Execrable Lexicon

"the bank / Of colored verbs and adjectives was shrinking from the light / To nurse in shade their want of a method"

[therebedragonshere]

brofound

(adj.): giving the superficial appearance of profundity in a way that particularly impresses a male in a stereotypical period of adolescence or extended adolescence.

Example sentence: “Dude, Fight Club is such a f[uck]ing brofound film.”

[ingridrichter]

Abaddon

[mythologyofblue]

lit. “destruction”; the abyss of hell.  In Revelations, the destroyer. Apollyon. [—C.O. Sylvester Mawson, International Book of Names: A Dictionary of the More Difficult Proper Names in Literature, History, Philosophy, Religion, Art, Music, and Other Studies, Together with the Official Form and Pronunciation of the Names of Present-Day Celebrities and Places Throughout the World, with Post-War Geographical Changes Duly Incorporated (1933)]

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And yet, as I have said, vague new fears hovered menacingly over us; as if giant bat-winged gryphons squatted invisibly on the mountain-tops and leered with Abaddon-eyes that had looked on trans-cosmic gulfs. —H.P. Lovecraft, "The Lurking Fear" (1923)

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filter

[ML filtrare, fr. filtrum felt, piece of felt used for straining liquids, of Germanic origin; akin to Old Saxon filt felt]

(v. [trans.]) 1, to subject to the action of a filter : pass (a liquid or gas) through a filter for the purpose of purifying or separating or both : STRAIN : also, to act as a filter toward;

2, to remove from a fluid by means of a filter—usually used withofforout;

(v. [intrans.]) 1a, to pass through as if through a filter : PERCOLATE; b, (of light) to pass through something that partially obstructs; 2a, INFILTRATE : (of troups) to advance or to enter a hostile area by proceeding singly or in small dispersed groups; b, to enter or cross over in small units over a period of time.

"They were the Great Old Ones that had filtered down from the stars when the earth was young." —H.P. Lovecraft, "At the Mountains of Madness" (1936)

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dado

(n.) [It, die, cube, plinth, perh. fr. Arabic dad game]

1a, the part of a pedestal of a column included between the base and the surbase—called alsodie; b, the part of a basement wall included between the surbase and the base course; c, the lower part of an interior wall when adorned with moldings or otherwise specially decorated or faced : also, the molding, facing, or other decoration adorning this part of a wall;

"In certain rooms the dominant arrangement was varied by the presence of maps, astronomical charts, and other scientific designs on an enlarged scale—these things giving a naive and terrible corroboration to what we gathered from the pictoral friezes and dadoes." —H.P. Lovecraft, "At the Mountains of Madness" (1936)

2, a groove made by dadoing;

3, a plane or other tool for dadoing : DADO PLANE, DADO HEAD.

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What is the difference, I once asked H.V. Weiss, between a chuckle and a laugh? Between a giggle and a simper? Between …. It was no use. Despite Weiss’s enrollment in the current school of French structuralists, he knew nothing about words. But then very few professional theorists of language are at home with language. I noticed this phenomenon when I heard Noah [sic] Chomsky lecture. He found it difficult to express himself in words. Perhaps he knew too much about them to put them to work. —Gore Vidal, Kalki (1978)

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correlate

(v. [trans.]) [back-formation fr. correlative & correlation]

1, to establish a definite stratigraphic relationship between;

2a, to establish a mutual or reciprocal relation of : relate as necessary or invariable accompaniments with or without the implication of causality;

"To form even a rudimentary idea of our thoughts and feelings as we penetrated this aeon-silent maze of unhuman masonry one must correlate a hopelessly bewildering chaos of fugitive moods, memories and impressions." —H.P. Lovecraft, "At the Mountains of Madness" (1936)

2b, to determine, establish, or show a usually causal relationship between;

3, to establish a one-to-one correspondence of (two sets or series of things) : relate so that to each member of one set or series a corresponding member of another is assigned;

4a, to put in relation with each other : connect systematically : present or set forth so as to show relationship; b, to bring into complementary relationship with each other : organize so as to advance effectively a common program.

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allure

(v. [trans.]) [ME aluren, fr. MF alurer, aleurrer, fr. OF, fr.a- (fr. L ad-) + loire, loirre lure]

to influence, sway, or entice with some tempting appeal, some offered or suggested benefit or pleasure, genuine or specious.

"It would be tragic if any were to be allured to that realm of death and horror by the very warning meant to discourage them." —H.P. Lovecraft, "At the Mountains of Madness" (1936)

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A new generation is coming on the scene. They will use terms like "nitty gritty," "for real," "where it's at," and use words like "basic" and "really" with telling emphasis. They will extend the letter and the meaning of the word "bad." They won't use you knowledge and they will call you "sick" and "way-out" and that will be a sad day, but we must prepare for it. —Ishmael Reed, Mumbo Jumbo (1972)

[shappenfit-deactivated20180219]

on the complexities of 'nice'

The word has been floating around the interwebs a bit in past few weeks (in reference to self proclaimed “nice guys” among other things), and it has come up a few times in conversation around me as well. I’ve always found the word to be condescending, though i do appreciate i may be the only one, and that people don’t mean it that way most of the time.  anyways, i approached this dilemma in the way that i approach most things, with research. i found about 50 definitions from different usages of ‘nice’ over the past thousand years or so, and have gone through and removed the ones that don’t really relate to people, to get a more relevant list. It need also be noted that many of the definitions with negative (and positive for that matter) connotations are no longer in use (marked by ‘Obs’), but like many old words, some of the feeling is inherited, even if the definitions do not. So here’s my hastily assembled list of definitions, bold for negative connotations, plain for neutralish, italicized for positive connotations: As a Noun: 1.     a. A foolish or simple person; a fool.     b. Dissolute or wicked people as a class. As an Adjective: 1.     a. Of a person: foolish, silly, simple; ignorant. Obs     b. Of an action, utterance, etc.: displaying foolishness or silliness; absurd, senseless. Obs.

(making it a read more here since there are another 15-20 definitions, and im probably the only person who finds these things interesting)

2.     a. Of conduct, behaviour, etc.: characterized by or encouraging wantonness or lasciviousness. Obs.     b. Of a person: wanton, dissolute, lascivious. Obs.     c. Of dress: extravagant, showy, ostentatious. Also in extended use. Obs.     d. Of a person: finely dressed, elegant. Obs. 3.     a. Precise or particular in matters of reputation or conduct; scrupulous, punctilious. Now rare.     b. Fastidious, fussy, difficult to please, esp. with regard to food or cleanliness; of refined or dainty tastes.     c. Particular, strict, or careful with regard to a specific point or thing. Obs.     d. Refined, cultured; associated with polite society.     f. Respectable, virtuous, decent. 4.     a. In early use: faint-hearted, timorous, cowardly, unmanly. Later also: effeminate. Obs.     b. Slothful, lazy, sluggish. Obs.     c. Not able to endure much; tender, delicate, fragile. Obs.     d. Pampered, luxurious. Obs. rare. 6.     a. Shy, coy, (affectedly) modest; reserved. Obs.     b. Shy, reluctant, or unwilling in regard of or to. Also with in or infinitive. Obs. 14.     c. Of a person: pleasant in manner, agreeable, good-natured; attractive.     d. Used ironically.     e. Kind or considerate in behaviour; friendly (towards others). Freq. in to be nice (to) .

If i were to write a conclusion, i don’t know what it would say. i will continue to have difficulty taking it as a compliment, though other words, like “genuine”, or just having someone saying “thanks”, will always make me feel good.

*almost all of the information is from the OED

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plaudit

(n.) [Shortened plaudite (n.) Compare earlier plause (n.) and slightly earlier plaudiat (n.), plaud (n.)] A round of applause; an act of hand-clapping; an audible expression of praise or approval. Hence more generally: any emphatic expression of approval. Now usu. in pl.

"Plaudits for Lenin and for Bela Kun." —Geoffrey Hill, "A Précis or Memorandum of Civil Power" (2007)

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slub

(n.1) (Now chiefly dial.) [? ad. MDv. slubbe in the same sense.] Thick sludgy mud; mire, ooze.

(n.2) [Of obscure origin.] 1. A lump on a thread. 2. A yarn containing thickened parts, or slubs, at intervals; a fabric woven from such a yarn. Also attrib., having an irregular effect given by a warp of uneven thickness. Hence slubbed (adj.), of fabrics: containing slubs.

(n.3) [fr. slub(v.)] A slubbing of cotton or wool; a roving.

"I cannot work much closer to the slub / or perhaps it's / diffused like rumour, meaning diffused power." —Geoffrey Hill, "A Précis or Memorandum of Civil Power" (2007)

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concatenation

(n.) [ad.L. concatēnātiōn-em, n. of action f. concatēnā-re.]

The action of concatenating, or the condition or relation of being concatenated.

1.a. Union by chaining or linking together; concatenated condition.    b. An instance of chaining or linking together.

2. esp. Union in a series or chain, of which the things united form as it were links.

3. quasi-concr. A concatenated series or system, an interdependent or unbroken sequence, a "chain":    a. material.    b. non-material.

"The gap between Platonic type and archetype, between the Aristotelian universal, the particular and the irreducibly singular, is not expunged by the nostalgia for presence evident in the compensatory concatenations of representation." —Gillian Rose, Mourning Becomes the Law: Philosophy and Representation (1996)

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aporia

(n.) [L., a.Gr. άπορία, n. of state f. άπο-ος]

1. Rhet. See quots. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie (Arb.) "Aporia, or the Doubtfull. [So] called ... because oftentimes we will seeme to cast perils, and make doub of things when by a plaine manner of speech wee might affirme or deny him."  1657 J. Smith Myst. Rhet. "Aporia is a figure whereby the speaker sheweth that he doubteth, either where to begin for the multitude of matters, or what do do or say in some strange or ambiguous thing."

2. A perplexing difficulty.

"Plato's aporia, like Aristotle's and Aristotelianism, is displaced by the tradition of Platonism—Plotinus, Proclus, Ficino." —Gillian Rose, Mourning Becomes the Law: Philosophy and Representation (1996)

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osier

(n.) 1. a small European willow that grows mostly in wet habitats and is a major source of the long flexible shoots (withies) used in basketwork (Salix viminalis); a shoot of a willow; any willow tree; 2. any of several North American dogwoods.

origin, late Middle English: from Old French; compare with Medieval Latin auseria "willow bed."

"Oh what a pleasure 'tis to hedge My temples here with heavy sedge, Abandoning my lazy side, Stretched as a bank unto the tide, Or to suspend my sliding foot On th' osier's underminèd root, And in its branches tough to hand, While at my lines the fishes twang!" —Andrew Marvel, "Upon Appleton House" (1651)

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sea chestnut

(n.) a sea-urchin: so called from the rough spines, like the prickles of a chestnut-bur; used on many parts of the Continent as an article of food, under the name Châtaigne de mer.

"Each evening, when his day's work was done, Gilliatt made his supper of a piece of biscuit softened in water, a sea urchin, a crab, or a few sea chestnuts—the only type of game on the rocks—and then, shivering like the knotted rope, climbed up to go to bed in his hole on the Great Douvre." —Victor Hugo, The Toilers of the Sea (1866)

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limpet

(n.) a marine mollusk with a shallow conical shell and a broad muscular foot, noted for the way it clings tightly to rocks. Patellidae, Fissurellidae (the keyhole limpets), and other families, class Gastropoda: numerous species, including the common limpet (Patella vulgata).

origins: Old English lempedu, from Medieval Latin lampreda "limpet, lamprey."

"Everywhere, clinging to the rocks, were limpets, like microscopic huts, forming villages along whose streets prowled chitons, those beetles of the sea." —Victor Hugo, The Toilers of the Sea (1866)

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strake

(n.) 1, a continuous line of planking or plates from the stem to the stern of a ship or boat; 2, a protruding ridge fitted to an aircraft or other structure to improve aerodymanic stability

origin, Middle English: from Anglo-Latin stracus, straca; probably from the Germanic base of the verb stretch.

"All the timber—stretchers, posts, stanchions, caps, port lids, fish pieces, binding strakes—was piled up separately." —Victor Hugo, The Toilers of the Sea (1866)