GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

voralfred · Post by **voralfred** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 12:01 pm

Would a Bard sing a drab eulogy for a defibrillated Ghost?

Post by **Ghost** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 2:37 pm

Word of the Day Friday June 5, 2009

abstemious \ab-STEE-mee-uhs\, adjective: 1. Sparing in eating and drinking; temperate; abstinent. 2. Sparingly used or consumed; used with temperance or moderation. 3. Marked by or spent in abstinence.

They were healthy and abstemious; their chief pleasure was reading and Oliver was a life member of the London Library.
-- Sylvia Townsend Warner, The Music at Long Verney

For a man who trafficked in excess, he was surprisingly abstemious.
-- Ralph Blumenthal, Stork Club

When the 1796 outbreak of yellow fever turned into an epidemic, the frightened citizens followed each preventive vogue: herb tea, cold baths, cream of tartar, vinegar, camphor and abstemious diets.
-- Christina Vella, Intimate Enemies

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Abstemious comes from Latin abstemius, from ab-, abs-, "away from" + the root of temetum, "intoxicating drink."

[side note]: I went on a week long business trip.

Algot Runeman · Post by **Algot Runeman** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 3:04 pm

I have decided to be abstemious in my access to this thread and the others on IBDoF. I will only check when I get the notices of a new post. I won't compulsively visit every two hours, much less every half hour. I won't obsess over having the MOST perfect, glib, verbal glissando to post. I can be attentive without being addicted...I hope.

Do we really need to wait until tomorrow for the next WOTD?
Really?
Are you out there?
Anybody?

[Side note:] Thanks to all of you who brighten my mornings, afternoons, evenings and nights with your words (Ghost) and particularly poignant and perspicacious posts (the rest of you crafty/crazy folks out there).

Post by **Darb** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 3:30 pm

Being that I am a wholly unrepentant sybarite, I can assure all the absentminded stymies present that abstemiousness is the LAST thing on my mind.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a hot date with a cask of sherry, two roast capons, a crispy suckling pig, and a saucy serving wench.

*Hic*

Post by **Ghost** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 8:20 am

Word of the Day Tuesday June 9, 2009

paragon \PAIR-uh-gon; -guhn\, noun: A model of excellence or perfection; as, "a paragon of beauty; a paragon of eloquence."

Even his friends and business associates, men and women alike, were paragons of health: avoiders of fatty foods, moderate drinkers, health-club habitues, lovers of cross-country skiing, weekend canoe trips, and daylong hikes in the North Woods.
-- Alvin Greenberg, How the Dead Live

Voters, if they chose, could easily convince themselves that the people running their government were faithful spouses and temperate drinkers, paragons whose public images were in perfect accord with their private behavior.
-- Gail Collins, Scorpion Tongues

The hybrid technology in Prius is a paragon of innovative engineering.

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Paragon comes from Middle French, from Old Italian paragone, literally, "touchstone," from paragonare, "to test on a touchstone," from Greek parakonan, "to rub against, to sharpen," from para-, "beside" + akone, "a whetstone."

hiram · Post by **hiram** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 12:54 pm

Mr. Creosote was a paragon of wretched excess and a man of unparalleled avoirdupois in both gastronomic and anatomic circles. He was a man to whom the word abstemiousness was a filthy dirty word worthy of deepest scorn and projectile vomiting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlK62rjQWLk

Algot Runeman · Post by **Algot Runeman** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 5:25 pm

We were just a pair of "gone" teenagers and not to be held up as examples of anything good, much less models to be followed. We ached to be sybarites, but lacked the ready cash to pull off even a sit down dinner much less real luxury. We, therefore, pulled in to the local drive in and each ordered a burger, fries and a chocolate malted, satisfying our immediate NEED.

Post by **Ghost** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 8:16 am

Word of the Day Wednesday June 10, 2009

disport \dis-PORT\, intransitive verb: 1. To amuse oneself in light or lively manner; to frolic.
transitive verb: 1. To divert or amuse. 2. To display.

If you confine the kids' drinking to the college area, they will disport there and lessen the problem of the drunken car ride coming back from the out-of-town bar.
-- William F. Buckley Jr., "Let's Drink to It", National Review, February 27, 2001

I had to laugh, picturing Stuart and me in a red enamel tub, disporting ourselves among the suds.
-- Jacquelyn Mitchard, The Most Wanted

Few of the "carriage ladies and gentlemen" who disport themselves in Newport during the summer months, yachting and dancing through the short season, then flitting away to fresh fields and pastures new, realize that their daintily shod feet have been treading historic ground, or care to cast a thought back to the past.
-- Eliot Gregory, Worldly Ways and Byways

. . .those dolphins and narwhals who disport themselves upon the edges of old maps.
-- Virginia Woolf, Night and Day

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Disport derives from Old French desporter, "to divert," from des-, "apart" (from Latin dis-) + porter, "to carry" (from Latin portare) -- hence to disport is at root "to carry apart, or away" (from business or seriousness).

voralfred · Post by **voralfred** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:07 am

Ghost, quite the paragon of undefatigability, has kept this thread alive for all those years just for a few of us to disport here.

hiram · Post by **hiram** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:32 am

Setting: Fleet Week, New York City, 2009

Sailor1: Hurry up !

Sailor2: Indeed !

Sailor1: Let us disport ourselves vigorously ... first in dis port, and the again in dat port of call.

Sailor3: Hurry indeed - with the entire armada disembarking all at once, the bars will crowd quickly. We should run, or flag down a cab.

Sailor 2: I can already picture the ladies saying "Look, girls ... the streets are awash in seamen ! There's plenty of seamen for all of us !"

Sailor 3: We sailing sybarites do make quite a sight, don't we ?

Sailor 1: Truly !

Sailor 3: Wait a moment, my friends. We should probably draw straws to pick a designated sailor.

Sailor 2: Why ? We're afoot, my friend ! Nobody's driving !

Sailor 1: The streets are awash in seamen, and you're talking about drawing straws ? You should have told me earlier, sweetie.

Sailor 3: Unfortunately, one of us must must be abstemious this evening. You remember what happened the last time, at Captain's Mast, after we put on a three day drunk, and the boat left without us ?

Sailor 2: {shudder}

Sailor 1: {shudder}

Post by **Ghost** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 8:19 am

Word of the Day Thursday June 11, 2009

redivivus \red-uh-VY-vuhs; -VEE-\, adjective: Living again; brought back to life; revived; restored.

Augustine redivivus, R. contends, would find in the history of the present century confirmation of his pessimistic views of human nature.
-- Roland J. Teske, "Augustine: Ancient Thought Baptized", Theological Studies, June 1, 1995

She is the young Magda redivivus to the last degree, including the way she arches her eyebrow when she speaks.
-- Judith Dunford, "Exit Laughing", Newsday, May 8, 1994

As for Neeson -- of the nose-heavy, asymmetrical countenance and shrewdly darting, soul-searching eyes, he is a lopsided Gary Cooper redivivus -- hardly something to sneeze at.
-- John Simon, "Michael Collins", National Review, November 25, 1996

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Redivivus comes from Latin, from the prefix red-, re-, "again" + vivus, "alive."

hiram · Post by **hiram** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 1:32 pm

Latest Visine Slogan: "Revive your tired eyes with Redivivus !"

Algot Runeman · Post by **Algot Runeman** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 1:37 pm

There is a current, dare I say, "glut" of redivivus characters in modern TV, movies and books. In spite of Buffy (the Vampire Slayer) and her best effort, the undead abound as they bound around everywhere.

Though most of the characters appear to be targeted at teens, Frank Langella (once cast as a vampire, himself...and a darn good one, too) even brought Richard Nixon back on screen (not that Mr. Nixon was a vampire, nor a crook, neither).

Hail, Hiram!

When your local pharmacy begins to stock it, would you send some of the Redivivus to me. My eyes are tired from reading the forum.

(Rubbing...not crying...too macho for that.)

voralfred · Post by **voralfred** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 4:26 pm

Ghost wrote:redivivus \red-uh-VY-vuhs; -VEE-\, adjective: Living again; brought back to life; revived; restored.

How appropriate, for our resident redivivus member, to propose this particular WOTD!

CodeBlower · Post by **CodeBlower** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 7:31 am

It sounds like a Harry Potter spell.

Post by **Ghost** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 8:16 am

Word of the Day Friday June 12, 2009

megrim \MEE-grim\, noun: 1. A migraine. 2. A fancy; a whim. 3. In the plural: lowness of spirits -- often with 'the'.

That might justify her, fairly enough, in being kept away from meeting now and again by headaches, or undefined megrims.
-- Harold Frederic, The Damnation of Theron Ware

Tonight, by some megrim of the scheduler, I have the honor of working with the departmental chairman, Dr. B.
-- Pamela Grim, Just Here Trying to Save a Few Lives

They do say it's always darkest before the dawn, she thought. I reckon this is proof of it. I've got the megrims, that's all.
-- Stephens Mitchell, Scarlett

Kate had learned a long time ago that the best way to deal with Effie's megrims was to maintain an attitude of determined cheerfulness.
-- Susan Carroll, Midnight Bride

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Megrim is from Middle English migrem, from Middle French migraine, modification of Late Latin hemicrania, "pain in one side of the head," from Greek hemikrania, from hemi-, "half" + kranion, "skull."

Here is a challenge: use megrim twice in a single sentence using two different meanings!

Algot Runeman · Post by **Algot Runeman** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 1:32 pm

Valerie wandered from stall to stall, hoping she would find just the right exotic trinket to satisfy her mother's sybartic tastes. This visit to Reynosa, Mexico was done on a moment's notice, a megrim, a challenge to fate, and Valerie hoped the sparkling aura that was relentlessly growing across her sight was just a megrim, no matter how splitting, and not some sign of the flu; that would really get her down off this trip's manic high into the megrims of her way too frequent alternate condition.

A migrane would only slow her down. She'd fought her way through them often enough, but it wouldn't be just a temporary whim, if her mother grounded Val through prom week, too depressing to think about. Of course Valerie hoped even more, in her more lucid moments, that H1N1 wouldn't get her first. Quarantine in a Mexican hospital would keep her from getting home across the border to Brownsville, through not only the prom, but maybe even through graduation.

She looked around to see if her boyfriend Pete Demic was still nearby. He often seemed to wander in some neverland of his own and could really be a lost boy sometimes. Val realized suddenly how perfect his nickname was at this exact moment, ...

Spoiler: show

.

What do you think, Ghost? Does that catch the spirit of your challenge?

Post by **Ghost** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:35 am

Algot Runeman wrote:
What do you think, Ghost? Does that catch the spirit of your challenge?

Post by **Ghost** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:37 am

Word of the Day Monday June 15, 2009

effulgence \i-FUL-juhn(t)s\, noun: The state of being bright and radiant; splendor; brilliance.

The purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtues.
-- "Congressman Henry Lee's Eulogy for George Washington" , December 4, 1908

The setting sun as usual shed a melancholy effulgence on the ruddy towers of the Alhambra.
-- Washington Irving, The Alhambra

Nice gave him a different light from Paris -- a high, constant effulgence with little gray in it, flooding broadly across sea, city and hills, producing luminous shadows and clear tonal structures.
-- Robert Hughes, "Inventing A Sensory Utopia: The paintings Matisse did in Nice include some of his best", Time, November 17, 1986

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From Latin ex, "out of, from" + fulgere, "to shine." The adjective form of the word is effulgent.

Algot Runeman · Post by **Algot Runeman** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:05 am

OLEDs (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) have the potential to give an effulgent ambient light. Incorporated into unobtrusive panels in a hall or room, the spaces will seem to have no real source of light, but be bathed in it. It sounds like science fiction, I know, but IS in development.

http://www.ge.com/research/grc_2_9_1.html
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/23/phil ... -concepts/
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/06 ... om-doe.php

If GE, Phillips and Kodak are interested, it sounds like an effulgent future to me.

hiram · Post by **hiram** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:33 am

Restoration of the flow of effluvium gave efflugence to the flagging spirits (and swollen bladders) of the exhausted cesspool repairmen.

voralfred · Post by **voralfred** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 12:09 pm

On a megrim, Fulgence BienvenuÃ« decided to create the Paris Metro. Some stations disport so much effulgence as to give the travelers megrims, the noise of the trains under the Montparnasse cemetery is loud enough to make the dead trying to rest in peace there redivivus.
It is used by sybarites and paragons of abstemiouness alike.

Algot Runeman · Post by **Algot Runeman** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 2:58 pm

Wow, wicked wonderful; eight is great, voralfred.

Dare we ask if Parisians considered Bienvenue's creation a generally welcome one and continued to be civil with the engineer or were they culturally coarse and curt in a sinister sort of way considering his unfortunate accident?

voralfred · Post by **voralfred** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 3:53 pm

Algot Runeman wrote: curt in a sinister sort of way considering his unfortunate accident?

Why sinister? After his accident, he was probably even more dexterous

for those who can't read french an information on fr.wikipedia not available on en.wikipedia: he had lost his left arm; I assume this is what AR has alluded to.

Algot Runeman · Post by **Algot Runeman** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 5:43 am

Although I mostly attempt to elude alluding, voralfred was left with nothing but the right information about my non-accidental intent as regards the unwelcome accident of Monsieur Bienvenue. The left (sinister) arm was his loss, alas.

As it was an accident, we cannot ascribe sinister intent on the part of the mechanisms which effected his disarming deletion.