Baboon Achievers, The Baboon Congress, Words

MORE Glossary

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It’s been almost two years, Babooners, since our last glossary update. Here are the new terms I’ve picked up in that interim, with some context added when known, in case you want to go to the archives to revisit the conversation.

Blucky – A weather term, a combination of blustery and icky. Ex: “At the moment, it’s just cold, wet and blucky out.”    xdfben says:    March 23, 2016 at 6:00 pm    

Cententious? –  billinmpls says:   [Unfortunately, baboons, I forgot to note the date of this one, and I have no idea what was being discussed. Any idea, Bill?

Coleslawicide – a term coined by our Alpha Baboon, Dale Connelly, in this parody of Ogden Nash poetry in a post titled, “Why I don’t Eat the Coleslaw”:

 Did Ogden Nash know?

Did Ogden Nash, with his last breath,

decide to die a funny death?

His final meal – some stringy gabbage

hid the reaper ‘mongst the cabbage.

Did fate, ironic, choose to slay him

with this side of gastro-mayhem?

Or did Nash select this gaffe

to seal his doom with one last laugh?

One last punchline – Woe betide

all those who chews coleslawicide.

BiR, if you’re on the trail today, “coleslawicide” has GOT to go in our glossary.   verily sherrilee says: August 31, 2015 at 7:40 am

Corridordial – see Hallway friendships:        billinmpls says: January 27, 2016 at 11:19 am 

Degusting – a variation on disgusting, as in the following:    Wessew – “If prepared right”. I’m on to the games you culinary con artists love to play; trying to disguise the degusting. Next you’ll be saying lutefisk and liver are luscious… “if prepared right.” On with the food fight!      NOVMBER 6, 2015, 8:06 A.M.       PlainJane – I thing “degusting” deserves a place in our glossary. Sort of takes the wind out of culinary excesses. NOVEMBER 6, 2015, 8:55 A.M.

Espo-used – An alternate pronunciation for “espoused”.       Ex:  “As a 6th grader, back in the days when you could actually acknowledge Christmas in school, I was the narrator and got to read the Christmas story. Nearly got tripped up by the word espoused.”  K-two  DECEMBER 25, 2015, 9:20 A.M..

Hallway friendship – An apartment living phenomenon, as in:  “in our building those of us who have lived here a few years have a hallway friendship, hallway only. Clyde of Mankato  JANUARY 27, 2016, 10:29 A.M.

Outhousing – To be in the habit of using an outhouse, as in: “’modern’ shower facilities were separate and there were outhouses for, well, outhousing”… from Anna’s post called File For T Under Treasure.  AUGUST 15, 2015

Psychiatrically disabled – A person who is somewhat off-center.  Ex:  “As I recall, she was married to this guy who was somewhat psychiatrically disabled, and who walked up and down mainstreet in a big cowboy hat.    reneeinnd says: October 12, 2015 at 11:17 am

Teflon desk – the state in which everything that lands on your desk slides off onto someone else’s.   Comment to Wessew – “I think you’ve got this down!”     verily sherrilee says: August 22, 2015 at 10:40 am

and:

_____________________   [creative opportunity here, baboons]

 verily sherrilee says: January 26, 2016 at 3:47 pm   Didn’t we have a word for a day when we went over 100 comments? I just checked glossary and didn’t see anything. Who has the best memory around here?

Acronyms:

ABD   The appearance of an icon (gravatar) that looks like a blue doily beside your comment, and renders your comment as an Anonymous, rather than inserting your chosen icon. WordPress has done this to virtually everyone on the Trail at some time or another… it’s now considered an initiation exercise.

What’s your favorite dictionary or reference book?

76 thoughts on “MORE Glossary”

  5. To tell the truth, I never use reference books.

    But maybe I should question my policy of telling the truth. That’s SO quaint and pre-Trumpian of me! Why should I limit my speech by telling actual truth when there can be so many alternative facts? We live in a spectacularly rich age where real men refuse to be hobbled by a grim fixation on actual truth! We have been liberated from simple-minded definitions of truth by the highest officer in the land. Truth is so boringly either-or. Literal truth allows only one interpretation, when a sufficiently inflamed conspiratorial imagination can create SO many variations! Truth? YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!

    Uh . . . where was I?

    Oh, yeah: reference books. Do I use ’em? Reference books seem so dated! I haven’t used one in decades. For example, if I can’t spell “prurient,” I just go to my buddy Google and type my first guess “proorient.” Google will gently ask, “Did you mean: prurient?” I don’t have lug around any heavy books, and my good pal Google is too tactful to confront me with its notion of truth!

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      1. Two words that I always have to pause before using are “dairy” and “diary.” I know how to spell them, and know what they mean, but a slight hesitation assures that it’s the appropriate one that comes out of my mouth on any given occasion.

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        2. Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself.
          Mankind. Basically, it’s made up of two separate words—“mank” and “ind”.
          What do these words mean? It’s a mystery, and that’s why so is mankind.
          — Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

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        2. Auto correct has been a wonderful technology for me. Now I don’t have to stop to think every time I start typing the words “hors d’oeuvres”.

          Liked by 1 person

    2. To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And, at the same
      time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between, plus some things I
      can’t remember, all rolled into one big “thing.” This is truth, to me.
      — Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey

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      1. Wessew, you are the only person i know who appears to have memorized DeepThoughtsANDwho considers it a reference book!

        I don’t know what that says anout you.

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  6. I use reference works a lot, but as Steve points out, not necessarily in book form. There are certain reference works, however, that I enjoy perusing in paper form.

    Like Jacque, I enjoy maps. I miss the days when you could pick up local and state maps at any gas station. A GPS just doesn’t give me the same sense of where the heck I am or where I’m going.

    A reference book that I love is Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape. Like most reference works, it’s not a book you’d sit down and read cover to cover. Rather it’s a compendium of terms used to describe features of the American landscape compiled from the writings of well known contemporary writers (Truman Capote, Barbara Kingsolver, Willa Cather, John Updike, Terry Tempest Williams to name but a few). It’s a delightful and informative book, beautifully written and full of fascinating tidbits.

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      1. Both. One reviewer of the book expressed it better than I can: “there is a enough scientific and technical information to satisfy, but the beauty of this work are the literary and cultural references sprinkled throughout that breathe life into each entry.”

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  7. as is obvious the spelling dictionary is not on the top of my go to pile.
    the refference materiial i use the updated version of is
    leonard maltin’s movie guide 2017

    back in the day it was the one book that sat on the corner of my coffee table the arm of my sofa the side of my bedside table.
    i love movies. i have always loved movies.
    back in the day when tv was the medium i would get out the tv guide an circle all the movies. when vcrs came into vouge the ability to record was huge but i still needed my movie guide. today with the ability to look up the movies coming up and the ability to watch any movie any time (almost) the sense of urgency went to a less prominant spot. plus i now feel i have a bit of expertise that makes it neccessary to look up only to refresh or get details and confirm my memories of a certain film
    if i told you how many times i hit the information button on the directory of the tv to check the year a film was made the number of stars it got in the reviewers opinion who the gurst stars are and to get a detail or two it would stagger your state.
    my kids laugh at the turner classic movie channel on our tv. it is a nonstop black and white throwback to the days they dont understand. movies that have a story of dialog and interaction rather than action based. intense stories or sometimes easy little stories that have wonderful acting by people who i have come to love and apprecaite.
    robert osbourne the host of turner classic movies since it began died and is being tributed this weekend al weekend long. i am sad that i ma traveling tomorrow and in a performance of my daughters this afternoon which will cause me to get up and do something other than watch the stories of the behind the scenes ditties of the era gone by. i could do it forever.
    robert was a nice man who lived the movies and was in hollywood at the ned of the golden era and through the death spiral that was the the late 60’s early 70’s when a gem was the exception instead of the rule.
    he was fading and tcm was feeling out how to who to replace him with. its not easy. he was the franchise and his style can not be duplicated it should be remembered and appreciated. the newbies are ok. the heir apperant is the guy who played second banana for 20 years and has become the lead guy the last couple of years and the newbies are being put in the situation where they are in fornt of us and trying to be a new and improved version of the old tried and true. its hard. when a great one passes there is no replacing only remembering.
    leonard maltin’s movie guide 2017 is the attempt to help us connect to the movies of the past. today he isnt needed like he was int ehpast. the info buttomn on my clicker gives me the info. but without that info button i would be lost.
    the information age and the smartphone makes it so different doesnt it? you dont need to even excersize the portion of you brain involved in thinking or remembering.
    mankind will be lost when the smartphone and google have taken over our brains and then go out of commision because of sunspots or a power outage. people wont know how to call home or find the answer to anything without the littel device in their hands. the device between the ears has gone by the wayside in favor of search and click on the phone, i pad, laptop, compputer.
    i would guess implants are coming soon with a port to update to the current model and to tweak it at the genius bar in the apple clinic.

    wow i got off into lweft field on this one.
    i am traveling until tuesday.
    vs tells my i have a guest blog monday but i have a feeling you can all handel it woth my spirit overseeing the geust host seat. i amy be able to poke my head in as i am boarding a plane or something but so it goes

    thanks again bir for the stewardship in upkeep for the baboon glossary. its a fun collection of stuff form a fun group. i think people can get a true feel for the group by simply reading the guide. it is funny smart telling and a smile to break up the tedium. just like the trail.

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      2. no its on the directory for the cable tv on direct tv or comcast . in choosing a movie form the offerings i look at the name the stars the era the numnbber of stars the addoitional artist and while the movie is going on i often look to see who one of the secondary players is and what else they have done i remember them from or where i can see mpore of them

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      3. So many possibilities. Aim the remote at your tv screen, press Information and an entire encyclopedia or some other reference work may show up.

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  8. We recently discovered that, at some point, we had jettisoned our paper dictionaries and thesauri. The fact that we couldn’t remember doing it and when suggests we have been relying on the online ones for some time. I still have paper versions of several collections of quotations, a dictionary of etymology, Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, and an interesting glossary of objects called “What’s What”.
    Though not reference books as such, the reason I hold on to so many books, especially history-related books, is so I can easily consult them for reference.

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    1. i really like the paper in my fingers. the whole earth catalog was the precusor of the smart phone.
      interesting stuff leads to other sort of related stuff shared buy a community of kindred spirits
      when you look on the google or other app the item you ask for is there but so is the ability to get lost in side trips related to the qustion you asked to begin the journey.
      i love love love the ability to get all the knowledge with a zip zap ease. i cant imagine the writers who had library rooms of resource materila to help them write the historical documet they are working on. today you can zip zap a lot of it. what a wonderful time to be alive.

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      2. The Whole Earth catalogs were wonderful.

        One of my dad’s favorite books, and he was bound to get one for Christmas each year, was a book called “Hvem, Hvad, Hvor” followed by a year, say, 1960. (Who, What, Where) It was a compilation by Denmark’s largest newspaper of the headline events and personalities of the year. I still have a couple of them.

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        1. wouldnt it be fun to have that available on dec 31 or jan 1 for each year as we go along.
          cbs morning news at 7 am each day has the world in 90 seconds.
          i love it and look forward to it. it is current but also well chosen and informational. funny, appalling, heart wrenching and all int he name of news. the idea of expanding it to a 9 minute format is very intriguing. a book or website is possibel too.
          in my spare time i will conquer this one. maybe me annd ken burns can figure out how to do this and get it out on dec 31
          if only i didnt have to sleep

          Liked by 1 person

    2. I still have my hard copy dictionary and thesaurus, however they are on the bookshelf in Nonny’s room – not exactly at hand!

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  9. I worked in such an inelegant branch of journalism that any time I felt I had to look up the meaning or spelling of a word, it might be a bit lofty for my audience. So rather than consulting a book I’d rewrite the sentence to avoid the difficult word.

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      1. Believe it or not, appetizers and hors d’oeuvres mean different things in my line of work. Hors d’oeuvres served singly as finger food, usually in a reception setting. Appetizer is served plated, usually before a soup or salad. I don’t know if this is a real difference, if you look up the words, but it’s how they are used in my world.

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        1. Well, in my world, there is no difference, but I’ve never been accused of being classy. 🙂

          Actually, in my world, there is no such thing as horse d’oeuvres or appetizers. We just eat, and it’s either a meal or a snack.

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        7. Don’t know about “cooth” – just a job where the words have evolved into two different meanings!

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  10. I love my Larousse, as it makes me feel a tiny bit French to have it hanging around.

    We keep all kinds of reference stuff near the couch where we do crossword puzzles (including a Leonard Matlin movie guide, tim, but it’s 2011). My favorite is a much mended paperback: The Concise Dictionary of 26 Languages compiled by Peter M. Bergman.

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  11. Husband still uses Roget’s thesaurus. I refer often to manuals and books for psychological test interpretation, especially neuoropsychological tests.

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  12. Bartlett’s Quotations as in “If they won’t get out of their nursing home beds and go to work,” says Paul Ryan, “they had better die, and decrease the surplus population.”

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  13. I won a rhyming dictionary in a competition a few years ago. It’s possible to look up rhymes online, but there is something about just paging through the book that is fun and enlightening. You come across words you’d never have thought to look up online. The same is probably true of dictionaries and thesauri. (Thesauri? sp? Somebody look it up, please.)

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  15. When I was about 10 my mother bought grocery store encyclopedias. National Tea sold them one a week for about $1 each, I think. Cheap and compact. But those were my favorite of all reference books. I read them each in turn. Not every article and not all of articles I read, but most of the content. Among other things it is when i learned to skim and scan. For the next few years I would pick up one of the volumes and go through it again. When I was 12 my sister ordered me books from the Sears Christmas catalog. About a dozen, about 8 of which were various sorts of reference books, such as “The Complete Book of Facts.” 300 hundred pages; far from complete. But it had a delightful choice of subject matter, lots of lists. A geology book in reference form and a biology book. I do not remember the others.
    In our small apartment I do not have room for reference books any more, except a dictionary and an atlas, and I had a few, . (I loved the atlas as a child. I wrote a short story about a small boy and his atlas) I kept the atlas because it was the right size to put under my computer monitor. Google maps ruined the atlas for me. I was always frustrated about the lack of detail in an atlas. Google took care of that. As I read travel books I follow along on Google maps.
    We had a young family here Friday, the father from TH, from a family we know well. He told me how I had made a guest presentation in jouurnalism about the future of jounrnalism. He said I told the students everything would start with www. I do not remember doing. It was in 1993. He said that the next day the kids and the teacher joked about how stupid I was to say that. Makes me aware of the pace of change.

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      1. The Donald would have 300 statements about his own importance as fact. Each factoid/alternative truthiness would be in a Twitter format, and rife with misspellings. “I.e. I am unpresidented”.

        This concept might require an entire post. Hmmmm…

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  16. Pingback: Glossary, Almost Two Decades into the Millennium | Trail Baboon

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