Unusual or rare words

[Saint-Just]

My contribution today: tmesis (pl tmeses, from Greek τμῆσις tmēsis – "a cutting")
A word compound that is divided into two parts, with another word infixed between the parts, thus constituting a separate word compound.

Absofuckinglutely!

 

[Greg]

That's unfuckingbelievable

 

[Greg]

Malaphor: a mix of idioms.

'We'll burn that bridge when we get to it' is a favourite of mine.

 

[E. By Gum]

Ziggurat.

 

[Greg]

Petrichor is another one - the smell after it has rained.

 

[E. By Gum]

Juggernaut I always like.
Pantechnicon.
Busy - North Yorkshire (?) dialect, river in spate said to be busy.
Myrmidon. Henchman, etc.

 

[Andylaser]

Fucktard
Cockwomble

 

[Stew]

Askhole!

 

[Saint-Just]

Fucktard
Cockwomble

I said « unusual ». I use either probably once a day, usually about customers or coders.

 

[noddy]

Pretergression - never really understood it but made up a few possible usages

Same with haecceity

 

[Diamond Dave]

Fabbloodytastic…

 

[Andylaser]

Someone on another forum mentioned "wankpuffin" which surprisingly has a wiki entry and is technically known as a "shitgibbon", which also has a wiki entry.
Apparently this term was coined to describe the Trumpty - "tiny fingered, Cheeto-faced, ferret wearing shitgibbon".

 

[E. By Gum]

The man with the shredded wheat on his head?

 

[noddy]

Wazzock: According to Harding, it takes its name from the habit of medieval kings to “take a crap on a shovel”. The royal turd would be “wazzed” out of the window and the wazzock was the tool for performing this operation."

 

[Saint-Just]

Another one, courtesy of Susie Dent: ‘ultracrepidarian’ (19th century): one who loves to give their opinion on matters they know nothing about.

I like the origin, too, as

it’s from the Latin phrase ‘ne ultra crepidam’, ‘not beyond the sole’, referring to a story in which a cobbler criticises a painting by the artist Apelles, who retorts that he should stick to talking about shoes.

 

[noddy]

I'll be looking for an chance to use that one.

 

[Jaggededge]

My father in law to a T. Can't wait for an opportunity to call him it.

 

[E. By Gum]

Used it, sent it to me cousin in a text. Him to a t.
Not me though, oh no.

 

[Gower Ranger]

My contribution today: tmesis (pl tmeses, from Greek τμῆσις tmēsis – "a cutting")
A word compound that is divided into two parts, with another word infixed between the parts, thus constituting a separate word compound.

Absofuckinglutely!

Axontmesis is a type of nerve injury.

 

[noddy]

Anacrusis

I keep thinking it describes the effect of a work like 'twas. But it isn't that. Or, maybe it is. 'knows

 

[Saint-Just]

Anacrusis

I keep thinking it describes the effect of a work like 'twas. But it isn't that. Or, maybe it is. 'knows

I know the term in music.

 

[Oldtimer]

Cul-de-sac.

I'm hoping Saint-Just can help with this. Am I right in thinking that this term for a dead-end is not as French as it sounds? The French for a dead-end road is "impasse", n'est pas? Cul-de-sac (arse bag) strikes me as possibly rude. I'd hate to make a faux pas.

 

[BorderReiver]

Cul-de-sac.

I'm hoping Saint-Just can help with this. Am I right in thinking that this term for a dead-end is not as French as it sounds. The French for a dead-end road is "impasse", n'est pas. Cul-de-sac (arse bag) strikes me as possibly rude. I'd hate to make a faux pas.

As in "Je suis chaude" used by a 75 year old lady I know. She seemed to make a habit of that sort of thing and always had a good laugh about it.

 

[Saint-Just]

Cul-de-sac is not rude at all. An impasse is a road/pathway that leads to the end of the road; a cul-de-sac doesn’t have to be a pathway, you could be in a labyrinth, in a cave, or anywhere you’ve taken the wrong turn to get to your destination. In other words an impasse is always a cul-de-sac, the reverse is not true. In practice they are considered synonymous.
Indeed, dead end in my understanding fits both translations.

 

[Beachlover]

I discovered today that a sixteenth century word for a kestrel was a windfucker or fuckwind.

Windfucker | Haggard Hawks

(n.) an archaic name for the kestrelLast week, a sweary fact about kestrels turned out to be not only HH’s most popular fact of the week, but one of our most popular facts ever. Back in the sixteenth century, kestrels were known as windfuckers and fuckwinds. Having said that however, there’s a...

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