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your cryptic rendering of its title.I looked and looked at that word to be sure it was spelled right.  But in the end, I did misspell Stypticonimon, a fascinating history of after-shave treatments.
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Stypticonimon, a fascinating history of after-shave treatments.Ohmigawd--rolling!  Hope you use electric! 
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And there's no vaccine for viruses, rightNot zactly, WW. There are vaccines for some viruses, just not for all viruses. In fact, vaccines are made from viruses. IIR, there are live-virus vaccines, which use a weakened strain of the virus to cause the body to produce antibodies, and killed-virus vaccines, which use dead viruses to do the same. You may be thinking of the fact that there are no antibiotics for viruses. None of the so-called wonder drugs are effective against viruses, which is why we shouldn't insist the doctor give us something for a bad cold - doesn't do any good and contributes to the development of antibiotic-resistant organisms. [/my medical knowledge]
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Thanks, NancyK, for my little medical lesson. I stand corrected and welcomingly so! You read me perfectly--I had heard that you shouldn't ask for an anti-biotic for viruses, and I made the incorrect leap to include vaccines also.
Live and learn,
WW
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Every time I come back to this thread I think the word we are looking for is pariah. Now, I know full well that the dictionary definition of this word is simply "outcast", but get a nagging feeling I've seen it used to mean exactly what we're trying to track down: someone who is unwelcome because of an unconscious tendency to create social disorder.
Does anyone else share this feeling?
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I'm not sure, Shona, but here's what Atomica has to say:
paˇriˇah (pə-rī'ə)
n.
1. A social outcast: “Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village, Huckleberry Finn, son of the town drunkard” (Mark Twain).
2. An Untouchable.
[Tamil paṛaiyar, pl. of paṛaiyan, pariah caste, from paṛai, festival drum.]
WORD HISTORY The word pariah, which can be used for anyone who is a social outcast, independent of social position, recalls a much more rigid social system, which made only certain people pariahs. The caste system of India placed pariahs, also known as Untouchables, very low in society. The word pariah, which we have extended in meaning, came into English from Tamil paṛaiyar, the plural of paṛaiyan, the caste name, which literally means “(hereditary) drummer” and comes from the word paṛai, the name of a drum used at certain festivals. The word is first recorded in English in 1613. Its use in English and its extension in meaning probably owe much to the long period of British rule in India.
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The American HeritageŽ Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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