Unusual Words Defined: A - Z (Part X)

A continuation of the series.

xeroxlore

(ZEE.roks.lohr)
n. A modern form of folklore in which anecdotes, lists, jokes, sayings, and urban myths are propagated via photocopied documents. Also: xerox-lore.

Example Citation:
When the photocopier (or Xerox) entered offices in the '60s, people seized on it to circulate new beliefs. Spoof memos and satirical comments on office procedures form the majority of Xerox-lore, many of the items bawdy or downright obscene.—Glenda Cooper, "Tread on a crack and break the Devil's back," The Mercury, Hobart, August 5, 2000

Definition from WordSpy

Olay's Lame Word Choice

You may have seen this ad for Olay Body Collection products in a recent weekly magazine. I was immediately struck by the odd choice of words in the copy of the advertisement.

Here is a closer view of the specific words to which I am referring.

I sure hope I feel lavishing if I am going to spend half the price of a body and bath shop on my cleansing products. I imagine a body and bath shop, even at half price, is not inexpensive.

Okay, so the fine print did specify *suggested retail price per oz vs. leading specialty store. The print was so small that it was almost a moot point to me.

Stretching Snowmen

Spotted this on Arnold Zwicky's Blog a week or so ago and I couldn't resist sharing.



Zwicky points out that, "human and snowman aren’t really parallel, historically, morphologically, or prosodically", but I still thoroughly enjoyed the analogy even if it was a linguistic stretch.

Oddly related: I just returned from a walk on which I saw a croquet game set up in the snow on a neighbor's front yard. I wonder if they enjoyed their snoquet match?

Unusual Words Defined: A - Z (Part W)

A continuation of the series

whilom
whilom\HWAHY-luhm\
adjective;
1. Former; erstwhile
adverb;
1. At one time

According to Etymonline.com:The definition "at time past" is considered archaic and dates to the 1200's. It comes from Old English hwilum ("at times"), which is the dative case of while.

And whilom at it, I may as well mention Mighty Red Pen's recent post titled Erstwhile, back at the ranch. Check it out here.

Definition from Lovely Little Lexemes

Jeopardy Answers (Questions)

Here are the answers (questions) and episode credits from this week's Jeopardy challange:


Monday -
#3168, aired 1998-05-13
FRENCH GRAMMAR $200: "Tu" is the singular & familiar form of "you"; this is the plural & polite form.
What is Vous?


Tuesday -
#2893, aired 1997-03-12
LINGUISTICS $400: These systems of communication that use the hands can be as rich & complex as spoken tongues.
What is sign language/signing?


Wednesday -
#2921, aired 1997-04-21
HOMONYMS $600: It can be your best buddy, or the chopped bait used to attract fish.
What is chum?


Thursday -
#6083, aired 2011-02-09
NONCE WORDS $800: Akin to a dumpster diver, a freegan is an anticonsumerist who eats only this.
What is thrown out?

Friday -
#5676, aired 2009-04-20
FOREIGN LANGUAGE $1000: "Once a jolly swagman camped by" this, Australian for a stagnant pool or backwater.
What is a billabong?



Saturday -
#1247, aired 1990-01-23
LANGUAGES: What the Dalmatian, Gothic & Babylonian languages have in common.
What are dead languages?

Final Jeopardy

And the Final Jeopardy Category is: Languages

The clue: What the Dalmatian, Gothic & Babylonian languages have in common.

For those participating in the week-long Jeopardy event, you do not need to place a Final Jeopardy wager but you do need to submit the correct answer for a shot at winning that special prize.

Answers from the entire week will be posted later today.

Linguistics on Jeopardy - $1,000

In honor of the special Jeopardy tournament this week, I have decided to do a daily post with past Jeopardy clues related to language and linguistics.

The category: Foreign Language

The $1000 clue: "Once a jolly swagman camped by" this, Australian for a stagnant pool or backwater.

Answers and episode credits will be posted at the end of the week. There will be a special prize for the first ten people that submit the correct answer (question) each day all week.

Don't miss tomorrow's Final Jeopardy.

Linguistics on Jeopardy - $800

In honor of the special Jeopardy tournament this week, I have decided to do a daily post with past Jeopardy clues related to language and linguistics.

The category: Nonce Words

The $800 clue: Akin to a dumpster diver, a freegan is an anticonsumerist who eats only what is this.

Hint: A nonce word is one that is created on the fly for a particular use and not likely to recur.

Answers and episode credits will be posted at the end of the week. There will be a special prize for the first ten people that submit the correct answer (question) each day all week.

Linguistics on Jeopardy - $600

In honor of the special Jeopardy tournament this week, I have decided to do a daily post with past Jeopardy clues related to language and linguistics.

The category: Homonyms

The $600 clue: It can be your best buddy, or the chopped bait used to attract fish.

Answers and episode credits will be posted at the end of the week. There will be a special prize for the first ten people that submit the correct answer (question) each day all week.

Linguistics on Jeopardy - $400

In honor of the special Jeopardy tournament this week, I have decided to do a daily post with past Jeopardy clues related to language and linguistics.

The category: Linguistics

The $400 clue: These systems of communication that use the hands can be as rich & complex as spoken tongues.

Answers and episode credits will be posted at the end of the week. There will be a special prize for the first ten people that submit the correct answer (question) each day all week.

Linguistics on Jeopardy - $200

In honor of the special Jeopardy tournament this week, I have decided to do a daily post with past Jeopardy clues related to language and linguistics.

The category: French Grammar

The $200 clue: "Tu" is the singular & familiar form of "you"; this is the plural & polite form.

Hint: There was a post on this blog about the subject in January.

Answers and episode credits will be posted at the end of the week. There will be a special prize for the first ten people that submit the correct answer (question) each day all week.

An Excellent Introduction to Steven Pinker

For those who may not have heard of Steven Pinker, a cognitive scientist and linguist who currently teaches at Harvard, and for those who may not have seen this lecture based on his outstanding book The Stuff of Thought, here is the video from YouTube.

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It is well worth the watch.

A Speeding Spoonerism

Driving on I-75 North in Michigan recently, I passed an SUV with a large rear-window sticker that included the text (without image) seen below.

My first thought was that the SUV must belong to a psychiatrist with a sense of humor (one that probably hosts a radio show).

Upon googling the name, I learned that Dr. Freak Speely is actually the name of a band from Grand Blanc Michigan.

At any rate, the reason I mention this sighting is that I think the name could be one of the most appropriate spoonerisms I have seen of late; after all, it is often the case that people who speak freely are thought of as freaks.

For the uninitiated, here is the definition of spoonerism from Wikipedia - A spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels or morphemes are switched (see metathesis). It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner (1844–1930), Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency.

Unusual Words Defined: A - Z (Part V)

A continuation of the series

vi·tu·per·ate
v. vi·tu·per·at·ed, vi·tu·per·at·ing, vi·tu·per·ates
v.tr.
To rebuke or criticize harshly or abusively; berate.
v.intr.
To use harshly abusive language; rail.

He certainly is more of a vituperator than a considerator.

Bonus Word: Con`sid´er`a`tor
n.1.One who considers.

Definitions from thefreedictionary.com
Image credits here

Linguistics on Jeopardy - February 2011

The category: GRAMMAR

The $1600 clue: As well as altering a word to change its number, tense, etc., it can mean altering your tone of voice.

The answer: Inflection

Clue from Jeopardy episode #5131, aired 2006-12-25

Alphabet Soup: Comparing Alphabets

Not all alphabets contain 26 letters. Here are several comparisons that have like and/or similar characters to the English alphabet(shown above).

The Swedish Alphabet - 28

The Russian Alphabet - 33

The Welsh Alphabet - 28

The Polish Alphabet - 35

The Spanish Alphabet - 30*

*A recent post on Arnold Zwicky's Blog does not list the RR as a letter and states that a recent reform has eliminated the CH and LL as separate letters of the Spanish alphabet.

For image credits click on individual alphabets.