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BLACK DOG

PRONUNCIATION: (blak dog)

MEANING: noun: Depression.

ETYMOLOGY: In the beginning, a black dog was a canine of dark complexion. Then it started to be used metaphorically to refer to a counterfeit coin, perhaps because such a coin was made of base metals (instead of silver or gold) that turn black over time. Eventually, the term began to be applied to depression. The lexicographer Samuel Johnson used the term in the 1780s for his own depression: “When I rise my breakfast is solitary, the black dog waits to share it, from breakfast to dinner he continues barking.” In modern times, Winston Churchill popularized the term when he used it to describe his own depression. Earliest documented use: 1665.
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BLANK DOG - catatonia

BRACK DOG - an old salt

BACK DOG - a second Rottweiler, to guard the rear of the house

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Slack Dog- one who does yoga
Block Dog- one who walks around the block once or twice
Brack Dog- one who is stupid, worthless, no good, goddamn, freeloading so of a birch. (With apologies, The Breakfast Club reference.)

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GOBEMOUCHE

PRONUNCIATION: (GOB-moosh)

MEANING: noun: A gullible or credulous person.

ETYMOLOGY: From French gobe-mouche (flycatcher, sucker), from gober (to suck or swallow) + mouche (fly). Earliest documented use: 1818.
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GOBETOUCHÉ - throw your fencing match

GOOBEMOUCHE - peanut butter

GO BEM OUCH - Take that, you Bug-Eyed Monster!

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MOONCALF

PRONUNCIATION: (MOON-kaf)

MEANING: noun:
1. A daydreamer or absent-minded person.
2. A fool or simpleton.
3. A congenitally deformed person.

ETYMOLOGY: From the earlier belief that a misshapen birth was a result of the effects of the moon. Earliest documented use: 1565.
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MUONCALF - a kind of young bovine lepton, specifically with a charge of -1 and a spin of 1/2

MOONHALF - the left butt-cheek (or the right, if you prefer)

MONCALF - the back of my lower jambe

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PORK BARREL

PRONUNCIATION: (PORK bar-uhl)

MEANING: noun: The spending of government funds on projects designed to ingratiate legislators with their constituents.

ETYMOLOGY: In the beginning, a pork barrel was a barrel for storing pork. Over time, it became synonymous with ready supply of money, and eventually with government projects or appropriations designed to please voters. Sometimes, the term is used, simply, as pork, instead of pork barrel. Earliest documented use: 1705.
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PERK BARREL - like a job jar, only in reverse: stick in your hand and pull out a benefit (compare WORK BARREL)

FORK BARREL - eating utensils enough for the whole city

PORK BARBEL - what pigs use for strength-training

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RAILBIRD

PRONUNCIATION: (RAYL-buhrd)

MEANING: noun:
1. A horse-racing enthusiast.
2. A spectator at a contest.
3. An observer who offers uninvited advice or criticism.

ETYMOLOGY: A railbird is someone who watches horse races or training sessions from the railing along the track. Bird is slang for a person with a specific character, a peculiar person. Earliest documented use: 1793.
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GRAILBIRD - one whose life is devoted to the search for the Holy

RAINBIRD - a totem of the Kwakiutl Indians of the Pacific Northwest, who brings water to the forests

RAILBIN RD - a road named for the storage yard it originally led to

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MEGALOMANIA

PRONUNCIATION: (meg-uh-lo-MAY-nee-uh)

MEANING: noun: A mental illness characterized by delusional fantasies of greatness, wealth, power, etc.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek megal- (large, great) + Latin -mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze). Earliest documented use: 1885.
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MEGANOMANIA - to be so agog about the Prince Harry's fiancée that you can't even spell her name

MEGA-LOAM-ANIA - i"m gonna have the best lawn ever when I put down all this great soil

MEDALOMANIA - an irrational drive to attain Eagle Scout

MEGALOMANGIA - a feast for the Emperor of Rome

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Smegalomania- excessive enthusiasm for the ring
Regalomania- excessively entertaining or entertained

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LEPTODERMOUS

PRONUNCIATION: (lep-tuh-DUHR-muhs)

MEANING: adjective: Having a thin skin.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek lepto- (thin) + -dermous (skin). Earliest documented use: 1888. The opposite is pachydermous.
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LEAPTODERMOUS - jumping out of one's own skin

LEPTODERMOUSE - Mickey, you've lost weight!

SLEPT-ODER-MOUS - snoozing small rodent on the river

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'leptodormous- a sleep talker ("Of course, of course; just what I was going to remark myself.")

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