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#17925 02/01/01 05:18 PM
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tsuwm has outdone himself today.... what a magnificent word!!

of course, M-W couldn't make heads or tails of it (they inexplicably wanted it to be "echocardiographic"), so i googled it and came up with the most amazing word list (so amazing, in fact, that i wasted my entire morning on it and have precious little time left to AWADize before i must be on my merry way to the mall). it's a aptly self-described "list o' nifty words", complete with definitions.

here's the link, but make sure you have some time on your hands (unless, of course, you are tsuwm, in which case it'll read like a primer):

http://stommel.tamu.edu/~baum/skb_dict.html

bridget=)

Ipsa scientia potestas est ~Bacon

#17926 02/01/01 05:27 PM
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ol' skb (steve baum) and I are on intimate terms (as these things go). his list is absurd.

actually®, one of his major sources is _Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Obscure, Unusual and Preposterous
Words_ of which I have an actual hard copy.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0806504986/qid=981052278/sr=1-1/ref=sc_b_1/107-8715971-6468564

p.s. - one of steve's current projects is to find *on-line citations for all of the words in his list. good luck to him on that!!


#17927 02/01/01 08:25 PM
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What a great list! I love "a verbis ad verbera" (from words to blows).

"Abscotchalater" is equally cool. It sounds like it could describe one who has absconded with a bottle of scotch, but in fact means "one in hiding from the police." It is also a funny sounding word, perhaps because of the several hard consonants. It's like something that might come out of the mouth of one of those hard-nosed but very well-spoken British criminals in a Guy Ritchie film.

Thanks for the link; I've bookmarked it for further enjoyment.


#17928 02/01/01 09:40 PM
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Reminds me of a word one might use to describe our new administration in Washington: kakistocracy - government by the worst people. [deeply sorry to have possibly started another political debate but had to say it emoticon]


#17929 02/01/01 10:04 PM
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Is she a friend of yours, AnnaStrophic? When will we see the first posting by Agatha Kakological, I wonder?


#17930 02/01/01 10:45 PM
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BTW, just in case there's anyone here with whom i've interacted that still remains unconvinced that i'm a hopeless nerd, this outta do it:

I've printed out that entire word list and plan to commit them all to memory whilst i bask in the Jamaican sun next week.

[dorky smile emoticon]

bridget=)

Ipsa scientia potestas est ~Bacon

#17931 02/02/01 03:22 AM
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an interesting aside to the eponymous Mrs. Byrne -- her full name is Josefa Heifetz Byrne, the daughter of violinist Jascha Heifetz. according to her book's dustjacket blurb, she "allowed her hobby of collecting odd words to sidetrack her career as a concert pianist and composer." imagine that....


#17932 02/02/01 12:03 PM
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Tsuwm--your redoubtable Mrs. Byrne is Heifitz' daughter?? Ohmygosh, no wonder it's so good! Can I get her dictionary at the bookstore?


#17933 02/02/01 02:13 PM
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>she "allowed her hobby of collecting odd words to sidetrack her career ..."

Yes, I see what you mean. It sounds spookily familiar ...





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