May 2011
62 posts
1 tag
Shandygaff
Today’s Wordnik word of the day is:
shandygaff
Shandygaff is a mixture of bitter beer and ginger beer or ginger ale. The original English recipe of ‘shandygaff’ is a pint of bitter beer with a small bottle of old-fashioned ginger-beer; but porter or stout or lager-beer is sometimes substituted for the bitter beer, and ginger-ale for the ginger-beer.
1 tag
Interlard
Right now the word is:
interlard
To interlard is to bloat or enlarge by including often minor or extraneous details at regular intervals. It can also refer to adding fat in cooking.
1 tag
Banjax
Right now the word is:
banjax
Banjax is Irish slang for “ruin or destroy”. It seems fitting to me today, as I have had 9 shareholders sell off all of their shares in my stock on Empire Avenue. Feh.
1 tag
Polonaise
Right now the word is:
polonaise
Polonaise is a Polish word that denotes a dance, the music it is danced to and also a style of woman’s dress. (The pictured polonaise dress can be rented from Vintage Costumers of Seattle.)
1 tag
Gurrier
Right now the word is:
gurrier
Gurrier is Irish slang meaning spiv, rascal; lout, ruffian; street urchin. It is a pejorative word.
1 tag
Estaminet
Right now the word is:
estaminet
Although it sounds rather like a French woman’s name (“I’d like you meet my dear friend Esta Minet….”) an estaminet is a small cafe or bar, typically one where smoking is permitted and most likely one that it is a bit shabby. (Image credit—Tom Curtis http://freedigitalphotos.net)
1 tag
Amercement
Right now the word is:
amercement
An amercement (sometimes also spelled americament) is a monetary penalty imposed by a court. It differs from a fine in that fines are specified by statute for particular offenses, whereas an amercement is imposed arbitrarily by a court.
5 tags
Prodigious prosumer
Today’s Merriam-Webster #definethis word of the day is:
prodigious
Prodigious derives from the word prodigy and can mean outstanding and unusual or may mean significant in quantity. Use the word of the day in a sentence and tweet it with the hashtag #definethis to play the game. Today I opted to combine prodigious with the Wordnik word of the day which is:
prosumer
Prosumer can...
2 tags
Assay
Today’s Merriam-Webster #definethis Word of the Day is:
assay
To assay means to try or to attempt. Use the word of the day in a sentence and tweet it with the #definethis hashtag to play the game. My entry today:
“bright and sunny, so assayed a few photos of Mount Rainier. But clouds twixt here and there. I shot a bunch of junk. #definethis”
1 tag
Palaver
Right now the word is:
palaver
Palaver means talk— either a long back and forth between two people of disparate cultures and outlooks or misleading and beguiling speech. What I like about palaver is that it’s a word you can toss out and the recipient will never have any way of knowing if you meant it as an insult.
2 tags
Tulipomania
Today’s Wordnik Word of the Day is:
Tulipomania
Tulipomania is defined as a craze for the cultivation or acquisition of tulips; specifically, that which arose in the Netherlands about the year 1634, seized on all classes like an epidemic, and led to disasters such as result from great financial catastrophes. Tulip-marts were established in various towns, where roots were sold and resold...
2 tags
Herl
Today’s Wordnik word of the day is:
herl
Herl means simply a strand of hair or the shaft of a feather. Herl is heard mostly these days in fly-fishing circles.
2 tags
Paraskevidekatriaphobia
Right now the word is:
paraskevidekatriaphobia
Paraskevidekatriaphobia is fear of Friday the 13th. If you are suffering from
paraskevidekatriaphobia, I suggest you eat some pie:
1 tag
3 tags
Zyzzyva
Right now the word is:
zyzzyva
One of the challenges for those of us interested in obscure words is figuring out which of them are real words. The Oxford English Dictionary and its web site are a fantastic source, but it costs 30 bucks a month, a charge out of reach for many of us very poor wordsmiths. And as Sam Greenspan (@11points, author the blog 11points.com) says,...
1 tag
Anomalous
Right now the word is:
anomalous
I’ve always liked the word anomalous (which means an exception or deviation from the normal or common order, form or rule) because it often seems to be mis-read as anonymous, which is itself an anomaly.
1 tag
Phantasmally
Right now the word is:
phantasmally
Phantasmally means “as a phantom; in a spectral form or manner”. Mostly, I don’t really believe in ghosts, although every now and then they do seem to make an appearance in my life. This Snickers pie is not just a fantasy. But since I only have a picture of it, it might as well be.
1 tag
Lineation
Right now the word is:
lineation
Lineation simply means marking or outlining with lines. Or an outline. I first thought that lineation would require a break from all the pie pics. But this Nestle chocolate mini-pie fits the order perfectly.
4 tags
Obstinately Stout-hearted?
I have recently discovered Wordnik a cool web site devoted to words and the people who work with them and love them. I’ve taken to clicking on the Random Word link just to see what pops up, and at times I waste hours reading the pages for different words.
What a difference a hypen makes. According to Wordnik stouthearted is defined as “brave; courageous” and secondarily...
1 tag
Feute
Right now the word is:
feute
Feute is a noun that can mean odor or scent. I’ve been told that the savory garlic pie has a quite pleasing feute, but honestly I’ve never smelled one.
1 tag
Hormesis
Right now the word is:
hormesis
Hormesis is a stimulant or beneficial effect of a low dosage of a toxin. I suspect that eating an entire blueberry and blackberry cheesecake would kill you. But a tiny sliver will surely provide hormesis.
3 tags
Palooka
Today’s Merriam-Webster #definethis Word of the Day is:
palooka
A palooka is an inexperienced or incompetent boxer. Use the word of the day in a sentence and tweet it with the hashtag #definethis to play the game. My entry today:
I suppose it will mark me as Twitter palooka to admit I’ve confused the At sign and the pound sign. #definethis
3 tags
Gallied
Today’s Wordnik word of the day is:
gallied
Gallied is a nautical term that means worried, flurried, frightened and/or harassed. Honestly, I doubt I would feel much gallied if I had a real candy cookie pie, instead of just this picture.
1 tag
Mulct
Right now the word is:
mulct
Mulct is a funny word. It can be both a noun, meaning a fine or penalty or a verb which can mean imposing a fine or forfeiture and or fraud and swindling. Honestly, I’m not much worried about anyone trying to mulct me—unless they are after great friends or pictures of pie, attempting to mulct me would be futile.
3 tags
Droughty
Right now the word is:
droughty
Sometimes, when I find a new word that is just a single letter off of another word, it almost feels like cheating to simply add a y to make it an adjective and create a whole new word. Yet droughty works I think. While the starred turkey pie does look as though it may be a bit dry, I would hardly describe it as droughty.
2 tags
Pursy
Today’s Merriam-Webster #definethis Word of the Day is:
pursy
Pursy means ‘having a puckered appearance’. Use the word of the day in a sentence and tweet it with the hashtag #definethis to play the game. My entry today:
“The gentleman clutched his napkin to mouth as his face assumed a pursy expression. Did the cook omit sugar from the lemon pie?...
4 tags
Wordsmith
Right now the word is:
wordsmith
A wordsmith is a writer who is fluent and prolific and an expert on words. A wordsmith is my dear friend Holly Jahangiri who tweeted:
“Acclumsid with thirst, firefighters work beneath a sombrous sky that promises rain, but does not deliver.”i
P
3 tags
Sombrous Pi
Right now the word is:
sombrous
Sombrous means simply somber or gloomy. Few are gloomy at the prospect of pie and many are amused or elated at the prospect of Pi pie. But I confess that I’ve never been much for math, and the Pi sign actually makes me feel a bit sombrous.
2 tags
Indwell
Today’s Wordnik Word of the Day is:
indwell
Indwell means to exist within, especially as a spirit or driving force. Part of me wants to say that a chocolate covered peanut butter pie is neither a spirit nor a driving force. Yet how many of us truly desire for chocolate to indwell in us.
3 tags
Acclumsid
Right now the word is:
acclumsid
Acclumsid means numbed, paralyzed and/or clumsy. I don’t think a slice of Boston Cream Pie is likely to make anyone acclumsid, though if you ate the whole thing…
2 tags
Ventripotent
Right now the word is:
ventripotent
One who is ventripotent is big-bellied and gluttonous. Rather like if you had eaten a piece of every pie I’ve uploaded lately ;)
3 tags
Farctate
Right now the word is:
farctate
Facrctate is the state of being over-stuffed with food. (Overeating) Kind of what you might feel if you had eaten all of the pies I have uploaded the past few days. (Note I did NOT bake the pies and I did NOT take the pictures.) (Did you know….in circus lingo “cherry pie” refers to “extra work”?)
3 tags
Batrachophagous
Right now the word is:
batrachophagous
Someone who is batrachophagous eats frogs. I can’t say frog legs are my favorite food, but with enough garlic butter… Most folks would rather eat coconut cream pie I expect.
2 tags
Cachinnation
Right now the word is:
cachinnation
Cachinnation is loud or hysterical laughter. You may be picturing me cackling over my Bigger Piece of the Pie. Honestly, I’m not. But I do love PIE!
2 tags
Abderian
Right now the word is:
abderian
An abderian is one given to incessant or idiotic laughter. No joke! (And no joke, I still love pie!)
2 tags
Telekinesis
Right now the word is:
telekinesis
Telekinesis is the production of motion in objects (such as by supernatural forces) without any physical means. Honestly, I wish I could use it to conjure this delicious Edward’s Key Lime Pie from the picture to my plate. (Did I mention I still like pie?)
1 tag
Telangiectasia
Right now the word is:
telangiectasia
A telangiectasia is an abnormal dilation of red, blue, or purple superficial capillaries, arterioles, or venules typically localized just below the skin’s surface. Not going to upload a picture. It doesn’t sound pretty.
1 tag
Bibelot
Right now the word is:
bibelot
A bibelot is a small household ornament or decorative object. A trinket.
1 tag
Tatterdemalion
Right now the word is:
tatterdemalion
A tatterdemalion is a person dressed in ragged clothing. A ragamuffin.
1 tag
Sternutation
Right now the word is:
sternutation
Sternutation is the act of sneezing. Gesundheit.
3 tags
Don't burn the crust
The word now is still:
pie
My pie obsession continues. I suspect I would like the zucchini pie. But the crust is Too Dark.
1 tag
Quetzal
Right now the word is:
quetzal
The quetzal is a small South American bird with a brilliant green head and winds and fiery red belly.
2 tags
Adventitious
Right now the word is:
adventitious
Adventitious means arising or occurring sporadically or in other than the usual location. The secret prize, the surprise inside. My discovery of the joys of pie was adventitious by-product of a chance conversation with @Jake_MN.
2 tags
Extraneous
Right now the word is:
extraneous
Extraneous means outside of the main point, as in off-topic or irrelevant. The pie pictures I am posting today are indeed extraneous to the focus of this obscure words blog. But I can’t help it. I love pie!
2 tags
Precocious
Right now the word is:
precocious
Precocious means exceptionally early in development. As in the precocious Empire Avenue player became obsessed with more Pie early in his game. Yes, I would like some of Little Shamrock’s million dollar pie, please!
2 tags
More PIE Please!
Right now, the word is still:
pie
@spiggi_speak says I’m obsessed with pie today. And he’s right! Just FYI I did not make that bacon apple pie, and I did not take any of the pictures used in this blog. (I do make a great pecan pie, though; I use cinnamon.)
2 tags
Pie
Right now the word is:
pie
As in I just unlocked the Bigger Piece of the Pie on Empire Avenue. My buddy Jake convinced me it is good to be piggy for pie. (Here’s hoping the folks I had to sell shares in to buy it don’t fry my bacon.)
1 tag
Funicular
Right now the word is:
funicular
A funicular is a cable railway ascending a mountain; especially : one in which an ascending car counterbalances a descending car.
1 tag
Fascicle
Right now the word is:
fascicle
A fascicle is a small or slender bundle (as of pine needles or nerve fibers).
1 tag
Crepuscule
Right now the word is:
crepuscule
Crepuscule means twilight. A four dollar word for dusk.
