Oh, I love this book, these books, Pavic is possibly my favorite writer in the world.
sionnach, the difference is a paragraph which changes everything. and by lexicon novel, it means that it is written in the form of a dictionary, as the title suggests - although it really more of an encyclopedia, I would say. like an epistolary novel is written in the form of letters, you know?
ahh ahh *flaphands* I just can't tell you how much I love Pavic.
Lower Shebobia is a real place in Nova Scotia... I think. :D One of my colleagues uses it to refer to any place remote, which is (pardon the pun) miles above the usual Bumfuck variations you hear from most folks.
Rumors of my death &c &c, bilby! Please feel free to drop suggestions on any of my lists. If I'm going for a specific gestalt in my own mind, I may not take them, but I always appreciate them! :)
oh! and one more thing, re what mollusque mentioned: in Firefox you can also navigate your tabs with ctrl-page up and ctrl-page down -- page up moves you to the left through your open tabs, and page down to the right.
reesetee, I don't know when I started saying holy carp but it was probably around the same time I started saying oh my dog.
A bit late on it, but new window/new tab/&c makes no nevermind to me, I have my browser so rigged that links do what I want them to no matter what you code. :D I think this may really a preference issue, not a practicality issue?
Holy carp, John, I was away awhile and the layout tweaks you've made in that time are fantastic. I'm off to poke the site with a sharp stick and see what else is new.
My mother is Irish and doesn't say booger, she says bogie; when I was small and picked up this word at school (as an insult) she thought I was calling my brother a bugger instead of a snot, and I got quite a hiding.
c_b, apparently the uml tag only works on vowels. I was just now trying to make a Spinal Tap joke and it refused to put the umlaut on the n where it belongs. :D
skipvia, all you had to do was say Cheerwine and we'da known what state you was from. ;)
I believe that strictly speaking soda has sodium bicarb to make the fizz (hence the name, yes?) and that there is a water that is just aerated, but I am not sure what it is called.
And since I'm at it, as for mesmerize, mesmerism appears to come from the surname of one Austrian Dr. Friedrich Anton Mesmer, who came to live and work in Paris, this leading to the nouning of his surname as mesmérisme. So less German and more Austro-French?
There's room for a ouija pun here but I can't seem to spin it just right...
This is where a citation would've been handy -- I completely agree with sionnach, but out of curiosity I checked the OED to see if there was someting I was missing. The definition of mogul to which betsyshane must be referring is
"A bump on a ski slope, by which a skier's progress may be impeded."
It's just a death portent, like the "Hound of the Baskervilles." Sometimes just seeing it is enough, sometimes it, pun intentded, dogs you a bit before you die.
Thanks, 82! You will find that I make all kinds of hands. ramblehands, gimmehands, explainyhands... although offline they do look rather like the same oblique gesture. Hmm. *musehands*
Did I? I may have. I don't remember either, reesetee! :)
Speaking of things that I don't remember, there's a redundancy I hear in the doctor's office that annoys me, but I can't quite recall it. Something to do with health history.
Gosh, fbharjo, I just was not putting mendicant together with mendacious -- I was thinking of the wandering ascetic definition of it, mendicant monk, like.
Sometimes I have to remind myself that English's parentage is beyond bastardy -- what do you call it when it's got a half dozen parents and none of them legitimate? :)
I didn't know it was still in print, honestly. It came out when I was a freshman in college and I have never met another person who was not a linguist that had read it. Bless the internets! :D
One of the most fascinating reads ever is Pinker's "The Language Instinct." I'm not sure if it's still in print, but I really recommend it.
Uselessness, I hear what you're saying and you're right, of course. As npydyuan (how on earth do you pronounce that?!) said, we all have some hot-button (mis)uses, and meme happens to be one of them for me.
I think that there are words which change meanings over time and adaption, and there are words that don't and ought not to! Y/N? Is my shameful inner prescriptivist getting the better of me? :D
Actually, 82, I thought memesta was clever! I'm absolutely in favor of madeupical words, as John says -- my issue is with the people who... how to put it? I think I must turn to the words of a man greater than I: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Mm, what palooka said. We're here to share language, not to box it up, yes, yes -- but our lists as entities unto themselves are personal. This isn't to say someone else couldn't or shouldn't make their own list of, say, sailing words, or kinds of fish, but the copying of a list in its entirety would be rather like plagiarism.
Again I think it's all common sense and golden rule stuff!
I'd love to get notifications of comments on lists and on individual words, instead of having to subscribe to umpteen feeds, but I worry that generating all those emails would kill the servers.
A hole or opening at the foot of a wall, the bottom of a fence or hedge, etc., esp. one allowing the passage of hares, rabbits, or sheep; a narrow passage or entrance in a beehive.
thank you! i have more to add to it, as with so many of my lists... i seem to always get on wordie at about one in the morning and then peter out halfway through a new list. :D
Comments by colleen
colleen commented on the word flubble
Viggo Mortensen, in Esquire
November 1, 2015
colleen commented on the word vawes
portmanteau of very + awesome.
October 15, 2015
colleen commented on the list the-collected-poems-of-w-h-auden
fbharjo and ruzuzu, gentle Wordies of old! hello!
September 18, 2012
colleen commented on the list addenda-to-the-1923-printing-of-webster-s-collegiate-dictionary-third-edition-of-the-merriam-series
hey ruzuzu, long time no see! glad you like this one, I remember it took me ages to put all these in back on the old Wordie. :)
February 23, 2012
colleen commented on the list the-collected-poems-of-w-h-auden
Hey Madmouth! I am here, just quiet. Real life keeps getting in the way.
August 4, 2010
colleen commented on the user colleen
I'm on celestial mechanics at the moment... I'm going to enjoy pawing through all the lists I've missed!
August 19, 2009
colleen commented on the user colleen
hi, fbharjo! how's tricks?
August 19, 2009
colleen commented on the user colleen
life got weird, but I am returned. :))
August 19, 2009
colleen commented on the user colleen
@bilby, hello to you all!
August 19, 2009
colleen commented on the user colleen
@Prolagus, I never got this comment! otherwise I'd have had some sassy comeback.
January 30, 2009
colleen commented on the word funambule
French: tightrope
July 25, 2008
colleen commented on the word mamihlapinatapai
featured on Kottke.org today!
July 15, 2008
colleen commented on the list mojo
thanks apepch7, but Hecate isn't traditionally associated with American folk magic, which is the purpose of this particular list.
June 12, 2008
colleen commented on the word asshaberdashery
the art of being an asshat.
April 20, 2008
colleen commented on the list junk-drawer
mollusque, this is both a general 'things that might be found in one's junk drawer' and a pastiche of all the junk drawers I have loved before.
and by slug I mean both the bullet and the fake quarter. :D
April 15, 2008
colleen commented on the list a-little-carrot-over-the-a
HAH. you had me going for a minute. I need more coffee, clearly.
April 11, 2008
colleen commented on the list a-little-carrot-over-the-a
a cheerio? really? O.o
April 11, 2008
colleen commented on the list a-little-carrot-over-the-a
wiki tells me that hacek = caron! *adds*
April 11, 2008
colleen commented on the list a-little-carrot-over-the-a
thank you, Prolagus! a memory from when I was (badly) learning Slovak... :)
April 11, 2008
colleen commented on the word dictionary of the khazars
Oh, I love this book, these books, Pavic is possibly my favorite writer in the world.
sionnach, the difference is a paragraph which changes everything. and by lexicon novel, it means that it is written in the form of a dictionary, as the title suggests - although it really more of an encyclopedia, I would say. like an epistolary novel is written in the form of letters, you know?
ahh ahh *flaphands* I just can't tell you how much I love Pavic.
March 21, 2008
colleen commented on the list the-worshipful-company-of-haberdashers
frindley, that is the best idea I've heard in forever.
March 20, 2008
colleen commented on the word ursinanity
a state of being. a state of mind.
compare: humanity
March 1, 2008
colleen commented on the list adoption-agency
maybe this place would be less of a tip if I had some quality office girls.
January 18, 2008
colleen commented on the word radar range
aka microwave oven.
January 18, 2008
colleen commented on the word spelt
1) past tense of spell
2) dreadful-tasting wheat product
January 18, 2008
colleen commented on the word ekphrasis
that's the one!
January 17, 2008
colleen commented on the word ekphrasis
reesetee, apparently we get the same newsletter. :)
January 17, 2008
colleen commented on the list metaphorical-places
Lower Shebobia is a real place in Nova Scotia... I think. :D One of my colleagues uses it to refer to any place remote, which is (pardon the pun) miles above the usual Bumfuck variations you hear from most folks.
January 2, 2008
colleen commented on the list demonyms
in New Orleans, folks from St. Bernard parish, specifically Chalmette, are called chalmations.
December 27, 2007
colleen commented on the word guillemets
« »
December 27, 2007
colleen commented on the word pilcrow
¶
December 27, 2007
colleen commented on the list exposure
SUCH a drag, life without Wordie...
December 18, 2007
colleen commented on the list the-worshipful-company-of-haberdashers
thanks, bilby! that's a good one!
December 18, 2007
colleen commented on the list exposure
Rumors of my death &c &c, bilby! Please feel free to drop suggestions on any of my lists. If I'm going for a specific gestalt in my own mind, I may not take them, but I always appreciate them! :)
December 18, 2007
colleen commented on the list exposure
Hey, reesetee! I'm just getting started on it, I've been so busy that I hadn't had time to properly Wordie. Hope to correct that soon...
December 18, 2007
colleen commented on the user colleen
thanks, adrift! you're off to a great start yourself!
December 4, 2007
colleen commented on the word tragedian
Does it not also refer to actors who perform said tragedies? The singers of goat songs, as it were?
November 18, 2007
colleen commented on the user john
oh! and one more thing, re what mollusque mentioned: in Firefox you can also navigate your tabs with ctrl-page up and ctrl-page down -- page up moves you to the left through your open tabs, and page down to the right.
November 15, 2007
colleen commented on the user john
reesetee, I don't know when I started saying holy carp but it was probably around the same time I started saying oh my dog.
A bit late on it, but new window/new tab/&c makes no nevermind to me, I have my browser so rigged that links do what I want them to no matter what you code. :D I think this may really a preference issue, not a practicality issue?
November 15, 2007
colleen commented on the user john
Holy carp, John, I was away awhile and the layout tweaks you've made in that time are fantastic. I'm off to poke the site with a sharp stick and see what else is new.
November 14, 2007
colleen commented on the word booger
My mother is Irish and doesn't say booger, she says bogie; when I was small and picked up this word at school (as an insult) she thought I was calling my brother a bugger instead of a snot, and I got quite a hiding.
October 24, 2007
colleen commented on the word ferengi
Well, you COULD spit it at people! To each their own. :D
October 18, 2007
colleen commented on the list pastas-i-have-loved
John, I'm thiefing some of these for my maccheroni list. there are so many I missed!
October 18, 2007
colleen commented on the word ferengi
Originally it's a Persian name for white people -- feringhee or farangi. It was used in India as a slur for English people up to a point as well.
October 18, 2007
colleen commented on the word frau bleucher
I have a couple of those resources in my del.icio.us, uselessness, for the occasions that I can't remember either the html or the ALT code.
October 17, 2007
colleen commented on the list frenchois
Being picky about fake French brings me to a new low, so I think it's time for bed. :D
(Bonne liste!)
October 16, 2007
colleen commented on the word advertising
Doing the backstroke through your piles of gold!
October 16, 2007
colleen commented on the list frenchois
should it not be Jacques Penné avec le lettre c?
October 16, 2007
colleen commented on the word frau bleucher
c_b, apparently the uml tag only works on vowels. I was just now trying to make a Spinal Tap joke and it refused to put the umlaut on the n where it belongs. :D
October 16, 2007
colleen commented on the word advertising
Is it a time zone issue, perhaps? Do you have to set the default time zone?
Anyway, it looks all right to me. It's not terribly intrusive and I suspect that with a bit of exposure the eye will just wander right by them. :)
October 16, 2007
colleen commented on the word frau bleucher
CB:
ü
& u uml ;
without the spaces
October 16, 2007
colleen commented on the word nerf herder
Hee. Oh, UD. User-generated content at its finest.
October 16, 2007
colleen commented on the word lamp
And the award for most chavtastic sentence on Wordie (so far) goes to...
October 16, 2007
colleen commented on the word nerf
Unrelated to nerf herder, one of the greatest insults in the galaxy.
October 16, 2007
colleen commented on the word features
John, I just happened to notice on Facebook that you mentioned ads? Would that be as in advertisements?
edit ah, question answered by available evidence. :)
October 16, 2007
colleen commented on the word sugar bush
Also called a sap bush in some parts.
October 13, 2007
colleen commented on the word nadir
If I was to make a list of words learnt from "Bloom County," this would be on top of it.
October 12, 2007
colleen commented on the word aurify
To Do: alchemy list.
October 11, 2007
colleen commented on the word coke
skipvia, all you had to do was say Cheerwine and we'da known what state you was from. ;)
I believe that strictly speaking soda has sodium bicarb to make the fizz (hence the name, yes?) and that there is a water that is just aerated, but I am not sure what it is called.
October 11, 2007
colleen commented on the word coke
You say "regular."
October 10, 2007
colleen commented on the list tunie-french-perfume
It is a gorgeous turn of phrase, yes. I do love GBS. :)
October 10, 2007
colleen commented on the word black dog
I think that Dr. John does as well!
October 10, 2007
colleen commented on the word moot
I geeked out mightily for a moment, there, huh?
October 10, 2007
colleen commented on the list tunie-french-perfume
Eee, I love this song. Awesome list. :)
October 10, 2007
colleen commented on the word wordie funs language
Ah, that was me, John, on misuse. :)
October 10, 2007
colleen commented on the word moot
Yes, actually "Rohirric" is just Anglo-Saxon, or Englisc, if you prefer. :)
Has anyone done a Tolkien list?
October 9, 2007
colleen commented on the word moot
There is also the Old Entish meaning...
October 9, 2007
colleen commented on the word john thomas
Some days I check the comments feed and I wonder, I really wonder.
October 9, 2007
colleen commented on the list words-often-used-by-stupid-people-to-cover-for-the-inability-to-articulate-a-full-idea
Hmm. Where you lose me is at the assessment "stupid people." A number of phenomenally intelligent people are terrible at verbal communication.
October 8, 2007
colleen commented on the list words-from-the-german
And since I'm at it, as for mesmerize, mesmerism appears to come from the surname of one Austrian Dr. Friedrich Anton Mesmer, who came to live and work in Paris, this leading to the nouning of his surname as mesmérisme. So less German and more Austro-French?
There's room for a ouija pun here but I can't seem to spin it just right...
October 8, 2007
colleen commented on the list words-from-the-german
This is where a citation would've been handy -- I completely agree with sionnach, but out of curiosity I checked the OED to see if there was someting I was missing. The definition of mogul to which betsyshane must be referring is
"A bump on a ski slope, by which a skier's progress may be impeded."
which appears to come from
"German regional (Austria) Mugel hillock."
October 8, 2007
colleen commented on the word hajj
the Fifth Pillar of Islam: pilgrimage to Mecca
October 7, 2007
colleen commented on the word sawm
the Fourth Pillar of Islam: fasting during Ramadan
October 7, 2007
colleen commented on the word zakâh
the Third Pillar of Islam: giving alms
October 7, 2007
colleen commented on the word salah
Second Pillar of Islam: prayer
October 7, 2007
colleen commented on the word shahadah
the First Pillar of Islam: profession of faith.
October 7, 2007
colleen commented on the word salah
John, thanks for reminding me to add the rest of the pillars.
October 7, 2007
colleen commented on the word umfundisi
I'm pretty sure the title of the book is Cry, The Beloved Country.
October 6, 2007
colleen commented on the list a-long-strange-trip
final destination, ultima thule?
October 6, 2007
colleen commented on the user john
"appears in lists" IS vawes but it doesn't seem to work for words listed by only one person?
and I'll pass on the sandwich and have a tea, there's a love.
October 6, 2007
colleen commented on the list these-are-permanent-winds-that-live-in-the-present-tense
thanks, trivet! I have a Thing.
October 5, 2007
colleen commented on the word carribean
There but for the grace of spellcheck go I.
October 5, 2007
colleen commented on the word carribean
Now I should like it very much if someone would teach me how to remember the correct spellings of Cincinnati and Mediterranean. :D
October 5, 2007
colleen commented on the word carribean
The mnemonic I was taught to for spelling this was to remember the "carib bean grows in the caribbean."
October 5, 2007
colleen commented on the list this-is-one-lame-ass-list
and then two seconds after posting the below I get an email:
today is weirdassed.
October 5, 2007
colleen commented on the list this-is-one-lame-ass-list
I'd rather have a lame-ass list than a broke-ass list.
October 5, 2007
colleen commented on the word black dog
Mm, yeah. That would be the rougarou, if she was down thattaway...
October 3, 2007
colleen commented on the word black dog
Point!
October 3, 2007
colleen commented on the list favourite-fonts
I didn't add font names to my own typography list, or I'd have been here for years. This list is lovely.
October 3, 2007
colleen commented on the word black dog
You'd be amazed what you find in Mississippi.
October 3, 2007
colleen commented on the word symbology
Now, I thought symbology was some wanky term that the writer of "The DaVinci Code" coined as a synonym for talking shite. :D
October 3, 2007
colleen commented on the word pants
"Pants" is also an expression of badness, such as, "I'm pants at checkers." or "This day has been absolute pants."
October 3, 2007
colleen commented on the word black dog
It's just a death portent, like the "Hound of the Baskervilles." Sometimes just seeing it is enough, sometimes it, pun intentded, dogs you a bit before you die.
wiki entry, which covers most of the bases.
October 2, 2007
colleen commented on the word crocs
Just don't wear them on an escalator!
October 1, 2007
colleen commented on the word vaccicide
Kewpid, would that be killing of vegans?
*innocent face*
September 30, 2007
colleen commented on the word vaccicide
"Murder of cows" is a nice visual pun, though, isn't it?
September 30, 2007
colleen commented on the word isfahan
Yes, Esfah�?n nesf-e jah�?n ast.
September 30, 2007
colleen commented on the word trout
Well! Now I know. :)
September 30, 2007
colleen commented on the list her-goddamn-bokhara-rug
faraway, I missed this comment, sorry! Thank you! I have a bit of a thing for that book, and for Rushdie in general. :)
September 30, 2007
colleen commented on the word smacked ass
I imagine it has to do with being red...?
September 30, 2007
colleen commented on the list zee-germans
jochen, did you know you can leave your quote on the word itself? :) Great list!
September 30, 2007
colleen commented on the word trout
But fbharjo, they haven't any teeth...
September 29, 2007
colleen commented on the word trout
Personally, I always think of Kilgore...
September 28, 2007
colleen commented on the word scrutator
Would that be "SCREW-ta-tor" or "screw-TATER"?
September 28, 2007
colleen commented on the user colleen
Thanks, 82! You will find that I make all kinds of hands. ramblehands, gimmehands, explainyhands... although offline they do look rather like the same oblique gesture. Hmm. *musehands*
September 28, 2007
colleen commented on the word runcible
TRUE. It is an old-timey madeupical word!
You're going to have to accept that you've been living a lie.
September 27, 2007
colleen commented on the word runcible
This word is, in fact, madeupical.
September 27, 2007
colleen commented on the list redundant-and-repetitive
PAST HISTORY. *shakes people by the lapels*
September 27, 2007
colleen commented on the list redundant-and-repetitive
Oh, I remember now! The question, by nurse, doctor or other healthcare worker, "Do you have a past history of n?"
Drives me batshit.
September 27, 2007
colleen commented on the list redundant-and-repetitive
Did I? I may have. I don't remember either, reesetee! :)
Speaking of things that I don't remember, there's a redundancy I hear in the doctor's office that annoys me, but I can't quite recall it. Something to do with health history.
September 27, 2007
colleen commented on the list redundant-and-repetitive
No, in law. But I worked in bookstores for many years. :)
September 26, 2007
colleen commented on the list redundant-and-repetitive
isbn number. *shudder*
September 26, 2007
colleen commented on the word chai
I had missed that, thanks, trivet!
September 26, 2007
colleen commented on the word malarchy
Dang, beaten to the pun.
September 26, 2007
colleen commented on the word chai
And the ever popular "ATM machine."
September 26, 2007
colleen commented on the word chai
"chai tea" makes my head hurt in the same way that "ISBN number" does. GAH.
September 25, 2007
colleen commented on the list nakshatra
Yes! I'm still inputting them, and then I'll get to the descriptions... sometime when it's not 2:30 in the morning. :D
September 24, 2007
colleen commented on the word molosser
see: mastiff
September 24, 2007
colleen commented on the word molossus
and a molosser is my dog!
September 24, 2007
colleen commented on the word wavenger
see: vagabond
September 24, 2007
colleen commented on the word peccant
Gosh, fbharjo, I just was not putting mendicant together with mendacious -- I was thinking of the wandering ascetic definition of it, mendicant monk, like.
September 24, 2007
colleen commented on the list scriptie-the-shakespearean-language-of-deadwood
I don't know how I missed this. Excellent.
September 23, 2007
colleen commented on the word squarehead
Hee! I can't repeat most the things my father said while driving... Come to think of it, that's probably why I'm a Deadwood fan. ;)
September 23, 2007
colleen commented on the word fumiferous
brilliant!
September 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word porphyria
The rain set early in tonight,
The sullen wind was soon awake,
It tore the elm-tops down for spite,
and did its worst to vex the lake:
I listened with heart fit to break.
When glided in Porphyria; straight
She shut the cold out and the storm,
And kneeled and made the cheerless grate
Blaze up, and all the cottage warm;
Which done, she rose, and from her form
Withdrew the dripping cloak and shawl,
And laid her soiled gloves by, untied
Her hat and let the damp hair fall,
And, last, she sat down by my side
And called me. When no voice replied,
She put my arm about her waist,
And made her smooth white shoulder bare,
And all her yellow hair displaced,
And, stooping, made my cheek lie there,
And spread, o'er all, her yellow hair,
Murmuring how she loved me--she
Too weak, for all her heart's endeavor,
To set its struggling passion free
From pride, and vainer ties dissever,
And give herself to me forever.
But passion sometimes would prevail,
Nor could tonight's gay feast restrain
A sudden thought of one so pale
For love of her, and all in vain:
So, she was come through wind and rain.
Be sure I looked up at her eyes
Happy and proud; at last I knew
Porphyria worshiped me: surprise
Made my heart swell, and still it grew
While I debated what to do.
That moment she was mine, mine, fair,
Perfectly pure and good: I found
A thing to do, and all her hair
In one long yellow string I wound
Three times her little throat around,
And strangled her. No pain felt she;
I am quite sure she felt no pain.
As a shut bud that holds a bee,
I warily oped her lids: again
Laughed the blue eyes without a stain.
And I untightened next the tress
About her neck; her cheek once more
Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss:
I propped her head up as before
Only, this time my shoulder bore
Her head, which droops upon it still:
The smiling rosy little head,
So glad it has its utmost will,
That all it scorned at once is fled,
And I, its love, am gained instead!
Porphyria's love: she guessed not how
Her darling one wish would be heard.
And thus we sit together now,
And all night long we have not stirred,
And yet God has not said a word!
(Robert Browning)
September 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word misuse
another fascinating take on the evolution (or devolution) of language is in the novel "Cloud Atlas."
*ramblehands*
it's getting late where I am.
September 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word squarehead
And here I thought you must be a "Deadwood" fan.
September 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word misuse
d'oh!
September 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word misuse
You're very welcome.
Sometimes I have to remind myself that English's parentage is beyond bastardy -- what do you call it when it's got a half dozen parents and none of them legitimate? :)
September 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word misuse
On the contrary, palooka, I think you RAISED the level of discourse for a bit there. I. Well. I apologize for knocking it back down. :D
September 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word misuse
September 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word misuse
I didn't know it was still in print, honestly. It came out when I was a freshman in college and I have never met another person who was not a linguist that had read it. Bless the internets! :D
September 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word misuse
Having just outed myself as a Star Wars Dork, I will now proceed hence. :D
September 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word misuse
Or like "padawan"?
September 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word misuse
One of the most fascinating reads ever is Pinker's "The Language Instinct." I'm not sure if it's still in print, but I really recommend it.
Uselessness, I hear what you're saying and you're right, of course. As npydyuan (how on earth do you pronounce that?!) said, we all have some hot-button (mis)uses, and meme happens to be one of them for me.
September 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word meme
:D
September 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word misuse
I think that there are words which change meanings over time and adaption, and there are words that don't and ought not to! Y/N? Is my shameful inner prescriptivist getting the better of me? :D
September 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word meme
Actually, 82, I thought memesta was clever! I'm absolutely in favor of madeupical words, as John says -- my issue is with the people who... how to put it? I think I must turn to the words of a man greater than I: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
September 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word ortolan
And yet perversely fascinating!
September 21, 2007
colleen commented on the word meme
the widespread misuse of this term on the web is probably a meme unto itself.
and pronounced, I believe, as meem. not mehm, not mimi, people: meem.
oh, so many rants, so little time...
September 21, 2007
colleen commented on the word peccant
not even a little! from the OED:
1. a. Unhealthy, corrupt, diseased; causing disease. Formerly esp. of a bodily humour. Now arch. and hist.
2. a. Of a person or other agent: that commits or has committed a sin or an offence; sinning, offending; culpable.
b. Of an action or thing: offensive; sinful.
September 21, 2007
colleen commented on the word ortolan
It's been considered a delicacy for centuries. Um. *hands*
September 21, 2007
colleen commented on the word ortolan
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jkz6y9Bc0ykpsZybHUg1N5ThegLg
September 21, 2007
colleen commented on the word mudita
I think it's a dreadfully misused word -- I have heard at least two people misuse it when they wanted zeitgeist, which was funny. and sad. and... sad.
September 14, 2007
colleen commented on the word mudita
Is it the word qua the word you hate, or is it the pretentious wankery it represents?
*innocent face*
September 14, 2007
colleen commented on the word wrapt
cool, jennarenn? my ruse is working! ;)
September 13, 2007
colleen commented on the list newspaper-names
No, no, you do make a good point about competition. It's best to avoid fostering that, and I see how the stats would do so.
September 13, 2007
colleen commented on the list newspaper-names
Seconded, I would love to see traffic stats. Mostly because I am an egomaniac. :D
September 12, 2007
colleen commented on the word epigone
If I copy this word from you, does that make me one?
September 12, 2007
colleen commented on the word fluctuations
Wretched.
September 11, 2007
colleen commented on the word wordie seventh commandment
Mm, what palooka said. We're here to share language, not to box it up, yes, yes -- but our lists as entities unto themselves are personal. This isn't to say someone else couldn't or shouldn't make their own list of, say, sailing words, or kinds of fish, but the copying of a list in its entirety would be rather like plagiarism.
Again I think it's all common sense and golden rule stuff!
September 9, 2007
colleen commented on the list stuffie-vibrate-mode
two shakes of a lamb's tail?
September 8, 2007
colleen commented on the word wordie seventh commandment
I really think that the only rule Wordie needs is "don't be a jerk." The rest will sort itself. :)
September 8, 2007
colleen commented on the word wordie seventh commandment
It's old-timey.
September 8, 2007
colleen commented on the word wordie seventh commandment
Thou shalt indicate facetiousness with helpful asterisks?
September 8, 2007
colleen commented on the word wordie seventh commandment
I don't think there's any such thing as word theft, good lord. Let us not succumb to Wordie fascism, shall we?
September 7, 2007
colleen commented on the word wordie commandments
*facepalm*
September 7, 2007
colleen commented on the word wrapt
Well, there's room for ten on the tablet, seanahan. Perhaps we should get a committee on up the mountain?
September 7, 2007
colleen commented on the word wrapt
I'm pretty sure the First Commandment of Wordie is Thou shalt not harsh another Wordie's buzz.
and if it isn't, it should be.
September 7, 2007
colleen commented on the word bahadur
Anglo-Ind. A great man, distinguished personage. Often affixed as a title to an officer's name.
-OED
September 2, 2007
colleen commented on the user john
many thanks, until you are better paid.
September 2, 2007
colleen commented on the user john
John, what happened to the all-time wordiest list? I've been getting 404s on it.
September 2, 2007
colleen commented on the word presto chango
Scanning really quickly I thought this entry was for Papa Chango.
September 1, 2007
colleen commented on the word rani
it's a title, isn't it? feminine of raja or rai? my best friend growing up was called Rani.
September 1, 2007
colleen commented on the word catapeltic
should one be launched from a catapeltic, the end result might well be catalepsy!
August 30, 2007
colleen commented on the word catapeltic
A. adj. Pertaining to a catapult. B. n. A catapult.
August 29, 2007
colleen commented on the word sossing
Sossing through seamless waters, piloted in
by sea-horse and fluent dolphin:
Ah! how the cannons roar,
How jocular the bells as They
Indulge the peccant shore.
-W.H. Auden, "Under Sirius"
August 29, 2007
colleen commented on the word mediaeval
yeah, it works as html, but I did not try putting it in as a word, not being sure the special character would translate.
August 28, 2007
colleen commented on the word mediaeval
in its most correct form, it would be mediæval, with a ligature, but I seemed to recall something about those not working well in Wordie?
August 28, 2007
colleen commented on the user marzipanda
I am really powerfully ignorant of the goings-on of the internets. :)
oh, Marzipanda, forgive us, wherever you may be!
August 27, 2007
colleen commented on the user marzipanda
well, John, shows what I know! :)
perhaps some nice programmer who enjoys Wordie will step up...
August 27, 2007
colleen commented on the word grotesque
in mediaeval architecture, frequently confused with gargoyle
August 27, 2007
colleen commented on the user marzipanda
I'd love to get notifications of comments on lists and on individual words, instead of having to subscribe to umpteen feeds, but I worry that generating all those emails would kill the servers.
August 26, 2007
colleen commented on the word encomium
it is also a mediocre Led Zeppelin tribute album.
August 26, 2007
colleen commented on the word ablaut
fantastic word, and it reminded me to add bliaut, which is not at all similiar.
August 25, 2007
colleen commented on the list a-wine-by-any-other-name-wouldst-taste-as-sweet
mmmm. fruitcake.
August 25, 2007
colleen commented on the list you-re-either-with-us-or-against-us
this is a great list! gives me the creeps. :D
August 25, 2007
colleen commented on the word heckelphone
it's all true.
August 24, 2007
colleen commented on the list you-re-either-with-us-or-against-us
may I suggest xenophobia or the more poetic jingoism?
August 23, 2007
colleen commented on the word heckelphone
hee. I leave you alone for a day...
August 23, 2007
colleen commented on the word heckelphone
a baritone oboe
August 23, 2007
colleen commented on the word smoot
A hole or opening at the foot of a wall, the bottom of a fence or hedge, etc., esp. one allowing the passage of hares, rabbits, or sheep; a narrow passage or entrance in a beehive.
-OED
August 19, 2007
colleen commented on the list and-bristol-fashion
reesetee, we have to stop meeting like this.
July 21, 2007
colleen commented on the word brick
see also handbag
July 20, 2007
colleen commented on the word handbag
see also brick
July 20, 2007
colleen commented on the list 100-words-everyone-should-know-according-to-american-heritage
loupea, I've just seen it in another place, apparently Houghton Mifflin sends it round every year.
July 3, 2007
colleen commented on the list the-great-fiction
thank you! i have more to add to it, as with so many of my lists... i seem to always get on wordie at about one in the morning and then peter out halfway through a new list. :D
June 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word borked
See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bork#.22Bork.22_as_verb
June 22, 2007
colleen commented on the word blobular
state of being blob-shaped.
coined by kat, june 12 2007.
June 12, 2007
colleen commented on the word murex
The port city of Tyre was the ancient capital of Phoenicia and was best known for the production of purple dye extracted from the murex sea snail.
- National Geographic
May 17, 2007
colleen commented on the list junk-drawer
reesetee, that is brilliance.
May 1, 2007
colleen commented on the word misdemeanant
one who commits a misdemeanor
March 25, 2007
colleen commented on the word wallah
Anglo-Indian: carrier-of (howdah-wallah), purveyor-of (chai-wallah), worker-at (office-wallah).
March 11, 2007
colleen commented on the word lahar
A mud-flow of volcanic ash mixed with water. (OED)
March 11, 2007
colleen commented on the word tephrochronology
The dating of volcanic eruptions and other events by studying layers of tephra. (OED)
March 11, 2007
colleen commented on the word tephra
Geol.
Dust and rock fragments that have been ejected into the air by a volcanic eruption.
(OED)March 11, 2007
colleen commented on the word esquivalience
this is excellent, arby. thank you.
March 11, 2007
colleen commented on the word rummy
as in a card game, or an alcoholic.
March 11, 2007
colleen commented on the word lech
see also lecher.
February 19, 2007
colleen commented on the word phrasedick
as coined, I believe, by William Safire: one who investigates phraseology.
February 18, 2007
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