Seldom-used words - M to A

[AllardChardon]

Og, I had no idea you had those two conditions. I hope they do not cause you too much discomfort. I would not have made a joke about it, if I had known.

Here is an interesting entry;

lord of misrule - noun (15c) a master of Christmas revels in England esp. in the 15th and 16th centuries

 

[oggbashan]

Og, I had no idea you had those two conditions. I hope they do not cause you too much discomfort. I would not have made a joke about it, if I had known.

Here is an interesting entry;

lord of misrule - noun (15c) a master of Christmas revels in England esp. in the 15th and 16th centuries

I have a sense of humour so I'm not bothered by jokes about lordosis. It causes me inconvenience more than pain. Although I have had ankylosing spondilitis for over 35 years I am living with it much easier than most sufferers, perhaps because I do appropriate exercises twice daily, and visit a physiotherapist frequently.

Lord of Misrule? I wrote (as jeanne_d_artois) a story about a Lady of Misrule.

https://www.literotica.com/s/laundry-tales-10-lady-of-misrule

Lords of Misrule died out because they became too bawdy, although they have been revived in recent decades as part of Morris Dancing traditions.

They were probably a survival of the Roman Festival of Saturnalia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_Misrule

The Lord of Misrule is also referred to by Philip Stubbes in his Anatomie of Abuses (1585) where he states that "the wilde heades of the parishe conventynge together, chuse them a grand Capitaine (of mischeefe) whom they ennobel with the title Lorde of Misrule". He then gives a description of the way they dress colourfully, tie bells onto their legs and "go to the churche (though the minister be at praier or preachyng) dauncying and swingyng their handercheefes"

"dauncying and swingying their handercheefes" sounds like some versions of Morris Dancing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sArAC2_ow2k

The man in the middle wearing the nightshirt and carrying a pig's bladder is their version of the Lord of Misrule.

The custom of electing a Boy Bishop was probably an attempt by the Church to replace the Lord of Misrule. If so, it didn't work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_bishop

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, so what exactly is a lord or lady of misrule at Christmas time?

A couple more;

lording - noun (13c) 1. archaic: LORD 2. obs: LORDLING

lordling - noun (13c) a little or insignificant lord

 

[oggbashan]

Og, so what exactly is a lord or lady of misrule at Christmas time?

A couple more;

lording - noun (13c) 1. archaic: LORD 2. obs: LORDLING

lordling - noun (13c) a little or insignificant lord

See edited post above...

 

[oggbashan]

Lordling features near the end of Robert Burn's The Cotter's Saturday Night:

MY lov'd, my honour'd, much respected friend!
No mercenary bard his homage pays;
With honest pride, I scorn each selfish end,
My dearest meed, a friend's esteem and praise:
To you I sing, in simple Scottish lays,
The lowly train in life's sequester'd scene,
The native feelings strong, the guileless ways,
What Aiken in a cottage would have been;
Ah! tho' his worth unknown, far happier there I ween!


November chill blaws loud wi' angry sugh;
The short'ning winter-day is near a close;
The miry beasts retreating frae the pleugh;
The black'ning trains o' craws to their repose:
The toil-worn Cotter frae his labour goes,-
This night his weekly moil is at an end,
Collects his spades, his mattocks, and his hoes,
Hoping the morn in ease and rest to spend,
And weary, o'er the moor, his course does hameward bend.


At length his lonely cot appears in view,
Beneath the shelter of an aged tree;
Th' expectant wee-things, toddlin, stacher through
To meet their dead, wi' flichterin noise and glee.
His wee bit ingle, blinkin bonilie,
His clean hearth-stane, his thrifty wifie's smile,
The lisping infant, prattling on his knee,
Does a' his weary kiaugh and care beguile,
And makes him quite forget his labour and his toil.


Belyve, the elder bairns come drapping in,
At service out, amang the farmers roun';
Some ca' the pleugh, some herd, some tentie rin
A cannie errand to a neibor town:
Their eldest hope, their Jenny, woman-grown,
In youthfu' bloom-love sparkling in her e'e-
Comes hame, perhaps to shew a braw new gown,
Or deposite her sair-won penny-fee,
To help her parents dear, if they in hardship be.


With joy unfeign'd, brothers and sisters meet,
And each for other's weelfare kindly speirs:
The social hours, swift-wing'd, unnotic'd fleet:
Each tells the uncos that he sees or hears.
The parents, partial, eye their hopeful years;
Anticipation forward points the view;
The mother, wi' her needle and her shears,
Gars auld claes look amaist as weel's the new;
The father mixes a' wi' admonition due.


Their master's and their mistress' command,
The younkers a' are warned to obey;
And mind their labours wi' an eydent hand,
And ne'er, tho' out o' sight, to jauk or play;
"And O! be sure to fear the Lord alway,
And mind your duty, duly, morn and night;
Lest in temptation's path ye gang astray,
Implore His counsel and assisting might:
They never sought in vain that sought the Lord aright."


But hark! a rap comes gently to the door;
Jenny, wha kens the meaning o' the same,
Tells how a neibor lad came o'er the moor,
To do some errands, and convoy her hame.
The wily mother sees the conscious flame
Sparkle in Jenny's e'e, and flush her cheek;
With heart-struck anxious care, enquires his name,
While Jenny hafflins is afraid to speak;
Weel-pleased the mother hears, it's nae wild, worthless rake.


Wi' kindly welcome, Jenny brings him ben;
A strappin youth, he takes the mother's eye;
Blythe Jenny sees the visit's no ill ta'en;
The father cracks of horses, pleughs, and kye.
The youngster's artless heart o'erflows wi' joy,
But blate an' laithfu', scarce can weel behave;
The mother, wi' a woman's wiles, can spy
What makes the youth sae bashfu' and sae grave,
Weel-pleas'd to think her bairn's respected like the lave.


O happy love! where love like this is found:
O heart-felt raptures! bliss beyond compare!
I've paced much this weary, mortal round,
And sage experience bids me this declare,-
"If Heaven a draught of heavenly pleasure spare-
One cordial in this melancholy vale,
'Tis when a youthful, loving, modest pair
In other'sarms, breathe out the tender tale,
Beneath the milk-white thorn that scents the evening gale."


Is there, in human form, that bears a heart,
A wretch! a villain! lost to love and truth!
That can, with studied, sly, ensnaring art,
Betray sweet Jenny's unsuspecting youth?
Curse on his perjur'd arts! dissembling smooth!
Are honour, virtue, conscience, all exil'd?
Is there no pity, no relenting ruth,
Points to the parents fondling o'er their child?
Then paints the ruin'd maid, and their distraction wild?


But now the supper crowns their simple board,
The halesome parritch, chief of Scotia's food;
The sowp their only hawkie does afford,
That, 'yont the hallan snugly chows her cood:
The dame brings forth, in complimental mood,
To grace the lad, her weel-hain'd kebbuck, fell;
And aft he's prest, and aft he ca's it guid:
The frugal wifie, garrulous, will tell
How t'was a towmond auld, sin' lint was i' the bell.


The cheerfu' supper done, wi' serious face,
They, round the ingle, form a circle wide;
The sire turns o'er, with patriarchal grace,
The big ha'bible, ance his father's pride:
His bonnet rev'rently is laid aside,
His lyart haffets wearing thin and bare;
Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide,
He wales a portion with judicious care;
And "Let us worship God!" he says with solemn air.


They chant their artless notes in simple guise,
They tune their hearts, by far the noblest aim;
Perhaps Dundee's wild-warbling measures rise;
Or plaintive Martyrs, worthy of the name;
Or noble Elgin beets the heaven-ward flame;
The sweetest far of Scotia's holy lays:
Compar'd with these, Italian trills are tame;
The tickl'd ears no heart-felt raptures raise;
Nae unison hae they with our Creator's praise.


The priest-like father reads the sacred page,
How Abram was the friend of God on high;
Or Moses bade eternal warfare wage
With Amalek's ungracious progeny;
Or how the royal bard did groaning lie
Beneath the stroke of Heaven's avenging ire;
Or Job's pathetic plaint, and wailing cry;
Or rapt Isaiah's wild, seraphic fire;
Or other holy seers that tune the sacred lyre.


Perhaps the Christian volume is the theme,
How guiltless blood for guilty man was shed;
How He, who bore in Heaven the second name,
Had not on earth whereon to lay His head:
How His first followers and servants sped;
The precepts sage they wrote to many a land:
How he, who lone in Patmos banished,
Saw in the sun a mighty angel stand,
And heard great Bab'lon's doom pronounc'd by Heaven's command.


Then, kneeling down to Heaven's Eternal King,
The saint, the father, and the husband prays:
Hope "springs exulting on triumphant wing," 1
That thus they all shall meet in future days,
There, ever bask in uncreated rays,
No more to sigh, or shed the bitter tear,
Together hymning their Creator's praise,
In such society, yet still more dear;
While circling Time moves round in an eternal sphere


Compar'd with this, how poor Religion's pride,
In all the pomp of method, and of art;
When men display to congregations wide
Devotion's ev'ry grace, except the heart!
The Power, incens'd, the pageant will desert,
The pompous strain, the sacerdotal stole;
But haply, in some cottage far apart,
May hear, well-pleas'd, the language of the soul;
And in His Book of Life the inmates poor enroll.


Then homeward all take off their sev'ral way;
The youngling cottagers retire to rest:
The parent-pair their secret homage pay,
And proffer up to Heaven the warm request,
That he who stills the raven's clam'rous nest,
And decks the lily fair in flow'ry pride,
Would, in the way His wisdom sees the best,
For them and for their little ones provide;
But chiefly, in their hearts with grace divine preside.


From scenes like these, old Scotia's grandeur springs,
That makes her lov'd at home, rever'd abroad:
Princes and lords are but the breath of kings,
"An honest man's the noblest work of God;"
And certes, in fair virtue's heavenly road,
The cottage leaves the palace far behind;
What is a lordling's pomp? a cumbrous load,
Disguising oft the wretch of human kind,
Studied in arts of hell, in wickedness refin'd!


O Scotia! my dear, my native soil!
For whom my warmest wish to Heaven is sent,
Long may thy hardy sons of rustic toil
Be blest with health, and peace, and sweet content!
And O! may Heaven their simple lives prevent
From luxury's contagion, weak and vile!
Then howe'er crowns and coronets be rent,
A virtuous populace may rise the while,
And stand a wall of fire around their much-lov'd isle.


O Thou! who pour'd the patriotic tide,
That stream'd thro' Wallace's undaunted heart,
Who dar'd to nobly stem tyrannic pride,
Or nobly die, the second glorious part:
(The patriot's God peculiarly thou art,
His friend, inspirer, guardian, and reward!)
O never, never Scotia's realm desert;
But still the patriot, and the patriot-bard
In bright succession raise, her ornament and guard!

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, thank you for adding all that information about the Lord of Misrule and your story, too. I learn so much from you and appreciate greatly.

I could be accused of the following;

loquacious - adj (1663) 1. full of excessive talk: WORDY 2. given to fluent or excessive talk: GARRULOUS

 

[oggbashan]

Og, thank you for adding all that information about the Lord of Misrule and your story, too. I learn so much from you and appreciate greatly.

I could be accused of the following;

loquacious - adj (1663) 1. full of excessive talk: WORDY 2. given to fluent or excessive talk: GARRULOUS

Loquacious? Never. I might be. My posts can go on and on and on...

Above I have added a link to a Morris Dancing video with their Lord of Misrule.

 

[AllardChardon]

What a wonderful poem. I enjoyed it very much. Og, you are a wealth of knowledge.

My father-in-law used this term;

lopper - noun (1953) pruning shears with long handles - usually used in plural

 

[oggbashan]

What a wonderful poem. I enjoyed it very much. Og, you are a wealth of knowledge.

My father-in-law used this term;

lopper - noun (1953) pruning shears with long handles - usually used in plural

I have one slung from the ceiling of my garage. It is borrowed by my neighbours every spring for pruning high branches. The handle is eight feet long.

Mine is manually operated. This is an electric version of A lopper:

http://thecoolgadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Eckman-8ft-10-inches-Electric-Telescopic-Branch-Lopper-chainsaw-493x493.jpg

These are Loppers - double handled:

http://www.bulldogtools.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/AlanLoppers2.jpg

 

[AllardChardon]

I love to see men dress up and dance (American men seem less enthusiastic about this). The handkerchief waving is very effective. I hope to see this in person someday. It was the perfect link to add to the previous post, Og.

I forgot about this one from my youth;

loosey-goosey - adj (1964) notably loose or relaxed: not tense < a ~ attitude>

 

[oggbashan]

I love to see men dress up and dance (American men seem less enthusiastic about this). The handkerchief waving is very effective. I hope to see this in person someday. It was the perfect link to add to the previous post, Og.

I forgot about this one from my youth;

loosey-goosey - adj (1964) notably loose or relaxed: not tense < a ~ attitude>

I can't be much help with that one because it is US usage but it features in a repeated song in the movie 'My Stepmother is an Alien'.

 

[AllardChardon]

The two-handled pair of loppers are the ones I was thinking of, but I also have a long-handled manual branch cutter about that size a friend gave to me. I never thought to call it a lopper. Now, I know. Thanks for the entertaining morning.

Last one for the day, I must get some yard work done, before it gets any hotter;

Once upon a time, I had a boyfriend who resembled this (it didn't last long);

loose cannon - noun (1973) a dangerously uncontrollable person or thing

 

[oggbashan]

...

Last one for the day, I must get some yard work done, before it gets any hotter;

Once upon a time, I had a boyfriend who resembled this (it didn't last long);

loose cannon - noun (1973) a dangerously uncontrollable person or thing

I always understood that a loose cannon was a much older expression from the days of fighting sail. If a ship's cannon was loose either by breaking of the ropes or from damage in action, it was one of the most dangerous things in a wooden ship. Heavy large cannon weighed several tons. If one was rolling around the gun deck unsecured it could crush men or even hole the ship.

But it appears that it is 1875 in origin:

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/loose-cannon.html

 

[Handley_Page]

I always understood that a loose cannon was a much older expression from the days of fighting sail. If a ship's cannon was loose either by breaking of the ropes or from damage in action, it was one of the most dangerous things in a wooden ship. Heavy large cannon weighed several tons. If one was rolling around the gun deck unsecured it could crush men or even hole the ship.

But it appears that it is 1875 in origin:

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/loose-cannon.html

If I recall my Alexander Kent novels right, a 24lb naval gun weighted just over three tons. That thing rolling about in bad weather really would cause havoc.

 

[CarlusMagnus]

If I recall my Alexander Kent novels right, a 24lb naval gun weighted just over three tons. That thing rolling about in bad weather really would cause havoc.

For the benefit of those who're confused about how "a 24lb naval gun" could weigh considerably more than 24 pounds, I'll point out that a twenty-four pounder was so called because it fired a ball weighing 24 pounds.

 

[oggbashan]

For the benefit of those who're confused about how "a 24lb naval gun" could weigh considerably more than 24 pounds, I'll point out that a twenty-four pounder was so called because it fired a ball weighing 24 pounds.

The main armament of HMS Victory at Trafalgar in 1805 were 42lb guns with a few 68lb carronades (much lighter, shorter-barrelled close quarter arms).

The weight of an 18th or 19th Century naval gun varied according to the design of the iron founder. All that was constant was the bore therefore guns were named after the weight of the round shot they fired - 18lb, 24lb, 42lb, 68lb.

The firepower of a wooden ship of the line should not be underestimated.

HMS Victory was not the largest ship at the Battle of Trafalgar but her armament was almost as many cannon/guns as the total artillery Napoleon had at the Battle of Waterloo. On a battlefield, an 18lb cannon was one of the heaviest guns used. Slow moving siege artillery could be larger, but one naval ship of the line carried far more heavy guns than any siege by an army.

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, when I posted 1973 for loose cannon, it did not sound right to me, either. Thanks so much for correcting my dictionary, once again.

And thank you, Carlus and Handley, for your contributions. Now, I finally understand the weight of the ball as opposed to the weight of the cannon.

This one could have more than one meaning on this site;

loose box - noun (1849) BOX STALL

 

[oggbashan]

...

This one could have more than one meaning on this site;

loose box - noun (1849) BOX STALL

A loose box is a subdivision of a stable in which the horse can move around without being secured. It is larger than a stall and allows the horse to turn around. The horse is 'loose'.

 

[JackLuis]

A loose box is a subdivision of a stable in which the horse can move around without being secured. It is larger than a stall and allows the horse to turn around. The horse is 'loose'.

There are other meanings not in the Dictionary.

 

[CarlusMagnus]

I finally understand the weight of the ball as opposed to the weight of the cannon.

Indeed, ships of the Napoleonic era were sometimes compared by the weight of metal they were capable of throwing—that being in many ways more important than mere number of guns.

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, your explanation of loose box makes perfect sense. Thank you.

JackLuis, loose box reminded me of squeeze box, which is an entirely different thing, but I know what you mean.

Carlus, I still have a lot to learn about cannons and guns in general. It was never a subject of interest for me, until I started learning about the Civil War.

The first definition showed me I don't know this word as well as I thought;

loophole(1) - noun (1591) 1.a. a small opening through which small arms may be fired b. a similar opening to admit light and air or to permit observation 2. a mean of escape; esp: an ambiguity or omission in the text through which the intent of a statute, contract, or obligation may be evaded

 

[oggbashan]

Og, your explanation of loose box makes perfect sense. Thank you.

JackLuis, loose box reminded me of squeeze box, which is an entirely different thing, but I know what you mean.

...

I learned something new today. At King Edward VII's Coronation in Westminster Abbey, his mistresses occupied a box (like a box in a theatre) all together. It was referred to by the assembled notables as "The King's Horse Box".

I suppose it was a box of loose women.

In 1901 Upper Class Brit Speak "The King's Horse Box" would be said almost the same as "The King's Whores Box".

 

[oggbashan]

...

The first definition showed me I don't know this word as well as I thought;

loophole -1. noun (1591) 1.a. a small opening through which small arms may be fired b. a similar opening to admit light and air or to permit observation 2. a mean of escape; esp: an ambiguity or omission in the text through which the intent of a statute, contract, or obligation may be evaded

This is the older form of loophole:

http://codesmiths.com/dingbat/lj/200704_Dorset/PortlandCastle_78%20(Small).JPG

The cross shape allows arrows from a longbow or bolts from a crossbow to be fired.

This is the later version for handguns such as Arquebusses:

http://www.iwhistory.org.uk/RM/minorforts/caris.jpg

The City Wall Towers of Canterbury, Kent have both versions:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Canterbury_city_walls_-_geograph.org.uk_-_983735.jpg

The walls and towers shown are built on Roman foundations which can be seen from the car park.

Edited for:

A Church Squint was a specialist loophole. It allowed people in a side aisle, or even outside the church, to follow the Communion Service including the Elevation of the Host. Its main use was for those who shouldn't enter the Church either because they were infectious e.g. lepers, or temporarily barred e.g. women who have recently given birth and before forty days have elapsed to permit them to attend the 'Churching of Women' which allows them to rejoin the congregation of the Church.

http://www.britainexpress.com/images/attractions/editor/Shilton-0664.jpg

The Churching of Women:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churching_of_women

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, the King's Horse Box gave me quite a chuckle. Thank you for sharing that tidbit with me and everything else. I knew about women being unclean after birth and the period of time for "lying in", but "churching of women" is entirely new. The pictures of the various types of loopholes are fantastic.

Here is an odd one;

lookism also looksism - noun (1978) prejudice or discrimination based on physical appearance and esp. physical appearance believed to fall short of societal notions of beauty

 

[oggbashan]

Og, the King's Horse Box gave me quite a chuckle. Thank you for sharing that tidbit with me and everything else. I knew about women being unclean after birth and the period of time for "lying in", but "churching of women" is entirely new. The pictures of the various types of loopholes are fantastic.

...

"Unclean after birth"? No. The 'churching of women' was a thanksgiving for successful childbirth with all the dangers involved before modern medicine.

From the Wikipedia link:

Pope Gregory as early as the 6th Century protested any notion that defilement was incurred by childbirth. David Cressy points out that the ceremony acknowledged the woman's labours and the perils of childbirth. As the conclusion of a month of privilege after childbirth, women looked forward to churching as a social occasion, and a time to celebrate with her friends. For men it marked the end of a month during which they had to take care of the domestic affairs, commonly referred to as the "gander month".