Yes, as the excited twittering over there on the right suggests, the folks at WOTD have accorded this back-formation word status.
If this keeps up, next thing you know kipple will be declared a real word, and I will be forced to do away with my "How do you like Kipling?" list.
FWIW, I'd a spelled it "quizzle". As in quizzle mah pizzle, schamizzle.
I think the reason that jelly shoes are always trending is that yarb keeps clicking on this page, lured back each time by the unerotic and slightly creepy visual. Maybe the woman, if that's what the creature is, is Belgian.
Oops! I just clicked on the photo, to discover that, on closer inspection, it's a young girl. Which makes the part above creepily inappropriate. Sorry, yarb!
The scores of public automobiles were engaged by joyous parties who sallied to the rural resorts, each Juan with his vahine.
Rilly, "Mystic Isles of the South Seas"? You and Tintin might get along famously.
WHY, for the love of PETE, whoever he IS, does this site still take FOREVER to LOAD?!
Bonne question. it's not as if the huge amount of content is slowing it down, as all the good stuff is down there in the disused nuclear fallout shelter, or has been sold to the Estonians to defray expenses. But I never gave permission for my content to be made summarily unavailable for months on end with no warning, or for it to be sold to the Estonians, the greedy bastards. Note that "Estonians" in this post is being used as a generic, intended-to-be- humorous reference to a mysterious people I know nothing about, except that their entire country is internet-wired out the wazoo, and that you can't take a leak in Tallinn without first punching in your PIN, so that sewerage treatment charges can be debited to your account. Oops! I think that last sentence might have made things worse, not better.
Yes, indeedy. Whenever I am feeling a little phlegmish, i like nothing better than a little Belgian chocolate, a plate of fries, and some absurdly alcoholic beer to cheer me up.
The wrinkled old farmer looked up from his drowse.
Felonious redcoats* were infesting his house.
He picked up the shotgun he used to shoot grouse.
And summoned his backup, a truculent mouse.
*: or, if you prefer, "red ants"; in which case the backup would need to be a truculent louse, to ensure a fair fight in the following stanzas.
In Edinburgh last Thursday evening, our carafe of water came with cucumbers and assorted pond greenery floating in it. I had a pint of cider instead.
A propos of nothing in particular, have I mentioned recently how your wonderful contributions on this site stoke my chaste internet crush on you, cheres applaudissements de grenouille?
After feasting on fufluns and S'mores,
Ruzuzu was craving some snores,
Then along came GHibbs*,
Whose intellectual squibbs
Gave her much-needed snores in the stores.
OK, it needs some work; I'd be the first to admit it.
*: 3rd person singular of the verb, to Ghibb, which - as best as our crack etymolinguistic detectives have been able to ascertain - seems to mean "to have a charming, if slightly baffling, obsession with verbs in the 3rd person"
Because, when he was picked up on the side of the Westchester Expressway, where someone had apparently thrown him out of a car, he had only three and a half legs and a bloody, vestigial tail. Poor Stumpy!
Now deceased, seen here in tutu (this is what happens when one leaves one's puddy-tat in the care of unscrupulous house-sitters). Aka Sputnik the cat, because I was ashamed to admit to the vet I had named my cat "Stumpy".
You could see if this stick sticks to those sticks.
You could see if these sticks stick to those sticks.
I wonder if bears ever get tired of laying (stic) on grass dirt and sticks.
I wonder if a fossilized tappen could be mistaken for a sticky stick.
The problem with parking one's car over in the FB garage is that you are never sure who can rummage through the glove compartment and discover your innermost secrets. "Friends" of people who bullied you in high school, assorted riff-raff, people who scatter grocer's apostrophe's (sic) throughout their barely literate updates with gay abandon. It's enough to make one give up driving altogether.
See, e.g. QI Series I episode 3 , at around the 4:45 mark, but watch the whole thing, as it is very funny throughout. They also discuss the sarcastrophe, semi-colonic irrigation, and an ingenious way to murder your partner.
It's sort of like a Victorian onesy.
My guess would have been a coffin, suitable attire for taking a dirtnap.
I, myself, of course have my own special comfy burrow-coat; a sort of foxy dressing-gown. I wear it on those rare occasions when I dine alone, e.g. on a tasty Welsh rabbit.
My friend Gabriella helped me pick them out. They aren't quite as snazzy as the specs I got in Madrid, but they are chic nonetheless. This being France, they won't be ready for a week, so photographic evidence will have to be added later.
Damned wasps. They've got some gall. But I didn't know they used bear seeds to make leis.
Of course the wiliwili situation in Walla-Walla has been critical for some time now.
Ahhh. It was the width=100% part that I left out. Thanks, leaden. They are still barstids, though, but maybe only of a degree of barstidliness warranting only a single exclamation point.
Of course, the more I look at the image in question, the less it looks like a fox, and more like a cat.
Also, this seems a good a time as any to rectify a previous omission. Namely that, dear leaden, you are a god(dess) and your contributions to the stinking embers of the site are a welcome antidote to the bile induced by aforementioned stinking embers.
The first person to look this up on Wordnik?! How can this be? For a discussion of the contribution of this delicious culinary item to my recent Hibernian gastronomic excess, see this link. Warning: may induce salivation.
What? Our ability to include images has now been taken away as well. A travesty, etc etc etc
Fine. Try this link .
Sigh. Wordnik, you are really trying my patience.
I don't see why we couldn't set up a temporary camp here.
I hate to say it, 'zuzu, but I think you may be suffering from Stockholm syndrome. We could do any number of things, but my point is, we should not be forced to go to ridiculous lengths to do things that were once straightforward. Have you ever read the book "Ella Minnow Pea"? It's a good metaphor for recent experience on this site.
Based on my own most recent experience of the phenomenon you describe, the phrase "adulterous friend" comes to mind. He said he was gone away on a trip, but in fact he was cavorting with his wife's (former) best friend.
My question was whether or not there is a word for this kind of construction:
"the French ability to, and tolerance for, bullshit, is absurdly high", in which a faux-parallel structure is imposed, despite "bullshit" being used as both verb and noun in the given example.
Jesus Christ on a ciabatta roll! This site is less than worthless. Everything that used to work no longer works. And the silence from the powers that be is deafeningly eloquent. Are there any plans to restore lost functionality? Comments are disabled on almost everything, sitewide, which is certainly one way of reducing user input.
What prompts this outburst is the discovery that one can no longer submit a request to the former "lost for word" page. Because that's a list, see, and of course, commenting on lists is verboten. Maybe I could send someone a note on their profile. Woopsy! That's been impossible for how many months now? Yes, that's right - MONTHS - not days. Sinverguenza!
Ruzuzu has sweetly created a "lost for word" word listing, on which she provides a link to the former "lost for word" list. For the life of me I cannot understand why, because there is no useful content accessible at the link.
I actually had a question, which might have been of interest when this was an actual site used by people interested in words, and not just another stinking internet charnel heap. But F### Wordnik and its indifferent administrators; I'll ask it over on Facebook.
Or not at all.
FOR SHAME. FOR SHAME. FOR SHAME
Italian opposition politicians have been joined by a leading Catholic publication and even government MPs in expressing outrage after Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi joked he was thinking of renaming his political party Forza Gnocca, which translates as Go Pussy.
The visuals say it all, really. Further comment would be superfluous, except to observe that this is now the latest trend in Cork, Ireland. Presumably, after a raucous weekend of hen-partying at the clambake, the ladies recover with a nice fish pedicure.
The heraldic list of hh is a thing of beauty, having that daunting comprehensiveness that puts us dilettantier listmakers to shame.
dilettanty seems like it should be a heraldic term in its own right, e.g. the Blenkinsop-ffrobisher crest is two fops-dilettanty, gules sinister, bar none, fess up, pelican in her vuln, with an ermine trim and flamingos fulminant, dexter poinsetty sanguine
I may be only the second person to look this up on Wordnik, but I know that this is really the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, because I received my secondary education, such as it was, from the Franciscans.
Also, why are none of my cow pictures featured in the visuals for this page?
Why, it's an honor just to be nominated. I'd like to thank all those air currents out there, whether katabatic or adiabatic. I couldn't have done it without you.
*Sits down, overcome by emotion*
Lovers of small numbers go benignly potty,
Believe all tales are thirteen chapters long,
Have animal doubles, carry pentagrams,
Are Millerites, Baconians, Flat-Earth-Men.
Lovers of big numbers go horribly mad,
Would have the Swiss abolished, all of us
Well-purged, somatotyped, baptised, taught baseball:
They empty bars, spoil parties, run for Congress.
Miss Bacon was later admitted to an upscale New York clinic, suffering from fulgurant fugu addiction. It is not known whether or not she was ever cured.
Guffaws childishly, slapping thighs in simulated mirth.
See, this is why I regret my boring career choice to become a statistician. Man, I could have become a journalist. I could have penned priceless gems like this. Dammit! I COULDA BEEN A CONTENDER!
And then there's this:
Skippy excited today is Jersey shore day & yes, Skippy talk about himself in the 3rd person, Skippy strrrooongggg BEEFCAKE!
If I wuz a stripper, my name would be Sir Loin becuz imma damn beefcake son....
TWITTER. Elevating the quality of Wordnik discourse since June 2011. Even though every remotely useful aspect of the site has been irreversibly FUCKED UP for months now.
I have two reactions to this remarkable excerpt brought to us by 'zuzu.
1. What is up with you? You seem to be reading your way through wikipedia. This cannot end well.
2. The text you quote is remarkably silent regarding the vegetable lamb of Tartary. Suspiciously so.
Then there is porkphyria pigmentosa, a porcine malady (involving severe sensitivity to sunlight, if you must know) that manifests in piggies who over-indulge in a certain variety of clover.
What's that you say? It doesn't fit the criterion? Picky, picky, picky.
It was bondage and liberte in equal measure at this week's unveiling of jean-Paul Gaultier's spring lineup. Madonna-style bustiers vied with mockphrygian caps as the models sashayed down the catwalk.
Congratulations, new interface!!! After mature consideration, I found that I had no option other than to have you usurp the former champion cremains as my least favorite "word". And although I have never felt until now that the "most favorite" category deserved to be populated, I have finally decided that there is a worthy contender. And that worthy winner is Wordie. I should concede that Pro's profile choices may have played a role in my deliberations. Prolagus, fratello mio!
Story of the day: kick boxing Duchess of Northumberland to hold cage fights at Alnwick Castle.
You know, on mature reflection, maybe my gut reaction against including Tweets on the "Comments" page was premature.
A friend from Alnwick has been visiting me here in Paris this week. Interesting
tidbit: Alnwick is the home of Hogwarts, where much of the Harry Potter movies was filmed.
There was a young lady of Alnwick,
Whom a stranger threw into a palnwick.
For he frigged her and f##ked her,
And buggered and sucked her,
With a glee hardly short of Satalnwick.
Hands milos a soothing flaky French fuflun and murmurs "there, there. There usedto be a wittle scrollie bar at one time -- you didn't imagine it.
But refuses to hand over any umbrage. Because umbrage is for taking, not giving!
Other legitimate objects of reuse, according to Twitter : Arizona bottles, scenes, lyrics, cloths, paper plates, Tweets.
Definitely not OK as objects for reuse : condoms.
Funny, civil, and intelligent. The magic trifecta, with or without the Oxford comma. Or is it the Harvard comma? I can never remember.
Tosses reesetee a delicious, flaky, froggy fuflun. Woulding take umbrage, but there's a hole in my becket, feckit, and it keeps leaking out.
Gosh. So many unexamined assumptions in rolig's last post. Apparently in his world entertaining people on the bedroom floor is out of the question. Which seems limiting, to say the least.
My current primitive apartment here in Paris has a bathroom with a bath, but without a toilet in it. I would take a photo, but I'd feel obliged to clean the tub first, and there is an NCIS marathon on Canal 6 and I have to see if Ziva gets away from the bad guys, all of whom are speaking French with hidesous accents
I don't know which is more impressive -- the fact that yarb takes enough care to get that ç right in "Provençal", or ruzuzu's casual introduction of petitio principii into the discussion...
"one who works at the buttock"
in SF, we have a very similar term for this type of individual; modulo one vowel, such a person is termed a "buttfocker"
And, if anyone is wondering why I have broken this into several comments, it's because I can only see 3 or 4 lines at a time to edit, and experience shows that typos are likely to be roundly mocked by some kind of antipodean loquacious kumquat ....
In my more charitable moments, I empathize with the folks doing the code fixing, and imagine they probably feel like Andrew Wiles may have felt when someone pointed out the "gap" that needed fixing in his proof of Fermat's last Theorem. "Mind the gap", as it were :-)
Besides which it's our only know link to bilby baggins and the loquacious kumquats, or whatever he calls his band of antipodean irregulars these days. he keeps trying to burrow deeper into obscurity, but instinct still drives him to post here from time to time....
Thanks, Erin. Of course everyone probably knows by now I have the Wordnik bug too bad ever to give up completely, despite my occasional harrumphings. So I will take the temporary site difficulties as a sign that I am really supposed to be working on my French vocabulary at the moment, and keep checking back in from time to time.
Erin:
Nice try, and I love you as a human being, or what I know of you. But even you must be finding this an embarrassing sell at this point. Why not admit defeat?
Really -- wordnik took what was a ni8ce loittle corner of the intenet and for reasons unknown and unintelligible to the former users beat it inot the ground and mmade it worthless.
Thanks, rolig. I just came to the site to leave a comment on my profile page to the effect that I was back in Paris. But even doing such a simple thing is now impossible. Which leads me to the regretful decision not to bother to check back in here. if you can access my profile page (not always easy, you will find links to my goodreads and facebook pages). This site wasw enormous funj for a while. until it got brokien beyond recognition and reapir.
YEAH, 'ZUZU. But that was back in the days when this site was still a viable option. Something which is clearly no longer the case.
I'll look for you guys on goodreads or Facebook. But don't expect to see me here, on a site where I cannot even make a comment on my own profile page, let anlone read the commnets of others.
I fiddled with the image size, so it should be better now. A bit difficult, having to edit one's comment without actually being able to see it in the box. But this is the price we pay for progress. (Drinks a draught of wormwood, mixed with gall and gaws on a stale fuflun)
I was hoping to get into Muffinclaw, but the damned sorting knickers kicked me straight to Clavicytherium with all the other "specially gifted" droogs.
Prolagus wrote: "You can look at most of my recent comments and read them."
Clearly he hasn't plumbed the depths of the site's dysfunction. If you go to his profile page and click on the "Comments" link, you will find that it is broken.
Marky is entirely correct, unfortunately. It took 40 seconds for Firefox to load the supine page, and that kind of lag is basically prohibitive. It's distressing to see a site self-immolate like this one.
It's interesting that the "related words" function is not symmetric. alguacil shows up as being related to amanuensis, but amanuensis is not listed as being related to alguacil.
The fine white froth around the lips that is a characteristic of drowning victims. This definitely seems like a candidate for someone's (reesetee's?) "worse than it sounds" list. Most of the google hits for this term are gastronomic in nature, but there is a pretty delightful link to googlebooks:
I came across this indirectly while reading Ben Macintyre's "Operation Mincemeat"; in a discussion of the problems associated with faking a drowning victim, he refers to this particular symptom, but gets it wrong, calling it "champagne de mousse". It took a while to track down the correct term.
I have the same problem as oroboros regarding recent comments. When Wordie changed to Wordnik there was a very long transition period - several months - during which most comments were inaccessible. I remember being incensed at the time by the sudden, random disappearance of much of the site's most interesting content. I am not particularly incensed this time, because my expectations for the site are lower, but it strikes me as odd, and somewhat disappointing, that "improvements" still come with more than a little aggravation.
I don't feel any particular obligation to answer this question, which is, at face value, a little obnoxious. Does it bother you that I maintain a list of the word- and language-related books that I own, and that I might periodically update this list?
If I choose to add a comment that links to a review of the book in question at some later point, should I be expected to "justify" that as well?
This list is useful to me. I find your question to be out of line, though I'm sure you didn't mean to give offense.
I have the same difficulty. In addition, the ability to view whole swaths of content that were previously accessible has now been taken away. To mention just one example, I can no longer read back through the list of comments that have been left on my profile.
Over the last six weeks, the most basic functions on the site -- creating lists and adding words to them -- have undergone a significant deterioration. At times it's altogether impossible to add words; if it is possible, the response time has slowed to a glacial pace, so that there is little incentive to add new words.
Then, as other users have already remarked, the ability to contribute to, or benefit from, what used to be a fairly lively discussion among the site's most committed members has continued to diminish, to the point of being close to impossible at this point. I have no idea whether or not this is the result of a deliberate effort by the site administrators to shut down what they seem to regard as commentary that is extraneous to the site's overall mission. This is partly because I no longer understand what that mission might be. But it's hard to avoid the impression that user comments are no longer valued, given that almost every one of the recent changes has made it harder, not easier, to conduct any kind of meaningful exchange.
Even the utility of the site as a reference resource has deteriorated since the change from Wordie -- useful links that were previously immediately accessible have been hidden or taken away altogether.
It's all just a tiny bit soul-crushing, to be honest.
I have always believed that Daingean Uí Chúis was the proper designation for the capital of Kerry. The link suggests that the current name is actually An Daingean. Also, that not everybody is happy about it.
The most concise word to describe the relationship between Siegmund and Sieglinde in Wagner's Ring Cycle. The offspring of their incestuous coupling is the "hero" Siegfried, who is - perhaps not surprisingly - stupid to a degree that borders on mental retardation.
Of course, the only "hero" in the entire cycle is Bruennhilde, and not just because of the vocal pyrotechnics that her role demands.
By alluding to your extensive learning, I was paying you a compliment
Pretty words, which might be considered extenuating, if they were true . But it is a simple matter to check their patent falsity. They butter no parsnips with me.
Yes. What mollusque wrote is a more precise description of the issue, and what I should have written in the first place. It's an HTML implementation issue, not one of access.
sionnach commented on the word pretexts
Meanwhile, over on "Hay fever sufferers and prevention in Japan", Ken Y-N is bringing of the snark. sigh.
Oct 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Gond
Zo dol als een gond.
did you mean "Zo dol als een hond"?
yes, I think you probably did.
Oct 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word unslinging
What? No tweets? Say it ain't so.
Oct 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word botox
Why are there no square drums? is it for the same reason that manhole covers are circular?
Oct 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word seme
Loads of People I knw and most of my mates seme to be going to Watch PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 tonight The franchise needs to die !!
And you need to learn to spele.
Oct 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word seme
I miss qroqqa.
Oct 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Credit where credit is due. Thank you, powers that be, for eliminating the vile spam from the ongoing "Community" update thread.
Oct 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
I wuz thinking more of Punches Pilot.
Oct 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word quisle
Yes, as the excited twittering over there on the right suggests, the folks at WOTD have accorded this back-formation word status.
If this keeps up, next thing you know kipple will be declared a real word, and I will be forced to do away with my "How do you like Kipling?" list.
FWIW, I'd a spelled it "quizzle". As in quizzle mah pizzle, schamizzle.
Oct 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word butter hamlet
A tropical fish that comes in ten different colors, as discussed here , at around the 6-minute mark.
Oct 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word botox
is the plural of botox "botoxen"?
Oct 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word botox
Photoshop es el botox de los pobres.
Oct 21, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
That might not have been hand-wringing. It could have been hand-washing.
Oct 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word jack tar
Well, there's who are these people . Or did you mean my Tom, Dick and Harry list?
Oct 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word jelly shoes
I think the reason that jelly shoes are always trending is that yarb keeps clicking on this page, lured back each time by the unerotic and slightly creepy visual. Maybe the woman, if that's what the creature is, is Belgian.
Oops! I just clicked on the photo, to discover that, on closer inspection, it's a young girl. Which makes the part above creepily inappropriate. Sorry, yarb!
Oct 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word vahine
The scores of public automobiles were engaged by joyous parties who sallied to the rural resorts, each Juan with his vahine.
Rilly, "Mystic Isles of the South Seas"? You and Tintin might get along famously.
Oct 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word nitrate
Let's all go over to citizencog's apartment. better leave the Viagra at home, though.
Oct 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word nitrate
He might be looking for tartrate.
Is it true that in Australia, nitrate is pronounced nitrite?
Oct 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
WHY, for the love of PETE, whoever he IS, does this site still take FOREVER to LOAD?!
Bonne question. it's not as if the huge amount of content is slowing it down, as all the good stuff is down there in the disused nuclear fallout shelter, or has been sold to the Estonians to defray expenses. But I never gave permission for my content to be made summarily unavailable for months on end with no warning, or for it to be sold to the Estonians, the greedy bastards. Note that "Estonians" in this post is being used as a generic, intended-to-be- humorous reference to a mysterious people I know nothing about, except that their entire country is internet-wired out the wazoo, and that you can't take a leak in Tallinn without first punching in your PIN, so that sewerage treatment charges can be debited to your account. Oops! I think that last sentence might have made things worse, not better.
Oct 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word indecisive teas
une devinette enveloppée dans un mystère à l'intérieur d'une énigme
Oct 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Belgian kiss
Yes, indeedy. Whenever I am feeling a little phlegmish, i like nothing better than a little Belgian chocolate, a plate of fries, and some absurdly alcoholic beer to cheer me up.
Oct 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Belgian kiss
Like a French kiss, but with more phlegm.
Oct 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word inscrutability of fbharjo
Trying to scrut fbharjo is one of the ongoing pleasures of Wordie/Wordnik. Not that I ever have much success. Tant pis pour moi.
Oct 20, 2011
sionnach commented on the word The wrinkled old farmer looked up from his drowse.
The wrinkled old farmer looked up from his drowse.
Felonious redcoats* were infesting his house.
He picked up the shotgun he used to shoot grouse.
And summoned his backup, a truculent mouse.
*: or, if you prefer, "red ants"; in which case the backup would need to be a truculent louse, to ensure a fair fight in the following stanzas.
Oct 19, 2011
sionnach commented on the word indecisive teas
"to have a crush on someone" = "avoir le béguin pour qqn"
"to have a chaste internet crush on someone" = "avoir le béguin internet chaste pour qqn"
D'autres questions ?
Oct 19, 2011
sionnach commented on the word madeupical
In a rare misstep by the delightful Stephen Fry, he fails to use this word when he most needed it, at the 9:43 mark in this video
Oct 19, 2011
sionnach commented on the word indecisive teas
In Edinburgh last Thursday evening, our carafe of water came with cucumbers and assorted pond greenery floating in it. I had a pint of cider instead.
A propos of nothing in particular, have I mentioned recently how your wonderful contributions on this site stoke my chaste internet crush on you, cheres applaudissements de grenouille?
Oct 19, 2011
sionnach commented on the word stores
Comma? What comma?
Oct 19, 2011
sionnach commented on the word stores
After feasting on fufluns and S'mores,
Ruzuzu was craving some snores,
Then along came GHibbs*,
Whose intellectual squibbs
Gave her much-needed snores in the stores.
OK, it needs some work; I'd be the first to admit it.
*: 3rd person singular of the verb, to Ghibb, which - as best as our crack etymolinguistic detectives have been able to ascertain - seems to mean "to have a charming, if slightly baffling, obsession with verbs in the 3rd person"
Oct 19, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Stumpy the cat
Because, when he was picked up on the side of the Westchester Expressway, where someone had apparently thrown him out of a car, he had only three and a half legs and a bloody, vestigial tail. Poor Stumpy!
Oct 18, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Stumpy the cat
Oh, nooooo!!! Will Wordnik degenerate into a repository of cute cat pictures? What hath leaden wrought?
Oct 18, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Stumpy the cat
Now deceased, seen here in tutu (this is what happens when one leaves one's puddy-tat in the care of unscrupulous house-sitters). Aka Sputnik the cat, because I was ashamed to admit to the vet I had named my cat "Stumpy".
Oct 18, 2011
sionnach commented on the word les gouffres
Il y a des gauffres dans les gouffres.
There are waffles in the chasms.
Il y a des gouffres dans les gauffres.
There are chasms in the waffles.
Ffrench can be so confusing.
Oct 18, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Pat the cat
You could play "hide the jackal" with Pat the cat.
Oct 18, 2011
sionnach commented on the word sticks
You could see if this stick sticks to those sticks.
You could see if these sticks stick to those sticks.
I wonder if bears ever get tired of laying (stic) on grass dirt and sticks.
I wonder if a fossilized tappen could be mistaken for a sticky stick.
Oct 18, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Pat the cat
Pat would not be a good name for a jackal or a rabid dog.
Oct 18, 2011
sionnach commented on the word misandric
For a moment there, I thought Tony Blair was tweeting for our benefit.
Oct 17, 2011
sionnach commented on the word acer
It may be a tree to you all, but to me it will always be my little laptop.
Oct 17, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
The problem with parking one's car over in the FB garage is that you are never sure who can rummage through the glove compartment and discover your innermost secrets. "Friends" of people who bullied you in high school, assorted riff-raff, people who scatter grocer's apostrophe's (sic) throughout their barely literate updates with gay abandon. It's enough to make one give up driving altogether.
Oct 17, 2011
sionnach commented on the word congrehooligation
there's a word for it : a grandiloquent guide to life (charles harrington elster)
One of my personal all-time favorites!
Oct 17, 2011
sionnach commented on the word whiddle my scrap
QI : whiddle my scrap
Oct 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word barleycorn
used as the basis of shoe size measurements, much to the panelists' amazement on QI:
playing poker with a witch
Oct 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word the owls of saint germain des pres
as seen here
Oct 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word the giving tree
There are NEW muffin films!
muffin films by the divine Amy Winfrey
Oct 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Rolig
Hello, Rolig! Yes, hello, Rolig!
It's so nice to have you back where you belong.
You're looking swell, Rolig!
i can tell, Rolig!
Oct 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word zen nippon chick-sexing school
as discussed here
(from around the 6-minute mark on)
Oct 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word italian breasts in the sun
two half-spheres of almond paste each with a fresh strawberry in the centre, sprinkled with black pepper
anti-pasta
Oct 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word chicken fiat
a chicken roasted with ball bearings inside and garnished with whipped cream
anti-pasta
Oct 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word the excited pig
a whole salami cooked in strong espresso coffee, flavored with eau-de-cologne
anti-pasta
Oct 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word taste buds take off
a soup of stock, champagne, and grappa decorated with rose petals
anti-pasta
Oct 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word plum jam
I believe it was Flann O' Brien who used to refer to plum jam as a "sticky perpendicular concoction".
Oct 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word barrow-coat
Sorry. That was an obvious misprint. It should have read "Welsh rabbi".
Oct 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Mauschwitz
A Disney memo threatened to fire employees that kept calling their workplace Mauschwitz. So they used Duckau instead.
QI Season I Episode 2
Oct 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word get into itness with our gym lasses
Wouldn't that be "Boxercise classes with Joyce Carol Oates"?
Oct 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word planet word
Yeah! Stephen Fry has a new series about language:
Planet Word, Episode 1, Part 1
Oct 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word passant-gardant
This needs to be on hernesheir's list. See QI Series I episode 3 part 3 , around the 6-minute mark.
Oct 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word gnaborretni
See, e.g. QI Series I episode 3 , at around the 4:45 mark, but watch the whole thing, as it is very funny throughout. They also discuss the sarcastrophe, semi-colonic irrigation, and an ingenious way to murder your partner.
Oct 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word barrow-coat
They don't call yarb the Vancouver swaddler for nothing.
Oct 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word mohr's egg
I've been using vitreous emanel in my little jewerly-making endeavours for decades now. Plariagists!
Oct 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word mohr's egg
This is a bit mysterious, innit? 61 lookups and no clue as to what the heck it might be.
Oct 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word moro reflex
I dreamt about Toonces the other night. He wasn't actually speaking French, but he was mrkgnao-ing in a distinctly Joycean fashion.
Oct 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word barrow-coat
It's sort of like a Victorian onesy.
My guess would have been a coffin, suitable attire for taking a dirtnap.
I, myself, of course have my own special comfy burrow-coat; a sort of foxy dressing-gown. I wear it on those rare occasions when I dine alone, e.g. on a tasty Welsh rabbit.
Oct 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word If there are no list comments, either comment on word pages or add coments to lists as though they were very long words. (The comments, that is, not the lists. You know what I mean.)
Did you mean If there are no list comments, either comment on word pages or add comments to lists as though they were very long words. (The comments, that is, not the lists. You know what I mean.) ?
(because, erm, last time I checked, "coments" was not a word)
Scurries off, shamefacedly, because what kind of pedant points this kind of thing out? A Wordie pedant, that's what kind.
Oct 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word chic new lunettes
My friend Gabriella helped me pick them out. They aren't quite as snazzy as the specs I got in Madrid, but they are chic nonetheless. This being France, they won't be ready for a week, so photographic evidence will have to be added later.
Oct 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
This new interface production by ruzuzu and bilby is a veritable craudestopper of a show!
Noel Renard, The Vulpine Village Voice.
Oct 11, 2011
sionnach commented on the word wiliwili
Damned wasps. They've got some gall. But I didn't know they used bear seeds to make leis.
Of course the wiliwili situation in Walla-Walla has been critical for some time now.
Oct 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word get into itness with our gym lasses
Did you mean "get into itness with our gym asses"?
Oct 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word lampago
Oct 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word isabella
One hesitates to ask if there is a "bianco silvio".
Oct 9, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Un renard à Paris
Ahhh. It was the width=100% part that I left out. Thanks, leaden. They are still barstids, though, but maybe only of a degree of barstidliness warranting only a single exclamation point.
Of course, the more I look at the image in question, the less it looks like a fox, and more like a cat.
Also, this seems a good a time as any to rectify a previous omission. Namely that, dear leaden, you are a god(dess) and your contributions to the stinking embers of the site are a welcome antidote to the bile induced by aforementioned stinking embers.
Oct 9, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Un renard à Paris
Nope. I think they banned "some html" a few weeks ago. Barstids!!
Oct 9, 2011
sionnach commented on the word rhubarb crumble
The first person to look this up on Wordnik?! How can this be? For a discussion of the contribution of this delicious culinary item to my recent Hibernian gastronomic excess, see this link.
Warning: may induce salivation.
Oct 9, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Un renard à Paris
What? Our ability to include images has now been taken away as well. A travesty, etc etc etc
Fine. Try this link .
Sigh. Wordnik, you are really trying my patience.
Oct 9, 2011
sionnach commented on the word bilby
So what's up, leather-ears?
Singed,
Renard.
Oct 9, 2011
sionnach commented on the word assurgent
So you're enjoying "A Melon for Ecstasy" then, I take it, yarb?
Oct 9, 2011
sionnach commented on the word i went yesterday evening to the field of paddy
This is baffling on so many levels.
Oct 8, 2011
sionnach commented on the word lost for word
I don't see why we couldn't set up a temporary camp here.
I hate to say it, 'zuzu, but I think you may be suffering from Stockholm syndrome. We could do any number of things, but my point is, we should not be forced to go to ridiculous lengths to do things that were once straightforward. Have you ever read the book "Ella Minnow Pea"? It's a good metaphor for recent experience on this site.
Based on my own most recent experience of the phenomenon you describe, the phrase "adulterous friend" comes to mind. He said he was gone away on a trip, but in fact he was cavorting with his wife's (former) best friend.
My question was whether or not there is a word for this kind of construction:
"the French ability to, and tolerance for, bullshit, is absurdly high", in which a faux-parallel structure is imposed, despite "bullshit" being used as both verb and noun in the given example.
Oct 8, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Jesus Christ on a ciabatta roll! This site is less than worthless. Everything that used to work no longer works. And the silence from the powers that be is deafeningly eloquent. Are there any plans to restore lost functionality? Comments are disabled on almost everything, sitewide, which is certainly one way of reducing user input.
What prompts this outburst is the discovery that one can no longer submit a request to the former "lost for word" page. Because that's a list, see, and of course, commenting on lists is verboten. Maybe I could send someone a note on their profile. Woopsy! That's been impossible for how many months now? Yes, that's right - MONTHS - not days. Sinverguenza!
Ruzuzu has sweetly created a "lost for word" word listing, on which she provides a link to the former "lost for word" list. For the life of me I cannot understand why, because there is no useful content accessible at the link.
I actually had a question, which might have been of interest when this was an actual site used by people interested in words, and not just another stinking internet charnel heap. But F### Wordnik and its indifferent administrators; I'll ask it over on Facebook.
Or not at all.
FOR SHAME. FOR SHAME. FOR SHAME
Oct 8, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Forza Gnocca
Italian opposition politicians have been joined by a leading Catholic publication and even government MPs in expressing outrage after Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi joked he was thinking of renaming his political party Forza Gnocca, which translates as Go Pussy.
oh silvio!
Oct 8, 2011
sionnach commented on the word notes of currants, beef blood, espresso, and leather
Notes of griotte, with the musky aftertaste of a mantiger rampant and the nose of a menstruating pelican in her vuln.
Oct 8, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Omigod! A vile spammer is infesting the site.
Oct 8, 2011
sionnach commented on the word fish spa
The visuals say it all, really. Further comment would be superfluous, except to observe that this is now the latest trend in Cork, Ireland. Presumably, after a raucous weekend of hen-partying at the clambake, the ladies recover with a nice fish pedicure.
Oct 8, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
What a relief that cat is still trending! But where are my jelly shoes?
Oct 8, 2011
sionnach commented on the word man-tiger
Kind of like DSK.
Oct 7, 2011
sionnach commented on the word aras an uachtarain
as seen here
Oct 7, 2011
sionnach commented on the word undy
I don't remember seeing this in Gladwell's book, do you?
Oct 5, 2011
sionnach commented on the word incontrant
And what words would be used to describe, e.g. 3 gallini galliae, 2 streptopelia turturae, 1 perdix perdix in a pyrus communis?
Singed,
Noel Renard
Oct 4, 2011
sionnach commented on the word undy
Singular of undies.
The heraldic list of hh is a thing of beauty, having that daunting comprehensiveness that puts us dilettantier listmakers to shame.
dilettanty seems like it should be a heraldic term in its own right, e.g. the Blenkinsop-ffrobisher crest is two fops-dilettanty, gules sinister, bar none, fess up, pelican in her vuln, with an ermine trim and flamingos fulminant, dexter poinsetty sanguine
Oct 4, 2011
sionnach commented on the word World Animal Day
Nobody puts Bessie in a corner.
Oct 4, 2011
sionnach commented on the word World Animal Day
I may be only the second person to look this up on Wordnik, but I know that this is really the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, because I received my secondary education, such as it was, from the Franciscans.
Also, why are none of my cow pictures featured in the visuals for this page?
Oct 4, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Google’s Favorite Wordnik Lists
Why, it's an honor just to be nominated. I'd like to thank all those air currents out there, whether katabatic or adiabatic. I couldn't have done it without you.
*Sits down, overcome by emotion*
Oct 3, 2011
sionnach commented on the word banaba
Or it could be a misprint for banba, an ancient Celtic name for Ireland.
Oct 3, 2011
sionnach commented on the word bandaoke
Karaoke with the backing of a live band. In this case the delightfully named "Bog the Donkey".
Oct 3, 2011
sionnach commented on the word RiVER
pffiffiffi
Sep 30, 2011
sionnach commented on the word numbers
cake is found in similar contexts. Now that's kind of intriguing.
Sep 30, 2011
sionnach commented on the word numbers
Lovers of small numbers go benignly potty,
Believe all tales are thirteen chapters long,
Have animal doubles, carry pentagrams,
Are Millerites, Baconians, Flat-Earth-Men.
Lovers of big numbers go horribly mad,
Would have the Swiss abolished, all of us
Well-purged, somatotyped, baptised, taught baseball:
They empty bars, spoil parties, run for Congress.
W.H. Auden: "Numbers and Faces"
Sep 30, 2011
sionnach commented on the word sushi
Miss Bacon was later admitted to an upscale New York clinic, suffering from fulgurant fugu addiction. It is not known whether or not she was ever cured.
Guffaws childishly, slapping thighs in simulated mirth.
Sep 30, 2011
sionnach commented on the word nepenthe
That's because you're always lolling about in the arms of Morphee. Or, as we Irish prefer to say, the arms of Murphy.
Sep 30, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Animal lovers outraged at horse – THAT EATS CATS!
A kitty a day keeps the vet away.
See, this is why I regret my boring career choice to become a statistician. Man, I could have become a journalist. I could have penned priceless gems like this. Dammit! I COULDA BEEN A CONTENDER!
Sep 30, 2011
sionnach commented on the word vampire pumpkins and watermelons
Oh no. Not the dreaded werecantaloupes!
aiee! flee flee!
Sep 29, 2011
sionnach commented on the word beefcake
And then there's this:
Skippy excited today is Jersey shore day & yes, Skippy talk about himself in the 3rd person, Skippy strrrooongggg BEEFCAKE!
If I wuz a stripper, my name would be Sir Loin becuz imma damn beefcake son....
TWITTER. Elevating the quality of Wordnik discourse since June 2011. Even though every remotely useful aspect of the site has been irreversibly FUCKED UP for months now.
Sep 29, 2011
sionnach commented on the word beefcake
I wouldn't have expected to find quite so many puddy-tats on the visuals for this page.
Sep 29, 2011
sionnach commented on the word nautical
I wouldn't have expected quite so much beefcake in the visuals for this word.
Sep 29, 2011
sionnach commented on the word l'iroquoise
French for "mohawk". Positively iroquoisy.
Sep 29, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Count von Count
Maybe it's because he has a zero on his hat?
Sep 29, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Count von Count
Oh, 'zuzu. You are so droll.
But how did James Joyce get on this page?
Sep 29, 2011
sionnach commented on the word gasometer
Those *are* lovely Flickr photos.
Sep 29, 2011
sionnach commented on the word vampire pumpkins and watermelons
Mad Mel made a Bounty commercial! Who knew?
Sep 29, 2011
sionnach commented on the word vampire pumpkins and watermelons
I have two reactions to this remarkable excerpt brought to us by 'zuzu.
1. What is up with you? You seem to be reading your way through wikipedia. This cannot end well.
2. The text you quote is remarkably silent regarding the vegetable lamb of Tartary. Suspiciously so.
Sep 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Parmentier
Monsieur Potatohead
Sep 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the word meow
Maybe so. Though I think there are several different versions in "Ulysses", mkgnao and mrkgnao being two of them.
Sep 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the word meow
Or, if you prefer the James Joyce version, mkgnao.
Sep 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the word whateverism
I think this might be the same thing as oblomovism. But I don't care enough to look it up.
Sep 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the word clambake
How did Adolf end up in the visuals here?
Sep 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the word sausage party
Not to be confused with estrogen fest. Or, if you're British, an oestrogen foest.
Sep 27, 2011
sionnach commented on the word steinkirk
Lady E. should have just split, saying "Like his breakfast eggs, I'm over Easy".
har-de-har-har.
Sep 27, 2011
sionnach commented on the word steinkirk
This is disturbing. Rilly.
Sep 27, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Seems like it was down for 14 hours at least.
Sep 27, 2011
sionnach commented on the word bulan-bulan
Famous for their 80s hit single "Hungry like the megalops".
Sep 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word bizarre spheniscidine confectionery dispenser videorama
Man. Those confectionery diorama days were some good times, eh?
*Is overcome by Wordiestalgia. Sobs.*
Sep 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word penguin
See also bizarre spheniscidine confectionery dispenser diorama and bizarre spheniscidine confectionery dispenser videorama.
Sep 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word strip joint custody
Just who will get custody of the Libidinous Kumquat Lounge after the breakup?
Sep 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word bimetallic strip joint
bling-bling
Sep 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word ekphrasis
Then there is porkphyria pigmentosa, a porcine malady (involving severe sensitivity to sunlight, if you must know) that manifests in piggies who over-indulge in a certain variety of clover.
What's that you say? It doesn't fit the criterion? Picky, picky, picky.
Sep 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word ekphrasis
It was bondage and liberte in equal measure at this week's unveiling of jean-Paul Gaultier's spring lineup. Madonna-style bustiers vied with mockphrygian caps as the models sashayed down the catwalk.
Sep 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word ekphrasis
Quackphrenologist. (Is there any other kind?)
Sep 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word santalaceous harbour masters
Did you mean serendipitous harbor masters?
Sep 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word penguin
Would this be the appropriate place to mention the headline I saw recently on "Headlines that suck"?
Pampered 'Happy Feet' Penguin "Eaten by Killer Whale"
Sep 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Congratulations, new interface!!! After mature consideration, I found that I had no option other than to have you usurp the former champion cremains as my least favorite "word". And although I have never felt until now that the "most favorite" category deserved to be populated, I have finally decided that there is a worthy contender. And that worthy winner is Wordie. I should concede that Pro's profile choices may have played a role in my deliberations. Prolagus, fratello mio!
Sep 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word boukha
Ce moment délicat dans un resto juif je voulais faire le connaisseur et commander une boukha (alcool de figue) et j'ai demandé une #burqa.
Which of us *hasn't* had this experience? Hilarity ensues.
Sep 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word boukha
Wikipedia says it's a Tunisian spirit made from figs.
Well, of course that's what that bunch of Tunisian Wiki-figmongers want you to believe.
Sep 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Kundry
To add insult to injury, she is not a valid Scrabble word.
Sep 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word alnwick
Story of the day: kick boxing Duchess of Northumberland to hold cage fights at Alnwick Castle.
You know, on mature reflection, maybe my gut reaction against including Tweets on the "Comments" page was premature.
Sep 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Kundry
Wagner's heroine, Kundry,
Found herself in a bit of a qundry.
A haughty young lassie,
She found it declasse,
To be included on "Alnwick and sundry".
Sep 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word manjak
This could also be the name of a pornographic website, specializing in sweaty miners going at it.
That's sweaty miners, not minors, ye perverts!
Sep 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Newfoundlanders outdancing Manchester terriers
Doesn't someone have a "two-word poem" list? Surely mandarins featherbedding belongs there. Not to mention cribbage-boards conceptualized. Or unpunctuated Dogsberryism.
Sep 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word lupara
Not to be confused with lupara argenta, heavy silver shotgun pellets used for hunting werewolves. Or, as we call them around here, loups-garous.
Sep 25, 2011
sionnach commented on the word adumbration
Damn! That guy is creepy. Do you think he might be DJ Spooky?
Sep 24, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Alnick buying
Did you mean Alnwick buying?
Sep 24, 2011
sionnach commented on the word alnwick
A friend from Alnwick has been visiting me here in Paris this week. Interesting
tidbit: Alnwick is the home of Hogwarts, where much of the Harry Potter movies was filmed.
Sep 24, 2011
sionnach commented on the word alnwick
There was a young lady of Alnwick,
Whom a stranger threw into a palnwick.
For he frigged her and f##ked her,
And buggered and sucked her,
With a glee hardly short of Satalnwick.
Sep 24, 2011
sionnach commented on the word nobody expects the French Inquisition!
Nobody expects the French Inquisition !
Sep 24, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Hands milos a soothing flaky French fuflun and murmurs "there, there. There usedto be a wittle scrollie bar at one time -- you didn't imagine it.
But refuses to hand over any umbrage. Because umbrage is for taking, not giving!
Sep 24, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
You callin' me a flake? Takes umbrage pastry and scurries off, gnawing contentedly in foxy glee.
Sep 18, 2011
sionnach commented on the word epigone
that Vermishank. What an unctuous bastard.
Sep 18, 2011
sionnach commented on the word pickmaw
Foolish earthlings! Everyone knows you can't pick your maw.
Sep 18, 2011
sionnach commented on the word reuses
Other legitimate objects of reuse, according to Twitter : Arizona bottles, scenes, lyrics, cloths, paper plates, Tweets.
Definitely not OK as objects for reuse : condoms.
Sep 18, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Funny, civil, and intelligent. The magic trifecta, with or without the Oxford comma. Or is it the Harvard comma? I can never remember.
Tosses reesetee a delicious, flaky, froggy fuflun. Woulding take umbrage, but there's a hole in my becket, feckit, and it keeps leaking out.
Sep 17, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Giverny
Come into the garden, Claude
Sep 17, 2011
sionnach commented on the word loo
Gosh. So many unexamined assumptions in rolig's last post. Apparently in his world entertaining people on the bedroom floor is out of the question. Which seems limiting, to say the least.
Sep 17, 2011
sionnach commented on the word minbar
Why yes, actually. Here is a link to my review on goodreads:
A Melon for Ecstasy
Sep 16, 2011
sionnach commented on the word loo
My current primitive apartment here in Paris has a bathroom with a bath, but without a toilet in it. I would take a photo, but I'd feel obliged to clean the tub first, and there is an NCIS marathon on Canal 6 and I have to see if Ziva gets away from the bad guys, all of whom are speaking French with hidesous accents
Sep 16, 2011
sionnach commented on the word sarcocele
I think the current President of the Republic here in France might lay claim to the title of sarcocelebrity as well. Just sayin'
Sep 16, 2011
sionnach commented on the word sarcocele
I don't know which is more impressive -- the fact that yarb takes enough care to get that ç right in "Provençal", or ruzuzu's casual introduction of petitio principii into the discussion...
Sep 16, 2011
sionnach commented on the word sarcocele
It all begs the question "Why should elephantiasis be referred to as Barbadoes leg"?
singed,
A concerned Barbadoan.
Sep 16, 2011
sionnach commented on the word reeper
Yeah, but how does this relate to the Reeperbahn, Hamburg's hotbed of sin and salaciousness?
Sep 15, 2011
sionnach commented on the word earthling
Ooh, goody! Scurries off to add it to "How do you like Kipling?" list ...
Sep 15, 2011
sionnach commented on the word buttocker
"one who works at the buttock"
in SF, we have a very similar term for this type of individual; modulo one vowel, such a person is termed a "buttfocker"
Sep 14, 2011
sionnach commented on the word becket
There's a hole in my becket.
Feck it!
Sep 14, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
And, if anyone is wondering why I have broken this into several comments, it's because I can only see 3 or 4 lines at a time to edit, and experience shows that typos are likely to be roundly mocked by some kind of antipodean loquacious kumquat ....
Sep 14, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
In my more charitable moments, I empathize with the folks doing the code fixing, and imagine they probably feel like Andrew Wiles may have felt when someone pointed out the "gap" that needed fixing in his proof of Fermat's last Theorem. "Mind the gap", as it were :-)
Sep 14, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Besides which it's our only know link to bilby baggins and the loquacious kumquats, or whatever he calls his band of antipodean irregulars these days. he keeps trying to burrow deeper into obscurity, but instinct still drives him to post here from time to time....
Sep 14, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Thanks, Erin. Of course everyone probably knows by now I have the Wordnik bug too bad ever to give up completely, despite my occasional harrumphings. So I will take the temporary site difficulties as a sign that I am really supposed to be working on my French vocabulary at the moment, and keep checking back in from time to time.
Sep 14, 2011
sionnach commented on the word ni8ce loittle corner of the intenet
Il ne faut pas se moquer des internauts, meme des internauts qui font des betises.
Sep 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Erin:
Nice try, and I love you as a human being, or what I know of you. But even you must be finding this an embarrassing sell at this point. Why not admit defeat?
Really -- wordnik took what was a ni8ce loittle corner of the intenet and for reasons unknown and unintelligible to the former users beat it inot the ground and mmade it worthless.
Sep 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Thanks, rolig. I just came to the site to leave a comment on my profile page to the effect that I was back in Paris. But even doing such a simple thing is now impossible. Which leads me to the regretful decision not to bother to check back in here. if you can access my profile page (not always easy, you will find links to my goodreads and facebook pages). This site wasw enormous funj for a while. until it got brokien beyond recognition and reapir.
Sep 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word buttered-cat engine
YEAH, 'ZUZU. But that was back in the days when this site was still a viable option. Something which is clearly no longer the case.
I'll look for you guys on goodreads or Facebook. But don't expect to see me here, on a site where I cannot even make a comment on my own profile page, let anlone read the commnets of others.
Sep 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word michelle shocked
Why was Michelle shocked?
(waits patiently, appreciating the restoration of visibility to the font size in the comment box)
Aug 29, 2011
sionnach commented on the word suwappu
I fiddled with the image size, so it should be better now. A bit difficult, having to edit one's comment without actually being able to see it in the box. But this is the price we pay for progress. (Drinks a draught of wormwood, mixed with gall and gaws on a stale fuflun)
Aug 23, 2011
sionnach commented on the word suwappu
suwappu are woodland creatures that swap pants,
.
toys that come to life in augmented reality.
Aug 23, 2011
sionnach commented on the word clavicytherium
I was hoping to get into Muffinclaw, but the damned sorting knickers kicked me straight to Clavicytherium with all the other "specially gifted" droogs.
Aug 18, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Prolagus wrote: "You can look at most of my recent comments and read them."
Clearly he hasn't plumbed the depths of the site's dysfunction. If you go to his profile page and click on the "Comments" link, you will find that it is broken.
Aug 16, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Marky is entirely correct, unfortunately. It took 40 seconds for Firefox to load the supine page, and that kind of lag is basically prohibitive. It's distressing to see a site self-immolate like this one.
Aug 16, 2011
sionnach commented on the word amanuensis
It's interesting that the "related words" function is not symmetric. alguacil shows up as being related to amanuensis, but amanuensis is not listed as being related to alguacil.
Aug 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word champignon de mousse
The fine white froth around the lips that is a characteristic of drowning victims. This definitely seems like a candidate for someone's (reesetee's?) "worse than it sounds" list. Most of the google hits for this term are gastronomic in nature, but there is a pretty delightful link to googlebooks:
Police Files the Spokane Experience : the droll Detective Bailor
I came across this indirectly while reading Ben Macintyre's "Operation Mincemeat"; in a discussion of the problems associated with faking a drowning victim, he refers to this particular symptom, but gets it wrong, calling it "champagne de mousse". It took a while to track down the correct term.
Aug 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Are they well supplied with ramgoat dashalong? Nature's caprine aphrodisiac. Or so I'm told.
I didn't know they made fonts as tiny as this one. Is it a Firefox thing?
Aug 12, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
I have the same problem as oroboros regarding recent comments. When Wordie changed to Wordnik there was a very long transition period - several months - during which most comments were inaccessible. I remember being incensed at the time by the sudden, random disappearance of much of the site's most interesting content. I am not particularly incensed this time, because my expectations for the site are lower, but it strikes me as odd, and somewhat disappointing, that "improvements" still come with more than a little aggravation.
And yes, this font is very very tiny.
Aug 8, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
Thanks, Erin. User comments are my favorite feature on the site. (And certain users' lists)
Aug 5, 2011
sionnach commented on the word ayuntamiento
And, of course, ayuntamiento is panvocalic.
Aug 5, 2011
sionnach commented on the word foyle's further philavery (christopher foyle)
How is this phrase of benefit to our community?
I don't feel any particular obligation to answer this question, which is, at face value, a little obnoxious. Does it bother you that I maintain a list of the word- and language-related books that I own, and that I might periodically update this list?
If I choose to add a comment that links to a review of the book in question at some later point, should I be expected to "justify" that as well?
This list is useful to me. I find your question to be out of line, though I'm sure you didn't mean to give offense.
Aug 5, 2011
sionnach commented on the word disfluency
Ooh. It's Michael Erard. Author of possibly the dullest book I have read in the last five years.
Aug 5, 2011
sionnach commented on the word new interface
bilby
Jul 31, 2011
I can't comment on lists or profiles, only words.
I have the same difficulty. In addition, the ability to view whole swaths of content that were previously accessible has now been taken away. To mention just one example, I can no longer read back through the list of comments that have been left on my profile.
Over the last six weeks, the most basic functions on the site -- creating lists and adding words to them -- have undergone a significant deterioration. At times it's altogether impossible to add words; if it is possible, the response time has slowed to a glacial pace, so that there is little incentive to add new words.
Then, as other users have already remarked, the ability to contribute to, or benefit from, what used to be a fairly lively discussion among the site's most committed members has continued to diminish, to the point of being close to impossible at this point. I have no idea whether or not this is the result of a deliberate effort by the site administrators to shut down what they seem to regard as commentary that is extraneous to the site's overall mission. This is partly because I no longer understand what that mission might be. But it's hard to avoid the impression that user comments are no longer valued, given that almost every one of the recent changes has made it harder, not easier, to conduct any kind of meaningful exchange.
Even the utility of the site as a reference resource has deteriorated since the change from Wordie -- useful links that were previously immediately accessible have been hidden or taken away altogether.
It's all just a tiny bit soul-crushing, to be honest.
Aug 1, 2011
sionnach commented on the user sionnach
Bilby:
Have you tried looking it up under "Quatsch"? It's a perfectly common word, quite legit, meaning -- as you surmised -- "Rubbish!"
Here is a link: flubdub and taradiddle
Jul 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word flay the fox
Ouch!
Jul 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word daingean
I have always believed that Daingean Uí Chúis was the proper designation for the capital of Kerry. The link suggests that the current name is actually An Daingean. Also, that not everybody is happy about it.
Jul 17, 2011
sionnach commented on the word kafee-klatsch
Actually, I think it would have to be "a social event at which people drink cofee".
Jul 13, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Head of patron saint of genital diseases to be auctioned in Meath
Read all about it in the article here
Jul 10, 2011
sionnach commented on the word twincest
I think we all know the Ring Cycle doesn't exactly end well for all concerned.
Jul 1, 2011
sionnach commented on the word twincest
The most concise word to describe the relationship between Siegmund and Sieglinde in Wagner's Ring Cycle. The offspring of their incestuous coupling is the "hero" Siegfried, who is - perhaps not surprisingly - stupid to a degree that borders on mental retardation.
Of course, the only "hero" in the entire cycle is Bruennhilde, and not just because of the vocal pyrotechnics that her role demands.
Jul 1, 2011
sionnach commented on the user biocon
Hi biocon:
I have been enjoying your lists as well. A belated welcome to Wordnik!
Jul 1, 2011
sionnach commented on the word umbrage
Pretty words, which might be considered extenuating, if they were true . But it is a simple matter to check their patent falsity. They butter no parsnips with me.
I'm holding on to this fine dollop of umbrage*.
Smiley-face. LOL
*: which is, of course, entirely phony. Because it's been a long time since we've had a good marathon of phony umbrage taking
Jul 1, 2011
sionnach commented on the word umbrage
I'm taking me some umbrage over a gratuitous drive-by snark by yarb a few days back, where he made a comment along these lines:
"Wrong, sionnach, and not for the first time, either" (my emphasis).
Was it really necessary to add that last part, smarty mac yarbles? Huh?
Jun 30, 2011
sionnach commented on the word patefy
I have to disagree, Pro. It would mean "to turn into paté", in a transitive sense. Not intransitively, as your suggestion would imply.
Jun 30, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Is not the mounted liger
y el mayor bien es picante
There is something syntactically suspect about this "mayor bien" business. Even for a dream quesadilla.
Jun 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the word fell swoop
I'm with rolig on this one; yarb and reesetee seem misguided in their belief that serial ruthlessness is not an option.
Jun 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the user biocon
Yes. What mollusque wrote is a more precise description of the issue, and what I should have written in the first place. It's an HTML implementation issue, not one of access.
Jun 28, 2011
sionnach commented on the word ucalegon
This word joins sgriob and qualtagh as being highly likely to be some lexicographer's idea of a practical joke. And paddymelon, of course.
Jun 27, 2011
sionnach commented on the user biocon
The links you provide in your comments don't work.
Jun 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the user shenzhenelectronic
Go away.
Jun 26, 2011
sionnach commented on the word Idirlíon
an Gréasán Domhanda : the world wide web
Jun 26, 2011