GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

effable

Pronunciation: /ˈɛfəb(ə)l/
adjective
rare
Able to be described in words:

Origin
Early 17th century: from Latin effabilis, from effari utter.

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Though his love was technically effable, John never felt he quite got his full feelings across to Judy, even after 50 years of marriage.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

effable

You gave it away, there.
You ARE an effable romantic.

[Algot Runeman]

vibrissa

Pronunciation: (plural - vibrissae) /vʌɪˈbrɪsiː/
noun
1 Any of the long stiff hairs that project from the snout or brow of most mammals, as the whiskers of a cat.
2 In human anatomy, one of the hairs which grow in the nostrils.

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While some thought, at first, he sported a fine mustache, most were seriously repelled by his vibrissae.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

vibrissa

Something to make your vibrissae horripilate.

Concise (but silly) overview of 2016:

For the UK it was *NOT* the year of TOP Gear.

For the US it surely was the year of GOP Tear.

[Algot Runeman]

bannock

Pronunciation: /ˈbanək/
noun
A round, flat loaf of bread, typically unleavened, associated with Scotland and northern England.

Origin
Old English bannuc, of Celtic origin; related to Welsh ban, Breton bannac'h, banne, and Cornish banna a drop.

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Now, all you budding bakers out there should know that if you add some potato to your dough, your bannock could become a fadge, and you would be welcome in the kitchen in Northern Ireland. Adding some raisins and plenty of butter, you would emulate the Selkirk Bannock enjoyed by Queen Victoria. Bake or fry then cut a wedge and have a scone with your tea.


BannockBeremeal [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], by Lou Sander (Own work), from Wikimedia Commons

fadge
noun
Northern Irish
[mass noun] Bread made with potatoes, flour, and butter formed into scones:
‘fadge is an indispensable part of the Ulster fry’

[Algot Runeman]

aioli

Pronunciation: /ʌɪˈəʊli/
noun
[mass noun] Mayonnaise seasoned with garlic.

Origin
French aïoli, from Provençal ai garlic + oli oil.

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Hans, a renowned Alpine yodeller, was always welcome to perform. Of course, if he'd also had aioli slathered on his bratwurst sandwich, he was asked to perform outside.

[Algot Runeman]

simul

Pronunciation: /ˈsɪm(ə)l/
noun
Chess
A display in which a player plays a number of games simultaneously against different opponents.

Origin
1960s: abbreviation of simultaneous.

Sam sought competition as often as he could. He visited chess clubs all around the state, staging simuls to make a splash. His record was sixteen simultaneous opponents, but usually fewer than that were available.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

simul

Assuming all the opponents have aioli breath and stinky socks, would that affect the simul player's game?

[Algot Runeman]

armamentarium

Pronunciation: /ˌɑːməmɛnˈtɛːrɪəm/
noun
1 The medicines, equipment, and techniques available to a medical practitioner
1.1 A collection of resources available for a certain purpose

Origin
Late 19th century: from Latin, arsenal, armoury.

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I'd expect that scrapers, probes, syringes of Lydocaine, Drills, amalgam, an occasional blague or humorous aside, all followed by a final candy cane are among the armamentarium of an efficient dentist.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

armamentarium

So eliciting-a-nostalgic-response is the latest addition to your set of tricks.

But I wont fall for it. You're showing the obsolete armamentarium of "Der weiße Engel".

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

I especially thought you might like the drill on display, E.P.S.

In the US, it is called an eggbeater. I imagine it in use with shaky hands[*] like my own.

Ooooh! More Lydocaine, please, doctor. No, oil of cloves won't do.

[*] I try to use a drill press from my woodworker's armamentarium whenever possible.

[Algot Runeman]

detrusor

Pronunciation: /dɪˈtruːsə/
(also detrusor muscle)
noun
Anatomy
A muscle which forms a layer of the wall of the bladder.

Origin
Mid 18th century: modern Latin, from Latin detrus- thrust down, from the verb detrudere.

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Jerome judged that he could selectively drink an appropriate juice to keep each component of his anatomy working at peak performance. For the bladder's detrusor muscle, he relied on kiwi juice.

[Algot Runeman]

geodesic

adjective
1 Relating to or denoting the shortest possible line between two points on a sphere or other curved surface.
1.1 (of a dome or other structure) constructed from struts which follow geodesic lines and typically form an open framework of triangles and polygons.

2 another term for geodetic

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Bob lived in a geodesic dome with the frame structure made of PVC pipes. He said it was almost a sphere. His friends said, "No, it's too severe!"


Original image of dome thanks to Simplydifferently.org

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

geodesic

My grandma claimed that her detrusor got excited when her bladder approached a tense geodesic.
As for me, I concur ...

[Algot Runeman]

nebuly

Pronunciation /ˈnɛbjʊli/
adjective
Heraldry
Divided or edged with a line formed of deeply interlocking curves.

Origin
Mid 16th century: from French nébulé, from medieval Latin nebulatus clouded (the curves being thought of as representing clouds), from Latin nebula mist.

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Lance thought the nebuly motif on his shield was only nebulously like the shape of a cloud, but he liked the centered circles a lot.

[Algot Runeman]

torus

Pronunciation: /ˈtɔːrəs/
noun
1 Geometry
A surface or solid formed by rotating a closed curve, especially a circle, about a line which lies in the same plane but does not intersect it (e.g. like a ring doughnut).
2 Architecture
A large convex moulding, typically semicircular in cross section, especially as the lowest part of the base of a column.

Origin
Mid 16th century (in torus): from Latin, literally swelling, bolster, round moulding. The other senses date from the 19th century.


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Designing a wedding ring for 3D printing began with being able to make a standard torus as described in the 3D software manual.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

torus

Whenever I want a torus of a precise thickness and diameter, I go to a hardware store and just ask for an O-ring with the size I need.

The last time I needed one, it was for my mother's old pressure cooker (that I inherited). Before that it was for a garden hose coupling. And before that it was a drive belt for an old Hoover vacuum cleaner (also inherited). And before that it was the seal between the cilinder and the crankcase of my motorcycle's engine. And my dental unit used to have countless very small O-rings (about 1-2 mm inner diameter, 3-4 mm outer).

It's unbelievable what all O-rings are used for, though usually as a seal, except in the old Hoover.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

pompano

Pronunciation /ˈpɒmpənəʊ/
noun
1 An edible butterfish that lives in shoals along the west coast of North America.

2 another term for jack

Origin
Late 18th century: from Spanish pámpano, perhaps from pámpana vine leaf, because of its shape.

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

Bob loved to fish for sport as well as for dinner. Bob had fished every US coast and preferred Florida's pompano over the less sporting Pacific pompano along the California shore.


Image credits: feshfromflorida.com and Ken Jones

[It would appear that the ODO has a slight coastal offset for this word. The pompano of this definition is Peprilus simillimus more often called the "California pompano" or "Pacific pompano". The fish Bob was seeking is more probably Trachinotus carolinus which is typically a bigger fish.]

[Algot Runeman]

souvlaki

Pronunciation: /suːˈvlɑːki/
noun
[mass noun] A Greek dish of pieces of meat grilled on a skewer:

Origin
Modern Greek.

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Betty and Bob have not been to a Greek restaurant for a long time. They both love moussaka and souvlaki. One reason might be that their favorite Greek establishment closed 20 years ago and the other local one is big and not so welcoming.

[Algot Runeman]

extrude

Pronunciation: /ɛkˈstruːd//ɪkˈstruːd/
verb
[WITH OBJECT]
1 Thrust or force out
1.1 Shape (a material such as metal or plastic) by forcing it through a die

Origin
Mid 16th century: from Latin extrudere, from ex- out + trudere to thrust.

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Bob thinks this word is very timely as he begins to play with a 3D printer which extrudes hot plastic onto a platform to make shapes and objects, ones both useful and frivolous.

[Algot Runeman]

veridical

Pronunciation: /vɪˈrɪdɪk(ə)l/
adjective
formal
1 Truthful
1.1 Coinciding with reality:

Origin
Mid 17th century: from Latin veridicus (from verus true + dicere say) + -al.

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For the sake of making things verdical, Tom asked his friend Earnest to change the title to "The Sun Also Appears Higher in the Sky Because of the Earth's Rotation"‡ , but Hemingway and his editors declined.



‡ The Sun Also Rises

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

extrude

Such a set of extruded chess men (and ladies) should be stored out of reach of little children.

They look a lot like gummi bears, wouldn't you agree?

Spoiler: show

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

veridical

Ernest would have been just as veridical had he written that "The Sun Also Sets" or "The Sun Always Shines".

That last turn of phrase would've been a nice twist.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

klezmer

Pronunciation: /ˈklɛzmə/
noun
1 [mass noun] Traditional eastern European Jewish music.
1.1 [count noun] A musician who plays klezmer music.

Origin
1920s: Yiddish, contraction of Hebrew kĕlē zemer musical instruments.

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Bob isn't sure he's ever heard traditional klezmer music, but thinks he's heard some mixed with jazz.

[Algot Runeman]

equate

Pronunciation: /ɪˈkweɪt/
verb
[WITH OBJECT] often equate something to/with
1 Consider (one thing) to be the same as or equivalent to another
1.1 equate to/with[no object] (of one thing) be the same as or equivalent to (another)
1.2 Cause (two or more things) to be the same in quantity or value

Origin
Middle English (in the sense ‘make equal, balance’): from Latin aequat- made level or equal, from the verb aequare, from aequus (see equal). Current senses date from the mid 19th century.

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We often attempt to equate what we see in the mirror with reality. Remember, there's only one person actually in the room.