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SCROOP
PRONUNCIATION: (skroop)
MEANING: verb intr.: To make a scraping or grating sound. noun: A scraping sound, especially the rustle of a silk fabric.
ETYMOLOGY: Of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1787. ___________________________
SCHROOP - to drink the last of the soup directly from the edge of the bowl
'S CROUP - I know the kid's sick, but why's his cough sound so funny?
SCROOD - past tense of...oh, never mind
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FANFARONADE
PRONUNCIATION: (fan-far-uh-NAYD, -NAHD)
MEANING: noun: 1. Bragging or blustering behavior. 2. Fanfare.
ETYMOLOGY: From French fanfaronnade, from Spanish fanfarronada (bluster), from fanfarron (braggart), ultimately of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1652. ______________________________
FANFARONASE - an intracellular enzyme involved in the metabolism of fanfarones
FANTA-RON ADE - a soft drink that you can get in McDonald's
FANFARE ON A D - short ceremonial flourish played on brass instruments to introduce the fourth letter of the English alphabet
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JAPE
PRONUNCIATION: (jayp)
MEANING: noun: A joke or prank. verb intr.: To joke or play a trick. verb tr.: To mock or trick.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French japer (to yap; Modern French japper), of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1362. __________________________
JA, PEU - Overheard in a café in Strasbourg, after "Would you like a some more coffee?"
J.A. PEI - the architect's younger brother
JA, pp- response to "Even softer, Herr Beethoven?
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WHICKER
PRONUNCIATION: (HWIK-uhr, WIK-)
MEANING: verb intr.: 1. To neigh. 2. To laugh in a half-suppressed manner.
ETYMOLOGY: Of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1656. ________________________
WHISKER - someone who moves things quickly from one place to another
WHICHER - a stickler for grammar, who [wrongly] searches and removes all "that"s from his writing and replaces them with "which"es
WICKER - the person who puts the cotton string in the middle of candles
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SOMEDEAL
PRONUNCIATION: (SUHM-deel)
MEANING: adverb: Somewhat; to some degree.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English sum (some) + dael (deal). Earliest documented use: 725. _____________________________________
COMEDEAL - 1. the casino is hiring; 2. pertaining to humor
SAME DEAL - nothing has changed
DOMEDEAL - buying an NFL football stadium
SAMEDEAL - pertaining to Saturday in Paris
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ABAFT
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-BAFT)
MEANING: adverb: Toward the rear or stern. preposition: Behind.
ETYMOLOGY: From Middle English a- (toward) + baft (in the rear). Earliest documented use: 1400. ___________________________
ADAFT - a bit off yer rocker
A-BART - the first car undercoating (the last being Z-bart)
JABAFT - a shot in the rear
A.B., OFT - what follows four years of college, frequently
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NATHELESS
PRONUNCIATION: (NAYTH-luhs/lis)
MEANING: adverb: Nevertheless; notwithstanding.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English na (no) + the (this, that) + laes (less). Earliest documented use: 11th c. ___________________________
LATHELESS - why the carpenter can't make spindles for his staircase railings
MATH E-LESS - before the concept of natural logarithms was developed
NAT_HELEN_S - the username adopted by Nathan and Helen Szczymonowsky
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ENDLONG
PRONUNCIATION: (END-long)
MEANING: adverb: From end to end; lengthwise.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English andlang (lengthwise). Earliest documented use: 1225. __________________________________
BENDLONG - fold along the long axis
'EADLONG - head over heels
ENDLOG - the linchpin of a stockade fence
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SOMEWHITHER:
PRONUNCIATION: (SUM-hwith-uhr)
MEANING: adverb: To some place; somewhere.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English sum (some) + whither (where). Earliest documented use: 1398. _______________________________
SAMEWHITHER: - fellow-travellers, having the same destination
SOMEWITHER: - how apples become wrinkled
SOMEWHITER: - the difference between laundry loads after you put in bleach
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CANKER-BLOSSOM
PRONUNCIATION: (KANGK-uhr-blos-uhm)
MEANING: noun: One who destroys good things.
ETYMOLOGY: From canker (to decay, infect, or corrupt), from Old English cancer (crab, tumor) + blossom (the mass of flowers on a plant). Earliest documented use: 1600, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. ____________________________
CAN KERB LOSS ...OM - a Brit meditating on limiting financial woes
TANKER-BLOSSOM - barnacles on the oil transport sip
CANKER-FLOSSOM - dentist's advice on how to prevent aphthous stomatitis (mouth sores)
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CURE-ALL
PRONUNCIATION: (KYOOR-awl)
MEANING: noun: A remedy to any problem.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin cura (care or concern) + eall/all (all). Earliest documented use: 1793. ___________________________________
C.U.? REALLY? - expression of disbelief and dismay over the scandal at Consumers' Union
CURSE-ALL - a symptom of Tourette's Syndrome
C.U. REAL - the Centrales Unidas soccer club
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WANTWIT
PRONUNCIATION: (WANT-wit)
MEANING: noun: A fool; one lacking good sense.
ETYMOLOGY: From want + wit, from Old Norse vanta (be lacking) + Old English wit (mind). Earliest documented use: 1449. ____________________________
WASN'T WIT - distinctly not funny
TAN TWIT - tease about getting so much sun
WANT WRIT - No, you need a court order for that
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KNOW-IT-ALL
PRONUNCIATION: (NO-uht-ahl)
MEANING: noun: One who acts as if they know everything, dismissing others’ ideas or advice.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English cnawan (to recognize, identify) + hit (it) + eall/all (all). Earliest documented use: 1873 __________________________
KNOWITAL - a barbiturate that makes you omniscient
KIOWI TALL - slogan of a proud tribe of Native Americans from the central plains
KOWITALL - pertaining to phonetic copulation
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MAKEPEACE
PRONUNCIATION: (MAYK-pees)
MEANING: noun: One who reconciles persons at odds with each other; a peacemaker.
ETYMOLOGY: From make + peace. From Old English macian (to make) + Old French pais, from Latin pax (peace). Earliest documented use: 1513. _________________________
MAKEPLACE - provide room for another person
MAKEPEACH - grow Elbertas, Clings, and Freestones
SAKEPEACE - the tranquility that follows drinking rice wine
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QUIDDITATIVE
PRONUNCIATION: (KUI-di-tay-tiv)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to the essential nature of something or someone.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin quid (what), which also gave us quidnunc, quid pro quo, and quiddity. Earliest documented use: 1600. _____________________________
"QUIDDIT!" ACTIVE - an unmistakable order to stop
SQUIDDITATIVE - behaving like a tentacled marine cephalopod
QUADDITATIVE - transforming into a four-part entity
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MICROCEPHALIC
PRONUNCIATION: (my-kro-suh-FA-lik)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Having an abnormally small head. 2. Small-minded.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek micro- (small) + -cephalic (having a head), from kephale (head). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ghebh-el- (head), which also gave us the word gable. Earliest documented use: 1857. The opposite of today’s word is macrocephalic. ____________________________
MICRONEPHALIC - with only the tiniest bit of turbidity
OMICROCEPHALIC - having a round head with a hole in the middle, like the Greek letter O
MICRO-CEPHELIC - a dwarf variable star, whose brightness pulsates with a well-defined stable period
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CHRYSOCRACY
PRONUNCIATION: (kri-SAH-kruh-see)
MEANING: noun: Rule by the wealthy.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek chryso- (gold) + -cracy (rule). Earliest documented use: 1828. A synonym is plutocracy. _________________________
CHRYSOCRACK - special kind of yellow cocaine
CHRYSOC TRACY - his real name; small wonder the detective preferred to be called "Dick" by his friends
CHRYSLOCRACY - when Ford and GM couldn't pull it off, yet another car manufacturer tried to make the rules
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LACHRYMOGENIC
PRONUNCIATION: (lak-ruh-muh-JEN-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Inducing tears.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin lacrima (tear) + -genic (producing). Earliest documented use: 1907. Two related words are lachrymose and lachrymal. ___________________________
LACHRYMOPENIC - dry-eyed (not enough tears)
LOCH RYMOGENIC - a lake in the northernmost reaches of Scotland, little known and hardly ever visited
LACH RHYMOGENIC - a psychological disorder wherein the victim shows paroxysms of laughter leading to a compulsion to speak in rhymes
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PLENILOQUENCE
PRONUNCIATION:(ple-NIL-uh-kwens)
MEANING: noun: Excessive talking.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin pleni- (full) + -loquence (speaking). Earliest documented use: 1838. The opposite is breviloquence. __________________________________
PLENILOQUENCH - Shut up!
SPLENILOQUENCE - a lengthy screed, full if vitriol and anger
POENILOQUENCE - vividly describing wracking pain
PENCILOQUENCE - graphite-based writing
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RAZZLE-DAZZLE
(RAZ-uhl daz-uhl)
MEANING: noun: Noisy excitement, showy display, or extravagant actions, especially when executed in an effort to distract or confuse.
ETYMOLOGY: A reduplication of dazzle, frequentative of daze, from Old Norse dasa (weary). Earliest documented use: 1885. ____________________________
RAZZLEDAZOLE - a new anti-seizure medicine
FRAZZLE-DAZZLE - when people are stunned by your really, REALLY, REALLY bad-hair day
RAZZ LE DAZZLE - tease the ultra-bright Paris lighting
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HOBNOB
PRONUNCIATION: (HOB-nob)
MEANING: verb intr.: To associate socially, especially with people of higher status.
ETYMOLOGY: From the earlier phrase hobnob or hob-or-nob, used by two people to toast or drink to each other. It’s apparently from habnab meaning “give or take” or “hit or miss” from hab nab meaning “to have or have not”. Earliest documented use: 1761. __________________________
MOBNOB - to mingle with the Capo and his associates
HOB-SNOB - Bilbo Baggins after his new-found stature went to his head
HORNOB - a brass musical instrument with a double reed
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ARTSY-FARTSY (also ARTY-FARTY)
PRONUNCIATION: (art-see FART-see)
MEANING: adjective: Pretentiously artistic or sophisticated.
ETYMOLOGY: From reduplication of art, from Latin ars (art), as fart + pejorative diminutive suffix -sy. The word fart is from Old English feortan, ultimately from the Indo-European root perd- (to fart), which also gave us partridge and futz. Earliest documented use: 1962.
NOTES: In Japan, there’s a 33-foot long scroll depicting various scenes of fart competitions. In Japanese, it's called he-gassen (fart fight). Really! It's an enlarged and revised edition (the original was done by an unidentified painter in 1680) made by Fukuyama Soran in 1846. ______________________
ARTSO-FARTSY - another name for depictions of Japanese he-gassen (see notes, above)
ANTSY-FARTSY - restlessly flatulent
ARTY-PARTY - soirée in Greenwich Village NY
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FLIMFLAM
PRONUNCIATION: (FLIM-flam)
MEANING: noun: 1. Nonsense. 2. Deception. verb tr.: 1. To deceive. 2. To swindle.
ETYMOLOGY: A reduplication, probably of the Old Norse flim (mockery). Earliest documented use: 1538. _______________________________
F LIME LAM - loud green citrus fruit runs away
FLIMFLAME - the results when a flying flim gets too close to the candle (see also FLIMFLAMP)
FLIMFLAMB - offspring of a flimf ewe
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LARDY-DARDY
PRONUNCIATION: (LAHR-dee DAHR-dee)
MEANING: adjective: Pretentious; affected; dandyish.
ETYMOLOGY: A reduplication of la-di-da which is imitative of affected pronunciation. Earliest documented use: 1861. _______________________
LARDY-TARDY - the cook was late putting in the fat
LARRY-DARRY - affectionate nickname for a Stooge
LANDY-DANDY - scornful nickname for Mr Calrissian
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HORSE MARINE
PRONUNCIATION: (hors muh-REEN)
MEANING: noun: 1. Something imaginary. 2. Someone out of their element; a misfit. 3. A marine part of a cavalry or a cavalryman doing marine duty.
ETYMOLOGY: From horse, from Old English hors + marine, from Latin mare (sea). Earliest documented use: 1823.
NOTES: It sounds ridiculous that a soldier mounted on a horse would be of much use on water and that’s the idea behind the term horse marine. As unbelievable as it sounds, there have been horse marines in practice; there have been some famous horses in the US Marine Corps. Meet Staff Sergeant Reckless .__________________________
HORSE FARINE - equine brought up eating only flour (thus poorly nourished and weak)
HORDE MARINE - an army (navy?) of Mermen
HORS DE MARINE - (French) blown out of the water
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CHEVALIER
PRONUNCIATION: (shev-uh-LEER, shu-VAL-yay, -VAHL-)
MEANING: noun: A chivalrous man, one having qualities of courtesy, honor, bravery, gallantry, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Anglo-Norman chevaler, from Old French chevalier, from Latin caballarius (horseman), from caballus (horse). Earliest documented use: 1377. ______________________________
CHEVALITER - 1000 cc of good Scotch
CHEVALIAR - Frenchman who mis-represents his horse's qualities to get you to buy it; precursor of a used-car dealer
CHE-VALUER - one who assigns great importance to Ernesto Guevera for his role in Cuban history
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UNHORSE
PRONUNCIATION: (uhn-HORS)
MEANING: verb tr.: 1. To dislodge from a horse. 2. To unseat from a position of power.
ETYMOLOGY: From un- (not) + horse, from Old English hors. Earliest documented use: 1390. _________________________________
U.N. HOUSE - 405 E. 42nd Street, NY 10017, NY
SUNHORSE - logo of the oil conglomerate after Sunoco merged with Mobil
UNH OR SUE ! - claiming unlawful refusal to grant admission to the University of New Hampshire
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HIPPOCRENE
PRONUNCIATION: (HIP-uh-kreen, -kree-nee)
MEANING: noun: Poetic or literary inspiration.
ETYMOLOGY: In Greek mythology, Hippocrene was a spring on Mt. Helicon and was created by a stroke of Pegasus’s hoof. From Greek hippos (horse) + krene (fountain, spring). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ekwo- (horse), which also gave us equestrian, equitant, hippodrome, and hippology. Earliest documented use: 1598. _____________________________________
ZIPPOCRENE - a spouting of cigarette lighters
HIPPOCREME - the latest fat-dissolving scam
HIPPOCRATENE - facilitates the transition from medical student to physician
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HORSE SENSE
PRONUNCIATION: (HORS sens)
MEANING: noun: Common sense.
ETYMOLOGY: From horse, from Old English hors + sense, from Latin sensus (faculty of feeling). Earliest documented use: 1832.
NOTES: Why horses in this idiom, as opposed to, say, foxes? Perhaps it’s the association of horses with the country and the sound practical judgment shown by an unsophisticated country person. Or maybe it’s an allusion to a horse’s sense in staying out of trouble. Also, in Jonathan Swift’s 1726 satire Gulliver’s Travels, Houyhnhnms is a race of horses endowed with reason, contrasted with Yahoos (boorish humans). Compare the term horsefeathers (nonsense). ____________________________
HOUSE SENSE - sanity among the Representatives
HOSE SENSE - good taste in stockings
HORSE SEANSE - it's the spirits of Topper and Trigger and Silver and Scout returned...
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OLYMPIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (oh-LIM-pee-uhn, uh-)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Lofty; surpassing others. 2. Like an Olympian god: majestic or aloof. 3. Of or relating to the Olympic Games. 4. Of or relating to Mount Olympus or gods and goddesses believed to be living there. noun: 1. A person of great achievement or position. 2. A contestant in the Olympic Games. 3. A native or inhabitant of Olympia, Greece. 4. One of the ancient Greek gods.
ETYMOLOGY: Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece, was believed to be an abode of the gods in Greek mythology. Also, Olympia, a plain in ancient Greece, was the site of the ancient Olympic Games. Earliest documented use: 1487. _______________________________
POLYMPIAN - like many Military Police
ÖOLYMPIAN - the Egg Games of the Gods
0LYMPHIAN - an occasional complication of radical mastectomy
SO-LYMPIAN - champion of flaccidity
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BALKANIZE (British BALKANISE)
PRONUNCIATION: (BAWL-kuh-nyz)
MEANING: verb tr.: To divide a region, group, etc., into small, often hostile, entities.
ETYMOLOGY: From allusion to the breakup of the the Balkan Peninsula following the decline of the Ottoman Empire. The Peninsula is named after Balkan Mountains, which are named after a Turkish word for mountains: balkan. Earliest documented use: 1917. ______________________________
WALKANIZE - a portmanteau word: to organize a walk to raise money for a charitable cause
BALKANIRE - the cause of this persistent hostility
BALKANITE - an iron ore found in the mountains of south-eastern Europe
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AREOPAGUS
PRONUNCIATION: (ar-ee-AHP/OP-uh-guhs)
MEANING: noun: A high court.
ETYMOLOGY: Via Latin, from Greek Areios pagos (hill of Ares, the Greek god of war), from Areios (of Ares) + pagos (hill), from pegnunai (to fasten or stiffen). In ancient Greece, Areios pagos was the site where the highest governmental council met. Later it turned into a judicial body. Earliest documented use: 1642. _________________________________
ARENOPAGUS - Don't call me while I'm at the big game!
ARE NO PA, GUS - you don't make a very good Dad, Herr Mahler
AREOPA GNUS - wildebeasts from Areopa
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EVEREST
PRONUNCIATION: (EV-uh-ruhst/rest)
MEANING: noun: The highest point of something: achievement, ambition, challenge, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: After Mount Everest, the highest mountain (8,848 m) on the Earth (above sea level) in the Himalayas. The mountain is named after George Everest (1790-1866), Surveyor-General of India. Earliest documented use: 1909. _______________________________
NEVEREST - the ultimate in procrastination
EVEREAST - where the sun rises (for the next six billion years, anyway)
EVE PEST - mosquitos
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PELION
PRONUNCIATION: (PEE-lee-uhn)
MEANING: noun: A huge or difficult task.
ETYMOLOGY: After Mount Pelion, a mountain in Greece. Earliest documented use: 1560.
NOTES: In Greek mythology, the twins Otus and Ephialtes piled Mount Pelion on Mount Ossa and both on Mount Olympus in an attempt to reach heaven and attack the gods. The word is mainly used in the idiom “to pile Pelion upon Ossa” meaning to make a challenging task even more difficult by piling something on top of it. _________________________
pHELION - the acidity of a solar orbit
PET LION - not allowed in most municipalities (or zoos)
PELICON - seabird with a big distensible pouch in its mouth
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MAE WEST
PRONUNCIATION: (may WEST)
MEANING: noun: An inflatable life jacket.
ETYMOLOGY: After actress, singer, and playwright Mae West (1893-1980), from the apparent resemblance of an inflated vest to her large bust. Earliest documented use: 1940. _________________________
MALE WEST - the right-hand opponent of the player sitting North is a man
MA NEWEST - my most recent, in Savannah, Georgia
MAX WEST - the biggest member of the West family
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Posts: 11,063 Likes: 2 |
ADONIC
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-DAH/DOH-nik)
MEANING: adjective: Strikingly handsome.
ETYMOLOGY: After Adonis, a very handsome youth in Greek mythology. There’s a verb coined after him, as well: adonize. Earliest documented use: 1579. _____________________
ADDONIC - given to putting on more bells and whist
ADORIC - what Lucy did to her husband
ADONICE - hold the PR messages, we're scrubbing the advertising campaign
RADONIC - a basement with too much nasty gas
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,063 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,063 Likes: 2 |
VANDAL
PRONUNCIATION: (VAN-dl)
MEANING: noun: One who willfully damages another’s property.
ETYMOLOGY: After Vandals, a Germanic tribe who overran Gaul, Spain, and northern Africa, and in 455 CE sacked Rome. Earliest documented use: 1555. ______________________________
EVANDAL - Dirksen and Gore
VANADAL - like Element #23
VANDAM - Belgian martial artist and action film star
FAN/DAL - New Delhi resident who enjoys breakfast
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,063 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,063 Likes: 2 |
NIMRODIZE
PRONUNCIATION: (NIM-ruh-dyz)
MEANING: verb intr.: To behave like a tyrant.
ETYMOLOGY: Nimrod was a great-grandson of Noah’s, according to the Bible. He was a hunter and an evil tyrannical king. Earliest documented use: 1614. ___________________
NIMROD ICE - what the famed hunter puts in his Scotch
NAM, RODIZE - Private Rodize is having a flashback
NO, I'M RODIZE - Sergeant, you're talking to the wrong guy!
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,063 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,063 Likes: 2 |
CHADBAND
PRONUNCIATION: (CHAD-band)
MEANING: noun: An oily, hypocritical person.
ETYMOLOGY: After Rev. Mr. Chadband, a greedy preacher in Charles Dickens’s 1853 novel Bleak House. Earliest documented use: 1853. _________________________
CHAN BAND - Sidney Toller's film family
CHARD BAND - the elastic strip that holds the vegetables together in a bunch
CHAD BRAND - that's how we know where in central Africa these products originate
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,063 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,063 Likes: 2 |
RAD
PRONUNCIATION: (rad)
MEANING: noun: One who advocates fundamental or far-reaching change or reform. adjective: Extraordinary; wonderful; fashionable; hip; cool.
ETYMOLOGY: From shortening of radical, from Latin radix (root). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wrad- (branch, root), which also gave us radish, root, rutabaga, eradicate, and ramify. Earliest documented use: 1820 for noun, 1976 for adjective. ______________________________
RAP - a Native American tribe historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming, clipped at both ends
RAID - a length of woven hair, clipped at its proximal end and free from insects
RAT - a casserole food, made from cooked eggplant and tomatoes, squash and pepper, onions and garlic, and more, not clipped at all but rather sliced or chopped
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