Seldom-Used Words

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The Thesaurus I am using has lots of strange entries. Here is another one that reminds me of the Old West and I am not sure why;

skinflint - noun slang a stingy person
 
The Thesaurus I am using has lots of strange entries. Here is another one that reminds me of the Old West and I am not sure why;

skinflint - noun slang a stingy person

It would have been a common term in the Old West, but it make sme think of Charles Dickens and Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Interesting, one synonym for Skinflint is Niggard and about half of the online definitions include "someone who is niggardly" -- good thing we unscrambled that misunderstanding a few posts back. :p
From: http://www.takeourword.com/TOW116/page2.html

Since we mentioned that someone who would skin a cat was one who was cheap or miserly, we figured we should mention skinflint. This is someone who would actually skin a flint. We don't use flint so much today, or at least we rarely have to handle it, so this doesn't immediately make sense. Yet, in days of yore (sorry), flint was a common household item. A piece of this stone could be broken into smaller bits which could all be used to start a fire. A skinflint was one who would break a piece of flint down to its thinnest layer or "skin" in order to save a penny (or less!) buying new flint. This term dates from the late 17th century.
 
Great information on skinflint, Harold. I think I read it in Mark Twain's writings of his travels out West in the book, "Roughing It", one of my favorites of all time.

This one takes this morning's prize;

skiddoo - verb informal to leave hastily
 
Great information on skinflint, Harold. I think I read it in Mark Twain's writings of his travels out West in the book, "Roughing It", one of my favorites of all time.

This one takes this morning's prize;

skiddoo - verb informal to leave hastily
an interesting search, but...
Although there are a number of stories suggesting the possible origin of the phrase, none have been universally accepted.

The Wikipedia article on "23 Skiddoo" is a very interesting read from a pop-culture historical sense, and includes the slang usage of "23" to mean "go way" and the separate slang usage of "Skiddoo" as well as the most common slanguage usage of the two "go away" terms combined into "23 Skiddoo."
 

rhematic • adj., 1. pertaining to word formation.
2. derived from verbs.
3. pertaining to early forms of expression.



 
ab·squat·u·late 

[ab-skwoch-uh-leyt] Show IPA
–verb (used without object), -lat·ed, -lat·ing. Slang. to flee; abscond: The old prospector absquatulated with our picks and shovel.
Origin:
1820–30; pseudo-Latinism, from ab-, squat, and -ulate, paralleling Latin-derived words with initial abs- (e.g., abscond, abstention) and final -tulate (e.g., congratulate)

—Related forms
ab·squat·u·lat·er, noun
ab·squat·u·la·tion, noun
 
Here are a couple of entries right next to each other that share most of the same letters, but quite different meanings;

sire - noun a male parent

sire - verb 1. to be the biological father of 2. to cause to come into existence

siren - noun a unusually unscrupulous woman who seduces or exploits men

siren - adj tending to seduce
 
In that case:

sin: a wrong, a crime, a violation against divine rule
sine: a mathematical function, a clear tone with no harmonics
sinew: nerve bundles, spinal cord, a fleshy rope
 
Yes, root words do not seem to apply to the latest entries.

Here is one for fun;

sissified - adj having qualities more appropriate to women than to men
 
Good morning, everyone. Another unknown word for me;

simulacrum also simulacre - noun an inferior substitute imitating an original
 
Here are a couple of entries right next to each other that share most of the same letters, but quite different meanings;

sire - noun a male parent

sire - verb 1. to be the biological father of 2. to cause to come into existence

siren - noun a unusually unscrupulous woman who seduces or exploits men

siren - adj tending to seduce

The Sirens were a bunch of "mad, bad & dangerous to know" women trying to keep Odyseuss from getting home to Penelope.
At least, I think that what Homer said.
 
Yes, the call of the sirens was said to be irresistible.

I forgot about this one;

silver-tongued - adj 1. fluently persuasive and forceful 2. characterized by ready but often insincere or superficial discourse
 
Another entry that reminds me of the Old West;

shopworn - adj without freshness or appeal due to overuse
 
Here is a fun, political one;

shoo-in - noun informal a competitor regarded as the most likely winner
 
Scald - n. poetry, a poem
No, that would be a sKald. :p

In English:

SCALD
1 (skôld)
v. scald·ed, scald·ing, scalds
v.tr.
1. To burn with or as if with hot liquid or steam.
2. To subject to or treat with boiling water: scalded the hide to remove the hair; scalded and peeled the tomatoes.
3. To heat (a liquid, such as milk) almost to the boiling point.
4. To criticize harshly; excoriate.
v.intr.
To become scalded.
n.
1. A body injury caused by scalding.
2. Botany
a. A superficial discoloration on fruit, vegetables, leaves, or tree trunks caused by sudden exposure to intense sunlight or the action of gases.
b. A disease of some cereal grasses caused by a fungus of the genus Rhynchosporium.
 
Another one I have never heard or read, although I like the sound of it;

shilly-shally - noun the act or an instance of hesitating

shilly-shally - verb to be irresolute in acting or doing
 
gambrel (noun)
- the hock of a horse or other animal
- a frame used by butchers for hanging animal carcasses by the legs

gambrel roof (noun)
- a two sided roof with a double slope on each side, the lower slope having the steeper pitch

The roof is so named because the structure resembles the hind leg of an animal (the gambrel).
 
I am not sure whether this has been posted before or not;

sesquipedalian - adj having many syllables
 
Here is an interesting trio of entries;

senectitude - noun old age

senesce - verb to grow old

senescence - noun old age
 
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