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SHONDA
PRONUNCIATION: (SHON/SHAHN-duh)
MEANING: noun: 1. Disgrace or shame. 2. Someone or something that brings shame or disgrace.
ETYMOLOGY: From Yiddish shande (shame, disgrace), from German Schande (disgrace). Earliest documented use: 1961. __________________________________
SHONDAY - Ah, the paradox of being inebriated on the Day of Worship
SH, FONDA - Don't make so much noise, Jane!
PHONDA - what Absence makes the heart grow
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YICHUS
PRONUNCIATION: (YEEKH-uhs)
MEANING: noun: Prestige, social status, or pedigree.
ETYMOLOGY: From Yiddish yichus/yikhus (pedigree), from Hebrew yihus (pedigree). Earliest documented use: 1890. ___________________________________________________
YISHUS! - what my 2-year-old says about the yummy dinner
LICHUS - one singe sweet dessert morsel at the Chinese restaurant
YICHTS - luxury boats in the present tense
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SEMIQUAVER
Meaning: Half a quaver; a sixteenth-note.
SESQUIQUAVER - a dotted quaver
SEMIQUOTER - someone who takes things out of context
SEMIQUITTER - I'll try again later
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SEMIQUAVER
Meaning: Half a quaver; a sixteenth-note.
SESQUIQUAVER - a dotted quaver
SEMIQUOTER - someone who takes things out of context
SEMIQUITTER - I'll try again later March 8, 2010? That's going back a ways!
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GELT
PRONUNCIATION: (gelt)
MEANING: noun: Money.
ETYMOLOGY: From Yiddish gelt (money) and/or German, Dutch geld (money). The words gild, gilt, yield, and guild are cousins of this word. Earliest documented use: 1529. _______________________________________
G-BELT - something worn to combat gravitational strain GALT - Who is he?
GEL-TV - very slow reruns of old cartoons, one frame at a time
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COVENTRATE
PRONUNCIATION: (KOV-uhn-trayt)
MEANING: verb tr.: To devastate, such as by heavy bombing.
ETYMOLOGY: After Coventry, a city in central England, that was devastated in German bombing during WWII, Nov 14-15, 1940. The Germans coined the verb coventrieren (to coventrate) after the city to describe any heavy bombing, and the term was adopted in English as well. Earliest documented use: 1940. See also, blitzkrieg. ________________________________
COVET RATE - what percent of viewers are jealous
COVEN TRACE - follow the peregrinations of groups of witches
COVE NITRATE - fertilizer (guano) from birds in a sheltered inlet
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ROMAN HOLIDAY
PRONUNCIATION: (ROH-muhn HOL-i-day)
MEANING: noun: An entertainment event where pleasure is derived from watching gore and barbarism.
ETYMOLOGY: From the gladiatorial contests held in ancient Rome. Earliest documented use: 1818. Also see, Roman matron. _______________________________
ROXAN HOLIDAY - Cyrano takes his love for a day out
AROMA'N'HOLIDAY - vacation with incense
WOMAN HOLIDAY - Mom does whatever she wants and the family does all the planning and cooking and cleaning and child care
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CANTER
PRONUNCIATION: (KAN-tuhr)
MEANING: verb tr./intr.: 1. To move at an easy pace. 2. To ride a horse at a canter. noun: 1. An easy pace. 2. A three-beat gait of a horse.
ETYMOLOGY: After Canterbury, a city in England, the home of Thomas Becket’s shrine, toward which medieval pilgrims supposedly rode at an easy pace. Earliest documented use: 1706. Also see, Canterbury tale. ________________________________
CANTEX - 1) a former spouse with a very negative attitude; 2) "Fire the cowboy!"
BANTER - inane jokes
LANTER - one who puts urine in beer
RANTER - one who complains with great length and intensity about urine in his beer
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TROJAN
PRONUNCIATION: (TRO-juhn)
MEANING: noun: 1. A person from Troy. 2. One who exhibits great stamina, energy, and hard work. 3. A merry fellow. 4. In computing, a piece of malware that appears harmless, but causes damage.
ETYMOLOGY: After Troy, an ancient city in modern-day Turkey. From the reputation of Trojans in defending their city. The computing sense is from Trojan horse. Earliest documented use: 1330. _______________________________________
PRO-JAN - In favor of the first month of the year
TYROJAN - Jan is a mere beginner
TOROJAN - older brother of Ferdinand
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KENTISH FIRE
PRONUNCIATION: (KEN-tish fyr)
MEANING: noun: Prolonged cheering.
ETYMOLOGY: From the prolonged derisive cheering in opposition to meetings held in Kent, England, during 1828-29 regarding the Catholic Relief Bill which sought to remove discrimination against Catholics. Earliest documented use: 1834. _____________________________
KENNISH FIRE - You should see Barbie's boyfriend's eyes when he gets jealous!
KENTISH IRE - sometimes in his secret identity Superman gets really angry
KEN DISH FIRE - Ken likes to cook food flambé
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APGAR
PRONUNCIATION: (AP-gar)
MEANING: noun: A method of assessing a newborn’s health. Also known as Apgar score.
ETYMOLOGY: After anesthesiologist Virginia Apgar (1909-1974) who devised it. Earliest documented use: 1959.
NOTES: This is a judging world and we get evaluated right from birth (Apgar) to death (how many people came to the funeral). In 1953, Dr. Virginia Apgar devised a quick way to assess the health of a newborn child. She assigned 0, 1, or 2 points for each of the five criteria: heart rate, respiration, muscle tone, skin color, and reflex response. The score is typically calculated at one minute and five minutes after birth.
Ten years after the debut of the Apgar score, Dr. L. Joseph Butterfield introduced an acronym as a mnemonic aid for the term: Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration. See backronym. _________________________________
A.P. TAR - a journalist in the Navy
ZAP-GAR - an electric fish
A-P GEAR - transfers power and/or rotation in the front-to-back direction
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PINKERTON
PRONUNCIATION: (PING-kuhr-tuhn)
MEANING: noun: A detective.
ETYMOLOGY: After Allan Pinkerton (1819-1884), a private detective, who started a detective agency in 1850. Earliest documented use: 1874. Pinkerton may also be the origin of the term fink. _____________________________
PINSKER TON - a rather nebulous measure of weight first described in southern Belarus, near the Ukranian border.
PINKEARTON - sound as heard by folks with colorful aural organs
PIN KARTON - where the seamstress or tailor keeps the sharp-pointed temporary fasteners
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YARBOROUGH
PRONUNCIATION: (YAHR-bur-oh/uh)
MEANING: noun: In a card game, a weak hand, especially one in which no card is above a nine.
ETYMOLOGY: After Charles Anderson Worsley, 2nd Earl of Yarborough (1809-1897), who is said to have bet 1000 to 1 against the occurrence of such a hand. The actual odds are 1827 to 1. Earliest documented use: 1900. ____________________________
YARD BOROUGH - a tiny British political division
YAR, BIRO - UGH - Right, it's one of those tiny ball point pens. Shameful, innit?
YARBOROUGH - Mr NASCAR. Nuff said.
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ORWELLISM
PRONUNCIATION: (OR-wuh-liz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: Something misleading, such as a word or phrase used euphemistically or ambiguously for propaganda purposes.
ETYMOLOGY: After George Orwell (1903-1950), whose novel 1984 depicted a futuristic totalitarian state employing misleading language for propaganda and control. Earliest documented use: 1970. Also see newspeak and Orwellian. __________________________________________
OK, WELLISM - a debating technique of deflecting and changing the subject, sometimes called "but what about?"
OR CELLISM - encouraging a plea bargain by threatening with jail time
OR WELTISM - encouraging a plea bargain by threatening a beating; compare OR CELLISM, above
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OAKLEY
PRONUNCIATION: (OHK-lee)
MEANING: noun: A complimentary ticket or pass. Also known as an Annie Oakley.
ETYMOLOGY: After the sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1860-1926) who was renowned for her skill, from association of the punched ticket with one of her bullet-riddled targets. Earliest documented use: c. 1910. ___________________________________
OAKEY - quirky. [note - Oak (genus Quercus): any of about 450 species of ornamental and timber trees and shrubs constituting the genus Quercus]
ORAKLEY - Delphic
OARLEY - an airport in Paris
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VULNERARY
PRONUNCIATION: (VUHL-nuh-rer-ee)
MEANING: noun: Something used for the healing of wounds. adjective: Useful in healing of wounds.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin vulnus (wound) + -ary (relating to). Earliest documented use: 1599. __________________________
ULNERARY - pertaining to a forearm-bone
VULNECRACY - government by the wounded
FULNERARY - pertaining to our Administrator
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SOPORIFIC
PRONUNCIATION: (sop-uh-RIF-ik, suh-puh-)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Inducing sleep. 2. Sleepy or drowsy. 3. Dull or monotonous. noun: Something that induces sleep.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin sopor (a deep sleep). Ultimately from the Indo-European root swep- (to sleep), which also gave us insomnia, hypnosis, soporose, somniloquy (talking while asleep), and somnambulate (to walk in sleep). Earliest documented use: 1690. _____________________________
SOUPORIFIC - Campbell's latest offering - have a bowl before bedtime and sleep like a log!
SORORIFIC - inducing female children
ISOPORIFIC - having microscopic openings of uniform shape
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MUMMERY
PRONUNCIATION: (MUHM-uh-ree)
MEANING: noun: An absurd, pretentious, or hypocritical performance.
ETYMOLOGY: From Middle French momerie (masquerade), from Old French mommer (to mum or to pantomime). Earliest documented use: 1465. ______________________________
MUMMERRY - enlivening the place with flowers
MUMMERCY - sparing the plants when the flowers finish blooming
HUMMERY - attempted intimidation by driving a powerful, armored vehicle
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INTRANSIGENCE
PRONUNCIATION: (in-TRAN-si-juhns)
MEANING: noun: Unwillingness to compromise, especially from an extreme position.
ETYMOLOGY: Via Spanish/French, from Latin in- (not) + transigere (to settle). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ag- (to drive, draw), which also gave us act, agent, agitate, litigate, synagogue, and ambassador. Earliest documented use: 1882. __________________________________________
IN-TRANSIT GENCE - men between destinations
SINTRANSIGENCE - refusal to stop violating commandments
INFRANSIGENCE - membres de l'Académie Francaise
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DIFFIDENCE
PRONUNCIATION: (DIF-i-duhns)
MEANING: noun: Timidity or shyness.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin diffidere (to mistrust), from dis- (not) + fidere (to trust). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bheidh- (to trust), which also gave us abide, abode, fiancé, affidavit, confide, confident, defiance, fidelity, defy, infidel, and diffident. Earliest documented use: 1425 ___________________________________
DIFFIDANCE - uneasy at the school Prom
DIFF I.D., ONCE - You know, this isn't my original Social Security number
DIFFIDENCE - embarrassed about the appearance of one's teeth
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WOODSHED
PRONUNCIATION: (WOOD-shed)
MEANING: noun: 1. A place for storing firewood. 2. A place for administering punishment. 3. A place for intensive practice, especially music practice. verb tr., intr.: 1. To practice diligently, especially on a musical instrument. 2. To punish or reprimand. 3. To coach a witness before a trial.
ETYMOLOGY: From the practice of using a woodshed for punishing a child, for intensive music practice, etc. From wood, from Old English wudu + shed, a variant of shade, from Old English sceadu. Earliest documented use, noun: 1764, verb: 1893. __________________________________
WORDSHED - where you send lazy words, to work on their meanings
WOODSHOD - dressed in sabots
WOOLSHED - store your clothing raw-materials here
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BALK or BAULK
PRONUNCIATION: (bawk)
MEANING: noun: 1. A check or hindrance. 2. A defeat or disappointment. 3. A beam or rafter. 4. A ridge; an unplowed strip of land between furrows. verb intr.: To stop, hesitate, or refuse to proceed. verb tr.: To thwart or hinder.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English balca (ridge, bank). Earliest documented use, noun: 885, verb: 1393. ________________________________
BABK - a yeastcake made with cinnamon and raisins
B.A. HULK - Bruce Banner gets his college degree
BALI K - comes after Bali J and Bali Hai
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FESTOON
PRONUNCIATION: (fe-STOON)
MEANING: noun: A decorative chain or string, of flowers, leaves, ribbons, etc., hanging between two points. verb tr.: To make or hang festoons; to decorate.
ETYMOLOGY: From French feston, from Italian festone, from festa (festival), from Latin festa, plural of festum (festival). Earliest documented use, noun: 1676, verb: 1789. ___________________________
FESTOOL - a seat of iron
WESTOON - animated show for kids, with Hopalong Cassidy and the Road Runner
FEMTO-ON - one 10^15th part of the care owed by the Japanese higher-stationed to those under them
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BIVOUAC
PRONUNCIATION: (BI-vuh-ak, BIV-wak, BIV-oo-ak)
MEANING: noun: A temporary encampment, in the open air, typically without tents or cover. verb intr.: To take shelter temporarily for the night.
ETYMOLOGY: From French bivouac, from Swiss German beiwacht (supplementary night watch), from bei- (beside) + Wacht (watch). Earliest documented use, noun: 1706, verb: 1809. ____________________________
B. IOU A/C - Item 2 on a my list of unfinished business: I owe you an air conditioner
BIJOU AC - an electric jewel that runs on Alternating Current
BIRO UAC - the official ballpoint pen of the Unamerican Activities Committee
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SAVVY
PRONUNCIATION: (SAV-ee)
MEANING: verb: To understand or know. noun: Know-how, practical knowledge, or shrewdness. adjective: Shrewd or knowledgeable, especially in practical matters.
ETYMOLOGY: Via pidgin and/or creole language(s), from Portuguese and/or Spanish sabe (do you know?), from Latin sapere (to be wise). Ultimately from the Indo-European sep- (to taste or perceive), which also gave us sage, savant, savor, sapid, sapient, resipiscent, insipid, and sipid. Earliest documented use, verb: 1686, noun: 1785, adjective: 1826. _________________________________
LAVVY - smelling like a washroom
SAVY (rhymes with "Navy") - inclined to rescue things
SAVOY - theatrical, especially with light opera
SALVY - unguental
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ROSTRUM
PRONUNCIATION: (ROS-truhm, RO-struhm)
MEANING: noun: 1. A platform, stage, dais, etc., for public speaking. 2. A beaklike projection on a warship, used for ramming another ship. 3. A snout, beak, or bill of an animal.
ETYMOLOGY: In ancient Rome, a speaking platform was decorated with the beaks of captured ships. Hence the use of the term for a speaking platform. From Latin rostrum (snout, bill, beak), from rodere (to gnaw). Earliest documented use: 1542. __________________________________
FROST RUM - Baccardi on the rocks
RE-STRUM - if Sam (in Rick's Café) played the guitar instead of the piano
ROOT RUM - like Sarsparilla or root beer, only much more potent
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CARAPACE
PRONUNCIATION: (KAR-uh-pays)
MEANING: noun: 1. A hard shell on the back of animals such as turtles, crabs, etc. 2. An attitude developed as a protective measure against something.
ETYMOLOGY: From French carapace (shell), from Spanish carapacho (shell). Earliest documented use: 1835. _________________________________________
CARPACE - how fast am I driving
CAT-APACE - a cheetah
CORA PACE - How are the Red Sox doing this year?
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HACKLE
PRONUNCIATION: (HAK-uhl)
MEANING: noun: 1. Hairs or feathers on the neck or back of some animals that stand up when the animal is agitated. 2. Temper; anger. 3. A comb for dressing fiber. verb tr.: To comb flax, hemp, or other fibers with a hackle.
ETYMOLOGY: Either a variant of heckle, from Middle English hechelen (to comb flax) or from Old English hacele (coat, cloak). Earliest documented use: 900. ______________________________
AHA!CKLE - the sound you make when you finally realize why that joke is funny, after all
HACKLET - a child-sized cab
HICKLE - a singultus, barely contained
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PINNACLE
PRONUNCIATION: (PIN-uh-kuhl)
MEANING: noun: 1. The highest point. 2. An architectural ornament capping a tower, buttress, etc. verb tr.: 1. To reach the peak of achievement, development, etc. 2. To form a pinnacle.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French, from Latin pinnaculum, diminutive of pinna (wing, feather). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pet- (to rush or fly), which also gave us feather, petition, compete, perpetual, pterodactyl, helicopter, appetence, asymptomatic, auricle, empennage, impetuous, pencel, peripeteia, petulant, propitious, pinnate, and lepidopterology (study of butterflies and moths). Earliest documented use: 1330. _________________________________
PINNOCLE - card game involving bidding and trick-taking, using a deck missing all cards from 2 to 8
PINNACHE - 1. pain in the outer ear; 2. flair, style, elan; 3. a leafy green vegetable reputed to be full of iron (it isn't) and Vitamin K (it is) and much admired by one pipe-smoking Sailor Man with very skinny upper arms
PIÑTACLE - a mystical symbol in the shape of a pineapple (alternatively, in the shape of a fifteenth-century seafaring craft)
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HIGHTAIL
PRONUNCIATION: (HY-tayl)
MEANING: verb intr.: To move quickly, especially in retreat or in fleeing.
ETYMOLOGY: From reference to animals such as cows, rabbits, and deer that raise their tails when fleeing. Earliest documented use: 1908. A synonym is skedaddle. ________________________________
NIGHT-AIL - obstructive sleep-apnea, for example
HIGHT GAIL - Who was the rich villain in Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead ?
HIGH TAMIL - the Official Language of Serendip
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ZEN
PRONUNCIATION: (zen)
MEANING: noun: An activity, approach, state of mind, etc., emphasizing intuition and insights, instead of fixation on goals. adjective: Calm, peaceful, unruffled.
ETYMOLOGY: After Zen, a school of Mahayana Buddhism. From Japanese zen (meditation), from Chinese chan (meditation), from Pali jhanam (jhanam), from Sanskrit dhyana (meditation). Earliest documented use: 1727. Also see satori. ____________________________
ZZ-EN - (German) infinitive verb: to sleep or snore
pZEN - the negative logarithm of serenity
ZIN - Wine not?
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BUTTERFINGERED
PRONUNCIATION: (BUHT-uhr fing-guhrd)
MEANING: adjective: Clumsy or careless, especially frequently dropping things.
ETYMOLOGY: From butter, from Old English butere, from Latin butyrum, from Greek boutyron, from bous (cow) + tyros (cheese) + finger, from Old English. Earliest documented use: 1615. _____________________________
BUTLERFINGERED - having blackened thumbs (from polishing the family silver so much)
BUTTER FINE RED - 1. churned wine; 2. a purebred crimson goat
BUTTERFIN GERE - a dolphin who's still Looking for Mr Goodbar
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CANARY
PRONUNCIATION: (kuh-NAYR-ee)
MEANING: noun: 1. A small finch, native to the Canary Islands, having greenish to yellow color, and known for its melodious song. 2. A bright yellow color. 3. A singer. 4. An informer.
ETYMOLOGY: From French canari (canary), from Spanish canario (canary; of the Canary Islands), from Latin canis (dog). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwon- (dog), which also gave us canine, chenille (from French chenille: caterpillar, literally, little dog), kennel, canary, hound, dachshund, corgi, cynic, cynosure, canaille, canicular, and cynophobia. Earliest documented use: 1568.
NOTES: The Canary Islands, a group of islands off the coast of Africa, are named after an animal, but it’s not canaries. It’s dogs. The island’s name is, literally, the Island of the Dogs, from Latin Canariae insulae... _______________________________
CABNARY - needing a ride when it's raining in the city
CANERY - walking-stick factory
CANART - Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup pictures
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PANACHE
PRONUNCIATION: (puh-NASH)
MEANING: noun: 1. A confident, stylish manner; swagger. 2. A tuft of feathers on a headdress, such as a helmet, hat, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From French panache, from Italian pennacchio, from Latin pinnaculum (small wing), diminutive of pinna (wing, feather). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pet- (to rush or fly), which also gave us feather, petition, compete, perpetual, pterodactyl, and helicopter. Earliest documented use: 1584. ________________________________
PA NICHE - a corner where Pop fits in perfectly
PIÑA CHE - pineapple served à la Cuban revolutionary
PA. NOCHE - night in Philadelphia's "Little Havana" neighborhood
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Carpal Tunnel
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ALTERITY
PRONUNCIATION: (al-TER-uh-tee)
MEANING: noun: Otherness: the state or quality of being other or different.
ETYMOLOGY: From French altérité, from Latin alteritas (otherness), from alter (other), from Greek heteros (other). Earliest documented use: 1500. _____________________________________
ALGERITY - a fortuitous occurrence that ultimately leads to the success of an honest, charitable, kind, hard-working young man
ALTERIFY - scare the daylights out of everybody
ASTERITY - when money is so tight you can buy only a few simple fall flowers
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Carpal Tunnel
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UNSHIRTED
PRONUNCIATION: (uhn-SHUHR-tid)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Serious; unmitigated. 2. Plain; undisguised.
ETYMOLOGY: From un- (not) + shirt, from Old English scyrte. Earliest documented use: 1932. _________________________________
UNS HURTED - we were in pain in Berlin
UNSHIRRED - I actually prefer my eggs unbaked like this
UNSHORTED - the safe way to use electrical appliances
UNSHIRED - exiled from the land of the Hobbits
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Carpal Tunnel
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ARROW-COLLAR
PRONUNCIATION: (AR-o-kol-uhr)
MEANING: adjective: Conventionally attractive and suave.
ETYMOLOGY: After the detachable Arrow Collars sold by Cluett, Peabody & Co. in the early 1900s. The collars were shown on a supposedly idealized man, known as the Arrow Collar Man, in ads drawn by the illustrator J.C. Leyendecker. Earliest documented use: 1915. __________________________________
ARROW-CO. LIAR - advertising agent for the Arrow Shirt Company in the early 1900s
NARROW-COLLAR - dated, out of style
ARROW COLLARD - a leafy green vegetable with lanceolate foliage
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Carpal Tunnel
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BUTTON-DOWN
PRONUNCIATION: (BUHT-uhn-daun)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Conservative, unimaginative, conventional, staid, repressed, etc. 2. Relating to a collar that can be fastened to the garment. 3. Relating to a garment having such a collar or having buttons from the collar to the waist.
ETYMOLOGY: From the association of a button-down shirt with people having such an outlook. Earliest documented use: 1883. The term also appears in the form buttoned-down. ______________________________
BUST ON DOWN - what's covered by a strapless gown
BUTT ON DAWN - hit with your head the moment the sun rises
BUT TEN-DOWN - I've solved everything from one-down to nine-down...
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Joined: Aug 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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SLEEVELESS
PRONUNCIATION: (SLEEV-luhs/lis)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Unprofitable; futile; unreasonable; irrelevant. 2. Without sleeves.
ETYMOLOGY: From sleeve, from Old English sliefe + less, from Old English laes (less). Earliest documented use: 950. Also see shirtsleeve.
NOTES: What does a sleeve have to do with profit? In former times, a lady would give her detachable sleeve (also known as a maunch/manche, from French) to a knight as a symbol of love and he would wear it as he went around in his adventures. A knight without a sleeve was, well, sleeveless. The Encyclopedia Britannica (1880) mentions: “Bayard took a lady’s sleeve and proclaimed it, with a valuable ruby, as a prize to be contended for.” ___________________________
SLEEVELETS - tiny openings in the fingers of gloves, to display the fingertips
SLEEVELASS - an itinerant seamstress who rides around repairing worn elbow holes for the Bourgeoisie (true gentry wouldn't stoop to having worn clothing repaired)
SLEEVELES - a nonsense word meaning a mild illness - see A.A.Milne: "Christopher Robin had Weevils and Sleeveles; they bundled him up in his bed..." etc. ;-)
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Joined: Aug 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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SHIRTTAIL
PRONUNCIATION: (SHUHRT-tayl)
MEANING: noun: 1. The part of a shirt reaching below the waist, especially in the back. 2. A brief item added at the end of a newspaper article. 3. Something small or unimportant. adjective: 1. Very young or immature. 2. Very small or trivial. 3. Distantly related.
ETYMOLOGY: From shirt, from Old English scyrte (shirt) + tail, from Old English toegl (tail). Earliest documented use: 1659. Also see coattail. ______________________________
SHIFT-TAIL - the seventh, eighth, and even ninth and tenth hours of your scheduled work time
SHIRT TAMIL - garment for the upper body and arms, of a distinctive fabric made only in India and Sri Lanka
SHORT-TAIL - to follow and observe someone for just fifteen minutes
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