Seldom-used words - M to A

[Handley_Page]

I had a middle-school principal who would've qualified as a lighter—that is, she was a "flat-bottomed barge."

And there was another teacher, too, who could've qualified (at least where weight and turrets are concerned) as a battleship! Not so sure about her secondary armament…

Bearing all before her ?

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, how very interesting the article on Watermen is. Thank you for posting it, so I can learn more about your fascinating country.

Carlus, I know what you mean. My sixth grade teacher had the largest rack I have ever seen. It must have given her back aches. But she was the sweetest woman really.

This word is completely new to me.

liger - noun (1924) a hybrid between a male lion and a female tiger

 

[oggbashan]

...

This word is completely new to me.

liger - noun (1924) a hybrid between a male lion and a female tiger

Or the other way around is a tigon.

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, I would never have believed that to be true. I looked it up and found this;

tigon - noun (1926 - TIGLON

tiglon - noun (1942) a hybrid between a male tiger and a female lion

 

[beachbum1958]

Og, I would never have believed that to be true. I looked it up and found this;

tigon - noun (1926 - TIGLON

tiglon - noun (1942) a hybrid between a male tiger and a female lion

Here are some other odd-sounding hybrids for you:

Zonkey -Zebra/Any Equine cross
Donkra - Donkey/Zebra cross, apparently very rare
Cattalo - Cattle/ Bison fertile American hybrid, bred for meat, also known as 'Beefalo'
Leopon - Leopard/Lion cross
Grolar Bear - Grizzly/Polar Bear cross, aka Nanaluk
Wholphin - False Killer Whale/Dolphin cross
Coywolf - Coyote/Wolf cross, also called Woyote
Zorse or Zebroid - Zebra/ Horse cross

 

[oggbashan]

Here are some other odd-sounding hybrids for you:

Zonkey -Zebra/Any Equine cross
Donkra - Donkey/Zebra cross, apparently very rare
Cattalo - Cattle/ Bison fertile American hybrid, bred for meat, also known as 'Beefalo'
Leopon - Leopard/Lion cross
Grolar Bear - Grizzly/Polar Bear cross, aka Nanaluk
Wholphin - False Killer Whale/Dolphin cross
Coywolf - Coyote/Wolf cross, also called Woyote
Zorse or Zebroid - Zebra/ Horse cross

In my bookshop I had an apparently unsaleable book:

The economic potential of lesser known SE Asian mammal crossbreeds.

Many of the above, and Liger and Tigon, were mentioned. Almost all had less economic potential than normal breeds of cattle, sheep and goats.

There was a large warning about crossbreeding a water buffalo with a bison. A water buffalo is a useful draught animal that will pull a cart or plough placidly. The cross, I think it was a biffalo, won't pull anything, is anything but placid, and will charge any human or large animal in sight, including elephants. The only saving grace is that it was short-sighted so didn't always see humans. Apart from being useless for pulling things, its meat was inedible.

Whoever wrote the book should have made the title more accurate, like this:

There are NO economic potentials for lesser known crossbred SE Asian Mammals and some severe dangers to life and limb.

A Liger and a Tigon can be as ferocious as the parents and permanently annoyed because they can't find likely mates.

 

[AllardChardon]

beachbum, what a list of crossbreeds. I'm simply amazed there are so many that were successful. Thanks so much for adding it.

Og, I can see why a book with that title might not be bought I agree with you, your title is much better, and might have nabbed a buyer, out of sheer curiosity.

I didn't want to pass this next one up. I don't hear it much anymore, but there was a TV show, when I was a young girl, called "The Life of Riley", in which the star, William Bendix as Chester Riley, was often found napping in a hammock, instead of doing what his wife wished. Funny, the things one remembers from just a few words on a page.

life of Riley also life of Reilly - noun (1911) a carefree comfortable way of living

 

[oggbashan]

...

I didn't want to pass this next one up. I don't hear it much anymore, but there was a TV show, when I was a young girl, called "The Life of Riley", in which the star, William Bendix as Chester Riley, was often found napping in a hammock, instead of doing what his wife wished. Funny, the things one remembers from just a few words on a page.

life of Riley also life of Reilly - noun (1911) a carefree comfortable way of living

The use of the word/name Riley for a lazy and or drunk Irishman goes back far further than that.

"rileyed" Mid C19 means paralytic drunk and that was a derivation from the use of Riley for a lazy person.

 

[Handley_Page]

The use of the word/name Riley for a lazy and or drunk Irishman goes back far further than that.

"rileyed" Mid C19 means paralytic drunk and that was a derivation from the use of Riley for a lazy person.

Riley reversin' it
everybody cursin' it
the day delaney's donkey ran the half mile race.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1Ofhh30lwQ

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, I looked up riley in my dictionary and this is what it says;

riley - adj (1805) 1. TURBID 2. ANGRY

I tried to look up the etymology of riley, but to no avail. I can understand the above definition easily enough. To rile is to anger, but a lazy person is not the same thing. Will you help me find the root of this puzzle?

Handley, that was very entertaining. Thanks for the link.

 

[oggbashan]

Og, I looked up riley in my dictionary and this is what it says;

riley - adj (1805) 1. TURBID 2. ANGRY

I tried to look up the etymology of riley, but to no avail. I can understand the above definition easily enough. To rile is to anger, but a lazy person is not the same thing. Will you help me find the root of this puzzle?

Handley, that was very entertaining. Thanks for the link.

The term Riley as a lazy person dates back to the 18th and 19th Century Navigators or Navvies who built the Canals, and later the Railways in England. Many of them were Irish and very hardworking. They also drank prodigious amounts hence "rileyed" for drunk, and fought with each other. I suspect that initially Riley as lazy was a reverse attribution - Navvies (and Rileys) worked very hard so the use could have been ironic.

The main source for Riley (and rileyed) as a drunk lazy layabout is an 1881 play Mulligan's Silver Wedding which has a song as a drunken Riley.

 

[Weird Harold]

I tried to look up the etymology of riley, but to no avail.

I suspect that the exact word is derived from the name Reilly or O'Reilly since is appears as a derogatory term for Irish and got extended to anyone who "acted Irish."

In the US, predating the "Life of Riley" radio and TV shows (IIRC, William Bendix starred in both) the term was used for someone who didn't have to work more than for someone who wouldn't work. It was still slightly derogatory in the sense that early 20th century America put a heavy emphasis on "work ethic" and everyone was expected to be productive whether they needed to work or not.

"The Life of Riley" often also carried a connotation of "lucky" as well as care-free.

ETA: World Wide Words has an interesting article and theory of origin: http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-ril1.htm

 

[Handley_Page]

I suspect that the exact word is derived from the name Reilly or O'Reilly since is appears as a derogatory term for Irish and got extended to anyone who "acted Irish."

In the US, predating the "Life of Riley" radio and TV shows (IIRC, William Bendix starred in both) the term was used for someone who didn't have to work more than for someone who wouldn't work. It was still slightly derogatory in the sense that early 20th century America put a heavy emphasis on "work ethic" and everyone was expected to be productive whether they needed to work or not.

"The Life of Riley" often also carried a connotation of "lucky" as well as care-free.

ETA: World Wide Words has an interesting article and theory of origin: http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-ril1.htm

I presume this accounts for the rather envious comment about someone living "the life of Reily" being able to take their ease at any time and not worry too much about the next meal or dollar.

 

[oggbashan]

...

The main source for Riley (and rileyed) as a drunk lazy layabout is an 1881 play Mulligan's Silver Wedding which has a song as a drunken Riley.

"John Riley's Always Dry"
Music by David Braham
Lyrics by Edward Harrigan

Harrigan loved to have fun with ethnic stereotypes, as you can see in this song written for Mulligan's Silver Wedding (1881). This is the lyric as it appears in the original sheet music. The verses are In common 4/4 time, while the Chorus is in 3/4 time.

Verse 1
I have an old companion,
John Riley from Tralee;
In fair or cloudy weather.
John Riley's seen with me.
His heart is like a mountain,
His honor ye can't buy,
But elbow bending is his fault,
John Riley's always dry.

Chorus
Bass's ale by the pail
He would order Rosanna to go out and buy;
Dublin Stout he would shout,
Keep drinking and never say die;
Whiskey prime, gin and wine,
He would hand down a bottle and merrily cry:
"Mv Rose Ann, fill the can,
For honest John Riley's dry.

Verse 2
It's ev'ry morning early
John Riley's out of bed,
Sure never a feather bolster
Lies under Riley's head:
It's when the arm is rising,
So eager and so sly.
He slips out for his bitters, boys,
John Riley's always dry.

(Repeat Chorus)

Verse 3
His father often told him,
When John was but a youth,
That ev 'ry' mortal Riley
All died from whiskey drouth;
Of course it is a failing.
The poor man can't deny,
'Tis but a freak of nature, boys,
John Riley's always dry.

(Repeat Chorus)

Verse 4
What puzzles all the doctors
John Riley's ever met
Is fresh or salty water
Can't make John Riley wet.
Sure he must have the liquor,
Rum, brandy gin or rye.
And should he miss the bottle, boys.
John Riley'd surely die.

(Repeat Chorus)

 

[AllardChardon]

Thank you, Og, Harold and Handley, for such a lively conversation about a man named Riley or Reilly, who had it good. It is quite fun to find a word or phrase with a debatable beginning.

This word caught my eye;

life list - noun (1960) a record kept of all birds sighted and identified by a birder

 

[Handley_Page]

Thank you, Og, Harold and Handley, for such a lively conversation about a man named Riley or Reilly, who had it good. It is quite fun to find a word or phrase with a debatable beginning.

This word caught my eye;

life list - noun (1960) a record kept of all birds sighted and identified by a birder

Aye, and when I was a kid, we collected bus numbers. . .

 

[Weird Harold]

Aye, and when I was a kid, we collected bus numbers. . .

Not old enough to be a train-spotter?

I think Birders are the only community to formalize a "life list," but the concept applies to just about any hobby involving observation of things -- trains, planes. automobiles and even buses.

 

[Handley_Page]

Not old enough to be a train-spotter?

I think Birders are the only community to formalize a "life list," but the concept applies to just about any hobby involving observation of things -- trains, planes. automobiles and even buses.

Didn't see enough trains on my local line

 

[MichaelinChina]

Illywacker

Peter Carey wrote a novel with that title.

Means a liar.

Sorry, I posted without looking at the rules. Point of interest though: it resonates with your word on the first page about lying.

 

[AllardChardon]

Handley, my brother and I played a couple of car games, called "Out-of-State License Plates" and "Hubcaps." In both games, the first one to spot the plate or hubcap claimed it and the highest number won. I admit this has nothing to do with making a life list, but I could do that where I live now. Recently, I watched a great blue heron, warming itself in a nearby tree, and the ducks, mallards and mergansers, riding the rapids, where the Castle Creek joins the upper Sacramento River, about 1/4 mile from my house and part of my daily walk. It is really exciting to see wildlife being wild.

Harold, thanks for joining in.

MichaelinChina, great word, thanks for adding it. There are no rules here, just so you know.

Does anyone hear this one anymore?

lifeful - adj (13c) archaic: full of or giving vitality

 

[Handley_Page]

Handley, my brother and I played a couple of car games, called "Out-of-State License Plates" and "Hubcaps." In both games, the first one to spot the plate or hubcap claimed it and the highest number won. I admit this has nothing to do with making a life list, but I could do that where I live now. Recently, I watched a great blue heron, warming itself in a nearby tree, and the ducks, mallards and mergansers, riding the rapids, where the Castle Creek joins the upper Sacramento River, about 1/4 mile from my house and part of my daily walk. It is really exciting to see wildlife being wild.

Harold, thanks for joining in.

MichaelinChina, great word, thanks for adding it. There are no rules here, just so you know.

Does anyone hear this one anymore?

lifeful - adj (13c) archaic: full of or giving vitality

More usually the reverse: "full of life"; usually at funerals.

 

[AllardChardon]

Handley, that is so true. I have heard that said before, more than once.

I recently learned about this in a PBS documentary on Gothic Cathedrals;

lierne - noun (1842) a rib in Gothic vaulting that passes from one intersection of the principal ribs to another

 

[AllardChardon]

Hello everyone.

Here is a word I have been confused by for years, and am still somewhat confused, even after reading the definitions;

liege(1) - adj (14c) 1.a. having the right to feudal allegiance or service <his ~ lord> b. obligated to render feudal allegiance and service 2. FAITHFUL, LOYAL

liege(2) - noun (14c) 1.a. a vassal bound to feudal service and allegiance b. a loyal subject 2. a feudal superior to whom allegiance and service are due

 

[Handley_Page]

Hello everyone.

Here is a word I have been confused by for years, and am still somewhat confused, even after reading the definitions;

liege(1) - adj (14c) 1.a. having the right to feudal allegiance or service <his ~ lord> b. obligated to render feudal allegiance and service 2. FAITHFUL, LOYAL

liege(2) - noun (14c) 1.a. a vassal bound to feudal service and allegiance b. a loyal subject 2. a feudal superior to whom allegiance and service are due

~
This is the entry in my OE:-

liege historical
adjective: concerned with or relating to the relationship between a feudal superior and a vassal.
noun; 1 (also liege lord) a feudal superior or sovereign.
2 a vassal or subject.

Being worded slightly differently, it may make more sense.

You may also get an idea from HERE.

There was a time when Hollywood just loved the olde english feudal system, where the script was laced with "I cast down my gage" and similar fun (try "The Black Shield of Falworth", available on Youtube).
The point was that when our hero, a young knight, greeted his lord, it was as "My Liege".

There are bits of it still in our Legal System.

 

[AllardChardon]

Thank you, Handley, for taking the time to explain liege to me. I am sure the first place I heard it was in a Hollywood movie.

An interesting pair;

lief(1) - adj (12c) 1. archaic: DEAR, BELOVED 2. archaic: WILLING, GLAD

lief(2) - adv (13c) SOON, GLADLY <I'd as ~ go as not>