Word of the Day

[D. Allan]

bulimia (boo-LIM-ee-uh, byoo-) noun

1. Excessive or insatiable appetite.

2. An emotional disorder marked by bouts of overeating followed by purging, by means of self-induced vomiting, laxatives, etc.

[From New Latin bulimia, from Greek boulimia, from bous (ox) + limos (hunger).]

[color:#CC6600] Literally speaking, bulimia is ox hunger. It's not clear whether it means one could eat like a bull, or eat a whole bull. It's also known as boulimia, bulimia nervosa, bulimarexia, binge-purge syndrome.

It's a strange world where some eat and then throw it up, while there are millions who go to bed hungry, even in a rich nation like the USA.

-Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org)

"Eating disorders are also a daily subject for viewers of the prime-time soap opera 'The Pages of Our Lives,' in which a 15-year-old ballet dancer suffers from bulimia, secretly making herself vomit after eating to keep her weight down." - Brazil Transfixed by 4th Anorexia Death; Associated Press; Dec 27, 2006.

'The Lincolnshire Ox' 1790, George Stubbs (1724 - 1806), oil on panel (The man is landed gentry and he won the ox as a result of a cockfight - there's the fowl that won it for him, in the picture.)

The Lincolnshire Ox was a prize Hereford bred at Gedney in Lincolnshire by John Bough in November 1782 and owned by John Gibbons of Long Sutton, Lincolnshire. Having grown to an enormous size by being fed solely on grass, the ox was taken to London where it was on show to paying spectators from February 1790 until it was slaughtered in April 1791. A handbill advertising the ox at the Lyceum stated:

'This uncommon Animal was bred at GEDNEY, in the county of LINCOLN, in November 1782, and fed (without oil-cake) by Mr JOHN GIBBONs of Long Sutton, in the said county: all judges agree, that he is much the LARGEST and FATTEST ever seen in England; being 19 hands high, and 3 feet 4 inches across the hips; his beef and tallow are computed to weigh 2800lb. -He is so remarkably docile, that great numbers of Ladies view him every day.' - http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/exhibitions/stubbs/otheranimals/lincolnshireox.asp

[cricket]

Just another intersting tid bit for those who might not be in the know: a person suffering from anorexia nervosa is not an anorexic. He/she would be more properly termed an anorectic. A person suffering from bulimia, however is properly termed a bulimic. (Though, honestly, I rather like the sound of "bulimectic".)

[D. Allan]

Thanks Chris, a bulimic appetite seems to come over me in the evenings after dinner. Just want to go on grazing!

[D. Allan]

cynosure (SY-nuh-shoor) noun

1. One who is the center of attraction or interest.

2. One who serves to direct or to guide.

[color:#CC6600] [Originally the term was applied to the constellation Ursa Minor or the

North Star (Polaris) that was used in navigation. The term is derived from

Latin Cynosura (Ursa Minor), from Greek kynosoura (dog's tail), ultimately

from the Indo-European root kwon- (dog) that is also the source of canine,

chenille (from French chenille: caterpillar, literally, little dog), cynic,

kennel, canary, hound, dachshund, and corgi.]

-Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org)

"If Bipasha became the cynosure of all eyes, Payal too hogged the limelight."

-Dancing Their Way to the Bank; Economic Times (New Delhi, India); Dec 31, 2006.

These aristocratic dogs, hidding their tails, are all eyes. Their master is the cynosure for their eyes.

[Amelia]

Bafflegab (baf·fle·gab) noun

Incomprehensible or pretentious verbiage.

This word hit the newspapers and public notice on 19 January 1952, the day after a plaque was presented to its inventor to mark his creation of this invaluable word. He was Milton A Smith, assistant general counsel for the US Chamber of Commerce. It was presented by Michael V DiSalle, the head of the Office of Price Stabilization, who rejoiced in the title of Price Stabilizer. (Where are people like this when you need them?)

Milton Smith coined the word in a piece he wrote for the Chamber’s weekly publication, Washington Report, which criticised the OPS for the bureaucratic language it used in one of its price orders. This was picked up by the Bellingham Herald in Washington State, which wrote an editorial about it, saying “Gobbledegook is mouth-filling, but it lacks the punch of bafflegab. The inventor of that one deserves an award.” The newspaper made sure he got one by paying for the plaque to be made and organising its presentation.

The inventor said he had spent a maddening day trying to explain the OPS order to a colleague and decided a special word was needed to describe its special blend of “incomprehensibility, ambiguity, verbosity and complexity”. He tried legalfusion, legalprate, gabalia, and burobabble before settling on bafflegab. There’s nothing mysterious about the make-up of the word, and that’s part of its appeal. But it’s the stress on those plosive consonants that really makes it fly. It might well have succeeded even without the publicity associated with the award.

At the presentation, Milton Smith was asked to briefly define his word. It was, he said succinctly, “multiloquence characterized by consummate interfusion of circumlocution or periphrasis, inscrutability, and other familiar manifestations of abstruse expatiation commonly utilized for promulgations implementing Procrustean determinations by governmental bodies.” Just so.

[D. Allan]

pilgarlic (pil-GAHR-lik) noun

A bald-headed person.

[Literally peeled garlic, from pill (to peel) + garlic.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)

Many politicians perceive that the voters won't go for a bald-headed candidate, according to John T. Capps III of (where else?) Morehead City, N.C., president and founder of Bald-Headed Men of America. Capps believes there is a cover-up in Washington where he suspects that many members of Congress are wearing rugs.

[color:#666666]"In these circles, a word like pilgarlic can come in handy. Besides being a real word in the dictionary that means a bald-headed man, pilgarlic is to bald as statesman is to political hack." Irving Long; Historic Roots The Hairiest of Political Cover-ups; Newsday (New York); Mar 12, 1995.

------------------------------------------------------

The Random House Unabridged Dictionary:

1. a person regarded with mild or pretended comtempt or pity.

2. obsolete. a baldheaded man.

[Origin: 1520–30; earlier pyllyd garleke lit., peeled garlic, orig. metaphor for a bald man, whose head is compared to a peeled garlic bulb.

—Related forms

pil·gar·lick·y, adjective

--------------------------------------------------------------

A bald-headed man; a person looked on with humorous contempt or mock pity.

It’s been a while since anyone used this word, though you’ll find it in many older works. Here’s a typical reference, from an eighteenth-century English translation of Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Rabelais: “After this, we e’en jogged to bed for that night; but the devil a bit poor pilgarlic could sleep one wink — the everlasting jingle-jangle of the bells kept me awake whether I would or no”. To speak of poor pilgarlic in terms of mock pity is typical of the word, whether you’re speaking about yourself, as here, or about somebody else. Its origin is straightforward: it’s a compound of pil, a word that later changed its spelling to the modern peel, plus garlic. So it compares a man with a bald head to a peeled head of garlic. But it wasn’t just a simple case of a ludicrous comparison; there was a strong hint about the reason why the man had gone bald — through an attack of the pox. So the contemptuous meaning arose, and was well established by the early seventeenth century. Later the link with venereal disease declined, but the adverse meaning survived. http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-pil1.htm

[D. Allan]

palimpsest \PAL-imp-sest\, noun:

1. A manuscript, usually of papyrus or parchment, on which more than one text has been written with the earlier writing incompletely erased and still visible.

2. An object or place whose older layers or aspects are apparent beneath its surface.

- www.dictionary.com

palimpsest [pal-imp-sest], noun

A parchment which has been erased and rewritten.

When writing materials like parchment were scarce and expensive, you didn’t throw them out because they had been used. Instead, you washed them with a dilute alkaline solution to weaken the hold of the ink on the paper, rubbed them down with pumice stone to clean them, and used them again (medieval monkish writing rooms sometimes had people who specialised in doing this).

This meaning is explicit in the original Greek word palimpsestos, which is a compound of palin, “again” and psestos, “rubbed smooth”. Often the erasing wasn’t altogether successful and the original writing showed through. This is why the word also has the meaning of something that has been changed but which still shows traces of its earlier form, perhaps a building which has been altered but whose original structure is still recognizable.

In modern times, historically important documents have been recovered from the half-obliterated writing in palimpsests. David Carvalho wrote in Forty Centuries of Ink: “Manuscripts of the Gospels, of the Iliad, and of works of the highest merit, often of great beauty and accuracy, are dimly seen underneath stupid sermons, and theological writings of a nature so paltry that no man living cares to read them”. A palimpsest was found in Constantinople in 1906, which contained underneath a collection of prayers the complete Greek text of several of Archimedes’ most famous mathematical writings, one of them previously believed lost.

-http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-pal1.htm

—Related forms

pal·imp·ses·tic, adjective

[D. Allan]

Jetsam (noun)

Pronunciation: ['jet-sêm]

Definition: Cargo thrown out of a ship or plane to lighten it.

Usage: In maritime law, "flotsam" refers to the remains of a shipwreck while "jetsam" refers to cargo or other material cast overboard. The two, however, are used in conjunction with each other today (flotsam and jetsam) to refer to any collection of random, useless objects.

Suggested Usage: Think of jetsam in its new sense as something of no value thrown out for whatever reason: "When the economy dipped, the company threw out employees like so much jetsam rather than bailing itself out at the banks." However, today's word is used most often after its phrasemate, "flotsam," "Hermione spends her evenings with the human flotsam and jetsam milling about the local gin joints."

Etymology: In Middle English today's word was jetteson "the act of throwing cargo overboard to lighten a ship," today's "jettison." This word comes from Anglo-Norman getteson, descended from Vulgar Latin "*iectatio(n)," the noun from *iectare "to throw." The root of this word is found in many English borrowings from Latin: "eject," "subject," "adjacent," "jet," and "jetty." "Jettison" itself also originally referred to that which is cast off a ship but, in this sense, it underwent further corruption to "jetsam," as in today's "flotsam and jetsam." (We are happy that Bob Jochums, Pharm.D. of Atlanta, Georgia, didn't jettison this word but sailed it over to us for today.)

–Dr. Language, YourDictionary.com

[olger]

Flotsam & Jetsam

[D. Allan]

Flotsam & Jetsam

[D. Allan]

"It began with the benediction of a simple town. A town so plain as to offend the eyes of those seeking the simple pleasure of passing through. It was the [color:#6600CC]paludal land that drew the only visitors: transient creatures of flight." - http://www.indie911.com/directory/prog/art-rock/tyger-that-sleeps

"It takes us hours to get there but we make it, ravenous as paludal creatures en manque d'hémoglobine [needing blood]."

- http://www.montrealmirror.com/2005/091505/resto.html

"Dissolution of these carbonates produced the argillic residue that became the primordial Cheltenham paludal mud, which ultimately altered to fireclay."

http://ccm.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/45/3/353

"...those trees, shrubs, and plants should be selected which thrive the most on marshy grounds and on the shores and paludal coasts of the sea, and which have their roots most spreading and most ramified."

- BY ABR. FREDRIK EKLUND, M.D., STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, PHYSICIAN OF THE FIRST CLASS IN THE SWEDISH ROYAL NAVY. Translated from the Archives de la Medecine Navale, vol.

xxx., no. 7, July, 1878, by A. Sibley Campbell, M.D., Augusta, Ga.

"The local people utilized their possessions offered by the environment in many ways. The paludal plants: rush, sedge, bulrush, wood and mud were used in the housekeeping as well as for industrial purposes."

http://www.museum.hu/museum/permanent_en.php?IDP=1079&ID=723

paludal (pah-LOOD-l), adjective

Of or relating to a marsh or swamp; marshy; swampy. Also something produced by a marsh or swamp.

medical: an obsolete term for "malarial".

[From Latin palūs, palūd-, marsh; see pelə-1 in Indo-European roots.]

related terms:

paludinal, adjective. living in ponds or swamps

[D. Allan]

miasma (mahy -AZ-muh, mee) noun

"The [color:#6600CC]miasmatic theory of disease held that diseases such as cholera or the Black Death were caused by a miasma (Greek language: "pollution"), a noxious form of "bad air"." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miasma_theory_of_disease

My heart slowed each time I entered the miasmal atmosphere that pervaded the novel, which is why it took so long to read. http://bookgarden.blogspot.com/2006/11/november-reading.html

The town of Dilly runs quite a mile along the shore, and has a rather imposing aspect on approaching from the sea, but a walk through its streets leaves a depressing effect on the spirits. It is not a lively place: no traveller will of choice visit Dilly, for its reputation as the unhealthiest port of the archipelago is not undeserved, and the report that one night passed in its miasmal atmosphere may result fatally deters any who would, except of necessity, go there. INSULINDE EXPERIENCES OF A NATURALIST'S WIFE IN THE EASTERN

ARCHIPELAGO BY ANNA FORBES, pub. 1887

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/forbes/insulinde/insulinde.html

I saw the ‘potamus take wing

Ascending from the damp savannas,

And quiring angels round him sing

The praise of God, in loud hosannas.

Blood of the Lamb shall wash him clean

And him shall heavenly arms enfold,

Among the saints he shall be seen

Performing on a harp of gold.

He shall be washed as white as snow,

By all the martyr’d virgins kist,

While the True Church remains below

Wrapt in the old miasmal mist.

- from T.S. Eliot's 'The Hippopotamus'

"This is the same kind of quackery doctors practiced during the Civil War when they had no comprehension of germs or antiseptic technique. Disease and infection were blamed on toxic " miasma" or "effluvia" -- as meaningless in explaining what causes disease and infection as "financial bubbles" and "infectious greed" are in explaining what causes economies and stock markets to rise and fall." "Infectious greed" and other miasmatic diseases - Jack Kemp July 23, 2002, - http://www.townhall.com/columnists/JackKemp/2002/07/23/infectious_greed_and_other_miasmatic_diseases

"Miasma", Pencil and gouache on paper, 30 x 30cm, 2006 by Miss Jane Bingham, UK

miasma (mahy-AZ-muh, mee-) noun , plural: miasmas, miasmata.

1. A vaporous exhalation (as of marshes or putrid matter) formerly thought to cause disease; broadly, a thick vaporous atmosphere or emanation.

2. A harmful or corrupting atmosphere or influence; also, an atmosphere that obscures; a fog. - www. dictionary.com

The critics, he says, "will sit in their large automobiles, spewing a miasma of toxic gas into the atmosphere, and they will thank you for not smoking a cigarette."

-- Charles E. Little, "No One Communes Anymore", New York Times, October 17, 1993

To destroy such prejudices, which many a time rise and spread themselves like a miasma, is an imperative duty of theory, for the misbegotten offspring of human reason can also be in turn destroyed by pure reason.

-- Carl von Clausewitz, On War (translated by Colonel James John Graham)

He spends whatever money he has on hash and eventually heroin . . . and proceeds to sink into a miasma of anger and alienation.

-- Jhumpa Lahiri, "Money Talks in Pakistan", New York Times, March 12, 2000

Girls of my generation stumbled through much of our early adolescence in a dense miasma of longing.

-- Ellen Pall, "She had a Crush on Them", New York Times, July 29, 1990

The Greek word miasma means "pollution," from miainein, "to pollute."

[D. Allan]

chiromancy (KAHY-rhu-man-see), noun

[Origin: 1520–30; chiro- <Greek cheir, "hand" + -mancy ME -manci(e), -mancy(e) < OF -mancie < L -mant&#299;a < Gk manteía "divination."]

"Those who practice chiromancy are generally called palmists, palm readers, hand readers, or chirologists." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiromancy

Related words :

chiromancer, noun

chiromanist, noun

chiromantic, adjective

chiromantical, adjective

chirology, noun

chirologist, noun

chironomia, noun the art of using gesticulations or hand gestures to good effect in traditional rhetoric or oratory

chirography, noun, penmanship.

chirogymnast, a mechanical device for exercising the fingers of a pianist.

chiroplast, a device to guide the hands and fingers of piano students.

chirosophist, a fortune teller.

dermatoglyphics, (from ancient Greek derma = "skin", glyph = "carving") is the scientific study of fingerprints.

"TO make further inquiry into that chiromantical doctrine of Bartholomeus Cocles, that the acuteness of the linea mensalis denotes the acuteness of fevers, and great disposition thereto, in persons where it extendeth high and near the fore finger, Chromanticæ parvæ, lib. vi, cap. 28." - Sir Thomas Brown (1605-1682), from the Commonplace Books, MS. Sloane 1875, in Wilkin (1846, IV, 451)

"Palmistry can trace its roots back to Indian (Hindu) Astrology and Roma (gypsy) fortune tellers. The Hindu sage Valmiki is thought to have written a book, whose title translates in English as "The Teachings of Valmiki Maharshi on Male Palmistry", comprising 567 stanzas, more than 5,000 years ago. From India, the art of palmistry spread to China, Tibet, Egypt, Persia and to other countries in Europe. Palmistry came to China in around 3,000 B.C. It then progressed to Greece where Anaxagoras practiced it. However, modern palmists often combine traditional predictive techniques with psychology, holistic healing, and alternative methods of divination." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiromancy

[D. Allan]

lotic (LOW-tic) adjective

of, relating to, or living in flowing or moving water

[Origin: 1915–20; < L l&#333;t(us) washed + -ic]

------------

lentic (LEHN-tic) adjective

of, relating to, or living in still water (as a lake or pond)

[Origin: 1930–35; < L lent(us) slow, motionless + -ic]

-------------

lenitic (leh-NI-tic) adjective

lentic

[Origin: 1915–20; lenit- (as in lenition, lenitive, etc.) + -ic]

[color:#993300] Lotic vs. Lentic Ecosystems?

On the surface of the land, free water habitats can be classified as either lotic (running-water) or lentic (standing-water). Lotic habitats include rivers, streams, and brooks, and lentic habitats include lakes, ponds, and marshes. The major difference between a lotic ecosystem and a lentic ecosystem is the persistent flow of water in a lotic ecosystem. Lentic ecosystems are usually characterized by large deep basins with little or no flow existing within the basin. Characteristic of lentic systems is the development of vertical differences (vertical stratification) of several important features, which often display marked seasonal variation as well.

The difference between lentic and lotic habitats is not always clear-cut. The decisive criterion is the length of time a given mass of water resides within a certain part of an aquatic ecosystem, a concept clearly related to flow rates. Some large rivers with only a slight gradient have low rates of discharge and flow and extensive floodplains with many interconnected bodies of lentic waters.

- Timothy Ehlinger web page at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: http://www.uwm.edu/~ehlinger/background_information.htm

[D. Allan]

doyen \DOY-en; DWAH-yan\, noun:

1. The senior member of a body or group.

2. One who is knowledgeable or uniquely skilled as a result of long experience in some field of endeavor.

3. A woman who is a doyen.

[color:#993300] Two dozen reporters, led by Helen Thomas of United Press International, the seventy-six-year-old doyenne of the press corps, filed into the room.

-- Howard Kurtz, Spin Cycle

Christian Dior, doyen of fashion, introduced the New Look for women, with long flowing skirts and a strong emphasis on nonpractical femininity.

-- Zachary Karabell, The Last Campaign

Doyen is from French, from Late Latin decanus, "leader or chief of ten persons," from decem, "ten."

- www.Dictionary.com

[D. Allan]

"Semitic has become one of those labile words, the meaning changes every few years. Once upon a time it referred to Caucasians of Northern Africa who spoke a Semitic language. This included some Jews and Arabs. Then, Semitic only seemed to refer to Jews, even though eight of some thirteen million Jews are of a European, rather than a North African origin. Arabs and Palestinians seem to no longer be Semites." found at: http://lists.topica.com/lists/prorev/read/message.html?mid=1720115067&sort=d&start=1216

"Even within genres, there is a remarkable stylistic lability: poetry gives way to prose, and prose is studded with poetry - often not marked, but simply slipped into." - Seth Schwartz, Language, power and identity in ancient Palestine, in Past &Present, August, 1995 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2279/is_n148/ai_17474747/pg_3

"A woman was diagnosed with thyroid disease after she sought information from the internet and medical opinion on her symptoms of hair loss, acne, daytime sleeping, weight gain, loss of libido and depression with labile mood swings." http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/news/hashimoto_s_thyroiditis_and_hypothyroidism.htm

[color:#6600CC] labile (LEY- buhl, LEY- bahyl) adjective

1. Open to change; adaptable: an emotionally labile person.

2. Chemistry & Medical: Constantly undergoing or likely to undergo change; unstable: a labile compound. - American Heritage Dictionary

[Middle English labil, forgetful, wandering, from Old French labile, from Late Latin l&#257;bilis, apt to slip, from l&#257;b&#299;, to slip.] - American Heritage Dictionary

la-BIL- i-ty, noun

"Hypersecretion glaucoma was described as a distinct clinical entity by Becker et al. The condition usually occurs in middle aged females with neurogenic hypertension and labile personality." Indian J Ophthalmology 1984;32:109-111 Available from: http://www.ijo.in/text.asp?1984/32/2/109/27384

"Lability refers to something that is constantly undergoing change or something that is likely to undergo change. Biochemically this is an important concept as far as kinetics is concerned in metalloproteins. This can allow for the rapid synthesis and degradation of substrates in biological systems. In medicine, the term "labile" means susceptible to alteration or destruction. For example, a heat-labile protein is one that can be changed or destroyed at high temperatures. The opposite of labile in this context is "stable."" - Wikipedia.com

Labile affect or Pseudobulbar affect refers to the pathological expression of laughter, crying, or smiling. It is also known as "Emotional Lability", "Pathological Laughter and Crying", "Emotional Incontinence", or more recently Involuntary Emotional Expression Disorder (IEED). An individual may find themselves laughing uncontrollably at something that is only moderately funny, being unable to stop themselves for several minutes. Episodes may also be mood-incongruent; an individual might laugh uncontrollably when angry or frustrated, for example. - Wikipedia.com

Lester Chaney (American, b. 1907) “Crashing Waves”, c. 1938; oil/canvas, 24” x 30”, signed.

[D. Allan]

"The Devil's Dictionary was begun in a weekly paper in 1881, and was continued in a desultory way at long intervals until 1906." - Ambrose Bierce in the preface to his amusing dictionary.

[color:#6600CC] desultory (DES-uhl-tawr-ee), adjective

1. Having no set plan; haphazard or random.

2. Moving or jumping from one thing to another; disconnected: a desultory speech.

[Latin d&#275;sult&#333;rius, leaping, from d&#275;sultor, a leaper, from d&#275;sultus, past participle of d&#275;sil&#299;re, to leap down : d&#275;-, de- + sal&#299;re, to jump; see sel- in Indo-European roots.]

des'ul·to'ri·ly adv.

des'ul·to'ri·ness n.

- American Heritage Dictionary

Zoë tugs on my skirt. “They’re boring,” she complains. With a desultory motion she pushes the sample shoes around on the table as if they were an unwanted plate of peas. “They don’t have a style.” - from 'Play Dates' by Leslie Carroll at http://www.tlt.com/authors/lcarroll/playdate.htm

[D. Allan]

Quote:

Notes on OED's June 2007 release of new words

A. N. Other n.

This formula, dating back to 1884, is used in place of a person's name when the actual name is unknown, withheld, or not yet determined (as in a sporting squad for which not all players have been selected). Unlike other names used for this and similar purposes-John (or Jane) Doe, Joe Bloggs, and so on, which use proper names considered common-it is a conscious alteration of a common noun (in the grammatical sense), another, so that it resembles initials and a surname, a highly unusual type of formation.

- available at http://www.oed.com/news/updates/newwords0706.html

It certainly is. Unusual. This must be googled.

"A. N. Other is either a placeholder name or a pseudonym used by a person wishing to remain anonymous, the former being more commonly encountered. It is most used in the United Kingdom, and as such is often written in the common British English style as AN Other without punctuation or spacing between the initials. Occasionally it may be abbreviated to ANO, or — in cases where an explicitly female name is acceptable — rendered as Ann(e) Other.

A. N. Other's address is often listed as "Any Street, Anytown" or similar, although it is also common for a well-known large city such as London to be used. If a generic credit card number is required for Other, it is sometimes listed as beginning with "1234", since this prefix is not used by any of the major card companies. (e.g. for a 16-digit Visa card number: "1234 5678 9012 3456".)

As a placeholder name, A. N. Other is commonly encountered in lists of sporting squads where not all the names are known or have yet been announced. This is particularly widely used in cricket, where players' names are traditionally listed as initials and surname (eg I. T. Botham), but is not uncommon in other sports. (e.g. "Additional players: A. W. Smith, J. C. Taylor and A. N. Other.")" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._N._Other

Ah! If it is a Britishism, no wonder it is unfamiliar.

"There is a new rule in Border league cricket. Mr AN Other has been banned for life!

When this gentleman takes a catch or effects a stumping, he effectively robs a player of a chance to earn points on the Geoff Long Sales scoreboard and a chance to win cash prizes.

Last weekend after a long period of absence he appeared in two score-sheets.

This necessitates that we have to 'phone captains or players to find out who took the catch.

Surely it is easier for the scorer -- even in the break between innings -- to approach the captain of a team to find out the name of any catcher.

Or better still shout to the fielders to identify the catcher. It's so simple." - http://www.dispatch.co.za/2001/02/09/sport/BLIFE.HTM

Hmm. Definitely British.

[D. Allan]

animal quacker

"An animal quacker is someone who applies quackery to animals, such as holistic massage therapy for dogs and horses; reiki and therapeutic touch for pets; and acupuncture, aromatherapy, Ayurvedic medicine, homeopathy for animals of all sorts, and either the ability to communicate psychically with pets or to do scientific tests that prove the psychic ability of dogs.

The queen of all animal quackers has to be pet psychic Sonya Fitzpatrick, who wisely disclaims any responsibility for the accuracy of the content on her web site or television show, The Pet Psychic. One of the crown princesses is Polly Klein, the owner of Tonglen™ Healing Arts for Animals. She's certified as an Animal CranioSacral Therapist and offers reiki for pets. The king of animal quackers might be Rupert Sheldrake, who thinks he has scientifically proved that some pets are psychic.

- http://skepdic.com/animalquackers.html

[color:#993300] Since massage therapy is essentially an unregulated profession, making claims that massage therapists are qualified to treat medical conditions such as allergies, infectious diseases, phlebitis, and the like, seems like quackery. This has not stopped the profession from expanding to the point where even dogs and horses can get a healing massage. One of the more popular animal therapies is "Tellington Touch," the creation of animal quacker Linda Tellington-Jones, who offers holistic treatment for pets.

So, when looking for a good massage therapist I'd suggest you avoid the one's that identify themselves with some sort of metaphysical quackery or New Age energy manipulation.

http://www.lapazmedicine.com/massage_therapy_santa_monica.htm

I haven't seen much use of the term; and in defence of the 'animal quackers' - don't other (non-human) animals benifit from massage therapy (holistic or otherwise) as well as we humans? And can we be sure they do not have a 'spiritual' dimension?

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Quote:

An animal quacker is someone who applies quackery to animals, such as holistic massage therapy for dogs and horses; reiki and therapeutic touch for pets; and acupuncture, aromatherapy.....

Actually, aromatherapy is not quackery at all if done by a certified aromatherapist...of which I happen to be one. ROFL

Now Cranial Sacral therapy I have a real problem with. I just looked up who does this type of therapy, and apparently MANY SDA medical centers (Florida, Shawnee Mission, etc) are endorsing this.

Quote:

Cranial-sacral Therapy

Cranial-sacral therapy, more properly called cranial osteopathy (or just cranial for short), is a very specialized technique based on the scientifically unconfirmed belief that the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord undergo a rhythmic pulsation. This “cranial rhythm” is supposed to cause subtle movements of the bones of the skull. A practitioner of cranial-sacral therapy gently manipulates these bones in time with the rhythm (as determined by the practitioner’s awareness), in order to repair “cranial lesions.” This therapy is said to be helpful for numerous conditions ranging from headaches and sinus allergies to multiple sclerosis and asthma. However, many researchers have serious doubts that the cranial rhythm even exists.

cranial sacral therapy in FL SDA hospital

[D. Allan]

Aromatherapy : Touching my sage, basil or oregano plants produces a wonderfully satisfying smell on the fingers. Are there physical benefits - beyond the feeding of the soul? Just curious about that.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Aromatherapy : Touching my sage, basil or oregano plants produces a wonderfully satisfying smell on the fingers. Are there physical benefits - beyond the feeding of the soul? Just curious about that.

absolutely! Different essential oils can produce different effects on people (and animals). Most of the oils are antibacterial and antiviral. I believe it was in WWI that medicinal ointments were in scarce supply, and the French (and perhaps British) soldiers' wounds were treated with lavander oil because of its antibacterial property. For a stomachache, rub some fennel oil on the skin of the torso....it helps in digestion. Fennel water used to be used for babies who got colicky. The citrus oils diffused in the air help keep people alert - it's actually used in some businesses and in hotels.

[D. Allan]

I must grow some lavender. I have rosemary growing. Fennel seed are tasty in my oatmeal, smell good too.

[D. Allan]

meme (meem) noun

philosophy [by analogy with "gene"]

Richard Dawkins's term for an idea considered as a replicator, especially with the connotation that memes parasitise people into propagating them much as viruses do. Memes can be considered the unit of cultural evolution. Ideas can evolve in a way analogous to biological evolution. Some ideas survive better than others; ideas can mutate through, for example, misunderstandings; and two ideas can recombine to produce a new idea involving elements of each parent idea. The term is used especially in the phrase "meme complex" denoting a group of mutually supporting memes that form an organised belief system, such as a religion. However, "meme" is often misused to mean "meme complex". Use of the term connotes acceptance of the idea that in humans (and presumably other tool- and language-using sophonts) cultural evolution by selection of adaptive ideas has become more important than biological evolution by selection of hereditary traits. Hackers find this idea congenial for tolerably obvious reasons.

avaiable at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/MEME

There is another short article on 'meme' at: http://www.worldwidewords.org/topicalwords/tw-mem1.htm

[D. Allan]

commensurate (kuh-MEN(T)S-uhr-it; -shuhr-), adjective:

1. Equal in measure, extent, or duration.

2. Corresponding in size or degree or extent; proportionate.

3. Having a common measure; commensurable; reducible to a common measure; as, commensurate quantities.

[color:#CC6600] A new era, Hoover called it, one that was witnessing breathtaking transformations in traditional ways of life and that demanded commensurate transformations in the institutions and techniques of government.

-- David M. Kennedy, Freedom from Fear

It is almost a rule: the successful American--Vanderbilt, Frick, Rockefeller, Hearst, Gates--builds himself a house commensurate with his fortune.

-- Michael Knox Beran, The Last Patrician

The Shi'a represent a plurality in Lebanon, where only in recent years they have gained a degree of political power commensurate with their numbers.

-- Graham E. Fuller and Rend Rahim Francke, The Arab Shi'a: The Forgotten Muslims

http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/

—Related forms

com•men•su•rate•ly, adverb

com•men•su•rate•ness, noun

com•men•su•ra•tion [kuh-men-suh-REY-shuh n, -shuh-]

c.1400, from L.L. commensuratus, from L. com- "with" + L.L. mensuratus, pp. of mensurare "to measure," from mensura

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=10&q=commensurate