December 16, 2003, 20:40
wordnerdObscure extra meanings of common words
Kalleh, speaking elsewhere of the word
"pace," says, "I think it is confusing when a word has a very common definition, and then a rather obscure one."
This thread may die a-borning, but perhaps we can come up with other common words that have an obscure meaning. Here's one:
came (noun): a slender grooved lead rod used to hold together panes of glass especially in a stained-glass window
The name of those panes is also a specialized meaning of another common word, but I can't recall the word!
December 16, 2003, 23:07
Richard EnglishIsn't it "lights", as in "leaded lights"?
Richard English
December 17, 2003, 19:11
KallehI just know that we've talked about words like this on this site, but I cannot remember any right now.
I do remember Richard telling us about "set" having over a hundred definitions (one must be obscure!), but I searched and couldn't find that post.
December 18, 2003, 13:21
C J StrolinSpeaking of which, might it be possible to come up with some sort of index for this board? Maybe a listing of general topics of things we've discussed and, more importantly, where they could be found? A list of thread titles wouldn't hack it since we so often meander away from original topics, cross-thread, etc.
It would seem that this task would require someone devoted to the board and with great quantities of time on his or her hands.
I nominate Kalleh.
All in favor??
December 18, 2003, 14:00
Kallehquote:
It would seem that this task would require someone devoted to the board and with great quantities of time on his or her hands.
I nominate Kalleh.
Aren't you a sweetheart! And, to think I just complimented
you!No, I don't have
great quantities of time on my hands! However, I do post a lot, I know.
Remember, I sit at my computer all day at work, with wordcraft minimized. When a thought pops into my mind, I am here. For example, in Hab's "sheeery" in "Jumble", I was jotting down letters all day! Now of course many days I am just too busy to be here, but, as with all of you, I do have some down time every so often. See, now you are making me feel guilty!
Now, as for your request, I could do some categorizing , I suppose, putting the results into "Community." I have been here since the board's birth, and I have a good idea where a lot of the older subjects are. One thing, though, that I would hate to do is to ask Sarah or wordcrafter to change the board categories. I think general categories are so much better than real specific ones. In the latter case, often people don't know where to put their posts, so they just don't post. That especially is true of new posters, I think.
December 18, 2003, 14:12
C J StrolinI assume you realize that I was joking with that "great quantities of spare time" line. What nurse has that luxury? Actually, I had been hoping that four or five other Wordcrafters would join in on the joke with the one-word response "Aye," but you beat everyone to it!
Also, I've used the "Search" feature with some success in the past in place of an index. For example, a brief discussion on cheese was traced to "Out of the mouths of babes," a thread title which would not cause "cheese" to immediately spring to mind.