Search found 553 matches

by bbeeton
Fri Mar 22, 2024 11:55 am
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Estimable
Replies: 10
Views: 3058

Re: Estimable

Oh, I use that word quite frequently, but I've always thought it would be spelled "squush". (I've never looked it up.) And in the cleanup project that currently occupies much of my time, I'm finding entirely too many things that are squushy from neglect.
by bbeeton
Thu Mar 21, 2024 1:54 pm
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Gargantuan
Replies: 3
Views: 189

Re: Gargantuan

Gargantua reminds me of Pantagruel, a fondly remembered restaurant that formerly existed on the St. Lawrence shore of the Gaspé Peninsula. The owner, a native of France, was delighted to hear from my husband a continental, rather than Québécois, accent. The food and service were both excellent, and ...
by bbeeton
Thu Mar 21, 2024 1:03 pm
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Eccentric
Replies: 5
Views: 2835

Re: Eccentric

Well, David, my "splurges" have consisted mostly of books (some really gorgeous productions from private presses), travel (to the annual meeting of the user group I'm involved in, to an undeveloped island on the Georgia coast, and "educational" jaunts to places or on subjects I w...
by bbeeton
Wed Mar 20, 2024 9:18 pm
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Eccentric
Replies: 5
Views: 2835

Re: Eccentric

Ah, I've always wanted to have just enough money to be considered eccentric rather than crazy.
by bbeeton
Wed Mar 20, 2024 9:09 pm
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Omnibus
Replies: 2
Views: 2535

Re: Omnibus

The whole word is used as a noun only in reference to a collection of previously published works
Oh no! Flanders and Swann have a different idea, as realized in their
song "A Transport of Delight". Listen to it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7wnUIRpqGg
by bbeeton
Tue Mar 19, 2024 12:36 am
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Inosculate
Replies: 3
Views: 7607

Re: Inosculate

My immediate reaction to this was that the "in-" meant "not", as in infrequent or inconvenient, but those are adjectives and inosculate is a verb. Are there any exceptions to this dichotomy?
by bbeeton
Sun Mar 17, 2024 10:42 pm
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Congratulate
Replies: 2
Views: 3102

Re: Congratulate

At the end of my college years, a good friend had a succinct reaction: "You're congraduated!"
by bbeeton
Fri Feb 09, 2024 10:34 pm
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Saltate
Replies: 2
Views: 178

Re: Saltate

So the little "leaf devils" that one sees spinning on city streets on breezy fall days are saltating. Is a waterspout an extra-large example of this phenomenon? The most memorable instance I've ever witnessed occurred when driving past a mint field near the Oregon coast. In the middle of t...
by bbeeton
Thu Feb 08, 2024 6:50 pm
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Pabulum
Replies: 4
Views: 3283

Re: Pabulum

Debby, Beware of the TLA (three-letter acronym) or FLA (four-letter acronym, although "five" has been suggested). It's simple -- there are just too many acronyms; one of the horrors of modern connected life.
by bbeeton
Mon Feb 05, 2024 9:44 pm
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: baste
Replies: 1
Views: 584

baste

This term surfaced in the discussion about "tack". Baste (verb), in sewing, is to apply long loose stitches to hold the fabric in place until the final seam has been stitched. The noun is "basting". In cooking, it's applying a liquid or sauce to a food item, usually meat, while c...
by bbeeton
Mon Feb 05, 2024 8:49 pm
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Malleable
Replies: 7
Views: 3823

Re: Malleable

It's becoming harder and harder to determine the "true facts". That's what a good education helps with -- teaching one to think. Maybe this was easier in the last century, even with its bias against female scientists, but I haven't given up my belief that education is still valuable, even ...
by bbeeton
Mon Feb 05, 2024 8:40 pm
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: Snollygoster
Replies: 5
Views: 10609

Re: Snollygoster

As I grew up in Baltimore, my older sister teased me with tales of the Snallygaster that allegedly inhabited Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland. The Snallygaster is indeed a creature of Maryland folklore (see "The Unsettling Legend of Maryland’s Native Cryptid, the Snallygaster" at https:...
by bbeeton
Sat Feb 03, 2024 10:38 am
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: tack
Replies: 4
Views: 1333

Re: tack

Nope. "Multi-tacking" would presume that each stitch is solidly tied off. Basting implies that the thread is free to be pulled out completely from any point along the seam. Basting is often used as a temporary measure to fix a difficult join into place before putting in the final seam; tha...
by bbeeton
Fri Feb 02, 2024 9:46 am
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: tack
Replies: 4
Views: 1333

Re: tack

"Tack", in sewing, is one stitch tied off at a single point. Baste is continuous. Tacks might be used to stabilize trouser cuffs, for example.
by bbeeton
Thu Feb 01, 2024 11:32 pm
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: tack
Replies: 4
Views: 1333

tack

A nice short word that probably has too many meanings for the Doctor to want to tackle it. 1. As a verb, to attach or fasten; as a noun, the object used to make the fastening; generally associated with woodworking. A tack in sewing is also a quick attachment. 2. In sailing, the direction of the vess...

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