Word Up Weekly - Noncondimental

I am amazed that one of my sons does not like condiments. To me, there are times when the condiment is the best part of the meal and the food is simply a condiment-delivery utensil.

At any rate, I woke up in the middle of the night recently and a word I had never heard formed in my head (I am weird like that). It seemed to be the perfect word to describe my son's affliction. The next day I googled the word to see if it had ever been used* and, if so, how it is officially defined...

There were plenty of results in the link headlines; however, when clicked upon none of them actually included definitions for the word with the prefix. Most returned a definition for the noun condiment and some added the adjective condimental, but alas, NO noncondimental. The word noncommital has its own dictionary entry, so why not noncondimental.

Add a prefix and create a word.

noncondimental
adj.
(of a person or a person's behavior) Refusing to use any items intended to enhance the flavor of food.

*Although I never found an official definition, it should be noted that I did find the word used in an online Catholic Encyclopedia.

Word Up Weekly - Framming with Zen-mail and then some

As posted on Grammar.net -

Technology has claimed its own corner of English, and it’s not without humor. Here are 10 of the funniest words and terms from the “interwebz”.

1. Cappuccino cowboy/cowgirl
The first of our funny words was coined by attorney Robert Freilich. “Cappuccino cowboys” are people who desire a suburban/rural lifestyle but can’t let go of urban amenities, such as Starbucks or drive-thrus. Picture John Wayne in his 10-gallon hat with a Frappachino in one hand, scrolling through a text message on his cell with the other.

2. Double Geeking
This refers to using two computers at the same time. It is similar to, but not to be confused with, “geeking out”, which is watching t.v. with a computer nearby in order to surf during commercials; it also covers watching an NFL game on t.v. while simultaneously watching it on NFL.com. In both cases, technology is awesome.

3. Eating your own dog food
Sometimes a company that produces a product decides to use its product. Sometimes the employees are not happy about this decision, so these employees devised the term “eating your own dog food”. An example: “I work for a company that makes lousy pencils. I never have anything to write with, because we eat our own dog food.” Software companies often do this.

4. Fat Finger
This is an error in typing due to fingers much larger than the buttons, such as “I accidently texted ‘lets meeeet for dinner’–I fat fingered”.

5. Fram
When a relative/friend sends fifteen emails a day with titles like “The funniest joke”, “Take my survey”, or “Cutest kitties”, this is “fram”. Similar to spam, fram comes from a friendly source, but an inbox fills just as quickly from friendly fire.

6. Plonk
“Plonk” is a Usenet term for adding a poster to one’s kill file so that future posts are ignored; it is considered to be the sound of that blocked person hitting the bottom of the kill file: “plonk”!

The first known use:

>>Please refrain from posting to talk.bizarre until such time as you
>>cease to be an %$&^ and become at least one of: bizarre, creative,
>>or entertaining. You are welcome to dump your rotting ordure in rec.humor
>>or some similar group where your fellow mental defectives congregate.

>Make me.

*plonk*

7. Salmon Day
“Salmon Day” is a day of swimming upstream, only to die on the beach in the end. It can apply to many occupations–from farming to dentistry–though it was probably “spawned” in office settings.

8. Shareware Girl
Everyone’s favorite female at the office–someone who everyone gets along with. “Shareware Girl brought donuts today.”

9. Seagull Manager
This writer’s personal favorite, a “seagull manager” is a boss who flies in, makes a lot of pointless noise, craps all over everything, then flies away.

10. Zen-mail
Email with nothing in the body of the message is “zen-mail”. Much zen-mail is most likely caused by fat fingering the “enter” button

Word Up Weekly - A Logopandocic Word-Pecker

I do believe I am a a logopandocic word-pecker. Thank you for bringing this to my attention Inky Fool.

logopandocie: a readiness to admit all kinds of words.

"Logos was Greek for word,... and pandokeia was inn-keeping, it was the practice of running a tavern...

So logopandocie is running a word tavern."

word-pecker: one that plays with words.

The Prodigal Son In The Tavern (Rembrandt And Saskia) 1635

Word Up Weekly - Anachronym

This word was submitted by reader Marc L to "describe words like 'dashboard' (originally a board at the front of a carriage to protect passengers from debris thrown up by horses' hooves - now used for a panel on the interior of a car)."

anachronym

Urban Dictionary defines the word as "A combination of the words 'acronym' and 'anachronism'. There is no real definition because a combination of the two words makes absolutely no sense. Something Nicolette says when shes had too many Smifnoff Blueberry vokda cocktails."

I think that the Urban Dictionary user who submitted the definition had too many vodkas because he couldn't spell Smirnoff.

I also prefer to think of the word as a portmanteau of anachronism + -onym*

anachronism: a person or thing that belongs or seems to belong to another time

-onym: having a specified kind of name (English suffix from Greek)

Thank you Mark L, I like it.

*Definitions from The Free Dictionary

Word Up Weekly - Skirl

Having never previously heard this word, when it showed up on my word-a-day calendar, I had a feeling that it would be onomatopoeic.

skirl (skûrl)

v. skirled, skirl·ing, skirls

v.intr.

To produce a high, shrill, wailing tone. Used of bagpipes.

v.tr.

To play (a piece) on bagpipes.

n.

1. The shrill sound made by the chanter pipe of bagpipes.

2. A shrill wailing sound.

---

[Middle English skrillen, skirlen, probably of Scandinavian origin.]

Definition from The Free Dictionary.

Word Up Weekly - Youthquake

youthquake

n: a shift in cultural norms influenced by the values, tastes, and mores of young people.

Etymology: youth + earthquake. First known use: 1966.

All readers are invited to submit words - any type of words. Words that are fun to say, words that are out of the ordinary, words that are ordinary but have weird definitions...you name it, they are all welcome. Please submit via the comments button.

Definition from Merriam-Webster.

P.S. I usually prefer to use thefreedictionary.com for definitions because they do not inundate you with pop-ups; however, I really enjoyed seeing the suggested rhymes that Merriam-Webster offered with the definition of youthquake...

air brake, backache, beefcake, cube steak, handshake, heartbreak, mandrake, partake, uptake and windbreak to name several.

Word Up Weekly - Obloquy

obloquy

n pl -quies
1. defamatory or censorious statements, esp when directed against one person
2. disgrace brought about by public abuse
[from Latin obloquium contradiction, from ob- against + loqui to speak]

Definition from The Free Dictionary

Word submitted by reader korean translator


All readers are invited to submit words - any type of words. Words that are fun to say, words that are out of the ordinary, words that are ordinary but have weird definitions...you name it, they are all welcome. Please submit via the comments button.

Word Up Weekly

What to do now that "Z" has come and gone...

I received so much positive feedback from this school year's weekly Unusual Words Defined: A - Z that I have decided to continue posting unusual word definitions on Mondays. To change it up a bit, I am not going to define words in any particular order (alphabetical, categorical or whatnot) and I would like to invite readers to submit words too - any type of word. Words that are fun to say, words that are out of the ordinary, words that are ordinary but have weird definitions...you name it, they are all welcome.





Let the fun begin.


Please submit words via the comment button.


Image credits.

Unusual Words Defined: A - Z (Part Z)

A continuation of the series.

zymurgy

zymurgy refers to the art or practice of fermentation. Unsurprisingly, it is best known within the fields of winemaking and brewing. The journal of the American Homebrewers Association has that title and its readers may be called zymurgists. If you need a related adjective, there’s zymurgical. The related word zymology (adjective zymologist), is employed for that part of chemistry dealing with the fermentation action of yeasts, especially products that are intended for human consumption. All these words come from Greek zume, meaning a leaven, typically a yeast, that’s added to make a substance ferment. It’s also the origin of enzyme.

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Definition from Michael Quinion's World Wide Words.

Image from http://www.zdwnet.org/tag/beer.

Unusual Words Defined: A - Z (Part Y)

A continuation of the series.

yardang

A yardang is a Streamlined hill carved from bedrock or any consolidated or semiconsolidated material by the dual action of wind abrasion, dust and sand, and deflation. Yardangs are elongate features typically three or more times longer than they are wide, and when viewed from above, resemble the hull of a boat.

Etymology: The word itself is of Turkic origin, meaning ‘steep bank’, and was first introduced to the English-speaking world by the Swedish explorer Sven Anders Hedin in 1903.

Definition and image from thefreedictionary.com.

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

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

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

Unusual Words Defined: A - Z (Part U)

A continuation of the series.

Unexpurgated -
Unedited; without deletions.

I prefer the unexpurgated edition of the movie; it's longer but more exciting.

Definition from Wayne State University's Word Warriors.

Alpine Equipment Epithets

I have been meaning to mention a post that appeared on Johnson, The Economists' language blog, and now seems like an appropriate time as we are in the midst of ski season here in Michigan. The post is about the friendly animosity that occurs between skiers and snowboarders and the names that are used by each to provoke the rivalry in Poland.

According to Johnson, skiers call a snowboard a parapet (windowsill) and snowboarders call skis boazeria (wainscots), thus the title of the post, "Windowsill v Wainscots".

In addition to the brief article, what I found interesting were a couple of comments from readers included this one from AcrossTheStreet:

"Colorado has lighthearted names for its alpine battle of rafters and fly-fishers: Row v Wade."

And this one from Jeremie1:

"In Spain snowboarders are just known as "surferos", as far as I know, but the surferos do use a malicious nickname for skiers, who distinguish themselves by using ski sticks: they are known as "palilleros" - from "palillos", or little sticks, such as toothsticks."

My son, a snowboarder, calls skiers "two-plankers".

So how about you: are you a windowsiller or a wainscotter, a rafter or a fly-fisher, a surfer or a palilleros?

What other labels are out there?

Image Credits

Unusual Words Defined: A - Z (Part T)

A continuation of the series.

tutoyer

transitive verb
: to address familiarly

Origin of TUTOYER
French, to address with the familiar pronoun tu thou, from Middle French, from tu thou (from Latin) + toi thee, from Latin te (accusative of tu)
First Known Use: 1697

Definition from Merriam-Webster.com

Image credits here

Unusual Words Defined: A - Z (Part S)

A continuation of the series.

sitzmark

n.
A hollow made in the snow by a skier who has fallen backward.
[Partial translation of German Sitzmarke : Sitz, act of sitting; see sitz bath + Marke, mark.]

Definition from thefreedictionary.com

Image from germanenglishwords.com

Unusual Words Defined A - Z (Part R)

A continuation of the series.

rusticle
n. An icicle-like rust structure formed underwater on rusting iron. [Blend of rust and icicle.]

Earliest Citation:
Dr. Robert Ballard, head of a research team currently photographing the sunken luxury liner, said yesterday the vessel's exquisite woodwork has all but disappeared....The ship, inside and out, is covered with stalactite-like icicles of rust or 'rusticles,' he said.—Barbara Yaffe, "Rust 'icicles' drape hull of Titanic," The Globe and Mail, July 17, 1986

From: Word Spy

Image from: library.thinkquest.org

P.S. In linguistics blended words are often referred to as portmanteau words from the French word for a suitcase with two compartments. Click here for more on portmanteau words.

Unusual Words Defined: A - Z (Part Q)

A continuation of the series.

Quaff - To drink deeply or with vigor. “Ne'er was mingled such a draught / In palace, hall or arbor / As freemen brewed and tyrants quaffed / That night in Boston Harbor.” (Oliver Wendell Holmes, American physician, poet and author, 1809-1894)

From Wayne State University's Word Warriors

Image from here

Filipino Word of the Year 2010

Jejemon

At a July conference organized by the Filipinas Institute of Translation "jejemon" was chosen as word of the year. The selection was made by a group of academics from the University of the Philippines. Here is an excerpt from an article about the word on GMANEWS.TV:

The etymology of the word “jejemon" is generally presumed to have started from online users' penchant to type in "hehehe" as "jejeje", either because "Jeje" is derived from Spanish, whose speakers denote the interjection as laughter, or because the letters "h" and "j" are beside each other.

The "-mon" appendage, on the other hand, is supposed to come from the Japanese anime Pokémon, with "-mon" denoting "monster," hence "jeje monsters."