Shufitz posed a riddle, but then faced a dilemna: omitting the answer would be cruel, but posting the answer would spoil the fun.
To deal with that type of dilemna, riddlers can post with their riddle a clickable link to the answer, and put the answer in this thread. I've amended shufitz's post accordingly.
A block, for your convenience cast In bread-like shape for handling fast. Of precious elements I am made; In pigs or ingots I am laid. With bull and lion thus entwined, This BULLION you will lightly find.
1. The word halibut derives from the Middle English halybutte ("holy flatfish") because the fish was traditionally eaten on holy days.
2. The word assassin is drawn from an Arabic word meaning "hashish user," and originally referred to a Syrian religious sect whose members were said to commit murders while under the influence of the drug.
3. Buckaroo derives from the Spanish word vaquero ("cowboy"). The word's Latin root, vacca ("cow"), is also the source of the word vaccine, which reflects the practice of injecting people with small doses of cowpox to prevent smallpox.
4. The French word cliché refers to a printing plate, and imitates the sound made when a die strikes the metal plate used for printing. Like the word stereotype, cliché reflects both the physical process of printing and also the danger in carelessly reusing phrases and thoughts.
5. In Spanish, guerilla literally means "little war," and derives from guerra ("war"). The name originated in the 19th century, when Spanish irregulars and civilians carried on resistance against French occupying forces.
6. The back side of the U.S. dime depicts a fasces--the bundle of sticks, symbolizing unity, from which the word fascism derives. Fascinating!
7. The Greeks coined the term hippopotamus ("river horse") to describe the behemoth found in African rivers. Hippos are not closely related to horses; biologically speaking, the name porcupotamus ("river pig") would be more accurate.
8. Orangutan derives from the Malay orang hutan ("man of the jungle"). Observers often note the similarity of orangutan facial expressions and gestures to those of humans.
9. Parasite derives from the Greek work parasitos, meaning "one who eats from another’s table." Some teenagers are, however, known to exhibit parasitic behavior.
10. Words can hurt. Sarcasm comes from the Greek word sarkazein ("to tear flesh"). Morbidly enough, the related word sarcophagus literally means "flesh-eater."
11. The word paparazzi is a pluralized version of Paparazzo, a character in Federico Fellini's film classic La Dolce Vita (1960). Like today's paparazzi, the character goes to extreme lengths to secure photographs of Hollywood stars.
12. Tycoon derives from the Japanese taikun ("great ruler"). The term became popular in the 19th century, when the United States opened trade relations with Japan just as a new class of American industrialists was on the rise.
It seems to be called the keeper. For examples, see photos of a "belt with gold nailheads along the buckle and keeper" and a "Solid Brass Buckle with 2 Etched Keepers" (third picture). However, I found one photo of a belts with this same loop described as a "belt without keeper".
AHD gives us billet 4.b: A loop or pocket for securing the end of a buckled harness strap
1. Transylvanian countess who murdered 650 women and was said to bathe in their blood as a beauty aid. 2. Miss Nebraska. 3. Miss Idaho. 4. Nevada gold rush prostitute who charged up to $1,000 a night. Amassed a fortune between 1859 and her strangling death in 1863. 5. Miss Alabama. 6. 18th Century female pirate. 7. 19th Century murderer-innkeeper from Kansas known for wielding hammer blows to the head. 8. Burlesque stripper. 9. Miss Arizona. 10. Miss Pennsylvania. 11. Co-conspirator in Abraham Lincoln assassination. 12. Miss Oregon.
Our language seems to be in the process of co-opting the word zarf for this.
A zarf is "a metallic cuplike stand used for holding a finjan", and a finjan is in turn "a small coffee cup without a handle, such as is held in a cup or stand called a zarf". These terms come from the middle east.
On several sites on can find "zarf" more generally as any holder for a handleless coffee cup. In dictionaries sites, though, the closest I find to that broader use is Grandiloquent Dictionary (on-line): "zarf - a special sleeve for a coffee cup or a beer can". Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary (published; not on line) lists "zarf - a cuplike holder for handling hot coffee cups (Arabia)"
quote:Originally posted by wordcrafter: ...Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary (published; not on line)..._
"Mrs. Bryne's Dictionary of unusual, obscure, and preposterous Words", by Josefa Heifetz Byrnes, edited by Robert Byrne, was published in 1974. A "new and expanded" edition was published in 1994; it was reprinted as "The Word Lover's Dictionary: unusual, obscure, and preposterous Words", (in 1996, I think) by Josefa Heifetz.
Thank you Tinman for that information. I just went to a site and ordered a copy of "The Word Lover's Dictionary: Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words". So, soon, I should have some interesting words to post about!
