wanlace!

[eLLioTT morEton]

This one was a tough call.  But he liked tough calls.  That's how he'd 
made it to where he was today, liking tough calls.  The top scorer was the 
OED, with 8 points, but the OED was disqualified because it wasn't 
subscribed to the list.  That left two mighty contenders locked in a 
precarious embrace on a lofty pinnacle:  Fran and Eric, both with 7 
points.  In such conditions of equisite equipoise, the outcome can turn on 
the least flap of a butterfly's wing -- or, in this case, on a salute. 
The voting instructions specified that ties would be broken by awards, and 
James's naval salute to Eric counts as an award.  He beckoned his 
boatswain to the gunwale.

"Hoist 'TAKE IT AWAY, ERIC!'" he commanded.

"Aye aye, sir!"

And with that, he closed the logbook on:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fran:  Obviously, NONE of the proposed definitions could possibly be
correct.

Hutch:  Glaah! An excellent collection this time. Many quite believable. 
Many outlandish enough to have been dug out by eLLioTT specifically
UNbelievable!
__________________________________________________________________________
wanlace -- (n.)  (obs.) A mooring right on an inland navigable waterway.
Wanlace was not an inherent riparian right, but could be granted to the
adjoining landowner by the sovereign. Once granted, wanlace was  freely
alienable.

By JAMES.
6 = David 2 + Linda 2 + 2 points for correct guess
Linda:  One point because I would enjoy such a pleasure but ideally think 
everyone should have access, as well.
Hutch:  I dunno. I have a really hard time picturing this as being 
something that would have ever thought of to be withheld by the sovereign.
Jean-Joseph:  Could be somebody trying to sound like Elliott.

__________________________________________________________________________
wanlace -- (n.)  A decorative cording used on wainscoting, made of carved
wood or twisted fibers soaked in lac resin.

By FRAN.
7 = Judith 2 + Hutch 2 + Ranjit 2 + 1 point for correct guess
Hutch:  Something like "wooden lace" I like it: 2 points
Jean-Joseph:  Wainscoting lace?  Nah.
Ranjit:  wain lace!  With such a transparent etymology, it MUST be true! 2 
pts.
__________________________________________________________________________
wanlace -- (n.)  Soft jadeite stone, a variety of actinolite.

By AUSSIE.
2 = Judith 1 + 1 point for correct guess
Jean-Joseph:  Minerals are just one notch up from organisms.  But not a 
notch high enough.  (Hey, I have to have some way of making up my mind!)

__________________________________________________________________________
wanlace -- (n.)  1.  A circuit made by members of a hunting party to
intercept the quarry and drive it back.  2.  An ambush.  3.  A crafty 
scheme or stratagem.

>From the OED, slightly rewritten to make it look less official.
8 = Fran 1 + Aussie 1 + James 2 + Eric 2 + Pierre 1 + Jean-Joseph 1
Crafty Guitars Award from Linda.
Aussie:  Nicely done!  One point!
James:  ...for no other reason than that Nova liked it.
Eric:  Two points.  For having that "old English" quality, without 
pretending to be a law term.
Pierre:  One point for the bacon tree.
Jean-Joseph:  I like the sound of it.  Not bad.  Edges out the negligence 
definition for the one point.
__________________________________________________________________________
wanlace -- (n.) A form of extortion in which the victim is compelled to 
bid
against multiple adverse interests for the possession of embarrassing or
discrediting information.

By RANJIT.
0 points.
Cackle-Bladder Award from Jean-Joseph.
Hutch:  Tempting, but seems a bit too ... specific. And won't the 
extortionist (extorter? extortioner?) be out of luck as soon as he shows 
any of the "adverse interests" enough of the embarrassing material to 
convince them to bid on it?
Pierre:  "Wanlace" sounds like it might be the name of a crime, but this 
one is hard to believe.

See this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Wild#.22Thief-Taker_General.22
for a practice that, it seems, could easily develop into Ranjit's crime. 
I would bet there's something of the sort on eBay right now, if you know 
where to look.
__________________________________________________________________________
wanlace -- (n.)  A Hungarian turnover, usually stuffed with raisins, and
served for dessert.

By JUDITH.
1 = Ranjit 1.
Hutch:  Somebody's hungry. (Oh! That would be ME!)
Jean-Joseph:  Possibly Linda.
Ranjit:  I want one.  1 pt.
__________________________________________________________________________
wanlace -- (n.)  A small herb, Kitaibelia corsicana, of the cotton family,
which is a favorite food of the grasshopper Tilipirex sardius.

By PIERRE.
3 = Aussie 2 + 1 point for correct guess
Aussie:  Well, there ya go, Two points.  I've never had any, but then  I'm 
*not* a grasshopper.
Jean-Joseph:  I rarely vote for organisms.  This is no exception.
__________________________________________________________________________
wanlace -- (n.)  Omission or inaction by an officer or owner of a vessel,
leading to death or injury to any person (excepting officers or crew of 
that vessel while engaged in their duties aboard the vessel).

By ERIC.
7 = David 1 + Fran 1 + James 1 + Pierre 2 + 2 for correct guess
James:  ...in honor of the continuation of the nautical theme that I used 
in my own entry. Fellow traveler, I salute you!
Pierre:  This sounds plausible. Two points.
Jean-Joseph:  Waning attention, perhaps.  Not bad, but no points left.
__________________________________________________________________________
wanlace -- (n.)  The first menstrual period following a pregnancy.

By JEAN-JOSEPH.
1 = 1 point for correct guess.
Aussie:  Tain't no call to name  it!
Hutch:  Some pretty unusual things in this world have names. This one 
seems a bit TOO unusual.
Jean-Joseph:  Mine, from "waning lactation".
__________________________________________________________________________
wanlace -- (n.)  a pale pink dye made from celandine, with ashes used as 
the mordant.

By LINDA.
2 = Jean-Joseph 2.
Hutch:  Aren't ashes always used as (at least part of) the mordant?
Jean-Joseph:  Hmm... plausible, I think.  I've done very little dyeing, 
but I recall using some kind of lye at some some stage, and I know you can 
create lye from ashes.  No idea what celandine is, but I'll give this two 
points.
__________________________________________________________________________
wanlace -- (n.) (fr. med. Fr., Evaine laissez) --  1.  In medieval and 
early modern English law, to bring suit claiming clerical immunity from
prosecution in secular courts; the precedent was confirmed by Henry II,
while residing in the town of Evaine, Normandy.  2.  In Oxford and 
Cambridge regulations, a request by students to be judged by college 
discipline for an offense in the town or county.  3.  (Oxbridge slang) a 
tavern brawl.

By DAVID.
3 = Linda 1 + Eric 1 + Hutch 1
Linda:  It sounds so wimpy for a tavern brawl that it just might work.
Eric:  One point.  Even though it is fake-legal, definition (3) is lovely.
Hutch:  I can't decide whether to believe in this derivation or not: 1 
point.
Jean-Joseph:  Could be somebody trying to sound like David.  (Hmm, that 
was a different round...)