GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
- laurie
- Spelling Mistress
- Posts: 8164
- Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2004 2:52 am
- Location: The part of New York where "flurries" means 2 feet of snow to shovel
Yup - you're our "pet" guinea pig.Kvetch wrote:subject as in experimental subject?
Good luck ...Kvetch wrote:soon I'll manage to train you all into putting in 'u's where they ought to go.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." -- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
"So where the hell is he?" -- Laurie
"So where the hell is he?" -- Laurie
Word of the Day for Wednesday January 12, 2005
eldritch \EL-drich\, adjective: Strange; unearthly; weird; eerie.
In the eldritch light of evening in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, the eye plays tricks on the brain.
--Thom Stark, "Something's Burning," Boardwatch, November 2000
The immitigable mountains and their stark, eldritch trees; coasts where earth abruptly snapped off, never to be continued, or beaches which gnawed it to bright dust and sucked it gently away. . . .
--Carolyn Kizer, "A Childhood South of Nowhere," New York Times, April 9, 1989
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Eldritch perhaps derives from a Middle English word meaning "fairyland," from Middle English elf, "elf" (from Old English aelf) + riche, "kingdom" (from Old English rice).
eldritch \EL-drich\, adjective: Strange; unearthly; weird; eerie.
In the eldritch light of evening in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, the eye plays tricks on the brain.
--Thom Stark, "Something's Burning," Boardwatch, November 2000
The immitigable mountains and their stark, eldritch trees; coasts where earth abruptly snapped off, never to be continued, or beaches which gnawed it to bright dust and sucked it gently away. . . .
--Carolyn Kizer, "A Childhood South of Nowhere," New York Times, April 9, 1989
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Eldritch perhaps derives from a Middle English word meaning "fairyland," from Middle English elf, "elf" (from Old English aelf) + riche, "kingdom" (from Old English rice).
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
- laurie
- Spelling Mistress
- Posts: 8164
- Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2004 2:52 am
- Location: The part of New York where "flurries" means 2 feet of snow to shovel
One of my college friends had the surname Eldritch. She was one of the few women I know who was GLAD to take her husband's name when she married. Her name is now Smith.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." -- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
"So where the hell is he?" -- Laurie
"So where the hell is he?" -- Laurie
Word of the Day for Thursday January 13, 2005
indurate \IN-dur-it; -dyur-\, adjective: Physically or morally hardened; unfeeling; stubborn.
transitive verb: 1. To make hard; to harden. 2. To harden against; to make hardy; to habituate. 3. To make hardened; to make callous or stubborn. 4. To establish; to fix firmly.
intransitive verb: 1. To grow hard; to harden. 2. To become established or fixed.
They are completely indurate. They aren't hard-nosed; they live without any sense of malice. There is no time or need for others.
--John Stone, "Evil in the Early Cinema of Oliver Stone," Journal of Popular Film and Television, Summer 2000
First off, the avoid-terminal-prepositions rule is the invention of one Fr. R. Lowth, an eighteenth-century British preacher and indurate pedant who did things like spend scores of pages arguing for hath over the trendy and degenerate has.
--David Foster Wallace, "Tense Present," Harper's Magazine, April 2001
New findings in science point toward a buoyant view of our being: one in which life is favored, not improbable, and the universe a welcoming place, not an indurate domain.
--Gregg Easterbrook, "Science sees the light," New Republic, October 12, 1998
Only an exceptionally strong personality or a criminal indurated by bitter experience can withstand prolonged, skillful interrogation in silence.
--Charles E. O'Hara and Gregory L. O'Hara, Fundamentals of Criminal Investigation
The terrain he walked over still looked like sand, but the sand was cemented together, firm as concrete. Indurated soil.
--Geoffrey A. Landis, Mars Crossing
But "hard cheeses indurate, soft cheeses collapse." (Flaubert's Parrot). People don't change, they set in.
--Antonia Quirke, "Jack of all trades," New Statesman, October 29, 2001
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Indurate is derived from the past participle of Latin indurare, from in-, intensive prefix + durare, "to harden," from durus, "hard."
indurate \IN-dur-it; -dyur-\, adjective: Physically or morally hardened; unfeeling; stubborn.
transitive verb: 1. To make hard; to harden. 2. To harden against; to make hardy; to habituate. 3. To make hardened; to make callous or stubborn. 4. To establish; to fix firmly.
intransitive verb: 1. To grow hard; to harden. 2. To become established or fixed.
They are completely indurate. They aren't hard-nosed; they live without any sense of malice. There is no time or need for others.
--John Stone, "Evil in the Early Cinema of Oliver Stone," Journal of Popular Film and Television, Summer 2000
First off, the avoid-terminal-prepositions rule is the invention of one Fr. R. Lowth, an eighteenth-century British preacher and indurate pedant who did things like spend scores of pages arguing for hath over the trendy and degenerate has.
--David Foster Wallace, "Tense Present," Harper's Magazine, April 2001
New findings in science point toward a buoyant view of our being: one in which life is favored, not improbable, and the universe a welcoming place, not an indurate domain.
--Gregg Easterbrook, "Science sees the light," New Republic, October 12, 1998
Only an exceptionally strong personality or a criminal indurated by bitter experience can withstand prolonged, skillful interrogation in silence.
--Charles E. O'Hara and Gregory L. O'Hara, Fundamentals of Criminal Investigation
The terrain he walked over still looked like sand, but the sand was cemented together, firm as concrete. Indurated soil.
--Geoffrey A. Landis, Mars Crossing
But "hard cheeses indurate, soft cheeses collapse." (Flaubert's Parrot). People don't change, they set in.
--Antonia Quirke, "Jack of all trades," New Statesman, October 29, 2001
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Indurate is derived from the past participle of Latin indurare, from in-, intensive prefix + durare, "to harden," from durus, "hard."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day for Friday January 14, 2005
slake \SLAYK\, transitive verb: 1. To satisfy; to quench; to extinguish; as, to slake thirst. 2. To cause to lessen; to make less active or intense; to moderate; as, slaking his anger. 3. To cause (as lime) to heat and crumble by treatment with water.
intransitive verb: To become slaked; to crumble or disintegrate, as lime.
My companions never drink pure water and the . . . beer serves as much to slake their thirst as to fill their stomachs and lubricate conversation.
--Philippe Descola, The Spears of Twilight
She had the money he gave her (never enough to slake her anxieties).
--Nuala O'Faolain, Are You Somebody
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Slake comes from Middle English slaken, "to become or render slack," hence "to abate," from Old English slacian, from slæc, "slack."
/we have a Lime Slaker at work
slake \SLAYK\, transitive verb: 1. To satisfy; to quench; to extinguish; as, to slake thirst. 2. To cause to lessen; to make less active or intense; to moderate; as, slaking his anger. 3. To cause (as lime) to heat and crumble by treatment with water.
intransitive verb: To become slaked; to crumble or disintegrate, as lime.
My companions never drink pure water and the . . . beer serves as much to slake their thirst as to fill their stomachs and lubricate conversation.
--Philippe Descola, The Spears of Twilight
She had the money he gave her (never enough to slake her anxieties).
--Nuala O'Faolain, Are You Somebody
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Slake comes from Middle English slaken, "to become or render slack," hence "to abate," from Old English slacian, from slæc, "slack."
/we have a Lime Slaker at work
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
- laurie
- Spelling Mistress
- Posts: 8164
- Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2004 2:52 am
- Location: The part of New York where "flurries" means 2 feet of snow to shovel
Have you ever seen the episode of M*A*S*H where Radar is reading a book containing the word "slaking" and tries to define it from its context?
He ends up thinking it's a synonym for "making love".
He ends up thinking it's a synonym for "making love".
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." -- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
"So where the hell is he?" -- Laurie
"So where the hell is he?" -- Laurie
Word of the Day for Monday January 17, 2005
apogee \AP-uh-jee\, noun: 1. The point in the orbit of the moon or of an artificial satellite that is at the greatest distance from the center of the earth. 2. The farthest or highest point; culmination.
But in retrospect, this period would prove to be the apogee of O'Sullivan's career, although he always felt bigger and better things were on his way.
--Edward L. Widmer, Young America
How can we suppose that science has reached its apogee in the twentieth century?
--John Maddox, What Remains To Be Discovered
Aurangzeb ended the family tradition of building architectural masterpieces that had reached its apogee when his father, Shah Jahan, built the world's most beautiful tomb, the Taj Mahal.
--Anthony Read and David Fisher, The Proudest Day
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Apogee is derived from Greek apogaion, from apogaios, "situated (far) away from the earth," from apo-, "away from" + gaia, "earth."
/it's way way up there
apogee \AP-uh-jee\, noun: 1. The point in the orbit of the moon or of an artificial satellite that is at the greatest distance from the center of the earth. 2. The farthest or highest point; culmination.
But in retrospect, this period would prove to be the apogee of O'Sullivan's career, although he always felt bigger and better things were on his way.
--Edward L. Widmer, Young America
How can we suppose that science has reached its apogee in the twentieth century?
--John Maddox, What Remains To Be Discovered
Aurangzeb ended the family tradition of building architectural masterpieces that had reached its apogee when his father, Shah Jahan, built the world's most beautiful tomb, the Taj Mahal.
--Anthony Read and David Fisher, The Proudest Day
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apogee is derived from Greek apogaion, from apogaios, "situated (far) away from the earth," from apo-, "away from" + gaia, "earth."
/it's way way up there
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day for Tuesday January 18, 2005
voluble \VOL-yuh-buhl\, adjective: 1. Characterized by a ready flow of speech. 2. Easily rolling or turning; rotating. 3. (Botany) Having the power or habit of turning or twining.
Rostow was voluble, exuberant and full of good and sometimes foolish ideas.
--Kai Bird, The Color of Truth
Two glasses of wine made him voluble and three made him bellicose, sentimental and sometimes slurred.
--"How Nixon turned into Tricky Dicky," Daily Telegraph, March 9, 1999
He listened patiently and with quiet amusement to my enthusiasm. Indeed, this turned out to be our pattern: I, more ignorant but more voluble, would babble on, while he would offer an occasional objection or refinement.
--Phillip Lopate, Totally, Tenderly, Tragically
Her tongue, so voluble and kind,
It always runs before her mind.
--Matthew Prior, "Truth and Falsehood"
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Voluble derives from Latin volubilis, "revolving, rolling, fluent," from volvere, "to roll."
The very voluble volleyball verbatim vibrated Victoria Park.
voluble \VOL-yuh-buhl\, adjective: 1. Characterized by a ready flow of speech. 2. Easily rolling or turning; rotating. 3. (Botany) Having the power or habit of turning or twining.
Rostow was voluble, exuberant and full of good and sometimes foolish ideas.
--Kai Bird, The Color of Truth
Two glasses of wine made him voluble and three made him bellicose, sentimental and sometimes slurred.
--"How Nixon turned into Tricky Dicky," Daily Telegraph, March 9, 1999
He listened patiently and with quiet amusement to my enthusiasm. Indeed, this turned out to be our pattern: I, more ignorant but more voluble, would babble on, while he would offer an occasional objection or refinement.
--Phillip Lopate, Totally, Tenderly, Tragically
Her tongue, so voluble and kind,
It always runs before her mind.
--Matthew Prior, "Truth and Falsehood"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Voluble derives from Latin volubilis, "revolving, rolling, fluent," from volvere, "to roll."
The very voluble volleyball verbatim vibrated Victoria Park.
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Goes well with bauble phonetically, don't you think? Or malleable. Permeable? Good B's - nice and thick.
Or foible. That's it -
His voluble nature, easily malleable with the offer of bling-bling baubles made his decorum permeable to the greatest of foibles - dribbling, blubbering, and other stumbled bumblings too troubling to belie, leaving him liable, humble, mumbling and caught in the brambles, stoned with pebbles and singing stubbly lullabys.
What would a stubbly lullaby sound like, I wonder? Probably really SCRATCHY, right?
Or foible. That's it -
His voluble nature, easily malleable with the offer of bling-bling baubles made his decorum permeable to the greatest of foibles - dribbling, blubbering, and other stumbled bumblings too troubling to belie, leaving him liable, humble, mumbling and caught in the brambles, stoned with pebbles and singing stubbly lullabys.
What would a stubbly lullaby sound like, I wonder? Probably really SCRATCHY, right?
Colourless green ideas sleep furiously
Word of the Day for Wednesday January 19, 2005
bibulous \BIB-yuh-luhs\, adjective: 1. Of, pertaining to, marked by, or given to the consumption of alcoholic drink. 2. Readily absorbing fluids or moisture.
Vineyards are everywhere, especially when Felix approaches Paris, the most populous city in Christendom -- and the most bibulous too, since lousy local wine had to be drunk before it turned sour in a few months.
--Eugen Weber, "Renaissance Men," New York Times, April 13, 1997
Ever since the joys of the fermented grape were discovered, the bibulous have been waking up feeling the worse for wear.
--Sally Chatterton, "The Daily Website: http://www.hungover.net, Independent, September 3, 2001
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Bibulous comes from Latin bibulus, from bibere, "to drink
/cheers
bibulous \BIB-yuh-luhs\, adjective: 1. Of, pertaining to, marked by, or given to the consumption of alcoholic drink. 2. Readily absorbing fluids or moisture.
Vineyards are everywhere, especially when Felix approaches Paris, the most populous city in Christendom -- and the most bibulous too, since lousy local wine had to be drunk before it turned sour in a few months.
--Eugen Weber, "Renaissance Men," New York Times, April 13, 1997
Ever since the joys of the fermented grape were discovered, the bibulous have been waking up feeling the worse for wear.
--Sally Chatterton, "The Daily Website: http://www.hungover.net, Independent, September 3, 2001
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Bibulous comes from Latin bibulus, from bibere, "to drink
/cheers
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
I'm sure we could squeeze a 3rd definition outta that one ...
2 yr old Christie, after a particularly messy meal in which she smeared herself liberally with pureed peas and creamed turkey, and then gave herself a nasty neck rash by twisting her bib repeatedly from side to side, was feeling particularly bibulous the next morning.
2 yr old Christie, after a particularly messy meal in which she smeared herself liberally with pureed peas and creamed turkey, and then gave herself a nasty neck rash by twisting her bib repeatedly from side to side, was feeling particularly bibulous the next morning.
Last edited by Darb on Wed Jan 19, 2005 12:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.