GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

reaffirm

I think that cosmetic surgeons often reaffirm certain body parts.

Spoiler: show

[voralfred]

reaffirm

I think that cosmetic surgeons often reaffirm certain body parts.

Spoiler: show

but earlier:

intermittent

There was nothing intermittent about the love between my grandma and grandpa. If there was any kind of -mittent, come rain or shine, I never heard about it.

One exception, of course, though it isn't any fault of their's. I myself am only intermittently reporting about their relationship. Blame it on Algot, who does't always provide a WotD around which I can tell a compelling anecdote.

Oh, come on !

Don't pretend that the WotD reaffirm does not provide the opportunity to tell a compelling anecdote about your grandparents, related to certain body parts but unrelated to cosmetic surgeons ! This time, it is plain procrastination from your part.
Algot, surely you don't have to accept the blame on this one, especially since you did discard hackathon in favour of reaffirm !

[Algot Runeman]

Many thanks, voralfred, for your good form with a firm affirmation of the selection: reaffirm.

[Algot Runeman]

misanthrope

Pronunciation: /ˈmɪz(ə)nθrəʊp/
/ˈmɪs(ə)nθrəʊp/
(also misanthropist mɪˈzanθrəpɪstmɪˈsanθrəpɪst)
noun
A person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society: Scrooge wasn’t the mean-spirited misanthrope most of us believe him to be

Origin
Mid 16th century: from Greek misanthrōpos, from misein 'to hate' + anthrōpos 'man'.



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When you combine all the pluses and minuses, you will realize that our behavior not only disregards all other species on this planet, but our own as well. We are blindly misanthropic as we design our own doom.

[Shall we blame the dark, rainiy morning for the mood of this post? Nah. Can't blame the weather for dark thoughts.]

[Algot Runeman]

ritornello

Pronunciation: /ˌrɪtɔːˈnɛləʊ/
noun (plural ritornellos or ritornelli ˌrɪtɔːˈnɛli)
Music
A short instrumental refrain or interlude in a vocal work.

Origin
Italian, diminutive of ritorno 'return'.



♫♩♫♪♫♫☜♫♩♫♪♫♫☜♫♩♫♪♫♫☜♫♩♫♪♫♫☜

"Return to sender. Address unknown. No such number. No such zone. We had a quarrel, a lovers' spat. I write I'm sorry but my letter keeps coming back." (ritornello)

Thanks to Elvis for singing this song.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

ritornello

Thanks for that explanation, Algot. It cleared up my culinary vocabulary some more.

Without it, I would have thought that ritornello is some Italian cucumber salad, the taste of which returns hours later.
(Though I do prefer cucumber over Elvis.)

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

cowabunga

Pronunciation: /ˌkaʊəˈbʌŋɡə/
/ˌkɑːwəˈbʌŋɡə/
exclamation
informal
Used to express delight or satisfaction: Cowabunga! It’s an actor’s dream

Origin
1950s: first popularized by a character on the US television programme Howdy Doody (1947–60). It later became associated with surfing culture and was further popularized by use on the US television cartoon programme Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987–96).



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Sally surfed the two-foot waves. Moving at a pedestrian pace, she still shouted "Cowabunga, dudes!" Sally was into the scene at the age of six.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

cowabunga

[Leonard to Penny about Sheldon]
"He disdains cowabunga. He considers it hopelessly dépassé. Instead he hits you with bazinga!"

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

twilit

Pronunciation: /ˈtwʌɪlɪt/
(also twilightedˈtwʌɪlʌɪtɪd)
adjective
1 Dimly illuminated by or as if by twilight: the deserted twilit street
1.1 Relating to or denoting the period of twilight: twilit hours

Origin
Mid 19th century: past participle of the literary verb twilight.



-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Twilit remains of dinner were there on the table, but the diners had gone. The football game had begun, and nobody stayed home to do cleanup. If they returned victorious, everyone would pitch in, and, of course, they would win.

[Algot Runeman]

apodictic

Pronunciation: /ˌapəˈdɪktɪk/
(also apodeictic ˌapəˈdʌɪktɪk)
adjective
formal
Clearly established or beyond dispute.

Origin
Mid 17th century: via Latin from Greek apodeiktikos, from apodeiknunai 'show off, demonstrate'.



*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Of this there is no doubt.
We can sing and shout it out.
Word lovers are the best.
Apodictic, o'er the rest.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

apodictic

No. Sorry!
This is emphatically NOT an apodictic representation of my grandma!

This image only reminds me of a crude Madame Butterfly picture.

As for the kissing, grandma had only one single (though very cooperative) victim.

[voralfred]

apodictic

No. Sorry!
This is emphatically NOT an apodictic representation of my grandma!

This image only reminds me of a crude Madame Butterfly picture.

As for the kissing, grandma had only one single (though very cooperative) victim.

Cooperative victim who, upon recovering his breath, after a ritornello of kisses on a wonderful twilit evening, could only exclaim Cowabunga !

[Algot Runeman]

passeggiata

Pronunciation: /ˌpasɛˈdʒɑːtə/
noun (plural passeggiate ˌpasɛˈdʒɑːteɪ)
(Especially in Italy or Italian-speaking areas) a leisurely walk or stroll, especially one taken in the evening for the purpose of socializing.

Origin
Italian.

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The closest my lovely wife and I come to a passeggiata is our daily walk with the dogs. It isn't exactly leisurely, but it does involve socializing. Our neighbors notice us going by and when they are driving to an errand, they regularly roll down the window to say hello. Sometimes other people are out with their own dogs and there's a round of barking or body-smelling, depending on the level of cool of the other dogs. Mothers and fathers pushing babies in strollers smile when the child says, "Doggies!" One fellow actually comes out of his house occasionally to give each dog a dog treat.

[Algot Runeman]

gibus

Pronunciation: /ˈdʒʌɪbəs/
(also gibus hat)
noun
A kind of collapsible top hat.

Origin
Mid 19th century: named after Gibus, the French inventor of this type of hat.


(Le Chapeau Clacque) via Morningsidedressguide.com

_-_._|^|_._-_._|^|_._-_._|^|_._-_._|^|_._-_._|^|_._-_._|^|_.

Bobby stuffed his baseball cap in his backside jeans pocket, no Gibus hat to flatten. Scrubbing his fingers through his hair made do for a comb. He was as ready for the interview as he would ever be. Besides, flipping burgers is not the same as prepping to be the next Lord Stanley.

[voralfred]

gibus

Pronunciation: /ˈdʒʌɪbəs/
(also gibus hat)
noun
A kind of collapsible top hat.

Origin
Mid 19th century: named after Gibus, the French inventor of this type of hat.

(...)

_-_._|^|_._-_._|^|_._-_._|^|_._-_._|^|_._-_._|^|_._-_._|^|_.

Bobby stuffed his baseball cap in his backside jeans pocket, no Gibus hat to flatten. Scrubbing his fingers through his hair made do for a comb. He was as ready for the interview as he would ever be. Besides, flipping burgers is not the same as prepping to be the next Lord Stanley.

(emphasis is mine)

Gibus or not gibus, it can be apodictically proven that "Bobby" in your story cannot be The King, even if the interview was in Kalamazoo, .... but it was a nice urban legend.

[Algot Runeman]

wintry

Pronunciation: /ˈwɪnt(ə)ri/
(also winteryˈwɪnt(ə)ri)
adjective (wintrier, wintriest)
Characteristic of winter, especially in feeling or looking very cold and bleak: a wintry landscape

Old English wintrig (see winter, -y1).



*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Bob's outlook was all wintry,
Though the weather was quite warm.
The sidewalk might be snow free,
But Bob could show no charm.

The Christmas party gathered
To share a glass of cheer.
Bob showed up all lathered
Though not with froth of beer.

He shouted, ranted; blathering
To demand a change "right now!"
He sought a somber gathering.
No fun, no joy, no how.

The revel just continued,
Ignoring his frigid tone.
Reluctantly, Bob they snubbed
And let him mope alone.

[Algot Runeman]

psionic

Pronunciation: /sʌɪˈɒnɪk/
adjective
Relating to or denoting the practical use of psychic powers or paranormal phenomena: psionic communication

Origin
1950s: from psi, on the pattern of electronic.



~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

Psionic communication is common in speculative fiction. It has gotten its own name, telepathy. Some would want to say "mental telepathy", but that sounds vaguely redundant. The X-Men series from Marvel Comics explores far more psionic skills. The new book Flex by first-time-author Ferrett Steinmetz follows the current trend to transfer psionic abilities into the realm of magic and the urban fantasy genre.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

wintry

If my grandma were alive today, she would be somewhat miffed.
The last month the weather has been so balmy that wearing a fur coat was simply not justified. A temperature of 14 - 16 C is very unusual for this wintry season.

P.S.
Not only Old English wintrig.
Also Dutch winterig.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

epenthesis

Pronunciation: /ɛˈpɛnθɪsɪs/
noun (plural epentheses ɛˈpɛnθɪsiːz)
[mass noun]
The insertion of a sound or letter within a word, e.g. the b in thimble.

Origin
Mid 16th century: via late Latin from Greek, from epentithenai 'insert', from epi 'in addition' + en- 'within' + tithenai 'to place'.



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The baby's rhyme below somehow avoids epenthesis. It is my thesis that it was scribes who added such things as Bs to various words to make a prettier scribble.

I suck my thum,
And I say "yum."
I need no Bee.
That would be dum.

[The definition didn't really make sense to me until I looked at the definition of thimble where the etymology indicated an Old English version without the letter B. Of course, that word had earlier dropped the B from thumb which apparently was added for spelling in the 13th century. Seems we cannot make up our minds.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

epenthesis

Apparently epenthesis has been of all eras and areas.

Alley Oop claims that, though his Stone Age had no implants, some women had natural ig oobs.

[Algot Runeman]

I apologize. I may have made the word epenthesis seem to be about dropping a letter or sound.

Au contraire, mes amis, as they say (somewhere).

Epenthesis is all about adding a sound. In the dear old USA, some of us, more than occasionally, say of-en while others do say the middle letter as off-ten. Wait. While that is true, it still isn't a very good example because the letter B is in the spelling and isn't always in the pronunciation.

We might need older words to make the case, like thunar which morphed into thunder, adding the sound of D as the word joined English.

Ah, now. Continued research, always a good plan, gives us a worthy, and much more modern example. The car from Harvard Yard has not a "speed meter" on the dash to measure the vehicle's quickness. Nay, forsooth. It hath a "speedometer."



I hope that this additional post has shed a bit of valuable light on an otherwise abstruse term.

[Algot Runeman]

rufescent

Pronunciation: /rʊˈfɛs(ə)nt/
adjective
chiefly literary
Tinged with red.

Origin
Early 19th century: from Latin rufescent- 'becoming reddish', from the verb rufescere, from rufus 'reddish'.



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Dawn advances on the world as the Earth turns again to the Sun's light. It begins with rufescent promise before day gives hours of sustaining warmth to us here below.

[Algot Runeman]

matinal

Pronunciation: /ˈmatɪn(ə)l/
adjective
literary or , technical
Relating to or taking place in the morning.

Origin
Early 19th century: from French, from matin 'morning'.


Ken Douglas

._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

Yesterday's dawn was matinal, and so it will be today.
I am up early so I'll be able to see it. Hooray!

[Posting the Word of the Day is usually a matinal ritual in any case.]

[Algot Runeman]

corrigendum

Pronunciation: /ˌkɒrɪˈdʒɛndəm/
noun (plural corrigenda ˌkɒrɪˈdʒɛndə)
A thing to be corrected, typically an error in a printed book: the 1980–84 cumulation contains corrigenda which are not included in the annual volumes

Origin
Early 19th century: Latin, neuter gerundive of corrigere 'bring into order' (see correct).



!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!

Carla read threw through the day's agenda. It included sending back the the final corrigenda. Most were her own mistakes that her proofreaders and dear Editor Bob had marked in the manuscript. She was prowd proud that she had noticed a couple they had missed in the final proofs. She was very glad the mistakes had not made it into the first printing. It was her first novel. She wanted it to be worthy of her audience. Of course, she also hoped it would be a big audience.

[Unfortunately, everyone overlooked the cover.]

[Algot Runeman]

discerption

Pronunciation: /dɪˈsəːpʃ(ə)n/
noun
[mass noun] archaic
1 The action of pulling something apart.
1.1 [count noun] A piece severed from something.

Origin
Mid 17th century: from late Latin discerptio(n-), from Latin discerpere 'pluck to pieces'.


laiying

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Calvin considered the discerption of the chicken. He had baked it for the recommended time. It smelled wonderful. The only real question was how to make it feed six hungry people. It wasn't a big chicken. Still, there were six good sized potatoes which had baked along with the chicken and a big bowl of steamed broccoli. Willing hands helped him carry the food to the table. Everyone reached out and began pulling their share onto their plates. Calvin, himself, selected a discerpted drumstick.