Anyone know what this means, or more to the point, where it comes from? Here's the context, from the Tampa Bay Times (nee St. Pete Times), drawing on ESPN or wire service accounts:
"ESPN has suspended First Take commentator Rob Parker indefinitely for racially charged comments he made about Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III. "Is he a 'brother,' or is he a comball 'brother'?" Parker, who is black, said on Thursday's show. 'He is kind of black, but he's not really like the guy you'd want to hang out with. ... He has a white fiancée, people talking about that he's a Republican.' ESPN is 'conducting a full review,' spokesman Josh Krulewitz said."
Zuckeriffic. adj. The quality of sucking and yet still needing to be used. As in "All these new changes to Facebook are totally Zuckeriffic." Or "I hate Microsoft Office, but have to use it because everyone I work with does. It's so Zuckerrific." Portmanteau word combining "suck" or "sucky", "horrific" (or perhaps "teriffic", used ironically) and "Zuckerberg".
I have just noticed the Related Words section of Wordnik word pages. I am a new man. How could I have overlooked it before? This is the first reasonable digital substitute I have seen for the decimal-indexed Roget's Thesaurus that I have jealously guarded for years, since I first heard the publishers were switching to an alphabetical abomination.
If a word that is another word when it is spelled backward is an anadromous fish, then Wordnik is a salmon. Or perhaps a steelhead trout or a eulachon.
In any case, I always thought there was something fishy about this place.
Oh, but ampersands can be so elegant in a good font. I can look at a well-formed ampersand for ages. They make me all tingly... And in calligraphy... *swoons*
What I hate are those ellipses characters that Microsoft Word inserts in place of the venerable three periods...
I suppose it *could*. But I'm not sure why it should. Now that I think of it, there's also cyclone fence, though that may be more descriptive, since presumably it's strong enough to hold things more or less in place in the face of a strong wind.
Pro, we loved Sardinia. We came by sea (didn't they all, once?) and we didn't get a chance to get out of Calasetta much, but we loved what we saw. And we got a tour of some of the bronze-age Nuragic ruins on Sant'Antioco, which was truly fascinating. That, plus some beach time, the casu marzi, a little carta musica, some excellent salami, and two bottles of Cannonau to bring home, and it was definitely the highlight of our trip.
Help me, Word(nik)ies! You're my only hope. Anyone know what cyclone shot might refer to, circa 1931? It's used as the title to a chapter in Dashiell Hammett's book The Glass Key, and I can't find a reference. I've tried Google in addition to some actual paper reference books (remember those?), but no luck...
Just to reassure Pro, and let everyone else know: This summer I had the good fortune to be in Sardinia (Calasetta, specifically), and we happened upon a streetside sausage vendor who was very generous with samples, despite the language barrier. (His English was as absent as my Italian and Sardi.) Then I noticed the handwritten sign: Casu marzu. I couldn't remember why that was so familiar. I said it as best I could. The vendor lit up. "Casu marzu tradicional, he said enthusiastically.
Lifting the corner of a canvas covering at one end of his table, he sliced off a bit of cheese for my companion. It was delicious. Another sample came: Creamier, and apparently heavenly in flavor, unlike any other cheese: Smoky, salty, tangy. Remarkably delicious -- quite possibly the best cheese ever tasted. Not long after, of course, Wikipedia reminded me that I had first learned of this delicacy right here on Wordnik (neé Wordie). And hey, no enteric myiasis yet! Or any other ill effects that we can identify, for that matter.
Why thank you. Sadly, too much of my posting, commenting and listing was too long ago. (Well, the listing was the most uncomfortable, honestly. I'm more or less a vertical kind of person.) Hopefully (he said) I'll be able to return to it one of these days...
Glad you stumbled across my reference to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. It really is a romp through the English idiom. My hefty paperback version (I think they're on a newer edition by now) is well-thumbed, and even so, I keep stumbling on new stuff.
I know people who use it in a similar way, essentially to acknowledge (humorously) they're using some piece of officialese, a brand name, a cliche, etc., essentially mocking the officiousness or stuffiness of it. In English, however. And mostly on their Blackberries, which can be set to insert it automatically in various circumstances.
See wordnik for citation. You know, the more I think about it, the more I realize Wordie and madeupical words make life easy for lexicographers: So (comparatively) easy to find the first usage.
Whoof. I suspect this page is going to go down in Wordie history for comments.
I've digested the news for about a day now. I'm getting more sanguine all the time. For one, I trust our beloved slack bastard (can we still call you that? Better yet -- can you make sure that's your official title?)
For two, I'm convinced that if the Wordie crew sticks around, there's no earthly way Wordnik could withstand the onslaught. For thirdly, if you doubt me, just remember the Wordie treatment, Mi-Vox, Waldo's list and Greetings.
For fourthness -- aw, heck, I think there's a lot of potential. Go for it!
I'm also awash with trepidation. But I'm sure that's just the lack of sleep. It'll all go smoothly, and we'll never notice, except things will just get better and better, right? Right.
I just see ads for women's deodorant, a Trident gum ad with the tagline "Find Cheerful Words Today", and something appealing called "Smelly Washing Machine"...
Not to get all preachy, but some of these very witty comments make me sad. Are Wordies getting a tad snobbish about words? Can't say I agree with the list, but then, I'm not necessarily moved by moist or chagrined by schadenfreude or bedazzled by bird names either...
Wow. Just stumbled across this. I can't say it fits with my original concept of the Wordie Paradox, but what the heck, it's an interesting (if vaguely surreal) conversation...
Shouldn't this be the name for a sport that involves dangling cattle from bungee cords? Not that I advocate such behavior, but it would update cow-tipping a smidgen.
I do believe an ancestor of mine quoted that now and then. Don't remember the context, but I always thought it was amusing even without knowing the long, sad tail of Willie.
Now, 1,000,000 people *for* violent crime would be interesting. Scary, but interesting. (And do any of those groups ever actually recruit a million people?)
Barack Obama is an eloquent speaker, and no doubt politicians will study his cadence and delivery for years to come. But he misues enormity. See exampleshere.
Might this be the second toe being longer than the first, which I heard somewhere was a sign of beauty among the ancient Greeks? (And let's just hear them deny it.)
And I could have sworn that a busman's or trolleyman's friend belonged here, but I may have misremembered the term; I can't find more than stray references.
Makes me wonder how oral exams differ around the world. Here in the U.S., they tend to involve high-powered jets of water, tortuous-looking stainless-steel implements, a lot of scraping, and horrid fluoride treatments.
I once attended a luau in Alaska. It was held by authentic Samoans; they even wore skirts. But not many of those in attendance seemed to have Hawaiian shirts.
Maybe we should call them something else, given that Hawaiians apparently hate brightly colored garments with amusing pictoral patterns.
How about Old Retired Geezer shirts, or Midwesterners in a Festive Mood shirts, or even Florida Toll Booth Worker shirts?
smrtrthnu, don't be silly. Next thing you'll be telling me Parisians don't put French dressing on their salads or send French letters. Or that Alaskans aren't making baked Alaska all the time.
Wow. Rehydrated garbanzos, hm? You missed a real business opportunity, c_b. In case it happens again, I'll remind you of kopi luwak. You can pay me a royalty (but not in-kind if that's OK).
"The senior preferred shares will qualify as Tier 1 capital and will rank senior to common stock and pari passu, which is at an equal level in the capital structure, with existing preferred shares, other than preferred shares which by their terms rank junior to any other existing preferred shares."
No. Here we just have the usual foreign-language, English dictionary and Meanings of Words ads. Maybe it we use the word sufferage repeatedly here, it will show up.
I just think it's alsome that the right Rev. Louis Dodgson wasn't afraid to admit he was a Dungeons & Dragons fan and use a reference to a vorpal blade.
The time intervals between the four stages of slipping on a banana peel: loss of friction, hang-time, spit-take, and of course the thud, or finish.
World-class competitors aim for a clean, quick start, symmetrical and full -- but not prolonged -- follow-through in the middle splits, and as short a thud as possible.
Banana Splitting, or BS, is being considered as a demonstration sport for the 2016 summer Olympics. The USOC's training facility, in Split, Croatia, is known among athletes as Splitsville.
Say, aren't dictionaries most useful for looking up words you don't already know? So wouldn't a dictionary containing only commonly used words be less useful than one with lots of unfamiliar words?
'We come out at the weekend to forget our children and our problems, and this time we will drink extra hard to make sure we forget the economic crisis too,' says Gunnghilder, raising a glass. 'Tomorrow the sore head.'
And I positively thrill to the fact that Iceland still seems to use patronyms -- and matronyms for women, no?
This word is just wrong. I do not love it. I cannot love it. I cannot even pretend to be fond of it. There must be a more elegantly written term for this.
"Now there came to the ears of Earl Hakon the fame of a man overseas westward who called himself Oli, & whom men held for a King; and he misdoubted from the talk of certain folk that this man must be of the lineage of the Norwegian Kings."
Also an archaic past form of go or get, apparently:
"So Thorir gat him west to Dublin, and enquiring there for tidings of Oli learned that he was with his brother-in-law King Olaf Kvaran. Thereafter Thorir brought it to pass that he gat speech of Oli, and when they had talked often and long (for Thorir was a very smooth-tongued man) fell Oli to asking about the Upland kings: which of them were still alive and what dominions pertained to them."
Oh, they did, yarb; they did. I don't think I've ever handled a frog without it peeing on me. Some sort of defense mechanism, or maybe it lightens the load for the leap to safety.
To be followed, if I'm not mistaken, by a remise or a reprise, in turn met with a redouble. And I could swear the counter-riposte, and the counter-counter-riposte, have their place as well. But I'm often wrong.
You know, having gone out of my way to handle frogs in my misspent youth, there would be a delicious irony in getting the chance to pee on one. Turnabout, fair play and all that.
Comments by asativum
asativum commented on the word comball
Anyone know what this means, or more to the point, where it comes from? Here's the context, from the Tampa Bay Times (nee St. Pete Times), drawing on ESPN or wire service accounts:
"ESPN has suspended First Take commentator Rob Parker indefinitely for racially charged comments he made about Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III. "Is he a 'brother,' or is he a comball 'brother'?" Parker, who is black, said on Thursday's show. 'He is kind of black, but he's not really like the guy you'd want to hang out with. ... He has a white fiancée, people talking about that he's a Republican.' ESPN is 'conducting a full review,' spokesman Josh Krulewitz said."
December 15, 2012
asativum commented on the word zuckeriffic
Zuckeriffic. adj. The quality of sucking and yet still needing to be used. As in "All these new changes to Facebook are totally Zuckeriffic." Or "I hate Microsoft Office, but have to use it because everyone I work with does. It's so Zuckerrific." Portmanteau word combining "suck" or "sucky", "horrific" (or perhaps "teriffic", used ironically) and "Zuckerberg".
July 15, 2011
asativum commented on the list place-names-of-distinction
Just stumbled on this. Consider: Toad Suck Park. It's a real place: http://www.conwayarkcc.org/play.php?id=2
June 19, 2011
asativum commented on the word related words
I have just noticed the Related Words section of Wordnik word pages. I am a new man. How could I have overlooked it before? This is the first reasonable digital substitute I have seen for the decimal-indexed Roget's Thesaurus that I have jealously guarded for years, since I first heard the publishers were switching to an alphabetical abomination.
June 19, 2011
asativum commented on the word eulachon
Pronounced hooligan, at least where I've heard it pronounced in Southeast Alaska, near a big spawning ground. Or rather, spawning water.
June 19, 2011
asativum commented on the word anadrome
If a word that is another word when it is spelled backward is an anadromous fish, then Wordnik is a salmon. Or perhaps a steelhead trout or a eulachon.
In any case, I always thought there was something fishy about this place.
June 19, 2011
asativum commented on the list dying-arts
Darning! Or is that already dead?
June 18, 2011
asativum commented on the word wordniki
A kind of stuffed dumpling, containing (variously) obscure words, or the people who collect them.
June 18, 2011
asativum commented on the list it-s-made-of-people
Good one -- thanks, ruzuzu! (Even if I am a bit late...)
June 18, 2011
asativum commented on the word I dislike ampersands
Oh, but ampersands can be so elegant in a good font. I can look at a well-formed ampersand for ages. They make me all tingly... And in calligraphy... *swoons*
What I hate are those ellipses characters that Microsoft Word inserts in place of the venerable three periods...
June 5, 2011
asativum commented on the list the-red-ink-ran-dry
Indeed! Would be additionally fantastic to include a citation in the comments to the word.
June 5, 2011
asativum commented on the list spelling-bee-final-round
Hm. I knew 10 of these before perusing the definitions... Not sure I'd have been able to spell even that many...
June 5, 2011
asativum commented on the word cyclone shot
I suppose it *could*. But I'm not sure why it should. Now that I think of it, there's also cyclone fence, though that may be more descriptive, since presumably it's strong enough to hold things more or less in place in the face of a strong wind.
Still searching...
October 4, 2010
asativum commented on the user asativum
ruzuzu, see casu marzu for my report.
September 28, 2010
asativum commented on the user Prolagus
Pro, we loved Sardinia. We came by sea (didn't they all, once?) and we didn't get a chance to get out of Calasetta much, but we loved what we saw. And we got a tour of some of the bronze-age Nuragic ruins on Sant'Antioco, which was truly fascinating. That, plus some beach time, the casu marzi, a little carta musica, some excellent salami, and two bottles of Cannonau to bring home, and it was definitely the highlight of our trip.
September 27, 2010
asativum commented on the word cyclone shot
Help me, Word(nik)ies! You're my only hope. Anyone know what cyclone shot might refer to, circa 1931? It's used as the title to a chapter in Dashiell Hammett's book The Glass Key, and I can't find a reference. I've tried Google in addition to some actual paper reference books (remember those?), but no luck...
September 27, 2010
asativum commented on the word casu marzu
Just to reassure Pro, and let everyone else know: This summer I had the good fortune to be in Sardinia (Calasetta, specifically), and we happened upon a streetside sausage vendor who was very generous with samples, despite the language barrier. (His English was as absent as my Italian and Sardi.) Then I noticed the handwritten sign: Casu marzu. I couldn't remember why that was so familiar. I said it as best I could. The vendor lit up. "Casu marzu tradicional, he said enthusiastically.
Lifting the corner of a canvas covering at one end of his table, he sliced off a bit of cheese for my companion. It was delicious. Another sample came: Creamier, and apparently heavenly in flavor, unlike any other cheese: Smoky, salty, tangy. Remarkably delicious -- quite possibly the best cheese ever tasted. Not long after, of course, Wikipedia reminded me that I had first learned of this delicacy right here on Wordnik (neé Wordie). And hey, no enteric myiasis yet! Or any other ill effects that we can identify, for that matter.
September 22, 2010
asativum commented on the user ruzuzu
Why thank you. Sadly, too much of my posting, commenting and listing was too long ago. (Well, the listing was the most uncomfortable, honestly. I'm more or less a vertical kind of person.) Hopefully (he said) I'll be able to return to it one of these days...
September 10, 2010
asativum commented on the list hi-you
Oh Wordies*, I stand in awe of your powers, and therefore open this list to all and sundry. Can't wait to see the rest!
June 22, 2010
asativum commented on the list hi-you
I should probably think about making this an open list. Do those still exist?
June 22, 2010
asativum commented on the list hi-you
Love it. Keep 'em coming!
June 22, 2010
asativum commented on the list hi-you
Thanks! Suggestions welcome.
June 21, 2010
asativum commented on the user ruzuzu
Glad you stumbled across my reference to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. It really is a romp through the English idiom. My hefty paperback version (I think they're on a newer edition by now) is well-thumbed, and even so, I keep stumbling on new stuff.
June 21, 2010
asativum commented on the list murders-of-crows
So that's where Amazon got it! Thanks bajacalla and actung. Much appreciated -- hadn't heard clowder or mulada before.
June 17, 2010
asativum commented on the word wordie
It's still here! Kind of.
December 12, 2009
asativum commented on the word asatnavum
I like it! I'm honored....
October 23, 2009
asativum commented on the word schnuckl
How many schnuckls would you have?
September 21, 2009
asativum commented on the word all day breakfast
And in addition to IHOP, of course, there's Waffle House and its cousin, Huddle House. See discussion on Huddle Ho.
September 21, 2009
asativum commented on the word chillax
thesaraheffect, fo' shizzle -- I couldn't agree more.
September 20, 2009
asativum commented on the list ever-wonder
They can be. They can also spend an inordinate amount of time wondering when the next time is that they'll be laid.
Hernesheir, I'm with you, wondering at the starry firmament.
September 17, 2009
asativum commented on the word ™
I know people who use it in a similar way, essentially to acknowledge (humorously) they're using some piece of officialese, a brand name, a cliche, etc., essentially mocking the officiousness or stuffiness of it. In English, however. And mostly on their Blackberries, which can be set to insert it automatically in various circumstances.
September 13, 2009
asativum commented on the word lexome
Is lexome at all related to manxome?
September 11, 2009
asativum commented on the word tappening
Yarb, if the water comes out, doesn't that suggest there's no tappen?
September 10, 2009
asativum commented on the word brave new worldie
See wordnik for citation. You know, the more I think about it, the more I realize Wordie and madeupical words make life easy for lexicographers: So (comparatively) easy to find the first usage.
September 10, 2009
asativum commented on the word wordnik
Whoof. I suspect this page is going to go down in Wordie history for comments.
I've digested the news for about a day now. I'm getting more sanguine all the time. For one, I trust our beloved slack bastard (can we still call you that? Better yet -- can you make sure that's your official title?)
For two, I'm convinced that if the Wordie crew sticks around, there's no earthly way Wordnik could withstand the onslaught. For thirdly, if you doubt me, just remember the Wordie treatment, Mi-Vox, Waldo's list and Greetings.
For fourthness -- aw, heck, I think there's a lot of potential. Go for it!
September 10, 2009
asativum commented on the user asativum
Hey! I wanted mangemange. But it all seems to pale in comparison to the wordnik news...
September 9, 2009
asativum commented on the word one-way cul-de-sac
Endlessly circling the little parking lot at the end, always in a counter-clockwise direction. The eternal traffic circle...
September 9, 2009
asativum commented on the word wordnik
Ermmm... First of all, congratulations John, you slack bastard! I'm extremely happy for you. Very exciting.
I'm also awash with trepidation. But I'm sure that's just the lack of sleep. It'll all go smoothly, and we'll never notice, except things will just get better and better, right? Right.
September 9, 2009
asativum commented on the word tappening
Apparently a marketing push to get people to drink tap water. Call me crazy, but once word gets out about tappens, I think it won't work too well.
September 9, 2009
asativum commented on the list bywords
Lolita? And I've heard would-be poets described (sarcastically) as thinking they're a regular Emily Dickinson.
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the user asativum
True. Thanks for the pep-talk!
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word lynx
Does that make me a lynx? I browse text.
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word cloak-and-dagger
Nope. Have you?
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word bugs
Thanks! I can. Many appreciations.
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word kulmakerroin
Good to know. And shows you just how little Finnish I've heard.
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word tipping point
That level of service at which the diner is torn between stiffing the waiter and leaving a gratuity.
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word ask rogue elf
But what's it an anagram for? Fake sloe rug? Flake grouse? Sofa keg rule? Foul gas reek? A surge of elk?
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word sceptic (skeptic)
One who doesn't believe in modern sanitation.
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word corset
Corset isn't very comfortable for the wearer.
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word onan the barbarian
What, no comments at all? Surely Wordies can do better than that!
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the user asativum
Sigh. I have clearly misplaced my priorities. I'm on the verge of falling off the list of the 100 wordiest Wordies.
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word chopin liszt
Pianist's grocery needs.
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word unslakable
Wow. Love the way this one rolls off the tongue...
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word kulmakerroin
"Slope" in Finnish. Presumably onomatopoetic, from what little Finnish I've heard.
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word harem pants
Unnecessary attire.
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word jalousie
Inspiring a bit of jalousie, eh?
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the list the-sign-game
Frog & Bilby, the two of you are mighty fine.
September 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word bugs
I can't get to the page listing my comments; maybe the same reason skip's skipped town?
September 6, 2009
asativum commented on the word repmasternihilism
Perhaps an understated argument for private word lists.
September 6, 2009
asativum commented on the word uísque
Portuguese: Whiskey.
I love the spelling.
August 6, 2009
asativum commented on the word pungent
I just see ads for women's deodorant, a Trident gum ad with the tagline "Find Cheerful Words Today", and something appealing called "Smelly Washing Machine"...
July 20, 2009
asativum commented on the word beautiful
Hm. OK. I guess I was getting all preachy. Oh well.
June 18, 2009
asativum commented on the word beautiful
Not to get all preachy, but some of these very witty comments make me sad. Are Wordies getting a tad snobbish about words? Can't say I agree with the list, but then, I'm not necessarily moved by moist or chagrined by schadenfreude or bedazzled by bird names either...
June 18, 2009
asativum commented on the word drower
Wow. Just stumbled across this. I can't say it fits with my original concept of the Wordie Paradox, but what the heck, it's an interesting (if vaguely surreal) conversation...
June 15, 2009
asativum commented on the word {yourself}
No, really, its not misbraced. It's a rebus: Brace yourself.
June 15, 2009
asativum commented on the word if you're nice to me i'll show you my...
The suspense is killing me.
June 12, 2009
asativum commented on the word umeboshi
But what is it?
June 12, 2009
asativum commented on the word what is so rare as a day in june
A day in February is considerably rarer, I should think.
June 11, 2009
asativum commented on the word sawfish
Past tense of seafish, which is what one does snorkeling.
June 11, 2009
asativum commented on the word booze
Beer isn't booze? Weirdnet...
June 11, 2009
asativum commented on the word web 2.0
Two words and a decimal point, no less.
June 11, 2009
asativum commented on the word barbican
I always thought this was the container the Barbicide came in at the barber shop. My bad.
June 10, 2009
asativum commented on the word thespian
Well, in primary school it might be, depending on the school.
February 20, 2009
asativum commented on the word muffliato
Not to be confused with muffuletta. Though it would be pretty funny if bunglers accidentally summoned a round loaf stuffed with capicola, salami, mortadella*, emmentaler, and provolone, and garnished with olive spread.
* or other luncheon meats, for the wanton.
February 11, 2009
asativum commented on the word cowabunga
Shouldn't this be the name for a sport that involves dangling cattle from bungee cords? Not that I advocate such behavior, but it would update cow-tipping a smidgen.
February 11, 2009
asativum commented on the word inat
And yet apparently unloved, for no one takes pride in making their own decision to list it.
February 11, 2009
asativum commented on the word willie poem
"'Twas a chilly day for Willie
When the mercury went down."
I do believe an ancestor of mine quoted that now and then. Don't remember the context, but I always thought it was amusing even without knowing the long, sad tail of Willie.
February 11, 2009
asativum commented on the word clamberskull
Oops.
February 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word clamberskull
This word should be resurrected. What say we all start going into bars and asking for a good, stiff clamberskull?
February 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word clamberskull
This word should be resurrected. What say we all start going into bars and asking for a good, stiff clamberskull?
February 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word stoled
The stoled stoler stole stoles?
February 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word jester
Shower? I don't even ... Oh, never mind.
February 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word facebook activism
Now, 1,000,000 people *for* violent crime would be interesting. Scary, but interesting. (And do any of those groups ever actually recruit a million people?)
February 8, 2009
asativum commented on the word greek m * d
µ * d?
January 13, 2009
asativum commented on the word lookuleap
Good advice...
January 13, 2009
asativum commented on the list brer-rebus
Tag away! Unless embraced is more appropriate in this case...
January 13, 2009
asativum commented on the word annos vixit quinquaginta
A life sentence, presumably...
January 12, 2009
asativum commented on the word torttort
Retort?
January 12, 2009
asativum commented on the word {belt}
Belt 'n braces.
January 12, 2009
asativum commented on the list brer-rebus
Retroinspect, I'm not sure peccavi quite fits. Oh well.
January 12, 2009
asativum commented on the word bilingual content-based
Text ad on the Getcher Words Here list. Full text (minus URL):
Bilingual Content-Based
Dictionaries & Glossaries 4 Core Subjects in 6 Languages!
January 10, 2009
asativum commented on the list wordie-paradox
Thanks, VO!
December 29, 2008
asativum commented on the word blah ... does that count?
Don't believe the lack of a list at right. This entry belongs in -- and is in, thanks to VanishedOne -- the list Wordie Paradox.
December 29, 2008
asativum commented on the word barack obama
Er, why wasn't Mr. Cleveland simply the 22nd president, who happened to serve a second term later on?
November 10, 2008
asativum commented on the word tree-
I like the un-Teutonic brevity of punkt, but as I caught up on this dashing thread, I was silently hoping for periodical.
November 10, 2008
asativum commented on the word enormity
Barack Obama is an eloquent speaker, and no doubt politicians will study his cadence and delivery for years to come. But he misues enormity. See examples here.
November 8, 2008
asativum commented on the word stop paying retail
Display/image ad on the front page of Wordie on Oct. 26, 2008. Very colorful. Remaining text:
Buy direct and find out how!
Get your free insider's guide.
DirectBuy: The #1 way to buy direct for your home.
October 27, 2008
asativum commented on the word perscrutation
I once had one of those on my ... never mind.
October 27, 2008
asativum commented on the word barn door
Euphemism for a the fly of one's pants. Commonly used to tell someone that their fly is unzipped: "Your barn door is open."
Also, as the cliche goes, what one closes once the horse is already out.
October 27, 2008
asativum commented on the word charlie's dead
Sounds like a more subtle version of like "your barn door's open" in the U.S. Midwest, said to a fellow with his fly open.
October 27, 2008
asativum commented on the word �??�?
0, 1 and 2, for example. Or are those not local symbols?
October 26, 2008
asativum commented on the list the-sign-game
Nice one! I wonder where that is...
October 20, 2008
asativum commented on the list bunnyslayer-s-list
Oh, pish. I don't believe you.
October 20, 2008
asativum commented on the word morton's toe
Might this be the second toe being longer than the first, which I heard somewhere was a sign of beauty among the ancient Greeks? (And let's just hear them deny it.)
October 20, 2008
asativum commented on the word open the kimono
Also, to loose the bathrobe.
October 20, 2008
asativum commented on the list x-s-y-where-x-is-not-somebody-s-name
Worker's paradise, a la the erstwhile Eastern Bloc.
And I could have sworn that a busman's or trolleyman's friend belonged here, but I may have misremembered the term; I can't find more than stray references.
October 20, 2008
asativum commented on the word underpants
Only seven Wordies have clothes (or clothing).
October 19, 2008
asativum commented on the word hawaiian shirts
Sorry, pleth, that's a Dry Tortugan shirt.
October 19, 2008
asativum commented on the list nicknames-for-my-dogs
Well, now you can use Crappubeano®.
October 19, 2008
asativum commented on the word cockenthrice
And definitely fits into that list someone has of those words. You know.
October 19, 2008
asativum commented on the word egress
I knew there was nothing wrong with regressing now and then. Woo-hoo!
October 19, 2008
asativum commented on the list end-in-kin
Gherkin! I know it's on there already, but I love the word.
October 19, 2008
asativum commented on the list the-end-is-nigh
Makes me wonder how oral exams differ around the world. Here in the U.S., they tend to involve high-powered jets of water, tortuous-looking stainless-steel implements, a lot of scraping, and horrid fluoride treatments.
October 19, 2008
asativum commented on the word murder
This is also clearly a plot sketch for a period murder mystery.
October 19, 2008
asativum commented on the word eros
Yikes.
October 19, 2008
asativum commented on the word sdfasdf
:)
October 19, 2008
asativum commented on the word sdfasdf
We were waiting for you, b. But not palindrome about it?
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the word poop
That's poetry, bilby.
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the list nicknames-for-my-dogs
Plus, baked beans would seem to be a natural fit. Just put 'em in toward the end, since they're cooked, and cut back on other sweet ingredients...
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the word alphabet
ä
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the word priapos
Would you think less of me if I confessed to just making it up? Not saying I did, mind you.
Of course, there is a Myspace page for DJ Priapos
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the word gallus
The connection with suspenders is elusive.
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the word peepers
Makes me wonder about all those leaf peepers in New England come autumn.
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the list forgotten-tribes-of-europe
My, Europe was a crowded place.
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the word snide
No. Words can have but one meaning.
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the list age-of-asparagus
Best to be prepared, then. See Officious asparagus.
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the word priapos
Patron saint of anti-impotence drugs. Probably apocryphal. Symbols are a bottle of hair tonic and a seeing-eye dog.
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the word yea yea yea
Winning vote on a committee of five.
Drives me batty when people spell yeah as yea.
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the word smell of space
The funny bit is that the comments on that article focus on copy-editing.
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the word mallemaroking
Don't. I live across from the subway line I take to work. But if I were stuck in traffic, I would make every attempt to frolic.
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the word dast
If you like that, 'ger, you can see the real punchline at shah, maybe eight months ago.
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the word hawaiian shirts
I once attended a luau in Alaska. It was held by authentic Samoans; they even wore skirts. But not many of those in attendance seemed to have Hawaiian shirts.
Maybe we should call them something else, given that Hawaiians apparently hate brightly colored garments with amusing pictoral patterns.
How about Old Retired Geezer shirts, or Midwesterners in a Festive Mood shirts, or even Florida Toll Booth Worker shirts?
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the word suck
I usually think of oral sex (when I hear the word suck, that is). But sometimes I think of Ross Perot. Which is just disturbing.
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the word hawaiian shirts
smrtrthnu, don't be silly. Next thing you'll be telling me Parisians don't put French dressing on their salads or send French letters. Or that Alaskans aren't making baked Alaska all the time.
October 18, 2008
asativum commented on the list nicknames-for-my-dogs
Wow. Rehydrated garbanzos, hm? You missed a real business opportunity, c_b. In case it happens again, I'll remind you of kopi luwak. You can pay me a royalty (but not in-kind if that's OK).
October 17, 2008
asativum commented on the word dast
Just remember when you're cooking, bilby: One man's Mede is another man's Persian.
October 17, 2008
asativum commented on the word fernando poo
A Fernando Pooer? Fernando Poorisian?
October 17, 2008
asativum commented on the word mallemaroking
Maybe the frolicking of commuters stuck in traffic?
October 17, 2008
asativum commented on the word mallemaroking
I suspect this is a derogatory derivation from malamute. Just 'cause I'm hoping to pick a fight.
October 16, 2008
asativum commented on the word fernando poo
Incidentally, this page is now the fourth or fifth Google listing for Fernando Poo.
October 16, 2008
asativum commented on the word fernando poo
I can die complete now. If I make it to Fernando Poo first.
October 16, 2008
asativum commented on the word dast
To dare to do; the opposite of dasn't. Can't remember where I've run across it though.
October 16, 2008
asativum commented on the word pari passu
"The senior preferred shares will qualify as Tier 1 capital and will rank senior to common stock and pari passu, which is at an equal level in the capital structure, with existing preferred shares, other than preferred shares which by their terms rank junior to any other existing preferred shares."
- "Treasury Announces TARP Capital Purchase Program Description (press release), U.S Treasury Department, Oct. 14, 2008
October 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word axolotl
Larval salamander is an awfully odd phrase, don't you think?
October 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word bimbo
See also himbo.
October 15, 2008
asativum commented on the list names-for-women
Twist, skirt, moll, babe, gal, hon, kid.
Chickens (always plural that I've seen it for some reason).
October 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word armillary sphere
Watch your back, reesetee -- we don't want to lose you.
October 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word cheesed off
Cheese us, this is a Wordie page.
October 15, 2008
asativum commented on the list nicknames-for-my-dogs
Er... sorry to ask, c_b, but what happened then?
October 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word fernando poo
I want to go to Fernando Poo. And I want someone to write a song about it, too.
October 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word meet your lesbian match
Isaac Asimov ostensibly once said he wanted women to be free; he hated it when they charged. I think that's sufferage.
(I don't think it's working...)
October 15, 2008
asativum commented on the list may-or-may-not-be-specific-but-it-s-definitely-not-excrement
Puissant?
October 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word whack
Note that even WeirdNet doesn't try to say this has any relationship to goofy, weird or wacky.
October 14, 2008
asativum commented on the word whacky
An abomination when used to mean wacky, whatever WeirdNet might say. See whack.
October 14, 2008
asativum commented on the word the way we work is as important as the goals we teach
Text of a display/image ad for "The 2007 Sustainability Report" from StatoilHydro, on proprioception.
October 14, 2008
asativum commented on the word telera�a
It's obviously a �.
October 14, 2008
asativum commented on the word jean dimmock
There bilby goes, casting aspersions again.
October 14, 2008
asativum commented on the word kerf
This is a glorious word.
October 14, 2008
asativum commented on the word armillary sphere
These days rarely found outside period medieval fiction, typically having been used to bash in the head of some hapless victim.
October 14, 2008
asativum commented on the word meet your lesbian match
No. Here we just have the usual foreign-language, English dictionary and Meanings of Words ads. Maybe it we use the word sufferage repeatedly here, it will show up.
October 14, 2008
asativum commented on the list numberie
I see. But what does she have to do with Numberie?
October 14, 2008
asativum commented on the list problematic-plurals
Isn't it ought to be ottomänner?
October 14, 2008
asativum commented on the list numberie
That's what I was about to say, bilby.
October 13, 2008
asativum commented on the word snotter
Snotter? I don't even .. oh, never mind.
October 13, 2008
asativum commented on the word meet your lesbian match
Display/image ad served up at sufferage.
October 13, 2008
asativum commented on the word sufferage
True.
Anyone have any clue why Wordie saw fit to serve up an ad on this page reading "Meet your lesbian match! Browse photos now! Join free!"?
October 13, 2008
asativum commented on the word 28
Heh.
October 13, 2008
asativum commented on the word 28
1+2+4+7+14
October 12, 2008
asativum commented on the list numberie
Alas, alack, sacrebleu, etc.! I thought I was being original with my list. Oh well. Great minds think alike, and so do ours...
October 12, 2008
asativum commented on the word 6
1+2+3 & 1*2*3
October 12, 2008
asativum commented on the word 24
72/3
October 12, 2008
asativum commented on the word 3
And, nearly, in Indiana.
Doesn't π=3 make circles hexagons?
October 12, 2008
asativum commented on the word 88
22*4
October 12, 2008
asativum commented on the word white lightning
Hooch, moonshine.
October 12, 2008
asativum commented on the word sufferage
Well, it is a misspelling of suffrage, but not exclusively.
October 12, 2008
asativum commented on the word snotter
Spitter if it were.
October 12, 2008
asativum commented on the list wort-to-the-wise
Thanks -- yes, and lambic too.
October 12, 2008
asativum commented on the word moose
What self-respecting moose would go to Moosehead Lake? Kind of creepy if you're of the moosine persuasion, I would think.
October 9, 2008
asativum commented on the list ugliest-names
That's OK. I like Soledad, for some inexplicable reason.
October 9, 2008
asativum commented on the word vorpal
Sure. Next you'll be telling me that he died before D&D was invented.
October 9, 2008
asativum commented on the word frig
Also a variant of Frigg, Norse goddess and wife of Odin.
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the word bos'n
Sub-at'mic particle.
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the word lampadomancy
Divination by a lamp-flame's movement.
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the word vorpal
I just think it's alsome that the right Rev. Louis Dodgson wasn't afraid to admit he was a Dungeons & Dragons fan and use a reference to a vorpal blade.
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the list ugliest-names
Conchetta? Or is it Concetta?
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the word tencel
Thus the engineering term "tencel strength," no doubt.
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the word banana splits
The time intervals between the four stages of slipping on a banana peel: loss of friction, hang-time, spit-take, and of course the thud, or finish.
World-class competitors aim for a clean, quick start, symmetrical and full -- but not prolonged -- follow-through in the middle splits, and as short a thud as possible.
Banana Splitting, or BS, is being considered as a demonstration sport for the 2016 summer Olympics. The USOC's training facility, in Split, Croatia, is known among athletes as Splitsville.
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the word lomb
Citation under icumin.
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the word verteth
Citation under icumin.
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the word bleth
Citation under icumin.
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the word swike
Citation under icumin.
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the word wude
Citation under icumin.
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the word nude moat mayhem
Nude man swims in moat
Crowds watch at sacred palace
Pics: naked tourist
Nude mayhem at sacred palace, Agence France-Presse via news.com.au, Oct. 8, 2008
Note: This is very nearly a found haiku; it's almost verbatim the three decks under the headline at the linked page.
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the word icumin
Yes -- thanks for listing the original. Such lovely words to bracket -- may I?
Lovely words, like cuccu and wude nu, and sed and med and lomb and bleth and verteth and murie and swike and -- and -- I'm feeling faint...
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the list oieau-s-list
I think s/he thinks you owe him/her royalties now, Moll.
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the list the-collins-death-row
Say, aren't dictionaries most useful for looking up words you don't already know? So wouldn't a dictionary containing only commonly used words be less useful than one with lots of unfamiliar words?
Soon-to-be-broke wankers.
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the list problematic-plurals
Ooh. Nice. I go away for a bit, and I gets me some nice pluralities. Thanks, peoples!
October 8, 2008
asativum commented on the word peripateti
I like it.
October 7, 2008
asativum commented on the word amorousness
No. I reject amorousal as well.
Mind you I have nothing against a---------s itself. It's the word that bothers me. All those wanton vowels or something.
October 7, 2008
asativum commented on the word assinate
Don't tell PETA.
October 7, 2008
asativum commented on the word delete undeletable lists
The WHePL?
October 7, 2008
asativum commented on the word lhude
Citation under icumin.
October 7, 2008
asativum commented on the word icumin
As Ezra Pound taught us:
October 7, 2008
asativum commented on the list wordie-paradox
Well, heck. ¨ is good enough for me.
But wait -- what if you list ¨?
October 7, 2008
asativum commented on the word eða bandaríki norður-ameríku
The United States of America. I think.
October 7, 2008
asativum commented on the list icelandic
It is sad, but you've got to love the spirit:
And I positively thrill to the fact that Iceland still seems to use patronyms -- and matronyms for women, no?
Wow, and I just learned that Iceland
October 7, 2008
asativum commented on the word arithmetic
Including, the Mock Turtle tells us, ambition, distraction, uglification and derision.
October 1, 2008
asativum commented on the word peripateti
This word seems to have just wandered in uninvited.
October 1, 2008
asativum commented on the word derriere
Also, in French, the polite response to thanks.
October 1, 2008
asativum commented on the word parker
A (typically nosy) person.
October 1, 2008
asativum commented on the word amorousness
This word is just wrong. I do not love it. I cannot love it. I cannot even pretend to be fond of it. There must be a more elegantly written term for this.
October 1, 2008
asativum commented on the word assinate
Like assassinate, only less pleasant.
October 1, 2008
asativum commented on the word nonce
Brings a whole new, unpleasant meaning to the phrase, "for the nonce".
October 1, 2008
asativum commented on the word nunc pro tunc
"Now for then." I understand it's used in legal filings to request retroactive permission to do something already done.
October 1, 2008
asativum commented on the word gat
Thanks -- I was hoping someone smart would fill in my assumption! Much appreciated.
October 1, 2008
asativum commented on the word misdoubt
"Now there came to the ears of Earl Hakon the fame of a man overseas westward who called himself Oli, & whom men held for a King; and he misdoubted from the talk of certain folk that this man must be of the lineage of the Norwegian Kings."
-- Sturluson, Snorri: The Sagas of Olaf Tryggvason and of Harald the Tyrant
(Note: I think the link leads to the same translation I'm quoting from, but I could be wrong.)
September 30, 2008
asativum commented on the word gat
Also an archaic past form of go or get, apparently:
"So Thorir gat him west to Dublin, and enquiring there for tidings of Oli learned that he was with his brother-in-law King Olaf Kvaran. Thereafter Thorir brought it to pass that he gat speech of Oli, and when they had talked often and long (for Thorir was a very smooth-tongued man) fell Oli to asking about the Upland kings: which of them were still alive and what dominions pertained to them."
-- Sturluson, Snorri: The Sagas of Olaf Tryggvason and of Harald the Tyrant
(Note: I think the link leads to the same translation I'm quoting from, but I could be wrong.)
September 30, 2008
asativum commented on the list wordie-paradox
Excellent! Just when I thought John was being a little too efficient about snuffing these curious beasties.
September 26, 2008
asativum commented on the list wort-to-the-wise
Hmph. I'm sticking to the safe side. Vinegar and brewing don't go well together.
September 23, 2008
asativum commented on the list wort-to-the-wise
None of your guile here, bilby! Keep that stuff out of the wortery.
But there's a home for it over at A great ferment if you like.
September 23, 2008
asativum commented on the word carouser
More carous than thou.
September 20, 2008
asativum commented on the word middenerd
Perhaps also an overly studious person with few social skills who enjoys digging up old privies.
September 20, 2008
asativum commented on the word irritator
I didn't know mollusks could be geniuses.
September 20, 2008
asativum commented on the word polybath
Dank u!
September 20, 2008
asativum commented on the word polybath
You pick: Renaissance man with a cold or someone skilled in many arts of washing.
September 20, 2008
asativum commented on the list eternal-questions
What, no will it play in peoria?
September 20, 2008
asativum commented on the word gasexual
Relating to over-the-counter anti-bloating medications?
September 20, 2008
asativum commented on the word anura
Oh, they did, yarb; they did. I don't think I've ever handled a frog without it peeing on me. Some sort of defense mechanism, or maybe it lightens the load for the leap to safety.
September 20, 2008
asativum commented on the word aging
I was aging to say that myself, come to thinker it.
September 20, 2008
asativum commented on the word loose cannon
Is a loose canon like a drunk monk?
September 20, 2008
asativum commented on the list hallelujah
Don't forget my all-time favorite -ah: selah, used to great effect, I believe, in The Man Who Would Be King.
September 20, 2008
asativum commented on the word kefir
Not to be confused with kaffir.
September 19, 2008
asativum commented on the list a-great-ferment
Excellent -- thanks!
September 19, 2008
asativum commented on the word foolproof
That which usually proves not to be.
September 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word jungermanniaceous
No, really, this is real. Or as real as any word, anyway. O frabjous day!
September 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word masochism
As immortalized by the immortal Tom Lehrer in his Masochism Tango:
I ache for the touch of your lips, dear,
But much more for the touch of your whips, dear.
September 15, 2008
asativum commented on the list cold-steel
Ah, was just going to start a list called On the Fence. Oh well. Great minds think alike, but greater minds usually think faster.
September 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word riposte
To be followed, if I'm not mistaken, by a remise or a reprise, in turn met with a redouble. And I could swear the counter-riposte, and the counter-counter-riposte, have their place as well. But I'm often wrong.
September 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word aging
Not fur?
September 15, 2008
asativum commented on the list names-of-g-d
Only 7,999,999,989 to go, if you believe Mr. Clark.
But I'm glad someone has this list.
September 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word sort've
Sort have? Never heard this, except as a slurring of "sort of," which isn't all that offensive to me.
September 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word clink
And I've got Wort to the Wise, which has various drinks amongst other brewing terms. If you look under porter, you'll find some other beer lists.
There should be one called What Ales You, however.
September 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word anura
You know, having gone out of my way to handle frogs in my misspent youth, there would be a delicious irony in getting the chance to pee on one. Turnabout, fair play and all that.
September 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word feller
If they felled Shakers, wouldn't they be Shakerciders?
September 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word directions to heaven: turn right and go straight
Hm. Would have been funnier (and more unquestionably accurate) if I had said, that means you've been left behind.
September 15, 2008
asativum commented on the word mnemonic
Now I need a drink, alcoholic of course, after all night studying obnoxious quantum mechanics.
September 14, 2008
asativum commented on the word directions to heaven: turn right and go straight
I think that means you'll be Left Behind.
September 14, 2008
asativum commented on the word thinger
Baku Enya buy.
September 14, 2008
asativum commented on the word feller
A beaver's most certainly a jolly good feller; nobody can deny.
But if I'm not mistaken, the sects that cannot have babies include the Shakers.
September 14, 2008
asativum commented on the word texas toast
Thanks. Wasn't sure about that.
September 14, 2008
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