Seldom-Used Words

AllardChardon said:

Rj, the opposite of doff is, of course, don;

don(1) - noun 1. a Spanish nobleman or gentleman - used as a title prefixed to the Christian 2.a. archaic: a person of consequence: GRANDEE b. a head, tutor, or fellow in a college of Oxford or Cambridge

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When my father was in charge of an Admiralty establishment in Gibraltar, he had a special silver pass (like a free entry visa) to enter Spain. On it he was described as 'El Senor Don...'.

There were 12 such silver passes and 3 golden passes. The golden passes were for the Governor (and Joint Forces commander), the Port Admiral, and the Air Officer Commanding.

Whenever one of the passholders wanted to enter Spain, the commander of the Gibraltar border guard would telephone the commander of the Spanish border guard to advise that a passholder was on the way.

For a silver passholder the Gibraltar Border Guards would parade outside their post and salute. The Spanish Border Guards would do the same. There were no customs or border checks for passholders.

For a golden passholder the Gibraltar Border Guards ought to parade with a military band and play the National Anthem followed by the Spanish National Anthem while the passholder saluted, then inspected the guard. The Spanish Border Guards would be expected to assemble their band and play the Spanish National Anthem followed by the British National Anthem, then the passholder should inspect the Spanish troops.

However, General Franco's Spain did not recognise Gibraltar as a UK possession. (Spain still doesn't!). It would have caused a diplomatic incident if a golden passholder had insisted on the correct protocol (and also be a real nuisance because military bands aren't normally present at border crossings).

So, if any of the three golden passholders actually wanted to visit Spain, they would do it incognito by borrowing a silver pass. So when the Gibraltar border guard telephoned their Spanish colleagues to say that a silver passholder was coming, the Spanish didn't know whether it was a lower-ranking officer, or a golden passholder pretending not to be.

As a small boy, I enjoyed the spectacle of my father's car being saluted by both the British and the Spanish and the special dispensation of being able to drive right past the queues on either side of the border, driven by 'El Senor Don...'.

AllardChardon said:

...Og, can you show me a picture of a cake-on-head? What a great term. It is not in my dictionary.

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<--- See my AV. That is my Cake-On-Head.

Thanks, Og, for drawing my attention to your cake-on -head, and the lovely chocolate cake with white frosting it does resemble. So, is Gibraltar part of Spain or England?

quandary - noun a state of perplexity or doubt: DILEMMA

AllardChardon said:

... So, is Gibraltar part of Spain or England?

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That depends on your interpretation of the Treaty of Utrecht. Wiki on status of Gibraltar

The Spanish view is that Gibraltar, taken by the British in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession, is still part of Spain and if the British leave, it should revert to Spain.

The British view is that under the UN's commitment to self-determination the Gibraltarian people have the final say on their allegiance. When a UN-run referendum was held, the Gibraltarians voted almost unanimously to remain British.

It is a long-standing dispute between Britain and Spain, unfortunate because both are members of NATO and the EU.

How would the US feel if Cape Cod, for example, was still a British colony as a result of the War of 1812 and those living in Cape Cod wanted nothing to do with the US?

Og, what a fascinating piece of history I knew nothing about. Gibraltar has always been a strategic point and coveted by many countries over the centuries, I would presume.

qualm- noun 1. a sudden attack of illness, faintness, or nausea 2.a. a sudden misgiving or fear b. an emotional pang: TWINGE 3. COMPUNCTION, SCRUPLE

Humility:
: the quality or state of being humble

Synonyms: demureness, down-to-earthness, humbleness, lowliness, meekness, modesty

Antonyms: arrogance, assumption, bumptiousness, conceit, egoism, egotism, haughtiness, hauteur, huffiness, imperiousness, loftiness, lordliness, peremptoriness, pomposity, pompousness, presumptuousness, pretense (or pretence), pretension, pretentiousness, pride, pridefulness, superciliousness, superiority, toploftiness

A factor decidedly lacking by a lot of Literoticans.

AllardChardon said:

So, is Gibraltar part of Spain or England?

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oggbashan said:

That depends on your interpretation of the Treaty of Utrecht. Wiki on status of Gibraltar

The Spanish view is that Gibraltar, taken by the British in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession, is still part of Spain and if the British leave, it should revert to Spain.

The British view is that under the UN's commitment to self-determination the Gibraltarian people have the final say on their allegiance. When a UN-run referendum was held, the Gibraltarians voted almost unanimously to remain British.

It is a long-standing dispute between Britain and Spain, unfortunate because both are members of NATO and the EU.

How would the US feel if Cape Cod, for example, was still a British colony as a result of the War of 1812 and those living in Cape Cod wanted nothing to do with the US?

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From Wiki:-
The territorial claim was formally reasserted by the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in the 1960s and has been continued by successive Spanish governments. They have insisted that the Gibraltar dispute is a purely bilateral matter and that the current Gibraltarians are mere settlers whose role and will are irrelevant.


To be honest, the status of Gibraltar is a bit of a thorn in the side of the UK government, who'd rather not have it as a problem; at all.

Bearing in mind that GBR too it over on 1704 and that it was ceded in 1713, that's 300 years of "mere settlement".
Now, suppose the Native Indian nations decided to unite and chuck out the "mere settlers" ?

The short answer is that it is British, by conquest, Treaty and desire of the locals (and so is the Falklands).

Handley_Page said:

From Wiki:-
The territorial claim was formally reasserted by the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in the 1960s and has been continued by successive Spanish governments. They have insisted that the Gibraltar dispute is a purely bilateral matter and that the current Gibraltarians are mere settlers whose role and will are irrelevant.


To be honest, the status of Gibraltar is a bit of a thorn in the side of the UK government, who'd rather not have it as a problem; at all.

Bearing in mind that GBR too it over on 1704 and that it was ceded in 1713, that's 300 years of "mere settlement".
Now, suppose the Native Indian nations decided to unite and chuck out the "mere settlers" ?
The short answer is that it is British, by conquest, Treaty and desire of the locals (and so is the Falklands).

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Not a bad idea, HP...

300 hundred years is a long time to be a mere settler, so I agree with the people who have made it their home. If native Indians did kick everyone off their land, I would certainly lose mine, although the previous owner of my land was the railroad. We know how Hearst and his cronies got the land from the Indians, they took it by force. First, the prospectors thought gold might be in the Sacramento River, up here near the source, and when there was none, they went for the timber by the ton. Parts of the Old Oregon Trail wind its way through the forest to this day.

Can anyone explain this next word;

quale - noun a property considered as an object of experience esp. in abstraction from a physical entity

AllardChardon said:

Can anyone explain this next word;

quale - noun a property considered as an object of experience esp. in abstraction from a physical entity

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualia
Qualia ( /ˈkwɑːliə/ or /ˈkweɪliə/), singular "quale" (Latin pronunciation: [ˈkwaːle]), from a Latin word meaning for "what sort" or "what kind," is a term used in philosophy to refer to subjective conscious experiences as 'raw feels'.

Thanks, Harold, but can you give me an example of a "raw feel"? I still don't quite get the picture. Being spanked as a naughty child is the only thing that springs to my mind and I am not at all sure that is what is meant by quale.

quaker - noun 1. one that quakes 2. cap: FRIEND(5)

Quaker gun - noun a dummy piece of artillery usually made of wood

quaker ladies - noun pl BLUETS

AllardChardon said:

Thanks, Harold, but can you give me an example of a "raw feel"? I still don't quite get the picture.

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Your experience of the redness of that big line in your sig, independent of its source or manner of transmission, is a quale.

And remember: Philosophy consists of the misuse of definitions invented for the purpose.

AllardChardon said:

Being spanked as a naughty child is the only thing that springs to my mind and I am not at all sure that is what is meant by quale.

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How about being spanked as a naught adult?

quale [L, neut. sing. of qualis of what kind.]
A property, a quality; a thing having certain qualities.

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Excerpted from Oxford Talking Dictionary
Copyright © 1998 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Thanks, Carl, now I understand. In recent years, I have found that I loved to be spanked, but rarely feel naughty about it. It is another form of pleasure that excites all sorts of areas, and, therefore, is desirable. I have had lovers try to get me to feel naughty to make them happy, but the best I can do is act playful, which sometimes works well enough for both. A truly stern disciplinarian would never be satisfied with my mirth. My father was very strict, so that behavior has the opposite effect on my feelings of sexuality. It makes me want to rebel.

quaint - adj 1. obs: EXPERT, SKILLED 2. marked by cleverness, ingenuity, or refinement 3.a. unusual or different in character or appearance: ODD b. pleasingly old-fashioned or unfamiliar: PICTURESQUE

Hello everyone, and here we are at the beginning of a new week, which I hope is a most pleasant one.

quail(2) - verb 1. chiefly dial: WITHER, DECLINE 2. to lose courage: COWER ~ archaic: to make fearful

I am going to add this French entry for my own reference, I hope you do not mind;

Quai d' Orsay - noun the French Government; specif: the French foreign office

clype A Scottish word meaning to tell, or report, particularly misdemeanour's to a higher authority.

Handley, do you mean like, "I am going to clype on you, if you don't pay me to keep quiet."? Interesting word, but usage is always key.

quaich or quaigh - noun chiefly Scot: a small shallow drinking vessel with ears for use as handles

A good day to All. Let's hope no one gets stuck in one of these;

quagmire - noun 1. soft miry land that shakes or yields under the foot 2. a complex or precarious position

patchouli • n., a heavy perfume made from the fragrant essential oil of a southeast Asian mint (Pogostemon cablin); also: the plant itself.







Not only did I not know the word's meaning, I'd never seen it before I stumbled across it in Graham Robb's Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris.

AllardChardon said:

Hello everyone, and here we are at the beginning of a new week, which I hope is a most pleasant one.

quail(2) - verb 1. chiefly dial: WITHER, DECLINE 2. to lose courage: COWER ~ archaic: to make fearful

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Growing up, we had a Black Labrador/Irish Setter mix. When the quail would come to the backyard, he would NEVER quail around them. He'd stand still, point, and wait for someone to tell him to "go get 'em." Which he did, not like a hunting dog and flushing them out so they'll be shot, he'd run like a puppy, tail wagging and playfully go after them.

Trysail, patchouli oil was VERY popular with the hippies of the 60s, especially in California. Some gatherings literally reeked of it.

Rj, I have never seen or hear anyone use quail for anything but the birds, must less cowardice. That is the reason I posted it.

quag- noun MARSH, BOG

quaggy - adj 1. MARSHY 2. FLABBY, YIELDING

Here is today's entry and it is an old one;

quaere - noun archaic: QUERY, QUESTION

AllardChardon said:

Trysail, patchouli oil was VERY popular with the hippies of the 60s, especially in California. Some gatherings literally reeked of it.

Rj, I have never seen or hear anyone use quail for anything but the birds, must less cowardice. That is the reason I posted it.

quag- noun MARSH, BOG

quaggy - adj 1. MARSHY 2. FLABBY, YIELDING

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I thought it was Quagmire, which is a very unpleasant (and sometimes deadly) bog.
They used to be found on Exmoor, I understand.
I guess you could get mired in the Quag.


"You'll surely not clype on us, would you?"

Handley, there must be some subtle difference between quag and quagmire that the dictionary did not mention and I have no knowledge of.

quadrumana - noun plural primates excluding man considered as a group distinguished by hand-shaped feet