The word boom (in the microphone sense of term) apparently comes from Dutch and it means "beam" or "pole". So a boom pole is a beam beam, a pole pole, a boom boom.
I'm sure there's a lovely Wordnik list for this, probably one where chai tea, PIN number and ATM machine are also being safely stored.
According to the Webs, "The term probably derives from the saying 'to shed crocodile tears', since the article or radio or television report, which appears heartfelt and sincere in its condolences, had in reality been coldly prepared in advance in anticipation of the character's death."
The numeraio, or numeraro ("number-man"), is the nearly defunct Neapolitan profession of price-tag painter - hand-writing price signs for greengrocers and street markets. There may be only one person left in the entire city of Naples.
In Italian journalism, a coccodrillo (literally "crocodile") is an advance obituary - a long-form obituary that is pre-written for a person that may die soon (usually for older or ill personalities).
Electoral regulations may explicitly require candidates to be human (or equivalent wording), or may require candidates to do things which animals cannot reasonably do (such as sign their name legibly on a legal form); most constituencies require candidates to be of the age of a legal adult, which eliminates many animals whose life expectancy is usually too short to ever qualify. On some occasions, however, animals have been accepted as candidates, and have even won office.
«The consensus is that the pebble must have been brought to the cave by an Australopithecus africanus, whose bones were found nearby. Archaeologists call such an object a manuport — something that has been collected but not used for a utilitarian purpose or modified. Other manuports from around 800,000 years ago and later have been found in southern Africa and India.»
“It’s not that I’m Pollyannaish or in any way unaware of the risks of the global economy ... It’s just it seems to me that we’ve been living through a lot of these downside risks already for several years … but the strength of domestic demand in the U.S. economy has been sufficient to overcome that.”
John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
“'Sometimes there’s really not a shade I can pick that’s white enough,' says Perry of his patients, who sometimes show up with photos of celebrities with gleaming smiles. 'They really want a monochromatic white, like Chiclets.' Perry has coined his own term for the shade people want: 'TB1: Toilet-bowl white.'”
"Many postdocs move on to fulfilling careers elsewhere, but those who want to continue in research can find themselves thwarted. They end up trapped as ‘permadocs’: doing multiple postdoc terms, staying in these positions for many years and, in a small but significant proportion, never leaving them."
In a tunnel beneath Stuttgart railway station, your correspondent was startled and slightly nauseated by a large poster advertising a sandwich filled with Fleischkäse. Though a big fan of both meat and cheese, I could not help but find the name meat-cheese repellent, even aside from the fact that the picture featured a featureless pink slab that resembled neither meat nor cheese.
"When is cheese not cheese?" by Robert Lane Greene, The Economist
Hi! I have been looking for the proper word to describe someone who has no sensory disabilities, as opposed to those who live with one. I would like the word to imply little about both the able and the disabled other than the fact that the former can indeed use all senses while the others rely on at least one fewer. If there is a good word for that already, it would be perfect. If there is none, would you help me make one up? (pan-sensorial? able-sensed?)
I was just invited to "like" MateInItaly, an exhibition about... maths (mate is short for maths in Italian). I asked the curators - turns out nobody had noticed the pun.
"When Walt (Disney) was developing DisneyLand in the early fifties he would frequently arrive home late in the evenings and would often enter his house through the kitchen ... Walt would sometimes grab a “weenie” from the refrigerator as he made his way through the kitchen and would share the hot dog with his dog Lady. He realized that she would follow him wherever he went when he was holding the hot dog because she knew he was going to share it with her.
While developing the new theme park Walt remembered that he could lead the dog wherever he wanted with a “weenie”, so this is the term he coined for describing to his Imagineers how to get the guests to go to certain places and directions."
You are right in that it means "drenched in sweat"; this particular word for "drenched", however, is hardly ever used in any context other than that of exhaustion. That's what I meant - it seems to incorporate both senses of bedraggled in the mind of an Italian reader.
"Four bedraggled porters came through the door, each one staggering under a huge load. They hauled a collection of trunks and large canvas bags."
Given that there is no reference to the luggage being wet or soiled anywhere in the chapter, and that these are the porters of a moody and tyrannical woman, am I right in assuming the word is used to mean something like "exhausted/in poor conditions"? Or maybe "covered in sweat"?
Happily for the paranoid, a trio of researchers reckon they have come up with a way to send secret messages via Skype without tipping off censors or intelligence agencies that something fishy is going on. The three, Wojciech Mazurczyk, Maciej Karas and Krzysztof Szczypiorski, who all work at the Warsaw University of Technology, made use of a technique called steganography, cryptography’s lesser-known, less glamorous cousin. Whereas cryptography relies on the brute force of mathematics to make messages unreadable, steganography relies on stealth and cunning to make them undetectable, by hiding them within other, innocent communications. (A classic example is writing in invisible ink between the lines of an ordinary letter.) That way, potential eavesdroppers are not even aware that a conversation is happening.
"Speaking with silence: Tinkering with Skype can allow people to send undetectable messages" - The Economist
"I've had it done up lately," he explained, as he had explained for the past -- how many? -- weeks. "New carpet," and he pointed to the bright red carpet with a pattern of large white rings. "New furniture," and he nodded towards the massive bookcase and the table with legs like twisted treacle. "Electric heating!" He waved almost exultantly towards the five transparent, pearly sausages glowing so softly in the tilted copper pan.
(The Fly, by Katherine Mansfield)
I'm trying to figure out what the author means by twisted treacle.
Could it be the way thick molasses flows, something like this?
"Did you grow up in Kentucky?" he asked. He imagined her as a big-eyed child in a cotton shift, playing in some dusty, sunny alley, some rural Kentucky-like place. Funny she had grown up to be this wan little bun with too much makeup in black creases under her eyes.
"The girl on the plane", from "Because They Wanted to", by Mary Gaitskill
Just found out that the suffix -ster was originally "used to refer to woman doing a job normally performed by a man" as the GNU Webster's 1913 Dictionary definition says:
This isn't going to be a Goldacresque run-down of study after study of evidence (although here's a handy Cochrane review for the nerds). What's so interesting about the antioxidant myth is its wider cultural and social dimension. Why is this perception so hard to shift? And is there anything we can do about it?
and I wonder if there's a pun that I don't get. I have seen "born to ride" stickers with the same kind of design before – is that the original, or are both of them referring to some other "born to (...) + skull" concept I am unaware of?
I don't know how to say it, but most forums have a toolbar at the edge of comment boxes. You type your comment, then you select the part you would like to see italicized, click "I" on the toolbar, and that bit of text is in italics now. You want to post a link? You type "check this out", select "this", click "link" on the toolbar, a window pops up, you paste your YouTube link, et voila, you still read "check this out" but the word "this" links to the YouTube video. Without me having to type all the HTML code.
I would just like to say that I still find Wordnik quite messy.
I simply can't find what I need, when I need it. And this is why I hardly ever use it, despite my love for the community.
For instance, comment boxes; conversations arranged in a meaningful way on the community page (I'd like to see all recent comments posted to a word/list page somehow grouped together, not as distinct entries).
I'd like to have collaborative lists that are not open to anyone, like we used to have in the YOW days.
I'd like to have a quick-translate button (again, something we used to have) for a first hint about a word's meaning when I don't need anything sophisticated.
And finally, and most urgent, I would really need something better than the 'feeling fancy' text suggesting how to use HTML. I think I said that before: a drop-down gizmo would be great. I don't even understand how to post some clickable text with a link anymore (see ë), and my computer skills are, I believe, above average.
I'm not complaining, I'm actually concerned for you. If I ended up visiting Word Reference more often than I visit Wordnik, other people are probably doing so.
Thank you 'zu - this whole American experience has been wonderful, especially the first two years and the past few months, and I wish I could stay. Unfortunately, this is not possible.
Let's hope the next adventure is... worth its price.
deinonichus: your link led me to "scientific classification", which has a reference to Aristotle, whose page is under "beekeepers", which has a "Ukrainian beekeepers" subcategory.
When continuity mistakes have been made, explanations are often proposed by either writers or fans to smooth over discrepancies. Fans sometimes make up explanations for such errors that may or may not be integrated into canon; this has come to be colloquially known as fanwanking (a term originally coined by the author Craig Hinton to describe excessive use of continuity). Often when a fan does not agree with one of the events in a story (such as the death of a favorite character) they will choose to ignore the event in question so that their enjoyment of the franchise is not diminished. When the holder of the intellectual property discards all existing continuity and starts from scratch it is known as rebooting. Fans call a less extreme literary technique that erases one episode the reset button.
And I less than three you! Miss you guys. You know how it feels sometimes, though... I visit often but can't find anything to add to the conversation.
I really wish there was an easier way to follow threads. If you don't spend lots of time here, you have to open all links on the Zeitmunity page. There has to be a different way!
Did I ever tell you that I found bilby's reddish bananas at the food coop where I volunteer? They are ok, firmer indeed, and less obviously sweet – or maybe just as sweet, only there's something else I can't quite describe.
Words such as ((legendary, great, eminent, visionary, outstanding...)) often used without attribution to promote the subject of an article, while neither imparting nor plainly summarizing verifiable information.
Hello ExpatGrocer, maybe you mean well, but I wanted to warn you that at Wordnik we are very serious about what we eat. So please make sure you don't turn your Velveeta into Spam.
"‘█████’ has been looked up 833 times, loved by 6 people, added to 9 lists, commented on 13 times, and is not a valid Scrabble word. It's also a palindrome."
In Japan and South Korea, March 14 is White Day, the day in which men buy candy for women (while on St. Valentine's day only women are supposed to make/buy chocolate treats for men).
By the way, imperfect as it is, this is the first real tangible improvement since the Wordnik era. At last! Congratulations to (whomever? whoever? whatever) is behind it.
Accessing all of my lists now takes longer than ever: main page -> click on my name -> click "my profile" -> scroll down to "lists" -> click "all lists".
I can't hide the "recent lookups" from my profile. I had them off before the newest change, and I think you should keep the previous settings by default.
Some tags in Wordie had comments. When are we getting those back? Will anybody bother telling me something about that, or should I just forget about it and shut up?
Comments by prolagus
prolagus commented on the word gool
If we don't, you should absolutely make one.
October 18, 2024
prolagus commented on the word boom pole
The word boom (in the microphone sense of term) apparently comes from Dutch and it means "beam" or "pole". So a boom pole is a beam beam, a pole pole, a boom boom.
I'm sure there's a lovely Wordnik list for this, probably one where chai tea, PIN number and ATM machine are also being safely stored.
October 18, 2024
prolagus commented on the word coccodrillo
According to the Webs, "The term probably derives from the saying 'to shed crocodile tears', since the article or radio or television report, which appears heartfelt and sincere in its condolences, had in reality been coldly prepared in advance in anticipation of the character's death."
October 18, 2024
prolagus commented on the word numeraio
The numeraio, or numeraro ("number-man"), is the nearly defunct Neapolitan profession of price-tag painter - hand-writing price signs for greengrocers and street markets. There may be only one person left in the entire city of Naples.
https://youtu.be/dBj1aeTKl2M
February 7, 2022
prolagus commented on the word coccodrillo
In Italian journalism, a coccodrillo (literally "crocodile") is an advance obituary - a long-form obituary that is pre-written for a person that may die soon (usually for older or ill personalities).
December 2, 2021
prolagus commented on the word Word
Or that the only thing you get to say in a dialog is the word "word"
July 19, 2019
prolagus commented on the word Non-human electoral candidates
Electoral regulations may explicitly require candidates to be human (or equivalent wording), or may require candidates to do things which animals cannot reasonably do (such as sign their name legibly on a legal form); most constituencies require candidates to be of the age of a legal adult, which eliminates many animals whose life expectancy is usually too short to ever qualify. On some occasions, however, animals have been accepted as candidates, and have even won office.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-human_electoral_candidates
July 17, 2019
Prolagus commented on the word yes we have no bananas
Yes We Have No Bananas (1923) is now in the public domain! I'm surprised nobody seems to be celebrating.
January 3, 2019
Prolagus commented on the word fog
HA!
December 10, 2018
Prolagus commented on the word lodestar
Word of the day, definitely.
September 6, 2018
Prolagus commented on the word digos camionetta intercettazioni
"Intelligence Agency Wiretapping Van"
September 11, 2017
Prolagus commented on the word manuport
«The consensus is that the pebble must have been brought to the cave by an Australopithecus africanus, whose bones were found nearby. Archaeologists call such an object a manuport — something that has been collected but not used for a utilitarian purpose or modified. Other manuports from around 800,000 years ago and later have been found in southern Africa and India.»
Is this the very first readymade?, by Martin Bailey
September 28, 2016
Prolagus commented on the word manel
An all-male panel at a conference.
There's a Tumblr for that: http://allmalepanels.tumblr.com/
July 18, 2016
Prolagus commented on the word Pollyannaish
“It’s not that I’m Pollyannaish or in any way unaware of the risks of the global economy ... It’s just it seems to me that we’ve been living through a lot of these downside risks already for several years … but the strength of domestic demand in the U.S. economy has been sufficient to overcome that.”
John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/its-time-to-start-planning-for-the-next-recession/
March 7, 2016
Prolagus commented on the word hodimadod
Buckinghamshire dialect word for snail. Same as hodmandod, and just as delightful.
January 11, 2016
Prolagus commented on the word ad hanc vocem
"At this word". Mostly used in dictionaries and encyclopedias to refer to a previously mentioned entry.
January 11, 2016
Prolagus commented on the list theres-an-app-for-that--1
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/12/21/apps-download-2016?mbid=social_facebook
December 27, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word muchmoreism
See benaltrismo.
December 10, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word amasunzu
One of a few Rwandan traditional hairstyles (and the only one with many photos on the web). You want to look it up!
December 8, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word benaltrismo
A neologism that could be roughly translated as muchmoreism.
"The tendency to discredit any attempt to face a problem by pointing to other supposedly more serious and more important issues." (Wiktionary)
December 8, 2015
Prolagus commented on the list mandles-candles-for-men
http://therumpus.net/2015/10/the-bins-candles/
November 22, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word FRD
Sometimes we call these self-defining, explanatory sentences "free-range definitions", or "FRDs" (pronounced "freds").
Let's Add a Million Missing Words to the Dictionary
by Erin McKean of Wordnik, on Kickstarter
September 15, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word kiviak
Back in the Wordie days, a long, excellent discussion would happen here.
September 15, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word relativistic runaway electron avalanche
"Yikers, I am so gonna Sailormoon that." Priceless, bilby.
September 14, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word cane toad aversion sausages
They exist!
September 13, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word upper-middle-hegemonic textured-food-worshiping bobo class
Seen here:
What Level of Atrocity Must Whole Foods Commit Before I Stop Shopping There?
August 19, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word toilet bowl peak whiteness
“'Sometimes there’s really not a shade I can pick that’s white enough,' says Perry of his patients, who sometimes show up with photos of celebrities with gleaming smiles. 'They really want a monochromatic white, like Chiclets.' Perry has coined his own term for the shade people want: 'TB1: Toilet-bowl white.'”
Have We Hit Peak Whiteness?, by Courtney Humphries
August 3, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word faq
Is there any way to add HTML links on Wordnik?
July 10, 2015
Prolagus commented on the list tree-free-paper-alternatives
Just added limestone as I own a REPAP notebook.
Link: http://www.wired.com/2013/02/stone-paper-notebook/
July 10, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word tag
"Hey guys,
Tag me, please.
Jann, across the hall
205-***-****"
A post-it from an old neighbor in the apartment where I'm staying this week (Queens, NY).
I've never heard or seen the verb tag used like this before. An you?
June 23, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word ice-creamy
I wish we had a "listen to definition" section.
April 26, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word you're something of a hotdog, aren't you
We really should catsup soon.
April 22, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word you're something of a hotdog, aren't you
I *need* these pronunciations back. Pretty please?
April 14, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word permadoc
"Many postdocs move on to fulfilling careers elsewhere, but those who want to continue in research can find themselves thwarted. They end up trapped as ‘permadocs’: doing multiple postdoc terms, staying in these positions for many years and, in a small but significant proportion, never leaving them."
The future of the postdoc, by Kendall Powell
http://www.nature.com/news/the-future-of-the-postdoc-1.17253?WT.mc_id=FBK_NatureNews
April 8, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word exaration
Also, in geology, the general process of glacial erosion.
https://books.google.it/books?id=SfnSesBc-RgC&lpg=PA221&dq=%22exaration%22%20geology&pg=PA221#v=onepage&q=exaration&f=false
March 23, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word Fleischkäse
In a tunnel beneath Stuttgart railway station, your correspondent was startled and slightly nauseated by a large poster advertising a sandwich filled with Fleischkäse. Though a big fan of both meat and cheese, I could not help but find the name meat-cheese repellent, even aside from the fact that the picture featured a featureless pink slab that resembled neither meat nor cheese.
"When is cheese not cheese?" by Robert Lane Greene, The Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2015/03/johnson-food-words
March 19, 2015
Prolagus commented on the word corgi
*snort*
February 8, 2015
Prolagus commented on the user Imawordsmith
Hi! The first word, geschenk, can be translated with no spaces as begift.
January 15, 2015
Prolagus commented on the list lost-for-word
ruzuzu, you're hitting the spot there. I need a word that does for the senses what neurotypical does for the brain/mind.
(if only esthesiotypical weren't such an earsore...)
November 4, 2014
Prolagus commented on the list lost-for-word
Hi! I have been looking for the proper word to describe someone who has no sensory disabilities, as opposed to those who live with one. I would like the word to imply little about both the able and the disabled other than the fact that the former can indeed use all senses while the others rely on at least one fewer.
If there is a good word for that already, it would be perfect. If there is none, would you help me make one up? (pan-sensorial? able-sensed?)
October 29, 2014
Prolagus commented on the list scientific-papers-with-delightful-titles
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/sep/29/swedish-cientists-bet-bob-dylan-lyrics-research-papers
September 30, 2014
Prolagus commented on the word pigpocketed
http://www.robot-hugs.com/pockets/
August 11, 2014
Prolagus commented on the list websites-we-have-known-and-loved
I was just invited to "like" MateInItaly, an exhibition about... maths (mate is short for maths in Italian). I asked the curators - turns out nobody had noticed the pun.
July 31, 2014
Prolagus commented on the word weenie
"When Walt (Disney) was developing DisneyLand in the early fifties he would frequently arrive home late in the evenings and would often enter his house through the kitchen ... Walt would sometimes grab a “weenie” from the refrigerator as he made his way through the kitchen and would share the hot dog with his dog Lady. He realized that she would follow him wherever he went when he was holding the hot dog because she knew he was going to share it with her.
While developing the new theme park Walt remembered that he could lead the dog wherever he wanted with a “weenie”, so this is the term he coined for describing to his Imagineers how to get the guests to go to certain places and directions."
http://www.themainstreetmouse.com/2013/05/13/whats-a-weenie/
July 16, 2014
Prolagus commented on the list not-funny
Wasn't there a haha response thread?
(Typing from my phone)
May 27, 2014
Prolagus commented on the word ayo
Same in Sardinian! We usually spell it ajó.
May 3, 2014
Prolagus commented on the user ruzuzu
And so do I!
But I don't understand how we are supposed to find this █████ comment box on one's profile.
February 21, 2014
Prolagus commented on the list •-prime-numbers-in-songs
Love your comment, ruzuzu.
October 29, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word 1993
There's a doggie coming here to eat now
Which dated back to 1993
I don't care what the people say because
That dog, he don't come around here anymore
(Ode to LRC, by Band of Horses)
October 29, 2013
Prolagus commented on the list the-braggadocio-recipe
Keep commenting, guys! I'm asking for a trend.
October 25, 2013
Prolagus commented on the list remarkable-wikipedia-categories
Wonderful, thank you deinonychus!
June 18, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word instaminkia
In Italy, a bimbominkia or bimbominchia (f. bimbaminkia or bimbaminchia) is a... well, http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bimbominkia
Instaminkia is used ironically by teenagers to tag their Instagram "selfies".
April 22, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word iphonesia
Often used to increase visibility by other people, though.
April 22, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word bedraggled
Hello to you!
You are right in that it means "drenched in sweat"; this particular word for "drenched", however, is hardly ever used in any context other than that of exhaustion. That's what I meant - it seems to incorporate both senses of bedraggled in the mind of an Italian reader.
March 27, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word bedraggled
@Frog: madido di sudore!
March 27, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word bedraggled
I'll go with something along the lines of "covered in sweat", then. There's an Italian word that incorporates both exhaustion and sweat. (Ew!)
Thanks! <3
March 26, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word bedraggled
"Four bedraggled porters came through the door, each one staggering under a huge load. They hauled a collection of trunks and large canvas bags."
Given that there is no reference to the luggage being wet or soiled anywhere in the chapter, and that these are the porters of a moody and tyrannical woman, am I right in assuming the word is used to mean something like "exhausted/in poor conditions"? Or maybe "covered in sweat"?
March 26, 2013
Prolagus commented on the list one-person-s-holiday-is-another-s
Happy World Oral Health Day!
March 20, 2013
Prolagus commented on the list things-that-freak-me-out
Who's there?
March 16, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word herpestine
Bilby, you surely mean mes geese.
February 18, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word intercourse
According to Weirdnet, I haven't had one in quite a while. Who knew!
February 17, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word Former Popes Anonymous
I'm pretty sure the other guy at the meeting looks much frailer.
February 17, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word festino
In Italian this is a "party" in a more Berlusconian sense.
February 15, 2013
Prolagus commented on the list remarkable-wikipedia-categories
Wonderful, ruzuzu!
February 14, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word kolea
Ha!
February 10, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word steganography
Happily for the paranoid, a trio of researchers reckon they have come up with a way to send secret messages via Skype without tipping off censors or intelligence agencies that something fishy is going on. The three, Wojciech Mazurczyk, Maciej Karas and Krzysztof Szczypiorski, who all work at the Warsaw University of Technology, made use of a technique called steganography, cryptography’s lesser-known, less glamorous cousin. Whereas cryptography relies on the brute force of mathematics to make messages unreadable, steganography relies on stealth and cunning to make them undetectable, by hiding them within other, innocent communications. (A classic example is writing in invisible ink between the lines of an ordinary letter.) That way, potential eavesdroppers are not even aware that a conversation is happening.
"Speaking with silence: Tinkering with Skype can allow people to send undetectable messages" - The Economist
http://econ.st/WyHpdg
February 6, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word treacle
"I've had it done up lately," he explained, as he had explained for the past -- how many? -- weeks. "New carpet," and he pointed to the bright red carpet with a pattern of large white rings. "New furniture," and he nodded towards the massive bookcase and the table with legs like twisted treacle. "Electric heating!" He waved almost exultantly towards the five transparent, pearly sausages glowing so softly in the tilted copper pan.
(The Fly, by Katherine Mansfield)
I'm trying to figure out what the author means by twisted treacle.
Could it be the way thick molasses flows, something like this?
http://footage.shutterstock.com/clip-3042472-stock-footage-red-thick-liquid-in-a-super-slow-motion-flowing-against-a-white-background.html
February 1, 2013
Prolagus commented on the user kuiperscat
Don't trust the bilby, he forgot what dimenticare really means!
January 28, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word the united states of america
ooooh, I miss all of this so much. :)
January 27, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word █████
Blacked out? Which one?
January 27, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word bun
That woman has "shoulder-length, pale-brown hair", so I'd say no...
January 25, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word bun
"Did you grow up in Kentucky?" he asked. He imagined her as a big-eyed child in a cotton shift, playing in some dusty, sunny alley, some rural Kentucky-like place. Funny she had grown up to be this wan little bun with too much makeup in black creases under her eyes.
"The girl on the plane", from "Because They Wanted to", by Mary Gaitskill
What would you say bun means in this context?
January 25, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word haha response
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0731708509004725
January 18, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word -ster
Just found out that the suffix -ster was originally "used to refer to woman doing a job normally performed by a man" as the GNU Webster's 1913 Dictionary definition says:
http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/comments/sex_neutral_terms/
This gives Webster itself a whole new meaning.
January 11, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word adelfisch
whichbe?
January 10, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word Goldacresque
This isn't going to be a Goldacresque run-down of study after study of evidence (although here's a handy Cochrane review for the nerds). What's so interesting about the antioxidant myth is its wider cultural and social dimension. Why is this perception so hard to shift? And is there anything we can do about it?
From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/10/antioxidant-myth-easy-to-swallow
(still too hard for me to type all html code for a proper link)
January 10, 2013
Prolagus commented on the word predundant
A word or expression that is repeated elsewhere in a text, but whose first occurrence, and not the following, should be removed.
(I made it up this morning while translating what could become my first editorial translation if I manage to sell it)
December 22, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list latin-words-for-medical-prescription
sionnach - HA!
December 19, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word born to letter
I saw this tattoo on the internet (on graphic designer Jim Parkinson's body)
http://welovetypography.com/post/8154
and I wonder if there's a pun that I don't get. I have seen "born to ride" stickers with the same kind of design before – is that the original, or are both of them referring to some other "born to (...) + skull" concept I am unaware of?
December 19, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user feedback
:-) I think it would be a very nice addition. Thanks!
December 19, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user feedback
I don't know how to say it, but most forums have a toolbar at the edge of comment boxes. You type your comment, then you select the part you would like to see italicized, click "I" on the toolbar, and that bit of text is in italics now. You want to post a link? You type "check this out", select "this", click "link" on the toolbar, a window pops up, you paste your YouTube link, et voila, you still read "check this out" but the word "this" links to the YouTube video. Without me having to type all the HTML code.
December 19, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word Feedback
And I just used it, milosrdentsvi.
December 18, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user feedback
Hello Feedback,
I would just like to say that I still find Wordnik quite messy.
I simply can't find what I need, when I need it. And this is why I hardly ever use it, despite my love for the community.
For instance, comment boxes; conversations arranged in a meaningful way on the community page (I'd like to see all recent comments posted to a word/list page somehow grouped together, not as distinct entries).
I'd like to have collaborative lists that are not open to anyone, like we used to have in the YOW days.
I'd like to have a quick-translate button (again, something we used to have) for a first hint about a word's meaning when I don't need anything sophisticated.
And finally, and most urgent, I would really need something better than the 'feeling fancy' text suggesting how to use HTML. I think I said that before: a drop-down gizmo would be great. I don't even understand how to post some clickable text with a link anymore (see ë), and my computer skills are, I believe, above average.
I'm not complaining, I'm actually concerned for you. If I ended up visiting Word Reference more often than I visit Wordnik, other people are probably doing so.
December 18, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word ter in die
laughing out at a reasonable volume!
December 18, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word ë
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324784404578144972339592016.html
December 18, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list never-on-craigslist
I'm almost positive I found cryoturbation videos in the "adult" section. Or something like that.
December 10, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word napron
"n. An obsolete and more original form of apron." The Century Dictionary is such a trendsetter.
December 9, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list sweet-tooth-fairy
And then there's also my collaborative project sweet-tooth-fairy-dominoes.
December 9, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list ocrtifacts
A great alternative to scanno :)
Hey, welcome to Wordnik!
December 6, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user ruzuzu
Spent the past half-hour reading your lists and almost choking on them. Love you!
December 5, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list mr--pronunciations-bad-day
what was he eating when he recorded unfathomable?
December 5, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list top-500-shower-curtains
fluffy rainbow-colored unicorns frolicking in the surf with happy dolphins was added by ruzuzu and appears on just this list
clan tartans that resemble waffle patterns, and vice-versa was added by bilby and appears on just this list
December 4, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word grangerise
See also grangerize. Or if you prefer, you can try gangerhize.
December 4, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word Faraday cagematch
http://xkcd.com/1142/
December 4, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word catamite
Shevek's comment still makes me laugh out loud, as my roommate just found out.
December 2, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word terms of service
Which leads to a second question: Can a word be porno-graphic? Or just porno-logical?
And which of the meanings of vulgar are the terms of service referring to?
:)
October 10, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word terms of service
I love that we have a translation of Wordnik's terms of service that people can actually understand! It's the first time I really read any ToS.
Despite the mistake with the font size in the "Beta" section.
October 8, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list remarkable-wikipedia-categories
Too bad iced tea isn't there.
September 21, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list remarkable-wikipedia-categories
Überthanks guys! As usual, I added either your suggestion or something related I found while looking for the page you pointed out.
August 27, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list prolaguss-bucket-list
I haven't, but I'll try and find her!
Thank you 'zu - this whole American experience has been wonderful, especially the first two years and the past few months, and I wish I could stay. Unfortunately, this is not possible.
Let's hope the next adventure is... worth its price.
August 2, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word batmoose
http://www.neatorama.com/2012/02/21/batmoose/
July 9, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word speed of ketchup
Opposite of speed of light.
May 27, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word gatorade
I'm forcing myself not to look up the actual reason for the brand name. Madeupical etymologies can be much better.
May 27, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user gulyasrobi
It happens to everyone! Including a lot of us old Wordies. Hope you like it here!
May 23, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word webzine
http://www.wordnik.com/words/webzine#sounds
May 23, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word gatorade
When life gives you gators...
May 21, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word sequel
*squeezes squid*
May 18, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word sequel
*squats*
May 18, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word analrapist
Just watched the episode :)
May 17, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list dear-abby
Dear Abby,
How can I convince the Wordnik gods to hire me?
Signed,
Visa About to Expire
May 17, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word sequel
*decorates hallux with sequins*
May 17, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word sequel
Are you sequelable?
May 16, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word glottal stop
http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2604
May 16, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user chained_bear
http://www.savagechickens.com/2012/05/off-season.html
May 14, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list remarkable-wikipedia-categories
Thanks thanks!
May 14, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list remarkable-wikipedia-categories
deinonichus: your link led me to "scientific classification", which has a reference to Aristotle, whose page is under "beekeepers", which has a "Ukrainian beekeepers" subcategory.
Thank you so much.
May 6, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word fictional invertebrates
One of the categories for the article on SpongeBob SquarePants.
May 2, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list remarkable-wikipedia-categories
Aww, thanks ruzuzu! Wonder which part made you think of me.
May 2, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list remarkable-wikipedia-categories
Wonderful!
April 10, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word fanwanking
When continuity mistakes have been made, explanations are often proposed by either writers or fans to smooth over discrepancies. Fans sometimes make up explanations for such errors that may or may not be integrated into canon; this has come to be colloquially known as fanwanking (a term originally coined by the author Craig Hinton to describe excessive use of continuity). Often when a fan does not agree with one of the events in a story (such as the death of a favorite character) they will choose to ignore the event in question so that their enjoyment of the franchise is not diminished. When the holder of the intellectual property discards all existing continuity and starts from scratch it is known as rebooting. Fans call a less extreme literary technique that erases one episode the reset button.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuity_(fiction)#Dealing_with_errors
April 7, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user deepaksyal
It's not!
April 3, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user ruzuzu
And I less than three you! Miss you guys. You know how it feels sometimes, though... I visit often but can't find anything to add to the conversation.
I really wish there was an easier way to follow threads. If you don't spend lots of time here, you have to open all links on the Zeitmunity page. There has to be a different way!
March 29, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list afghanistanbananastan
According to Google Chrome, "This page is in Swedish, would you like to translate it?"
March 21, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word Waiting for GHibbs : Wordie on a Slow Day
I thought this was filed under "hunting wabbits".
March 13, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word never put your banana in the refrigerator
Oh, I forgot!
March 12, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word never put your banana in the refrigerator
Did I ever tell you that I found bilby's reddish bananas at the food coop where I volunteer? They are ok, firmer indeed, and less obviously sweet – or maybe just as sweet, only there's something else I can't quite describe.
March 12, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word mazel tov cocktail
http://shitmystudentswrite.tumblr.com/post/12658018812/shalom-motherf-ckers
March 5, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list •an-arsenal-for-civil-defunse-open-list
I'm afraid this is our fault:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbender/2012/01/10/cakes-on-a-plane-cupcakegate-and-you/
March 5, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word cunt
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomgauld/5753689867/in/photostream
February 28, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word peacock term
Words such as ((legendary, great, eminent, visionary, outstanding...)) often used without attribution to promote the subject of an article, while neither imparting nor plainly summarizing verifiable information.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch#Puffery
February 27, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word Kutzner 2001 Cancer
For Valentine's Day - Epithelial sheath neuroma
Kutzner H (2001) Cancer 91(4):804–805
February 23, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word fallopitarian
http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/02/17/slowpoke-fallopitari_custom.jpg?t=1329495969&s=4
February 19, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list scariest-words-ever
http://images.mocpages.com/user_images/7710/12312809201_SPLASH.jpg
February 16, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user shashamayo
tedious
February 16, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user JessIron
Hi, good luck on your dreams, but please don't SPAM us. Welcome to Wordnik!
February 15, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list southwest-package
Hello ExpatGrocer, maybe you mean well, but I wanted to warn you that at Wordnik we are very serious about what we eat. So please make sure you don't turn your Velveeta into Spam.
February 15, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list remarkable-wikipedia-categories
List of... walls?!
February 15, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word pugception
http://imgur.com/r/funny/KDz8Q
February 11, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word bible sheet
A spreadsheet showing all grades of a whole class, including the partial grades from homework and in-class tests.
February 8, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word zuzzurullone
(vide zuzzurellone)
January 27, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word blum–shub–smale machine
Deinonychus, are you familiar with the word iroquoisy and the iroquoisy list?
January 22, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list remarkable-wikipedia-categories
Duh!
Thanks for all your great suggestions, guys, you're great!
January 21, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word graphestesia
"The ability to recognize writing on the skin purely by the sensation of touch."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphesthesia
January 21, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word baragnosis
Antonym of barognosis.
January 21, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word barognosis
"The ability of evaluating the weight of objects, or to differentiate objects of different weights by looking at them."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_of_pressure
January 21, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list •-senses
I'm sure there's more...
January 21, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word handle with care
Ew!
January 20, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word █████
"‘█████’ has been looked up 833 times, loved by 6 people, added to 9 lists, commented on 13 times, and is not a valid Scrabble word. It's also a palindrome."
January 18, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word █████
Frankly, ruzuzu, that's █████.
January 18, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user yarb
You are what in Italian we call uno str<3'aordinario membro della comunità internet, che pensa come un uomo sobrio e si diverte come uno sbr'onzo.
January 13, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user yarb
Screw <3'the people who read your comment and don't understand! It's fun to be back with' you!
January 13, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user chained_bear
Turns out that as long as we heart each other we can <3' send private messages that look truncated on the website! I think that could' be amazing!
January 13, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user ruzuzu
<3'<3'<3'
January 13, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user Prolagus
This was only <3 and an apostrophe...
January 12, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user Prolagus
<3'
January 12, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user Prolagus
ok, <3 and apostrophe. that is the issue.
January 12, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user Prolagus
test 6
it would be easier to <3 you back if it didn't STOP
January 12, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user Prolagus
test 5
it would be easier to <3 you back if it didn STOP
January 12, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user Prolagus
test 4
it would be easier to <3 you back if it didn't take me STOP
January 12, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user Prolagus
test 3
it would be easier to <3 you back STOP
January 12, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user Prolagus
Oh, that worked!
January 12, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user Prolagus
test:
OK, there's something wrong with <3 in a sentence.
January 12, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user Prolagus
OK, there's something wrong with "less than 3" in a sentence.
January 12, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user Prolagus
test:
it would be easier to <3 you back if it didn't take me 5 minutes just to find the comment section
January 12, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user Prolagus
I wrote something like "it would be easier to (heart) you back if it didn't take me 5 minutes just to find the comment section"
January 12, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user Prolagus
This is NOT what I wrote!
January 11, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user Prolagus
It would be easier to <3 you back, if it didn't take 5 minutes to find the "comments for" section...
January 11, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word fictional witches
As opposed to, you know, real-world witches.
January 7, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user Phrasal
Hi, there's a Feedback tab to the left. That is the best way of making sure someone reads your question.
January 6, 2012
Prolagus commented on the user susanmg
According to a google search, it could be the same thing as rexine.
January 3, 2012
Prolagus commented on the word resolutions
Is there a list of New Year's resolutions?
January 2, 2012
Prolagus commented on the list remarkable-wikipedia-categories
Wow!
December 28, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word פופיק
"Pupik" - navel in Yiddish.
December 18, 2011
Prolagus commented on the user hernesheir
Three words: coglioni di mulo.
December 15, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word slinzega
Also called slinziga (which is how I know it). Normally beef, sometimes horsemeat.
December 15, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word paculele
Seen here.
December 15, 2011
Prolagus commented on the list knock-on-wood
I didn't know you had a superstition list! Can they coexist? Mine is meant to be a list of "typical" superstitions (somewhere in the world).
December 13, 2011
Prolagus commented on the user Brandoman
Also, Wikipedia doesn't have a definition for craudestopper.
Welcome!
December 8, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word White Day
In Japan and South Korea, March 14 is White Day, the day in which men buy candy for women (while on St. Valentine's day only women are supposed to make/buy chocolate treats for men).
December 6, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word Burberry man
Korean - a flasher.
December 6, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word insomnia
2:35
I am.
December 4, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word 哦，天哪，Sam刚洗完澡还在到处找毛巾的时候，女孩醒过来了
It's the definition for Seven wonders of the World. The Chinese text means, according to Google Translate,
"Oh, my God, Sam just bath towels also find that when the girl woke up"
December 1, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word gongoozler
HH, that's a level of complexity I can't deal with. My brain is melting.
December 1, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word libxcomposite1-devel-0
*snort*
November 30, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word feedback
By the way, imperfect as it is, this is the first real tangible improvement since the Wordnik era. At last! Congratulations to (whomever? whoever? whatever) is behind it.
November 29, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word feedback
Accessing all of my lists now takes longer than ever: main page -> click on my name -> click "my profile" -> scroll down to "lists" -> click "all lists".
November 29, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word feedback
I could only change that preference after connecting from an actual computer (something I can do less and less often nowadays).
November 29, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word feedback
By "can't" I mean that I get an error message. Accessing Wordnik from Dolphin Browser for Pad on a Honeycomb tablet.
November 29, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word feedback
I can't hide the "recent lookups" from my profile. I had them off before the newest change, and I think you should keep the previous settings by default.
November 29, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word feedback
I'd like an answer please.
November 29, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word feedback
Once more, for the umpteenth time:
Some tags in Wordie had comments. When are we getting those back? Will anybody bother telling me something about that, or should I just forget about it and shut up?
November 28, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word upon request
November 24, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word tittia
Sardinian - roughly translatable as "It's cold!"
November 19, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word Charles Dickens
The untold story.
November 18, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word abscond
Have you noticed how many lists the word is in, yarb?
November 14, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word aehiklmnopuw'
Hawaiian alphabet soup is a boring meal.
November 14, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word su risu de sa mela granada
Thanks rolig!
November 10, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word abcdefghilmnopqrstuvz
"abbiccì"
November 10, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word su risu de sa mela granada
This happens way too often... logging in to post something, only to find out I already did.
November 10, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word abcdefghilmnopqrstuvz
The "official" Italian alphabet.
November 10, 2011
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