(n) : a type of formula-based cliché which uses an old idiom in a new context, especially in journalism; for example "X is the new Y" or "It's X, but not as we know it"
Oh, and a tautology to boot. My working hypothesis is still that the Beech Predicament is a cosmic error of mis-generation. The real philosophical question is the famous Birch Predicament, also known as the Birch/Boy Quandry. BBQ for short.
joke, u, joke. I was adopting what I hoped was a comicallyponderous tone. It is, after all, *your* list, however it was generated. And you invited us to play along. That was my move!
And I might add that I think the list is a great idea!
Actually, I am afraid you are a little confused. I did not want to tell you, but since you have given me permission. . .you really meant to say birch predicament. People confuse these trees all the time.
The predicament for the birch tree is ice storms. Period.
I see your point, U. If the have-notters have haversacks, they are no longer have-notters. Furthermore, once the have-notters get haversacks, they will sack and pillage the havers' oats and what not. Clearly, haversacks are a danger to the class of havers and should be banned! Off with their heads!
You are right, U mothballs is a must (come to think of it must is a must) I have the same association you have with mothballs--the clothing or home of someone who is elderly and likely careful and frugal. Better to have an unpleasant odor than motheaten clothes! Like you, I find it a slightly unpleasant smell with pleasant accociations. May your great-grandmother rest in peace!
[Bay Rum} is not a scent I easily recall, O (when I was a child, it was a bit scandalous for a woman to even go into a barber shop!). However, I know it is very evocative for many people.
I do not know myself why the word is listed four times. I have had a word appear twice; deleting one deletes both. I fix them when I notice them by deleting both and reentering. Maybe O is right--I entered words faster than the system could take them. More likely, I absentmindedly entered the word repeatedly before it actually appeared. Sometimes when the system is a bit slow and I am waiting, and thinking of more words, I forget whether I *actually* entered the word.
Thanks--I did. In fact, I think I may already have listed it elsewhere. I typed that list quickly and then went to finish the dishes without looking it over! So I may have other typos in that list.
I have always thought of strawberry blond as reddish-blond. My father-in-law, aptly named Rufus, had strawberry blond hair, as does his oh-so-charming great granddaughter.
Funny, I was thinking Christmas thoughts this morning, too. I think it was the misled/mizzled thread. I thought there should be a joke about someone being misled by mistletoe, but I could not quite get there. . .something about work getting in the way!
I have never liked "tot" for "total" either, although I suspect that if I were from a linguistic environment where that was standard I would have a different opinion. Come to think of it, I have never liked the verb tote much either. Again, it is probably a regional preference.
Nah, shocking hay is best done in a field, lest you shock the householder by error.
Actually, you remind me of the times my brother and I dared each other to touch an electric fence with a piece of dry grass. Fortunately, it delivered a very mild shock.
And I won't even mention the prank that little country boys sometimes played on their city cousins!
oh-oh, I will never see this word the same way again. Every once in a while I look at a familiar word that is in the "wrong" context and I misread it. It is a bit scary.
"slew" (a marshy body of water isolated in its original channel) and, phonetically, "sluff." Apparently the words have different roots--spelled the same funny way, but otherwise unrelated. There are other definitions of the word that are pronounced "slou," having meanings literally or metaphorically similar to "slew."
"plunder, gain, profit," c.1439, from O.Fr. butin "booty," from M.L.G. bute "exchange;" infl. in form and sense by boot (2). Meaning "female body considered as a sex object" is 1920s, black slang.
I remember hearing that there are, or recently were, isolated pockets of the south where near-Elizabethan English was still spoken. You could both be right.
Who would have thought! Gossip=Godparent; God+sib(sibling); Later became "any familiar person," later "idle talk," and then "to talk idly about the affirs of others."
That is truly interesting. It comes full circle--rape has the connotation of treating a person as property. It is not just sex, it is treating a person as a non-person.
In my hometown, the local mercantile closed in the 1950s, giving way to more modern sorts of stores. I wonderful if general stores were commonly called mercantiles then, or if the one I briefly knew was an anomaly.
I was fortunate to go to college in a time and place where there was zero pressure to join a sorority. The "Greek system" was at a low ebb, and it never even occurred to me to try to join. I am in total sympathy with your attitude about the Greek system. I do not admire it either.
I was only commenting on that point at which objections pass beyond *the system* and *some* individuals to *all individuals* and to unfair stereotypes about all members' sexual behavior, etc.
Forgive me, I can't control myself when it comes to coffee! I know you are still making your list, but I have to say cafe cubano springs to mind also--my husband makes a point of having it at the Miami airport (it is a bit strong for me--one is expected to put sugar in it, but I don't.)
Something that is small--a small irritant that causes anxiety and restrains behavior, or a small unit of measure; original literal meaning was "a small stone"
The people I heard say it were neither British nor uppity. I take it to mean "oh, it's no bother," "no big deal," "think nothing of it." These were the same people who said much obliged instead of thank you.
I love this list--I linger and chuckle here. How about more unique? (One of my mother's major rubbies.) You already have greater half, but how about the child's version--"I want the big half?
When my brother and I were very young, we would look out the window at night and scare ourselves by saying to each other black headlights!. I dimly remember an adult talking about someone sitting in his car at night, "with the headlights blacked out," and up to no good. Evidently it was quite evocative for George and I! The thought of black headlights gives me a little chill even now. So I offer you this idiosyncratic tidbit.
I think immediately of looking out the windows in the 1950s and wondering if the rain outside would kill us with its load of nuclearfallout. I was an impressionable child, and the fear of fallout was epidemic in those [Cold War} days
An interesting list which, unfortunately, could go on and on. The impulse of individuals and groups to distinguish themselves from the *other* in order to feel superior is lamentable.
Tomorrow I will enlighten--as you said o, it is bedtime now. The word's history turned out to be a little more involved than I expected. I did look it up in OED. Stay tuned (no champagne here, only a hike in the hot sun)
I think the ones I was aware of were made of neoprene. According to d.com, they were also made of parafin soaked canvas. The idea was that they were tough and water replellant.
The original joke was that tranz is a word without a q in a "q without u" list. Therefore, it is analagous to optimistically wishing for ham and eggs when you have neither. I assumed that you had somehow included tranz accidentally. Just a small joke with unintended consequences!
In the past, lots of people called it tinfoil. I had assumed that "tinfoil" referred to some earlier version of the foil we use. My guess that tinfoil has more to do with generations than regions, but I could be wrong.
Also commentate, that odious word. ;-) Actually, I was surprised to find how long that word has been in use--I assumed it was a recent abomination. And a verbification to boot.
All opinions expressed belong strictly to the commentator and do not reflect on the actual value of the word.
I can't quite picture the axe, though I have seen many an axe. And you are right, those releafs just don't cut so good, be they cordate, palmate, pinnate, whatever.. Alas, a chainsaw is more likely to cut the tree to the heart now.
Makes me think of "The Education of H-Y-M-A-N K-A-P-L-A-N" by Leo Rosten, a book which I had not thought of for a while. I am sure it is somewhere in my stash. (rummage, rummage) I remember it being a very funny book years ago. I wonder what I would thin now.
Like you, I still don't get the tranz. It seems to be a corruption of "trance," but I do not know how that relates to q and u. Perhaps it is just a misplaced word. Oroboros?
Thanks--pretty much my own feeling about pointing out errors, or presumed errors.
As for the second question, no I am not worried but I don't like leaving verbal clutter around and perhaps misdirecting someone towards a misspelled word. I have seen a few instances where one person makes a common misspelling and others follow.
Quilters have stashes of fabric and knitters have stashes of yarn. Wordies have stashes of words which, in their own figurative ways, can be just as colorful.
It is high time I sorted my stash. I believe I will sort by beast, I do.
Jen, thank you sooooo belatedly. I fell out of this pocket for a long time!
I did meet Junie B. Jones last weekend. And I will never forget the B!
The precocious 5 year old girl who was reading the book looked puzzled when I said something about getting stickers in your feet if you walk barefoot in weeds. Then her face cleared, and she said, "Do you mean thorns?" To save face, I quickly invented a class of things that includes burrs, thorns, and other sharp plant material: stickers
Another favorite native plant. They smell so sweet, and the flowers are wonderful. Today (July 11) I smelled them for the first time this year. When Stephen passes a mock orange bush, he says "That's not very nice. Poor orange."
I can't say in terms of etymology. However, in practice amend seems to be the more general term, meaning to improve to to rectify something. I think emend is usually more specific to editing text.
And speaking of emending, I have been trying to think of the technical word that describes this howler:
I was editing a piece of writing for someone near and dear to me, and had a hard time convincing him that "Installing (you name the software) in a nutshell." was not a good header. The defense was reference to the series of "In a Nutshell" books.
It is a pretty funny image, I must say. Every time I think of it I laugh-groan.
I remember hearing my mother say something dismissive about "a little crackerbox house." I wonder if it was a generic term for small, or if it had a more specific meaning, as a shotgun house. A cursory check yielded nothing so far.
They are enchanting. My father picked one for me once and I pressed it and carried it around in my first wallet. I simply could not believe that a dogwood could be so tiny.
I think they are usually, if not always, at least two stories high because they have such a small footprint, so they are not really like shotgun houses.
Shirts that accompanied leisure suits were often made of a certain knit fabric that was slightly shiny. It was all the rage, and my father-in-law loved it. And if it was good for him, it was good for everyone! ;-)
Oh fun and more fun--this makes me thing of the word longhouse, whose "opposite" would be shorthouse. And in Seattle, they are building a lot of skinny houses on narrow lots.
It amuses me when I hear people say it (usually it is the context that is funny). I have not become comfortable enough with it to speak it...perhaps in time, who knows. Call me stick-in-the-mud
Thanks, the book is in my library and on my very long to-read list. Perhaps I will now be inspired to get to it sooner rather than later. Any other books you would particulary recommend to Wordies? I know that, too, could be a very long list.
New precision in identifying unseen animals: "Look at those tracks! It must have been a big buck. But wait...that's guana. I guess it was a VERY big doe."
Alas, I was raised in the Methodist church and we had reconstituted Welch's grape juice and cubes of Wonder bread for communion. It did not do much to inspire mystery, fantasy, or play.
No, I did not. Must know more. Thanks for the bit of knowledge. I know what you mean about almost-useless knowledge. It is fun to find a use for it, no matter how frivolous.
"Aluminium, for so we shall take the liberty of writing the word, in preference to aluminum, which has a less classical sound." "Quarterly Review," 1812
The etymology of hype is more complex than I had guessed. In addition to being short for hyperbole, it is influenced by drug user's slang, short for hypodermic needle, and also by the sense of a hyper or con man. It was not until the 1960s that it came to be used as a term for excessive advertising.
Actually, I do mean hopped up *about* something. As far as I know, it is older than "hyped up." I usually heard it used in a somewhat derisive way, as in "They got all hopped up about (x), but it turned out there was nothing much to it."
They still use axes to chop wood, of course. As for logging, I would assume there is still a minor role for the axe.
However, since *most* of the trees have been cut down, there is less need for logging equipment of any sort. It is a touchy subject in these parts. And don't say "spotted owl" to a logger unless you are prepared for unpleasantness!
Well, I think the idea is that the surgeon will inevitably have to make life or death decisions, often quickly. S/he has no time to ponder. The decision, of course, will be made on the basis of experience, knowledge and evidence, but there is no time for second guessing or doubt. Once a decision is made, it must be acted upon.
Personally, I do not have the temperament for that, but I am certainly glad others do!
Indeed, you would not want to get crosswise with the man with the axe. And out west, that would mean calling him a logger rather than a lumberjack. It is a regional thing. They get testy about that.
There are variants of the saying "Sometimes/often wrong but never in doubt." I have heard it said that it is a necessary atribute of surgeons. And yet there is also such a thing as overconfidence.
Young child slumry (who was not yet slumry, of course) came in for supper. She had been playing all afternoon and announced to her father "I am ravishing." Of course she meant ravenous. Oops.
By the time I was 5 years old, my oldest brother had a degree in physics. My mother liked to make the joke that "I was taught in school that you could not split an atom; now my son does it." Hence, I always envisioned atoms to be something you could put on a chopping block and split with an axe.
Oh, read it! I reread both last week while on a car trip, and read much of it to my husband also. It is wonderful--you will love it. I assumed it must be heavily quoted here, but perhaps not.
Obviously, I am no physician. Since it is said to be tranquilizer, I hoped it would be a mellowing agent. Surely there is an -ium word for that? But if it causes pandemonium, it's no good.
I did not say I *liked* unreliable narrators, only that they exist in literature ;-) Just as in real life. Then again, we often read fiction for a reprieve from real life.
More thoughts--perhaps I slightly misunderstood your point U. To clarify, I assume that all of the names that rose from professions were male-based--after all English surnames are patronymic, aren't they? (In the case of sewer for the woman who did the sewing is a happy omission!) The legacy of the name and the legacy of the genes should not be confused. To the extent that the Y chromosome is attached to the patronymic, the issue is a little cloudier.
In addition to names of professions, English surnames reflected regions, personal traits, etc.
I doubt the "compound interest" effect would favor male clans over female, but it would increase the sheer number of smiths in the population.
Perhaps checking data records would give one an idea of the total number of male versus female smiths in the US.
An interesting book that this reminds me of is Adam's Curse by Bryan Sykes. He also wrote The Seven Daughters of Eve. The relationship is tangential, but the book illuminates several of the things that have been suggested here.
It is more of a lit-crit thing, isn't it? Still, some of the fun of mystery stories can be in speculating about who is believable. And it seems related to dramatic irony, where the audience knows more than the players do.
The Wikipedia description is pretty succinct. I have always understood it to refer to the reader's *job* of judging how trustworthy the narrator is in a piece of fiction.
U, I thought the salient point of the article was that smith was an early name (owing to its usefulness). It sounds like compound interest--the earlier one starts, the huger the outcome. Exponential--that's the word I was looking for.
And don't overlook the fact that smiths are historically and currently useful!
And yes, this whole thread is a crackup, r. I love it too.
And Jennarenn, I liked your observation about the prevelance of Li.
As for having only boys, u, remember that if you should accidentally father a girl, she will probably have a mother who will help with the girly things!
Actually, I need another *vice* like I need another hole in my head. I have to alternate vices! The amount of time I have spent on Wordie since discovering it is an aberration; I will have to slow down a bit. But you know how a new infatuation is.
Good question--a quick look suggests not, though, if etymonline is to be trusted. Both apparently come from names. Ninny has a connotation of immature; nincompoop has more of a connotation of fool. It is a relief to me, because my mother sometimes called me a little ninny, but never a nincompoop. ;-)
I have had the same experience, Jennarenn. Most geraniums (which are really pelargoniums are supposed to be tender in our climate. However, they often survive the winter when I neglectfully leave them ourside.
I also enjoy the verb form, and that was what I had in mind when I listed it. I like the implicit analogy to a literal gander.
As for the sense of fool, idiot, etc., I suppose the female counterpart is a silly goose. Or perhaps I should say that *was* the female counterpart; I guess the term is now spread more equitably between the sexes.
Meat and three is a meal with meat and three side dishes (often including fried okra.) Restaraunts that serve such meals are also called meat and threes.
"Grills-with." Perhaps it has not yet arrived on the west coast of the U.S yet. At any rate, I have never encountered it. I am not sure if I should look forward to its arrival or not. :) Baked Alaska always sounds good, and I think I actually tried it once.
It seems that verbing is quite usual. People do it all the time, and have done it in the past.
A couple of questions are whether a particular verbification (ouch, I wish I would quit saying that) is useful, and when it is appropriate. Certainly we all have separate lexicons for informal and formal use.
I am also interested to observe what endures in a time when words are seemingly added to the language at an accellerated rate.
I agree with both of you that verbing is useful. Again, a lot of it is idiosyncratic. Each of us has our own preferences among verbed nouns. For instance, I can party, but I would much prefer to talk than to dialogue.
I had imagined this to be an Americanism, but I was wrong. The oldest sense (1693) referred to watery. "Newfangled" sense of vacillating evidently was recorded in 1873. It was part of my parent's vocabulary.
My guess about "verbing" is that we don't like it when it is new and unfamiliar--especially if we think there is a perfectly suitable alternative. Apparently the process is as old as the language, and I would guess that most *verbifications* (ew, ick, hold nose--not a noun from a verbed noun) fell into disuse. We recognize many as standard English, unaware of their "shady" past.
Jennaren, I completely overlooked the current meaning of "training bra." In that sense, I think "training" refers to physical exercise--a bra to wear while training, working out, exercising, whatever you want to call it.
On the other hand, the 1950s sense was different. Essentially, they were bras for girls who did not need bras yet.
I always thought it was such a funny term. What needs to be trained? Perhaps the training bra is like a trellis that traines vines? Perhaps as you say, resettee, the girls must be trained to carry those mammary glands around.
I always thought the "training" had to do with teaching girls to buy bras. Or perhaps it was too dangerous for girs to wear real bras before the girls were properly trained.
It played into young girls hopes and anxieties about womanhood. In my cohort, using a bra was a treasured symbol.
Soon after that came the era of bra burning, but that is another story.
I have, of course, heard it in other contexts, meaning the same thing. That is what prompted the comment.
My tongue-in-cheek expression of "relief" referred to the fact that as far as I know, it is not yet in standard dictionaries. It would not surprise me if it is soon. Part of the fun here is watching how language evolves and seeing what endures and what does not.
Our tastes in language are idiosyncratic, aren't they? What pleases one person is jarring to another. This just happens to be one that gets my goat. For now, I will just continue to add words to my lists of favorite words. ;-)
In the lexicon of Pacific Northwest loggers, a verb meaning to work very early in the day. It was done in the summer when fire conditions prohibited working at midday.
I would be interested to know if this was used in other industries, and if it is still in use.
Sometimes an adjective meaning "perverse, or obstinate" as in "That cussed omputer of mine would not boot this morning," or "That cussed wife of mine did not want to make eggy toast for me this morning."
As far as I know, this is a personal neologism, although it seems too obcious to be new. It is inherently self-mocking. But is it an aggultination?
I was chided this morning for using words with more than three syllables. I like to play with such words because they bounce and cavort.
For the record, I also love pithy to-the-point words. I just love words--hearing them, feeling them, playing with them, pondering them. And oh yes, communicating.
Thanks. This is wonderful fun. Is the German method of forming nouns also agglutinative? And are portmanteau words also an example of agglutination? I love to learn about language formation/evolution.
Yes, I was thinking of your list, which I like. You probably don't want oxblood either. Nor, for that matter, puce. Maybe I should make a list of non-Crayola colors. Oh, dun and dishwater blonde. fulvous
That's a good question. I had not thought about it. The truth is, all that I remember of the class is that we were not allowed to use the word presently. Not now, not ever. But I am presently using it, and I shall use it again presently. Presently. I feel so much better now.
A contranym, or at least a near-contranym. It was banned altogether in one of my expository writing classes on the grounds that it is ambiguous, meaning either "currently" or "soon"
At the risk of tedium, here is a portion of the note from RHD:
"The sense of 'At the present time; now' dates back to the 15th century. . .the sense 'soon' arose gradually during the 16th century...Strangely, it is the older sense 'now' that is sometimes objected to in useage guides. The two senses are rarely if ever confused in actual practice..."
So there, Mrs. Whatshername; I can once again say "presently" without fear of knucke-rapping.
I was also thinking about simply "pig," in the sense of a device that is used to clean the inside of pipes. Funny story: A friend was doing word processing for engineers. The context was sewerage (not sewage). The writing was illegible. . .something about sending a pig through the pipes. Thinking that the report would be read before being sent, my friend improvised something about "tying their little feet together." Oops. It was sent to the client without review.
You are right about scapegoat; I had the same "rule" in mind when I was thinking about this, but . . .oh, there should be a word for it. . .speaking without thinking. . .ya know...whatchamacallit. *temporarily inarticulate* And by the way, could someone explain this use of asterisks to me?
chained_bear isn't a cute name? I kind of thought it was. I have an enigmatic photo of a chained bobcat, and I always think of that. I also wonder how and why.
Same concept, but far more primitive. The Gestetner was a large machine with a drum. You typed on a waxy stencil, making holes in it. Heaven forbid you should make a mistake. The ink and stencil were placed on the drum, the drum rotated and voila, school paper! Messy, messy. Or so I recall.
I heard it in speech this morning--don't know when I last thought this word. It reminds me of the time I came home from second grade and announced that Donelda's uncle was a teletype. My mother explained that he was not a teletype, he was a teletype operator. "But Donelda said. . . "
Oh dear, I shoulda known better. I wondered why "crisp" was suddenly so hip--why were so many people listing it. The answer was in the Urban Dictionary: evidently it is used to mean awsome, cool, or something like that. So I was trying to make a joke. Best I had stick to my own outdatedslanguage.
My fifth grade teacher said to the class "It's bedlam in here." I could not have been more shocked. I thought Mrs. Wolf had said a Bad Word. Perhaps like (gasp) h-e-l-l.
The story is that albino elephants were sacred in Siam, and property of the king. The king gave them to people whom he wanted to ruin financially: the person had to feed and take care of the animal, but could not realize any financial gain from it. Or so I heard.
So a white elephant is something of value that is hard to get rid of.
Let's see. . .Hither and thither; hither and yon; come hither. . .you are right, I can't imagine using this outside of a stock phrase. Of course, then there is "Hitherto." Does anyone but me say that? :)
"Stark," however, is in wider use. There are the phrases, such as "stark raving mad,," "stark staring naked," a "stark contrast." I think this word has more independent uses though, meaning simple, unadorned, etc.
The idiom is give it your all. It is to attempt something with all of your resources; to put your heart and soul into it; to make every effort to succeed. It has nothing to do with y'all or "you all"
That is funny. I intended someting like "bracket error"--I understand that comments pages break due to incorrect use of brackets, among other things.
But bracketeering is intersting. . .and now my brain is going to electioneering. As I read the definition now, it sounds pretty innocuous, but I had thought the word meant improper influencing of voters at the polls, which one would think would be in indictable offence.
Yes, I feel a little sheepish about starting this. It was an unconsidered comment. One should not try to mess with the schadenfreude. I think I will go add control freak to my list of words.
You bet your booties it's a coinage. They are just starting to roll off my tongue. I am beginning to think word salad. Do you think I should be worried?
Smarty pants! Although I do like the image of a packed rat. Before the rat goes back to his own nest, his father ties a lot of stuff on his back. He is a fully packed rat.
Oh, I wonder if anyone recalls "whipped cream" It was a lightweight synthetic briefly popular in the late 60s or early 70s. I think I still have a piece of it that I intended to use for a blouse!
I guess I asked for that, uselessness. It is interesting that nobody has listed proctologist yet. Perhaps we could see how often we could use the word without lising it. Sort of a non-Wordie.
Now foible, I like that word, especially since I have such a bountiful supply.
Has become a common disparaging prefix for things that slavishly follow some model. Describes a world where one place is indistinguishable from another.
(this comment could use some refining--have at it.)
Thanks--I wondered about that as I sent it off; I think I have seen it without the h, but as you say, we see all sorts of things! I don't think I have ever written that word before.
perhaps we could conspire to wordie a new word--I am getting tired of seeing the same "most wordied" words. Any suggesstions? How about some innocuousgroupthink
Me too, reesettee. I will leave the "za" for the young 'uns, and amuse myself by observing. I will, however, take the pizza, thank you. Currently margarita is my favorite--I will leave the pepporoni and suchlike for the young 'uns too.
Nota bene: I do not really say things like "suchlike" I don't want to be dismisunderstood. It is only a persona.
I made a comment, realized it did not fit, and deleted the comment--probably I should have done it another way, but that's how I done it :)
Truth to tell, I misread the list name as "altitude" adjustment, and was going to comment on that.
Maybe someone should do altitude adjustment, but that won't be be, for a while at least, cause I am going to be out of pocket for a few days. It's up for grabs if anyone wants it.
I just thought it was amusing, especially since it turns out not to be a new term. It it lazy, or is it a self-conscious affectation? People do use language to have fun, to identify with their particular group, etc.
Yes, I heard it a few months ago from my 20-something niece. When I commented on it later, I was given to believe that everyone but me knew about this. Good to know I have company.
And what about transparent, as in user transparent? Not quite a contranym, yet peculiar to me, a non-technical person. (I am, however, technically a person)
"A speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements, as in keep tabs on."
New as I am here, even I become bored when I list words too much at one sitting. But I go away, and think of more words,things to say about words, and things others have said about words, and I get excited again. I think that the possibilities of this site are as vast as the language. And of course, there will always be newcomers to whom it is all fresh.
I agree with you that the bare lists aren't exciting in themselves--after all, we have had had dictionaries for a long time (I must admit I can get excited reading the dictionary, so perhaps I am not the best judge). It is the conversation, the interaction, the new insights that are worthwhile.
I am sure that there are also some quiet users who value this for purely utilitarian purposes, too. They may want to expand their vocabulary, learn a language, remember a particular set of words, prepare for a test, etc.
I would be interested to know how close we are to listing all of the "real" words. My guess is that we are a long way off. I know that I have listed many words for the first time this week. Granted, most of them are probably forms of words already listed, and a few of them are neologisms.
I have also listed a good many idioms, which are not random combinations of words but phrases whose sum is greater than their parts. That is, you cannot parse them out merely by looking at the definitions of each word.
Yes, and context is a big part of it. For instance, we can have fun with language here in ways we might not elsewhere because it is understood that the majority of us, I daresay, are here because we enjoy language, and we know other people here do too.
That said, I try to keep it in mind that there are also people who have more earnest purposes ("earnest porpoises?" "Where are the earnest porpoises?"). I want to make sure I respect that and don't do anything to interfere with their use of the site.
an inch (and they will take a mile)...maybe there should be a complementary stuffie called "take" I haven't the energy to do it today. If anyone wants it, they are welcome to it. . .take a gander
Yes, I look forward to watching how the site evolves from this point. I would imagine that this is like a family--each new "child" inevitably comes into a slightly different family and uses the site in a somewhat different way.
We are always treading a line between using language that is fluid enough to express our meanings and to give us personal pleasure, and conventional enough to allow us to be understood.
FWIW, I am not particularly interested in the original citation of every single word. Many common--even not-so-common--words in will be cited independently by many Wordies. I am interested in the wordieology of neologisms, etc.
Wax has long been a transitive verb, an intransitive verb, and a noun, and an adjective. According to my Random House dictionary, the word was "verbified" before the year 900. Perhaps we should take our forebears to task!
In the current case, "waxed" is an adjective. If I waxed my car (alas, I don't) it would then be a waxed car, not a wax car. I am not sure wax cars are legal on the highway! Similarly, waxed paper is (or was) wrapping paper with a coat of paraffin for waterproofing. Hence, the paper was "waxed" with paraffin.
Yes language is inconsistent, messy, and everchanging. I eat ice cream, not iced cream. If I had a cherry coke, I'd probably drink it despite the calories, and I might amuse myself by calling it a cherried coke. And I am quite sure that insisting on "waxed paper" is a losing battle. But it is fun to think about.
Having said all that I agree that the indiscriminate "verbification" of nouns is annoying and often lazy.
By the way, I have a question that may sound sarcastic, but is not. Has "semantic" become a noun? I've always known it as an adjective. But that is a whole nother question :)
Jennaren, that is a good idea. So you are adding them in the comments citations section of the word? Cool! Give me a few months and maybe I can become an oldtimer, too.
No, no I did'nt think anyone was trolling for compliments. I just learned girlychuckle from reesetee, and it amused me. I was happy to find a use for it when Uselessness said "manlaughter" Okay, and as far as we know Whichbe coined manlaughter
This name just came to me, and I liked it so I wrote it down until I could fill it. I have things in mind. I have been having so much fun that I have not had time to put words on their proper lists. I will calm down.
I'm interested in this--I have a hunch that the term fell into disuse for a while. It seems to me that when I heard it in the 1960s it sounded somewhat old-fashioned. Perhaps it is having a revival!
Slang that goes back to the 1930s or so. I'll bet bassackwards arose about the same time. There is a funny story in my family about a woman who innocently picked up "bassackwards" from her sons and embarrassed her sisters by using the term freely. That could have been no later than the 1940s.
I am going to linger here a while. I have had it in mind to make a list of back-formations myself, but I would not have thought of many of these. I love it. Remind me to add abomination to my list, if I have not already done so. I am not saying these are all abominations, of course, but some back-formations certainly are abominations to my ear.
In popular literature, people sometimes argue that individual are not the same people we were previously, because cells are continuously replaced, etc...I recently looked at a photo of myself as a two year old, and considered in what sense I still am that two year old. I recognize the expression on her face, and recognize the emotion that goes with that same expression now. These are the huge, huge questions
Remember "I had a little peanut, a little peanut...it was rotten...etc, (ad nauseum)" It is a wonder my brother didn't kill me over that. And if not that, "Have you seen the ghost of Tom...long white bones with the skin all gone..." or something like that. . .
I can't get it out of my head but I can't quite recall it . . .an oldtimey song with the refrain "In the mine, in the mine, where the sun never shines. . .and (something) and (something) all day"
Comments by slumry
Show previous 200 comments...
slumry commented on the word toupee pitch
Nice, jen.
And perhaps it would require special headgear to prevent embarassing slippages.
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word beech predicament
Oooooooh, so that's it!
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word peltate
And, literally, shield-shaped
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word irrascible
irascible
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word snowclone
(n) : a type of formula-based cliché which uses an old idiom in a new context, especially in journalism; for example "X is the new Y" or "It's X, but not as we know it"
Ninjawords
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word modality road
Excellent, R!
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word linguistical deafblindness
A self explanatory term if ever I saw one.
July 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word comingle
A funny looking word if ever there was one, and ripe for misreading. Mom, what is a COM ingle?
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word beech predicament
Oh, and a tautology to boot. My working hypothesis is still that the Beech Predicament is a cosmic error of mis-generation. The real philosophical question is the famous Birch Predicament, also known as the Birch/Boy Quandry. BBQ for short.
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word beech predicament
And bye the bye, I love that poem and simply jumped at the opportunity to play with it a bit.
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word beech predicament
joke, u, joke. I was adopting what I hoped was a comically ponderous tone. It is, after all, *your* list, however it was generated. And you invited us to play along. That was my move!
And I might add that I think the list is a great idea!
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word beech predicament
Actually, I am afraid you are a little confused. I did not want to tell you, but since you have given me permission. . .you really meant to say birch predicament. People confuse these trees all the time.
The predicament for the birch tree is ice storms. Period.
As for your existential predicament, let me offer you this advice from Robert Frost: "One could do worse than be a swinger of birches."
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word beech predicament
Which one are you referring to, U? The beech's predicament, or your predicament with respect to that beech?
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word blush
Man is the only animal that blushes, or needs to.
Mark Twain
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word heavens to murgatroyd
see http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/heavens-to-murgatroyd.html
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list next
Heavens to Betsy--one oaf is quite enough, I think. R, thanks for reminding me to check the list in alpha format.
This is a lesson in patience!
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word haversack
Trying...to...parse...
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word haversack
Well, if the Havers' sacks are tightly knotted it will take longer for the have-notters to sack the havers' oats and what not.
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word haversack
I see your point, U. If the have-notters have haversacks, they are no longer have-notters. Furthermore, once the have-notters get haversacks, they will sack and pillage the havers' oats and what not. Clearly, haversacks are a danger to the class of havers and should be banned! Off with their heads!
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word haversack
Oats, I tell ya. All is oats.
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word haversack
Are you sure you don't mean the Haver's sack? There are Have-notter's sacks, too, you know. They are filled with nots and what not.
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-poetrie-tunie-listings
Must be an out west thing--they don't work here either.
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list random-phrases
What fun!
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word conjure trippers
People who hallucinate demons.
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word toupee pitch
A resin used to afix the rug to the pate.
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word znoogie
I suppose it would be a milder punishment than smiting.
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list evocative-smells
Thanks--I was also thinking it would be fun to hear what is evocative for other people!
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word hogtie
Or perhaps a *natural* medicine? Take a teaspoon of hogtoe and call me in the morning.
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word haversack
A small strong bag carried on one shoulder. Originally a small bags carrield by cavalry troops for horse provender. Literally, "oat bag."
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word haver
Also oats
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word habituate
to become accustomed to
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list evocative-smells
Thanks, U and O.
You are right, U mothballs is a must (come to think of it must is a must) I have the same association you have with mothballs--the clothing or home of someone who is elderly and likely careful and frugal. Better to have an unpleasant odor than motheaten clothes! Like you, I find it a slightly unpleasant smell with pleasant accociations. May your great-grandmother rest in peace!
[Bay Rum} is not a scent I easily recall, O (when I was a child, it was a bit scandalous for a woman to even go into a barber shop!). However, I know it is very evocative for many people.
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list next
U, as to your question "What is the theme for this list?":
You could say some of my lists have a megatheme; ie, one overarching theme that links several lists.
To wit: Tuesday words, Words next, Yet more words, Time for a new list, What, another list?, That's right, another list, Next!, are all stashes of words that I have listed for various reasons. You never know where they might move next! ;-)
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list next
Those brainstorms rained down in a veritable storm, didn't they?
I do not know myself why the word is listed four times. I have had a word appear twice; deleting one deletes both. I fix them when I notice them by deleting both and reentering. Maybe O is right--I entered words faster than the system could take them. More likely, I absentmindedly entered the word repeatedly before it actually appeared. Sometimes when the system is a bit slow and I am waiting, and thinking of more words, I forget whether I *actually* entered the word.
No biggie, as *they* say.
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word feminazi
A Limbaugh-ism
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word pachouli
Thanks--I did. In fact, I think I may already have listed it elsewhere. I typed that list quickly and then went to finish the dishes without looking it over! So I may have other typos in that list.
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word cow orker
Maybe orking takes the wor ry out of working. You are carefree--just ork and let the cowchips fall where they may. (needs ork)
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word sophophobia
fear of thinking or learning
July 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word combine
COM bine--a harvesting machine
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word grader
Hey, R--this is a left-hand word!
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word beck
and a gesture used to summon someone
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word rufus
A male given name, from Latin for red-headed
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word rufous
tinged with red
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word strawberry
I have always thought of strawberry blond as reddish-blond. My father-in-law, aptly named Rufus, had strawberry blond hair, as does his oh-so-charming great granddaughter.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word marsh marigold
Not a marigold, it is a member of the buttercup family. Some species of marsh marigold bloom in the early spring in icy water.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word cowslip
an English primrose, Primula veris. Lovely!
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word blonde
Sounds like some kind of hard-boiled fiction. ;-) It is a vivid image that you paint!
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word blonde
Specifically, a female person.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the list wordplay-terms
I like this list! I hope you will annotate some of the words with their meanings. :)
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the list fun-with-apocopes
Funny, I was thinking Christmas thoughts this morning, too. I think it was the misled/mizzled thread. I thought there should be a joke about someone being misled by mistletoe, but I could not quite get there. . .something about work getting in the way!
I have never liked "tot" for "total" either, although I suspect that if I were from a linguistic environment where that was standard I would have a different opinion. Come to think of it, I have never liked the verb tote much either. Again, it is probably a regional preference.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word ant dance
Ow!
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word empowermint
Chew one incredibly fresh empowermint in the morning, and you can do anything!
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word shut-door-panic
Fear of being on the wrong side of a closed gate. It is a literal translation of a German word that has the same meaning as midlife crisis.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word shock
Nah, shocking hay is best done in a field, lest you shock the householder by error.
Actually, you remind me of the times my brother and I dared each other to touch an electric fence with a piece of dry grass. Fortunately, it delivered a very mild shock.
And I won't even mention the prank that little country boys sometimes played on their city cousins!
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word mangle
A machine for pressing clothes or linens.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word shock
transitive verb: to gather hay into shocks or sheaves.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word hagiothecium
This was a great one! Thanks, sumit.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word salvic
Sometimes used in the same sense as salvific
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word salvific
redemptive
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word inspissated
Thickened, as by evaporation
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word docetaxel
A semisynthetic antineoplastic drug derived from the yew tree.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word mizzled
Or do you pronounce it miss-lead? ;)
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word oude
That is what I concluded, too! :)
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word mizzled
confused
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word zeugma
I was thinking of it as an unpleasant oath playing on the letter zee. ;-) For instance, Great zooming zits, that's ugly!
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word galium
A plant genus includes woodruff, known as bedstraw. It is in the madder family Rubiaceae, as is coffea. Diverse and useful family, Rubiacea.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word cinchona
Source of quinine
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word tonka truck
Of no use in perfumery.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word tonka bean
see coumarin
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word coumarin
A fragrant crystalline substance derived from Galium odorata and other plants. Tonka bean is another source of the substance.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word woodruff
Galium Also known as sweet woodruff, or bedstraw. The dried leaves have a sweet smell.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word bedstraw
Galium Known as Ladies Bedstraw, it was used to fill matresses.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word ylang ylang
also ilang ilang Cananga odorata, a tree whose flowers yield a volatile oil that is used in perfume. A personal favorite of mine.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word oplopanax horridum
should be oplopanax horridus; my error.
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word oplopanax horridus
devil's club
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word naked as a jaybird
earlier, naked as a robin; earlier yet, naked as a needle
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word jaybird
see popinjay
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word oude
Thanks for this one, arby. The more I read the Wiki article, the more interesting it got. .
July 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word oude
So I assume that the oud is made from oude, also known as agarwood?
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word misled
oh-oh, I will never see this word the same way again. Every once in a while I look at a familiar word that is in the "wrong" context and I misread it. It is a bit scary.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word slough
"slew" (a marshy body of water isolated in its original channel) and, phonetically, "sluff." Apparently the words have different roots--spelled the same funny way, but otherwise unrelated. There are other definitions of the word that are pronounced "slou," having meanings literally or metaphorically similar to "slew."
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word booty
"plunder, gain, profit," c.1439, from O.Fr. butin "booty," from M.L.G. bute "exchange;" infl. in form and sense by boot (2). Meaning "female body considered as a sex object" is 1920s, black slang.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word booty
Shake it till you break it. ;-)
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word spoil
Yes, and I must quote OED at booty--it sums up what we have been talking about.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word spoil
Original meaning was "to strip or plunder," hence, "goods siezed or plundered in war."
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word pillage
I think I know the movie you mean, but I am also memfaulting.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word stinking
adjective meaning contemptible or disgusting: A stinking shame
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word peckish
I love that movie too. Time for me to watch it again.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word memfault
That's good! I get brain fade myself.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word peckish
FWIW--American Heritage says "chiefly British"
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word peckish
I remember hearing that there are, or recently were, isolated pockets of the south where near-Elizabethan English was still spoken. You could both be right.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word duded
All duded up to go out on Saturday night.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word gossip
Who would have thought! Gossip=Godparent; God+sib(sibling); Later became "any familiar person," later "idle talk," and then "to talk idly about the affirs of others."
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word dude
The vogue word of 1883.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the list fun-with-apocopes
tot (total); tad (probably tadpole); merc (mercantile); sib
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word pillage
That is truly interesting. It comes full circle--rape has the connotation of treating a person as property. It is not just sex, it is treating a person as a non-person.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word bouzouki
Oh, you are just like an elevator, u. ;-)
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word bouzouki
No harm--you are safely off that string of 6s ;-)
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word zeugma
I agree, it is an unlikely sounding word. Zooming zits!
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word sillage
silage has extremely high sillage, but is highly undesireable.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word mercantile
In my hometown, the local mercantile closed in the 1950s, giving way to more modern sorts of stores. I wonderful if general stores were commonly called mercantiles then, or if the one I briefly knew was an anomaly.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word sorostitute
I was fortunate to go to college in a time and place where there was zero pressure to join a sorority. The "Greek system" was at a low ebb, and it never even occurred to me to try to join. I am in total sympathy with your attitude about the Greek system. I do not admire it either.
I was only commenting on that point at which objections pass beyond *the system* and *some* individuals to *all individuals* and to unfair stereotypes about all members' sexual behavior, etc.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word christopagan
syncretism I would guess it began the first time one culture met another. ;-)
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word kopi luwak
This is interesting. Not appetizing, but interesting!
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word props
Thanks
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word pish
Pish!
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word props
At Lilyjames's "The eyes of the sleepers..." list. :)
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word forkful
Toss a forkful of carbonaceous stuff on the compost pile, will ya?
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word bouzouki
Quickly, R, add bouzouki to your Zing list! Break the curse!
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word peckish
When you are past the point of peckishness, you may be ravishing;-)
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word esurient
extremely hungry
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word props
Props to Usefulness for introducing me to the word props.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word staggeringly
props to The Cheese Shop Sketch, linked at cheese
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word cheese
SoG, thank you for linking to the Cheese Shop Sketch.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the list coffee-talk
Forgive me, I can't control myself when it comes to coffee! I know you are still making your list, but I have to say cafe cubano springs to mind also--my husband makes a point of having it at the Miami airport (it is a bit strong for me--one is expected to put sugar in it, but I don't.)
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word deign
A word with an interesting history--it went from "accept graciously" to the current meaning of "condescend."
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word not atall
And apparently also a westernism.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word mahalo
not atall;-)
And danke
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word right on
An Americanism from the 1960s.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the list the-hills-are-alive-2
And speaking of cowboy, I like this list too.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the list coffee-talk
This list is a good one--cowboy springs to mind.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word spat
And a petty quarrel.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word threadpebble
Oh, that's funny--I thought it must be an inside joke!
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word scruple
Something that is small--a small irritant that causes anxiety and restrains behavior, or a small unit of measure; original literal meaning was "a small stone"
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word spat
a young oyster
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word meticulate
Is this to pronounce words very carefully and precisely? Is it to be observant of all details in enrolling in a university?
articulate or matriculate?
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the list zing-went-the-strings
No doubt a crwth-tuba would sound more pleasant! (now if I can only work crwth into a Scrabble game!
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word sorostitute
See Tribblewing's recent "name-calling humans" list.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word purple cow
Ah yes, I wrote The Purple Cow,
I'm sorry now I wrote it;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'll kill you if you quote it.
--Gelette Burgess
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word hypercritical
meticulously critical; perhaps quibbling
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word bridle
noun--part of a horse's harness
intransitive verb--to show offence
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word blinkered
narrow-minded and subjective
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word bit
the mouthpiece of a bridle.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word blind bridle
a bridle with blinders used in breaking colts.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word obsolescent
If it is obsolescent, it is becoming obsolete.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word much obliged
an idiom that is equivalent to thank you. Perhaps an obsolete idiom, for all I know.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word not atall
The people I heard say it were neither British nor uppity. I take it to mean "oh, it's no bother," "no big deal," "think nothing of it." These were the same people who said much obliged instead of thank you.
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word abstracted
preoccupied
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word not atall
not at all--a response to "thanks"--a manly way of saying it, in my experience ;-)
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the list the-story-of-little-john
not atall
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the list the-story-of-little-john
hoppin john', john doe
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the list the-story-of-little-john
john barleycorn, johnny cakes (oh that cute little johnny cakes. ;-)
July 17, 2007
slumry commented on the word viola
Also a plant--in fact, the name of a genus of plants. The johnny-jump-up is a member of the genus viola. Pronounced vie-OH-la
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word set to
see set-to
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the list reversible-words
Thanks R--I did not see this earlier today.
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word academic
in the sense of hypothetical
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the list zing-went-the-strings
dobro? Originally a brand name, it is now used generically.
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word nyckelharpa
The Norwegians have the hardanger fiddle, which I love.
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word nyckelharpa
nice one! I like the sound of it.
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word humuhumunukunukuapuaa
Thanks for reminding me of that song. You also reminded me of the apocope uke.
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word telekinesis
levitate is sometimes used for a specific form of telekinesis--that is, to lift something in the air by non-physical means.
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the list jumbo-shrimp
When I see the term organic vegetables, I often wonder what inorganic vegetables are made of. ;-) open secret?
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word tragus
Safe unless I get a hankering for cod wrap and stop by Silly's at the same time you do! Look for the woman staring surreptitiously at ears.
Come to think of it, staring surreptitiously is probably akin to jumbo shrimp.
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word humuhumunukunukuapuaa
Hawaiian: pig-snouted triggerfish. I love it--the definition is as much fun as the original word.
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word tragus
Yea, you should be safe. ;-)
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word tragus
Oh dear, now I will be compelled to go about observing tragi to see if they are hairy. A little scientific survey. ;-)
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the list jumbo-shrimp
I love this list--I linger and chuckle here. How about more unique? (One of my mother's major rubbies.) You already have greater half, but how about the child's version--"I want the big half?
When my brother and I were very young, we would look out the window at night and scare ourselves by saying to each other black headlights!. I dimly remember an adult talking about someone sitting in his car at night, "with the headlights blacked out," and up to no good. Evidently it was quite evocative for George and I! The thought of black headlights gives me a little chill even now. So I offer you this idiosyncratic tidbit.
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the list floored
plank?
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word frenemy
Yes, it could be a friend who does you dirt.
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word atrophy
Is that like lettuce alone?
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word death rain
I think immediately of looking out the windows in the 1950s and wondering if the rain outside would kill us with its load of nuclear fallout. I was an impressionable child, and the fear of fallout was epidemic in those [Cold War} days
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the list name-calling-humans
An interesting list which, unfortunately, could go on and on. The impulse of individuals and groups to distinguish themselves from the *other* in order to feel superior is lamentable.
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word synectic
Tomorrow I will enlighten--as you said o, it is bedtime now. The word's history turned out to be a little more involved than I expected. I did look it up in OED. Stay tuned (no champagne here, only a hike in the hot sun)
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word aurora
The dawn
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word demi-jour
twilight
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word viciate
to vitiate
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the list when-you-gotta-go-you-gotta-go
bushes? little girl's room and little boy's room, obnoxious though those phrases are? loo?
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word abequitate
Good word! Thanks fbharjo! I gotta stop puttering around, get off my duff, and abequitate outta here!
July 15, 2007
slumry commented on the word marsh mallow
Althaea officinalis, a European mallow naturalized in marshy places in eastern North America, and formerly used in making marshmallows.
July 15, 2007
slumry commented on the word marshmallow
Traditionally marshmallows were made with the root of the marsh mallow, from which they got their name.
July 15, 2007
slumry commented on the word omphaloscopy
navel gazing
July 15, 2007
slumry commented on the word everlasting
pearly everlasting
July 15, 2007
slumry commented on the word worm cordiform map
Not map cordiform worm? Are you sure?
July 15, 2007
slumry commented on the word chronic kairos
Ha!
July 15, 2007
slumry commented on the word winning
Oh, you sly fellow! I must say that was clever. But I thought we had a gentlemen's agreement to keep that word in the context of sports. ;-)
July 15, 2007
slumry commented on the word privy
In the sense of "participating in the knowledge of something private or secret."
An one hopes a privy would be private.
July 15, 2007
slumry commented on the word paisly
Do you mean paisley?
July 15, 2007
slumry commented on the word synectic
A 1960s and 70s word, I think.
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word sidehill
This seems to be a regionalism, although I am not sure I could identify the region it belongs to. ;-) It is part of my verbal patrimony.
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word matrimony
Funny that this is not analogous to patrimony ;-)
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word banty rooster
A bantam rooster
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word superfices
Noun, from which comes the adjective superficial.
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word quick
alive, as the quick and the dead, or as cut to the quick
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word maudlin
Derived from proper name "Maudelen" which in turn comes from Magdalene, as in Mary Magdalene.
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word portmanteau
Hobot--I like the image. Imagine an unemployed robot coming to your door wanting to chop wood for his supper. That's time travel.
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word portmanteau
One hundred served!
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word pilgarlic
Ha ha: "peeled garlic" with the now-obsolete meaning of a baldheaded man.
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word hot cakes
Thanks, trivet.
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word smoothshod
It is kind of a call and response thing. I love the corporate stream of consciousness aspect of Wordie.
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word winning
In the sense of charming; see also winsome
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word winsome
Funny, sog. I chuckle now because I was not here then.
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word rake
I like the other kind only in fiction!
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word smoothshod
It is always fun to see these oddball ops show up!
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word bakelite
Bakelite is 100 years old today (7/13/2007)! The claim is that bakelite was the first "true" synthetic plastic. Dunno.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11959165
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the list reversible-words
Thanks Trivet!
July 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word howdedo
Howdedo? That's a fine howdedo!
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word stalagtite
Ain't it the truth. I'm turning off my computer now, because I can.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word tin pants
Good question. Maybe by analogy to the tin hats they wore?
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word tin pants
I think the ones I was aware of were made of neoprene. According to d.com, they were also made of parafin soaked canvas. The idea was that they were tough and water replellant.
Nothing romantic about them, I'm afraid.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word stalagtite
WARNING WORDIES. The real spelling is stalactite. Please, don't make the mistake I did. ;-)
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word stalagtite
Thank you, U. What a booboo! Can I blame Judith, since as far as I know she is not here?
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word stalagmite
up
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word stalagtite
Mama always explained to me, "The mites go up and the tites go down.
(stalagmite)
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list reversible-words
Oh, thanks! Thanks O!
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word tranz
It's all good fun--thanks for playing along.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word hot cakes
Thank you so much--I consider it an honor ;-) Actually, I'v always want to make some such joke about eschew.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word hot cakes
The now-fabled Washington loggers eat hot cakes. They eschew pancakes. However when in restaurants, I am sure they eschew pancakes, but nevertheless eswallow them. And flapjacks: an abomination to loggers here.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word tin pants
Loggers in these parts did (perhaps do) wear tin hats and tin pants, neither of which were made of tin. The plot thickens. (see tinfoil)
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word tinfoil
Oh my gosh--hope you don't have any fillings, or you are in deep doodoo!
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word tranz
The original joke was that tranz is a word without a q in a "q without u" list. Therefore, it is analagous to optimistically wishing for ham and eggs when you have neither. I assumed that you had somehow included tranz accidentally. Just a small joke with unintended consequences!
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word chewphoria
I guess they are doing something right with their advertising! ;-)
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-get-to-the-point
head of the class--too many words, I guess; supreme court;-) nunnery? Oh, that was "hie thee to"
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-get-to-the-point
go to the mountaintop? show? movies?
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-get-to-the-point
meat? basics? essence? brass tacks?
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word unvarnished
unvarnished truth
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-get-to-the-point
gist? nitty-gritty? crux?
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word whillikers
golly gee whillikers!
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word elsewhere
;-)
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list slumry-s-words
It's zip my lip day! Must focus elsewhere today.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-get-to-the-point
bitter end
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word tinfoil
At least you are right in saying that you are not the only one who calls it that!
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word tinfoil
In the past, lots of people called it tinfoil. I had assumed that "tinfoil" referred to some earlier version of the foil we use. My guess that tinfoil has more to do with generations than regions, but I could be wrong.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word shifgrethor
Oh, I am a newcomer. I have been pretty smitten with this; inevitably I must slow down and get some other things done!
I'm glad you paid us all a visit.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word mentation
I have heard it in a medical context, referring to the process of thinking, and evaluating a person's medical condition.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list the-eyes-of-the-sleepers-wax-d-deadly-and-chill
*Shiver* A good list.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list fun-with-apocopes
I wondered about where suss came from. It seems that it is short for suspect. (Then why not sus?)
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word haw
fruit of the hawthorn.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word carbuncle
A funny word that has such dissonant meanings.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list bouma-tastic
But there is no hanging or sticking.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word woody
In contrast to herbaceous.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word furze
But gorse is not furzey.;-) And yet it is furze. Go figure.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word scot's broom
Also known as scotch broom. An alien invader and frequent allergen. Looks like gorse without the thorns.
Cultivated varieties are often very colorful in contrast to the solid yellow of the weed.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word nines
To the nines is *perfection.*
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word board out
In an era when students often lived far from school, they would board out in town during the school year.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list bouma-tastic
It is so tidy!
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word roo
;-)
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list reversible-words
Thanks--I am sure there are still a lot out there.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list baby-got-back-formations
Oh that's right--too bad it would not have worked for you here.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list baby-got-back-formations
Sorry--I was so busy ranting I missed the word! Teach me!
I can just see you typing with one hand while holding your nose with the other.
I do feel better now.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list baby-got-back-formations
Also commentate, that odious word. ;-) Actually, I was surprised to find how long that word has been in use--I assumed it was a recent abomination. And a verbification to boot.
All opinions expressed belong strictly to the commentator and do not reflect on the actual value of the word.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list baby-got-back-formations
Surveil is a back-formation of surveillance (and one for which I happen to have antipathy.) Perhaps it belongs on this list?
Since I know someone will ask, my preference is "To put/keep under surveillance." More words, yes, but easier on my sensibilities.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list she-blinded-me-with-pseudoscience
Hey TG, why don't you show us some of the words you love, or love to hate? ;-)
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the list words-of-mercy-and-heart
A sweet list.
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word abbatoir
Aha! I think Urban Dictionary is propagating bad spelling. Off with its head!
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the word abbatoir
Is this sposta be abattoir, or am I obtuse?
July 13, 2007
slumry commented on the user john
Me too! Me too!
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word oughta
I also. Gonna.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word oughta
Yes, that too.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the list she-blinded-me-with-pseudoscience
The search for the universal solvent she said, lightly.
(but where would we keep it?)
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word ephemeral weather
An oxymoron in these parts.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word tranz
Ah ha!
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word cordiform
Ha ha, quite a riff!
pseudoconical, eh? Unparalleled maps, eh?
I can't quite picture the axe, though I have seen many an axe. And you are right, those releafs just don't cut so good, be they cordate, palmate, pinnate, whatever.. Alas, a chainsaw is more likely to cut the tree to the heart now.
And all I saw in the definition was a lowly worm!
As I said before, context is everything.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word tranz
Makes me think of "The Education of H-Y-M-A-N K-A-P-L-A-N" by Leo Rosten, a book which I had not thought of for a while. I am sure it is somewhere in my stash. (rummage, rummage) I remember it being a very funny book years ago. I wonder what I would thin now.
Thanks
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word bumbershoot
Seattle has an annual arts festival called Bumbershoot,
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word syllabub
I always wonder why one would have a course description for dessert. ;-) Obviously, I have the misfortune to come from a syllabub-less culture.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word flaunt
Sometimes confused with flout.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word tranz
I think it is like:
Heff you enee 'am, if I have the picture right
Like you, I still don't get the tranz. It seems to be a corruption of "trance," but I do not know how that relates to q and u. Perhaps it is just a misplaced word. Oroboros?
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word look-see
I'd put it on my don't like list if it did not annoy me so. ;-)
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word tripe
I have no desire to eat it, and less desire to read it.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word ignominy
I think it is near Menomonie.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word checkered
A checkered past
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word checked
A checked shirt...or, if you must, a checkered shirt.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the list word-guidelines-for-wordie
Thanks--pretty much my own feeling about pointing out errors, or presumed errors.
As for the second question, no I am not worried but I don't like leaving verbal clutter around and perhaps misdirecting someone towards a misspelled word. I have seen a few instances where one person makes a common misspelling and others follow.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the list word-guidelines-for-wordie
About Wordie etiquette: Is it appropriate to point out a presumed misspelling in a listed word? Always? Sometimes?
Also, is there a way to erase all tracks of an inadvertently entered word?
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word jowls
Yeah, I know. That is the beauty or the horror of the way this works.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word shifgrethor
Pleased to meet you, A. I have *always* admired your lists.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the list selliebee-s-words
Welcome, Selliebee. I think you will have a good time here!
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the list sometimes-they-vex-me
vexatious indeed. But at least ridic is merely silly.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word incorruptible
Makes me think of Handel's "Messiah."
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word chock
Okay, more coffee! It is still morning here.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word tularemia
A college friend named a mobile made from a coathanger Tularemia. It sounded so nice...
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word ess
Yes, this means s.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word cee
See, it means c.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word occasion
And I can never rememember how many cees and how many esses. Come to think of it, it always looks wrong any way I spell it.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word coloratura
I love this word and have few occasions to use it.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word stashes
Quilters have stashes of fabric and knitters have stashes of yarn. Wordies have stashes of words which, in their own figurative ways, can be just as colorful.
It is high time I sorted my stash. I believe I will sort by beast, I do.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word chock
Ha, ha, ha. You are quick.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word square up
Literally, to make square. Figuratively, to settle a debt.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word true
I like this as a verb, meaning to square up (in the literal sense).
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word puppy
Funny, I am not finding refence to the slangy, vague meaning of that "thing."
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word chock
Okay--thanks. I owe you a bunch.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word jowls
Yeah! Edit that puppy.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word chicken scratch
illegible writing; a paltry sum of money; a kind of embroidery
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word jowls
Oh you wait, kid.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word chalk
Because I was compelled to.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word chock
Good word...I wonder if I should just admire it a while before I steal it...chock full...how about chock-a-block.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word shifgrethor
A nice word to look at, but I don't know what I would do with it. :)
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word pericardium
:)
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word cordiform
Heart-shaped, as is cordate. Context is everything.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word stile
Of course you could! I had added stile earlier. When you added turnstile, I was prompted to think about the relationship between the two words.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word tranz
Thanks for putting me out of my misery. ;-)
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word madder
coffea is in the madder family. I love coffee!
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word stile
A sort of ladder over a fence or other obstacle to allow passage by humans. A turnstile is a stile that turns rather than passing over the obstacle.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word tranz
Showoff.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word bushwa
The derivation is unknown, but there is speculation that it is a reference to bourgeois.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word tranz
halo kumtux :(
I just read that as people age, they are slower to get jokes. It was scientific. ;-) Alas.
Ah, but I choose to believe it is not so.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word bibliophagist
Thanks R. Yes, I believe that is the clan. The clan of book-devourers.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word arch
I like the sense of mischievous
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word johnny jump-up
Thanks trivet. This is another lovely native plant of these (northwestern U.S.) parts. A charming little yellow violet.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the list u-less-q-words
Thanks for directing me here!
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word beautific
were you looking for beatific?
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word tranz
a u-less q word without the q?
If we had some eggs we could have ham and eggs if we had some ham.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the list q-sans-u
Jen, thank you sooooo belatedly. I fell out of this pocket for a long time!
I did meet Junie B. Jones last weekend. And I will never forget the B!
The precocious 5 year old girl who was reading the book looked puzzled when I said something about getting stickers in your feet if you walk barefoot in weeds. Then her face cleared, and she said, "Do you mean thorns?" To save face, I quickly invented a class of things that includes burrs, thorns, and other sharp plant material: stickers
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word bushwa
In my experience, primarily an interjection. Bushwa!
also bushwah
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the list biblio-words
Wow! What a list.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word bibliobibuli
Good word! My kind of people.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word mock orange
Another favorite native plant. They smell so sweet, and the flowers are wonderful. Today (July 11) I smelled them for the first time this year. When Stephen passes a mock orange bush, he says "That's not very nice. Poor orange."
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word brahman
Used figuratively to refer to a member of an elite class, such as "Boston brahman" Also brahmin.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word witticism
I like it too.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word witticism
Coined by Dryden.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word halfwit
Old joke alert!
"He thought he was a wit, and he was half right."
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word snoose
Yah, it's Scandanavian snuff.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word tightwad
Stringency with avarice.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word snoose
Let loose a snoose?
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word skinflint
Someone who would skin a flint if s/he could. And could gain from it.
Much like blood from a turnip
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word vet
The colloquial sense of "subject to careful examination" comes from Kipling. Well, knock me over with a feather.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word gore
Touche. If I could tag, I would tag the e properly.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word gore
Pot pie! I thought you were going to amend your ways!
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word gore
a triangular piece of fabric in a garment.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word emend
And U, u had best amend your constitution while there is time! It's for your own good, you know. ;-)
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word emend
I can't say in terms of etymology. However, in practice amend seems to be the more general term, meaning to improve to to rectify something. I think emend is usually more specific to editing text.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word duff
Indeed it would!
Actually I like the "backside" definition of duff.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word duff
Goodness gracious!
Oh (relief) I thought you said "On one's backside."
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the list trinity-words
P...
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word desiccant
Oh dear, a hardened detagger.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word duff
Organic matter on the forest floor.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word emend
Whose constitution? How's yer constitution?
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word emend
And speaking of emending, I have been trying to think of the technical word that describes this howler:
I was editing a piece of writing for someone near and dear to me, and had a hard time convincing him that "Installing (you name the software) in a nutshell." was not a good header. The defense was reference to the series of "In a Nutshell" books.
It is a pretty funny image, I must say. Every time I think of it I laugh-groan.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word emend
I try to emend my ways, but. . .
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word desiccant
Shock! Dismay!
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word leisure suit
That's it! Thank you, R.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the list oddball-opposites
I remember hearing my mother say something dismissive about "a little crackerbox house." I wonder if it was a generic term for small, or if it had a more specific meaning, as a shotgun house. A cursory check yielded nothing so far.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word desiccant
Makes one wonder, doesn't it? Have you ever removed a tag from a matress? If so, I promise not to tell.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word haunt
Ha, ha, U. And R.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word bunchberry
They are enchanting. My father picked one for me once and I pressed it and carried it around in my first wallet. I simply could not believe that a dogwood could be so tiny.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word comet
An it's nasty gritty acrid!
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word leisure suit
oh, yuk. but I am thinking of another oh yuk.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the list trinity-words
Albeit, a poetic potpourri of pointlesness. ;-)
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word buccaneer
The old (emphasis on "old") joke that this reminds me of is: Buccaneer? Hellova price to pay for corn!
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word desiccant
For instance, those little packets in shoe boxes that say "do not eat."
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word haunt
Do the ghosts of chickens haunt and peck?
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word dogwood
Arf, arf, Stephen says every time he passes one. (sorry)
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word bunchberry
Another beloved flower of mine. They are low-growing, mat-forming dogwoods.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the list trinity-words
Me too. They are one of my favorite flowers.
Trilliums are lilies, all of which are trimerous. (gotta find something
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word unisex
Or perhaps the '70s sneaked up behind you when you weren't looking.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the list oddball-opposites
I think they are usually, if not always, at least two stories high because they have such a small footprint, so they are not really like shotgun houses.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word muff
As a child, I always thought muffs were among the coolest things in the Sears Roebuck catalog. Hardly necessary in our climate, however.
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word earwig
earmuff?
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word earworm
This is a useful and colorful word, but every time it comes up, it gives me the creeps--I guess I have had a too-vivid imagination about earwigs!
July 12, 2007
slumry commented on the word earworm
That's good, R! I guess I was out of pocket five days ago!
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word addlebrained
see also addlepated
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word pipestems
Accompanies fiddlesticks in the introjection fiddlesticks and pipestems.
Otherewise, of course, a pipestem is merely the stem of a pipe.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word potemkin
I love this word--it is so useful for anything that has a false front, either literally or figuratively.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the list trinity-words
trillium, she suggested.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word meteorite
A nice mnemonic device. (and apologies for the alliteration).
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word abattoir
One of those words that, to me, just does not sound like what it is--happily!
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word leisure suit
Shirts that accompanied leisure suits were often made of a certain knit fabric that was slightly shiny. It was all the rage, and my father-in-law loved it. And if it was good for him, it was good for everyone! ;-)
I'm cudgeling my brain, but I cannot recall!
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word chirr
Nice!
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word babbitt
Thanks, OneBlueSun, for indirectly reminding me of the word babbitry!
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word leisure suit
1970s
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word unisex
To me, this word says "the 1970s."
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the list oddball-opposites
They look uncomfortable, too! I often wonder what it is like to live in one. (skinny houses, that is)
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word allochthonous
You mean the rocks all over my house are allochthonous? What about the rocks in my head?
Seriously, thanks for listing this word!
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the list fun-with-apocopes
Ah, temp for both temporary and temperature.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word alogical
Righto! And yet, alogic lives!
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the list oddball-opposites
Oh fun and more fun--this makes me thing of the word longhouse, whose "opposite" would be shorthouse. And in Seattle, they are building a lot of skinny houses on narrow lots.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word easy does it
An idiom used as an interjection.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word ipse dixit
Literally, "he himself said it."
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word ipse dixit
Easy does it!
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word stickaneedle
My brother and I called him Dr. Stickaneedle, because he stuck us with needles. Really.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word ginormous
It amuses me when I hear people say it (usually it is the context that is funny). I have not become comfortable enough with it to speak it...perhaps in time, who knows. Call me stick-in-the-mud
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word jumpseating
Overheard on a commercial airline. An airline employee who travels in a jump seat.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word consarned
According to d.com, consarned is a euphemism for confounded, which in turn is a euphemism for damned. Even the fleas have fleas.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word flitch
Good word...so good, I had to filch it.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the list oddball-opposites
I love this list, R. How about sourbreads and sweetdough? And overway? Bandlength? To go with headweak, perhaps footstrong?
I love the sound of shortshoreman.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word alogical
How so?
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word alogical
Having no reference to logic. Neither logical nor illogical. Having no logical restraints. Totally oblivious to the sphere of all that is logical.
(A coinage based on amoral)
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word anticline
Interestingly, this is a back formation from anticlinal. I did not know that.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the list confusing-words
Was he a typhoon of a tycoon? A stormy muck-a-muck?
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word reveille
mornsong
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word evensong
mornsong?
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word youse
Thanks, the book is in my library and on my very long to-read list. Perhaps I will now be inspired to get to it sooner rather than later. Any other books you would particulary recommend to Wordies? I know that, too, could be a very long list.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word psychic antimagician
Thanks, R.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word guana
New precision in identifying unseen animals: "Look at those tracks! It must have been a big buck. But wait...that's guana. I guess it was a VERY big doe."
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word necco wafer
Alas, I was raised in the Methodist church and we had reconstituted Welch's grape juice and cubes of Wonder bread for communion. It did not do much to inspire mystery, fantasy, or play.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word gnice
Really, J? I am afraid the reference escapes me, either because I do not know, or because I do not recall.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word heroin
No, I did not. Must know more. Thanks for the bit of knowledge. I know what you mean about almost-useless knowledge. It is fun to find a use for it, no matter how frivolous.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word rainforest
Spotted owls, among others, love temperate rainforests.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word lees
Very nice. There are often lees in a bottle of wine, too--especially old wine.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word psychic antimagician
Me to--I wonder where this quote came from.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word antimagician
Okay, I will check it out.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word heroin
Wordie is my heroin.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word gnice
A better class of nice.
Actually, I think nice is also gnice, in its appropriate use.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word gneiss
Gneiss is very gnice.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word somnoluminescence
To glow in one's sleep.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word antimagician
It's okay; I found out all I need to know about the subject, I think. My comment was tongue in cheek.
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word twain
Never the twain shall meet. At least not on the twacks, we hope.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word antimagician
Another defense is ignorance/ignoring. Who is David Blaine?
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word gödelwhack
My head hurts.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word twain
No, not train, twain.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word cheep
I had a pet chicken named cheep-cheep once, long long ago.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word aluminium
Ah, but such classical cheap metal. . .and although it may be cheap, it is costly to the environment, I understand.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word doable
Once I said it, I had to own it.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word frugivorous
Doable, this time of year (apricots, plums, peaches, all manner of berries...)
Wait, did I say doable? Surely not.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word necco wafer
I love Necco Wafers. I once knew someone who thought they were called necrowafers. Candy for the uncoffined, I presume.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word youse
Thanks for the reference, r.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word stot
Ooh, ooh, another animaly verb!
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word iguana
A kind of lizard.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word gnosis
Intuitive knowledge of spiritual truth.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word guana
An iguana with inner knowledge?
(See gnosis/ignosis)
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word ignosis
Ha, ha!
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word youse
Well, silly me: it is Johnnies-come-lately or Johnny-come-latelies. Of course. How could I not have known.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word youse
Yes, well some of us johnny-come-latelys missed earlier discussions. ;-)
Or is it Johnny-comes-lately; surely not Johnny-come-latelies?
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word hopped
Me too. But I was thinking of "hopped up."
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word puttanesca
C'mon over and we'll all have pasta!
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word endinginess
Lots of words are endinginess.
(A play on endianness, of course)
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word sen-sen
A "breath mint" not to be confused with candy. Long ago, I unwittingly bought a pack. It tasted like soap. I was a naif.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word ( )
Or perhaps a sentence used in this "word?"
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word sick 'em
Words to urge a dog toward something.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word ignosis
Indeed! And it is substantial.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word poka-yoke
If you poka-yoke in the ribs, does it laugh?
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word alumium
From alum, the original name for aluminum or aluminium.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word aluminium
The preferred British spelling, because:
"Aluminium, for so we shall take the liberty of writing the word, in preference to aluminum, which has a less classical sound." "Quarterly Review," 1812
Also aluminum; originally alumium.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word ignosis
The state of inner not knowing.
Do you think if we cite this word enough, it will exist?
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word youse
That's good!
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word toit
Gotta get a round toit.
(Hissing and booing is quite appropriate now.)
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word aborning
Nice word! It has not come to mind for a long time--thank you, Jword.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word noseeum
You can't see them, but they bite you nevertheless.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word hype
Well, I don't know if they were dull or not, but it is interesting that one should be hopped up on hops and hyped up by hypodermic needles.
I think I will stick with coffee. That does the trick for me.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the list dangleberry-s-words
Welcome, Dangleberry! I love your Doric list.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word uncoffin
A macabre concept, based on a slighly macabre experience (I assure you, the experience did not involve any uncoffining.)
Inspired by the juxtaposition of recent experience and the word uncoffle.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word hype
The etymology of hype is more complex than I had guessed. In addition to being short for hyperbole, it is influenced by drug user's slang, short for hypodermic needle, and also by the sense of a hyper or con man. It was not until the 1960s that it came to be used as a term for excessive advertising.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word hopped
Actually, I do mean hopped up *about* something. As far as I know, it is older than "hyped up." I usually heard it used in a somewhat derisive way, as in "They got all hopped up about (x), but it turned out there was nothing much to it."
I will do a little checking. . .
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word hopped
As in "getting all hopped up" about something.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word puttanesca
Literally, whore's pasta. From the Italian "puttana," or "prostitute." There are several accounts of why it came to be called this.
At the risk of ruining my reputation, I must confess that I like to make puttanesca.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word pemphigus
Ow, ow!
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word invidious
Ha! An old joke that is new to me.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word atom
They still use axes to chop wood, of course. As for logging, I would assume there is still a minor role for the axe.
However, since *most* of the trees have been cut down, there is less need for logging equipment of any sort. It is a touchy subject in these parts. And don't say "spotted owl" to a logger unless you are prepared for unpleasantness!
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word youse
Nonstandard--a word not to be used unless one is prepared to take the consequences.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word muumuu
Ha Ha, I get a chuckle out of youse.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word confidence
Yes, I think second guessing is very concrete, and leads to dithering. One may accept doubt without feeling compelled to act on it.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word ravishing
Merging into freeway traffic still feels a bit too powerful to me...That murdering traffic.
I love ravishing/ravaging. "She was a ravaging beauty."
What did I do without Wordie!
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word atom
Scary thought--those pronky WMDs. Let's hope they are phantoms.;-)
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word atom
Yes, I have always liked the word lumberjack, but they are a breed apart from loggers. You have to trust me on this one. ;-)
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word invidious
I agree, dyslogophobia is good. It sounds *real*.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word confidence
Well, I think the idea is that the surgeon will inevitably have to make life or death decisions, often quickly. S/he has no time to ponder. The decision, of course, will be made on the basis of experience, knowledge and evidence, but there is no time for second guessing or doubt. Once a decision is made, it must be acted upon.
Personally, I do not have the temperament for that, but I am certainly glad others do!
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word invidious
Okay, maybe maldyslogophobia. But I would be afraid to say it. ;-)
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word atom
Indeed, you would not want to get crosswise with the man with the axe. And out west, that would mean calling him a logger rather than a lumberjack. It is a regional thing. They get testy about that.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word brook
I like brook as a verb. And as a noun, it is fine. However, it just occured to me why I always think a brook should be still, like a pond.
Fishy, fishy in the brook
Pappa catch you on a hook
Mamma fry you in a pan
Baby eat you like a man.
I always imaged the brook in the rhyme to be a body of still water. Babbling brook just sounds *wrong* to me.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word stuffocate
Thanks, all of you. Of course that word would not have occurred to me if it was not a real threat in my own life!
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word muumuu
So Finnish cows say muu muu. . .I wonder what they wear. :)
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word chasmogamous
This evokes wonderful imagery for me: a flower as a closed chasm.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word jaspe
Nice!
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word pronk
Nice word! I can imagine someone pronking right out of his shoes.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word confidence
There are variants of the saying "Sometimes/often wrong but never in doubt." I have heard it said that it is a necessary atribute of surgeons. And yet there is also such a thing as overconfidence.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word ravishing
Young child slumry (who was not yet slumry, of course) came in for supper. She had been playing all afternoon and announced to her father "I am ravishing." Of course she meant ravenous. Oops.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word invidious
Because it reminds me of insidious, I am chary of using this word--fear of misspeaking.
I need a word for "fear of misspeaking." Help me, Wordies!
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word pernicious
"working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way" In this sense, I think it does have the connotation of insidiousness.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word atom
By the time I was 5 years old, my oldest brother had a degree in physics. My mother liked to make the joke that "I was taught in school that you could not split an atom; now my son does it." Hence, I always envisioned atoms to be something you could put on a chopping block and split with an axe.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word curiouser
Oh, read it! I reread both last week while on a car trip, and read much of it to my husband also. It is wonderful--you will love it. I assumed it must be heavily quoted here, but perhaps not.
July 10, 2007
slumry commented on the word stuffocate
To be killed by one's posessions.
July 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word farro
Emmer wheat
July 9, 2007
slumry commented on the word perc
Short for percolation or percolate, as in a soil "perc test."
July 9, 2007
slumry commented on the list intentional-malapropisms
cartesian well?
July 4, 2007
slumry commented on the word librium
Obviously, I am no physician. Since it is said to be tranquilizer, I hoped it would be a mellowing agent. Surely there is an -ium word for that? But if it causes pandemonium, it's no good.
July 4, 2007
slumry commented on the word post-antepenultimate
That would be second to the last, no? Wait! I think there was already a word for that.
July 4, 2007
slumry commented on the word squalloop
Mmm...bathos almost does it, but not quite.
July 4, 2007
slumry commented on the word squalloop
quick, what is a word that means both absurd and poignant?
July 4, 2007
slumry commented on the word unreliable narrator
Oh yes, we all have to grouse a bit.
July 4, 2007
slumry commented on the word cast nasturtiums
How about casting nasturtiums before swine? The little piggies might like it!
July 4, 2007
slumry commented on the word ninny
Perhaps derived from the proper name Innocent. (etymonline)
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word training bra
I love it. See today's earlier discussion of nincompoop and ninny, particulary ninny.
We are weaving a great web!
I am glad that the orphans were at least given names of a sort!
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the list intentional-malapropisms
Wonderful!
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word unreliable narrator
I did not say I *liked* unreliable narrators, only that they exist in literature ;-) Just as in real life. Then again, we often read fiction for a reprieve from real life.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word training bra
More thoughts--perhaps I slightly misunderstood your point U. To clarify, I assume that all of the names that rose from professions were male-based--after all English surnames are patronymic, aren't they? (In the case of sewer for the woman who did the sewing is a happy omission!) The legacy of the name and the legacy of the genes should not be confused. To the extent that the Y chromosome is attached to the patronymic, the issue is a little cloudier.
In addition to names of professions, English surnames reflected regions, personal traits, etc.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word training bra
I doubt the "compound interest" effect would favor male clans over female, but it would increase the sheer number of smiths in the population.
Perhaps checking data records would give one an idea of the total number of male versus female smiths in the US.
An interesting book that this reminds me of is Adam's Curse by Bryan Sykes. He also wrote The Seven Daughters of Eve. The relationship is tangential, but the book illuminates several of the things that have been suggested here.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word kaftan
I used to make kaftans for my husband. However, they have long been passe in this neck of the woods.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word kefir
I love strawberry kefir.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word unreliable narrator
It is more of a lit-crit thing, isn't it? Still, some of the fun of mystery stories can be in speculating about who is believable. And it seems related to dramatic irony, where the audience knows more than the players do.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word drabs
Usually found with dribs. She had dribs and drabs of this and that.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word unreliable narrator
The Wikipedia description is pretty succinct. I have always understood it to refer to the reader's *job* of judging how trustworthy the narrator is in a piece of fiction.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the user parody
Gee, are you a Seattle Mariner's fan? (the Mariner's take great pleasure in loudly booing A-Rod.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word huger
A funny-looking word, I think.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word training bra
U, I thought the salient point of the article was that smith was an early name (owing to its usefulness). It sounds like compound interest--the earlier one starts, the huger the outcome. Exponential--that's the word I was looking for.
And don't overlook the fact that smiths are historically and currently useful!
And yes, this whole thread is a crackup, r. I love it too.
And Jennarenn, I liked your observation about the prevelance of Li.
As for having only boys, u, remember that if you should accidentally father a girl, she will probably have a mother who will help with the girly things!
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word scratch and sniff
Actually, I need another *vice* like I need another hole in my head. I have to alternate vices! The amount of time I have spent on Wordie since discovering it is an aberration; I will have to slow down a bit. But you know how a new infatuation is.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the list wild-as-apples
Nice list--I particularly like gillyflower and cowslip.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word scratch and sniff
Ooh, I will have to look into that. I need another vice. ;-)
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word ninny
Good question--a quick look suggests not, though, if etymonline is to be trusted. Both apparently come from names. Ninny has a connotation of immature; nincompoop has more of a connotation of fool. It is a relief to me, because my mother sometimes called me a little ninny, but never a nincompoop. ;-)
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word square the circle
You are right! Ouch, ouch.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word scratch and sniff
Great! Now I know I can count on you two for the latest "official" lexical information!
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word square the circle
Yes, like forcing a round peg into a square hole. Ouch!
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word oleomargarine
Oh, and also oleo on the complementary list?
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word oleomargarine
What fun! I had not heard that before.
And it makes me think--doesn't someone have a list of words that have been lopped off at the front? If so, margarine belongs there.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word square the circle
So true, reesetee. We also tilt at windmills.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word breach of promise
Observed more in the breach than the promise is a quaint way of saying that people give lip service to something but rarely act upon it.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word appropinquity
Nice word. Must steal. Thank you vorpal--you're a pal.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word agglutium
Noun: 1. An ingredint in oatmeal. 2. A magic dust sprinkled on Turkish words.
see: agglutination
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word geranium
I have had the same experience, Jennarenn. Most geraniums (which are really pelargoniums are supposed to be tender in our climate. However, they often survive the winter when I neglectfully leave them ourside.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word square the circle
to attempt the impossible
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word by-and-by
I think by-the-by means the same as by the way
I tried spelling it bye and bye first, but did not find it. Thanks.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word twitwit
I like it!
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word training bra
Ha! Yes, I think maybe that is the idea. Sadly, I think the more one trains, the worse things get. (or is it coincidental with age?)
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word training bra
I wondered the same thing about Smith. I would also be interested in hearing more of that story!
I had always assumed that smithing was a common occupation. I just looked up this: http://genealogy.about.com/library/surnames/s/bl_name-SMITH.htm, which illuminates the subjec a bit.
Okay, now I understand the current use of training bra.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the list ium-ium
Thanks.
Perhaps at times the praesidium could use a little libriaum.
July 3, 2007
slumry commented on the word gander
I also enjoy the verb form, and that was what I had in mind when I listed it. I like the implicit analogy to a literal gander.
As for the sense of fool, idiot, etc., I suppose the female counterpart is a silly goose. Or perhaps I should say that *was* the female counterpart; I guess the term is now spread more equitably between the sexes.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word high maintenance
Thanks. I wondered about that, but could not find it.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word favorite
Meat and three is a meal with meat and three side dishes (often including fried okra.) Restaraunts that serve such meals are also called meat and threes.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word favorite
Hooray for Jennarenn! The favorite circle is closed, with a verb on one end and an adjective on the other. (Uh, slumry, circles don't have ends.)
I will look for the book when I visit that area.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word favorite
And those restaurants are fun to discover, too.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word to-do
Making a big to-do over the "to do" list.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word favorite
I recently was in Tennessee for the first time, and learned about meat and three. I wonder how widespread that is.
One would not want to follow a meat and three with a grills-with. I probably would be fatal. :)
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word favorite
"Grills-with." Perhaps it has not yet arrived on the west coast of the U.S yet. At any rate, I have never encountered it. I am not sure if I should look forward to its arrival or not. :) Baked Alaska always sounds good, and I think I actually tried it once.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word argyle
In my household:
Wife: "Yes, I checked to make sure the stove was off."
Husband: "But did you argyle?
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word favorite
You know, I have never tried it. Must put it on my to-do list. I love ice cream so much, I have never been tempted to stray from the basic product.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word favorite
True. . .and no consequences!
Now that is crisp. (if a joke fails, make it again until it is funny. . .) :-)
And I did not mean fried to a crisp.
Them emoticons is messin' with my parens, and I don't like it.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word apostate
Only at the apostake.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word favorite
Pick your poison.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word cay
Pronounced either "kay" or "key"
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the list sounds-like-a-letter
vee! and cay? and ess and wye. Vee, ess, and wye all refer to things shaped like their respective letters, of course. Does that count?
Oh, and cue.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word frascati
Forever linked with ouzo in my brain.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word woodchuck
Thanks, oroboros.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the list tongue-twisters
Another old one: Say "terrified tissue" quickly five times.
Best effect obtained when used with 7th grade boys.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word favorite
Simultaneously speeding up and multitasking--whew. How much can we expect of one person, and is it always worth it?
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word favorite
I agree, it is freaky in some ways. I know that there is a lot that each of us could say about this! :-) And maybe we will, over time.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word favorite
It seems that verbing is quite usual. People do it all the time, and have done it in the past.
A couple of questions are whether a particular verbification (ouch, I wish I would quit saying that) is useful, and when it is appropriate. Certainly we all have separate lexicons for informal and formal use.
I am also interested to observe what endures in a time when words are seemingly added to the language at an accellerated rate.
I agree with both of you that verbing is useful. Again, a lot of it is idiosyncratic. Each of us has our own preferences among verbed nouns. For instance, I can party, but I would much prefer to talk than to dialogue.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word wishy-washy
I had imagined this to be an Americanism, but I was wrong. The oldest sense (1693) referred to watery. "Newfangled" sense of vacillating evidently was recorded in 1873. It was part of my parent's vocabulary.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word favorite
Thanks for the link.
My guess about "verbing" is that we don't like it when it is new and unfamiliar--especially if we think there is a perfectly suitable alternative. Apparently the process is as old as the language, and I would guess that most *verbifications* (ew, ick, hold nose--not a noun from a verbed noun) fell into disuse. We recognize many as standard English, unaware of their "shady" past.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the list eyes-without-sight
With baleful looks?
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word crotchet
Cute!
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word pseudology
Emphasis on "imagine" rather than "think" here. I had not thought the word meant anything, because I was unacquainted with it!
My first reaction when I saw it was that it *could* be a neologism meaning pseudo analogy. I was delighted to learn what it actually does mean.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the list eyes-without-sight
Perhaps vegetarians should think twice about eating artichokes, with their eyes and hearts.:-)
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word training bra
Thanks all,
Jennaren, I completely overlooked the current meaning of "training bra." In that sense, I think "training" refers to physical exercise--a bra to wear while training, working out, exercising, whatever you want to call it.
On the other hand, the 1950s sense was different. Essentially, they were bras for girls who did not need bras yet.
I always thought it was such a funny term. What needs to be trained? Perhaps the training bra is like a trellis that traines vines? Perhaps as you say, resettee, the girls must be trained to carry those mammary glands around.
I always thought the "training" had to do with teaching girls to buy bras. Or perhaps it was too dangerous for girs to wear real bras before the girls were properly trained.
It played into young girls hopes and anxieties about womanhood. In my cohort, using a bra was a treasured symbol.
Soon after that came the era of bra burning, but that is another story.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word favorite
Yes, I noticed that after I made the note!
I have, of course, heard it in other contexts, meaning the same thing. That is what prompted the comment.
My tongue-in-cheek expression of "relief" referred to the fact that as far as I know, it is not yet in standard dictionaries. It would not surprise me if it is soon. Part of the fun here is watching how language evolves and seeing what endures and what does not.
Our tastes in language are idiosyncratic, aren't they? What pleases one person is jarring to another. This just happens to be one that gets my goat. For now, I will just continue to add words to my lists of favorite words. ;-)
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word apostate
Or they may apply it to themselves ironically, acknowledging that *they* consider *me* an apostate.
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the list eyes-without-sight
Thanks, amcd56!
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the list redundancing
mazurka, fandango
July 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word mooreeffoc
Great word, great observation.
July 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word well and good
Yes, I think that is the fun of idioms. They cannot be parsed.
July 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word hyponatremia
People get it when they drink too much water. Ironically, it is also associated with dehydration.
July 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word hootowling
In the lexicon of Pacific Northwest loggers, a verb meaning to work very early in the day. It was done in the summer when fire conditions prohibited working at midday.
I would be interested to know if this was used in other industries, and if it is still in use.
July 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word pseudology
Good heavens! This is actually a word with a history, however facetious. And it does not mean what I would imagine it to mean.
July 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word well and good
An idiom, often followed by "but." "That's all well and good, but. . . "
July 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word bombylious
Oh, I like that one. Badonkadonk. It is almost onomatopoetic. But it is rude to describe a woman as "two axe handles and a hammer handle."
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word bombylious
*Sigh" I just can't keep up, but it is fun to try. Bootylicious, callipygian; buns are much in vogue, it seems. How nice.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word beat the pants off
debrief? No.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word cuss
Sometimes a noun meaning an odd or perverse person, often used with a disclaimer, such as: "He was acstually a good hearted old cuss."
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word cussed
Sometimes an adjective meaning "perverse, or obstinate" as in "That cussed omputer of mine would not boot this morning," or "That cussed wife of mine did not want to make eggy toast for me this morning."
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word favorite
I am relieved to see this is not a verb--yet.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the list the-phonetic-alphabet
A useful list--thanks.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word polysyllabification
As far as I know, this is a personal neologism, although it seems too obcious to be new. It is inherently self-mocking. But is it an aggultination?
I was chided this morning for using words with more than three syllables. I like to play with such words because they bounce and cavort.
For the record, I also love pithy to-the-point words. I just love words--hearing them, feeling them, playing with them, pondering them. And oh yes, communicating.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word agglutination
Thanks. This is wonderful fun. Is the German method of forming nouns also agglutinative? And are portmanteau words also an example of agglutination? I love to learn about language formation/evolution.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word jimmy
As a verb, it means to force open with a jimmy. "He locked himself out of the house, so he had to jimmy the door."
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word agglutination
Stumped again, seanahan. I think that there is a referent that I don't get. Turks?
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the list fanciful-beasts
This list is a lot of fun. I'll bet that there are a lot of itms we have not thought of yet.
And now I have *permission* to use asterisks as I please.
Thanks.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word tedium
HA!
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word puce
I had no idea that this referred to the color of a flea. "And where does the flea get its red-brown color?" she mused.
Ick.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word pigeon blood
Yes, I was thinking of your list, which I like. You probably don't want oxblood either. Nor, for that matter, puce. Maybe I should make a list of non-Crayola colors. Oh, dun and dishwater blonde. fulvous
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word winningest
You've got me stumped, seanahan. I suppose that the "most winning" pitcher might be charming but unable to pitch, so that will not do.
Perhaps Wordie court should allow "winningest" if it remains in its sports context. ;-)
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word bombylious
Me too. Do you suppose it is because of the currency of babelicious?
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word presently
That's a good question. I had not thought about it. The truth is, all that I remember of the class is that we were not allowed to use the word presently. Not now, not ever. But I am presently using it, and I shall use it again presently. Presently. I feel so much better now.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word mut
More often spelled mutt, but I do not like to waste Ts.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word training bra
They used to be for sale in the Sears Roebuck catalog. Really.
Later. . .
Eek! They are still around. Unbelievable.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word starter house
Another phrase that annoys me. Sounds like a marketing ploy to me, not to mention snooty and elitist.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word pack rat
Not just a figure of speech. . .if pack rats live near you, you might want to check their nests for your lost thimble, or forgeegaws.
By the way, they are New World rats, unlike the Norway rat.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word stool pigeon
More here: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/stool-pigeon.html regarding the origins of phrase.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word acorn
My highs chool "mascot," if you want to call it that. Imagine: "Go Acorns. Beat those tigers." How could that be?
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word mcmansion
He lives in a McMansion because he has an edifice complex.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word agglutination
Yes, oatmeal is agglutinous, isn't it.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word woodchuck
Happened once. There was a rusty nail in one of the boards that the Mongols did board, and the one of the Mongol horde got tetanus. The mut was okay.
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the word rare bird
rara avis
June 30, 2007
slumry commented on the list fanciful-beasts
Sawhorse!
And don't forget your very own crossbuck.
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word persiflage
I recall first hearing this phrase in the jocular "superfluous persiflage," as in "Cut the superfluous persiflage and get back to work."
Something like idle chitchat
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word woodchuck
I assume the Mongol hordes would hoard as many boards as the Mongol hordes could hoard, if the Mongols did get bored.
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word yrs
But what if your name is not Tom?
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word winningest
Like fingernails on chalkboard to me.
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word presently
A contranym, or at least a near-contranym. It was banned altogether in one of my expository writing classes on the grounds that it is ambiguous, meaning either "currently" or "soon"
At the risk of tedium, here is a portion of the note from RHD:
"The sense of 'At the present time; now' dates back to the 15th century. . .the sense 'soon' arose gradually during the 16th century...Strangely, it is the older sense 'now' that is sometimes objected to in useage guides. The two senses are rarely if ever confused in actual practice..."
So there, Mrs. Whatshername; I can once again say "presently" without fear of knucke-rapping.
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word pigeon blood
Not a Crayola sort of word ;-)
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word rocking chair money
Unemployment compensation.
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word stoolie
stool pigeon
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the list fanciful-beasts
I was also thinking about simply "pig," in the sense of a device that is used to clean the inside of pipes. Funny story: A friend was doing word processing for engineers. The context was sewerage (not sewage). The writing was illegible. . .something about sending a pig through the pipes. Thinking that the report would be read before being sent, my friend improvised something about "tying their little feet together." Oops. It was sent to the client without review.
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the list fanciful-beasts
You are right about scapegoat; I had the same "rule" in mind when I was thinking about this, but . . .oh, there should be a word for it. . .speaking without thinking. . .ya know...whatchamacallit. *temporarily inarticulate* And by the way, could someone explain this use of asterisks to me?
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word limpkin
chained_bear isn't a cute name? I kind of thought it was. I have an enigmatic photo of a chained bobcat, and I always think of that. I also wonder how and why.
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word slack off
A phrasal verb. (How do you like them apples?)
To decrease intensity or activity. "The rain has slacked off some; I suppose I should go pull a few weeds."
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word tom
the male of the species (well, some species)
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word chlorinator
As a child, I always thought it was a great honor that the town chlorinator was on our property.
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word dustbin
I have always thought this sounds so much more pleasant than "garbage can."
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word agglutination
noun: a clumped mass of material formed by agglutination.
June 29, 2007
slumry commented on the word oölite
If zoology traditionally used one, perhaps it would be pronounced correctly.
June 28, 2007
slumry commented on the word ∮
Wish I knew what it meant, but it is pretty. :)
June 28, 2007
slumry commented on the word dismal science
Refers to economics.
June 28, 2007
slumry commented on the list oooooh-donuts
Yes, a person would not want to actually eat it. . .
June 28, 2007
slumry commented on the word chatty cathy
"Chatty Cathy" was a doll manufacturel by Mattel from about 1959 to 1965. She "said" several phrases when her string was pulled.
Hence, chatty cathy refers to someone who talks incessantly--like the earlier chatterbox.
Another phrase is who put a nickel in you? (It would be more now, inflation and all!)
June 28, 2007
slumry commented on the list betta-watch-yo-self
How about dastard?
June 28, 2007
slumry commented on the word gestetner
Same concept, but far more primitive. The Gestetner was a large machine with a drum. You typed on a waxy stencil, making holes in it. Heaven forbid you should make a mistake. The ink and stencil were placed on the drum, the drum rotated and voila, school paper! Messy, messy. Or so I recall.
June 28, 2007
slumry commented on the word pharoah
We're all working for the Pharoah. . .
Richard Thompson
June 28, 2007
slumry commented on the list fanciful-beasts
Clothes horse?
Powder monkey?
Scapegoat?
computer mouse?
bugbear?
grease monkey?
June 28, 2007
slumry commented on the word razor strap
Also strop. But it was razor strap in my house.
June 28, 2007
slumry commented on the word weathergall
This makes me think of the saying that "the devil is beating his wife" when there is rain and sunshine at the same time.
June 28, 2007
slumry commented on the list oooooh-donuts
Wasabi donuts! Mmmmm
June 28, 2007
slumry commented on the word gestetner
Remember Gestetner machines? (Only if you are of a certain age, of course)
June 28, 2007
slumry commented on the word no
That is what shoo means here, too--my father used to shoo the barn cats regularly.
June 28, 2007
slumry commented on the word no
Shoo as in scram?
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word zyzzyva
That's what I said!
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the list conjunctivitis
whensoas?
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word zyzzyva
What a great word!
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word dauphin
what about a dolphin?
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word narcosis
for example, nitrogen narcosis.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the list conjunctivitis
whenforthwith? underponwhich? whosuchwith? thenceinforth? henceunderever?
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word orthopod
an orthopedist.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word tuffet
That upon which Little Miss Muppet sat, eating her curds and whey.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word logger
In the Pacific Northwest, they are loggers, not lumberjacks.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word wahoo
an exclamation, a tree, a fish. . .a refrain in a Red Clay Ramblers song.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word aswherehaps
Love the sibilance.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word steno
A stenographer
I heard it in speech this morning--don't know when I last thought this word. It reminds me of the time I came home from second grade and announced that Donelda's uncle was a teletype. My mother explained that he was not a teletype, he was a teletype operator. "But Donelda said. . . "
Anyway, this one is for you, reesetee.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the list redundancing
Odori, a Japanese dance
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word horehound
horehound drops, an old fashioned remedy/candy.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word crisp
Oh dear, I shoulda known better. I wondered why "crisp" was suddenly so hip--why were so many people listing it. The answer was in the Urban Dictionary: evidently it is used to mean awsome, cool, or something like that. So I was trying to make a joke. Best I had stick to my own outdated slanguage.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word crisp
Apple crisp, that's crisp.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word undisillusioned
as opposed to redisillusioned? Or maybe unredisillusioned?
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word tenterhooks
If one is on tenterhooks, he is in a state of painful anxiety or unease.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word snooker
I think if you have been snookered, you have been bamboozled.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word bedlam
My fifth grade teacher said to the class "It's bedlam in here." I could not have been more shocked. I thought Mrs. Wolf had said a Bad Word. Perhaps like (gasp) h-e-l-l.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word porifera
Ah yes, and my kitchen sponge walked out on me. She said she had taken all she could.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word drizzle
1543, alteration of drysning.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the user drzeus
First? Drizzle, for example?
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word slanguage
a vocabulary of slang or language that uses a lot of slang.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word shizzle
Just not my slanguage, I guess.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word woodchuck
you are right, seanahan--I missed a word.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word nominalization
a verb or another part of speech.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word incompossible
nice!
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word dumbstruck
oh, gee, group hugstruck. . .and try not to be run over by any SUVs.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word dumbstruck
Very lucky if you are only painstruck--I once knew a woman who survived being run over by a garbage truck, but it was a long road back.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word dumbstruck
Now you are back to deadstruck.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word thunderstruck
It was a joke, just pointing out the literal denotation, as opposed to the figurative meaning. See also dumbstruck.
June 27, 2007
slumry commented on the word overbelly
Is this the corporeal counterpart to the oversoul? Or just that extra appendage that cannot be confined by a belt?
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word thunderstruck
shouldn't it be lightningstruck?
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word lightening
not to be confushed with lightning.
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word inburst
People have been known to choke on their inbursts.
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word woodchuck
Everyone knows: "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"
But did you know "Why, a woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word stymie
Whoda thunk it was a golf word? (Well, maybe a golfer woulda thunk it.)
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word downholstery
To upholster with feathers? To rip the stuffing out?
Now tell me to go do my work ;-)
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word white elephant
The story is that albino elephants were sacred in Siam, and property of the king. The king gave them to people whom he wanted to ruin financially: the person had to feed and take care of the animal, but could not realize any financial gain from it. Or so I heard.
So a white elephant is something of value that is hard to get rid of.
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word chattle
Excellent. Now I must skedaddle.
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word morganatic
I suppose that to some extent this is accomplished these days using a prenup.
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word chattle
That must be it. Let's have a chattle. But don't tattle.
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word chattle
Chattel? cattle?
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word megaloglossia
A friend's brother actually had this condition, along with multiple birth defects. It was quite sad.
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word cooncan
Talk about multitasking!
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the list almost-gone
Let's see. . .Hither and thither; hither and yon; come hither. . .you are right, I can't imagine using this outside of a stock phrase. Of course, then there is "Hitherto." Does anyone but me say that? :)
"Stark," however, is in wider use. There are the phrases, such as "stark raving mad,," "stark staring naked," a "stark contrast." I think this word has more independent uses though, meaning simple, unadorned, etc.
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word slumpfunk
Ah yes, I knew this word before I knew it. Thanks.
And welcome to Wordie! Wordie is mentally stimulating, and can help a person out of a slumpfunk.
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word cooncan
Can you play cooncan in Cancun?
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the list three-vowels
I like this list!
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word asplosion
metanalysis with a twist?
June 26, 2007
slumry commented on the word twincest
UGGGGGGGGG...but I see what u mean.
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word bracketeering
good point ,u. But then what is bracketeering? It has got to be somethin.
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word lickety-split
an old fav. Now I should start my least favorite word list with fav. Is there a word for using words that you dislike?
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word cybrid
cytoplasm
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the list q-sans-u
Thanks. I am going to be out of pocket for a few days and look forward to more fun next week.
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word cock-rock
see also cock of the rock and cock of the walk; cockblock
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word cock of the rock
A South American bird.
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word bracketeering
Wordieology: from "bracketerror"
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word wa wa
to talk "make wa wa" Chinook Jargon.
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word chin music
Old slang indeed. I remeber hearing this expression when I was a child (in the Pacific Northwest). And it was old then!
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word zeugma
Ha! I used the Groucho Marx quotation this week, and it was the first thing that came to mind when I read the definition of zeugma!
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word your all
The idiom is give it your all. It is to attempt something with all of your resources; to put your heart and soul into it; to make every effort to succeed. It has nothing to do with y'all or "you all"
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word hobby horse
That is funny. I intended someting like "bracket error"--I understand that comments pages break due to incorrect use of brackets, among other things.
But bracketeering is intersting. . .and now my brain is going to electioneering. As I read the definition now, it sounds pretty innocuous, but I had thought the word meant improper influencing of voters at the polls, which one would think would be in indictable offence.
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the list valse-s-words
This was fun. I played with a few of the words you listed--taking the "be" off, for instance--and learned some things. Thanks
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word oriflamme
A very nice word, but I don't know where I could wear it.
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word petultimate
One's next to the last animal companion.
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word conspire
Yes, I feel a little sheepish about starting this. It was an unconsidered comment. One should not try to mess with the schadenfreude. I think I will go add control freak to my list of words.
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word hobby horse
You bet your booties it's a coinage. They are just starting to roll off my tongue. I am beginning to think word salad. Do you think I should be worried?
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the list tunie-the-devil-went-down-to-georgia
thank you, thank you. Now I do not have to look this up.
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word betwixt
betwixt and between
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the list valse-s-words
Nice words you have here. Mind if I borrow a few?
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the word panty girdle
Never again.
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-gimmie
as good as you get; a rest
June 21, 2007
slumry commented on the list yardage
Smarty pants! Although I do like the image of a packed rat. Before the rat goes back to his own nest, his father ties a lot of stuff on his back. He is a fully packed rat.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word plague my mind
you know, what earworms do.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list oggle-words
Oh, this is going to plague my mind, as my mother would say.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word hobby horse
Well, who knows. I probably bracketerred or something. I will wait and see what happens.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list yardage
That's funny. . .I am sure I could find a piece. . .it is right there under the books in my basement.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word sphygmomanometer
Oh boy! I can add this now that I do not have to try to spell it!
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word sans serif
Doctor, I have a problem. Every time I hit my head, it hurts.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list yardage
Oh, I wonder if anyone recalls "whipped cream" It was a lightweight synthetic briefly popular in the late 60s or early 70s. I think I still have a piece of it that I intended to use for a blouse!
See also pack rat
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list sartorial-splendor
I love the quote.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list wrap-sheet
great list!
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word hobby horse
That would explain why my own comments list does not come up. It may be just as well.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word sans serif
yes, we are serifed. Ooh. . .the evil verbification
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word sans serif
I love the sound of it.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word flats
shoes
piano keys
apartments
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list thready-or-knot
Care for treadle sewing machine? presser foot. .I could go on.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word conspire
I guess I asked for that, uselessness. It is interesting that nobody has listed proctologist yet. Perhaps we could see how often we could use the word without lising it. Sort of a non-Wordie.
Now foible, I like that word, especially since I have such a bountiful supply.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word mac
Has become a common disparaging prefix for things that slavishly follow some model. Describes a world where one place is indistinguishable from another.
(this comment could use some refining--have at it.)
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word za
p. s. Would you care for a 'rita with your 'rita?
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word za
Thanks--I wondered about that as I sent it off; I think I have seen it without the h, but as you say, we see all sorts of things! I don't think I have ever written that word before.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word conspire
perhaps we could conspire to wordie a new word--I am getting tired of seeing the same "most wordied" words. Any suggesstions? How about some innocuous groupthink
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word conspire
to breathe together. I have always loved that.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word seely
Cute, reesetee--as in sharp
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word za
Me too, reesettee. I will leave the "za" for the young 'uns, and amuse myself by observing. I will, however, take the pizza, thank you. Currently margarita is my favorite--I will leave the pepporoni and suchlike for the young 'uns too.
Nota bene: I do not really say things like "suchlike" I don't want to be dismisunderstood. It is only a persona.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word breastaurant
We assume, of course, that all the babes arrive at the appropriate time with there own mammas.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word hobby horse
Interesting--a term commented on, but not "claimed" until now.
6/20/07
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list attitude-adjustment
No, just my learning curve here. I appreciate all questions, tips, etc. Shirley
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-i-m-taken
turn for the better
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list attitude-adjustment
Thanks. I knew there had to be a better way.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list attitude-adjustment
I made a comment, realized it did not fit, and deleted the comment--probably I should have done it another way, but that's how I done it :)
Truth to tell, I misread the list name as "altitude" adjustment, and was going to comment on that.
Maybe someone should do altitude adjustment, but that won't be be, for a while at least, cause I am going to be out of pocket for a few days. It's up for grabs if anyone wants it.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-i-m-taken
a dive; a trip; a vacation; anything off of anyone
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-i-m-taken
did anyone say tumble?
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-i-m-taken
the plunge; a leap
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-i-m-taken
a rain check
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word za
zah. Not an exclamation. Intoned in a low voice, with a shrug...let's just get some za.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word acme
I'm afraid I hear acme and think acne.. . always have
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-i-m-taken
a hike; the rap; the A Train; hint; breather; deep breath; swig. chance
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word za
I just thought it was amusing, especially since it turns out not to be a new term. It it lazy, or is it a self-conscious affectation? People do use language to have fun, to identify with their particular group, etc.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word wordism
Oh yes, I think "a belief system" works better. Perhaps we could develop a creed for the wordists!
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word za
Yes, I heard it a few months ago from my 20-something niece. When I commented on it later, I was given to believe that everyone but me knew about this. Good to know I have company.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word color
interesting. . .
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word breastaurant
I didn't notice your ironic use of "waitstaff" in this context.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word breastaurant
bad me, bad me. I just couldn't help myself. . . another thought I had was that maybe it was an infants-only joint.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word breastaurant
"You can get anything you want, at Alices's. . . 'exceptin Alice"
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list fun-with-aphesis
za
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word transparent
user transparent
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word contranym
And what about transparent, as in user transparent? Not quite a contranym, yet peculiar to me, a non-technical person. (I am, however, technically a person)
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word contranym
cleave
sanction
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word wordism
If it follows sexism, racism, etc., it would be discrimination against words, I guess. Imagine a mother admonishing her child, "Don't use your words."
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word gallamity
A catastrophy resulting from extreme audacity. The gall!
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word grottochronolgy
A timeline showing the history of an artificial cavern.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word ploth
I don't know what it means either.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word idiocracy
oh. . .I thought it was government by idiots.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word mediculous
an inadvertent neologism. Perhaps very carefully absurd?
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word waxed paper
Yes, and who thought we would have gotten here from wax/waxed paper!
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word idioms
"A speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements, as in keep tabs on."
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
New as I am here, even I become bored when I list words too much at one sitting. But I go away, and think of more words,things to say about words, and things others have said about words, and I get excited again. I think that the possibilities of this site are as vast as the language. And of course, there will always be newcomers to whom it is all fresh.
I agree with you that the bare lists aren't exciting in themselves--after all, we have had had dictionaries for a long time (I must admit I can get excited reading the dictionary, so perhaps I am not the best judge). It is the conversation, the interaction, the new insights that are worthwhile.
I am sure that there are also some quiet users who value this for purely utilitarian purposes, too. They may want to expand their vocabulary, learn a language, remember a particular set of words, prepare for a test, etc.
I would be interested to know how close we are to listing all of the "real" words. My guess is that we are a long way off. I know that I have listed many words for the first time this week. Granted, most of them are probably forms of words already listed, and a few of them are neologisms.
I have also listed a good many idioms, which are not random combinations of words but phrases whose sum is greater than their parts. That is, you cannot parse them out merely by looking at the definitions of each word.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word bleary-eyed
yup, that would be me.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word waxed paper
Yes, and context is a big part of it. For instance, we can have fun with language here in ways we might not elsewhere because it is understood that the majority of us, I daresay, are here because we enjoy language, and we know other people here do too.
That said, I try to keep it in mind that there are also people who have more earnest purposes ("earnest porpoises?" "Where are the earnest porpoises?"). I want to make sure I respect that and don't do anything to interfere with their use of the site.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-gimmie
an inch (and they will take a mile)...maybe there should be a complementary stuffie called "take" I haven't the energy to do it today. If anyone wants it, they are welcome to it. . .take a gander
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-gimmie
a hoot?
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-gimmie
good measure?
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word sarcastaway
I guess this is sort of the opposite of being voted off the island--sounds like a sarcastaway has been sent to the island.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word sarcastaway
Does a person of a higher caste outcaste a lower one?
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-gimmie
way
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
Yes, I look forward to watching how the site evolves from this point. I would imagine that this is like a family--each new "child" inevitably comes into a slightly different family and uses the site in a somewhat different way.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-let-s-mix
I am going to slightly reword my stuffie to make the comments fit better. Hope that is fair.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-gimmie
I like it.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word waxed paper
Hear, hear. Well said.
We are always treading a line between using language that is fluid enough to express our meanings and to give us personal pleasure, and conventional enough to allow us to be understood.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-gimmie
yeah, I know, I just thought it was funny. How about just a [w} for Wordie.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-poetrie-tunie-listings
me too. . .I added a stuffie.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-gimmie
an a
a b
...
a z
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list stuffie-gimmie
a minute
a break
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
FWIW, I am not particularly interested in the original citation of every single word. Many common--even not-so-common--words in will be cited independently by many Wordies. I am interested in the wordieology of neologisms, etc.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word waxed paper
Wax has long been a transitive verb, an intransitive verb, and a noun, and an adjective. According to my Random House dictionary, the word was "verbified" before the year 900. Perhaps we should take our forebears to task!
In the current case, "waxed" is an adjective. If I waxed my car (alas, I don't) it would then be a waxed car, not a wax car. I am not sure wax cars are legal on the highway! Similarly, waxed paper is (or was) wrapping paper with a coat of paraffin for waterproofing. Hence, the paper was "waxed" with paraffin.
Yes language is inconsistent, messy, and everchanging. I eat ice cream, not iced cream. If I had a cherry coke, I'd probably drink it despite the calories, and I might amuse myself by calling it a cherried coke. And I am quite sure that insisting on "waxed paper" is a losing battle. But it is fun to think about.
Having said all that I agree that the indiscriminate "verbification" of nouns is annoying and often lazy.
By the way, I have a question that may sound sarcastic, but is not. Has "semantic" become a noun? I've always known it as an adjective. But that is a whole nother question :)
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word transman
A female to male transexual. I heard the term in an interview with Armistead Maupin about his new book. The term has been around for some time.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
Age is relative. Since I've been here less than I week, I still feel like a real greenhorn.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
Jennaren, that is a good idea. So you are adding them in the comments citations section of the word? Cool! Give me a few months and maybe I can become an oldtimer, too.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word wordieology
The history of words on Wordie.
cf: etymology
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
No, no I did'nt think anyone was trolling for compliments. I just learned girlychuckle from reesetee, and it amused me. I was happy to find a use for it when Uselessness said "manlaughter" Okay, and as far as we know Whichbe coined manlaughter
I love it! We are doing wordieology
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
Exactly. That is the reference I had in mind. Credit goes to reesetee
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
This gave me a girlychuckle
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word blepharospasm
;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) etc.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word bloodmobile
And, by the way, I do need to learn to use emoticons. I've never thought I had need of them, but I do now.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word bloodmobile
You remind me that I am overdue to give blood! As soon as I get over this cold, I will.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word bloodmobile
A clever association. It does not really hurt, though. And they give you cookies.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word circumscribe
to draw a line around
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word circle
a small ring
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word circuit
a going around
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word circumstantial
conditions sourrounding an event
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word circuitously
round about
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word circumvent
to get around
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word circus
circular arenas for performances
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word circumnavigate
navigate around
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word circumboreal
around the northern regions of the earth
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word circumspect
look around,take heed
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word circumscribe
to draw a line around
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word circumcise
to cut around
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list the-incredible-shrinking-list
So I experimented with a little Poetrie, but I am not sure what to do now.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list coinages-of-the-realm
Jennarenn, thanks for the link. I looked at it a bit and I think I get to drift.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list coinages-of-the-realm
This name just came to me, and I liked it so I wrote it down until I could fill it. I have things in mind. I have been having so much fun that I have not had time to put words on their proper lists. I will calm down.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word bassackwards
I'm interested in this--I have a hunch that the term fell into disuse for a while. It seems to me that when I heard it in the 1960s it sounded somewhat old-fashioned. Perhaps it is having a revival!
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word assbackwards
Slang that goes back to the 1930s or so. I'll bet bassackwards arose about the same time. There is a funny story in my family about a woman who innocently picked up "bassackwards" from her sons and embarrassed her sisters by using the term freely. That could have been no later than the 1940s.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word bassackwards
Humorous euphemistic spoonerism for assbackwards. Goes back to the 1940s or 1950s, or before.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the list bookworm-s-bacchanal
Oh yes, I loved that book too and have been meaning to get my hands on a copy. Perhaps the time has come.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word grout
Better'n gout!
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word tempus fugit
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word out of pocket
I like that image of the little people. . .
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word blandiloquence
Nice word! I think I will adopt it and make it my own.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word out of pocket
Exactly.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word out of pocket
funny, I now hear this term being used to mean unavailable--you can't reach me.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word layabed
Get up, get up, you lazy thing!
Get up, you lazy sinner!
We need those sheets for tablecloths--
It's almost time for dinner.
June 18, 2007
slumry commented on the list baby-got-back-formations
I am going to linger here a while. I have had it in mind to make a list of back-formations myself, but I would not have thought of many of these. I love it. Remind me to add abomination to my list, if I have not already done so. I am not saying these are all abominations, of course, but some back-formations certainly are abominations to my ear.
June 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word locke's socks
In popular literature, people sometimes argue that individual are not the same people we were previously, because cells are continuously replaced, etc...I recently looked at a photo of myself as a two year old, and considered in what sense I still am that two year old. I recognize the expression on her face, and recognize the emotion that goes with that same expression now. These are the huge, huge questions
June 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word locke's socks
I am waiting with bated breath. . .perhaps it has to do with accepting all philosopies, "locke's socks and barrel"
June 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word etymobile
Oh, we need a few of those in the world, too. It is fun being here because I feel forgiven for falling off the pedantry wagon myself.
June 18, 2007
slumry commented on the list hidden-in-plain-sight
very clever. Obviously this is more fun as a null set
June 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word earworm
Remember "I had a little peanut, a little peanut...it was rotten...etc, (ad nauseum)" It is a wonder my brother didn't kill me over that. And if not that, "Have you seen the ghost of Tom...long white bones with the skin all gone..." or something like that. . .
June 18, 2007
slumry commented on the list where-the-sun-don-t-ever-shine
Thanks. . .in the PINES. Of course. Silly me.
June 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word lens lust
Photographers have it. It is expensive.
June 18, 2007
slumry commented on the list where-the-sun-don-t-ever-shine
I can't get it out of my head but I can't quite recall it . . .an oldtimey song with the refrain "In the mine, in the mine, where the sun never shines. . .and (something) and (something) all day"
June 18, 2007
slumry commented on the list where-the-sun-don-t-ever-shine
interesting list, particularly fogu. . .Cornish makes me think of Cornish miners, makes me think of mineshaft
June 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word chibi
We once were given a cat named loto for "low to the ground" I think it was a translation of the cat's Cambodian name.
June 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word belfry
bats in his belfry
June 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word za
Pizza, formed by clipping
June 18, 2007
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