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SECURITY BLANKET

PRONUNCIATION: (si-KYOOR-i-tee blang-kit)

MEANING: noun:
1. A small blanket held by a child for comfort and reassurance.
2. Something that provides a feeling of safety, comfort, or emotional stability.
3. Protective measures designed to prevent the unauthorized dissemination of sensitive information.

ETYMOLOGY: From security, from Latin securus (free from care), from se- (without) + cura (care), and blanket, from French blanc (white), referring to undyed wool + -et (diminutive suffix). Earliest documented use: 1944. The term was popularized by Charles Schulz’s comic strip Peanuts, where the character Linus famously clings to his security blanket.
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SECURITY BLINKET - opening and closing the eyes quickly so the contact lenses don't fall out

SCURITY BLANKET - an orange quilt for the prevention of Vitamin C deficiency

SECURITY BLACKET - obscuring a document with an opaque magic marker to render it unreadable

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INCANDESCENT

PRONUNCIATION: (in-kuhn-DES-uhnt)

MEANING: adjective:
1. Emitting light when heated.
2. Extremely bright.
3. Displaying intense emotion, such as anger, affection, or zeal.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin incandescere (to become hot, glow), from in- (intensive prefix) + candere (to shine or glow), from candidus (white). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kand- (to shine) which also gave us candle, incense, candid, candida, candent, and candidate (in reference to white togas worn by Romans seeking office). Earliest documented use: 1794.
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TIN CAN DESCENT - kicking the tomato soup container down the stairs

ZINC ANDES CENT - a unusual old metal coin discovered recently in the mountains of Chile

"I CAN" DESCENT - downfall caused by unwarranted optimism

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NUCLEAR OPTION

PRONUNCIATION: (NOO/NYOO-klee-uhr op-shuhn)

MEANING: noun:
1. The option to use nuclear weapons in a conflict.
2. The most drastic or extreme measure among a range of available options.
3. In the US Senate, a change to the rules that allows a simple majority vote to overcome a filibuster instead of the usual supermajority requirement.

ETYMOLOGY: From nuclear, from nucleus (kernel), from Latin nucula (little nut), from nux (nut) + Latin optare (to choose). Earliest documented use: 1962.
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NaCl EAR OPTION - to try to clear the wax out of your ears with saline, not peroxide

NUN CLEAR OPTION - the choice to have your Parochial School teacher wipe all the data from your computer

NU LEARN OPTION - to decide to study Greek instead of Latin

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LILY-HANDED

PRONUNCIATION: (LIL-ee-han-did)

MEANING: adjective
1. Having delicate, pale hands, unaccustomed to manual labor.
2. Dandy; foppish; overly refined.

ETYMOLOGY: From Old English lilie, from Latin lilium, from Greek leirion. Earliest documented use: 1847.
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LILY-WANDED - how the Faerie Queene can perform Magick

LILY HANDEL - the composer's wife; her influence is the reason some of his music is so flowery

OILY-HANDED - most mechanics after giving your car its 7,500-mile servicing

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AROHA

PRONUNCIATION: (UH-ruh-ha, uh-RO-ha)

MEANING: noun: Love, compassion, empathy, warmth of feeling.

ETYMOLOGY: From Māori aroha. The Hawaiian word aloha is a linguistic cousin. Earliest documented use: 1846.
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TARO-HA! - that recipe with the Indonesian vegetable root is laughable

AGROHA - have fun on your tour of the pineapple farm

ARTHA - Mr Fiedlah, whose name for many years was synonymous with the Bahston Pops

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TAPU

PRONUNCIATION: (TAH-poo)

MEANING: noun: A restriction or prohibition; taboo.
adjective: Sacred, restricted, or forbidden.

ETYMOLOGY: From Māori. The English word taboo is borrowed from Tongan tapu, part of the broader Polynesian concept of sacred restriction. Earliest documented use: 1822.
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YAPU - French baby-talk for "All Gone !" and said with the samesing-song intonation as in English "Aw-Gone": elision of "Il n'y a plus!"

TOPU - "formless;" from Genesis I.2, often associated with "v'BOPU" = "empty" ("...and the Earth was without form, and void...")

TUPU - a platter made of modest amounts of assorted appetizers; intended to be shared by two people dining

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KORERO

PRONUNCIATION: (KOR-uh-roh, kuh-REE-roh)

MEANING: noun: A meeting, discussion, conversation, or storytelling session.
verb intr.: To speak, talk, or discuss.

ETYMOLOGY: From Māori. Earliest documented use: 1834.
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SKORERO - matador 1, bull 0

KOREARO - large marsupial in the Pyongyang zoo

KORRO - The famed masked vigilante, featured in a story set in late 18th/early 19th century California, filled with swashbuckling action, romance, and suspense, only...our hero is dyslexic and can't tell a Z from a K, with sometimes hilarious results...Subject of a TV series in the late 1950s

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NOA

PRONUNCIATION: NOH-uh

MEANING: adjective: Free from taboo, restrictions, etc.

ETYMOLOGY: From Māori, Hawaiian, and Tahitian. The opposite of tapu. Earliest documented use: 1854.
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NOA - the name of the fella in the Bible who built the Ark (Cockney pronunciation; it drops the "H")

NO I? - "Are you aware of the reason for that?"

NOFA - a piece of parlor furniture for nymphomaniacs (think Ado Annie in Oklahoma)

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MANA

PRONUNCIATION: (MAH-nuh)

MEANING: noun: Power, energy, force, or prestige.

ETYMOLOGY: From Māori. Earliest documented use: 1843.
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M. ANU - How the founder of this site is respectfully but semi-formally addressed when he gives a talk in Paris

m-DNA - a recently-discovered genetic material that carries information from one chromosome to another

MINA - a Bostonian youth under 18 years of age

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HIGHT

PRONUNCIATION: (hyt)

MEANING: adjective: Named or called.

ETYMOLOGY: From Old English hatan (to call). Earliest documented use: c. 450.
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pH I.G. HT. - the acidity of the elevation of the Inspector General above sea level

HIGH-O - how the Lone Ranger tells his horse Silver to gallop away

HIGH-R - a quantity which, when squared, will equal the volume of a circle

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