Comments by garyth123

Show previous 200 comments...

  • new puritan and, of course, Non-deterministic Polynomial time

    December 31, 2008

  • frem the verb to stot. The Pocket Scots Dictionary defines stotter as a term of admiration for women -- a smasher.

    December 31, 2008

  • Berkman on Frick eg.

    December 30, 2008

  • from Chambers dictionary (1901): a perspiration over the whole body

    December 30, 2008

  • from Chambers dictionary: a careless pedestrian whom motorists are expected to avoid running down

    December 30, 2008

  • Also sometimes referred to as friendly bacteria, like they go around saying to each other "Good morning to you. How are you today?".

    December 30, 2008

  • See internet addiction disorder.

    December 29, 2008

  • A new dream-car, the custom-tooled Kamakiri. It's built for the new century: steam-driven, with a self-contained vegetable garden and a radio link with the Tripstar routing satellite. See the Wikipedia on Kamakiriad.

    December 29, 2008

  • A line from Down with love.

    December 29, 2008

  • A Howard Arlen song.

    December 29, 2008

  • see Internet addiction disorder

    December 29, 2008

  • You know you are in the grip of another internet addiction when, clicking on your Wordie link icon, you get a Page load error and you hear yourself mutter the f word.

    December 29, 2008

  • see fuck

    December 29, 2008

  • see cunt

    December 29, 2008

  • often used in Edinburgh (lower orders) to mean something like fine, good, all's well

    December 29, 2008

  • frequently followed by the c word

    December 29, 2008

  • ...In case there's a change in the weather.

    A favourite song.

    December 29, 2008

  • Something to do with keeping your gut healthy, but always sounds to me like it could be Jimi Hendrix's birthplace.

    December 29, 2008

  • it was also formerly applied by Highlanders to (non-Gaelic-speaking) Lowlanders. (Wikipedia)

    December 28, 2008

  • That question (the first one anyway) occurred to me as well, hence brose. The brose/ambrosia thing is interesting, I've never noticed it before.

    I should say by way of explanation that I am a sassenach.

    December 28, 2008

  • please, no nods, props, or shout outs to Dr J:)

    December 28, 2008

  • is a mixture of oatmeal brose, honey, and whisky. It is traditionally stirred with a silver spoon. Cream is an optional addition, particularly for festive occasions (Davidson 1999). (Wikipedia)

    I'd like to try this.

    December 28, 2008

  • I am a fan of CCF.

    December 28, 2008

  • I realise now that they're not your lists. Sorry.

    December 28, 2008

  • refers to a statement from W.C. Fields -- he liked to refer to Death as "the fellow in the bright nightgown"

    the urban dictionary

    December 28, 2008

  • What's the W C Fields Lexicon about? Would the fellow in the bright nightgown fit in there? I like your Japanese aesthetic list, its very instructive.

    :)

    December 28, 2008

  • see lacrimae rerum

    December 27, 2008

  • concluding sermon

    "O!" says I, "I ken ye bear a King's name. But you are to remember , since I have been in the Highlands, I mave seen a good many of those that bear it; and the best I can say of any of them is this, that they would be none the worse of washing."

    "Do you know that you insult me?" said Alan, very low.

    "I am sorry for that," said I, "for I am not done; and if you distaste the sermon, I doubt the pirliecue will please you as little..."

    December 27, 2008

  • see mono no aware

    December 27, 2008

  • see zvarnoharno

    December 27, 2008

  • Great:) I must admit that I've been curious about the origin of this word for a long time.

    December 27, 2008

  • credit default swaps

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_default_swap

    December 27, 2008

  • credit default swaps

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_default_swap

    December 27, 2008

  • to suspect, or be suspicious

    December 27, 2008

  • flashy, ultra-fashionable

    An example: man thae M&S cords ye’re wearing look absolutely fantoosh.

    December 27, 2008

  • A Northern Isles word for small or wee.

    December 27, 2008

  • Northern Isles word for a puffin. See tammie norrie.

    December 27, 2008

  • I know it sounds like it should mean a tearful Scotsman, but in fact it means a turkey.

    December 27, 2008

  • Ignatius J Reilly has problems with his pyloric valve.

    December 27, 2008

  • I added clettering stick after I saw your comment on cletter. I'm new here myself but so far it seems fun.

    December 27, 2008

  • I'm not sure. It's a word that I've read in Gurdjieff. See Gurdjieff in the Light of Tradition.

    December 27, 2008

  • the aura of kingship

    December 27, 2008

  • a meeting place, eg a public house

    December 26, 2008

  • Present participle of stravaig

    December 26, 2008

  • The prevalence of humbug by Max Black.

    December 25, 2008

  • see also minuend

    December 24, 2008

  • see also augend

    December 24, 2008

  • See consanguineal. See also consanguinity.

    This sounds like someone with relatives in the Republic of Guinea.

    December 24, 2008

  • I saw someone sporting a set with reindeer on, hence prompting my memory of this word.

    December 24, 2008

  • illiquid - Said of investments such as a stock, bond or commodity that cannot be readily converted into cash. (from one of the definitions returned by the Google link). So the state of being illiquid or something like that.

    All vowels are i. That I've noticed this shows the effect that Wordie is having on me as previously I would not have picked up on this sort of thing.

    December 24, 2008

  • see cletter

    December 23, 2008

  • a word i associate with Gurdjieff.

    December 23, 2008

  • i am so non-phatic:)

    December 23, 2008

  • read this recently in a Stephen Fry column in The Guardian.

    December 22, 2008

  • trade in high volumes at prices that are considerably at variance with intrinsic values

    December 21, 2008

  • ...given the present state, future states are independent of the past states...Future states will be reached through a probabilistic process instead of a deterministic one. From the Wikipedia article on Markov chain.

    December 21, 2008

  • pertaining to otters

    December 21, 2008

  • One belonging to a group of thinkers characterized by their insistence on treating video games not as a form of narrative or as a text, but instead simply as games, with the dynamics of play and interaction being the most important and fundamental part of the games. see the wikipedia article on Espen J Aarseth

    December 21, 2008

  • In ergodic literature, nontrivial effort is required to allow the reader to traverse the text. If ergodic literature is to make sense as a concept, there must also be nonergodic literature, where the effort to traverse the text is trivial, with no extranoematic responsibilities placed on the reader except (for example) eye movement and the periodic or arbitrary turning of pages.

    Espen J. Aarseth Cybertext

    December 21, 2008

  • The Bernard Madoff affair is an example. The BBC however referred to the Madoff swindle as a pyramid scheme.

    December 21, 2008

  • buckminsterfullerene

    December 17, 2008

  • eg Conway's game of life

    December 16, 2008

  • spotted in Kidnapped earlier today.

    December 16, 2008

  • a noted female blues singer, self styled mother of the blues

    December 15, 2008

  • "this" eg

    December 15, 2008

  • the kind of word the broons use

    December 15, 2008

  • or having to do with David Cameron's Conservatives

    December 15, 2008

  • an mp3 player, the owner of which is only interested in listening to Scottish music (this is a Milton Jones joke).

    December 15, 2008

  • In the original application as a replacement for seatbelts, the swarm of robots would be widely spread-out, and the arms loose, allowing air flow between them. In the event of a collision the arms would lock into their current position, as if the air around the passengers had abruptly frozen solid. The result would be to spread any impact over the entire surface of the passenger’s body.

    probably from a wikipedia article

    December 15, 2008

  • or abductive reasoning

    December 15, 2008

  • great reference to VN

    December 14, 2008

  • illicit sexual intercourse

    this word occurs in one of Burns' poems, and Vladimir Nabokov makes use of it in Pale Fire.

    December 14, 2008

  • things we don't know we don't know

    December 14, 2008

  • i can confirm Shetland is replete with these.

    December 14, 2008

  • second meaning would apply to W or dubya

    December 14, 2008

  • i'll have a p please bob

    December 14, 2008

  • if this website didn't exist it would be necessary to invent it.

    December 14, 2008

  • elmore leonard title i believe

    December 14, 2008

  • henmam hill renamed after the advent of andy murray

    December 13, 2008

  • how dr j defined this word – oh very droll

    December 13, 2008

  • familiar name in the UK for Woolworth's stores, which, as of dec 08, look like they will be no more. Apparently Ludwig Wittgenstein enjoyed shopping at Woolie's, although i can't remember now where i read this fascinating piece of information.

    and i have just confirmed via the wikipedia that there is a connection between Woolie's and the Woolworth building in NYC (i thought there had to be).

    December 13, 2008

  • All A are B.

    All B are C.

    Therefore, all A are C.

    December 13, 2008

  • rubbish, nonsense

    December 13, 2008

  • a potato

    December 13, 2008

  • kind of a greeting, said by way of recognition of someone who is a casual acquaintance

    not to be confused with aye-aye

    December 13, 2008

  • "aye, aye" or perhaps "aye, aye, aye"

    December 13, 2008

  • the legislature on the island of Sark, founded in 1579, held its first democratic election in dec 08

    December 12, 2008

  • No reptiles have fur.

    All snakes are reptiles.

    No snakes have fur.

    December 11, 2008

  • i've seen Jakob Nielsen use it in reference to an element (not alphanumeric) of his web page.

    December 10, 2008

  • interesting name that you have:)

    December 10, 2008

  • often the phrase fair scunnered will be heard.

    December 10, 2008

  • it's a very funny show. see Da Kath & Kim Website.

    December 10, 2008

  • see smeddum

    December 10, 2008

  • as heard on Little Britain

    December 10, 2008

  • it's from an australian comedy show which is highly satirical in its use of language.

    see hunk o' spunk

    December 10, 2008

  • an attractive woman

    December 9, 2008

  • an expression of assurance

    December 9, 2008

  • when you have managed to overcome procrastokinetics

    December 9, 2008

  • an attractive man

    December 9, 2008

  • see the wikipedia for information on this fallacy

    ...equivocating in an ad hoc attempt to retain an unreasoned assertion

    December 9, 2008

  • thank god for that:) i wasn't entirely innocent of mischevious intent i admit.

    December 9, 2008

  • a lady at amazon introduced me to this word in September 08.

    December 9, 2008

  • please see words wot i misspell. i did not intend to imply that americans solely have poor spelling.

    December 9, 2008

  • If A, then B.

    Not B.

    Therefore, not A.

    December 8, 2008

  • If A, then B.

    A.

    Therefore, B.

    December 8, 2008

  • see holocaust glossary

    December 8, 2008

  • Ferdinand de Lesseps

    December 8, 2008

  • see kludge at the jargon file

    see kludgie

    December 8, 2008

  • self explanatory. see the urban dictionary.

    December 8, 2008

  • an intentional malapropism for business. see idiom site

    December 8, 2008

  • 臘八, the 8th day of the 12th month. bodhi day the day that celebrates shakyamuni's enlightenment.

    December 8, 2008

  • leonard zelig, the chameleon man. a character invented by Woodie Allen.

    December 8, 2008

  • "it's better than a slater up yer nose" is a Scottish saying that i would often hear when i was growing up.

    December 8, 2008

  • i must admit i thought the intention was to connect with the word for shit. interesting, see 12 Year Old National Spelling Bee Finalist a White Supremacist?. i must also say that Mr Bush and his associates was the more recent example that i had in mind.

    see kakistocracy

    December 8, 2008

  • in kath'n'kim a confusion with specifically

    Sharon might ask "How do you mean, pacifically?"

    December 8, 2008

  • There's a guy at my work and all he does is kvetch all day long.

    December 8, 2008

  • the urban dictionary has a definition

    December 7, 2008

  • Well, "pussy's bow" is one of those old Australian idioms meaning "more than enough". Neal Drinnan

    As heard on Kath 'n' Kim.

    December 7, 2008

  • a 1-to-1 mapping in mathematics

    December 7, 2008

  • the schwarzschild radius of the sun is 3 km

    the schwarzschild radius of the earth is 9 mm

    An object smaller than its Schwarzschild radius is called a black hole.

    from the wikipedia article

    December 7, 2008

  • rule by criminals...or the worst

    at example might be the germany of the hitler period, unless anyone can think of a more recent example

    SCHOLAR ISLAND on government

    December 7, 2008

  • refers to a statement from W.C. Fields -- he liked to refer to Death as "the fellow in the bright nightgown"

    the urban dictionary

    December 7, 2008

  • 1. (verb) Giving respect.

    2. (verb) Getting respect. See props. Cause when I go to rhyme for mine I get props -- Daddy-O (Nobody Move (Nobody Get Hurt)

    Get/give props The Rap Dictionary is the oldest and ultimate resource for looking up hip-hop slang.

    December 7, 2008

  • The act of giving such an acknowledgement; A section of one's web page, profile or blog containing these greetings; To give props or acknowledgement to a person one considers important; To provide information you weren't asked for, particularly in a school environment

    the wikitionary

    December 7, 2008

  • peevish, irritable

    occurs in Fergusson

    When fou we're sometimes capernoity

    very strange word

    December 7, 2008

  • a state that wordie is always getting itself into

    December 7, 2008

  • i have finally mastered the spelling of this word now as i can see that this is a misspelling. it used to give me some difficulty.

    December 7, 2008

  • the smallest spaceship in conway's game of life

    .o.

    ..o

    ooo

    December 7, 2008

  • you see this a lot on the www. i think that americans in particular are prone to make this mistake.

    December 7, 2008

  • shortest word in english with three ys

    December 7, 2008

  • first came across this in connection with aficionados of apple compters mac mavens

    December 6, 2008

  • yes we can

    Barack Obama’s first 100 days have already begun

    December 6, 2008

  • this word has just been coined or at least come to light this week. fairly self explanatory.

    Officers enter Parliament to root out a mole-groomer. Should this make Britons grateful or fearful?

    December 6, 2008

  • rls has a short story thrawn janet

    December 6, 2008

  • possibly suggested by orwellian?

    December 6, 2008

  • first came across this word when an KAL 007 was shot down

    December 6, 2008

  • those who follow a macrobiotic diet eschew potatoes

    December 6, 2008

  • to be forcibly ejected from a place. walkin' spanish (down the hall) is a tom waits song about death see below.

    Walking Spanish

    i think joshua ferris may have used this phrase in his novel of office life.

    December 6, 2008

  • hud yer tongue

    December 5, 2008

  • a type of onion which has been influenced by hip-hop and African-American culture generally

    December 5, 2008

  • sesame salt

    December 5, 2008

  • backgammon

    December 5, 2008

  • or fop

    December 5, 2008

  • miracle worker

    December 5, 2008

  • see well-kenspeckled

    December 4, 2008

  • easily recognisible, conspicuous, familiar.

    grassic gibbon cites this word in sunset song.

    December 4, 2008

  • of course also slang for the foreskin (and often used derogatively of a male) so like the yiddish schmuck. of course I could be quite wrong about any or all of this:)

    December 4, 2008

  • o edina I could ne'er part with thee but wi' a dowie heart

    Robert Fergusson

    December 4, 2008

  • grassic gibbon cites this word in sunset song.

    December 4, 2008

  • gossip, idle tales

    December 4, 2008

  • to tremble; to make tremble, to terrify

    The kynges herte of pitee gan agryse, Whan he saugh so benigne a creature.

    Chaucer, The Man Of Law’s Tale

    December 4, 2008

  • The medulla oblongata is the lower portion of the brainstem. It deals with autonomic functions, such as breathing and blood pressure. The cardiac center is the part of the medulla oblongata responsible for controlling the heart rate.

    medulla oblongata at the Wikipedia.

    December 4, 2008

  • the visual processing center of the mammalian brain containing most of the anatomical region of the visual cortex.

    occipital lobe at the Wikipedia.

    December 4, 2008

  • wordie words

    December 3, 2008

  • Occurs in Grassic Gibbon. Means easily recognised.

    December 3, 2008

  • In the financial sense a word that has gained a certain notoriety in recent times.

    December 3, 2008

  • Thanks, interesting. Also led to wassailing.

    December 3, 2008

  • He oozes down the heating duct

    Swims like seaweed down the hall

    He briefly digs your wiggy pad

    And seeps out through the wall

    Donald Fagen Morph the Cat

    December 2, 2008

  • my favourite scots word

    December 2, 2008

  • I would like to build up my vocabulary.

    December 2, 2008

  • First came across this word in connection with al qaeda just after 9/11.

    December 2, 2008

  • a word a day on wonk

    December 2, 2008

  • Policy wonks?

    December 2, 2008

  • Title of a tune on a Brad Mehldau record which is where I first came across the word I think.

    December 1, 2008

  • have you seen a squonk's tears

    well look at mine

    December 1, 2008

  • Picked this up reading Stephen Fry.

    December 1, 2008

  • Or perhaps a wish to make love to Demi Moore.

    November 30, 2008

  • syzygy is a kind of unity, especially through coordination or alignment according to the Wikipedia. So antisyzygy is being out of alignment. This is the sense in which I most usually use it in connection with myself. Hugh MacDairmid referred to the Caledonian antisyzygy to refer eg to the seemingly morally contradictory quality of the works of Robert Louis Stevenson and James Hogg (Wikipedia again).

    November 30, 2008