“Rumplestiltskin” of Grimms’ Fairy Tales comes to mind.

I think of the phrase, “in the fell clutch of circumstance” from the poem, Invictus. And then of the cruel association with pelt, the noun.

Very amusing, bbeeton.

I am reminded of the Chinese expression, “playing the lute to the cow.”

I was a little surprised to find no comments on irredenta or closely related word revanchist in view of Putin’s “justification” for his invasion of Ukraine.

China is carefully weighing its irredentist claim to Taiwan in
light of the conflict.

Philopatry has no antonym, at least that I can find. What about the species that leave home never to return?

...and looking ahead to a bright future with a hop, skip,and a geological jump we land on the Post Anthropocene. Whoops! Nobody home.

Mr. Hudson:

So sorry to learn of Perry’s passing. You could feel his warmth
through cyberspace. He added a great deal to our discussions,
and he will be missed.

MTC

According to a quick online search, “verily” is used in 113 Verses in 22 Books of the Bible. Not surprising, given that the Bible is supposed to be the word of God. I know there are or at least have been (Perry, in particular) some Biblical scholars who frequent this site. Perhaps one among them wou...

And there on Mount Rushmore, beaming back at us in freshly chiseled granite, our very own Misologist in Chief!

“(H)eathen [refers] to uncivilized idolaters, such as African tribes.”

Channel Kipling much?

In the morphology of leaves, "acuminate" is less pointed than "acicular" which means needle-like. For a complete list of leaf (or leaflet) shapes including acuminate and acicular see: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_leaf_morphology#List_of_leaf_.28or_leaflet.29_shapes...

Like the head of a certain American president...

Recrudescence of a revenant?

Judges aren't the only ones who recuse themselves because of conflicts of interest. Members of the Executive Branch do too. It has been suggested (only half seriously) that Trump recuse himself from the presidency because of the many conflicts of interest his global business interests create. Trump'...

"We are happy that Monroe Thomas Clewis suggested this bizarre item...."

Thanks. I specialize in bizarre items. I've been in deep space for some time now, but my eccentric orbit has finally swung me back toward Planet Good Word.

MTC