UMAMI is (pick one):

a) the distaff side of an Imam's family

b) the Gullah word for soul

c) (chiefly veterinary) the state of excitation or increased metabolism preceding labor

d) a philosophical concept in Islam in which the parts of a whole are distinct and have their own complete being apart from the whole they compose

e) a short shift, or wrap-around dress

f) an African thumb piano, made of 22 to 28 metal keys mounted on a hardwood soundboard; also known as mbira

g) a cooked combination of ground mixed grains, made into small balls and dipped into sauces

h) the fifth fundamental taste, after sweet, sour, salty, and bitter, sometimes called “savory;” identified in 1907 by the Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda

i) adj. SW US dialect: vacant as the wind

j) a West African dish made from lentils

k) a style of West African headdress

l) the box-like device worn in the small of the back by geishas when dressed full kimono and obi

m) what the Ubangi answered when asked by an orangantangi the name of the only river that drains Lake Victoria in Ugandi

n) a deathbed promise to exact revenge

o) a Swahili word meaning "glorious"

[edit] Voting for seven daze, as usual. [/edit]

Hmmm. O.k. put me down for G. Sounds tasty.

O, I guess …

A full two thirds of the proposals are Asian or African. So I'm gonna throw those out. That leaves c, e, g, i, n.

I'm gonna guess E, for no reason other than that I need to vote.

Shoot, I like both "N" and "D".

But since "personal revenge after death" is an illogical concept as the white eyes count their beads, I'll choose "D".

At least "D" is as semantically logical as the "Big Bang".

I must be a Muslim.

The African thumb piano made me smile , and I got a real bangi out of orangantangi , but I'm thinkin' it's more of a North American Indian word that crept it's way into English so it's G or I...

Oh, G ee, why not?

Let it B , let it B - oops, wrong thread.....

I really like i), i) is definitely a definition which needs a word -- but I don't think this is that word, so I'll continue to contemplate...

Having lived in the Land of the Rising Sun, I'll take L, thank you ... er ... domo arigato gozaimas.

Hmmm. Methinks Father is trying to sway the vote.

I be votin for B.

I like O, too...

I like e)s too, but what the h) , I'll go with savory.

I will have to abstain since the definition was accidentally (I hope) revealed to me on another thread. But I'm awfully gratified to see all the votes I'm getting in this round.

h,i,j,k,h,i,j,k,h,i,j,k,h,i,j,k,h,i,j,k,h,i......

(pant... pant...pant...) "J"!

Quote:

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I will have to abstain since the definition was accidentally (I hope) revealed to me on another thread. But I'm awfully gratified to see all the votes I'm getting in this round.

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Just to be mischevious I would point out that there's nothing to prove that the definition posted on That Other Thread was anything but a blatant attempt to mislead...what would you have thought if it had appeared on _this_ thread?