vendingmachine has adopted no words, looked up 0 words, created 111 lists, listed 8855 words, written 2287 comments, added 0 tags, and loved 543 words.

Comments by vendingmachine

  • (roller derby, slang) Skin injury caused by abrasion against the floor of the rink.

    March 12, 2024

  • (colloquial) skin and bone injury caused by abrasion with road surfaces. See gravel rash. Coordinate term: rink rash.

    March 12, 2024

  • (Britain, figuratively, broadcasting) A period of stony, unresponsive silence. See dead air.

    From the motif in western movies where the wind blows tumbleweeds through the scene, usually to establish that the place is desolate or empty.
     

    March 12, 2024

  • The rounded seed of the nicker tree.

    March 12, 2024

  • (Philippines) bird's nest soup (Chinese soup made from edible bird's nest)

    March 12, 2024

  • A relatively small and specialist, yet profitable, market.

    March 12, 2024

  • Rainy weather.

    March 12, 2024

  • (ceramics) A wheel or disc used to throw pots, turned by kicking or pushing a heavy stone or concrete base with the foot. See pottery wheel.

    March 12, 2024

  • (medicine, pathology) Elongated labia, a feature of certain Khoikhoi and other African women who develop, naturally or though artificial stretching, relatively elongated labia minora.

    March 12, 2024

  • See also shits-and-giggles.

    March 12, 2024

  • Amusement without any serious purpose; fun.

    March 12, 2024

  • A service, offered by some hotels, of the use of a baby monitor in a guest's room.

    March 12, 2024

  • See also tuk-tuk.

    March 12, 2024

  • (informal) The temporary inability to think properly, or to remember something

    Synonym: brain fog.

    March 10, 2024

  • (palmistry) Lines going around the wrist, associated with Neptune.

    March 10, 2024

  • (idiomatic, informal, derogatory) Prim, prudish, or easily offended.

    Synonym: pearl-clutching.

    March 10, 2024

  • A form of silk made more humanely than by traditional methods, without killing the creatures that create the silk. Synonym:  peace silk.

    March 10, 2024

  • See alcohol enema.

    March 10, 2024

  • An act of consuming alcohol via the anus in order to induce intoxication.

    Synonym: butt chug.

    March 10, 2024

  • A vasculopathy caused by E. coli that affects greyhounds.

    March 10, 2024

  • (dated, endearing) Spouse.

    c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: ... Isaac Iaggard, and Edward Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, Act II, scene iii:

    Parolles: He wears his honour in a box, unseen

    That hugs his kicky-wicky here at home

    Spending his manly marrow in her arms

    March 10, 2024

  • The number of bushels of corn equal in value to 100 pounds of live hogs, used by farmers to decide whether it is more lucrative to sell their corn or to feed hogs with it and sell those.

    March 10, 2024

  • hog-whimpering (comparative more hog-whimpering, superlative most hog-whimpering)

    (UK, slang) Extremely drunk, to the point of incoherence.

    March 10, 2024

  • (slang, neologism) The state of being unapologetically lethargic, slovenly, and prone to odd and self-indulgent behavior.

    From modern fantasy depictions of goblins as filthy, brutish, cave-dwelling creatures, a departure from older folkloric depictions first used by J. R. R. Tolkien in The Hobbit (1937). The term is first attested on Twitter in 2009, but gained popularity in 2022.

    March 10, 2024

  • go bitchcakes (third-person singular simple present goes bitchcakes, present participle going bitchcakes, simple past went bitchcakes, past participle gone bitchcakes)

    (slang, vulgar) To go crazy; to get extremely angry; to flip out.

    Synonym: go apeshit.

    March 10, 2024

  • A minimalist style of visual art.

    March 10, 2024

  • A full moon occurring in July... so called because the new antlers of a buck emerge around this time of year.

    March 10, 2024

  • (US, slang) A bubble butt.

    2004, Bobby Heenan, Steve Anderson, Chair Shots and Other Obstacles:

    "They'll find someone new with a bubble ass and a short dress."

    March 10, 2024

  • A relatively rare form of cloud-to-ground lightning which appears to break up into a string of short, bright sections, and lasts longer than the usual discharge channel.

    March 10, 2024

  • Itchiness of the skin underneath a beard.

    2011, Don Pendleton, Assassin's Code, Toronto: Worldwide Library, page 108:

    "Bolan knew through personal experience that by day three the beard-itch would become almost unbearable."

    March 10, 2024

  • A rod-shaped implement used by the aboriginal people of Australia to dig yam and as a combat weapon.

    "She thrust her yamstick into the hard ground to reach the prized tuber."

    March 10, 2024

  • (music) A simple musical instrument consisting of a wooden tube with a hole in it, used like a modern kazoo.

    2011, Christopher Welch, Six Lectures on the Recorder and Other Flutes in Relation to Literature:

    Now there was in Shakespeare's time a pipe called the eunuch flute. It was not an instrument that could generate sound but only a contrivance for imparting to the voice a trembling or buzzing sort of tone not unlike that which children produce by means of a piece of paper folded over a comb.

    March 10, 2024

  • (slang) the best; great success

    March 10, 2024

  • A chronic condition of unknown etiology, characterized by recurring attacks of intense nausea, vomiting, and sometimes abdominal pain and headaches.

    March 10, 2024

  • The collection of live fish, generally for an aquarium, by spraying a sodium cyanide mixture into the water in order to incapacitate the fish.

    March 10, 2024

  • (Britain) A pedestrian crossing with traffic-lights operated by pedestrians

    March 10, 2024

  • (Britain, regional) A pedestrian crossing equipped with traffic lights operated by the pedestrians, same as pelican crossing, but also allowing bicycles to cross.

    March 10, 2024

  • (now archaic, regional) Urine, especially as used for domestic or agricultural purposes. from 16th c.

    March 10, 2024

  • (US) A large aquatic true bug with pincer-like front legs, Lethocerus americanus.

    March 10, 2024

  • 1881, Adam Woolbever, Treasury of Wisdom, Wit and Humor, Odd Comparisons and Proverbs, page 464:

    A viceroy of Ireland asked one of his guests at a public dinner why there were no toads in Ireland? to which he replied, “because there are so many toad eaters."

    March 10, 2024

  • A traditional drink made by soaking hard toast in water.


    • 1884 October 15, The Annals of Hygiene, volume 1, number 4, page 96:
      Toast water simple, good in cases of thirst and nausea from diarrhœa, is about one-fourth of a pound of bread toasted slowly to a very dark brown color (not burned), broken into a hot mug or pitcher, with a quart of boiling water poured upon it, covered close until cold.

    March 10, 2024

  • oaf-rocked (comparative more/ oaf-rocked, superlative most/ oaf-rocked)

    (UK, Yorkshire dialect, obsolete) Weak of intellect from infancy.

    (UK, Yorkshire dialect, obsolete) Badly brought up; spoiled.

    March 10, 2024

  • female practitioner of voodoo.

    March 10, 2024

  • (genetics) An individual who may be clinically unaffected but who must carry a gene mutation based on analysis of the family history; this usually applies to disorders inherited in an autosomal recessive and X-linked recessive manner.

    March 10, 2024

  • One who practices voodoo.

    March 10, 2024

  • (slang, archaic) A truncheon.

    March 10, 2024

  • (archaeology) The initial piece of stone from which a tool is made.

    March 10, 2024

  • A flowering plant in the mint family, Physostegia virginiana, native to eastern North America and known for the way that individual flowers stay in the position they're moved to when pushed to one side or the other.

    March 10, 2024

  • A spicy Asian dish of chicken cooked with dried chili peppers, spring onion, peanuts, etc.

    March 10, 2024

  • Afrikaans:

    stukkend (attributive stukkende, comparative stukkender, superlative stukkendste)

    broken

    (slang) drunk

    Audio: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stukkend

    March 10, 2024

  • Morel mushroom season coincides with turkey season, so respect others afield. --Missouri Conservationist, March 2024.

    February 23, 2024

  • Ha. Erin... fun words are drawn to you like a magnet.

    February 21, 2024

  • aka vacuuming.

    February 20, 2024

  • tankhughes Tank. Let's talk puzzles. Kindly email me at my name (first and last; one word) at gmail. I am the creator of this comic, so you can find my name here.

    https://www.gocomics.com/frogapplause/2024/02/05

    February 15, 2024

  • I'm referring to your message to word_geek.

    February 12, 2024

  • So interesting, Tank. Tell me more. Seriously.

    February 12, 2024

  • Where are the puzzles you have created? I play numerous word puzzles per day via my membership at The Puzzle Society on GoComics. Beware. I am brutally honest about what I like and don't like when it comes to puzzles.

    February 12, 2024

  • Tyrannical law enforcement officers who are ignorant of the laws

    in which they took an oath to uphold.

    pig (slang for cop) + ignorant.

    February 11, 2024

  • schrodinger's cat on a hot tin roof

    February 2, 2024

  • So easy to make verbs...

    January 13, 2024

  • The wind-signal system of the United States Weather Bureau consists of storm, information, hurricane, hot wind, and inland storm signals.

    January 8, 2024

  • An order of long-necked eels found in the deep sea: distinguished by the well-developed bones of the jaw, which are joined immovably to the cranium. Only one species is known, Derichthys serpentinus, constituting the family Derichthyidæ.

    December 31, 2023

  • Sticks and stones, bilby. Roasted with caramel, huh? What... no sea salt?

    November 25, 2023

  • See ergasiophobia.

    November 19, 2023

  • How about lunner?

    October 17, 2023

  • Kibble? Dog treats? Is Prolagus around? / Floor sweepings, garbage?

    “Croccantis per cani, or the chef’s favorite, Spazzatura dal pavimento.”

    October 14, 2023

  • "Everyone else gets quilenced. Since they’re only quilenced, not silenced, it’s totally good with the first amendment. Per them."--Twitter

    September 19, 2023

  • I owned a squirrel cage (fan) and didn't even realize it.

    It even had a timer on it. I let my brother borrow it, even

    though I liked it a lot. It's what little sisters do.

    September 15, 2023

  • See cocoa-cracker.

    September 14, 2023

  • A machine for cracking or crushing cocoa. It consists of a pair of horizontal rolls for cracking the shells, and a winnowing fan for removing the broken shells and dust. It is usually combined with a rotary screen for sorting the broken cocoa and removing undesirable portions.

    September 14, 2023

  • The West African giraffe is found in the further north where it has its last relict population.

    August 31, 2023

  • German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German history, and German politics in addition to the language and literature component. Common German names for the field are Germanistik, Deutsche Philologie, and Deutsche Sprachwissenschaft und Literaturwissenschaft. In English, the terms Germanistics or Germanics / germanics are sometimes used (mostly by Germans), but the subject is more often referred to as German studies, German language and literature, or German philology.

    Modern German studies is usually seen as a combination of two sub-disciplines: German linguistics and Germanophone literature studies.

    August 30, 2023

  • In sports analytics, sabermetrics (originally SABRmetrics) is the empirical analysis of baseball, especially baseball statistics that measure in-game activity. Sabermetricians collect and summarize the relevant data from this in-game activity to answer specific questions. The term is derived from the acronym SABR, which stands for the Society for American Baseball Research, founded in 1971. The term "sabermetrics" was coined by Bill James, who is one of its pioneers and is often considered its most prominent advocate and public face.

    August 19, 2023

  • See prusten.

    August 19, 2023

  • Prusten is a form of communicative behaviour exhibited by some members of the family Felidae. Prusten is also referred to as chuffing or chuffle (verb and noun). It is described as a short, low intensity, non-threatening vocalization. In order to vocalize a chuff, the animal's mouth is closed and air is blown through the nostrils, producing a breathy snort. It is typically accompanied by a head bobbing movement. It is often used between two cats as a greeting, during courting, or by a mother comforting her cubs. The vocalization is produced by tigers, jaguars, snow leopards, clouded leopards and even polar bears. Prusten has significance in both the fields of evolution and conservation.

    August 19, 2023

  • "The monthly veterinary report of July 31, 2023 assessed that the pulmonary lesion was smaller. Bloodwork and chuff (blowhole exhalation samples) were unremarkable, with a very low white blood cell count in Lolita's chuff samples. In summary, the veterinarians were seeing incremental improvements in her health. Nonetheless, she was still fighting the chronic infection in her lung, and continued to receive daily Faropenem and antifungal medications."

    August 19, 2023

  • "If 1990s sitcoms were characterised by sexually liberated pals cracking wise, and the 00s by docu-realist, workplace-based cringe comedy, this decade has been dominated by the sadcom, a strain of comedy-drama shuddering under the weight of personal hardship and the idea that actual jokes are largely unnecessary."

    August 17, 2023

  • Love this, tank.

    August 17, 2023

  • 5 Easy Things You Can Do To Change Your Life...

    August 13, 2023

  • @ruzuzu. Yes, how did you miss it?

    July 25, 2023

  • May we all be lucky enough to sit down in a pair of seatless chainsaw trousers one day...

    July 25, 2023

  • That's not really how it works around here, John.

    Perhaps if you stick around a little longer, you'll realize that wordnik is about including as many words and definitions as possible, flattering or otherwise.

    The definitions included under an entry (ie. "The Century Dictionary" or "Wiktionary") have nothing to do with wordnik. These are merely a collection of sources gathered from the internet. 

    As for comments and examples of usage, all are welcome--unless they're spam.

    July 16, 2023

  • Thought this might be a bikini for a tapeworm.

    July 12, 2023

  • Order of the Three Stars (Latvian: Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is "Per aspera ad astra", meaning "Through hardships to the stars". --Wikipedia

    July 8, 2023

  • Swedish death cleaning is a method of organizing and decluttering your home before you die to lessen the burden of your loved ones after you've passed. Usually older people or those battling a terminal illness partake in Swedish death cleaning.

    https://www.thespruce.com/swedish-death-cleaning-4801461

    July 6, 2023

  • False positives – real comments marked as spam. ---akismet.com

    July 6, 2023

  • @ruzuzu. Mēs arī tevi mīlam!

    June 16, 2023

  • A circular argument is one that uses the same statement as both the premise and the conclusion. No new information or justification is introduced.

    June 15, 2023

  • An appeal to ignorance is a claim that something must be true because it hasn’t been proven false. It can also be a claim that something must be false because it hasn’t been proven true. This is also known as the burden of proof fallacy.

    June 15, 2023

  • With a slippery slope fallacy, the arguer claims a specific series of events will follow one starting point, typically with no supporting evidence for this chain of events.

    June 15, 2023

  • An equivocation is a statement crafted to mislead or confuse readers or listeners by using multiple meanings or interpretations of a word or simply through unclear phrasing.

    June 15, 2023

  • A red herring is an attempt to shift focus from the debate at hand by introducing an irrelevant point.

    June 15, 2023

  • Just because someone's argument relies on a fallacy doesn't necessarily mean that their claim is inherently untrue.

    Making a fallacy-riddled claim doesn't automatically invalidate the premise of the argument — it just means the argument doesn't actually validate their premise. In other words, their argument sucks, but they aren't necessarily wrong.

    June 15, 2023

  • If two things appear to be correlated, this doesn't necessarily indicate that one of those things irrefutably caused the other thing.

    This might seem like an obvious fallacy to spot, but it can be challenging to catch in practice — particularly when you really want to find a correlation between two points of data to prove your point.

    I originally listed this as correlation/causation fallacy, but wordnik kept classifying it as a 404 term.

    June 15, 2023

  • This fallacy occurs when someone draws expansive conclusions based on inadequate or insufficient evidence. In other words, they jump to conclusions about the validity of a proposition with some — but not enough — evidence to back it up, and overlook potential counterarguments.

    Opposite of slothful induction fallacy.

    June 15, 2023

  • Slothful induction is the exact inverse of the hasty generalization fallacy. This fallacy occurs when sufficient logical evidence strongly indicates a particular conclusion is true, but someone fails to acknowledge it, instead attributing the outcome to coincidence or something unrelated entirely.

    June 15, 2023

  • This common fallacy misleads by presenting complex issues in terms of two inherently opposed sides. Instead of acknowledging that most (if not all) issues can be thought of on a spectrum of possibilities and stances, the false dilemma fallacy asserts that there are only two mutually exclusive outcomes.

    This fallacy is particularly problematic because it can lend false credence to extreme stances, ignoring opportunities for compromise or chances to re-frame the issue in a new way.

    June 15, 2023

  • While appeals to authority are by no means always fallacious, they can quickly become dangerous when you rely too heavily on the opinion of a single person — especially if that person is attempting to validate something outside of their expertise.

    Getting an authority figure to back your proposition can be a powerful addition to an existing argument, but it can't be the pillar your entire argument rests on. Just because someone in a position of power believes something to be true, doesn't make it true.

    June 15, 2023

  • Just because a significant population of people believe a proposition is true, doesn't automatically make it true. Popularity alone is not enough to validate an argument, though it's often used as a standalone justification of validity. Arguments in this style don't take into account whether or not the population validating the argument is actually qualified to do so, or if contrary evidence exists.

    While most of us expect to see bandwagon arguments in advertising (e.g., "three out of four people think X brand toothpaste cleans teeth best"), this fallacy can easily sneak its way into everyday meetings and conversations.

    June 15, 2023

  • This fallacy occurs when your opponent over-simplifies or misrepresents your argument (i.e., setting up a "straw man") to make it easier to attack or refute. Instead of fully addressing your actual argument, speakers relying on this fallacy present a superficially similar — but ultimately not equal — version of your real stance, helping them create the illusion of easily defeating you.

    June 15, 2023

  • An ad hominem fallacy occurs when you attack someone personally rather than using logic to refute their argument.

    Instead they’ll attack physical appearance, personal traits, or other irrelevant characteristics to criticize the other’s point of view. These attacks can also be leveled at institutions or groups.

    June 15, 2023

  • Often used to protect assertions that rely on universal generalizations (like "all Marketers love pie") this fallacy inaccurately deflects counterexamples to a claim by changing the positioning or conditions of the original claim to exclude the counterexample.

    In other words, instead of acknowledging that a counterexample to their original claim exists, the speaker amends the terms of the claim. In the example below, when Barabara presents a valid counterexample to John's claim, John changes the terms of his claim to exclude Barbara's counterexample.

    June 15, 2023

  • If you have difficulty understanding how or why something is true, that doesn't automatically mean the thing in question is false. A personal or collective lack of understanding isn't enough to render a claim invalid.

    June 15, 2023

  • If a person claims that X is true, it is their responsibility to provide evidence in support of that assertion. It is invalid to claim that X is true until someone else can prove that X is not true. Similarly, it is also invalid to claim that X is true because it's impossible to prove that X is false.

    In other words, just because there is no evidence presented against something, that doesn't automatically make that thing true.

    See also: appeal to ignorance fallacy.

    June 15, 2023

  • In place of logical evidence, this fallacy substitutes examples from someone's personal experience.

    Arguments that rely heavily on anecdotal evidence tend to overlook the fact that one (possibly isolated) example can't stand alone as definitive proof of a greater premise.

    June 15, 2023

  • This fallacy assumes that a compromise between two extreme conflicting points is always true. Arguments of this style ignore the possibility that one or both of the extremes could be completely true or false — rendering any form of compromise between the two invalid as well.

    June 15, 2023

  • This fallacy gets its colorful name from an anecdote about a Texan who fires his gun at a barn wall, and then proceeds to paint a target around the closest cluster of bullet holes. He then points at the bullet-riddled target as evidence of his expert marksmanship.

    Speakers who rely on the Texas sharpshooter fallacy tend to cherry-pick data clusters based on a predetermined conclusion.

    Instead of letting a full spectrum of evidence lead them to a logical conclusion, they find patterns and correlations in support of their goals, and ignore evidence that contradicts them or suggests the clusters weren't actually statistically significant.

    June 15, 2023

  • The tu quoque fallacy (Latin for "you also") is an invalid attempt to discredit an opponent by answering criticism with criticism — but never actually presenting a counterargument to the original disputed claim.

    June 15, 2023

  • Logical fallacies are deceptive or false arguments that may seem stronger than they actually are due to psychological persuasion, but are proven wrong with reasoning and further examination.

    Mistakes in reasoning typically consist of an argument and a premise that does not support the conclusion.

    June 15, 2023

  • mollusque is known for his exceptional lists. I miss him. There are so many former regualars that made this site a never-miss daily destination.

    June 15, 2023

  • Thank you for your comment to @deadwoodcarl, tankhughes. Those of us who have been here a long time, some of us (like me as frogapplause) when wordnik was wordie... forget that new people wander in and have questions and concerns. Too bad this explanation will be buried with this word and won't be out front like a welcome mat.

    June 11, 2023

  • We're pretty informal around here. I encourage you to dive right in. Make your own lists, add to the lists of others, astound us with witty comments--even though, less memorable (lame) comments will often suffice. Welcome.

    June 4, 2023

  • Oh! Wait. I didn't mean to suggest that tank was among the ugly words. In fact, I didn't even realize how often it appeared.

    May 31, 2023

  • Further proof how this word ruins a passage (alongside other ugly words):

    "Additionally, there seems to be combination pump/tank line boosters in which the pump actuates immediately upon flow and the tank is used more as a pulse damper/buffer (and probably deaerator), as well as tankless booster pumps."

    May 31, 2023

  • Agreed! Even the ligature æ wouldn't be able to improve it.

    May 31, 2023

  • "Rite of Passage was bred by the Hertfordshire-based Newsells Park Stud. He was sired by the European Horse of the Year Giant's Causeway out of the mare Dahlia's Krissy. After retiring to stud in 2001 Giant's Causeway sired the winners of more than three hundred races, including 26 at Group One/Grade I level. His best winners include Shamardal, Aragorn and Eskendereya. Dahlia's Krissy was a winner in the United States and a granddaughter of the Champion racemare Dahlia."

    May 31, 2023

  • Thank you, @pamelafoerster. I have a better understanding of the word now. I couldn't find it in a sentence, so I appreciate your example. Which area of management handles hitchments?

    I wonder how often things go haywire, despite careful planning.

    What other forms of the word are in use, if any?

    May 23, 2023

  • Found on Twitter: "Ask an actual attorney, for starters. If there aren't any with a free first consultation you can find, go full Karen and contact the highest banking regulatory authority and report the breach. Don't even fk with the bank's management."

    May 22, 2023

  • The marrying of two or more portions of one shipment that originate at different locations, moving under one bill of lading, from one shipper to one consignee.

    May 22, 2023

  • Ethnochoreology (also dance ethnology, dance anthropology) is the study of dance through the application of a number of disciplines such as anthropology, musicology, ethnomusicology, and ethnography. The word itself is relatively recent and etymologically means “the study of ethnic dance”, though this is not exclusive of research on more formalized dance forms, such as classical ballet, for example. Thus, ethnochoreology reflects the relatively recent attempt to apply academic thought to why people dance and what it means.

    May 22, 2023

  • I wouldn't classify my dislike for the word as an annoyance. I see it as more of an attempt to soften the harsh reality of homelessness. Have you ever heard a homeless person refer to themselves as unhoused? I haven't. I did not call the word worthless or harmful. You read into my comment assumptions that I did not make.

    From the ages of 7-13, I was "sexually molested" by a non-family member. I had a miscarriage at age 12. I could keep using softer terms, so as not to offend the tender sensibilities of those who don't want to hear words like rape, but then I would be discounting my serial traumas.

    May 22, 2023

  • Pickleworm... nice name.

    May 14, 2023

  • Haha!!

    May 14, 2023

  • I want a separate ossification, too!

    May 12, 2023

  • Does the term unhoused make someone sound less homeless? It's as though a more politically- correct word is supposed to make life sound nicer for people without permanent housing.


    A trendier term isn't going to create fewer homeless people.

    May 11, 2023

  • A rainshadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side.

    May 11, 2023

  • It seems like a perfectly sensible and valid word to me. I applaud you for coining it.

    May 11, 2023

  • cohomology, cohomologically, in cohomological terms.

    April 20, 2023

  • A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!

    Rose plot,

    Fringed pool,

    Fern'd grot --

    The veriest school

    Of peace; and yet the fool

    Contends that God is not --

    Not God! in Gardens! when the eve is cool?

    Nay, but I have a sign;

    'Tis very sure God walks in mine.

    T. E. (Thomas Edward) Brown (1830 - 1897), "My garden", appears in Old John and other Poems, first published in 1893

    April 20, 2023

  • "The woman who comes into the house of a widower, the minister who steps into the place of a statesman in disgrace, the molinist bishop who gets hold of the diocese of a jansenist bishop -- none of these people cause more trouble than the intruding scarlet has caused to me."

    A woman who comes into the house of a widower? Really?

    Intruding scarlet?

    Endless woman-shaming...

    April 20, 2023

  • Saying extreme plainness makes plainness stand-out and, therefore, appear unplain.

    April 20, 2023

  • Nothing you post, ruzuzu, is weird in the unwelcome "reinventing the wheel" sense. Wordnik became new and improved the day you showed up.

    April 20, 2023

  • So, is a reporting verb also called a reporter?

    April 20, 2023

  • Is a former wife an ex-ux?


    See et vir (and husband)

    April 20, 2023

  • How random is "Random Word"? This has to be the biggest coincidence, ever.

    My first random hit was euphroe. My second random hit was uvrou. These are variations of the same word. Should I try for uphroe next?

    I got eremitism as my third random word hit. Oh, well.

    April 19, 2023

  • Loxostege! I'm trying this out as my newest go-to insult.

    April 4, 2023

  • A numerous collection of small individuals.

    Grammatically, this sentence makes no sense to me. Help?

    April 1, 2023

  • The Dragon court was in a perpetual commotion with knights, squires, and grooms, coming in with orders for new armor, or for old to be furbished, and the tent-makers, lorimers, mercers, and tailors had their hands equally full.

    March 24, 2023

  • Sand-draws abound in western Nebraska, South Dakota, and eastern Wyoming, and have a characteristic flora.

    March 22, 2023

  • voodoo spirits, huh?

    March 22, 2023

  • Oral literature (or orature, the term coined by Ugandan scholar Pio Zirimu) may be in prose or verse.

    March 21, 2023

  • Prophylactic Comfort Reading

    ---acronym I coined after reading Erin McKean's "Things I learned while looking up other things, 2023.03.11"

    March 11, 2023

  • Not funny.

    March 3, 2023

  • "Sittings of the House of Representatives were adjourned for a week."

    March 2, 2023

  • Still love these, gangerh! One of my favorite lists on wordnik.

    March 2, 2023

  • Do not sing "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor.

    Do not attempt to paint extra stripes on the tigers.

    Do not ask the tigers questions about their sex lives.

    Do not tell the tigers that they are really just lions with stripes.

    Do not point big foam fingers at the tigers.

    Do not eat tiger animal crackers in front of the tigers.

    Do not offer tiger lilies to the tigers.

    Do not curl your fingers and pretend they're tiger claws then growl at the tigers.

    Do not throw roadkill at the tigers.

    Do not throw floaty toys into the tiger pool.

    March 2, 2023

  • I am now a keen practitioner of Erin McKean's "Things I learned while looking up other things"...

    February 25, 2023

  • When I looked up desmocho, I found this:

    But already, as pollarding goes out of fashion, desmocho has been lost from the language and all pollards are called trasmocho.

    Pollarding is going out of fashion? Who knew? And what's this business about trasmocho?

    February 25, 2023

  • Such massive mushroom bollings are called desmocho by the Basques in the beech and oak woods of the western Pyrenees around San Sebastin.

    Is this word in Basque desmocho really about big mushroom caps being cut off? Is cap even the English word for the top of a mushroom? I'm starting to doubt myself now.

    February 25, 2023

  • What a lazy word. How many non + (word) are the result of this construction?

    If something is not something, why is it necessary to point it out? I guess if you attended something that was like a barbecue but wasn't, you'd need a way to express what it wasn't. Right?

    I should stop while I am non-ahead.

    February 25, 2023

  • What is the difference between vibrissae and whiskers?

    "Whiskers are modified hairs (formally known as 'vibrissae') that form specialized touch organs, found at some stage in the life of all mammals except monotremes (duck-billed platypus and echidnas) and humans, though we still have vestiges of the muscles once associated with vibrissae in our upper lips."

    February 23, 2023

  • This umbrage taking was well known to the potayto-patahto people, but it took a while for Western umbrage takers to acknowledge its existence.

    February 22, 2023

  • "The Chacoan peccary has the unusual distinction of having been first described in 1930 based on fossils and was originally thought to be an extinct species. In 1971, the animal was discovered to still be alive in the Chaco region, in the Argentine province of Salta. The species was well known to the native people, but it took a while for Western scientists to acknowledge its existence. It is known locally as the tagua."

    February 22, 2023

  • Thanks, Erin.

    random word is one of my favorite aspects of wordnik. And chiacoan peccary is a good example of how fun and random this feature can be!

    February 22, 2023

  • Hm. A definition with an exclamation mark, yet the word it's referencing is exclamation markless.

    February 22, 2023

  • A genus of monocotyledonous plants of the order Araceæ, belonging to the suborder Pothoideæ and the tribe Symplocarpeæ, allied to the skunk-cabbage.

    My new favorite phrase for today: allied to the skunk-cabbage.

    February 22, 2023

  • I saw this at the bottom of this page:

    This random word is brought to you by Kickstarter backer Barrett Dent.

    More details, Erin. Please.

    February 22, 2023

  • Discovered how recently?

    February 22, 2023

  • "loving husband and dad, loyal friend, fierce enemy, patriot, kick ass reporter, proud JewRican." --Geraldo Rivera's Twitter profile

    February 21, 2023

  • "FLATOW: It's funny that from what I understand that one of these little plateaus was actually a place where some of the Apollo astronauts drove around in a little moon rover there.

    Dr. WATTERS: That's exactly right. One of these ones that we knew about from the Apollo era was very close to the Apollo 17 landing site, and astronauts Cernan and Schmitt actually drove their roving vehicle up the scarp face. And actually, as they tried to drive straight up the scarp, they lost traction and had to actually start zigging and zagging to get up the scarp."

    February 16, 2023

  • "it's been a misconception that the moon is this geologically dead object, that everything of significance that happened geologically on the moon happened billions of years ago. But I think that's really just turning out not to be the case. And these very young thrust faults that are globally distributed really are suggesting that the moon may still be tectonically active today."

    February 16, 2023

  • "We know from four seismic stations that were put on the moon that the moon does have moonquakes."

    February 16, 2023

  • "The Apollo astronauts also left, on the surface, if I remember correctly, some earthquake, moonquake detectors."

    February 16, 2023

  • Kedia Guemgoum. (587m/1 926ft a.s.l.) is a mountain in Mauritania. The prominence is 220m/722ft.

    Guelb Char (502m/1 647ft a.s.l.) is a mountain in Mauritania. The prominence is 45m/148ft.

    kedia guelb kedias guelbs

    February 16, 2023

  • "Spring-fed oases lie at the foot of some of the scarps. Isolated peaks, often rich in minerals, rise above the plateaus; the smaller peaks are called guelbs and the larger ones kedias."

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritania

    February 16, 2023

  • "Ü was buried 1.5 meters deep for approximately 25 minutes. Ü said he believed it was 4 or 5 minutes. Ü asked how long he was down. The rescuer who assisted in digging him out said approximately 25 minutes. Ü was able to boot pack out of the incident, miraculously unscathed."

    https://mountaingazette.com/blogs/mountain-notes/beloved-south-lake-tahoe-skier-kyle-smaine-killed-in-avalanche-in-japan

    January 30, 2023

  • "Some conspiracies, like chemtrails, percolate in the background of certain communities, never really penetrating the larger public. Others have big impacts. The Barack Obama birtherism conspiracy is one of the latter."

    January 30, 2023

  • Fun word, chanella.

    January 20, 2023

  • Nice addition, ruzuzu.

    to form into grains : GRANULATE

    to preserve or season with salt in grains

    to cure or preserve in brine containing preservatives and often seasonings

    corned beef

    January 16, 2023

  • A biocurator is a professional scientist who curates, collects, annotates, and validates information that is disseminated by biological and model organism databases.

    January 13, 2023

  • "The streak of a mineral is the color of the powder produced when it is dragged across an un-weathered surface. Unlike the apparent color of a mineral, which for most minerals can vary considerably, the trail of finely ground powder generally has a more consistent characteristic color, and is thus an important diagnostic tool in mineral identification. If no streak seems to be made, the mineral's streak is said to be white or colorless. Streak is particularly important as a diagnostic for opaque and colored materials. It is less useful for silicate minerals, most of which have a white streak or are too hard to powder easily."

    January 12, 2023

  • "In the spring of 1939, Seabiscuit covered seven of Howard's mares, all of which had healthy foals in spring of 1940."


    • intransitive verb To copulate with (a female). Used especially of horses.

    January 10, 2023

  • Closer to the sound used to shoo a cat or cats. Farm/outside cats often huddle at one's feet before food dishes are put on the porch, etc. This or pstpst means "scatter before I trip."

    January 1, 2023

  • I assumed that this was a fun pastry.

    December 4, 2022

  • I had to look up the pronuncation for this word.

    December 3, 2022

  • ...bread sprinkled with hundreds and thousands of what?!

    December 3, 2022

  • Can't say I've used or even heard of this word.

    November 15, 2022

  • Is this even the correct word? It might be one of those definitions that appears with the wrong word.

    November 15, 2022

  • A tax on ointment?! Rather specific, no? What's so special about ointment...why not just a tax on medication without defining the form it takes?

    November 15, 2022

  • The use of a secular melody with a religious text.

    November 15, 2022

  • Of course, add it. Nearly all of my lists are open.

    November 15, 2022

  • A snowcap is almost identical to a blanket, but the white over the hips/haunches is pure white (no spotting).

    November 14, 2022

  • A blanket Appaloosa is white with spots over the hips paired with a different (contrasting) base color (for example, white and black).

    November 14, 2022

  • A type of overo, splash paints have white heads, blue eyes, and white markings on their legs and underbellies. Their backs are usually solid in color.

    November 14, 2022

  • A solid-colored head (sometimes with markings), with some white on their legs and over their backs. They usually have multicolored manes/tails.

    November 14, 2022

  • Distinguished by one blue eye, overos have white markings on their heads, legs, and underbellies.

    November 14, 2022

  • A blue, red, or strawberry roan has a dark coat with individual white hairs interspersed throughout. Blue = white with black, red = white with brown, and strawberry = white with red.

    November 14, 2022

  • Black horses are all black (coat + points). Some may have white markings (like stars or socks).

    November 14, 2022

  • One of the most common colors, a bay horse has a brown or reddish-brown coat with black points (like black manes, tales, or legs).

    November 14, 2022

  • An all-white face due to lack of pigments, most common in Paint and pinto horses. Usually accompanied by one or two blue eyes.

    November 14, 2022

  • Wow. I never realized that oreos were a family of hog-like animals.

    Merycoidodontoidea, sometimes called "oreodonts" or "ruminating hogs", is an extinct superfamily of prehistoric cud-chewing artiodactyls with short faces and fang-like canine teeth. As their name implies, some of the better known forms were generally hog-like, and the group has traditionally been placed within the Suina (pigs, peccaries and their ancestors), though some recent work suggests they may have been more closely related to camels. "Oreodont" means "mountain teeth", referring to the appearance of the molars. Most oreodonts were sheep-sized, though some genera grew to the size of cattle. They were heavy-bodied, with short four-toed hooves and comparatively long tails.

    November 14, 2022

  • I don't know how to say it, but I love how it looks.

    November 14, 2022

  • "I have achieved eumoiriety," -- namely the quintessence of happy-fatedness dealt unto oneself by a perfect altruism.

    November 5, 2022

  • ramen

    November 4, 2022

  • Is a special milking stool needed?

    October 4, 2022

  • See dandelion child. See orchid child.

    September 23, 2022

  • A dandelion child (in Swedish: (makrosbarn) is hale and hearty no matter what is going on around her or how she is treated. She just bounces back. Contrast orchid child.

    September 23, 2022

  • See orchid child.

    September 23, 2022

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Comments for vendingmachine

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  • Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss. Thinking of you and your family.

    August 25, 2021

  • Hi , I hope you get through this. Take care.

    August 24, 2021

  • Big hugs from me, too. So very sorry for your loss.

    August 24, 2021

  • So sorry to hear about your mother. *big hugs*

    August 24, 2021

  • Congrats, T., on FA success!! :)

    October 1, 2020

  • Oh! Are the vending machines running?

    *waits two seconds, then shouts*

    Then we'd better go catch them!!!

    *wanders off to the Prince Albert page*

    March 17, 2020

  • Can you catch coronavirus from vending machines?

    March 17, 2020

  • Your list of lists is peauetrie

    February 2, 2018

  • So sorry -- had to delete last comment as it was breaking the community page after I deleted the spammy comment. :-(

    March 19, 2015

  • Consider your scopes affected. De nada. As long as I was at it I effected 'em too!

    March 19, 2015

  • Nice detective work on 'on fleek'.

    March 7, 2015

  • Hey, hey! Checking in. Good to see 'zu get what's coming to her! :) I only occasionally visit these days. I'll try to bring it more into my crosscheck. Toodles for now.

    February 23, 2015

  • *press*

    Ooh! Another delicious food pellet!

    You're the bestest vending machine ever, vendingmachine!

    February 22, 2015

  • LDC - Liberal Democrat Conservative

    A blend of all 3 major political parties in Canada.

    February 21, 2015

  • LDC - longform digital crepuscule

    February 21, 2015

  • Ooh! A delicious food pellet! And two cents!!!

    February 12, 2015

  • I wonder what would happen if I were to press the "Save" button below this comment box.

    February 12, 2015

  • Ooh! Look! Delicious food pellets. Looks like you're my new bff, vendingmachine.

    February 11, 2015

  • I'm sure ruzuzu will be along any minute looking for food pellets.

    February 11, 2015

  • Do you have anything for two cents?

    February 11, 2015

  • You know, you're still my favourite vending machine.

    February 11, 2015

  • What's in the vending machine? The usual bile, or can we now get canned vitriol for a dollar?

    February 10, 2015