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The Measure of Man

A list of 240 words by reesetee.

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Unusual, arcane, or obscure units of measure

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  • reesetee Added. Thanks, fbharjo! Feb 10, 2013

  • fbharjo toise?!
    fathom?! Feb 9, 2013

  • reesetee Added! Or should I say, "Aaded!"? Feb 6, 2013

  • ruzuzu aam Feb 6, 2013

  • reesetee Added. Thanks, ruzuzu! Jan 30, 2013

  • ruzuzu unguis Jan 25, 2013

  • ruzuzu A pipe is a "wine cask having a capacity of 126 gallons or 2 hogsheads (478 liters)." Aug 13, 2012

  • fbharjo But Chopin is still a half pint and that helps heaps (in some quarters) i.e. sorites paradox and heaps of oranges -- fatal indigestion for elephants!


    * Joseph Wood Krutch, author of The Measure of Man, where are you when we need you?* Jul 16, 2012

  • ruzuzu Oh! Oh! Chopin is also a woman!
    *swoons* Jul 16, 2012

  • ruzuzu Chopin is a measure and a man!
    *tries to calm down*
    *can't* Jul 16, 2012

  • yarb That vague "in some places" paired with the precise "formerly 4¾ cubic yards" is classic Century! Jan 30, 2012

  • ruzuzu The CD&C has this to say about heap: "In some places a heap of limestone was formerly 4¾ cubic yards." Jan 30, 2012

  • john How about today's word of the day? Jan 6, 2011

  • reesetee Good ones--thanks! How could I have forgotten cubit? Apr 18, 2009

  • chained_bear Cubit? Passus? Stadia? Apr 18, 2009

  • reesetee It's here, but disguised as eln. Apr 17, 2009

  • madmouth I'm surprised the ell wasn't mentioned. Apr 17, 2009

  • reesetee Nice one--thanks! Nov 4, 2008

  • mollusque How about sleever? Nov 4, 2008

  • reesetee Ha! Ha!

    I never realized laughing could be so...astronomical. Nov 4, 2008

  • bilby How here's a funny one: ha! Nov 4, 2008

  • reesetee I'll be very cautious. Thanks to both of you. :-) Oct 28, 2008

  • sionnach There's the stimp. Besides being a measure of the speed of a green in golf, it's also a computer virus, so be careful. Oct 28, 2008

  • bilby gilbert. Oct 28, 2008

  • reesetee Thanks, bilby! Oct 23, 2008

  • bilby Have a look at the multi-talented mil. Also the luminous cd. Oct 23, 2008

  • reesetee Thanks, b--I found information in the online OED. Will post on the word page. Jan 2, 2008

  • bilby I listed eln but seeing as I don't have access to a good dictionary of ye olden lingo I can't really verify it. Jan 2, 2008

  • reesetee Will do. :-) Dec 20, 2007

  • michaelchang reesetee, thank you, you are both brilliant, generous and kind, if you get curious to, then you can visit www.michaelchang.dk to check out my art stuff. I up date the site regularly and there's a few phobias painted on plastic their as well. Dec 20, 2007

  • reesetee Bilby, hand is a good one--added. (After all, finger is already on the list.) MC, thank you for your kind words. I'm not sure what the words on this list would have to do with your etchings, but since I don't own them, you're welcome to them! Sounds like an interesting project, too.

    I think I'll steer clear of the boxing weights, however, since they're fairly standard compared to most of the measures on the list. :-) Dec 20, 2007

  • michaelchang Heres a few measures which are a bit boring but very literally are an obscure measure of man: Light flyweight, Featherweight, Super flyweight, Cruiserweight, Super featherweight, Mini flyweight (is that a bananaflyweight?) and what kind of bird delivers a super feather? Dec 20, 2007

  • bilby I'll have another for you soon, with a nice Steven King citation and all. For today how about hands which are the measure of equine quadrupeds? Dec 20, 2007

  • michaelchang dear reesetee, i am officially in love with your list the measure of man and i really would love to combine it with some of my etchings, it will make a great piece of art... uh ehh, staring at my toes can i? Dec 20, 2007

  • reesetee Great, skipvia--thanks for the suggestion. I love this stuff! Nov 11, 2007

  • skipvia Hey reesetee--I think I have one for your list. See chain. Nov 11, 2007

  • reesetee Thanks, rocks (and palooka too)! Oh, and by the way, trivet, I left out bottle measurements because your list speaks for itself. :-) Nov 7, 2007

  • rocksinmypockets I know it's been said, but, wow, this is a great list! Nov 7, 2007

  • reesetee Yes, I had a shorter list of relatively common measurements (weight only), and I folded it into this one. Good eye, trivet! Nov 7, 2007

  • trivet Glad to see you have my favorite unit of measurement, the scruple! Did you make a list like this once before, reesetee? Nov 7, 2007

  • palooka I agree with the others - great list! Nov 6, 2007

  • reesetee Thanks, skipvia--but don't sell yourself short. You're a veritable encyclopedia of information. :-)

    Sionnach, here's the link to your frivolous units of measurement list.
    Nov 6, 2007

  • skipvia See, this is why I love Wordie. I learn so much more than the meager amount I contribute. Thanks, reesetee. This is wonderful. Nov 6, 2007

  • sionnach c_b : your wish is my command. It's called "frivolous units of measurement".

    Enjoy!

    Apparently I don't know how to link to lists. Nov 6, 2007

  • chained_bear "Sionnach, have you made a list of frivolous units of measure? If so, where is it? If not, where is it?"

    HA HA HA HA!!! Yes, sionnach, I'm another eager Wordie waiting to see one! Nov 6, 2007

  • reesetee Thanks, kad--it's arcane enough for me! :-) Nov 6, 2007

  • kad It's not arcane, but one of my favorite units of measure is the Sverdrup. In oceanography, it's a measure of the volume of water transported by a current in a given amount of time. Nov 6, 2007

  • reesetee Thanks for the compliments and suggestions, all! John, I believe Johnny Carson once defined New York Minute as the time between when the traffic light turns green and the guy behind you starts honking his horn. Always liked that, since Philadelphia is much the same (although that unit of measure has a less lilting name). :-)

    Sionnach, have you made a list of frivolous units of measure? If so, where is it? If not, where is it? Nov 6, 2007

  • john This list does rock. It's kind of bullpucky, (I had some minutes in New York that felt like they lasted at least seven or eight minutes), but there's the New York Minute. Nov 6, 2007

  • sionnach I've always had a soft spot for Scoville units, which measure the heat of peppers. Not to mention the svedberg, the millisiemens (which would be one thousandth of a mho), and the kilderkin.

    Then there are the more frivolous units:

    16.5 feet in the Twilight Zone = 1 Rod Serling
    1000 grams of wet socks: 1 literhosen
    1 unit of suspense in a detective story = 1 whod unit

    and the ever-popular millihelen and millipicture. Nov 6, 2007

  • chained_bear Day-am! This list rocks! You're going to have to stop that soon, or all my favorite lists will be yours, and that ain't fair. Nov 6, 2007