posted
By the way, I haven't been able to find any confirmation of "aplomb" as an adjective, but I'm willing to take Zalmoxis' word for it.
Posts: 1127 | Registered: Aug 2000
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1865 Gayworthys II. 29 Her ordinary aplomb fashion of speech.
Okay, so it's a quasi-adjective. What does that mean? How can something be a quasi- part of speech? Does it mean that you can use it that way but it's dubious usage, something to be frowned upon? Should I feel unsure and uneasy even guilty about using it?
See this is what comes of using the OED. Much better to avoid it.
impromptu \im-PRAHMP-too or im-PRAHMP-tyoo\ (adjective) 1 : made, done, or formed on the spur of the moment : improvised 2 : composed or uttered without previous preparation : extemporaneous Posts: 1127 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Rosetta stone \roh-ZEH-tuh-stohn\ (noun) 1 : a black basalt stone found in 1799 that bears an inscription in hieroglyphics, demotic characters, and Greek and is celebrated for having given the first clue to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics 2 : one that gives a clue to understanding Posts: 1127 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
A local resident was injured today at the local shopping mall. Apparently, while shopping at the Discovery Channel store, a 300lbs. replica of the Rosetta Stone slipped and fell from it's display area. The shopper was hospitalized and will be released within the week.
Posts: 17 | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
"Attorneys for the store owner admitted that the woman is likely to require cosmetic surgery to remove the lasting impressions that the incident made upon her."
Anyway, here's my submission:
Silverblue Sun provided us with a post that was the Rosetta Stone needed to aid in deciphering all those previous Thor posts.
posted
He looked deep into her eyes. She was hot. Wore a black leather jacket. Thin cause she smoked so many Gauloise Blondes. And a mind that would not quit. A grad student in linguistics. Undergrad in comp lit AND classics from UC Santa Cruz. Could wrap her tongue and throat around any sound or syllable from Farsi to Tagalog.
He leaned in a little closer. "Jenny," he whispered. "Will you be my personal Rosetta Stone?"
She laughed. Well, snorted really. "How long did it take you to come up with that one?"
A pause. He squirmed. It had been completely impromptu. Had popped into his head and come out of his mouth like he was expecting some zenith of a moment. "Damn," he thought. "Where's the rewind?"
"No I will most emphatically not be your personal Rostta Stone," she said. "I will not be your personal anything. This relationship will not be based on ownership. You know how I feel about..."
He didn't hear the rest of what she said because he was counting her tobacco-stained teeth.
posted
Dobie's benefic influence spreads like wildfire through a lush grashland; like floods along the Mighty Mississippi; like an avalanche in the Alps;...
posted
Lush things don't tend to catch fire very easily, y'know. Indeed, one might say that as far as fire safety is concerned, lushness is quite benefic.
conquian \KONG-kee-un\ (noun) : a card game for two played with 40 cards from which all games of rummy developed Posts: 1127 | Registered: Aug 2000
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eccentric \ik-SEN-trik or ek-SEN-trik\ (adjective) 1 a : not of the usual or normal kind b : acting or thinking in an unusual way 2 : deviating from a circular path : especially, elliptical Posts: 1127 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
I miss having eccentric friends who play Quidditch every month and have 11-inch Jedi braids on an otherwise missionary haircut.
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logomachy \loh-GAH-muh-kee\ (noun) 1 : a dispute over or about words 2 : a controversy marked by verbiage Posts: 1127 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
Prince (aka "the artist," "the artist formerly known as 'Prince'," and "Symbol") prompted a logomachy when he changed his name to a logo. The entire episode left most music fans feeling logy. Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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prototype \PROH-tuh-type\ (noun) 1 : an original model on which something is patterned : archetype 2 : an individual that exhibits the essential features of a later type 3 : a first full-scale and usually functional form of a new type or design of a construction (as an airplane) Posts: 1127 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
The "Word of the Day" thread was the prototype for twelve page subjects, later surpassed by the latest Homosexuality thread.
Posts: 11 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Sorry I'm late, and thaks Perelandra for covering for me.
The Word of the Day for February 8 is:
scission \SIH-zhun\ (noun) 1 : a division or split in a group or union : schism 2 : an action or process of cutting, dividing, or splitting : the state of being cut, divided, or split
posted
The nubile sirens obnubilated Ulysses's mind, but the sirens weren't able to obfuscate his crew because their ears were plugged up, and so his ship remained obdurate to their enchanting song.
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posted
The professor could so obnubilate the mind of any listener that he was often asked to assist local surgeons in cases where the patient was unable to tolerate anesthesia. After one unlucky freshman failed to wake from his lecture-induced coma, the school had no choice but to sew the prof's mouth shut. Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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flexuous \FLEK-shuh-wus\ (adjective) 1 : having curves, turns, or windings 2 : lithe or fluid in action or movement Posts: 1127 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
The flexuous line of people behaved more like a cohesive organism than a gathering of individuals.
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