GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

gnome
... I've moved on to KDE and Plasma." ...

Hey, nice recovery.

To date, we've never been ignominious, but, for a second there, I thought you would stumble and fall.

P.S.
I know that the "G" in "gnome" is silent, but does one pronounce the "G" in words like "ignition" and "ignoble"?

And yes, I know you don't pronounce the "G" in "ignition plug" because you say "spark plug" instead, but that's just a lazy work-around, IMHO.

So how about the long extinct "Ignoropotamus"? (Guess why it became extinct?) How do you pronounce that?

[laurie]

I know that the "G" in "gnome" is silent, but does one pronounce the "G" in words like "ignition" and "ignoble"?

I can't speak for the rest, but I pronounce all the Gs you mention except gnome. As a kid, I used to pronounce that G, too, but then I learned about DNA and realized that a genome wasn't a lawn/garden statue.

[Algot Runeman]

cacophonous

Pronunciation: /kəˈkɒf(ə)nəs/

adjective
involving or producing a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds: the cacophonous sound of slot machines


Our Man in Tirana

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Midday on the boulevard, the peaceful roar of traffic was interrupted by the screeching of tires, blaring horns and ultimately the crunch of metal. Then followed the cacaphonous blather of two old bozos yelling at each other.

[The amazing thing was that neither bozo used a single word with silent letters during the five minute harangue.]

[Algot Runeman]

stour

Pronunciation: /stʊə/
(also stoor)

noun
[mass noun] Scottish & Northern English
dust forming a cloud or deposited in a mass: demolition stour clung thickly to the walls

Derivatives
stoury
adjective

Origin:
late Middle English: of uncertain origin


NOAA - George Marsh

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Stan stood stoically still 'side Sal's store. He scurried inside with his broom, sliding the latch shut, certain he'd be sent to sweep the porch again when the blow was over. Safe inside, Stan sat on the stool, not bothering to shift the stour already settled there.

[laurie]

I can pretty much say for certain that, while the word is from Scottish or Northern English, neither Scotland nor Northern England has ever seen a stour like the one pictured. Yikes!!!

[Algot Runeman]

Even though the storm photo was taken in Texas, the more famous storms are associated with Oklahoma, including dozens hundreds thousands of Tornados with great abbreviations like F4 and F5 to describe their power.

Rogers and Hammerstein once wrote: (bold is mine)

Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain
And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet
When the wind comes right behind the rain.
Oklahoma, Ev'ry night my honey lamb and I
Sit alone and talk and watch a hawk
Makin' lazy circles in the sky.

We know we belong to the land
And the land we belong to is grand!
And when we say
Yeeow! Ayipioeeay!
We're only sayin'
You're doin' fine, Oklahoma!
Oklahoma O.K.

The plains were apparently once covered in grasses that grew deep into the soil, binding the dirt, little effected by the sweeping winds. Then the pioneers moved in. Thanks to the work of John Deere, the prarie grasses didn't stand a chance. Wheat, rye, corn, it didn't matter. None could bind the soil against the ravages of Maria (pronounced like Mariah with the middle syllable "rye" sound). Thanks to Lerner and Lowe, some of us can sing that song, too.

Thanks to John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, we can read about the aftermath of the farming collapse in Oklahoma.

[Algot Runeman]

tucket

Pronunciation: /ˈtʌkɪt/

noun
archaic
a flourish on a trumpet: a tucket sounded at a distance

Origin:
late 16th century: from obsolete tuck 'beat a drum', from Old Northern French toquer, from the base of touch


Band Source Productions

Sound file link --> Fanfare2
(Click to hear the sound play, then come back with browser's back button.)
Source: WaveSource Fanfare2

----------------------------------------------- ♪ - ♪ ♪ ♪ -----------------------------------------------

Tucker tucked his locket in his pocket, took his trumpet from his bucket and tripple tongued a tucket.

[voralfred]

Even though the storm photo was taken in Texas, the more famous storms are associated with Oklahoma, including dozens hundreds thousands of Tornados with great abbreviations like F4 and F5 to describe their power.

(....)

For me, tornados are strongly connected to Kansas. At least, they pick you up in Kansas but where they put you down, it is not Kansas anymore, is it, Toto?

[Algot Runeman]

For me, tornados are strongly connected to Kansas. At least, they pick you up in Kansas but where they put you down, it is not Kansas anymore, is it, Toto?

voralfred, you are too literary for little ol' me.
Little Dorothy literally didn't enter my mind.
Your skill Oz me.
Tornados do litter all over the place, Kansas among 'Em, whether an aunty or not.

Oh, and what were Toto's duties?
Had he a Toto ToDo list?
Or were they simply Toto's doodoos?
(No, that's not a very good pick-up line, is it?)
Maybe tornadoes did Dorothy's pick up after a Toto put down, storing the stuff as subsequent stour.

Wordplay Notes:
Many words have little lateral linkage, but,
Oz ≈ awes
Em ≈ Dorothy's Aunty Em
pick-up line ≈ attempt to secure a date (dates might resemble a Toto put down)
put down ≈ a verbal slur

[Algot Runeman]

klatch

Pronunciation: /klatʃ/

(also klatsch)
noun
North American
an informal social gathering at which coffee is served.

Origin:
1950s: from German Klatsch 'gossip'


[urlhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/davehensley/5296158453/]Dave Hensley[/url]



Sandy sipped from her cup. The conversation burbled around her. Listening was easier for her than adding steady comments to the klatch, though she spoke often enough to keep getting invited.

[Algot Runeman]

fluke definition 1

Pronunciation: /fluːk/

noun
an unlikely chance occurrence, especially a surprising piece of luck: their victory was a bit of a fluke

verb
[with object]
achieve (something) by luck rather than skill.

Origin:
mid 19th century (originally a term in games such as billiards denoting a lucky stroke): perhaps a dialect word


velkr0

==============================================0

Cam thought it was a fluke that he didn't get any of the winning lottery numbers. He was wrong.

[Algot Runeman]

valour

Pronunciation: /ˈvalə/

(US valor)
noun
[mass noun]
great courage in the face of danger, especially in battle: the medals are awarded for acts of valour

Derivatives
valorous
adjective

Origin:
Middle English (denoting worth derived from personal qualities or rank): via Old French from late Latin valor, from valere 'be strong'

Spelling help
The ending of valour is -our (the spelling valor is American).


The U. S. Army

################################################################

Bob was brave. He was decorated for his valor. His daughter also loved to decorate him in yards of crepe paper.

[voralfred]

If the US spelling of the british form "valour" is "valor", shouldn't the spelling of the british "valorous" become in the US "valoros"?

WHile I am at it, and coming back on the discussion about gnome, do you know what "Gnat" is?

Spoiler: show

a gnickgname for Gnathaniel

[Algot Runeman]

do you know what "Gnat" is?

Youu have valiauntly shouwn us that it is gnout so easy to answeur.

[Apologies to laurie and all others whose focus on spellink keeps us in ordeur.]

[laurie]

[Apologies to laurie and all others whose focus on spellink keeps us in ordeur.]

Are you saying I keep you in filthy feces?

Spoiler: show

ordeur = ordure

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

[Apologies to laurie and all others whose focus on spellink keeps us in ordeur.]

Are you saying I keep you in filthy feces?

Spoiler: show

ordeur = ordure

Laurie dear, I beg to disagree.

AFAIK the word ordeur simply does not exist in standard French. The only occurrance that I know of, is as part of the Dutch voordeur (= front door).

Moreover the French ordure does NOT mean sh1t, merde nor any actual excrement.
There are two kinds of ordure: 1. the waste in a trashcan and 2. people like M. Dutroux, M. Fourniret and J. Fritzl.

[Algot Runeman]

confect

Pronunciation: /kənˈfɛkt/

verb
[with object]
make (something elaborate or dainty) from various elements: a trifle confected from angelica and piped cream

Origin:
late Middle English: from Latin confect- 'put together', from the verb conficere, from con- 'together' + facere 'make'


motherwit

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^!*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Though confect, that putting together of many parts, is almost always associated with "confections", it certainly need not be.
Remember, Rube Goldberg, who possibly, conceivabley, might have said, "If you can accomplish something with 50 steps, why settle for just one step?"

[Algot Runeman]

guesstimate

(also guestimate)
informal
noun
Pronunciation: /ˈgɛstɪmət/
an estimate based on a mixture of guesswork and calculation: a rough guesstimate of public expenditure

verb
Pronunciation: /ˈgɛstɪmeɪt/
[with object]
estimate (something) using a mixture of guesswork and calculation: the task is to guesstimate the total vote

Origin:
1930s: blend of guess and estimate



$$$$$0$$$$$$0$$$$$0$$$$$$0$$$$$0$$$$$$0$$$$$0$$$$$$0$$$$$0$$$$$$0

It is sad reality; too many who play the lottery guesstimate that their chances of winning go way up if they buy 10 tickets instead of one.

[Algot Runeman]

mead [definition 2]

Pronunciation: /miːd/

noun
literary
a meadow.

Origin:
Old English mǣd, of Germanic origin; related to mow1


dordirk

✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀

Drinking mead in the mead made Maude maudlin and marginally morose. She missed her unadulterated honey, and resented Hank's adultery, too.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

mead [definition 2]

When grandpa had had a little too much mead, grandma made short shrift with him. She mercilessly dumped him in the outhouse in the back of the little mead behind their house.

Grandpa sobered up astonishingly quickly, especially in winter, complaining bitterly that he'd been made with single malt mead ... again!

[Algot Runeman]

delirium

Pronunciation: /dɪˈlɪrɪəm/

noun
[mass noun]
an acutely disturbed state of mind characterized by restlessness, illusions, and incoherence, occurring in intoxication, fever, and other disorders: somewhere a patient shouted in delirium she had fits of delirium
wild excitement or ecstasy: a chorus of delirium from the terrace

Origin:
mid 16th century: from Latin, from delirare 'deviate, be deranged' (literally 'deviate from the furrow'), from de- 'away' + lira 'ridge between furrows'


HelenaN

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Mark muttered and jerked his head around. Nobody was there, that anyone else could see, anyway.
His delirium kept many from approaching. His corner on the block was mainly his alone.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

delirium
mid 16th century: ... from de- 'away' + lira 'ridge between furrows'
...

When last I had dinner in a little restaurant in Cavalese, Val di Fiemme, the patrons at the neighbouring table obviously didn't speak Italian.

When the foreigner asked for "de lira, de lira", meanwhile rubbing thumb and index together, the pretty waitress, unfazed, put the printed check on the table and helpfully pointed at the total amount due.

But when the customer tried to pay with obsolete and worthless Italian Lira, the waitress visibly thought she suffered a sudden onslaught of delirium. Fortunately, I had followed and understood the little by-play and was able to convince the man, in English, that he had to pay with Euro currency or with a credit card.

The foreign couple was already out the door, when the waitress went to clear the table. That was when the tremens hit her. She found that the finally-not-so-silly tourist had left a very generous tip ... in Lira!

[Algot Runeman]

ruggedized

Pronunciation: /ˈrʌgɪdʌɪzd/

(also ruggedised)
adjective
chiefly North American
designed or improved to be hard-wearing or shock-resistant: ruggedized computers suitable for use on the battlefield

Derivatives
ruggedization
Pronunciation: /-ˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/
noun


Elaine Ashton

⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒⚒

Mom ruggedized the rugrat for ranging in the snow. Mom enjoyed herself with the camera, too until he couldn't get back to his feet by himself.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

ruggedized

Oh boy! For that baby's muscular mouth, his mom had better have ruggedized teats. Not a soccer mom, but a sucker mom.

[laurie]

Uh, folks, that be a female young'un.