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030115 Ronnie Alrightnik?

Is Ronnie an "alrightnik" ('Chiefly in Jewish usage: a person who has succeeded in life financially but is regarded as vulgar or self-satisfied; a nouveau-riche person, an arriviste', OED)? Arguable … as he's not real … or is he? Day…
Del
January 3, 2015
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020115 Musette Player

I managed to find some bagpipes for today's word ("musette": 'Any of various kinds of small bagpipes; esp. a bellows-blown bagpipe of exquisite design, popular at the French court in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Now hist., OED)’, but…
Del
January 2, 2015
zBlog Archives

010115 MM is our First Foot

I'm not sure whether crossing your own threshold counts, but this is MisterMac crossing our threshold in the small hours of this morning, which makes him the "first foot" ('Eng. regional (north.), Sc., and Irish English (north.) The first person…
Del
January 1, 2015
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311214 N.Y.E

I was somewhat perplexed on seeing that today's word was "nye", meaning 'A brood of pheasants', as I couldn't see the relevance to the occasion. And then the penny suddenly dropped - it may be a brood of pheasants, but…
Del
December 31, 2014
zBlog Archives

301214 Nithered Clematis

What a splendid word today! "Nithered" means 'Shrivelled or pinched with cold or hunger; wasted, stunted, withered', (OED) and given that it was minus five, pretty well everything is withered. Most of my snaps from today have an interesting grey…
Del
December 30, 2014
zBlog Archives

291214 Scission

"Scission" means: 'Division of a previously united body of people into mutually opposing parties; a split, a schism', (OED). Today's pic is representative rather than completely accurate. Today's adventure was a wonderful birthday present of a wine-cellar tour followed by…
Del
December 29, 2014
zBlog Archives

281214 Childermas

Well, this is a sobering, post-merriment word - "Childermas", meaning 'Childermas day. The festival of the Holy Innocents (28 December), commemorating the massacre of the male children of Bethlehem by Herod (Matthew 2:16)', (OED). Thankfully, there wasn't much of this…
Del
December 28, 2014
zBlog Archives

271214 Partied-Out? No Chance …

"Partied-out" means: 'Exhausted from celebrating, drinking alcohol, etc.; hung over; tired of parties', (OED). As it's my birthday, no-one is allowed to be partied-out today … that can happen tomorrow! Day #361 of a 365 project, where the daily pic…
Del
December 27, 2014
zBlog Archives

261214 Réchauffé Croissants

Today's word is one for bubble & squeak fans, namely "réchauffé", meaning: 'Of food: reheated, heated or warmed up again; made from leftovers. Freq. fig.: reworked, rehashed; unoriginal, derivative. Also as a postmodifier, after French use', (OED). As we were…
Del
December 26, 2014
zBlog Archives

251214 Nativity

I thought I knew what "Nativity" meant, but the birth of Jesus is only one meaning and the OED chose the other meaning for the WOTD, namely: 'Christian Church. The feast of the birth of Jesus (celebrated on 25 December);…
Del
December 25, 2014
zBlog Archives

241214 Keine Pfeffernuss sondern …

I'm ashamed to say that I'm in the home of Christmas biscuits and have failed miserably to snap a "pfeffernuss", which is 'A small, round, sweet biscuit flavoured with spices such as ginger, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, etc., and typically…
Del
December 24, 2014
zBlog Archives

231214 Sciomancy Spoken Here

Today's word was "sciomancy", meaning 'Divination through communication with the spirits of the dead. Also: divination by means of shadows', (OED). And I'm guessing that a cathedral is as good as place as any for sciomancy, albeit rather a selective…
Del
December 23, 2014
zBlog Archives

221214 A Murth of Cold

We're all ready for Christmas! "Murth" - 'A great quantity, an abundance; plenty. a murth of cold: a severe cold', (OED). I have a very red nose - I don't think Kleenex contains as much balsam as it used to:-(…
Del
December 22, 2014
zBlog Archives

211214 Mistral Hair Day

"Mistral" is 'A strong, cold, north-westerly wind blowing through the Rhône valley and southern France into the Mediterranean, mainly in winter', (OED). Vienna gets more than its fair share of wind, thus it is sometimes described as the 'Chicago of…
Del
December 21, 2014
zBlog Archives

201214 Picaroongasse

The only place I could imagine finding a picaroon ('A pirate or privateer. Also fig. Now chiefly hist', OED) over here was at the Prater, but there wasn't time for the funfair as I had to collect MisterMac from the…
Del
December 20, 2014
zBlog Archives

191214 Scissor Man

Bit of a grab shot today owing to slight memory loss. I read the WOTD email first thing and swiftly forgot that the definition given for "Scissor Man" was: 'A tailor', (OED). I took a variety of barber shots and…
Del
December 19, 2014
zBlog Archives

181214 Pantomime in Parliament

I thought a picture of the parliament building was most apposite for "pantomime", meaning: 'Originally: (Classical Hist.) a theatrical performer popular in the Roman Empire who represented mythological stories through gestures and actions; = pantomimus n. Hence, more generally: an…
Del
December 18, 2014
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171214 Puant Pinkeln

"Puant" means: 'Having an offensive smell, stinking; (fig.) loathsome, contemptible', (OED). This little dodgy corner of the park is puant in oh so many different ways... Day #347 of a 365 project, where the daily pic is informed by the OED…
Del
December 17, 2014
zBlog Archives

161214 Menorah Absence

I was in the wrong place to snap a "menorah" ('A holy candelabrum with seven branches that was used in the ancient temple in Jerusalem; a similar candelabrum holding eight lights, used on the eight days of Chanukah', OED), apparently,…
Del
December 16, 2014
zBlog Archives

151214 Rivo Team Purton!

"Rivo" is 'Used as a toast or salutation before drinking, or as an exclamation of encouragement or enthusiasm', (OED). And it would have been a widely used word today, had it not been obsolete, for Team Purton, Austrian Airlines and…
Del
December 15, 2014