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VORPAL

PRONUNCIATION: (VUHR-puhl)

MEANING: adjective:
1. Sharp.
2. Deadly.

ETYMOLOGY: Coined by Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) in his novel Through the Looking-Glass. Earliest documented use: 1871.

NOTES: The word appears in the poem “Jabberwocky” in the novel Through the Looking-Glass.:
He took his vorpal sword in hand,
...
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

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CORPAL - friend of my heart

V'ORÉAL - one-tenth of a French personal care and cosmetics company

V. OPAL - the fifth kind of jewel, after diamond, ruby, emerald, and sapphire

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CONSILIENCE

PRONUNCIATION: (kuhn-SIL-ee-yuhns)

MEANING: noun: The linking or agreement of different disciplines when forming a theory or coming to a conclusion.

ETYMOLOGY: Coined by the philosopher William Whewell (1794-1866). From Latin con- (with) + salire (to leap). Earliest documented use: 1840. He also coined the words scientist and physicist.
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CONSALIENCE - the relevance of the opposition

CONSOLIENCE - sympathy, understanding, reassurance, and encouragement

PONSILIENCE - the resonance and power of the soprano

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PSYCHOBABBLE

PRONUNCIATION: (SY-ko-bab-uhl)

MEANING: noun: Language laden with jargon from psychotherapy or psychiatry, used without concern for accuracy.

ETYMOLOGY: Coined by journalist Richard Dean Rosen (b. 1949). From Greek psycho- (mind) + babble (drivel, blather). Earliest documented use: 1975.
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PSYCHOBUBBLE - Ward 8 is COVID-free...and completely isolated from other people

PSYCHRO-BABBLE - to natter on, with but colorful language

PSYCHOBAB BLEU - a kind of cheese made in Southern Africa and in Madagascar, with a broad trunk and many edible parts, it can last for centuries

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RHEOLOGY

PRONUNCIATION: (ree-OL-uh-jee)

MEANING: noun: The study of the deformation and flow of matter.

ETYMOLOGY: Coined by Eugene C. Bingham (1878-1945), professor of chemistry, inspired by an aphorism of the philosopher Simplicius of Cilicia: “Panta rhei” (Everything flows). From Greek rheo- (flow) + -logy (study). Earliest documented use: 1929.
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GHEOLOGY - the study of clarified butter

RHETOLOGY - the study of the effect of the wind on the US Civl War

SHEOLOGY - the Feminine Mystique, explained

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LOCAVORE

PRONUNCIATION: (LOH-kuh-vohr)

MEANING: noun: One who eats locally grown food.

ETYMOLOGY: Coined by Jessica Prentice (b. 1968), chef and author. From local, from Latin locus (place) + -vore (eating), from vorare (to devour). Earliest documented use: 2005.
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VOCAVORE - someone who's always eating his words

LOCOVORE - one who eats only crazy foods

LOCAMORE - a trysting place

LO CAVORT - see: children at play

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HANDMAIDEN

PRONUNCIATION: (HAND-may-duhn)

MEANING: noun:
1. Someone or something that is subservient to another.
2. A personal maid.

ETYMOLOGY: From hand + maiden, referring to a young woman who was ready at hand to serve her lady. Earliest documented use: 1350.
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BANDMAIDEN - Drum Majorette

HANS' MAIDEN - the young man with the Silver Skates has a girl friend

HAND MAXI DEN - absolutely the best place to get a manicure

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SNOUTFAIR

PRONUNCIATION: (SNOUT-fair)

MEANING: noun: A good-looking person.
adjective: Good-looking.

ETYMOLOGY: From snout (nose, mouth, and jaw) + fair (attractive). Earliest documented use: 1530.
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SNOUTFAIL - can't seem to locate those truffles anywhere

'SNOT FAIR - says the frustrated toddler

SNOUT FAR - the measure of Pinocchio's untruthiness

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STICKY-FINGERED

PRONUNCIATION: (STIK-ee fing-guhrd)

MEANING: adjective: Given to stealing.

ETYMOLOGY: From stick (to fasten or attach), from Old English stician (to pierce) + finger, from Old English. Earliest documented use: 1855.

NOTES: Lime is another word for something sticky or slimy. Birdlime is used to catch birds. From lime we got the term lime-fingered, alluding to someone whose fingers easily adhere to stuff belonging to others, in other words, someone prone to stealing. Eventually the terms sticky-handed and sticky-fingered entered the language. Sometimes the metaphors and reality collide, as in these headlines:
Quebec Police Seek Sticky-Fingered Thieves with $30m of Maple Syrup (The Guardian)
Sticky-Fingered Thieves Made Off with $200 in Honey (The Huntsville Times)
Let’s hope someone fingered the thieves.
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STOCKY-FINGERED - having short, fat fingers

STICK-FINGERED - drawn by a four-year-old

STICK-FINE RED - take a good Cabernet and beat it with a stake until it froths.

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GOBSMACKED

PRONUNCIATION: (GOB-smakt)

MEANING: adjective: Utterly surprised; flabbergasted.

ETYMOLOGY: From gob (mouth), probably from Irish and/or Scottish Gaelic gob (beak, mouth) + smack (to strike with the palm), probably imitative. Earliest documented use: 1935.
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GOBS-MOCKED - derided by thousands

GODSMACKED - struck by a bolt of lightning

G-E-B SMACKED - absolutely blown away by Douglas Hofstadter's tour-de-force book

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HARDFISTED

PRONUNCIATION: (HARD-fis-tid)

MEANING: adjective:
1. Stingy.
2. Tough, aggressive, or ruthless.
3. Having hands made rough by labor: hardhanded.
ETYMOLOGY:
From hard + fisted, from Old English fyst (fist). Earliest documented use: 1612.
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HARD-MISTED - so cold the pea-soup fog is frozen

HARD-FIRSTED - stuck with a task that gets easier with practice

HARD-FISHED - to much of the cod has been caught

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