lepidote
adj.
5Gr lepidbtos < lepis (gen. lepidos), a scale: see LEPIDO36 Biol. covered with small flakes, scales, or scalelike hairs; scurfy

leucite
n.
5Ger leucit, now leuzit (< Gr leukos, white: see LIGHT1) + 3it, 3ITE16 a white or gray mineral, KAl(SiO3) 2, found in potassium-rich igneous rocks


leucotomy, leukotomy Here the spellingbee p;eople have played a dirty trick They used the spelling with "c", whereas the spelling with "k" seems to be preferentially used.
It is alternative term for "lobectom;y". A horror story in psychiatry. A lecturer at a big meeting
about treatment of severe chronic schizophrenics, speculated that cutting large tracts of connections
readily accessible surgically might alleviate the symptoms. He was horrified when he learned that
a Portuguese neurosurgeon promptly did a series of such operations, and proudly reported that the
patient's symptom had indeed been alleviated. Others promptly copied him. The patients did have
alleviation of their original symptoms such as unpredictable assaultiveness. But they acquired a new set of symptoms - they became grievously irresponsible, and still required very close supervision, and were still not acceptable outside the hospital. When thorazine became available,
it was infinitely preferable.



ligure
n.
5LL(Ec) ligurius < Gr(Ec) ligyrion6 Bible one of the twelve precious stones in the breastplate of the Jewish high priest, thought to be yellow jacinth: Ex. 28:19


Ligustrum - This shrub is native to China and eastern Asia and is now grown ornamentally in the United States. The
berry of ligustrum is used medicinally.


limbo
n.,
pl. 3bos# 5prob. altered < LIMBER16 a dance, originated in the West Indies, in which the dancers bend from the knees as far back as possible to pass beneath a bar that is put lower and lower


Limbo
5ME < L, abl. of limbus, edge, border (in in limbo, in or on the border) < IE *(s)lemb3, to hand down: see LIMP16 [often l3] in some Christian theologies, the eternal abode or state, neither heaven nor hell, of the souls of infants or others dying in original sin but free of grievous personal sin, or, before the coming of Christ, the temporary abode or state of all holy souls after death
n.,
This is the word you are likely to see used as a metaphor, meaning being in a hoplelss situation


limpa
This is a traditional Swedish rye bread. Be sure that the
seeds you use for this bread are fresh. You may substitute
rye flour for the whole wheat flour, however, it will affect the
taste. I prefer whole wheat. Also, gluten, a very important
ingredient in this recipe, may be found in most gourmet
food stores or health food stores. Barley malt can be
sustituted for molasses. Enjoy! "


limpet
n.
5ME lempet < OE lempedu < ML lempreda, limpet, LAMPREY6 a gastropod mollusk of various families, mostly marine, with a single, low, cone-shaped shell and a thick, fleshy foot, by means of which it clings to rocks, timbers, etc.

I am really surprised that my dictionary does not mention the naval weapon, a mine that frogmen can attach to an enemy vessel underwater, with a timer to allo
frogman to escape


limulus
n.,
pl. 3li# 73lj#8 5ModL < L limulus, dim. of limus, oblique + 3OID6 HORSESHOE CRAB


langouste
n.
5Fr6 SPINY LOBSTER

In reply to:

---

limpa
This is a traditional Swedish rye bread. Be sure that the
seeds you use for this bread are fresh. You may substitute
rye flour for the whole wheat flour, however, it will affect the
taste. I prefer whole wheat. Also, gluten, a very important
ingredient in this recipe, may be found in most gourmet
food stores or health food stores. Barley malt can be
sustituted for molasses. Enjoy! "

---

Anybody else read the theory that the Salem girls had been eating contaminated rye that had caused them to hallucinate?

Dear WW: I have seen a novel that used that as a plot. I think it is stupid. I thing previous
opinions that it was an hysterical episode is much more plausible. Like the UFO nuts might
have gotten, if they had found more believers.

Well, I'd just read a few years back about the hallucination theory. It didn't make sense back then because the girls as well as the adults would have been hallucinating.

Logic shattered, however, I continue to look at rye bread suspiciously, though I'd never turn down a good Reuben sandwich.

Mr. Limpet. with Don Knotts. the first movie I remember.

eating contaminated rye


What does rye get contaminated with that causes hallucinations? I'm dredging up recollections of the Ergot fungus, which if inadvertently ingested can cause overdose-of-Adrenalin-like symptoms ("ergotism," believe it or not) but that's high blood pressure and headache and strokes, not hallucinations.

It's been a while since I read the article about the Salem theory, Wof', but there was an explanation of how whatever chemical change rye flour (I'm pretty sure it was the flour) underwent ended up in a substance very similar to LSD. I've got a lazy afternoon going on here, so will Google to see whether there's more information...

Dear wofahulicodoc: I remember pathology prof saying: "In the Middle Ages, Europe was a
hotbed of gangrenous legs." I had a visual picture of what I would call a coldframe with
obese female varicose legs thrashing feet about as they turned red, black and purple.
From fungal smut (so black it became metaphor for dirty stories) containing large amounts
of ergot. I recently saw a site about Breughel's weird paintings allegedly inspired by ergotism's
central nervous effects. I'll see if I can find it again.

Here's something from the Web:

It is now fairly widely thought, based on the research of Linnda Caporael (1976) and later Mary Matossian, that the seven girls and women tried in the Salem, Massachusetts witch trials in 1692 were suffering hallucinations and other symptoms of ergotism (convulsive ergotism). Similar eruptions of ergotism also occurred in Essex County and Fairfax County, Connecticut. In that year, the weather was damp and cool, and rye plants of New England would have had much ergot, which forms sclerotia under those cool, moist conditions. Infants died from consuming contaminated mother's milk. A famous outbreak of ergotism occurred in Sologne, France in 1777, when 8000 people died of gangrenous ergotism. The last major outbreak was 1951.

http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Claviceps/

Edit: And this, too, from the above page:

"The psychoactive ingredient in ergot is LSD, lysergic acid diethylamide. The activity of this compound was accidentally discovered in 1943 by Dr. Albert Hofmann, an organic chemist, who hallucinated when he got some of this substance on his skin. Hofmann experimented on himself to study the effects of this colorless, odorless, and tasteless substance."

Dear wofahulicodoc: Haven't found the Breughel site yet, but here's another site:
"Ergot, more than any other drug, has a fascinating history, in the course of
which its role and meaning have been reversed: once dreaded as a poison, in
the course of time it has changed to a rich storehouse of valuable remedies.
Ergot first appeared on the stage of history in the early Middle Ages, as the
cause of outbreaks of mass poisonings affecting thousands of persons at a
time. The illness, whose connection with ergot was for a long time obscure,
appeared in two characteristic forms, one gangrenous (ergotismus gangraenosus)
and the other convulsive (ergotismus convulsivus). Popular names for ergotism
- such as "mal des ardents," "ignis sacer," "heiliges Feuer," or "St.
Anthony's fire" - refer to the gangrenous form of the disease. The patron
saint of ergotism victims was St. Anthony, and it was primarily the Order of
St. Anthony that treated these patients."

So it is the Ergot fungus, and it has _two_ kinds of toxicity, one vasoconstricting and the other hallucinogenic. Looks as if I repressed the LSD-equivalent. Thanks for the refresher :-)