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Two little used and great descriptive words:
phthisis (pronounced alternately: ti’sis, te’sis, thi’sis, and the’sis; from Greek: phth- a wasting) obsolete medical term for consumption, most typically tuberculosis. A wasted (consumed) person is ‘phthisic’
Note: I prefer the ‘thi’ sounding pronunciation for the noun, but the hard ‘t’ for the adjective (my own strangeness). Also, I have seen it spelled with a ‘y’ instead of the ‘i’, but both Dorland’s and Stedman’s medical dictionaries list it with the ‘i’. I have also (old medical journals/articles) seen the adjective spelled ‘phthitic’ and ‘phthytic’.
Another favorite of mine:
wizened (wiz’ end; Old English wisnian – to dry up) to dry up, wither, or shrivel
Thus a very sickly person can be described (I love documenting this in the charts and few people have any idea what I am saying…) as: “phthisic and wizened” – so much more colorful than “wasted and dehydrated”!!
AND:
Same root/meaning as ‘phthisis’ leads to two other lovely words:
phthisiophobic – intense, morbid fear of tuberculosis
phthisiotherapeutic – of or related to the treatment of tuberculosis
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Christopher Robin had wheezles and sneezles
They bundled him into his bed.
They gave him what goes with cold in the nose,
And some more for cold in the head.
They wondered if wheezles could turn into measles,
If sneezles would turn into mumps;
They examined his chest for a rash, and the rest
Of his body for swelling and lumps.
They sent for some doctors in sneezles and wheezles
To tell them what ought to be done.
All sorts and conditions of famous physicians
Came hurrying round at a run.
They all made a note of state of his throat,
They asked if he suffered from thirst;
They asked if the sneezles came after the wheezles,
Or if the first sneezles came first.
They say “If you teasle a sneezle or wheezle,
A measle may easily grow.
But humour or pleazle the wheezle or sneezle,
The measle will certainly go.”
They expounded the reazles for sneezles and wheezles,
The manner of measles when new.
They said, “If he freezles in draughts and in breezles,
Then PHTHEEZLES may even ensue.”
Christopher Robin got up in the morning,
The sneezles had vanished away.
And the look of his eye seemed to say to the sky,
"Now, how to amuse them today?"
-- from Now We Are Six, by A.A. Milne
(music by H. Frasier-Simpson, sung by Frank Luther - optional)
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Wonderful!
I wonder if Alan Alexander pronounced this as 'theezles' or 'teezles'??
Goes to show modern hip-hop (or is it rap?) has nothin' on Milne, fo' shizzle...
Rm
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Joined: Aug 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I wonder if Alan Alexander pronounced this as 'theezles' or 'teezles'?
Well, Frank Luther sang it as "theezles," and since Milne has alreay used up the "tea" sound in warning us not to teasle a sneezle or wheezle I suspect he meant it to be a real th, not a Germanic one...anyone around from Britian who might know the range of pronunciation? (Darn, where's that Henry Higgins when you need him?)
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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doncher mean 'Enry 'Iggins?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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And I thought it was Enery Iggins.
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"I'm 'er eyeth ol' man nymed 'Enery. 'Enery the eyeth I am!"
Hermans Hermits 1965, ne 1910 by Fred Murry and RP Weston (wickipedia).
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While were on like this - how's a bloke to 'write' a glottal stop? Glot'al?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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This thread has become wizened.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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That's why we have our own Rainmaker.
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