Seldom-Used Words

[AllardChardon]

Good to be here, even though I never thought I was going anywhere, anyways. A happy winter solstice to you, all.

philippic - noun a discourse or defamation full of acrimonius invective: TIRADE

[AllardChardon]

Greetings, everyone;

philately - noun the collection and study of postage and imprinted stamps

[Handley_Page]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

Greetings, everyone;

philately - noun the collection and study of postage and imprinted stamps

I await your arrival at Numismatics

[oggbashan]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

Phillimore and Babbitt both have literary roots. Babbitt is an entry, though.

Babbitt - noun [George F. Babbitt], a character in the novel Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis (1922)]: a business or professional man who conforms unthinkingly to prevailing middle-class standards

I had to study Babbit as part of my Australian English Literature examination. I didn't like the book and I said so in the examination. I compared Babbit with Thorne Smith's The Jovial Ghosts which shows rebellion against 1920s small town America mores.

[AllardChardon]

Og, I haven't read The Jovial Ghosts, but anything Thorne Smith wrote always delights me. Thanks for the tip.

philantrophic - adj 1. of, relating to, or characteristic of philantrophy: BENEVOLENT 2. ELEEMOSYNARY

[oggbashan]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

Og, I haven't read The Jovial Ghosts, but anything Thorne Smith wrote always delights me. Thanks for the tip.

philantrophic - adj 1. of, relating to, or characteristic of philantrophy: BENEVOLENT 2. ELEEMOSYNARY

Have you moved an h? I spell it philanthropic.

You probably have read The Jovial Ghosts. It is the UK title of Topper.

In the UK, we remember Mr Carnegie for his philanthropic behaviour. He provided many UK towns with their first ever public libraries.

[AllardChardon]

Og, yes I misspelled my entry. It is philanthropic here, too. The reason I posted it was the definition, which will be my next entry and an odd one at that. I have read Topper and Topper Returns, but my favorite will always be Night Life of the Gods, which I think we have talked about before.

eleemosynary - adj of, or relating to, or supported by charity

[CarlusMagnus]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

Og, yes I misspelled my entry. It is philanthropic here, too. The reason I posted it was the definition, which will be my next entry and an odd one at that. I have read Topper and Topper Returns, but my favorite will always be Night Life of the Gods, which I think we have talked about before.

eleemosynary - adj of, or relating to, or supported by charity

Hmmm. Twelve letters.

Looks even to me.

[Cholla]

brobdingnagian-

adjective
1.
of huge size; gigantic; tremendous.

noun
2.
an inhabitant of Brobdingnag.

3.
a being of tremendous size; giant.


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Origin:
Brobdingnag + -ian

[oggbashan]

Originally Posted by Cholla

brobdingnagian-

...
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Origin:
Brobdingnag + -ian

From Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels.

I have written several chapters of the sexual encounters omitted by Jonathan Swift. See my signature below:

[AllardChardon]

Welcome, Cholla. Your name brings back memories of hanging with low-riders in Torrance, CA, in 1966. My brother disliked my friends and kept calling me a cholla to try and make me mad, but I liked it, which mad him mad. By the way, I am perusing the dictionary backwards for fun.

philander - vi to make love frivolously: FLIRT

[Cholla]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

Welcome, Cholla. Your name brings back memories of hanging with low-riders in Torrance, CA, in 1966. My brother disliked my friends and kept calling me a cholla to try and make me mad, but I liked it, which mad him mad. By the way, I am perusing the dictionary backwards for fun.

philander - vi to make love frivolously: FLIRT

Thanks a lot, AllardChardon.

Concupiscent- adjective: lustful or sensual, eagerly desirous.

[AllardChardon]

That is a great word, Cholla!

Philadelphia lawyer - noun a shrewd lawyer versed in the intricacies of legal phraseology and adept at exploiting legal technicalities

[EdwardMidweston]

Prokaryotes n. - organisms whose cells lack a cell nucleus

(I learned this one in a college biology class and haven't used it since--until now. Thanks for the opportunity to prove my formal education wasn't a total waste.

[Handley_Page]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

That is a great word, Cholla!

Philadelphia lawyer - noun a shrewd lawyer versed in the intricacies of legal phraseology and adept at exploiting legal technicalities

Interesting history.
From Wiki:

Philadelphia Lawyer is a term to describe a lawyer who knows the most detailed and minute points of law or is an exceptionally competent lawyer. Its first usage dates back to 1788.
Alternatively, "the ultimate in crooked lawyers".

Philadelphia-based Colonial American lawyer Andrew Hamilton, a lawyer best known for his legal victory on behalf of printer and newspaper publisher John Peter Zenger, is believed to have inspired the "Philadelphia lawyer" term. This 1735 decision helped to establish that truth is a defence to an accusation of libel.

[AllardChardon]

Merry Christmas, everyone! Ho Ho Ho

Thanks, Handley for the history of my last entry. That is the first time I had ever heard the term, Philadelphia lawyer, and I plan to use it in my second book.

phatic - adj revealing or sharing feelings or establishing an atmosphere of sociability rather than communicating ideas (~ communion)

[AllardChardon]

A week left in ole 2012, then it will be onto a new and better 2013, hopefully.

pharos - noun a lighthouse or beacon ro guide seamen

[trysail]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

Phillimore and Babbitt both have literary roots. Babbitt is an entry, though.

Babbitt - noun [George F. Babbitt], a character in the novel Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis (1922)]: a business or professional man who conforms unthinkingly to prevailing middle-class standards

As a devotee of H. L. Mencken and a collector of Menckeniania, Babbitt and Babbittry are familiar terms. Mencken was, of course, one of Sinclair Lewis' early champions and wrote:

I know of no American novel that more accurately presents the real America. As an old professor of Babbittry I welcome him as an almost perfect specimen. Every American city swarms with his brothers. He is America incarnate, exuberant and exquisite.

Lewis dedicated his 1927 novel, Elmer Gantry, to Mencken "...with profound admiration." Mencken later distanced himself from Lewis, disgusted by Lewis' politics and unfortunate penchant for overindulgence in drink.

[oggbashan]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

A week left in ole 2012, then it will be onto a new and better 2013, hopefully.

pharos - noun a lighthouse or beacon or guide seamen

Dover, Kent had two Roman ones to guide ships into port. One, the Bredinstone, was a small remain that was covered up by new fortifications in the 19th Century. The other still stands next to the church in Dover Castle with additional height added when it was used as the church's bell tower. There was another Roman lighthouse in Calais, but that was lost centuries ago and is probably buried by their current lighthouse.

The Pharos of Alexandria and the Colossus of Rhodes were two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Both were used as lighthouses.

The Dover Pharos:

[AllardChardon]

Thank you, Trysail, for the information on Mencken and Lewis. I didn't realize they were friends.

Thank you, Og, for posting a picture of the Dover pharos. England is fortunate to have been part of the Roman Empire and have the structures they built so long ago still standing.


Here is an interesting pairing:

pharisaic - adj 1. cap: of or relating to the Pharisees 2. PHARISAICAL

pharisaical - adj marked by hypocritical censorious self-righteousness

[oggbashan]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

Thank you, Trysail, for the information on Mencken and Lewis. I didn't realize they were friends.

Thank you, Og, for posting a picture of the Dover pharos. England is fortunate to have been part of the Roman Empire and have the structures they built so long ago still standing.


...

This, Richborough Roman Fort is the nearest large scale Roman remain near me.

The Roman Painted House in Dover is one of the most interesting.

Lullingstone Roman Villa is unusual because it has a very early Christian room.

But in Canterbury there is the Roman Museum below the modern shopping centre, the remains of St Pancras church which was adapted from a Roman building, and St Martins, the oldest church in continuous use. The City Walls still show their Roman foundations and are on the line the Romans set out.

[AllardChardon]

Og, the 3D effect of the wall paintings at The Roman Painted House were very impressive. The artistry is spectacular. Rhe Romans really knew how to live well, no matter where they moved or whom they conquered.

phantasm - noun 1. a product of phantasy: as a: delusive appearance: ILLUSION b. GHOST, SPECTER c. a figment of the imagination: FANTASY 2. a mental representation of a real object 3. a deceptive or illusionary appearance of a thing

[EdwardMidweston]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

phantasm - noun 1. a product of phantasy: as a: delusive appearance: ILLUSION b. GHOST, SPECTER c. a figment of the imagination: FANTASY 2. a mental representation of a real object 3. a deceptive or illusionary appearance of a thing

And phantasm's close relative:

phantasmagoria noun

1. a series or group of strange or bizarre images seen as if in a dream
2. a scene or view that encompasses many things, bizarre or not, which changes rapidly enough to create an almost surreal effect

[AllardChardon]

Good day to all.

phalanx - noun 1. a body of heavily armed infantry formed in close deep ranks and files; broadly: a body of troops in close array 2. pl phalanges: one of the digital bones of the hand or foot of a vertebrate 3. pl usu phalanxes a: a massed arrangement of persons, animals, or things b: an organized body of persons

[Handley_Page]

Originally Posted by AllardChardon

Good day to all.

phalanx - noun 1. a body of heavily armed infantry formed in close deep ranks and files; broadly:
a body of troops in close array
2. pl phalanges: one of the digital bones of the hand or foot of a vertebrate
3. pl usu phalanxes a: a massed arrangement of persons, animals, or things
b: an organized body of persons

Actually, it's quite tricky. The term originates from Greek warfare, where a body of men, armed usually with spears of some sort, advance upon a similar body of men forming the opposition.
Their shields were very closely aligned for the purposes of defence.
The snag is, of course, that defending a phalanx from a rear or side attack is not easy.

In the UK, a similar phalanx method is used in crowd control.