Word of the Day...

[Haunted]

caul
Pronunciation: \ˈkȯl\
Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English calle net, omentum, probably from Old English cawl basket

Date: 14th century

1 : the large fatty omentum covering the intestines (as of a cow, sheep, or pig)
2 : the inner fetal membrane of higher vertebrates especially when covering the head at birth


Danny, in The Shining, was born with a caul covering his head.

[Haunted]

Gentleman's Relish

is a type of anchovy paste. It is also known as Patum Peperium.

It was created in 1828 by an Englishman called John Osborn. It tastes very strong, very salty and slightly fishy (a bit like trout) and contains anchovies (minimum 60%), butter, herbs and spices. The exact recipe however has remained a secret and was passed down by word of mouth over the years. Today, only Elsenham Quality Foods in Elsenham, England, is licensed to make it.

The traditional way of eating Gentleman's Relish is on thin slices of buttered white bread toast, either on its own, or with cucumber, or mustard and cress.

Gentleman's Relish can also be added to mince for a different-tasting shepherd's pie or to the mixture for fish cakes, potato cakes and croquettes. Alternatively it can be melted into scrambled eggs or be used as a topping for jacket potatoes.

(Came across this in The Sweetness and the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley.
Also, evidently has another, more 'modern', meaning according to Urban dictionary that I am not touching with a ten foot pole.)

[jenboxer77]

birl


(burl)

MEANING:
verb tr., intr.:
1. To rotate (a floating log) by running on it in place.
2. To spin or rotate.


ETYMOLOGY:
Of uncertain origin, perhaps a blend of birr and whirl.


USAGE:
"Area lumberjacks compete in events ranging from axe throwing to birling."
Robert J. Hughes; Driving Off the Beaten Path; The Wall Street Journal; May 10, 2002.

"The ball broke to him on the right of the box and he birled round in one motion to score with a fierce low shot into the opposite corner of Poom's goal."
Martin Hannan; Dobbie Arrives in Fine Style at Hibs; Scotland on Sunday (Edinburgh, Scotland); Jul 27, 2003.

[Perse Jr.]

cynosure \SY-nuh-shoor; SIN-uh-shoor\ (noun): An object that serves as a focal point of attention and admiration; that which serves to guide or direct; [Capitalized]. The northern constellation Ursa Minor, which contains the North Star; also, the North Star itself.

Examples:
The monarch, at the apex of court power and centre of its ritual, and the greatest patron of the arts, was the cynosure of this culture, standing (or, more usually, sitting) at the centre of a system of artistic practice intended to represent his or her sacred omnipotence and monopoly of power.
-- John Brewer, The Pleasures of the Imagination

Lucy is very pretty and becomes the cynosure not only of the aforementioned characters, but also of several faceless and epicene young men who also loiter about.
-- John Simon, "Stealing Beauty", National Review, July 15, 1996

Then, feeling himself the cynosure of every eye in the library, he extemporized a brief speech on his "lucky day."
-- Peter Schneider, Eduard's Homecoming

(source: Dictionary.com)

[Haunted]

bowdlerize \BODE-luh-rise; BOWD-\, transitive verb:

1. To remove or modify the parts (of a book, for example) considered offensive.
2. To modify, as by shortening, simplifying, or distorting in style or content.

Bowdlerize derives from the name Thomas Bowdler, an editor in Victorian times who rewrote Shakespeare, removing all profanity and sexual references so as not to offend the sensibilities of the audiences of his day.

[jacobtlong]

Trichinosis -

Noun

Definition:

Trichinosis, also called trichinellosis, or trichiniasis, is a parasitic disease caused by eating raw or undercooked pork and wild game infected with the larvae of a species of roundworm Trichinella spiralis, commonly called the trichina worm. There are eight Trichinella species; five species are encapsulated and three are non-encapsulated. Only three Trichinella species are known to cause Trichinosis: T. spiralis, T. nativa, and T. britovi. The few cases in the United States are mostly the result of eating undercooked game, bear meat, or home reared pigs. It is most common in the developing world and where pigs are commonly fed raw garbage.

Encapsulated -

adjective

Definition:

protected by membrane: describes an organ or tumor covered by a thin protective membrane

[Tery]

A few from this week's dairy, Words About Words...

An abbreviation is a shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase, used to represent the whole, as Dr. for Doctor, U.S. for United States, lb. for pound.
To abridge is to shorten by editing while retaining the basic contents of the book, speech, etc.
An abecedarian is a person who is learning the letters of the alphabet. Abecedary means something pertaining to the alphabet or placed in alphabetical order. Like this list.
Accidence is the study of inflection as a grammatical device. It can also describe a book of grammar fundamentals.
An acronym is word formed by combining the beginning letters of a name or phrase, as in NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), or by combining the initial syllables of a series of words, as in radar (radio detecting and ranging. If it can't be said as a word, it is an initialism. The puzzle called an acrostic is a series of lines or verses in which the first, last, or other particular letters when taken in order spell out a word, phrase, etc.
Something we see quite a bit of on the Web is adoxography, fine writing in praise of trivial or base subjects.
Forming new words by combining other words and/or word elements is called agglutination.

Allegory is a form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative. The underlying meaning may have moral, social, religious, or political significance. Often, characters are personifications of abstract ideas such as charity, greed, or envy. The allegory is then a story with two meanings; a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning. Pilgrim's Progress is a good example of an allegorical novel.
Alliteration is the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of a word, commonly used for emphasis. It occurs in everyday speech in such phrases as tit-for-tat, bag and baggage, primrose path, look before you leap. Specifically, consonance repeats consonants and assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds.
An allusion is a brief reference to a person, event, place, or phrase which the writer assumes will be recognized. Allusions have the possible drawback of being dated. For example, a reference to Peck's Bad Boy might be understood by an older audience, but younger readers won't get it. On the other hand, an older audience might not catch a reference to Naruto.
An anagram is a word or phrase made by transposing the letters. Examples include god/dog, weird/wired, love/vole and Bolton/Notlob.
If you've taken the SAT, you will recognize the analogy, the comparison of two pairs which have the same relationship.

ASL, American Sign Language, is the dominant form of communication among the deaf communities of North America. Sign language is as old as mankind but it took Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet to standardize and popularize the signing technique.
Back-formation is creating a new word by removing an affix from an already existing word, (grunge from grungy) or by removing what is mistakenly thought to be an affix (pea from pease).
Needless and/or wearisome repetition of words in speaking or writing is something we've been exposed to quite a bit lately. We now have a name for it, battology.
Any book, reference work, periodical, etc., accepted as authoritative, informative, or reliable is a bible. The Greek root biblio also gave us bibliophile for a booklover and bibliography for a list of written references used in a text.
Coarse or vulgar language is known as billingsgate. The Billingsgate was a fish market in London.
A commonplace remark or a trite platitude is a bromide. These usually express a popular thought which has lost originality and impact by long overuse. Older but wiser and you snooze, you lose are examples.
With the invention of telegrams came a language that was adopted for writing them. Cablese arose because telegraph messages were charged on a per-word basis. It is the shorthand forbear of texting.
The Greek root kakos (bad) gives us several words. Cacoepy or cacology is the incorrect pronunciation of a word or socially unacceptable diction. Cacography is poor handwriting or incorrect spelling. Using an intentionally harsh word or expression (usually deliberately offensive) instead of a polite one is cacophemism, and the word used is a caconym.

More later.....

[doowopgirl]

Hi,

My word for tomorrow is 'procrastinate' LOL.

Long days and pleasant nights

Dear John, I like the idea,too. I have to do some thinking to come up with one. By the way I like you sign off

[Perse Jr.]

Trichinosis -

It is most common in the developing world and where pigs are commonly fed raw garbage.

Just more reasons/arguments why I haven't eaten pork (pig) in 14 years!


abstemious \ab-STEE-mee-us\ (adjective): marked by restraint especially in the consumption of food or alcohol; also, reflecting such restraint;

Example Sentence: Anthony's midlife heart attack opened his eyes to the importance of taking care of his body and turned him to a more abstemious and healthful lifestyle. (source: M-W online).

[jenboxer77]

I have actually had these things happen to me! Too funny!

From the Urban Dictionary:

blinker beat

When the tic-toc of the blinkers syncs with the music playing on the car radio.
"Dude check it out, I got blinker beat happening on this Jay-Z song."
the_elder share this
buffer race

The race between the playback line and the buffer bar on an internet video.
"Damn i cant hear a freekin thing this guys saying it keeps skipping because of the damn buffer race. the buffer bar is losing."