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#52629 01/13/02 07:08 PM
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An article about pearls mentions a couple words apparently not yet used in AWAD. Nacre, and nacreous. Not new to most of us, I would guess. The substance pearls are made of, and a somewhat poetic word for its appearance.


#52630 01/13/02 09:12 PM
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I'm familiar with nacre and nacreous. Isn't "orient" a word that has to do with pearls? Something just popped up in my head and said, "Oh, there's 'orient,' too..."

But I can't remember what it had to do with pearls other than the obvious, but I don't think the obvious is it.

WW

PS: I love pearls--to think a snarly, recalcitrant old bivalve can produce that perfect sphere blows me right out of the water.


#52631 01/13/02 09:23 PM
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to think a snarly, recalcitrant old bivalve can produce that perfect sphere
"Irritation" as a productive force


#52632 01/13/02 10:59 PM
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Nacreous are the uses of adversity.


#52633 01/13/02 11:12 PM
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PS: I love pearls--to think a snarly, recalcitrant old bivalve can produce that perfect sphere blows me right out of the water.

Axtually, I prefer oysters blown right out of the water - especially Bluff oysters (*sob). A little lemon and ahhhhh, the perfection! [drooling -e]



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
#52634 01/13/02 11:21 PM
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Said the Walrus to the Carpenter......


#52635 01/14/02 08:52 AM
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Dear wwh,

But that walrus did show some kind of reverence for those little oysters before he 'et 'em. At least he appreciated what he was about to consume. So, I've a soft spot in my heart for the walrus and the oysters, too. Love how the Disney artists put little bonnets on 'em.

And no take on "orient"? I'll have to look it up today.

Best regards,
WordWalrus


#52636 01/18/02 02:01 AM
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But I can't remember what it had to do with pearls other than the obvious
I'm stumped, Wordwind. What is "obvious" about the connection between the word "Orient" and a pearl? Apart from the similarity between the shape of an oyster and the shape of an oriental's eye, what oriental orientation does an oyster ornamentalize?


#52637 01/18/02 08:31 AM
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Dear Plutarch,

It's always good to see you here, by the way.

Orient and the obvious: There's all that pearl-diving in the Orient. I read an article from National Geographic years ago about some women who dived for pearls. They were champion breath-holders. I can't recall which island they dived from--it may have been northeastern Honshu--but it may have been a different island altogether.

But the word "orient" in connection with pearls I think was more than locale. Orient may have had to do with the luster. Not sure. It's been a long time since I read the article on pearls and pearl diving.

Best regards,
WordWalrus


#52638 01/18/02 01:12 PM
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Nacre, and nacreous... somewhat poetic word[s] for [their] appearance.

Yet ugly words if stripped of their denotation. Nacreous sounds like it should relate to the appearance of a festering wound.


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