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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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"On the third day of my compulsory idleness I crawled out near the grub wagon, and reclined helpless under the conversational fire of Judson Odom, the camp cook. Jud was a monologist by nature, whom Destiny, with customary blundering, had set in a profession wherein he was bereaved, for the greater portion of his time, of an audience."
Therefore, I was manna in the desert of Jud's obmutescence.
Webster's 1913 Dictionary
Definition: \Ob`mu*tes"cence\ ([o^]b`m[-u]*t[e^]s"sens), n. [L.
obmutescens, p. pr of obmutescere to become dumb; ob (see
{Ob-}) + mutescere to grow dumb, fr. mutus dumb.]
1. A becoming dumb; loss of speech. --Sir T. Browne.
2. A keeping silent or mute. --Paley.
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Most excellent passage, wwh!! And what true psychological understanding is manifest there. Who wrote this passage? Very talented, whoever it was.
In another way, it's easy for a writer to create an obmutescent character because there's that much less dialogue to worry about.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear WW: many of these words were from O.Henry. He enjoys
challenging his readers with recondite references.
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Joined: Sep 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Well, it's a splendid passage and a splendid word, wwh! I'm off to Christmas dinner at my Aunt Jewel's (who is a jewel and everybody agrees here), but shall return later today to unearth a few more of your zero hits that are great fun to read through today in this time of jollity and relaxation.
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 555
addict
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addict
Joined: Dec 2002
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Didn't everyone of you conjure up intumescence after reading obtumescence? 
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Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I will not comment about phenomenon immediately preceding detumescence. Oh, to be seventy five again!
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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And then there's triboluminescence of which we once discussed at length...but I suppose that's too much of a tangent, please forgive...
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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It would be hyperbole to write of triboluminesce preceding
detumescence. You can stretch a good thing too far, as the cowboy said when he saw his girlfriend riding astride.
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Joined: Sep 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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You do notice, wwh, that the gutter police are off today for the holidays! And we are at least writing a lot of horses and cowboys and spurs and such at least... What's a good Christmas Western?
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear WW: Christmas Western reminds me of a very ribald story about in incident that happened to me long ago.
I might be able to tell it subtly enough in a PM to avoid
being too vulgar or self-aggrandizing.Maybe. All the guys downstairs thought it was very funny.
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I'm just back on today, wwh, so do please tell your ribald story via PM. ...However, I don't think that it would do much harm to tell it here since there are only about a dozen or so of us who post here.
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