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CAPUAN

PRONUNCIATION: (KAP-yoo-uhn)

MEANING: adjective: Luxurious.

ETYMOLOGY: After Capua, a city in south Italy, that was known for its luxurious comfort in ancient times.
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CAPUTAN - the commander of a ship (with a Japanese accent)

CAP-MAN - protagonist of a children's book by Esphyr Slobodkina

CA-PUSAN - a South Korean city rich in calcuim

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HELOTAGE

PRONUNCIATION: (HEL-uh-tazh)

MEANING: noun: A state of servitude or bondage.

ETYMOLOGY: After Helos, a town in Laconia in ancient Greece, whose inhabitants were enslaved. Earliest documented use: 1934.

NOTES: Other towns in Laconia that have also inspired words in the English language are spartan, after Sparta, the capital of Laconia and caryatid. Laconia itself has given us the word laconic.
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HELLOTAGE - the function of a receptionist

PELOTAGE - the Art of Jai Alai

HELSTAGE - where the Devil puts on his show

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CANTERBURY

PRONUNCIATION:
(KAN-tuhr-ber-ee)

MEANING:
noun: A rack with open top and slatted partitions for magazines, sheet music, documents, etc.

ETYMOLOGY:
After Canterbury, UK. It’s said that a bishop of Canterbury first ordered this piece of furniture. Earliest documented use: 1803. Some other words with Canterbury connections are canter and Canterbury tale.
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I-CAN'T-ER BURY - interment of the incapable

CENTERBURY - to lay the remains in the middle of three adjacent plots

CANTER BUOY - marks the turns of a regatta for horses

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ELYSIUM

PRONUNCIATION: (i-LIZH-ee-uhm)

MEANING: noun: A place of perfect happiness.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin Elysium, from Greek elysion pedyon (Elysian plain/fields). In Greek mythology, Elysium (or the Elysian Fields) was the final resting place for the souls of heroes and the virtuous after their death. Earliest documented use: 1599.
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ELISIUM - Element number 1701, found at Yale

ELY'S...UM... - the inventor of the Cotton Gin is at a loss for words

ELYSIMUM - a French flower, produced by crossing a lily with a chrysanthemum

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CANAAN

PRONUNCIATION: (KAY-nuhn)

MEANING: noun: A land of promise, abundance, and fulfillment.

ETYMOLOGY: After Canaan, an ancient region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. In the Bible, Yahweh promises this land to Abraham. Earliest documented use: 1548.

PRONUNCIATION: (KAY-nuhn)

MEANING: noun: A land of promise, abundance, and fulfillment.

ETYMOLOGY: After Canaan, an ancient region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. In the Bible, Yahweh promises this land to Abraham. Earliest documented use: 1548.
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CANANVAN - a congenital glycogen storage disease

CANCAN - a kick-kick dance-dance

CANABAN - the buzzword of the anti-marijuana movement
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TROCHILIC

PRONUNCIATION: (truh-KI-lik)

MEANING: adjective: Relating to the wheel or the rotary motion.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek trochos (wheel), from trechein (to run), which also gave us troche (lozenge) and the metrical trochee. Earliest documented use: 1570.
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TORO CHILIC - helping bulls calm down

TAROCHILIC - a spicy dish made from spiced beans and a Hawaiian root

PROCHILIC - in favor of reversing the climate-warming tendency

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ROTIFORM

PRONUNCIATION: (ROH-tuh-form)

MEANING: adjective: Wheel-shaped.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin rota (wheel). Earliest documented use: 1816.
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WROTIFORM - filled in one's vital information, as requested

BOTIFORM - shaped like a very small, very fast flying insect, once even considered supersonic

ROTIFOAM - shaving-cream rings

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ZODIAC

PRONUNCIATION: (ZOH-dee-ak)

MEANING: noun:
1. A circular diagram with 12 parts, each named after a constellation, used in astrology.
2. A circle, circuit, etc.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin zodiacus, from Greek zoidiakos, shortening of zoidiakos kyklos (zodiac circle), from zoion (living being) + kyklos (circle, wheel). Earliest documented use: 1390.
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KODIAC - an Alaskan ursine, sometimes barely visible

AZODIAC - a nitrogen-containing compound with two acetate radicals

OZODIAC - a supermolecule combining two molecules of ozone - used to assist in replenishing the hole in the atmosphere

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EXORBITANT

PRONUNCIATION: (ig-ZOR-bi-tuhnt)

MEANING: adjective: Greatly exceeding what’s considered reasonable, especially in cost or price.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin exorbitare (to go out of the track), from ex- (out) + orbita (wheel track), from orbis (circle, disk). Earliest documented use: 1460.
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EXTORBITANT - due under penalty of dire consequences for failure to comply

HEXORBITANT - a six-cornered path around the sun

EXO-RABIT-ANT - outside Bugs Bunny's mother's sister

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ENCYCLICAL

PRONUNCIATION: (in/en-SIK-li-kuhl)

MEANING: noun: An official letter.
adjective: For wide circulation.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek kyklos (circle, cycle). Earliest documented use: 1616.

NOTES: A more common word for an encyclical is circular. In the Roman Catholic Church, a letter from the pope to bishops, usually dealing with the matters of doctrine, is called an encyclical.
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ENVYCLICAL - subject to sudden fits of jealousy

ENCYCLO-CAL - book of all knowledge on the West Coast USA

ENCY PLICAL - the map of North Carolina is folded

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NEMOPHILIST

PRONUNCIATION: (ni/nuh-MOF-uh-list)

MEANING: noun: One who loves forests.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek nemos (grove, woods) + -philist (lover). Earliest documented use: 1860.
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NEOPHILIST - one who loves new things

ANEMOPHILIST - one who loves the wind

BEMOPHILIST - one who loves aliens, preferably with exophthalmia

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SPINDRIFT

PRONUNCIATION: (SPIN-drift)

MEANING: noun: Spray of water, snow, sand, etc., blown by the wind.

ETYMOLOGY: From Scots speendrift, from speen (to run before the wind) + drift, from Old English drifan (to drive). Earliest documented use: 1611.
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SPANDRIFT - a suspension bridge moving slowly downstream

SPIN-DRAFT - rotating so fast it makes a breeze

SPINE-RIFT - spina bifida

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MONONYMOUS

PRONUNCIATION: (muh-NON-uh-muhs)

MEANING: adjective: Having or known by a name consisting of only one word.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek mono- (one) + -nym (name). Earliest documented use: 1852.
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NONONYMOUS - don't tell anyone your name

MON ONLY MOUS - seulement Michel pour moi!

MY NO-N.Y. MOUS - Mickey will never play on Broadway
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NOCTIVAGANT

PRONUNCIATION: (nok-TIV-uh-guhnt)

MEANING: noun: One who wanders in the night.
adjective: Wandering in the night.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin nox (night) + vagus (wandering). Earliest documented use: 1614.
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NOT-I-VAGANT - an arrested hobo who denies the charge

NO-CUTIVAGANT - a sports contract with guaranteed continued employment for the same club

NOCIVAGANT - wandering in the night doing harm

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BETWEENITY

PRONUNCIATION: (bi-TWEE-ni-tee)

MEANING: noun: The state of lying in the interval separating two conditions, qualities, extremes, etc.

ETYMOLOGY: From Old English betweonum (between), from be- (by) + tweon (two each). Earliest documented use: 1760.
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BETEENITY - what you be after you be 12 (compare BETWENITY: after you be 19)

BESTWEENITY - when there isn't a better weenit anywhere

BET WE ENTITY - wager with a visiting extraterrestrial

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ANASTROPHE

PRONUNCIATION:m (uh-NAS-truh-fee)

MEANING: noun: The inversion of the usual order of words.

ETYMOLOGY: From ana- (back) + strophe (turning). Earliest documented use: 2011.
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AN A.S.T. ROPE - long chain of linked-together liver enzymes

AN ATROPHE - a withering-away from disuse

ANA'S TROPHY - prize for the best literary collection (or, the best visiting teacher in Siam, if you must)

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AUXESIS

PRONUNCIATION: (og-ZEE-sis, ok-SEE-)

MEANING: noun:
1. An overstatement or hyperbole, especially when arranged in a sequence of increasing intensity.
2. Growth resulting from the increase in the size of a cell (as opposed to from cell division, which is known as merisis).

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin auxesis, from Greek auxesis (growth), from auxein (to increase or grow). Earliest documented use: 1577.
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UXESIS - an arranged marriage, in which the wife grows on you

AUXISIS - a subsidiary Egyptian goddess

FAUXESIS - it only looks like it's growing

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APOTHEGM

PRONUNCIATION: (AP-uh-them)

MEANING: noun: A terse, witty, instructive saying.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin apothegma/apophthegma, from Greek apophthegma (apothegm), from apophthengesthai (to speak plainly), from apo- (off, away) + phthengesthai (to speak). Earliest documented use: 1570.

NOTES: You might expect an apothecary to dispense nuggets of wisdom but you’d be disappointed: that word is from Greek apotheka (storehouse). Back then an apothecary was a storeowner who sold all kinds of stuff: spices, candy, preserves, even pills and potions. According to the OED, “in 1617 the Apothecaries’ Company of London was separated from the Grocers’.” If you walk into a pharmacy these days, drugs are only a small part of the store... [W]e are back to the old days.
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A POT HEM - the bottom edge of the sewn cover for a cooking utensil

A.P.O THE GYM - address for mail sent to the Army exercise facility

A POSH, E.G. M. - flamboyant and rich head of M.I.6 (the British foreign intelligence service), for example

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ANACRONYM

PRONUNCIATION: (an-AK-ruh-nim)

MEANING: noun: An acronym or abbreviation whose expansion is not widely known.

ETYMOLOGY: Either a blend of anachronism + acronym, or from an- (not) + acronym. The word acronym is from Greek acro- (height, tip) + -nym (word, name). Earliest documented use: 1963.
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ANACHRONYM - lack of temporal appropriateness of a thing with its literary or artistic setting, like Fred Flintstone watching a television program

AN ACRE O' NYM - 44,600 sq ft of New York NL baseball team

AN ACRO-GYM - a place for exercising the arms and hands and legs and feet

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MERISMUS

PRONUNCIATION: (muh-RIZ-muhs)

MEANING: noun: Describing the whole of something by specifying its two extremes, such as contrasting or complementary parts.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek merismos (division), from merizein (to divide). Earliest documented use: 1589.
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MERIT MUS - you deserve a mouse

MERISMUT - a sex comedy

MER-IS-US - buy your French ocean, cheap

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CRAIC

PRONUNCIATION: (krak, pronounced as the word crack)

MEANING: noun: Good times involving pleasant company, enjoyable conversation, etc.

ETYMOLOGY: From Irish craic. It was a borrowing from English crack, respelled as craic, and then reborrowed into English. Earliest documented use: 1972.
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CRAGIC - a situation so sad it makes you cry

CRA, INC - a company that makes supercomputers

CrA1c - glycosylated creatinine, a measure kidney function in diabetics. Compare HbA1c, glycosylated hemoglobin

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ANIME

PRONUNCIATION: (AN-uh-may)

MEANING: noun: A style of animation originating in Japan, characterized by stylized colorful art, exaggerated expressions, oversized heads, large expressive eyes, etc., meant for adults as well as children.

ETYMOLOGY: The English word animation was imported into Japanese as animēshon;, trimmed into anime, and then imported back into English. The word is ultimately from Latin anima (breath, air, life, soul, or spirit). When we animate something, we breathe life into it. We make static pictures of comic books or manga come alive as moving characters. Earliest documented use: 1985.
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AMIME - a performer who use no words in the act, just movement and gesture and position

ANAME - the state of having no appelation; being anonymous

ANIVE - a Cockney varlet or scoundrel

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TURQUOISE

PRONUNCIATION: (TUHR-koiz/kwoiz)

MEANING: noun:
1. A blue, bluish-green, or greenish-gray semi-precious stone.
2. A bluish-green color.

ETYMOLOGY. Named after Turkey. The gemstone was called turquoise because either it was discovered in Turkey or transported to Europe via Turkey. Earliest documented use: 1398.
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BURQUOISE - French women who wear a burqa (a long, loose garment covering the whole body) when in public

TORQUOISE - intensely twisty, like a tornado

TUER QUI OSE - kill, whoever dares

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QUARRY

PRONUNCIATION: (KWOR-ee)

MEANING:
noun: 1. A large, deep pit from which material such as slate, stone, etc. are extracted.
2. A rich source.
3. Something or someone hunted or chased.
4. A square or diamond-shaped stone, tile, glass pane, etc.
verb tr.: To dig, cut into, or extract.

ETYMOLOGY: For noun 3: From Old French cuiree, from cuir (leather or hide, on which entrails were placed as a reward to the hounds), from Latin corium (leather). Earliest documented use: 1330.

For noun 4: A variant of quarrel (a square-headed bolt or arrow, diamond-shaped tile or window-pane), from Latin quadrum (square). Earliest documented use: 1537.

For everything else: From Latin quareia/quareria, from Old French quarriere, from Latin quadraria (where stone is squared), from quadrare (to square), from quadrum (square). Earliest documented use: 1382.
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SQUARRY - having four roughly equal angles and roughly equal sides

QUARTY - vernacular for a standard typewriter keyboard

HUARRY - diminutive name for the city just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas

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COSPLAY

PRONUNCIATION: (KOZ/KOS-play)

MEANING: noun: 1. The act or practice of dressing up as a character from a work of fiction, such as a comic book, video game, film, etc.
2. The act of, or an instance of, pretending to be someone in a deceptive manner.
verb tr.: 1. To dress up as a fictional character in cosplay.
2. To pretend to be someone in a deceptive manner.
verb intr.: To take part in cosplay.

ETYMOLOGY: English words costume + play were borrowed into Japanese as kosuchūmupurē in 1983. Eventually, the term became shortened to kosupure. Then it was borrowed back into English as cosplay in 1993.
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GO SPLAY - spread apart, but do it somewhere else

CO-SPLAT - to land, and smush, at the same time

COT-PLAY - hanky-panky in the tent

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LITTORAL

PRONUNCIATION: (LIT-uhr-uhl)

MEANING: adjective: Relating to or situated at the shore.
noun: A shore, especially the area between high tide and low tide levels.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin litus (shore). Earliest documented use: 1656.
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LITTERAL - shorelines and beaches covered with picnickers' garbage

LIT-MORAL - short, pithy, sometimes cryptic saying found at the end of each fable

LILT-ORAL - a song

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OCELLATED

PRONUNCIATION: (OS-uh-lay-tid)

MEANING: adjective:
1. Having eyelike spots.
2. Eyelike.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin ocellus, diminutive of oculus (eye). Earliest documented use: 1713.
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OX-ELLATED - a delighted beast of burden

"O CELLO" - TED - Edward, the youngest Kennedy brother, apostrophizes about a large stringed instrument

OPELLATED - transformed into a German automobile

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OSCELLATED - viewed with the eyes or head moving regularly from side to side, as at a tennis match

OSKILLATED - alternately kissed two lovers, one on either side

OCULATED - hypercorrection of inoculated (cf. flammable)

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AWEIGH

PRONUNCIATION: (uh-WAY)

MEANING: adjective, adverb: Just clear of the bottom (used for a ship’s anchor).

ETYMOLOGY: From Old English wegan (to move or weigh). Earliest documented use: 1606.
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AWE-ISH - inspiring amazement, wonder, respect...sort of...

SWEIGH - to go back and forth, slowly, ponderously (see OSCELLATE, above)

AWRIGH - 1) "Well done, way to go, good job!" 2) in a manner different from what was intended

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EUTHANASIA

PRONUNCIATION: (yoo-thuh-NAY-zhuh, -zhee-uh)

MEANING: noun: The practice of ending life to relieve suffering. Example: someone hopelessly injured, terminally ill, suffering from an incurable disease, etc.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek eu- (good) + thanatos (death). Earliest documented use: 1646. Two related words are thanatopsis and thanatophobia.
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ETHAN: ASIA - reply to "Me: Mr Allen, what's the largest continent?

E.U., THEN ASIA - which global economies are the most diverse?

EUTHANASIA - (I was gonna say "Chinese teenagers" but that was in the definition as originally presented)

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RAWKY

PRONUNCIATION: (pronounced as the word rocky)

MEANING: adjective: Foggy; damp; cold.

ETYMOLOGY: From roke (smoke, steam, vapor, mist, rain, etc.), probably from Old Norse. Earliest documented use: 1601.
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BRAWKY - handsome or beautiful, depending on the gender of the object being referred to

RAWKY - plant pigment after extraction but before processing

RANKY - having a high title (see Iolanthe, Act Two, sung by Phyllis, at 59:10)

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YODA

PRONUNCIATION: (YO-duh)

MEANING: noun: A wise mentor, adviser, guru, etc.

ETYMOLOGY: After Yoda, a mentor in the Star Wars universe, first appeared in film The Empire Strikes Back, 1980. Earliest documented (non-literal) use: 1984. Also see anastrophe.
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YODO - a male Yoda (What, you didn't know?)

ZODA - vat you drink vit Zcotch

DYODA - an Italian vacuum tube

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DROID

PRONUNCIATION: (droid)

MEANING: noun:
1. A humanoid robot.
2. A person who behaves in a robot-like manner, showing little emotion or personality.

ETYMOLOGY: Popularized by the Star Wars series which features a number of humanoid robots. Short for android, from Latin androides (manlike), from Greek andro- (male) + -oid (resembling). Earliest documented use: 1952.
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TROID - had a session with Star Fleet counsellor Deanna Troi (see Froid above)

DROP ID - turn in your Driver's License

DR OIL - put sawdust in the lubricant before you go to sell your clunky used car, so the rattles won't show right away

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JEDI

PRONUNCIATION: (JED-eye)

MEANING: noun: Someone having great skills and powers.

ETYMOLOGY: After the Jedi Order in the Star Wars universe. Jedis are heroic warrior monks who are able to tap into the power of the Force. Earliest documented use: 1973. Yoda was a Jedi master.
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DEDI - a sharpshooter, like Dick

JE DI - I am ze Princess of France

JEDD - Poor fellow, he's Dudd in Oklahoma

JENI - an Arabian spirit with bad orthographic skills

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PADAWAN

PRONUNCIATION: (PAD-uh-wahn)

MEANING: noun:
1. An apprentice or student.
2. A naive, ignorant, or untrained person.

ETYMOLOGY: After Padawans, apprentice Jedis in the Star Wars universe. Earliest documented use: 1973. Yoda was the mentor for the Padawan Luke Skywalker.
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FADAWAN - Daddy got first place at Camp Granada (see also PAPAWAN)

PAD A SWAN - 1. make the graceful white bird with the long curved neck chubbier

PAD A SWAN - 2. do the same for a dam across the Nile River

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DARK SIDE

PRONUNCIATION: (DARK syd)

MEANING: noun:
1. The side that’s dark or unlit.
2. The side that’s undesirable or evil.

ETYMOLOGY: The metaphorical sense of the term was popularized by Star Wars in which the dark side represents the use of the Force to perpetrate evil. The opposite is the light side. Earliest documented use: 1975.
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BARK SIDE - the side of a tree that's not covered with moss

DARK SIDLE - that new Gothic dance step that's all the rage

PARKSIDE - a hotel in Aukland, NZ (YCLIU)

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Pooh-Bah
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Originally Posted by wofahulicodoc
EUTHANASIA

PRONUNCIATION: (yoo-thuh-NAY-zhuh, -zhee-uh)

MEANING: noun: The practice of ending life to relieve suffering. Example: someone hopelessly injured, terminally ill, suffering from an incurable disease, etc.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek eu- (good) + thanatos (death). Earliest documented use: 1646. Two related words are thanatopsis and thanatophobia.
YOUTH AND EASIER - two abridged versions of the Oxford English Dictionary

UKULELIA - Latin plural of 'ukulele'

EUTHERMEMIA - normal blood temperature

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Carpal Tunnel
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VULCAN

PRONUNCIATION: (VUHL-kuhn)

MEANING: noun: 1. A blacksmith or a metalworker.
2. A miner.
3. A person whose leg is broken or deformed.
4. A cuckold: a man whose wife is unfaithful.
5. One who is extremely logical and shows a lack of emotions, humor, etc.
adj.: Extremely logical, unemotional, etc.

ETYMOLOGY: For noun 1-4: After Vulcan, the god of fire and metalworking in Roman mythology. Vulcan’s mother Juno wanted a beautiful child and hurled the plain-looking baby Vulcan off Mount Olympus. His leg broke when he hit the water. Vulcan may have been ugly but he married Venus. On the other hand, Venus was unfaithful to him. Earliest documented use: c. 450 CE.

For noun 5 & adj.: After Vulcans, a humanoid species from the planet Vulcan in the Star Trek TV series and movies. Vulcans are extremely logical and show little emotion. Earliest documented use: 1966.
_______________________________

NULCAN - this soda isn't even IN a container!

VULLAN - a member of the Jem'Hadar

VURCAN - what the Swede said he was doing on the railroad, all the livelong day

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Carpal Tunnel
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TAYLORISM

PRONUNCIATION: (TAY-luh-riz-uhm)

MEANING: noun:
1. A method of analyzing workflow for process optimization. Also known as scientific management.
2. A modified form of Calvinism. Also known as New Haven theology.

ETYMOLOGY: For 1: After mechanical engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) who proposed ways to improve efficiency in manufacturing. Earliest documented use: 1884.

For 2: After theologian Nathaniel William Taylor (1786-1858). Earliest documented use: 1928.
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JAYLORISM - the belief that incarceration is the cure for all bad behavior

TAYL PRISM - the spectrum-generator at the rear of a boat or airplane

TAYLORISK - to plan carefully so as to ensure an acceptable probability of things going wrong

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