Alrighty, here we go again...
Send me your daffynitions (that means your made up definition) for "fucha" (pronounced FOO-hah) by PM. After I get about 10 or so entries I will post them, along with the correct definition, and anyone and everyone can guess for their choice. The person whose daffynition garners the most votes will be the winner.
(The person who PMs me the actual definition, cut and pasted from the internet, will be publicly ridiculed.)
Just kidding... sort of...
Let the game begin!

I'm in. Ante up!

You've got mine, and it is GOOD!

You've got mine too.

Yet another word I've never heard before--only words that sort of look and sound like it! ;-)

Wordmatic

Okay, I've got seven so far, and they are sooo good! I just need a few more...

Only 8.... All the usual suspects...
Kalleh, tell Shu to submit one and then with the real one we'll have 10.

Will do...though, he sometimes doesn't mind me! (Giving up those emoticons has been hard; a wink is necessary there!)

Did he or didn't he? TrossL, you can make up the 9th and say it's Shu's. An old Faux Shu!

WM

Okay kiddies, here are the nominees for the meaing of fucha.
Pick the number of the one that you think is the correct meaning. The daffynition writer who gets the most votes for their daffynition is the winner.

You don't have to have submitted one to play the game. Come on in and guess!

1. A nonmigratory earless seal common to the Philippine, South China, and East China Seas.

2. A fine vicuña wool, produced in the northernmost regions of Chile.

3. FUCHA - military acronym - "Fouled Up; Coming Home Anyway". Compare SNAFU.

4. An Aboriginal Australian rite of passage wherein boys are subincised.

5. A woman who from behind looks like she is pretty, but appears ugly from the front. From the Japanese word fucha, "disappointment".

6. "fucha" is the species name of the virus that causes people to remember what will happen next year. Full Latin name: Baktuda fucha.

7. An ant-like insect of South America, now thought to be extinct.

8. Alternate spelling for a popular flowering plant, usually displayed in a hanging pot, with profuse flowers of a characteristic color (fuchsia) similar to magenta; named for German botanist Leonhart Fuchs (1501-1566)

9. An oriental furnishing consisting of a long low seat with ornately carved shelves beneath it.

10. A type of tree house found in some remote Polynesian villages, often built in a banyan tree.

11. Using company time and resources for your own ends.

12. A form of crewel embroidery; characterized by fanciful plant and animal shapes worked in a variety of stitches with two-ply wool yarn on linen; A popular motif in fucha embroidery is the Tree of Life.

Twelve beauties!

I'll take one.

This is crewel and unusual. I'll take number TWELVE.

I'll try #2.

Wordmatic

I have no idea, but I'll pick No. 9. please.

Much as I'd love it to be 6 I'll go for 10 please.

Oh, these are nice! I truly love 5 & 6 (do we give awards for exceptional imagination?), though I should probably go with something more mundane. But no! I am going for #3.

Great going, Wordcrafters!

A nonmigratory subincised seal that used to eat ant-like insects in treehouses?

Since arnie says it's #9, and he's rarely wrong, it probably is. Nevertheless, I'll try #1.

Hurry up people, and post your answers...I can't wait to say something!

Me too...
And I don't even get to guess...

. . . interesting that 2 of them are "oriental".

I'll choose #2, just because I want to make socks . . . or maybe a hat.

9 or 12 ...

I'll take #9. Final answer.

OKay, only bethree is left. Should I do the winner/answer without her guess?

Why don't you give her another day? Still...I can't wait to talk about this word. I had the weirdest experience in trying to find the definition (after I guessed, of course!).

Well okay, we can wait for bethree no longer. People are chomping at the bit on this one, so here we go...

1. A nonmigratory earless seal common to the Philippine, South China, and East China Seas. ((bethree5) – Haberdasher & Asa guessed this one.

2. A fine vicuña wool, produced in the northernmost regions of Chile (shufitz) – Wordmatic & Caterwauller guessed this one.

3. FUCHA - military acronym - "Fouled Up; Coming Home Anyway". Compare SNAFU. (haberdasher’s red herring) – Kalleh guessed this one.

4. An Aboriginal Australian rite of passage wherein boys are subincised. (Asa Lovejoy)

5. A woman who from behind looks like she is pretty, but appears ugly from the front. From the Japanese word fucha, "disappointment". (arnie) – This is the one I would have guessed had I been able to guess.

6. "fucha" is the species name of the virus that causes people to remember what will happen next year. Full Latin name: Baktuda fucha. (jerry thomas) – no one guessed this but Bob & Kalleh (and Michael J. Fox) really liked this one!

7. An ant-like insect of South America, now thought to be extinct. (Caterwauller)

8. Alternate spelling for a popular flowering plant, usually displayed in a hanging pot, with profuse flowers of a characteristic color (fuchsia) similar to magenta; named for German botanist Leonhart Fuchs (1501-1566) (haberdasher)

9. An oriental furnishing consisting of a long low seat with ornately carved shelves beneath it. (BobHale) – Arnie & Shufitz guessed this one.

10. A type of tree house found in some remote Polynesian villages, often built in a banyan tree. (Wordmatic) – Bob guessed this one.

11. Using company time and resources for your own ends. (The real McCoy) NO GUESSES!!!

12. A form of crewel embroidery; characterized by fanciful plant and animal shapes worked in a variety of stitches with two-ply wool yarn on linen; A popular motif in fucha embroidery is the Tree of Life. (Kalleh) – Jerry guessed this one.

So I guess it's a 3-way tie for best stumper. Our winners are bethree5, shufitz and Bob Hale. Congrats to you three!

Now, where in the world did this word come from? Good question.
I found the word fucha in the book, "They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases" by Howard Rheingold. Fucha is a Polish word meaning The act of using company time and resources (machines, supplies, services) to complete a job for yourself or someone else.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TrossL,

Yeah, THEY have a word for it - but it's not used in English! You got sneaky with us! Fun anyway!

Well, my story was that I looked it up in 5 different places and found 5 different definitions (not the accurate one). Strange!

one, two (movie title), the only Onelook entry, a Japanese dish, and a DJ. Interesting. This fucha is apparently a Portuguese word. Did your source say it was a Polish word? I wonder which it is.

Of all the definitions posted, I had thought this one to be the most useful. I don't think we have an English word for that, do we?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,

this looked like a really interesting candidate for a worthless word; but it hasn't made any inroad into English that I can see.

as to the def'ns Kalleh found, 1) the UD entry gets 1 up and 7 down, so that's right out; 2) this movie is at least Polish; 3) the Wiki entry is a proper noun (in Spanish?); 4) this Japanese dish is consistent with the Japanese bluff; and 5) who knows where the DJs got their name, fusion music?

Another "source" that cites the word is The Meaning of Tingo; their authority has been questioned.

Now that was a fun round! I thought all the daffs were great, and personally don't care if the trick word is Polish. Thanks, TrossL.

我不关心，或者。



(I don't care either.)

I fully agree .... it was a FUN round.

Sorry I spazzed out at voting time! This was the best one ever! This game caught me at the intersection of an unforeseen long week-end drive/trip and the beginning of teaching classes-- for the past few days, I've literally been dozing off as I perused the site at bedtime! Thanks for a fun game, TrossL. I don't know which I would have voted for... certainly not No. 11!!!

Yes, indeed! A fun game TrossL!

I don't think I can take much real credit for for my daffynition. I have a vague idea that a word for this does exist in some language, somwhere, although I've no idea how I came by this notion, what the word is, or in what language. Does it ring any bells with anyone else?

The word fucha is indeed Polish. According to the book is is pronounced FOO-hah. There was a page and a half description of the various times this word would apply but I didn't want to do that much typing.

Basically in a communist state all that you grow on your land is supposed to go to the people and if you keep some for yourself that would be fucha. Or say if you worked in an engraving shop and you engraved stuff of your own; that would be fucha. Even though you weren't stealing anything that belonged to the company, you were still using the company's machines for your own ends.

The reason that I chose this word is that it was one of the only ones in the book, that when I googled it, I did NOT get any hits that were correct. I thought that would make this a more creative and challenging game.

quote:

The reason that I chose this word is that it was one of the only ones in the book, that when I googled it, I did NOT get any hits that were correct. I thought that would make this a more creative and challenging game.

and this method confounds.. well, not to put too fine a point on it, cheating.

the problem comes in finding words that aren't successfully googleable!

Kalleh's link to the IMDB entry for the Polish film Fucha lacks, alas, any indication of the plot. However, it looks like it is set in a gravestone carving plant(!) to judge from the cast list. Were the characters carving their own headstones in company time?

quote:

Originally posted by arnie:
Were the characters carving their own headstones in company time?

Maybe... or if not their own, if they were making them for family, or just for anyone, and then the workers pocketed the money that was paid for the headstones.

Of course, if the head of the company found out about this, maybe they would have to carve their own headstone and dig their own grave...

Well, for the record, the only time I Googled was after I had guessed. In fact, if you were to look at my score in getting these words right, you'd see that, by no means, do I cheat.

I think it's intriguing, TrossL, that 2 sources call it a Portuguese word. I wonder where the confusion developed.

I agree that this was a great game, and it was a fine word...one we need in English!

OMG! I just did a google search for fucha polish (no quotes) and the first four ghits were for this meaning! Try it out.

Here's another interesting item to click

It's about tingo, etc.