Seldom-Used Words

[Handley_Page]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

The Ps have a very interesting group of entries. Here is today's;

psychological hedonism - noun the theory that conduct is fundamentally motivated by the pursuit of pleasure or the avoidance of pain

That sounds to me to be entirely logical.

POILU: A French Soldier.
(from "The Scholar's Own Book of Common Sayings" (J B Tomlinson, A.C.P.)

[AllardChardon]

I had to add this one for fun;

Psyche knot - noun a woman's hair style in which the hair is brushed back and twisted into a conical coil usually just above the nape

[CarlusMagnus]

Originally Posted by Handley_Page

POILU: A French Soldier.
(from "The Scholar's Own Book of Common Sayings" (J B Tomlinson, A.C.P.)

Officially, poilu means "hairy".

[AllardChardon]

A hairy French soldier, then?

psychasthenia - noun an incapacity to resolve doubts or uncertainties or to resist phobias, obsessions, or compulsions that one knows are irrational

[CarlusMagnus]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

A hairy French soldier, then?

psychasthenia - noun an incapacity to resolve doubts or uncertainties or to resist phobias, obsessions, or compulsions that one knows are irrational

After weeks in the trenches without hot water, soldiers get pretty hairy---among other things. I'm sure that was the basis for the slang.

[AllardChardon]

Maybe so, Carlus.

psittaceous - adj 1. PSITTACINE 2. resembling a parrot (~ chatter)

[AllardChardon]

Hello everyone. I am back from a two day trip to Sacramento.

pshaw - interjection used to express irritation, disapproval, contempt, or disbelief

[Handley_Page]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

Maybe so, Carlus.

psittaceous - adj 1. PSITTACINE 2. resembling a parrot (~ chatter)

I know a couple of 14-year olds which could thus be described.

[AllardChardon]

Handley, a busy open air marketplace could also use that description.

pseudepigraphy - noun the ascription of false names of authors to works

[AllardChardon]

Here is a great word;

prurient - adj 1. craving restlessly 2. lascivious in thought or desire 3. exciting to lasciviousness

[Handley_Page]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

Here is a great word;

prurient - adj 1. craving restlessly 2. lascivious in thought or desire 3. exciting to lasciviousness

almost Victorian, ain't it.

[mynameisben]

pseudafed - adj. - The false and sometimes delusional state of satiation attained by substituting nasal decongestant for a well balanced meal.

[Tio_Narratore]

pseudopod (pseudopodium) noun (Liter. "false foot") A temporary protrusion or retractile process of the protoplasm of a cell that serves a locomotor or food-gathering function.

This would be a good word for a cephalopod/tentacle sex story, but I've yet to see it in one.

[AllardChardon]

I imagine that Libertines were described as prurient often. It goes well with beast, as in, "He was known to prowl, like a prurient beast."

prunella also prunelle - noun 1. a twilled woolen dress fabric 2. a heavy woolen fabric used for the uppers of shoes

[AllardChardon]

From the winter world of words;

pruinose - adj (French pruina meaning hoarfrost) covered with whitish dust or bloom

[Handley_Page]

Petard ?
An explosive device for opening gates (or a wall)

[AllardChardon]

Good day, everyone. I hope no one out there is;

prudish - adj marked by prudery: PRIGGISH

[AllardChardon]

Root words make all the difference, no matter how similar the sound;

prude - noun (short for the French word prudefemme or good woman) a person who is excessively or priggishly attentive to propriety or decorum; esp: a woman who shows or affects extreme modesty

prudence - noun 1. the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason 2. sagacity or shrewdness in the management of affairs: DISCRETION 3. providence in the use of resources 4. caution or circumspection as to danger or risk

prudent - adj (Latin - prudens, more at PROVIDENT Latin - providens) 1. FORESIGHTED, WISE 2. shrewd in the management of practical matters 3. CIRCUMSPECT, DISCREET 4. PROVIDENT, FRUGAL

prudential - adj 1. of, relating to, or proceeding from prudence 2. exercising prudence esp. in business matters

prudery - noun the quality or state of being a prude

[oggbashan]

Originally Posted by Handley_Page

Petard ?
An explosive device for opening gates (or a wall)

Hoist by one's own petard = blown up by your own bomb. Usually used figuratively.

[CarlusMagnus]

Originally Posted by oggbashan

Hoist by one's own petard = blown up by your own bomb. Usually used figuratively.

Actually, Shakespeare wrote

"For 'tis the sport to have the enginer
Hoist with his own petard..."

Being hoist with your own petard was one of the occupational hazards of being an "enginer"---the fuses of the day being rather more than unreliable as to the speed with which they burned...

And the French word petard has another meaning, not always recorded in dictionaries: fart.

[oggbashan]

Originally Posted by CarlusMagnus

Actually, Shakespeare wrote

"For 'tis the sport to have the enginer
Hoist with his own petard..."

Being hoist with your own petard was one of the occupational hazards of being an "enginer"---the fuses of the day being rather more than unreliable as to the speed with which they burned...

And the French word petard has another meaning, not always recorded in dictionaries: fart.

And that needs this link: Le Petomane

[Tio_Narratore]

Originally Posted by CarlusMagnus

Actually, Shakespeare wrote

"For 'tis the sport to have the enginer
Hoist with his own petard..."

Being hoist with your own petard was one of the occupational hazards of being an "enginer"---the fuses of the day being rather more than unreliable as to the speed with which they burned...

And the French word petard has another meaning, not always recorded in dictionaries: fart.

Originally Posted by oggbashan

And that needs this link: Le Petomane

The French for 'fart' is 'pet' (comp. peter - to fart). On the road bordering Quebec in upstate NY, there was a shop specializing in items for companion animals whose owners gave it a name with a French slant without realizing that in naming their emporium "La boutique des pets," they had called it "the fart shop."

[AllardChardon]

The fart shop! How hilarious.

prow(1) - adj archaic VALIANT, GALLANT

prowess - noun 1. distinguished bravery; esp: military valor and skill 2. extraordinary ability

[AllardChardon]

The weekend has arrived, in case you didn't know, and I hope you have an enjoyable one;

provost - noun 1. the chief dignitary of a collegiate or cathedral chapter 2. the chief magistrate of a Scottish burgh 3. the keeper of a prison 4. high-ranking university administrative officer

[oggbashan]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

The weekend has arrived, in case you didn't know, and I hope you have an enjoyable one;

provost - noun 1. the chief dignitary of a collegiate or cathedral chapter 2. the chief magistrate of a Scottish burgh 3. the keeper of a prison 4. high-ranking university administrative officer

In the 1930s - see Dorothy L Sayers' Lord Peter novel 'Gaudy Night' - the provosts were responsible for students' behaviour in town, and would patrol on Friday and Saturday nights particularly, looking for students out late without a pass. By the 1950s and certainly by the 1960s, stopping students' inappropriate behaviour was beyond the provosts' capabilities.

I wouldn't describe them as high-ranking. They had to be graduates but their roles were more like that of a Master-of-Arms, or university policeman.