Language & Grammar discussion
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What's Your Word for the Day?
Newengland wrote: "What the heck does DAFYDD stand for? I think I was absent the day Miz Gabby covered this.David Copperfield gowled when he was born with a caul on his head. "T'is bad luck!" he cried to Peggoty...."
I nearly fell in a heap reading this.
Re David/Dafydd...Gabi suggested that David (Prince of Wales) be distinguished (no pun intended) from David(Epstein) to avoid confusion.
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Omelettes, anyone?
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NOCTURNAL.
Not so loud! There's people trying to sleep!
Why not call Welsh David (our 1000th!) Davide after the Italian statue by Michelangelo???A milestone...work of art?
Gabi, did you expect D. E. to answer his own question?Susanne, do you think Welsh David is a work of art?
I stumbled upon some giggling pals this afternoon discussing the word queef (vaginal flatulence). I'm not a fan of that one, but flatulence is a pretty cool word.
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I'm not sure what's going on here, but the painter of The Death of Marat was Jacques-Louis David. No e on the end.
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And I think David the 1,000th should nominate his OWN nickname -- maybe a Welsh version of the same or a childhood nickname he fancies?
No, no childish nicknames, don't even think about going there. I thought I'd done enough by adding Dafydd which is quite pretentious as I don't speak Welsh. In Welsh single 'f' is pronounced as 'v' in English and double 'ff' is as 'f' in English. So Dafydd is pronounced Dav-iv. When I lived in Switzerland as a child, my name there was pronounced Daah-vid. Strange how stress and sound moves all over the place in different languages.
Gabi wrote: "Word of the day: Bumptious"
One of my parents' favourite words used to describe most people they didn't like.
One of my parents' favourite words used to describe most people they didn't like.
Gabi wrote: "Oh dear! Sorry, David."
No, don't be sorry, I like it. Doesn't seem to be used much these days.
No, don't be sorry, I like it. Doesn't seem to be used much these days.
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Newengland wrote: "No, no. Susanne was suggesting that Michelangelo's famous statue was called "Davide," which would be news to me, as I've always seen it as plain old "David."And I think David the 1,000th should ..."
Yes, I agree NE, however Davide is David in Italian and I was just thinking "European" to make the distinction....
But Gabi is ever on top of things...
DAFYDD m Welsh
Welsh form of DAVID...
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Newengland wrote: "Wow, I've just been schooled in two languages! Thanks, Savvy!"You are most welcome Mr. NE!
Word for today...
NUDNIK
nud·nik /ˈnʊdnɪk/
[nood-nik]
–noun Slang .
a persistently dull, boring pest.
Origin:
1945–50, Americanism ; < Yiddish, equiv. to nud- base of nudyen ( see nudge2 ) + -nik -nik
Unkind to the Yiddish boring pest(6)*Suggests possible cryptic crossword clue for Nudnik*
I'd like to propose a word for the day metonymy Renaming something by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept.
e.g. using Washington as a shortcut name for the U.S. Federal government.
e.g. using Stuffed Shirts as a name for pompous beaurocrats
Stephen wrote: "I'd like to propose a word for the day metonymy Renaming something by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept.
e.g. using Washington as a shortcut name for th..."
Canberra meaning the Australian Government.
Wall St meaning the New York Stock Exchange.
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Hollywood for the American film industry (based in California)Broadway referring to American theatre and musical theatre (based in New York)
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As a noun, it means "1. the highest heaven or heavenly sphere in ancient and medieval cosmology, usu. consisting of fire or light.; the true and ultimate heavenly paradise. 2. firmament; heavens."
See "empyreal"
I saw the word empyrean used in yesterday's Boston Globe in referring to Pres. Obama's rhetorical skills. The writer was pointing out how disappointed Americans have been with the president because his results have not reached the empyrean heights he reached in his rhetoric as a candidate.
maybe mine fits the bill better??? :-)WAISTER
Definitions
■(noun) A green hand on board a whaler, usually placed in the waist of the vessel until qualified for more responsible duties.
■(noun) On a naval vessel, formerly, one of a class of old men who have been disabled or grown gray without rising in the service.
Notes
■'Waister' is named for the 'waist' or central part of the ship, where new seamen were set to work as there was little to do beyond hauling on ropes or swabbing the deck.
Examples
■“They could not be got upon deck in the night, or if by dint of the rope's-end they were at length routed out of their hammocks, they immediately developed the worst symptoms of the 'waister' -- seasickness and fear of that which is high.”
■“Many was the gaping waister, and rigid marine, who now made a more familiar acquaintance with the element on which he floated than suited either his convenience or his humour.”
■“Officers and men, there en't one of you as is worth your salt, and you with your long face and your notions -- why, hang me, you're no more good than the dirtiest waister afloat.”
I like this one....DEF. #2SPRINGAL
■(noun) A military engine, resembling the ballista, used in Europe in the middle ages.
■(noun) A young person; a youth; especially, a young man.
Notes
■'Springal' is Scottish in origin.
Examples
■“Philemon was used to confess how, in the fire of his callow youth and fine flower of his lustie springal days, he had been stung with murderous frenzie at view of a certaine picture of Apelles, the which in those times was showed in a temple.”
■“'So this is the young springal,' he said, with a smile; as, with a quick glance, he took in every detail of Oswald's figure and appearance.”
■“Nothing would satisfy this young springal but to bring his beaten captain here, for the sake of mother's management.”
It sounds like it should be something about a young female instead of a male.
Kitty wrote: "It sounds like it should be something about a young female instead of a male."Definitely male
TwitA currently unused insult. I love it, it's just so fun to say!
I know that it's a simple one, but my word for the day is CHEERS. I've decided it's British for Aloha! They say that Aloha can mean Hello, Good Bye, I love you and a plethora of other meanings as well. Just today I've heard CHEERS used to mean. Hello,Goodbye,Thanks,and Bottoms Up.
Gotta say for a five letter word that's pretty good.
Gabi wrote: "Um, Stephen? That's six letters!" Cheers for that! been playing the 5 letter games too much.
Ciao! Originally Italian, this little European word seems to be a popular hello/goodbye word in a number of countries. Ciao! (pronunciation, similar to 'chow')
not i, said the fly.word for the day...Killjoy
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WWII graffiti, right?
That would be kilroy
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They should have had some Pavlova with their tea![image error]
'Have you guessed the riddle yet?' the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.
'No, I give it up,' Alice replied: 'what's the answer?'
'I haven't the slightest idea,' said the Hatter.
'Nor I,' said the March Hare.
Alice sighed wearily. 'I think you might do something better with the time,' she said, 'than waste it in asking riddles that have no answers.'
Twinkle twinkle little bat!
How I wonder what you're at!...
Up above the world you fly
like a tea tray in the sky
The Mad Hatter
'Take some more tea,' the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
'I've had nothing yet,' Alice replied in an offended tone, 'so I can't take more.'
'You mean you can't take LESS,' said the Hatter: 'it's very easy to take MORE than nothing.'
You know you say that things are 'much of a muchness' — did you ever see a drawing of a muchness?
The Dormouse
'Really, now you ask me,' said Alice, very much confused, 'I don't think —'
'Then you shouldn't talk,' said the Hatter.
Newengland wrote: "The Tea Party does (and don't you fergit it)."I'd heard about Kilroy since I was a little kid. My dad saw service in WWII and mentioned seeing Killroys. Funny that he never mentioned any Foos but then he was a Yank. (USMC)
But your WIKI citing is interesting as well on two levels. Being an inveterate reference link surfer I checked out the Backronym link and that led to the myth about WIKI standing for What I Know Is...
Plus I was unfamiliar with the WGAS acronym for "Who gives a s...?" I would have thought that that would have been banned in Boston... which may explain NE's response. I'll quit free-associating on my own now...
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Is that good or bad Ruth? You weren't old enough. hee hee
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When and if I publish, I pray to the Brahmins that Boston bans me.
Gabi wrote: "...They have been propagating themselves all along, when they should have been propagating each other"Sounds kinda like onanism to me...
Hadn't heard this one before...but it should be useful!FANTAST
■(noun) One whose mind is full of fantastic notions; a person of fantastic ideas, manners, or mode of expression.
Notes
■'Fantast' comes from the Greek 'phantastēs,' boaster, and is related to 'fantasy.'
Examples
■“In a series of afterhours speeches, Rep. Robert Dornan of California, a fantast of the far right, spun this into a picture of Clinton as a real-life Manchurian Candidate-a man who had prepped for polities under the KGB.”
■“One should not reproach the theorist who undertakes such a task by calling him a fantast; instead, one must allow him his fantasizing, since for him there is no other way to his goal whatsoever.”
■“The princes of the Italian Renaissance were, of course, notable examples of the rich man as fantast, probably because they had the good sense to seek the skilled advice of poets and painters as to how best to make an artistic display of their possessions.”
Newengland wrote: When and if I publish, I pray to the Brahmins that Boston bans me."
Yes! Get banned in Boston NE!
Sure sign of a best seller on the horizon!
But, pray tell, what, if anything, is banned in publishing today??? (At least in the U.S. of A!)
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David Copperfield gowled when he was born with a caul on his head. "T'is bad luck!" he cried to Peggoty. Uriah fell in a Heep just listening to the caterwauling.