GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

anticipate
...

The dog's anticipation is relevant. It did see and smell the pizza ...

[Algot Runeman]

ceremony

Pronunciation /ˈsɛrɪməni/
noun ceremonies
1 A formal religious or public occasion, especially one celebrating a particular event, achievement, or anniversary.
1.1 An act or series of acts performed according to a traditional or prescribed form.
2 mass noun The ritual observances and procedures required or performed at grand and formal occasions.
2.1 Formal polite behaviour.

Origin
Late Middle English from Old French ceremonie or Latin caerimonia ‘religious worship’, (plural) ‘ritual observances’.

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Worldwide, televisions are tuned to the opening ceremonies of the summer Olympic Games from Tokyo, Japan.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

ceremony

Quite unceremoniously they just cancelled the ZitPop Festival (in Flemish: PukkelPop Festival), again because of Covid19 problems.

NO Pukkelpop: https://www.pukkelpop.be/en/news/

[Algot Runeman]

Quite unceremoniously they just cancelled the ZitPop Festival (in Flemish: PukkelPop Festival), again because of Covid19 problems.

Without any ceremony at all, I thank all that's holy for the decision!

[Algot Runeman]

deference

Pronunciation /ˈdɛf(ə)r(ə)ns/
noun
mass noun
Polite submission and respect.

Origin
Mid 17th century from French déférence, from déférer ‘refer’ (see defer).

===

Yes, I'll write you a reference.
It will be full of pretense,
Or, at best, lots of nonsense.
But in full deference,
And if you prefer,
To our boss, I'll gladly defer.

[Algot Runeman]

mummer

Pronunciation /ˈmʌmə/
noun
1 An actor in a traditional masked mime or a mummers' play.
1.1 archaic, derogatory An actor in the theatre.

Origin
Late Middle English from Old French momeur, from momer ‘act in a mime’; perhaps of Germanic origin.

==========

*Mime, My, My*

Hank Hornsby was a new mummer,
His first time on stage was this summer.
And he turned out to be a real hummer
Because he couldn't have been more silent.

[voralfred]

There is a mummer for whom I have a lot of deference, namely Marcel Marceau, a.k.a Le Mime Marceau, as if he were "The mummer" per excellence.

Believe it or not, though we are both french, it is in the US that I had the only opportunity to attend to one of his performances, 45 years ago.
I still remember it as one of the highlights of my existence.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

mummer

It was a real bummer when the mummer got infected and had to cancel her performance.

[Algot Runeman]

lorryload

Pronunciation /ˈlɒrɪləʊd/
noun
1 British An amount of something that can be carried in one lorry.
1.1 a lorryload/lorryloads of informal A large quantity or number of something.

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Lonnie and Ronnie went to help out Bonnie. They removed lorryloads of rubbish from her parents' house after they passed.

[Algot Runeman]

incriminate

Pronunciation /ɪnˈkrɪmɪneɪt/
verb
[with object]
Make (someone) appear guilty of a crime or wrongdoing.

Origin
Mid 18th century (earlier (mid 17th century) as incrimination): from late Latin incriminat- ‘accused’, from the verb incriminare, from in- ‘into, towards’ + Latin crimen ‘crime’.

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Tony, a notorious train tagger didn't seem to be able to avoid incriminating himself.

[voralfred]

I wonder how many thieves avoided incriminating tehselves by removing lorryloads of various objects from a house by acting exactly as if they were legitimate movers...

[Algot Runeman]

error-ridden

adjective
Full of mistakes.

===========

Horace is regularly guilt-ridden because his work is prone to being error-ridden, and it gets worse at night when he is hag-ridden, commonly leading to daytime work paralysis.

[Algot Runeman]

reticulation

Pronunciation /rɪˌtɪkjʊˈleɪʃ(ə)n/
noun
1 mass noun A pattern or arrangement of interlacing lines resembling a net.
1.1 Photography The formation of a network of wrinkles or cracks in a photographic emulsion.
2 Australian, New Zealand A network of pipes used in irrigation and water supply.

==========

It was with great elation
That they began their celebration.
But since they were meeting online by network
It was just, in a sense, reticulation.

[voralfred]

All the world-wide-web's a reticulation,
And all the men and women merely vertices;

[Algot Runeman]

devotee

Pronunciation /ˌdevəˈtē/ /ˌdɛvəˈti/ /ˌdevəˈtā/ /ˌdɛvəˈteɪ/
noun
1 A person who is very interested in and enthusiastic about someone or something.
1.1 A strong believer in a particular religion or god.

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Stan is a devotee of sport, when played by others, at least.

[Algot Runeman]

lackerband

Pronunciation /ˌlakəˈband/
noun
informal Australian
(especially in Victoria) a rubber band.

Origin
1970s an alteration of elastic band.

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Accepting a new word is sometimes a bit of a stretch for some of us. "Lackerband" is possibly one of those words.


[It might be a stretch for you to see the illustration as a rubber band, too.]

[Algot Runeman]

dysphemism

Pronunciation /ˈdɪsfɪmɪz(ə)m/
noun
A derogatory or unpleasant term used instead of a pleasant or neutral one.
The opposite of euphemism

==========

Sunday isn't the day for dysphemisms. Perhaps no day of the week should be.

[Algot Runeman]

deurmekaar

Pronunciation /ˌdjəːməˈkɑː/
adjective
informal South African predicative
In a state of muddle or confusion.

==========

In a Monday morning huddle
To guide the week ahead
But there's a bit of muddle
And it's deurmekaar days, instead.

[Algot Runeman]

recoup

Pronunciation /rɪˈkuːp/
verb
[with object]
1 Regain (something lost or expended)
1.1 Regain (money spent) through subsequent profits.
1.2 Reimburse or compensate (someone) for money spent or lost.
1.3 Law Deduct or keep back (part of a sum due)

Origin
Early 17th century (as a legal term): from French recouper ‘retrench, cut back’, from re- ‘back’ + couper ‘to cut’.

==========

The lost coins, he wished to recoup
So Joe tried to use a small scoop.
But the job was way too hard,
And it threw him for a loop.

[voralfred]

Would it be a dysphemism to call Joe a deurmekaar ?
Had he secured his coins with a lackerband, he would not have lost them and would not have needed to recoup them at the price of been thrown for a loop.

BTW, though I am a devotee of this thread, I've never met this phrase before "throw someone for a loop" What does it mean ?

[Algot Runeman]

BTW, though I am a devotee of this thread, I've never met this phrase before "throw someone for a loop" What does it mean ?

I am not thrown for a loop by your question. I would guess you would not have encountered the phrase in Europe, as it is idiomatic, informal usage in the USA.

I'll offer a reference, to avoid throwing either you or me for a loop:
https://www.betteratenglish.com/idiom-to-throw-someone-for-a-loop

[Algot Runeman]

bouncebackability

Pronunciation /ˌbaʊnsbakəˈbɪlɪti/
noun
mass noun informal
(especially in sport) the capacity to recover quickly from a setback.

==========

Frank was known for bouncebackability. He routinely fell behind in any game he played. More often than not, he came back to win.

[voralfred]

Would it be a dysphemism to call Joe a deurmekaar ?
Had he secured his coins with a lackerband, he would not have lost them and would not have needed to recoup them at the price of been thrown for a loop.

BTW, though I am a devotee of this thread, I've never met this phrase before "throw someone for a loop" What does it mean ?

I think this post is a demonstration of my bouncebackability. Five WOTDs in arrear recouped in one post !

(...)

I'll offer a reference, to avoid throwing either you or me for a loop:
https://www.betteratenglish.com/idiom-to-throw-someone-for-a-loop

Thanks !

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Would it be a dysphemism to call Joe a deurmekaar ?

"Deurmekaar" is two words concatenated, as is ubiquitous in Dutch and German, but much less so in English.
They are "deur" and "mekaar", meaning "through" and "each other".

"Topsy turvy" is the better fitting English translation of "deurmekaar".

The sentence "Would it be a dysphemism to call Joe a deurmekaar ?" actually contains a grammatical error. The Dutch "deurmekaar" is an adjective exclusively while the preceding article "a" would make it a noun.

For example: the sentence "Would it be a dysphemism to call Joe a topsy turvy?" is grammatically incorrect, because the article "a" is misused.

P.S. I'll try to avoid any more bouts of nitpicking this year.

[Algot Runeman]

carbohydrate

Pronunciation /kɑːbəˈhʌɪdreɪt/
noun
1 Any of a large group of organic compounds occurring in foods and living tissues and including sugars, starch, and cellulose. They contain hydrogen and oxygen in the same ratio as water (2:1) and typically can be broken down to release energy in the animal body.
1.1 Food consisting of or containing a lot of carbohydrates.

Origin
Mid 19th century from carbo- + hydrate.

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Uncontrolled eating of carbohydrates is considered unwise by most experts. Of course, uncontrolled eating of any food probably unwise.