imron 5,241 Report post Posted November 26, 2014 In the enchanted wood and the magic faraway tree there was also plenty of mention of boughs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
li3wei1 440 Report post Posted November 26, 2014 There's also The Golden Bough, by James Frazer, a comparative study of religions. Never read it, but it was name-checked a lot in university courses. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liuzhou 375 Report post Posted November 27, 2014 I, too, thought that 'bough' was commonly known. I've even met Chinese people who know it. That may come from their knowledge of Jane Eyre, the only English book they seem to have heard of. 'Bough' is used frequently in the novel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tooironic 399 Report post Posted November 28, 2014 My Chinese history professor knew it from The Golden Bough. But it was new to me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imron 5,241 Report post Posted December 30, 2014 Hypnic jerk - when you suddenly jerk wide awake just as you were about to fall asleep. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Demonic_Duck 1,355 Report post Posted December 30, 2014 Ugh, I hate those jerks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liuzhou 375 Report post Posted December 30, 2014 I'm rather fond of the recently discovered "cataglottism" [a. F. cataglottisme ‘a kisse or kissing with the tongue’ (Cotgr.), ad. Gr. καταγλώττισµα, -ισµός ‘a lascivious kiss’.] (I wish to point out that I recently discovered the word, not the concept. Oh, where is she now?) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kobo-Daishi 68 Report post Posted February 1, 2015 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxonian I've been listening to audiobooks of Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Alleyn series of mysteries and that's a word they mention in the first of the series, A Man Lay Dead. Being American, I'd never heard the word before. Read the Wikipedia article for the Cambridge equivalent. Kobo. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shelley 1,860 Report post Posted February 1, 2015 You probably won't have heard of Oxbridge then, which is a term to cover both Oxford and Cambridge Universities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxbridge Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roddy 5,435 Report post Posted April 21, 2015 Sardiniously. A word so rare it has seven results on Google. It originates (as far as I can tell) in the diaries of Frank Hurley, photographer on Ernest Shackleton's unsuccesful trip South. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Melanie1989 62 Report post Posted April 22, 2015 Indubitably - a word i recently discovered (i won't even admit to where) and cracked up laughing at. It means certainly, unquestionable. Eg, "It was indubitably apparent he was lying". It sounds so funny to me, but i don't think it's commonly used -correct me if i'm mistaken. Inspired by Clerks, i think i'll "bring it back". 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shelley 1,860 Report post Posted April 22, 2015 There was a famous character that used indubitably as a catch phrase almost. There was also a cartoon dog that wore a scarf, a top hat and a monocle that used it. Now you have jogged my memory and I can't quite put my finger on it, its on the tip of my brain as it were. Its going to bug me til I remember Edit: Goofy gophers - The pair's dialogue is peppered with such over politeness as "Indubitably!", "You first, my dear," and "But, no, no, no. It must be you who goes first!" Also Sherlock Holmes used it a lot. So it wasn't a dog but two goofy gophers. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imron 5,241 Report post Posted April 26, 2015 phlebotomist - someone who draws blood from veins, e.g. for doing blood tests. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
realmayo 1,824 Report post Posted May 5, 2015 mondegreen - a mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase as a result of near-homophony, in a way that gives it a new meaning e.g. 'Scuse me while I kiss this guy (from a lyric in the song "Purple Haze" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience: "'Scuse me while I kiss the sky"). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tooironic 399 Report post Posted May 5, 2015 I knew the last two words. Guess my English is not as bad as I originally thought... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roddy 5,435 Report post Posted May 5, 2015 I had a really good one, but I've forgotten it. I can remember the literal meaning was a flow of water from snowmelt. Anyone know it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shelley 1,860 Report post Posted May 5, 2015 water from melting snow that flows over the surface of the ground into streams and rivers = snow melt That was all i could find in the dictionary, would be keen to know what you were thinking of cos now my interest has been piqued. And there's another one people may not be familiar with, pique - to excite, arouse interest. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imron 5,241 Report post Posted May 5, 2015 pique - to excite, arouse interest. An excellent word and one of my pet peeves to see people write it as peak e.g. 'peaked my interest' instead of 'piqued my interested'. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shelley 1,860 Report post Posted May 14, 2015 One i learnt today - Psychopomp Psychopomps (from the Greek word ψυχοπομπός - psuchopompos, literally meaning the "guide of souls")[1] are creatures, spirits, angels, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife. Their role is not to judge the deceased, but simply to provide safe passage. Classical examples of a psychopomp in Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology are Charon, Hermes, Mercury and Anubis. Had to look it up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shelley 1,860 Report post Posted October 29, 2015 Inspired by the so now there's a thirteenth 5 year plan song thread, it was mentioned that the song was Also, this song is mad addictive. It reminded me of the word for songs that get stuck in your head, they are earworms. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites