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SESQUIPEDALIANISM

PRONUNCIATION: (ses-kwi-pi-DAYL-yuh-niz-uhm)

MEANING: noun:
1. The practice of using big words.
2. A very long word.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin sesqui- (one and a half) + ped- (foot). Earliest documented use: 1863.
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SESQUIPEDALIAN IS ME - said the 18-inch-tall midget

'S EQUI-PEDALIANISM - it's the doctrine of having all one's feet the same length

SESQUIPETALIANISM - Schroedinger's Daisy, with one-and-a-half petals; it can't makeup it's mind whether she loves me or she loves me not

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MAINPAST

PRONUNCIATION: (MAYN-past)

MEANING: noun:
1. A household.
2. A member of a household.
3. A servant.
4. A dependent.

ETYMOLOGY: From Old French mainpast (household), from Latin manupastus (household or its member), from manus (hand) + pastus, past participle of pascere (to feed). Earliest documented use: 1865.
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MAINE PAST - formerly part of Massachusetts

MAINPASTA - we're having spaghetti for dinner

MATINPAST - yesterday morning

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OPENHANDED

PRONUNCIATION: (oh-puhn-HAN-duhd)

MEANING: adjective:
1. Generous; liberal.
2. Delivered with an open hand, as a blow.

ETYMOLOGY: The figurative meaning alludes to someone giving money or other things away with an open hand. Earliest documented use: 1593. Some opposite terms are clutchfist, ironfisted, and hardfisted.
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OPEN-HANDEL - the first two measures of The Messiah

COPENHANDED - they're very generous in the capital of Denmark

OPEN HAN DID - Yoda describes a poker game on the Millennium Falcon

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LIGHT-FINGERED

PRONUNCIATION: (lyt-FING-uhrd, LYT-fing-)

MEANING: adjective:
1. Prone to or skilled at stealing.
2. Having nimble fingers or having a light touch.

ETYMOLOGY: From light, from Old English leoht + finger, from Old English. Earliest documented use: 1546. A synonym of the first sense is sticky-fingered.
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SIGHT-FINGERED - skilled in Braille

FLIGHT-FINGERED - hands-on piloting

LIGHTING-EARED - "portmanteau puppet" - part Yoda, part E.T.

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THUMBSUCKER

PRONUNCIATION: (THUHM-suhk-uhr)

MEANING: noun:
1. Someone who likes to suck their thumb.
2. A journalistic piece that deals with the background and interpretation of events instead of hard news.

ETYMOLOGY: Why thumbsucker for such a piece of writing? It has been explained as something that a journalist writes after sucking their thumb for a while instead of going out there and covering hard news. Another interpretation is that such a piece provides background and interpretation of an event as a way to comfort the reader. It’s also called news analysis or a think piece. Earliest documented use: 1891.
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THUMBTUCKER - so much thumb-wrestling that your thumb is all tuckered out

THUMB-ZUCKER - what you use to induce German infants to suck on their thumbs

THUMB-SICKER - having a worse infection on ones' pollex

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SOUTHPAW

PRONUNCIATION: (SOUTH-paw)

MEANING: noun: A left-handed person.
adjective: Left-handed.

ETYMOLOGY: Of unknown origin. Earliest documented use: 1813.

NOTES: The term is especially common in baseball to describe a left-handed pitcher and in boxing to describe a boxer who uses the left hand for the most powerful punches, but what’s the origin of the term? According to popular belief, the term originated in baseball: the diamond was placed so the batter faces east and avoids the afternoon sun. A left-handed pitcher facing the batter would thus have the left hand to the south. The only problem with this is that the earliest citation of the term doesn’t involve baseball or any other sports.
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SOUTHPOW - a roundhouse punch delivered by the left hand

MOUTHPAW - hoof-and-mouth disease

COUTHPAW - what a doggie offers you in polite greeting

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STAYCATION

PRONUNCIATION: (STAY-kay-shuhn)

MEANING: noun: A vacation spent at home or close to home.
verb intr.: To vacation at or close to home.

ETYMOLOGY: A blend of stay + vacation, from Latin vacare (to be empty). Earliest documented use: 1944. Also see, busman’s holiday.

NOTES: It’s all relative. In the US, a vacation taken at or close to home -- a day trip -- is a staycation. In the UK, the definition includes any vacation taken within one’s country instead of traveling abroad. _______________________________

STRAYCATION - aimlessly driving the RV

STAGCATION - 2-weeks away from work - for men only

STAY CAT ICON - the Board of Directors of MGM will keep the lion as its symbol

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ORATURE

PRONUNCIATION: (OR-uh-chuhr)

MEANING: noun: Songs, poems, stories, etc., transmitted orally across generations.

ETYMOLOGY: A blend of oral + literature. Earliest documented use: 1976.
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RATURE - the ecstasy of a large rodent in a cheese factory

ORALURE - seeking gold, or Why the Spaniards came to the New World

ORASURE - supremely confident in one's utterances

ORAPTURE - an apostrophe uttered by a very happy person

Last edited by wofahulicodoc; 07/07/22 12:28 AM. Reason: (afterthought added after)
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PENNANT

PRONUNCIATION: (PEN-uhnt)

MEANING: noun:
1. A long tapering flag.
2. A flag symbolizing a sports championship or another achievement.
3. A victory, championship, etc.

ETYMOLOGY: A blend of pendant, from Latin pendre (to hang) + pennon, from Latin penna/pinna (feather). Earliest documented use: 1470.
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PENZANT - home of a Pirate

PENNANG - a city (and a state) in northwest Mallaysa

PENWANT - something you lack when you're in jail

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FLEXITARIAN

PRONUNCIATION: (flek-suh-TAYR-ee-uhn)

MEANING: noun: One who follows a primarily vegetarian diet but occasionally consumes animal products.
adjective: Primarily but not completely vegetarian.

ETYMOLOGY: A blend of flexible + vegetarian. Earliest documented use: 1998.
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ILEXITARIAN - a holly tree is supple, therefore eminently suitable for making into wreaths

FLO, EXITARIAN - Florence specializes in going out

FLEX ITALIAN - the bend in the Tower of Pisa

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