To eat humble pie (1830) is from umble pie (1648), pie made from umbles "edible inner parts of an animal" (especially deer), considered a low-class food. The similar sense of similar-sounding words (the "h" of humble was not pronounced then) converged in the pun. Umbles, meanwhile, is M.E. numbles "offal" (with loss of n- through assimilation into preceding article), from O.Fr. nombles "loin, fillet," from L. lumulus, dim. of lumbus "loin."
Oooh - I remember heads up, seven up! I'm not putting it on the recess list, though - to much of an inside game. A teacher's favorite because it is such a quiet game - all that heads down & sneaking around...
"Hot cakes cooked in bear grease or pork lard were popular from earliest times in American. First made of cornmeal, the griddle cakes or pancakes were of course best when served piping hot and were often sold at church benefits, fairs, and other functions. So popular were they that by the beginning of the 19th century 'to sell like hot cakes' was a familiar expression for anything that sold very quickly effortlessly, and in quantity." - Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson
The ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens - also called the coachwhip, Jacob's staff, and the vine cactus) is a curious, and unique desert plant of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. For much of the year, the plant appears to be an arrangement of large dead sticks, although closer examination reveals that the stems are partly green. When rain comes, the plant quickly becomes lush with small (2-4 cm) ovate leaves, which may remain for weeks or even months.
(a) A spar formerly used on board of ships, as a crane to hoist the flukes of the anchor to the top of the bow, without injuring the sides of the ship; -- called also the fish davit.
(b) pl. Curved arms of timber or iron, projecting over a ship's side of stern, having tackle to raise or lower a boat, swing it in on deck, rig it out for lowering, etc.; -- called also boat davits.
n. (OE. knarre, gnarre, akin to OD. knor, G. knorren. Cf. Knar, Knur, Gnarl.) A knot or gnarl in wood; hence, a tough, thickset man; -- written also gnarr. (Archaic)
Hey, U - I'm from a dead-end branch of Smiths, as my grandmother was one of three Smith sisters with no brothers. So not *all* of them are male-biased...
As far as I'm concerned, the texture of the apples isn't really the point - it is all about the crunchy, crackly goodness that is the streusel on top. mmmmmmmmmm!
Academically, I know this to be true, but they're pretty indistinguishable to me. I see pioneer and think covered wagons - even when reading biographical info. I get a lovely mental picture of a 'pioneer in the field of medicine' wearing buckskins and a stethoscope...
My parents always thought that saying "za" made them pretty cool (despite all assurances to the contrary). When they pronounced it, it was more of a "zAH!"...
Underground chamber of the Pueblo Indian villages of the southwestern U.S., notable for the murals that decorate its walls.
A small hole in its floor, the sípapu, serves as the symbolic place of origin of the tribe. Though the kiva's primary purpose is for men's rituals and ceremonies, it is also used for political meetings or casual gatherings.
Yeah - the town I grew up in had a museum that was originally built as a Mormon church and it was a wispering gallery until they remodeled. It was really cool to eavesdrop on the unsuspecting or play with your friends...
One of such a form that sounds produced in certain parts of it are concentrated by reflection from the walls to another part, so that whispers or feeble sounds are audible at a much greater distance than under ordinary circumstances.
A priest hole is the term given to hiding places for priests built into many of the principal Roman Catholic houses of England during the period when Roman Catholics were persecuted by law in England, from the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth I. (more here.)
What about the family height chart? That whole bit with the ruler and the pencil on your birthday and/or whenever you could convince your mom that you got a little taller - is there a more succinct word for it?
A fichu is a large, square kerchief worn by women in the 18th century to fill in the low neckline of a bodice. The fichu was generally of linen fabric and was folded diagonally into a triangle and tied, pinned, or tucked into the bodice in front. (see here)
Ormolu (from French or moulu, signifying gold ground or pounded) is an 18th-century English term for applying finely ground, high-karat gold to an object in bronze. The French refer to this technique as bronze doré, which is used to this day though the item may be merely painted with a gold-tone paint... The manufacture of true ormolu employs a process known as mercury gilding or fire gilding, in which a solution of nitrate of mercury is applied to a piece of copper, brass, or bronze, followed by the application of an amalgam of gold and mercury. The item was then exposed to extreme heat until the mercury burned off and the gold remained, adhered to the metal object. Most mercury gilders died by the age of 40 due to exposure to the harmful mercury fumes. This gilding technique is similar to that also used on silver, which produced silver-gilt objects known as vermeil.
Japanese porcelain made at the Arita kilns in Hizen province. Among the Arita porcelains are white glazed wares, pale gray-blue or gray-green glazed wares known as celadons, black wares, and blue-and-white wares with underglaze painting, as well as overglaze enamels.
A piece of armor for protecting the breast and back. / The breastplate alone.
A defense or protection.
Zoology: A protective covering of bony plates or scales.
(Middle English curas, from Old French curasse, probably alteration (influenced by Old French cuir, leather) of Old Provençal coirassa, from Late Latin coricea (vestis), leather (garment), feminine of coriceus, from Latin corium, hide; see sker-1 in Indo-European roots.)
(Antiq.) A ``tear-bottle;'' a narrow-necked vessel found in sepulchers of the ancient Romans; -- so called from a former notion that the tears of the deceased person's friends were collected in it.
Also known as a periwig, the peruke was popular during the 1600s and 1700s. It is currently worn by British Judges, although now only on ceremonial occasions. The wearing of the peruke was made fashionable by King Louis XIV of France. In the 1650s he began hiring wigmakers wearing full wigs, perhaps to cover his own accelerating baldness. Soon, in imitation of the king, the courtiers began wearing perukes a badge of honor. It was adopted by the future English King Charles II and his court, who brought the fashion to England when he was restored to the throne in 1660. In part, the peruke was a reaction to the close-cropped hair of the Puritans (so-called Roundheads). After King Louis's death in 1715, the massive peruque went out of fshion and was gradually replaced by smaller wigs.
Dad jokes are usually not very funny to begin with, but you laugh anyway because he is so proud of coming up with it. Then, because it is *so* funny, it gets told way past its expiration date...
My dad loved this little wooden disc painted with the word "tuit". Someone gave it to him for Christmas and he was thrilled that he'd finally gotten a round tuit.
Also - horrible puns & spoonerisms involving otters and terns. Some long drawn-out story about the beach and rocks and biblical justice with the punchline "leave no ternunstoned."
I think that people tend to hold onto regionalisms as defense against the homogenization of the world. I remember reading about some island on the east coast that had a distinctive accent. Somehow, a bridge was built or something connected it more easily to the mainland and more people started to move there (and more islanders commuted to the mainland to work...)
In response, island accents thickened, especially for the younger generation who spend more time on the mainland - a badge of belonging/"I was here first"
The music was influenced by various other forms including the tango, lundu, polka and habanera, and is danced to a rapid 2/4 time. The maxixe was one of the dances that contributed to the samba and lambada. Vernon Castle said of the maxixe in his 1914 book Modern Dancing, "The steps themselves are not difficult; on the contrary, they are childishly simple; it is the easiest dance of all to do, and I think the hardest of all to do well."
To take to graze or pasture, at a certain sum; -- used originally of the feeding of cattle in the king's forests, and collecting the money for the same. --Blackstone. (Webster 1913)
also spelled Humor (from Latin “liquid,�? or “fluid�?), in early Western physiological theory, one of the four fluids of the body that were thought to determine a person's temperament and features. In the ancient physiological theory still current in the European Middle Ages and later, the four cardinal humours were blood, phlegm, choler (yellow bile), and melancholy (black bile).
When I was just a wee coaster, our church got a new, PC hymnal that had replaced He and Him with Spirit, Creator and the like (with little regard to meter or integrity). We called it the Itnal...
Thanks, oroboros - I never spell blancmange correctly. I just can't bear to put the n in. Dingy's right, though - I'm not listing the boat, but the grimy, grubby sense.
Oooh, I'd fogotten all about New Mexico. My favorites are the Organ mountains cause they look soooo cool. I didn't know about the Manzanos, but I'm a sucker for all permutations of manzana...
That very next morning, when there was nothing left of the Equinoxes, because the Precession had preceded according to precedent, this 'satiable Elephant's Child took a hundred pounds of bananas (the little short red kind), and a hundred pounds of sugar-cane (the long purple kind), and seventeen melons (the greeny-crackly kind), and said to all his dear families, 'Goodbye. I am going to the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, to find out what the Crocodile has for dinner.'
Thanks, sionnach. And chained_bear, I don't know how I missed your OED delvings - I've always enjoyed -age for its ability to connotate stuff/ness and now I know why. Cool.
Phooey. I'd always thought that it was in the same family as eating crow, eating one's words, and other cake-eating, bread-buttering sayings. I had a whole mental picture of the various kinds of just desserts people would have to eat. Cacti and cattle skulls just can't compete. Sigh.
I remember getting lost in Rhode Island because someone told me to turn at a red light. I went right through the tricolored traffic light they were talking about, looking for one of those blinky red lights that often serves as a stop sign. I've only heard red light referring to stop lights/traffic lights (as opposed to districts) in the northeast.
It was only the department stores that got to me. Fabric stores were much better - all the different designs and textures to look at and drape about oneself. Except this one store my mom used to go to. The lady who owned it hated children, so she built a pen outside the store for pesky kids to stay in while their mothers were shopping. It had an astroturf floor and a few grubby plastic toys. *huuuhg*
Thanks, sionnach. I'm telling you, if you're hiding in a carousel, those passing ankles are just waiting for you to pounce - like stealing napkins in relatives' laps from under the table at big family dinners...
What, you didn't hide in the carousels and / make animal noises / bat at ladies' ankles like a kitten / pull clothes down from the hangers / refuse to come out? Always good for a short trip to the store.
The money-penalty paid by a murderer to the kinsfolk of the victim. These fines completely protect the offender (or the kinsfolk thereof) from the vengeance of the injured family. The system was common among the Scandinavian and Teutonic races previous to the introduction of Christianity, and a scale of payments, graduated according to the heinousness of the crime, was fixed by laws, which further settled who could exact the blood-money, and who were entitled to share it. Homicide was not the only crime thus expiable: blood-money could be exacted for all crimes of violence. Some acts, such as killing any one in a church or while asleep, or within the precincts of the royal palace, were "bot-less"; and the death penalty was inflicted. Such a criminal was outlawed, and could be killed on sight.
In Islamic terms, Qisas can in some cases result in blood money (diyya) being payed out to the family of victims. The amount varies from country to country and from case to case. In Saudi Arabia, the amount of blood money for the killing of a muslim woman is half that for killing a muslim man. The blood money for killing non-muslims is lower than both.
Thralls were a Viking thing, somewhere between a serf and a slave, I think. There were a bunch of funky rules about thralls that I have very fuzzy recollections about. Maybe they had to wear neck rings? I think they were either captured on raids or people who were destitute enough to put themselves up for thralldom. I'm sure there is info out there...
"Wergild was a reparational payment usually demanded of a person guilty of homicide or other wrongful death, although it could also be demanded in other cases of serious crime. The payment of weregild was an important legal mechanism in early northern European societies, such as those of the Vikings, and Anglo-Saxons; the other common form of legal reparation at this time was blood revenge. The payment was typically made to the family or to the clan. The word means "man price". If these payments were not made, or refused by the offended party, a blood feud would ensue.
The size of the weregild in cases of murder was largely conditional upon the social rank of the victim. Thralls and slaves technically commanded no weregild, but it was commonplace to make a nominal payment in the case of a thrall and the value of the slave in such a case."
The crayfish, also known as the crawfish, owes its name to a misunderstanding. The actual source of the word may be the Old High German word krebiz, "edible crustacean," or a word related to it. From this Germanic source came Old French crevice, which when taken into English became crevise (first recorded in a document written in 1311-1312). In Old French and Middle English these words designated the crayfish. People began to pronounce and spell the last part of this word as if it were fish, the first fish spelling being recorded in 1555. Because of a variation in Anglo-Norman pronunciation, two forms of the word have come down to Modern English: crayfish and crawfish.
Thanks for your wild suggestions, u, but I'm only listing -age suffixes. -rage, -phage, and -stage are for someone else to take on. And I just don't like marriage, etc - too average, I guess.
Thanks! I hadn't realized just how many -age words there are. I'll take any and all that I like, however strange, but reserve the right to exclude average, advantage, percentage and the like - just cause I don't like the way they look.
From wikipedia: "It usually disdains the rotting meat, however, and lives on a diet that is 90% bone. It will drop large bones from a height to crack them to get smaller pieces. Its old name of Ossifrage (or Bone Crusher) relates to this habit. Live tortoises are also dropped in similar fashion to crack them open...According to legend, the Greek playwright Aeschylus was killed when a tortoise was dropped on his bald head by a Lammergeier."
So many wordsies! Thank you all. C-b, I do have something against marriage - I just don't like the -riage (except maybe for triage). Also, I'm going for polysyllabic and stuff-related rather than time-related -ages.
A thing or ting (Old Norse and Icelandic: þing; other modern Scandinavian languages: ting) was the governing assembly in Germanic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers. The English word 'thing', meaning "object" is also derived from this; the semantic evolution having been roughly "assembly" → "court" → "case" → "business" → "purpose" → "object".
The national parliaments of Iceland, Norway and Denmark all have names that incorporate thing:
* Althing - The Icelandic "General Thing"
* Folketing - The Danish "People's Thing"
* Storting - The Norwegian "Great Thing"
The parliaments of the self-governing territories of Åland, Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Isle of Man also have names that refer to thing.
* Lagting - The Ålandic "Law Thing"
* Løgting - The Faroese "Law Thing"
* Landsting - The Greenlandic "Land Thing"
* Tynwald - The Manx "Thing Meadow"
Similarly, prior to 1953, the Danish parliamentary system was the Rigsdag, which comprised the two houses of the Folketing (People's Thing) and the Landsting (Land Thing). The former, which was reserved for people of means, was abolished by the constitution of 1953.
The Norwegian parliament, Storting, is divided into two chambers named the Lagting and the Odelsting, which translates loosely into the Thing of the Law and the Thing of the Lords. On the lower administrative level the governing bodies on the county level in Norway are called Fylkesting, the Thing of the County.
In Norway and Sweden there exist own administrative bodies with limited autonomy for the Sami people minorities. It is called the Sameting, the Thing of the Sami, in both countries.
A novel by Neal Stephenson. According to wikipedia:
"When Stephenson came up with his title, he was not aware of the word's origin, and was simply seeking a Greek-sounding word that also had 'crypto' in it. Cryptonomicon translates to 'Book of Hidden Names'. The Cryptonomicon referred to in the novel— described as a "cryptographer's bible" — is a fictional book summarizing mankind's knowledge of cryptography and cryptanalysis."
(also spelled qû or ka) - ancient Babylonian liquid measure equal to the volume of a cube whose dimensions are each one handbreadth (3.9 to 4 inches, or 9.9 to 10.2 cm) in length. The cube held one great mina (about 2 pounds, or 1 kg) of water by weight. Five qa made up a šiqlu, 100 qa equaled an imeru (donkey load), and 300 qa equaled a gur. The gur was the equivalent of about 80 U.S. gallons (302 litres).
I was gonna make one of these, but you did it already - with a bunch that I hadn't thought of. My two cents: herb, lima, concord. Not forgetting the poem:
This is an anacronym that I think is used only by mother. She used to make "cubar" sauce, which stands for Cut Up Beyond All Recognition. The only way she could get us to eat eggplant and the like.
I first came across fewmets and probably mutes when my father read me The Sword in the Stone. King Pellinore had a box of the Questing Beast's fewmets that he would show to anyone he managed to corner. I'm amazed that this information has stuck with me lo these many years.
Chaperone proteins always made me giggle in biochem - I prefer it to chaperonin. And German science words are the best, thank you. I thought they had renamed sonic hedgehog along with the rest of the genes with interesting names. Ooooh - there's a good list.
Oh - I was talking about arrak as an alternative spelling for airag, as that was how I first encountered it - in a German children's book. Never knew about the Indonesian rum 'til today. Perhaps all the names go back to the Arabic (araq)?
airag - Mongolian fermented mare's milk? It starts mild, but can be distilled enough to pack a punch. I've also seen arrak, even though it is pretty far from meeralee's arak...
Brittanica: "(from French couver, “to hatch�?), the custom of the father going to bed at the birth of his child and simulating the symptoms of labour and childbirth. In an extreme form of couvade, the mother returns to her work as soon as possible after giving birth, often the same day, and waits on the father; the roles of the sexes are thus reversed."
Wants pawn term tare worsted ladle gull how lift wetter murder inner ladle cordage honor itch offer lodge, dock, florist. Disk ladle gull orphan worry Putty ladle rat cluck wetter ladle rat hut, an fur disk raisin pimple colder Ladle Rat Rotten Hut.
Wan moaning Ladle Rat Rotten Hut's murder colder inset.
"Ladle Rat Rotten Hut, heresy ladle basking winsome burden barter an shirker cockles. Tick disk ladle basking tutor cordage offer groin-murder hoe lifts honor udder site offer florist. Shaker lake! Dun stopper laundry wrote! Dun stopper peck floors! Dun daily-doily inner florist, an yonder nor sorghum-stenches, dun stopper torque wet strainers!"
No, but I once lived in Louisiana, where I fell in love with them. I'm a sucker for all herding/working type dogs, specially those with different colored eyes - like Catahoulas and Aussies.
When you're stuck on a 5-hour flight with no food because you had to run from one end of the airport to another due to a delayed arrival and they try to sell you a $3 bag of m&ms to go with your 'complementary' ounce of warm soda busily melting away 17 ice cubes.
"With a little practice, you can learn to dislodge enough chicken with your knife and fork to keep body and soul together till your next meal." -Tiffany's Table Manners for Teenagers
There was a ranch near where I grew up - the sign on the gate as you drove by: "dingbat flat." I always liked the name, til I found out that another dingbat flat was the site of an Australian race riot.
How about songs that people whistle along to? I'm thinking of the song whistled in The Parent Trap, The Bridge Over the River Kwai, Spaceballs, etc. You know: "DOO-do, do-doo-doo-DOO-DOO-do; DOO-do, do-doo-doo-DOO-DOO-do..."
Who worries about apostrophes when using y'all? I'd go with y'all's and all y'all's, myself. There's also the option of saying "Is this for y'all?" instead of "Is this y'all's?"
A consumable resin can be extracted from opoponax by cutting the plant at the base of a stem and sun-drying the juice that flows out. Though people often find the taste acrid and bitter, the highly flammable resin can be burned as incense to produce a scent somewhat like balsam or lavender. The resin has been used in treatment of spasms — and, before that, as an emmenagogue in treatment of asthma, chronic visceral infections, hysteria and hypochondria. Opoponax resin is most frequently sold in dried irregular pieces, though tear-shaped gems are not uncommon.
Opoponax is also used in the production of certain perfumes, and is the fragrance of one of the popular Diptyque candles.
Comments by trivet
Show previous 200 comments...
trivet commented on the list the-voice-of-the-shuttle
New hobby? These are nice - my mom wove, once upon a time. I remember playing under the loom when I was little.
August 2, 2007
trivet commented on the list zzzzz
Eeesh. I hope you get some sleep....or coffee.
August 1, 2007
trivet commented on the word umbles
see humble pie.
August 1, 2007
trivet commented on the word humble pie
To eat humble pie (1830) is from umble pie (1648), pie made from umbles "edible inner parts of an animal" (especially deer), considered a low-class food. The similar sense of similar-sounding words (the "h" of humble was not pronounced then) converged in the pun. Umbles, meanwhile, is M.E. numbles "offal" (with loss of n- through assimilation into preceding article), from O.Fr. nombles "loin, fillet," from L. lumulus, dim. of lumbus "loin."
August 1, 2007
trivet commented on the list be-it-ever-so-umble
Eeew, tripe! But yes, just for humble pie.
August 1, 2007
trivet commented on the list zzzzz
Wha...? *looks around* I'm awake!
August 1, 2007
trivet commented on the word drumble
Drum´ble
v. i. 1. To be sluggish or lazy; to be confused.
2. To mumble in speaking.
August 1, 2007
trivet commented on the word scumble
Come to think of it, most -umble words are fun to say. I smell a list.
August 1, 2007
trivet commented on the word scumble
lovely! such a scribbly, mumbly jumble of a word...
August 1, 2007
trivet commented on the word lorem ipsum
Watch out, uselessness, you may give some parent a horrible idea...
(didn't jennaren have a list of those?)
July 31, 2007
trivet commented on the word sadsome
Where can I fill out my application‽
July 26, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-the-castle-keep
it simple, stupid, company, your nose clean, a lookout (sharp or otherwise)...
July 25, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-the-castle-keep
On the sunny side, always on the sunny side...
July 25, 2007
trivet commented on the list johnny-appleseed
pippin!
July 24, 2007
trivet commented on the list johnny-appleseed
fuji, cortland, honeycrisp...
July 24, 2007
trivet commented on the word stagged
riggin' pants!
July 24, 2007
trivet commented on the list recess
Those are some violent games, U!
Oooh - I remember heads up, seven up! I'm not putting it on the recess list, though - to much of an inside game. A teacher's favorite because it is such a quiet game - all that heads down & sneaking around...
King of the mountain rules!
July 24, 2007
trivet commented on the list recess
Steal the bacon? Chicken fight? 'Splain, please.
July 24, 2007
trivet commented on the list recess
Thanks, s! I know I'm forgetting some, and there are probably some regional variations, too...
July 24, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-the-castle-keep
a stiff upper lip, me posted, to yourself...
July 24, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-the-castle-keep
oooh, oooh - a good man down! (or can't you?)
July 24, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-the-castle-keep
up appearances, a lid on it, under lock and key, calm, a secret, your eye on the ball...
July 24, 2007
trivet commented on the list the-sensuous-mystique-of-gourmet-cuisine
eeeew!
July 24, 2007
trivet commented on the word pika
eeeeep!
July 23, 2007
trivet commented on the word tubercle smudge
I don't even want to think about it!
July 19, 2007
trivet commented on the word blimey
Is that akin to "stick a fork in me, I'm done"?
July 19, 2007
trivet commented on the word misled
For me it was "oinks" aka onyx. My family prefers the pronounciation - for the hilarity.
July 19, 2007
trivet commented on the word thurible
nice!
July 19, 2007
trivet commented on the list doric
Lovely!
July 18, 2007
trivet commented on the word foggy bummer
*snort!*
July 18, 2007
trivet commented on the list poetrie-national-wildlife-federation-haiku
sweet!
July 18, 2007
trivet commented on the word kopi luwak
Civet coffee. More here.
July 17, 2007
trivet commented on the word klezmer
They do!
I wonder if they hear something we don't.
July 17, 2007
trivet commented on the word klezmer
What kinds of birds do you have?
July 17, 2007
trivet commented on the word spat
But it *is* the past tense of spit, unless you are cooking - who would want to eat a spat/roasted chicken?
July 17, 2007
trivet commented on the word spat
Hey! I like the shoe spats - they're so debonair.
July 17, 2007
trivet commented on the list when-you-gotta-go-you-gotta-go
We sure love the euphemisms - the facilities, tee-tee house, commode, W.C.?
July 16, 2007
trivet commented on the list extreme-hot-sauces
Eeeesh! Though I do enjoy possible side effects... Though neither sauce nor insanely hot, might I suggest Slap Ya Mama seasoning?
July 16, 2007
trivet commented on the word hot cakes
"Hot cakes cooked in bear grease or pork lard were popular from earliest times in American. First made of cornmeal, the griddle cakes or pancakes were of course best when served piping hot and were often sold at church benefits, fairs, and other functions. So popular were they that by the beginning of the 19th century 'to sell like hot cakes' was a familiar expression for anything that sold very quickly effortlessly, and in quantity." - Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson
July 14, 2007
trivet commented on the word succussion
The act or process of shaking violently, especially as a method of diagnosis to detect the presence of fluid and air in a body cavity.
The condition of being shaken violently.
July 14, 2007
trivet commented on the word succinite
Amber
July 14, 2007
trivet commented on the word chalant
I remember this word from that New Yorker story about how the guy met his wife - feeling very chalant, etc. Didn't you put it up here, R?
July 14, 2007
trivet commented on the list reversible-words
run over/overrun?
July 14, 2007
trivet commented on the word ocotillo
From wiki:
The ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens - also called the coachwhip, Jacob's staff, and the vine cactus) is a curious, and unique desert plant of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. For much of the year, the plant appears to be an arrangement of large dead sticks, although closer examination reveals that the stems are partly green. When rain comes, the plant quickly becomes lush with small (2-4 cm) ovate leaves, which may remain for weeks or even months.
July 14, 2007
trivet commented on the list floored
Lovely - it goes with your very fine house! (mine has parquet)
My mother has orange/red marmoleum - it looks like a dragon threw up on her floor.
July 14, 2007
trivet commented on the word constantinople
I learned ROY G. BIV for the rainbow...
July 14, 2007
trivet commented on the word constantinople
My Very Elderly Mother Just Served Us Nine Pies...Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge...SoCaToa...King Phillip Came Over From Greece Swimming...
There were so many!
July 13, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-get-to-the-point
Nice - extreme, bottom of something, infinity...and beyond!
July 13, 2007
trivet commented on the list bouma-tastic
I like it! How 'bout susurrus?
July 13, 2007
trivet commented on the word madder
No, that's chocolate (Theobroma cacao)...
July 12, 2007
trivet commented on the word tranz
Reminds me of these books I had growing up by William Steig.
C ER.
July 12, 2007
trivet commented on the word raspberry
heaven!
July 12, 2007
trivet commented on the user john
Ooooh, the comments are back - thanks, John!
July 12, 2007
trivet commented on the list saltatory
Hmmmm - frolic isn't quite jumpy enough for me. The Snoopy dance is perfect, o!
July 11, 2007
trivet commented on the user john
Are Recent Comments a thing of the past? When I click on the link, I get: "Sorry, can't find a user by that name."
July 11, 2007
trivet commented on the word pronk
Ditto! Plus, I think I might like stot even better than pronk.
I smell a list...
July 11, 2007
trivet commented on the list three-peas-in-a-pod
Good list - triplicate, triage?
July 10, 2007
trivet commented on the word imam bayildi
The priest fainted!
July 10, 2007
trivet commented on the list repeats
Walla Walla, gado-gado, aye-aye, gris-gris...?
July 10, 2007
trivet commented on the word pronk
Antelopes pronk.
July 10, 2007
trivet commented on the word davit
(a) A spar formerly used on board of ships, as a crane to hoist the flukes of the anchor to the top of the bow, without injuring the sides of the ship; -- called also the fish davit.
(b) pl. Curved arms of timber or iron, projecting over a ship's side of stern, having tackle to raise or lower a boat, swing it in on deck, rig it out for lowering, etc.; -- called also boat davits.
(Cf. F. davier forceps, cooper's instrument, G. david davit; all probably from the proper name David.)
- Webster 1913
July 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word lehr
An oven used to anneal glass. (more here.)
July 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word ideate
Webster 1913:
To form in idea; to fancy.
To apprehend in thought so as to fix and hold in the mind; to memorize.
July 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word fandangle
Webster: an elaborate but useless ornament
Also a skateboarding move and a band (see wiki).
July 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word octosquid
Squid have 10 tentacles, octopi have 8...
July 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word gnar
Webster 1913:
n. (OE. knarre, gnarre, akin to OD. knor, G. knorren. Cf. Knar, Knur, Gnarl.) A knot or gnarl in wood; hence, a tough, thickset man; -- written also gnarr. (Archaic)
He was . . . a thick gnarre. - Chaucer.
v. i. (imp. & p. p. Gnarred (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Gnarring. See Gnarl.) To gnarl; to snarl; to growl; -- written also gnarr. (Archaic)
At them he gan to rear his bristles strong, And felly
gnarre. - Spenser.
A thousand wants Gnarr at the heels of men. - Tennison.
July 4, 2007
trivet commented on the word training bra
Hey, U - I'm from a dead-end branch of Smiths, as my grandmother was one of three Smith sisters with no brothers. So not *all* of them are male-biased...
July 3, 2007
trivet commented on the list sounds-like-a-letter
eh?
July 3, 2007
trivet commented on the list eyes-without-sight
Oooh, but I love them so - 'specially their tender little hearts. Reesetee, where are the eyes?
July 2, 2007
trivet commented on the word smew
Also called the White Nun or Smee. See what Audubon has to say here.
And a beautiful picture here.
July 2, 2007
trivet commented on the list eyes-without-sight
Artichokes have eyes, too‽ I thought they just had hearts...
mind, dice (snake eyes), peas?
July 2, 2007
trivet commented on the list only-the-lonely
It's the lonliest number since the number one...
June 30, 2007
trivet commented on the list elbow-room
Thanks!
June 29, 2007
trivet commented on the word amerce
1. (law) To punish by a fine imposed arbitrarily at the discretion of the court.
2. To punish by imposing an arbitrary penalty.
Middle English amercen, from Anglo-Norman amercier, from à merci, at the mercy of : à, to (from Latin ad) + merci, mercy (from Latin mercs, wages).
how mercenary!
June 28, 2007
trivet commented on the list scenariot
Gracious! What a brouhaha!
June 27, 2007
trivet commented on the word streusel
A crumblike topping for coffee cakes and rich breads, consisting of flour, sugar, butter, cinnamon, and sometimes chopped nutmeats.
(German, streusel, from Middle High German ströusel, something strewn, from ströuwen, to sprinkle, from Old High German strowwen)
Yum!
June 27, 2007
trivet commented on the word crisp
As far as I'm concerned, the texture of the apples isn't really the point - it is all about the crunchy, crackly goodness that is the streusel on top. mmmmmmmmmm!
June 27, 2007
trivet commented on the word algorithm march
Japanese children's television rules!
Thanks, u.
June 26, 2007
trivet commented on the list fanciful-beasts
high horse, white elephant?
June 22, 2007
trivet commented on the list oddball-opposites
I like smoothouse!
June 22, 2007
trivet commented on the word happysack
Is this an exuberant version of hacky sack?
June 22, 2007
trivet commented on the list a-certain-something
Oooh, thank you!
June 22, 2007
trivet commented on the word hobby horse
A broom makes a perfectly good stick horse...
June 22, 2007
trivet commented on the list conversations
Wasn't there a lenghty discussion about wet bread once upon a time?
June 22, 2007
trivet commented on the word hobby horse
Academically, I know this to be true, but they're pretty indistinguishable to me. I see pioneer and think covered wagons - even when reading biographical info. I get a lovely mental picture of a 'pioneer in the field of medicine' wearing buckskins and a stethoscope...
June 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word hobby horse
Cool! (Always nice to have one's irrational assumptions vindicated...)
Uselessness, in my counterintuitive brain, pioneers came *after* the frontiersmen, explorers, and trappers. More phlegmatic, less derring-do.
June 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word hobby horse
I think you need some sort of sword to swashbuckle. A flintlock rifle just doesn't cut the mustard. And a bowie knife doesn't have the necessary panache.
Feathers on a hat are jaunty. Tails are more, um, earthy.
June 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word your all
Oh, youse guys!
June 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word hobby horse
or a coonskin cap.
(...unless you're Davey Crockett)
June 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word mousquetaire
A musketeer, esp. one of the French royal musketeers of the 17th and 18th centuries, conspicuous both for their daring and their fine dress.
A mosquetaire cuff or glove, or other article of dress fancied to resemble those worn by the French mosquetaires.
June 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word hobby horse
I think it is hard to swashbuckle in a bonnet.
June 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word hobby horse
racketeer, privateer, buccaneer, commandeer, musketeer - all very swashbuckle-y...
June 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word formicate
I *love* this word! Thank you, arby.
June 21, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-i-m-taken
take care of business!
June 20, 2007
trivet commented on the list thready-or-knot
Lovely! When I sew, I always need the seam ripper, or in my household, Jack...
June 20, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-lettuce-pray
well enough alone?
June 20, 2007
trivet commented on the list sartorial-splendor
Reorganizing the closet. See also - yardage and wrap sheet.
June 20, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-i-m-taken
oooh!
it like a man
center stage
the rap
no prisoners
a little off the top
June 20, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-i-m-taken
the high road, off, candy from strangers
June 20, 2007
trivet commented on the list plum
Nice!
June 20, 2007
trivet commented on the word za
My parents always thought that saying "za" made them pretty cool (despite all assurances to the contrary). When they pronounced it, it was more of a "zAH!"...
June 20, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-lettuce-pray
live, an apartment?
June 20, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-i-m-taken
a load off, a number, tea
June 20, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-gimmie
as good as you get?
June 19, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-let-s-mix
and match!
June 19, 2007
trivet commented on the word break
And now I will hear it for hours, echoing through my brain...
June 19, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-gimmie
a little, and take, up the ghost?
June 19, 2007
trivet commented on the word koreshanity
...like the Shakers?
June 18, 2007
trivet commented on the word video vampire
ooooh! I think I hate you now. As bad as that darn earworm;)
June 18, 2007
trivet commented on the list where-the-sun-don-t-ever-shine
An old folk song that was popularized by Nirvana (among others, incuding Lead Belly). More from wiki here.
June 18, 2007
trivet commented on the word fogou
Cornish mystery cave. More here and pictures here.
June 18, 2007
trivet commented on the word kiva
Underground chamber of the Pueblo Indian villages of the southwestern U.S., notable for the murals that decorate its walls.
A small hole in its floor, the sípapu, serves as the symbolic place of origin of the tribe. Though the kiva's primary purpose is for men's rituals and ceremonies, it is also used for political meetings or casual gatherings.
June 18, 2007
trivet commented on the word yaodong
Chinese cave dwellings. See here.
June 18, 2007
trivet commented on the word whispering gallery
Yeah - the town I grew up in had a museum that was originally built as a Mormon church and it was a wispering gallery until they remodeled. It was really cool to eavesdrop on the unsuspecting or play with your friends...
There is a more modern version in Chicago.
June 18, 2007
trivet commented on the word whispering gallery
One of such a form that sounds produced in certain parts of it are concentrated by reflection from the walls to another part, so that whispers or feeble sounds are audible at a much greater distance than under ordinary circumstances.
Like this one.
June 18, 2007
trivet commented on the word priest hole
A priest hole is the term given to hiding places for priests built into many of the principal Roman Catholic houses of England during the period when Roman Catholics were persecuted by law in England, from the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth I. (more here.)
June 18, 2007
trivet commented on the list the-writing-on-the-wall
Fun list - trompe l'oeil!
What about the family height chart? That whole bit with the ruler and the pencil on your birthday and/or whenever you could convince your mom that you got a little taller - is there a more succinct word for it?
June 14, 2007
trivet commented on the word fichu
A fichu is a large, square kerchief worn by women in the 18th century to fill in the low neckline of a bodice. The fichu was generally of linen fabric and was folded diagonally into a triangle and tied, pinned, or tucked into the bodice in front. (see here)
June 13, 2007
trivet commented on the list something-i-ate
I've seen granulate bugs (like this one)...
You're probably right about inebriate, but I still like it.
June 12, 2007
trivet commented on the list something-i-ate
ungulate! (neither feathered nor flowery, but still quite lovely...)
inebriate, stellate, flagellate, granulate?
June 12, 2007
trivet commented on the list something-i-ate
Interesting that so many of these are birdie words...
June 12, 2007
trivet commented on the list dazed-and-confused
Thanks, all!
June 10, 2007
trivet commented on the word ormolu
Ormolu (from French or moulu, signifying gold ground or pounded) is an 18th-century English term for applying finely ground, high-karat gold to an object in bronze. The French refer to this technique as bronze doré, which is used to this day though the item may be merely painted with a gold-tone paint... The manufacture of true ormolu employs a process known as mercury gilding or fire gilding, in which a solution of nitrate of mercury is applied to a piece of copper, brass, or bronze, followed by the application of an amalgam of gold and mercury. The item was then exposed to extreme heat until the mercury burned off and the gold remained, adhered to the metal object. Most mercury gilders died by the age of 40 due to exposure to the harmful mercury fumes. This gilding technique is similar to that also used on silver, which produced silver-gilt objects known as vermeil.
June 10, 2007
trivet commented on the word imari
Japanese porcelain made at the Arita kilns in Hizen province. Among the Arita porcelains are white glazed wares, pale gray-blue or gray-green glazed wares known as celadons, black wares, and blue-and-white wares with underglaze painting, as well as overglaze enamels.
June 10, 2007
trivet commented on the word flivver
The word flivver is most commonly meant to indicate a Ford Model T. In a more general sense, a small, cheap car is meant.
June 10, 2007
trivet commented on the word muddleheaded
"I've got lots of brains," said the wombat. "You listen to them rattle." He shook his head and it rattled beautifully.
(The Muddle-headed Wombat, by Ruth Park)
June 9, 2007
trivet commented on the list hogwash
blatherskite?
June 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word ventripotent
(adj) : having a big belly,; gluttonous
June 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word pluripotent
lovely!
June 8, 2007
trivet commented on the list odorific
Why, yes! My brain went off on this odorous little tangent. Good times.
June 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word reasty
Rusty and rancid; - applied to salt meat.
June 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word frouzy
Fetid, musty; rank; disordered and offensive to the smell or sight; slovenly; dingy.
June 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word thuriferous
Producing or bearing frankincense.
June 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word meracious
Being without mixture or adulteration; hence, strong; racy.
June 8, 2007
trivet commented on the list what-a-weasel
Nice! (if a bit malodorous...)
June 8, 2007
trivet commented on the list plurale-tantum
and bygones!
June 7, 2007
trivet commented on the list plurale-tantum
Fun! Must be cause we've got all those arms and legs...
Guts, covers, groceries, outskirts, cahoots?
June 7, 2007
trivet commented on the list utensil-strength
thankee!
June 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word spurtle
a porridge stirring utensil.
June 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word tragopan
yay! I love their little horns...
June 5, 2007
trivet commented on the list anacronyms
thanks, V!
June 5, 2007
trivet commented on the list baby-animals
Lovely! A baby llama/alpaca is called a cria. Larva, spiderling, gilt?
June 4, 2007
trivet commented on the word tunicate
Sadly, no. They're still pretty cool though, in an ur-chordate kind of way.
June 4, 2007
trivet commented on the word cuirass
A piece of armor for protecting the breast and back. / The breastplate alone.
A defense or protection.
Zoology: A protective covering of bony plates or scales.
(Middle English curas, from Old French curasse, probably alteration (influenced by Old French cuir, leather) of Old Provençal coirassa, from Late Latin coricea (vestis), leather (garment), feminine of coriceus, from Latin corium, hide; see sker-1 in Indo-European roots.)
June 2, 2007
trivet commented on the word mulct
n.: A penalty such as a fine.
tr.v.: To penalize by fining or demanding forfeiture. / To acquire by trickery or deception. / To defraud or swindle.
(From Middle English multen, to fine, from Latin multre, mulctre, from mulcta, fine.)
June 2, 2007
trivet commented on the word tunicate
sea squirt
June 1, 2007
trivet commented on the word babirusa
A nocturnal, forest-dwelling wild pig (Babyrousa babyrussa) of the East Indies, having long, upward-curving tusks in the male.
(Malay babirusa : babi, hog + rusa, deer.)
June 1, 2007
trivet commented on the word loess
a loamy deposit formed by wind, usually yellowish and calcareous, common in the Mississippi Valley and in Europe and Asia.
Origin: 1825–35; < G Löss < Swiss G lösch loose, slack (sch taken as a dial. equivalent of G s), akin to G lose
May 31, 2007
trivet commented on the word mollisol
I prefer loess.
May 31, 2007
trivet commented on the list sign-of-the-times
Once upon a time! Dark ages?
May 31, 2007
trivet commented on the word gallipot
contained!
May 31, 2007
trivet commented on the word lachrymatory
(Antiq.) A ``tear-bottle;'' a narrow-necked vessel found in sepulchers of the ancient Romans; -- so called from a former notion that the tears of the deceased person's friends were collected in it.
May 31, 2007
trivet commented on the word demersal
Oh, a flounder's life is a wonderful life,
A-lurkin' under the sea,
I'd need no rehersal to be a demersal
It's the life of a flounder for me!
Oh, the life of a flounder for me!
Oh, a flounder's life is a wonderful life,
Your eyes are on top of your head,
For lying quite hidden, then pouncing unbidden
What a glorious life it would be!
Oh, what a glorious life it would be!
with apologies to pirates everywhere.
May 29, 2007
trivet commented on the list every-uncle-s-to-do-list
This is a bully/big brother handbook! Uncles dandle and give horsie rides, surely!
May 29, 2007
trivet commented on the list bass-akwards
Aren't you a fart smeller;) I'm keeping them anyway. *neener, neener, neener*
May 29, 2007
trivet commented on the list prosie-prinderella-and-the-cince
nice! I stole a few.
May 29, 2007
trivet commented on the word tonsure
monk hair!
May 29, 2007
trivet commented on the list a-home-for-fleas-a-hive-for-bees
ooooh! rat-tail, tonsure, queue, pixie, caesar?
And who could forget the hi-top fade?
May 29, 2007
trivet commented on the list bass-akwards
They're spooner quotes - if you go to the word listing for work and lobotomy, you'll get the full experience. Didn't want to list whole sentences...
May 29, 2007
trivet commented on the word peruke
I don't know - the masses seem to have an unholy fondness for the toupee and the combover.
May 29, 2007
trivet commented on the word peruke
Also known as a periwig, the peruke was popular during the 1600s and 1700s. It is currently worn by British Judges, although now only on ceremonial occasions. The wearing of the peruke was made fashionable by King Louis XIV of France. In the 1650s he began hiring wigmakers wearing full wigs, perhaps to cover his own accelerating baldness. Soon, in imitation of the king, the courtiers began wearing perukes a badge of honor. It was adopted by the future English King Charles II and his court, who brought the fashion to England when he was restored to the throne in 1660. In part, the peruke was a reaction to the close-cropped hair of the Puritans (so-called Roundheads). After King Louis's death in 1715, the massive peruque went out of fshion and was gradually replaced by smaller wigs.
May 29, 2007
trivet commented on the word tark-tarks
high heels.
May 29, 2007
trivet commented on the word rill
1. A small brook; a rivulet.
2. A long narrow straight valley on the moon's surface.
(Low German rille or Dutch ril, running stream; see rei- in Indo-European roots.)
May 29, 2007
trivet commented on the word tibetan memory test
More here.
May 25, 2007
trivet commented on the list prosie-how-i-met-my-wife
Yay! I've always loved this :)
May 25, 2007
trivet commented on the word tibetan memory test
One hen.
Two ducks.
Three squawking geese.
Four limerick oysters.
Five corpulent porpoises.
Six pair of Don Alversos tweezers.
Seven thousand Macedonians in full battle array.
Eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt.
Nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic, old men on roller skates with a marked propensity towards procrastination and sloth.
Ten lyrical, spherical diabolical denizens of the deep who hall stall around the corner of the quo of the quay of the quivery, all at the same time.
May 25, 2007
trivet commented on the list bass-akwards
I wonder what else is taught in Dad School? There must be a class on embarrasing flair - mustaches, funny hats, shorts & knee socks, etc.
May 24, 2007
trivet commented on the word work
Work is the bane of the drinking class. - Oscar Wilde
May 24, 2007
trivet commented on the word dad joke
Dad jokes are usually not very funny to begin with, but you laugh anyway because he is so proud of coming up with it. Then, because it is *so* funny, it gets told way past its expiration date...
My dad loved this little wooden disc painted with the word "tuit". Someone gave it to him for Christmas and he was thrilled that he'd finally gotten a round tuit.
Also - horrible puns & spoonerisms involving otters and terns. Some long drawn-out story about the beach and rocks and biblical justice with the punchline "leave no tern unstoned."
May 24, 2007
trivet commented on the list bass-akwards
I think everyone's father has a favorite spoonerism. They're the perfect dad joke...
And thanks for the suggestions - this is still very much a work in progress.
May 24, 2007
trivet commented on the word whelm
Chastity: I know you can be underwhelmed, and you can be overwhelmed, but can you ever just be, like, whelmed?
Bianca: I think you can in Europe.
-10 Things I Hate About You
May 24, 2007
trivet commented on the list obviously
absotively!
May 24, 2007
trivet commented on the word guys
What you said. I always mix these things up - mouth in my foot, hatching chickens before they count, etc.
May 24, 2007
trivet commented on the word guys
toncheekgue
May 24, 2007
trivet commented on the word guys
parthenogenesis?
May 24, 2007
trivet commented on the list the-history-of-cool
Sweet! Much more thorough than mine...
May 23, 2007
trivet commented on the word placid
The ant has made himself illustrious
Through constant industry industrious.
So what?
Would you be calm and placid
If you were full of formic acid?
-Ogden Nash
May 23, 2007
trivet commented on the list neat
Suggest away, I know I don't have them all...
May 23, 2007
trivet commented on the list neat
Prompted by the neat discussion and Valse's suggestion.
May 23, 2007
trivet commented on the word church key
A bottle opener (see here).
May 22, 2007
trivet commented on the list gma-gma
Dogma? More of a jubjub bird, perhaps? I hear flapping wings and ponderous flight...
May 22, 2007
trivet commented on the word boule
I'd only ever encountered boule in bakeries, but:
1. A pear-shaped synthetic sapphire, ruby, or other alumina-based gem, produced by fusing and tinting alumina.
2. A round loaf of white bread.
(French, ball, from Old French, bubble, from Latin bulla.)
3. The lower house of the modern Greek legislature.
4. - a. The senate of 400 founded by Solon in ancient Athens.
- b. A legislative assembly in any one of the ancient Greek states.
(Greek boul, assembly; see gwel- in Indo-European roots.)
5. an inlaid furniture decoration; tortoiseshell and yellow and white metal form scrolls in cabinetwork (syn: boulle)
May 21, 2007
trivet commented on the list atinlay-asesphray
I thought assimilation was the point.
May 21, 2007
trivet commented on the list atinlay-asesphray
in utero, placebo, in situ, veto, post mortem, modus operandi...
this is fun.
oooh! - and n.b./note bene
May 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word penultimate
Likewise on both accounts, with extra cringes for the recent fad of belligerent used as a synonym for drunk/intoxicated. *huuuhg*
May 21, 2007
trivet commented on the list atinlay-asesphray
Nice!
habeas corpus, non sequitur, ad nauseam, persona non grata?
May 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word onychophagy
*yeech* - but what if a nail-biter doesn't eat the nails, only gnaws them off and spits them out?
May 18, 2007
trivet commented on the word screwery
usury, tomfoolery?
May 18, 2007
trivet commented on the word doomsters
see poetrie...
May 17, 2007
trivet commented on the list artificial-intelligence
no roomba, then?
May 17, 2007
trivet commented on the list faint-sausage-stargazer
A lot of them I met when I was still a lab rat. More recently, in an article in the NY times.
May 17, 2007
trivet commented on the word grommet
or the hickey doo where sweatshirt strings come out of the hood.
May 17, 2007
trivet commented on the list faded-glory
I walk along the street of sorrow,
The boulevard of broken dreams.
Where gigolo and gigolette
Can take a kiss without regret
So they forget their broken dreams.
You laugh tonight and cry tomorrow,
When you behold your shattered dreams.
And gigolo and gigolette
Awake to find their eyes are wet
With tears that tell of broken dreams.
Here is where you`ll always find me,
Always walking up and down.
But I left my soul behind me
In an old cathedral town.
The joy you find here, you borrow,
You cannot keep it long, it seems.
But gigolo and gigolette
Still sing a song and dance along
The boulevard of broken dreams.
(Harry Warren, Al Dubin)
May 16, 2007
trivet commented on the word footnote
I think that people tend to hold onto regionalisms as defense against the homogenization of the world. I remember reading about some island on the east coast that had a distinctive accent. Somehow, a bridge was built or something connected it more easily to the mainland and more people started to move there (and more islanders commuted to the mainland to work...)
In response, island accents thickened, especially for the younger generation who spend more time on the mainland - a badge of belonging/"I was here first"
May 16, 2007
trivet commented on the word perhaps
...lizards?
May 14, 2007
trivet commented on the word hooloovoo
Listen to the BBC radio series if you have a chance - I prefer it to all other incarnations...
May 14, 2007
trivet commented on the list anything-but-standard-international
nice!
May 10, 2007
trivet commented on the list that-s-not-a-banana
Nice! conk?
May 10, 2007
trivet commented on the list hold-my-place
nice! I like the Mikado quote!
May 7, 2007
trivet commented on the list is-this-a-dagger-i-see-before-me
Can't believe I forgot that! Thanks, o.
May 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word vroomy
a thingy with a motor - car, vacuum, blender, etc.
May 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word snee
In a state of wild alarm--
With a frightful, frantic, fearful frown,
I bared my big right arm.
I seized him by his little pig-tail,
And on his knees fell he,
As he squirmed and struggled,
And gurgled and guggled,
I drew my snickersnee!
Oh, never shall I
Forget the cry,
Or the shriek that shrieked he,
As I gnashed my teeth,
When from its sheath
I drew my snickersnee!
May 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word trow
Archaic: to believe, think, or suppose.
(Origin: bef. 900; ME trowen, OE tréow(i)an to believe, deriv. of tréow belief; akin to ON trūa, G trauen, Goth trauan to trust, believe)
May 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word hollow bannister
Not a person, a bottle of moonshine...
May 5, 2007
trivet commented on the word hollow bannister
I used to live in a house that was built during Prohibition - it had all sorts of interesting hidey holes, including one of these.
May 4, 2007
trivet commented on the list oo-ee-oo-aa-aa
nice list!
oobleck, oocyte, eek?
May 2, 2007
trivet commented on the list it-s-wet-and-it-s-land-wetlands
very nice:)
April 30, 2007
trivet commented on the word trembling prairie
awesome!
April 30, 2007
trivet commented on the word pocosin
wetlands have the best names!
April 30, 2007
trivet commented on the word flummadiddle
lovely!
April 30, 2007
trivet commented on the list rig-marole
thanks!
April 26, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-where-did-it-go
oooh - and face!
April 26, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-where-did-it-go
hope, boys, coast, cool, time?
April 26, 2007
trivet commented on the word maxixe
"the Brazilian tango"
The music was influenced by various other forms including the tango, lundu, polka and habanera, and is danced to a rapid 2/4 time. The maxixe was one of the dances that contributed to the samba and lambada. Vernon Castle said of the maxixe in his 1914 book Modern Dancing, "The steps themselves are not difficult; on the contrary, they are childishly simple; it is the easiest dance of all to do, and I think the hardest of all to do well."
April 26, 2007
trivet commented on the word yegg
safecracker / burglar / thief
April 25, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-where-did-it-go
marbles!
April 25, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-poetrie-tunie-listings
jennarenn, the lost stuffie is all yours. I'm more of a backseat driver when it comes to such things.
ps, u - you forgot custard
April 25, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-all-my-love
the cut, out, by a mile?
lots of things are/go missing: links, pieces, persons, in action...
is there a lost stuffie?
April 24, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-git-in-here
funky, with the program, just deserts?
April 24, 2007
trivet commented on the word oast
a usually conical kiln used for drying hops, malt, or tobacco -- called also oast·house.
April 24, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-git-in-here
out, a life, cracking, a move on and, er...jiggy?
April 24, 2007
trivet commented on the list april-observances
arbor day (us)?
April 24, 2007
trivet commented on the word oxlip
That's what I mean. Oxlip just sits there and quivers like a blob of glup. *huuuhg*
April 20, 2007
trivet commented on the word oxlip
I don't know, but I'm not a fan - it just looks wrong.
April 20, 2007
trivet commented on the word agist
To take to graze or pasture, at a certain sum; -- used originally of the feeding of cattle in the king's forests, and collecting the money for the same. --Blackstone. (Webster 1913)
April 20, 2007
trivet commented on the word oxlip
Primula elatior - a european primrose akin to the cowslip...
April 20, 2007
trivet commented on the word sparble
nice - even if it sounds more like a gait - just a bit faster than a shamble, perhaps?
April 20, 2007
trivet commented on the list breathe-in-breathe-out
Gasoline, cigars and gunpowder‽ They'd make my stank list, for sure.
April 19, 2007
trivet commented on the word tidewrack
I agree!
April 19, 2007
trivet commented on the word humours
also spelled Humor (from Latin “liquid,�? or “fluid�?), in early Western physiological theory, one of the four fluids of the body that were thought to determine a person's temperament and features. In the ancient physiological theory still current in the European Middle Ages and later, the four cardinal humours were blood, phlegm, choler (yellow bile), and melancholy (black bile).
April 19, 2007
trivet commented on the word fleam
A veterinarian's bleeding tool. See a picture here.
April 19, 2007
trivet commented on the word nostrum
snake oil
April 19, 2007
trivet commented on the word sniggle
to fish for eels by thrusting a baited hook into their lurking places.
April 18, 2007
trivet commented on the list eek
I know - it was such a lovely mental picture...
April 17, 2007
trivet commented on the word jaeger
nasty, bullying skuas!
April 17, 2007
trivet commented on the list eek
thanks! I first thought that belleek might have something to do with Welshmen girding themselves for battle, but Irish crockery is still fun.
April 17, 2007
trivet commented on the list the-feminist-outcry
When I was just a wee coaster, our church got a new, PC hymnal that had replaced He and Him with Spirit, Creator and the like (with little regard to meter or integrity). We called it the Itnal...
April 17, 2007
trivet commented on the list testosterone-city-2-testosterone-strikes-back
manturian, manticore, manifest destiny, manipulate, and how do you feel about the various -mancies?
ps - reesetee has a point there...
April 16, 2007
trivet commented on the list testosterone-city-2-testosterone-strikes-back
mangle, manacle, manhandle - and what do you have against the innocent mango?
April 16, 2007
trivet commented on the word keek
Scots
intr.v. - to peek; peep.
n. - a look, especially a quick one; a peek.
April 16, 2007
trivet commented on the word steek
To pierce with a sharp instrument; hence, to stitch; to sew; also, to fix; to fasten.
April 16, 2007
trivet commented on the word cleek
one iron, in old golf lingo
April 16, 2007
trivet commented on the list citrus
nice! yuzu, clementine, orangina? mmmmm...
April 15, 2007
trivet commented on the list scavenger-hunt-2-flair
flourish, flagellate, flicker?
April 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word vocabularious
nice!
April 11, 2007
trivet commented on the word butty
mmmmm... bacon...
I thought they were bacon sarnies, and still prefer the name, nyt notwithstanding.
April 11, 2007
trivet commented on the list linguistic-perps
I avoid Jim Carrey whenever possible, me - how 'bout vendetta and stiletto?
April 10, 2007
trivet commented on the word samara
Rhinoceros horns!
April 10, 2007
trivet commented on the list exclamations-i-don-t-think-people-actually-use-in-real-conversations
Pshaw!
April 10, 2007
trivet commented on the word samara
maple seed, aka: helicopter, whirlygig, key.
April 10, 2007
trivet commented on the word squirting cucumber
Ecballium elaterium. It gets its unusual name from the fact that, when ripe, it squirts a stream of mucilaginous liquid containing its seeds.
April 10, 2007
trivet commented on the word schizocarp
A dry fruit that splits at maturity into two or more closed, one-seeded parts, as in the carrot or mallow.
April 10, 2007
trivet commented on the list linguistic-perps
I've always been leery of smackdown... Also brogue, rumble, streptococcus?
April 10, 2007
trivet commented on the list april-showers
thanks!
April 10, 2007
trivet commented on the list linguistic-perps
It rhymes with flaccid. There is no oomph and a decided lack of spittle when trivets utter this word. Does remind me of an Ogden Nash poem:
The ant has made himself illustrious
Through constant industry industrious.
So what?
Would you be calm and placid
If you were full of formic acid?
April 10, 2007
trivet commented on the list linguistic-perps
I don't find placid very formidable...
April 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word we're off
Like a turd of hurdles!
April 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word well
That's a deep subject.
April 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word molasses
Best part of the mole...
April 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word taffimai metallumai
or Taffy, the small-person-without- any-manners-who-ought-to-be-spanked
April 6, 2007
trivet commented on the list lunatic-fringe
Thanks, oroboros - I never spell blancmange correctly. I just can't bear to put the n in. Dingy's right, though - I'm not listing the boat, but the grimy, grubby sense.
April 5, 2007
trivet commented on the list lunatic-fringe
Yay! I was just getting around to -nge- words. These are lovely.
April 4, 2007
trivet commented on the word gothic heroine
subsists on blancmange and tea.
April 4, 2007
trivet commented on the list bzzzt-try-again
I've always liked lozenge - it sounds like you're sucking on one already...
That or you're a gothic heroine.
April 4, 2007
trivet commented on the list climb-every-mountain
Oooh, I'd fogotten all about New Mexico. My favorites are the Organ mountains cause they look soooo cool. I didn't know about the Manzanos, but I'm a sucker for all permutations of manzana...
April 3, 2007
trivet commented on the list climb-every-mountain
Thanks, kisholi! I didn't realize Sri lanka had so many mountains, but I'm very glad to have made the acquaintance of the knuckles.
April 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word driskill
The highest point in Louisiana, this mountain tops out at a whopping 535 feet, compared to Huey Long's 450-foot tall Capitol.
April 3, 2007
trivet commented on the list delta-don-t-fly-there
Nice! ether, blogosphere, bailiwick?
April 2, 2007
trivet commented on the list animalia-wordia
Wow!
April 2, 2007
trivet commented on the list avoid-fruits-and-nuts-you-are-what-you-eat
Excellent! peachy keen, sour grapes, peanut gallery?
April 2, 2007
trivet commented on the list mad-as-a-march-hare
nice! batshit, zany, nuthatch, loopy, bonkers, mad?
April 2, 2007
trivet commented on the list bad-guys
Lovely! Scapegrace and rapscallion are so delightfully scathing...
No bastards? They always get left out, the poor things.
April 2, 2007
trivet commented on the list picaresque
Thanks!
April 1, 2007
trivet commented on the list walk-this-way
arsle! (and sidle...)
March 31, 2007
trivet commented on the list they-call-me-mister-monkey
monkey's uncle, monkey puzzle tree?
March 30, 2007
trivet commented on the list thirsty-yet
My ten-foot pole and are staying well away from this one.
March 29, 2007
trivet commented on the word hassel
Seen on a display at a J. Crew(!) the other day: "hassel-free" headbands.
March 29, 2007
trivet commented on the list watch-your-language-young-man
Hoover dam! This is a good list.
March 29, 2007
trivet commented on the list thirsty-yet
oooh! Lap, glug, partake? Now I've got to go take a slug of something...
March 28, 2007
trivet commented on the word bunbury
Pastime of Algernon Moncrieff and
these birds.
March 28, 2007
trivet commented on the list thirsty-yet
tipple, belt, down, wash down?
March 27, 2007
trivet commented on the word aye-aye
They're kind of cute, but they also look like I've always imagined Gollum.
March 27, 2007
trivet commented on the word equinox
I first met the equinoxes in The Elephant's Child:
That very next morning, when there was nothing left of the Equinoxes, because the Precession had preceded according to precedent, this 'satiable Elephant's Child took a hundred pounds of bananas (the little short red kind), and a hundred pounds of sugar-cane (the long purple kind), and seventeen melons (the greeny-crackly kind), and said to all his dear families, 'Goodbye. I am going to the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, to find out what the Crocodile has for dinner.'
Kipling, Just So Stories
March 27, 2007
trivet commented on the word bajulate
Where do you find these gems? This may have replaced arsle (which shouldered out wamble) as my all-time favorite wordie word.
March 26, 2007
trivet commented on the list i-love-not-man-the-less-but-nature-more
nice!
March 26, 2007
trivet commented on the list beastly-verbs
Excellent - pussyfoot, dart?
March 25, 2007
trivet commented on the list that-s-just-beastly
Nice! dog days, stool pigeon, church mouse, gift horse, monkey's uncle, snail's pace...?
March 23, 2007
trivet commented on the list wordage
Thanks, sionnach. And chained_bear, I don't know how I missed your OED delvings - I've always enjoyed -age for its ability to connotate stuff/ness and now I know why. Cool.
March 20, 2007
trivet commented on the list doghouse
Thanks!
March 20, 2007
trivet commented on the word exuberantly
*groan* - but fabulous.
March 20, 2007
trivet commented on the word just deserts
Phooey. I'd always thought that it was in the same family as eating crow, eating one's words, and other cake-eating, bread-buttering sayings. I had a whole mental picture of the various kinds of just desserts people would have to eat. Cacti and cattle skulls just can't compete. Sigh.
March 20, 2007
trivet commented on the list english-food-terms-borrowed-from-other-languages
I like this!
March 20, 2007
trivet commented on the list potential-cat-names-male
Perhaps this will help.
March 17, 2007
trivet commented on the list democracie-grocery-shopping
hah!
March 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word wutz
Clumsy person, tool.
March 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word the
As in: "the google, "checking the email", "going to the Safeway store", etc.
I'm not proud of this.
March 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word schnibble
Small piece, shred.
March 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word newtnie
Fastener.
March 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word thingie
Gizmo, whatsit, thingamajig, etc.
March 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word cold drink
Soda, pop, coke, etc.
March 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word bellypopper
Helicopter.
March 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word snacky
Tasty, usually sweet.
March 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word goozlum
Snacky goo.
March 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word cackleberries
Eggs.
March 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word kebbups
Carrots OR catsup.
March 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word hungry whatsit
garbage disposal
March 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word dadootch
garbage
March 15, 2007
trivet commented on the list democracie-grocery-shopping
Like a "clang, clang!" trolley?
March 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word skookum
a lovely, all purpose positive adjective meaning: well done, large, good, strong, genuine, cool, etc.
March 14, 2007
trivet commented on the word fluff-a-nutter
Mmmmm...but I thought it was fluffernutter.
March 14, 2007
trivet commented on the list new-englander
Half of Florida is from the northeast anyway, or so it seems. I've only ever heard red light E. of the Mississippi.
March 14, 2007
trivet commented on the list democracie-astacology
Hmmmm. Votes sort of went to crawdad(y), but more wordies list crayfish.
March 14, 2007
trivet commented on the list democracie-grocery-shopping
Where do you put your groceries?
March 14, 2007
trivet commented on the list new-englander
I remember getting lost in Rhode Island because someone told me to turn at a red light. I went right through the tricolored traffic light they were talking about, looking for one of those blinky red lights that often serves as a stop sign. I've only heard red light referring to stop lights/traffic lights (as opposed to districts) in the northeast.
March 14, 2007
trivet commented on the list new-englander
How 'bout red light?
March 14, 2007
trivet commented on the list new-englander
Standing ON line! The rest of the world knows that they are an integral part of the line and therefore stands IN line...
March 14, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-ready-to-burst
gum, over, tart, out, (maybe) a razzi?
March 12, 2007
trivet commented on the list x-marks-the-spot
Oh. Good then. I originally listed opopanax, but changed it cause wiki and other people here had opoponax. Now I feel better.
affix, oryx, and (not so sure about this one) archaeopteryx.
March 12, 2007
trivet commented on the word opoponax
Sweet myrrh. Its resin can be used as incense/perfume, an antispasmodic, and to treat asthma, hysteria & hypochondria.
March 12, 2007
trivet commented on the list x-marks-the-spot
Shoulda figured you'd have such a birdy word. Another: opoponax.
March 12, 2007
trivet commented on the list x-marks-the-spot
Nice! jinx, pharynx, syrinx coccyx, cervix, beaux, vortex, cowpox?
March 12, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-ready-to-burst
top, question, in, knuckles, and I'm not sure these count: rocks, music, art, culture?
March 12, 2007
trivet commented on the list so-near-and-yet-so-far
graze - as opposed to a grave injury?
rave - instead of being gravely serious?
March 11, 2007
trivet commented on the list stragglers
thanks!
March 11, 2007
trivet commented on the list stragglers
Because they're all so much fun to say!
March 10, 2007
trivet commented on the word arsle
Don't butlers buttle?
March 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word rai
Not a lot of pickpockets, though.
March 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word arsle
Also, Swedish for ass/arse.
March 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word arsle
'specially when we managed to keep sidle, also an excellent word. Why not frontle or fordle?
March 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word burqini
In an article in the NY Times this morning, no less!
March 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word arsle
no! really?
March 9, 2007
trivet commented on the list all-greek-to-me
Interesting! betamax, beta carotene?
March 9, 2007
trivet commented on the list yardage
It was only the department stores that got to me. Fabric stores were much better - all the different designs and textures to look at and drape about oneself. Except this one store my mom used to go to. The lady who owned it hated children, so she built a pen outside the store for pesky kids to stay in while their mothers were shopping. It had an astroturf floor and a few grubby plastic toys. *huuuhg*
March 8, 2007
trivet commented on the list yardage
Thanks, sionnach. I'm telling you, if you're hiding in a carousel, those passing ankles are just waiting for you to pounce - like stealing napkins in relatives' laps from under the table at big family dinners...
March 8, 2007
trivet commented on the list yardage
What, you didn't hide in the carousels and / make animal noises / bat at ladies' ankles like a kitten / pull clothes down from the hangers / refuse to come out? Always good for a short trip to the store.
March 8, 2007
trivet commented on the list yardage
The product of a childhood that involved a lot of waiting in fabric stores.
March 8, 2007
trivet commented on the list spam-names
I got one today from Margaritas H. Objector.
March 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word eric
Also ericfine - Irish blood money. See this site
March 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word ericfine
Part of Brehon Law. See here
March 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word blood money
The money-penalty paid by a murderer to the kinsfolk of the victim. These fines completely protect the offender (or the kinsfolk thereof) from the vengeance of the injured family. The system was common among the Scandinavian and Teutonic races previous to the introduction of Christianity, and a scale of payments, graduated according to the heinousness of the crime, was fixed by laws, which further settled who could exact the blood-money, and who were entitled to share it. Homicide was not the only crime thus expiable: blood-money could be exacted for all crimes of violence. Some acts, such as killing any one in a church or while asleep, or within the precincts of the royal palace, were "bot-less"; and the death penalty was inflicted. Such a criminal was outlawed, and could be killed on sight.
In Islamic terms, Qisas can in some cases result in blood money (diyya) being payed out to the family of victims. The amount varies from country to country and from case to case. In Saudi Arabia, the amount of blood money for the killing of a muslim woman is half that for killing a muslim man. The blood money for killing non-muslims is lower than both.
March 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word główczyzna
Slavic blood money.
March 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word leodgeld
See leod.
March 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word leod
Also leodgeld - Anglo-Saxon blood money for manslaughter.
March 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word ericfine
Irish blood money.
March 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word galanas
Welsh blood money.
March 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word drihtinbeah
Anglo-Saxon payment to a lord in compensation for killing his freeman.
March 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word diyya
also diyah - blood money. A pre-Islamic Arabian concept that has been carried over Islam.
March 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word weregild
see wergild comments
March 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word вира
vira - Russian blood money
March 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word wergild
Thralls were a Viking thing, somewhere between a serf and a slave, I think. There were a bunch of funky rules about thralls that I have very fuzzy recollections about. Maybe they had to wear neck rings? I think they were either captured on raids or people who were destitute enough to put themselves up for thralldom. I'm sure there is info out there...
March 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word wergild
blood money
From wikipedia:
"Wergild was a reparational payment usually demanded of a person guilty of homicide or other wrongful death, although it could also be demanded in other cases of serious crime. The payment of weregild was an important legal mechanism in early northern European societies, such as those of the Vikings, and Anglo-Saxons; the other common form of legal reparation at this time was blood revenge. The payment was typically made to the family or to the clan. The word means "man price". If these payments were not made, or refused by the offended party, a blood feud would ensue.
The size of the weregild in cases of murder was largely conditional upon the social rank of the victim. Thralls and slaves technically commanded no weregild, but it was commonplace to make a nominal payment in the case of a thrall and the value of the slave in such a case."
March 7, 2007
trivet commented on the list bottled-up
For volume/bottle equivalents see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_bottle_nomenclature
March 7, 2007
trivet commented on the list democracie-astacology
*dusting off hands* That oughta fix it.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the list democracie-astacology
The crayfish, also known as the crawfish, owes its name to a misunderstanding. The actual source of the word may be the Old High German word krebiz, "edible crustacean," or a word related to it. From this Germanic source came Old French crevice, which when taken into English became crevise (first recorded in a document written in 1311-1312). In Old French and Middle English these words designated the crayfish. People began to pronounce and spell the last part of this word as if it were fish, the first fish spelling being recorded in 1555. Because of a variation in Anglo-Norman pronunciation, two forms of the word have come down to Modern English: crayfish and crawfish.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the list democracie-astacology
Craydad does get some google hits - is that a vote? (I agree that it looks kinda funky.)
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the list democracie-astacology
I'm sorry, u, I was trying to give credit where credit is due. Would you prefer democracie II?
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word ombrology
Oh, my. I think all of these pseudologies should go on AbraxasZugzwang's wordization list. That goes for vexiology, too, however accidental.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the list democracie-astacology
Write-ins encouraged - I'm no wordinista :)
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word ombrology
I concur. Might be confused with astacology, though.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word lithology
The study of rocks.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word campanology
The study of bells.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word oneirology
The study of dreams.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word dendrochronology
The study of tree rings, both to find a tree's age and to study past events and climate change.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word dendrology
The study of trees.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word ichthyology
The study of fishes.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word myrmecology
The study of ants.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word kymatology
The study of waves.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word bryology
The study of mosses and worts.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word horology
The study of time and timepieces.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word carpology
Not a branch of icthyology, but the study of seeds and nuts.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word apiology
The study of bees.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word orology
The study of mountains.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word acarology
The study of ticks and mites.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word zymology
The study of fermentation.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word speleology
The study of caves.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word ombrology
The study of rain.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word cereology
Not he study of breakfast foods, but the study of crop circles.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word somnology
The study of sleep.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word rhinology
You'd think the study of certian horned ungulates, but acutally, the study of noses.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word selenology
The study of the moon.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word mycology
The study of fungi.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word dactology
The study of fingerprints.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word balneology
The study of baths and bathing.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word astacology
The study of crayfish.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word phrenology
The (now discredited) study of the shape of the skull as a means of determining character and intelligence.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word pomology
The study of fruit.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word eschatology
the study of "final things" like death and the end of the world.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the list wordage
Thanks for your wild suggestions, u, but I'm only listing -age suffixes. -rage, -phage, and -stage are for someone else to take on. And I just don't like marriage, etc - too average, I guess.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word vexillology
the study of flags
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word vexiologist
nope, I just missed some letters.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word vexiologist
one who studies flags.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the list wordage
Thanks! I hadn't realized just how many -age words there are. I'll take any and all that I like, however strange, but reserve the right to exclude average, advantage, percentage and the like - just cause I don't like the way they look.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word lammergeier
One bad-ass vulture!
From wikipedia: "It usually disdains the rotting meat, however, and lives on a diet that is 90% bone. It will drop large bones from a height to crack them to get smaller pieces. Its old name of Ossifrage (or Bone Crusher) relates to this habit. Live tortoises are also dropped in similar fashion to crack them open...According to legend, the Greek playwright Aeschylus was killed when a tortoise was dropped on his bald head by a Lammergeier."
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the word ossifrage
Bone-eating vulture - see Lammergeier.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the list wordage
So many wordsies! Thank you all. C-b, I do have something against marriage - I just don't like the -riage (except maybe for triage). Also, I'm going for polysyllabic and stuff-related rather than time-related -ages.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the list product-of-wordie
filmie? cinemie?
Mmm...cinemie toast...maybe less movie, more breakfast.
March 6, 2007
trivet commented on the list product-of-wordie
so speaks our resident wordinista:)
March 5, 2007
trivet commented on the list product-of-wordie
Yes - see deponticate. I'm all about the coinage.
March 5, 2007
trivet commented on the word depontificate
see deponticate.
March 5, 2007
trivet commented on the list cross-my-heart
oooh! - cross reference, cross country.
March 5, 2007
trivet commented on the list cross-my-heart
cross purposes, cross stitch, cross contaminate?
nice list :)
March 5, 2007
trivet commented on the list product-of-wordie
fauxtatoes, wombastic?
March 5, 2007
trivet commented on the word thing
From wikipedia:
A thing or ting (Old Norse and Icelandic: þing; other modern Scandinavian languages: ting) was the governing assembly in Germanic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers. The English word 'thing', meaning "object" is also derived from this; the semantic evolution having been roughly "assembly" → "court" → "case" → "business" → "purpose" → "object".
The national parliaments of Iceland, Norway and Denmark all have names that incorporate thing:
* Althing - The Icelandic "General Thing"
* Folketing - The Danish "People's Thing"
* Storting - The Norwegian "Great Thing"
The parliaments of the self-governing territories of Åland, Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Isle of Man also have names that refer to thing.
* Lagting - The Ålandic "Law Thing"
* Løgting - The Faroese "Law Thing"
* Landsting - The Greenlandic "Land Thing"
* Tynwald - The Manx "Thing Meadow"
Similarly, prior to 1953, the Danish parliamentary system was the Rigsdag, which comprised the two houses of the Folketing (People's Thing) and the Landsting (Land Thing). The former, which was reserved for people of means, was abolished by the constitution of 1953.
The Norwegian parliament, Storting, is divided into two chambers named the Lagting and the Odelsting, which translates loosely into the Thing of the Law and the Thing of the Lords. On the lower administrative level the governing bodies on the county level in Norway are called Fylkesting, the Thing of the County.
In Norway and Sweden there exist own administrative bodies with limited autonomy for the Sami people minorities. It is called the Sameting, the Thing of the Sami, in both countries.
March 5, 2007
trivet commented on the list the-cryptkeeper
I've not read Stephenson, but wikipedia gives a definition (however spurious) and up it goes.
March 5, 2007
trivet commented on the word cryptonomicon
A novel by Neal Stephenson. According to wikipedia:
"When Stephenson came up with his title, he was not aware of the word's origin, and was simply seeking a Greek-sounding word that also had 'crypto' in it. Cryptonomicon translates to 'Book of Hidden Names'. The Cryptonomicon referred to in the novel— described as a "cryptographer's bible" — is a fictional book summarizing mankind's knowledge of cryptography and cryptanalysis."
March 5, 2007
trivet commented on the word scuttlebutt
The original water cooler?
March 5, 2007
trivet commented on the list fun-with-apocopes
I thought newbie came from British boarding schools - shortened from new boy.
March 4, 2007
trivet commented on the word tsesarevich
Russian prince and heir to the Tsar.
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word tsarevna
Russian princess.
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word tsarevich
Russian prince.
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word tsar
Russian emperor.
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word tsarina
Russian empress.
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word gur
Babylonian measurement equivalent of about 80 U.S. gallons (302 litres).
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word imeru
Babylonian measurement = one donkey load. (see qa)
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word šiqlu
see qa
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word mina
see qa
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word qa
(also spelled qû or ka) - ancient Babylonian liquid measure equal to the volume of a cube whose dimensions are each one handbreadth (3.9 to 4 inches, or 9.9 to 10.2 cm) in length. The cube held one great mina (about 2 pounds, or 1 kg) of water by weight. Five qa made up a šiqlu, 100 qa equaled an imeru (donkey load), and 300 qa equaled a gur. The gur was the equivalent of about 80 U.S. gallons (302 litres).
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word malk
Bart: Ouch! My bones are so brittle. But I always drink plenty of...looks down at carton he's holding ... "Malk"?
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word oe
a Faroe Islands term for a whirlwind
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the list the-cryptkeeper
Because crypt is a damn cool word.
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word cryptorchid
An animal with one or both testicles undescended.
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word cryptococcus
A genus of yeastlike fungi.
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word cryptonym
Code name.
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word cryptosporidia
A genus of parasitic protozoans.
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the word procryptic
Having camouflage.
March 3, 2007
trivet commented on the list transmogrifier
Thanks!
March 2, 2007
trivet commented on the word lobotomy
Dorothy Parker, I believe.
March 2, 2007
trivet commented on the list oh-eee-oh-eee-oh
I'll take Chloe, but I'm ruling out 3-letter words and compounds like shoehorn unless they are really cool.
March 2, 2007
trivet commented on the list oh-eee-oh-eee-oh
thanks!
March 2, 2007
trivet commented on the list off-the-gound
hee hee!
March 2, 2007
trivet commented on the list off-the-gound
What do you call the stuff that collects in the corners of the eyes while you're sleeping?
March 1, 2007
trivet commented on the word tragus
Gross, y'all!
Meatus just made the hate list.
March 1, 2007
trivet commented on the list quartets-worth-considering
The teenage mutant ninja turtles and their inexplicable comeback?
March 1, 2007
trivet commented on the word gound
What about sleepy dust?
March 1, 2007
trivet commented on the list oh-eee-oh-eee-oh
Thank you, reesetee. Synaloepha is new to me, but I can't believe I forgot th'other.
March 1, 2007
trivet commented on the word ameba
Tempting, but too much confusion for with all the US v. GB differences for me. I'll leave it to someone else...
March 1, 2007
trivet commented on the list the-scences
senescence?
March 1, 2007
trivet commented on the word ameba
sounds like a list to me!
oh-eee-oh-eee-oh...
March 1, 2007
trivet commented on the word ameba
amoeba, dammit!
March 1, 2007
trivet commented on the list adjectives-that-used-to-be-people
chauvinist
March 1, 2007
trivet commented on the list jumbo-shrimp
The pugilist paused in the middle of his book of historical fiction because he felt a numbing sensation in his arm, perhaps a lingering effect of the boxing ring. He decided to climb down from the couch and play some double solitare with his manager while they discussed his next press release. It was a safe bet that his opponent, the living fossil, would accidentally on purpose stir up some trouble before the next match. "That guy is pure evil," said the aging yuppie manager, "I wouldn't be suprised if he is found missing some day."
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the list trix
Thanks, sionnach - double x's get her listed, obscurity be damned.
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the word kinnikinnick
Oh my goodness, yes! Now I only have to find a way to drop it into conversations...
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the list jumbo-shrimp
It is awfully nice of you to make this list.
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the list capitonyms
I was gonna make one of these, but you did it already - with a bunch that I hadn't thought of. My two cents: herb, lima, concord. Not forgetting the poem:
In August, an august patriarch
Was reading an ad in Reading, Mass.
Long-suffering Job secured a job
To polish piles of Polish brass.
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the list worse-than-they-sound
rubella?
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the list specific-excrement
How about coprolite? Or are fossils out?
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the word aposiopesis
What the...?
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the word fibonacci
1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144...
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the list democracie-know-your-surroundings
among suggests discrete surroundings - they could be counted, if you felt like it:
"Here we come a wassailing among the leaves so green"
honor among thieves
amid suggests more diffuse surroundings - much harder to count:
"I stand amid the roar/Of a surf-tormented shore" (Poe)
standing amid the ruins
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the word swat
Special Weapons And Tactics
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the list democracie-know-your-surroundings
How about smack dab in the middle?
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the word cubar
This is an anacronym that I think is used only by mother. She used to make "cubar" sauce, which stands for Cut Up Beyond All Recognition. The only way she could get us to eat eggplant and the like.
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the word aids
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the word asap
As Soon As Possible
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the word wasp
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the word awol
Absent Without Official Leave
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the word pin
Personal Identification Number
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the word scuba
Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the word laser
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the word sonar
SOund Navigation And Ranging
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the word radar
RAdio Detection And Ranging
February 28, 2007
trivet commented on the list specific-excrement
I first came across fewmets and probably mutes when my father read me The Sword in the Stone. King Pellinore had a box of the Questing Beast's fewmets that he would show to anyone he managed to corner. I'm amazed that this information has stuck with me lo these many years.
February 27, 2007
trivet commented on the list specific-excrement
fewmets, mutes?
February 27, 2007
trivet commented on the list synantonyms
Thanks - I'm on the fence w/ abuse/disabuse and quest/inquest, but the rest I'll take.
February 27, 2007
trivet commented on the list faint-sausage-stargazer
Sadly, many of these names are being retired for political correctness' sake.
February 27, 2007
trivet commented on the list quark-quark-quark
Chaperone proteins always made me giggle in biochem - I prefer it to chaperonin. And German science words are the best, thank you. I thought they had renamed sonic hedgehog along with the rest of the genes with interesting names. Ooooh - there's a good list.
February 27, 2007
trivet commented on the list synantonyms
Hmmmm. I don't think so. But thanks for proofing my slapdash mistakes.
February 27, 2007
trivet commented on the list winds-of-the-world
My favorite has always been cat's paw. I just like the mental picture.
February 27, 2007
trivet commented on the word kappa
A cucumber-obsessed Japanese spirit.
February 27, 2007
trivet commented on the list that-s-the-spirit
Oh - I was talking about arrak as an alternative spelling for airag, as that was how I first encountered it - in a German children's book. Never knew about the Indonesian rum 'til today. Perhaps all the names go back to the Arabic (araq)?
February 27, 2007
trivet commented on the list that-s-the-spirit
airag - Mongolian fermented mare's milk? It starts mild, but can be distilled enough to pack a punch. I've also seen arrak, even though it is pretty far from meeralee's arak...
February 27, 2007
trivet commented on the word nosology
good word :)
February 26, 2007
trivet commented on the list really-cool-three-letter-words
obi?
February 26, 2007
trivet commented on the word oleo
the grand poobah of cross words..
February 26, 2007
trivet commented on the list gnarlie
thanks!
February 26, 2007
trivet commented on the word gnathonic
obsequious, toadying, parasitical, and deceitful
What fun words to describe such unpleasant behavior!
February 26, 2007
trivet commented on the list amber-words
You're right, even if I still think that brazen & hussy go together like rama lama ding dong.
How about wreak?
February 26, 2007
trivet commented on the word saponification
huuugh! Corpse wax.
February 26, 2007
trivet commented on the word deponticate
This word makes my morning! Though it makes me think of the loss of a pope rather than bridge death. I guess it would be depontificate, though.
February 26, 2007
trivet commented on the word elver
baby eel
February 26, 2007
trivet commented on the word agnatha
jawless fish - lampreys, hagfish
February 26, 2007
trivet commented on the word oregon
Have you seen the bumper stickers that say orygun?
February 26, 2007
trivet commented on the word gnotobiotic
what you stuble across when you look up gnathic in the medical dictionary:
"free of germs or associated only with known or specified germs"
February 26, 2007
trivet commented on the word gnathic
of or pertaining to the jaw
February 26, 2007
trivet commented on the word couvade
Brittanica: "(from French couver, “to hatch�?), the custom of the father going to bed at the birth of his child and simulating the symptoms of labour and childbirth. In an extreme form of couvade, the mother returns to her work as soon as possible after giving birth, often the same day, and waits on the father; the roles of the sexes are thus reversed."
February 26, 2007
trivet commented on the word scapulimancy
divination using shoulder blades
February 26, 2007
trivet commented on the list how-to-talk-like-a-pirate
hearties, scurvy, bilge, grog, dog(s), beauty, shanty...
February 25, 2007
trivet commented on the list sacrelicious
mmmmm...pointless list
February 25, 2007
trivet commented on the list amber-words
Neat list!
brazen, hither/thither, hale, betwixt, hearth, flotsam, brimstone?
February 25, 2007
trivet commented on the word kwyjibo
nice! I'm yoinking this for my Simpsons list.
February 25, 2007
trivet commented on the list thwartmanteau
Don't forget wombastic!
February 24, 2007
trivet commented on the list i-fold
Bourré? Cajun spades (ish) - generally incomprehensible to an outsider due to speed and dialect issues.
February 24, 2007
trivet commented on the word anguish languish
Ladle Rat Rotten Hut, A Furry Tale
Wants pawn term tare worsted ladle gull how lift wetter murder inner ladle cordage honor itch offer lodge, dock, florist. Disk ladle gull orphan worry Putty ladle rat cluck wetter ladle rat hut, an fur disk raisin pimple colder Ladle Rat Rotten Hut.
Wan moaning Ladle Rat Rotten Hut's murder colder inset.
"Ladle Rat Rotten Hut, heresy ladle basking winsome burden barter an shirker cockles. Tick disk ladle basking tutor cordage offer groin-murder hoe lifts honor udder site offer florist. Shaker lake! Dun stopper laundry wrote! Dun stopper peck floors! Dun daily-doily inner florist, an yonder nor sorghum-stenches, dun stopper torque wet strainers!"
----
For more: http://www.justanyone.com/allanguish.html
February 24, 2007
trivet commented on the word gnarl
To make complaining remarks or noises under one's breath.
(also twist/knot)
February 23, 2007
trivet commented on the word shoebill
Well, they *average* as my favorites. I'm currently enamored of go away birds...
February 23, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-burned
As in, "Are your ears burning, AbraxasZugzwang? Cause they were talking about you on the -tory list."
February 23, 2007
trivet commented on the word shoebill
Big old clodhoppers, aren't they? My favorite African birds are this guy, the secretary bird and the hammerkop.
February 23, 2007
trivet commented on the list tummy-talk
Inspired by reesetee's wambling.
February 23, 2007
trivet commented on the word wambling
I think I like wambling even better. The sound food makes as it ambles through your digestive tract...
February 23, 2007
trivet commented on the word wombastic
here 'tis:
"Wombastic (wom-bas-tik) –adjective given to burrowing and herbivorousness in an inflated, pretentious manner. ;-)"
February 23, 2007
trivet commented on the word wombastic
see phascolomian
February 23, 2007
trivet commented on the word phascolomian
Excellent word, sionnach. After seeing the definition in the comments gizmo, I was so hoping for wombastic, but this is even better!
February 23, 2007
trivet commented on the list poetrie-custard-the-dragon
This, Jabberwocky, The Owl and the Pussycat, and Nash's Zoo poems were in regular rotation as bedtime stories when I was a child.
No wonder I became a wordie.
February 23, 2007
trivet commented on the word winda
how pirates enter houses
February 23, 2007
trivet commented on the word week
giggling for a mouse
February 23, 2007
trivet commented on the word jangling squirm
how a dragon attacks a pirate:
"With a clatter and a clank and a jangling squirm
He went at the pirate like a robin at a worm."
-The Tale of Custard the Dragon, Ogden Nash
February 23, 2007
trivet commented on the word custard
Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth,
And spikes on top of him and scales underneath,
Mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a nose,
And realio, trulio, daggers on his toes.
February 23, 2007
trivet commented on the list weirdly-pronounced-british-family-or-place-names
I like it!
February 23, 2007
trivet commented on the word stroppy
Excellent word! I especially like the phrase "get all stroppy."
February 22, 2007
trivet commented on the list don-t-say-a-word
If you like salute, how about high five and thumbs up? If you hyphenate them, they're only one word...
February 22, 2007
trivet commented on the word runcible spoon
Nonsense from Edward Lear, The Owl and the Pussycat, 1871:
They dined on mince and slices of quince,
which they ate with a runcible spoon.
Often defined as something akin to a spork, although Lear used the word runcible rather indiscriminately.
February 22, 2007
trivet commented on the word limpopo
"...the great, grey-green, greasy limpopo river, all set about with fever trees..." (Kipling)
February 22, 2007
trivet commented on the word zugunruhe
The urge to migrate, especially as exhibited by captive birds.
February 22, 2007
trivet commented on the list animal-magnetism
serpentine? I've only heard it to describe rivers, but good old dictionary.com says: "shrewd, wily, or cunning"... oooh! do you have shrewd?
February 22, 2007
trivet commented on the list animal-magnetism
elephantine, doe-eyed? I like walrusine, but I'm not sure it is a *real* word...
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the list animal-magnetism
I like this!
scardey cat, waspish? I'm not sure how often fishy is used to describe a person rather than a situation or odor.
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the list don-t-say-a-word
bristle, smirk?
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word skreeee
...and our neighborhood jay, when he wants to clear out the bird feeder.
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the list don-t-say-a-word
glare, fidget, twiddle? Does gesture count?
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the list let-the-wild-rumpus-start
Thanks! I can't believe I forgot prank!
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the list scavenger-hunt-1-blanguage
blaspheme?
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the list some-parents
I've got another one for you, jennarenn - Hinder
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word lavatory
I never had the pleasure. Good to know, thanks.
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the list i-ve-got-a-cunning-plan
Nice list merralee (and oroboros) - I swiped a few for my 'ruse by any other name' list...
Who knew there were so many artful dodgers out there?
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word catahoula leopard dog
No, but I once lived in Louisiana, where I fell in love with them. I'm a sucker for all herding/working type dogs, specially those with different colored eyes - like Catahoulas and Aussies.
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word highway robbery
When you're stuck on a 5-hour flight with no food because you had to run from one end of the airport to another due to a delayed arrival and they try to sell you a $3 bag of m&ms to go with your 'complementary' ounce of warm soda busily melting away 17 ice cubes.
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word lavatory
I think this word is only ever used on airplanes (in the states, at least).
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the list flight-plan
I used to love to fly, but all of the excitement and grandeur has been economized or regulated away
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word unguent
One of the TSA's new obsessions...
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the word catahoula leopard dog
Catahoula hounds often have one blue/green and one brown eye - I think the official term is "cracked eyes"...
One of my favorite dogs!
February 21, 2007
trivet commented on the list still-more-bird-wirds
My favorites: chough, rook, apostle bird
They just look so sassy.
February 18, 2007
trivet commented on the word original sin
"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I did an original sin. I poked a badger with a spoon." Eddie Izzard
February 17, 2007
trivet commented on the word dislodge
"With a little practice, you can learn to dislodge enough chicken with your knife and fork to keep body and soul together till your next meal." -Tiffany's Table Manners for Teenagers
February 17, 2007
trivet commented on the word spink
"I would like to buy a bag of spink," said Pippi, "but I
want it nice and crunchy."
February 17, 2007
trivet commented on the list end-in-ot
jackpot!
February 17, 2007
trivet commented on the list end-in-ot
guillemot, whatnot, crapshoot, upshot, monocot/dicot?
February 17, 2007
trivet commented on the word dingbat
There was a ranch near where I grew up - the sign on the gate as you drove by: "dingbat flat." I always liked the name, til I found out that another dingbat flat was the site of an Australian race riot.
February 17, 2007
trivet commented on the list the-hills-are-alive
How about songs that people whistle along to? I'm thinking of the song whistled in The Parent Trap, The Bridge Over the River Kwai, Spaceballs, etc. You know: "DOO-do, do-doo-doo-DOO-DOO-do; DOO-do, do-doo-doo-DOO-DOO-do..."
I googled it: "Colonel Bogey March"
February 17, 2007
trivet commented on the list the-hills-are-alive
my balogna has a first name...
February 17, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-burned
ear, questions, candle at both ends, desires?
February 17, 2007
trivet commented on the list trix
I agree that paintrix is just *huuuhg*, but I do like indicatrix, even if it is geometrical, rather than a feminization.
February 16, 2007
trivet commented on the word dictatrix
an obscure female dictator
I prefer to think of her as an out-of-control stenographer...
February 16, 2007
trivet commented on the list trix
inspired by the testatrix disscussion.
there appear to be a few more extra-obscure -trix words in legal mumbo jumbo.
any others?
February 16, 2007
trivet commented on the word thylacine
or Tasmanian tiger 'cause of his sassy stripes. The marsupial equivalent of the ivory-billed woodpecker.
February 16, 2007
trivet commented on the word rijksmuseum
nice - I've added this to my strange j's list.
February 16, 2007
trivet commented on the word rattletrap
an onomatopoeic delight! best when uttered with scathing derision
February 16, 2007
trivet commented on the list a-ruse-by-any-other-name
...excellent... thank you!
February 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word jaguarundi
eats coatimundis
February 15, 2007
trivet commented on the list a-ruse-by-any-other-name
who know there were so many underhanded schemes out there?
February 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word beijing
three dots!
February 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word hijinks
three dots!
February 15, 2007
trivet commented on the word hajji
three dots!
February 15, 2007
trivet commented on the list soup-words
gumbo, burgoo, schchi? mmmm!
February 14, 2007
trivet commented on the list minced-oaths
egad?
February 14, 2007
trivet commented on the word babylicious
honest-to-goodness trademarked descriptor on a box of mini bell peppers.
I associate this word with freaky & cannibalistic rather than tender & delicious.
*huuugh*
February 14, 2007
trivet commented on the list acadiana
:)
February 14, 2007
trivet commented on the word hammered shit
one of my favorite descriptors, and yet so rarely used. alas.
February 14, 2007
trivet commented on the word funnel cake
mmmm... something primordial about the taste of fried dough and its cousins:
fry bread
elephant ears
churros
doughboys
zeppole
beignet
johnnycake
hushpuppy
sopiapilla
and various donuts...
February 13, 2007
trivet commented on the word snackerel
akin to a treatsie - smaller than a snack, bigger than a nibble
February 13, 2007
trivet commented on the word gymnosperm
"naked seed"
February 13, 2007
trivet commented on the list powder-fun
In the area where I grew up, oldtimers referred to dynamite as "a stick of powder." Its usefulness was akin to that of duct tape...
February 13, 2007
trivet commented on the word haggis
Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!
February 13, 2007
trivet commented on the word zygodactyl
two toes forward, two toes backward - like a nuthatch
February 13, 2007
trivet commented on the list stuffie-they-call-him-flipper
a bitch?
February 12, 2007
trivet commented on the word smrt
"I am so smart, s-m-r-t!"
February 11, 2007
trivet commented on the list some-parents
names of old students of mine: Loquacious, Ashole, Djibouti (and his brother, Zimbabwe)
February 11, 2007
trivet commented on the list wunderkammer-s-words
I think I love you!
February 9, 2007
trivet commented on the list there-s-a-glass-of-punch-below-your-feet-and-an-angel-at-your-head
my personal favorite, however unlyrical, is shitcanned...
February 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word sam hill
"What in the sam hill is going on?"
February 9, 2007
trivet commented on the list verbed-2
"Verbing weirds language." Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes
February 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word zqfmgb
Calvin: Ha! I've got a great word and it's on a "Double word score" box!
Hobbes: "ZQFMGB" isn't a word! It doesn't even have a vowel!
Calvin: It is so a word! It's a worm found in New Guinea! Everyone knows that!
Hobbes: I'm looking it up.
Calvin: You do, and I'll look up that 12-letter word you played with all the Xs and Js!
Hobbes: What's your score for ZQFMGB?
Calvin: 957.
February 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word tosspot
yoink!
(favorited)
February 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word feed
cattle feed is bought in the feed store...
February 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word belgium
lovely country, but the name just gives me the heebidie jeebidies
February 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word quince
"they dined on mince and slices of quince, which they ate with a runcible spoon"
February 9, 2007
trivet commented on the word rocky mountain oyster
mmmm, fried testicles!
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word horse doovers
could horse's ovaries be related to the rocky mountain oyster?
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word horse doovers
high falutin' snacks, perhaps
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word hyrax
the elephant's closest living relative, looks rather like a marmot with no tail
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word tigger
The wonderful thing about tiggers,
Is tiggers are wonderful things!
Their tops are made out of rubber,
Their bottoms are made out of springs!
They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy,
Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!
But the most wonderful thing about tiggers is...
I'm the only one
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word smock
http://www.dontknockmysmock.com/
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word brazen hussy
Because I can't have one without the other, even if brazen (39) easily outwordies hussy (11)...
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word horse doovers
...snacks...
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the list why-can-t-people-pronounce-these-properly
feb-u-ary, jew-lery, could care less?
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word huuuhg
The sound Sideshow Bob makes after he steps on a rake.
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word yoink
mmmmm....Simpsons' words...
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word wet bread
Wet bread IS the worst! I'm a bread-toaster and sandwich engineer, myself. Cheese and lettuce are perfect barriers for those seeping tomatoes...
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word curds
just looking at the word makes my teeth squeak!
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word lllama
not to be confused with a three-alarmer
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the word mouseholed
"little mouse Blink strategically mouseholed"
- The Tale of Custard the Dragon, Ogden Nash
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the list redundant-and-repetitive
But you don't need to clarify 12 with noon unless you've been in a windowless space for a few days and/or your circadian rhythm is way off...
February 8, 2007
trivet commented on the list redundant-and-repetitive
or a bigger list of peeves...strategic plan
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word might could
though it probably belongs in uselessness's redundant and repetitive pile as well
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the list redundant-and-repetitive
honest truth. bare naked. unexpected suprise.
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word yabonah
mongolian: yabonah! (let's go!)
I learned as a child from the book: Big Tiger & Christian by Fritz Muhlenweg.
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the list redundant-and-repetitive
favorited!
added bonus? free gift? 12 noon? kill -something- dead? GPS system?
eek!
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the list redundant-and-repetitive
pita bread?
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word moustaches
The kind of hard-core moustache that can only be talked about in the plural. Usually waxed and/or curled.
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word walrusine
describing droopy moustaches
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word pin number
argh! gah!
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word golux
not a mere device
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the list musical-instruments
you can't play the washboard without spoons...
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word jes'
as in: I'ma jes' about finished
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word truuck
Mebbe you haven't been at enough hootenannies...
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word y'all
Who worries about apostrophes when using y'all? I'd go with y'all's and all y'all's, myself. There's also the option of saying "Is this for y'all?" instead of "Is this y'all's?"
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word truuck
You've gotta stretch each u a little. Related to crick, if that helps.
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word truuck
the kind of rig that is rarely seen in the city
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word rig
a kind of truuck - most likely a semi or one with a dawg in the back
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the list consarn-it
yay! Althgough I prefer podnah.
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the list consarn-it
true, true - and howsabout as well...
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word retromingent
you've got to be plumbed like a raccoon or a camel...
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the list creative-onomatopoeia
how 'bout haggle?
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word opopanax
Sweet myrrh. From Wikipedia:
A consumable resin can be extracted from opoponax by cutting the plant at the base of a stem and sun-drying the juice that flows out. Though people often find the taste acrid and bitter, the highly flammable resin can be burned as incense to produce a scent somewhat like balsam or lavender. The resin has been used in treatment of spasms — and, before that, as an emmenagogue in treatment of asthma, chronic visceral infections, hysteria and hypochondria. Opoponax resin is most frequently sold in dried irregular pieces, though tear-shaped gems are not uncommon.
Opoponax is also used in the production of certain perfumes, and is the fragrance of one of the popular Diptyque candles.
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word goetic
related to witchcraft or black magic
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word kakodemon
evil spirit
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word agathodemon
good spirit
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word aspergill
used to sprinkle holy water
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word alcalde
magistrate
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word ithyphallic
grossly indecent, having an erect penis
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word camorra
Neapolitan secret society
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word apozemical
infused
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word paludal
related to or produced by marshes
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word sepoy
Indian soldier
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word subadar
Indian soldier
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word adytum
inner sanctum of a temple
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word cupellation
assaying for metal in a small, flat vessel
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word perllan
welsh orchard
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word retromingent
urinating backwards
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word adapertile
easily opened
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word diapason
the range of an instrument or voice, an octave, an "outpouring of sound"
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word monophysite
a type of heretic
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the list bookworm-s-bacchanal
The Joy of Sesquipedalians, by Anne Fadiman. From Ex Libris: confessions of a common reader, 1998.
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the word crick
I mean the kind you go fishin' in, not what happens to your neck when you spend too much time making wordie lists.
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the list smock-smock-smock
"Actually, I like to say 'smock'! smock, smock, smock, smock, smock, smock!" - Hobbes, Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson
February 7, 2007
trivet commented on the list trout-trout-trout
I was introduced to many of these in the book, "Trout, Trout, Trout!" by April Pulley Sayre & Trip Park, a lovely poem of fish names:
sockeye salmon,
arctic char,
mooneye,
walleye,
gar, gar, gar!
(etc)
February 7, 2007
Show 437 more comments...