Boot wins first prize!

[Pierre Abbat]

First prize goes to Kir the Cordwainer for inventing a boot that never gets 
wet inside, no matter how much it rains! And since the first shall be last, 
the prize is a new last. Let's see how long it lasts. For more information 
about cordwainers and their guild, see http://www.thehcc.org/.

The first set of numbers is the days to make defs; the second is the number of 
votes I hoped to get, but I got only tasn-mi. As "chork" in modern Armenian 
is pronounced "chors", I threw some old forms in.

phma
---
Kir: Oh jeeze... chalk/chert? spork? choke? chock? chortle? Bother!
JJ: I'll vote the straight "Meachinized Fabrication" ticket this time.
James: I will vote for the definition that most closely resemble, without 
actually being, mine. This may help ensure that I will be on the same 
wavelength as the eventual winner, which will give me a leg up when trying to 
deduce the next word...
Judith: All three [the movable lug, the half-dovetailed log, and the lathe 
tool] sound equally likely/unlikely, given my terrific background in 
construction.  

chork, n. (bootmaking) Rabbited wedge between the vamp and sideseam, inserted 
for decorative widening of the sidewall.
by Kir Talmage. 11
1 point for getting her feet wet
Pierre: Rabbit, or rabbet?
AChu: 2 points
Amy: Two points.
James: TWO POINTS
Fran: 2 points
Linda: I'm not sure what a rabbited wedge is, but it sounds comfy--I've been 
wearing my old shoes for too long, so a bit of bunny fur sounds nice.  And my 
new shoes  (see above) are soft, too, even if they chork a little. 2 points

chork, n. A crude type of lathe tool that removes large pieces of excess wood 
at the beginning of the turning process. v. To remove such pieces. Also 
refers to the first stages of excess wood removal in chain saw sculpture.
by Linda Owens. 5
Judith: Let's give 2 points to the lathe tool, 
Kir: Had this been a lathe bit, I'd've been liekly to believe it... at least, 
until I got to the chain saw bit... er. Part.
JJ: Two.
James: ONE POINT
Linda: An amusing story made me think of lathe tools: many years ago, my 
husband David's grandfather owned a small factory that made steam traps, 
which look a bit like toilet floats. They were made from copper sheets that 
were turned on a lathe, using special heavy wood and metal shapers.  After a 
while the business was sold to someone in NH, and even later, about ten years 
ago, the three lathe tools ended up at an antique shop nearby, after they 
were no longer needed.  Shortly thereafter, while on a walk near the family 
summer cottage, my husband happened to go into the same antique shop, like 
the look of the lathe tools, which he had never seen before; and because the 
owner did not anticipate anyone else buying them, he sold them to David for 
$5.00 each.  It was David's uncle who confirmed that David had indeed bought 
back the Family Tools.  Linda  PS We love them and the story that goes with 
them.

chork, n. A cowhand who signs on with a ranch with the motive of gathering 
information, e.g. about business practices for a rival ranch, or of 
opportunities for rustling the stock.
by Jean-Joseph Cote. 4
Kir: Damn. Alright 2 pts, for not being related to anythign else I can think 
of.
Snibor: Industrial espionage in the heartland!  1 point!
Linda: This doesn't sound especially Western, but I have a weakness for 
cowboys, so 1 point.

chork, n. A unit of data equal to 12 bits, or one-and-a-half bytes.
by Eric. 2
Snibor: Why would anyone ever need to refer to such a unit?  And couldn't they 
come up with a better name for it?  I mean, they did such a good job with 
nybble (half a byte).
David: 2 points
Linda: Oh, no, another one of those imaginary numbers!

chork, n. A piece of lint or other debris, found in an unlikely place.
by Judith Schrier. 2
Snibor: I like this.  Has a certain air of plausibility to it, a quiet 
elegance. 2 points.
Linda: Hmm--the usual places are belly buttons and toes, so the unlikely 
places could be anywhere.

chork, v. To make the noise which the feet do when the shoes are full of 
water.
by Oxford E. Dictionary. 2
Kir: 1 pt.
Amy: One point, I can't quite believe it, but I'd like to.
Linda: It can also be Squish.  I just got some new walking shoes that even 
when dry make me sound like The Penguin from the very old Batman series 
 (Burgess Meredith?).

chork, n. A rock resembling flint and consisting essentially of a large amount 
of fibrous chalcopyrites with smaller amounts of amorphous, crystalline, 
granitic silicates.
by Jeff Hutchinson. 2
AChu: 1 point
Kir: chalk and chert...
David: 1 point
Linda: Would that be chert?

chork, n. A movable lug, allowing adjustments in shape between production 
runs, in metal fabrication.  
by Fran Poodry. 2
Judith: and one to the movable lug.
Kir: chock...
JJ: One.
Linda: I don't remember this def--it suddenly appeared, but it sounds the most 
plausible.  Then, again, aren't most lugs movable by adjusting the lug nut? 
Linda  Is it Moveable?  Can't recall.

chork, n. A half-dovetailed log used as the topmost log in a log-cabin wall 
that is otherwise fully dovetailed.
by James Kushner. 2
James: Predicted number of votes: zero. On the other hands, somebody's gotta 
pad the ranks.
Eric: Two points.
Linda: Someone has been playing with Lincoln Logs, I assume?  This is a nice 
def, and maybe it's real if the log in question is part of one of those 
full-sized gorgeous log houses one can build. 

Amy: 1

chork, n. A suppressed laugh or chuckle.
by Arthur Chu. 1
Kir: chortle...
Eric: One point.
Fran: 1 point
Linda: Chortle?

chork, v. To caulk a chicken coop.
by Ranjit Bhatnagar. 0
Linda: Actually, chork sounds more like to strangle a chicken.  Linda  And 
caulking a poultry pen is self -defeating:  if you make the pen too warm, it 
attracts all sorts of pests from bugs to rodents. It's usually best to give 
them shelter from rain and snow, by having little nesting boxes that you line 
with hay and protect from the wind with overhangs and/or winter "storm 
windows" of cloth or plastic.  Although, many farmers have taken to making 
little coops (which could be caulked) on wheels, so the chickens can roam in 
the day and go in at night, with the space to be eaten (bugs and weeds) 
ever-changing, but the eggs being laid inside and the chickens having 
protection from predators at night.

chork, n. A fork whose tines have rounded ends, intended to be safe for 
children.
by Joe Robins. 0
Judith: That's a spork, Linda.
Kir: spork...
Snibor: Hrm, I could really have worded that better.  Doesn't sound very 
dictionaryish.
Linda: I think my kids' school cafeteria served sporks.

chork, v. (prison slang) To stuff a fork down someone's gullet.
by David Randall. 0
Kir: choke...
Linda: Yikes!  Could that be a pun on Choke?

-- 
.i toljundi do .ibabo mi'afra tu'a do
.ibabo damba do .ibabo do jinga
.icu'u la ma'atman.