Words

[karmadog]

Orwell

Earlier on the thread I paraphrased George Orwell describing a cliche as a dead metaphor. I finally found the book I had it in (a collection of essays masquerading as a primer on how to write one) then I found it on the net.

I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in writing.

Politics and the English Language

 

[WickedEve]

Thank you so much for posting the link. I've read a little of it so far, and I plan to read the rest today.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day is:

smarmy • \SMAHR-mee\ • (adjective)

1 : revealing or marked by a smug, ingratiating, or false earnestness
2 : of low sleazy taste or quality

 

[Sweetwife]

Smarmy

Lauren contributed:

smarmy • \SMAHR-mee\ • (adjective)

1 : revealing or marked by a smug, ingratiating, or false earnestness
2 : of low sleazy taste or quality


Sweetwood's favorite adjective to describe those who spout bull-shit with reckless abandon. (and no, I'm not suggesting anyone here spouts bull-shit)

Excellent word Lauren!

Sweetwife

 

[Guest]

I have a question about a related word that does not appear in my dictionary.

snarky: it seems to mean something along the lines of sarcastic with a booger or two of snotty, and a dollop of unctuosness. See David Spade.

I can't decide if it was just a word somebody made up or not. I've heard it used several times, but as I say, it's not in my dictionary.

Hep me.

karmadog

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry: snarky
Pronunciation: 'snär-kE
Function: adjective
Etymology: dialect snark to annoy, perhaps alteration of nark to irritate
Date: 1906
: CROTCHETY, SNAPPISH

 

[Rybka]

Snark

My grandfather used to define a "snark" as somebody with teeth in their asshole who goes around biting the buttons off of seat covers.

Regards, Rybka

 

[Lauren Hynde]

LOL

Your grandfather was probably more accurate than that Webster guy

 

[Rybka]

Snark Hunting

Don't forget the master, Lewis Carroll either!


The Hunting of the Snark

 

[karmadog]

Thank you Lauren and Rybka.

I wonder why somebody would bite the buttons of seat cushions? With their asshole no less.

I guess both definitions come down to the same thing, but Rybka's grandfather should have been writing the dictionaries!

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Re: Snark Hunting

Don't forget the master, Lewis Carroll either!


The Hunting of the Snark

That is fantastic! Thank you for posting it, Rybka!

If anyone hasn't read The Hunting of the Snark, do it!

 

[Lauren Hynde]

bedizen • \bih-DYE-zun or bih-DIH-zun\ • (verb)
: to dress or adorn gaudily

"Bedizened in diamonds—rings, stickpins, belt buckle—he would show up at the track in a sunburst yellow suit..."

 

[lickmyboot]

languid.

Now that may be because I just consumsed an entire bottle of red wine, but that's my word of the moment.

 

[stargirl32]

i love words ,, but if, by your def` ........"a word that appers in a dictionary is a real word, then judging by this site the world has gone mad,, lol pseudodictionary

like ,,,,dystypia - Typing equivalent of dylexia. Getting the letters in the wrong order, usually committed by "two-fingered" typists.

ex. For the umpteenth time, I slipped into dystypia, typing "teh" instead of "the."

and if, like me you suffering from a bad case of rectiphobia ... i would advise getting a better dictionary ,,,....

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Tonight I was working on my story and felt tempted to use a particular word:

Main Entry: be·siege
Pronunciation: bi-'sEj
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): -sieged; -sieg·ing
Date: 14th century
1 : to surround with armed forces
2 a : to press with requests : IMPORTUNE b : to cause worry or distress to : BESET <doubts besieged him>
- be·sieg·er noun

The dictionary definition isn't exactly as sexy as its sound, but I didn't care and used it anyway:

"In front of his eyes unravelled scenes of the many movies that used to keep him company in nights of vigil, scenes where the male protagonists were besieged by raging beauties that spoke to them with seductive and undisguised designs."

 

[Lauren Hynde]

This is a weird word for Merriam-Webster's to have as "word of the day" but here goes:

weird • \WEERD\ • (adjective)
1 : of, relating to, or caused by witchcraft or the supernatural : magical
2 : of strange or extraordinary character : odd, fantastic

You may know today's word as a generalized term describing something unusual, but "weird" also has older meanings that are more specific. "Weird" derives from the Old English noun "wyrd," essentially meaning "fate." By the late 8th century, the plural "wyrde" had begun to appear in texts as a gloss for "Parcae," the Latin name for the Fates—three goddesses who spun, measured, and cut the thread of life. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Scots authors employed "werd" or "weird" in the phrase "weird sisters" to refer to the Fates. William Shakespeare adopted this usage in Macbeth, in which the "weird sisters" are depicted as three witches. Subsequent adjectival use of "weird" grew out of a reinterpretation of the "weird" used by Shakespeare.

 

[crysede]

weird ? \WEERD\ ? (adjective)
1 : of, relating to, or caused by witchcraft or the supernatural : magical
2 : of strange or extraordinary character : odd, fantastic

Most of us weirdos prefer to be called 'odd'

 

[Lauren Hynde]

I don't go for PCism, you normalcy-challenged-girl-person. You should know that by now...

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Bumping a cool thread so that Lick can make her last 20 posts until popping her avatar cherry

 

[WickedEve]

My word for the day is horny.

The matador was surprised at how horny the bull was.
The band had too many horns, making them, in my opinion, horny.
Sunday drivers make me horny. If I don't blow, they won't get a move on.
I'm horny... just because I am.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

My word today is:

disavow • \dih-suh-VOW ("OW" as in "cow")\ • (verb)
1 : to deny responsibility for : repudiate
*2 : to refuse to acknowledge : disclaim


A very cool word I only remember ever seeing used in Mission Impossible

 

[REDWAVE]

Mission Implausible

"As usual, should you be caught or captured inside Wicked Eve's pussy, the agency will disavow all knowledge of you or your mission . . ."

 

[Angeline]

Of Snarks and Geeks

Rybka, your Snark story, which I have decided not to think too hard about for various reasons, reminded me of my dear dad once telling me that a

Geek

was the guy at carnival sideshows who bit off live chicken heads. Then he laughed (my father, I don't know about the geek).

 

[karmadog]

useless intent

You know, the original intent of this thread (sadly lost) was not simply to give definitions of obscure words, but to talk about what overtones a word has to the reader. Or perhaps unusual derivations. Not that I'm bitching, or maybe I am.

Did you know that there is a difference between a coffin and a casket? A casket is basically rectangular, while a coffin is broad at the shoulders and narrowing at the head and feet. Very few coffins are sold anymore. Apparently, there is a negative Dracula connotation. If I didn't want to be cremated, I would definitely want to be planted in a coffin. Pinewood, if possible.

To me, a casket has strange connotations. It makes me think of preservation in an unpleasant way. The thought of my corpse being kept out of the ecosystem gives me the willies. If it was legal, I would just as soon have my corpse thrown to the coyotes. Minus donatable organs, of course.

When you post about a word, tell us what it means to you. Not just what it means by the dictionary.

 

[Rybka]

Geek

was the guy at carnival sideshows who bit off live chicken heads. Then he laughed (my father, I don't know about the geek).

Angeline, your father was telling you the truth. That is originally what a "geek" was. Then it was broadened to include all side-show freaks; then freaks in general, etc.

Whats the origin and the definition for the word "Geek"
Submitted by: Chris Poirier (Copperas Cove - U.S.A.)

Geek has various meanings, but I imagine the one for which you are inquiring is that of a carnival freak who specialized in biting the heads off live chickens. This dubiously appealing act was allegedly invented by a man called Wagner, of Charleston, W. Va., who had a celebrated touring snake-eating act; his ballyhoo ran in part: `Come and see Esau | Sitting on a see-saw | Eatin' 'em raw!' Other definitions include the UK 'society' use: a vulgar lower class youth, and the US version, a generally unpleasant person, irrelevant of class. Recent US Black / teen use categorises the geek as an eccentric, or even an intellectual (also known as a 'pencil geek'). In Australia the verb 'geek' means to stare at. Finally there is a drug-related use, referring to a cigarette rolled with a mixture of crack cocaine and marijuana

-Answered by the Word Wizard on December 11, 1996

Interesting how words and meanings evolve, isn't it? When I was young my father wouldn't let us use the word "queer".

Regards, Rybka