I hope no one minds if I jump in here but I just came across this word and thought, "I have to use that for the bluffing game."

Answers in the usual place please.

Mine is wending its insipid way to somewhere in the Motherland.

I'm almost sure I've seen this word before, but I sure can't place it.

Great word for this game. I'll send mine ASAP.

Given the myriad people I now see with tattooed slogans, I don't doubt there's plenty of arse verse out there.

And so far we have Proofreader, Kalleh, Asa, arnie, Valentine, Stella, my own humble red herring and the real definition.

Any more? Suggestions will be posted tomorrow for your perusal.

I'll likely miss it since I'll be out of town. So, I'll pick #4 - whatever it is!

Bob, I have a simple request. Could you please put my daffynition in the #4 slot? Thanks so much.

#4warned is #4armed.

#4armed = 0.5octopus

#4armed = .666 insect.

Here then is this week's collection of suggestions for this unlikely sounding word.


1. doggerel

2. stern-first, backwards; describes orientation of craft (chiefly barge) maneuvering into slip (naut. slang)

3. Fear of walking backwards

4. Backwards

5. Low Victorian slang for "Hell", also used as general expletive.

6. Writing by the artist on the back of paintings.

7. A magical spell to prevent burning

8. dull, lacking shine

9. A canard or faux pas

10. A particularly raunchy limerick.

11. Stubborn, allegedly from the perceived difficulty in persuading an ass (donkey) to walk backwards

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BobHale, October 19, 2008 13:50

The French collaborator, standing on the faldstool with a nous around his neck, would pray loudly to God for assistance but all that would issue from his mouth would be #1.

I'm persuaded by #11.

An arseverser late of Ol’ Arseverse
Arseversedly thought of an arse-curse
On the arseverse side
Of his oeuvre with pride
To inscribe on his arse in the transverse.

Now all the divils down in Ol’ Arseverse
Rose up to give him an arse-curse:
“We’ll see you arse-first
‘Til yer arses-drawn hearse
Twelve circles of Arseverse traverse!”

Tho the arseverser harbored perverse
Desires to commit this arseverse
He was somewhat arseverse
His arse to immerse
In the Styx, so he chose to arseverse.
* * * * * *

I'll have #5, pliz.

Number 8.

A Siamese twin from Arseverse
Had a brother, extremely perverse,
Who just curled up and died
And now lies just inside
While his twin bro' runs ‘longside the hearse.

A contortionist, very perverse,
Tried to mime meaning for "arseverse."
He was in a position
To need a physician,
Or a kinesiologist nurse.

This injured contortionist falleh
Cried out in pain and he said, “Walleh,
I will need a good nurse
To help offset this curs-
Ed pain. Looks like a job for Kalleh.”

Number 2 for me, please.

So far we have a 1, an 11, a 5, an 8, and a 2 and a 4 from Asa EVEN before any definitions were posted.

Any takers for 3,6,7,9 or 10?

I'll go for #1.

Answers will be published sometime tomorrow, assuming my head clears enough by them to sort it all out.

1. doggerel

both proofreader and Valentine chose bethree5's low verse as their answer

2. stern-first, backwards; describes orientation of craft (chiefly barge) maneuvering into slip (naut. slang)

and arnie reversed into bethree5's other definition

3. Fear of walking backwards

stella backed out of fooling anyone with this definition

4. Backwards

Kalleh's straightforward, or perhaps straightbackward, definition spookily fooled Asa even before he read it (See, you only have to ask and I obey!)

5. Low Victorian slang for "Hell", also used as general expletive.

bethree5 may well utter an expletive at being fooled by the first of two that I made up, but it won't be "arseverse"

6. Writing by the artist on the back of paintings.

The writing was on the wall for this one, which fooled nobody

7. A magical spell to prevent burning

for a change nobody got the real definition which comes from Thomas Wright's Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English (1857) where the word is defined as "A pretended spell written upon the door of a house to keep it from burning". I have no idea why the spell should be "pretended".

8. dull, lacking shine

arnie's definition shone for Kalleh

9. A canard or faux pas

Asa's canard or faux pas was one of his rare faux pas, fooling no one.

10. A particularly raunchy limerick.

proofreader's raunchy limerick just wasn't raunchy enough to lure anyone in

11. Stubborn, allegedly from the perceived difficulty in persuading an ass (donkey) to walk backwards

I persuaded stella with the second of my own offerings.

Congrats, Bob! It is hard to spoof these esteemed Wordcrafters!

Did someone win?

quote:

I have no idea why the spell should be "pretended".

Probably he didn't want readers of his dictionary to think he believed it was real.

quote:

Did someone win?

Bob, I suppose, since he found a word that no-one knew or even guessed. Well done Bob!

Yes, go again, Bob. I think I'm getting the hang of this game now!

I'm baaaaaaaack, and would have voted for #5 had I been here. Well done, Bob!