Seldom-Used Words

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Og, your knowledge is immense and I love that about you.

rive - verb 1. to crack or split into two or more fragments by means of or as a result of force, blow, or strain 2. to separate or pull apart by force
 
fid noun. A peg of hardwood tapered to a rounded point at one end, and used for seperating the strands of a rope for splicing and for loosening difficult knots.
 
but alas, I know not if America has a single gate.

New York City has a Hell Gate Bridge and San Francisco has the Golden Gate and it's bridge.

American "gates" apparently tend more to straits in rivers and bays than neighborhoods, but we do have them. :p
 
New York City has a Hell Gate Bridge and San Francisco has the Golden Gate and it's bridge.

American "gates" apparently tend more to straits in rivers and bays than neighborhoods, but we do have them. :p

Bathgate is a neighborhood in the Bronx. You may know it from the E. L. Doctorow novel, Billy Bathgate. It was also made into a reasonably good film.
 
I had a feeling America was nearly gateless.

Another from my childhood that I still love;

rigamarole also rigmarole - noun something that does not have or make sense
 
A word I ran across in a re-read of Jane Auel's Earth's Children series:

moiety:

* one of two (approximately) equal parts
* one of two basic subdivisions of a tribe
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
 
Xelebes, my dictionary, yes I am back home in California with a real dictionary again, says rivulet is a small stream. Here is an example from my previous entry - a rivulous thallus

thallus - noun plural a plant body that is characteristic of thallophytes, lacks differentiation into distinct members (as stems, leaves, and roots) and does not grow from an apical point
 
Came across this word in a newspaper and had to look it up.

hieratical - adj. pertaining to priests or priesthood.

The newpapers are getting edgy again. :p
 
I simply had to add this one;

texas leaguer - noun a fly in baseball that falls too far out to be caught by an infielder and too close to be caught by an outfielder
 
An archaic word, and I mean archaic, that is simple for the concept it conveys.

quone - v. to mourn, lament

I think it's a strong verb so it would be conjugated: I quone, I quont, you quont, I am quant, I am quoning.
 
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Speaking of archaic words, here is all the derivations of quell.

Quell = v. to temper, to hold back an offensive
Qual = v. to murder
Quild = n. destruction, death, pestilence
Quilm = v. to inflict suffering, to torment
Quildflood = n. deluge
 
Here is one that I experience every winter;

rime - noun 1. frost 2. an accumulation of granular ice tufts on the windward sides of exposed objects that is formed from supercooled fog or cloud and built out directly against the wind 3. crust, incrustation
 
Here is one that I experience every winter;

rime - noun 1. frost 2. an accumulation of granular ice tufts on the windward sides of exposed objects that is formed from supercooled fog or cloud and built out directly against the wind 3. crust, incrustation

Probably get some hoarfrost as well...

hoarfrost noun. Frozen dew that forms a crystalline white covering on a surface.
 
I simply had to add this one;

texas leaguer - noun a fly in baseball that falls too far out to be caught by an infielder and too close to be caught by an outfielder




Scroogie • ( slang ) A screwball ( a type of pitch that moves in the opposite direction of a curveball ).


Frozen rope • ( slang ) A line drive hit so hard by the batsmen that its trajectory is almost completely straight, almost like a frozen theater rope.


Worm burner • ( slang ) A hard hit ground ball; the ball is hit extremely low to the ground, or bounces rapidly across the ground, essentially "burning up worms" or hitting groundhogs as it speeds along.


Tater • ( slang ) A potato; a home run.


Dinger • ( slang ) A home run.


Ducks on the Pond • ( slang ) Runners on base.


Heater • ( slang ) A fastball.


Baltimore Chop • ( slang ) A manner of hitting by chopping the ball into the ground immediately in front of home plate with the design of making the ball “hop” into the air, either high enough to allow the batter to reach first base before the infielder can field the ball and throw it to first base. Another goal is to chop the ball hard enough to have it ricochet over the infielders’ heads. The term is derived from the style of play of the 1894 Baltimore Orioles, who led the National league in batting by often using this style.






'tis the time of year when hope springs eternal. It's no longer: "Wait'll next year." It IS "next year."




Some definitions taken from:
http://www.suite101.com/content/baseball-slang-dictionary-ac-a21777





 
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Thanks, Trysail, I was raised in LA, listening to Vince Scully on the radio announce all the Dodger's games, those were precious day to me. Duke Snyder was my favorite and we always sat in the outfield, so I could see him catch those fly balls. Anything baseball always gets my attention, especially the history of it all.

Tio, I never knew what hoarfrost was until I moved here and was walking my kids to school on a dirt path. The dirt was raised at least three inches from the icicles below and crunched like nothing I have ever heard before. I went back home and looked it up. Amazing stuff.

This one's definition offered me no clue, so I had to look it up, too;

rillstone - noun ventifact

ventifact - noun a stone worn , polished, or faceted by windblown sand
 
defenestrate: to push out of a window, as in the Great Defenestration of Prague in 1419.

Also the totally not well known phrase or saying, "Did he fall or was he defenestrated?"
 
Shaw, I think that one has been posted several times now. It seems to be a favorite. Welcome to the thread, though. You can always search the thread before replying to make sure. Even I cannot keep track of all the words I have posted. hehehe

I have heard of Brigadoon but not this one;

rigadoon - noun a lively dance of the 17th and 18th centuries, also the music for this dance
 
czardas (also csardas) noun A lively Hungarian dance. The name comes from the Magyar word for tavern. It's a traditional dance at St. George Galas. My eldest daughter "debuted" at a St' George's Ball andahd to learn the csardas for it.
 
Thank you, Tio, for that wonderful addition.

ridotto - noun a public entertainment consisting of music and dancing often in masquerade popular in 18th century England
 
...I was raised in LA, listening to Vince Scully on the radio announce all the Dodger's games, those were precious day to me. Duke Snyder was my favorite and we always sat in the outfield, so I could see him catch those fly balls...



For many years, Jon Miller did the broadcasts of the local team. Vin Scully was one of his role models and Miller does a more-than-fair impersonation of Scully that is almost indistinguishable from the real McCoy.




I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...




Remembering Baseball Legend Duke Snider
http://www.npr.org/2011/02/28/134141588/Remember-Baseball-Legend-Duke-Snider


February 28, 2011
Baseball icon Duke Snider passed away on Sunday. Host Melissa Block speaks with Snider's former teammate Carl Erskine.

more...
http://www.npr.org/2011/02/28/134141588/Remember-Baseball-Legend-Duke-Snider
 
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