Seldom-Used Words

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poky or pokey - 1. small and cramped; 2. shabby, dull; 3. annoyingly slow

Again, the last definition is the only one I know.

pokey - jail
 
poky or pokey - 1. small and cramped; 2. shabby, dull; 3. annoyingly slow

Again, the last definition is the only one I know.

pokey - jail

I recognise Pokey as small or cramped.
It's often used in disparaging remarks about small rooms in houses.

Gully.
The space between two roof sections at an angle.
 
I know it in the sense of "hokey pokey" - small, miniscule, quaint, paltry.
 
What is the point of the song then? You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around, that's what it's all about? Oh, the English language!

It is fathomless!
 
I recognise Pokey as small or cramped.
It's often used in disparaging remarks about small rooms in houses.

Gully.
The space between two roof sections at an angle.

A gully is a narrow channel cut by running water, particularly by heavy rainfall. It is a common term (and occurence) in the American West. It derives from gullet.
 
A gully is a narrow channel cut by running water, particularly by heavy rainfall. It is a common term (and occurence) in the American West. It derives from gullet.

Also in the Canadian West, though they are often labeled as coulees in Alberta.
 
What is the point of the song then? You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around, that's what it's all about? Oh, the English language!

It is fathomless!


The meaning is somewhat derived from the song, I think.

Hokey-pokey, the song, is derived from hocus-pocus.
 
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Also in the Canadian West, though they are often labeled as coulees in Alberta.

The Americans use coulee as well, for a dry stream bed, rather than a rain-cut channel. And don't forget the Grand Coulee Dam in Washingtom State.
 
The Americans use coulee as well, for a dry stream bed, rather than a rain-cut channel. And don't forget the Grand Coulee Dam in Washingtom State.


They are also that. A coulee, to us, is a sudden drop from the prairie. So that can either be a river valley, a gully or a glacial gouge.
 
What is the point of the song then? You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around, that's what it's all about? Oh, the English language!

It is fathomless!

The song is "the Hokey-Cokey" and was about during WW2.
It's roots are a long way back in time.
"The Oxford English Dictionary suggests that the phrase "hokey cokey" ultimately comes from "hocus pocus", the traditional magician's incantation."
 
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According to Wiki the song and dance was invented during WWII.

The Hokey Cokey Dance in the UK
In at least some parts of the UK the entire dance can be quite different. The instruction set would go as follows:

You put your left leg in
Your left leg out
In, out, in, out,
you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Cokey and you turn around
That's what it's all about...
On 'you do the Hokey Cokey' each participant joins his/her hands at the fingertips to make a chevron and rocks them from side to side.

Each instruction set would be followed by a chorus, which is entirely different from other parts of the world:

Whoa, the hokey cokey!,
Whoa, the hokey cokey!,
Whoa, the hokey cokey!,
Knees bent, arms stretched, rah! rah! rah!
For this chorus all participants are stood in a circle and hold hands, on each "whoa" they all raise their joined hands in the air and run in toward the centre of the circle and on "the hokey cokey" they all run backwards out again. On the last line they bend knees then stretch arms, as indicated, and for "rah rah rah!" they either clap in time or raise arms above their heads and push upwards in time. Sometimes each subsequent verse and chorus is a little faster and louder, with the ultimate aim of making people chaotically run into each other in gleeful abandon. Invariably, somebody ends up on the floor.
 
They are also that. A coulee, to us, is a sudden drop from the prairie. So that can either be a river valley, a gully or a glacial gouge.

Thanks, Xelebes, I'll keep that in mind when I'm out west again (spent a couple of years in the 'Peg). By the way, do gopher holes count as a drop from the prairie if you happen to step in one?:D
 
As I posted earlier, gully is also a large knife, British style.

Ogg, That is the dance we did in school, except it was called Hokey Pokey. I wonder why the name changed?

feirie - nimble, strong
 

Porcine
1. like a pig; connected with pigs

( are you surprised that I associate the word with Henry Waxman? )

Henry-Waxman-Nostrils.jpg
 
Trysail, that was too funny! Thanks for the chuckle.

pork - 1. the fresh or salted flesh of swine when dressed for food; 2. government money, jobs or favors used by politicians as patronage
 
Thanks, Xelebes, I'll keep that in mind when I'm out west again (spent a couple of years in the 'Peg). By the way, do gopher holes count as a drop from the prairie if you happen to step in one?:D

Just remember a coulee is never treed. If it is treed, it is a valley.
 


Vug
n., small to medium-sized cavities inside rock that may be formed through a variety of processes. Most commonly cracks and fissures opened by tectonic activity (folding and faulting) are partially filled by quartz, calcite, and other secondary minerals.
 
Definitely, and we'll keep it distinct from an arroyo and a wash, and not think any of them are valleys. You have trees out there?

In Edmonton, there's lots of trees. Especially in the river valley. Same with Gwynne. (The whole treed gouge of Gwynne is just called Gwynne, I think.) In Drumheller, the Red Deer River valley and, more specifically, the ravines cut are called coulees as they are generally treeless.
 
coulee - 1.) a. a small stream; b. dry creek bed; c. s steep-walled valley or ravine;
2.) a thick sheet or stream of lava

Nothing about trees here, but most small streams have them, grasses and reeds, too.
 
Ravine, on the other hand, sounds more like what you were saying about steep sides and lack of trees. Like so many English words, the true meaning can be changed to suit the language usage of the area or the times.

awe is a perfect example - 1. dread, terror; 2. the power to inspire dread; 3. profound and reverent fear inspired by deity
 
I thought this would be a good words considering. I Browsed through the previous posts and if I am double posting please forgive me :)

hamartiologist - An expert on the subject of sin.
 
coulee - 1.) a. a small stream; b. dry creek bed; c. s steep-walled valley or ravine;
2.) a thick sheet or stream of lava

Nothing about trees here, but most small streams have them, grasses and reeds, too.

and by the way, couli is informal Italian (mostly with children) for ass.
 
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