yarak revealed - Wordsmith.org

Wordsmith.org

Yarak Keeps Falling On My Head
(With apologies to Tennyson)

Across the steppes they tracked the Truth
Battling jaundice and wastes uncouth
Hogmaster said, "I have no fear
For those two cannot track it here."

A desert wind over lonely dunes,
Fishy fish and pre-nup tunes
Tempted not two learned scribes
Hogmaster asked "Who are those guys?"

Eschewing boats and equine shelters,
While others voted helter-skelter,
They sifted Truth from silly lies
Hogmaster asked "Who are those guys?"

While sjmaxq and wofahulicodoc did grieve,
Duped as they were by Father Steve,
As with a sieve the Truth they sifted
Hogmaster said, "Those two are gifted."

Eskimo swingers and mutant yaks
Could not cover up Truth's tracks
"Alack! Alas!" Hogmaster sighs
"Again I ask, who are those guys?"

With much dismay Hogmaster spied
That Occam's shovel was applied
By Maverick and the Marshall Tsuwm
So Hogmaster leapt (they'd not dare pursue 'im)

From high atop the mountain walls.
And as like a thunderbolt he falls
Oh "shiiiiii..." he cries and hits the water,
Absconds with Katherine Ross's daughter

(In sepia prints perhaps youve seen her),
Seeks life anew in Argentina,
"This game," he says, "I did not win
But soon the hog we'll wash again!"

*****************************************************

a) Jaundice (from Arabic yarqaan) created by sjmaxq voted for by consuelo

b) Dried buffalo dung created by WhitmanO'Neill

c) A shaman in training. From the Tungus yoraq, son-in-law created by Faldage voted for by AnnaStrophic and Elizabeth Creith

d) Anglicized from the Bedouin "uareg"; desert terrain where the wind moves shallow dunes across rock created by Elizabeth Creith voted for by etaoin & themilum

e) A cross between a Camel and a Yak, these herbivores are known for their ability to make sounds that can be understood by most birds created by musick

f) A simple yet strong traditional tent structure, made from horse skin, used as housing by the nomadic peoples of the Mongolian steppes created by maverick voted for by WhitmanO'Neill

g) The hood of a waterproof insulated jacket created by Father Steve voted for by sjmaxq and wofahulicodoc

h) A tent made of tanned goat skins and dried dung used as shelter by many nomadic North African tribes created by AnnaStrophic voted for by Logwood

i) From Bhutani yarkh'u, a broad track or path, hewed into the rock, that skirts an almost vertical mountainside created by Marianna voted for by Father Steve

j) The song sung by the groom at a traditional Turkish wedding. The first verse extols the beauty of the bride. The second and third verses are fierce demands for lifelong fidelity, and describe possible penalties of banishment or death for transgression. created by Owlbow voted for by Marianna

k) Aleut kayak with a flat stern for fitting an outboard motor created by TEd Remington

l) Inuit term for the custom of loaning one's mate to a guest created by consuelo voted for by Owlbow

m) A falconry term describing a hawk in prime condition for hunting (DEFINITION) correctly identified by maverick and tsuwm

n) A rare Armenian kirtle. See Kimono: a rare Asian yarak. created by themilum

o) A fish found in the Persian Gulf the flesh of which is popularly believed to have curative powers created by Bingleyvoted for by Faldage

p) Cultured goats' milk, consumed in remoter regions of the Himalayas created by wofahulicodoc voted for by TEd Remington and musick

Yikes! At least this time I remembered to swallow my coffee before clicking.

Fantastic job, Alex. Truly inspired.Your poetic creativity/humor know no bounds.

>>Occam's shovel

>>Tsuwm & pursue 'im

And a special high-five to maverick whose great mind resembles mine (ooooh, thanks for the vote of confidence, Logwood).

Haha, fooled me you did! Father Steve voted to what I thought he made up, how ironic is that?

Well, I said I wouldn't be surprised if Maverick is correct didn't I? good one! thanks Alex, you're a master of your craft!

Quote:

Yarak Keeps Falling On My Head
(With apologies to Tennyson)

With much dismay Hogmaster spied
That Occam's shovel was applied
By Maverick and the Marshall Tsuwm
So Hogmaster leapt (they'd not dare pursue 'im)

I wonder how mav would have applied his armil rule if he had known that yarak is from Persian.

Yes but few dictionaries would mention it directly in a defintion. BTW after initiating this round I learned that yarak is also a vulgar Turkish slang word for "penis."

Quote:

Quote:

Yarak Keeps Falling On My Head
(With apologies to Tennyson)

With much dismay Hogmaster spied
That Occam's shovel was applied
By Maverick and the Marshall Tsuwm
So Hogmaster leapt (they'd not dare pursue 'im)

I wonder how mav would have applied his armil rule if he had known that yarak is from Persian.

Yeah, Faldage, I also wonder if "yarak" even had a legitimate definition before two of the Hogmaster's well-situated good buddies insinuated the falcon story on us; co-incidently it was a definition that their goodbuddy Alex Hogmaster could rhyme.

Meanwhile I haven't recieved a single point for the last three games, although no doubt I've offered some pretty good definitions to the game. One would think that this time I would have at least won the "nice try" award since my definition initialized the palindrome "yarakskaray". Pretty good, huh faldage?

Back when you were never Hogmaster I bet you would have given me a couple or three of your discretionary points for cleverness, wouldn't you Faldage?

You are a good man, Faldage.

Quote:

Yeah, Faldage, I also wonder if "yarak" even had a legitimate definition before two of the Hogmaster's well-situated good buddies insinuated the falcon story on us; co-incidently it was a definition that their goodbuddy Alex Hogmaster could rhyme.

Okay, I admit it: "yarak" is actually just a phony word created by supercomputers at the Diebold Corporation.

My dictionaries mark that "yarak" is vulgar for "penis" in Turkish. I kid you not!

You don't say? chop chop chop chop chop

This round was well worth the 60-mile workday commute just to futz around in the pigpen.
Thank you very much Alex Lord Williams.
I�m almost ashamed to have fooled such a nice person as you Marianna, but I'm grateful for the vote.
I still think Consuelo's definition is the overall winner,
but I should have guessed that the bird one was correct.
Do I get a half point from the Diebold computers for using, the word "Turkish", in my definition which describes an unseemly, if not blatantly vulgar, imaginary point of view?

> I wonder how mav would have applied his armil rule if he had known that yarak is from Persian.

heh, prolly just as cack-handedly and arbitrarily is the answer!

My OED gives this not very definitive answer (I haven't yet had a chance to google, has anyone found anything good?):

[? ad. Pers. yQrakW power, strength, ability.]

in yarak: (of a hawk) in proper condition for hunting.

1855 Salvin & Brodrick Falc. Brit. Isles 105 The Goshawk+will not work at all unless in good temper and proper flying order, termed in the East �yarak�. Ibid. 108 It requires about ten days to get this Hawk into �yarak�. 1900 Michell Hawking xii. 162 Unless the hawk was in first-rate condition,�in what is called �screaming yarak�. 1901 Kipling Kim x, He's in yarak Plumed to the very point.

The Persian attribution doesn't seem completely secure - any more detail in the latest version, tsuwm?

>any more detail in the latest version, tsuwm?

they're no where near the Ys as of yet.

Still trying to find a few good Ys men, huh?

Quote:

I�m almost ashamed to have fooled such a nice person as you Marianna, but I'm grateful for the vote.

No worries, Owlbow. Happy to be fooled by a good mockfinition.

BUT, I am now daffining like Father Steve??

And fooling him in the process??

Now there's some cause for concern!

BUT, I am now daffining like Father Steve?? And fooling him in the process??

Now there's some cause for concern!

Not to worry, Marianna. Perhaps we are psychically linked in some obscure metaphysical way.

Quote:

Perhaps we are psychically linked in some obscure metaphysical way.

And how else could you be psychically linked?

But then who am I to denigrate redundancy?

This may NOT be a redundancy; after all, one can be psychically linked in the regular metaphysical way as well as the obscure way.

A woman needs a man and a woman like a fish needs a bipsychical.

Quote:

A woman needs a man and a woman like a fish needs a bipsychical.

[/spandex

]

Quote:

A woman needs a man and a woman like a fish needs a bipsychical.

Speaking of which - has anyone heard anything from Shona?

I miss that guy so much. I think maverick or either one of our other right-ponders is in occasional touch with him.

Quote:

I miss that guy so much. I think maverick or either one of our other right-ponders is in occasional touch with him.

fishona?

Quote:

This may NOT be a redundancy; after all, one can be psychically linked in the regular metaphysical way as well as the obscure way.

A woman needs a man and a woman like a fish needs a bipsychical.

Are you saying that the regular metaphysical way isn't obscure?

ask the author! He's available. I trust that he put in obscure because there was a requirement for differentiation between the obscure and the not-obscure (MUST be a word for that!)

Quote:

Quote:

I miss that guy so much. I think maverick or either one of our other right-ponders is in occasional touch with him.

fishona?

Yeah, that's the one! Thanks for the link, Pedro.

First, I said: "Not to worry, Marianna. Perhaps we are psychically linked in some obscure metaphysical way."

Then, Faldo asked, rhetorically: "And how else could you be psychically linked?"

Next, TEd, responded: "This may NOT be a redundancy; after all, one can be psychically linked in the regular metaphysical way as well as the obscure way."

About which, Faldo inquired: "Are you saying that the regular metaphysical way isn't obscure?"

To which, TEd repled: "ask the author! He's available. I trust that he put in obscure because there was a requirement for differentiation between the obscure and the not-obscure (MUST be a word for that!)

And, finally, now that last night's party is over and the furniture put back where it belongs and all the dishes washed and put away, "the author" clarifies: "For one in the metaphysical trade, things metaphysical are neither extraordinary nor obscure. The Church is, after all, in the metaphysical business, as opposed, say, to Ford Motor Company or Dunkin' Donuts. TEd's hypothetication of a 'regular metaphysical way'; is precisely what I sought to distinguish by imagining that Marianna and I are linked in some way that is not common, normal, regular and widely understood within metaphysical circles, hence, obscure."

Pretty serious stuff for the morning after a party, eh?

Hey Faldo:

Quote:

Pretty serious stuff for the morning after a party, eh?

Indeed -- especially after such a party in which the furniture got all out of place!

Quote:

Quote:

Pretty serious stuff for the morning after a party, eh?

Indeed -- especially after such a party in which the furniture got all out of place!

not to read overly much into this, but FS was prolly referring to the metaphysical furniture.

well, couched in those terms....

Quote:

well, couched in those terms....

Well, that's a fine bit of sofastry! Thanks for chairing it with us.

you're welcome. I learned from a stool pigeon in the Ottoman Empire.

Seufz!