Three days from now, I will turn 42, incidentally the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything. I would just love it if you would come by on Friday and wish me many happy returns.
There's nothing like a contest for comment trawling. Numbers float my boat, but words do as well. Between now and midnight on Friday, leave me a word that you believe I might not be able to define. Stump me, and I will put you in the draw. Multiple entries are heartily encouraged, as the point is to delight in the discovery of new words.
On Sunday, I picked up some lovely sock yarn at Circles:
Only half is shown; the sister chromatids are off at the other end of the mitotic spindle. (That last bit of geekery is for Liz especially; others may relish, wince or ignore).
Winner may choose one colorway, including two skeins and sufficient for a pair of socks. If none of these speak to you, we will find something that does.
Hmmm - first of all I hope I'm not too late - it's only 18:03 here, but time zones and whatnot may put me past midnight with you? (Just pat me gently on the head if I've got it all the wrong way round.)
Now - tricky words... hmmm...
voussoir
xanthein
replevin
any of those any good?
Posted by: Anne P | 09 November 2007 at 13:07
very very happy birthday!
My word is: commissure (yes, it's jargon but otherwise my vocabulary is pretty limited..)
Posted by: BerlinBat | 09 November 2007 at 07:54
Stumbled on your blog looking for Great Adirondack Sirino info, and had to chuckle because I was literally just yesterday trying to explain the significance of 42 to a colleague, an elderly gentleman who just didn't get it. Happy Birthday!
Posted by: Emma | 09 November 2007 at 06:05
Can I plead brain dead and simply wish you a happy birthday a tad early, my fellow Scorp?
Posted by: The Feminist Mafia | 08 November 2007 at 10:11
sister chromatids ... thanks for ruining yarn for me. i got tested on mitosis and meiosis last night.
i did well, so it's probably just a temporary aversion.
anyway, my vocabulary is rather limited so i'm not going to play but i will wish you a happy birthday!
have a great one!
Posted by: maryse | 08 November 2007 at 06:52
Double stop.
Melisma.
Organum.
Posted by: Rebecca H. | 07 November 2007 at 22:18
my word is marshmallow. okay, it's not really a word to define. i just believe that if you can accurately describe (not define) a marshmallow in a foreign language, you can consider yourself fluent. and i mean the weird confectionery, not the plant.
so, a real word? um. nope. can't think of anything that would stump you. i could cheat and get my beyond balderdash. nope. i'll just watch others play.
Posted by: IHateToast | 07 November 2007 at 20:08
quinquennium- I came across it in a journal and had to look it up.
armamentarium
I'll be back with more. I just bought my SO the complete OED. it is a wonderful toy for word geeks
Posted by: Emily L | 07 November 2007 at 19:44
All right, I'll play along, because I like words, and I also like that brownish yarn. :-)
Here's a list to entertain you, deliberately non-alphabetical:
rectopathic
geophilous
teratology
biduous
macarism
warison
effiguration
Happy birthday!
(Spell check only recognized one of them - LOL!)
Posted by: Dave | 07 November 2007 at 17:50
My word may be a bit of a cheat - Drite. It is not Norwegian (although they do use it and you should not say it around a prim and proper Norwegian) and is only regularly used in parts of Canada as a not bad word.
My not cheating word is Virid.
I was going to mention Free Rice too. Very fun although I can see me having issues with my Level number. I couldn't quit playing this morning until I had raised it to a decent number.
Posted by: Dorothy | 07 November 2007 at 17:01
Happy Birthday!
My submission is "symploce".
Posted by: Kathode Ray Tube | 07 November 2007 at 15:40
Okay, I played FreeRice (www.freerice.com) until it gave me:
clathrate
Posted by: Kim | 07 November 2007 at 11:47
Happy birthday! I was going to go with something hard to define, like "truth" or "pornography", but a word you haven't heard before? I'm a science geek too - that's hard! Because most people wouldn't know what PCR is, but clearly that would be right in your realm. I'll have to think harder.
Posted by: Kim | 07 November 2007 at 11:34
Happy (pre) birthday!
Question - is it a word that you could not define of the top of your head, or one that you wouldn't have the resources to find out...
Here is one of my favorites: vug
Posted by: heather | 07 November 2007 at 09:40
Ah someone else who says "many happy returns of the day" fab.
fond (as a noun)
Posted by: Julie | 07 November 2007 at 04:28