Jean Dieudonne was a very influential French mathematician, who worked in the mid 20th century. He was one of the founding members of the collective that published under the name of Nicolas Bourbaki. The group, which was highly influential from the 1950s through the 1980s is best know for publishing a series of textbooks, collectively known as the Elements of Mathematics, The group is known for the extreme rigor with which they lay out the fundamentals of different branches of mathematics.
Dieudonne's essay "The Architecture of Mathematics" has become known as Bourbaki's manifesto.
Never, under any circumstances, get a Nest thermostat in your home. It is the technology of Satan and you may wake up dead of hypothermia in the night.
Presumably it means "pratlike in nature", "having the characteristics of a prat", analogously to "bratty". The pratty = pretty version seems to stem from Scottish pronunciation, no?
And I am crestfallen at the thought that I might not get a copy of that poetry 'zine. That I was promised. I'm only claiming what is rightfully mine. I suspect you are just holding out for some kind of quid pro quo. Which, fair enough, just say the word and I will be happy to send some kind of Parisian bauble or trinket winging your way.
But I'm damned if I'm gonna post my street address here on Wordnik, and you have the vice of being nowhere else contactable, to my knowledge.
I never did get my copy of that poetry rag where my delightful opus "Marmalade Cat Humiliation" is alleged to have appeared.
What do you have to say about that, leather-ears? Did even a pang of regret enter your wizened marsupial soul as you jetted past Paris, on the way to a more cachet-laden dinner engagement with rolig, huh?
And if you ask me anyone who tweets (God, how I hate being forced to use vile word) "Lured to lurid hues, lucid discontinuities churn out strips of woody putty coalesced to upheavals of eggnog organza: lime-twigged snowclones" is either trying too hard, or a reasonably clever machine.
An idiotic little hammer knocks drily: one, two, three, ten, twenty knocks. Then, like a clod of mud thrown into crystal-clear water, there is wild screaming, hissing, rattling, wailing, moaning, cackling. Bestial cries are heard: neighing horses, the squeal of a brass pig, crying jackasses, amorous quacks of a monstrous toad…this excruciating medley of brutal sounds is subordinated to a barely perceptible rhythm. Listening to this screaming music for a minute or two, one conjures up an orchestra of madmen, sexual maniacs, led by a man-stallion beating time with an enormous phallus.
These are not quite the same as what the French call « guillemets », are they?
But they might be the same as what the Germans call Gänsefüßchen, (little goosefeet, that is the little feet of geese, not the feet of little geese).
I just found out from Wikipedia (regarding guillemet) that
The word is a diminutive of the French name Guillaume (the equivalent of which in English is William), after the French printer and punchcutter Guillaume Le Bé (1525–98). Some languages derive their word for guillemets analogously; for example, the Irish term is Liamóg, from Liam 'William' and a diminutive suffix.
Liamóg is better translated as "young William" but is in any case adorable.
What about "pinfluence", the act of using hypnosis to get someone to divulge their ATM code; "dinfluence", the act of persuasion though the use of very loud noises; "zinfluence", the act of steering someone towards choosing the Zinfandel from the wine list, "thinfluence", the act of persuading someone to lose a few pounds before summer rolls around, perhaps I'd better stop now ...
"ginfluence", the act of bending someone to one's well by plying them with juniper juice
Sadly, this year SantaFox is working under a major constraint; because of the Scheveningen agreement, he is being forced to work with French elves, who refuse to work more than 35 hours a week, and who strike* at the slightest provocation (e.g. the recent, perfectly innocuous change in the hot cocoa and marshmallow supplier). Given these limitations, December 2013 seems like a more realistic goal.
*: SantaFox also hears dark rumors of a planned work stoppage to coincide with the end of the Mayan calendar.
Nobody is tweeting about Gunter's chain -- how can this be?
Here's a fun craft project for the children, if they start now, they should be able to complete that chain in time for father's day. Just remember, when it gets to the muriatic acid part, some adult supervision might be advisable:
I am surprised, nay shocked, that the immortal phrase of excoriation "nook-shotten Norwegians" has not yet made it onto this page. Better late than never.
Given how apt a description this phrase is for so many phenomena, it's astonishing that its page is not more densely studded with examples and illustrations.
I'm sure Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK) would be open to considering fresh branding opportunities, what with him no longer being president of the IMF and not having managed to be elected president of France. And with today's news that the gang rape charges against him have been dropped, so that only the pimping charges remain, the potential for a brand values disconnect is consequently greatly reduced.
Once upon a time, there was a spectabundalDam troll who lived a generally happy life, except for his recurrent bouts of logolepsy and occasional flareups of his gallbladder, attributable to his fondness for certain Products like fromage and Norfin tuna steaks. But, in general, he lived happily under his Nasturtium-strewn Dam, admiring the totally rad, weyant, jelly shoes and jelly bracelet he had extracted as a toll from a passing, bedraggled, rather slutty-looking water nymph.
I am, as they say around these here parts, *desolated*. But I understand that rolig is undoubtedly an infinitely more charming dinner companion than my miserable self. Given my druthers, I'd be dining nightly in Ljubljana and Trieste myself, instead of ...
Well, no, actually. No, I wouldn't....
But, de toute façon, safe travels, o leather-eared one. You do know that the big Swiss chocolate cartels have outlawed chocolate bilbies within Swiss borders, right?
Hey, what happened to the creepy visual? Now yarb will stop clicking, jelly shoes will stop trending, and civilization (as we know it) will come to an end. I blame the Mayans.
When will you be coming to Europe? You could have dinner with sionnach in Parigi. I will be having dinner with Son of Groucho week after next -- why not you? I am also trying to convince Prolagus to make the trip north from his Sardine fortress.
What? Ducks belong to tribes now? (Insert joke about inadvisability of ducks taking presents of duvets from visiting flocks of geese ..... a joke so lame it quacks me right up ...)
Fecal vomiting or antiperistalsis is a kind of emesis in which fecal matter is expelled from the intestines into the stomach, by spasmodic contractions of the gastric muscles, and then subsequently forcefully expelled from the stomach up into the esophagus and out through the mouth and sometimes nasal passages. Alternative medical terms for fecal vomiting are copremesis and stercoraceous vomiting. It was also referred to as miserere in medieval times.
Why Bologna indeed? Because I want to start a new language in 2013 and when I was in Dublin recently, my cousins there were surprisingly vehement in their insistence that (i) I should choose Italian over Russian and (ii) that the only city worth considering in Italy was Bologna. Given that Michael, who was the most voluble and insistent of the bunch, lived there for 6 months at some point in his career, I am not willing to discount his opinion.
The basic rationale seemed to be that Russia was still basically a country that is run by gangsters, and that all other potential rival cities in Italy, such as Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples, Milan, Turin, or Siena, were either too large, too soulless, too overrun by tourists, or some combination of the above.
But I know that some of your leather-eared past was spent in Italy, so I would be very interested in hearing your views on the subject. Needless to say, this is all just in the pipe-dream phase at this point, as it is a long way until spring 2013, and I have one more trip back to Paris to organise for Sept-Nov 2012.
Paris did never pan out in terms of confectionery-dispensing dioramas, alas. But there are other compensations, not least of which is the unexpected charm of Parisians, which delights me on a daily basis.
So, besides having pademelons for lawnmowers, what are you up to down there in chunderland?
I think you misunderstood the tone of both my comment and that of dhuber. So far you have made two contributions to this site -- one very charming comment, and one that can only be described as boorish. Your choice as to how you wish to continue, if indeed you do. And I hope that you do, because some very smart people contribute to the discussion. But, given the notorious difficulty of correctly assessing tone in internet discussions, might I suggest you be a little less hostile in your responses in future?
Oh, pshaw, GHibbs. Pull yourself together, please. The fact that some mindless bureaucrat somewhere takes a noun and sticks a "to" in front of it doesn't actually make it a legitimate verb, you know.
The proposition that "statement" is a verb makes me want to shudder.
But what are these garlic chives of which you speak, iroquoisy or otherwise? Are they the bastard demonspawn of some hot garlic-on-chive rumpy-pumpy down in the vegetable patch? Would it be possible to get some potatoes in on all this hot vegetal commingling? Because think how awesome the resulting crisps (or as you Americans like to call them, chips) would be.
Does anyone know why this comment box is so oddly located?
I am back in the City of Light, wrestling with such conundrums as why baguette bags only cover half the baguette and whether to splurge on the 30-month or 36-month aged Comté (Cheese-France.com tells me it has been produced since the time of Charlemagne, but I'm having a hard time tracking down the really good old stuff).
The next exciting linguistic adventure is supposed to start in Spring 2013 in Bologna. But first I have to polish my little nugget of French to its glistening best, which will take until the end of 2012.
Pademelons, eh? I've often thought that the whole pademelon/paddymelon thing is just the antipodean version of the vegetable lamb of Tartary.
The frogblog continues, but at a much lower rate of publication, I regret to say. And the whole "search phrases by which people were referred to the frogblog" thing became less interesting after 1500 people arrived there around April 1st because they typed "poisson d'Avril" into their search engine. For one brief shining moment, I thought I had become an internet star, only to lapse back into skulking obscurity 48 hours later.
Frankly, I've always thought that 'k' was pretty unnecessary in Thpanish. In Thpain, at least, it could be eliminated and they could add a useful 'theta' letter inthtead.
Afterwards I wiped my tail with a hen, with a cock, with a pullet, with a calf's skin, with a hare, with a pigeon, with a cormorant, with an attorney's bag, with a montero, with a coif, with a falconer's lure. But, to conclude, I say and maintain, that of all torcheculs, arsewisps, bumfodders, tail-napkins, bunghole cleansers, and wipe-breeches, there is none in the world comparable to the neck of a goose, that is well downed, if you hold her head betwixt your legs. And believe me therein upon mine honour, for you will thereby feel in your nockhole a most wonderful pleasure, both in regard of the softness of the said down and of the temporate heat of the goose, which is easily communicated to the bum-gut and the rest of the inwards, in so far as to come even to the regions of the heart and brains. And think not that the felicity of the heroes and demigods in the Elysian fields consisteth either in their asphodel, ambrosia, or nectar, as our old women here used to say; but in this, according to my judgment, that they wipe their tails with the neck of a goose, holding her head betwixt their legs, and such is the opinion of Master John of Scotland, alias Scotus.
No matter what one thinks about reduplicative canning (and I am not altogether swayed by rolig's loopy, though delightful, logic), classifying canning as sinful seems like a slippery logical slope. Because then canting would necessarily be a virtue, and decanting would be a sin. Which would mean that every time I decanted the port I would be flirting with damnation. Harsh.
On the trigonometric front, if we are to make moral value judgements about sining, where does that leave cosining and tanning. Are we to denounce all those working in the leather industry, or anyone who cosines a loan? No, I'm not buying it.
The act of rubbing your unwiped anus (typically following a bowel movement) on a doorknob, thereby leaving a slimy, shi**y doorknob for the next unlucky soul who touches it.
This new story of the irrepressible Penny Andrews tells how an accident at a local gymkhana led to an unexpected holiday in Italy. There Penny, with her usual instinct for adventure, found herself mixed up in an intriguing mystery that involved an elderly English lady, a cosmopolitan art collector and an Italian museum official.
But Penny did not allow complications of this sort to spoil her delight in her first holiday abroad. She found the people, the language and above all the city of Florence absolutely fascinating.
Six weeks was much too short a time for all the things she wanted to do and see, but coming home again was wonderful, too, especially when Penny was introduced to the new friend that awaited her there.
As a teen, I loved other "irrepressible teen" stories. I didn't care if they were about buoys or gulls.
There, I've said it. I also read all my sister's copies of "Bunty" and "Judy". They were all about the interpersonal relationships, dude, and so much more interesting than the Beano or Wham.
I'm hoping that one of the panelists will have something to say about the specific effects of a diet of umbrage and fufluns on poo, Fernando. Maybe we can tap into CB's experience.
Yes, that's all well and good. But how is it possible to fill the unit square, which we can all agree to have (Lebesgue) measure one, with a curve, whose measure must always be zero, even in the limit. Eh?
Objectivity has never been a goal of mine here on Wordienik.
Sometimes, when I get bored, I do enjoy baiting yarb by painting him as a notorious, diehard, swaddler. It's a harmless pastime really, all done in good fun (the baiting, that is, not the swaddling, which is pernicious and can lead to circulatory problems).
Yes, yes -- I hear your protestations : "You're in Paris. How can you be bored?"
But if you'd been taking Imodium for the last 24 hours, you might engage in a little good-natured yarb-baiting yourself.
* Considers moving tent from the occupy wordnik page to this one, given the possibility that this might be where yarb finally disappears up his own rear end *
By that somewhat contorted rationale, "idolatry" would not be a word either. To point out just one flaw in your logic, not everyone in the world is Catholic.
"Hagiolatry" is indeed a word; perhaps you should just deal with it and move on.
I must confess that I had completely forgotten that I had a DeQuincey list. Though I would recommend staying away from the opium, DeQ is a fine writer.
narb is, of course, bran backwards. "Bran" means "the fair-haired one" in old Irish, and was also the dog of Cuchulainn. "Cuchulainn" means "the hound of Culann", so - bear with me here - Bran was the dog of the hound of Culann.
I cannot let this stand. Nobody writes sevens with a right-angle in them. Furthermore many of us write them with little continental crosses. But whether or not you cross your 7's, they are more semi-rhomboid in character than semi-square. I'm all for pushing boundaries, but this goes too far.
The fact that mountains dominate poetry in the visuals makes one want to let loose a compound epithet or two. Bloody heck! Heavens to Murgatroyd! With a little Homeric infixing -- it's abso-bloomin-lutely shocking.
I initially read 'zuzu's comment as "I'm too busy listening to squirrel variations", and I thought to myself, "Bach was even more prolific than I thought".
This might also mean "to render Ent-free", as in "The Nazgul swooped in on their fell-beasts to make sure that the 100-Acre Wood was thoroughly enentised in time for Lord Sauron's triumphal procession".
Fbharjo: There used to be a site once which offered hours of amusement. One could simply pass a sentence ten times through Google translate, with a choice of languages en route, and watch the unintelligibility grow. It did famously poorly with trick sentences like "Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana". Though, as I recall, even the results for "I'm a little teapot, short and stout" were certifiably hilarious.
I quite enjoyed this paragraph from that same blog:
(je suis un nounours, donc je crotte comme tout le monde, hein), je suis triste de la disparition de mon ami Charmin des étals des marchandes de papier WC depuis le début de l'année 2010... Bref. Et je ne suis pas le seul mécontent ! Plein de gens en Germanie déplorent la disparition de l'ours Charmin au profit d'une marque qui fait du papier bien quelconque et qui irrite les fessounes délicates des nounours. Je n'ai jamais retrouvé depuis de papier WC équivalent à celui de Charmin..
We can deduce from this that teddy-bears apparently don't have tappens, their little cheeks are delicate, and in some countries of Europe, including the mythical Germania, they mourn the recent unavailability of Charmin....
Selective reporting right there folks. The article fails to mention the fact that unattended children visiting the sanctuary are routinely rounded up, dressed in tiny togas, and forced to duel the tiger quolls on Roman holidays, to satisfy the bloodlust of visitors to the "sanctuary". Unscrupulous bookies make a fortune in illegal betting on the hapless gladiator-tots.
It would be nice to report that the occasional victorious toddler wins his or her freedom. Unfortunately, this is not the case. These valiant tykes are likely to find themselves swaddled, smeared with Vegemite, and used as the chewy centerpiece in a delicious "devil pinata".
Is it not time to shine a bright light on the seamy underbelly of Australian animal sanctuaries?
Today's (Oct 22nd 2011) copy of "Le Monde" has a two-page spread, detailing the involvement of several cronies of DSK (with the not-so-subtle implication that DSK himself was also involved, or at least was in the know) in a ring of "proxénétisme". It just gets sleazier, folks ....
I think the reason that jelly shoes are always trending is that yarb keeps clicking on this page, lured back each time by the unerotic and slightly creepy visual. Maybe the woman, if that's what the creature is, is Belgian.
Oops! I just clicked on the photo, to discover that, on closer inspection, it's a young girl. Which makes the part above creepily inappropriate. Sorry, yarb!
WHY, for the love of PETE, whoever he IS, does this site still take FOREVER to LOAD?!
Bonne question. it's not as if the huge amount of content is slowing it down, as all the good stuff is down there in the disused nuclear fallout shelter, or has been sold to the Estonians to defray expenses. But I never gave permission for my content to be made summarily unavailable for months on end with no warning, or for it to be sold to the Estonians, the greedy bastards. Note that "Estonians" in this post is being used as a generic, intended-to-be- humorous reference to a mysterious people I know nothing about, except that their entire country is internet-wired out the wazoo, and that you can't take a leak in Tallinn without first punching in your PIN, so that sewerage treatment charges can be debited to your account. Oops! I think that last sentence might have made things worse, not better.
Yes, indeedy. Whenever I am feeling a little phlegmish, i like nothing better than a little Belgian chocolate, a plate of fries, and some absurdly alcoholic beer to cheer me up.
In Edinburgh last Thursday evening, our carafe of water came with cucumbers and assorted pond greenery floating in it. I had a pint of cider instead.
A propos of nothing in particular, have I mentioned recently how your wonderful contributions on this site stoke my chaste internet crush on you, cheres applaudissements de grenouille?
Comments by sionnach
sionnach commented on the list the-rw-apple-jr-memorial-list
Perhaps I was insane when I dreamed up this list?
No, I was just intoxicated with the joy and power and music of words.
We all were.
I hope we all still are.
December 16, 2021
sionnach commented on the list rectal-foreign-bodies
Now I miss the 2015 version of sionnach. He got to travel to other countries and learn new languages.
December 16, 2021
sionnach commented on the word lionize
Bilby is correct.
Bilby is (almost) always correct.
Hi, oh big-eared one!
December 16, 2021
sionnach commented on the word dieudonne
Jean Dieudonne was a very influential French mathematician, who worked in the mid 20th century. He was one of the founding members of the collective that published under the name of Nicolas Bourbaki. The group, which was highly influential from the 1950s through the 1980s is best know for publishing a series of textbooks, collectively known as the Elements of Mathematics, The group is known for the extreme rigor with which they lay out the fundamentals of different branches of mathematics.
Dieudonne's essay "The Architecture of Mathematics" has become known as Bourbaki's manifesto.
October 1, 2021
sionnach commented on the word thermantidote
Alexa, adjust the thermantidote..
Never, under any circumstances, get a Nest thermostat in your home. It is the technology of Satan and you may wake up dead of hypothermia in the night.
March 17, 2019
sionnach commented on the word milkshake duck
There is even the rarely spotted reverse milkshake duck, as discussed in the following story:
https://www.vox.com/2018/10/9/17955402/this-is-my-son-meme-himtoo-metoo-pieter-hanson
November 5, 2018
sionnach commented on the word microbarom
So, not actually the youngest spawn of Drumpf?
January 12, 2018
sionnach commented on the word wont catcher
a mole catcher.
According to Notes and Queries, 1882, "wont"is the common name in Radnorshire for a mole.
January 12, 2018
sionnach commented on the list dale-counting-sheep
Now there's a musical
July 28, 2015
sionnach commented on the word mick
I agree with bilby, with the slight nuance that it often involves someone who deserves to be taken down a peg or two.
It's probably more common to say "you're taking the piss" than to say 'you're taking the mick" these days.
February 24, 2015
sionnach commented on the list rectal-foreign-bodies
I miss the 2009 version of sionnach as well. He was much more fun than the 2015 model. Though his French was not as good.
February 24, 2015
sionnach commented on the user bilby
Bonsoir Monsieur Bilby,
Where are you, actuellement?
I am back in Paris, being forced to write about such big fat frauds as Charles "Mr Spleen" Baudelaire.
But in two more weeks I shall be free, free as a bird!
Now I need to go favourite the word "wentletrap".
Adieu !
January 10, 2015
sionnach commented on the list infinite-jest--6
Nice list!
October 15, 2014
sionnach commented on the word Feance
But who will win next year's Tour de Feance? Zat is ze question.
October 11, 2014
sionnach commented on the word Feance
I'm siding with yarb on this one!
Signed,
Foxy the Auld Wan.
October 11, 2014
sionnach commented on the word petuti
If you've got a cutie
Who's a real cute patootie,
keep him under your hat.
Remember there's a dozen dolls fer every Dan ....
Calamity Jane, or some other Western personage
September 27, 2014
sionnach commented on the word meeting skipvia
We all have dreams of meeting skipvia. (My, this comment font is tiny!)
September 18, 2014
sionnach commented on the list spin-trick-ham-road-game-for-shy-huck
Gosh, it's been so long since I was on Wordie, I've forgotten just how much fun we had back in the day.
September 18, 2014
sionnach commented on the list korean-phrases-heard-on-qi
As seen here, minutes 5 through 10:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psjhdmlnnfA
September 24, 2013
sionnach commented on the list flotilla
I am delighted to see Sécrétions Magnifiques on this list.
September 23, 2013
sionnach commented on the word pratty
Presumably it means "pratlike in nature", "having the characteristics of a prat", analogously to "bratty". The pratty = pretty version seems to stem from Scottish pronunciation, no?
September 23, 2013
sionnach commented on the user bilby
Bonsoir, bilby! Un salut de Paris à toi et à tous les marsupiaux, même les moins jolies.
Renard
September 22, 2013
sionnach commented on the word dolbear's law
(# of chirps of the snowy tree cricket per 15 seconds) + 40 = Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
Amos Dolbear, 1897, "The Cricket as a Thermometer"
November 26, 2012
sionnach commented on the user bilby
Around these here parts, they call me Noel Renard.
November 24, 2012
sionnach commented on the user bilby
So, seriously, how was Trieste?
And I am crestfallen at the thought that I might not get a copy of that poetry 'zine. That I was promised. I'm only claiming what is rightfully mine. I suspect you are just holding out for some kind of quid pro quo. Which, fair enough, just say the word and I will be happy to send some kind of Parisian bauble or trinket winging your way.
But I'm damned if I'm gonna post my street address here on Wordnik, and you have the vice of being nowhere else contactable, to my knowledge.
It's an impasse.
Happy Thanksgiving.
November 22, 2012
sionnach commented on the word lime-twigged
I never did get my copy of that poetry rag where my delightful opus "Marmalade Cat Humiliation" is alleged to have appeared.
What do you have to say about that, leather-ears? Did even a pang of regret enter your wizened marsupial soul as you jetted past Paris, on the way to a more cachet-laden dinner engagement with rolig, huh?
Not that I am bitter. No, not me.
November 21, 2012
sionnach commented on the word lime-twigged
And if you ask me anyone who tweets (God, how I hate being forced to use vile word) "Lured to lurid hues, lucid discontinuities churn out strips of woody putty coalesced to upheavals of eggnog organza: lime-twigged snowclones" is either trying too hard, or a reasonably clever machine.
November 20, 2012
sionnach commented on the word lime-twigged
Just ask Papageno!
November 20, 2012
sionnach commented on the word crowning
Trying to remember the story of "The Beet Queen", and how she may have been crowned.
November 20, 2012
sionnach commented on the list sionnach-s-words
Aw shucks! Thank you.
November 18, 2012
sionnach commented on the word maxim gorky on jazz
An idiotic little hammer knocks drily: one, two, three, ten, twenty knocks. Then, like a clod of mud thrown into crystal-clear water, there is wild screaming, hissing, rattling, wailing, moaning, cackling. Bestial cries are heard: neighing horses, the squeal of a brass pig, crying jackasses, amorous quacks of a monstrous toad…this excruciating medley of brutal sounds is subordinated to a barely perceptible rhythm. Listening to this screaming music for a minute or two, one conjures up an orchestra of madmen, sexual maniacs, led by a man-stallion beating time with an enormous phallus.
November 18, 2012
sionnach commented on the word sottisier
Here is a link to an entertaining one: http://phrontistery.info/sottisier.html
November 13, 2012
sionnach commented on the list weaponized-animals
This is indeed an awesome list. I feel a host of regrettable jokes bubbling up, like "Don't bring a jack-knife fish to a pistol shrimp fight".
But I wonder if maybe the club-foot whiting might not feel out of place on this list?
November 13, 2012
sionnach commented on the word cygnet-royal
And then the queen swoops in and eats it, as is her royal prerogative.
November 12, 2012
sionnach commented on the user foijsoijsdoif
Please go fuck yourself, you vile spambot!
October 29, 2012
sionnach commented on the word curly quotes
These are not quite the same as what the French call « guillemets », are they?
But they might be the same as what the Germans call Gänsefüßchen, (little goosefeet, that is the little feet of geese, not the feet of little geese).
I just found out from Wikipedia (regarding guillemet) that
The word is a diminutive of the French name Guillaume (the equivalent of which in English is William), after the French printer and punchcutter Guillaume Le Bé (1525–98). Some languages derive their word for guillemets analogously; for example, the Irish term is Liamóg, from Liam 'William' and a diminutive suffix.
Liamóg is better translated as "young William" but is in any case adorable.
October 28, 2012
sionnach commented on the word curly quotes
Doctor Who.
October 28, 2012
sionnach commented on the word kinfluence
What about "pinfluence", the act of using hypnosis to get someone to divulge their ATM code; "dinfluence", the act of persuasion though the use of very loud noises; "zinfluence", the act of steering someone towards choosing the Zinfandel from the wine list, "thinfluence", the act of persuading someone to lose a few pounds before summer rolls around, perhaps I'd better stop now ...
"ginfluence", the act of bending someone to one's well by plying them with juniper juice
October 18, 2012
sionnach commented on the word stroobly
as in "stroobly Peter", I imagine.
October 18, 2012
sionnach commented on the word Gunter's chain
As a consolation, perhaps you would like a link to a recent portrait of the Santa Fox: Santa Fox 2010 official portrait
October 13, 2012
sionnach commented on the word Gunter's chain
Sadly, this year SantaFox is working under a major constraint; because of the Scheveningen agreement, he is being forced to work with French elves, who refuse to work more than 35 hours a week, and who strike* at the slightest provocation (e.g. the recent, perfectly innocuous change in the hot cocoa and marshmallow supplier). Given these limitations, December 2013 seems like a more realistic goal.
*: SantaFox also hears dark rumors of a planned work stoppage to coincide with the end of the Mayan calendar.
October 11, 2012
sionnach commented on the word Gunter's chain
Nobody is tweeting about Gunter's chain -- how can this be?
Here's a fun craft project for the children, if they start now, they should be able to complete that chain in time for father's day. Just remember, when it gets to the muriatic acid part, some adult supervision might be advisable:
Make your own Gunter's chain in fewer than 1,000 easy steps
October 11, 2012
sionnach commented on the word nook-shotten
I am surprised, nay shocked, that the immortal phrase of excoriation "nook-shotten Norwegians" has not yet made it onto this page. Better late than never.
Here is the link: maunderings of nook-shotten Norwegians
The phrase is taken from the shriek of execration that constituted the press reaction to the premiere of Ibsen's "Ghosts" in London.
See also the English press reaction to Ibsen's "Ghosts"
October 11, 2012
sionnach commented on the word Dam troll
Why, of course, 'zuzu. Noblesse oblige. But it appears that our Dam troll may have moved into a temporary tree dwelling erected by the gummint.
October 10, 2012
sionnach commented on the word Great Fiasco
Given how apt a description this phrase is for so many phenomena, it's astonishing that its page is not more densely studded with examples and illustrations.
October 7, 2012
sionnach commented on the word pyjama catshark
as seen here
October 6, 2012
sionnach commented on the word teleology
Yes, indeed, CSP has much to answer for. And who is due the credit or blame for the puzzling visual?
October 6, 2012
sionnach commented on the word Dam troll
Sorry, 'zuzu. I totally disagree.
October 4, 2012
sionnach commented on the word brand values disconnect
I'm sure Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK) would be open to considering fresh branding opportunities, what with him no longer being president of the IMF and not having managed to be elected president of France. And with today's news that the gang rape charges against him have been dropped, so that only the pimping charges remain, the potential for a brand values disconnect is consequently greatly reduced.
October 3, 2012
sionnach commented on the word Dam troll
Once upon a time, there was a spectabundal Dam troll who lived a generally happy life, except for his recurrent bouts of logolepsy and occasional flareups of his gallbladder, attributable to his fondness for certain Products like fromage and Norfin tuna steaks. But, in general, he lived happily under his Nasturtium-strewn Dam, admiring the totally rad, weyant, jelly shoes and jelly bracelet he had extracted as a toll from a passing, bedraggled, rather slutty-looking water nymph.
October 3, 2012
sionnach commented on the word rapid plant movement
Somehow, this reminds me of my list of thigmo-words.
October 2, 2012
sionnach commented on the word Hervé le furet
Hervé the ferret, the French equivalent of the Geiko gekko; dapper Hervé
October 1, 2012
sionnach commented on the word jelly shoes
No, she's back today! I blame yarb. Which, come to think of it, is more or less my default position in life. Swaddling monster that he is.
October 1, 2012
sionnach commented on the user bilby
I am, as they say around these here parts, *desolated*. But I understand that rolig is undoubtedly an infinitely more charming dinner companion than my miserable self. Given my druthers, I'd be dining nightly in Ljubljana and Trieste myself, instead of ...
Well, no, actually. No, I wouldn't....
But, de toute façon, safe travels, o leather-eared one. You do know that the big Swiss chocolate cartels have outlawed chocolate bilbies within Swiss borders, right?
October 1, 2012
sionnach commented on the word bizarre spheniscidine confectionery dispenser videorama
Ah. Such good times.
Is overcome by waves of nostalgia for the good old confectionery pooping dispenser diorama days.
Sob!
October 1, 2012
sionnach commented on the list penguins--1
What about penguins
October 1, 2012
sionnach commented on the word early
You say that. But why should we believe you?
October 1, 2012
sionnach commented on the word jelly shoes
Hey, what happened to the creepy visual? Now yarb will stop clicking, jelly shoes will stop trending, and civilization (as we know it) will come to an end. I blame the Mayans.
October 1, 2012
sionnach commented on the word early
I don't just lie to children about dinosaurs. I'm an equal-opportunity fabulist. I lie to everyone about everything. Or do I ? Mwahahahahaha!!!!
But why does this page have no mention of Biddy Early , the wise woman of County Clare.
October 1, 2012
sionnach commented on the user bilby
When will you be coming to Europe? You could have dinner with sionnach in Parigi. I will be having dinner with Son of Groucho week after next -- why not you? I am also trying to convince Prolagus to make the trip north from his Sardine fortress.
September 29, 2012
sionnach commented on the word Retrotechnical
Like steampunk?
September 28, 2012
sionnach commented on the user bilby
Wassup, bilbykins? Are you coming to Europe, mebbe?
September 26, 2012
sionnach commented on the word tit juice conjunctivitis
Or, as seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fJSxibj-tc
September 26, 2012
sionnach commented on the word Romnesia
Hi bilbykins! Comment ça va?
September 26, 2012
sionnach commented on the word jelly shoes
I've been away for a while. But it's a relief to see that jelly shoes is still trending.
September 26, 2012
sionnach commented on the user reelintenses
spam spam spam spammity spam spam spam
June 7, 2012
sionnach commented on the word cow magnet
We had this bull once at home, called Ferdinand. Man, he was a real cow magnet!!
June 7, 2012
sionnach commented on the word chenomorphae
What? Ducks belong to tribes now? (Insert joke about inadvisability of ducks taking presents of duvets from visiting flocks of geese ..... a joke so lame it quacks me right up ...)
June 6, 2012
sionnach commented on the word cow magnet
http://cleantechnica.com/2011/11/21/google-earth-lands-in-magnetic-cow-controversy/
June 6, 2012
sionnach commented on the word cow magnet
Most interesting. Is this the explanation for the google earth finding that cows point north?
http://news.cnet.com/google-earth-shows-cows-point-north/
June 6, 2012
sionnach commented on the word copremesis
Fecal vomiting or antiperistalsis is a kind of emesis in which fecal matter is expelled from the intestines into the stomach, by spasmodic contractions of the gastric muscles, and then subsequently forcefully expelled from the stomach up into the esophagus and out through the mouth and sometimes nasal passages. Alternative medical terms for fecal vomiting are copremesis and stercoraceous vomiting. It was also referred to as miserere in medieval times.
Miserere indeed!!
June 6, 2012
sionnach commented on the word pantanoso
These pants are seamless.
June 4, 2012
sionnach commented on the user bilby
Why Bologna indeed? Because I want to start a new language in 2013 and when I was in Dublin recently, my cousins there were surprisingly vehement in their insistence that (i) I should choose Italian over Russian and (ii) that the only city worth considering in Italy was Bologna. Given that Michael, who was the most voluble and insistent of the bunch, lived there for 6 months at some point in his career, I am not willing to discount his opinion.
The basic rationale seemed to be that Russia was still basically a country that is run by gangsters, and that all other potential rival cities in Italy, such as Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples, Milan, Turin, or Siena, were either too large, too soulless, too overrun by tourists, or some combination of the above.
But I know that some of your leather-eared past was spent in Italy, so I would be very interested in hearing your views on the subject. Needless to say, this is all just in the pipe-dream phase at this point, as it is a long way until spring 2013, and I have one more trip back to Paris to organise for Sept-Nov 2012.
Paris did never pan out in terms of confectionery-dispensing dioramas, alas. But there are other compensations, not least of which is the unexpected charm of Parisians, which delights me on a daily basis.
So, besides having pademelons for lawnmowers, what are you up to down there in chunderland?
May 31, 2012
sionnach commented on the user mikerob7
I think you misunderstood the tone of both my comment and that of dhuber. So far you have made two contributions to this site -- one very charming comment, and one that can only be described as boorish. Your choice as to how you wish to continue, if indeed you do. And I hope that you do, because some very smart people contribute to the discussion. But, given the notorious difficulty of correctly assessing tone in internet discussions, might I suggest you be a little less hostile in your responses in future?
May 30, 2012
sionnach commented on the user mikerob7
Oh, dhuber, you're so droll!
May 29, 2012
sionnach commented on the word statement
Oh, pshaw, GHibbs. Pull yourself together, please. The fact that some mindless bureaucrat somewhere takes a noun and sticks a "to" in front of it doesn't actually make it a legitimate verb, you know.
The proposition that "statement" is a verb makes me want to shudder.
May 28, 2012
sionnach commented on the word fruit and vegetable decorators
But what are these garlic chives of which you speak, iroquoisy or otherwise? Are they the bastard demonspawn of some hot garlic-on-chive rumpy-pumpy down in the vegetable patch? Would it be possible to get some potatoes in on all this hot vegetal commingling? Because think how awesome the resulting crisps (or as you Americans like to call them, chips) would be.
Tasty and vampire-repellent. Yum.
May 27, 2012
sionnach commented on the word fruit and vegetable decorators
I wonder if that gap-toothed dude is a real gardener, or if they hired him from the "rent a gap-toothed gardener" modeling agency?
May 26, 2012
sionnach commented on the user bilby
Does anyone know why this comment box is so oddly located?
I am back in the City of Light, wrestling with such conundrums as why baguette bags only cover half the baguette and whether to splurge on the 30-month or 36-month aged Comté (Cheese-France.com tells me it has been produced since the time of Charlemagne, but I'm having a hard time tracking down the really good old stuff).
The next exciting linguistic adventure is supposed to start in Spring 2013 in Bologna. But first I have to polish my little nugget of French to its glistening best, which will take until the end of 2012.
Pademelons, eh? I've often thought that the whole pademelon/paddymelon thing is just the antipodean version of the vegetable lamb of Tartary.
The frogblog continues, but at a much lower rate of publication, I regret to say. And the whole "search phrases by which people were referred to the frogblog" thing became less interesting after 1500 people arrived there around April 1st because they typed "poisson d'Avril" into their search engine. For one brief shining moment, I thought I had become an internet star, only to lapse back into skulking obscurity 48 hours later.
May 26, 2012
sionnach commented on the word cork, berlin, carolina, jersey, california, ...... quixote
Some interesting visuals here ....
May 26, 2012
sionnach commented on the user bilby
Hey leather-ears. Wassssssuppppp???
May 26, 2012
sionnach commented on the list crash-blossoms
How did "jelly shoes" get on this list, eh?
May 26, 2012
sionnach commented on the word jelly shoes
I've been away for a while. But it's a relief to see that jelly shoes is still trending.
May 26, 2012
sionnach commented on the list french-gout-and-spanish-pox
When in doubt, blame it on the foreigners.
January 17, 2012
sionnach commented on the list poetrie-ballade-of-good-doctrine-to-those-of-evil-life
Added yet another translation, from 1911
December 19, 2011
sionnach commented on the word French words consisting only of vowels
No, I did not mean "French words consisting only of bowels".
It's the French skinhead chant: Oie! Oie!
November 17, 2011
sionnach commented on the word bilby
Hi, leather-ears! Greetings from San Francisco, aka Baghdad by the Bay.
November 17, 2011
sionnach commented on the word occide
You know, if you just CHANGE ONE LETTER in this word, you get oocide.
As the frogs say, you can't make an oeuf miroir without a leetle oocide.
Es gibt kein Spiegelei ohne Eimord.
Del punto de vista de los huevos, el cocinero es nada mas que un sicario.
November 15, 2011
sionnach commented on the word occide
The Barbicide website link should work better now, sionnach.
Erm, I think you may have missed my leetle joke; what I said was there was nothing to see at the barmecide website.
November 15, 2011
sionnach commented on the word occide
I accidentally went to the barmecide website, belonging to the barber's brother. There was nothing there.
November 14, 2011
sionnach commented on the word abcdefghijklmnñopqrstuvwxyz
Frankly, I've always thought that 'k' was pretty unnecessary in Thpanish. In Thpain, at least, it could be eliminated and they could add a useful 'theta' letter inthtead.
November 14, 2011
sionnach commented on the word abcdefghijklmnñopqrstuvwxyz
It'll always be "i griega" to me! But why would you think "rr" might be a separate letter?
November 14, 2011
sionnach commented on the word steed for Aphrodite
November 14, 2011
sionnach commented on the word The Royall and Most Pleasant Game of the Goose
a broadside printed with a circular track over which players raced through hazards, guided by throws of the dice
See this site, about popular culture in Colonial Williamsburg:
http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/spring08/pop.cfm
November 14, 2011
sionnach commented on the word spiegeleisen
or, as the french call it, an oeuf miroir:
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/298983_2664763383794_1397299807_33008368_1889141225_n.jpg
November 13, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Luca Turin on modern men's fragrances
Where would you like those brackets, 'zuzu?
November 13, 2011
sionnach commented on the word hogweed
It's a hogweed. It's a cowparsnip. It's a horseradish. It's catnip. It's a lambkin.
It's very confused.
November 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word use for a goose
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh_nFeEcOYQ
November 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word use for a goose
Afterwards I wiped my tail with a hen, with a cock, with a pullet, with a calf's skin, with a hare, with a pigeon, with a cormorant, with an attorney's bag, with a montero, with a coif, with a falconer's lure. But, to conclude, I say and maintain, that of all torcheculs, arsewisps, bumfodders, tail-napkins, bunghole cleansers, and wipe-breeches, there is none in the world comparable to the neck of a goose, that is well downed, if you hold her head betwixt your legs. And believe me therein upon mine honour, for you will thereby feel in your nockhole a most wonderful pleasure, both in regard of the softness of the said down and of the temporate heat of the goose, which is easily communicated to the bum-gut and the rest of the inwards, in so far as to come even to the regions of the heart and brains. And think not that the felicity of the heroes and demigods in the Elysian fields consisteth either in their asphodel, ambrosia, or nectar, as our old women here used to say; but in this, according to my judgment, that they wipe their tails with the neck of a goose, holding her head betwixt their legs, and such is the opinion of Master John of Scotland, alias Scotus.
(Gargantua, Chapter XIII)
November 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word If Ruzuzu is infinitely powerful, can she also be infinitely good
No matter what one thinks about reduplicative canning (and I am not altogether swayed by rolig's loopy, though delightful, logic), classifying canning as sinful seems like a slippery logical slope. Because then canting would necessarily be a virtue, and decanting would be a sin. Which would mean that every time I decanted the port I would be flirting with damnation. Harsh.
On the trigonometric front, if we are to make moral value judgements about sining, where does that leave cosining and tanning. Are we to denounce all those working in the leather industry, or anyone who cosines a loan? No, I'm not buying it.
November 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word mancandle
http://www.e-junkie.info/2011/06/13-year-old-launches-his-own-range-of.html
I thought these were called mandles. Apparently not. Anyone remember on what Wordie page this concept has already been discussed?
November 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word I'm not Listerine
I'm not anti-American (Listerine = antiseptic; septic = short for 'septic tank' = rhyming slang for 'yank')
November 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word rubber gregory
a check that bounces (from rhyming slang for check = Gregory Peck)
November 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word corduroy appreciation day
It's today!!!
11/11/11
http://racked.com/archives/2011/11/09/this-friday-111111-is-corduroy-appreciation-day.php
November 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word If Ruzuzu is infinitely powerful, can she also be infinitely good
But canning and sinning are two quite different activities!
November 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word greasy pablo
The act of rubbing your unwiped anus (typically following a bowel movement) on a doorknob, thereby leaving a slimy, shi**y doorknob for the next unlucky soul who touches it.
(Urban Dictionary)
November 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word epic translation fail
roast salmon paving stone
crunch mister
November 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word If Ruzuzu is infinitely powerful, can she also be infinitely good
Can Ruzuzu invent a word that Ruzuzu can't spell? Hmmmm?
November 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word week†™ s
What's with this "†™" stuff?
November 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Penny in Italy
Alf Tupper
By Kevin Raymond
http://www.footballpoets.org
There was a man, who some say ran
For pleasure pure & sweet
Whatever type of weather
He was there pounding the streets
At the crack of dawn, he washed & yawned
Then put on his running shoes
He then set off on his training run
As the locals still did snooze
He never ran for money
As an amateur he stayed
He ran for fun to beat the best
To win was all he craved
Never ever cheated
No sarcastic quips
The secret of this mans success?
Good old fish'n chips
In snooty clubs where harriers
Thought they were the best
He raced them to the finish line
Then beat them like the rest
Working class men aren't runners
We used to say at school
But Alf Tupper changed all that
As he said himself "I run em all !"
As halcyon days and Alfs kind ways
Are but a distant dream
Comic hero's were our inspiration
They inspired us to succeed!
Working class men & women
That was who we knew
who ran at Battersea Park running track
No posh athletics clubs thank you
We were Alf, not Claude or Ralph
Who had expensive spikes
A pair of shorts and plimsolls
Was what we wore on training hikes!
So cheers Alf mate!
You made us great
A role model for those
Who wanted to win so much it hurt
"I run em all!" our favourite prose!
November 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Penny in Italy
November 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Grimly Feendish
Best. Villain. Ever.
http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/g/grimfien.htm
November 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Penny in Italy
Though I have to admit that Grimly Feendish was da bomb!
November 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Penny in Italy
This new story of the irrepressible Penny Andrews tells how an accident at a local gymkhana led to an unexpected holiday in Italy. There Penny, with her usual instinct for adventure, found herself mixed up in an intriguing mystery that involved an elderly English lady, a cosmopolitan art collector and an Italian museum official.
But Penny did not allow complications of this sort to spoil her delight in her first holiday abroad. She found the people, the language and above all the city of Florence absolutely fascinating.
Six weeks was much too short a time for all the things she wanted to do and see, but coming home again was wonderful, too, especially when Penny was introduced to the new friend that awaited her there.
As a teen, I loved other "irrepressible teen" stories. I didn't care if they were about buoys or gulls.
There, I've said it. I also read all my sister's copies of "Bunty" and "Judy". They were all about the interpersonal relationships, dude, and so much more interesting than the Beano or Wham.
November 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Londons under siege
This is as good a place as any to ask a question that has always bothered me:
"What, if any, is the relationship between Wee Willie Winkie and Winken, of Winken, Blinken, and Nod?" Enquiring minds etc etc
November 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Is Your Poo Specific Enough
I'm hoping that one of the panelists will have something to say about the specific effects of a diet of umbrage and fufluns on poo, Fernando. Maybe we can tap into CB's experience.
November 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word The Joy of Umbrage
My parents went to Umbria and all I got was this lousy T-shirt!
November 9, 2011
sionnach commented on the word tsunamis
Waaaaait a minute, here! So, leaden is really pigpen?
http://www.secretcodebreaker.com/pigpen.gif
November 9, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Londons under siege
This may actually be the most bizarre list I have come across on Wordienik. Or anywhere else, for that matter.
(I do, of course, mean that as a compliment)
November 9, 2011
sionnach commented on the word gossypiboma
The "examples" for this word seem to have gone a bit off the rails. Eh, Tiger?
November 9, 2011
sionnach commented on the word vin
I think you have to pay a special non-renewable energy tax.
Because, you know, "Vin Diesel is duper bad!"
November 9, 2011
sionnach commented on the word vin
I believe that when you pass through the customs hall here, you have to choose between two doors:
Vin blank - nothing to declare
Vin rouge - STOP; something to declare
November 9, 2011
sionnach commented on the word blue straggler
Yes. Whenever I want to touch up my youthful appearance, I immediately reach for the blue makeup.
November 9, 2011
sionnach commented on the word tsunamis
In my dreams, I regularly save the world through my mastery of French irregular verbs. A classic example of wish fulfillment. Would that it were so!
November 8, 2011
sionnach commented on the word poem
lonely starlet
blue-winged
standeth
like beats
pentatomic
November 8, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Would Nietzsche have taken Prozac
http://gossypiboma.wordpress.com/2009/08/
November 8, 2011
sionnach commented on the word tool-carrying banshees get the hurly-burly done
http://gossypiboma.wordpress.com/2010/03/26/library-renovations-the-hoardings-are-up-but-its-business-as-usual/
The title of this post alone is enough to launch a minor internet crush on "gossypiboma". The name of the blog is just icing on the cake!
November 8, 2011
sionnach commented on the word the troubling reality of sexual lubricants
http://gossypiboma.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/lubricants/
"while promising enhanced pleasure, they facilitate infection"
Bummer!
November 8, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Kelvin-Helmholtz instability
He's a wave. he's a particle. He's a disturbed teen. He's a gang member. He's a media darling.
We can only be talking about BILBEEZ!
November 8, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Kelvin-Helmholtz instability
We need to talk about Kelvin. Ever since he's been hanging around with that Helmholtz kid, his behavior has been a little .... unstable.
November 7, 2011
sionnach commented on the word elegant
Sorry for any testiness in my response, GHibbs. Please keep on posting!
November 7, 2011
sionnach commented on the word rike
There's a flavor of "Uncleftish Beholding" to these recent posts by AnWulf.
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.language.artificial/msg/69250bac6c7cbaff?pli=1
November 6, 2011
sionnach commented on the word rike
If there were a third definition, (c), I suppose the spelling would have to change to "reich".
November 6, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Flûtes de Bâle
http://whippingcats.blogspot.com/2011/11/flutes-de-bale.html
November 6, 2011
sionnach commented on the word la mélodie du bonheur
les collines sont vivants avec la mélodie du bonheur ....
http://www.chatelet-theatre.com/2011-2012/musical/the-sound-of-music,556
Wot's it abaht, you say? glad you asked. Lemme clear it up for you:
November 6, 2011
sionnach commented on the word flitter-mouse
Another example of why punctuation matters. Die, flitter-mouse!
November 6, 2011
sionnach commented on the word elegant
Oh, for goodness sake, dear GHibbs. Do you not know the difference between a noun and an adjective?
November 6, 2011
sionnach commented on the word foxgrape
They're probably all sour and yucky!
November 5, 2011
sionnach commented on the word we possess very few authentic details about a people whose written annals were burnt by the ignorant "conquistadores"
"Sionnach, I hereby appoint you as the object of my derision."
This was so promising. But where's the follow-through?
November 4, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Peano curve
Yes, that's all well and good. But how is it possible to fill the unit square, which we can all agree to have (Lebesgue) measure one, with a curve, whose measure must always be zero, even in the limit. Eh?
November 4, 2011
sionnach commented on the word we possess very few authentic details about a people whose written annals were burnt by the ignorant "conquistadores"
Objectivity has never been a goal of mine here on Wordienik.
Sometimes, when I get bored, I do enjoy baiting yarb by painting him as a notorious, diehard, swaddler. It's a harmless pastime really, all done in good fun (the baiting, that is, not the swaddling, which is pernicious and can lead to circulatory problems).
Yes, yes -- I hear your protestations : "You're in Paris. How can you be bored?"
But if you'd been taking Imodium for the last 24 hours, you might engage in a little good-natured yarb-baiting yourself.
November 3, 2011
sionnach commented on the word we possess very few authentic details about a people whose written annals were burnt by the ignorant "conquistadores"
Ah, 'zuzu, so you admit that the "fanatical monk" part is apposite!
November 3, 2011
sionnach commented on the word we possess very few authentic details about a people whose written annals were burnt by the ignorant "conquistadores"
You mean yarb, the fanatical swaddling monk?
November 3, 2011
sionnach commented on the word we possess very few authentic details about a people whose written annals were burnt by the ignorant "conquistadores"
* Considers moving tent from the occupy wordnik page to this one, given the possibility that this might be where yarb finally disappears up his own rear end *
November 3, 2011
sionnach commented on the word honey-fugling
Honey-fugling badgers are quite vicious, I've heard.
November 3, 2011
sionnach commented on the word nurnie
nurnie and greeble can't help but leave the impression that SOMEBODY HAS BEEN MAKING UP WORDS. God bless 'em.
November 3, 2011
sionnach commented on the word clit-bur
Cocklebur and clit-bur sound so much nastier (and dirrrtier) than clotbur.
November 3, 2011
sionnach commented on the word doven
I thought a bedoven was liken to a hot-water bottle.
November 3, 2011
sionnach commented on the word pocket-rider
I've always heard it referred to as "butt-dialing".
November 2, 2011
sionnach commented on the word bergamotes de Nancy
A type of hard candy, flavored with bergamot essence. According to the fine folks at the Tourism Lorraine website:
"Bergamotes, made using natural bergamot essence, were developed by accident.
The woody tree was produced by a chance meeting between a wild orange tree and a lemon tree scion in Calabria during the Renaissance period."
Apparently, back in the day, citrus trees had not fully lost their Entish character, and were able to wander around Calabria at will.
November 2, 2011
sionnach commented on the word hagiolatry
By that somewhat contorted rationale, "idolatry" would not be a word either. To point out just one flaw in your logic, not everyone in the world is Catholic.
"Hagiolatry" is indeed a word; perhaps you should just deal with it and move on.
November 2, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Luca Turin on modern men's fragrances
Oooh! Nose-whippet alert!!!
November 2, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Charlie Hebdo
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/world/europe/charlie-hebdo-magazine-in-paris-is-firebombed.html?_r=1
November 2, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Luca Turin on modern men's fragrances
"a slew of apologetic, bloodless, gray, whippetlike, shivering little things that are probably impossible, and certainly pointless, to tell apart"
November 2, 2011
sionnach commented on the word muquarnas
This makes it sound as if it was developed deliberately, like some kind of secret weapon, or something.
November 2, 2011
sionnach commented on the word barnstorming on an invisible segway
See locker.
November 2, 2011
sionnach commented on the word locker
barnstorming on an invisible segway has a nice ring to it.
November 2, 2011
sionnach commented on the word barometz
November 1, 2011
sionnach commented on the word zorro volador
I miss trivet.
November 1, 2011
sionnach commented on the word if we had a machine that harvests rice then no one would suffer
I don't know anything about lamb's tits.
Sorry. Not buying it.
November 1, 2011
sionnach commented on the word a talbot is a dog
A googlebot, on the other hand, is just a nosy computer program. And a halibot is a fish.
November 1, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Saumagen
Charlie Trotter's
If this were my restaurant, I would rename it "Terry Trotter's", for euphonic effect.
November 1, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Saumagen
Mighty Führer of the sausage people!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKakc8VuESY
around the 10:15 mark.
November 1, 2011
sionnach commented on the word chipmunk cheeks
As seen here, for example:
http://whippingcats.blogspot.com/2011/11/i-get-no-respect.html
November 1, 2011
sionnach commented on the word tête de moine
Swiss monks do have hard heads, it's true.
November 1, 2011
sionnach commented on the word dunbar number
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N1B0XUn60Q
From about the 10-minute mark on.
November 1, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Obsequious To The Point Of Becoming A Human Suppository
This is genius!
October 31, 2011
sionnach commented on the word οἱ πολλοί
Gee. Thanks, 'zuzu!
I must confess that I had completely forgotten that I had a DeQuincey list. Though I would recommend staying away from the opium, DeQ is a fine writer.
October 31, 2011
sionnach commented on the word truth
Falsehood is never in words; it is in things.
Sorry, Italo, but I call shenanigans. This is pseudo-profundity of the worst kind.
October 30, 2011
sionnach commented on the word narb
narb is, of course, bran backwards. "Bran" means "the fair-haired one" in old Irish, and was also the dog of Cuchulainn. "Cuchulainn" means "the hound of Culann", so - bear with me here - Bran was the dog of the hound of Culann.
October 30, 2011
sionnach commented on the word narb
Did you mean barb, yarb? All due respects to Wordspy, but I think the tweets have it on this one.
October 30, 2011
sionnach commented on the word naked mole rat
OMG. It's jennarenn! O bliss, o rapture!
October 29, 2011
sionnach commented on the word bloodclaat
wa di bumbo-pussy-rass indeed!
October 29, 2011
sionnach commented on the word bloodclaat
Jamaican for blood clot?
Oops! No. Urban dictionary to the rescue:
Jamaican/Patois.
claat means cloth, originates from times when clothes were used by women in terms of menstruation.
Nowadays a cuss word.
shot your bloodclaat mouth!
We will murder dem bloodclaat!
October 29, 2011
sionnach commented on the word columbarium
Yeah, milos! Good to see you!
October 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the word enentise
Mmmmm. Delicious bunyip desserts.
October 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Occupy yourself with your own onions
Occupe-toi de tes oignons = mind your own business, in French.
October 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the word poisson d'avril
For a description of a classic poisson d'avril prank in the Paris metro, see:
http://whippingcats.blogspot.com/2011/10/poisson-davril-dans-le-metro-operation.html
October 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the word bubblyjock
A particularly nasty fungal infection, similar to crotch rot. Henry VIII suffered from this a lot during his later years.
October 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the word L7
I trust neither Max Gust nor Max Headroom.
October 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the word roomate
ooh, shiny copper tail-bracelets! I feel better already just knowing about them!
October 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the word L7
"experimental Hip Hop made by cats that play instruments and occasionally sing"
this I would like to hear...
October 27, 2011
sionnach commented on the word L7
Oh well, if it's in Wikipedia, then it must be right, of course.
NOT! NOT! NOT! NOT!
Wonders what kind of person has thumbs and index fingers of equal length.
October 27, 2011
sionnach commented on the word square
An L and a 7.
I cannot let this stand. Nobody writes sevens with a right-angle in them. Furthermore many of us write them with little continental crosses. But whether or not you cross your 7's, they are more semi-rhomboid in character than semi-square. I'm all for pushing boundaries, but this goes too far.
Harrumph.
October 27, 2011
sionnach commented on the word sog
yea, it's Son of Groucho!
October 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word going to see the elephant
going to frequent a house of ill repute:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=EAZJtugAGlE
2-minute mark
October 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word dagenham smile
What? No visuals?
October 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word null hypothesis
But you can never prove ze null hypothesis. That Ha denotes ze alternative hypothesis, in contrast, zat's just a fact. Try disproving it.
October 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word fourteener
The fact that mountains dominate poetry in the visuals makes one want to let loose a compound epithet or two. Bloody heck! Heavens to Murgatroyd! With a little Homeric infixing -- it's abso-bloomin-lutely shocking.
October 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word null hypothesis
Silly 'zuzu! Ha denotes the alternative hypothesis.
October 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Wanna see comments earlier than September 17th? Move along, buddy. Nothing to see here.
October 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word ground squirrel
Mmmmm. Delicious Eichhörnchen.
October 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word ground squirrel
I initially read 'zuzu's comment as "I'm too busy listening to squirrel variations", and I thought to myself, "Bach was even more prolific than I thought".
October 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word finnock
This must be where Captain Finnock got his name in the FinFin books.
October 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word ground squirrel
This page is in dire need of sound effects! Any volunteers?
October 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word sweetleaf
Please, somebody help extract Stevia from the yellowwood tree. He's been stuck there for years and it's turning him into a sauropus.
October 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word dill overkill
This is disturbing. The Australians have apparently mastered the art of time travel.
October 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word superstrong
Myself, I'm going to wait to see whether GHibbs weighs in on the matter before accepting that conjugation. Or are you suggesting this is a noun, hh?
October 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word sweetleaf
If it's a sweetleaf, why is it called sauropus, o sourpuss?
October 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word ground squirrel
Study the ground squirrel so that you may become one with him.
Apparently ground squirrel was an important condiment in "The Elvenbane".
October 24, 2011
sionnach commented on the word ground squirrel
Also delicious as a condiment. Why not sprinkle some liberally over your next salad?
October 24, 2011
sionnach commented on the word pesthole
Get yer commie mitts off my Kentucky Fried Chicken. And, last time I checked, Stanley Steamer was not a kind of car.
October 24, 2011
sionnach commented on the word indecisive teas
Do those complex calculations refer to bilby's three iotas of encouragement?
October 24, 2011
sionnach commented on the word alatricial
"organisms which are incapable of moving around on their own"
October 24, 2011
sionnach commented on the word rival sign languages
So if Ah-nold came to Zimbabwe and wanted to call someone there a girly-man, what would the recommended signing be?
October 24, 2011
sionnach commented on the word enentise
This might also mean "to render Ent-free", as in "The Nazgul swooped in on their fell-beasts to make sure that the 100-Acre Wood was thoroughly enentised in time for Lord Sauron's triumphal procession".
October 23, 2011
sionnach commented on the word kong king
Danish for "King Kong".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w97d58waBg at the 4:15 mark.
Also http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/06/translation-mysteries/ , in the comment by Chris Y.
October 23, 2011
sionnach commented on the word koksmuts
This fine word means "chef's hat" in Dutch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIiyOYGoaPA
around the 10:45 mark
October 23, 2011
sionnach commented on the word indecisive teas
Wait a minute. You mean to say that in your lair, leaden, you can call up the original text of any Simpsons episode? Just like that?
Are you sure your last name isn't ..... von Schmartzenpantz?
October 23, 2011
sionnach commented on the word indecisive teas
Ooh! I didn't realize that Wordnik now automatically makes valid links for us.
WELL DONE, Wordnik gnomes! Here's an attaboy from someone who has been known to be critical of your work.
October 23, 2011
sionnach commented on the word indecisive teas
Fbharjo: There used to be a site once which offered hours of amusement. One could simply pass a sentence ten times through Google translate, with a choice of languages en route, and watch the unintelligibility grow. It did famously poorly with trick sentences like "Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana". Though, as I recall, even the results for "I'm a little teapot, short and stout" were certifiably hilarious.
Here's one: http://www.ackuna.com/badtranslator
Over time. Arrow orchid.
The original babelfish seems to have converted to try to be a serious machine translator, and the site blahblahfish is pretty limited in scope.
warning, these things are a time sump.
October 23, 2011
sionnach commented on the word indecisive teas
But the key sentence:
Tu vas pas te conduire avec moi comme un ours mal léché !
is surely better translated as, "You don't want to get wild and crazy with me like a wild bear"?, or something along those lines....
I mean, logically speaking, she must have used the word "bear".
Also, it must be Homer that is "frightened", because the person who flees is male.
just sayin'.
October 23, 2011
sionnach commented on the word indecisive teas
Marge IS a crossword puzzle? Does this mean she was doing it so intently that she became one with the puzzle?
October 23, 2011
sionnach commented on the word indecisive teas
I quite enjoyed this paragraph from that same blog:
(je suis un nounours, donc je crotte comme tout le monde, hein), je suis triste de la disparition de mon ami Charmin des étals des marchandes de papier WC depuis le début de l'année 2010... Bref. Et je ne suis pas le seul mécontent ! Plein de gens en Germanie déplorent la disparition de l'ours Charmin au profit d'une marque qui fait du papier bien quelconque et qui irrite les fessounes délicates des nounours. Je n'ai jamais retrouvé depuis de papier WC équivalent à celui de Charmin..
We can deduce from this that teddy-bears apparently don't have tappens, their little cheeks are delicate, and in some countries of Europe, including the mythical Germania, they mourn the recent unavailability of Charmin....
October 23, 2011
sionnach commented on the word hapless gladiator-tots
Oi, Sheila!
yeah, Bruce?
Throw another fistful of hapless gladiator-tots on the barbie, luv.
Right on, Bruce.
And pass me the Vegemite.
October 23, 2011
sionnach commented on the word wilding
is this like rumspringa?
October 22, 2011
sionnach commented on the word ronronear
Boris does this if you tickle his tummy.
October 22, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Dunbar's number
So if you have more than 150 FB friends, you are deluding yourself. They don't all wish you well.
October 22, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Quolliseum
What? He gets credit for doggerel, and I get no love for the delightful phrase hapless gladiator-tots, with its connotation of delicious tater-tots?
I take umbrage.
October 22, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Quolliseum
Selective reporting right there folks. The article fails to mention the fact that unattended children visiting the sanctuary are routinely rounded up, dressed in tiny togas, and forced to duel the tiger quolls on Roman holidays, to satisfy the bloodlust of visitors to the "sanctuary". Unscrupulous bookies make a fortune in illegal betting on the hapless gladiator-tots.
It would be nice to report that the occasional victorious toddler wins his or her freedom. Unfortunately, this is not the case. These valiant tykes are likely to find themselves swaddled, smeared with Vegemite, and used as the chewy centerpiece in a delicious "devil pinata".
Is it not time to shine a bright light on the seamy underbelly of Australian animal sanctuaries?
October 22, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
So many two-word poems in the left margin right now:
condominium funk
numismatic mirage
expansionist derrick (Adolf's younger brother)
mechanistic allure
ergodic clown-car
Liechtensteiner tomfoolery
fraxinifolius ballet-girls
gutlevel chives
smear-dab bossiroam
October 22, 2011
sionnach commented on the word proxénète
A procurer. A pimp.
French synonyms include maquereau (hence, MacDaddy), souteneur (equivalent of the German Zuhälter), and barbeau.
Today's (Oct 22nd 2011) copy of "Le Monde" has a two-page spread, detailing the involvement of several cronies of DSK (with the not-so-subtle implication that DSK himself was also involved, or at least was in the know) in a ring of "proxénétisme". It just gets sleazier, folks ....
October 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word pretexts
Meanwhile, over on "Hay fever sufferers and prevention in Japan", Ken Y-N is bringing of the snark. sigh.
October 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Gond
Zo dol als een gond.
did you mean "Zo dol als een hond"?
yes, I think you probably did.
October 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word unslinging
What? No tweets? Say it ain't so.
October 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word botox
Why are there no square drums? is it for the same reason that manhole covers are circular?
October 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word seme
Loads of People I knw and most of my mates seme to be going to Watch PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 tonight The franchise needs to die !!
And you need to learn to spele.
October 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word seme
I miss qroqqa.
October 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Credit where credit is due. Thank you, powers that be, for eliminating the vile spam from the ongoing "Community" update thread.
October 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
I wuz thinking more of Punches Pilot.
October 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word quisle
Yes, as the excited twittering over there on the right suggests, the folks at WOTD have accorded this back-formation word status.
If this keeps up, next thing you know kipple will be declared a real word, and I will be forced to do away with my "How do you like Kipling?" list.
FWIW, I'd a spelled it "quizzle". As in quizzle mah pizzle, schamizzle.
October 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word butter hamlet
A tropical fish that comes in ten different colors, as discussed here , at around the 6-minute mark.
October 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word botox
is the plural of botox "botoxen"?
October 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word botox
Photoshop es el botox de los pobres.
October 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
That might not have been hand-wringing. It could have been hand-washing.
October 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word jack tar
Well, there's who are these people . Or did you mean my Tom, Dick and Harry list?
October 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word jelly shoes
I think the reason that jelly shoes are always trending is that yarb keeps clicking on this page, lured back each time by the unerotic and slightly creepy visual. Maybe the woman, if that's what the creature is, is Belgian.
Oops! I just clicked on the photo, to discover that, on closer inspection, it's a young girl. Which makes the part above creepily inappropriate. Sorry, yarb!
October 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word vahine
The scores of public automobiles were engaged by joyous parties who sallied to the rural resorts, each Juan with his vahine.
Rilly, "Mystic Isles of the South Seas"? You and Tintin might get along famously.
October 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word nitrate
Let's all go over to citizencog's apartment. better leave the Viagra at home, though.
October 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word nitrate
He might be looking for tartrate.
Is it true that in Australia, nitrate is pronounced nitrite?
October 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
WHY, for the love of PETE, whoever he IS, does this site still take FOREVER to LOAD?!
Bonne question. it's not as if the huge amount of content is slowing it down, as all the good stuff is down there in the disused nuclear fallout shelter, or has been sold to the Estonians to defray expenses. But I never gave permission for my content to be made summarily unavailable for months on end with no warning, or for it to be sold to the Estonians, the greedy bastards. Note that "Estonians" in this post is being used as a generic, intended-to-be- humorous reference to a mysterious people I know nothing about, except that their entire country is internet-wired out the wazoo, and that you can't take a leak in Tallinn without first punching in your PIN, so that sewerage treatment charges can be debited to your account. Oops! I think that last sentence might have made things worse, not better.
October 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word indecisive teas
une devinette enveloppée dans un mystère à l'intérieur d'une énigme
October 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Belgian kiss
Yes, indeedy. Whenever I am feeling a little phlegmish, i like nothing better than a little Belgian chocolate, a plate of fries, and some absurdly alcoholic beer to cheer me up.
October 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Belgian kiss
Like a French kiss, but with more phlegm.
October 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word inscrutability of fbharjo
Trying to scrut fbharjo is one of the ongoing pleasures of Wordie/Wordnik. Not that I ever have much success. Tant pis pour moi.
October 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word The wrinkled old farmer looked up from his drowse.
The wrinkled old farmer looked up from his drowse.
Felonious redcoats* were infesting his house.
He picked up the shotgun he used to shoot grouse.
And summoned his backup, a truculent mouse.
*: or, if you prefer, "red ants"; in which case the backup would need to be a truculent louse, to ensure a fair fight in the following stanzas.
October 19, 2011
sionnach commented on the word indecisive teas
"to have a crush on someone" = "avoir le béguin pour qqn"
"to have a chaste internet crush on someone" = "avoir le béguin internet chaste pour qqn"
D'autres questions ?
October 19, 2011
sionnach commented on the word madeupical
In a rare misstep by the delightful Stephen Fry, he fails to use this word when he most needed it, at the 9:43 mark in this video
October 19, 2011
sionnach commented on the word indecisive teas
In Edinburgh last Thursday evening, our carafe of water came with cucumbers and assorted pond greenery floating in it. I had a pint of cider instead.
A propos of nothing in particular, have I mentioned recently how your wonderful contributions on this site stoke my chaste internet crush on you, cheres applaudissements de grenouille?
October 19, 2011
sionnach commented on the word stores
Comma? What comma?
October 19, 2011
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