˈsɪnədʒɪz(ə)m)
noun
[mass noun]
The interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects: the synergy between artist and record company

Origin
Mid 19th century: from Greek sunergos 'working together', from sun- 'together' + ergon 'work'.

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Fan fiction can create a synergy between an author and the readers, assuming it is allowed.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

synergy

Dentists very often experience not only a lack, but a total opposite of synergy from their patients.

[Algot Runeman]

neurobics

Pronunciation: /njʊəˈrəʊbɪks/
plural noun
Activities or mental tasks designed to stimulate the brain and help prevent memory loss.

Origin
1990s: on the pattern of aerobics.

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Adults are encouraged to do both aerobics and neurobics to maintain the health of body and mind. Sitting hours a day at a desk doing routine tasks needs an alternative which is missing from daily life without some extra effort.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

neurobics

He kept a watchful eye on the NYSE, NASDAQ and LSE because they influenced his decisions in EURONEXT.
Though he never had any actual cash in hand, only electronic € transfers, he prided himself on his expert eurobics.

[Algot Runeman]

decahedron

Pronunciation: /ˌdɛkəˈhiːdr(ə)n/
noun (plural decahedra /ˌdɛkəˈhiːdrə/ or decahedrons)
A solid figure with ten plane faces.

Origin
Early 19th century: from deca- 'ten' + -hedron, on the pattern of words such as polyhedron.



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I wonder if there is a need to stop if the sign is a decahedron?

[voralfred]

prosopagnosia

Pronunciation: /ˌprɒsə(ʊ)paɡˈnəʊsɪə/
/ˌprɒsə(ʊ)paɡˈnəʊzɪə/
noun
[mass noun] Psychiatry
The inability to recognize the faces of familiar people, typically as a result of damage to the brain.

(...)

I am sure that even if EPS's Grandpa ever suffered bouts of prosopagnosia he'd have had no trouble recognizing EPS's Grandma from a lot of nonvisual clues.... The clue here is synergy...

[Algot Runeman]

holophotal

adjective
Causing no loss of light; applied to reflectors which throw back the rays of light without perceptible loss.


alspice1

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I suspect E.P.S. grandfather's loving stare was matched by the holophotal gaze of grandma. Love's reflection is strong.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

holophotal
...


I suspect E.P.S. grandfather's loving stare was matched by the holophotal gaze of grandma. Love's reflection is strong.

Holophotal, holoschmotal.

Had my grandma looked at grandpa like that (did he fart or what?), they wouldn't have been married very long, if at all. And I wouldn't have been here to point that out!

No doubt she looked at him like this (even if he did fart):

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

cotch

Pronunciation: /kɒtʃ/
(also kotch)
verb
[no object] British informal
1 Spend time relaxing: I’m still up—just been cotching on the sofa since I got in
1.1 Stay or sleep somewhere on a temporary basis: looks like I’m cotching on the streets tonight

Origin
Late 19th century (in Jamaican English, in sense 'rest, lean on something for support'): apparently a variant of scotch1.


Brad Frost

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Up by five. I get through the day. Supper is a simple salad. I cotch with the TV for a while and then read in bed. I get to sleep by nine.