"Microsoft researchers are exploring whether using data from several members of a social group--a technique that the company calls "groupization"--can improve search results. Their initial findings, based on experiments involving around 100 participating Microsoft employees, suggest that tapping into different types of groups could produce significantly better search results." -- http://www.technologyreview.com/web/22040/page1/
"The French Academy of Sciences turns down the membership application of Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie.
A healthy dose of sexism, racism and chauvinism, all alive and well in the rarified air of the fin de siècle French scientific fraternity, conspired to deny Curie the seat, which was awarded instead to Edouard Branly."
As long as you don't make a habit of posting a ton of links, I think it's appropriate. I myself am a fan of crosswords, although I'm a bit out of practice. I got a crossword a day calendar for Christmas, so I'm hoping to hone my skills.
A debate tactic used by Duane Gish in support of creationism. His rapid fire statements are silly and disjoint, but by the time you've refuted one of them, he's shot out a dozen more. Since it's easier to make up false claims than to disprove them, he always stays ahead, and by the end of the debate, he gets more points with the audience because his opponent only refuted a fraction of his claims.
What does it mean to "fight recessions rather than give in to them"? Do most businesses really just give up and pack it in during a recession? Doesn't everybody want to survive and hopefully thrive?
It certain areas of the South, the word pretty is pronounced purty, and this is a verb described a woman putting on make-up. "Before she went to the dance she purtid herself up".
That spelling is pretty odd. I would tend to say the word was first used by someone else, as the date of first attestation isn't necessarily the first usage.
The Mormon Church keeps extensive records on births and deaths. I have no ancestors in the church, but my family used some of their records to research our genealogy. It seems reasonable the LDS on those records refers to group that kept track of them.
I've been off the grid for a while. I spent a lot of time doing Word of the Year, List of the Year, etc. last year, but there was a lot of negative reaction to the whole idea of it, which is why I didn't involve myself in it this year. I still think it's a great idea in general, so thanks to Whichbe for making it happen.
See Dependency Hell. This is when you tried to install something (Red hat linux Package Manager) using an RPM, and then it turned out you needed another RPM as a prerequisite. After downloading that, it turned out it needed another RPM. And so on. Modern versions of Linux use fairly sophisticated package management system to deal with this so the user doesn't have to.
While there is a certain romanticism to digging into the guts of the system and doing all the work yourself that goes (went?) with Linux, I think everyone will agree that RPM Hell is something that nobody feels nostalgic about.
I really enjoy the parenthetical after "Buckland kept a bear named Tiglath Pileser". Almost as if the comment was responding to the name, not the actual bear keeping.
This is a ridiculous word. Just because we can make up a word like this, doesn't mean we need to. Plus, the meaning isn't clear from the pun, so it is basically useless.
I just looked up the etymology of this, after years of idly wondering (away from a computer or dictionary) about the connection between the adjective and the physical process. It turns out that the word is from the Latin for "uplifted" or "elevated". Matter being sublimated goes directly from a solid to a gas, causing it to go from the ground to the air. A sublime performance could thus be a performance which uplifts the audience, or simply a performance at an elevated level. Compare this with the honorific "High-ness".
Clearly, in an "ass-kicking contest", the object is to kick your opponent in the buttocks. If you only have one leg, it is very difficult to kick someone, which seems where the expression comes in.
Now, the one-armed juggler idiom doesn't really make sense, because you can juggle with one hand. I can do two regular sized juggling balls one hand, which while not impressive in any fashion, confused me as to the usefulness of the expression. Obviously there are talented jugglers like Jason Quick who can perform very complicated juggling maneuvers with one handed.
Still, there must be hundreds of expressions like this, someone should collect them all.
This book was written in 1973, and language has certainly changed quite a bit in the last 30 years. I don't think teachers are being replaced by educators, and I don't remember many teachers who consistently used large words. Of course, it could just be I heard those words and knew what they meant, when an averagely lexiconed student could not.
"In schools today, the educators (Latin-derived) hold sway over the ordinary teachers (Anglo-Saxon). Educators speak a Latinate language, incomprehensible to parents and children alike, which is disparagingly referred to by those within the profession as "Pedaguese" or "Educanto." -- Peter Farb, Word Play
A poker player who ekes out a living playing low stakes games, without taking the high risks associated with higher risk (but higher expectation) games. Knish in Rounders, for one.
That totally sounds badass though. Motorbiking through the jungles in a foreign country, fighting off packs of wild dogs and tigers, sucking venom out of snake bites, all for zero pay.
Edit: on reread, a trick non-trick question. For the seventh child to be a lobison, both the sixth and seventh child have to be male, so Yarb was right.
In space, the natural position for astronauts to sleep is flat on there backs with there arms extended straight out. Obviously this wouldn't work in normal gravity.
I meant I've only ever heard the adjective form, pithy. I never actually refer to the whitish bits inside of an orange, I suppose I might have heard them called pith before, but I meant pith used in the 4th WordNet definition above.
Great post qroqqa, I hadn't thought about it, but this is indeed a very interesting word. Both the cases you list which you consider counterexamples seem to me to have an implicit "to be" in them, "rumored to be completely furnished" and "rumored to be dead". In fact, it doesn't sound wholly grammatical to me if I hear rumored outside of "to be".
Steven Pinker has written extensively on swearing, and I'll point out a couple of the important parts. There are specific parts of the brain which produce language, and those parts are not necessarily responsible for swearing, which is more keyed into the parts of the brain which use emotion. So, calling someone a racial slur is typically an intellectual act, while saying a four letter word is an emotional one. Of course, one can use emotional words in an intellectual fashion to make a point, which is just good writing, using words which have meanings that can reach an audience.
We can't just put our fingers in our ears, cover our eyes, and hope that the words we don't like go away. By talking about words we are able to analyze them, to understand what about a word gives it power. By shining light upon the darkness we can deprive it of that which scares us, we can dismantle the power it holds over us and we can move forward.
The simple act of talking about swear words or insults takes away a lot of their power. And of course, there are people who would take away niggardly and even black hole. The free exchange of words and ideas is a necessary thing.
The term squeeze is still used in poker today to describe slowly looking at a hole card. From this there is a variety of other metaphorical usages which have arose.
Particularly since it sounds like the opposite of delapidated, which is a negative word. Unfortunately, the two words are roughly opposites, the one being stones falling apart and the other being stones coming together.
I actually don't really care for comments on profiles. A good percentage are referring to (but not linking) random conversations around Wordie, leading to terrible fragmentation. My profile, for example, is a complete hodge podge of comments, most of which are indecipherable to even me, not that I mind too much, but some of the profiles that have a lot of comments kind of get out of hand.
Perhaps having that part of the profile on a separate page would alleviate this.
A lot of vitriol on Wordie these past couple of days, and honestly, I'm a bit shocked. Words are not fundamental units, they are what we make of them. They have the power that we assign to them. The point of this word was to lampoon the use of gay and retarded to mean stupid, annoying, pointless, frustrating, etc. Taking two words in an ironic context and making a third which is not even a word to mean some sort of combination of the two perverted meanings.
The point of this word, of the use of words like this, is to force people to think about things that they either they haven't or don't want to think about. So I guess it's worked in part, because it has gotten some serious responses, but it mostly failed because people seemed to go crazy.
Finally, there is no reason for four people to call me insulting, homophobic, horrible, stupid, unimaginative, insulting, cruel, dimwitted, ignorant, juvenile, petty, pea-brained, lame, evil, selfish, power-hungry tyrant, willfully ignorant, self-righteous obscurantist, awful, casual hating, and a sniggering idiot.
I believe that humor is a powerful force. It is uniquely human, lifting us in good times and sustaining us through the bad. Humor provides intellectual stimulation and relief from stress. Wordplay is a very important type of humor for many of us on Wordie, although surprisingly large numbers of us don't really seem to get the jokes.
If a post strikes you as unamusing or even offensive, there is no reason to attack the poster. Maybe you misunderstood what was going on, maybe the poster meant something different, perhaps some historical If you truly feel the need to say something, a polite comment such as "This seems somewhat offensive to me. Are you sure you want to phrase it like that?" This will go a lot further than ad hominem attacks.
Bilby, when examining the Wordnet page for South, we determine that the U.S. sense of South, that being the southern part of the country, has the highest frequency count. This is due to the frequency found in tagged texts, which simply means that word came up the most often.
The two you dislike, which don't occur in the WordNet entry linked above, make some sense, "a demarcated area of the Earth" is for when "south" is used to refer to the Southern Hemisphere. Similarly, "a point or extent in space" makes sense geometrically, we can talk about the southern part of a shape in several dimensions. Without more information from WordNet, I can't narrow it down further.
Finally, WordNet is not a dictionary, it is a "lexical database".
In my understanding, the original meaning of the word was to set, as in the sun, just as Orient comes from to rise, as in the sun. The sun rises in the east (orient) and sets in the west (Occident). Turkey was known as the Orient (by Romans) and as Anatolia (by Greeks, the word coming from the Greek for east). Eventually, it moved further east, until it reached china.
First, I have to say I have two Erdos autobiographies in my library right now. Second, I have to say that I am considered by most who have eaten with me to be a connoisseur of bacon and bacon paraphernalia.
The Erdos number is the length of path between two vertices in a graph, where a vertex represents a person, and an edge represents having written a scientific paper (typically math or physics) with the other person. See the Wikipedia page for more info.
That is interesting. I mean, most everyone agrees that there should be speed limits, but most everyone breaks them! The USA was built upon the principle of "majority rule, minority rights", but if a majority of voters continue to elect people to put laws into place or revoke laws, and those in power replace the supreme court, eventually that voting block could change the laws to anything they wanted. In several countries, the Muslim majority attempted to vote in an Islamic dictator and disband the democracy. If this is the wish of the people, would it not be undemocratic to go against it?
That doesn't seem too odd to me. Crud is sort of an archaic word, and I wouldn't ever say someone was "full of crud", I'd say "full of crap", although even that would have to be in front of my boss or mother, otherwise I'd say "full of shit".
My experience with linguists is that they generally speak in a derogatory manner about prescriptivists. Language is constantly evolving, difficult to predict, and often difficult to understand. My understanding of the chapter in The Language Instinct is that he is directly criticizing prescriptivism in general, with the Mavens as the focal point of his derision.
In chess, tempo refers to the moves. Gaining a tempo means accomplishing a task one move faster than your opponent, and allows you to move onto your next attack.
There's quite a bit more to this. The term comes from chess. Normally people play standard openings, and some openings are gambits. In this, the player typically sacrifices a pawn early for future positional consideration, as well as tempo. In general, a gambit describes a risk, since if the positional advantage does not amount to material gain, the player has lost something for nothing. Interestingly enough, many of the gambits occur as white, the side which begins with the advantage.
Steven Pinker uses the term "The Language Mavens" to describe to newspaper columnists who declare themselves experts on language and stalwarts against change.
I also had speech therapy as a young child, I would say my r's as w's as the beginning of words. It went away pretty quickly, although maybe one in a thousand times I'll catch myself screwing it up.
I suggest misses, that would be really tough to say with a lisp.
It doesn't half to be baseball, it could be basketball (probably the most common), football, soccer, ultimate frisbee, pretty much any team sport you can think of.
She's the one who likes all our pretty words, and she likes to read along, and she likes Erin McKean, but we don't know if she's a she, or know if she's a he. And I say yeah.
In the end we decided not to actually select lists or words of the year, so the point is moot. If you like a list, nominate it for something. Otherwise, we can go by the date of the first comment.
Well, I've definitely said, "5 thou" to refer to thousand. Add that to the fact WordNet only contains content words, nouns, verbs, etc., and this makes complete sense.
"Now, here it is -- here is what John McCain said to Cindy McCain in 1992, during a prior campaign, in front of strangers and campaign workers and three members of the press:
'At least I don't plaster on the make-up like a trollop, you cunt.'"
I'm 99% certain that he meant campaign, as in a "promotional campaign".
While I'm posting here, it is somewhat difficult to post here and then scroll all the way to the top to read the relevant comment. I think that we are reaching the point where some simple sort of paging may be necessary, although I'm not sure if a simple page redesign might make this easier.
selection bias in action. A commentator makes so many comments about the game and players that over the course of hours of constant speech, there are bound to be several times they are immediately proven wrong. These stand out in memory.
The thing of it is that people think they are better memories which makes them strenuously assert that they are better memories, and that their memory was really how things occurred.
What do you mean? I think the standard of living is going up in most of the "first world" countries. Now, the third world countries which don't have technology have much lower standards of living.
In Hebrew, Baal is simply the word for "Lord". Combined with the word for flies, you get Beelzebub, "Lord of the flies". The wikipedia page is pretty interesting.
You can't really go by the definitions in dictionaries of such things. If you really take them seriously, than all of sarcasm and metaphor is a subset of irony, which I think we can clearly agree is false.
That's possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I'm too flummoxed to make a proper joke about all the places I've been where I've heard dumb things.
We now know the maximum time it takes for a comment to be made before we go straight to dirtiness. We can't even blame WordNet on this one, like we can for scarf.
Of course, this story ignores the existence of sarcasm. Said differently, the same student reply would be affirming the lecturer. It always annoys me when people say "I could care less" is wrong, since if you could care less, that means you care a little, but they miss the sarcastic tone.
"Among the sweeping changes being discussed are the scrapping or delaying of unpopular tax rises, including the planned 2 per cent rise in fuel duty due this autumn, and controversial rubbish taxes."
I'd call it a garage sale if the stuff is in the garage (or driveway) and a yard sale if the stuff is in the yard. If neighbors are simultaneously holding sales, it could also be a block sale.
In Dallas Texas, there are a lot of "Estate sales".
I've heard the number of X's refers to the number of times the liquor has been filtered (or distilled, I'm not sure). The maker would add an X each time it went through.
As far as I can tell, this word is meant to be sarcastic. Steven Pinker says as much in "The Language Instinct", and it makes perfect sense. The tone with with which this term is spoken almost always makes the sarcasm completely clear.
I imagine you have to throw the balls forward. As for juggling on a train, I've never done it, but from what I understand of physics, both you and the ball are moving at the speed of the train, so when you drop something, it falls straight. Will test next time I'm on a train.
Can anyone actually pronounce this word with the "g" sound? It doesn't seem possible to me without twisting my vocal chords, and it doesn't sound right.
"I call fie on that particular hobgoblin." When a discussion opens with me being referred as teeming ignorant, I feel should respond and attempt to make a logical argument for my choice in words. Arguing is my forte, rhyming with tort, and I don't logically think my choice is in err, rhyming with fur.
I split infinitives every chance I get. That is not a real rule of English language, it was made up by some stuffy British chap who wanted English to be more like Latin, and "to boldly go" where many have before, "it a proposition up with which I will not put".
Yes, you have a visceral reaction to this, I understand, I have a visceral reaction to forte, but you can't really criticize people for it, because in one sense, we're both right, and in another, actual sense, they are. I was hoping to stem the visceralness of your dislike with some cold-hearted logic. I guess it didn't work.
Sionnach, do you say cherubim? Do you say octopodes? Do you say kine instead of cows? Do you say pease even when there is only one of what a lesser Wordie might call a pea? Where do you draw the line?
John, scarf as listed above is the first of the verb senses. The noun senses, which are in a different synset, has the expected article of clothing. Perhaps that is the problem.
My reaction to this was "Oh My God" following by laughing out loud, and two more iterations of that, followed by a hardy WTF, and one more "Oh My God" for good measure.
Several times I have found my way to an amazon.com page where the book was listed as out of print. It's like getting to the temple at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and it turning out that the grail had been destroyed 800 years earlier.
The etymology is clearly English, although from the spelling I can imagine that is why you'd think it was Latinate. Knowing the etymology, it couldn't be cle-RES-tor-y, but I give you full credit. Just assume that your ex got lucky.
I never did the spelling bee, but this seems like it would be a great word.
That's a pretty odd quote. Martin Luther was certainly quite radical, though by today's standards his stances were quite conservative. The Apocrypha are "not regarded as equal" for a number of reasons, not the least of which that they don't adhere to the strict message portrayed by the Catholic Church. I can imagine how Luther would support their reading.
Here's my plan for a t-shirt. On the back, you have "Press Here For A Random Word", and on the front, you have a big list of words, possibly the Wordie top 100, minus the first, and possibly removing the swears for those who wish the shirt to be school friendly. Or, we could vote for the words that go on it.
I think it's funny if it is on the back. Then when someone pokes you in the back, you can shout a random word, like epicaricacy, rapprochement, or sidereal.
Actually, octopus is Greek. If you want to be faithful to the original language, it should then be octopodes. If you want to do it the easy way, then you should say octopuses.
Adding something to my Amazon wishlist. I feel like I do this a couple times a week, yet whenever I am actually at a bookstore, I also seem to find other interesting things to buy. Any others with triple digit wishlists?
Very interesting etmyology on this one. From Hebrew "ba‘al zəbûb", meaning "lord of the flies", a Philistine deity. Puts a whole new spin on that book. Answers has some more information on the etymology, including the possibility the Zebub was actually a place, and not a thing.
Chris Matthews, on the recent Elliot Spitzer prostitution scandal, "How do these checks get written? I mean, we're talking about $5,000 for an assignation here".
There's a commercial from a couple years ago where they say "Don't be such a couch couscous", and it has stuck in my head. Disgusting stuff, I have to say.
Verb is a noun, and noun is a noun. I enjoy words which describe themselves, and the opposite, words which don't describe themselves. Monosyllabic and polysyllabic have to be the champion examples for this phenomenon.
There are a number of levels. Cow, obviously, is the first. Pig is at the second, with goat, lamb, and other higher mammals. Chicken, and other birds are generally at level 3. Fish occupy the fourth, and other weird aquatic animals are at the fifth level. So even the lowliest oyster is only 5 steps away from heaven.
Beefism is this religion I invented. The main idea is that animals, specifically cows, were created by God and given souls, and the end goal is for them to eat heaven. However, to ascend, they must be consumed by the angels of God, man. This means that you should eat as much meat as possible. Lesser animals, like pigs, are reincarnated up into cows, if they are consumed by humans.
Dogs are considered lesser angels, and they help man in his quest to consume meat. Cats are generally considered tools of Satan, as is Tofu. There are a number of schisms within Beefism, specifically as to whether or not the eating of horses is acceptable. Church doctrine says that horses are similar to dogs in that they aid man, but a growing group seems to think they qualify as meat animals. There is also an evil sect which believes that humans too have souls, and if they are eaten, they can ascend to heaven, but this heresy is stamped out wherever it is found.
I can't believe it took 14 hours for someone to add the madeupical tag.
Although, Skipvia did make up a word in his response, the fourth to last, S-something or other, never heard of it before, I'll be glad if I never hear of it again, it sounds silly.
I heard a radio interview where a woman talked about the Nazis being environmentalists, which is logical, but the woman kept using the word ironic, so I had to blog about it.
I first heard this word in Snow Crash, possibly the perfect SF novel. It is a device which sits in the woman's vagina, essentially a sharp needle filled with a chemical to knock out a would be rapist.
At work, whoever takes the last piece of cake after someone's birthday has to clean up, so people take progressively smaller pieces until there is too little left to be called a piece.
VanishedOne, there may not be a prohibition against linking to ghost words, but as a matter of personal preference I prefer to have something on each word. If you want to link to words that aren't in the database, that is just fine.
I guess that's why I'm not a librarian, although I've often considered dropping math, science, and computers for librarianism. I can't think of that first book that made me love to read. I've been reading extensively since I was maybe 8 years old, and while there are books I read back then that I still enjoy to reread, I can't think of a Book of Gold.
That makes sense, "causa pro metrica" could mean, "left out because of meter", meaning the poet left out specific information so that the poem would scan correctly.
Well, I draw analogies or quote from Shakespeare all the time, and this must be terribly frustrating to a lot of people. Culture is a strange thing. The easiest way to explain or learn something is by analogy, and when everybody understands something really well, the analogies are easy. Now, I know that many people are not fans of baseball, unless you were raised on the game, it is not something you can jump into it.
I'll occasionally watch British tv shows, and they make references to football (soccer), cricket, British politics, general British specific culture, and I'll have no idea what they are talking about. The show "How I Met Your Mother" has a running bit where the Canadian character makes references that the Americans don't get, and it's so funny because she really sells the audience that we're supposed to be getting this joke.
Any time you have people of different backgrounds, different ages, genders, or races, even different neighborhoods, different schools, and in my line of business, born on different continents, you are going to have such problems. I have not read Bryan Garner, but reading his Wikipedia entry I imagine that I'll have to. Still, I see no way that we can revert to a language without cultural influences, and it would be a travesty of epic proportions to do so.
Looking at etymonline , "Used for 'Low Germany and the Netherlands'", which describes a number of different countries. The WordNet definition makes sense this time.
With pitchers and catchers reporting last Thursday, I thought about this again, and have come up with a suitably Wordie analogy for baseball.
Every pitch is a word, every inning a sentence, every game a page. Every season forms an epic novel. A fabulous pitch is like a particularly well chosen word. A wonderful inning, late game rally, it is a beautiful sentence, "It was awful living in that hell full of angels". Pitchers and Catchers report marks the beginning of the prologue. When your team doesn't make the playoffs, it's like the ending of a novel abruptly, frustratingly. A World Series victory is like the beautiful end to a classic novel, "it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known", or "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past".
An interesting idea, but slightly disturbing. The idea that we really have enough use for the term that we need a new one is frustrating. I think your word is a bit too out there to catch on.
I've had quite a few, it's hard to pinpoint the first time I was really interested by words, but I can call a few smaller ones. I read in an essay by Isaac Asimov the etymology of the word delapidate, and was completely fascinated by how the word means something different yet somehow the same.
There's a reasonable chance that John put a 2^7 character limit on Wordie entries. I probably would have made a similar assumption if I were designing this.
What I like to do with words like this is spend a minute or two enumerating the different conceivable pronunciations, and then guessing which one is correct. I got this one right.
Don't worry about "borrowing" lists or list ideas. Wordie is what you want to make it. Don't pay attention to that crazy guy who came up with ten commandments.
When I've finally succeeded in fixing that last tricky compiler error and am able to run my code, I shout, "Compile dance", and spin my chair around, and wave my arms.
When a recession ends, you jump up and do a little jig, reaching into your wallet and throwing $20 bills up in the air with joy. I did this yesterday when reading the Fed had lowered the interest rate another half point and someone told me this meant the recession was over.
Well John, I flew halfway across the country, had dinner and drinks with family, went to bed, got up and went to an all day party with college friends, drinking and eating, passed out late that night, got up the next morning and visited with family, got back on a plane and flew home. I could have checked Wordie that night, but I was too tired, so come Monday evening, I was something like 1000 posts behind.
Random House has "key-lee", but the rest have "kay-lee". Bartleby has an audio sample attached, and there is a more noticeable pause in between the two syllables than in daily.
I had to grab my combinatorics text off my bookshelf to refresh my memory. Euler proved that an order 6 Latin square does not exist, and conjectured that it was also true for all odd multiples of 2. It turned out he was wrong about everything except 6.
Actually, that one makes sense. Message and passage, while both from French, came into Middle English, and once anglicized, they took on the English suffix. Massage came from French at a much later date, and has not been fully assimilated (thanks Bill!) into the English language, so it doesn't take on an English suffix.
From etymonline, "c.1225, messager, from O.Fr. messagier, from message (see message). With parasitic -n- inserted by c.1300 for no apparent reason except that people liked to say it that way (cf. passenger, harbinger, scavenger)."
I actually enjoyed the polemic parts of it. Pinker and I have very similar philosophies of life, politics, science, religion, etc., so I felt he was preaching to the choir. It's always nice when famous intellectuals agree with you.
It's important to note that "experience" doesn't necessarily imply human experience. A computer can examine sample problems to come up with heuristics, it is a standard technique in artificial intelligence.
Comments by seanahan
Show previous 200 comments...
seanahan commented on the word facebook activism
"One Million Strong for Stephen Colbert" got to the million mark, 1,194,089, to be specific.
February 12, 2009
seanahan commented on the word a new dictionary of eponyms (morton s. freeman)
It must have been really boring if it took you a year to read.
February 6, 2009
seanahan commented on the word groupization
Trust Microsoft to come up with heinous neologisms.
February 5, 2009
seanahan commented on the word groupization
"Microsoft researchers are exploring whether using data from several members of a social group--a technique that the company calls "groupization"--can improve search results. Their initial findings, based on experiments involving around 100 participating Microsoft employees, suggest that tapping into different types of groups could produce significantly better search results." -- http://www.technologyreview.com/web/22040/page1/
February 5, 2009
seanahan commented on the word landland
Stephen Colbert's name for Iceland after global warming.
February 3, 2009
seanahan commented on the word fin-de-siecle
I just saw this yesterday at Wired.
"The French Academy of Sciences turns down the membership application of Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie.
A healthy dose of sexism, racism and chauvinism, all alive and well in the rarified air of the fin de siècle French scientific fraternity, conspired to deny Curie the seat, which was awarded instead to Edouard Branly."
January 25, 2009
seanahan commented on the word crossword
As long as you don't make a habit of posting a ton of links, I think it's appropriate. I myself am a fan of crosswords, although I'm a bit out of practice. I got a crossword a day calendar for Christmas, so I'm hoping to hone my skills.
January 22, 2009
seanahan commented on the word tetrahedron
What? The coolest? The dodecahedron and icosahedron are way cooler.
January 19, 2009
seanahan commented on the word amberina
soutanes in not a word I would have known.
January 18, 2009
seanahan commented on the word prole
Typically, yes. I can't think of any single syllable slang for bourgeois.
January 18, 2009
seanahan commented on the word gish gallop
A debate tactic used by Duane Gish in support of creationism. His rapid fire statements are silly and disjoint, but by the time you've refuted one of them, he's shot out a dozen more. Since it's easier to make up false claims than to disprove them, he always stays ahead, and by the end of the debate, he gets more points with the audience because his opponent only refuted a fraction of his claims.
January 18, 2009
seanahan commented on the word decrypt
Howard Carter decrypted Tutankhamun?
January 18, 2009
seanahan commented on the word undertagged
If you have a word which is generally overtagged, but this word isn't tagged with overtagged, then it is undertagged, but once one tags it with undertagged, then it is mistagged.
But what if the word overtagged itself is missing the tag metatag, telling us it describes tags, and not words? Then overtagged is undertagged, leading us to tag it undertagged, but then if someone adds metatag, it is itself overtagged with undertagged and thus mistagged.
January 14, 2009
seanahan commented on the word schadenfraude
This word is a fraud.
January 14, 2009
seanahan commented on the word undertagged
A tag which should be used in a lot more places than it is.
January 12, 2009
seanahan commented on the word recession warrior
What does it mean to "fight recessions rather than give in to them"? Do most businesses really just give up and pack it in during a recession? Doesn't everybody want to survive and hopefully thrive?
January 12, 2009
seanahan commented on the word plague water
That deserves note more for the crazy sentence structure if nothing else.
January 12, 2009
seanahan commented on the word purtid
It certain areas of the South, the word pretty is pronounced purty, and this is a verb described a woman putting on make-up. "Before she went to the dance she purtid herself up".
January 12, 2009
seanahan commented on the word statisticulate
Used in the 1954 classic How to Lie With Statistics, a short, well written, and still relevant book about how people used statistics to mislead.
January 12, 2009
seanahan commented on the word statisticry
See also statisticulate
January 12, 2009
seanahan commented on the word eptitude
Or possibly aptitude.
January 12, 2009
seanahan commented on the word ridonkulous
That spelling is pretty odd. I would tend to say the word was first used by someone else, as the date of first attestation isn't necessarily the first usage.
January 12, 2009
seanahan commented on the word neverware
See also vaporware.
January 7, 2009
seanahan commented on the word universe
There is this book about how English is really based on Biblical Hebrew starting in the garden of Eden, The Word: The Dictionary That Reveals The Hebrew Source of English (Paperback). It might interest some of us here. As far as I can tell without having read it, it is complete crap.
January 7, 2009
seanahan commented on the word shite and onions
Thanks be to Google Books.
January 2, 2009
seanahan commented on the word lds
The Mormon Church keeps extensive records on births and deaths. I have no ancestors in the church, but my family used some of their records to research our genealogy. It seems reasonable the LDS on those records refers to group that kept track of them.
January 2, 2009
seanahan commented on the word sexiled
Not able to get into your dorm room because your roommate is having sex.
January 2, 2009
seanahan commented on the word sexcellent
The classic is the dorm word sexiled.
January 2, 2009
seanahan commented on the word rnadom
Ok, that's what it means now.
January 2, 2009
seanahan commented on the word kernel panic
Many a fun evening in college.
January 2, 2009
seanahan commented on the word colonol panic
See kernel panic.
January 2, 2009
seanahan commented on the word synecdoche
I joked last week about wanting to see the new movie "Metonymy New York", but none of my friends got it.
January 2, 2009
seanahan commented on the word visceral
A much better word than gutty, or the phrase "goes with his gut".
January 2, 2009
seanahan commented on the list loan-words-from-french
Looking up the etymologies, village is French and town is English, which is about what I expected here.
January 2, 2009
seanahan commented on the word cosmogony
Seems to be an archaic term for cosmology.
January 2, 2009
seanahan commented on the word wordie list of the year 2008
I've been off the grid for a while. I spent a lot of time doing Word of the Year, List of the Year, etc. last year, but there was a lot of negative reaction to the whole idea of it, which is why I didn't involve myself in it this year. I still think it's a great idea in general, so thanks to Whichbe for making it happen.
January 2, 2009
seanahan commented on the word convulsionist
Sort of like speakings in tongues?
December 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word mores
That pronunciation leads me to believe there are two syllables in this word, and I've only ever used one.
December 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word usageaster
See also language maven.
December 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word schneid
An interesting Yiddish word often used in baseball and growing in poker. This blog post summarizes a word detective page nicely http://biloklok.blogspot.com/2005/11/schneid.html
December 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word y2gay
That's a hilarious article, informative, and lots of database schema, great stuff.
November 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word sangre de drago
Dragon blood?
November 24, 2008
seanahan commented on the word 244
Thanks Bilby, I've always wanted to know that.
November 18, 2008
seanahan commented on the word girder
I am Bender, please insert girder.
November 18, 2008
seanahan commented on the word forty-two
See 42 for an extended discussion.
November 18, 2008
seanahan commented on the word polynomially
"I haven't had as much as a square of cracker all day", the parrot said polynomially.
November 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word liaison
The spelling of this word looks really funny.
November 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word justifiction
When the Republicans rewrite history during the campaign, history is right justified, and similarly when rewritten by Democrats it is left justified.
November 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word paradoxical undressing
A funny usage here on Cracked.
November 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word hypermiling
I've heard hypermiling several times, starting in December 2007.
November 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word unfuckwithable
I agree, this is cool.
November 11, 2008
seanahan commented on the word schmutz
mensch
November 11, 2008
seanahan commented on the word witticist
Someone known for witticisms, e.g., Oscar Wilde or Yogi Berra. I suppose that wit is the appropriate term, but this sounds kind of cool.
November 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word epigram
Oscar Wilde, noted witticist, I presume?
November 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word package management system
See RPM hell.
November 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word dependency hell
see rpm hell or dll hell
November 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word agnosia
Also, face blindness or prosopagnosia.
November 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word rpm hell
See Dependency Hell. This is when you tried to install something (Red hat linux Package Manager) using an RPM, and then it turned out you needed another RPM as a prerequisite. After downloading that, it turned out it needed another RPM. And so on. Modern versions of Linux use fairly sophisticated package management system to deal with this so the user doesn't have to.
While there is a certain romanticism to digging into the guts of the system and doing all the work yourself that goes (went?) with Linux, I think everyone will agree that RPM Hell is something that nobody feels nostalgic about.
November 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word dll hell
Reminds me of rpm hell.
November 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word sixxer
Err, I didn't really have any meaning in mind. See sevener.
November 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word sevener
See also sixxer.
November 6, 2008
seanahan commented on the word unitarian universalism
Often referred to as UU.
November 6, 2008
seanahan commented on the word secretary of defense
It's actually frightening the similarities between the West Wing and the current election.
November 6, 2008
seanahan commented on the word hcceren
I guess I didn't look at the list title, cryptolect seems like a reasonable term.
November 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word whornet
That's awful.
November 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word byron
I really enjoy the parenthetical after "Buckland kept a bear named Tiglath Pileser". Almost as if the comment was responding to the name, not the actual bear keeping.
November 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word blow
I can only hope this is where the name of the sugar packets comes from.
November 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the user bilby
I'm really enjoying the poetry citations Bilby, keep them coming.
November 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word hcceren
I don't really think Pig Latin is the appropriate term. Is there a linguistic term for this kind of language alteration?
November 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word u v v v w v uu v vv
Can you explain this for me?
November 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word wuwh
We're just two lost souls.
November 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word wtfmi
wtf + wtmi
November 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word wtmi
I merged this with wtf to create wtfmi.
November 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word slander vs libel
calumny
November 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word native vs indigenous
Good breakdown Mollusque.
November 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word fakeaway
This is a ridiculous word. Just because we can make up a word like this, doesn't mean we need to. Plus, the meaning isn't clear from the pun, so it is basically useless.
November 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word sublime
I just looked up the etymology of this, after years of idly wondering (away from a computer or dictionary) about the connection between the adjective and the physical process. It turns out that the word is from the Latin for "uplifted" or "elevated". Matter being sublimated goes directly from a solid to a gas, causing it to go from the ground to the air. A sublime performance could thus be a performance which uplifts the audience, or simply a performance at an elevated level. Compare this with the honorific "High-ness".
November 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word forte
Found this interesting video on this word http://www.hotforwords.com/2008/10/09/forte-pronunciation/. Also uses nounized.
October 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word hansard
Also used in Canada.
October 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word sleeplessness
This is a fabulous word. 5 s's, 4 e's, 13 letters, 5 distinct, and three syllables.
October 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word new york friendship
It does now. Let's have it be a friendship between a Jew and a Gentile.
October 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word anathematician
This is a fabulous word.
October 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word φ
See also phi.
October 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word as useful as a one-armed juggler
Clearly, in an "ass-kicking contest", the object is to kick your opponent in the buttocks. If you only have one leg, it is very difficult to kick someone, which seems where the expression comes in.
Now, the one-armed juggler idiom doesn't really make sense, because you can juggle with one hand. I can do two regular sized juggling balls one hand, which while not impressive in any fashion, confused me as to the usefulness of the expression. Obviously there are talented jugglers like Jason Quick who can perform very complicated juggling maneuvers with one handed.
Still, there must be hundreds of expressions like this, someone should collect them all.
October 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word paradise
You stole my comment Effigy.
October 24, 2008
seanahan commented on the word donkament
A poker term described here, essentially a portmanteau of donkey and tournament, describing a poker tournament consisting of bad players (donkeys).
October 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pedaguese
see comment on educanto.
October 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word educanto
This book was written in 1973, and language has certainly changed quite a bit in the last 30 years. I don't think teachers are being replaced by educators, and I don't remember many teachers who consistently used large words. Of course, it could just be I heard those words and knew what they meant, when an averagely lexiconed student could not.
October 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word educanto
"In schools today, the educators (Latin-derived) hold sway over the ordinary teachers (Anglo-Saxon). Educators speak a Latinate language, incomprehensible to parents and children alike, which is disparagingly referred to by those within the profession as "Pedaguese" or "Educanto." -- Peter Farb, Word Play
October 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word alphabet
Artificially inflating your comment count, Gangerh?
October 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word triskaidekaphobia
It was just fear of the number 13
October 18, 2008
seanahan commented on the word if
Great minds think alike, eh?
October 16, 2008
seanahan commented on the word obfuscation
from a recent conversation of mine with a bot...
Seanahan: Hi. What's up?
Bot: October.
Seanahan: You are the computer.
Bot: No, you are.
Seanahan: Oh no I'm not!
Bot: Bald obfuscation. I expected better.
Seanahan: I'm leaving.
Bot: Shall I open the door?
Seanahan: It's midnight... And it's so dark...
Bot: If it wasn't dark it probably wouldn't be midnight.
Seanahan: You are not a real person.
October 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word considered harmful
See Wikipedia.
October 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word if
GOTO CONSIDERED HARMFUL
October 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word hyades
I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
Life to the lees: all times I have enjoyed
Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Through scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vexed the dim sea: I am become a name;
October 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word portmantawesome
Portmandiculous.
October 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word algol
Interesting, this is from the Arabic, Al Ghul, meaning, "The Ghoul", probably due to the varying brightness.
October 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word worries
And only 2 have problems.
October 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word 28
Perfect!
October 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word barista
Although, the terms come together at coffee bars.
October 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word troopergate
In fact, the first I'd ever heard of Sarah Palin was a column about possible VP candidates saying that Troopergate counted against her.
October 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word cash machine
It is also US slang for ATM.
October 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word syzygystic
It would be much cooler if you could legitimately spell it syzygystyc.
October 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word inforpinion blocker
Apparently I'm the first one to use this feature chained_bear, because no one else has posted after you.
October 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word grinder
A poker player who ekes out a living playing low stakes games, without taking the high risks associated with higher risk (but higher expectation) games. Knish in Rounders, for one.
October 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word allonge
Shouldn't it be "The way you take to get to Tipperary"?
October 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word schwag
Shouldn't that be swaglady?
October 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word wordie for iphone
Is this different than Wordie mobile?
October 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word wain
As used in wainwright.
September 30, 2008
seanahan commented on the word antideluvian
Someone who lives in New Orleans?
September 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word manitou
Also the name of a pair of islands near one of favorite places on earth.
September 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word champaign
I lived there for a couple years, and it is indeed quite level.
September 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word fuck off the wordie top 100
Should it not be "Get the 'fuck' off the Wordie top 100"?
September 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the list it-s-short-for-elizabeth
I also love that Jennarennifer had a lot of different ways to shorten it.
September 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word golden number
Don't confuse this with golden ratio.
September 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word epact
What is this used for? It seems quite useless.
September 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word field assistant
That totally sounds badass though. Motorbiking through the jungles in a foreign country, fighting off packs of wild dogs and tigers, sucking venom out of snake bites, all for zero pay.
September 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word embourgeoisement
This is a fabulous word. If you pronounce it in French, you miss just about half the letters.
September 23, 2008
seanahan commented on the word dour
I tend to think of WordNet 5 and 6 when this word comes up.
September 23, 2008
seanahan commented on the word butte
A mesa has a clifflike side. Otherwise, the only difference is mesa is Spanish and butte is French.
September 23, 2008
seanahan commented on the word lobisón
one half
Edit: on reread, a trick non-trick question. For the seventh child to be a lobison, both the sixth and seventh child have to be male, so Yarb was right.
September 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word the shawshank redemption
Hope is a good thing.
September 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word snopes
Not quite a verb, but I imagine it will be in the next few years.
See also the XKCD.
September 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word wezand
Looks to be an obsolete version of weasand.
September 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word orientated
I prefer to use oriented.
September 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word rapex
See also vagina dentata.
September 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word where did you sleep last night
Lead Belly is one of the most fascinating yet poorly known figures in American music.
September 16, 2008
seanahan commented on the word jesus frog
In space, the natural position for astronauts to sleep is flat on there backs with there arms extended straight out. Obviously this wouldn't work in normal gravity.
September 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pith
I meant I've only ever heard the adjective form, pithy. I never actually refer to the whitish bits inside of an orange, I suppose I might have heard them called pith before, but I meant pith used in the 4th WordNet definition above.
September 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word 11:11
I always catch the clock, it's 11:11.
September 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word evanescent
This seems to be Latin in contrast to the Greek ephemeral.
September 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word brown trouser moment
In American, an "Oh Shit Moment".
September 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word bump uglies
This is American slang as well, or at least instantly recognizable to Americans, although it probably isn't used as much anymore.
September 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word myrmidon
That is a truly odd sentence.
September 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word slay
Of course...
September 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pettitoe
You say pettitoe, I say pettotoe.
September 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word nubility
see nubile for the usage.
September 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pith
I've never heard the noun form of this word.
September 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word smedley
Old Gimlet Eye.
September 11, 2008
seanahan commented on the word mellon collie
Such a good album.
September 11, 2008
seanahan commented on the word texas toast
You're making that up.
September 11, 2008
seanahan commented on the word help!!
At least She understands me.
September 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word help!!
I need somebody.
September 8, 2008
seanahan commented on the word hexadecimal
It is almost always referred to as hex by computer scientists.
September 6, 2008
seanahan commented on the word mrsa
Scary stuff.
September 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word rumoured
Great post qroqqa, I hadn't thought about it, but this is indeed a very interesting word. Both the cases you list which you consider counterexamples seem to me to have an implicit "to be" in them, "rumored to be completely furnished" and "rumored to be dead". In fact, it doesn't sound wholly grammatical to me if I hear rumored outside of "to be".
August 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word bw3s
Buffalo Wild Wings
August 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word weaksauce
Actually, Taco Bell has a hotter sauce than hot, known as fire. It still isn't up to wild sauce at BW3s, but it is a considerable improvement.
August 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word parking goddess
I thought it referred to a gorgeous parking lot attendant who caused men to drive around the lot over and over again just to look at her.
August 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word nurdle, boondock, penhaligon
It sounds enticing, I also wish to play it. Now all we have to do is find the rules.
August 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word gaytarded
Steven Pinker has written extensively on swearing, and I'll point out a couple of the important parts. There are specific parts of the brain which produce language, and those parts are not necessarily responsible for swearing, which is more keyed into the parts of the brain which use emotion. So, calling someone a racial slur is typically an intellectual act, while saying a four letter word is an emotional one. Of course, one can use emotional words in an intellectual fashion to make a point, which is just good writing, using words which have meanings that can reach an audience.
August 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word gaytarded
We can't just put our fingers in our ears, cover our eyes, and hope that the words we don't like go away. By talking about words we are able to analyze them, to understand what about a word gives it power. By shining light upon the darkness we can deprive it of that which scares us, we can dismantle the power it holds over us and we can move forward.
The simple act of talking about swear words or insults takes away a lot of their power. And of course, there are people who would take away niggardly and even black hole. The free exchange of words and ideas is a necessary thing.
August 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word squeezer
The term squeeze is still used in poker today to describe slowly looking at a hole card. From this there is a variety of other metaphorical usages which have arose.
August 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word gaytarded
No hard feelings all around, it was intended as irony, but obviously it is an offensive term, so apologies.
August 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word lapidation
Particularly since it sounds like the opposite of delapidated, which is a negative word. Unfortunately, the two words are roughly opposites, the one being stones falling apart and the other being stones coming together.
August 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word features
I actually don't really care for comments on profiles. A good percentage are referring to (but not linking) random conversations around Wordie, leading to terrible fragmentation. My profile, for example, is a complete hodge podge of comments, most of which are indecipherable to even me, not that I mind too much, but some of the profiles that have a lot of comments kind of get out of hand.
Perhaps having that part of the profile on a separate page would alleviate this.
August 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word nihilotheist
I'm not really sure what a non-existent kind of God is.
August 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word demesne
I've never figured out how to pronounce this, so I checked the guide and it says di-meen, and that it is essentially the same word as domain.
August 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word gaytarded
A lot of vitriol on Wordie these past couple of days, and honestly, I'm a bit shocked. Words are not fundamental units, they are what we make of them. They have the power that we assign to them. The point of this word was to lampoon the use of gay and retarded to mean stupid, annoying, pointless, frustrating, etc. Taking two words in an ironic context and making a third which is not even a word to mean some sort of combination of the two perverted meanings.
The point of this word, of the use of words like this, is to force people to think about things that they either they haven't or don't want to think about. So I guess it's worked in part, because it has gotten some serious responses, but it mostly failed because people seemed to go crazy.
Finally, there is no reason for four people to call me insulting, homophobic, horrible, stupid, unimaginative, insulting, cruel, dimwitted, ignorant, juvenile, petty, pea-brained, lame, evil, selfish, power-hungry tyrant, willfully ignorant, self-righteous obscurantist, awful, casual hating, and a sniggering idiot.
I believe that humor is a powerful force. It is uniquely human, lifting us in good times and sustaining us through the bad. Humor provides intellectual stimulation and relief from stress. Wordplay is a very important type of humor for many of us on Wordie, although surprisingly large numbers of us don't really seem to get the jokes.
If a post strikes you as unamusing or even offensive, there is no reason to attack the poster. Maybe you misunderstood what was going on, maybe the poster meant something different, perhaps some historical If you truly feel the need to say something, a polite comment such as "This seems somewhat offensive to me. Are you sure you want to phrase it like that?" This will go a lot further than ad hominem attacks.
August 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word negro
And the United Negro College Fund is a respected organization.
August 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word astar
Apparently an Ethiopian sky god.
August 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word south
Bilby, when examining the Wordnet page for South, we determine that the U.S. sense of South, that being the southern part of the country, has the highest frequency count. This is due to the frequency found in tagged texts, which simply means that word came up the most often.
The two you dislike, which don't occur in the WordNet entry linked above, make some sense, "a demarcated area of the Earth" is for when "south" is used to refer to the Southern Hemisphere. Similarly, "a point or extent in space" makes sense geometrically, we can talk about the southern part of a shape in several dimensions. Without more information from WordNet, I can't narrow it down further.
Finally, WordNet is not a dictionary, it is a "lexical database".
August 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ergodic
I've actually studied what would be called ergodic systems, although that term wasn't use very often.
August 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pestilential
The improv group I was in for a while in college used this as an enunciation exercise.
August 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word mick
Or my favorite form of the Irish 7 course meal, a bottle of whiskey and 6 baked potatoes.
August 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word occident
In my understanding, the original meaning of the word was to set, as in the sun, just as Orient comes from to rise, as in the sun. The sun rises in the east (orient) and sets in the west (Occident). Turkey was known as the Orient (by Romans) and as Anatolia (by Greeks, the word coming from the Greek for east). Eventually, it moved further east, until it reached china.
August 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word overfitting
Did you read an article yesterday about overfitting? It's enough to make a person trained in statistics cry.
August 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word south
I don't know, most of the WordNet defs tend to make a lot of sense. The southeast and southwest ones are kind of confusing, but the rest seem valid.
August 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word undecimber
Lousy Smarch weather.
August 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word irenic
Sometimes I think Reesetee uses ironic just to annoy me.
Anyway, irenic is from Greek, and ire is from Latin, so the two words have no connection in meaning.
Whenever I see this word can't help but think of the Rambaldi message relate to it.
August 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word mick
You forgot about potatoes.
August 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word i.e.
Remember, i.e. means "in other words" and e.g. means "for example".
August 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word camisia
See camisole or chemise.
August 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word joey buttafuoco
You know Skipvia, the planet is pronounced yur-in-iss, not your-anus?
August 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word cesta
I like adding balon and cesta to get baloncesto.
August 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word mace
Is there a difference between a flail and what is called a chain mace?
August 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word books
"*58% of Wordies have read 3 books in the past two weeks.
*42% of Wordies skipped their college graduation ceremony to read a book.
*80% of Wordie families have spent more than $500 on books in the last year.
*70% of Wordies have not been in a bookstore in the last five days."
-(source me)
August 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word bacon-erdös number
First, I have to say I have two Erdos autobiographies in my library right now. Second, I have to say that I am considered by most who have eaten with me to be a connoisseur of bacon and bacon paraphernalia.
August 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the list chabon-michael
I added my old citations from Kavalier and Clay to this list, although I'm sure there are many more words that I could have cited in that book.
August 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word bacon-erdös number
The Erdos number is the length of path between two vertices in a graph, where a vertex represents a person, and an edge represents having written a scientific paper (typically math or physics) with the other person. See the Wikipedia page for more info.
August 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word axolotl
See also axlotl.
August 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word bulverism
A logical fallacy, coined by C. S. Lewis.
* You claim that A is true.
* Because of B, you personally desire that A should be true.
* Therefore, A is false.
August 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word stimthought
That is interesting. I mean, most everyone agrees that there should be speed limits, but most everyone breaks them! The USA was built upon the principle of "majority rule, minority rights", but if a majority of voters continue to elect people to put laws into place or revoke laws, and those in power replace the supreme court, eventually that voting block could change the laws to anything they wanted. In several countries, the Muslim majority attempted to vote in an Islamic dictator and disband the democracy. If this is the wish of the people, would it not be undemocratic to go against it?
August 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word hyper-foreignization
See this page for more info. Essentially, it is people attempting to pronounce foreign words in the most foreign sounding way possible.
August 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word jehu
There is also something call hyper-foreignization, although I don't know that it is at all in play here.
August 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word kafkaesque
Kafka? Who's Kafka? TELL ME!
August 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word quoz
This word seems odd and ridiculous, but I haven't decided whether I like it.
August 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the list oligosemantonyms
Actually, that feature has been in Wordie since the very beginning, it's just been hidden.
August 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word secretary
That is freaking awesome, because it makes so much sense.
August 11, 2008
seanahan commented on the word jehu
I'm pretty sure Jesus is an Italianization (Latinization really) of the original name.
August 11, 2008
seanahan commented on the word igly
So which is it, extremely or exceptionally?
August 11, 2008
seanahan commented on the word gayer
Really Bilby, was linking to Mitt Romney's hair really necessary? You've created an orphan.
August 4, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ffwrch
I can't even begin to guess how to pronounce this.
August 4, 2008
seanahan commented on the word inexorably
"If I can't exclude those disjunctions, I'll die trying", Tom said inexorably.
August 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the list identify-the-wordie-2
I'm happy that the "Old Guard" wordies as Bilby called them were the ones to correctly place me on that word.
August 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word the peter principle
And the basis for the worst board game ever made.
August 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word cheop's law
It's clever anyways.
August 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the list identify-the-wordie-2
asativum chainsaw
bilby psychasthenic
chained_bear sunflower
darqueau mojo
dontcry hunky-dory
frogapplause cred-herring
gangerh wabe
john quixotic
oroboros cavalier
palooka clinchpoop
plethora pluripotent
prolagus groovin'
pterodactyl zoetrope
rolig stripper
seanahan bladder
sionnach esemplastic
skipvia bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk
whichbe gravlax
yarb ingenue
August 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word liminal
Interesting, knowing subliminal, but not this.
August 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word sturgeon's law
That doesn't seem too odd to me. Crud is sort of an archaic word, and I wouldn't ever say someone was "full of crud", I'd say "full of crap", although even that would have to be in front of my boss or mother, otherwise I'd say "full of shit".
July 31, 2008
seanahan commented on the word evolution
Steven Pinker's "The Language Instinct" is a great book about language evolution.
July 30, 2008
seanahan commented on the word billigram
Not to be confused with a bilbygram either.
July 30, 2008
seanahan commented on the word philosopher's egg
Apparently, according to this website http://thealchemicalegg.com/ when you crack open the philosopher's egg, you get the philosopher's stone.
July 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word maven
My experience with linguists is that they generally speak in a derogatory manner about prescriptivists. Language is constantly evolving, difficult to predict, and often difficult to understand. My understanding of the chapter in The Language Instinct is that he is directly criticizing prescriptivism in general, with the Mavens as the focal point of his derision.
July 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word medectophobia
This is a great word.
July 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word lexicographicolatry
Ick, I don't like it.
July 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word banana hammock
The Todd wears and talks about these all the time.
July 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word that's for me to know and for you to find out
This is one of the most annoying expressions ever.
July 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word tempo
In chess, tempo refers to the moves. Gaining a tempo means accomplishing a task one move faster than your opponent, and allows you to move onto your next attack.
July 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word the powers that be
Often abbreviated as TPTB.
July 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word opening gambit
There's quite a bit more to this. The term comes from chess. Normally people play standard openings, and some openings are gambits. In this, the player typically sacrifices a pawn early for future positional consideration, as well as tempo. In general, a gambit describes a risk, since if the positional advantage does not amount to material gain, the player has lost something for nothing. Interestingly enough, many of the gambits occur as white, the side which begins with the advantage.
July 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word maven
Steven Pinker uses the term "The Language Mavens" to describe to newspaper columnists who declare themselves experts on language and stalwarts against change.
July 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word philosopher's egg
How does this relate to a philosopher's stone?
July 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word g-hits
I would say "gee-hits", or even just "google hits".
July 25, 2008
seanahan commented on the word great firewall of china
How is that ironic?
July 25, 2008
seanahan commented on the word lolcat
I am not ailurophobic, just allergic.
July 23, 2008
seanahan commented on the word das letzte hemd hat keine taschen
That is truly poetic.
July 23, 2008
seanahan commented on the word lilitu
Also known as Lilith.
July 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word intelligent design
Of course, there is no law preventing preventing prayer in school.
July 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ben franklin effect
Sounds a lot like cognitive dissonance.
July 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word dr. horrible
Not really a word, but still, I'd imagine many of us here are Joss Whedon fans.
http://www.drhorrible.com/
July 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word antagonym
See this oroboros list for a bunch of examples.
July 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word copacetic
You some kind of freak, Yarbissimo.
July 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word i am the supreme ruler of the universe
You'll have to fight me for it.
July 16, 2008
seanahan commented on the list quiz-time-6
7. Zorn's Lemma
July 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word e^πi + 1 = 0
Confuses the crap out of me.
July 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word butle
The ad is for "Get Gerard Butler Ringtones", awesome.
July 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word shipper
A seriously frightening group of people.
July 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the user mialuthien
Sleep is for the weak.
July 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word fair sex
I read a great line once, "women are both the fair sex and the unfair sex".
July 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the list scrabble-words-2
There are a couple of other Scrabble lists floating around, I suggest hoary and cwm.
July 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word coverslut
I hereby propose that this word be used to describe someone who likes cover bands.
July 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word inf
In that case, we have to give them the "\".
July 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the list lispers-nemeses
I also had speech therapy as a young child, I would say my r's as w's as the beginning of words. It went away pretty quickly, although maybe one in a thousand times I'll catch myself screwing it up.
I suggest misses, that would be really tough to say with a lisp.
July 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pick-up game
It doesn't half to be baseball, it could be basketball (probably the most common), football, soccer, ultimate frisbee, pretty much any team sport you can think of.
July 11, 2008
seanahan commented on the list phylum-obscurata-botanica
If these are all Greek words, you should bulk add the tag "Greek".
July 11, 2008
seanahan commented on the word facepalm
Mostly from frustration.
July 9, 2008
seanahan commented on the word proof
You're right, especially in large math books. Leave them wanting more for the next edition.
July 9, 2008
seanahan commented on the user she
She's the one who likes all our pretty words, and she likes to read along, and she likes Erin McKean, but we don't know if she's a she, or know if she's a he. And I say yeah.
July 9, 2008
seanahan commented on the word Þig
So it's like a half theta?
July 7, 2008
seanahan commented on the word borg
Resistance is futile.
July 7, 2008
seanahan commented on the word swass
Short for having a sweaty ass.
July 7, 2008
seanahan commented on the word swamp ass
I've always heard of this as swass.
July 7, 2008
seanahan commented on the word times less
If X is 8 times more than Y, than I would consider Y 8 times less than X. So if $40 million is 8 times less than $320 million.
July 7, 2008
seanahan commented on the word gedankenexperiment
A much cooler way to say though experiment.
Edit: It took five months for somebody to catch this typo.
July 7, 2008
seanahan commented on the list lists-of-the-year
In the end we decided not to actually select lists or words of the year, so the point is moot. If you like a list, nominate it for something. Otherwise, we can go by the date of the first comment.
June 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word illumine
Is this an archaic form of illuminate?
June 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word beta
The nickname of Eratosthenes, for being second best in many fields.
June 25, 2008
seanahan commented on the word peoria
There is a great restaurant in Peoria call Burger Barge, my favorite is the Tavern Burger.
June 25, 2008
seanahan commented on the word fistshake
See this YouTube video
June 23, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ausploitation
Referenced in the Simpson's when they traveled to Australia.
June 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word fistshake
Shaking your fist at someone as they drive/run/flee away. Or from the Simpson's, "Shake harder boy!"
June 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the user yarb
Uh, fistshake?
June 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word zoot suit
zoot suit riot
June 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word shaddenfreud
STOP TALKING! THIS WORD MEANS NOTHING! epicaricacy.
June 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word moran
What was the policy on big images? I prefer links.
June 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the user yarb
And my legend grows.
June 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word definitely
That's totally worth $30 a year.
June 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word curple
Rhymes with purple!
June 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word thou
Well, I've definitely said, "5 thou" to refer to thousand. Add that to the fact WordNet only contains content words, nouns, verbs, etc., and this makes complete sense.
June 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word chad
When was the last time the country Chad was in the news?
June 16, 2008
seanahan commented on the word trollop
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jodi-lampert/deconstructing-john-revis_b_102571.html
"Now, here it is -- here is what John McCain said to Cindy McCain in 1992, during a prior campaign, in front of strangers and campaign workers and three members of the press:
'At least I don't plaster on the make-up like a trollop, you cunt.'"
June 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word features
I'm 99% certain that he meant campaign, as in a "promotional campaign".
While I'm posting here, it is somewhat difficult to post here and then scroll all the way to the top to read the relevant comment. I think that we are reaching the point where some simple sort of paging may be necessary, although I'm not sure if a simple page redesign might make this easier.
June 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pulchritudinous
We have to have something to rhyme with multitudinous.
June 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word tetris edit
That's really quite a clever metaphor.
June 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word commentator's curse
selection bias in action. A commentator makes so many comments about the game and players that over the course of hours of constant speech, there are bound to be several times they are immediately proven wrong. These stand out in memory.
June 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word flashbulb memory
The thing of it is that people think they are better memories which makes them strenuously assert that they are better memories, and that their memory was really how things occurred.
June 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word gaf quat
Are you an actor?
June 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word summer
Odd, this is different than the synsets on the WordNet page for WordNet page for Summer.
June 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word flashbulb memory
The recent studies have shown that this theory is false. These memories are just as likely to be false as any other memory.
June 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word unk-unk
Typically referred to in engineering settings as the "Proverbial unknown-unknown".
June 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word in media res
I have to admit, I've always used the spelling of media, but I'll have to start using the correct version.
June 9, 2008
seanahan commented on the word in media res
Best to avoid the "Popular Usage" section of the Wikipedia page, it's infuriating.
June 9, 2008
seanahan commented on the word false dichotomy
You're either with us, or against us, Bilby.
June 9, 2008
seanahan commented on the word bookfox
Dutifully favorited.
June 9, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pancosmism
I'm sort of struggling to understand this one. It is belief in the lack of the supernatural, or essentiallyl naturalism?
June 9, 2008
seanahan commented on the word indescribable
That's stupid. Wikipedia, you're stupid. Indescribable is the absence of a description, not a description itself.
June 9, 2008
seanahan commented on the word seemingly-never-ending-season
I don't know to what you refer.
June 9, 2008
seanahan commented on the word phallephoric
Definition?
June 9, 2008
seanahan commented on the word frecency
This word makes my ears bleed.
June 9, 2008
seanahan commented on the word thespionym
An awesome way to say stage name.
June 9, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ephemeralization
What do you mean? I think the standard of living is going up in most of the "first world" countries. Now, the third world countries which don't have technology have much lower standards of living.
June 4, 2008
seanahan commented on the word mcfate
Interesting, internet doesn't seem to have much to say on this, but obviously this isn't referring to McDonald's.
June 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word baal
In Hebrew, Baal is simply the word for "Lord". Combined with the word for flies, you get Beelzebub, "Lord of the flies". The wikipedia page is pretty interesting.
May 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word blogorrhea
I wouldn't say "great", since I would feel any word starting with blog is an abomination.
May 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word blasfamous
Richard Dawkins? Martin Luther? Baruch Spinoza?
May 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the list metonyms-2
Rolig, I think you misunderstood me. I was agreeing with you, and not the dictionary definition cited by Mollusque.
May 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the list metonyms-2
You can't really go by the definitions in dictionaries of such things. If you really take them seriously, than all of sarcasm and metaphor is a subset of irony, which I think we can clearly agree is false.
May 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word flat earth
That's possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I'm too flummoxed to make a proper joke about all the places I've been where I've heard dumb things.
May 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word paraphrasia
Disorder in which a person can't stop paraphrasing everything you say, and taking the content as their own. See paraphasia.
May 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word paraphasia
Not to be confused with paraphrasia.
May 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word delenda
Carthage.
May 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word portmanteau word
See portmanteau, or the tag for portmanteau.
May 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word metagnostic
I imagine this is meta-gnostic and not metag-nostic or meta-nostic?
May 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word heartstone
"This has never been proved definitively"? Really, nobody has ever proved that?
May 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word picayune
Very interesting Whichbe.
May 27, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ozymandian
See Ozymandias .
May 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word glory hole
We now know the maximum time it takes for a comment to be made before we go straight to dirtiness. We can't even blame WordNet on this one, like we can for scarf.
May 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word founding fathers
If you put Thomas Paine in a room with the leaders of the Democratic party, he'd probably be the most liberal one there.
May 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word bleezy
Similar to bleery eyed.
May 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pleonasm
What was the felicitous pleonasm?
May 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word iberian
Hmm, I don't see it.
May 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word tyromancy
Hmm, I thought this one would have something to do with the word tyro.
May 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word swan~upping
The ad right now is for latinamericancupid.com and I'm not sure why.
May 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word fuck
Is it weird, Reesetee, that I immediately given only "the" and 3 f-words I guessed exactly the precise form the soldier used?
May 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word polyonymy
Contrast with polysemy, which is one word for many things.
May 16, 2008
seanahan commented on the word zetetic
Interesting, one of my favorite magazines, the Skeptical Inquirer, used to be called The Zetetic.
May 16, 2008
seanahan commented on the word dementophobia
Be careful, or the irony police will come and get you.
May 16, 2008
seanahan commented on the word parousiamania
One thousand, nine hundred, and seventy five years and counting...
May 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word asterize
See asterate.
May 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word logarithmancy
Awesomeness.
May 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word boobs
I'm a big fan of boobs. Wait, what does this have to do with Wordie? Oh, you mean the word boobs.
May 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word fata morgana
A cool etymology.
May 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word dentophobia
Uh, whichbe, you might want to read the previous comments.
May 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word asterate
see stellify. I think that asterize might be better, though.
May 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word stellify
This word sounds kind of cook, but I think that asterate sounds cooler.
May 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word esper
Basically it is ESP-er.
May 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word brannigan
Zapp!
May 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word chatmate
Smart money says this is British.
May 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word bork
Also used as an alternation for broken, as in, "This code is borked".
May 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word chuck norris
This has been going on for a few years now. But once you find out he has been campaigning for Huckabee it is hard to keep up the respect.
May 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word yeah, right
Of course, this story ignores the existence of sarcasm. Said differently, the same student reply would be affirming the lecturer. It always annoys me when people say "I could care less" is wrong, since if you could care less, that means you care a little, but they miss the sarcastic tone.
May 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word lennonesque,picturesque, gangerhesque,at your desk, arabesque,marrakesh, right arm and verbal arms, n'est ce pas quesque ness
I think there is a 128 character limit.
May 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word byte
Answers gives a different etymology.
May 7, 2008
seanahan commented on the word verbivorous
I'm not certain that I'm happy with the use of "Literally" in the first definition.
May 7, 2008
seanahan commented on the word controversial rubbish taxes
"Among the sweeping changes being discussed are the scrapping or delaying of unpopular tax rises, including the planned 2 per cent rise in fuel duty due this autumn, and controversial rubbish taxes."
"Gordon Brown faces new 10p tax rebellion", May 4, 2008, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3868082.ece
May 4, 2008
seanahan commented on the word shtup
Especially since non-Yiddish people use it in places other than Yidland.
May 4, 2008
seanahan commented on the word shtup
It doesn't do etymologies.
May 4, 2008
seanahan commented on the word gorn
That's quite odd.
May 4, 2008
seanahan commented on the word the things they curried
Good book, bad pun.
May 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word shiboleth
I hope to God it's pronounced the same.
May 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word soma
Also a Smashing Pumpkins song.
May 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word garage sale
I'd call it a garage sale if the stuff is in the garage (or driveway) and a yard sale if the stuff is in the yard. If neighbors are simultaneously holding sales, it could also be a block sale.
In Dallas Texas, there are a lot of "Estate sales".
April 25, 2008
seanahan commented on the word boozex
I've heard the number of X's refers to the number of times the liquor has been filtered (or distilled, I'm not sure). The maker would add an X each time it went through.
April 25, 2008
seanahan commented on the word 175
The preferred way is 1^1 + 7^2 + 5^3
April 25, 2008
seanahan commented on the list lost-for-word
There have been similar attempts at this kind of thing before, but not in a public manner, What's the word for that?.
April 25, 2008
seanahan commented on the word schadenfreudgeon
Alright, dutifully added.
April 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word palanquin
Picaresque?
April 16, 2008
seanahan commented on the word double
Uh, this word is boring?
April 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word manufactrovery
Oops indeed. I am suitably chastised.
April 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word manufactroversy
See this link .
April 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word noosexual
Used on sapiosexual, not sure what it means.
April 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the user bilby
I like it, keep up the good quotes.
April 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word manufactrovery
http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/04/manufactroversy/
The art of creating controversy where none exists.
April 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word googleganger
Peck_Jon, you are brilliant, and correct. This term is hereby removed from the common usage. Unless of course, Google does a Yellow Pages spoof.
April 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word i could care less
As far as I can tell, this word is meant to be sarcastic. Steven Pinker says as much in "The Language Instinct", and it makes perfect sense. The tone with with which this term is spoken almost always makes the sarcasm completely clear.
April 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word learning curve
My comments about I could care less moved to that page.
April 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word joggle
I imagine you have to throw the balls forward. As for juggling on a train, I've never done it, but from what I understand of physics, both you and the ball are moving at the speed of the train, so when you drop something, it falls straight. Will test next time I'm on a train.
April 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word strength
Can anyone actually pronounce this word with the "g" sound? It doesn't seem possible to me without twisting my vocal chords, and it doesn't sound right.
April 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word syrup
From personal experience, I find the results highly suspect.
April 11, 2008
seanahan commented on the word joggle
I've also been told of people who can juggle while downhill skiing.
April 11, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ambergris
I'm reminded of Roseanne from that Futurama episode.
April 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word buccula
I immediately thought bunnicula.
April 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word virginians
Many of the founding fathers were Virginians, Jefferson, Madison, Washington, so this could kind of be viewed as
synecdoche.
April 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word circean
After Circe from the Odyssey?
April 7, 2008
seanahan commented on the word data
My brain is bleeding.
April 7, 2008
seanahan commented on the word data
"I call fie on that particular hobgoblin." When a discussion opens with me being referred as teeming ignorant, I feel should respond and attempt to make a logical argument for my choice in words. Arguing is my forte, rhyming with tort, and I don't logically think my choice is in err, rhyming with fur.
I split infinitives every chance I get. That is not a real rule of English language, it was made up by some stuffy British chap who wanted English to be more like Latin, and "to boldly go" where many have before, "it a proposition up with which I will not put".
Yes, you have a visceral reaction to this, I understand, I have a visceral reaction to forte, but you can't really criticize people for it, because in one sense, we're both right, and in another, actual sense, they are. I was hoping to stem the visceralness of your dislike with some cold-hearted logic. I guess it didn't work.
April 5, 2008
seanahan commented on the word wordie point
Why sadder?
April 5, 2008
seanahan commented on the word data
Sionnach, do you say cherubim? Do you say octopodes? Do you say kine instead of cows? Do you say pease even when there is only one of what a lesser Wordie might call a pea? Where do you draw the line?
April 5, 2008
seanahan commented on the word raconteuse
This is a great word.
April 5, 2008
seanahan commented on the word scarf
John, scarf as listed above is the first of the verb senses. The noun senses, which are in a different synset, has the expected article of clothing. Perhaps that is the problem.
April 5, 2008
seanahan commented on the word word porn
Good god, what have I done. see i can't believe people still use the internet for stupid porn
April 5, 2008
seanahan commented on the word i can't believe people still use the internet for stupid porn
"Two Girls, One Copula", that is just wrong.
April 5, 2008
seanahan commented on the word outmiracle
When I first read this, I read it as if it were similar to outbuilding, which didn't really make any sense.
April 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word scarf
My reaction to this was "Oh My God" following by laughing out loud, and two more iterations of that, followed by a hardy WTF, and one more "Oh My God" for good measure.
April 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word censorship
Censorship, evil, or greatest evil?
April 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word hausfrau
Random tidbit, the word hussy is derived from housewife, which used to be something like houswif.
April 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word impregnable
I think there are two different prefixes which both look like "im". The first is "not", and the second is roughly "in".
April 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word emoticon
There is no emoticon for what I am feeling.
April 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word bibliobituary
Several times I have found my way to an amazon.com page where the book was listed as out of print. It's like getting to the temple at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and it turning out that the grail had been destroyed 800 years earlier.
April 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word clerestory
The etymology is clearly English, although from the spelling I can imagine that is why you'd think it was Latinate. Knowing the etymology, it couldn't be cle-RES-tor-y, but I give you full credit. Just assume that your ex got lucky.
I never did the spelling bee, but this seems like it would be a great word.
April 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word i can't believe people still use the internet for stupid porn
And now I have the idea of word porn stuck in my head, and I can't even begin to fathom what that might be.
April 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word apocryphal
That's a pretty odd quote. Martin Luther was certainly quite radical, though by today's standards his stances were quite conservative. The Apocrypha are "not regarded as equal" for a number of reasons, not the least of which that they don't adhere to the strict message portrayed by the Catholic Church. I can imagine how Luther would support their reading.
April 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word anaptyxis
Interesting, I hadn't heard this one before, but I have noticed the vowel insertion many times.
April 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word press here for a random word
Here's my plan for a t-shirt. On the back, you have "Press Here For A Random Word", and on the front, you have a big list of words, possibly the Wordie top 100, minus the first, and possibly removing the swears for those who wish the shirt to be school friendly. Or, we could vote for the words that go on it.
April 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word the linguists
A documentary about Linguists and languages. I saw this excellent film yesterday and wrote a review here.
April 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word press here for a random word
I think it's funny if it is on the back. Then when someone pokes you in the back, you can shout a random word, like epicaricacy, rapprochement, or sidereal.
March 30, 2008
seanahan commented on the word barquentine
We could all chip in and buy a Wordie yacht. Or as a coworker said the other day, "I tried yacht.woot.com, but it didn't work".
March 30, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pullulation
He is using the third definition.
March 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the list dcduring-s-list
Or you could go Hebrew and say octopusim, but that might be taking it too far.
March 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word hector
Used recently by George Bush, CBS news
March 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word barquentine
Dictionaries tend to agree on teen.
March 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the list dcduring-s-list
Actually, octopus is Greek. If you want to be faithful to the original language, it should then be octopodes. If you want to do it the easy way, then you should say octopuses.
March 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word aide-de-camp
Like Secretaries General and Chiefs of Staff.
March 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word aid de con
According to this page, it is some sort of pun.
March 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word snuck
I prefer "Booth snuck up on Lincoln" over "Booth sneaked up on Lincoln".
March 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word seraphs
Shouldn't this be seraphim?
March 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word amazon wishlisted
Adding something to my Amazon wishlist. I feel like I do this a couple times a week, yet whenever I am actually at a bookstore, I also seem to find other interesting things to buy. Any others with triple digit wishlists?
March 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word biting the wax tadpole : confessions of a language fanatic (elizabeth little)
"You know who you are", sigh, yes I do. amazon wishlisted.
March 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word prosopagnosia
This word is fun to say.
March 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word hesitatingly
The way I see it, moving hesitantly is slowing moving towards a goal. Moving hesitantingly is moving in spurts, each of them hesitant.
March 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ulyssean
This is kind of bizarre.
March 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word gilbertese
Could it be from Gilbert and Sullivan?
March 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word boffo
Used by Ford Prefect to describe a beach in California, I believe.
March 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word king hit
It would be awesome if the Australian version of Mortal Kombat used "king hit" instead of fatality.
March 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word spitzicaricacy
see spitzenfreude and epicaricacy.
March 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word spitzenfreude
I'm pretty sure you mean spitzicaricacy.
March 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word march madness
Friday is a holiday, so I don't have to take it off.
March 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word summatories
Interesting, I've always referred to sigma as the "Summation sign". Of course, in Latex it is just \Sum.
March 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word poop
You read Wordie in courtrooms?
March 18, 2008
seanahan commented on the word jenny
Reminds me of the classic poem:
Jenny kissed me when we met,
Jumping from the chair she sat in,
Time, you thief, who love to get
Sweets into your list, put that in.
Say I’m weary, say I’m sad,
Say that health and wealth have missed me,
Say I’m growing old, but add
Jenny kissed me.
March 18, 2008
seanahan commented on the word verbify
See also verbed and anthimeria.
March 18, 2008
seanahan commented on the word krakenstein
Is this supposed to be some sort of Frankenstein joke?
March 18, 2008
seanahan commented on the word beelzebub
Very interesting etmyology on this one. From Hebrew "ba‘al zəbûb", meaning "lord of the flies", a Philistine deity. Puts a whole new spin on that book. Answers has some more information on the etymology, including the possibility the Zebub was actually a place, and not a thing.
March 16, 2008
seanahan commented on the word angst
First thing I could come up with was taking a document and converting it into the language of the Isle of Man, "Manxed".
March 16, 2008
seanahan commented on the word bacontarian
I don't see what's so strange about that. Bacon is a truly amazing food.
March 16, 2008
seanahan commented on the word anthropomorphize
That's what I call, Dropping the APM bomb
March 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word philosopher's stone
"Reaching out to Joe Sikspak"? This should be "Six-pack", "Sixpack", or "Six Pack", right? Unless there's some joke here I'm unaware of.
March 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word metamorphosis
Somehow I just don't find it that funny. I think the Onion would have done a better job.
March 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word problematize
Wow, just wow. I think I passed out twice trying to read that.
March 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word assignation
Chris Matthews, on the recent Elliot Spitzer prostitution scandal, "How do these checks get written? I mean, we're talking about $5,000 for an assignation here".
Hilarious.
March 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word kung pao
Truly this is the greatest of all Chinese food.
March 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word conglobulation
That is really bizarre.
March 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ataraxy
See ataraxia.
March 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word tunnel vision
"I want my tunnel vision
I need my medication
I want your arms around me
Wop bop dip bop doo doo doo doo"
-- "Little Fingers", Apocalypse Hoboken
March 11, 2008
seanahan commented on the list the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it
It's this list, and I feel fine.
March 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word esprit de corps
Do others often hear this with the first syllable taken off? Perhaps I just miss it since the stress is on the second syllable.
March 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word atrabilarian
From Webster's, "A person much given to melancholy; a hypochondriac. --I. Disraeli."
March 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word maccam
But then it isn't a palindrome!
March 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word cholagogue
Apparently this means "promoting the flow of bile", a very odd thing.
March 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word dentophobia
Next thing you know you'll be saying they should have their own schools.
March 10, 2008
seanahan commented on the word monotreme
Note that one needs to be careful with the use of primitive in this context. WordNet is not.
March 8, 2008
seanahan commented on the word exuviatory
From expiation
March 7, 2008
seanahan commented on the list sarahh-s-list
This has to be nominated for list of the year in some category...
March 7, 2008
seanahan commented on the word frisco
But they still say Philly Cheesesteak?
March 6, 2008
seanahan commented on the word couscous
There's a commercial from a couple years ago where they say "Don't be such a couch couscous", and it has stuck in my head. Disgusting stuff, I have to say.
March 6, 2008
seanahan commented on the word hizzoner
In Chicago, many refer to Richard J. Daley as hizzoner, and the title appears to be used in several other places.
March 5, 2008
seanahan commented on the word verb
Verb is a noun, and noun is a noun. I enjoy words which describe themselves, and the opposite, words which don't describe themselves. Monosyllabic and polysyllabic have to be the champion examples for this phenomenon.
March 5, 2008
seanahan commented on the word your gramma's roof
Obama's excused!
March 4, 2008
seanahan commented on the word davy
But what does it mean?
March 4, 2008
seanahan commented on the word verb
That's a fabulous language quote.
March 4, 2008
seanahan commented on the word let's blow this popsicle stand!
It's an old person phrase.
March 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word footnote
Agreed, Good Omens is a fabulous read.
March 3, 2008
seanahan commented on the word and the horse you rode in on...
I've always wanted to use mix up phrases like this to confuse people.
"Get out of here, and don't let the horse you rode in on hit you on the way out."
March 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ashes to ashes dust to dust
When I hear this, I always think "ash to ash, dust to dust, fade to black".
March 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word beefism
There are a number of levels. Cow, obviously, is the first. Pig is at the second, with goat, lamb, and other higher mammals. Chicken, and other birds are generally at level 3. Fish occupy the fourth, and other weird aquatic animals are at the fifth level. So even the lowliest oyster is only 5 steps away from heaven.
March 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word beefism
Beefism is this religion I invented. The main idea is that animals, specifically cows, were created by God and given souls, and the end goal is for them to eat heaven. However, to ascend, they must be consumed by the angels of God, man. This means that you should eat as much meat as possible. Lesser animals, like pigs, are reincarnated up into cows, if they are consumed by humans.
Dogs are considered lesser angels, and they help man in his quest to consume meat. Cats are generally considered tools of Satan, as is Tofu. There are a number of schisms within Beefism, specifically as to whether or not the eating of horses is acceptable. Church doctrine says that horses are similar to dogs in that they aid man, but a growing group seems to think they qualify as meat animals. There is also an evil sect which believes that humans too have souls, and if they are eaten, they can ascend to heaven, but this heresy is stamped out wherever it is found.
March 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word half-witty
An expression which is partially witty, or the kind of thing a half-wit would find witty, or some hybrid of the two.
March 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word when hell freezes over
There are a number of half-witty jokes about for when you actually end up cleaning the darn dog that involve Satan's cold testicles.
March 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word vampire power
Also a little known but growing movement among western vampires to gain equal rights with humans.
March 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word analects
Often used to describe the collected writings of Confucius.
March 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word analecta
The only variant I can recall seeing of this is in the analects of Confucius.
March 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word wewe
Listen to this mp3.
The Urban dictionary is the only one which defines this.
March 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word neoteric
I just noticed that the edit distance between this word and neotenic is absurdly small.
March 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word sciatic
Apparently it refers to the hip, or a region near the hip, although this doesn't fit with the citation below.
February 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word thole-pin
This term is still somewhat in use, at least among Boy Scouts, specifically the rowing merit badge.
February 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word disclude
The word I used when I couldn't remember exclude existed.
February 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word disregulated
I said disclude once, when I meant exclude.
February 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word verbificent
I can't believe it took 14 hours for someone to add the madeupical tag.
Although, Skipvia did make up a word in his response, the fourth to last, S-something or other, never heard of it before, I'll be glad if I never hear of it again, it sounds silly.
February 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word cyclopedic lexicon of sex
You should write a review on Amazon.
February 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word how green were the nazis
I heard a radio interview where a woman talked about the Nazis being environmentalists, which is logical, but the woman kept using the word ironic, so I had to blog about it.
February 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word smite
If you smite someone, they have been smitten?
February 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word neoteric
"Of recent origin, modern".
February 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word topology
Most commonly heard (by me) as a type of mathematics.
February 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word topologist
Someone who studies topology.
February 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground
A topologist is someone who doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground, but can tell the difference between his ass and two holes in the ground.
February 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ingress
The WordNet definition is confusing. Doesn't the celestial object disappear when the eclipse starts?
February 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word vagina dentata
I first heard this word in Snow Crash, possibly the perfect SF novel. It is a device which sits in the woman's vagina, essentially a sharp needle filled with a chemical to knock out a would be rapist.
February 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word round-headed intellectual
See pointy-headed intellectuals.
February 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pointy-headed intellectuals
I like to think of myself as a round-headed intellectual.
February 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word sat word
And by "most people" you mean "most people who aren't on Wordie"?
February 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word tragediously
Apparently an archaic form of tragically.
February 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word greedlet
At work, whoever takes the last piece of cake after someone's birthday has to clean up, so people take progressively smaller pieces until there is too little left to be called a piece.
February 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word the pie and the pendulum
I think you mean Dr. Phil.
February 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word vignette
Interesting this evolved into the more common present day meeting.
February 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word tincture
Everything has chains, absolutely nothings changed.
Take my hand, not my picture, spilled my tincture.
February 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word skewes number
See this article by Isaac Asimov for more information.
February 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word googolplex
Actually, mathematically speaking, you can view this number as tiny. Now Skewes number, that's freaking huge.
February 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word adventitious
Totally madeupical.
February 25, 2008
seanahan commented on the word i'm allergic to cats
I actually am legitimately allergic to cats. I also fear and dislike them.
February 25, 2008
seanahan commented on the word heuristics
Well, it comes up in the context of algorithms all the time, so I don't really have strong feelings about it either way.
February 25, 2008
seanahan commented on the user thesuperiorbeing
VanishedOne, there may not be a prohibition against linking to ghost words, but as a matter of personal preference I prefer to have something on each word. If you want to link to words that aren't in the database, that is just fine.
February 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word lilaceously
That is a beautiful word. It sounds close to vivacious, which possibly tinges my perception.
February 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word book of gold
I guess that's why I'm not a librarian, although I've often considered dropping math, science, and computers for librarianism. I can't think of that first book that made me love to read. I've been reading extensively since I was maybe 8 years old, and while there are books I read back then that I still enjoy to reread, I can't think of a Book of Gold.
February 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word causa pro metrica
That makes sense, "causa pro metrica" could mean, "left out because of meter", meaning the poet left out specific information so that the poem would scan correctly.
February 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word broca's field
I believe this is the same as Broca's area
February 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ignosticism
Coined, I believe, by Rabbi Sherwin Wine , the founder of humanistic Judaism.
February 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pitchers and catchers report
Well, I draw analogies or quote from Shakespeare all the time, and this must be terribly frustrating to a lot of people. Culture is a strange thing. The easiest way to explain or learn something is by analogy, and when everybody understands something really well, the analogies are easy. Now, I know that many people are not fans of baseball, unless you were raised on the game, it is not something you can jump into it.
I'll occasionally watch British tv shows, and they make references to football (soccer), cricket, British politics, general British specific culture, and I'll have no idea what they are talking about. The show "How I Met Your Mother" has a running bit where the Canadian character makes references that the Americans don't get, and it's so funny because she really sells the audience that we're supposed to be getting this joke.
Any time you have people of different backgrounds, different ages, genders, or races, even different neighborhoods, different schools, and in my line of business, born on different continents, you are going to have such problems. I have not read Bryan Garner, but reading his Wikipedia entry I imagine that I'll have to. Still, I see no way that we can revert to a language without cultural influences, and it would be a travesty of epic proportions to do so.
February 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word vulturine
Good word.
February 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word violence
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. -Salvor Hardin in Isaac Asimov's Foundation.
February 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word eleventy one
It's been a while, but doesn't Bilbo celebrate his eleventy first birthday at the beginning of the Fellowship of the Ring?
February 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word tenty one
Now I have to check to make sure there is an entry for eleventy one.
February 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word drake equation
See XKCD's recent treatment .
February 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word belgium
Looking at etymonline , "Used for 'Low Germany and the Netherlands'", which describes a number of different countries. The WordNet definition makes sense this time.
February 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word apple-john
Also the bizarro version of John who develops Wordie on an iMac.
February 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pitchers and catchers report
With pitchers and catchers reporting last Thursday, I thought about this again, and have come up with a suitably Wordie analogy for baseball.
Every pitch is a word, every inning a sentence, every game a page. Every season forms an epic novel. A fabulous pitch is like a particularly well chosen word. A wonderful inning, late game rally, it is a beautiful sentence, "It was awful living in that hell full of angels". Pitchers and Catchers report marks the beginning of the prologue. When your team doesn't make the playoffs, it's like the ending of a novel abruptly, frustratingly. A World Series victory is like the beautiful end to a classic novel, "it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known", or "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past".
February 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word truš�?
Apparently, it is Slovenian for the sound of a crash.
February 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word whipple
Also a medical procedure, See wikipedia
February 20, 2008
seanahan commented on the word turtle
And believe me, it's turtles all the way down.
February 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ukulele
Did anyone else notice that he pronounced the middle syllable in libido as "bye", as in, "li-bye-doh".
February 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word la-la land
Also Los Angeles.
February 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word truš�?
How does one pronounce the funny letters?
February 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word malakomisia
An interesting idea, but slightly disturbing. The idea that we really have enough use for the term that we need a new one is frustrating. I think your word is a bit too out there to catch on.
February 18, 2008
seanahan commented on the word wordiepiphany
I've had quite a few, it's hard to pinpoint the first time I was really interested by words, but I can call a few smaller ones. I read in an essay by Isaac Asimov the etymology of the word delapidate, and was completely fascinated by how the word means something different yet somehow the same.
February 18, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ace and gary
Starring none other than Stephen Colbert.
February 18, 2008
seanahan commented on the word longest word ever
There's a reasonable chance that John put a 2^7 character limit on Wordie entries. I probably would have made a similar assumption if I were designing this.
February 18, 2008
seanahan commented on the word coriaceous
What I like to do with words like this is spend a minute or two enumerating the different conceivable pronunciations, and then guessing which one is correct. I got this one right.
February 18, 2008
seanahan commented on the word coruscatively
See coruscate.
February 18, 2008
seanahan commented on the word valentinous
Definition?
February 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word whist
I first learned about Whist from Jules Verne.
February 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word features
Skipvia, beware of lost comments.
February 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word isn’t an agnostic just an atheist without balls
This is actually a very Wordie topic, since both of those terms have drastically different meanings, both by believers and non-believers.
February 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word adamantine
The root word of Wolverines adamantium.
February 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word bicephalous
Zaphod Beeblebrox.
February 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word bicephalously
From bicephalous, meaning having two heads.
February 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word histrionically
"I'm going to fall off Jim's willow!", Tom screamed histrionically.
February 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word peanut butter cookies
I've never understood why someone would destroy a perfectly good cookie experience by leaving off the Hershey's Kiss.
February 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word soda fountain
Also refers to the soft drink dispenser at fast food restaurants.
February 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word wantnought
wastenought wantnought?
February 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word wastenought
wastenought wantnought?
February 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word memories of my mel, and holy whores
Recently banned in Iran, once they discovered what the title translated to.
February 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word clue
It was a great movie.
February 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word hot wheels
Interesting, I never realized there was a difference between Matchbox and Hot Wheels, I always that they were referring to the same thing.
February 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word noughts and crosses
I never realized tic-tac-toe had another name.
February 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word cóiste-bodhar
Fabulous movie, I remember it fondly when I saw it as a child. Features a very young Sean Connery.
February 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the list a-manner-of-speaking-2
Don't worry about "borrowing" lists or list ideas. Wordie is what you want to make it. Don't pay attention to that crazy guy who came up with ten commandments.
February 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word remote viewing
If by interesting, you mean crap, and by dabbled, you mean wasted taxpayer's money, then yes.
February 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word lady of the lake
A great episode of UCB .
February 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word wordolesence
The upbringing of a Wordie.
February 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word perpendicular
Sounds like a great Wordie upbringing, or wordolesence.
February 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ghost in the machine
It's also used to describe emergent intelligence in computer programs.
February 13, 2008
seanahan commented on the word afrit
Or efreet.
February 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word al
Can you replace "Best" with "Only"?
February 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word vincent
Now I think I know
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen; they're not listening still,
Perhaps they never will...
February 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word clementine
Also my favorite Decemberists song. Also an Elliot Smith song, covered by the Decemberists.
February 12, 2008
seanahan commented on the word oriflamme
I always think of orcs when I see the word oriflamme.
February 7, 2008
seanahan commented on the list u-s-and-them
Hear Linus Torvalds pronounce Linux here , and in Swedish, for completeness.
February 6, 2008
seanahan commented on the word kalpa
Eastern thought certainly is a lot different than Western.
February 6, 2008
seanahan commented on the word wrath
I make the same association.
February 6, 2008
seanahan commented on the word the incredible lightness of boing!
Double so. Filistinism? I think you are referring to philistinism.
February 6, 2008
seanahan commented on the word oriflamme
I always think of orcs.
February 6, 2008
seanahan commented on the word blair
WordNet has a fairly random set of persons. See the definitions court.
February 6, 2008
seanahan commented on the word brave new word
Oh Brave New Word, that has such letters in it.
See madeupical.
February 6, 2008
seanahan commented on the word sober tomorrow
Winston Churchill was probably the Wordie-est of 20th century politicians. Before that, it was probably Disraeli.
February 6, 2008
seanahan commented on the word winx
We all missed your winxsome smile Chained_bear.
February 6, 2008
seanahan commented on the word laid
That's a great song.
February 5, 2008
seanahan commented on the word kegs
Wow, combining two of my joys, words and stripping.
February 5, 2008
seanahan commented on the word safety pin
That is the new craziest thing I have ever heard.
February 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ultrarevolutionaries
Five by Five, mollusque.
February 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word compile dance
When I've finally succeeded in fixing that last tricky compiler error and am able to run my code, I shout, "Compile dance", and spin my chair around, and wave my arms.
February 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word end of recession dance
When a recession ends, you jump up and do a little jig, reaching into your wallet and throwing $20 bills up in the air with joy. I did this yesterday when reading the Fed had lowered the interest rate another half point and someone told me this meant the recession was over.
February 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word deleterious
I almost always here this in terms of mutations.
February 2, 2008
seanahan commented on the word bender is the night
That's excellent, a quality reference, double pun, just fabulous.
February 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word palavery
Surely from palaver.
February 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word job in the morning
It would help if I had heard of Joy in the Morning.
February 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word painstaking
At first glance, "pain-stalking", but that probably isn't right.
February 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word painstaking
I always pronounce and hear it pronounced "pain-staking", but almost certainly it is "pains-taking", right?
January 31, 2008
seanahan commented on the word vain-glory
Most often heard in the adjective form, vain-glorious.
January 31, 2008
seanahan commented on the word job in the morning
Huh?
January 31, 2008
seanahan commented on the word candy corn
Lewis Black really hates it.
January 31, 2008
seanahan commented on the user super-julia
Honestly? I could go either way. Belief is a tough thing.
January 31, 2008
seanahan commented on the word argh
Well John, I flew halfway across the country, had dinner and drinks with family, went to bed, got up and went to an all day party with college friends, drinking and eating, passed out late that night, got up the next morning and visited with family, got back on a plane and flew home. I could have checked Wordie that night, but I was too tired, so come Monday evening, I was something like 1000 posts behind.
January 29, 2008
seanahan commented on the word shah
Groan.
January 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word quotative like
I enjoy how linguists come up with complicated terms for simple things.
January 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word the least of the mohicans
That's clever.
January 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word troll doll
They still existed in the early 90s, although they won't particularly popular.
January 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the word argh
I've been down almost 1,000 after a weekend without internet.
January 28, 2008
seanahan commented on the list fauxlyrical
My oh my what a wonderful list
January 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word fissilingual
A reference to our old friend Jack Abramoff.
January 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word sealing wax
Hmm, so we weren't singing about Puff and ceiling wax?
January 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word sticky bun
*sigh*, heavenly
January 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pompitous
So that's what he was saying. I bet if you asked 10 people on the street, 9 of them would have heard the song, and none of them would know this word.
January 26, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pixy stix
Kids in junior high used to snort this powder.
January 25, 2008
seanahan commented on the word geis
See also geas.
January 25, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ambidextrous
Credit belongs to Yogi Berra, I believe.
January 25, 2008
seanahan commented on the word regale
One could also see the entry for OEDILF.
January 25, 2008
seanahan commented on the word regale
He posts on several forums I am/was a member of, if that is the Chris Doyle being referred to.
Chris at the OEDILF
January 24, 2008
seanahan commented on the word exeunt
Let's just stick to exit, shall we?
January 24, 2008
seanahan commented on the word homoiconicity
Hmm, perhaps you should check Wordie more often?
January 24, 2008
seanahan commented on the word palindrome
Best palindrome ever.
January 24, 2008
seanahan commented on the word copremesis
Reminds me of the South Park where they eat in their buts and poop out their mouths.
January 24, 2008
seanahan commented on the word cornish hen
Often called Cornish game hen.
January 24, 2008
seanahan commented on the word dime
This has gotten weird.
Someone is smoking something.
Perhaps a dime bag.
January 24, 2008
seanahan commented on the word powder-puff
To clarify, I left out a word.
I think the term initially comes from powder-puff FOOTBALL.
I guess my brain equated powder-puff so much with football that it seemed reasonable to leave off the last word. Strange.
January 24, 2008
seanahan commented on the word dime
I stole some ice cream
Then uselessness dropped the dime
Now I am in jail
January 23, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ceilidh
Random House has "key-lee", but the rest have "kay-lee". Bartleby has an audio sample attached, and there is a more noticeable pause in between the two syllables than in daily.
January 23, 2008
seanahan commented on the word powder-puff
I think the term initially comes from powder-puff.
January 23, 2008
seanahan commented on the word magic square
I had to grab my combinatorics text off my bookshelf to refresh my memory. Euler proved that an order 6 Latin square does not exist, and conjectured that it was also true for all odd multiples of 2. It turned out he was wrong about everything except 6.
January 23, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ecumenical
From David Eddings, referring to a character named Silk,
"Silk's depredations were broadly ecumenical".
January 23, 2008
seanahan commented on the list quiz-time-5
16. Orchard Place Airport/Douglas Field, and later Orchard Field. I got the clue right away, but had to look up the exact earlier name.
January 23, 2008
seanahan commented on the word stimthought
Also known as an "idea".
January 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word magic square
There's actually some cool combinatorics one can do with these magic squares.
January 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word twat
An amusing historical note from Wikipedia
January 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word messenger
Actually, that one makes sense. Message and passage, while both from French, came into Middle English, and once anglicized, they took on the English suffix. Massage came from French at a much later date, and has not been fully assimilated (thanks Bill!) into the English language, so it doesn't take on an English suffix.
From etymonline, "c.1225, messager, from O.Fr. messagier, from message (see message). With parasitic -n- inserted by c.1300 for no apparent reason except that people liked to say it that way (cf. passenger, harbinger, scavenger)."
Apparently, the n is excrescent.
January 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the list here-there-be-dragons
There's a great cartoon called Flight of Dragons , with John Ritter one of the voice actors. Highly recommended. *Cough* available at you tube.
January 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ancient of days
I had a list of eight million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine names for God, but I gave up at that point.
January 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word the blank slate (steven pinker)
I actually enjoyed the polemic parts of it. Pinker and I have very similar philosophies of life, politics, science, religion, etc., so I felt he was preaching to the choir. It's always nice when famous intellectuals agree with you.
January 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word courtesy
Least likely post ever.
January 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word the story of english (robert mccrum)
I'd rate it a little higher, perhaps 3 stars. It was a bit dry and not really re-readable, but it packs a lot of information and isn't boring.
January 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word le ton beau de marot (douglas r. hofstadter)
This has been on my must read list for about a year, I'll have to bump it up to the top.
I think that GEB is not particularly accessible unless you already understand Godel's incompleteness thereom. A good knowledge of Bach also helps.
January 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word the stuff of thought (steven pinker)
Anybody who enjoys language should read this book.
January 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word the language instinct : how the mind creates language (steven pinker)
What's the total number of stars? It doesn't matter, I rate this book as infinite stars.
January 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word heuristic
It's important to note that "experience" doesn't necessarily imply human experience. A computer can examine sample problems to come up with heuristics, it is a standard technique in artificial intelligence.
January 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word witch-hare
Whsst!? Is that like Psst?
January 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word powerblog
But what does it mean?
January 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word love spoon
Hmm, is there a love spork?
January 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word ppl
Also population.
January 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word app
Also application.
Edit: As in killer app.
January 21, 2008
seanahan commented on the word black hole
Those are the best kind of jokes, the one where a simple physical truth is expressed in a profound manner.
January 21, 2008
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