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MICRIFY

PRONUNCIATION: (MYK-ruh-fy)

MEANING: verb tr.: To make small or insignificant.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek micro- (small) + -ficare (to make). Earliest documented use: 1836.
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MICRIFT - Sherlocks's older brother?

MICTIFY - to add urine (see LANT)

MICKIFY - to make mousy

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CYNICAL

PRONUNCIATION: (SIN-i-kuhl)

MEANING: adjective:
1. Believing that people are motivated primarily by self-interest.
2. Behaving in a selfish manner, callously violating accepted standards.
3. Pessimistic; jaded; negative.
4. Contemptuous; mocking.

ETYMOLOGY.
From Latin cynicus, from Greek kynikos (like a dog), from kyon (dog). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwon- (dog), which is also the source of canine, chenille (from French chenille: caterpillar, literally, little dog), kennel, canary, hound, dachshund, corgi, and cynosure cynophilist, cynophobia, philocynic, cynegetic, and cynosure. Earliest documented use: 1588.
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CYGNICAL - baby-swan-like.

BYNICAL - a housing for a ship's compass and a lamp

MY NICAL - what permits me to talk for as long as I want on the pay phone in the booth. (Well, 60 years ago, anyway. There aren't any more pay phones any more, or booths, either. Alas, poor Superman...)

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LEMMING

PRONUNCIATION: (LEM-ing)

MEANING: noun:
1. Any of various small, thickset, short-tailed, furry rodents.
2. One who mindlessly conforms or follows, especially toward disaster.

ETYMOLOGY: From Norwegian and Danish lemming, from Old Norse lómundr/læmingi/læmingr. Earliest documented use: 1607.

NOTES: Lemmings do not go lemming. It’s a myth that lemmings jump off a cliff into water in an act of mass suicide.
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LE MING - the precious old Chinese relic in the Louvre

BEM MING - Flash Gordon's serial nemesis was a Merciless Bug-Eyed Monster

LEMMINY - how your tea tastes when you add too much citrus

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SERPENTINE

PRONUNCIATION: (SUHR-pen-teen/tyn)

MEANING:
adjective: 1. Of or relating to a snake.
2. Winding, twisting, or coiling.
3. Intricate; cunning; treacherous.
verb intr.: To move or lie in a winding course.
noun: 1. Something winding, twisting, or coiling.
2. A dull green mineral with a texture resembling the skin of a snake.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin serpens, present participle of serpere (to creep). Earliest documented use: 1400.
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TERPENTINE - paint thinner containing limonene

SERP ENGINE - Solar Emitting Rotary Propulsion motor

SIR PENTINE - eponymous Knight of the Five-Sided Table

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JACKRABBIT

PRONUNCIATION: (JAK-rab-it)

MEANING: noun: Any of various hares having long ears and very long hind legs.
verb intr.: To move or begin to move very quickly.
adjective: Moving or beginning to move very quickly.

ETYMOLOGY: A combination of jackass + rabbit. Earliest documented use: 1863, in a figurative use: 1922.

NOTES: The word jackrabbit is a misnomer. A jackrabbit is a hare, not a rabbit. It is called a jackrabbit because of its long ears, as if those of a jackass. The metaphorical use is from a jackrabbit’s sudden movement. This has given us the slang “jackrabbit start” meaning a start in which a person accelerates very quickly as a traffic light turns green, maybe even before the light has turned. Like most animal-related metaphors, this unfairly maligns our furry friends. There have been no reported sightings of jackrabbits jumping a red light.
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JACK, RABBI - John, meet my spiritual advisor

PACK RABBIT - a leveret capable of carrying large loads

JA, CRAB BIT - Were you able to trap that crustacean, Hans?

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CHEVACHEE

PRONUNCIATION: (shuh-vuh-CHEE/SHAY)

MEANING: noun: An expedition, raid, or campaign.

ETYMOLOGY: From French chevauchée (ride), from cheval (horse), from Latin caballus (horse). Earliest documented use: 1380.
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CHE VACHE - a Cuban cow

CHEVA CHEER - Hooray for Cheva!

cc: EVA CHEE - Send Ms Chee a copy of this message

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PLUTOGRAPHY

PRONUNCIATION: (ploo-TAH-gruh-fee)

MEANING: noun: The genre that chronicles the lifestyles of the rich and famous.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek pluto- (wealth) + -graphy (writing). Earliest documented use: 1985.
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PHUTOGRAPHY - high-speed image of spitting

POUTOGRAPHY - pictures of spoiled brats making dissatisfied faces

PLUSOGRAPHY - charts showing nothing but increases

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MINIATE

PRONUNCIATION: (MIN-ee-ayt)

MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To decorate a manuscript, book, etc., with colors, gold, silver, etc.
2. To paint in red, titles, headings, or important parts of a book or manuscript.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin miniatus (illuminated), past participle of miniare (to color red with cinnabar), from minium (cinnabar, a red mineral of mercury). Earliest documented use: 1610.
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MINI-ATE - what she had for dinner (cf. MIKI-ATE, which is what he had for dinner)

SIN: I ATE - I need absolution for being so heavy

MINI-AWE - what one experiences when distinctly unimpressed

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IRREDENTIST

PRONUNCIATION: (ir-i-DEN-tist)

MEANING: noun: One advocating the restoration of territory that earlier belonged to one’s country.

ETYMOLOGY: During the late 1800s and early 1900s in Italy, an irredentist was someone who advocated for restoration of Italian-speaking districts in other countries to Italy. The word is from Italian irredentista, from the phrase Italia irredenta (unredeemed Italy), from Latin redimere (to redeem). Earliest documented use: 1882.
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SIR RE-DENTIST - knight whose trademark is to make yet another ding in your armor

IRKED ENT-IST - got your otorhinolaryngologist annoyed at you

IRREPENTIST - one with no qualms whatsoever

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RECURSE

PRONUNCIATION: (ri-KUHRS)

MEANING: verb tr., intr.
1. To describe, define, or perform something in terms of itself.
2. To perform an operation by repeated application of a technique, such that the results of the first step are put through the same technique again.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin recurrere (to run back), from re- (again) + currere (to run). Earliest documented use: 1965.
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RECUSE - gives the actor his line a second time

RECURVE - the dreaded Serpentine pitch (baseball)

E-CURSE - used by Draco Malfoy and crew during the pandemic

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DECALCOMANIA

PRONUNCIATION: (de-kal-kuh-MAY-nee-uh)

MEANING: noun:
1. The process of transferring a design from a specially prepared paper onto another surface.
2. A decal: a design on a specially prepared paper made to be transferred onto another surface.

ETYMOLOGY: From French décalcomanie, from décalquer (to transfer a tracing), from de- (from) calquer (to trace), from manie (craze). Earliest documented use: 1864.
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DECAL CO. MANNA - food paid for by the decal company

RECALCOMANIA - compulsively rechecking one's arithmetic again

DE-CALICOMANIA - having an irresistible urge to get rid of three-colored cats (usually black and white and orange)

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GROUNDHOG DAY

PRONUNCIATION: (GRAUND-hog day)

MEANING: noun: A situation in which events are repeated as if in a loop, especially when such events are of a tedious or monotonous nature.

ETYMOLOGY: After the 1993 film Groundhog Day in which the lead character, a television weatherman, relives a day in a time loop. Earliest documented use: 1994.
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GROUNDDOG DAY - holiday to celebrate Korean sausages

GROUNDFOG DAY - holiday to celebrate exceedingly high dew-points

GROWN D'HOG DAY - holiday to celebrate bacon

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RASHOMON

PRONUNCIATION: (RASH-uh-mahn)

MEANING: adjective: Relating to differing accounts or subjective interpretations of an event.

ETYMOLOGY: After the 1950 Japanese film Rashomon (based on Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s 1922 short story “In a Grove”) which showed a crime described by different people in different ways. Earliest documented use: 1961.

NOTES: In the film Rashomon, four people (a bandit, a samurai, his wife, and a woodcutter) narrate the details of a crime differently. Their stories are plausible, yet contradictory. The film touches upon the unreliability of eyewitnesses and the subjective nature of truth, reality, and memory. This phenomenon is also known as the Rashomon effect. The traditional story of the elephant and six blind men is another instance of this. It’s good to remember this the next time we feel too confident in our beliefs, perceptions, and experiences. Ultimately, we all can be unreliable narrators.
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RASTO, MON - a Caribbean religion

RASHOMOON - full moon during the monsoon, when people get skin lesions

BASHŌ MON. - the Monday when we read Zen ko-ans

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KING KONG

PRONUNCIATION: (king KONG)

MEANING: noun: Something or someone of great size, strength, etc.
adjective: Huge.

ETYMOLOGY: After the title character of the 1933 film King Kong that depicts a huge ape-like monster. Earliest documented use: 1933.
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KING SONG - You've Got a Friend

KING TONG - the biggest Chinese gang

KIN KONG - the big ape had a family

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MAD MAX

PRONUNCIATION: (mad MAKS)

MEANING: adjective: Dystopian, post-apocalyptic, anarchic.

ETYMOLOGY: After the 1979 film Mad Max and its sequels that portray a world marked by anarchy and extreme violence. Earliest documented use: 1986.
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MAD MAC - the latest fast-food burger. Crazy, man!

MAMA X - mother of Malcom

MAD MANX - tailless cat with rabies

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GODZILLA

PRONUNCIATION: (GOD/guhd-zil-uh)

MEANING: noun:
1. Someone or something of enormous size.
2. Someone or something fierce, frightening, monstrous, etc.

ETYMOLOGY: After the 1954 Japanese film Gojira released in the US in 1956 as Godzilla. The film features an enormous dinosaur-like monster. Earliest documented use: 1965.
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GOD-ZILLO - heavenly properties for sale

GOLDZILLA - an idol worshiped by the followers of Gojira

D.O.D.-ZILLA - a hugely bloated Department of Defense

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ROSE-COLORED

PRONUNCIATION: (ROZ-kuhl-uhrd)

MEANING: adjective:
1. Optimistic or cheerful, especially naively or to an unrealistic degree. Often used in the form “to see through rose-colored glasses”.
2. Of a bright pink or red color.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin rosa (rose), from Greek rhodon (rose). Yes, a rhododendron is a rose tree, literally speaking. Earliest documented use: 1526.
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DOSE-COLORED - identified with colored markings so you can tell how much (radiation, medication, capacitance) you're getting

ROSS-COLORED - red, white, and blue. Just ask Betsy!

ROE-COLORED - pink or black, depending on whether it's salmon or sturgeon

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TAJ MAHAL

PRONUNCIATION: (taj/tazh muh-HUHL/HAHL)

MEANING: noun: Something, especially a building, that is luxurious or an extraordinary example of its kind.

ETYMOLOGY: After Taj Mahal, a mausoleum in Agra, India. Earliest documented use: 1860.
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"RAJMAH AL" - chief cook in that great Indian restaurant

TAN MAHAL - they couldn't get any more white marble

TAJMA HAM - a curried pork dish

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HOTHEADED

PRONUNCIATION: (HOT-hed-id)

MEANING: adjective:
1. Easily angered.
2. Very angry.
3. Rash.

ETYMOLOGY: From hot, from Old English hat + head, from Old English heafod (top of the body). Earliest documented use: 1603.
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HOT-BEADED - decorated with stolen jewelry

POT-HEADED - confused by repeated marijuana use

ROT-HEADED - afflicted with brain-eating amebas

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CHICKEN FEED

PRONUNCIATION: (CHIK-en feed)

MEANING: noun: A small amount of something, especially money.

ETYMOLOGY: From chicken, from Old English cicen + feed, from Old English fedan. Earliest documented use: 1834.

NOTES: Why chicken feed, as opposed to, say, cattle feed. The term alludes to a chicken’s relatively small size and hence their needing a small amount of feed. Also, they scratch at the soil in search for insects, seeds, etc.
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THICKEN FEED - throw in some starch so the feed isn't so runny

CHICKEN FEET - the little wrinkles that radiate form the outer corners of the eyes as we age

CHUCKEN FEED - how I spent last summer, workin on the farm

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ROSEATE

PRONUNCIATION: (ROH-zee-uht/ayt)

MEANING: adjective:
1. Like a rose, especially in color: pink, red, etc.
2. Bright; favorable; promising.
3. Unreasonably optimistic.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin roseus (rosy), from rosa (rose), from Greek rhodon (rose). Earliest documented use: 1449. Also see rose-colored.
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ROW SEAT E - fifth one in from the aisle

URO-SEATE - a bidet

ROSE DATE - Abie

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DAISY CHAIN

PRONUNCIATION: (DAY-zee chayn)

MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To connect in a sequence, especially in a way such that one element latches on to the next (instead of being connected by another medium, such as a piece of thread).
noun: An interlinked sequence of things, events, people, etc.

ETYMOLOGY: From allusion to a string of daisies tied together in a garland. From daisy, from Old English dæges éage (day’s eye, referring to the flower closing at night) + chain, from Old French chaine, from Latin catena. Earliest documented use: 1841.
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DAISY CHAIM - the love interest in the newly-discovered series of Sholem Aleichem stories about "Li'l Avner"

DAISY CHAIR - where you sit in the room with the flower bed

DAISY CAIN - Abel's younger sister

DAISY CHAN - the unheralded wife of the famous Chinese detective, who did much of the sleuthing for him

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ORCHIDACITY

PRONUNCIATION: (or-ki-DAS-i-tee)

MEANING: noun: Showiness.

ETYMOLOGY: From the large and showy flowers in the orchid family. From Latin orchis (orchid), from Greek orkhis (testicle, orchid, from the shape of its tubers). Earliest documented use: 1897. A related word is orchidaceous.
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ORCHID CITY - Quito, Ecuador, purportedly

TORCH I.D. A CITY - Liberty's, in New York City, beside the golden door

ORCHIDACIDY - lovely flower with a low pH

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TALL POPPY

PRONUNCIATION: (TAWL pop-ee)

MEANING: noun: Someone conspicuously successful, especially one likely to attract hostility.

ETYMOLOGY: From tall, from Old English getæl (quick, prompt) + poppy, from Old English popæg/popig. Earliest documented use: 1858.

NOTES: The word poppy has been used for a prominent person for a long time. The earliest example in the OED is from a 1641, a use by John Milton. Making it “tall poppy” is just a little inflation (or elongation)
...
Tall poppy syndrome is the tendency to cut someone down to size, someone who is successful, rich, or prominent. The expression is popular in Australia and New Zealand. A similar expression is that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
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TAIL POPPY - the last flower in the row

TALL HOPPY - Charley, the six-foot rabbit

TALL PUPPY - Clifford the Red Dog when he was young

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WALLFLOWER

PRONUNCIATION: (WAL-flou-uhr)

MEANING: noun
1. Someone who does not mingle at a social event, such as a party, dance, etc.
2. A person or an organization that is forced to stay at the sidelines of some activity.

ETYMOLOGY.
From wall, from Old English weall, from Latin vallum (rampart), from vallus (stake) + flower, from Old French flor (flower, flour, the best of anything). Earliest documented use: 1578.
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TALL FLOWER - Helianthus annuus

CALLFLOWER - one of several vegetables in the species Brassica oleracea in the genus Brassica. Typically, only the head is eaten (the edible white flesh).

WALL GLOWER - 1. a nightlight; 2. chaperone at a teenagers' dance

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CORUSCATE

PRONUNCIATION: (KOR-uh-skayt)

MEANING: verb intr.: 1. To sparkle, flash, or gleam.
2. To display great style or technique.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin coruscare (to flash). Earliest documented use: 1705.
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CHORUSCATE - to arrange to be sung by a group of voices

CORUSGATE - 1. the portal through which the singers enter; 2. scandal in the Altos

CORPUS CATE - the body of an untamed shrew

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PLENITUDE

PRONUNCIATION: (PLEN-i-tood/tyood)

MEANING: noun:
1. The state of being full.
2. Abundance.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin plenus (full). Earliest documented use: 1425.
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SPLENITUDE - anger, vitriol, ill-humor

P-LENTITUDE - a quiet Easter

PENITUDE - incarceration (portmanteau word for "penal servitude")

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RUFESCENT

PRONUNCIATION: (ru-FES-uhnt)

MEANING: adjective: Reddish.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin rufus (red, reddish). Ultimately from the Indo-European root reudh- (red), which also gave us red, rouge, ruby, ruddy, rubella, robust, corroborate, raddle, roborant, robustious, roborant, and russet. Earliest documented use: 1802.
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R.U. DESCENT? - May I come in?

BUFESCENT - turning into a toad

PRUFESCENT - The Love Song of J Alfred grows on you, doesn't it?

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BRUME

PRONUNCIATION: (broom)

MEANING: noun: Fog or mist.

ETYMOLOGY: From French brume (mist), from Latin bruma (winter), from brevima dies (shortest day or winter solstice), from brevis (short). Earliest documented use: 1500.
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BRUMEI - a small country in Bormeo, with Malaysia to the east and the South Chima Sea to the west

BRULE - what you do to creme to make a yummy dessert

BRUM - city in the West Midlands region of England, about 100 miles from London, after a linguistic evolution similar to that which reduced "elëemosynary" to "alms"

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ALTILOQUENT

PRONUNCIATION: (al-TIL-uh-kwuhnt)

MEANING: adjective: Pompous or pretentious.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin altus (high) + loquentem (speaking), from loqui (to speak). Earliest documented use: 1656.
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ALTOLOQUENT - having a low-pitched voice

GALTILOQUENT - espousing Objectivism

SALTILOQUENT - full of imprecations

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BRIDEZILLA

PRONUNCIATION: (bryd-ZIL-uh)

MEANING: noun: A woman who is overbearing and obnoxious in planning her wedding.

ETYMOLOGY: A blend of bride + Godzilla, a fictional monster. Earliest documented use: 1995.
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BRIDLEZILLA - a monstrously overdone outfit for guiding ones' horse

BRIDENILLA - an ordinary, indifferent-looking woman getting married

BRIEZILLA - the Paris Cheese Festival

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AUTOLATRY

PRONUNCIATION: (aw-TOL-uh-tree)

MEANING: noun: Self-worship.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek auto- (self) + -latry (worship). Earliest documented use: 1861.
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ALTOLATRY - worship of female singers with low voices

AUTOMATRY - the science of Horn and Hardart

AOÛTOLATRY - the French worship the month of August

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ALLOTRIOPHAGY

PRONUNCIATION: (uh-lah-tree-AH-fuh-jee)

MEANING: noun: An abnormal desire to eat things not usually eaten, such as chalk or clay. Also known as pica.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek allotrio- (foreign) -phagy (eating). Earliest documented use: 1845.
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ALTO-TRIO-PHAGY - couldn't you just eat up those three low-pitched voices singing...

ALLOT-RIO-PHAGE - a strange type of virus that decides how to divide the Brazilian city

ALLOW RIO PHAGY - the Phagy River is permitted

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ZOANTHROPY

PRONUNCIATION: (zo-AN-thruh-pee)

MEANING: noun: The delusion that one is a beast.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek zoo- (animal) + -anthropy (human). Earliest documented use: 1856.
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KOANTHROPY - belief that one is a Zen proposition

AZO-ANTHROPY - belief that one is a blue man

ZOAN THE ROPY - Zoan was extremely long and flexible

ZOAN THEROPY - the people of Zoa have their own unique way of treating certain disorders

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TIMESERVER

PRONUNCIATION: (TYM-suhr-vuhr)

MEANING: noun:
1. One who makes little effort at work, such as while waiting to retire or find another job.
2. One who changes views to conform to prevailing circumstances.
3. A computer that transmits precise time information on a network.

ETYMOLOGY: From time, from Old English tima (time) + server, from Latin servire (to serve), from servus (slave). Earliest documented use: 1566.
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TOMESERVER - the runner in the Library who brings your requests from the stacks

LIMESERVER - the bartender's assistant who completes your Rickey

TIM RESERVER - someone who wants to be sure Timothy is available

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SANDBOY

PRONUNCIATION: (SAND-boi)

MEANING: noun:
1. A very happy person.
2. One who deals in sand.

ETYMOLOGY: From Old English sand + boy. Earliest documented use: 1796.
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SANDBAY - why they keep having to dredge the harbor

SANDBUOY - "Stay away or you'll run aground!"

WANDBOY - derisive Muggles' nickname for Harry Potter

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MUSiCASTER

PRONUNCIATION: (MYOO-zi-kas-tuhr)

MEANING: noun: A mediocre musician.

ETYMOLOGY: From music + -aster (a pejorative suffix). Earliest documented use: 1838.
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MUNi-CASTER - the filmmaker assigned to recruit Paul for a particular role

MOUSiCASTER - looking for Mickey's love interest

MUSHCASTER - Assistant Campaign Manager for Mudslinging

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GRUMBLETONIAN

PRONUNCIATION: (gruhm-buhl-TOH-nee-uhn)

MEANING: noun: A habitual complainer.

ETYMOLOGY: From grumble, perhaps from French or Dutch. Earliest documented use: 1690.
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GRUMBLETONIA - a village of Sourpusses ["Sourpi"?]

CRUMBLETONIAN - where all the buildings are sand castles

(GRUMBLE) TAN IAN - he deserves a whuppin'

GRUMBLESTONIAN - Arvo Pärt at his most irritated

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LOGODAEDALIST

PRONUNCIATION:
(log-uh-DEE-duh-list)

MEANING:
noun: One skilled in using or coining words.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin logodaedalia, from Greek logodaidalia, from logodaidalos, from logos (word) + daedalus (skillful). Earliest documented use: 1727.
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POGODAEDALIST - Walt Kelly, speaking through his Okeefenokee Swamp characters

LOCODAEDALIST - ...and crazy words at that, man

LOGO: DAEDALIS - small icon representing a wax-winged figure flying (too) close to the sun

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LUDICROUS

PRONUNCIATION: (LOO-di-kruhs)

MEANING: adjective: So absurd as to provoke laughter.

ETYMOLOGY: In the beginning the word meant sportive. From Latin ludere (to play). Ultimately from Indo-European root leid- (to play), which also gave us allude, delude, elude, illusion, ludicrous, Ludo, collusion, ludic, and prelude. Earliest documented use: 1619.
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MUDICROUS - what the Mississippi River is from one side to the other

LUDICROWS - very smart black birds whose antics make you laugh

LUDICROUP - a condition where you laugh so hard you can't breathe

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