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Post by Phalon on Dec 30, 2011 13:31:11 GMT -6
"Sonorous" - I like the sound of that! (eye-roll)
You know I had to drill....and didn't come up with a whole lot.
Some think the phrase "den of iniquity" might have its roots in the bible in the books of Mark and Matthew. Jesus condemns people using a temple as a marketplace, stating 'they made it a den of thieves". "Den" thereafter took on the meaning a hotbed of iniquities - a place of immoral behavior.
No mention though of how or when "den of iniquity" came to have sexual implications, which is usually how the phrase is used. The phrase does not appear in any English writings until the 20th century.
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Post by Siren on Dec 31, 2011 9:19:12 GMT -6
"I like the sound of that" - BOLL! Gabbin would be pleased.
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Post by Phalon on Jan 9, 2012 8:50:51 GMT -6
Sista Q asked that after writing a sentence containing 26 words. The answer is "yes". This one's got you beat, Sis.
"During my entire childhood, the only mammals we ever saw in the neighborhood were stray dogs or an occasional raccoon, the latter being a nocturnal animal that you are not supposed to see during the day, unless, of course, it is rabid, a lesson that was constantly drummed into my malleable young head by parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, whose biggest fear, apparently, in moving from the relative security of Brooklyn (!) to the wild suburbs of Long Island was rabid animals." ~ from "The $64 Tomato" by William Alexander
Eighty-one words in a single sentence, (if I counted correctly). Talk about "getting wordy"!
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Post by Phalon on Jan 19, 2012 7:57:08 GMT -6
Two more contenders; these from the same book, same page...
"For Eric personally, the first few moments of coming in here every day were like the first few moments inside a major-league ballpark: getting that whooshy rush of space and geometric perfection, commuting as he did from a three-room dumbbell flat with one of its two windows over-cross ventilation but in fact had served, since the year of the McKinley assassination, as a glorified garbage chute." - only 69(ish) words, but extra points for turning "whoosh" into an adverb.
"A waitress from Grouchie's who had all seven dwarfs tattooed in miniature tramping up the inside of her thigh had once told Eric that people were either cats or dogs, and that he was most definitely a dog, compulsively trying to anticipate everyone's needs, a sh!tty thing to say to someone you just slept with, but fair enough he guessed, because right now, despite his constant "I am more than this" mantra, his boss's helpless exasperation had him humming with the desire to act." - 83 words....the lead contender!
Both are from the New York Times Bestseller "Lush Life" by Richard Price...both on page 18, which has at least two more sentences with 50-plus words each. It's all too wordy. I just can't get through this book.
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Post by Siren on Jan 21, 2012 8:25:03 GMT -6
Man! That is some difficult reading, Gams. No wonder you can't get through it!
When I used this word in a thread over on the RenPics board, it occurred to me how odd a word it is.
WEARY
1 : exhausted in strength, endurance, vigor, or freshness 2 : expressing or characteristic of weariness <a weary sign> 3 : having one's patience, tolerance, or pleasure exhausted —used with of <soon grew weary of waiting> 4 : wearisome
Examples of WEARY
I need to rest my weary eyes. The miners were weary after a long shift. She was weary from years of housework. I would remember the potential for return, all things circling as they do, into something like fullness, small moments of completion that weave together, like Penelope's cloth, doing and undoing themselves by turns, an unfinished pattern that guides a —wearytraveler home … —Paul Sorrell, Parabola, May 2000
Origin of WEARY Middle English wery, from Old English wērig; akin to Old High German wuorag intoxicated and perhaps to Greek aōros sleep First Known Use: before 12th century
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Post by Phalon on Jan 22, 2012 8:57:48 GMT -6
Yes, it was some wearisome reading, indeed.
I've always loved that word, but like a lot of great words, I fail to use it often, opting for more mundane ones such as "boring" or "tiring" just because those are what seem to roll off my tongue.
Thanks for a reminder, Siren.
Goal for the week: use "wearisome" in a sentence....which will most likely occur when complaining to either of the girls, who haven't done their chores after being told the umpteenth time to do them.
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Post by stepper on Jan 22, 2012 9:36:36 GMT -6
Ya know, I have to take off my shoes to count that high and sometimes even that isn't enough. You have to find a nearby lady with open toed shoes and when you do, they look at you funny like your a perv or something when really all you're doing is counting really high numbers. And y'all didn't need to know all that did ya!
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Post by Siren on Jan 26, 2012 22:53:08 GMT -6
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Post by Phalon on Jan 29, 2012 8:47:31 GMT -6
Oooo, that's definitely fun, Siren! Thanks for the link!
All those cads, scalawags, and scapegraces probably know nothing of netiquette.
Neither did I - never heard the word, or its companion "netizen", until I ran across them in my Webster's.
netiquette: (1988) etiquette governing communication on the Internet
netizen: (1994) an active participant in the on-line community of the Internet
Kinda interesting that there was a need for a word used to describe behavior before there was a need for a word to describe those who might need a lesson in that behavior.
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Post by Siren on Feb 1, 2012 22:06:53 GMT -6
"Kinda interesting that there was a need for a word used to describe behavior before there was a need for a word to describe those who might need a lesson in that behavior." Took me a read-through or two, but I finally understood that. Interesting origins for this one... SAVVY : understand Examples of SAVVY <the man growled, “Don't ever date my daughter again—you savvy?”> Origin of SAVVY alteration of sabi - know (in English-based creoles and pidgins), fro m Portuguese sabe - he knows, from saber - to know, from Latin sapere - to be wise First Known Use: 1785
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Post by Phalon on Feb 4, 2012 8:35:15 GMT -6
Ah....savvy. It rolls right off the tongue in such a delectable sort of way, especially when spoken by Jack; it's one of his favorite words.
A legend commands, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. Savvy?"
Is it too early in the day for a swoon? I think not.
Swooooon.
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Post by Siren on Feb 4, 2012 8:36:23 GMT -6
Another interesting origin... ALERT 1 a : watchful and prompt to meet danger or emergency b : quick to perceive and act 2 : active, brisk — alert·ly adverb — alert·ness noun Origin of ALERT Italian all'erta - on the watch, literally, on the height First Known Use: 1618 www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alert?show=0&t=1328365997
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Post by Phalon on Feb 9, 2012 5:54:49 GMT -6
Alert is a blunt word; it's to the point, and sounds like what it means, I think. Other words like serendipity, scintillate, and verdant are lovely sounding words, and you just know they must describe lovely things. Then there are the uglies: slug, sloth, disgust, putrid.... Eewww.
Here's a word that sounds like something you'd want to avoid like the plague...but with quite an idyllic meaning.
Bucolic: adj. 1. of or characteristic of the countryside or country life; suggesting an idyllic rural life. 2. of or relating to shepherds; pastoral.
noun. 1. a pastoral poem, often in the form of a dialogue. 2. a rustic; farmer or shepherd
origins: 1610s, earlier bucolical (1520s), from L. bucolicus, from Gk. boukolikos "pastoral, rustic," from boukolos "cowherd, herdsman," from bous "cow" + -kolos "tending," related to L. colere "to till (the ground), cultivate, dwell, inhabit" (the root of colony).
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Post by katina2nd on Feb 9, 2012 7:31:35 GMT -6
Happenstance.
1. chance 2. a chance occurrence
Such as Gams and I being on here at the same time.
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Post by Siren on Feb 9, 2012 22:55:15 GMT -6
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Post by Phalon on Feb 21, 2012 7:01:43 GMT -6
Fun list, Siren! Oh, to be one of those callipygian damsels again!
LX has a friend named Caprice; I always thought he was named for the car. Mercedes, Bentley, Porsche, Lexus; they all sound like status-type names to me whether or not people give these names to their kids because the names imply status symbol cars. (LX once thought she was named after a Mustang, and was kind of disappointed to learn she was not.) But a Chevy Caprice? Not exactly a luxury car. Then again, Caprices have kind of a roomy interior; LX might consider herself lucky she wasn't conceived during the days of the Butterscotch B!tch.
Anyway, I saw this in a magazine article yesterday, titled "The Capricious Season"; the article started off with the definition:
Capricious: ka-pre-shus; governed or characterized by caprice (a sudden, usually unpredictable change or series of changes).
Paints a different picture of why his parents might've chosen the name Caprice....regardless of what kind of car they drove.
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Post by Siren on Feb 22, 2012 8:09:55 GMT -6
An unusual name, for sure, Gams. And on a male? Makes it even more unusual. There is a male athlete named Caprest Rhone at our local university. I think his mom should have spell-checked it. You know how many words that end in "ous" tend to give you some kind of hint as to their meaning - amorous, outrageous? Here's one that doesn't tip its cards. But a neat definition.Not just "wicked", but "FLAGRANTLY wicked". And "wicked" is a word that tickles me, for some reason. ne·far·i·ous adj \ni-ˈfer-ē-əs\ : flagrantly wicked or impious : evil — ne·far·i·ous·ly adverb Examples of NEFARIOUS a nefarious scheme to cheat people out of their money <the chaste heroines and nefarious villains of old-time melodramas> Moreover, those starry-eyed states inclined to perceive international relations in moral terms frequently underestimate the nefarious machinations of their competitors on the world political stage. —Richard Wolin, New Republic, 4 June 2001 Origin of NEFARIOUS Latin nefarius, from nefas crime, from ne- not + fas right, divine law; perhaps akin to Greek themis law, tithenai to place — more at do First Known Use: circa 1609 www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nefarious
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Post by Phalon on Feb 25, 2012 7:50:27 GMT -6
I love the word "wicked". Like you, Siren, there's just something about it that makes me smile.
For whatever reason, I always associate "nefarious" with that old black-and-white movie Nosferatu. It's probably due to the vague similarities in spelling, and maybe because Nosferatu, after-all, has flagrantly wicked tendencies. Actually, Nefarious might be a good name for a vampire.
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Post by Siren on Feb 26, 2012 1:33:10 GMT -6
Indeed, it might, Gams. Also might make a good name for a villain on the tongue-in-cheek superhero series, "The Tick". I can just hear it - "This looks like the work of ...*ominous music* Captain Nefarious!"
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Post by Phalon on Mar 3, 2012 8:19:07 GMT -6
Perfect, Siren!
I came across an interesting word in a book I was reading recently. I love the book, "The Shape of a Year" by Jean Hersey; written in the 60's, it's just month-by-month reflections of the author during a year - the love of her garden, of nature, or just finding pleasure in simple, ordinary things that most people would consider mundane. The writing is so rich though, that even those ordinary things seem extraordinary.
"We were walking around outside the house in the gloaming, appreciating the last of the sunset…"
I can't decide if I like the word - I like the idea of it, but am not sure about the sound of it. It sounds similar to "gloomy" to me, which doesn't describe the word at all.
Gloaming: Poetic: twilight or dusk. The time of day immediately following sunset.
From Old English "glōmung", from "glōm"; related to Old Norse "glāmr" - moon.
"Huh", I think to myself. I always thought "twilight" was a synonym for "night", which doesn't seem to fit in the gloaming definition either. So I looked that up too.
Twilight 1.a. The diffused light from the sky during the early evening or early morning when the sun is below the horizon and its light is refracted by the earth's atmosphere. b. The time of the day when the sun is just below the horizon, especially the period between sunset and dark. 2. Dim or diffused illumination. 3. A period or condition of decline following growth, glory, or success. 4. A state of ambiguity or obscurity.
I think I like "twilight" better than "gloaming".
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Post by stepper on Mar 3, 2012 9:26:13 GMT -6
Maybe you have the right idea with gloaming - there are many who feel gloomy at that time. The light of day is departing and the night comes swiftly. Back then, the night was a thing of fear so it was probably intentional that the word wasn't cheery.
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Post by Siren on Mar 3, 2012 10:16:09 GMT -6
There's an old, old country song that features the word "gloaming", called "Deepening Snow". It's been recorded by many, but I love Rhonda Vincent's version.
It's snowing out there in the gloaming I've sat here and watched it all night The kids will be thrilled when they awaken And look at the fields deep and white
But the snow makes me think of my darling For he hated the snow and the cold Now he lies in a grave back in Knoxville With a headstone that's just one year old
Won't you please make the winter go quick Lord So the flowers around him will grow Cause I can't stand the thought of my darling Lying there in the deepening snow
Little Jimmy climbs up on my knee now Saying mommie what causes the snow And I tell of the wonderful Father Who cares for us all here below
Then I hold him so close and I kiss him And he kissing back doesn't know That my kiss is meant for his daddy Lying there in the deepening snow
Won't you please make the winter go quick Lord...
Cause I can't stand the thought of my darling Lying there in the deepening snow
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Post by Phalon on Mar 5, 2012 6:47:01 GMT -6
Ooo, interesting theory, Stepper, and very plausible. I thought one word's origins might be related to the other (gloaming came first), so I did a quick drill. Here's what the Online Etymology Dictionary has to say about "gloom":
"c.1300 as a verb, "to look sullen or displeased," perhaps from Scandinavian (cf. Norw. dialectal glome "to stare somberly"). Not considered to be related to O.E. glom "twilight," but perhaps to M.L.G. glum "turbid," Du. gluren "to leer." The noun is 1590s in Scottish, "sullen look," from the verb. Sense of "darkness, obscurity" is first recorded 1629 in Milton's poetry; that of "melancholy" is 1744 (gloomy in this sense is attested from 1580s)."
Those song lyrics, Siren, are hauntingly beautiful, and "gloaming" does have a gloomy sense.
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Post by Siren on Mar 7, 2012 23:03:58 GMT -6
Wow - interesting stuff there, Gams - particularly the word "turbid". I've never heard that one before. Interesting word, definition, and origin:
tur·bid adj \ˈtər-bəd\ Definition of TURBID 1 a : thick or opaque with or as if with roiled sediment <a turbid stream> b : heavy with smoke or mist 2 a : deficient in clarity or purity : foul, muddy <turbid depths of degradation and misery — C. I. Glicksberg> b : characterized by or producing obscurity (as of mind or emotions) <an emotionally turbid response> — tur·bid·i·ty noun — tur·bid·ly adverb — tur·bid·ness noun
Examples of TURBID
<the pond water became turbid from our swimming and splashing>
Origin of TURBID Latin turbidus (confused), turbid, from turba (confusion), (crowd), probably from Greek tyrbē (confusion) First Known Use: 1626 Related to TURBID
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Post by Siren on Apr 8, 2012 23:41:50 GMT -6
My post in the "Xena Alphabet" thread featured this unusual word:
irk (ûrk)
tr.v. irked, irk·ing, irks
To be irritating, wearisome, or vexing to.
[Middle English "irken", to weary, possibly from Old Norse "yrkja", to work, make verses, harangue; see werg- in Indo-European roots.]
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Post by Phalon on Apr 11, 2012 6:49:48 GMT -6
"Irk" is a word I use a lot; I really should branch out more and incorporate "vex" and "wearisome" into my vocabulary more - I've always liked the sound of those two words. Speaking of branching out...
Recently, LX and her friend, trying to expand another friend's vocabulary, were thinking of synonyms for 'annoying' (apparently, everything is annoying according to the friend; so much so that he uses 'annoying' annoyingly often).
'Vexing', 'wearisome', and 'irksome' made their list.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 11, 2012 12:33:58 GMT -6
Like, that is so totally annoying! I mean, like, TOTALLY!
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Post by Phalon on Apr 12, 2012 5:47:30 GMT -6
Dude, you beastin' on me? Why you comin' at me all crazy-like?
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 12, 2012 13:11:05 GMT -6
Because, like, I'm all rad like that. Ya know? As if! You don't even get where I'm coming from, do ya? Nevermind. I'm bookin'.
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Post by Siren on Apr 14, 2012 9:21:46 GMT -6
"You beastin' on me?" LOL!! I'm totally using that. I'll sound like a fool, but I'm using it. I have only heard this word used in reference to anger. Very interesting that is has such diverse definitions. Interesting origins, too. liv·id adj \ˈli-vəd\ Definition of LIVID 1 : discolored by bruising : black-and-blue <the livid traces of the sharp scourges — Abraham Cowley> 2 : ashen, pallid <this cross, thy livid face, thy pierced hands and feet — Walt Whitman> 3 : reddish <a fan of gladiolas blushed livid under the electric letters — Truman Capote> 4 : very angry : enraged <was livid at his son's disobedience> — li·vid·i·ty noun — liv·id·ness noun See livid defined for English-language learners » See livid defined for kids » Examples of LIVID <the boss was livid when yet another deadline was missed> <her face was livid with fear> Origin of LIVID French livide, from Latin lividus, from livēre to be blue; akin to Welsh lliw color and probably to Russian sliva plum First Known Use: 1622 www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/livid
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