A fun list. Lloyd habitually said forth and back, without irony or intent to provoke. Carolyn, nevertheless, was annoyed on the grounds that it was not idiomatic. Lloyd countered that it was more logical. One could hardly go back before first going forth. Carolyn ultimately attributed it to Lloyd's status as the son of Swedish immigrants. So riddle me this: is there a Swedish idiom equivalent to forth and back?
For one account of this term, see http://dictionary.babylon.com/winkle-hawk/, which says winkle-hawk derives from a word for a carpenter's square. Thus, perhaps, suggests a three-corned tear.
And I am always disappointed when I recall what potlicker is. I always feel the word should refer to something so delicious that the pot was licked clean.
See: http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-ado1.htm for a discussion of the historical rhetorical-training practice that later came to be called adoxography. Put's me in mind of a book I am reading, "How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read," by Pierre Bayard. The tongue-in-cheek thesis is that you are better equipped to discuss a book if you have not read it.
Chinook: A History and Dictionary by Edward Harper Thomas, first published in 1935. The author defines skookum as follows:
"Strong, powerful, potent. Originally a ghost, evil spirit, or demon.
This is one of the best known, most widely used and significant words in the Jargon. Its adoption by people of the Northwest has made it a regional English word...In fact, it is so common on the Pacific Coast as to have almost lost its Indian significance."
Oh no, not sticker! My precocious niece, when she was very small, naïve to country living, and a brand new talker corrected me when I told her she would get stickers in her feet if she went outside barefoot. She said, "Do you mean thorns?"
A coinage of the linguists at languagelog The state of mind of people who use jargon of their trade, oblivious to the fact that the people to whom they speak do not share that jargon. It seems to be a failure of Theory of Mind.
Hm...after a full 5 minutes thought, I am of the opinion that a Camaydian, if there is such a person, would be a Caymanian expat living in Canada. It is a matter of emphasis. Caymadian emphasizes the Cayman element; Camaydian would highlight Canada.
Should be capitalized. Habakkuk is a book in the compilation variously called the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible, if you are speaking from a Christian POV, or simply the Bible if you are Jewish. Habakkuk was one of the twelve minor prophets.
To out potlatch someone is to create an imbalance in a relationship by giving gifts that are more extravagant or more numerous than the gifts you receive.
Several of these are not BC specific. "Skookum," for example, was in locally common parlance where I grew up in the Chehalis river valley. It comes from the Chehalis people. There is a Skookumchuck River that flows the Chehalis.
Right. It seems to have come into English as "mowich." Google that and you will find several west coast place names--notably Mowich Lake in Mt. Rainier national park.
I like this word! When very old Kodak film is developed, the pictures are all purplish--a phenomenon I saw demonstrated this week. Our 20 year old selves all all empurpled.
I agree, with you, U (amazing, I know). These idiosyncratic lists are fun. I also like to frustrate myself by looking at the inscrutable lists where it is hard to see what the lister was getting at.
Okay, I am getting separation anxiety now. I will miss you two voices in my head next week. (Dear S calls all of you my imaginary friends). U, give your regards to Granny Smith. R, do you to care to give us any hint of your vacation plans?
This is a great list, and enlightening. I am going to add umpty-umpth to my words, because I particulary like it as an ordinal.
I like infinity minus one a lot too, U. It reminds me of the old joke about the natural history museum docent. Asked how old a particular fossil was, he said "Two million and twenty one years." As explanation for such a precise number, he explained that when he started working there 21 years ago, it was two million years old.
That is interesting. As I recall, one of Freud's translators more or less coined this word as a translation of a German word that means someting like "to occupy" If a person cathects something, he or she invests emotional energy in it and makes it his own. Bruno Bettelheim wrote a book about what he regarded as the mis-translation of Freud's writing.
As for having cofusingly contranymic meanings, that is just balderdash. It may be a near-contranym, but in practice it would take a real dunderhead to fail to understand the two meanings.
"We sailed for America, and there made certain preparations. This took but little time. Two members of my family elected to go with me. Also a carbuncle. The dictionary says a carbuncle is a kind of jewel. Humor is out of place in a dictionary."
Mark Twain, Following the Equator, Chapter 1, page 1
Aw gee. . .I am glad you did that. I love Edward Lear. I was trying to recall if it was the honey or the money that was wrapped up in the five pound note. It sounds like it was both!
I second that--nice list; I like the Lyle Lovett quote. In fact, I think I will stop listening to this disturbing news about the nation's infrastructure and listen to some Lyle Lovett.
Why, to make mercurial ointment, of course: "In the old formula for making mercurialointment, the quicksilver is merely directed to be rubbed with the axunge and suet until it be killed, which is nearly impossible. . ."
from The Edinborugh Medical and Surgical Journal, 1805
Results of a medical test where, "a penlight shone in the mouth reveals a brain so small that the whole head lights up." Doctor humor, or so I hear. ;-) Some days I feel pumpkin positive.
Jen and Reesettee, thank you--you are right. Marji was a good friend whopassed away last March from melanoma. I was felt moved to list some Marji words last week; the word compote triggered the list! Funny, the power of words. :)
I agree, gerwitz--it is so much easier to use the on-line sources. My OED is the two volume set with magnifying glass; it is a major productionfor me to use it. I would love to be able to use the on-line OED but there is no way I could justify the expense for my current purposes.
Then they would need to take a second look, wouldn't they? I remember a perhaps-apocryphal story aout a crusade against the word niggardly. There is enough genuinely racist speech to object to; we don't need to imagine it where it does not exist.
A funny image, R. . .I wonder what the priest's motivation in swinging censors would be. . .would such swinging punish the censor or the congregants? "Church was grim today. I was censor-whipped."
I've seen many references to individual words and reflected on how common the phenomenon is. I will have to dig to find the lists. However, as always, reality intrudes. ;-)
Fried chicken was served at a large family gathering. Little Georgie was offered a piece of chicken: breast or drumstick? He would only reply, "Must have been a mamma chicken." Repeatedly. Insistently. Louder each time. Never lived that down!
Something that produces crumbs or something that is covered with crumbs; something that is of poor quality; a bus used to transfer workers to a job site. Wish I knew how the last meaning evolved (I could speculate, but would like to find some actual evidence. ;-)
Speaking of mythical, my second grade teacher regaled us with stories about Abe the Caveman. I assumed he was a historical figure, like Abraham Lincoln. (Now I don't believe in Abrahan Lincoln. ;-)
Have to think about that--my idea of the south is mostly as told in southern literature, which is of course full of riches. I have had very little reason to spend time in the south, so the region is still a little *unreal* to me.
The female of some animals--Jenny Wren insisted on coming in our house one winter, no matter how many times she was put out. Honest. (Also my grandmother's name--my grandfather-to-be dipped her red braids in the inkwell, I am told)
I never learned to do french braids. Nor did my mother. In second grade, my idea of a perfect life was french braids, sandwiches cut diagonally rather than straight across, and snowball cakes in my lunch. Alas, these things were cruelly withheld from me. Sob.
So right you are. . .in this case wealthy is an old apple variety (which is in the dictionary.) That is, it is an apple variety until someone points out one of the other meanings of the word! It amazes me, too, that we have not even come close to naming all the lexemes used in the English language
Well, words do come to me in the middle of the night and at all other times (think houseful of sticky notes). However, I am naming my stash lists in some sort of rough sequence. Since I called the last one as soon as I finish this chapter, I decided to call this one is it morning yet?.
It is sad when trees go. . .I just visited the Sequoia tree in what was once my mother's yard. It was a tiny thing when my brother gave it to her oh those many years ago. They are not native here, nor do people commonly plant them for ornamentals.
The earliest apple to bear in these parts. Green ones were good for lobbing at siblings, as was the fruit of old man in the ground. According to my memory, I was the lobee, but I know how unreliable that kind of memory is!
I grew up in the Chehalis Valley in western Washington. To the north were the black hills (no not THE black hills). My brother pointed to the hills and told me Alaska was beyond those hills. I always assumed that if I could walk over the hills, I would be in Alaska. I did not get out a lot in those days!
Funny R (well, not really haha funny). I must have been about 10 when I read something about "a girl with scabs on her knees." It was the first time I considered that there was anything unusual about scabs on the knees. Of course it didn't help that the only time we were allowed to wear pants to school was if it was really, really cold (here that means under 25 degrees F!) Even when we did wear pants, we wore dresses over them. How quaint that seems now!
Thanks, Trivet. Those are good. I should get back to this list! I think you have prompted me to do so. This is a topic that is very dear to my heart for sentimental as well as culinary reasons.
And U, I love the great old-fashiond McIntosh apple. However, I am a PC user (which reminds me, U, I responded to the other thread we had going, but lost it when the system went kerflooey. I will redo it.)
Ooh, let's see deep under the frozen blueberries slumry stashes Eskimo Pies so that the other slumry does not know they are there. Would it be wrong? Would it be too much sleight of hand or trickery?
Yes, I think you are right. To make a fine, but important, distinction, though: This sort of language has a different connotation when used for a drink than when used for an unchosen risk. People in dangerous occupations tend to have a healthy respect for risks of the job. That is why they avoid creating widowmakers, wear stagged pants, and do not wear wrist watches.
Risk taking for sport or purely to demonstrate macho is gratuitous. I would reserve tough-guy culture for those sorts of things. I used to scuba dive. There is an unhealthy strand of tough-guy culture in that sport.
As for PC, what a howler that logger should be considered more PC than lumberjack. It is a regional difference, of course. The irony is that a logger would regard the latter term as too prettied-up; effete; citified. In their own region, of course, lumberjacks would have quite a different opinion.
Oh, I am so glad you remember that one! I was thinking the same thing about the teacher's motivation! I did have second thoughts because it is not a playground game, but in our wet climate, we spent a lot of recesses in the classroom.
Did you play seven up? It was another inside game that involved closing your eyes and putting your head on the desk. I seem to remember that the player who was "it" went around the room and tagged seven people. . .beyond that, it is a little fuzzy.
You are right--I am sure there are variations according to region and era, although it is amazing how enduring some of them are--Red Rover, for instance. It would be fun to know where that name came from, but I think it has been around a long time. Thanks again for doing this list.
And in practice, the term is used to denote a certain kind of inner conflict: If I feel that a situation compels me to do a thing, and that thing is contrary to my self image, I will experience cognitive dissonance.
I am glad you like this one--I was quite enchanted after seeing some related contemporary art at the University of Washington's Natural History Museum. I was fascinated to read about spindle whorls in early cultures also.
Thanks for highlighting this word, R. I must put it on my key it out list (which I need to work on--it is far from complete). But I have been having too much fun! ;-)
I have always found this a useful concept, too, although I almost never say it out loud (perhaps that is because it is usually an internal event.) One of the phrases I retained from an long ago ed psych class, I believe.
Nice to *see* you, Meeralee. I learned tenebrous from you today. When I saw the word, I immediately thought of Christian Holy Week Tenebrae services. I had never known where the wordTenebrae came from. Reading the definition of tenebrous, it now makes sense.
I keep meaning to make a list for the words that I just don't seem to "get," no matter how many times I look them up.
It is a humorous term for Scandinavian; it is probably just as well that the dictionaries don't dignify it by defining it. ;-) I rarely use the word, and when I do it is in the spirit of self-mockery
5. a funnel-shaped chamber or bin in which loose material, as grain or coal, is stored temporarily, being filled through the top and dispensed through the bottom.
Handle of a kettle or pail. You could make a blackberry bucket by attacting a wire bail to a three pound coffee can. But these days you probably wouldn't.
"to be too confident of your own intelligence in a way that annoys other people," is the definition I found. I think it carries the further connotation of undermining oneself by trying too hard to be clever or smart.
Websters also mentions bully. I like that, because to my ear, this word sounds like an insult, or term of ridicule, especially if the second syllable is emphasized.
Probably it was Mrs. Hall's invention. As I recall, the desks were bases and players moved around the bases as they spelled words correctly. Pretty simple. We were pretty simple! ;-)
Jen, I suspect that was a definition, not a personal statement. Perhaps it needed quotation marks. I thought it was a neat summation of the term. ;-) It sort of alludes to "Like flickr, but without the photos," which makes me laugh every time.
Comments by slumry
Show previous 200 comments...
slumry commented on the word coma
doggone it, what's that word that means one spelling of two different words, usually with different etymologies. . .that's what coma seems to be.
June 10, 2015
slumry commented on the word gerontosaur
owie. . .
June 10, 2015
slumry commented on the word Perchance
Perhaps (archaic)
June 5, 2015
slumry commented on the word penchance
Perchance an eggcorn of penchant?
June 5, 2015
slumry commented on the word stepped on a little frog
Oh, dear...taking a moment to remember Ajax the little green tree frog who took a ride on the rollers of a wringer washer. Once.
June 3, 2015
slumry commented on the word back-handed
see backhanded
June 2, 2015
slumry commented on the list cod
Oh my Cod! Today we have the word gubbings.
June 2, 2015
slumry commented on the word gubbing
Ah, a heavy defeat! And it rhymes with drubbing.
June 2, 2015
slumry commented on the word grass widow
Anatoly Liberman argues persuasively that "grace widow" should be dismissed as folk etymology. He has a interesting discussion of the history of the term grass widow at http://blog.oup.com/2009/02/grasswidows/
June 2, 2015
slumry commented on the word spyhop
foxes and wolves apparently spyhop also: aavvhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/spyhop
June 1, 2015
slumry commented on the list both-and-both
A fun list. Lloyd habitually said forth and back, without irony or intent to provoke. Carolyn, nevertheless, was annoyed on the grounds that it was not idiomatic. Lloyd countered that it was more logical. One could hardly go back before first going forth. Carolyn ultimately attributed it to Lloyd's status as the son of Swedish immigrants. So riddle me this: is there a Swedish idiom equivalent to forth and back?
May 31, 2015
slumry commented on the word dumbbell tenement
A tenement building that is (was, I suppose) designed in the shape of a dumbbell. One example of the adjectival use of dumbbell.
May 31, 2015
slumry commented on the word winkle-hawk
For one account of this term, see http://dictionary.babylon.com/winkle-hawk/, which says winkle-hawk derives from a word for a carpenter's square. Thus, perhaps, suggests a three-corned tear.
May 31, 2015
slumry commented on the word hiberdating
Ah!
May 31, 2015
slumry commented on the word hiberdating
oxymoron?
May 30, 2015
slumry commented on the word two bit piece
a quarter see two bits
May 30, 2015
slumry commented on the word bull cooking
This is what some "manly men" call it when they do small chores around home.
May 30, 2015
slumry commented on the word begunk
I can't resist thinking something like: "I hiked a muddy trail and now my shoes are all begunked." Folk etymology.
May 30, 2015
slumry commented on the word potlicker
And I am always disappointed when I recall what potlicker is. I always feel the word should refer to something so delicious that the pot was licked clean.
May 30, 2015
slumry commented on the word askew
cattywampus
May 30, 2015
slumry commented on the word adoxography
See: http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-ado1.htm for a discussion of the historical rhetorical-training practice that later came to be called adoxography. Put's me in mind of a book I am reading, "How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read," by Pierre Bayard. The tongue-in-cheek thesis is that you are better equipped to discuss a book if you have not read it.
May 29, 2015
slumry commented on the list gleanings1
Used as a verb: "We could short-sight this." Meaning, apparently, that we could implement a short-sighted remedy.
May 29, 2015
slumry commented on the word potlicker
from pot liquor
May 29, 2015
slumry commented on the word googleself
a person who constantly monitors his online reputation
May 28, 2015
slumry commented on the word chewcud
a person who ruminates endlessly
May 28, 2015
slumry commented on the word my left hind foot
See my foot.
May 21, 2015
slumry commented on the list jack--1
See also Getting to Know Jack and jack-of-all-trades
May 21, 2015
slumry commented on the word Jack tales
Appalachian folk tales, an oral tradition.
May 20, 2015
slumry commented on the list jack--1
This is a fun one, fbharjo! What about Jack Sprat, Jack tales, jack tar and the beloved Jack in the Beanstalk
May 20, 2015
slumry commented on the list triads
Don't know where this old one belongs: "Gotta getta gocart if you're gonna getta girl."
May 19, 2015
slumry commented on the word necronym taboo
In some societies, a taboo against using the name of someone who recently died.
May 19, 2015
slumry commented on the word rough diamond
Carolyn says, "Lloyd says he is a rough diamond, but I say he is just rough."
May 19, 2015
slumry commented on the word resurrection men
graverobbers,body snatchers
May 19, 2015
slumry commented on the list triads
the halt, the lame, and the blind
May 19, 2015
slumry commented on the list triads
see one, do one, teach one
May 19, 2015
slumry commented on the word a lick and a promise
For example, when you have to clean up quickly before unexpected company, you may give the house a lick and a promise.
May 19, 2015
slumry commented on the list erythronium
Thanks,ruzuzu. I had fun recalling all of those delicate wild lilies,
May 18, 2015
slumry commented on the word shellhead
Bicyclists with helmets, according to some wags.
May 16, 2015
slumry commented on the word share rows
A new term to me. Apparently it is a row of bicycles for sharing. Seattle has such a program
May 16, 2015
slumry commented on the word filibuster
So a filibusterer is akin to a freebooter (pirate). It makes sense, actually.
May 15, 2015
slumry commented on the user msmith
You have come to the right place, msmith. Do you fancy any particular sort of words?
May 15, 2015
slumry commented on the word guesstymologist
See etymologist
May 15, 2015
slumry commented on the word sinceriously
a portmanteau word
May 14, 2015
slumry commented on the word skookum
The Chinook dictionary that I rely on most is:
Chinook: A History and Dictionary by Edward Harper Thomas, first published in 1935. The author defines skookum as follows:
"Strong, powerful, potent. Originally a ghost, evil spirit, or demon.
This is one of the best known, most widely used and significant words in the Jargon. Its adoption by people of the Northwest has made it a regional English word...In fact, it is so common on the Pacific Coast as to have almost lost its Indian significance."
May 14, 2015
slumry commented on the list sturdy
If you are from the northwestern US, or from British Columbia, you might say skookum.
May 14, 2015
slumry commented on the list eccentric-girls-names
Those eccentric girls have some very peculiar names.
May 13, 2015
slumry commented on the word enate
A fine Mothers' day word!
May 10, 2015
slumry commented on the word syncopy
syncope
May 10, 2015
slumry commented on the word neutotypical
typo for neurotypical?
May 9, 2015
slumry commented on the word Finite State Grammar
In contradistinction to transformational grammar
May 9, 2015
slumry commented on the word for all intensive purposes
eggcorn. See for all intents and purposes
May 9, 2015
slumry commented on the word shelf-sitter
That book has got to go...but wait, I might read it some day.
May 9, 2015
slumry commented on the word swinge-breech
A noun? If so, I guess it would be a thrashing of buttocks.
May 9, 2015
slumry commented on the list abominations
Also "undergraduate degree." If an undergraduate is a student who has not yet earned a degree, what is an undergraduate degree?
May 9, 2015
slumry commented on the word backdoor burp
my mother's term for flatulence, God rest her barely post-Victorian soul.
May 8, 2015
slumry commented on the list abominations
I agree, TankHughes--that unutterable phrase is truly an amomination.
May 8, 2015
slumry commented on the list thorn
Oh no, not sticker! My precocious niece, when she was very small, naïve to country living, and a brand new talker corrected me when I told her she would get stickers in her feet if she went outside barefoot. She said, "Do you mean thorns?"
May 8, 2015
slumry commented on the word portmanteau word
not to be confused with a compound word.
May 8, 2015
slumry commented on the list abominations
I nominate commentate.
May 8, 2015
slumry commented on the list a-hive-for-the-honey-bee
As you live alone in the bee-loud glade, you may while away your hours deflecting the dread honeyguide
May 8, 2015
slumry commented on the list the-porn-birds
What about the honeyguide? That bird sounds to me like a procurer.
May 8, 2015
slumry commented on the word bogoho
An instance of nerdview, I think.
May 7, 2015
slumry commented on the word nerdview
A coinage of the linguists at languagelog The state of mind of people who use jargon of their trade, oblivious to the fact that the people to whom they speak do not share that jargon. It seems to be a failure of Theory of Mind.
May 7, 2015
slumry commented on the word cassation
That is wonderful, qms!
May 7, 2015
slumry commented on the word toward and froward
going to and fro.
May 7, 2015
slumry commented on the word subjunctive
Oh, what has become of the subjunctive?
May 7, 2015
slumry commented on the word anti-macassar
See antimacassar
May 6, 2015
slumry commented on the word niggardly
It is so odd that all of the examples shown refer to the word as misconstrued. Does this misconstruction constitute an eggcorn?
May 6, 2015
slumry commented on the list made-up-words--5
Hm...after a full 5 minutes thought, I am of the opinion that a Camaydian, if there is such a person, would be a Caymanian expat living in Canada. It is a matter of emphasis. Caymadian emphasizes the Cayman element; Camaydian would highlight Canada.
May 6, 2015
slumry commented on the word habakkuk
Should be capitalized. Habakkuk is a book in the compilation variously called the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible, if you are speaking from a Christian POV, or simply the Bible if you are Jewish. Habakkuk was one of the twelve minor prophets.
May 6, 2015
slumry commented on the word out potlatch
To out potlatch someone is to create an imbalance in a relationship by giving gifts that are more extravagant or more numerous than the gifts you receive.
May 6, 2015
slumry commented on the word covered dish
Ha! Usually no gift giving is involved.
May 6, 2015
slumry commented on the word covered dish
A communal meal where everyone contributes a dish. See also potluck and carry-in.
May 6, 2015
slumry commented on the word carry-in
Communal meals that are usually called potlucks in this region are, I am told, called carry-ins in Indiana.
May 6, 2015
slumry commented on the list made-up-words--5
A Canadian expat living in the Cayman Islands. Seen on a T shirt.
May 6, 2015
slumry commented on the list british-columbian-terms
Several of these are not BC specific. "Skookum," for example, was in locally common parlance where I grew up in the Chehalis river valley. It comes from the Chehalis people. There is a Skookumchuck River that flows the Chehalis.
May 6, 2015
slumry commented on the word mowich
Right. It seems to have come into English as "mowich." Google that and you will find several west coast place names--notably Mowich Lake in Mt. Rainier national park.
May 6, 2015
slumry commented on the word frogged coatee
Well...a coatee is a certain style of jacket; a frog is an ornamental sort of fastener for the front of a coat...
May 6, 2015
slumry commented on the word mowich
Thanks, Wordnik, for providing examples if no definition. Mowich is from the Chinook Jargon and means deer, or venison.
May 6, 2015
slumry commented on the list words-we-dont-really-need
megayachts owned by the superrich?
May 5, 2015
slumry commented on the word pediculous
Or silly feet--ped=feet+ridiculous
August 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word privy
I have always heard both pronounced the same way, with a short i, rhyming with chivvy.
August 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word carbon copy
Apparently you can still buy carbon paper; if I rummaged enough, I probably would find some at home.
August 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word time is money
I am also a long time fan of Lakoff.
August 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word idiopathic juxtafoveal telangiectasia
You sound as if you have more intimate knowledge of this than you would like.
August 12, 2007
slumry commented on the user john
Welcome, Infostyx! I also became an instant addict--I am enjoying your list. Oroboros is right--that delete function seems to be broken.
August 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word grandmother
Teach your grandmother to suck eggs.
August 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word carbon copy
What? Never made a carbon copy? What?
August 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word time is money
Looks like you have been reading George Lakoff, O.
August 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word dyslogistic
In contrast to eulogistic.
August 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word phylactery
I think I first read about phylacteries in Chaim Potok's novels. So many books, so little time!
August 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word antioxidant
He said he did not need to eat blueberries because he wears his seatbelt. That is what he said. *groan here*
August 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word solipsism
Oh, Reesetee, you mean I really do have voices in my head, too? In that case, I also wonder why I can't get them all to agree with each other.
I think I will opt to simply enjoy the illusion.
August 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word solipsism
It was a memorable conversation, U.
And R--I feel sure you will fill your suitcase with plenty of Canadianisms!
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word solipsism
*Green with envy*
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word empurple
It happens. Old abandoned cameras, that sort of thing. :)
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word conbobberation
I like it!
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word empurple
I like this word! When very old Kodak film is developed, the pictures are all purplish--a phenomenon I saw demonstrated this week. Our 20 year old selves all all empurpled.
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word favorited
I agree, with you, U (amazing, I know). These idiosyncratic lists are fun. I also like to frustrate myself by looking at the inscrutable lists where it is hard to see what the lister was getting at.
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word solipsism
Okay, I am getting separation anxiety now. I will miss you two voices in my head next week. (Dear S calls all of you my imaginary friends). U, give your regards to Granny Smith. R, do you to care to give us any hint of your vacation plans?
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word cathexis
Any particular writing's of Wilber's that you can cite on that subject?
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word solipsism
Are you sure? It may be very lonely!
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word solipsism
Well, he should care--if you are a part of him, he would be diminished by your absence. Says Judge Slumry. So there.
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word save
And just wait until I start in on the word fancy!
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word save
Oooh, I hadn't thought of that!
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word save
Invective and spleen and treason too? Wow! Am I a Wordie heretic? Will I be burned on a pyre?
I will join with my conbrethren and found the Savesave sect.
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the list a-bazillion-imaginary-numbers
This is a great list, and enlightening. I am going to add umpty-umpth to my words, because I particulary like it as an ordinal.
I like infinity minus one a lot too, U. It reminds me of the old joke about the natural history museum docent. Asked how old a particular fossil was, he said "Two million and twenty one years." As explanation for such a precise number, he explained that when he started working there 21 years ago, it was two million years old.
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word stuff and nonsense
It always amuses me--it was a favorite of my mother's, usually used semi-humorously.
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word cathexis
That is interesting. As I recall, one of Freud's translators more or less coined this word as a translation of a German word that means someting like "to occupy" If a person cathects something, he or she invests emotional energy in it and makes it his own. Bruno Bettelheim wrote a book about what he regarded as the mis-translation of Freud's writing.
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word save
Stuff and nonsense! Eyewash! Save is a perfectly fine preposition, having evolved in parallel with the other sense of save. It does mean except.
As for having cofusingly contranymic meanings, that is just balderdash. It may be a near-contranym, but in practice it would take a real dunderhead to fail to understand the two meanings.
August 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word rugose
Rosa rugosa has wringkly leaves
August 8, 2007
slumry commented on the word eyewash
Used as an expression of disbelief; poppycock
August 8, 2007
slumry commented on the word carbuncle
"We sailed for America, and there made certain preparations. This took but little time. Two members of my family elected to go with me. Also a carbuncle. The dictionary says a carbuncle is a kind of jewel. Humor is out of place in a dictionary."
Mark Twain, Following the Equator, Chapter 1, page 1
August 8, 2007
slumry commented on the list poetrie-the-emperor-of-ice-cream
Thank you for this Poetrie, Reesettee!
August 7, 2007
slumry commented on the word celestial
As a noun, celestial refers to a heavenly being, a god or angel.
August 7, 2007
slumry commented on the word metempsychosis
the doctrine of transmigration of souls into another body
August 7, 2007
slumry commented on the word hand-handled
That's what the sign on the peaches at the grocery store said.
August 6, 2007
slumry commented on the word furibund
deranged
August 6, 2007
slumry commented on the word badminton
Bad mitten! Bad mitten! Go to your room, mitten!
August 4, 2007
slumry commented on the word edulcorate
There are some words I just can't pass up; this is one.
August 4, 2007
slumry commented on the word postprandial
This word makes me blush--then I remember: food--it is food they are talking about.
August 4, 2007
slumry commented on the list poetrie-the-owl-and-the-pussycat
Aw gee. . .I am glad you did that. I love Edward Lear. I was trying to recall if it was the honey or the money that was wrapped up in the five pound note. It sounds like it was both!
August 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word mercurochrome
Oh, I must add mercurochrome to my evocative smells list! And speaking of stains, this made me think of gentian violet.
August 3, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-see-the-light
a bit of a stretch, maybe, but what about under a bushel?
August 3, 2007
slumry commented on the list the-jumblies
Thanks--that was fun to do--and I had to do it, because you had planted an earworm! :)
August 3, 2007
slumry commented on the list out-to-sea
sieve? And I just learned that a pink is a small sailing vessel
August 3, 2007
slumry commented on the list the-jumblies
Poetrie: The Jumblies
Inspired by Reesetee's Out to Sea list
August 3, 2007
slumry commented on the list out-to-sea
I second that--nice list; I like the Lyle Lovett quote. In fact, I think I will stop listening to this disturbing news about the nation's infrastructure and listen to some Lyle Lovett.
August 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word axunge
Why, to make mercurial ointment, of course: "In the old formula for making mercurial ointment, the quicksilver is merely directed to be rubbed with the axunge and suet until it be killed, which is nearly impossible. . ."
from The Edinborugh Medical and Surgical Journal, 1805
August 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word whimmy
full of whims; whimsical
August 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word shibori
a Japanese textile art
August 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word kumihimo
Japanese braid making
August 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word bump
Probably an echoic for hitting
August 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word bumper
a cup or glass filled to the brim
August 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word passing
surpassingly
August 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word pud
Formed by apocope from pudding. Used to refer to dessert in general. "What's for pud?
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word mastadon
The extinct animal was a mastodon, not a mastadon.
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word slickenside
Sounds like if you tried to walk on it, it would be a slip 'n slide!
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word staghorn moss
a club moss
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word reverb
reverberation
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word anent
a preposition that means in regard to or concerning
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word shake
Cedar shakes look similar to cedar shingles; however, the shakes are split rather than sawn.
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word done
Alas, I have offended. I am undone!
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word faineant
a sluggard
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word do-all
a factotum
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word weirdo
Wordie, scrambled
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word vendor
Or we could go the other directions and call ourselves Wordors.
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word daubery
Yup, less-than-skillful painting at that.
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word hooverville
After the eponymous President Hoover--a collection of shacks and huts at the edge of the city where unemployed people lived in the 1930s
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word apatheism
Just a step removed--summed up flippantly by "I don't know and I don't care."
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word hoover
verb: to clean with a vacuum cleaner
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word crumb bum
Ah yes, glad to remember this one.
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word caymadian
A Canadian expat who lives in the Cayman Islands. (in jest, of course) Seen on a T shirt worn by an American who would like to pass for Caymadian.
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word vendition
It is real--from OED--funny, huh?
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word vender
OED says: "One who sells; a seller; sometimes in restricted sense, a street-seller."
I have seen it used only in the restricted sense, such as the "food venders" at fairs.
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word vendor
OED says: "late Anglo-French; earlier vendour from the French vendeur. One who disposes of a thing by sale; a seller." Cf. vender
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word vendition
the act of vending; sale
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word dwarfling
a diminutive dwarf
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word fixings
accompaniments or ingredients for food
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word lower
intransitive verb: to be dark and threatening; also lour. noun: an angry or threatening look
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word henbane
Hyoscyamus niger
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word daftberries
Atropa belladonna
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word pappus
It is what allows a dandelion or thistle seed to sail through the air.
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word pumpkin positive
Results of a medical test where, "a penlight shone in the mouth reveals a brain so small that the whole head lights up." Doctor humor, or so I hear. ;-) Some days I feel pumpkin positive.
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word toreador
bullfighter; also toreadors, a style of pants worn by women in the 1950s
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word vie en rose
life as seen through rose-tinted glasses
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word vielle
hurdy gurdy
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word stramonium
dried leaves of jimson weed
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word stinkweed
a name for jimson weed and other plants
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word jimson weed
datura stramonium
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word atropine
also daturine
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word daturine
a poisonous alkaloid, also called atropine
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word crataegus
a genus of small trees in the rose family
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word hawthorn
several species of crataegus are called hawthorn
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word thorn apple
datura stramonium; also the fruit of the hawthorn
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word datura stramonium
datura, jimson weed, stinkweed or thorn apple; a poisonous tropical plant
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word dwayberry
atropa belladonna, most commonly known as belladonna or deadly nightshade
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word dory
a small fishing boat; also walleye
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word wallydacker
walleye
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word walleye
walleyed pike, dory
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word creme broulee
custard
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word flan
custard
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word custard
Mmm...custard. Dang, I should make some custard.
August 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word donaught
a donothing; a slacker
July 31, 2007
slumry commented on the list to-marji
Thanks--you are right, these words represent wonderful memories.
July 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word whyever
Maybe I could gut most of the rooms in my house and install bookshelves and reading nooks--oh wait, my SO would have an opinion, too. Rats!
July 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word whyever
You are so right, R. I am trying to figure out where to put all my books as it is--but dictionaries, and especially OED, are sacred, aren't they? :)
July 30, 2007
slumry commented on the list to-marji
Jen and Reesettee, thank you--you are right. Marji was a good friend whopassed away last March from melanoma. I was felt moved to list some Marji words last week; the word compote triggered the list! Funny, the power of words. :)
July 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word whyever
I agree, gerwitz--it is so much easier to use the on-line sources. My OED is the two volume set with magnifying glass; it is a major productionfor me to use it. I would love to be able to use the on-line OED but there is no way I could justify the expense for my current purposes.
July 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word whyever
Actually, whyever is in the OED. And whyever shouldn't it be?
July 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word grouk
Scottish--slowly enlivening after waking. A word I need!
July 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word multivious
obsolete--having many paths
July 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word transubstantiation
Funny, I had the opposite reaction: "Aha, makes sense to me."
July 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word charivari
also shivaree, which is phonetic
July 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word etymological fallacy
Beware the etymological fallacy.
July 28, 2007
slumry commented on the list last-words-before-death
This was a very disturbing bit of information in today's news, wasn't it?
July 27, 2007
slumry commented on the list player-roster
Sigh. Yes, an unavoidable bit of reality, isn't it:)
July 27, 2007
slumry commented on the list player-roster
I would imagine that we will need to figure out a time that is good for all of us, since we all have commitments and are in different time zones.
July 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word snigger
Then they would need to take a second look, wouldn't they? I remember a perhaps-apocryphal story aout a crusade against the word niggardly. There is enough genuinely racist speech to object to; we don't need to imagine it where it does not exist.
July 27, 2007
slumry commented on the list player-roster
As the newcomer, I defer to the rest of you.
July 27, 2007
slumry commented on the list player-roster
Hey, U--good to see you.
July 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word agape
unselfish love or mouth wide open
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word hoofing
walking
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word censer
I can empathize!
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word highgrade
To select the best portion; cherry pick
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word confab
an informal conversation, especially for the purpose of problem solving; short for confabulation. Let's have a confab!
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the list player-roster
Me too!
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word carbos
carbohydrates
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word snigger
snicker
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word npr
National Public Radio, of course
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word censer
Ah yes, that phenomenon, she blushed, recalling the upwelling of giggles at her own wedding, which was fortunately a tiny wedding.
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word salmon
Thanks, R.
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word oikonomia
I wondered about what pigs had to to with it too! Of course that was what attracted me to the word. The truth turned out to be interesting also.
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word oikonomia
often contrasted with chrematistics. For example: http://books.google.com/books?id=nNU3Kjg4rhgC&pg=PA67&dq=chrematistics&sig=bf6DOSb-qSn6o_gcTauXag8iaJw
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word oikonomia
household management Greek root of economics
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word echolocation
I have decided maybe I like tonocation; now what is the liguistics term for dropping a middle syllable, in this case lo?
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word salmon
I know a Swedish woman who pronounces it that way. It is actually charming. :)
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word spawn
As in salmon's imperative
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word echolocation
Thanks, palooka, this is a word well worth pilfering.
Now, I wonder what word this could spawn to describe the process of looking for a cell phone by dialing its number.
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word sadsome
I like the word too. I think I will tuck it away in a drawer--it might make a good Christmas present. I hope I don't forget where I put it!
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word censer
Yes, my mother always warned me to avoid sacrilege. Chastened.
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word sadsome
I wonder if the job requires stagged pants.
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word censer
A funny image, R. . .I wonder what the priest's motivation in swinging censors would be. . .would such swinging punish the censor or the congregants? "Church was grim today. I was censor-whipped."
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word crestfallen
Indeed. But don't tell him I told you so! :)
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word crestfallen
I've seen many references to individual words and reflected on how common the phenomenon is. I will have to dig to find the lists. However, as always, reality intrudes. ;-)
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word crestfallen
Dear S always says chestfallen. We need a list of words that are comically mispronounced, whether accidentally or on purpose.
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word fieldfare
Nice. So it's a bird, not a farmer's lunch. I devoutly hope it is not a farmer's lunch. :(
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word mithridatism
R, you inspire me to give this link to the full poem: http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/5194
I often think of lines from the poem, especially
"Ale man, ale's the stuff to drink
For fellows whom it hurts to think."
Victuals is a classic case of a word that a reader would be likely to mispronounce!
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word mithridatism
Last stanza of "Terrence, this is Stupid Stuff" by A. E. Housman
There was a king reigned in the East:
There, when kings will sit to feast,
They get their fill before they think
With poisoned meat and poisoned drink.
He gathered all that sprang to birth
From the many-venomed earth;
First a little, thence to more,
He sampled all her killing store;
And easy, smiling, seasoned sound,
Sate the king when healths went round.
They put arsenic in his meat
And stared aghast to watch him eat;
They poured strychnine in his cup
And shook to see him drink it up:
They shook, they stared as white’s their shirt:
Them it was their poison hurt.
—I tell the tale that I heard told.
Mithridates, he died old.
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word hypocorism
Fortunately for me I don't expect to be asked to pronounce it anytime soon!
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word hypocoristic
Not at all! I changed to hypocorism, but forgot to eliminate all traces of my presence here. Somehow pet name loses something in this deal.
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word diphthongization
Funny word, no? "She had to go to the dressing room to complete her diphthongization. Fortunately she emerged wearing a towel."
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word hypocorism
a pet name
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word folk etymology
altering an unfamiliar word to make it more familiar
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word conjunct
An adverb with a chiefly connecting function; a conjunctive adverb
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word underextension
use of a word to refer to only part of its normal meaning
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word diphthongization
To add a diphthongal quality to what was formerly a pure vowel
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word censer
I swear, every time I read about cencers, they are being swung by the priest.
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word bones
Fried chicken was served at a large family gathering. Little Georgie was offered a piece of chicken: breast or drumstick? He would only reply, "Must have been a mamma chicken." Repeatedly. Insistently. Louder each time. Never lived that down!
July 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word fud
an acronymn coined by whathisniame; also a fuddy-duddy (bacformation)
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word crummy
Something that produces crumbs or something that is covered with crumbs; something that is of poor quality; a bus used to transfer workers to a job site. Wish I knew how the last meaning evolved (I could speculate, but would like to find some actual evidence. ;-)
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word typeractive
Thanks! I know sometimes I get a bit carried away, and I am mindful of that *reality* thing. I love chatting with you Wordies!
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word keeper
What one is to one's brother?
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word china
Cute comment about VIers, R. I almost missed it. Somehow I am doubtful . . .
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word china
U, U are a silly billy! (and I don't care what your name is, I will call you Silly Billy Smith.
Listen up: Uniters is not a good idea.
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word typeractive
Me too, R. This word is a keeper! Thanks, Muamor.
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word moggy
Cat (or kitty) A word I learned from and Eric Bogle song
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word doohickey
wotsit
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word thingamajig
doohickey
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word whatchamacallit
thingamajig
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word whatsit
whatchamacallit
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word wotsit
Is it like a whatsit?
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the list johnny-appleseed
I'll see what I can do!
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word china
I wondered about douban also. Turns out two of the people who recently listed douban also listed China. description of douban here: http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2005/12/13/douban
Now I understand why the appearance of these words surprised me--they are outside of my usual frame of reference.
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word déjà vu
That's funny, Cranewang. ;-)
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the list laochenstudent-s-words
Welcome! I hope you enjoy it here.
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word multi
a pattern of several colors
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word hail-fellow well met
Noun. A very sociable, agreeable person--a friend to everyone.
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word eskimo pie
Speaking of mythical, my second grade teacher regaled us with stories about Abe the Caveman. I assumed he was a historical figure, like Abraham Lincoln. (Now I don't believe in Abrahan Lincoln. ;-)
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word granny smith
Please tell Granny Smith hello for me. :)
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word bivouac
You mean three syllables like: "I don't biv uh wack!" (that was a joke, by the way--could not resist a little word play)
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word bivy sack
a cover for a sleeping bag that is sometimes used by backpackers and hikers instead of a tent, or for emergencies. (short for bivouac, of course)
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word preantepenultimate
This word makes me laugh.
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word eskimo sky
Have to think about that--my idea of the south is mostly as told in southern literature, which is of course full of riches. I have had very little reason to spend time in the south, so the region is still a little *unreal* to me.
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the list johnny-appleseed
Happily! Do you have a fax number?
Really, I like to make apple pie (except when the crust will not hold together)
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word irenic
conciliatory
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word laminitis
Poor horse!
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word meretricious
Quite different than meritorious
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word contrabulous fabtraption
Or this wonderful song:
http://www.etni.org.il/music/marveloustoy.htm
(and an appropriate website for usall.)
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word contrabulous fabtraption
Makes me think of the Wonderful One Horse Shay
http://www.legallanguage.com/poems/onehossshay.htm
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the list shouldn-t-be-a-word
Well, it is an informal word, useful in some spoken contexts, but not in formal writing. Context is everything!
And then there was Shakespeare, but what did he know? ;-)
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word french-braid
Probably if I had asked to have the sandwiches cut on the diagonal, my wish would have been granted, barring memory lapses! ;-)
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word jenny
Not exactly opposite--I think joey refers to babyhood rather than gender. I wonder if a baby female kangaroo is a joey too.
July 25, 2007
slumry commented on the word jenny
The female of some animals--Jenny Wren insisted on coming in our house one winter, no matter how many times she was put out. Honest. (Also my grandmother's name--my grandfather-to-be dipped her red braids in the inkwell, I am told)
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word french-braid
I never learned to do french braids. Nor did my mother. In second grade, my idea of a perfect life was french braids, sandwiches cut diagonally rather than straight across, and snowball cakes in my lunch. Alas, these things were cruelly withheld from me. Sob.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word sitting duck
Or seated duffs. Better get off mine soon!
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word marzipan
Uh oh!
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word wealthy
So right you are. . .in this case wealthy is an old apple variety (which is in the dictionary.) That is, it is an apple variety until someone points out one of the other meanings of the word! It amazes me, too, that we have not even come close to naming all the lexemes used in the English language
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word marzipan
If I buy any marzipan, I will have to hide it with the Eskimo Pies. ;-)
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list is-it-morning-yet
Well, words do come to me in the middle of the night and at all other times (think houseful of sticky notes). However, I am naming my stash lists in some sort of rough sequence. Since I called the last one as soon as I finish this chapter, I decided to call this one is it morning yet?.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word pappenheimer
Nice word. Like some other weapons, it sounds deceptively ridiculous. To wit, blunderbuss.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word marzipan
I remember bit o'honey bars (once you bit into one, you could not move your teeth) Do not know bit o'heaven. Just as well, I am sure.
But I do have a weakness for marzipan anything.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list recess
I say he should watch where he puts his dang mailbox.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list recess
So, so sad! :(
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word crabapple
It is sad when trees go. . .I just visited the Sequoia tree in what was once my mother's yard. It was a tiny thing when my brother gave it to her oh those many years ago. They are not native here, nor do people commonly plant them for ornamentals.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word chinook
How funny!
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word olallie
Chinook jargon for berries
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word olallieberry
Oh, yes; must add olallie to my Chinook Jargon list! Thanks.
so that must make olallieberry beri-beri. ;-) Really, I am very impressed with your list!
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list recess
Rude mailboxes! Why didn't they get out of the way?
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word eskimo sky
Cute, jen.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word crabapple
I love crabapple trees, beautiful pink crabapples, and crabapple jelly (crabapple and quince is a nice combination, too). Thanks!
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list hybrid-fruits-and-a-few-beasties-too
Good list idea! For his own amusement, my father grafted a tomato onto a potato and told his nephew that it was a new hybrid. Mean daddy. ;-)
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word yellow transparent
The earliest apple to bear in these parts. Green ones were good for lobbing at siblings, as was the fruit of old man in the ground. According to my memory, I was the lobee, but I know how unreliable that kind of memory is!
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word granny smith
A close relative of Wordie-famous Useful/less/ness, and, secondarily, an apple variety.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list johnny-appleseed
Yup, yup, those are all good ones.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word pip
also a small seed (short for pippin, I believe). Or a bit of rootstock from which a new plant can be grown.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word cox orange
one of the pippins
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list johnny-appleseed
yes!
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word uniter
U, think of the scorn that would be heaped upon us if we were to call ourselves that. Leave bad enough alone!
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word eskimo pie
Speaking of childhood misunderstandings. . .
I grew up in the Chehalis Valley in western Washington. To the north were the black hills (no not THE black hills). My brother pointed to the hills and told me Alaska was beyond those hills. I always assumed that if I could walk over the hills, I would be in Alaska. I did not get out a lot in those days!
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word eskimo pie
Not shameful, you were just missing the good stuff!
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list recess
Funny R (well, not really haha funny). I must have been about 10 when I read something about "a girl with scabs on her knees." It was the first time I considered that there was anything unusual about scabs on the knees. Of course it didn't help that the only time we were allowed to wear pants to school was if it was really, really cold (here that means under 25 degrees F!) Even when we did wear pants, we wore dresses over them. How quaint that seems now!
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word fuji
Currently my favorite winter apple for eating out-of-hand. It seems to store very well.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list johnny-appleseed
Thanks, Trivet. Those are good. I should get back to this list! I think you have prompted me to do so. This is a topic that is very dear to my heart for sentimental as well as culinary reasons.
And U, I love the great old-fashiond McIntosh apple. However, I am a PC user (which reminds me, U, I responded to the other thread we had going, but lost it when the system went kerflooey. I will redo it.)
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word escamotage
Ooh, let's see deep under the frozen blueberries slumry stashes Eskimo Pies so that the other slumry does not know they are there. Would it be wrong? Would it be too much sleight of hand or trickery?
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word yuzen
Good--maybe I should have left it for comic effect! Let's see, what does this picture look like?
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word laughing gull
I love to hear both the laughing gulls and the red-winged blackbirds. One says beach to me, the other spring.
And there is chickadee-dee-dee whose presence says winter, even though they are here other times.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word stagged
Thanks trivet! You remind me of another job--rigging slinger
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word stagged
stagged-off pants have the hems cut off, usually for safety. This allows the pants to rip rather than trapping the wearer in a dangerous situation.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word widowmaker
Yes, I think you are right. To make a fine, but important, distinction, though: This sort of language has a different connotation when used for a drink than when used for an unchosen risk. People in dangerous occupations tend to have a healthy respect for risks of the job. That is why they avoid creating widowmakers, wear stagged pants, and do not wear wrist watches.
Risk taking for sport or purely to demonstrate macho is gratuitous. I would reserve tough-guy culture for those sorts of things. I used to scuba dive. There is an unhealthy strand of tough-guy culture in that sport.
As for PC, what a howler that logger should be considered more PC than lumberjack. It is a regional difference, of course. The irony is that a logger would regard the latter term as too prettied-up; effete; citified. In their own region, of course, lumberjacks would have quite a different opinion.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word widowmaker
In loggers' jargon, a tree positioned so that it might fall on a man. I cringe to think of this.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list recess
Oh, I am so glad you remember that one! I was thinking the same thing about the teacher's motivation! I did have second thoughts because it is not a playground game, but in our wet climate, we spent a lot of recesses in the classroom.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word uniter
Ah, high school. . .it is fortunate that we mature, isn't it? These are the kinds of memories that tend to make us blush in retrospect.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word charism
Theology: a divinely conferred gift or power
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word uniter
I did mean to say also I agree with you than American is a misleading description, although it seems to be deeply rooted now!
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-the-castle-keep
one's own counsel i.e., keep one's thoughts to oneself.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word sitting duck
an easy target
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word uniter
Only if we want to make ourselves sitting ducks. ;-)
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list recess
cat's cradle?
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list recess
Did you play seven up? It was another inside game that involved closing your eyes and putting your head on the desk. I seem to remember that the player who was "it" went around the room and tagged seven people. . .beyond that, it is a little fuzzy.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list recess
You are right--I am sure there are variations according to region and era, although it is amazing how enduring some of them are--Red Rover, for instance. It would be fun to know where that name came from, but I think it has been around a long time. Thanks again for doing this list.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-the-castle-keep
to the right or to the left, depending on where you are
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list recess
Good list--I love it. When it rained, we sometimes played dodgeball in the multipurpose room. And one form of jump rope was red hot pepper.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-the-castle-keep
company, a distance, going, trying, frozen (frequent instruction on food packages), ahold or a grip,
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list the-sensuous-mystique-of-gourmet-cuisine
Makes you kind of want to give up food, isn't it. I think I must counterbalance this by starting the food list I have been thinking about!
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word cognitive dissonance
Your experience is a good example, u.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word cognitive dissonance
And in practice, the term is used to denote a certain kind of inner conflict: If I feel that a situation compels me to do a thing, and that thing is contrary to my self image, I will experience cognitive dissonance.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word cognitive dissonance
Thant's funny, u. The experience is so common.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word spindle whorl
I am glad you like this one--I was quite enchanted after seeing some related contemporary art at the University of Washington's Natural History Museum. I was fascinated to read about spindle whorls in early cultures also.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word involucre
Thanks for highlighting this word, R. I must put it on my key it out list (which I need to work on--it is far from complete). But I have been having too much fun! ;-)
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word cognitive dissonance
I have always found this a useful concept, too, although I almost never say it out loud (perhaps that is because it is usually an internal event.) One of the phrases I retained from an long ago ed psych class, I believe.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word yuzen
Thanks R. I should be more careful! :)
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word zabuton
in Japan, a cushion for sitting or kneeling on the floor
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word yuzen
A Japanese dyeing technique
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word fashionable
stylish
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word modish
fashionable
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word washi
A kind of paper made in Japan
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word tempura
Japanese deepfried fish and vegetables
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word tempera
also called poster paint
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word tempra
an analgesic for mild pain, but not for inflammation
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word urticate
To sting with, or as if with, nettles.
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word spindle whorl
An example and definition here: http://www.civilization.ca/tresors/treasure/228eng.html
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word sizing
a material applied to the surfact of porous material such as cloth or paper to fill the pores
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the word bang-up
excellent
July 24, 2007
slumry commented on the list words-i-always-think-i-understand-and-discover-i-don-t
Nice to *see* you, Meeralee. I learned tenebrous from you today. When I saw the word, I immediately thought of Christian Holy Week Tenebrae services. I had never known where the wordTenebrae came from. Reading the definition of tenebrous, it now makes sense.
I keep meaning to make a list for the words that I just don't seem to "get," no matter how many times I look them up.
July 23, 2007
slumry commented on the word pika
Indeed! One opinion is that their name came from a Russian word meaning "to squeak!"
July 23, 2007
slumry commented on the word watch night
Oh, people must have been keeping watch for Jen that night! :)
July 23, 2007
slumry commented on the word catachresis
From American Heritage Dictionary:
1. The misapplication of a word or phrase, as the use of blatant to mean "flagrant."
2. The use of a strained figure of speech, such as a mixed metaphor.
July 23, 2007
slumry commented on the word watch night
New Year's eve
July 23, 2007
slumry commented on the word apetalous
A flower without petals is apetalous.
July 23, 2007
slumry commented on the word boot-sucking
A descriptor of mud: We walked through boot-sucking mud all the way to Shi-Shi beach. Really.
July 23, 2007
slumry commented on the list around-bend-words
Clever! I like it.
July 23, 2007
slumry commented on the word maskette
A smaller than life-size ceremonial mask.
July 23, 2007
slumry commented on the word jocose
given to joking
July 23, 2007
slumry commented on the list birdsong
I like this!
July 23, 2007
slumry commented on the word scandahoovian
It is a humorous term for Scandinavian; it is probably just as well that the dictionaries don't dignify it by defining it. ;-) I rarely use the word, and when I do it is in the spirit of self-mockery
July 22, 2007
slumry commented on the word husbandry
agriculture; farming
July 22, 2007
slumry commented on the word grange
a farm (also Patrons of Husbandry, an organization of farmers)
July 22, 2007
slumry commented on the word tiresome
causing fatigue or boredom
July 22, 2007
slumry commented on the word drily
also dryly
July 22, 2007
slumry commented on the word homely
I like this word in the sense of unpretentious, but it is easily misunderstood.
July 22, 2007
slumry commented on the word cellophane
A paperlike product, impervious to moisture, made of viscose; originally a trademark. Also cellophane tape.
(makes me think of tinfoil) ;-) Tinfoil just sounds homier than the correct aluminum foil.
July 22, 2007
slumry commented on the word draconian
That softens it! ;-)
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word shag
In the 1970s or 80s it was a certain kind of haircut; one I never liked because it was too . . .shaggy. ;-)
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the user knitandpurl
Hi K&P,
I have been enjoying your list, and particulaly like your username. Good to see you around!
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word debenture
c.1455, from L. debentur "there are due," said to have been the first word in formal certificates of indebtedness.
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word blockhead
Frequently, a term for a Scandahoovian.
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word betcha
Usage: "Ya, you betcha!" (Scandahoovian), of which I am half.
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word appellation
Among other things:
A protected name under which a wine may be sold, indicating that the grapes used are of a specific kind from a specific district.
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word forms
Thinking of Plato's World of Forms See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forms
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word hopper
That which hops, or:
5. a funnel-shaped chamber or bin in which loose material, as grain or coal, is stored temporarily, being filled through the top and dispensed through the bottom.
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word hoppered
See description of hopper crystals here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopper_crystal
I just like the image. . .the crystals resemble a hopper
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word bail
Bail? Bail!
Nice
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word pawky
adjective
cunning and sly; "the pawky rich old lady who incessantly scores off her parasitical descendants"- Punch
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word windhover
kestrel
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word bail
Handle of a kettle or pail. You could make a blackberry bucket by attacting a wire bail to a three pound coffee can. But these days you probably wouldn't.
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word hem and haw
to avoid giving a direct answer
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word matrilineage
Line of descent as traced through women on the maternal side of the family.
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word mitochondrial dna
useful for tracking matrilineage
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the list blond
No, No, No. All blonds may apply--I was just checking. Actually, teasing. I plan to do my blonde v. blond comment soon. Stay tuned. ;-)
But at least you are not in the toupee pitch league! I know men who would kill for hair of any color.
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word chaordic
having properties of both chaos and order (I had to dig for a definition) :)
July 21, 2007
slumry commented on the list blond
You too? On your head? Or in your cupboard?
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word stolid
a word that looks like its meaning, in my opinion
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word too clever by half
"to be too confident of your own intelligence in a way that annoys other people," is the definition I found. I think it carries the further connotation of undermining oneself by trying too hard to be clever or smart.
"Too clever for your own good" is better.
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word galleass
You are right, this one is more fun as an ink blot test!
Gotta get my galleass moving!
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word linguistical deafblindness
No batting skills required--it was a great consolation for those of us who could neither throw nor hit a ball accurately.
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word spadassin
Websters also mentions bully. I like that, because to my ear, this word sounds like an insult, or term of ridicule, especially if the second syllable is emphasized.
Oh, that lilylivered spaDASsin.
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word skybald
I love the book search feature too. In fact, I have been meaning to thank John for separating it out for us. Thanks John!!
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word skybald
More about skybald here: http://books.google.com/books?id=FckRAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA196&dq=skybald
Thanks for another fine word, R.
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word skybald
With piebald, pieintheskybyeandbyebald? "Someday I will have hair again, I just know it." Plays toupee pitch baseball.
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word linguistical deafblindness
Probably it was Mrs. Hall's invention. As I recall, the desks were bases and players moved around the bases as they spelled words correctly. Pretty simple. We were pretty simple! ;-)
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list external-descriptions
Hello and welcome!
Five good adjectives to redeem one *bad* noun. Not bad. You should have fun here!
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word linguistical deafblindness
Well, it is true: I have visited a few golf courses, and even *hit* some balls once.
In third grade, we played spelling-bee baseball when it rained. It was the only time I ever was chosen first for any sports team!
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word beech predicament
Children might be listening! ;-)
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word linguistical deafblindness
Golf links are green, but I do not golf. Perplexing.
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word preposition
The Naughty Preposition
--Morris Bishop
I lately lost a preposition:
It hid, I thought, beneath my chair.
And angrily I cried: "Perdition!
Up from out of in under there!
Correctness is my vade mecum,
And straggling phrases I abhor;
And yet I wondered: "What should he come
Up from out of in under for?"
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word putter
to occupy oneself in a liesurely or inneffective manner
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word potter
Variant of putter. Also one who makes pots. And presumably one who potsplants. And. . .
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word linguistical deafblindness
Green. . .am I the only one who sees the green ones?
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word linguistical deafblindness
Jen, I suspect that was a definition, not a personal statement. Perhaps it needed quotation marks. I thought it was a neat summation of the term. ;-) It sort of alludes to "Like flickr, but without the photos," which makes me laugh every time.
July 20, 2007
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