GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

spindrift

noun
[mass noun]
spray blown from the crests of waves by the wind.
driving snow or sand.

Origin:
early 17th century (originally Scots): variant of spoondrift, from archaic spoon ‘run before wind or sea’ + the noun drift


Dylanfm on flickr
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What is a little spindrift to a dedicated surfer?
Cowabunga,Poser Dude!

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

spindrift

An engineer acquaintance once told me a story of the time he used to work at the construction site of a new power plant in the Middle East, some 45 years ago.

The engineers' office lacked airco, so they built their own with very simple parts.

In an open window (no windowpane) they installed a sort of wide gutter on the sill and in the top of the window a horizontal multi-perforated pipe spraying a curtain of fine water droplets into the gutter. Outside they positioned a powerful fan blowing a constant stream of air inwards through the water-curtain. The intense heat-uptake of the evaporating water provided moist and sufficiently cooled air in their office.

They only had to carefully adjust the fan's speed to just below the point where it blew spindrift onto their desks.

And if the sun shone inside just right, they could even see a miniature rainbow ...

[Algot Runeman]

E.P.S., that's a great story about cooling the air.

[MidasKnight]

That's called evaporative cooling. Simple concept that we use widely today.

I design power plants for a living and you've just decribed the basic concept of a cooling tower.

[Algot Runeman]

dissident

noun
a person who opposes official policy, especially that of an authoritarian state: a dissident who had been jailed by a military regime

adjective
in opposition to official policy:there is only one explicitly dissident voice to be heard

Origin:
mid 16th century (in the sense 'differing in opinion or character'): from Latin dissident- 'sitting apart, disagreeing', from dis- 'apart' + sedere 'sit'


dbking on flickr

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If dissidents "sit apart", why do they "stand for" the opposition?

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

dissident
noun
a person who opposes official policy, especially that of an authoritarian state: a dissident who had been jailed by a military regime
adjective
in opposition to official policy:there is only one explicitly dissident voice to be heard
Origin:
mid 16th century (in the sense 'differing in opinion or character'): from Latin dissident- 'sitting apart, disagreeing', from dis- 'apart' + sedere 'sit'

No, no, no, no, no ...
Though close, that's not quite right.

Dissident originally means someone who sits apart to eat his dinner because his favorite dish is repulsive to everybody else.

The dissident likes andouillettes, gésiers de canards, haggis, pork kidneys, brussels sprouts, glass eels, steak&kidney pie, cervelle de veau, cojones de toro and such. He has a dissimilar tooth, a dente dissimiles (in Latin), hence dissident.

A derived word designates an unruly stubborn dentist who does not agree with established definitions: he's a dissidentist.

[Algot Runeman]

...stubborn dentist who does not agree with established definitions: he's a dissidentist

And is one who is against such dentists, an "antidissidentite"? (vague reference to Jerry Seinfeld's TV show)

Sounds vaguely like "antidisestablishmentarianism."
My aunty, Pen, ultimate relative, who rarely put the em-PHA-sis on the correct syllable, loved that word.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

That's called evaporative cooling. Simple concept that we use widely today.
I design power plants for a living and you've just decribed the basic concept of a cooling tower.

Evaporative cooling is also a motorbiker's trick.

Before riding off, pull a thick sock half-way inside-out, insert a can of your favourite beverage and thoroughly soak with water. Strap the sock with the can in it to your bike where it catches the most riding wind.

After a 60 minute ride, you'll have a nicely cool drink.

A bicycle's squeeze bottle with holding cage will do too, provided you can pull a wet sock over it.

[Algot Runeman]

"Put it in a soggy sock!"

Maybe we can encourage evaporative cooling by a rework the old, harsh "Put a sock in it!", the request that someone be quiet.

[Algot Runeman]

assignation

noun
1 an appointment to meet someone in secret, typically one made by lovers: his assignation with an older woman
2 the allocation or attribution of someone or something as belonging to something.

Origin:
late Middle English (in the senses 'command, appointment to office, or allotment of revenue'): via Old French from Latin assignatio(n-), from the verb assignare (see assign)


cannonsnapper on flickr

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"assignation with an older woman" describes my joyful meetings with the love of my life these days. Some years ago, our younger assignations resulted in the chance to celebrate today's holiday, Fathers Day. Best wishes to you all on this happy day.

[Algot Runeman]

fastness

noun
1 a secure place well protected by natural features: a remote Himalayan mountain fastness
2 [mass noun] the ability of a material or dye to maintain its colour without fading or washing away: the dyes differ in their fastness to light

Origin:
Old English fæstnes (see fast, -ness)


calafellvalo (Joan Grifols) on flickr

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With infinite slowness, Anders crept up on the king's fastness. His choice of the seaside cliffs for the approach gave him the best chance to reach the castle unseen. The spindrift from the crashing waves in the fjord below reached him hundreds of feet above the water. The fierce wind sheared across his body. In spite of slipping hand grips, Anders persevered, clinging with shaking shoulder and thigh muscles. There was no going back. Just a dozen feet more. His assignation with Ingeborg, the king's daughter, was worth the effort.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

fastness
... The fierce wind sheared across his body. In spite of slipping hand grips, Anders persevered, clinging with shaking shoulder and thigh muscles. There was no going back. Just a dozen feet more. His assignation with Ingeborg, the king's daughter, was worth the effort.

And upon achieving his beloved's fastness, he would be able to put his other body parts, trembling or not, to their good assignement, thereby ending her pious but unwillingly compelled fast.

P.S. Is that last correct English, I wonder? (That is, did it clearly convey my somewhat lecherous meaning?)

[Algot Runeman]

..did it clearly convey my somewhat lecherous meaning?

There is no doubt about the meaning.

Did I mention that the king gave Anders a final hand up at the edge of the cliff?
He put his arm around the young man's shoulders and asked, "What took you so long, lad? Ingeborg's been asking where you were every half hour."

[Algot Runeman]

culprit

noun
a person who is responsible for a crime or other misdeed.
the cause of a problem or defect:viruses could turn out to be the culprit

Origin:
late 17th century (originally in the formula Culprit, how will you be tried?, said by the Clerk of the Crown in England to a prisoner pleading not guilty): perhaps from a misinterpretation of the written abbreviation cul. prist, for Anglo-Norman French Culpable: prest d'averrer notre bille '(You are) guilty: (We are) ready to prove our indictment'; in later use influenced by Latin culpa 'fault, blame'


pingnews on flickr

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I've never been a culprit.
Perhaps I should be caught.
Accused sometimes of dull wit.
Convict me for my thought.

[Algot Runeman]

artificer

noun
1 a skilled mechanic in the armed forces.
2 archaic a skilled craftsman or inventor.

Origin:
late Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French, probably an alteration of Old French artificien, from artifice (see artifice)


United States Forces - Iraq on flickr

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Leonardo was an artificer of note, though I don't see a record of his service in the armed forces.
Perhaps his work as a military engineer for the Duke of Milan should be counted, though.

[Algot Runeman]

eructation

noun
formal
a belch.

Origin:
late Middle English: from Latin eructatio(n-), from the verb eructare, from e- (variant of ex-) 'out' + ructare 'belch'


brotherxii on flickr

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While looking for a photo to illustrate eructation, I goofed and typed it as eruction and I ran into a (volcano) which is sort of Earth's belch.

I corrected my spelling and came across a photo of some apples on a tree which seemed odd. The link is shown below (license required for re-use, so I didn't reproduce it. You can go look, of course.) The colorful quote accompanied the photo of the apples and explains the photo, too.

Stumbling around in the world of words, it is easy to get off track, but the missteps are as much fun as the main journey.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eriksimages/5118002665/

In de betere kringen pleegt men dit woord uit te spreken tijdens een ongewenste maar onvermijdelijke oprisping. Het klinkt dan beschaafder.

In the better circles one uses to pronounce this word (meaning "little apples") during an undesirable but unavoidable eructation. Its sound is more civilised then.

Edit by E Pericoloso Sporgersi: The first part of the blue quote above is Dutch.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

eructation
noun
formal
a belch.

Ah, now I understand the difference between a burp and a belch.

In very polite company:
My grandma very discreetly vented a close-mouthed burp behind her hand, all the while pretending to delicately scratch her pretty nose.

As opposed to in the wild:
First we heard a gagging noise, then grandma stumbled back in our bivouac holding her tummy and looking a bit greenish around the edges.
"What's the matter, did a scary snake bite you?" grandpa asked.
"No, it's not that." she said, "I was just crouched behind a bush taking a leak, when from behind another bush belched this huge hippo right in my face. And I had to sit there till I was finished."

And much too long to ever be used in a conversation:
The blue whale passed wind from its front end, almost capsizing the sailing yacht. Grandma and grandpa were awed breathless.

BTW.
I never drink beer or carbonated drinks from the bottle or the can. That gives me too much gas, so I always drink from a glass to avoid annoying eructations, even in private.

Now I do understand why people insist on ordering bottled water instead of tap water. But why do Americans almost never pour their beer in a glass, but drink it straight from the bottle? Even the British their drink beer from a glass, albeit headless.

[MidasKnight]

The bottle is more convenient (it's already there) and you don't have to wash it.

I DO, however, drink Blue Moon from a glass (usually) to accommodate an orange slice. Mexican beer just has the lime wedge crammed into the bottle.

[Algot Runeman]

quadrivium

noun
a medieval university course involving the ‘mathematical arts’ of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. Compare with trivium

Origin:
Latin, literally 'the place where four roads meet' (in late Latin 'the four branches of mathematics'), from quadri- 'four' + via 'road'


aruneman on runeman.org

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Quadrivium was not officially a course, but I'm glad it was more or less available in my schooling. Today, it seems to be all about the standardized test and the "core" curriculum. Phooey!

[Just checked trivium to find it was grammar, rhetoric and logic. Though many find grammar and logic difficult, apparently the quatdrivists considered the other course "trivial."]

3+4=7 and seven is a special number for many. Combining these two courses is probably special, too.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

quadrivium
...

aruneman on runeman.org
...

Why is the Big Dipper shown as its mirror image?
Edit: This question is now obsolete.

[Algot Runeman]

Why?

So you would ask!

UPDATE:
Thanks to E.P.S. for pointing out my error. I did the work from holostats I'd taken during a recent trip outside the galaxy, and didn't notice it was backward from the perspective of Earthlings, AKA "Solians", or more accurately "humanoids from BX-778-Ω3" which is the designation for the second sentient organism of the planet. Sadly, the first Earth sentients are no longer paying any attention, for they would have recognized the view, having seen it themselves so often when visiting my home world.

The image has been corrected to conform to your perspective on the universe.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

...
Thanks to E.P.S. for pointing out my error.
...

This lowly Tellurian humbly accepts your exaltedness's graceful apology.
(But don't let it happen again, or else ...)

[Algot Runeman]

disinformation

noun
false information that is intended to mislead, especially propaganda issued by a government organization to a rival power or the media.

Origin:
1950s: formed on the pattern of Russian dezinformatsiya


Randall Munroe on xkcd.com

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Recently, the administration was accused of providing disinformation about the stars until the origin of the "mistake" was explained. No one is to blame, really. It was a terrible error. Such things should not occur, and I can assure you that the administration takes any kind of problem seriously, will immediately put together a group with the express charge to identify the origins of such events and make recommendations to prevent them from occurring again. You can be assured that your concerns are important to us.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

disinformation
noun
false information that is intended to mislead, especially propaganda issued by a government organization to a rival power or the media.
Origin:
1950s: formed on the pattern of Russian dezinformatsiya
...

Isn't that what the British were doing to Nazi Intelligence back in 1944?

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

... "humanoids from BX-778-Ω3" which is the designation for the second sentient organism of the planet. Sadly, the first Earth sentients are no longer paying any attention ...

Okay, okay!
I'll let the question out, before I burst and sully this page with gore.

Who were the first?

Neanderthals?
Dinosaurs?
Twitters?
Forum members who defected to Facebook?