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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.
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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.
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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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Originally Posted by A C Bowden
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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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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.
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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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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.
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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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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.
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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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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.
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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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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.”
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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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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.
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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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