GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

Is that a schoolmarm with *pants*?

No schoolmarm. The cartoonist is a male, but it looks like his cartoon representation is a guy with a pony tail hairdo.

[Algot Runeman]

exigency

noun (plural exigencies)
an urgent need or demand: women worked long hours when the exigencies of the family economy demanded it - he put financial exigency before personal sentiment

Origin:
late 16th century: from late Latin exigentia, from Latin exigere 'enforce' (see exact)


Global Opportunity Garden

☑☒☑-☑☒☑-☑☒☑-☑☒☑-☑☒☑-☑☒☑-☑☒☑-☑☒☑-☑☒☑-☑☒☑-☑☒☑-☑☒☑-☑☒☑

There are lawyers who step in to advocate for the exigencies of patients when all the boxes need to be checked when making health care decisions.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

exigency

Whether Palace Gala or Cro-Magnon Cave, my grandma had a knack to make her choice of fur precisely fit the exigencies of the venue.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

alumnus

noun (plural alumni /-nī, -nē/)
a graduate or former student, especially male, of a particular school, college, or university: a Harvard alumnus

Origin:
mid 17th century: from Latin, 'nursling, pupil', from alere 'nourish'

Usage
In the singular, alumnus nearly always means a male, but the plural alumni usually refers to graduates or former students of either sex. See also alumna.


University of Michigan Dentistry

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By simply being a former student of a university, I am an alumnus four times over, according to this definition. Sadly, that has not guaranteed a golden life, only an aluminum one. Polite society balks at the bauxite wasted on me.

[Do all dental school graduates possess photogenic teeth?]

[Do farmers talk the talk and walk the balk?]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

...
Do all dental school graduates possess photogenic teeth?
...

Well brushed teeth, yes. But the photogenicity is serendipitous.

[Algot Runeman]

chiffonier

noun
1 a tall chest of drawers, often with a mirror on top.
2 British a low cupboard, sometimes with a raised bookshelf on top.

Origin:
mid 18th century: from French chiffonnier, chiffonnière, literally 'ragpicker', also denoting a chest of drawers for odds and ends


The Arcadia Furniture Company


Antiques Bible

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Wednesday is moving day.
Charlie's chin chafed against the chiffonier as he carried it up the stairs. He'd go back for the mirror next. (American experience)

Bill and Harold huffed and puffed as they went down the stairs with the low chiffonier cupboard, cursing the fact that the shelves didn't separate from the case. (British experience)

In India, Neela wrapped all her various chiffon garments around herself and trudged across town to her new place.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

chiffonier

My grandma didn't like chiffoniers. They were all much too small to stow her fur coats and other fur paraphernalia.

But she often did donate to the chiffonier roaming the streets to collect worn clothing.

[Algot Runeman]

haw [definition 2]

noun
the third eyelid or nictitating membrane in certain mammals, especially dogs and cats.

Origin:

late Middle English (denoting a discharge from the eye): of unknown origin


0xFCAF

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"Hee-Haw," howled Harold. "Lookit that crazy bird. It's got them nikerating membrains. Haw, haw."

"Now giddup there, mules. Gee, there. Now, haw!

Harold had ill-defined understanding of many things, but not birds. He hunted them regularly. He routinely presented the university with study skins for the ones which weren't too damaged by shot.

[Irreverent example boldly acknowledges that haw has more than one meaning, and, perhaps, this one is obscure.]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

May I assume that "Haw-haw-haw!" suggests a redneck Santaclaus?

[Algot Runeman]

Thanks, E.P.S., for putting us into the holiday spirit.

"Hee, hee, hee," certainly doesn't do it, but there's power in "Haw, haw, haw."

[Algot Runeman]

astral

adjective
[attributive]
of, connected with, or resembling the stars: astral navigation
of or relating to a supposed nonphysical realm of existence to which various psychic and paranormal phenomena are ascribed, and in which the physical human body is said to have a counterpart.

Origin:
early 17th century: from late Latin astralis, from astrum 'star'


ana tomás

☀★☀★☀★☀★☀★☀★☀★☀★☀★☀★☀★☀★☀★☀★☀★☀★☀★☀★☀★

There are those who think that showing the Oscars on a big screen in a theater is an astral projection.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

astral

Even while awake, my grandpa thought he was living an astral dream:
he always went to bed and woke up next to a heavenly body.


Painting by Pino Daini..

Pino Daeni was an Italian Impressionist book illustrator and artist. He is known for his unique style of feminine, romantic women and strong men painted with his loose but accurate brushwork. Considered one of the highest paid book illustrators of his time, he created over 3,000 book covers, movie posters and magazine illustrations.

More of his wonderful paintings here.

[Algot Runeman]

andrology

noun
the branch of physiology and medicine that deals with diseases and conditions specific to men.

Derivatives
andrologist
noun

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

A day late and no picture. If it isn't andrology, it's lazy-old-man disease.

[Algot Runeman]

babel

noun
[in singular]
a confused noise, typically that made by a number of voices: the babel of voices on the road
a scene of noisy confusion.

Origin:
early 16th century: from Babel (see Tower of Babel), where, according to the biblical story in Gen. 11:4–9, God made the builders all speak different languages

http://farm1.staticflickr.com/61/170255 ... ebd321.jpg
Samuel Straube

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The crowd was a raucus rabble whose voices were mere babel.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

babel
a confused noise, typically that made by a number of voices: the babel of voices on the road
a scene of noisy confusion.

Inspector Clouseau asked, "Is there not a babel in every rhöem?"

"A what, Inspector?", asked Monsieur Poiret, the hotel manager.

"A babel! Don't you know what a babel is?", replied Inspector Clouseau.

"The Inspector means a *bible*, Monsieur Poiret", said Sergeant Culomby.

Inspector Clouseau again: "That's exactly what I said, Monsieur Poireaux. So why is there no babel in the victim's rhöem?"

[Algot Runeman]

sarcophagus

noun (plural sarcophagi /-ˌjī/)
a stone coffin, typically adorned with a sculpture or inscription and associated with the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Rome, and Greece.

Origin:
late Middle English: via Latin from Greek sarkophagos 'flesh-consuming', from sarx, sark- 'flesh' + -phagos '-eating'


Roger Ulrich

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The idea of a flesh eating stone box is really creepy. No sarcophagus for me. Better a shark-ophagus; burial at sea, that's for me.

[Algot Runeman]

prig

noun
a self-righteously moralistic person who behaves as if superior to others.

Derivatives
priggery
Pronunciation:/ˈprigərē/
noun

Origin:
mid 16th century: of unknown origin. The earliest sense was 'tinker' or 'petty thief', whence 'disliked person', especially 'someone who is affectedly and self-consciously precise' (late 17th century)


Mike Knell

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Nobody has ever been able to look down their nose at others better than a senator from ancient Rome.
That isn't to say all Roman senators were prigs.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

prig...
Origin:
mid 16th century: of unknown origin ...

Could prig be the short form of prigmatist as antonym to pragmatist?

[Algot Runeman]

forte [definition 1]

noun
1 [in singular] a thing at which someone excels: small talk was not his forte
2 Fencing - the stronger part of a sword blade, from the hilt to the middle. Compare with foible

Origin:
mid 17th century ( forte (sense 2) ; originally as fort): from French fort (masculine), forte (feminine) 'strong', from Latin fortis


Lucas Krech

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Adding and subtracting colors has never been my forte. Being color blind (red-green) doesn't help. Struggling with math probably didn't help either.

[Algot Runeman]

grisly

adjective (grislier, grisliest)
causing horror or disgust: the town was shaken by a series of grisly crimes

Derivatives
grisliness
noun

Origin:
Old English grislic 'terrifying', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch griezelig
Easily confused words

Do not confuse grisly with grizzly. Grisly means ‘causing horror or disgust’ (a grisly crime; ), whereas grizzly is mainly used to describe a kind of large American bear (a grizzly bear; ) and can also mean ‘gray, gray-haired’ (a grizzly beard).


Tim Shea

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Gus ducked under the yellow tape of the crime scene perimeter. He scanned the grisly scene. One body's remains were scattered widely in the glade. The other body was intact, but not his main problem. Body two was a gigantic grizzly which had also been killed here. The hunter who'd killed the beast stood to the side, head down, grizzly beard covering his chest. He had handed his rifle to the deputy.

Gus wondered, "What am I doing here? What's the crime that called out a homicide detective?"

[Algot Runeman]

abnegate

verb
[with object]
renounce or reject (something desired or valuable): he attempts to abnegate personal responsibility

Derivatives
abnegator
Pronunciation:/-ˌgātər/
noun

Origin:
early 17th century: from Latin abnegat- 'renounced', from the verb abnegare, from ab- 'away, off' + negare 'deny'


Charcoal Photography

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One who uses drugs to escape from reality abnegates their essential humanity. Struggle, fall, rise again. Joy accompanies accomplishment. Nobody can give a person self respect. It must be built a single challenge at a time.

[Algot Runeman]

retroussé

Pronunciation: /rəˈtruːseɪ/
adjective
(of a person’s nose) turned up at the tip in an attractive way.

Origin:
early 19th century: French, literally 'tucked up', past participle of retrousser


[urlhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/gonzocarles/32179 ... otostream/]Gonzo Carles[/url]

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There are times is is more difficult to tell if a person's nose has the cute retroussé look of a baby.

[scheduled for Sunday December 11, 2011...but late...once again! Don't simply turn up your nose, though. Sometimes Sudays are busy.]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

"Live Long and Prosper!" (Spock)

[Algot Runeman]

pentad

Pronunciation: /ˈpɛntad/
noun
technical
a group or set of five.

Origin:
mid 17th century: from Greek pentas, pentad-, from pente 'five'



⬟⬟⬟⬟⬟ ⬟⬟⬟⬟⬟ ⬟⬟⬟⬟⬟ ⬟⬟⬟⬟⬟ ⬟⬟⬟⬟⬟ ⬟⬟⬟⬟⬟ ⬟⬟⬟⬟⬟

Our counting system may be decimal, but it has been common to tally in pentads.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

pentad

Ever since your notorious Tea Party, you Yanks have been contrary and stubborn about it, you know?

A pentad is written like this:



unless you have left-handed OCD ...