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CUMBROUS
PRONUNCIATION: (KUHM-bruhs)
MEANING: adjective: Difficult to carry, use, or manage, especially because of size, weight, or complexity.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French encombrer (to hinder), from combre (dam). Earliest documented use: before 1400.
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CRUMBROUS - easily breakable into small pieces
CHUMBROUS - like a well-meaning but somewhat oafish friend
CAMBROUS - having multiple small protrusions around its otherwise-circular rim
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Carpal Tunnel
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PISMIRE
PRONUNCIATION: (PIS/PIZ-myr)
MEANING: noun:
1. An ant.
2. An insignificant person.
ETYMOLOGY: From Middle English pissemire, from pisse (urine) + mire (ant). Earliest documented use: 1395.
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PISPIRE - to sweat so much that there's no fluid left to make urine
PI-SMITE - the facial impact that is the basis of much clowning around
PIGSMIRE - the gunk that covers the swineyard
also -
PI-SMILE - the Aha! moment on realizing that the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of every circle is the same
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Carpal Tunnel
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DOWFART
PRONUNCIATION: (DAU-fuhrt)
MEANING: noun: 1. A dimwit.
2. A coward.
adj.: 1. Dim or dull.
2. Cowardly.
ETYMOLOGY: From Scots dowf (dull, dim) + -art, a variant of the usually pejorative suffix -ard. Earliest documented use: 1719. Also spelled duffart.
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DOWL ART - a toy structure made of round wooden sticks of various lengths
DORF ART - a picture adorning the roof of a building in Germany
DOWFARM - where startup companies are raised to grow into industrial giants
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ASSART
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-SART)
MEANING: noun: 1. A tract of woodland cleared for cultivation.
2. The act of clearing such land.
verb tr., intr.: To clear woodland for cultivation.
ETYMOLOGY: From French essart (cleared land) and essarter (to clear), ultimately from Latin exsarire (to weed out), from ex- (out) + sarire (to hoe or weed). Earliest documented use: before 1450 for the noun and 1523 for the verb.
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MASSART - a statewide program to support graphic, visual, musical, and theatrical culture in Massachusetts
ASHART - an image created from fire residue
ABSART - a tattoo on the belly
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RAPTURE
PRONUNCIATION: (RAP-chuhr)
MEANING: noun: 1. A state or expression of ecstasy.
2. In some Christian theologies, the supernatural taking up of believers from earth during the end times.
verb tr.: 1. To fill with joy; enrapture.
2. To cause a believer to be taken up supernaturally from earth during the end times.
ETYMOLOGY: From rapt + -ure, ultimately from Latin rapere (to seize). Earliest documented use: 1594 for the noun and 1636 for the verb.
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RA, PURE - the Sun God, undiluted
RAP TURN - it's Open Mike night, and you're on
RAPT, SURE - definitely paying attention!
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SKIRR
PRONUNCIATION: (skuhr)
MEANING: verb intr.: To move rapidly, especially away.
verb tr.: To range rapidly over an area, especially in search of something.
noun: A whirring or grating sound.
ETYMOLOGY: Perhaps a variant of scour (to move rapidly or search), itself perhaps from Old Norse skur (shower). Earliest documented use: 1548 for the verb and c. 1870 for the noun.
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OSKIRR - award for making the best Irish movie of the year
SHIRR - to bake an egg in a tall cuplike dish with a narrow rim at the top
STIRR - to mix gently with a spoon, or a stick, and a Scottish burr
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Carpal Tunnel
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CORBEL
PRONUNCIATION: (KOR-buhl)
MEANING: noun: 1. An architectural support projecting from a wall to bear weight.
verb tr.: 1. To arrange (bricks, stones, etc.) in stepped courses to form a corbel.
2. To support by means of a corbel or corbels.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French corbel (little raven), a diminutive of corp or corb (raven), from Latin corvus (raven), apparently alluding to the corbel’s beaklike shape. Earliest documented use: c. 1400 for the noun and 1859 for the verb.
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BORBEL - what a Jabberwock does as it comes whiffling through the tulgey wood
COBBEL - (verb) what a shoemaker does; (noun) the capital of Afghanistan
CORPEL - pertaining to the wrist body
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MORDANT
PRONUNCIATION: (MOR-duhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Biting, caustic, or sarcastic.
noun: 1. A substance used to fix a dye in or on a material.
2. A corrosive substance used in etching.
verb tr.: To treat with a mordant.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French mordant (biting), present participle of mordre (to bite), from Latin mordere (to bite). Earliest documented use: 1791 for the noun, 1474 for the adjective, and 1839 for the verb.
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CORDANT - agreeing with; ant. discordant
MONDANT - writing an epic, creating an entire world
MORDON'T - additional proscriptions
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SOLIVAGANT
PRONUNCIATION: (suh-LIV-uh-guhnt)
MEANING: noun: A solitary wanderer.
adjective: Wandering alone.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin solivagus (wandering alone), from solus (alone) + vagus (wandering). Earliest documented use: 1621.
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SOLIVACANT - a one-person apartment without a tenant
SOL/FA-GANT - a musical theme based on the fifth and then the fourth tone of the major scale
SOLIVA GIANT - how animated the big fella is
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HYPERPHAGIA
PRONUNCIATION: (hy-puhr-FAY-jee-uh)
MEANING: noun: Compulsive overeating.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek hyper- (over) + -phagia (eating). Earliest documented use: 1941.
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HYPE-PHAGIA - eating up publicity
HOPERPHAGIA - behaving like a Dementor; see also
"Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate."
HYPNERPHAGIA - a patented remedy for overeating, using aversive hypnotism
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OPHIDIOPHOBIA
PRONUNCIATION: (oh-fi-dee-oh-FO-bee-uh)
MEANING: noun: An abnormal fear of snakes.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek ophis (snake) + -phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1914.
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PHIDOPHOBIA - fear of dogs
OSHIDIOPHOBIA - fear of cussing
TOPHIDIOPHOBIA - fear of the God of Gout
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OBGANIATE
PRONUNCIATION: (ob-GAY-nee-ayt)
MEANING: verb tr.: To annoy someone by repeatedly saying the same thing.
verb intr.: To repeat oneself tediously.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin obgannire or oggannire (to yelp or growl at). Earliest documented use: 1623.
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OBGYNIATE - pertaining to women's physiology and complaints
OBRANIATE - work-related (in Madrid)
ORGANIATE - Wurlitzerian
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CHUMOCRACY
PRONUNCIATION: (chum-AH-kruh-see)
MEANING: noun: A government, organization, or culture in which friends and associates are favored, especially in appointments to positions of authority.
ETYMOLOGY: From chum (friend) + -ocracy (rule). Chum is of uncertain origin, perhaps a shortening and alteration of chamber fellow or chamber mate. Earliest documented use: 1937.
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RHUMOCRACY - government by the French inebriate
CHUMOCRACY - government by baiting the electorate
CHEMOCRACY - government by cellular poisons, but meant to eradicate a cancer on society
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DOGLEG
PRONUNCIATION: (DOG-leg)
MEANING: noun: 1. A sharp bend or turn.
2. Something having a sharp bend.
adjective: Having a sharp bend or angle.
verb intr.: To bend or turn sharply.
ETYMOLOGY: From dog + leg, alluding to the angular shape of a dog’s hind leg. Earliest documented use: 1671.
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DOGELEG - painful gouty lower limb of an old Italian official
DONGLE G - what you need to plug in seven peripherals to your main computer
DO GLEE - pretend you're having the time of your life
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Carpal Tunnel
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STICKYBEAK
PRONUNCIATION: (STIK-ee-beek)
MEANING: noun: 1. An overly inquisitive person.
2. An inquisitive look or inspection.
verb intr.: To pry or snoop.
ETYMOLOGY: From stick, from Old English stician (to pierce or thrust) + beak (slang for a human nose). Earliest documented use: 1914.
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STICKYBEAR - a soft candy, also called a gummy bear
STICKYBEAN - a molasses-coated lima bean, meant to occupy a fussy infant as he tries to put it down and succeeds only in passing it from finger to finger
STICKY BREAK - a maneuver in a game of pool whereby the shooter disturbs the pack only minimally, so as not to leave the opponent a useful lie
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MOTH-WING
PRONUNCIATION: (MAWTH-wing)
MEANING: adjective: Fragile or fleeting.
noun: Something fragile or fleeting.
ETYMOLOGY: From moth, from Old English moththe + wing, from Old Norse vængir, plural of vængr. Earliest documented use: 1823.
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BOTH-WING - affecting both upper and lower surfaces of a biplane wing
MYTH-WING - the alae of Icarus, Pegasus, et al.
MATH-WING - there's a whole building at MIT where every classroom is devoted to the study of numbers, algebra, geometry, and topology
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