OMG that "appears in lists" is beyond awesome, it's DAWESOME - I've wished for that so many times but somehow I thought it would be a much bigger deal to implement, so I never mentioned it.
While we're asking for the sky, you know what else would be cool? To be able to search lists and users.
Ah, RT - there's the syllabification I was looking for. And again in my defense, the spelling kind of reminds me of edamame, so it's a perfectly logical mistake to make! (Of course, one is a Western trademarked chemical creation and the other is a Japanese bean, but six of one, amirite?)
Ha ha! It cracks me up how much you hate it. And I know most smrt people do! From this website on "sensible design":
"The dreaded blink tag is a sign that well-travelled web surfers take as 'avoid this page - the person that wrote it just learned HTML from a bubble gum wrapper.'"
"Regional Patterns of American Speech: The American Frontier":
Through the passage of time, the frontier contributions of Northern European folk speech — especially British, Irish, Scots, and Swedish — have lost much of their identity because their speakers were soon united in a common culture. But from these sources of early frontier speech probably came the pronouns hit (for it), hisn, ourn, theirn, and yourn, the inflected verb forms clumb, drug, holp, and riz, the auxiliary construction mought could (or might could), and a large number of folk pronunciations and lexical items, forms transmitted through the oral tradition of the common people... Many of these forms go back to Middle English, and all survive in current American Midland and Southern dialects.
I've got a stalkery question - can we subscribe to other people's profile comment feeds? I'd subscribe to yourn just to keep up with what's going on around here.
Thanks John! I absolutely agree 100% that the best part of this site is the interactive/community component, so I'm glad that's why the layout change. I definitely like the movement of the recent comments to the center of the home page. The only thing I think that threw me for a loop is the realignment of the "who lists" uh, lists to the right side of the word view page instead of in the center. My eyes are used to looking under the word itself and I'm constantly retraining myself to look to the right. But I think it's ok because it refocuses attention on talking about the words rather than just collecting them on our lists.
ETA - I don't know if it helps you (I have this vague idea that you could just port the code) but there's a plugin for Firefox that searches Bartleby All Books (and I specify All Books because it's the one with the best value-add over the current d.com, m-w, etc.).
Thanks for fixing the "comments on" page.. but you're right, it isn't accurate. It says I have no comments on my lists but I know for a fact that ain't true!
Am slightly discombobulated by the new layout but I'll adjust eventually. *shakes cane at newfangled inventions*
Still hoping someday you'll add Bartleby (All Books) to the lookup sites - it could replace like 5 dictionary sites in one fellswoop!
Interesting, the old meaning was the opposite, see Bartleby:
E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
That’s crummy, that’s jolly good. She’s a crummy woman, a fine handsome woman. Crummy means fat or fleshy. The crummy part of bread is the fleshy or main part. The opposite of “crusty�? = ill-tempered.
Oh yeah, this is a real word, except it's supposed to be mayhap - see Wikipedia. This is interesting to me as I'd only ever seen/heard it as "mayhaps". As in, "Mayhaps we'll meet again someday." Guess I was listening to illiterates!
Thanks seanahan! I totally agree, and I think it was the thing that struck me the most about the show when I saw the Pilot - Joss has an ear for dialogue that just rings true, even when the dialect itself is made up (e.g., Firefly).
1779, from Fr. Alpine dialect crestin, "a dwarfed and deformed idiot," from V.L. christianus "a Christian," a generic term for "anyone," but often with a sense of "poor fellow."
Buffy: I'm brainsick. I can't have a relationship with him.
Willow: Not during the day, but...you could ask him for coffee some night. It's the non-relationship drink of choice. It's not a date, it's a caffeinated beverage. Okay, sure, it's hot and bitter, like a relationship that way, but... - "Reptile Boy"
"I have at least three lives to contend with, none of which really mesh. It's kind of like oil and water and a...third unmeshable thing." - Buffy, "School Hard"
"I mean, they promised me they'd take me to St. Croix, and then they just decide to go to Tuscany. Art and buildings? I was totally beachless for a month and a half. No one has suffered like I have." - Cordelia, "When She Was Bad"
I know, but it still has those first 4 characters that irresistably remind me of diapers, maybe because those are the only two words I know of that have that sequence, at least in English.
Can you imagine diaphanous diapers, how gross would that be?!?!
1780, Amer.Eng., probably from cord + obs. 17c. duroy, a coarse fabric made in England. Folk etymology is from *corde du roi "the king's cord," but this is not attested in Fr., where the term for the cloth was velours à côtes. Applied in U.S. to a road of logs across swampy ground (1822).
PS My mother gave me her Electrolux with great pomp and splendor but I eventually threw it out because it was half-broken and I couldn't hack getting it fixed. I know, what sacrilege. Plus it weighed a ton and I was sick of lugging it from place to place.
WTF is up with the recent change in spelling of this word - I never liked vendor, but lately I noticed the New Yorker is spelling it vender. Am I crazy or has anyone else seen it?
1872, slang term, chiefly British, originally "a pimp, a man supported by women" (pouncey in same sense is attested from 1861), of unknown origin, perhaps from Fr. pensionnaire "boarder, lodger, person living without working." Meaning "male homosexual" first attested 1932 in Auden.
Short for "orris root", aka iris. I did not know this but apparently it's used to make gin, most famously Bombay Sapphire. At least, so says this unsourced Wikipedia article.
My comments for view breaks Wordie.. I get this adorable message:
"Sorry, but this site has gone all 500 Application Error on you. Something's wrong with the server, most likely. Please email John, the slack bastard who built this. Feel free to give him a piece of your mind."
You know, this is just creepy. Why the hell would an Xtian want to use an epithet referring to the nails on the cross? Religious people are weird. Of course, that's assuming it was a Christian who came up with the phrase.
I thought the dammerung portion meant "storm" - as in the shitstorm that will erupt among the rabidfangirls if Harry and Hermione don't end up together or anything else occurs in it that they don't approve of.
bonk "to hit," 1931, probably of imitative origin; 1975 in sense of "have sexual intercourse with." Bonkers "crazy," 1957, British slang, perhaps from earlier naval slang meaning "slightly drunk" (1948), from notion of a thump on the head.
I also had a bizarre tendency to insert extra letters in words, often duplicatively so - for example I thought mutilate was spelled "mutiliate", Herculean was "Herculanean" and mnemonic was "mnemnonic". Chalk it up to my learning disability! It's a lot easier to remember how they're pronounced once I figured out how to spell them correctly!
I thought of an example - and I am embarrassed to admit how old I was when I learned the "real" pronounciation - but I thought "aspartame" was pronounced "As-par-ta-MEY" instead of "AS-par-tame".
Many ppl seem to get confused as to what to call this - I've seen hair that I would describe as strawberry blonde described as "red", "blonde" or even "brown"!
Stephen King has tried to repurpose this word, c.f. Wikipedia:
* In the novel Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub, the word opopanax is used repeatedly and constantly in a nonsensical fashion, as both a verb and an adjective (e.i "distant cry of the opoponax", the opoponax this, the opoponax that, etc) eventually becoming a symbol for all the strange and incomprehensible events unfolding in the book.
* In another Stephen King novel, Wolves of the Calla (the fifth book in The Dark Tower series), a character holds an "opopanax feather", thus suggesting that it is the name of a bird. No other explanation is given in the story.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English, parrot, from Old French papegai, from Spanish papagayo or Old Provençal papagai, both from Arabic bab’, baba’, from Persian babbagh.
But sionnach, I also think this happens a lot when one is exceptionally well-read as a child because you see them before you hear them pronounced. I know I had several other instances of this but I am once again memfaulting on the examples.
Both agarwood and its resin distillate/extracts are known as Oud in Arabic (literally wood) and used to describe agarwood in nations and areas of Islamic faith. Western perfumers may also use agarwood essential oil under the name "oud" or "oude".
I totally made this same mistake as a child. I blame the confusing English language! Isn't misled itself some kind of backformation (or frontformation?) of led? Lead/mislead, led/misled.
Big Dan Teague: "Thank you boys for throwin' in that fricassee. I'm a man of large appetite, and even with lunch under my belt, I was feelin' a mite peckish."
Can be either a verb or a noun. It means when your memory fails you on some detail. Example: "I totally memfaulted on the name of that movie". Similar to brain fart.
I was thinking of popular culture depictions of, say, the Vikings, or the Huns, as "raping and pillaging" all the time. There was some movie or TV show where they mocked that convention and accidentally said, "We will burn their houses, kill their women and have sex with their animals" or something like that. Totally memfaulting on the detail.
Love the concept, don't really care for the word itself tho. It sounds like some kind of disease. Or maybe a car. "Try the new Zeugma - 50 miles to the gallon!"
Also known as "throw" in perfume-speak - how far the scent extends from your body. As in "this blend has great throw" or "very little throw - I can only smell it with my nose pressed up against my wrist".
AND to add insult to injury, it's entirely possible that I am misremembering his position and he does not deny the existence of the word but merely its application to aluminum foil!! I'll have to ask.
Ack, he's right! (You are too.) Not that tinfoil is not a word but that tinfoil and aluminum foil are not the same. Wikipedia sez (under aluminum foil):
Foil made from a thin leaf of tin was commercially available before the aluminium counterpart. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, tin foil was in common use, and some people continue to refer to the new product by the name of the old one. Tin foil is stiffer than aluminium foil.
Thestrals are large winged horses in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. They are introduced in Order of the Phoenix.
Thestrals are the most elusive and least horse-like breed of magical horse. They have earned an undeserved reputation as omens of evil. They are visible only to those who have witnessed and accepted a death, and their appearance is skeletal, fleshless. They are described in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as having "blank, white, shining eyes," a "dragonish face", "long, black manes", "great leathery wings", and the "skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse".
My BF refuses to admit that this word is real. I'm like, "Aluminum foil, tinfoil, get it?" but no, he's never heard it called that by anyone except me. I wonder if it's a regional thing? California vs. Southern (I'm from NYC but my parents are from VA and TN).
"sucking fish," 1567, from L. remora, lit. "delay, hindrance," from re- "back" + mora "delay;" so called because the fish were believed by the ancients to retard a vessel to which they attached themselves. Pliny writes that Antony's galley was delayed by one at the Battle of Actium. Sometimes called in Eng. stayship or stopship.
I think it's one of those words that if you've never heard it pronounced you would think it rhymed with iced, but I believe seanahan is right that it should be pronounced to rhyme with wrist. Tricky English!
"In the midst of such industry, gawky Simon was the fabledgrasshopper in the nest of ants. He knew he would never amount to much: many people had told him so, and nearly all of them were older—and presumably wiser—than he. At an age when other boys were clamoring for the responsibilities of manhood, Simon was still a muddier and a meanderer. No matter what task he was given to do, his attention soon wandered, and he would be dreaming of battles, and giants, and sea voyages on tall, shining ships... and somehow, things would get broken, or lost, or done wrong.
Rachel had finally let go of his arm, and Simon dragged his feet glumly as he followed the Mistress of Chambermaids like a stick caught in a skirt hem. He had been discovered, his beetle had escaped, and the afternoon was ruined." - Tad Williams, The Dragonbone Chair
Yay! Makes me feel slightly less dumb for not being able to spell it.
I have some other words that I mentally inserted extra letters in when reading them for some bizarre reason - for example mutilate I thought was spelled "mutiliate" for the longest time.
Holorime (or holorhyme) is a form of rhyme in which the rhyme encompasses an entire line or phrase. A holorime may be a couplet or short poem made up entirely of homophonous verses.
An ambigram, also sometimes known as an inversion, is a graphical figure that spells out a word not only in its form as presented, but also in another direction or orientation. Douglas R. Hofstadter describes an ambigram as a "calligraphic design that manages to squeeze two different readings into the selfsame set of curves." The first published reference to the term was by Hofstadter, who attributes the origin of the word to a friend. The 1999 edition of Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach features a 3-D ambigram on the cover.
(noun) - a word, phrase, or sentence that has the property of forming another word, phrase, or sentence when its letters are reversed. A semordnilap differs from a palindrome in that the word or phrase resulting from the reversal must be different from the original word or phrase.
reesetee - it's cuter than ever, poor little limpkin. BTW what's the story behind reesetee anyway? I always think of Reese's PB cups (which the Southern members of my family pronounce "Reecie's") when I see it.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English encensen, from Old French incenser, from Late Latin incnsre, to sacrifice, burn, from Latin incnsus, past participle of incendere, to set on fire.
I love this word but I was just thinking yesterday about how I like the verb form even better than the noun - so to that end I'm going to list incensed if it hasn't been already.
Also, it sounds pretty. Reminds me of Tolkien - Quenya vs. Ninevah and all that. Ninyara totally sounds like the long-lost ancient Elvish tongue that those two grew out of.
Dude, me too. What the hell good is it to have a mnemonic if it doesn't actually help you remember the whole rule?
Also, I can never spell mnemonic. I always want it to have two "mn" combos - mnemnonic - or have the regular 'm' and the 'mn' reversed - memnonic. Can we say dyslexic?
This makes me absurdly happy. Funny how such a prosaic guy could write such a fantastic (in both senses of the word) poem. (I guess me and the editors of the anthology are in agreement there!) Also, see Reeves's Wikipedia page for more interesting tidbits on him. No mention of the poem however.
Ooh, cool!! Thanks for letting me know. As you can probably tell, I'm a little slow on the latest info - I don't have the RSS feed so I have to manually check in on Wordie periodically to see what's going on.
uselessness - no, it's a phonetic spelling of my first and middle initials - R.B. Although I bet people think I have a weird fixation with the restaurant. For some reason though to me the capitalization of "Arby's" makes a huge difference - not to mention the possessive.
"Take 'frigmarole', for instance, meaning 'a rigmarole, only more so', as in 'sorting through the laundry basket for socks again - same old frigmarole'." - Ruth Wajnryb, Expletive Deleted
"There is even a one-size-fits-all euphemism in the form of 'blankety', which Collins defines as 'a euphemism for any taboo word'." - Ruth Wajnryb, Expletive Deleted
"Bonatus describes a besieged planet as one that separates from a malefic and applies to another (Con. 6). It shows a situation that is going from bad to worse.
William Lilly described a planet besieged as one that lies between the bodies of the two malefics Mars and Saturn. His example is Mars at 10 ° Aries, Venus 13° Aries, and Saturn 15° Aries. It is generally accepted that besiegement can occur by aspect as well as bodily conjunction. As a principle it refers to a planet trapped by hostile forces on either side."
1. A frenzied, impassioned choric hymn and dance of ancient Greece in honor of Dionysus. 2. An irregular poetic expression suggestive of the ancient Greek dithyramb. 3. A wildly enthusiastic speech or piece of writing.
1. Moving or tending backward. 2. Opposite to the usual order; inverted or reversed. 3. Reverting to an earlier or inferior condition. 4. Astronomy a. Of or relating to the orbital revolution or axial rotation of a planetary or other celestial body that moves clockwise from east to west, in the direction opposite to most celestial bodies. b. Of or relating to the brief, regularly occurring, apparently backward movement of a planetary body in its orbit as viewed against the fixed stars, caused by the differing orbital velocities of Earth and the body observed. 5. Archaic Opposed; contrary.
"A planet is defined as peregrine when it has no level of rulership over its position. That is, it is not placed in the sign(s) that it rules, nor those where it is exalted, nor does it rule the triplicity, or the terms or face where it is located. (See: Ptolemy's Table of Essential Dignities)
Such a planet is therefore seen as having little influence or control over its environment. In symbolic terms, it describes a drifter - someone with no title or stake in his or her environment. In matters of theft, for example, peregrine planets fall under suspicion in the same way that strangers are often viewed with suspicion. In other matters it might portray someone who lacks a clear sense of focus, a sense of feeling 'lost' or on the outside of community thinking; or an inability to identify clear goals or offer resolute commitments to others."
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin peregrnus, wandering, pilgrim, from Latin, foreigner, from pereger, being abroad : per-, through; see per– + ager, land; see agro- in Appendix I.
Also an astrological term: "Moitié is a 15th century French word derived from the Latin medietas, meaning middle. The moiety is the central region of the planetary orb, upon entry of which two planets are said to be in 'application' of aspect, or as we say in modern astrology 'within orb'. "
1. A half. 2. A part, portion, or share. 3. Anthropology Either of two kinship groups based on unilateral descent that together make up a tribe or society.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English moite, from Old French meitiet, moitie, from Late Latin mediets, from Latin, middle, from medius, middle. See medhyo- in Appendix I.
"The strongest planet when all essential dignities are considered. The term is Arabic and derives from al-mateen, meaning 'the firm one' or 'strong in power', but the concept exists in the works of Ptolemy and other early classical astrologers."
"a planet which disposits, disposes of, or rules another because the other is in one of its areas of dignity. For example, when Jupiter is in Taurus, Venus, the planetary ruler of Taurus, disposits Jupiter. Planets can also be disposed by the lesser dignities, so the dispositor of Jupiter by exaltation is the Moon which is naturally exalted in Taurus."
1. One who cuts, polishes, or engraves gems. 2. A dealer in precious or semiprecious stones.
ADJECTIVE: 1. Of or relating to precious stones or the art of working with them. 2a. Engraved in stone. b. Marked by conciseness, precision, or refinement of expression: lapidary prose. c. Sharply or finely delineated: a face with lapidary features.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English lapidarie, from Old French lapidaire, from Latin lapidrius, from lapis, lapid-, stone.
Yeah, no, it's perfectly logical assumption, I don't blame anyone for thinking it made sense. It just drives me crazy that they act like I'm the one who's making it up when I say "height".
AOR rock where the singer is bragging about the adventures of his cock. Most notably played by those radio stations that specialize in the Cro-Magnon arena rock of the seventies.
"Wikipedia... is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information." - Michael Scott
NOUN: The buying or selling of ecclesiastical pardons, offices, or emoluments.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English simonie, from Old French, from Late Latin simnia, after Simon Magus, a sorcerer who tried to buy spiritual powers from the Apostle Peter (Acts 8:9–24).
ETYMOLOGY: French, from en bon point, in good condition : en, in (from Latin in; see in–2) + bon, good (from Old French; see boon2) + point, situation, condition; see point.
I love this word. I don't know if it's the word itself or the concept that gets me. It's like karma or kismet but untainted by years of stupid hippies misusing it.
Ka is the force in Stephen King's Dark Tower series that leads all living (and unliving) creatures. It is the will of Gan, the approximate equivalent of destiny, or fate, in the fictional language High Speech. It is the force that causes a destiny to happen, but is not necessarily impossible to surpass. Ka can be considered to be a guide, a destination, but is certainly not a plan - at least, not one that is known to mortals. Ka is not necessarily a force of good or evil; it manipulates both sides, and seems to have no definite morality of its own.
The official Dark Tower site describes ka as the following: "Ka... signifies life-force, consciousness, duty and destiny. In the vulgate, or low speech, it also means a place to which an individual must go."
NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. car·y·at·ids or car·y·at·i·des (--dz)
Architecture A supporting column sculptured in the form of a draped female figure.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin Carytides, caryatids, from Greek Karutides, priestesses of Artemis at Caryae, caryatids, from Karuai, Caryae, a village of Laconia in southern Greece with a famous temple to Artemis.
NOUN: 1a. The secret publication and distribution of government-banned literature in the former Soviet Union. b. The literature produced by this system. 2. An underground press.
ETYMOLOGY: Russian : sam, self; see sem-1 in Appendix I + izdatel'stvo, publishing house (from izdat', to publish, on the model of Gosizdat, State Publishing House ( iz, from, out of; see eghs in Appendix I + dat', to give; see d- in Appendix I).
I always thought it was a phonetic misspelling of "same as that" (unauthorized copies). Sadly, finding out that this is not the case doesn't make me like the word any more than I did before (1 - that rhymed, 2 - which was not at all).
This word has always sounded obscene to me, due to the snatch at the end. Also "bander" makes me think of underwear, conjuring up some kind of panty raid scenario.
Does the presence of a word in a dictionary make it "real"? Even if the publishers admit it was made up? I kind of think so.. Plus I want it to be real because I love it so.
It reminds me of Tupperware, so the meaning makes sense. Although I think my favorite Tolkien word for meal has to be elevensies - talk about genius!! That's almost Carroll-like in its inspired absurdity.
I like this word because it reminds me of Saltines (tm) but it's weird and old and obscure instead of a common brand name. Why that should make me like it I don't know.
For some reason I find this word so much less offensive than cunt, maybe because it just sounds so silly it's impossible to take seriously as an obscenity. Also because it reminds me of twit, which I like. Sort of like "tit for tat", you could say "twit for twat". Except it doesn't rhyme, damn.
andrew.simone, there's a good reason for that - it sounds like twat!
I love this word, both because it means nonsense and because it's one of the few words that rhymes with waddle - it's a waddling twat!
I remember Topps made a series of toys (over 10 years ago now) called Baby Wild Animals - they came with little candy baby bottles, and the seal was named Twaddle. This cracked me up endlessly.
ETYMOLOGY: After Buncombe, a county of western North Carolina, from a remark made around 1820 by its congressman, who felt obligated to give a dull speech “for Buncombe�?.
NOUN: 1. Mythology A bird in Egyptian mythology that lived in the desert for 500 years and then consumed itself by fire, later to rise renewed from its ashes. 2. A person or thing of unsurpassedexcellence or beauty; a paragon. 3. Phoenix, a constellation in the Southern Hemisphere near Tucana and Sculptor.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English fenix, from Old English from Old French, both from Medieval Latin fnix, from Latin phoenix, from Greek phoinix.
Esquivalience, according to the August 29, 2005 New Yorker article "Ink: Not a Word" by Henry Alford, is a fictitious entry in the New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD), which was designed and included to protect copyright of the publication. The word was invented by Christine Lindberg, one of the editors of the NOAD. It was leaked that the dictionary had put in a fake word in the letter "e" and Alford set out to find the word. It was discovered after review of a short list by several experts. When the editor, Erin McKean, was contacted she admitted that it was indeed a fake word and had been in since the first edition, in order to protect the copyright of the CD-ROM edition.
The word is defined as "the wilful avoidance of one's official responsibilities."
Can we add Bartleby.com to the list of sites to look up words on? I like it ever so much better than Dictionary.com - plus it has Roget's thesauri and so many other reference works.
Also, I'm sure I'm not the only one who uses the "recently added words" list on the home page to find new words to add. The only problem with this is that it leads to duplication as the same words are cycled back up to the top of the page. Is there a way to suppress words from showing on the home page more than once?
The only thing I love more than this word is the fact that it was on Buffy. I once won a bet with my Dad that "shirty" was a real word. Having read my Wodehouse I knew I was right. Ha!
Comments by arby
Show previous 200 comments...
arby commented on the word shiver me timbers
I'm actually glad, because...
*TMYN*
Signed,
should have paid more attention when reading Moby Dick
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the word penny farthing
So THAT's what these are called! I love it. Although it does make me think of farts.
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the word tmyn
Huzzah!
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the word tmi
Acronym for "Too Much Information".
Usually referring to something of a personal nature that was shared with people who aren't that intimate.
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the list words-i-used-to-misread
I tend to be defensive about my misreadings, having been mocked for them for so long!
Thanks for your support.™
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the word shiver me timbers
I know wench is more appropriate for a medieval joke, too. I'm just breaking all the rules with that comment!
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the word i 8 something
What's a CRC?
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the word shiver me timbers
TMI dude. And ha! I hope your date was a scurvy wench, at least.
Yes, I know scurvy is not an adjective. I just like using it that way.
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the list best-wordie-user-names
kewpid!
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the word smirt
Good one skipdivided!
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the word proctor
Now, now, children. There's plenty to go around.
*hands out cookies to rt & c_b*
PS - is it Catch-22 with the "feather in my cap"/"shot in the arm" running joke? I can never remember where that came from!!
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the word girlychuckle
Oh I chuckle all the time, but I'm not exactly a girlygirl. Plus girlygiggle's got the alliteration going for it.
ETA: hootle?? I love it! Reminds me of tootle, which never fails to amuse.
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the user john
Ooh, tea sandwiches! I'll have watercress and cucumber.
*is bored at work*
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the word buwahaha
I separate out the "ha ha's" like "bwa ha ha" and I think of the Count from Sesame Street. (yes, my brain is a strange place to be.)
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the word girlychuckle
I think "chuckle" is not girly enough - how about girlygiggle?
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the word callipygean-ass
Ha! But can you fix the spelling (callipygian)?
*is anal*
No pun intended!
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the word proctor
Major Major Major Major
(cookie to the first person to get that)
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the user john
Mmmmm, sammiches.
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the word dawesome
"Oompa loompa doopity dawesome,
Dwight is now gone, which is totally awesome!
Why is he gone? He was such a nice guy!
No he was not, he was a total douche!
Doopity doom." - Andy Bernard from TV's "The Office"
see the excerpt here.
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the user john
OMG that "appears in lists" is beyond awesome, it's DAWESOME - I've wished for that so many times but somehow I thought it would be a much bigger deal to implement, so I never mentioned it.
While we're asking for the sky, you know what else would be cool? To be able to search lists and users.
October 6, 2007
arby commented on the list words-i-used-to-misread
Ah, RT - there's the syllabification I was looking for. And again in my defense, the spelling kind of reminds me of edamame, so it's a perfectly logical mistake to make! (Of course, one is a Western trademarked chemical creation and the other is a Japanese bean, but six of one, amirite?)
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the list words-i-used-to-misread
And then from myzeld you get the fictitious verb "to misle". Or I did, anyway.
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word grok
OMG these people scare me.
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word fubar
Ah, I see - so just because you are intimately acquainted with foo doesn't mean you like foobar. Your use of the word foo reminds me of grok.
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word foobar
If "FUBAR"= "Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition", what do the two O's stand for?
signed, confuzzled and/or ignant
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word fubar
John I know you like foobar better, but I prefer this spelling because of the acronym.
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word tmyn
Exxxxxcellent.
*rubs hands creepily in a Burnsian fashion*
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word txtspk
A subset of netspeak, no? Originally used on IMs?
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the list words-i-used-to-misread
Always, jennarenn. I kind of love how totally fubar English is.
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word tmyn
Stands for "The More You Know" - play the little theme riff in your head as you read it.
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word for the win
v. "which completes a process in a successful manner"
Abbreviated as FTW and also 4TW (I didn't know the latter)
*TMYN*
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the list words-i-used-to-misread
mutilate = mutiliate (rhymes with humiliate! see, I'm not so stupid after all!)
mnemonic = mnemnonic
Herculean = Herculanean
aspartame = "asparta-MAY" instead of "AS-par-tame"
myrmidon = myrmidion
misled = "myzeld" instead of "MIS-led"
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word shpdoinkle
shpadoinkle
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the user arby
Huzzah!
*loves finding excuses to use that word*
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word blink
And don't make seanahan stabby.. you wouldn't like him when he's stabby.
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word marquee
*looks around innocently*
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word microwave
And thus the M&Ms slogan also came into being that day.
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word oedipus
I don't get it.
*is dumb*
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word myrmidon
Get outta my brain, you!
*waves cane threateningly in seanahan's direction*
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word carribean
That's a good one Colleen. I remember it by thinking of the pronunciation - Cari-bEan not Ca-RIB-ean.
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word carribean
Caribbean
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word pit of despair
I could tell someone else about Wordie. But then I'd have to kill them.
*totally out of it on Princess Bride*
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the list best-wordie-user-names
Also, lampbane.
I am deeply offended that I'm not on this list. Just kidding!!
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word wordon
Love it!!
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the list best-wordie-user-names
sarahtonin!
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the list this-is-one-lame-ass-list
At the risk of repeating myself (not that I really care):
I always think of it when I see -ass now.
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word lame-ass
Inorite? It's totally awesome.
*adds link to lame-ass list*
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word marquee
Ha ha! It cracks me up how much you hate it. And I know most smrt people do! From this website on "sensible design":
"The dreaded blink tag is a sign that well-travelled web surfers take as 'avoid this page - the person that wrote it just learned HTML from a bubble gum wrapper.'"
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word sparkle
Apparently there is no such thing as a "sparkle" tag. Color me disappointed.
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word marquee
HA! Oh yes you can, sirrah
I can FEEL Uselessness cringing from here.
ETA: Because I know you're all dying to know how I did it, here's the link:
http://www.draac.com/marquee.html
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word sacrilicious
It's from the Simpsons, when Bart had the radio ventriloquist machine and made Homer think God was talking to him:
"Homer: (slams the door) Why do you mock me, O Lord?
Marge: Homer, that's not God. That's just a waffle that Bart tossed up there.
(Marge scrapes it off into Homer's hands.)
Homer: I know I shouldn't eat thee, but -- (bites) Mmm, sacrilicious."
- "Homer Loves Flanders"
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word sacrilege
"Mmmmm, sacrilicious" - Homer Simpson
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word sparkle
Sparkly text?
ETA: Damn, it didn't work.
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word marquee
Too bad you can't reverse marquee - OR CAN YOU??? *dun dun DUN*
Signed, too lazy to Google
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the user arby
*is drunk with power*
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word goldfish
And you know if it's on Teh Intarwebs, it must be true.
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word blink
< blink > without the spaces.
ETA: I ♥ the blink tag.
SON OF ETA: Uselessness macros for the win!
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word marquee
BREAKING NEWS: ARBY LOVES THE MARQUEE TAG
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the user arby
Awesome, I love it! Thank you dude.
October 5, 2007
arby commented on the word ginchiest
See also megaginchy and hyperginchy.
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the user john
Yay! Thanks for all your hard work John - this site is so much fun to use.
PS awesome idea about the Stalker-Traq 2000 friend-subscriptions!
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word yourn
"Regional Patterns of American Speech: The American Frontier":
Through the passage of time, the frontier contributions of Northern European folk speech — especially British, Irish, Scots, and Swedish — have lost much of their identity because their speakers were soon united in a common culture. But from these sources of early frontier speech probably came the pronouns hit (for it), hisn, ourn, theirn, and yourn, the inflected verb forms clumb, drug, holp, and riz, the auxiliary construction mought could (or might could), and a large number of folk pronunciations and lexical items, forms transmitted through the oral tradition of the common people... Many of these forms go back to Middle English, and all survive in current American Midland and Southern dialects.
http://www.bartleby.com/61/5b.html
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the user john
I've got a stalkery question - can we subscribe to other people's profile comment feeds? I'd subscribe to yourn just to keep up with what's going on around here.
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word sirrah
The punny, it burns...and the goggles do nothing - nothing!
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word sirrah
*groans*
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word testy
D'you suppose this is related to testes? (cf. testicular and the brilliant testiculate)
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word lame-ass
http://xkcd.com/37/
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word sarnie
Sangwich makes me think of Dane Cook.
*ducks rain of stones deservedly thrown*
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word sirrah
You're right! I was using it somewhat ironically. Or as an alternative to "yes sirree!"
The Free Dictionary says:
(noun) Formerly a contemptuous term of address to an inferior man or boy; often used in anger
male person, male - a person who belongs to the sex that cannot have babies
OED says:
1526, term of address used to men or boys expressing anger or contempt, archaic extended form of sir (in U.S., siree, attested from 1823).
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word scarper
Huh. I thought it was a recent Britlish invention.
*cue "The More You Know"*
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the list wot-s-all-this-then
Thanks RT!!
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the user john
Thanks John! I absolutely agree 100% that the best part of this site is the interactive/community component, so I'm glad that's why the layout change. I definitely like the movement of the recent comments to the center of the home page. The only thing I think that threw me for a loop is the realignment of the "who lists" uh, lists to the right side of the word view page instead of in the center. My eyes are used to looking under the word itself and I'm constantly retraining myself to look to the right. But I think it's ok because it refocuses attention on talking about the words rather than just collecting them on our lists.
ETA - I don't know if it helps you (I have this vague idea that you could just port the code) but there's a plugin for Firefox that searches Bartleby All Books (and I specify All Books because it's the one with the best value-add over the current d.com, m-w, etc.).
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word cark
This sounds vaguely Irish to me - like they're saying cork with an Irish accent.
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word sellotape
One of my favorite of J. K. Rowling's neologisms is Spellotape - genius!
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word sellotape
aka Scotch tape in the U.S. - transparent tape in a small form, as opposed to packing tape which is larger.
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word sarnie
Interesting - I always thought that was an American coinage. I wonder if it developed independently on both sides of the Atlantic?
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word testiculate
Exxxxcellent.
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word mook
I always thought it was a cultural slur against Italians, like guido, but I'm happy to be wrong in this case, cause it's a cool-sounding word.
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word trufax
Portmanteau for true+facts, charmingly abbreviated as "fax".
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word yonks
Trufax!
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word sirrah
This word needs to come back into fashion. Wordies, make it so!
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word britlish
I made this up, I admit it - sniglet (and a portmanteau!) of British+English (as in the English language).
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word minger
nice word yarb!
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word minger
Ooh, I forgot tip! I'll add it to me list right now.
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word tip
Britlish for garbage dump. Also Americanlish for gratuity for services rendered.
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word sarnie
I love this word so much. Only in the U.K. would they come up with such an adorable nickname for sandwich!!
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the list wot-s-all-this-then
Why thank you, sirrah! I'll be looking over your recent additions to find more to add.
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word myrmidon
This is another one where my brain does a weird "double-vowel" transformation - I always thought it was spelled "myrmidion".
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word yonks
It's Britlish, no?
October 4, 2007
arby commented on the word blessay
Stephen Fry's neologism for "blog + essay":
http://www.stephenfry.com/blog/?p=19
October 3, 2007
arby commented on the user john
Thanks for fixing the "comments on" page.. but you're right, it isn't accurate. It says I have no comments on my lists but I know for a fact that ain't true!
Am slightly discombobulated by the new layout but I'll adjust eventually. *shakes cane at newfangled inventions*
Still hoping someday you'll add Bartleby (All Books) to the lookup sites - it could replace like 5 dictionary sites in one fell swoop!
September 27, 2007
arby commented on the list sniglets
execuglide: The act of using your wheeled office chair to move from one place to another.
Wikipedia has a great list here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniglet
September 27, 2007
arby commented on the list harry-potter-words-2
Spellotape
accio
Great idea for a list, lm!
September 27, 2007
arby commented on the word quail
I like it as a verb - he quailed under the massive guard's relentless attack.
I also like this reference to an old expression I've never heard of, "hot as a quail" -
E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Cooking.
Some are cool as a cucumber, others hot as a quail.
http://www.bartleby.com/81/4048.html
September 27, 2007
arby commented on the word crummy
Whereas Roget has the new meaning:
crummy also crumby
ADJECTIVE: Slang. Of decidedly inferior quality: base, cheap, lousy, miserable, paltry, poor, rotten, shoddy, sleazy, trashy. Informal: cheesy. Slang: schlocky. See GOOD.
September 27, 2007
arby commented on the word crummy
Interesting, the old meaning was the opposite, see Bartleby:
E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
That’s crummy, that’s jolly good. She’s a crummy woman, a fine handsome woman. Crummy means fat or fleshy. The crummy part of bread is the fleshy or main part. The opposite of “crusty�? = ill-tempered.
September 27, 2007
arby commented on the word mayhap
ADVERB: Possibly but not certainly: maybe, perchance, perhaps.
September 27, 2007
arby commented on the word mayhaps
Oh yeah, this is a real word, except it's supposed to be mayhap - see Wikipedia. This is interesting to me as I'd only ever seen/heard it as "mayhaps". As in, "Mayhaps we'll meet again someday." Guess I was listening to illiterates!
September 27, 2007
arby commented on the word paradiddle
Interesting c_b!
September 27, 2007
arby commented on the word scourgey
Thanks seanahan! I totally agree, and I think it was the thing that struck me the most about the show when I saw the Pilot - Joss has an ear for dialogue that just rings true, even when the dialect itself is made up (e.g., Firefly).
September 26, 2007
arby commented on the word ginchiest
This word is a favorite of Andy Ihnatko's, who (whom??) I love dearly, so it makes me smile and think of him.
September 26, 2007
arby commented on the word cretin
NOUN: Slang. One deficient in judgment and good sense: ass, fool, idiot,imbecile, jackass, mooncalf, moron, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, simple, simpleton, softhead, tomfool. Informal: dope, gander, goose. Slang: ding-dong, dip, goof, jerk, nerd, schmo, schmuck, turkey.
September 15, 2007
arby commented on the word cretin
1779, from Fr. Alpine dialect crestin, "a dwarfed and deformed idiot," from V.L. christianus "a Christian," a generic term for "anyone," but often with a sense of "poor fellow."
September 15, 2007
arby commented on the word twaddle
Found a great new synonym for this - taradiddle!
September 10, 2007
arby commented on the word taradiddle
NOUN: 1. A petty falsehood; a fib. 2. Silly pretentious speech or writing; twaddle.
September 10, 2007
arby commented on the word deliniate
delineate?
September 2, 2007
arby commented on the word fringey
Buffy: So it was blue and sorta short.
Willow: Not too short, medium. And it had this weird, sorta fringey stuff on its arms.
Giles (walking in): What's that, a demon?
Buffy: A prom dress that Will was thinking of getting. Can't you ever get your mind out of the Hellmouth? - "The Prom"
September 2, 2007
arby commented on the word fester-free
Willow: I've been letting things fester. And I don't like it. I want to be fester-free. - "Consequences"
September 2, 2007
arby commented on the word couple-y
Willow: Maybe we shouldn't be too couple-y around Buffy.
Cordelia: Oh, you mean 'cause of how the only guy that ever liked her turned into a vicious killer and had to be put down like a dog?
Xander (admiringly): Can she cram complex issues into a nutshell, or what? - "Faith, Hope and Trick"
September 2, 2007
arby commented on the word saveage
Giles: Round robin?
Willow: It's when everybody calls everybody else's mom and tells them they're staying at everyone's house.
Buffy: Thus freeing us up for world saveage.
Willow: And all-night keggers! *she gets looks from Buffy and Giles* What, only Xander gets to make dumb jokes? - "Surprise"
September 2, 2007
arby commented on the word sparkage
Buffy: Hey, speaking of "wow" potential, there's Oz over there. What are we thinking, any sparkage?
Willow: He's nice. Hey, I like his hands. - "Surprise"
September 2, 2007
arby commented on the word scourgey
Buffy: These assassins, why are they after me?
Willow: 'Cause you're the scourge of the underworld?
Buffy: I haven't been that scourgey lately. - "What's My Line, Part 1"
September 2, 2007
arby commented on the word mathier
Xander: Giles lived for school. He's actually still bitter that there are only twelve grades.
Buffy: He probably sat in math class thinking, "There should be more math. This could be mathier." - "The Dark Age"
September 2, 2007
arby commented on the word bitey
Chanterelle: We welcome anyone who's interested in the Lonely Ones.
Willow: The lonely ones?
Angel: Vampires.
Xander: Oh, we usually call them the nasty, pointy, bitey ones. - Lie To Me
September 2, 2007
arby commented on the word brainsick
Buffy: I'm brainsick. I can't have a relationship with him.
Willow: Not during the day, but...you could ask him for coffee some night. It's the non-relationship drink of choice. It's not a date, it's a caffeinated beverage. Okay, sure, it's hot and bitter, like a relationship that way, but... - "Reptile Boy"
September 2, 2007
arby commented on the word unmeshable
"I have at least three lives to contend with, none of which really mesh. It's kind of like oil and water and a...third unmeshable thing." - Buffy, "School Hard"
September 2, 2007
arby commented on the word bitca
Willow: ...why else would she be acting like such a b-i-t-c-h?
Giles: Willow, I think we're all a little too old to be spelling things out.
Xander: A bitca?
- "When She Was Bad"
September 2, 2007
arby commented on the word beachless
"I mean, they promised me they'd take me to St. Croix, and then they just decide to go to Tuscany. Art and buildings? I was totally beachless for a month and a half. No one has suffered like I have." - Cordelia, "When She Was Bad"
September 2, 2007
arby commented on the word lumpen
I think I've only ever heard this word as part of the phrase "the lumpen proletariat", which always amused me for some reason.
September 2, 2007
arby commented on the word labradoodle
Cross between a Labrador and a poodle, IIRC.
August 26, 2007
arby commented on the word jackabee
Sort of the same concept as labradoodle?
August 26, 2007
arby commented on the word smarmosaur
As seen on Questionable Content.
August 26, 2007
arby commented on the word classhole
"A classy asshole" - as seen on this comic.
August 26, 2007
arby commented on the word forsooth
I think this word should be brought back into style.. who's with me?
August 21, 2007
arby commented on the word diaphanous
I know, but it still has those first 4 characters that irresistably remind me of diapers, maybe because those are the only two words I know of that have that sequence, at least in English.
Can you imagine diaphanous diapers, how gross would that be?!?!
August 21, 2007
arby commented on the word privy
And another example of my mispronouncing words based on their spelling. At least I know now, better late than never!
August 21, 2007
arby commented on the word yay
Huzzah!
August 20, 2007
arby commented on the list stuffie-poetrie-tunie-listings
Added a Poetrie: The Rose Growing Into the House.
August 17, 2007
arby commented on the word effulgent
Oh yeah, I forgot about that - it was brilliant.
August 17, 2007
arby commented on the word mayhaps
It's only twice as good for being antiquated, that's all.
August 16, 2007
arby commented on the word gingersnaps
1. Delicious cookies.
2. Title of a surprisingly good, underrated movie.
August 16, 2007
arby commented on the word privy
Is it pronounced the same? I always thought "privy" in the way you describe rhymed with chivvy and "privy" as in outhouse rhymed with ivy.
August 12, 2007
arby commented on the list when-you-gotta-go-you-gotta-go
I love Porcelain National Bank - brilliant!
August 12, 2007
arby commented on the word corduroy
1780, Amer.Eng., probably from cord + obs. 17c. duroy, a coarse fabric made in England. Folk etymology is from *corde du roi "the king's cord," but this is not attested in Fr., where the term for the cloth was velours à côtes. Applied in U.S. to a road of logs across swampy ground (1822).
August 12, 2007
arby commented on the word crummy
I associate this word with The Catcher in the Rye - Holden used it a lot and I think it was my first exposure to it.
August 12, 2007
arby commented on the word ponceau
Ha! No, I meant the English derogatory term for homosexual. They use it both as a noun and a verb - "to ponce about the place", for example.
August 12, 2007
arby commented on the word en passant
Is it also more generally used for "in passing", or am I making that up?
August 12, 2007
arby commented on the word diaphanous
I don't care for this word - it reminds me of diapers.
August 12, 2007
arby commented on the word rat fink
This is a great insult that deserves to be brought back.
August 12, 2007
arby commented on the word vendition
I have never come across this word before! It can't be that commonly used.
August 12, 2007
arby commented on the word whizgiggle
Ah, good times.
August 12, 2007
arby commented on the word egrastic
Nice!
August 12, 2007
arby commented on the word huzzah
I like it when Monty Burns says this on the Simpsons. (/unoriginal)
August 12, 2007
arby commented on the word purga tory
Aka purgatory?
August 11, 2007
arby commented on the word teef
Slang for steal, used much like kife.
August 11, 2007
arby commented on the word kife
Slang for steal.
August 11, 2007
arby commented on the word egrastic
My dad made this up - we are defining it as being exceptionally egregious.
August 11, 2007
arby commented on the word daubery
Oh yeah - now I know why it sounds familiar - I think Shakespeare used daubs as an insult - meaning amateurish painters.
August 3, 2007
arby commented on the word whizgiggle
From an excellent spam email I got:
"Baronesses always whizgiggled at me and even youths did in the civil bathroom!"
August 3, 2007
arby commented on the word pursuant
I find myself using this word a lot lately - is it a legal term?
August 3, 2007
arby commented on the word iphone
No, but I will tell you a Sidekick can't handle Wordie correctly - or maybe that should be the other way around.
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word vendor
Indeed. /Teal'c
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word daubery
I presume this means painting?
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word apatheism
Ha! I like that.
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word vendor
Then we can change Wordie to "Worde" and be totally hip.
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word vendition
That is totally bizarre!
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word caymadian
Reminds me of Claymation - another great neologism.
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word apatheism
Is that sort of like worshiping apathy?
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word vendor
VARIANT FORMS: vender
NOUN: 1. One that sells or vends: a street vendor; a vendor of software products on the Web. 2. A vending machine.
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word vender
AmHer has it as "a variant of vendor", proving that I am not completely insane.
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word canadia
PS no I did not make this up - but it is a fairly recent neologism
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word vendor
Ha! The splendour of our vendours is surpassed only by the squalour in which they operate.
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word vendition
Is this a real word or did you make it up? C'mon, you can admit it, you're among friends here. - too lazy to look it up
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word canadia
The mythical & wondrous land from which Canadians really hail. (Since Canada is far too boring to be true.)
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word sherbet
Yeah but if you look at the derivation from sorbet, where's that extra r coming from, eh? - Canadian wannabe
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word dwarfling
reminds me of Tolkien's halfling (aka hobbit).
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the list words-for-those-of-a-certain-age
crumb bum? I love that word and am agitating for its revival.
PS My mother gave me her Electrolux with great pomp and splendor but I eventually threw it out because it was half-broken and I couldn't hack getting it fixed. I know, what sacrilege. Plus it weighed a ton and I was sick of lugging it from place to place.
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word vendor
WTF is up with the recent change in spelling of this word - I never liked vendor, but lately I noticed the New Yorker is spelling it vender. Am I crazy or has anyone else seen it?
August 1, 2007
arby commented on the word ponce
1872, slang term, chiefly British, originally "a pimp, a man supported by women" (pouncey in same sense is attested from 1861), of unknown origin, perhaps from Fr. pensionnaire "boarder, lodger, person living without working." Meaning "male homosexual" first attested 1932 in Auden.
July 27, 2007
arby commented on the word ponceau
Sounds French.. This word makes me think of ponce.
July 27, 2007
arby commented on the word vetch
I hate this word, it reminds me of retch.
July 25, 2007
arby commented on the word sherbet
My stepmother pronounces it sherbert. She's from Texas so I cut her a little slack.
July 25, 2007
arby commented on the word orris
Short for "orris root", aka iris. I did not know this but apparently it's used to make gin, most famously Bombay Sapphire. At least, so says this unsourced Wikipedia article.
July 25, 2007
arby commented on the word censer
A much nicer word than censor!
July 24, 2007
arby commented on the list bonjour-cheese-eating-surrender-monkeys
Hee, thanks!
July 22, 2007
arby commented on the word cellophane
I believe they spell it sellotape in the UK.
PS totally agree about tinfoil!!
July 22, 2007
arby commented on the word draconian
I always want this word to have some kind of fantasy component, probably confusing it with dragonian.
July 21, 2007
arby commented on the word permagrin
Also a song by the band Self.
July 21, 2007
arby commented on the user john
My comments for view breaks Wordie.. I get this adorable message:
"Sorry, but this site has gone all 500 Application Error on you. Something's wrong with the server, most likely. Please email John, the slack bastard who built this. Feel free to give him a piece of your mind."
July 21, 2007
arby commented on the word potterdammerung
Hey, no spoilers!
Mommmm, uselessness is spoiling me for Harry Potter!!
July 20, 2007
arby commented on the word gadzooks
You know, this is just creepy. Why the hell would an Xtian want to use an epithet referring to the nails on the cross? Religious people are weird. Of course, that's assuming it was a Christian who came up with the phrase.
July 20, 2007
arby commented on the word snicker-snack
OMG U, you cheater! I totally thought you knew it off the top of your head!
PS R you're mad borograve.
July 20, 2007
arby commented on the word potterdammerung
I thought the dammerung portion meant "storm" - as in the shitstorm that will erupt among the rabid fangirls if Harry and Hermione don't end up together or anything else occurs in it that they don't approve of.
July 20, 2007
arby commented on the word haversack
Yeah but what if they live in Hackensack?
July 20, 2007
arby commented on the word snicker-snack
Dude, THANK YOU. Also, I never would have guessed it, not in a million years. Vorpal sounds very sci-fi to me.
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word hogtie
Or perhaps hog-tie? I totally typoed this as hogtoe which is not a word but should be.
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word misled
whoever said English was logical?
TRUE DAT!
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word heinous
An appropriately ugly word.
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word snicker-snack
What is that from, it WILL drive crazy until I remember or someone tells me.
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word cow orker
But here is the real question - how does orking relate to COWS?
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word misled
That's cute! Reminds me of one of my favorite words of all time, twaddle.
*feels like Lewis Carroll making up nonsense rhymes*
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word pachouli
Yes, you got patchouli - I went to the link and saw you'd gotten it. (/redundant)
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word minatory
Of a menacing or threatening nature; minacious.
ETYMOLOGY: French minatoire, from Late Latin mintrius, from Latin mintus, past participle of minr, to threaten.
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word ramekin
mmmm, creamy
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word bonkers
bonk "to hit," 1931, probably of imitative origin; 1975 in sense of "have sexual intercourse with." Bonkers "crazy," 1957, British slang, perhaps from earlier naval slang meaning "slightly drunk" (1948), from notion of a thump on the head.
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word pikaki
aka jasmine sambac - c.f. wikipedia
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word cow orker
A ha! Apparently Scott Adams invented it - properly spelled cow-orker.
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word pachouli
Perhaps you mean patchouli?
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word chud
A ha ha ha: "Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers"
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word femistapo
Is this a variant of feminazi?
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word souk
aka suq
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word magnanimous
I think this is another one I misread as a child - "magnamanious".
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word blimey
It's so extreme, I love it. Way to go overboard there, 17th-century cursers!
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word zounds
Compare crikey ("Christ kill me") and blimey ("God blind me"). I forgot about this one tho.
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word zeugma
Zounds!
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word cow orker
Typo for co worker that has become a word in its own right. I love to imagine what the hell orking could be.
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word micturate
It is pretty great. I have a cow orker who always says this, it cracks me up.
For some reason this word makes me think of rabbits.
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word misled
I also had a bizarre tendency to insert extra letters in words, often duplicatively so - for example I thought mutilate was spelled "mutiliate", Herculean was "Herculanean" and mnemonic was "mnemnonic". Chalk it up to my learning disability! It's a lot easier to remember how they're pronounced once I figured out how to spell them correctly!
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word misled
I thought of an example - and I am embarrassed to admit how old I was when I learned the "real" pronounciation - but I thought "aspartame" was pronounced "As-par-ta-MEY" instead of "AS-par-tame".
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word tanstaafl
I remember this from The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word strawberry
Many ppl seem to get confused as to what to call this - I've seen hair that I would describe as strawberry blonde described as "red", "blonde" or even "brown"!
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word cowslip
Does anyone know why it's called this? I always picture a cow slipping on something in the pasture. Perhaps its own cow pie?
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word empowermint
Despite being a marketing gimmick, this is kind of cute.
July 19, 2007
arby commented on the word oplopanax horridum
what in the...?
July 18, 2007
arby commented on the word opoponax
Stephen King has tried to repurpose this word, c.f. Wikipedia:
* In the novel Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub, the word opopanax is used repeatedly and constantly in a nonsensical fashion, as both a verb and an adjective (e.i "distant cry of the opoponax", the opoponax this, the opoponax that, etc) eventually becoming a symbol for all the strange and incomprehensible events unfolding in the book.
* In another Stephen King novel, Wolves of the Calla (the fifth book in The Dark Tower series), a character holds an "opopanax feather", thus suggesting that it is the name of a bird. No other explanation is given in the story.
July 18, 2007
arby commented on the word surety
This word reminds me of moiety.
July 18, 2007
arby commented on the word oude
Anytime!
July 18, 2007
arby commented on the word kerfluffle
aka kerfuffle
July 18, 2007
arby commented on the word kerfuffle
Also spelled kerfluffle, but I prefer this spelling.
July 18, 2007
arby commented on the word noisome
ADJECTIVE: Having an unpleasant odor: fetid, foul, foul-smelling, malodorous, mephitic, reeky, stinking. Informal: smelly.
July 18, 2007
arby commented on the word popinjay
NOUN: A vain, talkative person.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English, parrot, from Old French papegai, from Spanish papagayo or Old Provençal papagai, both from Arabic bab’, baba’, from Persian babbagh.
July 18, 2007
arby commented on the word misled
Yeah, I hear you.
But sionnach, I also think this happens a lot when one is exceptionally well-read as a child because you see them before you hear them pronounced. I know I had several other instances of this but I am once again memfaulting on the examples.
July 18, 2007
arby commented on the word oude
That would be a sensible inference, but I don't know it for a fact.
July 18, 2007
arby commented on the word oude
Both agarwood and its resin distillate/extracts are known as Oud in Arabic (literally wood) and used to describe agarwood in nations and areas of Islamic faith. Western perfumers may also use agarwood essential oil under the name "oud" or "oude".
July 17, 2007
arby commented on the word oud
Not to be confused with oude.
July 17, 2007
arby commented on the word ravishing
Whoa. Heavy!
July 17, 2007
arby commented on the word misled
I totally made this same mistake as a child. I blame the confusing English language! Isn't misled itself some kind of backformation (or frontformation?) of led? Lead/mislead, led/misled.
July 17, 2007
arby commented on the word ravishing
How the hell did two spaceships merge? That still sounds ominous to me!
And yes, I am scared of merging traffic too.
July 17, 2007
arby commented on the word spoil
aka booty
July 17, 2007
arby commented on the word peckish
We are both right - and I was totally thinking of that same phrase. c.f O Brother, Where Art Thou?:
Big Dan Teague: "Thank you boys for throwin' in that fricassee. I'm a man of large appetite, and even with lunch under my belt, I was feelin' a mite peckish."
July 17, 2007
arby commented on the word memfault
Can be either a verb or a noun. It means when your memory fails you on some detail. Example: "I totally memfaulted on the name of that movie". Similar to brain fart.
July 17, 2007
arby commented on the word pillage
Wow, good point slumry!
I was thinking of popular culture depictions of, say, the Vikings, or the Huns, as "raping and pillaging" all the time. There was some movie or TV show where they mocked that convention and accidentally said, "We will burn their houses, kill their women and have sex with their animals" or something like that. Totally memfaulting on the detail.
Damn, now that's going to drive me crazy!
July 17, 2007
arby commented on the word peckish
For some reason I feel like this is a British thing. What do you all think?
July 17, 2007
arby commented on the word zeugma
Love the concept, don't really care for the word itself tho. It sounds like some kind of disease. Or maybe a car. "Try the new Zeugma - 50 miles to the gallon!"
July 17, 2007
arby commented on the word sillage
Also known as "throw" in perfume-speak - how far the scent extends from your body. As in "this blend has great throw" or "very little throw - I can only smell it with my nose pressed up against my wrist".
July 17, 2007
arby commented on the word pillage
As in "rape and". Heh.
July 17, 2007
arby commented on the user chained_bear
I love that book. Love it! I need to read it again, I haven't read it in years & years.
July 17, 2007
arby commented on the word flibbertigibbit
flibbertigibbet?
July 16, 2007
arby commented on the word blink
Like Omigod, you are totally using Firefox!
(heh)
July 14, 2007
arby commented on the word blink
I do see it now! I must not have waited long enough because it seems to take an awfully long time to scroll over.
July 14, 2007
arby commented on the word blink
who the hell is Lou Montulli?
July 14, 2007
arby commented on the word blink
HA HA HA! Guess Firefox just couldn't hack it.
Look Ma, I'm marqueeing with no hands!
July 14, 2007
arby commented on the word shrike
Oh I like the word anyway, Hyperion hasn't ruined it for me, but I am scared of the Shrike.
I just typoed and realized that it's only 1 inversion away from shriek.
July 14, 2007
arby commented on the word blink
I secretly kind of like it.
Sadly, marquee doesn't seem to work.
July 14, 2007
arby commented on the word chalant
Is that a backformation from nonchalant?
July 14, 2007
arby commented on the word constantinople
I feel like I learned a different mnemonic (with Pluto) back in school but I'll be damned if I can remember what it was.
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word constantinople
Here are some other mnemonic suggestions - though I still like uselessness's best.
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word plutoed
Ha! I like this one.
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word constantinople
I always think of the TMBG cover of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)". My history teacher in 8th grade actually sang it to us, it was pretty funny.
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word tin pants
Are you serious, that's hysterical! What are they made of then? (Picturing silvery parachute pants a la MC Hammer (though his were gold).)
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word smelt
1) The chemical process of smelting;
2) A number of small, silver breeds of fish;
3) The past tense of smell.
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word tinfoil
AND to add insult to injury, it's entirely possible that I am misremembering his position and he does not deny the existence of the word but merely its application to aluminum foil!! I'll have to ask.
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word tinfoil
Small consolation - I'd rather be in the right minority than the wrong majority! - but thank you anyway :)
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word chypre
Chypre is a name used to describe a family of perfumes, usually based on a top note of citrus and woody base notes, usually from oak moss.
--------------------------------------
I believe it's pronounced "sheep-reh" (never learned French but that's how I've heard/read it).
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word tinfoil
Ack, he's right! (You are too.) Not that tinfoil is not a word but that tinfoil and aluminum foil are not the same. Wikipedia sez (under aluminum foil):
Foil made from a thin leaf of tin was commercially available before the aluminium counterpart. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, tin foil was in common use, and some people continue to refer to the new product by the name of the old one. Tin foil is stiffer than aluminium foil.
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word thestral
Thestrals are large winged horses in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. They are introduced in Order of the Phoenix.
Thestrals are the most elusive and least horse-like breed of magical horse. They have earned an undeserved reputation as omens of evil. They are visible only to those who have witnessed and accepted a death, and their appearance is skeletal, fleshless. They are described in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as having "blank, white, shining eyes," a "dragonish face", "long, black manes", "great leathery wings", and the "skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse".
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word shrike
This word has scared the shit out me ever since I read Hyperion.
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word tinfoil
My BF refuses to admit that this word is real. I'm like, "Aluminum foil, tinfoil, get it?" but no, he's never heard it called that by anyone except me. I wonder if it's a regional thing? California vs. Southern (I'm from NYC but my parents are from VA and TN).
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word twitwit
Heeee thanks
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word remora
"sucking fish," 1567, from L. remora, lit. "delay, hindrance," from re- "back" + mora "delay;" so called because the fish were believed by the ancients to retard a vessel to which they attached themselves. Pliny writes that Antony's galley was delayed by one at the Battle of Actium. Sometimes called in Eng. stayship or stopship.
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word ramora
remora?
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word grubbly-plank
This sounds terribly familiar...Citation?
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the list stupid-website-names
How about fandango? Or for that matter, myspace?
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word treacle
Or, British for jam.
July 13, 2007
arby commented on the word theroid
Hm, I like the definition but am not so fond of the word itself.. it reminds me of steroid.
July 9, 2007
arby commented on the word chary
Fans of the Dark Tower series may be reminded of charyou tree - meaning either 'Come, reap' or 'death for you, life for our crops'. Dark Tower Wiki
July 9, 2007
arby commented on the word chary
ADJECTIVE: 1. Very cautious; wary: was chary of the risks involved. 2. Not giving or expending freely; sparing: was chary of compliments.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English chari, careful, sorrowful, from Old English cearig, sorrowful, from cearu, sorrow. See care.
OTHER FORMS: charily —ADVERB
chariness —NOUN
July 9, 2007
arby commented on the word twitwit
thanks slumry!!
July 9, 2007
arby commented on the word scratch and sniff
Whee, thanks reesetee!!
July 9, 2007
arby commented on the word tryst
I think it's one of those words that if you've never heard it pronounced you would think it rhymed with iced, but I believe seanahan is right that it should be pronounced to rhyme with wrist. Tricky English!
July 9, 2007
arby commented on the word tryst
But it's supposed to rhyme with wrist right?
July 6, 2007
arby commented on the word wiseacre
How the hell is this word pronounced, anyway? Does it rhyme with baker or cracker?
July 6, 2007
arby commented on the word labyrinth
This word always makes me think of the minotaur.
And the ridiculous/excellent movie - David Bowie in tights anyone?
July 5, 2007
arby commented on the word tryst
I used to think it rhymed with iced.
July 5, 2007
arby commented on the word clue-by-four
me too - thanks superstable!
July 5, 2007
arby commented on the word scratch and sniff
reesetee, no - I was actually looking at a link you provided in another cite. Where do you go to sign up? I'm a linguistic masochist apparently.
July 5, 2007
arby commented on the word ninny
Probably short for nincompoop, no?
July 3, 2007
arby commented on the word scratch and sniff
Newly added to the OED.
July 3, 2007
arby commented on the word by-and-by
Although Bartleby only knows it as bye and bye. What about by-the-by, or did I make that one up?
July 3, 2007
arby commented on the word mooncalf
Ha! Me too. I especially remember this word (which I love) because I think I learned it in this book.
(and I didn't just spent half an hour finding the eBook via Google so I could quote this passage.)
July 3, 2007
arby commented on the word training bra
I thought a training bra was supposed to train your boobs to be perky.
July 3, 2007
arby commented on the word twitwit
sort of a cross between twit and nitwit.
July 3, 2007
arby commented on the word mooncalf
"In the midst of such industry, gawky Simon was the fabled grasshopper in the nest of ants. He knew he would never amount to much: many people had told him so, and nearly all of them were older—and presumably wiser—than he. At an age when other boys were clamoring for the responsibilities of manhood, Simon was still a muddier and a meanderer. No matter what task he was given to do, his attention soon wandered, and he would be dreaming of battles, and giants, and sea voyages on tall, shining ships... and somehow, things would get broken, or lost, or done wrong.
Other times he could not be found at all. He skulked around the castle like a scrawny shadow, could shinny up a wall as well as the roof-masons and glaziers, and knew so many passageways and hiding holes that the castle folk called him "ghost boy." Rachel boxed his ears frequently, and called him a mooncalf.
Rachel had finally let go of his arm, and Simon dragged his feet glumly as he followed the Mistress of Chambermaids like a stick caught in a skirt hem. He had been discovered, his beetle had escaped, and the afternoon was ruined." - Tad Williams, The Dragonbone Chair
July 3, 2007
arby commented on the word mooncalf
NOUN: One deficient in judgment and good sense: ass, fool, idiot, imbecile, jackass, moron, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, simple, simpleton, softhead, tomfool. Informal: dope, gander, goose. Slang: cretin, ding-dong, dip, goof, jerk, nerd, schmo, schmuck, turkey. See ABILITY.
July 2, 2007
arby commented on the word gander
NOUN: 1. Informal. One deficient in judgment and good sense: ass, fool, idiot, imbecile, jackass, mooncalf, moron, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, simple, simpleton, softhead, tomfool. Informal: dope, goose. Slang: cretin, ding-dong, dip, goof, jerk, nerd, schmo, schmuck, turkey. See ABILITY. 2. Informal. A quick look: blush, glance, glimpse, peek, peep. See SEE.
July 2, 2007
arby commented on the word high maintenance
Oxford has it as high-maintenance. See also: my sister.
July 2, 2007
arby commented on the word gander
I particularly like it as a verb. As in "take a gander" at something.
July 2, 2007
arby commented on the word favorite
So slumry, what is a meat and three? Do tell!
July 2, 2007
arby commented on the list the-phonetic-alphabet
Shouldn't "alfa" be spelled alpha? Or am I crazy...
July 2, 2007
arby commented on the word effulgent
Male Partygoer (reading William's poetry):
My heart expands
'tis grown a bulge in't
inspired by
your beauty effulgent. Effulgent?
2nd Male Partygoer: And that's actually one of his better compositions.
Female Partygoer: Have you heard? They call him William the Bloody because of his bloody awful poetry!
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Fool for Love"
July 2, 2007
arby commented on the word gemsbok
I just love the way this word sounds and feels in the mouth. It's so much fun to say!
June 27, 2007
arby commented on the word marauding
I know we already have maraud and marauder but for some reason this particular form of the word amuses me the most.
June 27, 2007
arby commented on the word beseiged
Yay! Makes me feel slightly less dumb for not being able to spell it.
I have some other words that I mentally inserted extra letters in when reading them for some bizarre reason - for example mutilate I thought was spelled "mutiliate" for the longest time.
Heh, then it would rhyme with "humiliate".
June 27, 2007
arby commented on the list compounds
I do like those!
Also like loverly.
June 27, 2007
arby commented on the word limpkin
reesetee - I said that on purpose, 'cause now that's how I hear it in my head. I know it's wrong.
Also, uselessness, if you have Livejournal check out ljtoys.
June 27, 2007
arby commented on the word farthing freakout
Ha!! I love it.
June 27, 2007
arby commented on the word gormless
Where's my gorm at?
June 24, 2007
arby commented on the word gormless
ADJECTIVE: Chiefly British Lacking intelligence and vitality; dull.
ETYMOLOGY: From dialectal gawm, sense, from Middle English gome, notice, from Old Norse gaumr.
June 24, 2007
arby commented on the word penny-dreadful
According to Mencken, British for dime novel.
June 24, 2007
arby commented on the word monkey-nut
Apparently it's (or used to be) British for peanut, according to Mencken.
June 24, 2007
arby commented on the word shilling shocker
Synonym for penny dreadful.
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word penny dreadful
A synonym is shilling shocker - love it!
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word penny dreadful
I think I like penny-dreadful better, myself.
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word suppurating
I'm sorry but this word is just gross. (In meaning, not so much in sound or looks.) Putting on my "disliked" list.
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word limpkin
reesetee, how funny! I love Reecie's PB cups.
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word holorime
Holorime (or holorhyme) is a form of rhyme in which the rhyme encompasses an entire line or phrase. A holorime may be a couplet or short poem made up entirely of homophonous verses.
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word scuppernong
NOUN: 1. See muscadine. 2a. A cultivated variety of the muscadine grape with sweet yellowish fruit. b. A wine made from this grape.
ETYMOLOGY: After the Scuppernong River in northeast North Carolina.
----------------------------
How boring! I thought it was a kind of cookie. (I think I'm confusing it with snickerdoodle, which is an equally awesome word.)
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word ensconced
See stpeter's wonderful essay on it here
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word ambigram
An ambigram, also sometimes known as an inversion, is a graphical figure that spells out a word not only in its form as presented, but also in another direction or orientation. Douglas R. Hofstadter describes an ambigram as a "calligraphic design that manages to squeeze two different readings into the selfsame set of curves." The first published reference to the term was by Hofstadter, who attributes the origin of the word to a friend. The 1999 edition of Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach features a 3-D ambigram on the cover.
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word semordnilap
Interesting info on it here. Also see ambigram.
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word semordnilap
(noun) - a word, phrase, or sentence that has the property of forming another word, phrase, or sentence when its letters are reversed. A semordnilap differs from a palindrome in that the word or phrase resulting from the reversal must be different from the original word or phrase.
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word bin
British for trash can
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word origano
oregano?
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word limpkin
ha ha uselessness, I love it!!
reesetee - it's cuter than ever, poor little limpkin. BTW what's the story behind reesetee anyway? I always think of Reese's PB cups (which the Southern members of my family pronounce "Reecie's") when I see it.
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word bracketeering
uselessness - genius!
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the user arby
Just read video vampire - Rosser Reeves gets better and better!
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word video vampire
this is dope dude oroboros!
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word smartstruck
well, we're waiting! (/Ted Knight)
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word slaked
great word clovisp!
June 23, 2007
arby commented on the word incensed
Also see incendiary.
June 22, 2007
arby commented on the word incensed
in·cense
TRANSITIVE VERB: Inflected forms: in·censed, in·cens·ing, in·cens·es
To cause to be extremely angry; infuriate.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English encensen, from Old French incenser, from Late Latin incnsre, to sacrifice, burn, from Latin incnsus, past participle of incendere, to set on fire.
June 22, 2007
arby commented on the word formicate
Hey, thank Geo - s/he listed it. I'm just the one who provided the cite.
June 22, 2007
arby commented on the word incense
I love this word but I was just thinking yesterday about how I like the verb form even better than the noun - so to that end I'm going to list incensed if it hasn't been already.
June 22, 2007
arby commented on the word codswallop
True, but this one conjures up the nice mental imagery of whacking someone with a fish, whereas poppycock is an entirely different beast.
June 21, 2007
arby commented on the word styptic
I know, this word is cool - it's like a cross between cryptic and stygian.
June 21, 2007
arby commented on the word ninyara
Also, it sounds pretty. Reminds me of Tolkien - Quenya vs. Ninevah and all that. Ninyara totally sounds like the long-lost ancient Elvish tongue that those two grew out of.
June 21, 2007
arby commented on the word formicate
I thought Ninjawords was having a larff but Webster's agrees:
To creep or crawl like ants; swarm with, or as with, ants.
An open space which formicated with peasantry. --Lowell.
Genius!!
June 21, 2007
arby commented on the word formicate
What does it mean?
signed, too lazy to Bartleby
June 21, 2007
arby commented on the word simulacrum
I like this word but it always makes me think of crummy.
June 21, 2007
arby commented on the list neologisms-i-like
hello there!
June 21, 2007
arby commented on the word beseiged
Dude, me too. What the hell good is it to have a mnemonic if it doesn't actually help you remember the whole rule?
Also, I can never spell mnemonic. I always want it to have two "mn" combos - mnemnonic - or have the regular 'm' and the 'mn' reversed - memnonic. Can we say dyslexic?
June 21, 2007
arby commented on the word bracketeering
Ha ha! BTW, saw this word in the comment feed on the homepage and thought it was too good to pass up!
June 21, 2007
arby commented on the list poetrie-infinity
This makes me absurdly happy. Funny how such a prosaic guy could write such a fantastic (in both senses of the word) poem. (I guess me and the editors of the anthology are in agreement there!) Also, see Reeves's Wikipedia page for more interesting tidbits on him. No mention of the poem however.
June 21, 2007
arby commented on the user arby
Ooh, cool!! Thanks for letting me know. As you can probably tell, I'm a little slow on the latest info - I don't have the RSS feed so I have to manually check in on Wordie periodically to see what's going on.
June 21, 2007
arby commented on the word limpkin
uselessness - no, it's a phonetic spelling of my first and middle initials - R.B. Although I bet people think I have a weird fixation with the restaurant. For some reason though to me the capitalization of "Arby's" makes a huge difference - not to mention the possessive.
reesetee - link! link! link!
June 21, 2007
arby commented on the word cock rock
I'm torn about whether to spell it this way or cock-rock, so I'm listing both.
June 21, 2007
arby commented on the word piscatory
Having to do with fish, no?
June 9, 2007
arby commented on the word emmenagogic
inducing menstruation.
June 9, 2007
arby commented on the list dazed-and-confused
How 'bout gobsmacked?
June 9, 2007
arby commented on the word codswallop
NOUN: Chiefly British Slang Nonsense; rubbish.
ETYMOLOGY: Origin unknown.
June 5, 2007
arby commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Oh, now you're just showing off.
June 5, 2007
arby commented on the word limpkin
OMG adorable word! I am SO adopting that for my next online username!
June 5, 2007
arby commented on the word feldspar
Feldspar, the Jewish rock!
June 5, 2007
arby commented on the word pupcorn
Heh. How about - the smell sleeping dogs emit - not a fart! When they smell like popcorn.
June 4, 2007
arby commented on the word frigmarole
"Take 'frigmarole', for instance, meaning 'a rigmarole, only more so', as in 'sorting through the laundry basket for socks again - same old frigmarole'." - Ruth Wajnryb, Expletive Deleted
May 29, 2007
arby commented on the word blankety
"There is even a one-size-fits-all euphemism in the form of 'blankety', which Collins defines as 'a euphemism for any taboo word'." - Ruth Wajnryb, Expletive Deleted
May 29, 2007
arby commented on the word beseiged
OK, original citation moved to besieged. I always did have a problem with the "i before e" rule, despite the mnemonic.
May 29, 2007
arby commented on the word besieged
An astrological term.
"Bonatus describes a besieged planet as one that separates from a malefic and applies to another (Con. 6). It shows a situation that is going from bad to worse.
William Lilly described a planet besieged as one that lies between the bodies of the two malefics Mars and Saturn. His example is Mars at 10 ° Aries, Venus 13° Aries, and Saturn 15° Aries. It is generally accepted that besiegement can occur by aspect as well as bodily conjunction. As a principle it refers to a planet trapped by hostile forces on either side."
May 29, 2007
arby commented on the list poetrie-infinity
I like this and want to sleuth out the author.
May 26, 2007
arby commented on the word beseiged
1) I am an idiot!!
2) There's no way to edit it now, right? All I can do is create a new entry for besieged?
May 26, 2007
arby commented on the word harbinger
I don't care for this word because I always think it should be "harbringer".
May 25, 2007
arby commented on the word zzxjoanw
I like how the name "Joan" jumps out of this word.
Also I like the fact that it took a while for them to prove the word was a hoax - despite there being no z, x or j in Maori.
May 25, 2007
arby commented on the word dithyrambic
see dithyramb
May 25, 2007
arby commented on the word dithyramb
1. A frenzied, impassioned choric hymn and dance of ancient Greece in honor of Dionysus. 2. An irregular poetic expression suggestive of the ancient Greek dithyramb. 3. A wildly enthusiastic speech or piece of writing.
May 25, 2007
arby commented on the word perfervid
Fired with intense feeling: ardent, blazing, burning, dithyrambic, fervent, fervid, fiery, flaming, glowing, heated, hot-blooded, impassioned, passionate, red-hot, scorching, torrid. See FEELINGS.
May 25, 2007
arby commented on the word retrograde
1. Moving or tending backward. 2. Opposite to the usual order; inverted or reversed. 3. Reverting to an earlier or inferior condition. 4. Astronomy a. Of or relating to the orbital revolution or axial rotation of a planetary or other celestial body that moves clockwise from east to west, in the direction opposite to most celestial bodies. b. Of or relating to the brief, regularly occurring, apparently backward movement of a planetary body in its orbit as viewed against the fixed stars, caused by the differing orbital velocities of Earth and the body observed. 5. Archaic Opposed; contrary.
May 25, 2007
arby commented on the word peregrine
Also an astrological term:
"A planet is defined as peregrine when it has no level of rulership over its position. That is, it is not placed in the sign(s) that it rules, nor those where it is exalted, nor does it rule the triplicity, or the terms or face where it is located. (See: Ptolemy's Table of Essential Dignities)
Such a planet is therefore seen as having little influence or control over its environment. In symbolic terms, it describes a drifter - someone with no title or stake in his or her environment. In matters of theft, for example, peregrine planets fall under suspicion in the same way that strangers are often viewed with suspicion. In other matters it might portray someone who lacks a clear sense of focus, a sense of feeling 'lost' or on the outside of community thinking; or an inability to identify clear goals or offer resolute commitments to others."
May 25, 2007
arby commented on the word peregrine
ADJECTIVE: 1. Foreign; alien. 2. Roving or wandering; migratory.
NOUN: A peregrine falcon.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin peregrnus, wandering, pilgrim, from Latin, foreigner, from pereger, being abroad : per-, through; see per– + ager, land; see agro- in Appendix I.
May 25, 2007
arby commented on the word moiety
Also an astrological term: "Moitié is a 15th century French word derived from the Latin medietas, meaning middle. The moiety is the central region of the planetary orb, upon entry of which two planets are said to be in 'application' of aspect, or as we say in modern astrology 'within orb'. "
May 25, 2007
arby commented on the word moiety
1. A half. 2. A part, portion, or share. 3. Anthropology Either of two kinship groups based on unilateral descent that together make up a tribe or society.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English moite, from Old French meitiet, moitie, from Late Latin mediets, from Latin, middle, from medius, middle. See medhyo- in Appendix I.
May 25, 2007
arby commented on the word almuten
"The strongest planet when all essential dignities are considered. The term is Arabic and derives from al-mateen, meaning 'the firm one' or 'strong in power', but the concept exists in the works of Ptolemy and other early classical astrologers."
May 25, 2007
arby commented on the word dispositor
An astrological term meaning basically "ruler":
"a planet which disposits, disposes of, or rules another because the other is in one of its areas of dignity. For example, when Jupiter is in Taurus, Venus, the planetary ruler of Taurus, disposits Jupiter. Planets can also be disposed by the lesser dignities, so the dispositor of Jupiter by exaltation is the Moon which is naturally exalted in Taurus."
May 25, 2007
arby commented on the word inchoate
I say in-ko-ate. It's a funny word to me because I went to Choate, which is pronounced pretty much the way it's spelled (chote).
May 21, 2007
arby commented on the word blatherskite
Bartleby says:
NOUN: Unintelligible or foolish talk: babble, blather,double talk, gabble, gibberish, jabber, jabberwocky, jargon, nonsense, prate, prattle, twaddle
May 20, 2007
arby commented on the word codpasting
I don't even know if BetaRish's meaning is "real" (as in, does anyone else use it like that), but it cracked me up so I had to add it to my words.
May 19, 2007
arby commented on the word lapidary
NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. lap·i·dar·ies
1. One who cuts, polishes, or engraves gems. 2. A dealer in precious or semiprecious stones.
ADJECTIVE: 1. Of or relating to precious stones or the art of working with them. 2a. Engraved in stone. b. Marked by conciseness, precision, or refinement of expression: lapidary prose. c. Sharply or finely delineated: a face with lapidary features.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English lapidarie, from Old French lapidaire, from Latin lapidrius, from lapis, lapid-, stone.
May 19, 2007
arby commented on the word sesquipedalian
Too show-offy for my taste. This is the kind of word people put in crossword puzzles to be cute.
May 19, 2007
arby commented on the word antediluvian
Ah, I thought it was just archaic in general. I love the synonyms for this one.
Roget's II
ADJECTIVE: 1. Of, existing, or occurring in a distant period: ancient, early, primitive. See START. 2. Belonging to, existing, or occurring in times long past: age-old, ancient, antiquated, antique, archaic, hoary, old, olden, old-time, timeworn, venerable. Idioms: old as Methuselah, old as the hills. See NEW.
May 18, 2007
arby commented on the word cockshut
evening; twilight
May 18, 2007
arby commented on the word malkin
It's a variant spelling of greymalkin.
AmHer sez: grimalkin
1. A cat, especially an old female cat. 2. An old woman considered to be ill-tempered.
ETYMOLOGY: Variant of graymalkin : gray + obsolete malkin, lower-class woman; see merkin.
May 18, 2007
arby commented on the word grimalkin
1. A cat, especially an old female cat. 2. An old woman considered to be ill-tempered.
ETYMOLOGY: Variant of graymalkin : gray1 + obsolete malkin, lower-class woman; see merkin.
May 18, 2007
arby commented on the word merkin
Ha! Isn't it also Australian slang for "American"? Might be spelled differently.
signed,
Too Lazy To Google
May 18, 2007
arby commented on the word palindrome
I always think of TMBG when I hear this word - not only "I Palindrome I" but so many of John L's lyrics are all about the palindromes.
Also, for some reason this word reminds me of dromedary.
May 18, 2007
arby commented on the word heighth
Yeah, no, it's perfectly logical assumption, I don't blame anyone for thinking it made sense. It just drives me crazy that they act like I'm the one who's making it up when I say "height".
May 18, 2007
arby commented on the word cock rock
AOR rock where the singer is bragging about the adventures of his cock. Most notably played by those radio stations that specialize in the Cro-Magnon arena rock of the seventies.
May 18, 2007
arby commented on the word laddish
Men Behaving Badly - see Wikipedia
"Wikipedia... is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information." - Michael Scott
May 15, 2007
arby commented on the word heighth
I hate this so much!! My dad and my boyfriend both say this, even though I've explained to them multiple times that it is not real.
May 15, 2007
arby commented on the word balls
I had a babysitter who used to use this word as an exclamation to mean "nonsense!"
May 15, 2007
arby commented on the list stuff-nonsense
why thank you!
May 15, 2007
arby commented on the word codpasting
I love the results from Googling this word - "the finest in aquatic adhesion".
May 15, 2007
arby commented on the word codpasting
The opposite of podcasting
May 15, 2007
arby commented on the word simony
NOUN: The buying or selling of ecclesiastical pardons, offices, or emoluments.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English simonie, from Old French, from Late Latin simnia, after Simon Magus, a sorcerer who tried to buy spiritual powers from the Apostle Peter (Acts 8:9–24).
OTHER FORMS: simo·nist —NOUN
May 15, 2007
arby commented on the word embonpoint
NOUN: The condition of being plump; stoutness.
ETYMOLOGY: French, from en bon point, in good condition : en, in (from Latin in; see in–2) + bon, good (from Old French; see boon2) + point, situation, condition; see point.
May 15, 2007
arby commented on the word ambergris
Petrified Whale Vomit = name of my next band
May 15, 2007
arby commented on the word pixilated
1. Stupefied, excited, or muddled with alcoholic liquor: besotted, crapulent, crapulous, drunk, drunken, inebriate, inebriated, intoxicated, sodden, tipsy. Informal: cockeyed, stewed. Slang: blind, bombed, boozed, boozy, crocked, high, lit up, loaded, looped, pickled, plastered, potted, sloshed, smashed, soused, stinking, stinko, stoned, tight, zonked. Idioms: drunk as a skunk, half-seas over, high as a kite, in one's cups, three sheets to the wind.
May 15, 2007
arby commented on the word pixilated
1. Behaving as if mentally unbalanced; very eccentric. 2. Whimsical; prankish. 3. Slang Intoxicated; drunk.
ETYMOLOGY: From pixie.
OTHER FORMS: pixi·lation —NOUN
May 15, 2007
arby commented on the word skort
NOUN: A pair of shorts having a flap or panel across the front and sometimes the back to resemble a skirt.
ETYMOLOGY: sk(irt) + (sh)ort.
May 9, 2007
arby commented on the word cuirass
This word cracks me up because it sounds vaguely obscene, and yet it's so stodgy and historical.
May 9, 2007
arby commented on the word ka
I love this word. I don't know if it's the word itself or the concept that gets me. It's like karma or kismet but untainted by years of stupid hippies misusing it.
May 9, 2007
arby commented on the word ka
Ka is the force in Stephen King's Dark Tower series that leads all living (and unliving) creatures. It is the will of Gan, the approximate equivalent of destiny, or fate, in the fictional language High Speech. It is the force that causes a destiny to happen, but is not necessarily impossible to surpass. Ka can be considered to be a guide, a destination, but is certainly not a plan - at least, not one that is known to mortals. Ka is not necessarily a force of good or evil; it manipulates both sides, and seems to have no definite morality of its own.
The official Dark Tower site describes ka as the following: "Ka... signifies life-force, consciousness, duty and destiny. In the vulgate, or low speech, it also means a place to which an individual must go."
May 9, 2007
arby commented on the word kismet
I like ka better. Something about this word rubs me the wrong way, but I have no idea what it is.
May 9, 2007
arby commented on the word bandersnatch
ha ha ha, welcome to my world!
May 9, 2007
arby commented on the word grok
I got used to the unattractiveness of the word itself in the course of reading the book. Now I just love it.
May 7, 2007
arby commented on the word caryatid
NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. car·y·at·ids or car·y·at·i·des (--dz)
Architecture A supporting column sculptured in the form of a draped female figure.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin Carytides, caryatids, from Greek Karutides, priestesses of Artemis at Caryae, caryatids, from Karuai, Caryae, a village of Laconia in southern Greece with a famous temple to Artemis.
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I learned it from Stranger in a Strange Land.
Ahh, good times.
*goes to add grok to her words*
May 7, 2007
arby commented on the word mulligatawny
I love this word! It sounds very Irish/Scottish/Gaelic to me, but AmHer sez it's all Indian:
ETYMOLOGY: Tamil miaguta : miagu, pepper + tar, cool water ( ta, cool + r, water).
May 6, 2007
arby commented on the word twitterpated
confused by affection or infatuation
Etymology: twitter + -pated 'pertaining to the head'
May 6, 2007
arby commented on the word syzygy
I know this from the X-Files episode of the same name - anyone with me?
May 6, 2007
arby commented on the list words-that-are-also-movies
big
castaway
zodiac
and lampbane and inkhorn, I totally remember the trailers for House! Scared the shit out of me when I was little too.
May 6, 2007
arby commented on the word rummy
or as in Donald Rumsfeld.
May 6, 2007
arby commented on the word gleek
(obs.): gibe or jibe, flout, jeer, scoff, fleer, taunt, sneer, quip, fling, twit, wipe (dial. or slang), slap in the face.
May 6, 2007
arby commented on the word patron of the nighttime arts
Sorry, mccaff - I was a little cranky when I said that. The purist in me finds it unacceptable, but I know it's allowed.
May 6, 2007
arby commented on the word pupcorn
I admit it, it just sounds so cute. Can anyone think of a good fake definition?
May 6, 2007
arby commented on the word samizdat
NOUN: 1a. The secret publication and distribution of government-banned literature in the former Soviet Union. b. The literature produced by this system. 2. An underground press.
ETYMOLOGY: Russian : sam, self; see sem-1 in Appendix I + izdatel'stvo, publishing house (from izdat', to publish, on the model of Gosizdat, State Publishing House ( iz, from, out of; see eghs in Appendix I + dat', to give; see d- in Appendix I).
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I always thought it was a phonetic misspelling of "same as that" (unauthorized copies). Sadly, finding out that this is not the case doesn't make me like the word any more than I did before (1 - that rhymed, 2 - which was not at all).
May 4, 2007
arby commented on the word bandersnatch
This word has always sounded obscene to me, due to the snatch at the end. Also "bander" makes me think of underwear, conjuring up some kind of panty raid scenario.
I like it anyway, I'm just saying.
May 4, 2007
arby commented on the word patron of the nighttime arts
How is this a word? Phrases don't count as words IMHO. This is Wordie, not "Phrasie".
That said, it's a cute expression.
May 4, 2007
arby commented on the word esquivalience
Does the presence of a word in a dictionary make it "real"? Even if the publishers admit it was made up? I kind of think so.. Plus I want it to be real because I love it so.
May 4, 2007
arby commented on the word tuppers
It reminds me of Tupperware, so the meaning makes sense. Although I think my favorite Tolkien word for meal has to be elevensies - talk about genius!! That's almost Carroll-like in its inspired absurdity.
May 4, 2007
arby commented on the word preggers
I like preggers! It's sort of cute, in a retarded kind of way. I want to pet it and feed it candy.
May 4, 2007
arby commented on the word zenzizenzizenzic
This would be totally killer in Scrabble! Unless maybe there aren't enough z's in the game to use it.
May 4, 2007
arby commented on the word saltire
I like this word because it reminds me of Saltines (tm) but it's weird and old and obscure instead of a common brand name. Why that should make me like it I don't know.
Yes, my brain is a strange place to be.
May 4, 2007
arby commented on the word twat
For some reason I find this word so much less offensive than cunt, maybe because it just sounds so silly it's impossible to take seriously as an obscenity. Also because it reminds me of twit, which I like. Sort of like "tit for tat", you could say "twit for twat". Except it doesn't rhyme, damn.
May 4, 2007
arby commented on the word twaddle
andrew.simone, there's a good reason for that - it sounds like twat!
I love this word, both because it means nonsense and because it's one of the few words that rhymes with waddle - it's a waddling twat!
I remember Topps made a series of toys (over 10 years ago now) called Baby Wild Animals - they came with little candy baby bottles, and the seal was named Twaddle. This cracked me up endlessly.
May 4, 2007
arby commented on the word sardonyx
Ha ha ha! Sounds like something out of Lewis Carroll, doesn't it?
May 4, 2007
arby commented on the word chevron
It has a whole new meaning for me since seeing Stargate (movie, SG-1 or SGA, take your pick)!!
May 4, 2007
arby commented on the word bunkum
VARIANT FORMS: also buncombe
NOUN: Empty or insincere talk; claptrap.
ETYMOLOGY: After Buncombe, a county of western North Carolina, from a remark made around 1820 by its congressman, who felt obligated to give a dull speech “for Buncombe�?.
May 4, 2007
arby commented on the word versimilitude
I love this word!! It's so fun to say.
April 20, 2007
arby commented on the list burke-s-peerage-gentry
Ooh, very nice! Thanks reesetee for pointing that out.
April 19, 2007
arby commented on the list burke-s-peerage-gentry
Great list! How about these possible additions, culled from various Heraldic Dictionaries (and pardon me for not linking to my sources, I'm too lazy):
fleur-de-lys
argent
azure
sable
vert
sanguine
emblazon
rampant
dexter
sinister
chevron
saltire
ermine
tincture
dragon
wyvern
trefoil
unicorn
lion (and/or lyon)
enflamed
April 18, 2007
arby commented on the word esquivalience
thanks you guys!! *blush*
yeah, dord is how I found this, I was reading about the story and I believe it was cross-referenced in Wikipedia.
I think my favorite thing about "esquivalience" though is the definition - that's my favorite thing to do!
April 18, 2007
arby commented on the word phoenix
VARIANT FORMS: also phe·nix
NOUN: 1. Mythology A bird in Egyptian mythology that lived in the desert for 500 years and then consumed itself by fire, later to rise renewed from its ashes. 2. A person or thing of unsurpassed excellence or beauty; a paragon. 3. Phoenix, a constellation in the Southern Hemisphere near Tucana and Sculptor.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English fenix, from Old English from Old French, both from Medieval Latin fnix, from Latin phoenix, from Greek phoinix.
April 18, 2007
arby commented on the word nonpareil
NOUN: A person or thing so excellent as to have no equal or match: nonesuch, paragon, phoenix. See GOOD.
ADJECTIVE: Without equal or rival: alone, incomparable, matchless, only, peerless, singular, unequaled, unexampled, unique, unmatched, unparalleled, unrivaled. See SAME.
April 18, 2007
arby commented on the word tittle
Knowledge to the certainty of which no authority could add, or take away, one jot or tittle. — Huxley
April 18, 2007
arby commented on the word irregardless
I hate this fake-ass, non-word so much!! My boss used this while we were on a conference call, so I couldn't even subtly correct her!
PS I'm only "listing" it as my least favorite "word" ever!!
April 18, 2007
arby commented on the word sockdolager
VARIANT FORMS: also sock·dol·o·ger
NOUN: Slang 1. A conclusive blow or remark. 2. Something outstanding.
ETYMOLOGY: Origin unknown.
March 28, 2007
arby commented on the word sardonyx
I wish it meant sardonic onyx, how great would that be?
March 28, 2007
arby commented on the list words-that-are-also-excellent-band-names-if-the-rules-below-are-correctly-applied
I think Arugula could go either way too. And Sausalito is the correct spelling, AFAIK, not Sauselito. (/pedant)
March 24, 2007
arby commented on the word slumgullion
NOUN: A watery meat stew.
ETYMOLOGY: Perhaps slum, muddy deposit in a mining sluice + dialectal gullion, mud (perhaps from Irish Gaelic goilín, pit).
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But didn't Shakespeare use it as an insult, or am I imagining things again?
March 24, 2007
arby commented on the word esquivalience
from Wikipedia:
Esquivalience, according to the August 29, 2005 New Yorker article "Ink: Not a Word" by Henry Alford, is a fictitious entry in the New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD), which was designed and included to protect copyright of the publication. The word was invented by Christine Lindberg, one of the editors of the NOAD. It was leaked that the dictionary had put in a fake word in the letter "e" and Alford set out to find the word. It was discovered after review of a short list by several experts. When the editor, Erin McKean, was contacted she admitted that it was indeed a fake word and had been in since the first edition, in order to protect the copyright of the CD-ROM edition.
The word is defined as "the wilful avoidance of one's official responsibilities."
March 11, 2007
arby commented on the word vogueress
Polari slang for "woman smoker" (sic).
February 25, 2007
arby commented on the user john
Can we add Bartleby.com to the list of sites to look up words on? I like it ever so much better than Dictionary.com - plus it has Roget's thesauri and so many other reference works.
Also, I'm sure I'm not the only one who uses the "recently added words" list on the home page to find new words to add. The only problem with this is that it leads to duplication as the same words are cycled back up to the top of the page. Is there a way to suppress words from showing on the home page more than once?
February 21, 2007
arby commented on the word menace
I particularly like menace as a verb.
February 21, 2007
arby commented on the word lavendar
misspelling of lavender
February 19, 2007
arby commented on the word shirty
The only thing I love more than this word is the fact that it was on Buffy. I once won a bet with my Dad that "shirty" was a real word. Having read my Wodehouse I knew I was right. Ha!
February 15, 2007
arby commented on the user john
I think there may be a wee bug in the sort order.. I choose alpha and it still shows by date added. I have to click twice for alpha to "stick".
I love this site!!!!! Keep up the good work!
PS here's a great list of "nym" words for the profile.
February 15, 2007
arby commented on the word cuntstruck
ha ha ha ha! Sample sentence?
February 15, 2007
arby commented on the word shirty
“He saw how shirty she was about it�? (P.G. Wodehouse)
Etymology: Probably from to get someone's shirt out, to annoy, or to keep one's shirt on, to keep from being annoyed.
February 15, 2007
arby commented on the word claptrap
also spelled clap-trap
February 15, 2007
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