Surprising words

[Primula Baggins]

You had an abacus? Loogzhury! We had to build little piles of walnuts. . . .

[Impenitent]

Walnuts? Pah! We just got the empty shells to suck...

[BrianIsSmilingAtYou]

Walnuts? Pah! We just got the empty shells to suck...

We just got a little walnut sapling, and we're hoping it blooms someday...

--------

On another note, I ran across the following word twice in the past two days, and had never seen it before:

vatic \VAT-ik\, adjective:
Of or characteristic of a prophet or prophecy; prophetic; oracular.

In both cases, the usage was in connection with poetry.

The first was in the introduction to "The Poetry of Yevgeny Yevtushenko 1953 to 1965". The introduction was written by the poet George Reavey, and he was writing concerning the growth of the theme "the poet and Russia" in the post-Stalinist era. For example, Yevtushenko had written a piece about Mayakovsky, whom he believes would have ended up in a concentration camp by 1937 had he not died sooner. Similarly, many poets of the time such as Vladimir Tsibin in his "The Fate of All Russian Poets" considered this theme with respect to the possible fates of contemporary poets, including themselves, and whether the relaxation that occurred after Stalinism would continue.

Reavey writes:

In view of the recent recrudescence of this theme, one is tempted to ask what lies behind this anxiety as to the fate of the poet? Is it a mere expression of historical awareness or that of alarm as to the immediate future? It may be a form of premonition or, perhaps, a mode of vatic incantation against the possibility of such a recurrence.

In fact, Yevtushenko was placed under watch and had his movement severely limited shortly after his journeys to the West, especially after the publication of his autobiography in Paris, which made its appearance without the author first submitting it to the Party censors for approval.

*

Then today, as I was cleaning up, I picked up the January 1978 issue of Poetry magazine that I had picked up cheap at a used bookstore, and it fell open to the following, part of a review of a collection by Mike Doyle:

Most of the poems are spoken by the poet in his role as poet. Often the speaker becomes as cosmic in importance as his imagined landscapes are vast. At Karekare Beach finds the poet given over to vatic musings:

where in another history,
body upon body
a whole Maori tribe
was flung two hundred feet
to the rocks below,
thinking of the poets
far away, scattered
across America, conscious
of Bill Williams, still
a presence in the touch of love.

One is pleased to learns that the poet is "thinking" and "conscious" of interconnected histories. Weighed down by such testimony, one hesitates to ask such simplistic questions as: Are these connections of thought really thoughtful, or even true? Should poets "scattered / across America" really be compared to a massacred Maori (or any other) tribe? Ought one to be "thinking of poets / far away" at this juncture?

I found this repeated appearance of this unusual word over two days to be quite striking.

I think I'll need to find a use for it.

"Recrudescence" isn't bad either.

BrianIs AtYou

[Primula Baggins]

They're both excellent words.

I've certainly noticed this recurrence of words I have just noticed or just learned to understand. I have to assume it's a matter of the filters on perception, but still it's fascinating. If only because it implies the extent to which I've been skimming over and ignoring words I don't understand.

(I don't mean to imply that this applies to you, Brian; you have a gift for words that I deeply envy.)

[BrianIsSmilingAtYou]

Giving new meaning to the word "eye-tooth":

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/ ... 79329.html

http://app.singaporemedicine.com/asp/ne ... sp?id=3981

BrianIs AtYou

[Primula Baggins]

Absolutely wild, Brian!

Manufacturing an implant out of one's own body. . . . That certainly gets around the foreign-body and immune reactions.

[vison]

Recrudescence was popular with A. Trollope. I think it "sounds" awful.

Vatic, eh? A new word!!!!! I luvz it, precious.

Jeez, I dunno what you can say about (or to, for that matter) a guy who reads Russian poetry or even about Russian poetry or poets, it's sorta like, you know, banging your head on a brick wall , it feels very good when you stop, eh?

The way I look at it, English was good enuff for Shakespeare and A. E. Housman, it oughta be good enuff for them Russkies.

[Primula Baggins]

<looks around nervously for Frelga>

[Frelga]

<looks around nervously for Frelga>

Boo!


I'm told that Shakespear scholars consider Russian speakers lucky for being able to read Shakespear translated by Pasterback. It's beautiful and actually makes sense.

Houseman? Who is he and why don't I know him?

Brian, want to talk Yevtushenko? He and his cohorts used to fill stadiums for their readings.

[BrianIsSmilingAtYou]

Brian, want to talk Yevtushenko? He and his cohorts used to fill stadiums for their readings.

I'm still trying to absorb him. I bought the book on a whim.

I had read a fair amount of French, German and Japanese poetry, but never Russian.

I am able to read the French for the most part in the original language, a small amount of the German--I was using a side-by-side book to actually learn more of the language (which is a struggle). I found such an approach I found extremely valuable when brushing up my French--but then I had taken several years of French in high school.

Likewise, I can read a very small amount of the Japanese in Romanji--again I was attempting to use side by side versions to get a feel for things. (I actually have some small understanding of Japanese from having a Japanese sister-in-law and from watching subtitled Japanese cinema and anime, and picking things up that way. I do not read Kanji or Katakana.)

The Yevtushenko book also has side-by-side texts, but the Russian text is still in the original script, and my brain is still taking a good deal of time to absorb the "sound-feel", which is important.

Even where I don't completely understand the original German or Japanese text in the other books, I love conceptualizing the original sound--it complements the English translation.

I have more difficulty achieving this with the Russian text because of the Cyrillic script. It will take some effort.

Of those that have stuck me so far, I liked "Deep Snow", "Weddings", "My Beloved Will Arrive at Last" among others from Our Anxieties, and I am still trying to absorb some of the later work from Conversation with an American Writer (the title poem there is quite good, ending with

Oh, our descendants will burn with bitter shame
to remember, when punishing vile acts,
that most peculiar
................................time,
...........................................when
plain honesty
............................was labeled "courage"...

and People were Laughing.

There is a political subtext at times as in the quoted bit above, and certain uses of abstract or philosophical language, that I am still trying to understand.

BrianIs AtYou

[BrianIsSmilingAtYou]

This was first posted on B77 by Jude, but it fit in well with the thought behind this thread:

Collins dictionary asks public to rescue endangered words

By Iain Hollingshead

Old words die hard at Collins dictionary. As we reported this morning, the introduction of 2,000 new words into the new edition has put some of the older ones under threat. Reluctant to let them die out altogether, the nitid wordsmiths at Collins have drawn up a list of 24 near-extinct words (including “nitid”, which means bright or glistening), some of which can be saved if they receive sufficient public support.

Inevitably, celebrities have been recruited to adopt their own endangered words as if they were cute marsupials or fashionable political causes. Stephen Fry, who knows far too many words already, has plumped for “fusby”, which means short, stout or squat (or possibly, all three). The Poet Laureate Andrew Motion has chosen “skirr”, the whirring sound made by the wings of birds in flight, no doubt in order to liven up his tedious job next time he is called upon to write about the shooting season at Balmoral.

Good for them, I say. Fusby and skirr are both great words. Skirr has an onomatopoeic (is that a word?) quality. Fusby does the work of three of its rivals. Neither has a direct synonym.

Link for the rest:

Collins dictionary asks public to rescue endangered words

I like "nitid", "skirr", "griseous" and "embrangle".

Not so sure about the others--but is it fair if only the "cute" or likeable words survive?

BrianIs AtYou

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Thanks for sharing that, Brian.

[Alatar]

We should start a petition to have one of the Dwarves in the hobbit renamed Fusby. Bombur perhaps.

Before they could shout in praise of the shot, however, a dreadful wail from Bilbo put all thoughts of venison out of their minds. "Fusby has fallen in! Fusby is drowning!" he cried. It was only too true. Fusby had only one foot on the land when the hart bore down on him, and sprang over him. He had stumbled, thrusting the boat away from the bank, and then toppled back into the dark water, his hands slipping off the slimy roots at the edge, while the boat span slowly off and disappeared.

They could still see his hood above the water when they ran to the bank. Quickly they flung a rope with a hook towards him. His hand caught it, and they pulled him to the shore. He was drenched from hair to boots, of course, but that was not the worst. When they laid him on the bank he was already fast asleep, with one hand clutching the rope so tight that they could not get it from his grasp; and fast asleep he remained in spite of all they could do. They were still standing over him, cursing their ill luck, and Fusby's clumsiness, and lamenting the loss of the boat which made it impossible for them to go back and look for the hart, when they became aware of the dim blowing of horns in the wood and the sound as of dogs baying far off. Then they all fell silent; and as they sat it seemed they could hear the noise of a great hunt going by to the north of the path, though they saw no sign of it. There they sat for a long while and did not dare to make a move. Fusby slept on with a smile on his fat face, as if he no longer cared for all the troubles that vexed them.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I like it!

[Lalaith]

I like it, too! It certainly sounds like a Hobbit name, doesn't it?


Lali

[PrinceAlarming]

I also posted this on b77...

New words form, become popular, and gain acceptance. I have noticed that words become more and more general. "Cool" means a moderate lack of warmth (Your soup is cool), really neat (That's wicked cool), in a good disposition (I'm cool, dude), or on good terms with someone (Are we cool?).

This is alarming to me...

Being a medical professional, I make a living describing everyday occurrences with large, polysyllabic words. Rhinorrhea is a runny nose; rhino = nose, -rrhea = discharge. Chirospasm is a hand cramp; Chiro, from the Greek, Chiron, a Centaur who tutored Apollo on medicine... Tachypneic is rapid breathing; Tachy = rapid (tachometer), pne = breath or air (pneumonia, pneumatic). Dysdiadokinesia, a favorite of occupational therapists, is the inability to to perform and sustain rapidly alternating sequences of movement.

Here is a funny little song and video that many of you may find amusing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJbnbpEkVFM

On the subject of strange and archaic words, here is a very interesting site: http://www.brownielocks.com/words.html

[BrianIsSmilingAtYou]

Brownielocks is a neat resource.

---------------

However, I just discovered that the originalarticle has an error!

The correct word is fubsy, not fusby!

Fubsy definition

Heads will roll!

BrianIs AtYou

[Frelga]

Fubsy sounds so much better. And I personally intend to adopt skirr. What a great word!

[Alatar]

I was reading History of the Hobbit again last night and skirr came into my mind as well! Wouldn't this:

Up came some tools and bundles of stores, and then danger was upon them. A whirring noise was heard. A red light touched the points of standing rocks. The dragon came.

have been better as

Up came some tools and bundles of stores, and then danger was upon them. A skirring noise was heard. A red light touched the points of standing rocks. The dragon came.

Its kinda like "a scary whirring" noise, don'tcha think?

[Lalaith]

Yes, that sounds better, scarier!


Lali