Comments by corylusavellana

  • Public transport always leaves me with a sore one of these.

    August 13, 2009

  • I keep seeing this on Lifehacker and it annoys me to hyperbole. Perhaps I should stop reading it...

    In Lifehacker's context it's usually applied to any DIY job entailing recycling some old item and giving it new life, with a new purpose.

    August 13, 2009

  • Any cream for the treatment of stuff; general ailments.

    August 13, 2009

  • Government by Ostriches. See Gordon Brown.

    June 4, 2009

  • A hesitant lion.

    May 30, 2009

  • Dash it. Foiled by the compounding process once again!

    May 30, 2009

  • Describes the broad ideological basis for internet collaboration. Wired article.

    May 27, 2009

  • Kevin Kelly, talking about dot-communism on Wired: "...it is a spectrum of attitudes, techniques, and tools that promote collaboration, sharing, aggregation, coordination, ad hocracy, and a host of other newly enabled types of social cooperation."

    May 27, 2009

  • The one weakness of fictional Northern superhero, Yorkshireman.

    April 7, 2009

  • We were always told, in Landscape Archaeology, that a palimpsest was the whole landscape, in its infinite complexity, spread out before us.

    April 2, 2009

  • Think of waking up late when on holiday, knowing that the rest of the world is already sweating at work.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7967968.stm

    March 27, 2009

  • Not those again!

    March 23, 2009

  • Any footwear that showcases advanced technology. Such as this.

    See also: smart shoes.

    March 22, 2009

  • A fictional group of dogs bred for their ability to hunt using either instinct or Extrasensory Perception.

    March 22, 2009

  • It would be rather nice if there was a dog with Extrasensory Perception. We could call it a psych-hound. Or a hunch-hound.

    March 22, 2009

  • Delicious phrase from A Bit of Fry and Laurie.

    March 22, 2009

  • "May I compartmentalize? - I hate to, but may I? May I? Is our language a function of our British cynicism, tolerance, resistance to false emotion, humour and so on, or do those qualities come extrinsically - extrinsically - from the language itself?"

    - A Bit of Fry and Laurie, S01 E02.

    March 22, 2009

  • A good substitute for "chin-chin"!

    March 22, 2009

  • I use this instead of "cheers!", when raising a glass. See also: double chin.

    March 22, 2009

  • Oops. See above.

    March 22, 2009

  • Yes, I saw that and giggled today. Well done for putting it up!

    March 20, 2009

  • Good times. Constant growth is so last year...

    March 9, 2009

  • I would have thought this meant a state of political independence? Or even be an apt name for such an independent state.

    March 8, 2009

  • A winter picnic.

    March 7, 2009

  • I agree c_b. "I must have my share in this conversation, I must!"

    March 7, 2009

  • That's brilliant. It's my perpetual state.

    March 6, 2009

  • Allows for total satisfaction whenever someone says "petrified log". Bless.

    March 6, 2009

  • I just wish they'd bought CorylusAvellana bonds with money created out of thin air...

    March 6, 2009

  • Apparently there's been a large increase in the commercial krill catch in recent years. Licensed to krill?

    March 6, 2009

  • It's just a wonderfully evocative name. Rather than holidaying in Gran Canaria or (worse) Lanzagrotty (I think notty), we should all go on expeditions to Mesopotamia. What a world that would be...

    March 6, 2009

  • The shape of a handlebar moustache may be protected during the night by a moustache snood.

    In another (more Scottish) universe, the past tense for snow?

    March 6, 2009

  • A happy domain of flans. (Inhabited by flaneurs?)

    March 6, 2009

  • Yes, it does sound like that. I can't get the idea of a web forum for darners out of my head now...

    March 6, 2009

  • As in, this is a very potentious argument. (The very idea makes me shudder somewhat...)

    March 6, 2009

  • Lots of lol. Grr.

    March 6, 2009

  • See the list Twit 2.0.

    March 6, 2009

  • Well, a bit obvious.

    March 6, 2009

  • I wish someone would send me spam like that. That reminds me... recession is really starting to be visible. I saw spam fritters in the supermarket. Permanently enlarge your spamhood!

    March 6, 2009

  • A Cornish fish pie with the heads and tails of fish protruding from the crust.

    March 6, 2009

  • The process by which Doctor Who turns into 25,000m² of executive apartments.

    March 6, 2009

  • "I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down into the country whenever I choose."

    - Algernon Moncrieff, in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.

    March 6, 2009

  • A cryptid rumoured to be living in a remote jungle region of Sumatra. Descriptions are very similar to the fossilised remains of a recently (10,000 years ago) extinct hominid found on Flores Island, homo floresiensis (colloquially known as the "hobbit").

    Oh, to find one...

    March 6, 2009

  • The Bank of England just essentially bought £75bn in government bonds, with money it created out of thin air. Quantitative easing in action!

    March 6, 2009

  • Anachronistic word for "best". Rather lovely in a hobbity context.

    March 5, 2009

  • Wordie is my one weakness. The favourite saying of Dorcas Lane, in Flora Thompson's Lark Rise to Candleford.

    February 28, 2009

  • That's a shame. I was hoping it would be ghost skin or somesuch... :(

    January 26, 2009

  • Hugely so to you!

    January 26, 2009

  • Pron. "sow-inn" apparently.

    January 26, 2009

  • Irish Gaelic: wind.

    January 26, 2009

  • The state of being "off the rails".

    January 26, 2009

  • Of basic frottage.

    January 26, 2009

  • A follower of the teachings of Donald Trefusis.

    January 26, 2009

  • Challenge: define this word!

    January 26, 2009

  • Do such people exist?

    January 26, 2009

  • Verily.

    January 14, 2009

  • To know a Sir Ely would be, well, surreal.

    January 14, 2009

  • A mother's joy?

    January 14, 2009

  • The theory than nature can allow for vacuums.

    Also a possible alternative to voidword.

    January 14, 2009

  • Any word now devoid of meaning, thanks to middle managers. Chosen because vacuism, which is also appealing, refers to a scientific theory.

    January 14, 2009

  • This used to be a worthwhile concept until the middle managers ripped any meaning out of it.

    January 14, 2009

  • See charismatic megafauna.

    January 14, 2009

  • A fictional Dorset village.

    In reality, taken from the opening page of Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things:

    "Dissolute bluebottles hum vacuously in the fruity air. Then they stun themselves against clear windowpanes and die, fatly baffled in the sun."

    January 10, 2009

  • I always think the Archers should live here.

    January 10, 2009

  • What lies beyond the metanarrative.

    Say for example, a feminist metanarrative holds that patriarchies oppress women, then a feminist 'pata-narrative might hold that patriarchies oppress women, before flying off to Venus to conquer an alien race of seven-breasted Iguanas, and finally settling down in comfort with pipe and slippers.

    January 10, 2009

  • Describes the processes in the Canada Act 1982, in the UK Parliament, which formally severed the constitutional ties of the two countries. A process of patriation is therefore one that "brings sovereignty home".

    January 10, 2009

  • Also the spaceship of the brilliant Captain Bucky O'Hare. Ahem.

    January 9, 2009

  • I'm sure *everyone* has seen King Ralph...

    January 9, 2009

  • Good name for a firm of solicitors.

    January 9, 2009

  • Drunken countries.

    January 9, 2009

  • A retailer of grumpy old men.

    January 9, 2009

  • Ahhh, wordlings.... how joyous to be sporting with you in this dalliance of love.

    January 9, 2009

  • Feuerlibelle, I'm prejoicing at the thought of our fireside snuggles. Maybe this isn't the place...

    January 9, 2009

  • To grow moldy. As in, "the condensation mouled the window frame."

    January 8, 2009

  • It would please me, twistedly, if such a thing existed.

    January 8, 2009

  • See Absurd.

    January 8, 2009

  • In the evenings, sharing one line with six people, in special measures because of high volume.... but unable to find a better solution...

    January 7, 2009

  • From a purely etymological perspective (I can read the WordNet thingy!) it's a nice thought... well, dans mon petite franglais opinion.

    January 6, 2009

  • It's "deloinkful".

    January 6, 2009

  • Almost a hippo?

    January 6, 2009

  • Yes, although I think one could get away with quaffing mead too.

    January 5, 2009

  • Just about anything running on Vista.

    January 5, 2009

  • Ahem.

    January 5, 2009

  • Out-sourced software.

    January 5, 2009

  • I hope you had a Gonzo weekend. See you in Zurich!

    January 5, 2009

  • "We really wanna see those fingers...."

    January 5, 2009

  • How about Flora Dies-Early and Mr. Gently Benevolent?

    January 4, 2009

  • "Teehee"!

    January 4, 2009

  • Truly.

    January 4, 2009

  • Very literally "Out Puff", the German for exhaust. Brilliant.

    January 4, 2009

  • A little light-hearted term I apply to myself during idle months...

    January 4, 2009

  • Since the credit crunch is such a woefully weak-sounding name for a recession, here's a better one. Note: Monster Crunch is a proper noun. We know him all too well.

    January 4, 2009

  • Also, thinking about this whilst on a date, my lady friend and I decided on flirty blurb. The glowing kiss-me-quick profile you put on dating websites.

    January 3, 2009

  • A small party.

    January 3, 2009

  • I'm thinking mainly of the British comedy duo Armstrong & Miller.

    January 2, 2009

  • A glorious song by the fabulously high-brow Indelicates.

    January 2, 2009

  • See podean.

    January 2, 2009

  • Ooooh... wonderful! In a horrid way. It sounds like the word of choice for 60s town planners...

    January 2, 2009

  • Which, oddly, must describe you. Geographically at least.

    January 2, 2009

  • Government by Cheese. (I'm in a silly mood!)

    January 2, 2009

  • A single snowdrift? (As in flurry and blob)

    January 2, 2009

  • Perhaps the next version of Windows will be better, a reversion to type?

    January 2, 2009

  • Atavista?

    January 2, 2009

  • A rather nice market town in Devon.

    January 2, 2009

  • Bicycle enthusiast.

    January 2, 2009

  • Of which amorous is the inverse.

    January 2, 2009

  • The most annoying phrase in the English language.

    January 2, 2009

  • An alternative to luscious.

    January 2, 2009

  • A good tilth is always so very pleasing.

    January 2, 2009

  • Inventing maxims, aphorisms, truisms etc in the hope of gaining notoriety.

    January 2, 2009

  • I'm ashamed to say this always makes me think of wasabi.

    January 2, 2009

  • That late-night blurred vision we all know and love...

    January 2, 2009

  • Too delightful to resist. All children grow up, except the One.

    January 2, 2009

  • A ban on evil arch-rivals.

    January 2, 2009

  • Alan Partridge's ridiculous home address.

    January 2, 2009

  • Recycling years.

    January 2, 2009

  • What wasteful creatures we are to have disposable years. (annus renovus?)

    January 2, 2009

  • That is very pleasing, and all-too-familiar.

    January 2, 2009

  • The annoying rule whereby every original idea has already been thought of, and novelized, by Terry Pratchett.

    January 2, 2009

  • This one was staring me in the face somewhat... (alas a quick Google search reveals it's another victim of Pratchett's Law.)

    January 2, 2009

  • A mental journey.

    January 2, 2009

  • Non-sequitur greeting commonly used by Stephen Fry's "Donald Trefusis".

    January 2, 2009

  • It's the latin name for the Common Hazel, named after the town of Avella by (according to Wikipedia) Linnaeus, from Leonhart Fuchs's De historia stirpium commentarii insignes (1542), where the species was described as "Avellana nux sylvestris" ("wild nut of Avella").

    It also sounds pretty!

    December 31, 2008

  • A word championed by Ray Holnrew.

    December 31, 2008

  • Great word!

    December 31, 2008

  • I just can't decide on the right Linux option for my laptop...

    December 31, 2008

  • Also as thingummy.

    December 31, 2008

  • Delicious!

    December 31, 2008

  • As in "Linux is slowly turning me into Colonel Panic."

    December 31, 2008

  • Singing: "Ladle vice..."

    December 30, 2008

  • See pixie.

    December 30, 2008

  • Madmadamnym?

    December 30, 2008

  • Drat... foiled again. Top work!

    December 30, 2008

  • Where one sleeps.

    December 30, 2008

  • When you rather miss those days of fine dining...

    December 30, 2008

  • Unfortunately self-explanatory.

    December 30, 2008

  • Also a mild curse, as used by Yockenthwaite in the Rottentrolls.

    December 30, 2008

  • See smewzimmer.

    December 30, 2008

  • In brewing, he process of siphoning off clear, newly-fermented liquids into clean vessels. See racking.

    December 30, 2008

  • Sufficient racking off undertaken by a man. Poor pun.

    December 30, 2008

  • Was a pet name for an ex-girlfriend, Linda, but is just generally pleasing.

    December 30, 2008

  • Around 4 B.C.

    December 30, 2008

  • Exclamation of joy, taken from Mark Evans's "Bleak Expectations", BBC Radio 4.

    December 30, 2008

  • Caddish, wide moustache worn by RAF pilots and Chaps.

    December 29, 2008

  • Well, I'd hate to be a trouble-maker...!

    December 29, 2008

  • See social media living room.

    December 29, 2008

  • That would sound rather good in German... Sozialesmedienwohnzimmer anyone?

    (Which could almost become Smewzimmer...)

    December 29, 2008

  • Sadly it's almost a homophone for something less exalted.

    December 29, 2008

  • Certain type of person who leaves a trail of glitter and sparkle everywhere.

    December 29, 2008

  • My childish name for toothpaste.

    December 29, 2008

  • In rare cases you might be removing a genuine classical prefix (when an affixed word is in use and the root never has been), but it depends entirely on the word and its etymology. Otherwise, yes, it's just a bit of fun.

    December 29, 2008

  • Any substance used to clarify alcoholic and some non-alcoholic beverages after fermentation. For some disgusting trivia, see Isinglass.

    December 28, 2008

  • As pleasant-sounding as a cauliflower.

    December 28, 2008

  • See cauliflory.

    December 28, 2008

  • Botanical term for the production of seeds and flowers on old branches and trunk, rather than on newer outer growth.

    December 28, 2008

  • Such a surprising song, and so wonderfully catchy.

    December 28, 2008

  • Think Jane Austen...

    December 28, 2008

  • How would we get anything done without verbs?

    December 26, 2008

  • As seen in festive Coca-Cola commercials.

    December 24, 2008

  • Girlfriend and boyfriend just seem dull or, at worst, cringe-worthy.

    December 24, 2008

  • Term of praise, often sarcastic.

    December 24, 2008

  • A rather lovely old-fashioned alternative to the atrocious girlfriend.

    December 24, 2008

  • As in a current pun?

    December 24, 2008

  • "This furrowed field, this hallowed ground, acre of Weald, of peace unbound,

    I dream of living, earth in hand, and plot my plot; to live the land."

    December 24, 2008

  • A truly beautiful word.

    December 23, 2008

  • I find this works well as a filler of awkward silences... or any silences for that matter.

    December 23, 2008

  • BrainyBabe.... what better use of language is there?!

    December 23, 2008

  • As used by Johnny Five in Short Circuit 2, during a particularly emotional scene...

    December 23, 2008

  • Not if it lands on your head unwarranted...

    December 23, 2008

  • Engrish Christmas...

    December 23, 2008

  • Luftwaffe and spaffed. Not pleasant.

    December 23, 2008

  • See Luftspaffe.

    December 23, 2008

  • I was always told that Bronze Age burial mounds were often placed on the brows of hills, in a liminal location, giving a feeling of ancestral belonging to the residents of the valleys below.

    December 23, 2008

  • Charming phrase.

    December 23, 2008

  • I am repeatedly warned that puns are a low form of wit... I can't wholly agree, as they make me profoundly joyful, but I suppose the stigma has rubbed off. Somehow it seems safer for the wider world to have a specific place for puns...

    December 23, 2008

  • That's a brilliant solution, rolig! Thank you.

    December 23, 2008

  • Pithy stand-in for Tory politician and London Mayor, Boris Johnson.

    December 22, 2008

  • "There is a slight potential problem with this method if the result is a noun." Sionnach is correct... avoid using this method to create nouns from words with a- prefixes. It may get terribly confusing.

    I'm rather touched that nobody's yet pointed out my glaring typo... if only one could edit the word after the event.

    December 22, 2008

  • Very good!

    December 22, 2008

  • Yes indeed! I do enjoy wearing a good Harris Tweed.

    December 22, 2008

  • Welcome my darling!

    December 22, 2008

  • "The Frost performs its secret ministry,

    Unhelped by any wind. The owlet's cry

    Came loud--and hark, again ! loud as before.

    The inmates of my cottage, all at rest,

    Have left me to that solitude, which suits

    Abstruser musings : save that at my side

    My cradled infant slumbers peacefully.

    'Tis calm indeed ! so calm, that it disturbs

    And vexes meditation with its strange

    And extreme silentness."

    - Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Frost at Midnight.

    December 22, 2008

  • Exclamation. Contraction of "God's truth". Slang.

    December 22, 2008

  • Actually the name of a place, but it sounds wonderfully like a motorcycle revving.

    December 22, 2008

  • From Flanders & Swann:

    "It's irrelevant... "

    "No it's not, it's a Hippopotamus".

    December 22, 2008

  • A nation of overly motivated people, e.g. Germany.

    December 22, 2008

  • Celebrating with boisterous public demonstrations.

    December 22, 2008

  • See my nameline for the Latin name of Common Hazel...

    December 22, 2008

  • See austintatious.

    December 22, 2008

  • One who follows the doctrines of the Chap Magazine.

    December 22, 2008

  • As in the chappist call to arms, "All Propertea is Best!"

    December 22, 2008

  • Common Hazel.

    December 22, 2008

  • Has a delicious nutty taste, and looks friendly.

    December 22, 2008

  • Was he not a composer?

    December 22, 2008

  • Noun. Term of endearment. Colloq. Northern England.

    December 22, 2008

  • I used to have a sworn enemy (get one, they're fun) called Perry... so peripatetic always made me giggle.

    December 22, 2008

  • One who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain worship and followers; cult leader.

    December 22, 2008

  • The art of making madeupical words by the simple removal or prefixes, e.g. ascetic --> scetic.

    December 22, 2008

  • A place for the rehabilitating habitual poor punners. Inspired by Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: "Get thee to a nunnery."

    December 22, 2008

  • I saw your remarks on insouciant and had to convey my approval...

    December 22, 2008

  • Brilliant.

    December 22, 2008

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