|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
GALAHAD
PRONUNCIATION: (GAL-uh-had)
MEANING: noun: One who is known for integrity, courteousness, and nobility.
ETYMOLOGY: After Sir Galahad, the noblest of the Knights of the Round Table, in the British legend of King Arthur. Earliest documented use: 1854.
______________________________
GAL AHAB - re-write of Moby Dick with a female Captain
GALA MAD - can't resist a good party
GAL AHEAD - said the teenager, standing on the corner with his buddies, watching
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
BAEDECKERPRONUNCIATION: (BAY-de-kuhr) MEANING: noun: A guidebook. ETYMOLOGY: After the German publisher Karl Baedeker (1801-1859) who founded a company that published travel guidebooks. Earliest documented use: 1863. __________________________________________ BARE-DECKER - a vessel with nothing visible above water (like many submarines) BALD ECKER - a hairless German river BAD ECKER - another name for Bad Hartzburg in Lower Saxony
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
ZEPHYR
PRONUNCIATION: (ZEF-uhr)
MEANING: noun:
1. A wind blowing from the west.
2. A gentle breeze.
3. A soft and light garment, fabric, or yarn.
4. Anything having a soft, fine quality.
ETYMOLOGY: After Zephyrus, the god of the west wind in Greek mythology. Earliest documented use: before 1150.
_____________________________
ZE PYR - what got built near Giz
ZEPPYR - a closure universally used, but not exclusively since the invention of Velcro®
ZETHYR - a stringed instrument similar to an Autoharp without the pre-set chords
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
JANUS-FACED
PRONUNCIATION: (JAY-nuhs-fayst)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Looking in two different directions.
2. Having two contrasting aspects.
3. Hypocritical or deceitful.
ETYMOLOGY: After Janus, the Roman god of doors, gates, and transitions. Earliest documented use: 1682. The month of January is named after Janus.
_________________________________
IAN US-FACED - a James Bond novel specifically edited for publication in America
JANUS-PACED - two steps forward, two steps back, repeat ad libitum
ANUS-FACED - [censored]
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
RITZ
PRONUNCIATION: (rits)
MEANING: noun: Luxury, glamor, opulence, etc.
verb tr.: 1. To make a show of luxury or opulence.
2. To behave haughtily toward someone; to snub.
ETYMOLOGY: After César Ritz (1850-1918), a Swiss hotelier. Earliest documented use: 1900.
NOTES: César Ritz was known for his opulent hotels and was called “the hotelier of kings and the king of hoteliers”. The word ritz is often used in the phrase “to put on the ritz” meaning to “make an ostentatious show”.
____________________________________
RITV - television station sited in Providence, Rhode Island
FRITZ - with on the, malfunctioning
RITEZ - what the orthographically-challenged author sez he duz for a living
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
FELIX CULPA
PRONUNCIATION: (FAY/FEE-liks KOOL/KUHL-pah)
plural felix culpae (KOOL/KUHL-pae/pee)
MEANING: noun: An error or disaster that has fortunate consequences.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin felix culpa (happy fault). Earliest documented use: 1913. A related word is serendipity.
_________________________________
FELIX CUPPA - Garfield was not the first cat who admired coffee
HELIX CULPA - the blame goes around and around
FELIX CUB, PA - What should we call the lucky little baby lion, Ma?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
GLOSSOLALIA
PRONUNCIATION: (glos-uh-LAY-lee-uh)
MEANING: noun: Unintelligible utterances occurring during religious excitation, schizophrenia, etc. Also known as speaking in tongues.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek glosso- (tongue, language) + -lalia (chatter, babbling), from lalein (to babble). Earliest documented use: 1879. A related term is coprolalia.
_______________________________
FLOSSOLALIA - the unceasing cry of the dental hygienist
GROSSOLALIA - speaking in hundred-forty-fours
GLOSSOLILIA - luminous flowers
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
SINISTERITY
PRONUNCIATION: (sin-uh-STER-uh-tee)
MEANING: noun:
1. Left-handedness.
2. Skillfulness in the use of the left hand.
3. Awkwardness or clumsiness.
4. Evilness, unluckiness, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin sinister (left, left hand, unlucky). Earliest documented use: 1623. Some related words are ambisinistrous/ambisinister (clumsy with both hands) and dexterous.
__________________________
SIN IS VERITY - Evil is Truth
MINISTERITY - the office of Church leadership
SINISTER? I TRY - it isn't easy being scary and evil and threatening...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
SYMPATRIC
PRONUNCIATION: (sim-PAT-rik)
MEANING: adjective: Occurring in the same geographical area.
ETYMOLOGY: From sym-, a form of syn- (together) + patra (homeland), from pater (father). Earliest documented use: 1904. The opposite is allopatric.
________________________________
SYMMATRIC - Your parents are mirror images of each other!
GYM, PATRIC - Captain Picard needs to buff up a bit
SYMPATH, INC. - Sensitives For Hire
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
SPUDDLE
PRONUNCIATION: (SPUHD-l)
MEANING: verb intr.: To work feebly.
noun: A feeble action or movement.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of spud (a dagger or digging implement) + puddle. Earliest documented use: 1630.
____________________________
SPURDLE - to use your spurs to encourage your horse to jump over a hurdle
SPUDULE - a diminutive potato
SPUNDLE - a small sharp object which in the past was used to prick your finger to enable you to sleep
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
VORPAL
PRONUNCIATION: (VUHR-puhl)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Sharp.
2. Deadly.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) in his novel Through the Looking-Glass. Earliest documented use: 1871.
NOTES: The word appears in the poem “Jabberwocky” in the novel Through the Looking-Glass.:
He took his vorpal sword in hand,
...
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
________________________________________
CORPAL - friend of my heart
V'ORÉAL - one-tenth of a French personal care and cosmetics company
V. OPAL - the fifth kind of jewel, after diamond, ruby, emerald, and sapphire
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
CONSILIENCE
PRONUNCIATION: (kuhn-SIL-ee-yuhns)
MEANING: noun: The linking or agreement of different disciplines when forming a theory or coming to a conclusion.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by the philosopher William Whewell (1794-1866). From Latin con- (with) + salire (to leap). Earliest documented use: 1840. He also coined the words scientist and physicist.
_________________________________
CONSALIENCE - the relevance of the opposition
CONSOLIENCE - sympathy, understanding, reassurance, and encouragement
PONSILIENCE - the resonance and power of the soprano
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
PSYCHOBABBLE
PRONUNCIATION: (SY-ko-bab-uhl)
MEANING: noun: Language laden with jargon from psychotherapy or psychiatry, used without concern for accuracy.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by journalist Richard Dean Rosen (b. 1949). From Greek psycho- (mind) + babble (drivel, blather). Earliest documented use: 1975.
____________________________________
PSYCHOBUBBLE - Ward 8 is COVID-free...and completely isolated from other people
PSYCHRO-BABBLE - to natter on, with but colorful language
PSYCHOBAB BLEU - a kind of cheese made in Southern Africa and in Madagascar, with a broad trunk and many edible parts, it can last for centuries
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
RHEOLOGY
PRONUNCIATION: (ree-OL-uh-jee)
MEANING: noun: The study of the deformation and flow of matter.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by Eugene C. Bingham (1878-1945), professor of chemistry, inspired by an aphorism of the philosopher Simplicius of Cilicia: “Panta rhei” (Everything flows). From Greek rheo- (flow) + -logy (study). Earliest documented use: 1929.
______________________________
GHEOLOGY - the study of clarified butter
RHETOLOGY - the study of the effect of the wind on the US Civl War
SHEOLOGY - the Feminine Mystique, explained
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
LOCAVORE
PRONUNCIATION: (LOH-kuh-vohr)
MEANING: noun: One who eats locally grown food.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by Jessica Prentice (b. 1968), chef and author. From local, from Latin locus (place) + -vore (eating), from vorare (to devour). Earliest documented use: 2005.
________________________________
VOCAVORE - someone who's always eating his words
LOCOVORE - one who eats only crazy foods
LOCAMORE - a trysting place
LO CAVORT - see: children at play
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
HANDMAIDEN
PRONUNCIATION: (HAND-may-duhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. Someone or something that is subservient to another.
2. A personal maid.
ETYMOLOGY: From hand + maiden, referring to a young woman who was ready at hand to serve her lady. Earliest documented use: 1350.
___________________________________
BANDMAIDEN - Drum Majorette
HANS' MAIDEN - the young man with the Silver Skates has a girl friend
HAND MAXI DEN - absolutely the best place to get a manicure
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
SNOUTFAIR
PRONUNCIATION: (SNOUT-fair)
MEANING: noun: A good-looking person.
adjective: Good-looking.
ETYMOLOGY: From snout (nose, mouth, and jaw) + fair (attractive). Earliest documented use: 1530.
______________________________
SNOUTFAIL - can't seem to locate those truffles anywhere
'SNOT FAIR - says the frustrated toddler
SNOUT FAR - the measure of Pinocchio's untruthiness
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
STICKY-FINGERED
PRONUNCIATION: (STIK-ee fing-guhrd)
MEANING: adjective: Given to stealing.
ETYMOLOGY: From stick (to fasten or attach), from Old English stician (to pierce) + finger, from Old English. Earliest documented use: 1855.
NOTES: Lime is another word for something sticky or slimy. Birdlime is used to catch birds. From lime we got the term lime-fingered, alluding to someone whose fingers easily adhere to stuff belonging to others, in other words, someone prone to stealing. Eventually the terms sticky-handed and sticky-fingered entered the language. Sometimes the metaphors and reality collide, as in these headlines:
Quebec Police Seek Sticky-Fingered Thieves with $30m of Maple Syrup (The Guardian)
Sticky-Fingered Thieves Made Off with $200 in Honey (The Huntsville Times)
Let’s hope someone fingered the thieves.
___________________________
STOCKY-FINGERED - having short, fat fingers
STICK-FINGERED - drawn by a four-year-old
STICK-FINE RED - take a good Cabernet and beat it with a stake until it froths.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
GOBSMACKED
PRONUNCIATION: (GOB-smakt)
MEANING: adjective: Utterly surprised; flabbergasted.
ETYMOLOGY: From gob (mouth), probably from Irish and/or Scottish Gaelic gob (beak, mouth) + smack (to strike with the palm), probably imitative. Earliest documented use: 1935.
_________________________________
GOBS-MOCKED - derided by thousands
GODSMACKED - struck by a bolt of lightning
G-E-B SMACKED - absolutely blown away by Douglas Hofstadter's tour-de-force book
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
HARDFISTED
PRONUNCIATION: (HARD-fis-tid)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Stingy.
2. Tough, aggressive, or ruthless.
3. Having hands made rough by labor: hardhanded.
ETYMOLOGY:
From hard + fisted, from Old English fyst (fist). Earliest documented use: 1612.
________________________
HARD-MISTED - so cold the pea-soup fog is frozen
HARD-FIRSTED - stuck with a task that gets easier with practice
HARD-FISHED - to much of the cod has been caught
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
CHOSISME
PRONUNCIATION: (sho-ZEEZ-muh)
MEANING: noun: A literary style which focuses on description of objects, not on interpretation, plot, characterization, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From French, from chose (thing), from Latin causa (case, thing). The idea is associated with the writer and filmmaker Alain Robbe-Grillet. Earliest documented use: 1960s.
_________________________________
ECHOS IS ME - when I repeat myself, I'm redundant, I say the same things over and over again
CHORISME - I live to sing !
CHO-SI SMEE - Captain Hook's First Mate is married to a Korean woman
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
PILCROW
PRONUNCIATION: (PIL-kroh)
MEANING: noun: A symbol (¶) used to indicate paragraph breaks.
ETYMOLOGY: Apparently an alteration of the word paragraph, with r changing into l and remodeled along the more familiar words pill and crow. Earliest documented use: 1440.
________________________________________
PILO-ROW - shaving one's head so that all the remaining hairs are in a single line (see "Mohawk haircut")
PILGROW - what happens after you plant a pil in fertile soil
NIL-CROW - what a truly modest person has to eat ever
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
PAREMIOGRAPHY or PAROEMIOGRAPHY
PRONUNCIATION: (puh-ree-mee-AH-gruh-fee)
MEANING: noun:
1. The writing or collecting of proverbs.
2. A collection of proverbs.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin paroemia (proverb), from Greek paroimia (proverb) + -graphy (writing). Earliest documented use: 1818.
_____________________________
SPAREMIOGRAPHY - images of extra mios
PARE-GIOGRAPHY or - alongside regular giography
PAROLE MIOGRAPHY - Let Miography out of jail !
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
DITHYRAMB
PRONUNCIATION: (DITH-i-ram/ramb)
MEANING: noun:
1. A piece of writing or speech in an inflated or wildly enthusiastic manner.
2. An impassioned Greek choral song, originally in honor of the god Dionysus or Bacchus.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin dithyrambus, from Greek dithyrambos. Earliest documented use: 1603.
_________________________________
DITCH YRAMB - get away from Yramb
DITZY RAM B. - sometimes my guru acts exceedingly strange
EDIT: HYRAM B - not "Hyram A"
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
OBELUS
PRONUNCIATION: (OB-uh-luhs)
MEANING: noun:
1. A sign (- or ÷) used in ancient manuscripts to indicate a spurious or doubtful word or passage.
2. A sign (†) used to indicate reference marks. Also known as obelisk or dagger.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin obelus, from Greek obelos (spit). Earliest documented use: c. 450.
NOTES: In typography, an asterisk is used to indicate a footnote as is an obelus aka obelisk. In Asterix comics, the character Obelix is the best friend of the hero Asterix.
_________________________
OBILUS - just send us the charges
OBOELUS - a diminutive double-reeded woodwind
NOBEL US - Well? We're waiting for the prize!
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
DOVECOTE
PRONUNCIATION: (DUHV-koht or DUHV-kot)
MEANING: noun:
1. A structure with holes for housing domestic pigeons.
2. A settled group, especially one of a quiet, conservative nature.
ETYMOLOGY: From dove, from Old English dufe + cote (shelter, coop), from Old English cote. Earliest documented use: 1425. A synonym is columbarium.
____________________________________
MOVECOTE - Git yer consarned chickencoop outa here!
DOVE-NOTE - These billets-doux are for the birds.
DOVE NOTE - Having trouble finding that tritone, Signor?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
PUTTOCK
PRONUNCIATION: (PUHT-uhk)
MEANING: noun:
1. Any of various birds of prey.
2. A greedy person, especially one who preys on others.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old English putta (hawk). Earliest documented use: 1175.
_________________________
PUTROCK - what one does on the gravestone of a respected forebear
PUTT ICK - My golf game stinks today; I can't hole anything
PET TOCK - but be careful you don't get Lome disease
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
RAVEN MESSENGER
PRONUNCIATION: (RAY-vuhn mes-uhn-juhr)
MEANING: noun: A messenger who does not arrive or return in time.
ETYMOLOGY: In the Bible, Noah sends a raven to go scout the scene, but the bird never returns to the ark. Earliest documented use: 1400. Also known as a corbie messenger.
_____________________________
CRAVEN MESSENGER - when the courier deserts rather than face danger...
RIVEN MESSENGER - ...and with good reason, perhaps; this one's been drawn and quartered
RAMEN MESSENGER - announces when the noodles are ready
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
PIGEONHOLE
PRONUNCIATION: (PIJ-uhn-hohl)
MEANING: noun: 1. A hole or recess for a pigeon to nest or rest.
2. One of a series of small compartments for filing papers, etc.
3. A stereotypical category, not reflecting the complexities.
verb tr.: 1. To place in, or as if in, a pigeonhole.
2. To lay aside for future consideration.
3. To stereotype, to put into a preconceived, rigid category.
ETYMOLOGY: From pigeon, from Old French pijon (a young bird), from Latin pipio, from pipere/pipare (to chirp) + Old English hol. Earliest documented use: 1577.
_____________________________
BIG EON HOLE - a wormhole in space that lasts a very long time
PIGEON HOPE - faith that someday we'll find a passenger pigeon hiding deep in the mountains
PIG-PEON HOLE - where the medieval swineherd raises his stock
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
WAR HAWK
PRONUNCIATION: (WAR hawk)
MEANING: noun: One who advocates war, military intervention, or other aggressive measures.
ETYMOLOGY: After hawk, a bird of prey + war, from Old English (werre) + hawk, from Old English heafoc. Earliest documented use: 1792.
NOTES: A war hawk (or, simply, hawk) advocates for war, a dove (or, peace dove) for peace. Then there’s the species chicken hawk, which clamors for war only to send others to fight and do the dirty work while staying safely behind. Most war hawks are simply chicken hawks.
The term war hawk was especially applied to members of the 12th US Congress (1811-1813) who advocated for war with Britain. Among other motives for the war was the annexation of Canada. They got their war, now known as the War of 1812. The British burned the White House and the Capitol, among other federal buildings. The war ended in 1815. Some 25,000 died. It was a draw.
____________________________________
OAR HAWK - an advocate of returning to slave-powered ships
PAR HAWK - Improve your golf score by ten strokes or your money back!
WAR HACK - a lingering cough in those lucky enough to survive a wartime gas attack
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
BREWSTERED
PRONUNCIATION: (BROOS-tuhrd)
MEANING: adjective: Very rich.
ETYMOLOGY: After Montgomery Brewster, the title character of the 1902 novel Brewster’s Millions by George Barr McCutcheon. Earliest documented use: 2001.
NOTES: In the novel Brewster’s Millions, Montgomery Brewster inherits $1 million when his grandfather dies. An uncle who hated this grandfather promises Brewster $7 million if he could spend that one million from the grandfather within a year. There are certain conditions, of course...
_____________________________________
BREW STEREO - the flavor of this beverage has a special depth
BREWS TIERED - a layered mixture of beers and ales of contrasting colors
BREWSTER, ED - interim president (as of 2021) of Grays Harbor College in Aberdeen, WA
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
HOOVER
PRONUNCIATION: (HOO-vuhr)
MEANING: noun: A vacuum cleaner.
verb tr.: 1. To clean, especially with a vacuum cleaner.
2. To consume or acquire quickly, eagerly, or in large amounts.
ETYMOLOGY: After the industrialist William Henry Hoover (1849-1932). Earliest documented use: 1934.
________________________________
HOPOVER - what you do when you come to a small puddle in the sidewalk
HOOKER - a water-pipe used by a Bostonian to smoke marijuaner
HO! OVERT! - what a voluble detective says upon seeing a flagrant violation
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
COOKIE MONSTER
PRONUNCIATION: (KU-kee mon-stuhr)
MEANING: noun: Someone or something that is insatiably hungry or greedy.
ETYMOLOGY: After Cookie Monster, a puppet character in the children’s television show Sesame Street. Earliest documented use: 1971.
________________________________
COOKIE, MON! (STERN) - stage instructions to a Rasta parrot on how to demand a cracker
LOOKIE MONSTER - how to explain to a child about a Basilisk or Medusa
COOTIE MONSTER - the scourge of pre-adolescent males
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
MARPLOT
PRONUNCIATION: (MAHR-plot)
MEANING: noun: A meddlesome person who spoils a plan by interference.
ETYMOLOGY: After Marplot, the titular character in the 1709 play The Busy Body by Susannah Centlivre (1669-1723). Marplot means well and tries to help only to get in the way of others and foul things up. Earliest documented use: 1709.
___________________________
FARPLOT - by stereotype, the North Forty
OMARPLOT - the Rubáiyát Conspiracy
MERPLOT - factions in the French Navy are up to something
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
PANGLOSSIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (pan-GLOS-ee-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: Blindly or unreasonably optimistic.
noun: One who is optimistic regardless of the circumstances.
ETYMOLOGY: After Dr. Pangloss, a philosopher and tutor in Voltaire’s 1759 satire Candide. Pangloss believes that, in spite of what happens -- shipwreck, earthquake, hanging, flogging, and more -- “All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.” The name is coined from Greek panglossia (talkativeness). Earliest documented use: 1831. The word pangloss is used in the same manner.
________________________
MANGLOSSIAN - after gender-reassignment surgery
PAN-GLOSS-MAN - the superhero who shines cooking utensils
ANGLO'S SIAN - "Jane" (from the Welsh)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
BREADCRUMB
PRONUNCIATION: (BRED-cruhm)
MEANING: noun:
1. A small fragment of bread.
2. One in a series of markers placed as a navigational aid.
3. One of several hints or clues leading to a person, place, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From bread, from Old English bread + crumb, from Old English cruma. Earliest documented use: 1519.
NOTES: In the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel, their parents drop the two siblings off in the forest because they are not able to feed them (if only there had been a strong social safety net). The smart kids drop breadcrumbs along the way so they can trace their steps back and find their way home.
In computing, website design, etc., breadcrumbs help users as a navigation aid and tell them where they are in a program, website, etc.
_____________________________
BREA CRUMB - a small lump of tar washed up on the Spanish coast
DREADCRUMB -a tiny remaining germ of fear after the acute episode has been resolved
BREAD-C RUMBA - that new Latin dance craze
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
TOM THUMB
PRONUNCIATION: (tom THUM)
MEANING: noun.
1. A very short person.
2. An insignificant or unimportant person, especially one who lacks the power or ability in spite of high rank.
ETYMOLOGY: After Tom Thumb, the hero of many folktales, who is the size of his father’s thumb. Earliest documented use: 1579. Also see lilliput and lilliputian.
___________________________
TOM THOMB - a tiny but fully functional Native American drum
TOE THUMB - vernacular for hallux
TOM RHUMB - nickname for Tom Loxodrome, a gifted navigator of the Sixteenth Century and contemporary of Gerardus Mercator, the mapmaker
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
DOMDANIEL
PRONUNCIATION: (dom-DAN-yuhl)
MEANING: noun: A place of wickedness.
ETYMOLOGY: From French domdaniel (house of Daniel), apparently from Latin or Greek. Earliest documented use: 1801.
NOTES: It’s not clear who Daniel is in the term Domdaniel. The place Domdaniel was introduced by a French continuation of the Arabian Nights by Dom Chaves and M. Cazotte in the late 18th c. Later, the place has appeared in the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, H.P. Lovecraft, and Neil Gaiman, among others.
__________________________________
DOC DANIEL - what my patients called me before I retired
DOOM,DANIEL - he may have survived the den of the Lion but his days are numbered...
DO MD, ARIEL - urging the Little Mermaid to vacation in Maryland
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
CHICKEN LICKEN
PRONUNCIATION: (CHIK-en LIK-n)
MEANING: noun: Someone who is a pessimist and alarmist, always warning others of impending calamities.
ETYMOLOGY: After a hen in a children’s tale who, when hit on the head by a falling acorn, believes the sky is falling. Earliest documented use: 1922. The character is also known by other names, such as Chicken Little and Henny Penny.
__________________________________
CHICKEN LICHEN - what grows on the North side of the neck, half alga, half fungus
CLICKEN LICKEN - chocolate-covered crickets
THICKEN LICKEN - wait for the dough to firm up before you scrape out the bowl
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,072 Likes: 2 |
OPEN SESAME
PRONUNCIATION: (oh-puhn SAYS-uh-mee)
MEANING: noun: Something that is an easy and effective way to bring out a desired result, gain access, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From the phrase “Open sesame” that opened the door to the robbers’ cave in the story “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”. Earliest documented use: 1722.
__________________________
OPEN BESAME - French kiss
OPEN-SEA ME - I'm a completely different person on a boat
OPENS E-NAME - I'm researching the meaning of your hashtag
|
|
|
|
|
