DISBOSOM

[Dr. Goodword]

• disbosom •

Pronunciation: dis-bU-zêm • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Verb, transitive

Meaning: To confess, admit, to unburden oneself, release pent-up feelings (to someone).

Notes: Because the mother's breast is associated with closeness and warmth, we have enjoyed bosom friends and bosom buddies for ages. The lovely verb that goes along with these compounds has, however, almost dropped from the English vocabulary. Even though bosom is associated more often with women now, it fits both men and women in its metaphorical sense of a comfort zone, as in the metaphor, "to rest in the bosom of Abraham". The antonym of this word, embosom, refers to clasping to any chest or simply to cherish, as to embosom the love of your life forever.

In Play: Disbosom might be thought of as a more personal, even intimate way of expressing confession: "After a few martinis at the club, Lance Boyle tends to disbosom his problems with whomever he happens to be drinking with." However, remember that the bosom is a comfort zone, so today's Good Word may be used in a wide assortment of metaphorical senses: "Justin Thyme was encouraged at hearing the first robin of spring disbosoming her very soul to the rising sun from the oak tree outside his window."

Word History: Although traces of today's Good Word are found in many Germanic languages, its exact origin remains rather mysterious. We find it as Busen in German and boezem in Dutch. It probably developed from the Proto-Indo-European base bhou(s)- "to grow, swell", seen in the root of Russian razbuxanie "swelling". (We have long passed the point where I should have disbosomed my warmest gratitude to Paul Ogden, Luciano Eduardo de Oliveira, and Mary Jane Stoneburg for their much appreciated voluntary services as editors of this series. Any errors remaining after their scrutiny are, of course, my responsibility alone.)

[Brigadininkas]

dis-bosom has a root which is surprisingly similiar to a rarer lithuanian word "apsi-buzojes".

Apsibuzojes - someone is soil/dirty with swill, usually on mouth and chest. It could be used to describe a toddler all wet on face (chin) from eating liquid food.

Disbosom means exactly oposite to apsibuzojes, and oposite meaning is achieved via prefix. "Apsi" is prefix.
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[skinem]

I am SO glad this doesn't mean what it sounds like...

[Perry]

For some reason, when I read Brigadininkas posts, I am reminded of the cliche of everything tasting like chicken.

[Slava]

For some reason, when I read Brigadininkas posts, I am reminded of the cliche of everything tasting like chicken.

Americans eat so much chicken breast that the rest of the world gets the other parts as "aid." After the fall of the Soviet Union, so many chicken legs and thighs were shipped in that they came to be called "Bush Legs."

[LukeJavan8]

Wow, another old thread, but funny: "bush legs"

Actually I prefer the dark meat.