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 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.
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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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