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enthusiast
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enthusiast
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FLOCkINAUCINIHILIPILIFiCATION- blur to the ears
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS
PRONUNCIATION: (NOO-muh-noh-UL-truh-MY-kruh-SKOP-ik-SIL-i-koh-vol-KAY-no-KOH-nee-O-sis, nyoo-)
MEANING: noun: A lung disease caused by silica dust.
ETYMOLOGY: From New Latin, from Greek pneumono- (lung) + Latin ultra- (beyond, extremely) + Greek micro- (small) + -scopic (looking) + Latin silico (like sand) + volcano + Greek konis (dust) + -osis (condition). Earliest documented use: 1935.
NOTES: Even though we have included the pronunciation of this word, we advise caution lest you may have to avail the services of an otorhinolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat specialist).
At 45 letters, it’s the longest word in any English language dictionary. It’s a trophy word -- its only job is to serve as the longest word. In day-to-day use, its nine-letter synonym “silicosis” works just as well. Whatever you call it, it is deadly. Here’s the story of an incident.
And what’s the shortest word in the English language? There are a number of them: A, I, O, but we’ll have to give it to I which is the skinniest as well. Try defining either of them in fewer letters than the spelling of the word.
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PNEURONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS - a complicated degenerative disease of nerve cells (the P is silent, like the P in swimming)
PUN-EU-MONO-ULTRAM/IC-ROSCO-PICS-LILICO-VOLCANOCONIOSIS - play on words about truly-single-generic-arthritis-pills-showing-pictures-of-guns-owned-by-paper-cup-manufacturer-on-mountainous-volcanoes
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,851 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,851 Likes: 2 |
COPPER-BOTTOMED
PRONUNCIATION: (kop-uhr-BOT-uhmd)
MEANING: adjective: Reliable, genuine, or trustworthy.
ETYMOLOGY: From the practice of covering a ship’s hull with copper (or alloy) to protect it from salt water and marine organisms. Earliest documented use: 1795. Don’t confuse this term with copperplate.
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HOPPER-BOTTOMED - with legs like a rabbit or a kangaroo, for effective jumping
CHOPPER-BOTTOMED - having false teeth for the lower jaw only
COPPER-BLOTTO-MED - the pill that the police use to treat a hangover
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,851 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
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FLOTSAM
PRONUNCIATION: (FLOT-suhm)
MEANING: noun:
1. Goods found floating after a shipwreck.
2. People or things considered useless or unimportant.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French floter (to float). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pleu- (to flow), which is also the source of flow, float, flit, fly, flutter, pulmonary, pneumonia, pluvial, and fletcher. Earliest documented use: 1607.
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FLOATSAM - called to Detective Spade when he fell overboard
FLOTOSAM - part of CB radio exchange between Florence and Samantha
FLOSSAM - what your dentist wants you to do to your teeth more often
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,851 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 10,851 Likes: 2 |
LEEWAY
PRONUNCIATION: (LEE-way)
MEANING: noun: The amount of freedom to do something: margin or latitude.
ETYMOLOGY: In nautical terminology, leeway is the sideways drift of a ship to leeward (away from wind). From Old English hleo (shelter) + way. Earliest documented use: 1669.
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LEEWAX - what you put on the sheltered side of the boat to minimize resistance
LEESWAY - how the Confederate C-in-C did things
LE WAY - the Eightfold Path sought by French Buddhists
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,851 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,851 Likes: 2 |
JETSAM
PRONUNCIATION: (JET-suhm)
MEANING: noun:
1. Goods thrown overboard to lighten a ship in distress.
2. Discarded material, debris, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: An alteration of the word jettison. Earlier, jettison was the act of throwing goods overboard to lighten a ship in distress. From Latin jactare (to throw), frequentative of jacere (to throw). Earliest documented use: 1491.
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METS A.M. - the New York Metropolitans have a game in the morning
JETSCAM - that free airplane ticket offer you got was a fraud
JETS ARM - Joe Namath, no doubt about it
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,851 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,851 Likes: 2 |
GROGGY
PRONUNCIATION: (GROG-ee)
MEANING: adjective: Dazed, weak, or unsteady, as from lack of sleep, tiredness, sickness, intoxication, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: After Old Grog, nickname of Admiral Edward Vernon (1684-1757), who ordered diluted rum to be served to his sailors (and thus helped coin the term grog). The admiral earned the nickname from his habit of wearing a grogram cloak. Grogram is a coarse fabric of silk, wool, mohair, or a blend of them. The word grogram is from French gros grain (large grain or texture). Earliest documented use: 1770.
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GROGGUY - the plant store owner has a green thumb
GROGGLY - a particularly deceptive cricket pitch bowl
BROGGY - having a prominent Scottish accent
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Posts: 10,851 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,851 Likes: 2 |
FABIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (FAY-bee-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: Avoiding direct confrontation; cautious; delaying.
ETYMOLOGY: After the Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus (c. 280-203 BCE), from his guerrilla tactics in not engaging the enemy directly. Instead, he chose the war of attrition, avoiding direct confrontation, disrupting the enemy’s supply lines, etc. For this, he also earned the nickname Cunctator Earliest documented use: 1598.
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MABIAN - one who can see both sides to every argument, and is therefore chronically unable to makeup his mind
FA, BRIAN - No, Mr. Eno, the note before sol would really sound better there
FABIWAN - Ben Kenobi's younger brother. The force was weak in that one.
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Posts: 10,851 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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STENT
PRONUNCIATION: (stent)
MEANING: noun: A tube inserted into a blocked vessel to keep it open.
ETYMOLOGY: After the dentist Charles R. Stent (1845-1901). Stent did pioneering work in coming up with a compound that made better molds for dentures. Later, the compound was used to make casts of other body parts and cavities. Stents correct stenosis (narrowing). Earliest documented use: 1878. The word stentorian is also an eponym, but it came from someone else
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STERT - a snorer
P.S.TENT - a portable outdoor shelter brought along as an afterthought
S-TEST - what statistician William S Gossett was fiddling with just before he conceived Student's t-test
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,851 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
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HYMENEAL
PRONUNCIATION: (hy-muh-NEE-uhl)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to a wedding or marriage.
noun: A wedding song or poem.
ETYMOLOGY: After Hymen, the god of marriage in Greek mythology. Earliest documented use: 1602
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HUME,NEAL - philosopher David's younger brother
HYMNEAL - like A Mighty Fortress
HYMENTAL - lofty thoughts
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