Word of the day

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.

Not a "monster" word, but Puka also shows up English dictionaries and appears to be a valid Scrabble word. Pooka is sometimes an alternate spelling for Puka.

TMK, it is a word borrowed from Hawaiian around the 1970s. The most common usage of puka, in Hawaiian, was to mean hole or opening. With this definition, it could be a very versatile word. Pani ka puka could be used to mean close the door, shut (your) mouth, cover the hole, etc.

Puka, in Hawaiian, also refers to a type of shell or a necklace made from those shells... puka shell, puka shell necklace. These necklaces became quite popular in the 1970s. This is undoubtedly when the word became known to many English speakers. From Webster's:

Puka - n. a small, usually perforated, wave- and beach-polished shell fragment formed from the spire of a cone (genus Conus), found along beaches of Pacific Islands, and used especially to make necklaces

I chose the spelling "pooka" mainly because of the movie, Harvey, with James Stewart, about a friendly drunk with a huge (imaginary?) rabbit companion. Yes, Puka, is possibly a more common spelling- I had forgotten about those puka necklaces,
for a while they were a huge fad. Also, thanks for adding to this thread, I was thinking about giving up on it for lack of interest.

Elwood P. Dowd is an affable man who claims to have an unseen (and presumably imaginary) friend Harvey — whom Elwood describes as a six-foot, three-and-one-half-inch (192 cm) tall pooka resembling an anthropomorphic rabbit. Elwood introduces Harvey to everyone he meets. His social-climbing sister, Veta, increasingly finds his eccentric behavior embarrassing. She decides to have him committed to a sanitarium. When they arrive at the sanitarium, a comedy of errors ensues. The young Dr. Sanderson mistakenly commits Veta instead of Elwood, but when the truth comes out, the search is on for Elwood and his invisible companion. When Elwood shows up at the sanitarium looking for his lost friend Harvey, it seems that the mild-mannered Elwood's delusion has had a strange influence on the staff, including sanitarium director Dr. Chumley. Only just before Elwood is to be given an injection that will make him into a "perfectly normal human being, and you know what bastards they are!" (in the words of a taxi cab driver who has become involved in the proceedings) does Veta realize that she would rather have Elwood the same as he has always been — carefree and kind — even if it means living with Harvey. But the only reason Veta hears from the cab driver is that she can't find her coin purse and has to get the cab fare from Elwood. That is when the cab driver sees what is happening and goes into his spiel. Later Veta realizes that the purse was there all along, but Harvey hid it from her.
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Schadenfreude- taking pleasure in anothers misfortune. It was a Davis cup match, and when the opposing player fell and broke his wrist, the crowd stood and cheered (an example of schadenfreude).

Analects- a collection of fragments of writings buy (usually ancient) writers. Foer example- The Anelects of Confucius.

lackadaisical- Listless, lacking spirit, languorous, lazy- the number one seed seemed lackadaisical, something was obviously wrong.

Exultation- triumphant exultation, jubilation, ecstatic delight. Despit 3 grueling sets, when she won the last point she screeched in exultation and fell to the ground.

Fiasco- a complete, ludicrous, humiliating failure- Despite careful planning the set was a complete fiasco.
 
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Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
A wise man was quite often fond of saying, "Don't let your dongle dangle".

Believe that wise man was moi.

A similar sounding word

Dingle- a deep wooded valley or dell.

Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs
About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green,
The night above the dingle starry,
Time let me hail and climb
Golden in the heydays of his eyes,
And honoured among wagons I was prince of the apple towns
And once below a time I lordly had the trees and leaves
Trail with daisies and barley
Down the rivers of the windfall light....

Dylan Thomas (fragment)
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Test yourself

1. Bifurcate..........................................................................................................A. Fork, branch, split.
2. Incantation.....................................................................................................B. Pointless waste of time/money.
3. Homunculus...................................................................................................C. Self centered, self involved.
4. Euphony...........................................................................................................D. Narrow strip of land linking larger land masses.
5. Grotto...............................................................................................................E. Magic spell, charm.
6. Narcissism.......................................................................................................F. entertainment that is horrific, gruesome, sensational.
7. Isthmus.............................................................................................................G. Picturesque cave.
8. Grand Guignol...............................................................................................H. Small humanoid creature.
9. Phalanges........................................................................................................I. Bones of the fingers, toes.
10. Boondoggle.................................................................................................J. Harmonious, pleasing to the ear.
 
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Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Allegory- a story or picture with a symbolic, underlying meaning.

Mortify- to embarrass, shame, humilate.

Utopia- an imagined "perfect" place.

Boondocks- outlying area, "the sticks".

Draconian- severe, harsh, cruel.
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
Test yourself

1. Bifurcate..........................................................................................................A. Fork, branch, split.
2. Incantation.....................................................................................................B. Pointless waste of time/money.
3. Homunculus...................................................................................................C. Self centered, self involved.
4. Euphony...........................................................................................................D. Narrow strip of land linking larger land masses.
5. Grotto...............................................................................................................E. Magic spell, charm.
6. Narcissism.......................................................................................................F. entertainment that is horrific, gruesome, sensational.
7. Isthmus.............................................................................................................G. Picturesque cave.
8. Grand Guignol...............................................................................................H. Small humanoid creature.
9. Phalanges........................................................................................................I. Bones of the fingers, toes.
10. Boondoggle.................................................................................................J. Harmonious, pleasing to the ear.
Good little test of word power.

Got 60% of them straight away (incl Phalanges). Figured out another 3 with a little bit of thought but only got the unfamiliar "Grand Guignol" cuz it was the only one left after getting the others.

There were 2 other words that I was not really familiar with. Homunculus is one I'd seen but wasn't absolutely certain about. But after seeing the available definitions, it was easy to pair up.

Euphony was a word that I've never seen before but was easy to decipher. Noticed the prefix for "euphoria" and the suffix for "harmony". And, voila!
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
While stopped at a red light, I noticed the licence plate on the pickup in front of me read

"TU BLAVE"

Not a real word, but it kind of is.
 

Mike Bulgakov

G.O.A.T.
MacGuffin

A MacGuffin is a movie term coined by Alfred Hitchcock for a plot element or device that drives the action or logic of the plot. It is extremely important for the characters, but it is often ignored once it serves its purpose. The sled in Citizen Kane is a MacGuffin.

The Microfilm in North by Northwest (1959)
What is a MacGuffin in North by Northwest? MacGuffins are ideal for thrillers, kicking off the events of the film without bearing any real importance themselves.
Throughout the film, Roger Thornhill is chased by spies due to a case of mistaken identity. They believe Thornhill is an agent on their tail while they’re trying to smuggle microfilm containing government secrets out of the country. But, as expected, we never learn what those secrets are.

Marcellus Wallace’s Briefcase in Pulp Fiction (1994)
What is a MacGuffin in Pulp Fiction? It should be fairly easy to figure out. It’s the briefcase Jules and Vincent try to give back to Marcellus Wallace.

It meets the classic MacGuffin definition. It sets the plot in motion because Jules and Vincent have to go on a mission to retrieve it. It doesn’t have any real significance on the plot. In fact, we don’t even see what’s inside the briefcase.

This has led to people speculating all sorts of things about what could possibly be inside. Theories range from the briefcase containing diamonds to Marcellus Wallace’s soul. The fact that the contents are never addressed is the entire point of the MacGuffin and why the briefcase works so well.

The movie isn’t about a quest for a briefcase. It’s an homage to cinema. It’s about deep ruminations on philosophy. Those things are what people remember fondly of Pulp Fiction. Not a briefcase that’s so inconsequential we never see its contents.

o-PULP-FICTION-BRIEFCASE-570.jpg


Classic MacGuffin Films
MacGuffins take on various shapes and forms. If you’d like to see more MacGuffins in action, then we’d recommend checking out the following films. We’ve listed them below as well as the MacGuffin associated with each one.
  • The 39 Steps (1935): The Military Secrets
  • The Maltese Falcon (1941): The Maltese Falcon
  • Casablanca (1942): Letters of Transit
  • Notorious (1946): The Uranium Ore
  • Rope (1948): The Rope
  • Dial M for Murder (1954): The Spare Key to the Apartment
  • 3:10 to Yuma (1957): The Train
  • Vertigo (1958): The Necklace
  • Psycho (1960): $40,000 in Cash
  • It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963): The Giant “W”
  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975): The Holy Grail
  • Apocalypse Now (1979): Colonel Kurtz
  • Escape From New York (1981): The Tape
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982): The Genesis Device
  • Romancing the Stone (1984): The Stone
  • Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996): The X-5 Unit
  • Titanic (1997): The Heart of the Ocean
  • The Big Lebowski (1998): The Persian Rug
  • Saving Private Ryan (1998): Private Ryan
  • Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000): The Green Destiny Sword
  • Mission: Impossible III (2006): The Rabbit’s Foot
  • The Departed (2006): The Microprocessors
  • The Hangover (2009): Doug
  • Avatar (2009): Unobtanium
  • Atomic Blonde (2017): The List
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-macguffin-definition/
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Uno
MacGuffin

A MacGuffin is a movie term coined by Alfred Hitchcock for a plot element or device that drives the action or logic of the plot. It is extremely important for the characters, but it is often ignored once it serves its purpose. The sled in Citizen Kane is a MacGuffin.

The Microfilm in North by Northwest (1959)
What is a MacGuffin in North by Northwest? MacGuffins are ideal for thrillers, kicking off the events of the film without bearing any real importance themselves.
Throughout the film, Roger Thornhill is chased by spies due to a case of mistaken identity. They believe Thornhill is an agent on their tail while they’re trying to smuggle microfilm containing government secrets out of the country. But, as expected, we never learn what those secrets are.

Marcellus Wallace’s Briefcase in Pulp Fiction (1994)
What is a MacGuffin in Pulp Fiction? It should be fairly easy to figure out. It’s the briefcase Jules and Vincent try to give back to Marcellus Wallace.

It meets the classic MacGuffin definition. It sets the plot in motion because Jules and Vincent have to go on a mission to retrieve it. It doesn’t have any real significance on the plot. In fact, we don’t even see what’s inside the briefcase.

This has led to people speculating all sorts of things about what could possibly be inside. Theories range from the briefcase containing diamonds to Marcellus Wallace’s soul. The fact that the contents are never addressed is the entire point of the MacGuffin and why the briefcase works so well.

The movie isn’t about a quest for a briefcase. It’s an homage to cinema. It’s about deep ruminations on philosophy. Those things are what people remember fondly of Pulp Fiction. Not a briefcase that’s so inconsequential we never see its contents.

o-PULP-FICTION-BRIEFCASE-570.jpg


Classic MacGuffin Films
MacGuffins take on various shapes and forms. If you’d like to see more MacGuffins in action, then we’d recommend checking out the following films. We’ve listed them below as well as the MacGuffin associated with each one.
  • The 39 Steps (1935): The Military Secrets
  • The Maltese Falcon (1941): The Maltese Falcon
  • Casablanca (1942): Letters of Transit
  • Notorious (1946): The Uranium Ore
  • Rope (1948): The Rope
  • Dial M for Murder (1954): The Spare Key to the Apartment
  • 3:10 to Yuma (1957): The Train
  • Vertigo (1958): The Necklace
  • Psycho (1960): $40,000 in Cash
  • It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963): The Giant “W”
  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975): The Holy Grail
  • Apocalypse Now (1979): Colonel Kurtz
  • Escape From New York (1981): The Tape
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982): The Genesis Device
  • Romancing the Stone (1984): The Stone
  • Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996): The X-5 Unit
  • Titanic (1997): The Heart of the Ocean
  • The Big Lebowski (1998): The Persian Rug
  • Saving Private Ryan (1998): Private Ryan
  • Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000): The Green Destiny Sword
  • Mission: Impossible III (2006): The Rabbit’s Foot
  • The Departed (2006): The Microprocessors
  • The Hangover (2009): Doug
  • Avatar (2009): Unobtanium
  • Atomic Blonde (2017): The List
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-macguffin-definition/
Unobtanium- maybe the best possible name
for a MacGuffin. I knew Hitchcock used MacGuffins, but I
Never thought to look for them in other movies- and I have seen
everything on your list, except the Beavis and Butt-Head thing.
 
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Mike Bulgakov

G.O.A.T.
A similar sounding word

Dingle- a deep wooded valley or dell.

Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs
About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green,
The night above the dingle starry,
Time let me hail and climb
Golden in the heydays of his eyes,
And honoured among wagons I was prince of the apple towns
And once below a time I lordly had the trees and leaves
Trail with daisies and barley
Down the rivers of the windfall light....

Dylan Thomas (fragment)
Don't forget the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland.

Dingle_Peninsula_Map.jpg


Dingle.Peninsula.original.24422.jpg
 

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
The sled is also the psychological key to the pathology of Citizen Kane himself, so it's not just a plot device. It's the answer to the question of what made him what he was.

MacGuffin

A MacGuffin is a movie term coined by Alfred Hitchcock for a plot element or device that drives the action or logic of the plot. It is extremely important for the characters, but it is often ignored once it serves its purpose. The sled in Citizen Kane is a MacGuffin.

The Microfilm in North by Northwest (1959)
What is a MacGuffin in North by Northwest? MacGuffins are ideal for thrillers, kicking off the events of the film without bearing any real importance themselves.
Throughout the film, Roger Thornhill is chased by spies due to a case of mistaken identity. They believe Thornhill is an agent on their tail while they’re trying to smuggle microfilm containing government secrets out of the country. But, as expected, we never learn what those secrets are.

Marcellus Wallace’s Briefcase in Pulp Fiction (1994)
What is a MacGuffin in Pulp Fiction? It should be fairly easy to figure out. It’s the briefcase Jules and Vincent try to give back to Marcellus Wallace.

It meets the classic MacGuffin definition. It sets the plot in motion because Jules and Vincent have to go on a mission to retrieve it. It doesn’t have any real significance on the plot. In fact, we don’t even see what’s inside the briefcase.

This has led to people speculating all sorts of things about what could possibly be inside. Theories range from the briefcase containing diamonds to Marcellus Wallace’s soul. The fact that the contents are never addressed is the entire point of the MacGuffin and why the briefcase works so well.

The movie isn’t about a quest for a briefcase. It’s an homage to cinema. It’s about deep ruminations on philosophy. Those things are what people remember fondly of Pulp Fiction. Not a briefcase that’s so inconsequential we never see its contents.

o-PULP-FICTION-BRIEFCASE-570.jpg


Classic MacGuffin Films
MacGuffins take on various shapes and forms. If you’d like to see more MacGuffins in action, then we’d recommend checking out the following films. We’ve listed them below as well as the MacGuffin associated with each one.
  • The 39 Steps (1935): The Military Secrets
  • The Maltese Falcon (1941): The Maltese Falcon
  • Casablanca (1942): Letters of Transit
  • Notorious (1946): The Uranium Ore
  • Rope (1948): The Rope
  • Dial M for Murder (1954): The Spare Key to the Apartment
  • 3:10 to Yuma (1957): The Train
  • Vertigo (1958): The Necklace
  • Psycho (1960): $40,000 in Cash
  • It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963): The Giant “W”
  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975): The Holy Grail
  • Apocalypse Now (1979): Colonel Kurtz
  • Escape From New York (1981): The Tape
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982): The Genesis Device
  • Romancing the Stone (1984): The Stone
  • Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996): The X-5 Unit
  • Titanic (1997): The Heart of the Ocean
  • The Big Lebowski (1998): The Persian Rug
  • Saving Private Ryan (1998): Private Ryan
  • Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000): The Green Destiny Sword
  • Mission: Impossible III (2006): The Rabbit’s Foot
  • The Departed (2006): The Microprocessors
  • The Hangover (2009): Doug
  • Avatar (2009): Unobtanium
  • Atomic Blonde (2017): The List
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-macguffin-definition/
 

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
The audience eventually focuses on the word 'Rosebud' as a key to who the man was. We only learn it was the name on the sled when it's burnt.

The only true paradises are the ones we have lost, as Proust would have it.

That's a good point, but the audience doesn't care about the sled and is focused on other aspects of the narrative.
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
That's a good point, but the audience doesn't care about the sled and is focused on other aspects of the narrative.

This is very interesting- possibly a "gray" area, but I think there is something more.
Hard to say. It's been maybe 40 years since I saw the movie, but I remember that there was
some unclear, unspoken reason for Kane's mother sending him away. Yes, the sled was there, but
she was afraid for his safety at home, something about the husband? She, herself, seemed hardened.
The sled, in itself, was perhaps a symbol of something more. Hard to say, memory is vague.
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
"Tu Blave" comes from the movie, The Princess Bride-
"He clearly said "Tu Blave" which means "to bluff" so he was playing a card game and he lost."

He was trying to say "true Love".

Interesting.

After seeing this Princess Bride clip, I Google translated "to bluff" to Yiddish and got "tsu blafn".
 

Mike Bulgakov

G.O.A.T.
The audience eventually focuses on the word 'Rosebud' as a key to who the man was. We only learn it was the name on the sled when it's burnt.

The only true paradises are the ones we have lost, as Proust would have it.
The MacGuffin is a nebulous concept.


When asked what a MacGuffin was Hitchcock told this story:
A man asks, “Well, what is a MacGuffin?” You say, “It’s an apparatus for trapping lions in the Scottish highlands.” Man says, “But there are no lions in the Scottish highlands.” Then you say, “Then that’s no MacGuffin.”
https://indiefilmhustle.com/macguffin-alfred-hitchcock/



Word of the day:

JwrXBY2.png
 
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Mike Bulgakov

G.O.A.T.
This is very interesting- possibly a "gray" area, but I think there is something more.
Hard to say. It's been maybe 40 years since I saw the movie, but I remember that there was
some unclear, unspoken reason for Kane's mother sending him away. Yes, the sled was there, but
she was afraid for his safety at home, something about the husband? She, herself, seemed hardened.
The sled, in itself, was perhaps a symbol of something more. Hard to say, memory is vague.
The subject of many political arguments on this forum can be viewed as a MacGuffin. It often isn't about the issue as much as emotional catharsis and winning one for the team.

The exact definition of a MacGuffin is elusive and debatable. George Lucas has a slightly different take than Hitchcock.

 
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Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Words, slang, phrases for being drunk

Intoxicated, smashed, zonked, Crocked, stoned, loaded, fried, plastered, stewed, laced, flying,
feeling no pain, under the table, tight, seeing double, inebriated, glazed, kneeling before the porcelain alter,
stinko, blotto, s/faced, f'd/up, pickled, wrecked, three sheets to the wind, battered, sloshed, tipsy,
buzzed, under the weather, squiffy, snockered, ripped polluted, lubricated, dipso, out of business,
decimated, obfuscated, crapulent, off the wagon, on a tear, drunk as a skunk, in his/her cups, petrified, groggy, ossified.

I may have missed a few- any others?
 
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Mike Bulgakov

G.O.A.T.
Words, slang, phrease for being drunk

Intoxicated, smashed, zonked, Crocked, stoned, loaded, fried, plastered, stewed, laced, flying,
feeling no pain, under the table, tight, seeing double, inebriated, glazed, kneeling before the porcelain alter,
stinko, blotto, s/faced, f'd/up, pickled, wrecked, three sheets to the wind, battered, sloshed, tipsy,
buzzed, under the weather, squiffy, snockered, ripped polluted, lubricated, dipso, out of business,
decimated, obfuscated, crapulent, off the wagon, on a tear, drunk as a skunk, in his/her cups, petrified, groggy, ossified.

I may have missed a few- any others?
wasted, hammered, off his/her tits, pissed
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Various terms for money

Coin of the realm, dinero, Benjamins, plunder, lucre, filthy lucre, moola, guineas, frog skins, buckaroos, bucks,
wampum, calms, simoleons, chump change, banknotes, doubloons, bacon, dead presidents, pesos, nuggets,
lettuce, cabbage, greenbacks, dough, biscuits, ducats, sheckles, bones, scratch, sawbucks, spondulix.

and more?
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Some eponyymous words

Graham cracker- named after Sylvester Graham, a reverend who promoted the vegetarian diet and the firm bread of coarsely-ground flour.

Wellington boots- At some point in the early 1800s Arthur Wellesley, then Viscount Wellington, asked his shoemaker, Mr George Hoby of St James's Street, London,
to make a boot which was easier to wear with the new trousers. ... They became known as 'Wellingtons'.

Mesmerize- the word mesmerize comes from the name of an Austrian physician. Friedrich Anton Mesmer was a proponent of mesmerism, a kind of hypnotism that involves animal magnetism, a special power one holds over others. Later, the term came to mean magnetic charm or sex appeal in general.

Raglan sleeves- A sleeve that extends all the way to the neck with a slanted seam from the armpit to the neck or an article of clothing with such sleeves. Fitzroy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788-1855), born in Badminton, aide-de-camp of Wellington and later commander of Lord Cardigan who led the famous Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War. Raglan lost his arm in battle and the raglan sleeve was probably named after him for an adaptation of his coat to accommodate his missing arm.

More?
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
OMG- disgusting foods

Offal- entrails and internal organs used for food.

Sweetbreads- the thymus gland (usually) prepared as food.

Rocky Mountain oysters- (usually) bull testicles, often skinned, battered and deep fried.

Haggis- a savory pudding of sheep heart, liver and lungs mixrd with fat, oatmeal and seasonings then stuffed into the animals stomach.

Balut- fertalized developing egg embryo boiled and eaten in the shell.

Chitterlings- dish made from intestines of a hog.

Casu martzu (sardinian) rotten, putrid, cheese containing live maggots.

Menudo- a cow's stomach in a broth- so many special recipe.

Kopi Luwak- (civit coffee)- partly digested coffee berries which were eaten and then defecated by the Asian palm civit.

Others, favorites?
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
OMG- disgusting foods

Offal- entrails and internal organs used for food.

Sweetbreads- the thymus gland (usually) prepared as food.

Rocky Mountain oysters- (usually) bull testicles, often skinned, battered and deep fried.

Haggis- a savory pudding of sheep heart, liver and lungs mixrd with fat, oatmeal and seasonings then stuffed into the animals stomach.

Balut- fertalized developing egg embryo boiled and eaten in the shell.

Chitterlings- dish made from intestines of a hog.

Casu martzu (sardinian) rotten, putrid, cheese containing live maggots.

Menudo- a cow's stomach in a broth- so many special recipe.

Kopi Luwak- (civit coffee)- partly digested coffee berries which were eaten and then defecated by the Asian palm civit.

Others, favorites?
You beat me to the table (toilet) on Casu Martzu. But you overlooked another disgusting food from Italy = Tripe. Actually, tripe is a specific type of Offal. My paternal grandma served this to us once. Never again, thank you.

Tripe is a type of (edible) lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle, pig and sheep. Beef tripe is typically from linings of first 2 or 3 stomachs.


Difficult to believe both these disgusting delicacies are from the same people who brought us pizza, Italian sausage, spaghetti and other pasta.
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
You beat me to the table (toilet) on Casu Martzu. But you overlooked another disgusting food from Italy = Tripe. Actually, tripe is a specific type of Offal. My paternal grandma served this to us once. Never again, thank you.

Tripe is a type of (edible) lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle, pig and sheep. Beef tripe is typically from linings of first 2 or 3 stomachs.


Difficult to believe both these disgusting delicacies are from the same people who brought us pizza, Italian sausage, spaghetti and other pasta.

There was something about this on that Stanley Tucci show about Italy. There was one region (once poor) that developed a cuisine using the offal. A modern restaurant there has a menu using only those parts.

Also, maybe I should not have used the word "disgusting". Not long ago, I had escargot for the first time, and it
was yummy. A few years ago, I saw some guy on TV talking about his museum of disgusting foods (Sweden) Along with
some really repelling foods, root beer was on the list as being despised outside of the US.
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
"Laws and Principles"

Parkenson's Law
- Work expands to fill the time allotted (there are other Parkenson laws as well).

Peter Principle- Members of a hierarchy contiue to be promoted until they reach a level of incompetence.

Murphy's Law- Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong (many variations to this).

Hobson's Choice- Is really, no choice at all, sort of like- you can go to the dance with your cousin Guido,
or you can stay home and clean the kitchen.

Shirky Principle- Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution.

Sturgeon's Law- 90% of everything is crap.

Occam's Razor- Ocham's razor, or the principle of parsimony or law of parsimony is the problem-solving principle that
"entities should not be multiplied without necessity", or more simply, the simplest explanation is usually the right one.
 
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SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
Peter Principle- Members of a hierarchy contiue to be promoted until they reach a level of incompetence.

Murphy's Law- Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong (many variations to this).
Related to The Peter Principle:

The Dilbert Principle: Incompetent employees are promoted to the position where they can do the least damage = management.

My favorite of the Laws of Murphy is his Law of Selective Gravity: An object will fall so as to do the most damage.

This is aka The Buttered-Side Down Principle. Jenning's Corollary to Murphy's Law of Selective Gravity: The chance of the bread falling with the buttered side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.

Extended Murphy's list:

An apparent contradiction to the Murphy's Law of Selective Gravity arises from the observation that cats always land on their feet. This appears to violate the buttered side down principle. This gives rise to the Buttered Cat Paradox.
Buttered_cat.png
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Related to The Peter Principle:

The Dilbert Principle: Incompetent employees are promoted to the position where they can do the least damage = management.

My favorite of the Laws of Murphy is his Law of Selective Gravity: An object will fall so as to do the most damage.

This is aka The Buttered-Side Down Principle. Jenning's Corollary to Murphy's Law of Selective Gravity: The chance of the bread falling with the buttered side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.

Extended Murphy's list:

An apparent contradiction to the Murphy's Law of Selective Gravity arises from the observation that cats always land on their feet. This appears to violate the buttered side down principle. This gives rise to the Buttered Cat Paradox.
Buttered_cat.png

We have lots of squirrels in our backyard, and was wondering what would happen
if one fell from the treetop. Looked it up and it seems they are (similar to cats) able to survive
a fall where they reach "terminal velocity". My dog would like them with butter.
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
We have lots of squirrels in our backyard, and was wondering what would happen
if one fell from the treetop. Looked it up and it seems they are (similar to cats) able to survive
a fall where they reach "terminal velocity". My dog would like them with butter.
Yeah, squirrels do have the same superpower as felines. That ability is highlighted in this very creative & entertaining FB presentation of a Squirrel Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course.

(This video also appears on YT on the Mark Rober channel and elsewhere)

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3291871824156895&id=494774490533323

maxresdefault.jpg


squirrel-course-body-image-1.png
 
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SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
@Bagumbawalla

Loved Mark Rober's explanation of predictive squirrel math in their superpower ability to land unscathed from a fall or from a squirrel obstacle course catapult launch.

Mark Rober is/was a NASA engineer.
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Yeah, squirrels do have the same superpower as felines. That ability is highlighted in this very creative & entertaining FB presentation of a Squirrel Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course.

(This video also appears on YT on the Mark Rober channel and elsewhere)

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3291871824156895&id=494774490533323

maxresdefault.jpg


squirrel-course-body-image-1.png

From a distance, squirrels seem almost cute, but close up they can be menacing.
I used to live in an apartment complex with lots of squirrels, but no oak trees/acorns-
so when I played tennis at the university, I would bring back some acorns from the trees, there,
and stick them in the bark of the palm trees in the quad area. the squirrels were fond of the acorns and some of the other
apartment dwellers began feeding them by hand. Big mistake. The squirels became demanding
and would chase after residents and claw at their pants.

I came home on day and all the squirrels were gone. Because of complaints, the manager captured the frightening
beasts and drove them out to the edge of town.
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
I somehow am possessed to start this. A little tacky, I know ;)

It will give me the chance to further enhance my vocabulary, and mostly I'm looking for terms that are used in tennis articles. One of my aspirations is to become a writer of some sort for a tennis magazine or site.

This will also give the other youngins a chance to go beyond their new age talk, and give you old guys out there the chance to show off your knowledge.

I'll start this thing off with the word of today --- tempestuous

Meaning: adj. tumultuous; stormy; as if showing violent anger

Sentence: Ilie Nastase was talented, tempestous, and outrageous.

Thanks for your participation in this thread,
Ralph


Here are a few words you might use instead of win or winning.

Triumph, prevail, vanquish, smash, crush, drub, escape defeat, victory, accomplishment, success,
thrash, master, walkover, take the spoils, overwhelm, stun, shock, subdue, outlast, conquer, edge, upset, outshine,
overpower, defeat, annihilate, bring home the bacon, eclipse, game-set-match, dominate, take the upperhand.

And more?
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Or for losing

Fizzle, meet with disaster, fail, flounder, be humbled, suffer (a loss), kiss goodbye, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory,
fail, come in second best, meet one's waterloo, capitulate, bow out, flop, fall short, go down swinging,
meet with disaster, go up in smoke, be humbled, bested, outmatched, thrashed thwarted, foiled, toast, played out, bankrupt, DOA,
in dire straits, kaput, scuttled, snookered, baffled, nullified, flunked out, flummoxed, also ran.

And more?
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Some terms from myth, legend

Tantalize
- to torment, tease, tempt. In Greek myth Tantalus was punished by being buried to his neck in a pool of water- that would recede if he tried to drink.

Achilies heel- the weakness in an otherwise strong person/personality- in stories, Thetis, Achilies mother dipped hin, as a baby int the rive Styx to make him invulnerable
but the heel where he was held did not get immersed and became vulnerable- like Kryptonite to Superman.

Judas goat- a goat trained to lead othr animals to slaughter- or any person who does the same.

Sacpegoat- a goat ceremoniously endowed with the sins of the community and released into the wilderness- someone who is blamed, takes the blame, for the "sins" of others.

Sword of Damocles- when Damoclese spoke in extravagant terms of his sovereign's happiness and power, Dionysius invited him to a sumptuous banquet and seated him beneath a naked sword
that was suspended from the ceiling by a single thread- to show him what such a position of responsibility was really like- hence- the burdon of responsibility/power.
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Just for fun- match word to definition.

1. Rodomontade........................................................A. Unable to keep still from boredom or impatience.

2. Jonquil.......................................................................B. Relating to a style of fiction writing that is episodic, with a roguish hero.

3. Ablution....................................................................C. Boastful, inflated talk or behavior.

4. Tetragrammaton.....................................................D. Pleasant, interesting, having a strong, pleasant taste.

5. Seraph.........................................................................E. The act of washing oneself.

6. Picaresque.................................................................F.The unspoken name of God.

7. Mimesis......................................................................G. Art imitating life.

8. Restive.........................................................................H. A high ranking angel.

9. Sapid............................................................................I. Shrew or harridan.

10. Termagant................................................................J. A kind of daffodil.
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
Just for fun- match word to definition.

1. Rodomontade........................................................A. Unable to keep still from boredom or impatience.

2. Jonquil.......................................................................B. Relating to a style of fiction writing that is episodic, with a roguish hero.

3. Ablution....................................................................C. Boastful, inflated talk or behavior.

4. Tetragrammaton.....................................................D. Pleasant, interesting, having a strong, pleasant taste.

5. Seraph.........................................................................E. The act of washing oneself.

6. Picaresque.................................................................F.The unspoken name of God.

7. Mimesis......................................................................G. Art imitating life.

8. Restive.........................................................................H. A high ranking angel.

9. Sapid............................................................................I. Shrew or harridan.

10. Termagant................................................................J. A kind of daffodil.
Sadist!

This one's not fun at all. Now I just feel stoopid & am questioning my worth as a human "bean".
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Here are the words used in sentences.

A. The horses smelled smoke and became restive in their stalls.

B. Don Quixote is an example of a picaresque tale.

C. The annoying party guest was full of gin and rodomontade.

D. The sapid nut bread was soon sold out.

E. The doorbell chimed just as he began his morning ablutions.

F. The Hebrew name for God, Tetragrammaton, can be written with just four letters.

G. Writers use words to create a mimesis of actual life, much like the myth of Pygmalion.

H. In Poe's famous poem, Annabel Lee was carried away by a winged seraph from heaven.

I. We were awakened by the shouting of the drunken husband and his termagant wife.

J. The woman received a gift of buttercups, daffodils, and jonquils.
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
Here are the words used in sentences.

A. The horses smelled smoke and became restive in their stalls.

B. Don Quixote is an example of a picaresque tale.

C. The annoying party guest was full of gin and rodomontade.

D. The sapid nut bread was soon sold out.

E. The doorbell chimed just as he began his morning ablutions.

F. The Hebrew name for God, Tetragrammaton, can be written with just four letters.

G. Writers use words to create a mimesis of actual life, much like the myth of Pygmalion.

H. In Poe's famous poem, Annabel Lee was carried away by a winged seraph from heaven.

I. We were awakened by the shouting of the drunken husband and his termagant wife.

J. The woman received a gift of buttercups, daffodils, and jonquils.
That helps. Feeling somewhat less mentally deficient. 5 words now look more familiar (when) used in context. Several others, unfamiliar but easily gleaned from they way they are used.
 

WildVolley

Legend
Just for fun- match word to definition.

1. Rodomontade........................................................A. Unable to keep still from boredom or impatience.

2. Jonquil.......................................................................B. Relating to a style of fiction writing that is episodic, with a roguish hero.

3. Ablution....................................................................C. Boastful, inflated talk or behavior.

4. Tetragrammaton.....................................................D. Pleasant, interesting, having a strong, pleasant taste.

5. Seraph.........................................................................E. The act of washing oneself.

6. Picaresque.................................................................F.The unspoken name of God.

7. Mimesis......................................................................G. Art imitating life.

8. Restive.........................................................................H. A high ranking angel.

9. Sapid............................................................................I. Shrew or harridan.

10. Termagant................................................................J. A kind of daffodil.

Nice. That was tough. I didn't know Jonquil, Sapid, or Picaresque.
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
In the old days when travel by ocean liner was common
the wealthier individuals packed their belongings in a portmanteau-
basically, a large chest/trunk that opened up into two equal halves-
usually with drawers on one side and hangers on the other.

Nowdays, a portmanteau is the combining of two words to make a new
"blended" word.

Brexit, Brangelina, cyborg, froyo, motel, Bollywood, dramedy, cockapoo.

I'm sure there are better examples out there???

Also, nadir (and zenith) might be more familiar to anyone working for NASA.
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Fill in the blanks with a word from the list- or make up your own

Glenda Guile stood near the --------- guarding the sheer ---------- that plunged down to a -------- sea of icy blue
just off the coast of Nuevo Bamboo. Here she could practice her battery operated -------- in peace, far from the -------
sensitive neighbors in her -------- high-rise- free from the ----------- stress of city life where she worked nights
as an --------- in a local --------- so that she could afford tuition and --------- at the college of arts where she hoped one day to become
a -------- and and form her own -------- of like-minded artists.

List of words- Theremin, tenement, palisades, overwhelming, ensemble, ecdysiast, escarpment, matriculate, pellucid, thespian. cabaret, acutely
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Words that have lesser known meanings

Nice- can mean pleasant, but also, precise- a nice distinction.

Green- can mean a color, or eco-friendly, but also, inexperienced.

Purple- can mean a color, but also (as in purple prose), overly flowery.

Blue- also a color can mean sad or risqué.

Orient- can refer to part of the world, or it can mean to position or align.

Bank- can mean a financial institution, the side of a river, or to rely on.

Man- can be a person, or to operate (as a ship).

Can you come up with others?
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
a few more

League- could mean a group of people getting together for a particular purpose- or a unit of distance- generally 3 miles.

Keen- can mean acute or sharp- but also a loud wordless wailing.

Fantastic- can mean great, extraordinary- but also made up, imagined.

Drift- can mean to flow by or be scattered by the wind- but can also mean a general intention or meaning, as in "get my drift"
 
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Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
The names of salads, I suppose that is vocabulary- why not?

Caprese salad
- Yummy- green white and red, the colors of the Italian flag. alternating tomatoes, mozzarella and basil with dressing that may include balsamic vinegar, pesto, olive oil.

Crab Louie- Crab meat, hard boiled eggs, tomato, asparagus, iceburg lettuce and a dressing of mayonnaise and chili sauce. Yum.

Salade Nicoise- Small red potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, green beans, anchovies, tuna, capers, olives herbs... very good.

Add your own favorite salad!
 
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