GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

smorgasbord

noun
a range of open sandwiches and delicacies served as hors d'oeuvres or a buffet.
a wide range of something; a variety: the album is a smorgasbord of different musical styles

Origin:
Swedish, from smörgås '(slice of) bread and butter' (from smör 'butter' + gås 'goose, lump of butter') + bord 'table'


jimg944 on Flickr

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My aunt, from Sweden, hosted Christmas parties when I was a kid (pojke).
There was plenty to eat, a smorgasbord of choices. I even learned how to make sausage while we prepared for the event.

[Algot Runeman]

ratamacue

noun
Music
one of the basic patterns (rudiments) of drumming, consisting of a two-beat figure , the first beat of which is played as a triplet and preceded by two grace notes.

Origin:
1940s: imitative


Dixon Drums on Flickr

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Sam sneered, snatched the snare and started his riff with a ratamacue. After that, all bets were off. When he finished, everyone agreed a new incarnation of Gene Krupa had not emerged.

[Algot Runeman]

myopia

noun
[mass noun]
the quality of being short-sighted.
lack of foresight or intellectual insight: the company's corporate myopia

Origin:
early 18th century: modern Latin, from late Greek muōpia, from Greek muōps (see myope)


haglundc on flickr

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Looking left, Carl's understanding of myopia was suddenly well defined, until the truck hit him.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Hold on a minute!
I need to go get my glasses from under the bus!

[Algot Runeman]

Whenever I drive north along the Massachusetts coast, I enjoy encountering the Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamiltorn, MA which was named after the Myopia Club in Winchester, MA and derived its name from four brothers with poor eyesight who founded the club. According to the Wikipedia article, the Myopia Club may be the oldest country club.

It isn't just the words, blurry though their meanings may be. For me, the words branch into side tracks and meandering trails.

[Algot Runeman]

retinue

noun
a group of advisers, assistants, or others accompanying an important person.

Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French retenue, feminine past participle (used as a noun) of retenir 'keep back, retain'




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Carlos thought he had a retinue, which he thought of as a "posse", until he realized that the growing crowd following him was only a shuffling hoard of zombies.

[Algot Runeman]

laud

verb
[with object] formal
praise (a person or their achievements) highly, especially in a public context: the obituary lauded him as a great statesman and soldier[as adjective, with submodifier] : (lauded) her much lauded rendering of Lady Macbeth

noun
archaic
praise: all glory, laud, and honor to Thee

Origin:
late Middle English: the noun from Old French laude, the verb from Latin laudare, both from Latin laus, laud- 'praise' (see also lauds)


jlwo on flickr

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I cannot laud this individual (who stands in praise of God) for his good sense. His behavior should be "out-laud" in a thoughtful being. Perhaps he married into a hyper religious family, "laud have mercy"!

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Whoops, Algot, I'm afraid that this time it's nihil cum laude.

You forgot to insert the WotD at the top of your post.

Have you been partaking a shot of Laudanum?

[Algot Runeman]

E.P.S., Thanks for noticing. [correction made]

I can only say I was looking over my shoulder at the zombie from the earlier post. He was drooling and moaning, "B-laud! Give me brains and b-laud!"

I think he must have been a vampire zombie. Maybe he slurped up the word while I was distracted.

[Algot Runeman]

interlocutor

noun
formal
a person who takes part in a dialogue or conversation.

Derivatives
interlocution
Pronunciation:/-ləˈkyo͞oSHən/
noun

Origin:
early 16th century: modern Latin, from Latin interlocut- 'interrupted (by speech)', from the verb interloqui, from inter- 'between' + loqui 'speak'


polandeze on flickr

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A monologue on the words in WotD is dull. Taking part in a dialog works fine, but being an interlocutor, as part of a vibrant conversation, is best.


Capture of Google Map for lookup of Skype (the computer telephone application recently purchased by Microsoft) == conversation

I will quickly admit, I have trouble with conference calls. I have trouble with multi-host talk shows. I generally despise "conversations" in which several people try to speak simultaneously. They always seem to be saying "Listen to MEEE!"

[Algot Runeman]

burlap

noun
coarse canvas woven from jute, hemp, or a similar fiber, used especially for sacking.
a material similar to burlap but lighter , used in dressmaking and furnishing: [as modifier] : a burlap shirtfabrics ranging from hessians to burlaps

Origin:
late 17th century: of unknown origin


Jeff Cushner on flickr

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Benny used hooks to temporarily close the flaps of burlap sheets around the wool bale. After he'd used twine to stitch the bale tight, he carefully extracted the hooks. Finally he released the pressure of the bailing press. John drove the fork lift into position, grasped the bale between the lift's arms and drove it to the staging area by the loading dock: another 600 pounds of garnetted wool, ready to ship.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Do you think those two interlocutors are discussing the irritating chafing of burlap interlock underwear?

[Algot Runeman]

burlap interlock underwear

Ugh!

If I were an interlocutor with burlap underwear, I would be inclined to interrupt just about anything to get home to change, no matter how interesting the conversation.

[Algot Runeman]

prink

verb
(prink oneself)
spend time making minor adjustments to one's appearance: women were prinking themselves in front of the looking glass

Origin:
late 16th century: probably related to archaic prank ‘dress or adorn in a showy manner’; related to Middle Low German prank 'pomp', Dutch pronk 'finery'

[US equivalent??
primp
transitive verb
: to dress, adorn, or arrange in a careful or finicky manner
intransitive verb
: to dress or groom oneself carefully <primps for hours before a date> ]


Ankita Patel on flickr

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On a prank, Peter prevented Polly from prinking by, himself, primping in the only mirror in the house. There was no prompt party preparation. They left late with both in complete disarray.

[It is also interesting to see that the British seem to prefer a "looking glass" while we in the US say "mirror."]

[Algot Runeman]

controversy

noun (plural controversies)
[mass noun]

prolonged public disagreement or heated discussion: the design of the building has caused controversy[count noun] : the announcement ended a protracted controversy

Origin:
late Middle English: from Latin controversia, from controversus 'turned against, disputed', from contro- (variant of contra- 'against') + versus, past participle of vertere 'to turn'
Usage

There are two possible pronunciations of the word controversy: one puts the stress on the con- and the other puts it on the -trov-. The second pronunciation, though common, is still widely held to be incorrect in standard English


mashup with components from Muffet (flame) and ONT Design (Globe) on flickr

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The controversy about whether global warming exists, or whether it should be called "climate change" goes on and on...and on. In the meantime, the level of carbon dioxide emissions hit a record in 2010. Let's argue some more.

[MidasKnight]

How about the controversy of what to point to as a bad consequence of carbon dioxide emissions?

"We are at a record high of carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere. This is causing global warming and if left uncheck, will have catastrophic consequences."

"Ok, let me rephrase. We are at a record high of carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere. This is causing global climate change and if left uncheck, will have catastrophic consequences."



It is a moving target ... and THAT is because it is a farce.

'BY GOD WE ARE GOING TO FIND SOME KIND OF EVIL CONSEQUENCE FOR THE INCREASE OF CARBON LEVELS IN OUR ATMOSPHERE!!!'

What's next? Are the left-wing charlatans going to start blaming third world poverty on increased carbon levels?

Please. Al Gore is lucky he has not been arrested for inciting a panic. He's a smart guy. He made millions (probably billions) scaring the world into believing the global warming idea.

Congratulations. You got us.

Now can we please go back to rationality?

[Algot Runeman]

insentient

adjective
incapable of feeling or understanding things ; inanimate: it's arrogant to presume animals to be insentient

Derivatives
insentience
noun


David Sky http://www.seemsartless.com/index.php?pic=752

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In Toronto, insentient rocks apparently co-opt human effort to achieve status. "Who's the top rock, now, eh?"

[Algot Runeman]

bathos

noun
(especially in a work of literature) an effect of anticlimax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous.

Origin:
mid 17th century (first recorded in the Greek sense): from Greek, literally 'depth'. The current sense was introduced by Alexander Pope in the early 18th century


Michael Pinto on fanboy.com

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Even the best author would have difficulty maintaining the gravity of a shipwreck scene. It would quickly turn to bathos if Popeye were the main character. Toot, toot!

[Algot Runeman]

misogyny

noun
the hatred of women by men: she felt she was struggling against thinly disguised misogyny

Derivatives
misogynous
Pronunciation:/-nəs/
adjective

Origin:
mid 17th century: from Greek misos 'hatred' + gunē 'woman'



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I'm sorry. I like people. I like men. I like women. I love a woman. I couldn't devote time to the search for a worthy image for misogyny. I suspect most who have the necessary imagination and inclination, have a well-formed, appropriately horrible mental image of their nemesis gender.

As an alternate, here's an image for those who adore themselves. It might be suitable for a logo.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

misogyny

Please keep in mind that this does not, I repeat, NOT represent my opinion.
I just googled for mysogynist and found this.

Though one could wish you Yanks to make up your minds: do you want a misogynous Obama or a philogynous Clinton?

Edit: added the words misogynous and philogynous to the previous sentence.

[Algot Runeman]

E.P.S., always remember that the US is a massively fragmented Union. Remember, especially, the situation during Abraham Lincoln's time in office. To this day, the name of the war is in dispute: "The Civil War" (north) "War Between the States" (south).

I didn't work hard to find an illustrating image. It also draws out others...thank you for your contribution, as always.

(The same thanks goes for all the rest of you who drop in at WotD. Special thanks to those who leave a reaction, a sentence illustrating the word, a snide remark, even a complaint. All are welcome. Spread the word among friends and adversaries, alike.)

As an offset, are there any out there who practice misandry wishing to put an oar into the water (or into the skull [rowing joke]) of the male dominated WotD?

[Algot Runeman]

Godzilla

noun
informal
a particularly enormous example of something: a Godzilla of a condominium tower

Origin:
from the name of a huge prehistoric monster featuring in a series of Japanese films from 1954


Larry Wentzel on flickr

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The Godzilla building lacked significant grace. Size was its only signature feature. The main giveaway were the massive toenails marking the corners.


[photo mashup from images at oklahomamodern.us (Osborne Ministries) and Frank Starmer (Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore)]

I'd say this use of Godzilla is probably somewhat limited to the British. I've not heard anybody in the US say it. Here, adjectives like "ginormous" would be more typical, combining gigantic and enormous.

[MidasKnight]

Yeah, I can't say I've heard that as an adjective. I mean, I KNOW what it would mean if I did hear it, but I just haven't heard it.

Massive, Huge, Ginormous ... not Godzilla.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Godzilla
...
I'd say this use of Godzilla is probably somewhat limited to the British. ...

Ah yes, either a British Understatement or something Brobdingnagian.

You have to love Pantagruel's Gargantuan hyperbole ...

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Yeah, I can't say I've heard that as an adjective. I mean, I KNOW what it would mean if I did hear it, but I just haven't heard it.

Massive, Huge, Ginormous ... not Godzilla.

Didn't it inspire the naming of Mozilla and Filezilla?

Or am I daft?