Surprising words
I finally thought of a word that might sorta fit here.
Ubiquitous.
Not because it means anything weird, or because people wouldn't know it...but just because it sounds cool and looks strange .
I think I learned it when I was learning about ubiquitin, a protein that is very prevalent in cells, but doesn't seem to do much until you get big plaques of it building up in diseases like Alzheimers.....
Ubiquitous.
Not because it means anything weird, or because people wouldn't know it...but just because it sounds cool and looks strange .
I think I learned it when I was learning about ubiquitin, a protein that is very prevalent in cells, but doesn't seem to do much until you get big plaques of it building up in diseases like Alzheimers.....
- Primula Baggins
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I always liked "ubiquitous."
Belated swoon for Brian and "incidences." Definitely a word, at least in medical literature. (I'm really liking being good at this stuff, even if it's just a matter of being able to remember that it's "Neisseria gonorrhoeae" and not "gonnorhoeae" or "gonnorhoea" or "gonorrhea" or. . . .)
Belated swoon for Brian and "incidences." Definitely a word, at least in medical literature. (I'm really liking being good at this stuff, even if it's just a matter of being able to remember that it's "Neisseria gonorrhoeae" and not "gonnorhoeae" or "gonnorhoea" or "gonorrhea" or. . . .)
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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Reaollae?
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Urinant adj. (Heraldry) - having the head downwards. From Latin urinari, to drive.
Apparently, it applies to fish when presented head down and with tail "erect."
Apparently, it applies to fish when presented head down and with tail "erect."
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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I'd never heard that one, Frelga!
Stretching the topic a bit, but Merriam-Webster has just announced its "Word of the Year" for 2007:
w00t.
No, I mean the word is "w00t." Spelled like that.
Link
(Ang, how many times did you vote in that online poll, anyway?)
Stretching the topic a bit, but Merriam-Webster has just announced its "Word of the Year" for 2007:
w00t.
No, I mean the word is "w00t." Spelled like that.
Link
(Ang, how many times did you vote in that online poll, anyway?)
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
It did in me, too, which is why I posted it.
w00t for the w00t!
w00t for the w00t!
For some reason, this brings to mind Bill Gates's comment that 64K of RAM is all anyone will ever need.''It's amusing, but it's limited to a small community and unlikely to spread and unlikely to last,'' said Metcalf, an English professor at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill.
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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But Frelga, everyone knows this Internet thing is going to blow over.
(I think the 64K remark is an urban legend, but Snopes.com doesn't have a search function I could find within 45 seconds, so I gave up. Everyone knows 45 seconds is an afternoon in Internet time.)
(I shall pen them a fiercely worded missive.)
(I think the 64K remark is an urban legend, but Snopes.com doesn't have a search function I could find within 45 seconds, so I gave up. Everyone knows 45 seconds is an afternoon in Internet time.)
(I shall pen them a fiercely worded missive.)
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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<Homer Simpson>
Mmmm . . . usufruct . . . .
</Homer Simpson>
Well, now I'm going to have pen two more fiercely worded missives to Snopes.com, because I did find a search box on their front page that was terribly mixed in with their logo and so took 47 seconds to spot and, uh.
And after that I spent all afternoon* looking for the Bill Gates quote story, even scrolling down past the first screenful of search results, and found nothing.
If it isn't on Snopes (and it certainly shouldn't be, if they couldn't make it any easier to find than that), then it must be true.
*Internet time.
Mmmm . . . usufruct . . . .
</Homer Simpson>
Well, now I'm going to have pen two more fiercely worded missives to Snopes.com, because I did find a search box on their front page that was terribly mixed in with their logo and so took 47 seconds to spot and, uh.
And after that I spent all afternoon* looking for the Bill Gates quote story, even scrolling down past the first screenful of search results, and found nothing.
If it isn't on Snopes (and it certainly shouldn't be, if they couldn't make it any easier to find than that), then it must be true.
*Internet time.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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A lovely snarky article, but I did gather that he never said it.
Thanks, Brian.
Thanks, Brian.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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Right word, wrong year.Primula Baggins wrote:Stretching the topic a bit, but Merriam-Webster has just announced its "Word of the Year" for 2007:
w00t.
No, I mean the word is "w00t." Spelled like that.
Link
(Ang, how many times did you vote in that online poll, anyway?)
"w00t" is sooo 2002.
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It's your own fault for being fashion forward, Ang.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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erinaceous
My daughter used it at me yesterday! It means like, or characteristic of, a hedgehog...and she was on the phone at the time with a friend and asked me...something or other, I forget what, and I was a little prickly about it, and she did a little eye-roll thing and said to her friend, "mum's a little erinaceous today..."...and I looked a little blank and had to check the dictionary, upon which I snorted with laughter because what else can you do when your 14 year old skewers you so precisely?
My daughter used it at me yesterday! It means like, or characteristic of, a hedgehog...and she was on the phone at the time with a friend and asked me...something or other, I forget what, and I was a little prickly about it, and she did a little eye-roll thing and said to her friend, "mum's a little erinaceous today..."...and I looked a little blank and had to check the dictionary, upon which I snorted with laughter because what else can you do when your 14 year old skewers you so precisely?
Well, to be fair, it says that he now says he never said it.Primula Baggins wrote:A lovely snarky article, but I did gather that he never said it.
Impish, I am going to use ernaceous in my conversation. It's brilliant, and made me think of the Hedgehog Song.
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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Well, I do wonder, because I seem to remember him saying it; but it was around the same time that I informed Mr. Prim that now that he'd upgraded our Mac from 128K to 512K of RAM, we ought to be fine for years. So I can entirely understand the wish to be selective in one's memories.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King