Of course it's a word! It has sound and meaning. And it serves several functions in English:
In the phrase "yous guys," it seems to decline so it matches its noun, I think that's sweet.
Also appears at the end of syntactically frozen phrases like "all the i love yous."
Also has a distinct ability to declare that someone is not unique and there are many of that person as in "there's a million of yous, there's only one of me." (Kanye West - Stronger)
For internet dogs, I think it's about when dogs stick their tongues out just a little bit, like they forgot to pull it back in before closing their mouth.
I think Kory said it because she (and I) recently attended ACES in Florida and Anne Curzan in her keynote speech, used the term grammando. Curzan has used it for years.
It's a proposed alternative to grammar nazi. I'd like to disassociate asshole pedants from state-funded murderers, ao I use it a bit and hope it catches on.
I would guess it's an allusion to Dicken's A Christmas Carol when Scrooge tries to explain Marley away:
"“You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!”"
Shitgibbon was used in a presidential insult tweet: "Hey @realDonaldTrump I oppose civil asset forfeiture too! Why don't you try to destroy my career you fascist, loofa-faced, shit-gibbon!"
shitgibbon is an example of a shitgibbon compound.
An acronym short for "grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre, unprecedented."
Not military slang as I first suspected.
Based off of this quote by then Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland, Charles Haughe, in 1945: "It was a bizarre happening, an unprecedented situation, a grotesque situation, an almost unbelievable mischance."
There is a tree near my suburban childhood home that is in the middle of the road surrounded by a 2 foot circular brick wall. Growing up, there was a much larger tree in that place, but several years ago it fell over. My mother cried, she thought they had cut it down on purpose. The city replaced it with a young tree with a sturdy trunk but not many branches.
I decided that it looked sad, especially when its leaves fell off in winter. So I concocted festive crime, in which my mother and I brought oversized ornaments, bows, and boas of tinsel and hung them in the tree around midnight a few days before Christmas.
We take it down around New Years (but not New Years Eve, too many people out). We figure if we get caught we could be charged with jaywalking into the middle of the street where the tree is, or maybe littering for securing objects on the tree.
We've done it for a few years now. Not sure it will happen this year. It's a fun term to whisper.
I'm putting this here as a historical record and also a hope-filled persuasive argument. I will remove if it violates community standards:
"I know it has its own complicated consequences, but I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU to persuade 20+ members of the electoral college to switch their votes away from Drumpf.
This is an interesting list because most word aversion involves bodily function aversion. This list seems like an aversion to doing a lot of work in your mouth (except maybe intimate). It's refreshing.
short for nerfing, which often describes game characters or powers that were OP (overpowered) in previous versions/editions/games that have now been underpowered or nerfed.
:A glottonaut is someone exploring languages without necessarily acquiring them (thereby becoming a polyglot). Most people doing linguistic typology can be considered glottonauts."
"This ghost word appears in Samuel Johnson's 1755 dictionary. It is defined as "To drive with a sudden impetuosity. A word out of use."
The last part of the definition is certainly right. It was never in use. This is a misreading of soupe (due to the long s character used in those days), a dialect form of swoop." http://everything2.com/title/foupe
"A zythologist is a true beer connoisseur who can share many interesting facts about an immensely complex and sophisticated beverage, its ingredients and the roles they play in the brewing process."
"noun (ZIKS noid) Any word that a crossword puzzler makes up to complete the last blank, accompanied by the rationalization that there probably is an ancient god named Ubbbu, or German river named Wfor, and besides, who’s going to check?"
"Harris was also known as “the chuffah king.” Chuffah is the random nonsense characters in a scene talk about before getting to the meat of it that leads to story. Here’s one of the best chuffah moments from Parks from the “Hunting Season” episode:
Tom: Your favorite kind of cake can’t be birthday cake, that’s like saying your favorite kind of cereal is breakfast cereal.
Donna: I love breakfast cereal.
Harris excelled at coming up with hilarious, random nonsense like this. It was a tool that no one else seemed to have."
It's not difficult to call people what they want to be called. Sometimes it's a slight personal preference (Steven, not Steve), sometimes it's an affirmation of what someone has worked hard to define themselves as (Tess not Ted). You don't even have to use the marker of latinx. It's not for you. It's for people in the group to define themselves.
I get that it's hypothetically absurd to pick a crazy name without thinking, but thought has gone into this. It helps some people who are in a vulnerable community have a sense of belonging and feel safe. It helps to make a space for a group that is not well known or understood.
Punching up/down are comedy terms.
Punching down is attacking/making fun of people who have less power and are vulnerable, kicking someone when they're down. Punching up is mocking the powerful, exposing them and holding them accountable for their actions through things like satire.
you're making me frown, bilby. it's an interesting question in general of how to feel comfortable identifying as gender-expansive (nonbinary) in a gendered language. This particular term helps some people feel better. "-x all words in the dictionary" is reductio ad absurdum and you know it.
It helps them, it doesn't apply to you, why are you putting so much anger on this page? This might be another proposed term like ze or hir that doesn't take off, so you could make fun of it as a neologism, but I don't get why you're making a stand here. Punch up.
Ahhh, so it means that, to the writer, this is part of the indicator that capitalism is almost over and the new type of economic system will rise soon? Which one?
cicatriz is the word for scar in Spanish, so it must come from Latin. I learned it in a vocab unit on how to describe people's faces. It seemed impractical at the time but it stuck with me.
Using magnetic tape, hire 4 singers, record them several times singing different parts, make it sound like a 12-part choir. Big advertising strategy from WWII - late 1950s.
In boardgaming, AP can mean "analysis paralysis" which means that turns take a long time because there are SO many things to take into consideration that the game will drag every. single. turn. And burn your brain.
SVV can stand for the Latin phrase, "Si vales, valeo" which means "If you are well, I am well." It was the Latin equivalent of starting a letter with "Hi, how are you? I'm fine."
I get it, vendingmachine. The band Jump (formerly Jump, Little Children) wrote a song called Requiem that specifically acknowledges the fact that audiences don't like it when you play new songs from your new album. I think it's a similar sentiment: https://youtu.be/_r7g4kGbkvI
When people say "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" they are adding 2 extraneous letters to the pangram. One of those the's should be an a. 33 letters vs 35.
Vodka-flavored is a fun modern oxymoron. I know vodka can be infused, but then it tastes like that thing. The standard is "odorless, tasteless, colorless." OO someone could make a vodka crest in Latin. sine odor, sine sapor, sine color.
I think that it's healthy to be aware that sometimes a beret is not enough. It interests me because anyone's personal sample size is pretty small, and I wonder if there are certain sounds that repeat - like how barbarian is an attempt to mimic the language of the others. And the folk etymology for guiri is because tourists say "Where is?" all the time when they visit Spain.
Has someone made a list of foreigner terms like gringo, guiri, gaijin, gadjo, shixa, paya, etc? It could be racist, but it would also be interesting to see them all together, since it's aimed at local geographical neighbors or white people.
In a high school World Religions class, a group presented on Taoism (Daoism), but consistently misspelled the main idea of the tao as the toa. It tickled me and Maryann, so my high school notebooks were soon filled with "Follow the Toa" in the margins. It's very possible I'll accidentally call it the toa in polite company one day soon.
PAN means: "primary account number, i.e., the "card number" on either a debit or a credit card. PAN truncation simply replaces the card number printed on a customer receipt with a printout of only the last four digits, the remainder being replaced usually by asterisks."
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of requirements designed to ensure that ALL companies that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. Essentially any merchant that has a Merchant ID (MID)
It also happens on April 26th, but you can hear a faint rumbling in the distance, getting ever closer on the night before, also known as Dogpile an Australian Eve.
This was a new and unique expression in the NewsRadio episode Physical Graffiti. which first aired on March 24, 1996. Was it coined for the episode or was it an exclamation before the episode aired?
Is it like fetch in Mean Girls, manufactured slang that fails to catch on? Or is it like frak, frell, shazbot, and smeg, made-up swearwords writers use to get around censors?
I get the feeling that, even though it's not a gendered word, maven is used more often to describe women, maybe because it rhymes with maiden? Pet theory, anyway.
In dog breeding, Irish spotting refers to dogs with specific amounts of white that spread throughout their coat. "On a dog with irish spotting, white is found on the legs, the tip of the tail, the chest, neck and muzzle."
And a possible etymology: "The term "irish spotting" actually comes from a term used in the early 20th century to describe a white pattern found in rats in Ireland." -http://www.doggenetics.co.uk/white.htm
I just wanted to know if I should call the white tuft of hair on my otherwise black Mini-Schnauzer a blaze, or if blaze is only used to describe markings on the face of animals (especially horses).
I don't know how to define starchild, but I know it's often used to reference David Bowie, related to his single Starman, and his persona Ziggy Stardust.
A job position at security consultant companies, short for "penetration tester." People hired to hack to show the flaws in a security system. It's white hat/gray hat for a good reason?
Wordnik is case-sensitive, so if you go to the lowercase adroit and incisive pages you'll find some more juicy information than the uppercase version's page. The agastopia page doesn't have a dictionary definition, but many users have added it to their lists and a few have discussed it in the discussion section.
Sorry to "Frankenstein is the doctor's name" you, but the emoji was chosen by Oxford Dictionaries, not the Oxford English Dictionary. OED doesn't choose a word of the year, they're more about the words of every year from the beginning of English time.
Merriam-Webster chose -ism for 2015, and Dictionary.com has chosen identity. The American Dialect Society and the Macquarie Dictionary will also choose their #WOTYs in early January. I think Cambridge Dictionaries Online also chooses "the people's word of the year."
So basically: Oxford Dictionaries WANTS an undictionaried word on the cusp of becoming mainstream, coming into the corpus, "between the niche and the new." Dictionary.com makes an editorial decision to define the year in a word, somewhat data-driven but also well-considered, while Merriam-Webster uses the traffic monitoring on their website to focus on spikes throughout the year.
(I'm working on a WOTY post now for encyclopediabriannica.com so this is very much on my mind.)
I remember playing a word search computer game with my friend when I was young, and we got all of them except this one. "Well there's purple, but it's with an e!" "No, it's gotta be something else!" Pretty sure a mom finished it for us. So now I read it as PERPLE-X.
I've now written up a little post about these multi-part blends. What they describe, what parts of the words are used, what order they come in. Enjoy: http://www.encyclopediabriannica.com/?p=245
On the "For Your Eyes Only" episode of the James Bonding podcast (Oct 2015), Thomas Lennon, Matt Gourley and Matt Mira realize that the Bond movie that they each saw when they were 11-13 is the one they love the most. That movie imprints, and is also a rite of passage from youth to be able to see a Bond movie in the theater, with or without a chaperone. For Thomas Lennon, it was "For Your Eyes Only". For Matt Gourley, it was "A View To A Kill". http://nerdist.com/james-bonding-031-for-your-eyes-only/
I filled out an Ask Me Another contestant quiz the other day, and the last questions asks you to write a lipogram omitting o's. I've known the concept for a long time, but I think having written one now, the word for the concept will stay in my head, especially since I ended it with "That's my lip_gram."
Is it not related to liposuction? Lipo means fat, like lipids. Looks like the Greek ancestor was leipogrammátos meaning 'leaving out a letter.' What a difference an e makes.
Comedy improv troupe: http://www.dasariski.com/ The name combines the surnames of the three members: Robert DASsie, Rich TalARIco, and Craig CackowoSKI.
I'm just here to find how three-part portmanteaus appear naturally in the wild. I'm the Jane Goodall of shipping! Observing and cataloguing. I'm not here to judge, though it gets tough when it involves real-life people or incest.
OTP stands for 'one true pairing', referring to a fan's favorite romantic or platonic couple in all of fiction and real life. OT3 means it's a threesome. OTP and OT3 are likely to be romantic, whereas broTP and brot3 are more clearly platonic. noTP is the opposite of OTP, an unacceptable pairing.
A comedy duo made up of Brian and Nick, specifically Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher.
I thought it was Brian, Danny and Nick, but I guess Danny Pudi just makes a cameo in the one video I know them for, which is great and the least appropriate to watch with family members called A Monologue for Three: https://youtu.be/mephJf3-zYE
If you use Chrome, you can add a Wordnik plugin to search even faster.
Check the 'Community' page to find recent discussions to jump into, or start a very specific list, or just click 'Random word' until your dashboard says you've looked up 26,000 words. That is what I do, apparently...
I read this word in two articles today, so it must be a conspiracy to force me to learn the meaning of the word, and not just let my brain wander and think about apparatchik and beatniks.
:/ Christopher rather. The Christ-bearer. St. Christopher is famous for carrying a young child across a river on his shoulders, and then, plot twist!, that child is Jesus. Also Christopher probably didn't exist. #Catholicism. I do love saints though.
Re: my list of three-part portmanteaus (https://www.wordnik.com/lists/three-toed-portmanteaus), ampersand is made of three or four parts, depending on how you count them. I'm putting it on the list, with an awareness that it's a weak member of the list.
U.S. regional (chiefly derogatory). A fat person (esp. a man); (also) a fat stomach, a pot belly. Also in pl. form with sing. concord. Also pussy-gutted, pussy is a variant of pursy, meaning fat-stomached.
That's the trouble with living in a time when portmanteaus are explodingly productive - everything sounds like a blend and every blend can be interpreted in many ways.
An e-piknik, presumably, where we each sit under our own vine and fig tree? (More lyrics from Hamilton).
I can't stop listening to the Hamilton soundtrack. Aaron Burr falls in love with a British officer's wife named Theodosia. Eventually, they marry and have a daughter named Theodosia. I love the way he sings this name in "Wait for it".
When little Theodosia grew up and married, she and her husband were reportedly the first couple to honeymoon at Niagara Falls. She died at sea when she was 29. Wikinik.
Just learned this verb-form from the title of a GM Hopkins poem: "The Loss of the Eurydice: Foundered March 24. 1878" I'm trying to find the poem's publication/written date. The ship sunk in 1878, he died in 1889 so It must be sometime between those.
I found the poem because he made up and used daredeath in it. Welcome home, little compound orphan.
Very true, rolig, it is an autantonym. Fear used to serve the opposite purpose, describing the frightener and not the frightenee in a sentence like "she fears me." I became aware of this from two pairs of cutthroat variants:
scarecrow and fear-crow (a non-living protector of cornfields) scarebabe and fear-babe (a bogeyman creature who scares children)
Salamancan columns twist around but stand upright. They are not used for actual structural support, they are adornments. I learned about them in Spain, where they appear in elaborate church altarpieces.
Yep, from the OED, turn-cock is "A water-works official entrusted with the turning on of the water from the mains to supply-pipes, etc." There are so many industrial -cock words in the OED, it's very distracting.
We gotta have a Wordnik Googchat party or something, bilby.
I think if we can all be clever in realtime, we can make the kind of discoveries or potentially destroy the world more efficiently than CERN and the LHC.
As a NorCal girl I like saying hellapad (helipad) and I was briefly in a fake band called Helicopteradactyl. That 'pter-' part is the same Greek flying root.
Hi glennbiegon! You can write your proposal definition for Hoaxwagen in the Discuss section of the Hoaxwagen page. Is this re: the Volkswagen Clean Diesel TDI scandal?
Keep in mind that Wordnik pages are case-sensitive to differentiate between words like March and march. Happy hunting!
The audio equivalent of a poker face, poker mouth is used to sarcastically describe someone in a betting situation who reveals their weaknesses instead of staying coy about their abilities. Used by Doug Benson in many episodes of the Doug Loves Movies podcast during the betting phase of the Leonard Maltin game.
A spontaneously created portmanteau, coined tonight by my friend Steven W, while I was explaining the difference between Wordnik and traditional dictionaries (tradictionaries).
The term cisatlantic has been used since the 1800s to describe the similarities and differences between people and cities on either side of the Atlantic Ocean. But! It's not as fun to say as cispacific.
Doug Benson encourages future audiences to give standing ovations to his guests as they come on stage, even though it's a audio medium and none of the listeners will know.
One morning, my brother brought home a box of Krispy Kreme donuts, and left them on the kitchen table.
My mother and I sat at the table and looked out the window, talking about birds and how smart crows and ravens are, and how when I see a group of them around sunset, I think of the word crepuscular because they are active at dusk.
My mother is a visual learner so I wrote the word down for her to see. We finished talking, and left the room.
My brother came back and saw the note on the table. He thought it was a comment card for the donuts. He assumed it was a compliment, as in "Thank you for the donuts. They were very... crepuscular."
"Mr. Dalzell became a slang expert by accident. In his twenties, he studied law at the United Farm Workers union through an old-school apprenticeship under union lawyer Jerry Cohen. Mr. Dalzell was captivated by his boss's quirky charisma and decided to write a roman à clef based on their work together."
Hi ralex7474! A good word for an unfortunate concept.
You can put your proposed meaning straight into the Discuss area of the courtalize page on Wordnik. If the word catches on and gains additional examples, you can proudly point to your first timestamped record of it.
The WABAC machine from Rocky & Bullwinkle looks like an acronym, but I can't find anything that shows it really ever stood for anything. The wiki says it's on analogy with UNIVAC, sort of a portmanteau, or just a stylizing of way back with a machine-looking spelling.
I recommend: -hitting 'Random Word' often -checking the Community page for fresh comments and lists -adding your two cents any time you have two cents to add -using brackets in comments to hyperlink to the words you're discussing
Urban Dictionary and my uncle use this word to describe someone with dementia.
Relatedly, he's described someone who does not appear to have dementia as non-dementianal. I thought it was a humorous construction, like calling TargetTargét, but it appears that my uncle is serious.
Other -ntia words in English rodentia & orthodontia. In those cases, the -ia is removed, and they use that final t to become rodent and orthodontal. Dementia would turn into demented, which carries a lot of negative connotations. Maybe dementianal is a good solution?
Hellow Harrietu! Excellent missing word. You can write your information in the Discuss area of the okayable page itself, so that future travellers can learn from you.
Also keep in mind that Wordnik is case-sensitive (Polish vs polish). Enjoy!
Hi Helphand! You can add your McUrbia and agriculture citations directly into the Discuss section of their respective pages to educate future word hunters. Keep in mind that Wordnik is case-sensitive.
"The name of the city derives from tetl meaning rock, nochtli, the prickly-pear cactus and tlan, the locative suffix. Of similar origin is the term Tenocha which the Méxica sometimes called themselves and the name of their quasi-legendary priest-leader Tenoch."
If you toggle the corpus from English to American English or British English, you'll see that fulfil seems to be chiefly British, and fulfill is American, and that the American spelling is seen more commonly overall. But if I was writing a paper for a class in England and I saw the red spellcheck squiggly line come up, I'd ask a local.
Sometimes, when we see the longer version of the word, we assume it came from a shorter word and use that shorter form instead. That's back-formation. Escalator, evaluation, and baby-sitter all existed in English before escalate, evaluate, and babysit were formed from those longer words.
Jocular back-formation is common. The excellent book "The Ways of Language: A Reader" (Pflug, 1967) includes an article with this very example. Something like: "In the future, will writers auth books? Will boats anch in the harbor?"
The answer: if you like saying it and you find it useful, and others like saying it and find it useful, it will stick around.
Megalith is a 10-year project recently announced by Jeff Lindsay that I feel will be incredibly influential in shaping the world 10 years from now. I'm calling it now. Mark the date.
"So, what exactly is a webhook? A webhook (also called a web callback or HTTP push API) is a way for an app to provide other applications with real-time information."
One time in high school, my friend Resham fell asleep while taking notes in class. Her pen continued to move for a while. After class, we attempted to decipher her unconscious notes.
We figured out that "?!+k" meant shot and killed. I enjoy using the term ?!+k in my own shorthand. It's aesthetically pleasing, but it's hard to spread awareness of it because it involves introducing people to the concept of unconscious note-taking.
In the video game Super Mario Sunshine, FLUDD is a sentient water cannon that Mario uses to wash away evil goo that covers the island of Delfino. F.L.U.D.D. stands for "Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device."
My brother uses this term to mean 'get a song stuck in someone else's head." If you sizzle someone, you've given them your earworm. It's mostly done intentionally, humming a tune near someone, but it might also just be stuck in your head, and giving it to someone else exorcises it from you. Or it gets the two of you stuck in a self-reinforcing loop.
You can sizzle yourself if you pick up an object and a song gets stuck in your head. Working in an energy-efficient appliances incentive program, I saw General Electric and Frigidaire a lot. Every new application for the first month, I'd get sizzled by Insane in the Membrane by Cypress Hill "General Electric, ey the lights are blinking" or Two Sleepy People "picking on a wishbone from the Frigidaire."
This topic interests me, but I don't have a good answer to your specific question. Maybe mobile typing difficulty is being counteracted by auto-fill results, so you type in sticktoitiveness and it recommends stick-to-it-iveness. What I offer is a historical perspective on writing.
Before doing an MA that involved learning about English compounding 1000-present, I thought there was a natural progression of compound orthography (compound word -> compound-word -> compoundword). But! That's not true. Orthography does not tell if if something is a compound. English writing styles have changed for many reasons.
This is a casual recounting, but true in general:
First there was scriptio continua, no spaces between any words, which helped to save on paper (vellum) which was costly, but hard to read, and on top of that they used minims.
Then when Irish monks were taking dictation, they didn't know what the words meant, so they made spaces between the words, based on the way the head monk spoke them.
When French was quite in fashion, hyphenating became popular in phrases and compounds.
German has had some spelling reforms to include MORE hyphenation, to help tourists who are intimidated by space-less compound strings in public signage.
Some very well-established compounds have always had a space (ice cream) or hyphen (co-op) to help with legibility.
Many phrases have several co-existing variants that vary depending on the style guide.
Hyphens definitely matter in 3-part compounds, where the middle word could be linked to either the 1st or 3rd word, e.g., "AP interviews lion hunting dentist." https://twitter.com/katz/status/643445960169943041
Looks like this is becoming the most common way to capitalize the international portion of Walt Disney World in Florida, home to that big sphere known as Spaceship Earth.
It's an acronym. EPCOT stands for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow."
I used this term on AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) to indicate the time I really really no joke had to stop talking to my friend and go to bed. (In reference to Cinderella's midnight deadline).
"FYI, pumpkin is 11:30 tonight. I have a test first thing tomorrow."
Looking up the Google Book Ngrams for this, I found one instance in 1887. However, that example isn't really about "power ballads", it's describing the "power (that) ballads" had over the people:
" Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun mentions in one of his words, the instance of a person who “believed that if a man were permitted to make all the ballads, he need not care who should make the laws of a nation “ *-a passage that has been frequently quoted to exemplify the great power ballads exercised over the public mind, more especially, it may be added, on such burning questions as religion and politics.” "
-The Broadside Ballads of Devonshire and Cornwall: With Notes as to Their Collection, &c By Thomas Nadauld Brushfield
Otherwise, this first appears in 1985 in books about song writing, then Billboard magazine.
"It would be a long time before the word “blerd,” a portmanteau of the words black and nerd, would enter into my vocabulary, and when I did start to see it sprinkled among Myspace profiles and Livejournal groups, the word and its emerging popularity didn’t bring me any relief."
Wordnik search is case-sensitive. You'll find the most crappy information on the lowercase crap page, not so much on cRAP or crAp. This matters for capitonyms, words that change if capitalized (like Polish/polish, Herb/herb, March/march, Catholic/catholic, etc).
If you want, you can write in the "Discuss" area of capital-C Crap and populate that page with its own crap.
"Qué mono" is the way to say "How cute!" in Spanish. I like it because if mono is treated like a noun instead of an adjective, it could mean "WHAT MONKEY?"
...and Soup nazi! Yes, and the NFL has the Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pirates of the Caribbean maybe belongs to the list, with their warm and fuzzy modern animatronic public image.
In 2008, Dutch futból player Robbin van Persie scored a goal with his right leg (his nondominant foot), which he called his chocolate leg. I remember it meaning something like: it looks about the same as a normal leg, but it has less content, it's a little hollow inside.
“I know I can shoot with my right leg. Of course my left one’s better but it’s down to your belief in the power of your wrong leg. In Holland we call it your chocolate leg.”
The official definitions above do not include the sense of "an inappropriate response to a situation which does not take into account how that response will look in that particular context or in the bigger picture."
"The most challenging part “was the emotional intensity of recovering the fossils themselves,” says Elliott. “There was so much material and it was friable and delicate. And every day, we realized that we were pulling out another 40 or 60 fragments of this thing that was going to be incredible.”
This phrase is used to express shock at something happening (crime, nudity, drunken behavior) in the middle of the day, instead of at night, when the sky is dark and people are more comfortable with unpunished crimes happening. As if the sun should function as a security camera and prevent all crime.
I would love to see if there are early examples (early 1800s) that only use the phrase to pin down the time of day.
Hi Lilt. Capitalization matters on Wordnik. You'll notice all the Examples and Tweets on this page have Sinecure with a capital S. The word sinecure has a full page of information when written in lowercase.
I forgot the word for these! I was reminded today in an episode of The Allusionist, a very fine etymological podcast by Helen Zaltzman. http://www.theallusionist.org/
One missing from this list is jungftak: a Persian bird, the male of which had only one wing, on the right side, and the female only one wing, on the left side.
Talmbout is a shortened version of talkin' 'bout, a shorter version of 'talking about.' Phonetically, the n in talkin becomes an m in anticipation of the b. Your mouth is open for the a, then you close it, and suddenly you're making a b. Very convenient.
The Rubber Room. - A 2010 documentary about rooms full of teachers who are waiting to have an official hearing for misconduct in the classroom. They can no longer teach, but they are tenured so they have to be paid, and they must spend all day in one room with other teachers in the same situation for weeks or up to 10 years.
The term rubber room also refers to padded-wall rooms in psychiatric hospitals.
As of this year, I say farch when I want to swear but the situation does not allow for it, or does not quite call for it. A personal minced oath. It was not an intentional use at first, but more of a long drawn out faaaaaa...rch when a situation is slowly revealed to be more terrible than previously anticipated.
True! None of the dictionaries Wordnik pulls from are technical dictionaries like Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary. My day job involves chemical reports, so I made a list of unique terms I've come across through that: https://wordnik.com/lists/editing-technical-chemical-reports
Few of them have dictionary entries, but they have clickable pages. You can add your own definition in the Comments section to help future Wordniks interested in naphtha.
Nooooo... It's my own self-made DaVinci Code National Treasure hunt, and it's slowly murdering me. I haven't left myself enough clues. I do too many weird things with language to narrow down that it might be.
It could be song lyrics, it could be Spoonerized, it could be an innovation on a compound, it could be non-English, there are just too many possibilities. I like how big this list has gotten, though. Wordniks are swell folks.
In trading card games (namely Yu-Gi-Oh!), a card you place face down on the board so the other player cannot see what it is, but it can be brought into play when certain conditions are met. For example, your opponent thinks they are attacking you undefended, but they fall into your trap and you crush them.
Used in the phrases "you just activated my trap card!" and now "you have triggered/set off my trap card!"
For a moment, I thought post-temporal meant that omoplata was a time-travelling fishbone. Then I remembered there are temporal lobes of the brain. It's a boring non-time-jumping fishbone.
I heard this repeatedly in a meeting this morning, used like stick your neck out in the context of volunteering to do QA between three websites. Before someone said that, I said "I know I'll probably kick myself for mentioning this, but..." so maybe kick primed a leg-based sacrificial idiom? Is it a translation or corporate jargon or a mixed metaphore?
I guess I was thinking of acronyms that go under the radar (ha!) and that aren't immediately recognizable as acronyms from the sound of them. Most (if not all) seem like backronyms.
LCARS is a hybrid, part initialism. L-CARS. like T-Mobile, b-boy, or the Animaniacs referring to Dr. Scratchansniff as a p-sychiatrist.
A fictional stereotypical comedy club name. The point is to make fun of the over-the-top names a lot of comedy clubs have. Real ones: Rooster T. Feathers, Laugh Factory, Acme Comedy Club, Wisecrackers, Zanies, Helium, Hyena's, FunnyBone, Hilarities, Go Bananas, etc. Presumably during the 1980s comedy boom, a lot more comedy clubs popped up, and the multitude meant they were more likely to have ridiculous names.
Kevin Pollak uses the term a lot during his video podcast interviews on the Kevin Pollak Chat Show. He attributes it to another comedian, whose name escapes me.
Never apologize for creative swearing, ry. Jennifer Lawrence recently swore up a storm for charity on Conan, and my favorite of her impromptu expletives sounded like steak twat. https://youtu.be/PlTuiW7oTW0 I love the dismay of those around her. Fuck 'em.
I just wondered if something had popularized it lately, since it's showing up on Twitter and Urban Dictionary.
That's a lovely new word, Sandy. If you copy your comment and put in the Comments area of the empty page for seafloorese, you'll be helping future visitors to learn the meaning of that word in context. Same for ostracon.
Martin Chuzzlewit is the eponymous protagonist of a Dickens' novel. Is Chuzzlewit a cutthroat? Seems like it. What does chuzzle mean? It looks like a frequentative verb, like guzzle comes from gust (to taste, savor).
Chuzzle is now a match 3 online game, so it's harder to search for academic answers.
Chuzzle -> choose? Martin Choosewit? Did Dickens make up chuzzle, or will I find it in the OED tonight?
I started Monday Comics in January 2010, along with a lot of other projects (like tagging convowel on Wordnik). It's the one new year's I've taken seriously as an impetus for a fresh start. I started the comic because I had a lot of mediocre jokes & ideas that I was waiting on to ripen, but they weren't ripening, they were just taking up brainspace. By posting rough drafts of their potential, I could let them go and make room for more (and possibly better) jokes & ideas. Thus: I keep doing it. It keeps everything moving. I have pages and pages of unpublished ideas and they are all terrible and I try to keep them quarantined from the public.
TankHughes comes from my last name, Hughes, and my love of the WWII tank aesthetic. The combination came from a typo during an AIM chat in high school. Additionally, I like that Tank Hughes sounds very tough and militaristic, but if you say it outloud, it's a cute baby voice thanking you. One time, comedian Doug Benson said it outloud and the whole audience got it: http://tankhughes.com/?p=619
A term (I've seen mostly in gaming) for a weapon or character that has a lot of offense, but very little defense. Hard to defend against, but easy to defeat.
No trouble, vendingmachine. I hadn't thought about lists clinically until you brought it up. It is an interesting situation, but I'm not sure what would wish for to change it.
This is under "New Lists" on the community page, so it is new, but it's true after they fall off of that list, lists are timeless and their changes are only traceable through "Recently Listed Words"
This is the fan theory that the writers of BBC Sherlock have always intended, from the beginning, that John Watson and Sherlock Holmes (shipping name Johnlock) end up in a romantic relationship on the show.
I misspelled tyuyamunite in an adult spelling bee a few years ago. It was pronounced as "T"-"U"-ya-moon-ite, something a gangster would say. I never had a chance. It's named after Tyuya-Muyun, the city in Kyrgyzstan where it was discovered. I'm always hoping it will come up in conversation.
Another definition is a pitch in baseball that is high and inside and makes the batter back up so they don't get hit in the face. It's chin music because it's so close, they can hear the air whoosh by. Sometimes it's intentional if the batter has been crowding the plate. Sometimes it's just a wild pitch.
That definition is represented under the entry for chin music, but some examples use the hyphen too.
Sweet. I've had a soft spot for Perth ever since the demonym episode of the now defunct Lingua Franca podcast. People from Perth can be called Perthlings.
From Urban Dictionary: "The exponentially irresistible urge to laugh and giggle in inappropriate situations, such as when asked to take a moment of silence in honor of someone or something, or a solemn ceremony like a wedding or funeral. The harder one resists the urge to laugh, the funnier the idea of what would have happened HAD you laughed becomes, resulting in an even stronger urge to laugh. Coined by the British sitcom Coupling."
Coupling ran on BBC2 from 2000-2004. The Episode in question is from Series 1, Episode 3: "Sex, Death and Nudity", which aired in May 2000.
In English, tmesis mostly happens when the inserted word is placed in the syllable right before the primary stress syllable: fan-TAS-tic, so fan-frickin-TAS-tic.
But sometimes right before the morpheme boundary is a more natural place to break up the word: un-/be-LIEV-a-ble, so: un-frickin-/be-LIEV-a-ble OR un-/be-frickin-LIEV-a-ble.
In English, compounds normally have a primary stress on the first word, so tmesis doesn't work out so well. *BASE-frickin-ball, *FIRE-damn-fighter, *PAN-da-damn-cub.
I was thinking about silence because of an episode of the Comedy Bang Bang podcast where their 'intern' Gino Lombardi is supposed to quietly provide water for the guests then leave, but ends up co-hosting the episode. When reminded he should be quiet, Gino invokes 'podcast silence' but then continues to talk: http://comedybangbang.wikia.com/wiki/Podcast_Silence
A hoodless hoodie is like dehydrated water. Why define it by the thing it doesn't have and therefore is not? Hoods make the hoodie. There are other zip-up pull-over sweater/jacket names available.
That voice that tells you to sit up straight and press your shirts and heat the plates in the oven before serving a fancy dinner. It sounds like your mom, but it only represents the critical parts of your mom that focus on how you should appear and behave in polite company, not the lovingkindness.
This sounds like a great insult. "Unhand me, thou simperingFragonard!" but then I look up his paintings that have soft light, like vaseline on the lens, and I feel a bit bad for wanting to drag his name in the mud just for fun.
This is the ship name for Enjolras and Grantaire, two of the barricade boys from the book/play/movie Les Miserables. The x in exR is a common element in shipping that connect the two names in a pair (e.g. KirkxSpock). e is for Enjolras and R is for Grantaire, a pun off of his name sounding like "big r" in French (grand r). I don't know how you would pronounce it, maybe just as an initialism. I don't personally ship it, but there are strong OTP believers wherever fandoms are found.
I went to a wedding in August 2010 where the mother of the bride had baked 7 different cakes. ...Well you have to try a little bit of all of them, you don't want to be rude. That's justificaketion.
Related: anticipicaketion or caketicipation, which is the antsy feeling you experience during the reception when you're waiting to try the 7 cakes, but it's not time to eat them yet.
Yes, a noun. A haughty sort of person who swings their breeches side to side as they walk, full of pomp and circumstance. An obsolete slang term I've come across in my cutthroats research. A person who swings their breeches. A quakebreech is a coward, a shuffle-breeches moves slowly, and the cowardly shit-breech adds nothing to society but the load in their pants.
Ziffy Whomper was an orange plastic sled my family owned in the late 1980s. It was a great toy, and so much fun to say. The sled itself puts a hyphen in the name Ziffy-Whomper.
In the May 1, 2015 episode of the podcast How Did This Get Made (http://www.earwolf.com/episode/face-off-live/), discussing the movie Face/Off, Paul Scheer uses the term face waterfall to describe the motion that John Travolta (and other characters) repeatedly do in the movie. Slowly touching another person's face down from their forehead all the way to their chin with a flat palm. It's weird. There's a Youtube compilation video of it called Face/Off Face/Touch.
Hi, vendingmachine. It seems to be a name for neoconservatives, specifically American republicans during the George W Bush administration. It could technically be a blend with neoliberal as well, but my guess is it's aimed towards conservative Republicans only. We should ask a political blogger.
Truly, I have no strong feeling about this. I have stronger feelings about my favorite numbers. This does reminds me of the Radiolab episode (http://www.radiolab.org/story/love-numbers/) that explores the emotional opinions that people have about numbers - ones they love, hate, or think of as gendered. In most cases, the reasoning had to do with the shape of the symbol or usage on a very base level. 1 is phallic and independent and male, whereas 2 is curved and feminine and partnered and secondary. Using those thoughts:
I, L, T, Y are kinda phallic.
B, C, G, O, Q, U are rounded like lady-parts (yonic?).
O is used at the end of masculine nouns in Romance languages, and A for feminine. That carries into a lot of names (Julio, Julia), so O seems conflicted between feminine shape and masculine marker use.
I think of Roman numerals as a pretty masculine system, but out of that context C, D, I, L, M, V, X don't really strike me as gendered. An interesting thought to pursue, though.
Eunomia looks like it means 'well-named' which is a weird self-referential pat on the back by the scientist/discoverers. "We're so good at naming things, this one is called the well-named bug." No. Eunomia is also a Greek goddess, where -nomia means order, not names. You get a pass, genus eunomia.
I got out of an adult charity spelling bee on this word. It angers me because I was close to the "lightning round" which was a novel format I feel like I could have pwned.
The word is defined on this pyrotechnic site: http://www.faqs.org/docs/air/ttpyro.html, "An explosive can be characterized by the amount of energy it releases when detonated, as well as by its shearing and shock effect, or 'brisage'."
As explicked on QI Series D episode 7, Eskimos (Inuit?) have 32 words for demonstrative pronouns, whereas English has 4 (thisthatthesethose). They pack prepositions into their demonstrative pronouns, so you get words that mean "that one up there" and "those ones inside." HOWEVER, the fake fact is a convenient way to say that a lot of languages have synonyms, and that there's more than one right way to say something. The fact about sharks always having to move is also untrue, but is also a convenient shorthand. There are many others.
tl;dr: Some common knowledge is not true, but it's useful, so keep using it. Dance your heart out at the shark-in-motion surplus snow vocab party, but be prepared to be confronted by grumpy fact-focused people out in the harsh world.
The Fishstick is a dance that is not noticeable unless someone <i>really</i> pays attention to the "dancer" for several minutes. You can do the Fishstick to any song, but a recommended song for beginners is Tighten Up by Archie Bell and the Drells. There are many Youtube videos of people possible doing the Fishstick.
Jonathan Green (Mister Slang) said in a recent podcast interview (http://slate.me/1tyUHIO) that slang is from the male perspective. Men have historically ruled the public sphere, so the shaming slang comes from them and shows their biases about the place of men and women in society.
Men do things and it's cool and normal. Women do the same thing and they're not good, not worthy, not allowed to participate in society. Men doing "women" things are also bad, maybe worse.
For a male equivalent, see the affectionate common use of wifebeater shirts.
Are harpy, succubus, and siren applicable? Maybe a male mythical beast like troll could work.
My friend Mr. Goines brought up an interesting point about rhyme.
Such a small list leads to the question Why do most words rhyme? One answer: because it is easier to remember a story when it's written in verse. Reciting an epic poem, or the history of your village is easier when you know every other line will end in a predictable way. Most words rhyme on purpose, as memory aids.
Why are so many non-rhymers color words? I don't know, but that question interests me. Thanks papageno.
The definition sounds like it was written by an august great aunt who has recently taken over as guardian of some children and has no interest in learning about what makes them happy, least of all ice cream.
I saw this in a list. Maybe in a newspaper contest about neologisms? Ickpocket is the pocket that you put the DIRTY kleenex into when you've sneezed and you're out and about. And sometimes you accidentally put your hand, or clean things into it, and it's gross.
I'd respond to you on my list... BUT I DELETED IT! *shock* It made more sense to add my 4 to tbtabby's Location Slang list instead. I'm happy someone else has made a large list that I can legitimately add Canadian tuxedo and Mexican wave to.
There should probably be a secondary definition - most people know the Star Wars cannon fodder and not their namesakes from the 3rd Reich. (I was one of those people until recently).
One time I was on a plane and a kid said "I'm stubbing my toe!" Normally, the event is so brief, you can only talk about it in the past, but somehow this child had the presence of mind to describe the trauma while still in the middle of it.
A feature of RP (Received Pronunciation, AKA Southern Standard British English) where the /æ/ vowel in HAPPY is tensed, pulling it forward and up and sounding more like /ɪ/ in KIT or /ɛ/ in DRESS.
Used profusely in the Superego sketch "M" (Season 3, Episode 3 from 2011) making fun of the exceedingly British character of M, James Bond's superior officer. http://www.gosuperego.com/podcast-episode-3-3/
RP and happy tensing also heard in Disney's Alice in Wonderland (1951) when Alice shouts "Mister Rabbit!"
In summary: it's fun, even just to use in the term happy tensing itself.
My friend and I made and used this in elementary school to mean "special and neat." Maybe a blend? It was a real shock to find it written down on a Halloween-themed rubber stamp one day, we'd thought it was a totally unique creation.
Oh hello, bilby. The scholarly use of the word is about rituals, not cooking. But! If you were a hippophage, you could roast it for that reason and the roots would back you up.
I just know the first time I saw this word, I pictured the systematic extinction of 1940s hippos, which is historically tragic, and then the real definition didn't really lift me out of that hole of sadness. So by talking about this word, I'm making other people also have these thoughts, but it's making me feel less depressed and alone about that imagery. This is my free internet word therapy. How are you?
A catchfart is an obsolete slang term that referred to a servant who walked closely behind their master, and was therefore likely to catch the farts of their master in their face. One of my favorite cutthroat-type compounds.
This is just Spanish for Jupiter, the planet or the god. The accented "u" gives this word the hiccups, and I love it. A lot of good plosives in this word.
Zurda means left-handed in Spanish. It comes from Basque. It sounds like the name of a South American revolutionary. I'm a fan.(Yeah, I'm left-handed).
Spanish takes most of their vocab from Latin, which gave them 'sinestro' for left, which is full of sinful and criminal connotations. To find a more neutral left-meaning word, they borrowed two words from their northerly neighbors: zurda and izquierda. Zurda means left-handed, and izquierda means left in the directional sense.
It means unfortunately in Spanish. The word just keeps going! On and on! Spanish words are often longer than their English equivalents, but this one feels like a child's rollercoaster, up and down and around longer and more enjoyable than you'd expect.
To make an adverb in Spanish, take the fem. form of an adjective, then add "-mente". You did it, good job.
In Spanish, if you say "Estoy lista" it means "I'm ready to go". If you say "Soy lista" it means "I'm clever" as in "my mind is ready, quick-witted, and sharp." I recommend looking into Spanish adjectives that change meaning based on their pairings with SER and ESTAR. Meanings move from the concrete to the abstract in a certain way that make sense once you know them, but would be hard to predict if you came upon them, unprepared, in the wild.
It means everyday and is a cognate for quotidian in English. I enjoy the adjectival form of 'everyday' and I enjoy that in Spanish, it is not a fancy synonym, but rather the everyday word you would use to describe mundane routines. Spanish vocabulary is far more Latinate than English, there are far fewer synonyms, and no highbrow/lowbrow variants based on language borrowings like English has - beef/cow, pork/pig, canine/hound. They have one word, so that's your everyday word.
Gaelic for "water of life." It is from this word that we get 'whiskey.' Manhole covers in Dublin say "UISCE" in the same way they would say "WATER" in English. At the beginning of some lovely Irish drinking song, they explain the history of the word whiskey, and the way the man says "uisce bheatha... water of life" makes me want to hug my relatives in Counties Galway and Mayo (god help us).
I learned this word from reading works by Miguel de Unamuno, a lovely existential Spanish philosopher and generally badass guy, historically speaking. Anhelo is that sort of deep existential yearning that makes your heart hurt. Something is wrong and the feeling is anhelo.
Yup bilby, the loosest interpretation of body parts should be used here. The goal is to make plain-looking words more interesting, like cockpit and earmuff. Have fun.
If you want to list all of the bones in the human body, I probably can't stop you. Personally, I'm just hunting for the fun ones, not cataloging the whole species of compounds. But it's a free internet! Do what makes you happy.
Is this a scarecrow compound? It could be (a thing that) MAKES HAWKS. Or it could be a HAWK that MAKES new useful hawk soldiers for the falconers. OED this when I get home for sure.
I am trying to find words that are morphologically similar to stick-to-itiveness and I'm coming up blank so far. PHRASE+ADJ Marker+Noun Marker without having any history of an adjectival form... it baffles me.
thanks hemesheir. Spurred by your comment, I've added more of the common and modern examples. I have a huge Excel spreadsheet of the 500+ I found in my research, but it doesn't seem helpful to list all of the obscure ones here.
Interested parties can watch my 2013 Ignite Portland talk about these compounds: http://youtu.be/x1pYC0AAbJ0
HA! Just noticed your list. i've made a similar list, because I found that most of the verbs that end in -ish in English comes from Old French stems that ended in -iss, and I'm writing up an explanation about it.
Hi everybody. I did my dissertation about this kind of exocentric verb-noun compound last year. Some linguists call them 'scarecrow compounds' because that's a popular example. They come from French and were mildly productive for a few hundred years. I made a list of all of them I could find in English - 483 in total, the newest of which is 'pesterchum.' The abstract for my dissertation is up on my site, tankhughes.com. Anyway. I know too much about this topic. This list and the comments make me happy. :)
Just learned about this word through reading about the history of bishop and the bishop piece in chess. It looks like al-fin was the Arabic for elephant in which 'al' is the definite article like 'the' in English. The chess piece used to look like an elephant, then changed to archer then bishop.
Hey marky- I started tagging words with 'vcccv' patterns in January 2010. I've also tagged words as ch sounds like k, rh, and one-dollar words. I know C and V are used academically for sounds and not letters, and I made some linguists mad, but I wasn't trying to record the sounds, and I don't know what other system I might have chosen. I think organizing things which appear unrelated can bring out new features that have not been visible or considered. Mendeleev, Linneaus and Roget are my heroes. I'm not saying I accomplished anything with this idea yet, but tagging words in this way (which mollusque called convowel) was very cathartic for me at the time and I'm happy I had wordnik as an outlet. I've been thinking about possible uses for this list recently. No success yet, but you can watch me flail on tankhughes.com.
Wow, thanks! Right now I have the time to contribute here and it amuses me. Thanks for the heads up on the error, I'm definitely human. I have a blog that, among other things, tracks the silly tags I've been adding on wordnik: http://tankhughes.blogspot.com/search/label/wordnik
Comments by tankhughes
Show previous 200 comments...
TankHughes commented on the word hipster racism
Used by @zinziclemmons in a Nov 19 2017 tweet to describe Lena Dunham and people in her social circles who use sarcasm to cover up racism.
Tweet: https://twitter.com/zinziclemmons/status/932200880975286273
November 21, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word pomicide
"Ashes 2015: 'It's Pomicide' - world reacts to Australia's collapse"
Australia cricket team was trounced by British but I don't get the pomicide reference.
October 25, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word hugeous
NOT my last name but pretty close.
Brain hugeous.
September 19, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word taints
This is covered more on the singular taint page, but taints could mean 3 things:
Verb: to taint, to poison, to sully
Noun: body part: skin between genitals and anus (perimneum). (Possibly from contraction meaning).
Contraction: it ain't. "'taint what you do, it's the way that you do it."
September 12, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word chalupa
Hi alexz. It's a Mexican dish that most Americans know through the Taco Bell bastard version (that's kind of like a taco but made with fried dough).
September 11, 2017
TankHughes commented on the user MrBluestone
Hi!
September 11, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word heel
I recently realized that the heel that they mention in "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" is the same as the wrestling heel.
August 31, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word yous
Of course it's a word! It has sound and meaning. And it serves several functions in English:
In the phrase "yous guys," it seems to decline so it matches its noun, I think that's sweet.
Also appears at the end of syntactically frozen phrases like "all the i love yous."
Also has a distinct ability to declare that someone is not unique and there are many of that person as in "there's a million of yous, there's only one of me." (Kanye West - Stronger)
August 22, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word guapo
He is right. alexz. It's Spanish for handsome. The villain in Three Amigos is "El Guapo."
August 21, 2017
TankHughes commented on the user Giovy
enough already! :)
August 7, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word helpfuler
"This page is helpfuler than I thought it would be." - friend I told about Wordnik.
August 3, 2017
TankHughes commented on the user QPheevr
Welcome over here, QPheevr!
July 20, 2017
TankHughes commented on the list engendered-words
See also: Dragon Bro comics by Floccinaucinihilifilipication on tumblr: http://floccinaucinihilipilificationa.tumblr.com/tagged/dragon-bros
June 30, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word green cake
Bricks made from ashes in Gaza: http://www.palestinechronicle.com/rising-from-ruins-gazas-engineers-use-ashes-to-make-bricks/
June 17, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word blep
See also: mlem
June 5, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word blep
The esteemed WeRateDogs twitter account uses blep like that: https://twitter.com/dog_rates/status/809448704142938112
Someone said blep is for cats only but WeRateDogs is having none of it: https://twitter.com/dog_rates/status/809491597121507328
June 5, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word blep
For internet dogs, I think it's about when dogs stick their tongues out just a little bit, like they forgot to pull it back in before closing their mouth.
June 5, 2017
TankHughes commented on the list tautologies
aiding and abetting assault and battery primping and preening ?
May 18, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word blackguard
A term that Joyce uses in Ulysses to describe villainous men but also in erotic letters to his wife: https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2017/05/08/fuckbird-cockstand-and-frigging-some-annotations-of-james-joyces-erotic-letters-to-his-wife-nora-barnacle/
May 8, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word Slacklash
backlash against the group messaging app Slack. http://www.slacklash.com/
May 2, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word cuddle death
When a queen bee is old or diseased, the worker bees huddle around here and overheat her to death. This is known as cuddle death.
http://www.ilknowledge.com/2013/10/worker-bees-will-cuddle-old-queen-bee.html
I think it's true? But either way, a good phrase.
April 22, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word grammando
I think Kory said it because she (and I) recently attended ACES in Florida and Anne Curzan in her keynote speech, used the term grammando. Curzan has used it for years.
http://www.chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2015/10/13/going-grammando/
It's a proposed alternative to grammar nazi. I'd like to disassociate asshole pedants from state-funded murderers, ao I use it a bit and hope it catches on.
April 21, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word gum golem
A nickname for 2017 US Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
April 14, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word Youngledore
The news that Young Pope actor Jude Law will be playing a younger version of Dumbledore in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts movie: https://twitter.com/i/moments/852216936133836800
April 12, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word nut graph
See: nut paragraph
March 21, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word nut paragraph
As explained in Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark, a nut paragraph answers the "so what?" question for the reader.
Also nut graph
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nut_graph
March 21, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word rise and shine it's time to make the doughnuts
*eats a chocolate old-fashioned* good idea, bilby.
March 17, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word Black Flag
An American punk rock band.
March 10, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word amastous
nippleless
March 7, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word sequela
Raynaud's phenomenon is often a sequela.
March 3, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word sologamy
http://mikepope.com/blog/DisplayBlog.aspx?permalink=2532
March 3, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word cheese dream
I would guess it's an allusion to Dicken's A Christmas Carol when Scrooge tries to explain Marley away:
"“You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!”"
February 22, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word InCoWriMo
Short for International Correspondence Writing Month: http://incowrimo.org/
Every February
February 21, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word shitgibbon compound
Shitgibbon was used in a presidential insult tweet: "Hey @realDonaldTrump I oppose civil asset forfeiture too! Why don't you try to destroy my career you fascist, loofa-faced, shit-gibbon!"
shitgibbon is an example of a shitgibbon compound.
http://allthingslinguistic.com/post/157210818652/the-orgin-and-constraints-of-shitgibbon
February 18, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word GUBU
An acronym short for "grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre, unprecedented."
Not military slang as I first suspected.
Based off of this quote by then Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland, Charles Haughe, in 1945: "It was a bizarre happening, an unprecedented situation, a grotesque situation, an almost unbelievable mischance."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUBU
February 10, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word mofenguin
Fake food item proposed by David Ortiz (Kenan Thompson) that's like a turducken but with mofongo, chicken, and a penguin.
From Kristen Stewart SNL episode Feb 4, 2017 during the Weekend Update segment.
February 9, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word plastron
You get em, qms. Sub-limerick the bastard.
February 8, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word coutour
I think you're thinking of couture, pumpumrock. Good definition.
February 8, 2017
TankHughes commented on the list noun-verbs
It seems like a lot of these are backformations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_back-formations
February 3, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word Lawcast
See the comments about Lawcast on WordSmith2099's page: https://wordnik.com/users/WordSmith2099
January 30, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word Trivago
No one has publicly verified the intended meaning of this company name.
Two websites talking about branding think it is "Trip(s), Vacation, Go"
http://www.rewindandcapture.com/why-is-trivago-called-trivago/
https://www.namerobot.com/All-about-naming/tips-for-naming/start-up-names-pro-contra-fantasy-names.html
January 24, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word LGBTQIA
A for asexual/aromantic.
People who identify as asexual sometimes abbreviate that to ace.
People who identify as aromantic sometimes abbreviate that to aro.
January 23, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word tinhatting
In this example, someone in a fandom (BBC Sherlock) who believes something strongly, even though they know they'll be treated like a wigged-out conspiracy theorist. http://221behavior.tumblr.com/post/155972809187/i-believe-in-bbc-sherlock
January 17, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word golden shower
Comes from a Greek myth where Zeus appeared to a woman as golden rain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana%C3%AB :/
January 11, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word LRT
LRT on Twitter is short for "last retweet." Meaning that they simply
retweeted something without comment, but then wanted to comment on it
after
Tweet 1: A picture
Tweet 2: LRT it me
January 6, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word fuckyouitiveness
As said about Alexander Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda on his episode of Drunk History (2016). https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/803892779889922048
January 6, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word fuck-you-itiveness
As said about Alexander Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda on his episode of Drunk History (2016). https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/803892779889922048
January 6, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word monkey puzzle tree
Sometimes also called puzzle monkey tree, which might be a cutthroat compound - a tree that would puzzle a monkey.
January 3, 2017
TankHughes commented on the word pisang
took me a second, ruzuzu, but it was worth it.
December 29, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word euphemia
A baby was born on December 24, 2016 and now has Euphemia as her middle name.
December 27, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word fingermouthing
https://www.buzzfeed.com/katienotopoulos/fingermouthing-is-the-new-hot-pose-for-selfies?utm_term=.miKYr7qYV8#.gcywQlmwnA
December 20, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word festive crime
This is a whispered term.
There is a tree near my suburban childhood home that is in the middle of the road surrounded by a 2 foot circular brick wall. Growing up, there was a much larger tree in that place, but several years ago it fell over. My mother cried, she thought they had cut it down on purpose. The city replaced it with a young tree with a sturdy trunk but not many branches.
I decided that it looked sad, especially when its leaves fell off in winter. So I concocted festive crime, in which my mother and I brought oversized ornaments, bows, and boas of tinsel and hung them in the tree around midnight a few days before Christmas.
We've done it for a few years now. Not sure it will happen this year. It's a fun term to whisper.
December 13, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word kulning
Just saw this video of kulning by Swedish person Jonna Jinton.
https://youtu.be/6fglBL7eQIA
December 11, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word buttwoman
buttwoman also means fishwife: http://tankhughes.com/?p=983
December 7, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word cherpumple
cherry+pumpkin+apple pie.
December 6, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word Morzouksnick
Name of a comedy show with Seth Morris, Jason Mantzoukas and Nick Kroll. It's a clipped compound. MOR-ZOUKS-NICK.
December 6, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word banhammer
I've been told that this is very 1999 slang, and that my colleague prefers the slightly more recent 2000s version, b&, pronounced bampersand.
November 23, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word contranym
For more examples, look at this list: https://wordnik.com/lists/contranyms--1
November 23, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word Raxacoricofallapatorius
It's the fictional planet where those gassy, baby-faced aliens come from in Doctor Who. (Season 1 of New Who).
November 14, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word cow-lady
What's going on with you, lady-birds. Why you called lady-cow sometimes?
November 14, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word faithless elector
I'm putting this here as a historical record and also a hope-filled persuasive argument. I will remove if it violates community standards:
"I know it has its own complicated consequences, but I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU to persuade 20+ members of the electoral college to switch their votes away from Drumpf.
https://www.change.org/p/electoral-college-electors-electoral-college-make-hillary-clinton-president-on-december-19
Sign the petition, but more importantly, CALL THEM. Write them. Offer to pay for their fines.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GlTW_UKpRg3l3qrkObP62PZgWB87QTuIH7TCMbRtFak/edit
If Drumpf and everyone he's assembling get into office, 2020 will be too late.
http://time.com/4560682/faithless-electors/"
November 13, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word faithless elector
You're my only hope.
November 13, 2016
TankHughes commented on the list disgusting-words-2
This is an interesting list because most word aversion involves bodily function aversion. This list seems like an aversion to doing a lot of work in your mouth (except maybe intimate). It's refreshing.
November 10, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word hygge
Lost to Brexit for Collins Word of the Year 2016: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/03/brexit-named-word-of-the-year-ahead-of-trumpism-and-hygge?CMP=share_btn_tw
November 3, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word hollop
Paging qms or other poet for hollop-based limerick. Request from Twitter: https://twitter.com/GillHoffs/status/792865904598118401
October 31, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word tea-like
Are there any greek/latin adjectives describing something that is tea-like? Like nimbiform, vulpine, cretaceous?
October 30, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word dek
so dek and lede are both editorial nicknames that are spelled differently to denote their technical journalistic meaning. OK.
October 24, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word countroversy
Most examples are misspelling of controversy.
October 24, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word coreligionist
More legible as co-religionist.
October 24, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word contraremonstrance
Also contra-remonstrance.
October 24, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word consequentalist
Misspelling of consequentialist.
October 24, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word conquetoon
Another name for a grimme, which is a West African antelope.
October 24, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word congent
Misspelling of cogent mostly, in the examples.
October 24, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word conflageration
Misspelling of conflagration.
October 24, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word condesceusion
Misspelling of condescension?
October 24, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word commonism
Also misspelling of communism.
October 23, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word collabrate
Misspelling of colloborate.
October 23, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word coenamor
Misspelling of coenamour.
October 23, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word cocheneal
Misspelling of cochineal.
October 23, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word outdoo
Typo of outdoor or outdoors?
October 22, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word ordasity
Misspelling of audacity.
October 22, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word oppty
Abbreviation of opportunity in tweets and newspaper ads.
October 22, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word ophidaphobic
Misspelling of ophidiophobic?
October 22, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word ontophony
Misspelling of ontophany.
October 22, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word ontodote
Misspelling of odontode?
October 22, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word ongong
Misspelling of ongoing.
October 22, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word oenopole
MORE LIKE WINE CELLAR, AMIRIGHT?
October 22, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word nuncmillennialism
nunc millennialism
October 21, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word numismastist
See numismatist.
October 21, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word nullipary
nulliparity?
October 21, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word nudgocracy
http://brendanoneill.co.uk/archives April 2012 article says it.
October 21, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word nubivagent
Misspelling of nubivagant.
October 21, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word nostritch
Then wouldn't it be nostrich? Neither has citations outside of the previous comment.
October 20, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word noscible
Some example are hypyhen line breaks on cognoscible.
October 20, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word nooked
either nuked or part of a larger phrase like three-nooked or four-nooked.
October 20, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word noctivagent
Misspelling of noctivagant?
October 20, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word nitpik
Misspelling of nitpick.
October 20, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word niggest
Is this a superlative of the slur, or a misspelling of biggest?
October 20, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word nerfin
short for nerfing, which often describes game characters or powers that were OP (overpowered) in previous versions/editions/games that have now been underpowered or nerfed.
October 20, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word neogism
Misspelling of neologism?
October 20, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word narrishkeit
Yiddish term.
October 20, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word garrilous
Misspelling of garrulous.
October 20, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word nabubugnot
Tagalog word.
October 20, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word mucilagenous
mucilaginous?
October 19, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word mophobia
Line break on homophobia.
October 19, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word mootch
mooch
October 19, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word monopolytourism
monopoly tourism
October 19, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word moeity
Misspelling of moiety.
October 19, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word mitsake
Misspelling of mistake. Seems intentional often for. Irony? For humor.
October 19, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word misshappen
Misspelling of misshapen.
October 19, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word ministic
Line breaks with deterministic or maybe monastic misspelling.
October 19, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word milktoast
Mostly misspelling of milquetoast but might refer to milk toast.
October 19, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word firstable
An eggcorn for first of all. What an adorably adoptable eggcorn.
October 19, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word meliturgy
Wouldn't it be double L like mellifluous?
October 18, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word mehrong
Korean word.
October 18, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word house-proud
Has anyone made a list of post-positive adjectives? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpositive_adjective Someone ought to.
October 17, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word mababaw
Tagalog word.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word lupanare
Pompeii brothel?
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word luminence
luminance
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word lojtra
Slovenian word?
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word linimaly
liminal? liminally?
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word limarin
Limarin is a drug.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word levearage
Misspelling of leverage.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word leucocytozoans
leucocytozoons?
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word letcherers
Mostly meant as lecherers or lecturers but it also seems like an old spelling of lecherer as in lechery.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word lession
Misspelling of lesson or lesion.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word leitwortstil
German "leading-word style" "was coined by Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig and applied to the field of Biblical textual studies."
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word legup
Variant of leg up or leg-up.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word ledasha
Racist urban legend that a black woman named her child "Le-a" pronounced "Ledasha."
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word lechita
Spanish word, dimunutive of leche meaning milk.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word latigables
Spanish word.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word kulseyo
Hard-to-translate Korean word.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word kubrikian
Misspelling of Kubrickian or kubrickian.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word klabauter
See klabautermann?
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word kergymatic
Misspelling of kerygmatic.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word kergyma
Misspelling of Greek kerygma.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word kaibash
Misspelling of kibosh.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word juvescence
Also juvenescence.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word ipsism
Related to Latin ipse, which is a reflective pronoun or something like that.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word iontopheresis
Misspelling of iontophoresis.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word involiable
Misspelling of inviolable.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word interfation
interfaction misspelling?
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word inicimal
Misspellin of inimical, enemy-like.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word infradig
Short for infra dig or infra dignitatem, a Latin phrase meaning "beneath one's dignity."
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word indumental
Misspelling of indumetal?
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word incohate
Misspelling of inchoate?
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word incantory
Misspelling of incantatory.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word inastatic
Misspelling of anastatic?
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word implusive
Misspelling of impulsive.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word imperturability
Misspelling of imperturbability I think.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word impedement
Misspelling of impediment.
October 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word ideodialect
I hear this more often as idiolect.
October 15, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word stunt on
stunting (without on) appears in Katy Perry song "This is How We Do" https://youtu.be/7RMQksXpQSk
"Straight stuntin' ya we do it like that"
October 13, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word hypokeimenal
Related to hypokeimenon?
October 13, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word hypnogogia
Misspelling of hypnagogia?
October 13, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word hydrophic
hydropic or hydrophobic ?
October 12, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word hullabalo
Misspelling of hullabaloo.
October 12, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word hootnanny
Variant of hootenanny ?
October 12, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word hoolegenism
Misspelling of hooliganism.
October 12, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word glottonaut
Proposed word from linguisten.de Tumblr account:
:A glottonaut is someone exploring languages without necessarily acquiring them (thereby becoming a polyglot). Most people doing linguistic typology can be considered glottonauts."
October 12, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word headness
Seems to be mostly a ellisive misspelling of the suffix headedness.
October 11, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word kittentits
From "A Softer World" comic: http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=152
October 11, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word hatshag
sometimes short for racist sexual term Mexican hat shag. mostly a misspelling of hashtag.
October 11, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word halevai
Yiddish word meaning if only; "Would that it be so".
October 11, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word gürültülü
Turkish.
October 11, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word grelots
grelot means tiny bell in French but also refers to a type of onion.
October 10, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word gooksu
Korean food name. Also written as guksu.
October 10, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word glof
Most examples are misspellings of golf.
October 10, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word gimrack
misspelling of gimcrack?
October 10, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word fungibleu
Where mushrooms go to college?
October 10, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word fungibleu
Misspelling of fungible?
October 10, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word fubmiffion
long s spelling of submission
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word frustrule
Misspelling of frustule
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word frission
Misspelling of frisson?
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word frenchifryied
frenchifried
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word Trump Sunlight Campaign
https://www.gofundme.com/sunlightfund
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word foupe
A mountweazel?
"This ghost word appears in Samuel Johnson's 1755 dictionary. It is defined as "To drive with a sudden impetuosity. A word out of use."
The last part of the definition is certainly right. It was never in use. This is a misreading of soupe (due to the long s character used in those days), a dialect form of swoop." http://everything2.com/title/foupe
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word fog-bow
Also written as fogbow or fog bow.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word fluxuate
Misspelling of fluctuate?
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word floresce
Misspelled backformation from flourescent. See fluoresce.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word fiuviatile
Misspelling of fluviatile.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word fireflower
In the video game Super Mario Bros., this is spelled fire flower.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word filky
long s confusion? Do the examples mean silky?
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word fire-meat
Literal translation of Korean food bulgogi.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word filfot
Variant spelling of fylfot meaning swastika?
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word ficticious
Misspelling of fictitious.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word fibrouse
Misspelling of fibrous.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word fastiduous
Misspelling of fastidious.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word fastedious
Misspelling of fastidious.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word farkakte
Variant spelling of verkakte.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word fa-reezing
emphasized variant of freezing.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word expulcate
Maybe misspelling of exculpate?
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word explick
unable to explain -> inexplicable -> explick
Backformation of the verb from the adjective.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word exopthalmic
Misspelling of exophthalmic.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word exhuberance
Misspelling of exuberance.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word exequator
Misspelling of exequatur?
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word euxenic
Misspelling of euxinic.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word escoymous
Anglo-French relative of squeamish.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word equinimity
Misspelling of equanimity?
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word ephermeral
Misspelling of ephemeral.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word ephermal
Misspelling of ephemeral.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word epercu
Misspelling of apercu / aperçu?
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word emnity
Misspelling of enmity?
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word endalaus
Icelandic word meaning timeless or endless?
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word comfortable-bread
Also written as comfortable bread.
October 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word cucked
short for cuckholded? Been seeing it a lot on Twitter this political year.
October 8, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word emoluement
misspelling of emolument.
October 7, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word eataphorical
misspelling of metaphorically?
October 6, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word drunt
Some tweets are misspellings of drunk.
October 5, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word disdamn
From Golden Girls. also written as disdam.
Dorothy: Ma, "disdam" is not a word.
Sophia: It certainly is!
Dorothy: Okay, prove it, use it in a sentence.
Sophia: You're no good at disdam game.
October 4, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word densly
misspelling of densely.
October 1, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word degage
dégagé
September 30, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word chachski
misspelling of tchotchke i think.
September 26, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word carcature
Misspelling of caricature.
September 20, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word zythologist
"A zythologist is a true beer connoisseur who can share many interesting facts about an immensely complex and sophisticated beverage, its ingredients and the roles they play in the brewing process."
-Annhauser_Busch site. Se also: zythology
September 19, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word zyxnoid
"noun (ZIKS noid) Any word that a crossword puzzler makes up to complete the last blank, accompanied by the rationalization that there probably is an ancient god named Ubbbu, or German river named Wfor, and besides, who’s going to check?"
http://sniglets.sanjeev.net/zyxnoid/ sniglets
September 19, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word tony
I didn't know tony was a capitonym. Then I did. That time is now.
September 8, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word chuffah
"Harris was also known as “the chuffah king.” Chuffah is the random nonsense characters in a scene talk about before getting to the meat of it that leads to story. Here’s one of the best chuffah moments from Parks from the “Hunting Season” episode:
Tom: Your favorite kind of cake can’t be birthday cake, that’s like saying your favorite kind of cereal is breakfast cereal.
Donna: I love breakfast cereal.
Harris excelled at coming up with hilarious, random nonsense like this. It was a tool that no one else seemed to have."
http://azizisbored.tumblr.com/post/111613105129
September 7, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word daemon
According to 1999 Wired Style, they made daemon into the backronym "Disk And Execution MONitor."
August 31, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word latinx
It's not difficult to call people what they want to be called. Sometimes it's a slight personal preference (Steven, not Steve), sometimes it's an affirmation of what someone has worked hard to define themselves as (Tess not Ted). You don't even have to use the marker of latinx. It's not for you. It's for people in the group to define themselves.
I get that it's hypothetically absurd to pick a crazy name without thinking, but thought has gone into this. It helps some people who are in a vulnerable community have a sense of belonging and feel safe. It helps to make a space for a group that is not well known or understood.
Punching up/down are comedy terms.
Punching down is attacking/making fun of people who have less power and are vulnerable, kicking someone when they're down. Punching up is mocking the powerful, exposing them and holding them accountable for their actions through things like satire.
August 31, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word latinx
you're making me frown, bilby. it's an interesting question in general of how to feel comfortable identifying as gender-expansive (nonbinary) in a gendered language. This particular term helps some people feel better. "-x all words in the dictionary" is reductio ad absurdum and you know it.
It helps them, it doesn't apply to you, why are you putting so much anger on this page? This might be another proposed term like ze or hir that doesn't take off, so you could make fun of it as a neologism, but I don't get why you're making a stand here. Punch up.
August 30, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word latinx
Why some people choose to call themselves latinx: http://www.latina.com/lifestyle/our-issues/why-we-say-latinx-trans-gender-non-conforming-people-explain
August 30, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word millennial whoop
http://qz.com/767812/millennial-whoop/
August 27, 2016
TankHughes commented on the list jumbo-shrimp
feeling numb
August 17, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word corportation
Misspelling of corporation.
August 10, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word rusk
Just learned this term from Namibian Olympic Cyclist Dan Craven (@DanfromNam) who apparently livetweeted the race he was racing??
https://twitter.com/DanFromNam/status/761983418309672962
His profile as of Aug 6, 2016: "Dad dancer, Cyclist, Olympian TWICE, I'm like a rusk on a cloudy morning. Cycling Academy Team - @bikegeeeeks"
August 6, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word scabbard
Do we need a list of sheaths? I can only think of scabbard and holster.
August 5, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word derp spiral
https://twitter.com/prof_anne/status/760977955384201216
Bad polls lead to Trump saying 20 unbelievable things in 48 hours cause rumors of GOP inner circle intervention.
August 3, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word whitewashing
Related song/video: https://youtu.be/mmvqb9Uzu8k
(sounds creepy but it's not a creepy video)
August 3, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word pickthank
<3 think tank is my criminal mastermind name.
August 2, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word mandylion
I can't believe this isn't a dialect variant on dandelion.
July 19, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word melianiate
"Melaniate": To unwittingly speak in a public forum words that have been plagiarized by others. Named after Meliania Trump and her plagiarized speech at the RNC.
Coined by Roy Peter Clark 7/19/2016.
http://www.poynter.org/2016/welcome-to-post-plagiarism-america/422260/
July 19, 2016
TankHughes commented on the list strange--3
test 1 2 3
July 15, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word late capitalism
Ahhh, so it means that, to the writer, this is part of the indicator that capitalism is almost over and the new type of economic system will rise soon? Which one?
July 14, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word late capitalism
What does this even mean? I first saw it in a Pokemon Go critique: http://www.vox.com/2016/7/12/12152728/pokemon-go-economic-problems
July 14, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word spoons
In regard to energy levels for people with chronic diseases and mental health issues. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon_theory
Just learned it from this Tumblr post about Pokemon Go advice for disabled and mentally ill people: http://toriel-femur.tumblr.com/post/147273699800/tips-for-disabled-and-mentally-ill-pokemon-go
July 12, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word grognard
Just learned this term as applied to the board game reviewer in this video: https://youtu.be/VHS2ZzXiw_Q
July 12, 2016
TankHughes commented on the list 💯
Function words mostly, which makes sense.
The verbs:
be, can, come, do, get, give, have, know, look, make, say, see, take, think, want, work.
July 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word 2:30
Time for your dental appointment.
July 7, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word brainstormer
brainstormer vs barnstormer, who wins?
July 6, 2016
TankHughes commented on the list words-found-in-passing
*passes by several minutes later*
June 28, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word regrexit
Did anyone coin this before June 24, 2016, the morning of the result?
June 24, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word be-back
From the 1959 Oldsmobile industrial musical "Good News About Olds", the song "Don't Let a Be-Back Get Away." http://www.industrialmusicals.com/songs/
Heard about industrial musicals on the "Under the Influence" podcast.
June 22, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word tronc
It's now a clipped compound for Chicago "TRibune ONline Content"
June 2, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word adamless
As written by #HaggardHawks in Word Drops (2016),
June 1, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word Quvenzhané
Quvenzhané Wallis:
“Quven,” the first part of her name, combines her parents’ first names, while her mother has stated that zhané means “fairy” in Swahili.
Other people are saying that's not true about Swahili. I'm confused.
May 25, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word cicatrix
cicatriz is the word for scar in Spanish, so it must come from Latin. I learned it in a vocab unit on how to describe people's faces. It seemed impractical at the time but it stuck with me.
May 19, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word He-men
A group of He-man toys. This pluralization bothers some.
"We could play with He-men."
"We have a bunch of unopened He-men in the attic."
May 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word Madison Avenue choir
https://soundcloud.com/betweenthelinernotes/jingles
Using magnetic tape, hire 4 singers, record them several times singing different parts, make it sound like a 12-part choir. Big advertising strategy from WWII - late 1950s.
May 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word meme
An internet-wide inside joke.
May 3, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word JMJ
Can stand for the Catholic minced oath "Jesus, Mary and Joseph!"
-https://twitter.com/StanCarey/status/727584184890470400
May 3, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word cephalophore
I <3 the -phore/-fer morpheme. It sticks out to me
I made a comic about it: http://tankhughes.com/?p=239
I made a list about it: https://www.wordnik.com/lists/bher--to-bear-or-carry
So... I'll accept the award, but I don't know what to wear to the ceremony.
May 1, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word miscegenation
WOW wasn't aware of this term until today, used by angry people who hate an Old Navy ad: https://twitter.com/CivilJustUs/status/726825556680007680
May 1, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word AP
In boardgaming, AP can mean "analysis paralysis" which means that turns take a long time because there are SO many things to take into consideration that the game will drag every. single. turn. And burn your brain.
May 1, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word cephalophore
They Might Be Giants has a song about falling in love with a cephalophore. https://youtu.be/anWrcmKsYI8
April 28, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word dogpile
*hug bilby quite tightly*
EVERYBODY JUMP ON OR THIS WORD WON'T MAKE ANY SENSE!
It's Hug an Australian Day!!
April 26, 2016
TankHughes commented on the list animal-animalia
ram-cat is another name for a male cat. (OED 1672)
April 24, 2016
TankHughes commented on the list are-you-sad--misparse-me
See also: http://katherinebarber.blogspot.com/2016/04/when-you-are-mizzled-by-english-spelling.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Wordlady+%28Wordlady%29
April 23, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word The Cow Palace
I so love that it's called the Cow Palace. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_Palace
April 20, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word irredentist
NOT a dentist?
April 12, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word popcorning
A video of guinea pigs popcorning, via my guinea pig owner coworker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjC94EhAs00
April 12, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word beoopdedoop
bilby: It's her CB handle.
March 28, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word fishiness
In this interview with RuPaul, it's a adjective to describe drag queens that look like "real" cis women. http://www.vulture.com/2016/03/rupaul-drag-race-interview.html
March 25, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word dilection
i'm intrigued by the intersection of definitions 1 and 2.
March 23, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word DoReMi
@Fritinancy: "TIL: San Francisco's newest art district is nicknamed DoReMi after the 3 neighborhoods it comprises: DOgpatch, PotREro Hill, MIssion."
March 21, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word psittachosis
parrot fever
March 21, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word braaap
sounds like an underweater fart or the beginning of Hercules Mulligan's intro rap from Hamilton.
March 17, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word mushroom management
"Keep them in the dark and feed them shit."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushroom_management
March 14, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word sprote
Never heard of this until NotXButX tweeted it today.
March 11, 2016
TankHughes commented on the list jumbo-shrimp
broadly specified
March 10, 2016
TankHughes commented on the list contranyms--1
outstanding?
wonderful for having extra positive qualities, or missing something crucial.
March 9, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word super bloom
Used to describe the sudden bloom of wildflowers in Death Valley National Park due to recent rainfall.
March 6, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word fainhead
What?
March 4, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word rfc 1918
It sounds like a fútbol team, but RFC 1918 stands for "request for comment 1918" and is involved in assigning/allocating private IP addresses.
March 3, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word SVV
SVV can stand for the Latin phrase, "Si vales, valeo" which means "If you are well, I am well." It was the Latin equivalent of starting a letter with "Hi, how are you? I'm fine."
March 2, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word RSA
RSA can also represent a cryptosystem named for three dudes: the Rivest-Shamir-Adleman cryptosystem, a cryptosystem for public-key encryption.
The RSA conference is currently happening in San Francisco: https://www.rsaconference.com/
March 1, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word Wordnik
I get it, vendingmachine. The band Jump (formerly Jump, Little Children) wrote a song called Requiem that specifically acknowledges the fact that audiences don't like it when you play new songs from your new album. I think it's a similar sentiment: https://youtu.be/_r7g4kGbkvI
February 29, 2016
TankHughes commented on the list sword-shaped--1
sabertooth?
February 29, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word seratonin
See serotonin.
February 29, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word Wordnik
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WORDNIK!
February 29, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word pangram
Okay.
Veldt = field
Jynx = a bird
Grimp = to climb
Waqf = an endowment of land
Zho = dzo = a hybrid yak/cow male
Buck = adult male animal
A field bird climbs a land yak man. Okay.
February 26, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word grimp
According to M-W, grimp is also a verb meaning to climb, or "to draw up (the line grimped into a hard knot)"
February 26, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word sticks nix hick pix
A famous Variety headline: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sticks_nix_hick_pix
February 26, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word pangram
Buck could be a verb in that. not sure what else to do to make it a sentence. It's a Variety headline at best.
(See sticks nix hick pix)
February 26, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word pangram
When people say "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" they are adding 2 extraneous letters to the pangram. One of those the's should be an a. 33 letters vs 35.
February 25, 2016
TankHughes commented on the list city-names-with-three-or-more-words
Lake Forest Park in Washington state.
February 25, 2016
TankHughes commented on the list contranyms--1
bleach meant "to blacken" in the 1600s: https://twitter.com/E_Briannica/status/702886862914920448
February 25, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word ongoing
It's fun to say ong-oing. Reminds me of Homestar Runner's pronunciation of doing. Can't remember which episode.
February 24, 2016
TankHughes commented on the list onomatopoeia-that-best-describes-you-greatest-hits-vol1
mrph
February 23, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word jetpack
Are they designing any jet black jetpacks?
February 18, 2016
TankHughes commented on the list jumbo-shrimp
vodka-flavored
February 18, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word vodka-flavored
Vodka-flavored is a fun modern oxymoron. I know vodka can be infused, but then it tastes like that thing. The standard is "odorless, tasteless, colorless." OO someone could make a vodka crest in Latin. sine odor, sine sapor, sine color.
February 18, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word hairy panic
Oh my! That's like the Strega Nona story where the person who learns the spell to make infinite pasta, but not the spell to stop it, and the town gets covered in pasta. http://www.vindiebaby.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/thumbnail/960x/17f82f742ffe127f42dca9de82fb58b1/s/t/strega_nona_3.jpg
February 18, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word hairy panic
Are the Flickr images related to the tumbleweed?
February 18, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word pakeha
I think that it's healthy to be aware that sometimes a beret is not enough. It interests me because anyone's personal sample size is pretty small, and I wonder if there are certain sounds that repeat - like how barbarian is an attempt to mimic the language of the others. And the folk etymology for guiri is because tourists say "Where is?" all the time when they visit Spain.
February 16, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word pakeha
Has someone made a list of foreigner terms like gringo, guiri, gaijin, gadjo, shixa, paya, etc? It could be racist, but it would also be interesting to see them all together, since it's aimed at local geographical neighbors or white people.
February 15, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word toa
In a high school World Religions class, a group presented on Taoism (Daoism), but consistently misspelled the main idea of the tao as the toa. It tickled me and Maryann, so my high school notebooks were soon filled with "Follow the Toa" in the margins. It's very possible I'll accidentally call it the toa in polite company one day soon.
February 15, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word mulm
Ah, so it's what happens to marine snow.
February 15, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word PAN truncation
PAN means: "primary account number, i.e., the "card number" on either a debit or a credit card. PAN truncation simply replaces the card number printed on a customer receipt with a printout of only the last four digits, the remainder being replaced usually by asterisks."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAN_truncation
February 12, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word QSA
Qualified Security Assessor. Involved with PCI compliance.
February 12, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word SDL
Secure Development Lifecycle
February 12, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word PCI compliance
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of requirements designed to ensure that ALL companies that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. Essentially any merchant that has a Merchant ID (MID)
https://www.pcicomplianceguide.org/pci-faqs-2/
February 11, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word IANL
IANL - I am no lawyer. Variant of IMO or IMHO.
February 11, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word temperment
Wow. I've been leaving out the a in this word. This is more shocking than the lack of a 2nd i in mischievous.
February 3, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word Dogpile An Australian Day
It also happens on April 26th, but you can hear a faint rumbling in the distance, getting ever closer on the night before, also known as Dogpile an Australian Eve.
February 2, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word Hug an Australian Day
Sorry bilby, you have to wait for April. Then we'll dogpile you.
February 2, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word stagflation
I always think this is a spoonerism for flag station.
January 30, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word brogle
A sensible alternate spelling for broccoli. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BrVbeHwIEAAfyDu.jpg
January 29, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word bitchcakes
The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English has the first citation from 2004. https://books.google.com/books?id=4YfsEgHLjboC&lpg=PA166&ots=7KTEP8p10g&dq=bitchcakes%201994&pg=PA166#v=onepage&q=bitchcakes%201994&f=false
January 27, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word bitchcakes
This was a new and unique expression in the NewsRadio episode Physical Graffiti. which first aired on March 24, 1996. Was it coined for the episode or was it an exclamation before the episode aired?
Is it like fetch in Mean Girls, manufactured slang that fails to catch on? Or is it like frak, frell, shazbot, and smeg, made-up swearwords writers use to get around censors?
January 27, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word maven
I get the feeling that, even though it's not a gendered word, maven is used more often to describe women, maybe because it rhymes with maiden? Pet theory, anyway.
January 26, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word irish spotting
see also: Irish spotting
January 25, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word Irish spotting
In dog breeding, Irish spotting refers to dogs with specific amounts of white that spread throughout their coat. "On a dog with irish spotting, white is found on the legs, the tip of the tail, the chest, neck and muzzle."
And a possible etymology: "The term "irish spotting" actually comes from a term used in the early 20th century to describe a white pattern found in rats in Ireland."
-http://www.doggenetics.co.uk/white.htm
I just wanted to know if I should call the white tuft of hair on my otherwise black Mini-Schnauzer a blaze, or if blaze is only used to describe markings on the face of animals (especially horses).
January 25, 2016
TankHughes commented on the list foodpanda-coupons
Pandas hate spam.
January 24, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word boustrophedonic
I GUARD THIS WORD NOW.
!KSIR NWO RUOY TA KCATTA
January 21, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word Crewniverse
The crew that creates the excellent cartoon Steven Universe. Their tumblr: http://stevencrewniverse.tumblr.com/
January 20, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word bete noir
cf bête noire and bete noire.
January 13, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word starchild
I don't know how to define starchild, but I know it's often used to reference David Bowie, related to his single Starman, and his persona Ziggy Stardust.
January 11, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word comprimise
This definition is wrong, but fun!
January 7, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word pentester
A job position at security consultant companies, short for "penetration tester." People hired to hack to show the flaws in a security system. It's white hat/gray hat for a good reason?
January 6, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word ghoti
I wrote about this 4 years ago, with some bonus discussion of minims and Churchillian Drift thrown in: http://tankhughes.com/?p=727
January 4, 2016
TankHughes commented on the user gnorris12345
Thanks for the added definitions, gnorris12345!
Wordnik is case-sensitive, so if you go to the lowercase adroit and incisive pages you'll find some more juicy information than the uppercase version's page. The agastopia page doesn't have a dictionary definition, but many users have added it to their lists and a few have discussed it in the discussion section.
December 20, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word impanel
Hillary Clinton just used this in the New Hampshire Democratic Debate. "...that President Obama has impaneled."
December 20, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word 😂
Sorry to "Frankenstein is the doctor's name" you, but the emoji was chosen by Oxford Dictionaries, not the Oxford English Dictionary. OED doesn't choose a word of the year, they're more about the words of every year from the beginning of English time.
Merriam-Webster chose -ism for 2015, and Dictionary.com has chosen identity. The American Dialect Society and the Macquarie Dictionary will also choose their #WOTYs in early January. I think Cambridge Dictionaries Online also chooses "the people's word of the year."
The different reasons these dictionaries have for choosing the words were covered on this podcast last year: http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/lexicon_valley/2014/12/lexicon_valley_peter_sokolowski_of_merriam_webster_erin_mckean_of_wordnik.html To be very honest, the interviews are insulting and patronizing, repeatedly accusing the lexicographers of being drunk when making these decisions.
December 20, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word breechloading
A shart could also be said to be breechloading.
December 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word perplex
I remember playing a word search computer game with my friend when I was young, and we got all of them except this one. "Well there's purple, but it's with an e!" "No, it's gotta be something else!" Pretty sure a mom finished it for us. So now I read it as PERPLE-X.
December 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word microaggression
On this episode of Poetry Off the Shelf, Saaed Jones compares these to paper cuts: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/features/audioitem/5428
Not deadly enough to go to the ER about, and no one wants to hear about them, but they can sting for days and they add up.
December 14, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list steven--adjectives
Which Steven? I hope this one: https://youtu.be/QOAwHG95mlk
December 14, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word cypher
We need the hip-hop definition of cypher here. I don't know it properly yet. http://www.bet.com/video/hiphopawards/2015/cyphers/hamilton-cypher-explicit.html
December 10, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Benson bubbler
What public water fountains are called in Portland, OR. Named after philanthropist Simon Benson.
The Flickr pictures below show their unique four-prong design.
More on water fountains: http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/fountain-drinks/
December 9, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Cackattacker
As coined on a live episode of the Spontaneanation podcast (2015), Cackattackers are fans of the improviser Craig Cackowski.
December 8, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list three-toed-portmanteaus
I've now written up a little post about these multi-part blends. What they describe, what parts of the words are used, what order they come in. Enjoy: http://www.encyclopediabriannica.com/?p=245
December 8, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word partyboob
Partyboob seems like a variant on party tit: http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/804585-calm-your-tits
December 5, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word boobytrap
This is the content I'm here for. A semordnilap worth backwardsitizing.
December 4, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Dowisetrepla
From the TV show "How I Met Your Mother", a fictional neighborhood near a sewage treatment plant.
"Downwind from the Sewage Treatment Plant."
December 4, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word BoCoCa
From Wikipedia:
BoCoCa is "three adjacent neighborhoods in the Brooklyn borough of New York City: Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, and Carroll Gardens."
December 4, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Bond Mitzvah
On the "For Your Eyes Only" episode of the James Bonding podcast (Oct 2015), Thomas Lennon, Matt Gourley and Matt Mira realize that the Bond movie that they each saw when they were 11-13 is the one they love the most. That movie imprints, and is also a rite of passage from youth to be able to see a Bond movie in the theater, with or without a chaperone. For Thomas Lennon, it was "For Your Eyes Only". For Matt Gourley, it was "A View To A Kill". http://nerdist.com/james-bonding-031-for-your-eyes-only/
December 3, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Major Ravioli
On iZombie, the shipping name of Major, Ravi, and Liv.
December 2, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word basticherbator
bastard + bitch + masturbator
December 2, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word SoLoMo
SoLoMo = social + local + mobile
December 2, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Thankshallowistmas
Thanksgiving + Halloween + Christmas.
December 2, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Captain Charming Floor
On the TV Show Once Upon a Time, Prince Charming and Captain Hook wake up on the ground (floor) near each other a lot. (gif proof: http://vickyvicarious.tumblr.com/post/130385810066/lenfaz-emmasawn-captain-charming-floor) Captain Charming Floor is the fanmade broT3 name for this phenomenon.
November 30, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word lipogram
I filled out an Ask Me Another contestant quiz the other day, and the last questions asks you to write a lipogram omitting o's. I've known the concept for a long time, but I think having written one now, the word for the concept will stay in my head, especially since I ended it with "That's my lip_gram."
Is it not related to liposuction? Lipo means fat, like lipids. Looks like the Greek ancestor was leipogrammátos meaning 'leaving out a letter.' What a difference an e makes.
November 24, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Dasariski
Comedy improv troupe: http://www.dasariski.com/ The name combines the surnames of the three members: Robert DASsie, Rich TalARIco, and Craig CackowoSKI.
November 23, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word sundowning
Just learned this term from this article: http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2015/11/sundowning-seniors-nightfall-delirium.
Our elderly vocabulary is going to keep growing and becoming mainstream for the next 30 years, thanks baby boomers.
November 23, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word one faithful day
I saw this as an eggcorn for one fateful day on Tumblr.
November 22, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word 5
5 "being one more than four" is a spectacular definition, and if it wasn't meant as a reference to the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, it is now. https://youtu.be/xOrgLj9lOwk
November 21, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word OTP
I'm just here to find how three-part portmanteaus appear naturally in the wild. I'm the Jane Goodall of shipping! Observing and cataloguing. I'm not here to judge, though it gets tough when it involves real-life people or incest.
See related terms at OT3.
November 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word SeKaiLu
OT3 from the real-life K-pop group EXO (broken into EXO-K in South Korea and EXO-M in Mainland China): Sehun, Kai, and Lu Han.
November 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word OT3
OTP stands for 'one true pairing', referring to a fan's favorite romantic or platonic couple in all of fiction and real life. OT3 means it's a threesome. OTP and OT3 are likely to be romantic, whereas broTP and brot3 are more clearly platonic. noTP is the opposite of OTP, an unacceptable pairing.
Related list: https://www.wordnik.com/lists/1-word-couple-names
November 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word spemaria
OT3 shipping name from Pretty Little Liars: Spencer x Emily x Aria
November 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word emarianna
OT3 shipping name from Pretty Little Liars: :Emily x Aria x Hanna
November 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word spannily
OT3 shipping name from Pretty Little Liars: :Spencer x Hanna x Emily
November 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word spannaria
OT3 shipping name from Pretty Little Liars: :Spencer x Hanna x Aria
November 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word BriTANicK
A comedy duo made up of Brian and Nick, specifically Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher.
I thought it was Brian, Danny and Nick, but I guess Danny Pudi just makes a cameo in the one video I know them for, which is great and the least appropriate to watch with family members called A Monologue for Three: https://youtu.be/mephJf3-zYE
November 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word smabillion
My personal favorite when discussing an uncountably large number.
November 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word compushency
compulsion+push+urgency, as listed in the Portmanteau Dictionary, Thurner 1950.
November 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Michillinda
Michigan+Illinois+Indiana, as listed in the Portmanteau Dictionary, Thurner 1950.
November 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Texarkana
Texas+Arkansas+Louisiana, as listed in the Portmanteau Dictionary, Thurner 1950.
November 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Optacon
optical+tactile+converter, as listed in the Portmanteau Dictionary, Thurner 1950.
November 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Legolepsy
More information and lists on the logolepsy page.
November 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Lady Godiva
As learned in Series 11 of Only Connect, Lady Godiva is Cockney rhyming slang for a fiver, i.e., £5.
November 16, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word bag of sand
As learned in Series 11 of Only Connect, bag of sand is Cockney rhyming slang for a grand, i.e., £1000.
November 16, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list bher--to-bear-or-carry
Ok, deleted.
November 16, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word sugar caddy
Hey sugar caddy, Hansel needs some sugar in his bowl.
November 13, 2015
TankHughes commented on the user defender61
Welcome! We think Wordnik is neat, too.
If you use Chrome, you can add a Wordnik plugin to search even faster.
Check the 'Community' page to find recent discussions to jump into, or start a very specific list, or just click 'Random word' until your dashboard says you've looked up 26,000 words. That is what I do, apparently...
November 13, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word realpolitik
I read this word in two articles today, so it must be a conspiracy to force me to learn the meaning of the word, and not just let my brain wander and think about apparatchik and beatniks.
November 13, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list bher--to-bear-or-carry
:/ Christopher rather. The Christ-bearer. St. Christopher is famous for carrying a young child across a river on his shoulders, and then, plot twist!, that child is Jesus. Also Christopher probably didn't exist. #Catholicism. I do love saints though.
November 12, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word ampersand
Re: my list of three-part portmanteaus (https://www.wordnik.com/lists/three-toed-portmanteaus), ampersand is made of three or four parts, depending on how you count them. I'm putting it on the list, with an awareness that it's a weak member of the list.
and+per se+and or and+per+se+and
November 10, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word aibohphobia
haaaa.
November 9, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word pussy-gut
U.S. regional (chiefly derogatory). A fat person (esp. a man); (also) a fat stomach, a pot belly. Also in pl. form with sing. concord. Also pussy-gutted, pussy is a variant of pursy, meaning fat-stomached.
November 5, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Morindette
A portmanteau for an area in Northern California, made up of MORaga, OrINDa, and LafayETTE, which phonetically sounds like "More in debt."
November 4, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Lamorinda
A portmanteau name for an area in Northern California made up of LAfayette, MORaga, and OrINDA.
November 4, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Theodosia
That's the trouble with living in a time when portmanteaus are explodingly productive - everything sounds like a blend and every blend can be interpreted in many ways.
An e-piknik, presumably, where we each sit under our own vine and fig tree? (More lyrics from Hamilton).
October 31, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Theodosia
I can't stop listening to the Hamilton soundtrack. Aaron Burr falls in love with a British officer's wife named Theodosia. Eventually, they marry and have a daughter named Theodosia. I love the way he sings this name in "Wait for it".
When little Theodosia grew up and married, she and her husband were reportedly the first couple to honeymoon at Niagara Falls. She died at sea when she was 29. Wikinik.
October 31, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word founder
Just learned this verb-form from the title of a GM Hopkins poem: "The Loss of the Eurydice: Foundered March 24. 1878" I'm trying to find the poem's publication/written date. The ship sunk in 1878, he died in 1889 so It must be sometime between those.
I found the poem because he made up and used daredeath in it. Welcome home, little compound orphan.
October 31, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word alkyd
Labicose.
October 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word alkyd
Labreeding.
October 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list whats-my-favorite-word
Yeah, the almost Solveig page genuinely terrifies me. I appreciate the offer, but I can't afford your insurance policy.
October 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list whats-my-favorite-word
Even more than Carolingian minuscule, I like saying Carolingian thereminuscule, as some sort of musical instrument/alphabet hybrid.
October 28, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list industrial-cockblock
Luxurious greetings and regards to you as well, madmouth.
Wordnik is genderless utopia, but let the record show that I am a pretty lady as part of, and in addition to, my troublemaking activities on Wordnik.
October 28, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word fearful
Very true, rolig, it is an autantonym. Fear used to serve the opposite purpose, describing the frightener and not the frightenee in a sentence like "she fears me." I became aware of this from two pairs of cutthroat variants:
scarecrow and fear-crow (a non-living protector of cornfields)
scarebabe and fear-babe (a bogeyman creature who scares children)
October 28, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word columnas salomonicas
Salamancan columns twist around but stand upright. They are not used for actual structural support, they are adornments. I learned about them in Spain, where they appear in elaborate church altarpieces.
October 28, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list industrial-cockblock
I also tweeted all of the -cock surnames listed in the "Patronymica Brittanica" back in April: https://twitter.com/E_Briannica/status/590396311867817984 They all sound funny but only some of them are genuinely rude.
October 28, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list industrial-cockblock
Amazing wonderful.
October 28, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word chaparral-cock
Yep, from the OED, turn-cock is "A water-works official entrusted with the turning on of the water from the mains to supply-pipes, etc." There are so many industrial -cock words in the OED, it's very distracting.
October 27, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word chaparral-cock
turn-
(No surprise, it's a cutthroat).
October 27, 2015
TankHughes commented on the user CamouflageCat
You're right! There's nothing here. Maybe this is a ghost user account for Halloween.
October 26, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word rape cake
This term (which refers to rape seed) is trying to ruin the good name of cake :(
#triggerwarning
October 26, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Bondgenue
We gotta have a Wordnik Googchat party or something, bilby.
I think if we can all be clever in realtime, we can make the kind of discoveries or potentially destroy the world more efficiently than CERN and the LHC.
October 25, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word onomatopoeiaphobia
Maybe hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophilia, as the opposite of hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia.
October 23, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Bondgenue
The ingenue role in a James Bond movie, coined by Matt Mira in Episode 030 of the James Bonding podcast (October 8, 2015, minute 59).
October 23, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word pig Latin
In "Games of Washington Children" on the Internet Archive (https://archive.org/stream/jstor-658879/658879#page/n33/mode/2up), there is a brief mention of dog Latin (adding -us to the end of most words) and cat Latin (adding -liga to the end of words ending in a vowel, and -aliga,-iliga, -oliga to words ending in consonants).
October 22, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word mollycopter
At least you cop to it, bilby.
As a NorCal girl I like saying hellapad (helipad) and I was briefly in a fake band called Helicopteradactyl. That 'pter-' part is the same Greek flying root.
October 20, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word mollycopter
A portmanteau of mollycoddle and helicopter parenting.
https://twitter.com/Fritinancy/status/656501733011537920
"One of my readers proposed a new word for this unhealthy phenomenon: "mollycopter" (mollycoddle + helicopter)."
October 20, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word biscuit yurble
On Neopets.com, you can adopt unique animals, name them, feed them, play games with them, and 'paint' them with a Neopets paintbrush.
One of the species kind of looks like a bear/lion/hedgehog and is called a yurble.
One of the paintbrushes is called biscuit and makes the animal look like it's made out of cookies. (Neopets is a British company).
Saying biscuit yurble outloud makes me happy.
October 19, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word chitarra
Thanks, Rowlandwithaw! I had a mushroom pizza instead, so I never saw its appearance.
I also got stuck thinking about the Chitauri, the alien warriors that attack New York via a portal in The Avengers.
October 18, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word chitarra
Yesterday I saw Squid Ink Chitarra on a menu in Jack London Square. It was not a lute, it was a food something.
October 18, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word C.H.U.D.
A B-movie released in 1984. Stands for: Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller.
October 16, 2015
TankHughes commented on the user glennbiegon
Hi glennbiegon! You can write your proposal definition for Hoaxwagen in the Discuss section of the Hoaxwagen page. Is this re: the Volkswagen Clean Diesel TDI scandal?
Keep in mind that Wordnik pages are case-sensitive to differentiate between words like March and march. Happy hunting!
October 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Leonard Maltin game
http://dlm.wikia.com/wiki/Leonard_Maltin_Game
October 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word poker mouth
The audio equivalent of a poker face, poker mouth is used to sarcastically describe someone in a betting situation who reveals their weaknesses instead of staying coy about their abilities. Used by Doug Benson in many episodes of the Doug Loves Movies podcast during the betting phase of the Leonard Maltin game.
"Nice poker mouth."
October 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word tradictionary
A spontaneously created portmanteau, coined tonight by my friend Steven W, while I was explaining the difference between Wordnik and traditional dictionaries (tradictionaries).
October 14, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word cispacifically
The term cisatlantic has been used since the 1800s to describe the similarities and differences between people and cities on either side of the Atlantic Ocean. But! It's not as fun to say as cispacific.
October 14, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word soft prank
A prank that's not that funny, but is not mean-spirited either. A light prank that doesn't hurt and slightly amuses. Mentioned in the opening minutes of the October 11, 2015 Doug Loves Movies podcast episode. http://art19.com/shows/dlm/episodes/9170001b-ba38-4459-a565-e1590fdb88d3
Doug Benson encourages future audiences to give standing ovations to his guests as they come on stage, even though it's a audio medium and none of the listeners will know.
October 14, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word lexicographer
The full definition from Samuel Johnson's Dictionary (1755)
"lexicographer: A writer of dictionaries; a harmless drudge, that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words."
October 9, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word oats
From Samuel Johnson's Dictionary (1755)
"oats: A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people."
October 9, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word algebraic
Algebraic! https://youtu.be/vpG1nR0p0OE
October 8, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word crepuscular
One morning, my brother brought home a box of Krispy Kreme donuts, and left them on the kitchen table.
My mother and I sat at the table and looked out the window, talking about birds and how smart crows and ravens are, and how when I see a group of them around sunset, I think of the word crepuscular because they are active at dusk.
My mother is a visual learner so I wrote the word down for her to see. We finished talking, and left the room.
My brother came back and saw the note on the table. He thought it was a comment card for the donuts. He assumed it was a compliment, as in "Thank you for the donuts. They were very... crepuscular."
Now crepuscular makes me think of corvids and donuts.
October 8, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word roman à clef
Wall Street Journal (May 27, 2011) "As Slang Changes More Rapidly, Expert Has to Watch His Language"
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704281504576331494075796656
October 7, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Nietzsche
I wish I had a reason to say Nietzsche niche. /niˈtʃə niʃ/
October 7, 2015
TankHughes commented on the user ralex7474
Hi ralex7474! A good word for an unfortunate concept.
You can put your proposed meaning straight into the Discuss area of the courtalize page on Wordnik. If the word catches on and gains additional examples, you can proudly point to your first timestamped record of it.
Verb on.
October 7, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list fictional-acronyms
The WABAC machine from Rocky & Bullwinkle looks like an acronym, but I can't find anything that shows it really ever stood for anything. The wiki says it's on analogy with UNIVAC, sort of a portmanteau, or just a stylizing of way back with a machine-looking spelling.
We could make an acronym, make a backronym for this fake acronym (fauxcronym?), call it an anachronym. Maybe one of the A's could be anachronistic or animated.
October 7, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word fulfill
(See discussion of American fulfill vs British fulfil popularity at the single-l fulfil page.)
October 7, 2015
TankHughes commented on the user NYDenizen
¡Bienvenidos!
I recommend:
-hitting 'Random Word' often
-checking the Community page for fresh comments and lists
-adding your two cents any time you have two cents to add
-using brackets in comments to hyperlink to the words you're discussing
:)
October 7, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word dementianal
Urban Dictionary and my uncle use this word to describe someone with dementia.
Relatedly, he's described someone who does not appear to have dementia as non-dementianal. I thought it was a humorous construction, like calling Target Targét, but it appears that my uncle is serious.
October 7, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word lamé
Minimal pairs with diacritical marks: lamé & lame, resumé & resume.
October 5, 2015
TankHughes commented on the user Harrietu
Hellow Harrietu! Excellent missing word. You can write your information in the Discuss area of the okayable page itself, so that future travellers can learn from you.
Also keep in mind that Wordnik is case-sensitive (Polish vs polish). Enjoy!
October 5, 2015
TankHughes commented on the user Helphand
Hi Helphand! You can add your McUrbia and agriculture citations directly into the Discuss section of their respective pages to educate future word hunters. Keep in mind that Wordnik is case-sensitive.
Thanks for the new information!
October 5, 2015
TankHughes commented on the user arkady
Hi arkady! You can put that information in the Discuss area of the clearning page for future word hunters.
Do you pronounce the vowels in the first syllable like clean or learn?
If I saw that word without explanation, I'd think it involved cleaning and learning, a class you take while doing household chores.
October 4, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Napoleon
His name is associated with a pastry, a brandy, and a short person psychological issue.
October 3, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word sharklike
♫sharklike a man, tark like a man, walk like a man my son ♫
-(Frankie Valli and the Four Sea-Fins)
October 2, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Tenochtitlan
"The name of the city derives from tetl meaning rock, nochtli, the prickly-pear cactus and tlan, the locative suffix. Of similar origin is the term Tenocha which the Méxica sometimes called themselves and the name of their quasi-legendary priest-leader Tenoch."
-(http://www.ancient.eu/Tenochtitl%C3%A1n/)
The entry for Itzcoatl has its etymology, but Tenochtitlan was lacking.
October 2, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word warth
The examples are typos of wrath and warmth, and dialect versions of worth.
But I would drive a Ford Warth, if it was fuel-efficient.
October 2, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word PoPo
When I lived in North Portland in 2007, we humorously referred to the local police as the NoPo PoPo.
October 1, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list morphologically-intriguing-words
Re: stick-to-itiveness: On the Teddy Shapiro episode of the Howl.fm "You Know Me" podcast, his wife is described as having a getting things done-i-tude.
September 30, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Triton
A motorcycle made with parts from Triumph and Norton, two vintage British motorcycle brands.
September 30, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Grumph
A motorcycle made with parts from Triumph and Greeves, two vintage British motorcycle brands.
September 30, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word fulfil
Hi digik! If you put fulfill and fulfil into the Google Ngram Viewer (https://books.google.com/ngrams) you'll see that over time, the double-ll version has overtaken the single-l version.
If you toggle the corpus from English to American English or British English, you'll see that fulfil seems to be chiefly British, and fulfill is American, and that the American spelling is seen more commonly overall. But if I was writing a paper for a class in England and I saw the red spellcheck squiggly line come up, I'd ask a local.
September 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word auth
Back-formation is one of the lovely ways that new words enter the lexicon!
"Normally", words start short and get longer, cat->cats, talk->talked, follow->unfollow, celebrate->celebration.
Sometimes, when we see the longer version of the word, we assume it came from a shorter word and use that shorter form instead. That's back-formation. Escalator, evaluation, and baby-sitter all existed in English before escalate, evaluate, and babysit were formed from those longer words.
Jocular back-formation is common. The excellent book "The Ways of Language: A Reader" (Pflug, 1967) includes an article with this very example. Something like: "In the future, will writers auth books? Will boats anch in the harbor?"
The answer: if you like saying it and you find it useful, and others like saying it and find it useful, it will stick around.
September 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word coulrophobia
Trigger warning: there are pictures of clowns at the bottom of the coulrophobia page.
September 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word 바보
This says babo in Hangul (Korean). Babo means a foolish or stupid person, in a neutral or malicious way:
http://www.sweetandtastytv.com/blog/2012/04/17/blog-for-kwow-45-whats-babo
September 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word name-father
Same as namesake? Name-father is a creepy new term to me.
September 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Feague
Hey dacalberto!
There's more information about this word with lowercase-f feague page. Wordnik is case-sensitive. Happy word hunting!
September 28, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word flip off
In this confession bear meme, (http://9gag.com/gag/aGRAgdG) the person uses the term middle fingered instead of flipped off. You can also give someone the bird. Other names for middle finger gestures?
September 26, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word gliff
It's pronounced jliff, not gliff. #dictionarytroll
September 25, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Megalith
Megalith is a 10-year project recently announced by Jeff Lindsay that I feel will be incredibly influential in shaping the world 10 years from now. I'm calling it now. Mark the date.
https://youtu.be/xFG7xqCVFjw
September 25, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word webhook
"So, what exactly is a webhook? A webhook (also called a web callback or HTTP push API) is a way for an app to provide other applications with real-time information."
https://sendgrid.com/blog/whats-webhook/
September 25, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word wake down
My sleepy college roommate once said, "Why do we have to get up in the morning? Why can't we... get down?"
September 25, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word shot and killed
One time in high school, my friend Resham fell asleep while taking notes in class. Her pen continued to move for a while. After class, we attempted to decipher her unconscious notes.
We figured out that "?!+k" meant shot and killed. I enjoy using the term ?!+k in my own shorthand. It's aesthetically pleasing, but it's hard to spread awareness of it because it involves introducing people to the concept of unconscious note-taking.
September 24, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word FLUDD
In the video game Super Mario Sunshine, FLUDD is a sentient water cannon that Mario uses to wash away evil goo that covers the island of Delfino. F.L.U.D.D. stands for "Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device."
September 23, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word sizzle
My brother uses this term to mean 'get a song stuck in someone else's head." If you sizzle someone, you've given them your earworm. It's mostly done intentionally, humming a tune near someone, but it might also just be stuck in your head, and giving it to someone else exorcises it from you. Or it gets the two of you stuck in a self-reinforcing loop.
You can sizzle yourself if you pick up an object and a song gets stuck in your head. Working in an energy-efficient appliances incentive program, I saw General Electric and Frigidaire a lot. Every new application for the first month, I'd get sizzled by Insane in the Membrane by Cypress Hill "General Electric, ey the lights are blinking" or Two Sleepy People "picking on a wishbone from the Frigidaire."
Feel free to use this term if you find it useful.
September 22, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word thighbrow
I don't understand what give this value, but I'm excited I have a new two body part word to add to my collection: https://www.wordnik.com/lists/two-body-parts
September 22, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word -
This topic interests me, but I don't have a good answer to your specific question. Maybe mobile typing difficulty is being counteracted by auto-fill results, so you type in sticktoitiveness and it recommends stick-to-it-iveness. What I offer is a historical perspective on writing.
Before doing an MA that involved learning about English compounding 1000-present, I thought there was a natural progression of compound orthography (compound word -> compound-word -> compoundword). But! That's not true. Orthography does not tell if if something is a compound. English writing styles have changed for many reasons.
This is a casual recounting, but true in general:
First there was scriptio continua, no spaces between any words, which helped to save on paper (vellum) which was costly, but hard to read, and on top of that they used minims.
Then when Irish monks were taking dictation, they didn't know what the words meant, so they made spaces between the words, based on the way the head monk spoke them.
When French was quite in fashion, hyphenating became popular in phrases and compounds.
German has had some spelling reforms to include MORE hyphenation, to help tourists who are intimidated by space-less compound strings in public signage.
Some very well-established compounds have always had a space (ice cream) or hyphen (co-op) to help with legibility.
Many phrases have several co-existing variants that vary depending on the style guide.
Hyphens definitely matter in 3-part compounds, where the middle word could be linked to either the 1st or 3rd word, e.g., "AP interviews lion hunting dentist." https://twitter.com/katz/status/643445960169943041
September 19, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Epcot
Looks like this is becoming the most common way to capitalize the international portion of Walt Disney World in Florida, home to that big sphere known as Spaceship Earth.
It's an acronym. EPCOT stands for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow."
September 18, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word bearward
I hope my life is going in a bearward direction.
September 18, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word floccinaucinihilipilification
You'll find dictionary definitions here: floccinaucinihilipilification
September 18, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word pumpkin
I used this term on AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) to indicate the time I really really no joke had to stop talking to my friend and go to bed. (In reference to Cinderella's midnight deadline).
"FYI, pumpkin is 11:30 tonight. I have a test first thing tomorrow."
September 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word lookupable
From the Wordnik Kickstarter: http://kck.st/1US7Dra
"About this project
We want to find a million words that haven't been included in major English dictionaries and give them each a home on the Internet.
At Wordnik we believe that every word of English deserves to be lookupable!
The internet is, for all practical purposes, infinite. Wordnik can and should include every English word that's ever been used."
September 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word looking
The king of toilets!!
September 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word power ballad
Looking up the Google Book Ngrams for this, I found one instance in 1887. However, that example isn't really about "power ballads", it's describing the "power (that) ballads" had over the people:
" Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun mentions in one of his words, the instance of a person who “believed that if a man were permitted to make all the ballads, he need not care who should make the laws of a nation “ *-a passage that has been frequently quoted to exemplify the great power ballads exercised over the public mind, more especially, it may be added, on such burning questions as religion and politics.” "
-The Broadside Ballads of Devonshire and Cornwall: With Notes as to Their Collection, &c
By Thomas Nadauld Brushfield
Otherwise, this first appears in 1985 in books about song writing, then Billboard magazine.
September 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word blerd
"It would be a long time before the word “blerd,” a portmanteau of the words black and nerd, would enter into my vocabulary, and when I did start to see it sprinkled among Myspace profiles and Livejournal groups, the word and its emerging popularity didn’t bring me any relief."
September 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word soi-disant
@BCDreyer just used this on Twitter and I didn't know what it meant.
https://twitter.com/BCDreyer/status/644183607540625408
"And New York, the soi-disant center of the civilized universe, is not, by a long shot, off the hook."
September 16, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word CONMEBOL
CONMEBOL is a regional fútbol federation. The name comes from CONfederacíon sudaMEricana de fútBOL.
September 16, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Filoli
An historical horticultural landmark near San Francisco: http://www.filoli.org/
Filoli is short for FIght, LOve, LIve: "Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.”
September 16, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Ohaton
A company found on the Wikipedia list of portmanteaus "Ohaton, from the Osler, Hammond and Nanton company."
September 16, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word how Can I hear the word pronounced
Hi tlaufen!
Wordnik pronunciations are currently limited to American Heritage DIctionary robot man voice, but if you're dying to hear hippopotomonstrosesquipedialiophobia outloud, here's me saying it a few minutes ago: https://soundcloud.com/tankhughes/hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliop
September 16, 2015
TankHughes commented on the user lanamcentire@mail.com
Hi lanamcentire!
Wordnik search is case-sensitive. You'll find the most crappy information on the lowercase crap page, not so much on cRAP or crAp. This matters for capitonyms, words that change if capitalized (like Polish/polish, Herb/herb, March/march, Catholic/catholic, etc).
If you want, you can write in the "Discuss" area of capital-C Crap and populate that page with its own crap.
September 16, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word vade mecum
I consider my laptop to be a modern vade mecum. http://tankhughes.com/?p=465
September 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word qué mono
"Qué mono" is the way to say "How cute!" in Spanish. I like it because if mono is treated like a noun instead of an adjective, it could mean "WHAT MONKEY?"
September 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word truthiness
The new Howl.fm podcast 'Words of the Years" dicusses the inclusion of truthiness in 2005 by the American Dialect Society and in 2006 by Merriam-Webster. http://howl.fm/audio/playlists/4163/words-of-the-years
"Stephen Colbert's word for truth based on intuition not evidence or reason."
September 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word grammar Nazi
...and Soup nazi! Yes, and the NFL has the Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pirates of the Caribbean maybe belongs to the list, with their warm and fuzzy modern animatronic public image.
September 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word ghostbuster
I love the skepticism embedded in the Wiktionary definition.
September 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Kickstarter
Go support the Wordnik Kickstarter! http://kck.st/1US7Dra
Here's why I support Wordnik: http://www.encyclopediabriannica.com/?p=105
September 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list chocolate-phrases
chocolate leg
September 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word chocolate leg
In 2008, Dutch futból player Robbin van Persie scored a goal with his right leg (his nondominant foot), which he called his chocolate leg. I remember it meaning something like: it looks about the same as a normal leg, but it has less content, it's a little hollow inside.
“I know I can shoot with my right leg. Of course my left one’s better but it’s down to your belief in the power of your wrong leg. In Holland we call it your chocolate leg.”
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/74836/Robin-joy-at-his-hot-chocolate
September 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word tone-deaf
The official definitions above do not include the sense of "an inappropriate response to a situation which does not take into account how that response will look in that particular context or in the bigger picture."
Examples of tone-deaf responses by politicians to the Charleston shooting here: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-tone-deaf-responses-to-the-charleston-shooting-have-been-downright-baffling-2015-6
(trigger warning: references to gun violence)
September 14, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word friable
"The most challenging part “was the emotional intensity of recovering the fossils themselves,” says Elliott. “There was so much material and it was friable and delicate. And every day, we realized that we were pulling out another 40 or 60 fragments of this thing that was going to be incredible.”
from the Sept 10, 2015 Atlantic article describing the discoveries of Homo naledi in South Africa. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/homo-naledi-rising-star-cave-hominin/404362/
September 12, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word I could care less
http://tankhughes.com/?p=1649
September 11, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word in broad daylight
This phrase is used to express shock at something happening (crime, nudity, drunken behavior) in the middle of the day, instead of at night, when the sky is dark and people are more comfortable with unpunished crimes happening. As if the sun should function as a security camera and prevent all crime.
I would love to see if there are early examples (early 1800s) that only use the phrase to pin down the time of day.
https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=in+broad+daylight&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cin%20broad%20daylight%3B%2Cc0
September 10, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list the-end--1
They all end in eth (ð) except for absinthe which ends in theta (θ).
They're all verbs except absinthe and scythe.
Absinthe is a recent addition (1842) from French.
September 9, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Sinecure
Hi Lilt. Capitalization matters on Wordnik. You'll notice all the Examples and Tweets on this page have Sinecure with a capital S. The word sinecure has a full page of information when written in lowercase.
Case-sensitive words are called capitonyms. Polish vs polish, March vs march, I vs i.
Happy word searching!
September 9, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word grammar Nazi
Thinking about a list with grammar Nazi, feminazi, software pirate and similarly less-severe villains. Minnesota Vikings, maybe.
September 9, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word quiddity
I feel like this is my stretch of English language highway to keep tidy for the year. So far, so good.
September 9, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list mountweazels
I forgot the word for these! I was reminded today in an episode of The Allusionist, a very fine etymological podcast by Helen Zaltzman. http://www.theallusionist.org/
One missing from this list is jungftak: a Persian bird, the male of which had only one wing, on the right side, and the female only one wing, on the left side.
September 8, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word talmbout
'Hell You Talmbout' is a powerful 2015 protest song by Janelle Monae & Wondaland Records. You can hear it on soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/wondalandarts/hell-you-talmbout
Talmbout is a shortened version of talkin' 'bout, a shorter version of 'talking about.' Phonetically, the n in talkin becomes an m in anticipation of the b. Your mouth is open for the a, then you close it, and suddenly you're making a b. Very convenient.
September 8, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list rubber-phrases
The Rubber Room. - A 2010 documentary about rooms full of teachers who are waiting to have an official hearing for misconduct in the classroom. They can no longer teach, but they are tenured so they have to be paid, and they must spend all day in one room with other teachers in the same situation for weeks or up to 10 years.
The term rubber room also refers to padded-wall rooms in psychiatric hospitals.
September 8, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word prodical
I don't think it's a sicnifigant problem.
September 4, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list fans-and-superfans
A lot of musical examples here too: http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/08/beliebers-directioners-barbz-whats-with-pops-fanbase-nickname-craze/260798/
September 3, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word biblical
Daily Express headline on September 3, 2015, as tweeted by JK Rowling (https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/639128612172599296)
"Chaos as 'biblical' migrant crisis spreads across Europe"
Biblical often means
1. on an epic scale "of biblical proportions"
2. euphemism for a sexual relationship "he knew her in the biblical sense"
Neither is the linguistic legacy the Bible was probably going for.
September 2, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word foudroyant
English -yant words from French: abeyant, buoyant, chatoyant, clairvoyant, flamboyant, foudroyant.
September 2, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word burglarious
I thought my favorite burglar-related word would forever be (Sp.) ladrón, but I was wrong. That word is uproariously burglarious.
September 1, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word farch
As of this year, I say farch when I want to swear but the situation does not allow for it, or does not quite call for it. A personal minced oath. It was not an intentional use at first, but more of a long drawn out faaaaaa...rch when a situation is slowly revealed to be more terrible than previously anticipated.
August 31, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list naphthenic-acid-fraction-compounds
True! None of the dictionaries Wordnik pulls from are technical dictionaries like Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary. My day job involves chemical reports, so I made a list of unique terms I've come across through that: https://wordnik.com/lists/editing-technical-chemical-reports
Few of them have dictionary entries, but they have clickable pages. You can add your own definition in the Comments section to help future Wordniks interested in naphtha.
August 31, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word pauldron
I was unaware that cauldron had any cousins, but here it is.
August 28, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word baver
Acknowledgment appreciated, @FuriousPeng.
-@TankHughes
August 28, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word password frustration
You said it, bilby. And what's wrong with clearing the front page of international spam in the process?
August 28, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list p--f--compounds
Nooooo... It's my own self-made DaVinci Code National Treasure hunt, and it's slowly murdering me. I haven't left myself enough clues. I do too many weird things with language to narrow down that it might be.
It could be song lyrics, it could be Spoonerized, it could be an innovation on a compound, it could be non-English, there are just too many possibilities. I like how big this list has gotten, though. Wordniks are swell folks.
August 27, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list to-eat--or-not-to-eat
spaghetti strap
August 26, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word humpiest
If you'd like to ruin the heart-wrenchingly romantic song "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds, please think of this word when you next hear it.
August 25, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word trap card
In trading card games (namely Yu-Gi-Oh!), a card you place face down on the board so the other player cannot see what it is, but it can be brought into play when certain conditions are met. For example, your opponent thinks they are attacking you undefended, but they fall into your trap and you crush them.
Used in the phrases "you just activated my trap card!" and now "you have triggered/set off my trap card!"
August 25, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word baver
Busy baver.
Baver dam.
Eager baver.
Not the sam.
August 25, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word put your leg in the fire
Brought this up a few times yesterday and here's the best answer:
A merger between put your feet to the fire as a high-stakes testing environment, and add another log to the fire meaning to add a new idea to the mix.
August 25, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word omoplata
For a moment, I thought post-temporal meant that omoplata was a time-travelling fishbone. Then I remembered there are temporal lobes of the brain. It's a boring non-time-jumping fishbone.
August 24, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word put your leg in the fire
I heard this repeatedly in a meeting this morning, used like stick your neck out in the context of volunteering to do QA between three websites. Before someone said that, I said "I know I'll probably kick myself for mentioning this, but..." so maybe kick primed a leg-based sacrificial idiom? Is it a translation or corporate jargon or a mixed metaphore?
August 24, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word lovat
Lovat or leave it?
August 21, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word paper-and
This can't be right.
August 20, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list fictional-acronyms
I guess I was thinking of acronyms that go under the radar (ha!) and that aren't immediately recognizable as acronyms from the sound of them. Most (if not all) seem like backronyms.
LCARS is a hybrid, part initialism. L-CARS. like T-Mobile, b-boy, or the Animaniacs referring to Dr. Scratchansniff as a p-sychiatrist.
August 20, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word gregueria
I learned about these in my Spanish Lit class in Granada! My favorite was something like ... Remember well that the first swords were held by angels.
August 19, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word wug
This is a wug.
Now there is another one.
There are two of them.
There are two ____.
August 19, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word collarless
Do collarless green sheep sleep furiously as well?
August 19, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Uncle Fucker's Chucklehut
A fictional stereotypical comedy club name. The point is to make fun of the over-the-top names a lot of comedy clubs have. Real ones: Rooster T. Feathers, Laugh Factory, Acme Comedy Club, Wisecrackers, Zanies, Helium, Hyena's, FunnyBone, Hilarities, Go Bananas, etc. Presumably during the 1980s comedy boom, a lot more comedy clubs popped up, and the multitude meant they were more likely to have ridiculous names.
Kevin Pollak uses the term a lot during his video podcast interviews on the Kevin Pollak Chat Show. He attributes it to another comedian, whose name escapes me.
August 19, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word spunktrumpet
Never apologize for creative swearing, ry. Jennifer Lawrence recently swore up a storm for charity on Conan, and my favorite of her impromptu expletives sounded like steak twat. https://youtu.be/PlTuiW7oTW0 I love the dismay of those around her. Fuck 'em.
I just wondered if something had popularized it lately, since it's showing up on Twitter and Urban Dictionary.
August 18, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word clarify
Oh god, I never would have thought of clarify as a synonym of defecate. #buttertrauma
August 18, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Waldemar
I've never known a Waldemar
I never hope to see one
But I can tell you anyhar
I'd rather see than be one.
August 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list •open-list-madeupical-collective-nouns
a murder of pilcrows is great, as is a fling of cow pies.
My cousin enjoys: a smug of Prii.
August 14, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word spunktrumpet
Was this used on a TV show or in a movie recently? Seems to be spiking among young'uns on Twitter.
August 14, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word vibrator
Outside of industrial settings, vibrator means sex toy. Only Wiktionary includes that definition.
August 14, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list what-the-dickens--1
HaHA! I affect the universe!! *mad scientist background lightning*
August 14, 2015
TankHughes commented on the user sandyjmc11books
That's a lovely new word, Sandy. If you copy your comment and put in the Comments area of the empty page for seafloorese, you'll be helping future visitors to learn the meaning of that word in context. Same for ostracon.
August 13, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word chuzzle
Ooh! cheatlaw is a cutthroat, as are lackwit, puzzle-wit, shatter-wit, wantwit, and our own (well, qms') fictional adventurer, Ernest Bafflewit: https://wordnik.com/lists/ernest-bafflewit--1 This bodes well, Thanks slumry and ruzuzu for not forcing me to wait post-commute for this knowledge.
August 13, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word weakfish
This word is an opportunity to expand your insult vocabulary, on analogy with weaksauce.
August 13, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word chuzzle
Martin Chuzzlewit is the eponymous protagonist of a Dickens' novel. Is Chuzzlewit a cutthroat? Seems like it. What does chuzzle mean? It looks like a frequentative verb, like guzzle comes from gust (to taste, savor).
Chuzzle is now a match 3 online game, so it's harder to search for academic answers.
Chuzzle -> choose? Martin Choosewit? Did Dickens make up chuzzle, or will I find it in the OED tonight?
August 13, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word dykon
Not a radish.
August 12, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word mistify
The irrigation systems at grocery stores mistify me.
August 12, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Black Panther
Also the name of the Marvel superhero Black Panther, real name T'Challa, who is the prince (then king) of Wakanda.
August 12, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word carmine
Where in the World is Carmine Sandiego?
August 11, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word and taking it home in a snug wee basket
Awwwwwwwwww <3
August 11, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word TankHughes
I started Monday Comics in January 2010, along with a lot of other projects (like tagging convowel on Wordnik). It's the one new year's I've taken seriously as an impetus for a fresh start. I started the comic because I had a lot of mediocre jokes & ideas that I was waiting on to ripen, but they weren't ripening, they were just taking up brainspace. By posting rough drafts of their potential, I could let them go and make room for more (and possibly better) jokes & ideas. Thus: I keep doing it. It keeps everything moving. I have pages and pages of unpublished ideas and they are all terrible and I try to keep them quarantined from the public.
TankHughes comes from my last name, Hughes, and my love of the WWII tank aesthetic. The combination came from a typo during an AIM chat in high school. Additionally, I like that Tank Hughes sounds very tough and militaristic, but if you say it outloud, it's a cute baby voice thanking you. One time, comedian Doug Benson said it outloud and the whole audience got it: http://tankhughes.com/?p=619
Thank you for asking. Why are you curious?
August 11, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word jards
Nobody wants to get kicked in the jards.
Somebody should make a horse anatomy list, they have so many unique terms.
August 11, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list all-that-hoo-ha
hootenanny?
August 11, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list not-quite-the-real-thang
MacGuffin
August 11, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word unwieldily
An appropriately unwieldy word.
August 10, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list wordnik-word-list
SOME FULL ANAGRAMS:
Drink Ow.
Ink-Word.
Dork Win.
Work Din.
Kind Row.
Rid Know.
Ink-word's my favorite. (It's a cutthroat).
August 10, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list anagrams-for-wordnik
Word I Ink <3
August 10, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word huehuehue
kk (ㅋㅋ) in Korean.
August 7, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Moonerspism
Spoonerism spoonerized,
August 6, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list hocus-pocus-i-see-a-crocus
dilly-dally
August 5, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word ornithocoprophilous
adj. Birdshit-loving? Used to describe plants that grow well in bird manure-rich soil.
ornithocaprophilous would be birdgoat-loving.
August 4, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word lap the pace car
It feels like this should be an idiom but it isn't... yet.
August 3, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list chelonians
Do we have a list of things that sound like alien races? Chelonian belongs there.
August 3, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word glass cannon
A term (I've seen mostly in gaming) for a weapon or character that has a lot of offense, but very little defense. Hard to defend against, but easy to defeat.
July 31, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list the-masses--the-common-or-ordinary-people
villains publicans peasants townies plebes proles denizens citizens tax-payers
July 30, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list jaw--1
mandible, mandibular, TMJ, lockjaw
July 30, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word epanorthosis
That was so incredible I need hyperbole, no, epanorthosis, to describe how it felt.
July 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list overlapping-open-compounds
No trouble, vendingmachine. I hadn't thought about lists clinically until you brought it up. It is an interesting situation, but I'm not sure what would wish for to change it.
Also, I make foolish puns on a weekly basis and should not be feared: http://tankhughes.com/?cat=519
July 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word barrad
I found more hat lists using toque and fedora.
https://www.wordnik.com/lists/hats-and-headgear
July 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list overlapping-open-compounds
This is under "New Lists" on the community page, so it is new, but it's true after they fall off of that list, lists are timeless and their changes are only traceable through "Recently Listed Words"
A space station wagon sounds like a sister product to the Winnebago from Spaceballs.
July 28, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word technically beautiful
That is a STUNNINGLY bad slogan.
Ottawa: You have to go there (for work).
Ottawa: Conveniently located near an airport.
July 28, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list shape-words--1
napiform = shaped like a turnip.
July 24, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list fantastic-places
Bialya from DC.
July 23, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Johnlock Conspiracy
This is the fan theory that the writers of BBC Sherlock have always intended, from the beginning, that John Watson and Sherlock Holmes (shipping name Johnlock) end up in a romantic relationship on the show.
July 23, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list loud-phrases
Firm believers in the Johnlock Conspiracy on BBC Sherlock call all of the subtle costume and set design choices (e.g. green carnation wallpaper) the loudest subtext in television.
July 23, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Benelux
I want to make a list for Benelux and Delmarva but what else would go there? Portmanteau places? Three words squished together? turducken hmmm. The croc-gu-phant was a favorite book of mine: http://www.amazon.com/Croc-gu-phant-Sarah-Ball-Books-Sara/dp/086724125X
July 23, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word tyuyamunite
I misspelled tyuyamunite in an adult spelling bee a few years ago. It was pronounced as "T"-"U"-ya-moon-ite, something a gangster would say. I never had a chance. It's named after Tyuya-Muyun, the city in Kyrgyzstan where it was discovered. I'm always hoping it will come up in conversation.
July 23, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list wedge-schwa
Sure, why not!
I hurt my foot and I'm trying to keep my brain occupied.
I'm avoiding instances of schwar in things like other and under but otherwise, have at it.
July 22, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Puddleglum
Puddleglum is a marshwiggle.
July 22, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word chin-music
Another definition is a pitch in baseball that is high and inside and makes the batter back up so they don't get hit in the face. It's chin music because it's so close, they can hear the air whoosh by. Sometimes it's intentional if the batter has been crowding the plate. Sometimes it's just a wild pitch.
July 22, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list no--nay--never
bilby Wordnik doesn't seem to like apostrophes in headwords.
July 19, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list perty
Sweet. I've had a soft spot for Perth ever since the demonym episode of the now defunct Lingua Franca podcast. People from Perth can be called Perthlings.
July 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list perty
Perth? Or must it sound like pert?
July 16, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Professor Stealwater
A villain who has caused the California drought, as created on a Comedy Bang Bang podcast episode in October 2014, "Y'all Heard Any of These Names Before?" http://www.earwolf.com/episode/yall-heard-any-of-these-names-before/
July 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word plutography
See also: Rich Kids of Instagram: http://richkidsofinstagram.tumblr.com/
July 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word I think I broke Wordnik
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Broke the internet.
I think that's the new American dream, so congratulations to vendingmachine and alexz.
July 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Ba-dum tsss
I'm looking forward to a future when a robo-stand-up comic ends their joke with DRUM DRUM CYMBAL.
July 14, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list banes
I am a fan of Anatoly Liberman's post on tautological compounds, which includes henbane as perhaps meaning death death: http://blog.oup.com/2006/06/between_beriber/
July 14, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word giggle loop
re: gigglement
The harder one resists the urge to laugh, the funnier the idea of what would have happened HAD you laughed becomes, resulting in an even stronger urge to laugh. Coined by the British sitcom Coupling."
Coupling ran on BBC2 from 2000-2004. The Episode in question is from Series 1, Episode 3: "Sex, Death and Nudity", which aired in May 2000.
July 14, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word predrank
I heard this more as prefunk or prefunc during college in 2005. Related: disco nap.
July 13, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word periodic symbol words
I forgot I did this.
July 10, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word yonderblown
2004 on Urban Dictionary: "To be utterly obliterated to the point that you need assistance in your decision making."
It sounds like it should have been made two centuries earlier, and related to wanderlust, but it just means very drunk.
July 10, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word languaging
Well I am a quack.
July 8, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word languaging
Resynergizing the instrument of languaging to pulse the overall scope of the work and leverage versioned deliverables.
July 8, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word languaging
I... just deleted my own comment like a damn fool.
tl;dr Languaging is gross corporate jargon speak. I heard this yesterday in a team-building meeting:
"That languaging has judgment in it."
July 8, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word dux
My brother was part of the Dead Language Society in high school, and I memorized the phrase on the back of his shirt:
"Sibili si ergo, fortibuses inero. Nobili demis trux: sewatis enim? Cowsendux!"
It's nonsense in Latin, but if you say it out loud it's a dumb catchy poem that you've made a suite for in your permanent memory banks.
July 8, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word erinmckean
Wahoo! champagne and cream puffs for everyone!!
July 1, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list occupational-hazards--1
gamekeeper's thumb is the same injury as skier's thumb.
June 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word tmesis
In English, tmesis mostly happens when the inserted word is placed in the syllable right before the primary stress syllable:
fan-TAS-tic, so fan-frickin-TAS-tic.
But sometimes right before the morpheme boundary is a more natural place to break up the word:
un-/be-LIEV-a-ble, so: un-frickin-/be-LIEV-a-ble OR un-/be-frickin-LIEV-a-ble.
In English, compounds normally have a primary stress on the first word, so tmesis doesn't work out so well.
*BASE-frickin-ball, *FIRE-damn-fighter, *PAN-da-damn-cub.
June 26, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list sounds-of-silence
Excellent input, team!
I was thinking about silence because of an episode of the Comedy Bang Bang podcast where their 'intern' Gino Lombardi is supposed to quietly provide water for the guests then leave, but ends up co-hosting the episode. When reminded he should be quiet, Gino invokes 'podcast silence' but then continues to talk: http://comedybangbang.wikia.com/wiki/Podcast_Silence
June 26, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word disspelling
Would another example be Oblivia Neutron Bomb for the star of Xanadu?
June 25, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word plinth
Okay okay, I have a new answer for you, ruzuzu. Put the plinth down, don't hurt your back.
You: "Also, how do you feel about the word plinth?"
Me: "It's alright, but I wouldn't put it on a pedestal."
(See also: rimshot)
June 23, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list plosives-from-front-to-back
I'm not sure how to answer that, ruzuzu. Are you getting me a plinth for my birthday?
I've never thought much about plinths, but I hope that there are Corinthian plinths somewhere, and absinthe labyrinths.
June 23, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word bubblegum
Bubblegum was not initially a flavor, it just described the kind of gum it is. What flavor is bubblegum? Pink sugar?
June 22, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list clothing-missing-parts
I don't have a pair of seatless chainsaw trousers right now vendingmachine, but they sound like part of a Wallace & Gromit caper, so I'll look into it.
A hoodless hoodie is like dehydrated water. Why define it by the thing it doesn't have and therefore is not? Hoods make the hoodie. There are other zip-up pull-over sweater/jacket names available.
June 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list clothing-missing-parts
Woo! This is grand. This list only exists because I wore a strapless bra yesterday. #BehindTheList
June 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list secret-club
Speak, friend, and enter.
Scott Pilgrim clip showing secret passwords so hip they're easy to break: https://youtu.be/rX_F2YYUUMQ
June 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word jhatka
I read the etymology text wrong several times. See how you do.
June 12, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word gimme pig
An eggcorn for guinea pig in the test subject sense, as in "gimme that, I'll try it out."
June 12, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word steganography
Last year I couldn't remember this word, and tried to figure out what my brain meant by "like cryptography, but also dinosaurs."
(See stegosaurus)
June 10, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word inner momologue
That voice that tells you to sit up straight and press your shirts and heat the plates in the oven before serving a fancy dinner. It sounds like your mom, but it only represents the critical parts of your mom that focus on how you should appear and behave in polite company, not the lovingkindness.
June 9, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list what-superheroes-are-made-of
Nth metal is from the planet Thanagar (DC universe), where Hawkman and Hawkgirl are from. It's sort of like iron.
Should mithril be here, or is Middle Earth fantasy too far from superheroics?
June 9, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word DSNA
DSNA can also stand for the Dictionary Society of North America: http://www.dictionarysociety.com/
June 9, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word hiberdating
It sounds like you have a cold.
May 30, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word potluck
I'm disappointed every time I go to a potluck where there are no potstickers.
May 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word bitcoin
internet money?
May 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word byre
"Where you put the cows." - Erin McKean
May 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list words-that-lost-me-spelling-bees
I'm glad I can help with the healing, ruzuzu. I carried around my camoflague mistake for a long time.
May 28, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word world suck
Also written as worldsuck. The online community of Nerdfighteria, home to the Nerd Fighters, has established the Foundation to Decrease World Suck. http://fightworldsuck.org/.
It's a curious compound, maybe related like world peace, using suck as an mass noun.
May 22, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word pack-duck
Is there a list of non-animal objects with animal names? This and frogs from clothing go on that list.
May 21, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Fragonard
This sounds like a great insult. "Unhand me, thou simpering Fragonard!" but then I look up his paintings that have soft light, like vaseline on the lens, and I feel a bit bad for wanting to drag his name in the mud just for fun.
May 20, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list jack--1
Howbout one-eyed Jacks found in playing cards?
May 20, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word purrito
Related: the tacocat palindrome. One more and it's an official feline Mexican food trend.
May 19, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word exR
This is the ship name for Enjolras and Grantaire, two of the barricade boys from the book/play/movie Les Miserables. The x in exR is a common element in shipping that connect the two names in a pair (e.g. KirkxSpock). e is for Enjolras and R is for Grantaire, a pun off of his name sounding like "big r" in French (grand r). I don't know how you would pronounce it, maybe just as an initialism. I don't personally ship it, but there are strong OTP believers wherever fandoms are found.
May 19, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list that-really-takes-the-cake
This list makes me so happy <3.You take the cake, ruzuzu.
May 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word mountingly
What a jolly word to misinterpret. I'm not sure how I could ever take this word seriously if I met it in the wild.
May 15, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word indefatigability
Indefatigibility. It makes me a little tired and nauseous getting through all the stressed syllables in this word.
May 14, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word architect
"...from the way we architect our services." As heard in the 3 hour meeting I just got out of.
May 13, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list eccentric-girls-names
I've always thought remedy would be a lovely name for a storybook character.
May 13, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list words-that-sound-dirty-but-aren-t-2
Maybe rapier? As discussed in the Alec Baldwin episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (starting about 5:40): http://comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com/alec-baldwin-just-a-lazy-shiftless-bastard
Several industrial valve parts end in cock: blow-cock turncock stopcock
May 13, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word justificaketion
I went to a wedding in August 2010 where the mother of the bride had baked 7 different cakes. ...Well you have to try a little bit of all of them, you don't want to be rude. That's justificaketion.
Related: anticipicaketion or caketicipation, which is the antsy feeling you experience during the reception when you're waiting to try the 7 cakes, but it's not time to eat them yet.
May 13, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word clumbersome
So, it's a blend of clumsy and cumbersome? Maybe the sound symbolism of clump as well, alluding to an innumerate number of weighty difficulties.
May 12, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list the-porn-birds
You've also got fuckwind as a variation of windfucker to describe a windhover/kestrel.
May 11, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word swinge-breech
Yes, a noun. A haughty sort of person who swings their breeches side to side as they walk, full of pomp and circumstance. An obsolete slang term I've come across in my cutthroats research. A person who swings their breeches. A quakebreech is a coward, a shuffle-breeches moves slowly, and the cowardly shit-breech adds nothing to society but the load in their pants.
May 11, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list abominations
I don't like brain fart. It's either a lazy excuse, or a terrible volcano eruption in your head that could cause irreversible damage.
May 8, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Ziffy Whomper
Ziffy Whomper was an orange plastic sled my family owned in the late 1980s. It was a great toy, and so much fun to say. The sled itself puts a hyphen in the name Ziffy-Whomper.
May 8, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word face waterfall
In the May 1, 2015 episode of the podcast How Did This Get Made (http://www.earwolf.com/episode/face-off-live/), discussing the movie Face/Off, Paul Scheer uses the term face waterfall to describe the motion that John Travolta (and other characters) repeatedly do in the movie. Slowly touching another person's face down from their forehead all the way to their chin with a flat palm. It's weird. There's a Youtube compilation video of it called Face/Off Face/Touch.
May 6, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word neoclown
Hi, vendingmachine. It seems to be a name for neoconservatives, specifically American republicans during the George W Bush administration. It could technically be a blend with neoliberal as well, but my guess is it's aimed towards conservative Republicans only. We should ask a political blogger.
May 6, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list letters--1
There's no N.
May 5, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list upward-mobility
If artists were superheroes, they could seek justice in a Caldermobile.
May 5, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list boy-or-girl-letters
Truly, I have no strong feeling about this. I have stronger feelings about my favorite numbers. This does reminds me of the Radiolab episode (http://www.radiolab.org/story/love-numbers/) that explores the emotional opinions that people have about numbers - ones they love, hate, or think of as gendered. In most cases, the reasoning had to do with the shape of the symbol or usage on a very base level. 1 is phallic and independent and male, whereas 2 is curved and feminine and partnered and secondary. Using those thoughts:
I, L, T, Y are kinda phallic.
B, C, G, O, Q, U are rounded like lady-parts (yonic?).
O is used at the end of masculine nouns in Romance languages, and A for feminine. That carries into a lot of names (Julio, Julia), so O seems conflicted between feminine shape and masculine marker use.
I think of Roman numerals as a pretty masculine system, but out of that context C, D, I, L, M, V, X don't really strike me as gendered. An interesting thought to pursue, though.
May 5, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word eunomia
Eunomia looks like it means 'well-named' which is a weird self-referential pat on the back by the scientist/discoverers. "We're so good at naming things, this one is called the well-named bug." No. Eunomia is also a Greek goddess, where -nomia means order, not names. You get a pass, genus eunomia.
May 5, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word brisage
I got out of an adult charity spelling bee on this word. It angers me because I was close to the "lightning round" which was a novel format I feel like I could have pwned.
The word is defined on this pyrotechnic site: http://www.faqs.org/docs/air/ttpyro.html, "An explosive can be characterized by the amount of energy it releases when detonated, as well as by its shearing and shock effect, or 'brisage'."
May 5, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list lies--1
As explicked on QI Series D episode 7, Eskimos (Inuit?) have 32 words for demonstrative pronouns, whereas English has 4 (this that these those). They pack prepositions into their demonstrative pronouns, so you get words that mean "that one up there" and "those ones inside." HOWEVER, the fake fact is a convenient way to say that a lot of languages have synonyms, and that there's more than one right way to say something. The fact about sharks always having to move is also untrue, but is also a convenient shorthand. There are many others.
tl;dr: Some common knowledge is not true, but it's useful, so keep using it. Dance your heart out at the shark-in-motion surplus snow vocab party, but be prepared to be confronted by grumpy fact-focused people out in the harsh world.
May 5, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word fishstick
"The Fishstick" is a dance proposed by the You Look Nice Today podcast in the 2008 Sacks-Minelli Disease episode: http://youlooknicetoday.com/episode/sacksminnelli-disease.
The Fishstick is a dance that is not noticeable unless someone <i>really</i> pays attention to the "dancer" for several minutes. You can do the Fishstick to any song, but a recommended song for beginners is Tighten Up by Archie Bell and the Drells. There are many Youtube videos of people possible doing the Fishstick.
This is not an instructional video: https://vimeo.com/1063136
May 5, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list gnarlie
I love g'night's inclusion to the list. If it weren't limited to word-initial gn, hangnail would eagerly join the party.
How about gnaphalium for the botanist set?
Related: http://tankhughes.com/?p=1249
May 4, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list oar-shaped
oarginary. oarthopedic. oarly. orlish.
May 1, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list words-used-to-denigrate-women-and-girls
Jonathan Green (Mister Slang) said in a recent podcast interview (http://slate.me/1tyUHIO) that slang is from the male perspective. Men have historically ruled the public sphere, so the shaming slang comes from them and shows their biases about the place of men and women in society.
For a male equivalent, see the affectionate common use of wifebeater shirts.
Are harpy, succubus, and siren applicable? Maybe a male mythical beast like troll could work.
April 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list rhymeless
My friend Mr. Goines brought up an interesting point about rhyme.
Such a small list leads to the question Why do most words rhyme? One answer: because it is easier to remember a story when it's written in verse. Reciting an epic poem, or the history of your village is easier when you know every other line will end in a predictable way. Most words rhyme on purpose, as memory aids.
Why are so many non-rhymers color words? I don't know, but that question interests me. Thanks papageno.
April 29, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word brother
Love your style, oroboros, unless you're serious in which case great job adding another legit definition. If facetious, perhaps this list will interest you: https://wordnik.com/lists/are-you-sad--misparse-me.
April 27, 2015
TankHughes commented on the user bilby
"bilby commented on the user bilby
I went to leave a comment on your page, and I arrived at a 404 and a steampunk rhino. Both of which are about right in your case."
Are you talking to yourself?
April 27, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list a-silent-letter-radio-alphabet-to-annoy-call-centre-staff
I recommend listening to the children's song "Crazy ABCs" by Barenaked Ladies for further inspiration.
April 27, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word ice-creamy
The definition sounds like it was written by an august great aunt who has recently taken over as guardian of some children and has no interest in learning about what makes them happy, least of all ice cream.
April 24, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word Fossey
I know it's not Fosse, but please consider visualizing gorillas doing jazz hands.
April 23, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word ickpocket
I saw this in a list. Maybe in a newspaper contest about neologisms? Ickpocket is the pocket that you put the DIRTY kleenex into when you've sneezed and you're out and about. And sometimes you accidentally put your hand, or clean things into it, and it's gross.
Citation needed, me.
April 22, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word burp'll
As rhymed in a student poem in "Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger " by Louis Sachar
Purple
by Allison
The baby won't stop crying.
His face is turning purple.
Will anything make him feel better?
I bet a burp'll.
April 21, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word hirple
It rhymes with purple!
April 21, 2015
TankHughes commented on the user ruzuzu
I'd respond to you on my list... BUT I DELETED IT! *shock* It made more sense to add my 4 to tbtabby's Location Slang list instead. I'm happy someone else has made a large list that I can legitimately add Canadian tuxedo and Mexican wave to.
April 21, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word hacksawing
Happiness pro tip: Make hacksawing a folksy reading of hack-swing.
April 20, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word stormtrooper
There should probably be a secondary definition - most people know the Star Wars cannon fodder and not their namesakes from the 3rd Reich. (I was one of those people until recently).
April 18, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list henchbeings
I really love how PC the title of this list is. We don't wanna insult the underlings. :)
April 18, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word stub
One time I was on a plane and a kid said "I'm stubbing my toe!" Normally, the event is so brief, you can only talk about it in the past, but somehow this child had the presence of mind to describe the trauma while still in the middle of it.
April 17, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word happy tensing
A feature of RP (Received Pronunciation, AKA Southern Standard British English) where the /æ/ vowel in HAPPY is tensed, pulling it forward and up and sounding more like /ɪ/ in KIT or /ɛ/ in DRESS.
Used profusely in the Superego sketch "M" (Season 3, Episode 3 from 2011) making fun of the exceedingly British character of M, James Bond's superior officer. http://www.gosuperego.com/podcast-episode-3-3/
RP and happy tensing also heard in Disney's Alice in Wonderland (1951) when Alice shouts "Mister Rabbit!"
In summary: it's fun, even just to use in the term happy tensing itself.
April 13, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word spoofy
My friend and I made and used this in elementary school to mean "special and neat." Maybe a blend? It was a real shock to find it written down on a Halloween-themed rubber stamp one day, we'd thought it was a totally unique creation.
April 13, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word hippocaust
Oh hello, bilby. The scholarly use of the word is about rituals, not cooking. But! If you were a hippophage, you could roast it for that reason and the roots would back you up.
I just know the first time I saw this word, I pictured the systematic extinction of 1940s hippos, which is historically tragic, and then the real definition didn't really lift me out of that hole of sadness. So by talking about this word, I'm making other people also have these thoughts, but it's making me feel less depressed and alone about that imagery. This is my free internet word therapy. How are you?
April 9, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word catchfart
A catchfart is an obsolete slang term that referred to a servant who walked closely behind their master, and was therefore likely to catch the farts of their master in their face. One of my favorite cutthroat-type compounds.
April 9, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word hippocaust
It's not the same as hypocaust. It's the (ritualistic) burning of a horse. hippopotamus = river horse. Holocaust = wholly burned. hippocaust = burn a horse.
April 7, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list rodents
How about yapock?
April 3, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word breadth
Pumpernickel, sourdough, ciabatta, pita, challah. I have a great breadth of knowledge.
April 1, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word júpiter
This is just Spanish for Jupiter, the planet or the god. The accented "u" gives this word the hiccups, and I love it. A lot of good plosives in this word.
April 1, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word zurda
Zurda means left-handed in Spanish. It comes from Basque. It sounds like the name of a South American revolutionary. I'm a fan.(Yeah, I'm left-handed).
Spanish takes most of their vocab from Latin, which gave them 'sinestro' for left, which is full of sinful and criminal connotations. To find a more neutral left-meaning word, they borrowed two words from their northerly neighbors: zurda and izquierda. Zurda means left-handed, and izquierda means left in the directional sense.
April 1, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word desafortunadamente
April 1, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word lista
In Spanish, if you say "Estoy lista" it means "I'm ready to go". If you say "Soy lista" it means "I'm clever" as in "my mind is ready, quick-witted, and sharp." I recommend looking into Spanish adjectives that change meaning based on their pairings with SER and ESTAR. Meanings move from the concrete to the abstract in a certain way that make sense once you know them, but would be hard to predict if you came upon them, unprepared, in the wild.
April 1, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word cotidiano
It means everyday and is a cognate for quotidian in English. I enjoy the adjectival form of 'everyday' and I enjoy that in Spanish, it is not a fancy synonym, but rather the everyday word you would use to describe mundane routines. Spanish vocabulary is far more Latinate than English, there are far fewer synonyms, and no highbrow/lowbrow variants based on language borrowings like English has - beef/cow, pork/pig, canine/hound. They have one word, so that's your everyday word.
April 1, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word uisce bheatha
Gaelic for "water of life." It is from this word that we get 'whiskey.' Manhole covers in Dublin say "UISCE" in the same way they would say "WATER" in English. At the beginning of some lovely Irish drinking song, they explain the history of the word whiskey, and the way the man says "uisce bheatha... water of life" makes me want to hug my relatives in Counties Galway and Mayo (god help us).
April 1, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word anhelo
I learned this word from reading works by Miguel de Unamuno, a lovely existential Spanish philosopher and generally badass guy, historically speaking. Anhelo is that sort of deep existential yearning that makes your heart hurt. Something is wrong and the feeling is anhelo.
April 1, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word evacuee
Sounds like a Pokemon hybrid of Eevee and... Pichu?
March 26, 2015
TankHughes commented on the word The Dalles
The Dalles is/are a city near Portland, OR. It doesn't sound like Dallas, TX. It rhymes with pals.
It uses the TRAP vowel /æ/.
March 26, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list port-man-teaus
I couldn't find this list so I made my own! I'm also trying to remember a few female portmanteaus, but they're harder to find.
March 23, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list manly-portmanteaus
I couldn't find this list so I made my own! I'm also trying to remember a few female portmanteaus, but they're harder to find.
March 23, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list medical-terms-or-linguistic-terms
I've tried to make a terrible tankhughes.com Monday Comic about subjunctivitis for a long time.
A: "It's important that I understand what's happening to me. If you were me, wouldn't you want to know, doctor?"
B: "I recommend that you rest. And if I were you..."
C: "OH NO IT'S CONTAGIOUS!"
The conditional mood and a moody condition may also belong on this list.
March 18, 2015
TankHughes commented on the list two-body-parts
Yup bilby, the loosest interpretation of body parts should be used here. The goal is to make plain-looking words more interesting, like cockpit and earmuff. Have fun.
If you want to list all of the bones in the human body, I probably can't stop you. Personally, I'm just hunting for the fun ones, not cataloging the whole species of compounds. But it's a free internet! Do what makes you happy.
October 25, 2014
TankHughes commented on the user Aestro
Welcome to Wordnik :)
October 24, 2014
TankHughes commented on the list on-with-their-heads
This is a confession. I've been adding some words, but not tagging 'behead.'
October 16, 2014
TankHughes commented on the word make-hawk
Is this a scarecrow compound? It could be (a thing that) MAKES HAWKS. Or it could be a HAWK that MAKES new useful hawk soldiers for the falconers. OED this when I get home for sure.
September 5, 2014
TankHughes commented on the list aceacetwothree-s-words
why did you make this list? It is a good list.
I am trying to find words that are morphologically similar to stick-to-itiveness and I'm coming up blank so far. PHRASE+ADJ Marker+Noun Marker without having any history of an adjectival form... it baffles me.
September 2, 2014
TankHughes commented on the list agentive-exocentric--v-n-n-compounds
thanks hemesheir. Spurred by your comment, I've added more of the common and modern examples. I have a huge Excel spreadsheet of the 500+ I found in my research, but it doesn't seem helpful to list all of the obscure ones here.
Interested parties can watch my 2013 Ignite Portland talk about these compounds: http://youtu.be/x1pYC0AAbJ0
March 6, 2014
TankHughes commented on the list words-that-end-in-ish-but-aren-t-adjectives
HA! Just noticed your list. i've made a similar list, because I found that most of the verbs that end in -ish in English comes from Old French stems that ended in -iss, and I'm writing up an explanation about it.
December 17, 2013
TankHughes commented on the list agentive-exocentric--v-n-n-compounds
I've found about 500 total, but this list sadly has 8.
December 17, 2013
TankHughes commented on the list killjoy-et-al
Hi everybody. I did my dissertation about this kind of exocentric verb-noun compound last year. Some linguists call them 'scarecrow compounds' because that's a popular example. They come from French and were mildly productive for a few hundred years. I made a list of all of them I could find in English - 483 in total, the newest of which is 'pesterchum.' The abstract for my dissertation is up on my site, tankhughes.com. Anyway. I know too much about this topic. This list and the comments make me happy. :)
September 7, 2013
TankHughes commented on the word alfin
Just learned about this word through reading about the history of bishop and the bishop piece in chess. It looks like al-fin was the Arabic for elephant in which 'al' is the definite article like 'the' in English. The chess piece used to look like an elephant, then changed to archer then bishop.
July 6, 2013
TankHughes commented on the list word-chemistry
I made this list too a while back, but I didn't include Arsenic or Krypton. Don't know how I missed 'em. http://tankhughes.com/?p=91
February 3, 2013
TankHughes commented on the word pomme de terre
It's French for potato. Lit "apple of the earth" where apple is a generic food word.
June 14, 2012
TankHughes commented on the list the-doctor-doctor-who
from the Christmas special, how about caretaker?
January 22, 2012
TankHughes commented on the word convowel
Hey marky- I started tagging words with 'vcccv' patterns in January 2010. I've also tagged words as ch sounds like k, rh, and one-dollar words. I know C and V are used academically for sounds and not letters, and I made some linguists mad, but I wasn't trying to record the sounds, and I don't know what other system I might have chosen. I think organizing things which appear unrelated can bring out new features that have not been visible or considered. Mendeleev, Linneaus and Roget are my heroes. I'm not saying I accomplished anything with this idea yet, but tagging words in this way (which mollusque called convowel) was very cathartic for me at the time and I'm happy I had wordnik as an outlet. I've been thinking about possible uses for this list recently. No success yet, but you can watch me flail on tankhughes.com.
December 10, 2011
TankHughes commented on the user squee
<3 hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. thanks for tagging cvcvcvcvcv!
May 12, 2011
TankHughes commented on the user TankHughes
Wow, thanks! Right now I have the time to contribute here and it amuses me. Thanks for the heads up on the error, I'm definitely human. I have a blog that, among other things, tracks the silly tags I've been adding on wordnik: http://tankhughes.blogspot.com/search/label/wordnik
February 14, 2010
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