Seldom-Used Words

Status
Not open for further replies.
Good to know, Og, I will make sure Madam Gigi gets on the pusser's best side. Are there any more details like that you could share, what age group a passenger ship's pusser would be, for instance? Were they usually younger, unmarried men, especially back in 1857, or older, more distinguished gentlemen? I am trying to be somewhat accurate.

...

It would depend on the size of the ship. A purser on a large passenger liner, even in 1857, would be a very senior officer probably married, perhaps even a grandfather.

A purser on a small ship could be younger but as it was/is an important post for the shipping line he would be a responsible person probably acting as the company's agent when in port.

Note: Merchant Navy is always 'Purser', NOT 'pusser'.

As the purser is responsible for the passengers, a romantic entanglement with a passenger could be seen as a breach of trust, rather like a teacher with a pupil. That could lead to tensions between love and duty, if that's what you want in your story.

Another officer responsible for the running of the ship itself, not attending to passengers' needs, perhaps a third or fourth officer, would be more likely to be the right age, unmarried and expected (and encouraged) to pay attention to single female passengers as a dance partner or flirting at the dining table when their navigational duties permitted.

Young single females would not be seated at the Captain's Table. That would be reserved for VIPs, shareholders in the shipping company and rich businessmen (and their wives). However, to have any interaction with any of the ship's officers, your heroine would have to be travelling First Class.

The Captain, the First Officer and the Purser, had to be masters of social diplomacy when interacting with the passengers.
 
Og, as I have said before, you have a wealth of knowledge about my favorite time period and I appreciate it very much. Madam Gigi (formally addressed as Mrs. Hobart, a very wealthy widow), will leave the Captain and Purser alone and go for one of the underlings. The Collins line was an American ocean steamship line that seriously competed for best Atlantic crossing times with Cunard in 1857.

purlieu - noun 1.a. a place of resort: HAUNT b. pl CONFINES, BOUNDS 2.a. an outlying or adjacent district b. pl ENVIRONS, NEIGHBORHOOD
 
I have never seen this word used before;

purl(3) - noun 1. a purling or swirling stream or rill 2. a gentle murmur or movement (as of purling water)
 
Purl = Sexy

I have never seen this word used before;

purl(3) - noun 1. a purling or swirling stream or rill 2. a gentle murmur or movement (as of purling water)

Very nice, the sexual undertones on that are fantastic.

Since Allard is a fan of the Ps, here's one of my favorites:

patina - pat·i·na: n -
1. A green or brown film on the surface of bronze or similar metals, produced by oxidation over a long period.
2. A gloss or sheen, usually on wooden furniture, produced by age and polishing.
 
Yes, Handley, that one is purl(2). I agree, Payday, purl is a pearl of a word.

purgative(1) - adj purging or tending to purge: CATHARTIC
 
This can be very sexy, methinks.

Another for the P's:

protractor: n - 1. An instrument for measuring angles, typically in the form of a flat semicircle marked with degrees along the curved edge. 2. A muscle serving to extend a part of the body.
 
Yes, Payday, protractor does have sexual possibilities.

purfle - vt 1. to ornament the border of 2. to ornament with metallic threads, jewels, or fur, or with tracery or inlay
 


jongleur • n., (in medieval France and Norman England) an itinerant minstrel or entertainer who sang songs, often of his own composition, and told stories.






I rarely read fiction but I've been browbeaten by too many people who insist that I read Ken Follett's Pillars of The Earth. One of the main characters is the bastard son of a jongleur.



 


goliard • n., one of a class of wandering scholar-poets in Germany, France, and England, chiefly in the 12th and 13th centuries, noted as the authors of satirical Latin verse written in celebration of conviviality, sensual pleasures, etc. Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English.






It's a word I run across every couple of years. Unfortunately, I have to look it up every time I run across it.


 
Careful...

Must say: I prefer to protract her. :devil:

You're getting close to my versions of usage, and I was chastened'd for it. :D

chasten : tv (see also: chastise) - 1. To correct by punishment or suffering. 2. a: To prune (as work or style of art) of excess, pretense, or falsity; to refine. b: To cause to be more humble or restrained; to subdue.

chastise: tv - 1. To inflict punishment on (as by whipping) 2. To castigate or censure.
 
Last edited:
You're getting close to my versions of usage, and I was chastened'd for it. :D

chasten : tv (see also: chastise) - 1. To correct by punishment or suffering. 2. a: To prune (as work or style of art) of excess, pretense, or falsity; to refine. b: To cause to be more humble or restrained; to subdue.

chastise: tv - 1. To inflict punishment on (as by whipping) 2. To castigate or censure.

There's a difference between a protractor and a protracter.:)

And, as far as being chastened, I'd choose to be unchastened.:)

Like the guy on the airplane who said "I'd like a gin & tonic," in reply to the airline hostess' question whether he'd like a drink.

The woman sitting next to him said, outraged, "Why! I'd rather commit adultery than drink alcohol!"

"Me, too," he replied, "But I take what I can get."
 
Last edited:
Please remember, the only applicable rule on this thread is civility. All thoughts and wordplayfulnesses are welcomed. How is that for a new word that defines itself? Whatever opinions shared are simply opinions held by the poster. No judgment necessary.

purblind - adj 1.a. obs wholly blind b. partially blind 2. lacking in vision, insight, or understanding: OBTUSE
 
Please remember, the only applicable rule on this thread is civility. All thoughts and wordplayfulnesses are welcomed. How is that for a new word that defines itself? Whatever opinions shared are simply opinions held by the poster. No judgment necessary.

purblind - adj 1.a. obs wholly blind b. partially blind 2. lacking in vision, insight, or understanding: OBTUSE

This used to be a word applied to those who lacked forethought; didn't reckon on the consequences of an action or words.
 
Yes, Handley, purblind is a good word I have never encountered before, nor the second entry below;

puppy love - noun CALF LOVE

calf love - noun transitory affection felt by a boy or a girl for one of the opposite sex - called also puppy love
 
Yes, Handley, purblind is a good word I have never encountered before, nor the second entry below;

puppy love - noun CALF LOVE

calf love - noun transitory affection felt by a boy or a girl for one of the opposite sex - called also puppy love

Oh dear. All along I thought it referred to the old Fugs' song...

"Claire June, Claire june, I'd give up cows for you,
I'd give up heifer f***ing..."
 
Now that is one unusual song, Tio, my dear.

punty - noun a metal rod used for fashioning hot glass
 
<< This whimpled, whining, purblind, wayward boy;
This senior-junior, giant-dwarf, Dan Cupid;
Regent of love-rhymes, lord of folded arms,
The anointed sovereign of sighs and groans...>>

Love's Labours Lost

Patrick
 
Woah, woah, woah

Yes, Handley, purblind is a good word I have never encountered before, nor the second entry below;

puppy love - noun CALF LOVE

calf love - noun transitory affection felt by a boy or a girl for one of the opposite sex - called also puppy love

Is this considered antique slang? May I be so bold as to ask where you got it?

It seems almost weird if you say it out loud, which is why I think 'puppy love' has taken over in usage. 'Calf love' would work well for historical literature though, even if it is regional.

Wait, is it regional?
 
All my words come from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary from 1971, unless I search online, which happens occasionally.

punky- adj 1. of, or relating,to, or like punk 2. burning slowly: SMOLDERING
 
Yes, Handley, purblind is a good word I have never encountered before, nor the second entry below;

puppy love - noun CALF LOVE

calf love - noun transitory affection felt by a boy or a girl for one of the opposite sex - called also puppy love


And it provided a lot of ammunition for song-writers:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuG_fTwoUoU

[ and no - I deliberately didn't select the Donny Osmond; it's 'orrible ]
 
All my words come from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary from 1971, unless I search online, which happens occasionally.

punky- adj 1. of, or relating,to, or like punk 2. burning slowly: SMOLDERING

I found that Punk was a useful item to carry when hiking. It could be used as a basis for starting a fire for cooking.

In the days before matches, when producing fire with a flint and steel was essential, and every housemaid had to light a fire, punk was a household item kept in the tinder box.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top