"I've been seeing Dockwra about his shippon, sir" he said. "It's not in nearly as bad condition as he makes out. A bag of cement and a yard of aggregate should fix it." Docken dead - John Trench, 1953
The ?phonetic aid is faulty - for a start off, you can't have an accented schwa, and in fact you have two stressed syllables. I don't know what the hyphens symbolise. In fact I don't really know what your ?phonetic is supposed to be. In IPA it would be either /ʌneks'pɜ:gətɔ:ri:/ or /ʌnekspɜ:'geɪtəri:/ depending on where you're from.
I think you're right, and one can't back-form a singular. A propos, my son, when small, decided logically enough that the plural of my (VW) Golf was golves.
Similar incorrect back-formations would include knive, wive, dwarve, loave, etc. Maybe I should create them all as new "words" here - one seems to get credit for bad spelling, foreign languages, ...
In the middle ages, the two largest cities in Europe, with populations 600000 to 800000, were Constantinople and Cordoba, basically at either end of the Mediterranean.
Well I think the passive voice is entirely and solely adequate to whatever task I ask it to perform. I write what I want to write. How dare that paper-clip second-guess me? (Or do I mean, "How dare I be second-guessed by a paper-clip?") It's completely absurd. I can't see any instances of 'sloppy writing'.
Passive and active voices each has a place in English. It seems fairly arch and pointless to try to force changes from e.g. "Brooklyn Bridge was built 1870 - 1883" to "They built Brooklyn Bridge..."
A size of paper (7.5"-10" x 10"-12.5"). Formed by folding and cutting a standard large sheet of paper (15"-20" x 20"-25") twice to form 4 leaves (eight sides).
Paper sizes such as quarto, American quarto, octavo, 16mo etc. really only continue in North America. Most of elsewhere uses ISO paper sizes - A0, A1 etc. China of course has its own sizes.
a popular candy bar distributed by the Mars candy company. The American version of the Milky Way bar is made of chocolate-malt nougat topped with caramel and covered with milk chocolate and is similar to the European Mars bar. The European Milky Way bar, on the other hand, is not topped with caramel and is therefore similar to the American 3 Musketeers bar.
Was the film as long ago as 1989? Tempus indeed fugits. I remember it was a crap film, but popular for lines such as "I just want to shag all night". This was before Austin Powers and before the word entered US vernacular.
There is a district of London called "Elephant & Castle", centred on a pub of that name. It is said that this is in fact a corruption of "Infanta de Castile",
Rates text on a U.S. grade-school level. For example, a score of 8.0 means that an eighth grader can understand the document. For most standard documents, aim for a score of approximately 7.0 to 8.0.
The formula for the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score is:
(.39 x ASL) + (11.8 x ASW) – 15.59
where:
ASL = average sentence length (the number of words divided by the number of sentences)
ASW = average number of syllables per word (the number of syllables divided by the number of words)
Rates text on a 100-point scale; the higher the score, the easier it is to understand the document. For most standard documents, aim for a score of approximately 60 to 70.
The formula for the Flesch Reading Ease score is:
206.835 – (1.015 x ASL) – (84.6 x ASW)
where:
ASL = average sentence length (the number of words divided by the number of sentences)
ASW = average number of syllables per word (the number of syllables divided by the number of words)
William Heath Robinson (May 31, 1872 – September 13, 1944) was an English cartoonist and illustrator, who signed himself W. Heath Robinson. He is best known for drawings of eccentric machines and "Heath Robinson" has entered the language as a description of any unnecessarily complex and implausible contraption.
Reuben Garret Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 - December 7, 1970) was an American cartoonist who received a 1948 Pulitzer Prize for his political cartooning. He is best known for his series of popular cartoons depicting Rube Goldberg machines, complex devices that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways.
characters created by author Elisabeth Beresford, originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. Later became nationally famous in the mid 1970s as a result of a BBC children's television show.
Wombles are pointy-nosed furry creatures who live in burrows, where they help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in useful and ingenious ways.
Some boxing pundits describe Diaz as a fighter who is willing to take two punches to land a single oner. However, against Pacquiao, it was more like five or six punches to a single Diaz punch. And it's a known fact that Manny hits hard so even a two to one exchange may not have worked for Diaz.
Billingsgate was the central London fishmarket for may years. It relocated a few years ago. I knew it reasonably well. My Grandfather was a wholesale fishmonger there. Some of his children and their children became fish porters. I worked there myself for a few weeks during summer break in my first University year (I was the very first of any of my paternal or maternal family ever to go to University. I went on to study medicine). The porters were UK famous for their foul language - I can tell you it was pretty awful. So bad was it that the expression 'to Billingsgate it' meant to swear with optimum strength. I bet some of this rubbed off onto their wives, although I never heard my grandmother swear.
I guess Billingsgate was one of the old London gates, like Ludgate. The market was nearby.
(ironically enough, wikipedia was blocked in China for a long time. flickr is half-blocked following distribution of photos from a protest in Xiamen - the new server farms are not included.)
This mark has several common names: 'hash', 'hatch', 'pound sign', and 'octothorp' among them. The name "pound sign" is an Americanism that causes some confusion in countries that use the pound for currency.
It was also noted that the # is a medieval abbreviation for Latin "numerus" - it is a cursive 'n' with a horizontal slash through it, much modified and abstracted.
One possible derivation of the name "octothorp" was provided by Charles Bigelow:
... old English "thorp" meant 'hamlet' or 'village' (I'm not sure of the difference, except maybe hamlet is smaller, as its apparent diminutive suffix would suggest), and is derived from a much older Indo-European word *treb- for 'dwelling', which turns out to mean 'beam' or 'timber' in Latin "trabs", winding up as "trave" in Anglo-Latin, like "architrave" - the beam resting on a column, or "trab-" as in "trabecula" - a small supporting beam or bar. As Voltaire said, etymology is a science in which the vowels count for nothing and the consonants for very little.
So, maybe "octothorp" means "8-beams", which makes a kind of sense if we take the 8 projections to be the thorps, or trabs or traves. Though it's only a "quadrathorp" if we think that the beams connect.
Another explanation has it that the octothorp is a "thorp"' surrounded by eight cultivated fields.
a language created by Dr Marc Okrand, a professional linguist, for use by the alien Klingons in some of the Star Trek movies. To make Klingon sound truly alien, Okrand used combinations of sounds which do not exist in any natural language. It is a complete language, with its own vocabulary, grammar, usage and an enthusiastic community of speakers.
A stick or thin pole about a metre in length (three feet) with a ball-shape pad at one end, used as an aid in painting, particularly in oil painting. A mahl stick is useful when painting detail or when painting in a large area where the paint is still wet and you want to avoid touching the surface accidentally.
Shoulderless, sleeveless tube-like upper garment which wraps the torso (not reaching higher than the armpits). Normally strapless, so tight over the breasts in order to prevent the garment from falling. Usually this is prevented with elastic or jersey-knit.
Comments by johnmperry
johnmperry commented on the word rooves
plural of roof
October 28, 2009
johnmperry commented on the word sphinges
Plural of sphinx
September 24, 2009
johnmperry commented on the word sphinges
Plural of sphinx
September 24, 2009
johnmperry commented on the word sphinx
Plural can be sphinges
September 24, 2009
johnmperry commented on the word chinese wedding cake
British slang for rice pudding.
September 6, 2009
johnmperry commented on the word burma road
British slang for rice pudding.
September 6, 2009
johnmperry commented on the word comedy shorts
A Chinese teacher called me to find out what this meant. He was thinking about funny underpants.
April 23, 2009
johnmperry commented on the word litmus test
My Chemistry master at school had a little poem:
Blue to red, a-sed
Red to blue, alkalu
September 27, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word shippon
"I've been seeing Dockwra about his shippon, sir" he said. "It's not in nearly as bad condition as he makes out. A bag of cement and a yard of aggregate should fix it."
Docken dead - John Trench, 1953
September 27, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word figgot
20 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word pethera-bumfit
19 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word tethera-bumfit
18 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word tan-a-bumfit
17 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word yan-a-bumfit
16 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word pethera-dik
14 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word tethera-dik
13 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word tan-a-dik
12 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word yan-a-dik
11 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word dik
10 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word covera
9 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word hovera
8 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word lethera
7 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word sethera
6 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word pimp
5 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word pethera
4 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word tethera
3 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word tan
2 in North of England sheep counting jargon. See yan
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word yan
North of England sheep counting jargon
1 Yan
2 Tan
3 Tethera
4 Pethera
5 Pimp
6 Sethera
7 Lethera
8 Hovera
9 Covera
10 Dik
11 Yan-a-dik
12 Tan-a-dik
13 Tethera-dik
14 Pethera-dik
15 Bumfit
16 Yan-a-bumfit
17 Tan-a-bumfit
18 Tethera-bumfit
19 Pethera-bumfit
20 Figgot
September 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word towhead
He was tall, slim-hipped, hairlessly muscled in the chest and back. towheaded and perpetually bronzed as those of Norwegian extraction can be.
September 16, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word petard
see pétomane
September 9, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word pétomane
French - péter = to fart
September 9, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word marmalade
... and there was me thinking it's a cure for seasickness - mal de mer
September 8, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word simoleon
Also used in "Who Shot Roger Rabbit?"
September 8, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word schadenfreude
If this doesn't bring on definitive schadenfreude, I don't know what will!
September 8, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word spool
Simultaneous
Peripheral
Operation
OnLine
September 8, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word hasp
Very old operating system element:
Houston
Automated
Spooling
Program
Interesting for its double acronym: "spool" is/was "simultaneous peripheral operation online".
September 8, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word hoise
to hoise (third-person singular simple present hoises, present participle hoising, simple past and past participle hoised or hoist)
September 7, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word petard
It's not hoisted c_b, it's hoised (or hoist) - p/p/ of hoise
September 7, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word gambodge
It's a colour
Derived from Cambodia?
September 7, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word admiral robert shaftoe
Tautology gangerh - pdrness seems to be defined as quality of pdr
September 7, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word unexpurgatory
The ?phonetic aid is faulty - for a start off, you can't have an accented schwa, and in fact you have two stressed syllables. I don't know what the hyphens symbolise. In fact I don't really know what your ?phonetic is supposed to be. In IPA it would be either /ʌneks'pɜ:gətɔ:ri:/ or /ʌnekspɜ:'geɪtəri:/ depending on where you're from.
September 7, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word admiral robert shaftoe
This one is fictitious. Bobby Shaftoe is fact.
September 7, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word bobby shaftoe
... or Shafto
Bobby Shafto's gone to sea,
Silver buckles on his knee;
He'll come back and marry me,
Bonny Bobby Shafto!
Bobby Shafto's bright and fair,
Combing down his yellow hair;
He's my love for ever mair,
Bonny Bobby Shafto!
September 7, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word fell off the back of a lorry
UK vernacular = of dubious provenance
September 6, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word ruth
Pity or remorse
September 6, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word ruthless
without ruth
September 6, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word mayhem
cf maim
September 6, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word petard
the phrase is "hoist or hoised by his own petard". Not on, not with, but by.
Petard is an explosive mine; to hoise = to blow up.
September 6, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word veronica
Early web search engine:
Very
Easy
Rodent-
Operated
Net-wide
Index of
Computer
Archives
I love the "rodent-operated"!
September 4, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word archie
Disambiguate
Search engine
September 4, 2008
johnmperry commented on the list surf-it-scroll-it-click-it-load-it
I think firefox is complete pants.
Bring back Archie, I say, and Veronica
September 4, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word who put the bomp in the bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp
August 28, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word when did you last see your father
August 28, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word cride coeur
sure you didn't mean oops?
August 27, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word cride coeur
should be 3 words: cri de coeur (or for purists, cri de cœur)
August 27, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word balkinize
= Balkanise I imagine
August 27, 2008
johnmperry commented on the list squopping-your-wink-a-glossary-of-tiddlywinks
Rimming seems to have been hijacked by other sports. Also known as a bunker shot.
August 27, 2008
johnmperry commented on the list squopping-your-wink-a-glossary-of-tiddlywinks
The defensive strategy against a superior team in my day was bichromatic squop
August 27, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word bichromatic
two-colour
August 27, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word beeve
I think you're right, and one can't back-form a singular. A propos, my son, when small, decided logically enough that the plural of my (VW) Golf was golves.
Similar incorrect back-formations would include knive, wive, dwarve, loave, etc. Maybe I should create them all as new "words" here - one seems to get credit for bad spelling, foreign languages, ...
August 27, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word squidger
also see squop
August 27, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word tetrix
Tetric would have been a better choice
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word temerarious
The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her Last Berth to be broken up, 1838
Turner
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word lissajou's figures
example here
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word lemniscate
nor with Lissajou's figures.
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word avocet
The avocet forms the logo of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word unheimlich
Nothing to do with Heimlich
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word heimlich manoeuvre
.
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word rub a dub dub
"rubbidy" is Australian rhymimg slang for pub. I.e. rubbidy-dub.
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word cloaker
what is it? a cloaca?
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word hysteresis
cf rheology
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word sans
actually it's:
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word deliquesce
antonym might be effloresce
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word spud
UK vernacular for potato
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word skean dhu
Shorter than a dirk
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word sgian dubh
Buy one!
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word skene
Probably from Gaelic Sgian Dubh or Skean Dhu
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the list well-known-places-youve-never-heard-of
before it was Constantinople, it was Byzantium.
In the middle ages, the two largest cities in Europe, with populations 600000 to 800000, were Constantinople and Cordoba, basically at either end of the Mediterranean.
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word platykurtic
also platykurtotic
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word mesokurtic
also mesokurtotic
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the list well-known-places-youve-never-heard-of
Better spelling is Baile �?tha Cliath = Dublin, Ireland
August 26, 2008
johnmperry commented on the list real-names
Norwegian tennis ace Bent-Ove Pedersen
August 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word chorlton-cum-hardy
Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, North West England, known locally as Chorlton.
August 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word phatic
Or as Marshall McLuhan has it, "the medium is the message."
August 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word garth
from which the word "garden"
August 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word jamb
from French for leg
August 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word keystone
famous for its police force (farce):
August 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the list pretty-dots-all-in-a-row
Now if you were writing Maltese you could have extra dotty letters: Ċ Ġ and Ż
August 19, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word 白�?
bai hua
August 19, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word wirble
= wrbl?
August 18, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word wrbl
Weighted Ranking By Levels
August 18, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word keirin
Britain wins gold at Men's Keirin, 2008
August 18, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word joey buttafuoco
Guido who achieved his 15 minutes of fame
August 18, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word one for his nob
a jack of the same suit as the turned up card
August 18, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word spoonerism
Q What is the difference between a chorus-girl and a tramp?
A A chorus-girl has natty knickers.
(Probably only meaningful to British English speakers).
August 18, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word spoonerism
Q What is the difference between a sandpiper and a baby?
A A sandpiper flits along the shore.
August 18, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word venezuela
it got its name from its supposed similarity to Venice.
August 17, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word cedilla
its name derives from being a miniature Z (zed in British English) - used to change the pronunciation of the letter C from hard to soft.
August 17, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word maltesers
wikipedia calls it sponge toffee although it is commonly called honeycomb in UK.
August 17, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word maltesers
Nothing to do with with Maltese, although they do sell them there. More like malt-teasers.
August 17, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word winnie the pooh
also Winnie-the-Pooh
August 17, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word cestus
plural is cestus too
August 17, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word jai alai
also known as pelota vasca
August 17, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word cesta
Spanish = basket.
Usually, a scoop-shaped wicker basket that is worn over the hand and used to catch and throw the ball in jai alai.
August 17, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word spirtle
also spurtle
a wooden stick for stirring porridge
August 17, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word walla
A (male) worker.
also wallah.
August 16, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word dhobi
No, dhobi or dobi is Hindi for laundry. the dobi walla or wallah is the person (often male) who does the laundry
August 16, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word Ħ ħ
I'm just back from a holiday in Malta, so thought I'd introduce you to the written Maltese language.
August 15, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word hula hoop
also, Hula Hoops are a potato-based snack product, in the shape of short, hollow cylinders.
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word senior moment
or you can't find the glasses on top of your head
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word great firewall of china
Actually, just to clarify, I meant the new server farms are available, and are not included in the blockage.
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word flesch-kincaid grade level
Well I think the passive voice is entirely and solely adequate to whatever task I ask it to perform. I write what I want to write. How dare that paper-clip second-guess me? (Or do I mean, "How dare I be second-guessed by a paper-clip?") It's completely absurd. I can't see any instances of 'sloppy writing'.
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word surely
When I was at school, our headmaster told us never to agree with a question which used the word 'surely'
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word ambo
That citation surely refers to an abbreviation of ambulance?
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word slimboy
Not to be confused with Fatboy Slim
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word hy brasil
Read about it here
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word flesch-kincaid grade level
Passive and active voices each has a place in English. It seems fairly arch and pointless to try to force changes from e.g. "Brooklyn Bridge was built 1870 - 1883" to "They built Brooklyn Bridge..."
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word infanta
I had a little nut tree,
Nothing would it bear
But a silver nutmeg,
And a golden pear;
The King of Spain's daughter
Came to visit me,
And all for the sake
Of my little nut tree.
Her dress was made of crimson,
Jet black was her hair,
She asked me for my nut tree
And my golden pear.
I said, "So fair a princess
Never did I see,
I'll give you all the fruit
From my little nut tree.
Children's Nursery Rhyme
(sounds a bit phallic to me)
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word quarto
Not just any old sheet of paper.
A size of paper (7.5"-10" x 10"-12.5"). Formed by folding and cutting a standard large sheet of paper (15"-20" x 20"-25") twice to form 4 leaves (eight sides).
Paper sizes such as quarto, American quarto, octavo, 16mo etc. really only continue in North America. Most of elsewhere uses ISO paper sizes - A0, A1 etc. China of course has its own sizes.
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word ding
My squeeze uses ding:- for just about any word;
- when she/I/we is/am/are ready for sex (like the sound of the microwave when that's ready);
- (v.) for coition itself;
- (adj. or adv.) anything associated with coition.
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word milky way
a popular candy bar distributed by the Mars candy company. The American version of the Milky Way bar is made of chocolate-malt nougat topped with caramel and covered with milk chocolate and is similar to the European Mars bar. The European Milky Way bar, on the other hand, is not topped with caramel and is therefore similar to the American 3 Musketeers bar.
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word snog
canoodle
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word shag
Was the film as long ago as 1989? Tempus indeed fugits. I remember it was a crap film, but popular for lines such as "I just want to shag all night". This was before Austin Powers and before the word entered US vernacular.
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word shag
The common cormorant (or shag)
Lays eggs inside a paper bag,
You follow the idea, no doubt?
It's to keep the lightning out.
But what these unobservant birds
Have never thought of, is that herds
Of wandering bears might come with buns
And steal the bags to hold the crumbs.
-- Christopher Isherwood
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word deadman's hand
A two-pair poker hand, namely "aces and eights".
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word le panier à salade
also (UK) Black Maria
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word amuck
Seems exactly the same as amok to me
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word cipher
VanishedOne - it does suggest that in the third definition
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word just a skosh
I don't know Japanese as such, but I do know a lot of words are pronounced like that, with first and third syllables elided
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word flesch-kincaid grade level
Bilby - looks like you've got some unbound html in your last comment.
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word bogey
UK vernacular for US booger
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word norks
British navy slang for tits
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word infanta
There is a district of London called "Elephant & Castle", centred on a pub of that name. It is said that this is in fact a corruption of "Infanta de Castile",
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word lunchbox
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word edust
or bits
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word missionary enhancer
Thank you for letting me share this with you. It made me laugh.
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word sinkant
The Traditional Fly Fishing Leader Sinkant
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word fuller's earth
Any nonplastic clay or claylike earthy material that can be used to decolorize, filter, and purify animal, mineral, and vegetable oils and greases.
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word schmooze
cf shmooze
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word ninkumpoop
see nincompoop
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word nincumpoop
see nincompoop
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word flesch-kincaid grade level
What's the big hang-up with passive voice? Microsoft Word flags it like it's a capital offence.
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word fiat lux
Italian car-wash
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word red-nosed burglar
Another slang term for the penis
July 25, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word philter
also philtre
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word romcom
= romantic comedy
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word euphonium
Defined by Jimmy Edwards:
Eu - what a
phony - terrible
hum - noise
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word boot
to get the boot = to get the sack, be fired from employment
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word boot
also means: to enrich; to benefit; to give in addition as in "what boots it?"
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word ague
pronounced /'eIgju:/
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word hobson's choice
take it or leave it: no choice at all
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word recicative
No, I think s/he's hork-eyed
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word flesch-kincaid grade level
Rates text on a U.S. grade-school level. For example, a score of 8.0 means that an eighth grader can understand the document. For most standard documents, aim for a score of approximately 7.0 to 8.0.
The formula for the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score is:
(.39 x ASL) + (11.8 x ASW) – 15.59
where:
ASL = average sentence length (the number of words divided by the number of sentences)
ASW = average number of syllables per word (the number of syllables divided by the number of words)
- Microsoft
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word flesch reading ease
Flesch Reading Ease score
Rates text on a 100-point scale; the higher the score, the easier it is to understand the document. For most standard documents, aim for a score of approximately 60 to 70.
The formula for the Flesch Reading Ease score is:
206.835 – (1.015 x ASL) – (84.6 x ASW)
where:
ASL = average sentence length (the number of words divided by the number of sentences)
ASW = average number of syllables per word (the number of syllables divided by the number of words)
- Microsoft
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word chthonic
actually brtom your citation doesn't say anything about up.
The second sentence of your quotation contains 70 words, giving it readability index scores of Flesch Reading Ease = 50.4, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level of 12.0
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word spoonerism
someone I worked with once referred to "the whole matching shoot"
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word nob
also, head
as in "One for his nob"
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word w. heath robinson
William Heath Robinson (May 31, 1872 – September 13, 1944) was an English cartoonist and illustrator, who signed himself W. Heath Robinson. He is best known for drawings of eccentric machines and "Heath Robinson" has entered the language as a description of any unnecessarily complex and implausible contraption.
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word rube goldberg
see also W. Heath Robinson
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word rube goldberg
Reuben Garret Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 - December 7, 1970) was an American cartoonist who received a 1948 Pulitzer Prize for his political cartooning. He is best known for his series of popular cartoons depicting Rube Goldberg machines, complex devices that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways.
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word rube goldberg machine
an extremely complicated apparatus that performs a very simple, easy task in an indirect and convoluted way
see Rube Goldberg
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word usine à gaz
see Rube Goldberg machine
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word heath robinson
a description of any unnecessarily complex and implausible contraption.
See W. Heath Robinson
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word usine à gaz
French. Literal meaning is "gas factory". Figurative meaning is "overly complicated solution". Can also be used of a business meeting.
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word womble
characters created by author Elisabeth Beresford, originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. Later became nationally famous in the mid 1970s as a result of a BBC children's television show.
Wombles are pointy-nosed furry creatures who live in burrows, where they help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in useful and ingenious ways.
Principal Wombles were:- Great Uncle Bulgaria - the Wombles' leader
- Tobermory - an engineer and handyman
- Orinoco - a shirker who loved sleep and food
- Bungo - over-enthusiastic and bossy
- Tomsk - athletic Womble
- Wellington - scientifically inclined
- Madame Cholet - a cook
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word wee frees
The Free Church of Scotland. Not to be confused with the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, known as the Wee Wee Frees.
Better than being wee-wee free I suppose
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word wee-wee
child's name for micturition
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the list public-list-body-metaphors
A family motto: "if your eye falls on a bargain, pick it up."
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word one-upmanship
Title of 1952 book by Stephen Potter (1900-1969)
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word one-two
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word oner
A big punch.
Some boxing pundits describe Diaz as a fighter who is willing to take two punches to land a single oner. However, against Pacquiao, it was more like five or six punches to a single Diaz punch. And it's a known fact that Manny hits hard so even a two to one exchange may not have worked for Diaz.
- Pinoy Boxing
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word bugs
What gives?
wordie was off air about six hours yesterday, and today for about three. Can't be just me, because nothing moved on during that time
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word bunny-boiler
a woman driven by jealousy to extraordinary actions. Derives from the Alex Forrest character (played by Glenn Close) in Fatal Attraction (1987)
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word bodice-ripper
A sexually explicit romantic novel, usually in a historical setting, especially one involving the seduction of the heroine.
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word penny plain, tuppence coloured
Any penny dreadful - one penny for black & white, two pence in colour
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word aestivate
cf hibernate
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word cradlesong
lullaby
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word berceuse
a lullaby. French = shepherdess
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word boustrephedon
probably boustrophedon
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word scriptio continua
well at least it stayed horizontal and left-to-right, not boustrophedon.
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word shaken not stirred
how James Bond likes his martini
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word hork
How is this other than hawk misspelt?
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word private eye
Also, UK satirical magazine
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word to come the raw prawn
I think this was actualy invented by Barry Humphries in the 1960s, in his Barry McKenzie persona, whilst writing a cartoon strip for Private Eye
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word au chocolat
French = in the shit, in trouble
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word curricle
cf coracle
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word tuchus
see also jacksie, prat
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word jacksie
Buttocks, or anus.
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word philippines
see pinoy, pinay
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word pinay
a female native of the Philippines
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word pinoy
see also pinay
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word pinoy
A (male) native of the Philippines.
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word tuchus
(pronounced /tʊkəs/ Yiddish for bottom or buttocks. Americanised as "tush".
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word belin
Celtic god of sun and war
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word billingsgate
Billingsgate was one of the old gates into the city. Originally devoted to Belin
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word billingsgate
Billingsgate was the central London fishmarket for may years. It relocated a few years ago. I knew it reasonably well. My Grandfather was a wholesale fishmonger there. Some of his children and their children became fish porters. I worked there myself for a few weeks during summer break in my first University year (I was the very first of any of my paternal or maternal family ever to go to University. I went on to study medicine). The porters were UK famous for their foul language - I can tell you it was pretty awful. So bad was it that the expression 'to Billingsgate it' meant to swear with optimum strength. I bet some of this rubbed off onto their wives, although I never heard my grandmother swear.
I guess Billingsgate was one of the old London gates, like Ludgate. The market was nearby.
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word billingsgate
A large fish market in London, presumably where foul-mouths were in abundance
July 24, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word smithfield
large meat market in London
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word bummaree
a porter at a meat or fish market, such as Smithfield or Billingsgate.
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word coitus-à-la-vache
but why mix French and Latin? Shouldn't it be coito-à-la-vache?
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word coitus-à-la-vache
Vache = cow. Different from doggy, apparently, as well as elephant and antelope. See here
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word ailurophobic
also aleurophobic, aelurophobic
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word mingy
mean, miserly
unconnected with minge
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word twat
Personally I find this word just as offensive as cunt. But for some reason it is almost freely allowed on BBC television.
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word tart
person (male or female) of low morals
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word slag
a loose woman
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word slapper
a female of easy virtue, a tart
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word slaphead
a bald man
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word coitus a tergo
coitus from behind
cf doggy position
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word retrocopulant
coitus a tergo
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word password fatigue
One way round this is to have the same password for every service.
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word great firewall of china
Internet censorship in China
(ironically enough, wikipedia was blocked in China for a long time. flickr is half-blocked following distribution of photos from a protest in Xiamen - the new server farms are not included.)
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word maltesers
A kind of sweet (US candy) in the form of a sphere of confectioners' honeycomb coated in chocolate
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word bitter
Usual kind of beer drunk in UK.
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the user mialuthien
I use IE and I get delete option after I have edited a comment.
btw check the difference between alternate and alternative
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word octothorpe
This mark has several common names: 'hash', 'hatch', 'pound sign', and 'octothorp' among them. The name "pound sign" is an Americanism that causes some confusion in countries that use the pound for currency.
It was also noted that the # is a medieval abbreviation for Latin "numerus" - it is a cursive 'n' with a horizontal slash through it, much modified and abstracted.
One possible derivation of the name "octothorp" was provided by Charles Bigelow:
... old English "thorp" meant 'hamlet' or 'village' (I'm not sure of the difference, except maybe hamlet is smaller, as its apparent diminutive suffix would suggest), and is derived from a much older Indo-European word *treb- for 'dwelling', which turns out to mean 'beam' or 'timber' in Latin "trabs", winding up as "trave" in Anglo-Latin, like "architrave" - the beam resting on a column, or "trab-" as in "trabecula" - a small supporting beam or bar. As Voltaire said, etymology is a science in which the vowels count for nothing and the consonants for very little.
So, maybe "octothorp" means "8-beams", which makes a kind of sense if we take the 8 projections to be the thorps, or trabs or traves. Though it's only a "quadrathorp" if we think that the beams connect.
Another explanation has it that the octothorp is a "thorp"' surrounded by eight cultivated fields.
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word hash
UK: the symbol #
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word octothorpe
see hash
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word mle
cf estuarine English
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word estuarine english
Dialect of eastern London and Essex
July 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word klingon
a language created by Dr Marc Okrand, a professional linguist, for use by the alien Klingons in some of the Star Trek movies. To make Klingon sound truly alien, Okrand used combinations of sounds which do not exist in any natural language. It is a complete language, with its own vocabulary, grammar, usage and an enthusiastic community of speakers.
Klingon alphabet:
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word klingon
A native of the planet Qo'noS
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word qo'nos
Klingon homeworld, pronounced Kronos.
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word ily
it's an orthographic change, when forming an adverb from an adjective ending in -y (usually):
dainty -> daintily
gay -> gaily
doesn't always work - silly
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word dildo
Whereas Intercourse, Pa welcomes tourists. I picked up a copy of Intercourse News, and a fridge magnet that says "I ♥ Intercourse"
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word piss
cf micturition
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word dop
Type of wax that holds a stone onto a dop stick.
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word mahl stick
A stick or thin pole about a metre in length (three feet) with a ball-shape pad at one end, used as an aid in painting, particularly in oil painting. A mahl stick is useful when painting detail or when painting in a large area where the paint is still wet and you want to avoid touching the surface accidentally.
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word dop stick
where a jeweller holds a stone to cut it
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word largess
cf largesse
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word foxy
also: Sensually attractive; sexy.
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word mezzanine
cf entresol
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word tree-hugger
An environmental actvist
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word if
UK response to statement starting If..
"If my uncle had tits he'd be my auntie."
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word spunk
also see moxie
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word barfly
Someone who drinks a lot.
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word piss artist
UK vernacular. Someone who drinks a lot, a barfly
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word piss off
(1) Go away!
(2) (vt) to annoy
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word pissed off
UK = angry
see also piss off
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word pissed
US = angry
UK = drunk
see also pissed off, piss artist
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word carfax
Latin for crossroads
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word one-trick pony
Someone with a very limited repertoire
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word poisson d'avril
April fool
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word fool
"There's no fool like an old fool."
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word guanxi
(pronounced /gwænʃi:/) Chinese 关系 = connections, relationships
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word schmooze
It also means to network = to make connections. In Chinese called guanxi
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word tube top
Shoulderless, sleeveless tube-like upper garment which wraps the torso (not reaching higher than the armpits). Normally strapless, so tight over the breasts in order to prevent the garment from falling. Usually this is prevented with elastic or jersey-knit.
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word boob tube
US & Canadian vernacular = television.
UK vernacular = tube top
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word yggdrasil
Mimir's tree
July 22, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word le chemin saint jacques
Usually refers to Camino Santiago or Way of St James. This has been a major pilgrimage route for many centuries.
July 22, 2008
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