Date: Sun Apr 28 00:41:41 EDT 1996
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chimera
chi.me.ra or chi.mae.ra \ki--'mir-*, k*-\ n [L chimaera, fr. Gk chimaira she-goat, chimera; akin to Gk cheim]o-n winter cap 1a: a she-monster in Greek mythology usu. with a lion's head vomiting flames, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail 1b: an imaginary monster compounded of incongruous parts
2: an illusion or fabrication of the mind; esp : an unrealizable dream
3: an individual, organ or part consisting of tissues of diverse genetic constitution and occurring esp. in plants and most frequently at a graft union

There used to be a word game:"What do you get when you
cross a pheasant with a duck? "A 'deasant', and a '.....'"