GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

azimuth

/ˈazɪməθ/
noun
1 The direction of a celestial object from the observer, expressed as the angular distance from the north or south point of the horizon to the point at which a vertical circle passing through the object intersects the horizon.
1.1 The horizontal angle or direction of a compass bearing.

Origin
Late Middle English (denoting the arc of a celestial circle from the zenith to the horizon): from Old French azimut, from Arabic as-samt, from al ‘the’ + samt ‘way, direction’.

==========

Isaac Asimov explained how to set a telescope precisely using azimuth and altitude angles. Asimov made it easy. (In spite of that, nobody called him Isaac Azimuth.)

[Algot Runeman]

argonaut

/ˈɑːɡ(ə)nɔːt/
noun
A small floating octopus, the female of which has webbed sail-like arms and secretes a thin coiled papery shell in which the eggs are laid.
Genus Argonauta, order Octopoda
Also called paper nautilus

==========

Here Jason was in his ignorance, thinking argonauts were some group of adventurous sailors out of ancient Greece. Instead he finds they are little octopus critters with a shell. [Wasn't there even a movie?]

[Algot Runeman]

suffrage

/ˈsʌfrɪdʒ/
noun
mass noun The right to vote in political elections.

Origin
The modern sense of ‘right to vote’ was originally US (dating from the late 18th century).

==========

The phrase "universal suffrage" has the implication that we humans would be allowed to vote on any planet, not just our poorly maintained sphere.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

suffrage

Was/is it called suffrage because, during the era of suffragette rallies, demonstrations and demands, the exclusively male politicians suffered justified harassment by their wives?

Spoiler: show

Large picture @ https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/170221-colorized-suffrage-05.jpg

[Algot Runeman]

E.P.S,

The photo of the suffragettes quite naturally fit in your reply. On its own, however, it puzzled me. What real benefit was added by having someone colorize the image?

Does our modern internet-attached mind expect color and splash in all cases?

Even more intriguing (to me) is how the clothing colors were chosen. Were they originally described in the newspaper where the photo was first published?

Did the colorizer use their imagination?

[Algot Runeman]

apophenia

/a-pə-ˈfē-nē-ə/
noun
the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas)

==========

The cat licked it's front paws, one after the other. The dog slobbered as it chewed the rawhide "bone". Dad smiled around his pipe stem. Brother Joey was engrossed in his comic book. Mom glared at each of them. Was this a case of normal-family apophenia as perceived by sister Sally?



++++++++++

(No, Sally is not a nun.)

Today's ODO offer of vibrissae was disallowed by the repeat rule. Whisker has not been officially used, but has been thoroughly discussed during extended exchanges about facial hair in unwanted places. So, here we are with a carefully chosen substitute. The "random" selection of words by ODO's algorithm probably rises above the level of conspiracy, but...the ODO repetition of words is a far-too-frequent occurrence.

Further fodder for frustration is that ODO completely dropped the ball for today's substitute word. They offer no definition for a word which was coined way back in the 1950s. Are we to think that ODO is tightly entwined in an anti-WotD conspiracy, after all? Your current intrepid word worker had to resort to Merriam-Webster, for goodness sake!

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

...
Does our modern internet-attached mind expect color and splash in all cases?
...

I doubt the internet is to blame.

I'm sure magazines with colourful photo-shoots, colour movies and RGB television have been around more than long enough to influence our mind-set.

Not Picasso:

Spoiler: show

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

apophenia
...
Your current intrepid word worker had to resort to Merriam-Webster, for goodness sake!

We're all very glad you didn't resort to Smith & Wesson, for heaven's sake.

[Algot Runeman]

I doubt the internet is to blame.

I'm sure magazines with colourful photo-shoots, colour movies and RGB television have been around more than long enough to influence our mind-set.

No doubt. I still subscribe to a few print magazines. They are, indeed, colorful.

It reminds me of my early days with computers, using available clipart and dot matrix printers to produce a printed newsletter for our school district's teachers. Drawing together a wide-spread staff was part of the job for the teachers' union. We duplicated the newsletter with those infamous purple masters for the spirit duplicator which were also used for handouts to students. Only the main office had access to the black-ink stencils of the mimeograph machine.

Wow, did we feel empowered, even in fuzzy monochrome!

[Algot Runeman]

yarra

/ˈjarə/
adjective
Australian
informal
Mad; crazy.

Origin
1940s: from the name of a psychiatric hospital at Yarra Bend, Victoria.

==========

I've never been to Yarra Bend in Australia. I'm often close to going 'round the bend, from doing these yarra daily words!



[Does anybody know if there's a connection between the bends in the sample sentence?]

[voralfred]

The colorization of the majorettes and of Picasso's Guernica produced two different apophenias among the participants to this thread, one relating them to the internet and the other to print magazines.
What apophenia do these two different apophenias produce in me?
I'm still looking for one...

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

yarra
...
I've never been to Yarra Bend in Australia. ...

...

The guy who installed those road signs and billboards must be yarra.
They're all on the wrong side of the road.

Spoiler: show

[voralfred]

Algot, it seems that EPS is correct : not only do the Aussies drive on the left lane, but they went metric long ago.
This all adds to the yarra aspect of the road signs and billboards, to say nothing of the shape of the bend in the last picture.
But it was all your intent, of course.

[Algot Runeman]

Ahem, of course!


(Burma Shave)

[Algot Runeman]

preverbal

/priːˈvəːb(ə)l/
adjective
1 Existing or occurring before the development of speech.
2 Grammar
Occurring before a verb.

==========

"Waaah! Waaah!", exclaimed young Charles, clearly elucidating his position on the current state of his diapers. Mom and Dad strained to understand his preverbal commentary.

[Algot Runeman]

daybed

/ˈdeɪbɛd/
noun
North American
A couch that can be made up into a bed.

==========

Why is it called a daybed if it's only made up for sleep at night?

[voralfred]

daybed

/ˈdeɪbɛd/
noun
North American
A couch that can be made up into a bed.

==========

Why is it called a daybed if it's only made up for sleep at night?

Probably for the same reason that ODO calls "Word of the day" a word that has been presented already long ago.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

daybed

Many people taking an afternoon nap, do so an a couch or sofa or settee long (or wide) enough to accommodate a grown person lying down. (I for one did so, but not any more for lack of a couch large enough. )
Because serving as a daytime sleeping place is the couch's secondary purpose, it's called daybed by the nappers and even by spouses and family members who don't take naps, but have often observed the practice.

[Algot Runeman]

road trip

a journey by car, bus etc.

==========

The road trip continues today. too little WiFi for a new illustration.

[Algot Runeman]

impresario

/ˌɪmprɪˈsɑːrɪəʊ/
noun
1 A person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas.
1.1 historical The manager of a musical, theatrical, or operatic company.

Origin
Mid 18th century: from Italian, from impresa ‘undertaking’.

==========

Max impressed the theater company's impresario, gaining a spot in the cast.

[Algot Runeman]

adust


adjective
archaic
1 Scorched; burnt.
2 Gloomy; melancholic.

Origin
Late Middle English: from French aduste or Latin adustus ‘burnt’, from adurere, from ad ‘to’ (as an intensifier) + urere ‘to burn’.

==========

It will not come as a surprise that by the end of the day, I'll be a bit adust. Our road trip will be over.

[Algot Runeman]

scripophily

/skrɪˈpɒfɪli/
noun
mass noun
1 The collection of old bond and share certificates as a pursuit or hobby.
1.1 Old bond and share certificates collectively.

Origin
1970s: from scrip + -phily.

==========

I hold no bond or certificate
Cannot participate in scripophily.
It's with cash alone I participate.
To claim otherwise would just be silly.

I fold a meager stack of bills
And put them in my pocket.
(It is one of my finer skills.)
Mostly they disappear like a rocket.

In case you really wonder.
I beg you to consider,
Following my path's a blunder
Really, I'm no kidder!

Far better to have a rich daddy.
Who left you a big trust.
And gives you cash gladly
Unless the market suddenly goes bust.

==========

[Algot Runeman]

rebozo

/rɪˈbəʊzəʊ/
noun
A long scarf covering the head and shoulders, traditionally worn by Spanish-American women.

Origin
Spanish.

==========

Maria maintained her composure. Wearing the rebozo was tradition. Hoots from the muchachos didn't matter.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

rebozo

Plain scarf or just headcloth are much easier to remember than rebozo, which is too much like an unwelcome bozo turning up again.

[Algot Runeman]

EPS, are you being particularly Anglophilic today? Isn't it your second language or third or fourth or more?
(Speaking as a monolingual bozo, myself.)