Puzzles, posts, news and general word-chat.
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JAROVISE - to expose germinating seeds to low temperatures [Backformation of jarovisation, from Russian yarovizátsiya, via yarov - the convert into springtime, or vernalise] Northern European farmers may need to jarovise certain crops to trigger growth]
MONASTERY - a basic two-step, bending your knees with each foot tap, and turning your knee inward, similar to a chicken dance but with a bouncier feel; also a mono. [After former St Louis venue, Club Monastery] Beyond the monk's retreat, can you conjure a monastery clue with the dance as your destination?
DWALE - another name for belladonna - or deadly nightshade - used in calibrated doses as a pre-ether anaesthetic (or poison!) [From Middle English meaning stupor, via Old Norse dvala - sleep] To prep for surgery, mediaeval patients would inhale a wad of dwale.
URANOMANIA - delusion that one is a god [From Greek urano- (heavens) + -mania (fixation)] Some world leaders live with uranomania.
DIGITAL ASBESTOS - irretractable effects and consequence of AI within human learning and communication [Modern slang] ChatGPT, Google Overview and other active bots are deepening the potential crisis of digital asbestos.
SCAGLIOLA [skall-LOLL-yee-ah] - composite of glue, pigments and plaster of Paris used to mimic marble or other stone. [From Italian scaglia, or chips] Scagliola is a crafty masonic means of achieving budgetary grandeur.
MARWAT - traditional Arnhem Land paintbrush derived from human hair [From marawat in the local language, literally 'hair of the head'] The marwat is a single stick with hair strands secured by vegetable fibre or short twig.
ROCHAMBEAU [roh-SHAM-boh] - alternative name for rock-paper-scissors [Named after French officer Count Rochambeau who allegedly played the game during the American Revolutionary War] In Japan, Rochambeau offers the options of slug, frog and snake
SEROTINY [sair-ROT-uh-nee] seed dispersal typically triggered by fire or dramatic temperature shift [From Latin, serotinus coming late, linked to sero, late - a cousin of soiree] Global warming has meddled with a forest's serotiny.
PRANDICLE - light meal; snack [Via Latin prandium (luncheon) + -culum (-cule)] Your mid-afternoon cuppa and cake can now be called a prandicle.
KINBAKU - Japanese style of bondage involving intricate ropework [Literally "tight binding" in Japanese.] For an elegant-poetic depiction of kinbaku, watch the closing scenes of No Cure For Love, the duet sung by Rowena Wise and Didirri.
PUGACHEV'S COBRA - aerobatic manoeuvre where a jet lifts its nose at moderate speed, momentarily stalling the craft. [Named after Viktor Pugachev, a Soviet pilot to popularise the move] In Sweden, Pugachev's cobra is dubbed a "kort parad" - or short parry
CHOUSINGHA - the four-horned antelope of India. [From Hindi, literally 'four horns'] Barely bigger than a greyhound, and just as light, the chousinga ranks among Asia's smallest bovids.
PANCHRESTON [pan-KREST-on] - an oversimplistic thesis seeking to cover all possible variations [From Greek: panchrestos, meaning 'good for all work', from pan-plus chrestos: useful] More pejorative than praiseworthy, the panchreston is usually so broad as to be useless.
RUMSPRINGA - period among some Amish people where a teen must choose between baptism or leaving the community [Via Pennsylvanian German, where "rumspringe" means to leap about.] For most Amish teens, the rumspringa dilemma equates to veneration versus wild oats propagation.
JENTACULAR - relating to breakfast, especially one taken early [From Latin ientaculim: “breakfast (particularly taken right after getting up)”] Prandial is the dinner equivalent to breakfast's jentacular.
PLOT ARMOUR - the figurative protection a key story character enjoys owing their importance to the narrative [Fanfic slang] Batman as much as The Joker wield the benefit of plot armour.
SKABENGA - hooligan; gangster; thug [From Zulu isigebengu: bandit, criminal] Cape Town residents are wary of any skabenga approaching their car at traffic lights.
VANTAGE LOAF - the 13th item in a baker's dozen - or any bonus addition [Shortening of ad/vantage + loaf] An extra roti added to a large takeaway order is a vantage loaf.
TURVEYDROP - a person obsessed with deportment, often at the expense of anything else [From Prince Turveydrop, the dancing tutor in Dickens' Bleak House] The art of making an entrance is a Turveydrop's principal focus.
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