colleen has adopted no words, looked up 0 words, created 60 lists, listed 5471 words, written 270 comments, added 0 tags, and loved 46 words.

Comments by colleen

  • And the GMCs and the Straight 8 Fords

    were coughing and wheezing and they

    percolated as they tossed the gravel

    underneath the fenders to weave home

    a wet slick anaconda of a two lane

    with tire irons and crowbars a rattlin'

    with a tool box and a pony saddle

    you're grinding gears, shifting into first

    yeah and that goddamn tranny's just getting worse

    (Tom Waits, Putnam County)

    January 17, 2007

  • slantrhyme, I didn't see your suggestions until just today, thank you for all of them! some I did have already, but most I did not. :)

    January 15, 2007

  • not, in fact, divination with tequila and lime.

    December 27, 2006

  • belatedly, John, I am extremely relieved that you are not censoring this list.

    on my first or second day as a member I saw a comment belittling another person's list because some of the words were too mundane for that commenter's taste. it disturbed me. it was petty and pointless. and now we have this list, where 'crap' and 'disgusting' are being applied, and that disturbs me too.

    what if someone made a list of common epithets, and included nigger, kike, and faggot? I imagine (hope!) that those words would offend all of us, but I would argue that they have a right to be listed. "words you hate" is in the mission statement, after all.

    perhaps an option of making a list private could be worked in? you once agreed with me that part of the beauty of this project was authorial intent. perhaps gmb means this list in a way none of us will ever understand, and that is all right with me.

    December 24, 2006

  • my dear. ♥

    December 22, 2006

  • In the immortal words of Calvin, "verbing weirds language." :)

    December 20, 2006

  • thanks, as I say, I managed to confuse myself. I'd have known it if I heard it. :)

    December 20, 2006

  • wait, never mind. I thought it was familiar, but my terrible translation confused me.

    December 19, 2006

  • inkhorn, my Latin is, well. not. would you care to enlighten me?

    December 19, 2006

  • there was that great bit on the Simpsons when Lisa flipped on Marge for insisting on saying "foilage" for "foliage."

    December 19, 2006

  • thanks, bilby!

    December 18, 2006

  • esh, have you ever played hangman with a Welshman? :)

    December 18, 2006

  • also a pretty wildflower, and a derogatory term for a solider with a field commission.

    December 18, 2006

  • you could be here all day with all the Indian names from New England. my other favorite is "Namskaket" (NAM-skay-ket).

    December 18, 2006

  • well, andrew, my father was a quirky man.

    December 18, 2006

  • Woonsocket, RI ?

    December 17, 2006

  • var. cattywampus, probably regional.

    December 17, 2006

  • I always heard it as catawampus, and despite googlings which define it as being similar to "kitty corner", as a child I was told it was a swamp monster.

    December 17, 2006

  • the one in Nola is Esplanade Avenue, but nobody says the avenue part, it's just "Esplanade." and there it's pronounced es-pluh-NAYD.

    I don't know if this helps its case for inclusion or not. :)

    December 17, 2006

  • hee, well. peacoat and danny are in the same online collective as I am, so they beat me to putting here after I said it. :)

    December 14, 2006

  • coined by myself on 8 December 2006.

    December 14, 2006

  • "To send or communicate by wireless telegraphy; also, to send a wireless message to (a person). Colloq."

    December 14, 2006

  • "--to tune in. Wireless Teleg., to adjust the frequency of (a wireless receiving apparatus) to that of a particular sending station fr. which messages are to be received."

    December 14, 2006

  • "One who avoids or neglects a duty or responsibility; specif., a person who shirks a duty or obligation to his country, esp. in time of war, as by attempting to evade military service."

    December 14, 2006

  • "An artificial language devised by Rev. Edward P. Foster, fo Marietta, Ohio, about 1906. Ro rejects all existing word roots and is based entirely 'on the analysis and classification of ideas.'"

    December 14, 2006

  • "1.Music. To play or compose (a piece, melody, etc.) in syncopated time. Colloq. 2. To dance to ragtime music;--often used with an implication of indecorum. Colloq. or Slang."

    December 14, 2006

  • "from F., lit., a gust, a squall. Mil. A burst of artillery fire consisting of several rounds, discharged as rapidly as possible, from each gun of a battery."

    December 14, 2006

  • "Detectaphone is a trade-mark name."

    Brand of detectagraph.

    December 14, 2006

  • "A telephonic apparatus with an attached microphone transmitter, used esp. for listening secretly to private conversation, as in order to secure evidence for use in court."

    December 14, 2006

  • "Power or ability to produce a striking effect; energy; effectiveness. Slang."

    December 14, 2006

  • "A person who composes photoplays."

    December 14, 2006

  • "A moving picture actor or actress."

    December 14, 2006

  • "An oblong portion of rich iced cake consisting of several layers of puff paste with a cream filling."

    December 14, 2006

  • "Wireless Teleg. To render (wireless signals) unintelligible by sending out from another instrument other (meaningless) signals or wave impulses."

    December 14, 2006

  • "A grocery store in which the customers help themselves to goods and pay the cashier as they leave;-- sometimes spelt grocerteria."

    December 14, 2006

  • "In the (British) Royal Flying Corps, a division of the air fleet equivalent to one third of a squadron."

    December 14, 2006

  • "In the Great War, a place for piling up supplies, as of shells or other ammunition, for distribution; also, the supplies themselves when so deposited."

    December 14, 2006

  • "A one-piece undergarment combining the corset cover with drawers or petticoat, or, as in the union suit, consisting of undervest and drawers."

    December 14, 2006

  • "Aëronautics: the straight line subtending the arc of an aërocurve; hence the dimension of any aërofoil between the leading edge and the trailing edge. Cf. SPAN."

    December 14, 2006

  • "bomb" as verb did not enter common use until WWI.

    December 14, 2006

  • I hope to finish adding the definitions in the next few days.

    December 14, 2006

  • I chose it because it is the highest compliment I can give a person; it is my favorite word because of what it means to me. why do you not like it?

    December 11, 2006

  • thanks for the comment! it gave me a much needed laugh today. :)

    December 10, 2006

  • elizacole: despite the list title, it's more for words relating to theft of some kind, embezzlement, swindling, that sort of thing. but I thank you! :)

    December 6, 2006

  • Not, in fact, divination with kitchen utensils.

    December 6, 2006

  • selfishcrab, thank you. I can't believe I forgot that one.

    December 6, 2006

  • Mrs Thatcher.

    December 6, 2006

  • your worshipfulness!

    December 5, 2006

  • that is excellent! I have been looking for more!

    December 5, 2006

  • mentioned in the poem "Ode to Gaea" - from the Greek meaning, roughly, "horse milkers" - they are named in the Iliad as allies of Troy. probably a Scythian tribe.

    December 5, 2006

  • John, thank you for that reassurance. You are doing a smashing job with this project.

    December 4, 2006

  • RE keenanpepper's comment:

    I frankly would not want anyone else to be able to add to my lists - they are personal collections, and therefore their content is limited by my preferences. There is a significant element of authorial intent at work. If I don't have a color on my list that you think I ought, or a piece of furniture... so? Start your own list! I think that most of these lists aren't meant to be authoritative, we aren't assembling a lexicon à la Wiktionary. As the front page information says, "whatever." Wordie is relative, subjective, personal, that's a big part of what makes it fun.

    If group lists were an option I'm sure some people would use it, but I would not want that to be the default.

    December 4, 2006

  • this is a brilliant list.

    December 4, 2006

  • may I suggest "tamarack," mentioned in "Eli the Barrowboy"? it's a kind of tree. :)

    December 4, 2006

  • the stuff that makes Earl Grey yummy!

    December 4, 2006

  • thank you! :)

    December 3, 2006

  • Whitman as in Walt? may I suggest "calamus" and "Mannahatta," my two favorites from his poems? :)

    December 3, 2006

  • see also bearberry

    December 3, 2006

  • my favorite word is your mom.

    December 2, 2006

  • it's so much nicer than "counter-clockwise," no? :)

    December 2, 2006

  • proper name for peridot

    December 2, 2006

  • my favorite poem by Shelley...

    December 2, 2006

  • thank you! most of the words themselves are pretty innocuous, so I had to fancy it up somehow. :D

    December 2, 2006

  • John, you're a king among men. :)

    December 2, 2006

  • Gosh. I didn't think Wordie was a competitive sport!

    December 2, 2006

  • I like trees.

    December 2, 2006

  • Items relating to music.

    December 2, 2006

  • I posted it thinking of garam masala, and of masala chai. Although I might mention that I make a pretty mean Chicken Tikka.

    December 2, 2006

  • John, this is the coolest thing I've ever found on the web.

    what I think would be awesome is a way to add a word from someone else's list or from the recent words page. if that is possible, it would be great. beyond that, I have absolutely no complaints. I love this. :)

    December 1, 2006

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Comments for colleen

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  • Colleen, we miss your kind spirit here. Please pipe up when moved.

    September 18, 2012

  • "Colleen has created 58 lists, listed 5,418 words, written 265 comments, and added 66 tags, 67 favorites, and 0 pronunciations."

    September 21, 2010

  • let your friends know it/

    February 12, 2010

  • this is a good site and and I really like it, it a useful resources.

    February 12, 2010

  • I'm on celestial mechanics at the moment... I'm going to enjoy pawing through all the lists I've missed!

    August 19, 2009

  • good! I look forward to your verbal tricks and treats!

    August 19, 2009

  • hi, fbharjo! how's tricks?

    August 19, 2009

  • times have been lean without colleen

    August 19, 2009

  • life got weird, but I am returned. :))

    August 19, 2009

  • Yay!!!

    August 19, 2009

  • @bilby, hello to you all!

    August 19, 2009

  • Come back and say hello to us all! :-)

    April 9, 2009

  • @Prolagus, I never got this comment! otherwise I'd have had some sassy comeback.

    January 30, 2009

  • I dreamt of you last night, colleen -- can't remember what the dream was about, though.

    November 29, 2008

  • nice words!

    January 4, 2008

  • thanks, adrift! you're off to a great start yourself!

    December 4, 2007

  • hi colleen,

    i've favorited several of your lists, because they are awesome.

    :)

    November 26, 2007

  • thanks for the hint colleen.

    October 1, 2007

  • Thanks, 82! You will find that I make all kinds of hands. ramblehands, gimmehands, explainyhands... although offline they do look rather like the same oblique gesture. Hmm. *musehands*

    September 28, 2007

  • i just read you say *ramblehands* and I think that is great.

    September 27, 2007

  • Thanks for the return comment; I'm happy to have brought a smile to your face. Sadly, you and I seem to be diametric opposites when it comes to nice. :(

    December 10, 2006

  • Welcome to the 2000 club! :-)

    December 9, 2006

  • Mrs Thatcher.

    December 6, 2006

  • My lady of the horse-milkers! Tony and/or Margaret salutes you.

    December 6, 2006

  • thank you! most of the words themselves are pretty innocuous, so I had to fancy it up somehow. :D

    December 2, 2006

  • I love your list names!

    December 2, 2006

  • Gosh. I didn't think Wordie was a competitive sport!

    December 2, 2006

  • I will fight you tooth and nail for that top spot.

    :)

    December 2, 2006