Seldom-Used Words

[AllardChardon]

Very nice, Edward.

Og, there is a story in Mark Twain's Roughing It, where he stumbles upon a stream glittering with gold while alone and can hardly keep from telling his fellow miners how rich they're all gonna be, when the truth of fool's gold sets in. In another chapter, he has the job of sifting the tailings for gold dust. We have fool's gold here and Lake Tahoe area is so full of it, the streets glitter with gold. It has a very nice effect on a sunny summer day.

Just north of here is a town named Dunsmuir. Back in the prospecting days of California, every inch of the Sacramento River was gone over. One of the earliest prospectors (I can't remember his name) did this in Dunsmuir and found no gold, but did not let that stop him. He loaded some gold dust into his shotgun and blasted the steep sides of the river north of Dunsmuir and then went down to the City of Sacramento to sell stakes in this bonanza of gold. Many miners trekked all the way up here and staked out their claims. Well, they dug and panned and dug and panned ... for over a month, and nobody got any more gold than the dust on the surface from the shotgun. The shyster managed to get out of town on the train going south, just before the miners caught him, and escaped into the Whiskeytown area, east of Redding.

I knew the second definition of this next word, but not the first;

placebo - noun 1. the vespers for the dead in the Roman Catholic Church 2.a. an inert or innocuuous medication given especially to satisfy the patient b. something tending to soothe or gratify

[AllardChardon]

This one was just too good to let go by;

pizzle - noun 1. the penis of an animal (as a bull) 2. a whip made of a bull's pizzle

[Handley_Page]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

This one was just too good to let go by;

pizzle - noun 1. the penis of an animal (as a bull) 2. a whip made of a bull's pizzle

I was told once that it made good soup. . . .

[EdwardMidweston]

Originally Posted by Handley_Page

I was told once that it made good soup. . . .

Believe it or not, there was (maybe still is) a company that made novelty golf clubs out of bull's penises.

[AllardChardon]

And I suppose walking sticks, too, because my dad had one of those. Not what I would call an attactive walking stick, but everyone to their own taste. Does that mean it is really called a pizzle stick? Too close to swizzle stick, a candy I grew up with that used a straw to hold the powdery sweetness.

As an aside, the oddest animal coupling I ever witnessed was a pair of rhinos in a zoo. "Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it..." LOL

pizzazz - noun the quality of being exciting or attractive: as a. GLAMOUR b. VITALITY

[AllardChardon]

A great weekend wish for you all;

pixilated - adj 1. somewhat unbalanced mentally; also: BEMUSED 2. WHIMSICAL

[Tio_Narratore]

Down East we also use pixilated to mean inebriated, or even soused. Maybe for one who's in his cups or three sheets to the wind...

[AllardChardon]

Tio, I have never heard that term to describe being drunk before, but it certainly works for me. LOL

pittance - noun a small portion, amount, or allowance

[Handley_Page]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

A great weekend wish for you all;

pixilated - adj 1. somewhat unbalanced mentally; also: BEMUSED 2. WHIMSICAL

I believe it is also something to do with distorting a digital image.

[AllardChardon]

That makes sense, Handley, but I wonder if it is spelled pixelated instead.

pithy - adj 1. consisting or or abounding in pith 2. having substance and point: tersely cogent

[Handley_Page]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

Tio, I have never heard that term to describe being drunk before, but it certainly works for me. LOL

pittance - noun a small portion, amount, or allowance

In a medieval abbey, the Pittance was issued by the Dolemaster (who, not unreasonably, Doled it out).

[AllardChardon]

That is amusing, Handley. I always wondered how dole became a verb that meant to distribute something.

pissoir - noun a public urinal usually located on the street in some European countries

[oggbashan]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

...

pissoir - noun a public urinal usually located on the street in some European countries

Chevallier's comic French novel Clochemerle turns around the antagonism between the Mayor and the Priest, has a long incident about the siting of the new pissoir - right in the entrance way to the Church.

The Clochemerle series of books, made into a BBC series, poke fun at French politics or all small town politicians. Siting a pissoir is sacrilege, or a declaration of war!

[AllardChardon]

Og, that is most interesting. I wondered when I posted that word if you would have a story to tell about it and you did. Thanks, again, for all of your wonderful contributions to this thread.

I learn something new every day from the dictionary. This next word is also the name of a beach in California, (Pismo Beach) and I never knew why until now;

pismo clam - noun a thick-shelled clam of the southwest coast of North America used extensively for food

[nonfictional]

solecism - error in syntax; a violation of etiquette; an impropriety. (the last two meanings are modern, the first one is ancient)

Given its modern meaning, you'd think it would be a commonly used word in erotic literature. But it is'nt for some reason.

[AllardChardon]

Welcome, nonfictional, that is, indeed, a great word. Thanks for sharing it. And this next word goes with it perfectly as sound effects;

pish - inter used to express disdain or contempt

[AllardChardon]

And interesting entry for the scientific types;

piscivorous - adj feeding on fishes

[AllardChardon]

And now for the religious fans;

piscina - noun a basin with a drain near the altar of a church for disposing of water from liturgical ablutions

[Exquisition]

Penumbra (noun) outer region of a shadow

bocage (noun) - small, wooded area

[AllardChardon]

Welcome, Exquistion. Thanks for joining this backward thread. I started with the Zs and am proceeding to the As, just so you know.

piscary - noun FISHERY; especially: the right of fishing in waters belonging to another

[oggbashan]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

...

piscary - noun FISHERY; especially: the right of fishing in waters belonging to another

Piscary used to cause real disputes between the Cinque Ports who had the right of piscary in the North Sea and the fishermen of East Anglia, particularly Great Yarmouth, who didn't have the same rights.

Fishermen from a Cinque Port such as Dover could land fish at Great Yarmouth and sell them free of taxes, but the locals had to pay tax on their catch. Understanderably the Cinque Ports fishermen were not popular.

In modern times, the EU has real problems with piscary. French and Spanish fishermen can catch fish, within their quotas, inside British territorial waters and sell them in British ports, while British fishermen have restricted quotas and can't fish close to their ports.

We even had the so-called Cod War between Britain and Iceland over Iceland's unilateral extension of their exclusive fishing waters. It was eventually settled by diplomatic negotiation. (see PS)

There is still real conflict between EU fishermen over the remaining fish stocks around the British Isles. Annual negotiations over quotas of fish to be caught by each nation in the EU are very heated and everyone is dissatisfied with the results. But the real losers are the fish stocks which are dwindling every year. Unless something drastic is done soon, there will be no cod in the North Sea.

Piscary is still very emotive.

PS. Iceland were in the right. They extended their fishing rights to stop damaging over-fishing around Iceland. The Icelandic fishermen and government wanted to manage their fish stocks in a sustainable manner. Until they denied piscary to others, the fish stocks around Iceland were declining rapidly. Now maritime protection zones might be the answer - but who polices them? Modern bottom trawling destroys every fish species - for years.

[AllardChardon]

Og, I have read about the problems of overfishing cod and their dwindling numbers. It is a very hot issue in the U.S., too. Thank you for bringing it to light, here. I like cod, and would gladly stop eating it for a few years, so they could recover, but I'm sure fishermen don't want any part of that.

pis aller - noun a last resource or device: EXPEDIENT

[EdwardMidweston]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

pis aller - noun a last resource or device: EXPEDIENT

peccary n. any of three species of a smallish, piglike mammals that range from the southwestern United States all the way down to Patagonia.

[AllardChardon]

Greetings, posters. I hope you enjoy your weekend;

pique(1) - noun offense taken by one slighted or disdained; also: a fit of resentment

pique(2) - vt 1. to arouse anger or resentment in: IRRITATE; specif: to offend by slighting 2. to excite or arouse by a provocation, challenge, or rebuff

[oggbashan]

Pique Dame is an Opera by Franz von Suppé.

Pique Dame is the Queen of Spades.