Word of the Day

[A face]

Perspicacious - acutely perceptive or discerning, having or showing penetrating mental discernment; clear-sighted., acutely insightful and wise; "much too perspicacious to be taken in by such a spurious argument"

[dahamsta]

Can we all post a word of the day, or is this your latest thing? Cos you ain't locked the thread like... ;)

[stann]

My word of today, or any day, because it's extremely versatile, covers a multitude of things, and is also ever-so-slightly rude in a not-really-sure-why kind of way, is flange.
That's flange.

[dahamsta]

I like flange.

[osarusan]

My word of the say is

siphon(also syphon)

because of the following definition in the Oxford Dictionary, which has remained basically unedited for the last 80 years or so

• noun - a tube used to convey liquid upwards from a container and then down to a lower level, the flow being maintained by atmospheric pressure.

but which will be edited dramatically in the next edition as they've been contacted by an Australian scientist who told them that the flow had nothing to do with atmospheric pressure, and is down to simple gravity.

[OwlsFan]

Abstruse: = Paul O'Shea ;)

[SkStu]

"crump" - the satisfying crunch of snow beneath your feet. (appropriate given my location)

I follow Susie Dent on twitter which I would highly recommend if the English language and cool old words float yer boat.

[Eminence Grise]

I think I could grow to like this thread...

Big fan of Suzie Dent!

[The Fly]

I think I could grow to like this thread...

Big fan of Suzie Dent!

You grow at a very slow rate then. ;)

[The Fly]

"crump" - the satisfying crunch of snow beneath your feet. (appropriate given my location)

I follow Susie Dent on twitter which I would highly recommend if the English language and cool old words float yer boat.

One suggestion I'd make is to expand the thread to incorporate phrases. They float my boat a bit more.

[stann]

Standards Of Accountability

2760

[dahamsta]

I follow Susie Dent on twitter which I would highly recommend if the English language and cool old words float yer boat.

Or just Susie Dent.

[Eminence Grise]

NSFW, for fans of Suzie and swear words (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C26xJT4BT0E)... I could save a fortune on all those 1550 numbers!

Today's word of the day is turncoat (https://twitter.com/_DeclanRice?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp %7Ctwgr%5Eauthor). Though it may be a day too late.

[SkStu]

From Susie’s twitter:

The original meaning of 'deadline' was a line marked in the earth around a prison: if an inmate went beyond it, they were liable to be shot.

[osarusan]

I've told this to a few people, none of whom believed it until they went off and checked for themselves.

The word 'Tory', as in, the Tories/Conservative Party, came from the old Irish word tóraidhe, which means 'outlaw' or 'pursued man' and was originally used to describe Irish peasants dispossessed by English settlers, then came to describe peasant gangs in the Scottish highlands, and finally used as a derogatory nickname for the people/party which supported Catholic King James II back in the late 1700s.

[SkStu]

More from the wonderful Susie

Lethologica: the inability to remember the right word (including, probably, this one).

Tartle: to hesitate awkwardly when greeting or introducing someone, as you've completely forgotten their name.

I’m guilty of both, every day.

[dahamsta]

I have (self-diagnosed) face-blindness, so I don't tartle, I just plough on and hope for context. :)

[Eminence Grise]

In today's Guardian - petrichor.

A pleasant, distinctive smell frequently accompanying the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather in certain regions. (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/apr/19/smell-rain-heatwave-love-word)

[SkStu]

I have (self-diagnosed) face-blindness, so I don't tartle, I just plough on and hope for context. :)

What a lot of people mistake for being a rude b@stard! :D

[dahamsta]

No mistake!