GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[umsolopagas]

How mendacious would it be of me to say that those who are reduced to mendicity are not inclined to have several courses of action at their disposal?

[Algot Runeman]

lashings

Pronunciation: /ˈlaSHiNGz/

plural noun
British informal
a copious amount of something, especially food or drink: chocolate cake with lashings of cream


jeffreyw



"Tall Cake", the epitome of lashings. A tanker car of coffee (tea?) completes the image.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

lashings

The gourmet chef's famous desserts were notorious for the many lashings he whimsically applied.

Until the day his kitchen personnel revolted and hid his whip.

To no avail. He intertwined two forks and whisked them about just as ruthlessly as before.

[Algot Runeman]

ichthyophagous

Pronunciation: /ˌikTHēˈäfəgəs/

adjective
formal
fish-eating: Americans are more ichthyophagous than ever

Derivatives
ichthyophagy
Pronunciation: /-ˈäfəjē/
noun


Stewart Ho

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was no doubt, the merganzer's are ichthyophagous. Whew! Not my choice for duck dinner.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

... Americans are more ichthyophagous than ever
...

Hmm ... sounds fishy to me ...

[Algot Runeman]

recherché

Pronunciation: /rəˌSHerˈSHā, rəˈSHerˌSHā/

adjective
rare, exotic, or obscure: a few linguistic terms are perhaps a bit recherché for the average readership

Origin:
French, literally 'carefully sought out', past participle of rechercher


Argonne National Laboratory

⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵⚴⚵

Medical research is classically recherché. Who really wants to study the interaction of protease inhibitors?
We do all benefit (as long as patents don't trump everything else.)

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

recherché

How about "Cherchez la femme.".
Seems to me that's a more rewarding goal.
If I were younger I would wholeheartedly and assiduously participate ...

[voralfred]

What is the common point of the three following adjectives:
recherché
pentasyllabic
awkwardnessful

Spoiler: show

they are self-referential

[Algot Runeman]

skulduggery

Pronunciation: /skəlˈdəgərē/

(also skullduggery)
noun
underhanded or unscrupulous behavior; trickery: a firm that investigates commercial skulduggery

Origin:
mid 19th century: alteration of Scots sculduddery, of unknown origin


v i p e z

----====---- ----====---- ----====---- ----====---- ----====---- ----====----

Debt isn't officially skulduggery, but during times of 2% lending interest between banks, 4% mortgages, etc., how is it that credit cards charge an average of 14% interest?

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

skulduggery...
Debt isn't officially skulduggery, but during times of 2% lending interest between banks, 4% mortgages, etc., how is it that credit cards charge an average of 14% interest?

What with Voralfred's linguistic skulduggery, it's no wonder.

[Algot Runeman]

colophon

Pronunciation: /ˈkäləfən, -ˌfän/

noun
a publisher’s emblem or imprint, especially one on the title page or spine of a book.
historical a statement at the end of a book, typically with a printer’s emblem, giving information about its authorship and printing.

Origin:
early 17th century (denoting a finishing touch): via late Latin from Greek kolophōn 'summit or finishing touch'


Medpro

------------------------------------------------ - 30 - -----------------------------------------------

Mel Blank of Warner Brothers liked his cartoon colophon so much, he used it on his headstone.

[Corollary challenge: What are the colophon-like markers in this WotD and when/where are they typically used?]

di-dah-di-dah-dit

Fin

[Algot Runeman]

fluster

Pronunciation: /ˈfləstər/

verb
[with object] (often as adjective flustered)
make (someone) agitated or confused: you need to be able to work under pressure and not get flustered

noun
[in singular]
an agitated or confused state: the main thing is not to get all in a fluster

Origin:
early 17th century (in the sense 'make slightly drunk'): perhaps of Scandinavian origin and related to Icelandic flaustra 'hurry, bustle'


Kevin Lu

⤪--⤨ ⤪--⤨ ⤪--⤨ ⤪--⤨ ⤪--⤨ ⤪--⤨ ⤪--⤨ ⤪--⤨ ⤪--⤨ ⤪--⤨ ⤪--⤨ ⤪--⤨

I was so flustered, I almost forgot to...

[laurie]

Just a wee bit flustered today...

[Algot Runeman]

puissant

Pronunciation: /ˈpwisənt, ˈpwēsənt, ˈpyo͞oəsənt/
adjective
archaic or literary
having great power or influence.

Derivatives
puissantly
adverb

Origin:
late Middle English: via Old French from Latin posse 'be able'


Vectoportal

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰

The puissant presence of a print encyclopedia ended this year.
Access to the Internet is too pervasive.

[Algot Runeman]

tuff

Pronunciation: /təf/

noun
a light, porous rock formed by consolidation of volcanic ash.

Derivatives
tuffaceous
Pronunciation: /təˈfāSHəs/
adjective

Origin:
mid 16th century: via French from Italian tufo, from late Latin tofus, Latin tophus (see tophus)


Andrew Dunn

▶◀●●●●▶◀●●●●▶◀●●●●▶◀●●●●▶◀●●●●▶◀●●●●▶◀●●●●▶◀●●●●▶◀●●●●▶◀●●●●▶◀

The men in the navy
After salt beef and gravy
Bent on their knees and scoured the decks.

They used sandstone, not tuff
For hands the latter too rough.
Holystone on Sunday, in battle the next.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

tuff

The tuff cliff face was not tough enough to retain the sculpture of president Tufft's face.
Years ago, it was carried away by housewives in need of pumice.

[laurie]

Now this is tuff!!!

[Algot Runeman]

panacea

Pronunciation: /ˌpanəˈsēə/

noun
a solution or remedy for all difficulties or diseases: the panacea for all corporate ills the time-honored panacea, cod liver oil

Derivatives
panacean
Pronunciation: /-ˈsēən/
adjective

Origin:
mid 16th century: via Latin from Greek panakeia, from panakēs 'all-healing', from pan 'all' + akos 'remedy'


Steve Slocomb

✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰

Cal was a good salesman.
His brown bottles went fast.
A panacea, no talisman.
Single swallow, pain: past.

[Algot Runeman]

patsy

Pronunciation: /ˈpatsē/

noun (plural patsies)
informal
a person who is easily taken advantage of, especially by being cheated or blamed for something.

Origin:
early 20th century: of unknown origin


Algot Runeman

✂✂✂✂✂✂✂✂✂✂✂✂✂✂✂

Patsy was not patsy.
She was strong and also wise, see?
On April 1, she was no fool.
She saw her car and thought it cool.

[laurie]

However, her younger brother Patrick was born to be Patsy's patsy.

[Algot Runeman]

homage

Pronunciation: /ˈ(h)ämij/
noun
special honor or respect shown publicly: they paid homage to the local boy who became president a masterly work written in homage to Beethoven
historical formal public acknowledgment of feudal allegiance: a man doing homage to his personal lord

Origin:
Middle English: Old French, from medieval Latin hominaticum, from Latin homo, homin- 'man' (the original use of the word denoted the ceremony by which a vassal declared himself to be his lord's “man”)


Koshy Koshy

==============================================================

Rakshee made obeisance to show homage to all the gods.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

homage
...
Rakshee made obeisance to show homage to all the gods.

Is that a scene in Octopussy? ...

Anyway, a hungry Larry Niven paid homage to the homard on his plate by saying:
"Ve haff vays to make you aliens talk!"

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

I looked up "scavenger" and encountered a juicy etymology.

Scavenger is an alteration of scavager, from Middle English skawager meaning "customs collector," from skawage meaning "customs," from Old North French escauwage meaning "inspection," from escauwer meaning "to inspect," of Germanic origin; akin to Old English sceawian meaning "to look at", and modern English "show" (with semantic drift).

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

fulgent

Pronunciation: /ˈfəljənt/
adjective
literary
shining brightly.

Origin:
late Middle English: from Latin fulgent- 'shining', from the verb fulgere


David

-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-

Boston's Hancock tower was fulgent in the morning sun.

[voralfred]

The memory of Fulgence Bienvenüeis fulgent in the heart of all Parisians (all those, anyway, who care about who built their dayly transportation system)