"Nuppence" means: 'No money; nothing', (OED). And what a fab word that is! I need a new comfy chair and I've had my eye on this one for a while. As the shop was open today, I ventured in to…
DelJanuary 6, 2015
As soon as I saw that today's word was "pantophagist" ('A human being or animal that devours things (esp. food) of all kinds; an omnivore', OED) I knew that it was time to seek out Walter Pigeon again. As luck…
DelJanuary 4, 2015
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…
DelJanuary 3, 2015
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…
DelJanuary 2, 2015
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…
DelJanuary 1, 2015
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…
DelDecember 31, 2014
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…
DelDecember 30, 2014
"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…
DelDecember 29, 2014
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…
DelDecember 28, 2014
"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…
DelDecember 27, 2014
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…
DelDecember 26, 2014
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);…
DelDecember 25, 2014
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…
DelDecember 24, 2014
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…
DelDecember 23, 2014
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:-(…
DelDecember 22, 2014
"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…
DelDecember 21, 2014
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…
DelDecember 20, 2014
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…
DelDecember 19, 2014
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…
DelDecember 18, 2014