GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

manufactroversy

noun
The deliberate presentation of a largely uncontroversial matter as subject to substantive dispute in order to further a particular ideological or political agenda.

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Thomas insisted on calling common sleet "graupel" in his channel 8 weather reports, even though the definition of graupel is more accurately described as "snow pellets" or "soft hail" because of snowflakes adhering to a super-cooled water droplet on its way to the ground. The rest of the city's meteorologists were put on the defensive when their viewers called to complain about their simple ID of sleet: ice pellets which mix in with rain. Thomas' manufactroversy only confused the public.



[Well, phooey! This message popped up when I was checking for prior use of today's word.
"The following words in your search query were ignored because they are too common words: manufactroversy. You must specify at least one word to search for. Each word must consist of at least 5 characters and must not contain more than 14 characters excluding wildcards."
Today's word is too long!]

[Algot Runeman]

POTUS

Pronunciation: /ˈpəʊtəs/
noun
US
informal
The President of the United States.

Origin
Early 20th century: acronym.

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He or she who sits as POTUS in the oval office in January will be there because the people voted. Democracy.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

POTUS

It took me a while to understand the meaning of Potus. But it did get through (without help) in the context of the movie Big Game.

Some time later, I also heard (or read) there is a Flotus. Which, I assure you, I understood immediately and did NOT make me think of a floozy or flatus of the Potus...
And I'm old enough to clearly remember Mamie.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

gigot

Pronunciation: /ˈdʒɪɡət/
noun
A leg of mutton or lamb.

Origin
French, diminutive of colloquial gigue leg, from giguer to hop, jump, of unknown origin.

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Prepare the gigot with a rich sauce, potatoes and carrots. Dance a jig when you are done. There's a lamb.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

POTUS

...
Some time later, I also heard (or read) there is a Flotus. ...

It appears you guys in the US are getting a very pretty Flotus ...

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

gigot

I first enjoyed gigot d'agneau de pré-salé quite long ago. Veeery nice.

But recently I've been meaning to cook Gigot a la Milanese, in other words Gigot a l'Osso Buco.

The only problem is: 1 gigot serves 4 adults and I cook alone and eat for one.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

The only problem is: 1 gigot serves 4 adults and I cook alone and eat for one.

Ah, leftovers!
or
A PARTY!

[Algot Runeman]

plout1

Pronunciation: /plaʊt/
(also plowt, ploot)
noun
Northern, Irish english
Scottish
1 Orkney rare AttributiveScottish. The action of plunging or submerging, especially in plout kirnnoun also plout churn a churn operated by a plunger. Now Orkney (rare).
2 A heavy fall of rain.
3 Scottish. A splash; a splashing or plopping sound, especially of a fish breaking the surface of the water.

Origin
Early 18th century; earliest use found in Dialogue between Country-man & Landwart School-master. Imitative.

plout2
(also ploit)
verb
Northern, Irish english
Scottish
1 Orkney rare with object Scottish. To plunge, submerge. Now Orkney (rare).
2 no object To fall with a splash; to plunge or splash in water.

Origin
Late 18th century; earliest use found in Dougal Graham (d. 1779), poet and chapbook writer. Imitative. Compare earlier plout, and also plop, plump.

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Of this I have no doubt
There is no need to shout
If into water you do plout
Unless it's really deep or has sharks or if the rocks are amazingly slippery and you just can't get out.




[The split of this word into two separate definitions seems odd. Oxford Dictionaries Online typically includes noun and verb usage in a single entry. Anybody have an idea why this one is split? ]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

plout

Plout (also plowt, ploot) seems to have the same origin as the Dutch (and Flemish) ploeteren (flounder, puddle, muddle).

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

lendee

noun
someone to whom a loan is given

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Louis was a lendee.
Needed money he could spend, see?
He was also a bit of a mark
Because the cash came from a shark.

[Algot Runeman]

choenix

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. A Greek dry measure, mentioned by Homer, and originally the daily ration of a man, but varying from a quart to over a quart and a half.

Origin
Greek Χοῖνιξ

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Philip consumed his choenix of food every day like clockwork. It wasn't just served in a sack, of course. He also drank a beer from time to time. Life is good.

[Algot Runeman]

pseudoplastic

Pronunciation: /ˌs(j)uːdə(ʊ)ˈplastɪk/
adjective
1 Almost plastic; spuriously plastic.
2 science: Of a liquid or its behaviour: non-Newtonian, especially in having a viscosity that decreases with increasing shearing stress.
noun
science: A pseudoplastic liquid.

Origin
Mid 19th century. From pseudo- + plastic, in sense A. 1 originally after German pseudoplastisch.

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Charlie enjoyed his work. Each stroke of the paintbrush added a bright, shiny layer of color to the wall. The paint, with its pseudoplastic viscocity, flowed smoothly. Charlie enjoyed knowing that his water-based paint had a mixture of acrylic and synthetic latex, and that's technically an actual plastic. Charlie had studied his craft. Charlie always sought out the paints with the highest proportion of acrylic he could because the dried material had better adhesion, better stain resistance and better washability. Charlie scoffed at his competitors who routinely chose the cheapest paints, dominated by the inferior polyvinyl acetate. It boosted their profits but also lowered the quality of the results. Charlie was a real pro and his clients called him back for the next job.

[Algot Runeman]

autopoiesis

Pronunciation: /ˌɔːtə(ʊ)pɔɪˈiːsɪs/
noun
The self-maintenance of an organized entity through its own internal processes; (in extended use) self-organization, self-regulation.

Origin
1960s. From auto- + -poiesis. In later use after Spanish autopoiesis.

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The expectation of a country is that it will exhibit effective autopoiesis, generating the internal rules to effectively direct its own operation.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

autopoiesis

Lendee, choenix, pseudoplastic, autopoiesis ... my, aren't we bombastic these days.

Trump's influence already?

BTW.
There's this French children's ditty:
"Un éléphant, ça trompe, ça trompe,"
"Un éléphant, ça trompe énormément."
"Deux éléphants, ça trompe, ça trompe,"
en so forth ...
See Mama Lisa's World for translation and lyrics, and

Spoiler: show

for the music.

I wouldn't be surprised the temptation to make that "Un éléphant, ça trumpe, ça trumpe," is becoming irresistible in Quebec.

[Algot Runeman]

aesthesia

(also esthesia)
Pronunciation: /ˌiːsˈθiːzɪə//ˌiːsˈθiːʒə//ɪsˈθiːzɪə/
noun
Medicine
rare
Sensory capacity or ability of an organism, organ, etc.; an instance of this.

Origin
Early 19th century; earliest use found in London Encyclopedia. From -aesthesia. Compare French (now rare) aesthésie, esthésie.

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Harriet lost her sense of smell. All foods became dull, just sweet, salty, bitter or sour, no enticing aroma at all. In recent medical studies, such loss of aesthesia is being associated with eventual onset of Alzheimer's disease.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

aesthesia

I used to be much more interested in an-aesthesia!
Almost obsessed with it.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

paleontology

Pronunciation: /ˌpalɪɒnˈtɒlədʒi//ˌpeɪlɪɒnˈtɒlədʒi/
noun
[mass noun] The branch of science concerned with fossil animals and plants.

Origin
Mid 19th century: from palaeo- + Greek onta beings (neuter plural of ōn, present participle of einai be) + -logy.

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Kids who want to study paleontology to find their own dinosaur eventually become old fossils themselves. Actually, we all become old fossils, no matter what our life's passions.

[Algot Runeman]

cyclothymia

pronunciation: /ˌsʌɪklə(ʊ)ˈθʌɪmɪə/
noun
Psychiatry
dated
[mass noun] A mental state characterized by marked swings of mood between depression and elation; bipolar disorder.

Origin
1920s: from cyclo- + Greek thumos temper.

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Theo thought his life was great. Theo thought his life was dreck. Back and forth, up and down, an endless swing between high and low. "Bipolar" or "manic/depressive" said the doctors, eschewing the older term "cyclothymia". Whatever you call it, the cycle sucks.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

cyclothymia

Nothing new.

Glen Miller's famous "In the Mood" did swing, as it implies a cyclothymical "Not in the Mood", doesn't it?

[Algot Runeman]

shorten

Pronunciation: /ˈʃɔːt(ə)n/
verb
1 Make or become shorter: [with object] ‘he shortened his stride’ [no object] ‘as skirts shortened, so heels rose’
1.1 (with reference to gambling odds) make or become shorter; decrease
1.2 Prosody Phonetics [with object] Make (a vowel or syllable) short
transitive v. To add shortening to (dough) so as to make flaky.
3 Sailing
[with object] Reduce the amount of (sail spread)

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The odds become shorter that I'll add shortening to the dough for tonight's dinner as I face a shortening window to shorten the sails before the storm. It is always wise to reef before getting too close to the reef.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

shorten

During the French revolution many aristocrats were resized by a head lenght.

I wonder if the French kangaroo courts condemned them to be executed (exécutés), guillotined (guillotinés) or shortened (raccourcis).

Spoiler: show

(His middle name was Ignace.)

[Algot Runeman]

cate

Pronunciation: /keɪt/
noun
usually cates
archaic
A choice food; a delicacy.

Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense ‘selling, a bargain’): from obsolete acate ‘purchasing, things purchased’, from Old French acat, achat, from acater, achater buy, based on Latin captare seize, from capere take.

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Kate catered to to the elite crowd. Her clients said Kate's dinners were "divine" and her appetizer cates were "capricious and yummy".

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

cate

I can readily imagine men like Howard and William whisper with ardent hope: "Kiss me Kate!".

But did they perhaps mean "Kis me cate", sampling the seductive appetisers at a fundraiser?

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

pain-in-the-butt

noun [phrase]
not rare, perhaps too common*
an activity or event which causes discomfort or dismay

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Raking leaves, according to Maura, is a pain-in-the-butt. It is difficult to dispute this common, annual reaction.



[* The forum software says all the words are too common. It can make the search for previously used words a pain-in-the-butt.]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

pain-in-the-butt

Unfortunately you can't alleviate a pain-in-the-butt with anaesthetics.