Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#130331 07/11/04 07:10 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,713
Likes: 2
W
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,713
Likes: 2
OOLLY IS WOOTZ !!


A. an affectionate nickname for uilleann pipes
--- contributed by etaoin

B. a city in Tamil Nadu, India. (contraction of Tamil Ullagamandalam)
---contributed by sjmaxq

C. made of, or having the appearance of, small, smooth, regular sized granules
--- contributed by RhubarbCommando
--- chosen by AnnaS, belMarduk, Bingley, etaoin, Fiberbabe, shanks

D. a quack remedy for syphilis popular in the early 18th entury
--- contributed by Bingley
--- chosen by Jackie

E. the viscous, gelatinous state of meat in final decomposition
--- contributed by belMarduk

F. a small cavity or shallow hole in an ironwood tree from which decay may spread - a perpetual concern for foresters of this hard, durable wood
--- contributed by shanks
--- chosen by TEd Remington

G. the small piece of albuminous matter attached to the yolk of an egg
--- contributed by Faldage

H. a lump or loop of iron, as wootz, when taken as a pasty mass from the crucible [India]
---the Real McCoy; see Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition (a.k.a. NI2),1943; p. 1704 (but not in NI3, as it happens)
--- chosen by dxb, bonzaialsatian, RhubarbCommando, sjmaxq

I. a small opening, either natural or man-made so that it is just big enough to see through with one eye
--- contributed by Jackie
--- chosen by Glinda, musick

J. to appear in disguise: incognito
--- contributed by musick

K. an aggregate formed of egg-shaped stones originally arising as igneous inclusions in bituminous shale
--- contributed by dxb
--- chosen by Capfka, consuelo

L. cautious; gentle [Sc.]
--- contributed by tswum
--- chosen by faldage, tsuwm

M. descriptive of a polar bear's pelt
--- contributed by AnnaStrophic
                                         

Afternotes:

OOLLY IS WOOTZ !!

Congratulations to dxb, bonzaialsatian, RhubarbCommando, sjmaxq, who through knowledge, experience, logic, luck, or some combination thereof chose the correct answer.

It looks as if many people (red and blue) picked up on the oö- or “eggs or egg-sized granules” aspect of oolly, especially C, the most-chosen answer, and K which is pretty close to real "oölite", the definition which precedes oolly in NI2 and is all that’s left of it in NI3. My suspicion is that oolly was originally made from oölite. Any confirmation from the linguists among us?

Other attractors for entries appear to have been its evocation of “oily” and "ooze.”

From sjmaxq: “I saw your word, and was immediately reminded of a close friend who comes from Ooty (Udhagamandalam), in Tamil Nadu.”

A final question: “oolly” has the property of being listed in NI2 but not in the OED. Is this shared by a large set of words, or just a very few?


#130332 07/11/04 08:28 PM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
As was said by a better man than I, "Bah! Humbug!"


#130333 07/12/04 06:21 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,004
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,004
I don't believe it. I made up a definition that someone actually chose! Personal triumph. Calloo, callay. Who cares who won?

Yippee

Huzzah


Three cheers

etc


etc




etc


#130334 07/12/04 08:09 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Thanks for an especially challenging and entertaining puzzle, wofa!

And congratulations, Rhuby, for fooling six of us.


#130335 07/15/04 10:40 AM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
I doubt I should have got it if not for wofa's hint .

Edit: Hey! I thought 'amnow' put in a vote for K (O-Kaye, O-Kaye).

#130336 07/21/04 07:00 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
R
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
R
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
... congratulations, ... for fooling six of us.

A personal best, M'am - thengyow for your congratters

(And it's the first time I've worked out what the real answer was, too - what a day - it must be a reaction from the French Sorry, belM - nowt personal, that knows!)




Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,580
Members9,187
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
Karin, JeffMackwood, artguitar, Jim_W, Rdbuffalo
9,187 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 332 guests, and 0 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
wofahulicodoc 10,713
tsuwm 10,542
LukeJavan8 9,931
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5