SCRY

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Dr. Goodword
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SCRY

Postby Dr. Goodword » Thu Apr 05, 2007 11:22 pm

• scry •

Pronunciation: skrai • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Verb, intransitive

Meaning: To divine by gazing into something transparent or reflective: water, crystal ball, mirror, etc.

Notes: You may not recognize this verb because its inflectional forms are so different from its basic form: scries (3rd person), scried (past participle and tense) but scrying (present participle) and scryer "fortune-teller, crystal-gazer".

In Play: Today's word comes in handy around tax time
(April 15 in the US) or any similar time when the source of things becomes murky: "We owe no taxes? What were you scrying in when you came up with these figures?" However, this word is useful any time you wish to indicate a wildly wrong guess without having to enunciate fortune-telling or crystal-ball gazing: "Umberto, you were scrying in a cracked crystal when you came up with the idea that Barbie Dahl would be interested in going out with you."

Word History: Today's Good Word is a truncation of the initial syllable (aphesis) of descry "to perceive, catch sight of" from Old French descrier "to call, cry out". Apparently in English it was confused with describe and/or descrive "to write out" to reach its current meaning before the aphesis. The root of descrier comes from Vulgar (street) Latin critare, the derivative of Latin quiritare "to cry out". The eponym of this word is thought to be Quirites, public officers to whom one would 'cry out' in times of need. However, this connection requires at best a great stretch of imagination.
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sluggo
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Re: SCRY

Postby sluggo » Sat Apr 07, 2007 1:19 pm

...
Meaning: To divine by gazing into something transparent or reflective: water, crystal ball, mirror, etc.
Hence the maxim: "No use scrying over spilled milk"
(corruption of "No! you scrying over spilled milk?")

Hey c'mon puns crew, this one just cries out...
Stop! Murder us not, tonsured rumpots! Knife no one, fink!

Perry
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Postby Perry » Sat Apr 07, 2007 9:16 pm

Hey c'mon puns crew, this one just cries out...
I thought that is scried out myself.
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
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gailr
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Postby gailr » Sat Apr 07, 2007 10:22 pm

Hence the maxim: "No use scrying over spilled milk"
(corruption of "No! you scrying over spilled milk?")
The divining wand in hand is placed in the middle of the tripod's brass legs.
With milk he anoints the hem of his robe and foot.
―Nostrumdamos, 1555

-gailr
heh heh heh

skinem
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Postby skinem » Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:11 pm

The divining wand in hand is placed in the middle of the tripod's brass legs.
With milk he anoints the hem of his robe and foot.
―Nostrumdamos, 1555

-gailr
heh heh heh
Sounds like a dowser...


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