GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

lurcher

Pronunciation /ˈləːtʃə/
noun
1 British A cross-bred dog, typically a retriever, collie, or sheepdog crossed with a greyhound, of a kind originally used for hunting and by poachers for catching rabbits.
2 archaic A prowler, swindler, or petty thief.

Origin
Early 16th century (in lurcher (sense 2)): from obsolete lurch ‘remain in a place furtively’, variant of lurk.

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I guess that the British lurcher is a US mutt, but one with a profession.

[voralfred]

But in (belgian) French and in Flemish the meaning is not so much a glass display case, but usually a storefront window pane.

Leading us to the enjoyable season of walking through the retail district for vitrine shopping?

That's called "vitrine licking" ... sometimes combined with virtual slobbering ...

Actually, vitrine does have the usual meaning storefront window pane in french French too, not just in belgian French. And just as EPS stated, walking through the retail district for window shopping is indeed called "faire du lèche-vitrines " in France, which is just "doing some vitrine-licking".
This is the correct phrasing, we do not say "lécher des vitrines ".

In fact, vitrine also means, in a museum for instance, a glass panel, either horizontal or vertical, closing an otherwise non-transparent display case, and, by extension, the case itself. All kind of trinkets, and even thinglets, can be exhibited in vitrines.

I personally would not call in french "une vitrine" the display case displayed in Algot's original post. Too much glass.
But some people might disagree and call also that kind of display case "une vitrine".

Of course, now, vitrines are not made of ordinary glass, but of very strong material, to prevent ransacking by lurchers (definition 2).

I hope noone will snicker at my enthusiasm for petty details. Anyway I certainly did not mean to interject with this post.

[voralfred]

hygge

noun
mass noun
A quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture)
Pronunciation
/ˈh(j)uːɡə/ /ˈhʊɡə/

Origin
Danish, from Norwegian.

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Gathering with family can bring on hygge, if the family is actually close.

I am not at all sure that Thanksgiving is a time of hygge for turkeys, as your post seems to suggest.

Again, I hope you won't consider this post as an attempt to interject anything into this thread.

[Algot Runeman]

samey

Pronunciation /ˈseɪmi/
adjective samier, samiest
informal British
Lacking in variety; monotonous.

==========

While the format of WotD is samey, it makes up for that with vivacious verbal variety.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

samey

Really, my son Sammy has never been samey.

Oh well, okay, not to me or his mother ... I don't know about other people ...

[Algot Runeman]

jobsworth

Pronunciation /ˈdʒɒbzwəːθ/
noun
informal, derogatory British
An official who upholds petty rules even at the expense of humanity or common sense.

Origin
1970s from ‘it's more than my job's worth (not) to’.

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Rising to his level of incompetence, Joseph became a jobsworth as a middle manager resulting in departmental dissatisfaction and high turnover.

[Algot Runeman]

inane

Pronunciation /ɪˈneɪn/
adjective
Lacking sense or meaning; silly.

Origin
Mid 16th century from Latin inanis ‘empty, vain’.

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Just because the words are plain,
And do not make the reader strain,
Do not accuse the author's ease
Of being inane or worse, boring, please.

[Algot Runeman]

shoppertainment

Pronunciation /ˌʃɒpəˈteɪnm(ə)nt/
noun
US
The provision of entertainment or leisure facilities within or alongside a retail store or shopping centre, as part of a marketing strategy designed to attract customers; the entertainment or facilities provided in this way.

Origin
1990s. Blend of shopper and entertainment.

==========

No tricky sentence or illustration today...have gone for some seasonal shoppertainment.

[Algot Runeman]

dreary

Pronunciation /ˈdrɪəri/
adjective drearier, dreariest
Depressingly dull and bleak or repetitive.

Origin
Old English drēorig ‘gory, cruel’, also ‘melancholy’, from drēor ‘gore’, of Germanic origin; related to German traurig ‘sorrowful’, also to drowsy, and probably to drizzle.

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For some, the coming months in the northern hemisphere present a dreary prospect. Sorry, but some of us do love the snow.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

dreary

[sad face]

The shoppertainment in Belgium promises to be dreary, what with the countermeasures for the 4th wave of Covid-infections.

We don't have a Sword of Damocles, but the threat of a smothering lockdown instead. Again ...

[Algot Runeman]

deciduous

Pronunciation /dɪˈsɪdjʊəs/
adjective
1 (of a tree or shrub) shedding its leaves annually.
Often contrasted with evergreen
1.1 informal (of a tree or shrub) broadleaved.
1.2 Denoting the milk teeth of a mammal, which are shed after a time.

Origin
Late 17th century from Latin deciduus (from decidere ‘fall down or off’) + -ous.

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I do not think I have ever heard of drinkers being called deciduous when they have fallen off the wagon. But then, there's always a first time.

[Algot Runeman]

veggie

Pronunciation /ˈvɛdʒi/
noun
(also vegie)
informal
1 A vegetable.
2 mainly British A vegetarian.
adjective
(also vegie)
informal
1 Consisting of or relating to vegetables.
2 mainly British Vegetarian.

Origin
Early 20th century abbreviation.

==========

Valorie valued her veggies,
And cut up her carrots in wedges.
She really didn't give a hoot
About arguing that a tomato is a fruit.

[Algot Runeman]

sleigh

Pronunciation /sleɪ/
noun
A sledge drawn by horses or reindeer, especially one used for passengers.

Origin
Early 17th century (originally a North American usage): from Dutch slee; related to sled.

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The sky might have been gray
When we rode out on the sleigh
But then, soon after noon
We sang a very sunny tune.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

sleigh
...

With a 3D printer you can produce any shape you want, only limited by the size if the machine and the raw material the machine can handle: plastic, concrete, even metals (*).

A plastic one-horse sleigh is child's play.

(*) Years ago I read an article about and saw photo's of a printed titanium lower jaw, to be implanted as a natural bone jaw replacement:

• https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-16907104

• https://youtu.be/nP1jUABA6A4?t=25

A printed house:

• https://youtu.be/lZh8E6zZdzk?t=14

[Algot Runeman]

A plastic one-horse sleigh is child's play.

Years after I left childhood,
I returned to it with pride.
I'm not sure it's done me good,
But I'm really enjoying the (plastic sleigh) ride.

[Algot Runeman]

saboteur

Pronunciation /ˌsabəˈtəː/
noun
A person who engages in sabotage.

Origin
1920s French, from the verb saboter (see sabotage).

==========

Sebastian yearned to be a saboteur, erroneously thinking it meant a maker of wooden shoes. He had not bothered to look up sabotage*, foolishly thinking that online dictionaries should make life easier than paper ones.

[Just in case, I did check: sabotage - verb - [with object] - Deliberately destroy, damage, or obstruct (something), especially for political or military advantage.]
[A further quick search does not reveal a special name for a person who makes wooden shoes. Unless someone reading this forum can enlighten us, we may need to be satisfied with shoemaker.]

[I suppose we might also say that online dictionaries, for practical reasons (reducing duplicate work), reflect the contents of the printed ones from which the definitions are taken. Still what clogs (pun intended) a paper dictionary would be great to find in a freshly designed online version.]

[voralfred]

jobsworth

Pronunciation /ˈdʒɒbzwəːθ/
noun
informal, derogatory British
An official who upholds petty rules even at the expense of humanity or common sense.

Origin
1970s from ‘it's more than my job's worth (not) to’.

==========

Rising to his level of incompetence, Joseph became a jobsworth as a middle manager resulting in departmental dissatisfaction and high turnover.

Jobsworth Joseph's memo was inane to the point of drearyiness. That was enough to push employees to become saboteurs. If, by some sleigh-of-hand they could let the responsibility of the saboteurage fall on him, they might make him fall from his too elevated position. But as Algot asked above, would that be enough to call him deciduous?

[Algot Runeman]

slosh

Pronunciation /slɒʃ/
verb
1 no object, with adverbial of direction (of liquid in a container) move irregularly with a splashing sound.
1.1 Move through liquid with a splashing sound.
1.2 with object and adverbial of direction Pour (liquid) clumsily.
2 British informal with object Hit (someone) hard.
noun
1 An act or sound of splashing.
1.1 A quantity of liquid that is poured out.
2 British informal A heavy blow.

Origin
Early 19th century variant of the noun slush.

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If you want to have your wish
To become a pretty fish,
Begin with a little anti-posh
And learn to rudely slosh.

[Algot Runeman]

philodemic

Pronunciation /ˌfɪlə(ʊ)ˈdɛmɪk/
adjective
US
Characterized by concern for ordinary people; originally and chiefly in the name of the debating society of Georgetown University, D.C.

Origin
Mid 19th century. From ancient Greek ϕιλόδημος friend of the commons (from ϕιλο- + δῆμος the people) + -ic.

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Perhaps it is just academic
To be a person, philodemic.
But it makes sense, I'd like to say
To care for others in work or play.

[Algot Runeman]

denounce

Pronunciation /dɪˈnaʊns/
verb
[with object]
1 Publicly declare to be wrong or evil.
1.1 Inform against.

Origin
Middle English (originally in the sense ‘proclaim’, also ‘proclaim someone to be wicked, a rebel, etc.’): from Old French denoncier, from Latin denuntiare ‘give official information’, based on nuntius ‘messenger’.

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*Archaic: Delate. Delay or just Delete?*

I am not here to announce
That this practice we denounce.
We are not, here, afraid
To let some words just fade.
Language is a living thing
With changes as a routine thing.
So now, before it is too late,
We should use this word: delate.



[Here is where I reveal that I very nearly made the mistake of posting delate as the WotD, but it was used, by me, in July 2020. Having caught the near-error, I have no need to denounce myself, beyond admitting that using it had faded from my mind.]

[Algot Runeman]

urger

Pronunciation /ˈəːdʒə/
noun
1 Australian informal A person who gives tips at a race meeting.
1.1 A person who takes advantage of others; a racketeer.

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My sense of sport is weak.
My outlook on the ponies, bleak.
I feel the need to surge, sir,
To bet with counsel from an urger.

Though I do not expect success
Because my plan's a mess.
I can afford to drop a dollar
So I can hope to escape from squalor.


Image Credit: EmmaH

[Algot Runeman]

resilient

Pronunciation /rɪˈzɪlɪənt/
adjective
1 (of a person or animal) able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.
2 (of a substance or object) able to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed.

Origin
Mid 17th century from Latin resilient- ‘leaping back’, from the verb resilire (see resile).

==========

"Like a rubber ball, I come bouncing back to you." --Bobby Vee (1961)
Living that lyric, I guess I'm resilient, or, at least, persistent.

[voralfred]

As a philodemic person I suffered a severe, though metaphorical slosh (meaning 2, British informal) by the following ethical problem :
Should I refrain from denouncing (or delating) an urger because of my concern for him (or her) as a person, or on the contrary, denounce, delate that person by concern for the honest bettors who are frustrated by this behaviour ?

Fortunately, I am resilient, and I easily recovered from that metaphorical slosh . All the more easily that I have never set foot in a race meeting....

[Algot Runeman]

gubbins

Pronunciation /ˈɡʌbɪnz/
plural noun
treated as singular or plural
1 British informal - Miscellaneous items; paraphernalia.
1.1 treated as singular A gadget.

Origin
Mid 16th century (in the sense ‘fragments’): from obsolete gobbon ‘piece, slice, gob’, from Old French; probably related to gobbet. Current senses date from the early 20th century.

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Charcoal sticks and paper are some gubbins of the craft of gravestone rubbings.

[Algot Runeman]

disposition

Pronunciation /dɪspəˈzɪʃ(ə)n/
noun
1 A person's inherent qualities of mind and character.
1.1 often with infinitive An inclination or tendency.
2 mass noun The way in which something is placed or arranged, especially in relation to other things.
2.1 The action of arranging people or things in a particular way.
2.2 dispositions The stationing of troops ready for military action.
3 Law
mass noun The distribution or transfer of property or money to someone, especially by bequest.
4 The power to deal with something as one pleases.
4.1 archaic The determination of events by divine power.

Origin
Late Middle English via Old French from Latin dispositio(n-), from disponere ‘arrange’ (see dispose).

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About this daily mission,
I will make a clear admission,
It's a case of verbal attrition
Causing a mediocre disposition.

[Once again, Lexico offered a word we have used, keitai. Having never heard it in my experience, I jumped at the chance to take the easy path by modifying a recent illustration to just add a cellphone. I was sure it was a safe option. Only then did I double check. There was the portable phone word back in 2015! Rats, phooey, darn! Therefore, I am disposing of the image here, anyway, along with the silly sentence I'd intended to use. "Jun jumped the stream, careful to hold tight to his keitai. The signal was weak, but he would have real trouble if the phone was dead."]