Seldom-Used Words

[AllardChardon]

Og, that is another subject I find fascinating, gambling, in all cultures, throughout time. People love to gamble, I have found, including me, but only for piddling stakes.

old school tie - noun 1.a. a necktie displaying the colors of an English public school b. an attitude of conservatism, aplomb, and upper-class solidarity associated with English public school graduates 2. clannishness among members of an established clique

What a wonderful definition to a great entry! Now, all I need to know is how to use it properly in speech. Any takers?

 

[oggbashan]

Og, that is another subject I find fascinating, gambling, in all cultures, throughout time. People love to gamble, I have found, including me, but only for piddling stakes.

old school tie - noun 1.a. a necktie displaying the colors of an English public school b. an attitude of conservatism, aplomb, and upper-class solidarity associated with English public school graduates 2. clannishness among members of an established clique

What a wonderful definition to a great entry! Now, all I need to know is how to use it properly in speech. Any takers?

It now tends to be used sarcastically or ironically.

Both the Prime Minister David Cameron (Conservative) and the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat) went to the same Public School. Neither wear their Old School Ties, but UK Cartoonists enjoy putting them in 'school' situations.

Wearing an old school tie, or university scarf, or even a regimental tie, except on specific occasions such as reunions, tends now to indicate that the individual has not moved on from his (usually his) past and is re-living past glories.

It is easy to pretend to be entitled to an old school tie. Those who actually attended the premier Public Schools in the UK don't need the tie to demonstrate their status. They KNOW they are better.

Or they think they are.

Edited for PS. I have an Old School Tie that has meaning in Australia. But I'm not in Australia so there is no point in wearing it. I wouldn't wear it even in Australia. I left that school so long ago that it is now meaningless. But the colour and design is exactly the same as a significant English Public School. If I wore it in England I would be assumed to be an Old Boy of that school - which I'm not. So it stays, unworn, on my tie rack.

I do have other ties that have significant and current meaning in the UK, for organisations I'm currently involved with. But I wouldn't wear them except on specific occasions when they are relevant. I have more ties I can't wear every day, than 'normal' ties suitable for general use.

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, so Harry Potter's scarf was based on the old school tie idea? Makes sense, really. Thanks for letting me know to use it, more likely as an insult than a compliment, I suppose, but that's too bad. There is nothing wrong with traditions.

Old Nick - noun DEVIL, SATAN

 

[oggbashan]

Og, so Harry Potter's scarf was based on the old school tie idea? Makes sense, really. Thanks for letting me know to use it, more likely as an insult than a compliment, I suppose, but that's too bad. There is nothing wrong with traditions.

Old Nick - noun DEVIL, SATAN

I've added an edit to my post above. There are times and places for wearing an Old School Tie and considerable etiquette about their suitability.

 

[Handley_Page]

Og, so Harry Potter's scarf was based on the old school tie idea? Makes sense, really. Thanks for letting me know to use it, more likely as an insult than a compliment, I suppose, but that's too bad. There is nothing wrong with traditions.

Old Nick - noun DEVIL, SATAN

Well, given that the general background of Harry Potter is rather like an old English Boarding School, the scarf is a bit more than that. It provides both a unification ('I'm one of that mob') and identification (in places and circumstances where there are others wearing different gear).
To a lesser extent, wearing the scarf of the colours of your football team is a similar thing (by extension, you're one of us and if you get into bother, we'll help you out).

Like the Old School tie, the Regimental tie is a quieter, although similar, idea. It tells the knowing who you are and saves a lot of interrogation.

 

[oggbashan]

Well, given that the general background of Harry Potter is rather like an old English Boarding School, the scarf is a bit more than that. It provides both a unification ('I'm one of that mob') and identification (in places and circumstances where there are others wearing different gear).
To a lesser extent, wearing the scarf of the colours of your football team is a similar thing (by extension, you're one of us and if you get into bother, we'll help you out).

Like the Old School tie, the Regimental tie is a quieter, although similar, idea. It tells the knowing who you are and saves a lot of interrogation.

The Harry Potter scarf is part of a school uniform.

School uniform is an emotive subject in the UK. Not only is it relatively expensive, but schoolchildren, particularly teenagers are always trying to push the boundaries of what is 'uniform'.

A few examples:

A local Catholic Girls' school wears tartan (plaid) skirts. The standard length is about four inches below the knee when standing. There is no option to wear trousers but they can wear opaque black or navy tights underneath the skirts.

About ten years ago the rebellious ones started wearing their skirts longer and longer until they were ankle length or even dragging on the ground. The school wasn't too concerned about longer skirts so some students converted their skirts to wrap-around with an inadequate overlap so that a leg was displayed when walking. That produced a 'letter to parents' and wrap-around skirts were banned.

Five years ago, the rebellion was shorter skirts. The girls modified their skirts so that they could be as short as possible, barely covering their panties. Another 'letter to parents' was sent. The girls' response was to wear their skirts at the official length when at the school, but to roll the skirt over and over at the waistband to get the shortness they wanted as soon as they were outside the school's gates. They all looked as if they had a fat roll at the stomach.

A local Boys' school had a problem about ten years ago with a fashion for wearing the official white shirt with the tail hanging out. Some boys even had extra material added to their shirts to provide a longer 'tail'. That school too sent a 'letter to parents' but the boys' solution was easier. They tucked their shirt tails in when close to a teacher who was known to insist on the uniform code, and flipped it out as soon as the teacher had passed.

When Og was young, the fashion for teenage girls was full skirts fluffed out with multiple layer starched petticoats. The local girls' uniform summer dresses had large enough skirts to take the petticoats but the school insisted that no petticoat should have more than two layers, unstiffened, and that only one petticoat should be worn. But the cycle sheds had small lockers for storing cycling clothing e.g. cycle capes. Those lockers soon became receptacles for rolled and scrunched petticoats during the day.

The school removed the lockers. A local sweet shop keeper came to the girls' rescue. She provided lockable boxes in the back room of her shop - for a small weekly fee. Her shop suddenly became popular with students from the local BOYS' school. While the boys were waiting to be served, they could see the girls taking off or putting on the petticoats with considerable leg shows.

The current trends at our local mixed school appear to be:

Both sexes: school ties as short as possible - six inches or less.

Boys: Outdoor coats with a tail - like old-fashioned parkas. Trousers with a low-slung waist showing bare flesh between trouser and tailless shirt.

Girls: Very short skirts sometimes worn over trousers, or if not, over opaque tights, pushing the definition of 'opaque' so that they are translucent. If official trousers, either extreme flared boot-top, or very tight, almost shiny Lycra.

There will probably be a 'letter to parents' this term as the trends reached their extremes last term. The last 'letter to parents' was about shaved markings in the boys' hair.

 

[AllardChardon]

Thank you, Og and Handley, for the wonderful explanation of the differences between the old school tie and the school uniform scarf. Even though we did not wear uniforms in my High School, we had the same kind of problems with boys' and girls' styles. I was sent home for a skirt that was more than one inch above the knee and my friend got sent home for wearing moccasins to school. In my area, they recently tried to get all the school kids into uniforms, but the parents objected due to the expense of the clothes they would have to buy.

Just for fun, I decided to add these two;

old maid - noun 1. SPINSTER 2. a prim nervous fussy person 3. a simple card game in which the player holding the odd queen at the end is an "old maid"

old man - noun 1.a. HUSBAND b. FATHER 2. cap: one in authority; esp: COMMANDING OFFICER

 

[MizTabby]

organoleptic

: of or pertaining to the sensory properties of a particular food or chemical, the taste, colour, odour and feel.

it seems to just roll off the tongue!

*just passing through, nice over here

 

[AllardChardon]

Welcome, MizTabby, that is a great word, thanks for joining us.

oilcloth - noun cloth treated with oil or paint and used for table and shelf coverings

oilskin - noun 1. an oiled waterproof cloth used for coverings and garments 2. an oilskin raincoat 3. pl: an oilskin suit of coat and trousers

 

[AllardChardon]

Hello, all. I decided to add these two for fun;

ogle(1) - verb to glance with amorous invitation or challenge ~ vt: to eye amorously or provocatively - ogler noun

ogle(2) - noun an amorous or coquettish glance

I must use the word ogler in my second novel somewhere with a great adjective in front.

 

[AllardChardon]

A busy day for me;

ogham or ogam - noun the alphabetic system of 5th and 6th century Old Irish in which an alphabet of 20 letters is represented by notches for vowels and lines for consonants cut on the edges of rough standing tombstones

 

[Handley_Page]

A busy day for me;

ogham or ogam - noun the alphabetic system of 5th and 6th century Old Irish in which an alphabet of 20 letters is represented by notches for vowels and lines for consonants cut on the edges of rough standing tombstones

It goes a good bit further than that. In C5th southern Ireland, messages between the various judges (the Brehon) could be sent, carried by the (mostly) illiterate and almost unreadable by most, thus ensuring a measure of security.
They could be carved on to Willow withes and transported with ease.

As Latin was also in use, the ogham was useful in preserving the ancient tongue.

PS. It's also the name of a language used in Computers.

 

[AllardChardon]

Handley, I love learning about history through the words I find in the dictionary. It keeps me coming back for more. Thanks for the additional information on ogham. I intend to post the actual alphabet, but don't want to mess with images right now, as I am in the middle of a major project outside. Maybe later.

ogee also OG - noun 1. a molding with an S-shaped profile 2. a pointed arch having on each side a reversed curve near the apex

 

[AllardChardon]

Just a quick post, before I am out of the door;

offscouring - noun 1. something that is scoured off: REFUSE 2. someone rejected by society: OUTCAST

 

[AllardChardon]

Good day, everyone.

offing - noun 1. the part of the deep sea seen from the shore 2. the near or foreseeable future or the near distance

 

[JackLuis]

Good day, everyone.

offing - noun 1. the part of the deep sea seen from the shore 2. the near or foreseeable future or the near distance

As in 'In the offing,' means "in the near edge of the sea?" or within the horizon?

I always thought it was a contraction of offering, like what the future was offering.

A good one AC.

 

[AllardChardon]

JackLuis, so many words are learned through speech and context that I also thought offing meant something else, but I am not sure what. LOL Slowly going through the pages of my inadequate dictionary, thoroughly checking out the definitions and deciding which ones to post or not is a very interesting job I have given myself here, and it has reaped many treasures. This next word would work over in my pot thread;

officinal - adj 1. available without special preparation or compounding (~ medicine); also: OFFICIAL 3b 2. MEDICINAL (~ herbs)

official - adj 3.b. prescribed or recognized as authorized; specif: described by the U.S. Pharmacopeia or the National Formulary

 

[CarlusMagnus]

…Slowly going through the pages of my inadequate dictionary…

All dictionaries are adequate; but some are more adequate than others—in the same way that all women are beautiful, but some are more beautiful than others.

 

[AllardChardon]

Carlus, my dictionary thanks you for such a lovely compliment. And the dictionary user does, too.

I had no idea this word was defined as thus;

officialism - noun lack of flexibility and initiative combined with excessive adherence to regulations in the behavior of usual government officials

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Hello Allard.

While you're in the neighbourhood, officious is a word I don't see or hear much anymore.

officious adj. ... 2 : volunteering one's services where they are neither asked nor needed...

Actually, quite a useful adjective.

 

[AllardChardon]

Hello Tio, so nice to see you here. Yes, that is another interesting O word, so I am going to post what my dictionary says about it. Thanks for drawing my attention to it;

officious - adj 1. obs a. KIND, OBLIGING b. DUTIFUL 2. volunteering one's services where they are neither asked nor needed: MEDDLESOME 3. INFORMAL, UNOFFICIAL

It seems the definition changed from helpful to impertinent (synonym).

 

[Tio_Narratore]

In my lifetime the word has always held only meaning 2, and it always reminds me of Dorothy Parker's satircal essay on "Good Souls" - those wonderful people who are always so helpful whether or not you ask or need...

http://www.americanliterature.com/author/dorothy-parker/short-story/good-souls

 

[hylas_]

So, here's one I like: Pornocracy.
It either referres to a specific period in the history of the Catholic church, or "a government consisting of, or dominated by, prostitutes".
Still waiting for a chance to use it ^^

 

[AllardChardon]

Welcome, hylas. That one is not in my dictionary, thanks for adding it.

Tio, what a wonderful read and certainly the perfect definition of an officious person.

off-color or off-colored - adj 1.a. not having the right or standard color b. being out of sorts 2.a. of doubtful propriety: DUBIOUS b. RISQUE'

 

[Handley_Page]

Welcome, hylas. That one is not in my dictionary, thanks for adding it.

Tio, what a wonderful read and certainly the perfect definition of an officious person.

off-color or off-colored - adj 1.a. not having the right or standard color
b. being out of sorts
2.a. of doubtful propriety: DUBIOUS b. RISQUE'

Not the most illuminating of definitions, is it?