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La damnee elle la licorne
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A Gallimaufry For The Lackadaisical Logophile
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Emerson40
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This thread omumbrates most others..
Sweet, sweet Elle.
I had s pm about this once. Maybe if he had used such words I might have obliged
Weird.
Even a cursory google search would have informed him that unicorns are herbivores, and occasionally enjoy jelly beans and cookies adorned with rainbow sprinkles.
Wrong Element
Sentient Onion
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Data is plural!
That's all I got right now.
That's all I got right now.
Emerson40
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SCIAPODOUS
[adjective]
having very large feet
PODALIC
[adjective]
pertaining to the feet.
DISCALCEATE
[verb]
to pull off shoes or sandals from; to bare one’s foot or feet.
[adjective]
without shoes; unshod; barefoot.
PODOPHILIA
[noun]
also known as foot fetishism, foot partialism, or foot worship; a pronounced sexual interest in feet. It is the most common form of sexual fetishism for otherwise non-sexual objects or body parts.
Emerson40
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GRAVID
[adjective]
1- pregnant; carrying eggs or young.
2- full of meaning or a specified quality.
ENCEINTE
[adjective]
1- pregnant; with child.
[noun]
2- a wall or enclosure, as of a fortified place.
3- the place enclosed.
ACCOUCHEMENT
[noun]
1- the restrictive nature of pregnancy/childbirth.
2- the confinement of childbirth; lying-in.
CYESIS
[noun]
the technical name for pregnancy - the condition of carrying developing offspring within the body.
SCIAPODOUS
[adjective]
having very large feet
I was sittin' at a table for two
There was four of us, there was me, your great big feet, and you
Oh, from the ankles up I'd say you sure are sweet
But there on down there's just too much feet
Oh, your feets' too big
Can't use you 'cause your feets' too big
You got me talkin', walkin' and skwalkin'
'Cause your feets' too big!
Emerson40
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Emerson40
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REBUS
[noun]
1- a representation of words in the form of pictures or symbols, often presented as a puzzle, for example, apex might be represented by a picture of an ape followed by a letter X.
2- Heraldry: a heraldic emblem or device that is a pictorial representation of or pun on the name of the bearer, for example, salmon fish may be used to represent the surname 'Salmon'.
NONPLUSSED
[verb]
1- to render utterly perplexed; puzzle completely.
[noun]
2- a state of utter perplexity.
DELITESCENT
[adjective]
concealed; hidden; not easily found; latent.
QUANDARY
[noun]
1- perplexity or uncertainty over what to do in a difficult situation.
2- a difficult situation; a practical dilemma; predicament.
3- a riddle; puzzle; an enigmatic problem.
RubiDia
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SYNONYMOUS
[adjective]
(of a word or phrase) having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or phrase in the same language.
KILOWATT
[noun]
a measure of 1,000 watts of electrical power.
[adjective]
(of a word or phrase) having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or phrase in the same language.
KILOWATT
[noun]
a measure of 1,000 watts of electrical power.
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Emerson40
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Everyone's Irish on March 17th
Brilliant Irish Words
ADHARCÁILÍ (“ay-er-KOH-li”)
The Irish verb adharcáil means “to gore”, the derivative adharcáilí is used to refer to an animal in heat—or, figuratively, to a lustful young man.
ADUANTAS (“ah-dWON-tes”)
The feeling of unease or anxiety caused by being somewhere new, or by being surrounded by people you don’t know.
AIMLIÚ (“AM-lyu”)
Aimliú is the spoiling or ruining of something by exposure to bad weather.
AIRNEÁNACH (“ARR-nen-ech”)
An airneánach is someone who takes part in just such an evening, but the word can also be used more loosely to refer to someone who likes working or staying up late into the night.
AITEALL (“AT-ell”)
The perfect word for the spring—an aiteall is a fine spell of weather between two showers of rain.
AMAINIRIS (“ARM-an-erish”)
The second day after tomorrow.
ASCLÁN (“ash-KLAWN”)
As well as being the Irish word for the gusset of a pair of trousers, an asclán is the amount of something that can be carried under one arm.
BACHRAM (“BOCH-rum”)
Bachram is boisterous, rambunctious behaviour, but it can also be used figuratively for a sudden or violent downpour of rain.
BACACH (“BAH-cakh”)
Means “lame” or “limping” — but it can also be used as a noun to describe a misery or beggarly person, or, idiomatically, someone who outstays their welcome or who drags their heels.
BÉALÁISTE (“bay-al-ASH-tuh”)
A drink or toast used to seal a deal.
BEOCHAOINEADH (“bay-oh-keen-yu”)
An “elegy for the living”—in other words, a sad lament for someone who has gone away, but who has not died.
BOGÁN (“BOH-gawn”)
A bogán is an egg without a shell, by extension, a spineless person.
BREACAIMSIR (“BRAH-cam-SHUR”)
Describes the weather when it is neither particularly good nor particularly bad.
BUNBHRÍSTE (“bunya-VREESH-ta”)
Those jeans you’ve got that are nearly worn through but are still wearable? They’re a bunbhríste—namely, a pair of worn but still usable trousers.
CLAGARNACH (“CLOY-ger-nach”)
Literally meaning “clattering”, clagarnach is the sound of heavy rain on a rooftop.
CODRAISC (“COD-reeshk”)
As well as referring to a riff-raff or rabble of people, a codraisc is a random collection of worthless or useless objects.
DÉLÁMHACH (“TEE-lay-wah”)
Délámhach or dólámhach literally means “two-handed” in Irish, but it can be used idiomatically to mean “working all-out,” or “giving your best.”
DROCHDHEOIR (“DROCK-ywee”)
Literally a “bad drop”—is a negative or unflattering character trait that a child inherits from his or her parents.
FOISEACH (“FAR-sha”)
Grass that can’t easily be reached to be cut, so is often used of the longer grass around the edge of a field or lawn, or to the overgrown grass on a hillside or verge.
IOMBHÁ (“OM-wah”)
Either a sinking boat half submerged in the water, or any place where there is a danger of drowning.
LADHAR (“LAY-yer”)
The gap between your fingers or your toes is your ladhar. A ladhar bóthair is a fork in the road.
MAOLÓG (“MAY-loag”)
When you fill something up to the brim but then keep on adding more, the same word is also used for someone who sticks out from a crowd, or for a small knoll or hill in an otherwise flat expanse of land.
PLOBAIREACHT (“PLOH-ber-acht”)
When you’re crying and trying to speak at the same time but can’t make yourself clear, that’s plobaireacht.
POCLÉIMNIGH (“POH-claim-nee”)
“Frolicking” or “gambolling.” It literally means “buck-jumping,” and is a one-word name for an energetic, excitable leap into the air, or a jump for joy.
RAGAIRE (“RA-gerra”)
Ragaireacht means late-night wandering, or for sitting up talking long into the early hours. And a ragaire is someone who enjoys precisely that.
SABHSAÍ (“SAWH-see”)
Someone who works outside no matter how bad the weather.
STRÍOCÁLAÍ (“SHTREE-care-LEE”)
Literally means “scratcher” or “scraper” in Irish, but can be used figuratively to describe someone who works hard but is not particularly well-skilled.
SOURCE
Brilliant Irish Words
ADHARCÁILÍ (“ay-er-KOH-li”)
The Irish verb adharcáil means “to gore”, the derivative adharcáilí is used to refer to an animal in heat—or, figuratively, to a lustful young man.
ADUANTAS (“ah-dWON-tes”)
The feeling of unease or anxiety caused by being somewhere new, or by being surrounded by people you don’t know.
AIMLIÚ (“AM-lyu”)
Aimliú is the spoiling or ruining of something by exposure to bad weather.
AIRNEÁNACH (“ARR-nen-ech”)
An airneánach is someone who takes part in just such an evening, but the word can also be used more loosely to refer to someone who likes working or staying up late into the night.
AITEALL (“AT-ell”)
The perfect word for the spring—an aiteall is a fine spell of weather between two showers of rain.
AMAINIRIS (“ARM-an-erish”)
The second day after tomorrow.
ASCLÁN (“ash-KLAWN”)
As well as being the Irish word for the gusset of a pair of trousers, an asclán is the amount of something that can be carried under one arm.
BACHRAM (“BOCH-rum”)
Bachram is boisterous, rambunctious behaviour, but it can also be used figuratively for a sudden or violent downpour of rain.
BACACH (“BAH-cakh”)
Means “lame” or “limping” — but it can also be used as a noun to describe a misery or beggarly person, or, idiomatically, someone who outstays their welcome or who drags their heels.
BÉALÁISTE (“bay-al-ASH-tuh”)
A drink or toast used to seal a deal.
BEOCHAOINEADH (“bay-oh-keen-yu”)
An “elegy for the living”—in other words, a sad lament for someone who has gone away, but who has not died.
BOGÁN (“BOH-gawn”)
A bogán is an egg without a shell, by extension, a spineless person.
BREACAIMSIR (“BRAH-cam-SHUR”)
Describes the weather when it is neither particularly good nor particularly bad.
BUNBHRÍSTE (“bunya-VREESH-ta”)
Those jeans you’ve got that are nearly worn through but are still wearable? They’re a bunbhríste—namely, a pair of worn but still usable trousers.
CLAGARNACH (“CLOY-ger-nach”)
Literally meaning “clattering”, clagarnach is the sound of heavy rain on a rooftop.
CODRAISC (“COD-reeshk”)
As well as referring to a riff-raff or rabble of people, a codraisc is a random collection of worthless or useless objects.
DÉLÁMHACH (“TEE-lay-wah”)
Délámhach or dólámhach literally means “two-handed” in Irish, but it can be used idiomatically to mean “working all-out,” or “giving your best.”
DROCHDHEOIR (“DROCK-ywee”)
Literally a “bad drop”—is a negative or unflattering character trait that a child inherits from his or her parents.
FOISEACH (“FAR-sha”)
Grass that can’t easily be reached to be cut, so is often used of the longer grass around the edge of a field or lawn, or to the overgrown grass on a hillside or verge.
IOMBHÁ (“OM-wah”)
Either a sinking boat half submerged in the water, or any place where there is a danger of drowning.
LADHAR (“LAY-yer”)
The gap between your fingers or your toes is your ladhar. A ladhar bóthair is a fork in the road.
MAOLÓG (“MAY-loag”)
When you fill something up to the brim but then keep on adding more, the same word is also used for someone who sticks out from a crowd, or for a small knoll or hill in an otherwise flat expanse of land.
PLOBAIREACHT (“PLOH-ber-acht”)
When you’re crying and trying to speak at the same time but can’t make yourself clear, that’s plobaireacht.
POCLÉIMNIGH (“POH-claim-nee”)
“Frolicking” or “gambolling.” It literally means “buck-jumping,” and is a one-word name for an energetic, excitable leap into the air, or a jump for joy.
RAGAIRE (“RA-gerra”)
Ragaireacht means late-night wandering, or for sitting up talking long into the early hours. And a ragaire is someone who enjoys precisely that.
SABHSAÍ (“SAWH-see”)
Someone who works outside no matter how bad the weather.
STRÍOCÁLAÍ (“SHTREE-care-LEE”)
Literally means “scratcher” or “scraper” in Irish, but can be used figuratively to describe someone who works hard but is not particularly well-skilled.
SOURCE
Emerson40
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LUGUBRIOUS
[adjective]
mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner.
MOIROLOGIST
[noun]
a hired mourner.
THRENETIC
[adjective]
pertaining to a threne; sorrowful; mournful; lamentation.
DOLENTE
[adverb]
1- Music: borrowed from Italian dolente, present participle of dolere (“to hurt, regret”). A direction in musical notation indicating that the piece should be played sorrowfully, as if the player were mourning.
[adjective]
2-feminine form of dolent - painful; causing suffering and pain; sore; painful; sorrowful; doleful.
[verb]
3-present participle of dolere -to ache; lament; grieve; suffer.
Emerson40
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SELENOTROPIC
[noun & adjective]
growth in response to moonlight; stimulated by moonlight.
AGATHOKAKOLOGICAL
[adjective]
composed of both good and evil.
MISAUNTER
[noun]
misadventure or mishap.
ARBORICOLOUS
[adjective]
that which grows on, or lives in trees.
Emerson40
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TRADUCER
[noun]
one who maligns another by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
CALUMNIATE
[transitive verb]
to make or utter maliciousand false statements, charges, or imputations about; slander
IGNOMINY
[noun]
1- disgrace; dishonour; public contempt.
2- shameful or dishonourable quality or conduct or an instance of this.
OPPROBRIUM
[noun]
1- the disgrace or the reproach incurred by conduct considered outrageously shameful; infamy.
2- a cause or object of such disgrace or reproach.
RubiDia
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temerity (tuh-mer-i-tee) [noun] excessive confidence or boldness; audacity
https://wordsinasentence.com/temerity-in-a-sentence/
https://wordsinasentence.com/temerity-in-a-sentence/
From The Devil's Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce:
ACEPHALOUS, adj. In the surprising condition of the Crusader who absently pulled at his forelock some hours after a Saracen scimitar had, unconsciously to him, passed through his neck, as related by de Joinville.
ÆSTHETICS, n. The most unpleasant ticks afflicting the race. Worse than woodticks.
AMBIDEXTROUS, adj. Able to pick with equal skill a right-hand pocket or a left.
BELLADONNA, n. In Italian a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison. A striking example of the essential identity of the two tongues.
CIRCUMLOCUTION, n. A literary trick whereby the writer who has nothing to say breaks it gently to the reader.
CLUB, n. An association of men for purposes of drunkenness, gluttony, unholy hilarity, murder, sacrilege and the slandering of mothers, wives and sisters.
For this definition I am indebted to several estimable ladies who have the best means of information, their husbands being members of several clubs.
CONGREGATION, n. The subjects of an experiment in hypnotism.
DEIST, n. One who believes in God, but reserves the right to worship the Devil.
DEMAGOGUE, n. A political opponent.
DICTIONARY, n. A malevolent literary device for cramping the growth of a language and making it hard and inelastic. This dictionary, however, is a most useful work.
EPAULET, n. An ornamented badge, serving to distinguish a military officer from the enemy — that is to say, from the officer of lower rank to whom his death would give promotion.
FAITH, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.
FILIAL, n. In such a manner as to placate the parental purse.
FLINT, n. A substance much in use as a material for hearts. Its composition is silica, 98.00; oxide of iron, 0.25; alumina, 0.25; water, 1.50. When an editor's heart is made, the water is commonly left out; in a lawyer's more water is added — and frozen.
FORBIDDEN, pp. Invested with a new and irresistible charm.
FREEMASONS, n. An order with secret rites, grotesque ceremonies and fantastic costumes, which, originating in the reign of Charles II, among working artisans of London, has been joined successively by the dead of past centuries in unbroken retrogression until now it embraces all the generations of man on the hither side of Adam and is drumming up distinguished recruits among the pre-Creational inhabitants of Chaos and the Formless Void. The order was founded at different times by Charlemagne, Julius Cæsar, Cyrus, Solomon, Zoroaster, Confucius, Thothmes and Buddha. Its emblems and symbols have been found in the Catacombs of Paris and Rome, on the stones of the Parthenon and the Chinese Great Wall, among the temples of Karnak and Palmyra and in the Egyptian Pyramids — always by a Freemason.
HASH, x. There is no definition for this word — nobody knows what hash is.
HEBREW, n. A male Jew, as distinguished from the Shebrew, an altogether superior creation.
HELL, n. The residence of the late Dr. Noah Webster, dictionary-maker.
HIPPOGRIFF, n. An animal (now extinct) which was half horse and half griffin. The griffin was itself a compound creature, half lion and half eagle. The hippogriff was actually, therefore, only one-quarter eagle, which is two dollars and fifty cents in gold. The study of zoölogy is full of surprises.
HUG, v. very a. To —— to —— What the devil does it mean, anyhow?
IMBECILITY, n. A kind of divine inspiration, or sacred fire, affecting censorious critics of this dictionary.
IMPIETY, n. Your irreverence toward my deity.
IMPUNITY, n. Wealth.
INAPPROPRIATENESS, n. Holding divine service during a dog-fight in a church.
INFIDEL, n. In New York, one who does not believe in the Christian religion; in Constantinople, one who does. (See GIAOUR.) A kind of scoundrel imperfectly reverent of, and niggardly contributory to, divines, ecclesiastics, popes, parsons, canons, monks, mollahs, voodoos, presbyters, hierophants, prelates, obeah-men, abbés, nuns, missionaries, exhorters, deacons, friars, hadjis, high-priests, muezzins, brahmins, medicine-men, confessors, eminences, elders, primates, prebendaries, pilgrims, prophets, imaums, beneficiaries, clerks, vicars-choral, archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, preachers, padres, abbotesses, caloyers, palmers, curates, patriarchs, bonzes, santons, beadsmen, canonesses, residentiaries, diocesans, deans, subdeans, rural deans, abdals, charm-sellers, archdeacons, hierarchs, class-leaders, incumbents, capitulars, sheiks, talapoins, postulants, scribes, gooroos, precentors, beadles, fakeers, sextons, reverences, revivalists, cœnobites, perpetual curates, chaplains, mudjoes, readers, novices, vicars, pastors, rabbis, ulemas, lamas, sacristans, vergers, dervises, lectors, church wardens, cardinals, prioresses, suffragans, acolytes, rectors, curés, sophis, muftis and pumpums.
INHUMANITY, n. One of the signal and characteristic qualities of humanity.
KLEPTOMANIAC, n. A rich thief.
LITIGATION, n. A machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage.
MAGIC, n. An art of converting superstition into coin. There are other arts serving the same high purpose, but the discreet lexicographer does not name them.
MARRIAGE, n. The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress and two slaves, making in all, two.
MAUSOLEUM, n. The final and funniest folly of the rich.
MAYONNAISE, n. One of the sauces which serve the French in place of a state religion.
MESMERISM, n. Hypnotism before it wore good clothes, kept a carriage and asked Incredulity to dinner.
MOLECULE, n. The ultimate, indivisible unit of matter. It is distinguished from the corpuscle, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of matter, by a closer resemblance to the atom, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of matter. Three great scientific theories of the structure of the universe are the molecular, the corpuscular and the atomic. A fourth affirms, with Haeckel, the condensation or precipitation of matter from ether — whose existence is proved by the condensation or precipitation. The present trend of scientific thought is toward the theory of ions. The ion differs from the molecule, the corpuscle and the atom in that it is an ion. A fifth theory is held by idiots, but it is doubtful if they know any more about the matter than the others.
MONAD, n. The ultimate, indivisible unit of matter. (See MOLECULE.) According to Leibnitz, as nearly as he seems willing to be understood, the monad has body without bulk, and mind without manifestation — Leibnitz knows him by the innate power of considering. He has founded upon him a theory of the universe, which the creature bears without resentment, for the monad is a gentleman. Small as he is, the monad contains all the powers and possibilities needful to his evolution into a German philosopher of the first class — altogether a very capable little fellow. He is not to be confounded with the microbe, or bacillus; by its inability to discern him, a good microscope shows him to be of an entirely distinct species.
MONEY, n. A blessing that is of no advantage to us excepting when we part with it. An evidence of culture and a passport to polite society. Supportable property.
NIHILIST, n. A Russian who denies the existence of anything but Tolstoi. The leader of the school is Tolstoi.
PATRIOTISM, n. Combustible rubbish ready to the torch of any one ambitious to illuminate his name.
In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer I beg to submit that it is the first.
PEDESTRIAN, n. The variable (and audible) part of the roadway for an automobile.
PIRACY, n. Commerce without its folly-swaddles, just as God made it.
PLATONIC, adj. Pertaining to the philosophy of Socrates. Platonic love is a fool's name for the affection between a disability and a frost.
PRAY, v. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.
RABBLE, n. In a republic, those who exercise a supreme authority tempered by fraudulent elections. The rabble is like the sacred Simurgh, of Arabian fable — omnipotent on condition that it do nothing. (The word is Aristocratese, and has no exact equivalent in our tongue, but means, as nearly as may be, "soaring swine.")
REASON, v.i. To weigh probabilities in the scales of desire.
RED-SKIN, n. A North American Indian, whose skin is not red — at least not on the outside.
SATAN, n. One of the Creator's lamentable mistakes, repented in sashcloth and axes. Being instated as an archangel, Satan made himself multifariously objectionable and was finally expelled from Heaven. Half-way in his descent he paused, bent his head in thought a moment and at last went back. "There is one favor that I should like to ask," said he.
"Name it."
"Man, I understand, is about to be created. He will need laws."
"What, wretch! you his appointed adversary, charged from the dawn of eternity with hatred of his soul — you ask for the right to make his laws?"
"Pardon; what I have to ask is that he be permitted to make them himself."
It was so ordered.
TRINITY, n. In the multiplex theism of certain Christian churches, three entirely distinct deities consistent with only one. Subordinate deities of the polytheistic faith, such as devils and angels, are not dowered with the power of combination, and must urge individually their claims to adoration and propitiation. The Trinity is one of the most sublime mysteries of our holy religion. In rejecting it because it is incomprehensible, Unitarians betray their inadequate sense of theological fundamentals. In religion we believe only what we do not understand, except in the instance of an intelligible doctrine that contradicts an incomprehensible one. In that case we believe the former as a part of the latter.
ULTIMATUM, n. In diplomacy, a last demand before resorting to concessions.
Having received an ultimatum from Austria, the Turkish Ministry met to consider it.
"O servant of the Prophet," said the Sheik of the Imperial Chibouk to the Mamoosh of the Invincible Army, "how many unconquerable soldiers have we in arms?"
"Upholder of the Faith," that dignitary replied after examining his memoranda, "they are in numbers as the leaves of the forest!"
"And how many impenetrable battleships strike terror to the hearts of all Christian swine?" he asked the Imaum of the Ever Victorious Navy.
"Uncle of the Full Moon," was the reply, "deign to know that they are as the waves of the ocean, the sands of the desert and the stars of Heaven!"
For eight hours the broad brow of the Sheik of the Imperial Chibouk was corrugated with evidences of deep thought: he was calculating the chances of war. Then, "Sons of angels," he said, "the die is cast! I shall suggest to the Ulema of the Imperial Ear that he advise inaction. In the name of Allah, the council is adjourned."
UXORIOUSNESS, n. A perverted affection that has strayed to one's own wife.
VIRTUES, n.pl. Certain abstentions.
WITCH, n. [1.] An ugly and repulsive old woman, in a wicked league with the devil. [2.] A beautiful and attractive young woman, in wickedness a league beyond the devil.
WORSHIP, n. Homo Creator's testimony to the sound construction and fine finish of Deus Creatus. A popular form of abjection, having an element of pride.
YANKEE, n. In Europe, an American. In the Northern States of our Union, a New Englander. In the Southern States the word is unknown. (See DAMNYANK.)
ACEPHALOUS, adj. In the surprising condition of the Crusader who absently pulled at his forelock some hours after a Saracen scimitar had, unconsciously to him, passed through his neck, as related by de Joinville.
ÆSTHETICS, n. The most unpleasant ticks afflicting the race. Worse than woodticks.
AMBIDEXTROUS, adj. Able to pick with equal skill a right-hand pocket or a left.
BELLADONNA, n. In Italian a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison. A striking example of the essential identity of the two tongues.
CIRCUMLOCUTION, n. A literary trick whereby the writer who has nothing to say breaks it gently to the reader.
CLUB, n. An association of men for purposes of drunkenness, gluttony, unholy hilarity, murder, sacrilege and the slandering of mothers, wives and sisters.
For this definition I am indebted to several estimable ladies who have the best means of information, their husbands being members of several clubs.
CONGREGATION, n. The subjects of an experiment in hypnotism.
DEIST, n. One who believes in God, but reserves the right to worship the Devil.
DEMAGOGUE, n. A political opponent.
DICTIONARY, n. A malevolent literary device for cramping the growth of a language and making it hard and inelastic. This dictionary, however, is a most useful work.
EPAULET, n. An ornamented badge, serving to distinguish a military officer from the enemy — that is to say, from the officer of lower rank to whom his death would give promotion.
FAITH, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.
FILIAL, n. In such a manner as to placate the parental purse.
FLINT, n. A substance much in use as a material for hearts. Its composition is silica, 98.00; oxide of iron, 0.25; alumina, 0.25; water, 1.50. When an editor's heart is made, the water is commonly left out; in a lawyer's more water is added — and frozen.
FORBIDDEN, pp. Invested with a new and irresistible charm.
FREEMASONS, n. An order with secret rites, grotesque ceremonies and fantastic costumes, which, originating in the reign of Charles II, among working artisans of London, has been joined successively by the dead of past centuries in unbroken retrogression until now it embraces all the generations of man on the hither side of Adam and is drumming up distinguished recruits among the pre-Creational inhabitants of Chaos and the Formless Void. The order was founded at different times by Charlemagne, Julius Cæsar, Cyrus, Solomon, Zoroaster, Confucius, Thothmes and Buddha. Its emblems and symbols have been found in the Catacombs of Paris and Rome, on the stones of the Parthenon and the Chinese Great Wall, among the temples of Karnak and Palmyra and in the Egyptian Pyramids — always by a Freemason.
HASH, x. There is no definition for this word — nobody knows what hash is.
HEBREW, n. A male Jew, as distinguished from the Shebrew, an altogether superior creation.
HELL, n. The residence of the late Dr. Noah Webster, dictionary-maker.
HIPPOGRIFF, n. An animal (now extinct) which was half horse and half griffin. The griffin was itself a compound creature, half lion and half eagle. The hippogriff was actually, therefore, only one-quarter eagle, which is two dollars and fifty cents in gold. The study of zoölogy is full of surprises.
HUG, v. very a. To —— to —— What the devil does it mean, anyhow?
IMBECILITY, n. A kind of divine inspiration, or sacred fire, affecting censorious critics of this dictionary.
IMPIETY, n. Your irreverence toward my deity.
IMPUNITY, n. Wealth.
INAPPROPRIATENESS, n. Holding divine service during a dog-fight in a church.
INFIDEL, n. In New York, one who does not believe in the Christian religion; in Constantinople, one who does. (See GIAOUR.) A kind of scoundrel imperfectly reverent of, and niggardly contributory to, divines, ecclesiastics, popes, parsons, canons, monks, mollahs, voodoos, presbyters, hierophants, prelates, obeah-men, abbés, nuns, missionaries, exhorters, deacons, friars, hadjis, high-priests, muezzins, brahmins, medicine-men, confessors, eminences, elders, primates, prebendaries, pilgrims, prophets, imaums, beneficiaries, clerks, vicars-choral, archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, preachers, padres, abbotesses, caloyers, palmers, curates, patriarchs, bonzes, santons, beadsmen, canonesses, residentiaries, diocesans, deans, subdeans, rural deans, abdals, charm-sellers, archdeacons, hierarchs, class-leaders, incumbents, capitulars, sheiks, talapoins, postulants, scribes, gooroos, precentors, beadles, fakeers, sextons, reverences, revivalists, cœnobites, perpetual curates, chaplains, mudjoes, readers, novices, vicars, pastors, rabbis, ulemas, lamas, sacristans, vergers, dervises, lectors, church wardens, cardinals, prioresses, suffragans, acolytes, rectors, curés, sophis, muftis and pumpums.
INHUMANITY, n. One of the signal and characteristic qualities of humanity.
KLEPTOMANIAC, n. A rich thief.
LITIGATION, n. A machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage.
MAGIC, n. An art of converting superstition into coin. There are other arts serving the same high purpose, but the discreet lexicographer does not name them.
MARRIAGE, n. The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress and two slaves, making in all, two.
MAUSOLEUM, n. The final and funniest folly of the rich.
MAYONNAISE, n. One of the sauces which serve the French in place of a state religion.
MESMERISM, n. Hypnotism before it wore good clothes, kept a carriage and asked Incredulity to dinner.
MOLECULE, n. The ultimate, indivisible unit of matter. It is distinguished from the corpuscle, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of matter, by a closer resemblance to the atom, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of matter. Three great scientific theories of the structure of the universe are the molecular, the corpuscular and the atomic. A fourth affirms, with Haeckel, the condensation or precipitation of matter from ether — whose existence is proved by the condensation or precipitation. The present trend of scientific thought is toward the theory of ions. The ion differs from the molecule, the corpuscle and the atom in that it is an ion. A fifth theory is held by idiots, but it is doubtful if they know any more about the matter than the others.
MONAD, n. The ultimate, indivisible unit of matter. (See MOLECULE.) According to Leibnitz, as nearly as he seems willing to be understood, the monad has body without bulk, and mind without manifestation — Leibnitz knows him by the innate power of considering. He has founded upon him a theory of the universe, which the creature bears without resentment, for the monad is a gentleman. Small as he is, the monad contains all the powers and possibilities needful to his evolution into a German philosopher of the first class — altogether a very capable little fellow. He is not to be confounded with the microbe, or bacillus; by its inability to discern him, a good microscope shows him to be of an entirely distinct species.
MONEY, n. A blessing that is of no advantage to us excepting when we part with it. An evidence of culture and a passport to polite society. Supportable property.
NIHILIST, n. A Russian who denies the existence of anything but Tolstoi. The leader of the school is Tolstoi.
PATRIOTISM, n. Combustible rubbish ready to the torch of any one ambitious to illuminate his name.
In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer I beg to submit that it is the first.
PEDESTRIAN, n. The variable (and audible) part of the roadway for an automobile.
PIRACY, n. Commerce without its folly-swaddles, just as God made it.
PLATONIC, adj. Pertaining to the philosophy of Socrates. Platonic love is a fool's name for the affection between a disability and a frost.
PRAY, v. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.
RABBLE, n. In a republic, those who exercise a supreme authority tempered by fraudulent elections. The rabble is like the sacred Simurgh, of Arabian fable — omnipotent on condition that it do nothing. (The word is Aristocratese, and has no exact equivalent in our tongue, but means, as nearly as may be, "soaring swine.")
REASON, v.i. To weigh probabilities in the scales of desire.
RED-SKIN, n. A North American Indian, whose skin is not red — at least not on the outside.
SATAN, n. One of the Creator's lamentable mistakes, repented in sashcloth and axes. Being instated as an archangel, Satan made himself multifariously objectionable and was finally expelled from Heaven. Half-way in his descent he paused, bent his head in thought a moment and at last went back. "There is one favor that I should like to ask," said he.
"Name it."
"Man, I understand, is about to be created. He will need laws."
"What, wretch! you his appointed adversary, charged from the dawn of eternity with hatred of his soul — you ask for the right to make his laws?"
"Pardon; what I have to ask is that he be permitted to make them himself."
It was so ordered.
TRINITY, n. In the multiplex theism of certain Christian churches, three entirely distinct deities consistent with only one. Subordinate deities of the polytheistic faith, such as devils and angels, are not dowered with the power of combination, and must urge individually their claims to adoration and propitiation. The Trinity is one of the most sublime mysteries of our holy religion. In rejecting it because it is incomprehensible, Unitarians betray their inadequate sense of theological fundamentals. In religion we believe only what we do not understand, except in the instance of an intelligible doctrine that contradicts an incomprehensible one. In that case we believe the former as a part of the latter.
ULTIMATUM, n. In diplomacy, a last demand before resorting to concessions.
Having received an ultimatum from Austria, the Turkish Ministry met to consider it.
"O servant of the Prophet," said the Sheik of the Imperial Chibouk to the Mamoosh of the Invincible Army, "how many unconquerable soldiers have we in arms?"
"Upholder of the Faith," that dignitary replied after examining his memoranda, "they are in numbers as the leaves of the forest!"
"And how many impenetrable battleships strike terror to the hearts of all Christian swine?" he asked the Imaum of the Ever Victorious Navy.
"Uncle of the Full Moon," was the reply, "deign to know that they are as the waves of the ocean, the sands of the desert and the stars of Heaven!"
For eight hours the broad brow of the Sheik of the Imperial Chibouk was corrugated with evidences of deep thought: he was calculating the chances of war. Then, "Sons of angels," he said, "the die is cast! I shall suggest to the Ulema of the Imperial Ear that he advise inaction. In the name of Allah, the council is adjourned."
UXORIOUSNESS, n. A perverted affection that has strayed to one's own wife.
VIRTUES, n.pl. Certain abstentions.
WITCH, n. [1.] An ugly and repulsive old woman, in a wicked league with the devil. [2.] A beautiful and attractive young woman, in wickedness a league beyond the devil.
WORSHIP, n. Homo Creator's testimony to the sound construction and fine finish of Deus Creatus. A popular form of abjection, having an element of pride.
YANKEE, n. In Europe, an American. In the Northern States of our Union, a New Englander. In the Southern States the word is unknown. (See DAMNYANK.)
trysail
Catch Me Who Can
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- Nov 8, 2005
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- 25,593
...Things You May Not Have Known About the English Language
by Alex Hammond
Oxford English Dictionary blog
...Of the hundred most frequently used words in English, 96 have Germanic roots. Together, those 100 words make up more than 50% of the Oxford English Corpus, which currently contains over 2 billion words found in writing around the world.
Surprised? The most frequently used words are the meat and bones of the language, the essentials that make communication work, including I, you, go, eat, and so on. Old English developed from various Germanic languages that came to the British Isles in the second half of the first millennium AD.
Whereas the language has changed almost unrecognisably since then, including the grammar, the basic words have remained.
Whereas the language has changed almost unrecognisably since then, including the grammar, the basic words have remained.
…but most words that have entered the language since 1066 have Latin origins
If English is your first language but you find French or Spanish easier to understand than German, you are not alone. This may seem strange when English and German are on the same branch of the Indo-European language tree.
The Renaissance, which started in Italy and reached England via France, was a massive source of new vocabulary. New ideas, or old ideas rediscovered, started flooding out of the southern cities but there were no words to describe them in English. So the language adopted or adapted the Latin words. During the Renaissance, the English lexicon roughly doubled in size.
The shift away from the Germanic languages, however, had started much earlier, because…
The Renaissance, which started in Italy and reached England via France, was a massive source of new vocabulary. New ideas, or old ideas rediscovered, started flooding out of the southern cities but there were no words to describe them in English. So the language adopted or adapted the Latin words. During the Renaissance, the English lexicon roughly doubled in size.
The shift away from the Germanic languages, however, had started much earlier, because…
...For more than a century, the English aristocracy couldn’t speak English
William the Conqueror tried to learn English at the age of 43 but gave up. He didn’t seem especially fond of the land he had conquered in 1066, spending half of his reign in France and not visiting England at all for five years when in power. Naturally, French-speaking barons were appointed to rule the land.
Within 20 years of the Normans taking power in England, almost all of the local religious institutions were French-speaking. The aristocrats brought with them large retinues and were followed by French tradesmen, who almost certainly mixed bilingually with the English tradesmen. In turn, ambitious Englishmen would have learned French to get ahead in life and mix with the new rulers. Around 10,000 French words entered English in the century after the Norman invasion.
There is little to suggest that aristocrats themselves spoke English. It isn’t until the end of the 12th Century that we have evidence of the children of the English aristocracy with English as a first language. In 1204, the English nobility lost their estates in France and adopted English partly as a matter of national pride!
Within 20 years of the Normans taking power in England, almost all of the local religious institutions were French-speaking. The aristocrats brought with them large retinues and were followed by French tradesmen, who almost certainly mixed bilingually with the English tradesmen. In turn, ambitious Englishmen would have learned French to get ahead in life and mix with the new rulers. Around 10,000 French words entered English in the century after the Norman invasion.
There is little to suggest that aristocrats themselves spoke English. It isn’t until the end of the 12th Century that we have evidence of the children of the English aristocracy with English as a first language. In 1204, the English nobility lost their estates in France and adopted English partly as a matter of national pride!
…which is why Latin words sound more prestigious than Germanic ones
Think about the difference between a house (Germanic) and a mansion (French), or between starting something and commencing, between calling something kingly or regal. English has a huge number of close synonyms, where the major difference is the level of formality or prestige. The prestigious form is almost always the Latin one.
The names of animals and meats also reflect this phenomenon. The old story goes that, in English, the animals have Germanic names but the cooked meats have French ones. For example, swine is Germanic but pork is French, sheep is Germanic but mutton is French. Was this because the English speakers worked on the farms whereas the French speakers ate the produce? It’s certainly possible.
The names of animals and meats also reflect this phenomenon. The old story goes that, in English, the animals have Germanic names but the cooked meats have French ones. For example, swine is Germanic but pork is French, sheep is Germanic but mutton is French. Was this because the English speakers worked on the farms whereas the French speakers ate the produce? It’s certainly possible.
...The concept of “correct” spelling is fairly recent
There are many reasons why English spelling is so erratic including the lack of an academy, the contributions of Noah Webster (see below) and the introduction of William Caxton’s printing press just before major changes in pronunciation. But the idea of correct or incorrect spelling wasn’t really considered important until the 17th Century when the first dictionaries were published. Even then, it was largely a debate for academics and writers.
Shakespeare, for example, was liberal in his spellings of words, often using multiple variants within a single text; his name itself has been spelt in many different ways over the centuries.
Shakespeare, for example, was liberal in his spellings of words, often using multiple variants within a single text; his name itself has been spelt in many different ways over the centuries.
...One man is largely responsible for the differences between American and British spelling
Noah Webster, whose name you still find on the front of many American dictionaries, was a patriotic man. Born in West Hartford, Connecticut in 1758, he believed that a great emerging nation such as the USA needed a language of its own: American English.
Webster found the English in the textbooks of the time to be corrupted by the British aristocracy, with too much French and Classical influence. He was to write American books for American learners, representing a young, proud and forward-thinking nation.
Between 1783 and 1785, he produced three books on the English language for American schoolchildren. During his lifetime, 385 editions of his Speller were published. The modern US spelling of color was initially spelt in the British way, colour, but this changed in later editions. Other differences include the US spelling of center as opposed to the British centre, and traveler instead of traveller. Webster wanted to make spelling more logical, as befitting a nation that was founded on progressive principles. This is a rare example of a dictionary writer trying to lead the English language instead of describe it.
In Britain, the use of “Americanisms” is almost guaranteed to upset people. But not all Americanisms are what they seem. For example…
Webster found the English in the textbooks of the time to be corrupted by the British aristocracy, with too much French and Classical influence. He was to write American books for American learners, representing a young, proud and forward-thinking nation.
Between 1783 and 1785, he produced three books on the English language for American schoolchildren. During his lifetime, 385 editions of his Speller were published. The modern US spelling of color was initially spelt in the British way, colour, but this changed in later editions. Other differences include the US spelling of center as opposed to the British centre, and traveler instead of traveller. Webster wanted to make spelling more logical, as befitting a nation that was founded on progressive principles. This is a rare example of a dictionary writer trying to lead the English language instead of describe it.
In Britain, the use of “Americanisms” is almost guaranteed to upset people. But not all Americanisms are what they seem. For example…
...-ize is not an American suffix
There is a popular belief that words such as popularise/ize, maximise/ize and digitise/ize have different spellings in British and American English.
Look at that z – isn’t it snazzy? It’s got to be American, hasn’t it?
Not according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which rejects the French s for a good old British z:
Look at that z – isn’t it snazzy? It’s got to be American, hasn’t it?
Not according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which rejects the French s for a good old British z:
…there is no reason why in English the special French spelling should be followed, in opposition to that which is at once etymological and phonetic. In this Dictionary the termination is uniformly written -ize. (In the Gr. -ιζ-, the i was short, so originally in L., but the double consonant z (= dz, ts) made the syllable long; when the z became a simple consonant, (-idz) became īz, whence Eng. (-aɪz).)...
Oh, the Schadenfreude! It disturbs one's entire Weltschauung!
Emerson40
An evening spent dancing
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- Aug 27, 2012
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- 13,837
RILASSATO
[verb & adjective]
1- relaxed; easy; calm.
2- loose; lax.
VERNALAGNIA
[noun]
1- a romantic mood inspired by Spring.
2- happiness brought about by Spring.
3- an increase in sexual desire which occurs in the Spring.
FERIATION
[noun]
the act of keeping a holiday; cessation from work; refraining from working and taking the time to relax.
RHATHYMIA
[noun]
carefree behaviour; light-heartedness. Being cheerful, merry and optimistic.
Emerson40
An evening spent dancing
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THALASSOTHERAPY
[noun]
the use of seawater in cosmetic and health treatment.
SPINDRIFT
[noun]
spray swept by a violent wind along the surface of the sea.
MARIGENOUS
[adjective]
produced in or by the sea.
PELAGIC
[adjective]
1- of or pertaining to the open seas or oceans.
2- living or growing at or near the surface of the ocean, far from land, as certain organisms.
HOLOBENTHIC
[adjective]
1- inhabiting the deep sea for the duration of one’s life
2- Zoology: (of an animal) completing its life cycle in the ocean depths.
Disgustipated
LAWLZ
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LUGUBRIOUS
[adjective]
mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner.
MOIROLOGIST
[noun]
a hired mourner.
THRENETIC
[adjective]
pertaining to a threne; sorrowful; mournful; lamentation.
DOLENTE
[adverb]
1- Music: borrowed from Italian dolente, present participle of dolere (“to hurt, regret”). A direction in musical notation indicating that the piece should be played sorrowfully, as if the player were mourning.
[adjective]
2-feminine form of dolent - painful; causing suffering and pain; sore; painful; sorrowful; doleful.
[verb]
3-present participle of dolere -to ache; lament; grieve; suffer.
Beetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy-fantasy[2] film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros. The plot revolves around a recently deceased young couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who become ghosts haunting their former home, and an obnoxious, devious ghost named Betelgeuse (pronounced "Beetlejuice", portrayed by Michael Keaton) from the Netherworld who tries to scare away the new inhabitants (Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones, and Winona Ryder) permanently.
gotsnowgotslush
skates like Eck
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Eleutheromania
Eleutherophilia
Eleuthromania
is "a mania or frantic zeal for freedom"
Eleutherophilia
Eleuthromania
is "a mania or frantic zeal for freedom"
Emerson40
An evening spent dancing
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- 13,837
SAPID
[adjective]
1- having a pleasing taste or flavor; palatable.
2- of agreeably distinctive character.
3- agreeable, as to the mind; to one’s liking.
FLETCHERISE
[verb]
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
SHEMOMEDJAMO
[noun & phrase]
to continue eating food even though you’re already full, just because you like the taste of the food so much.
FARCTATE
[noun]
1- the state of having overeaten; the state of being stuffed with food.
[adjective]
2- stuffed; filled solid; as, a farctate leaf, stem, or pericarp, opposed to tubular or hollow
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