[Fictionary] cinchonism: the reckoning

[Ranjit Bhatnagar]

The results are in!  The short version is:

Too much cinchona?  It'll make you dizzy, not jaundiced, but at least you
probably won't get malaria.

And Elliott won the round with 9 points for his chimeric def, though if you
look closely, they are actually poinsettias grafted onto ents.

And now: general comments, followed by the tabulation, followed by more
remarks, and capped off with some joke defs from Nora!

- ranjit




Elliott: "Ten is a lot.  This was a pretty good round."
Pierre: "I'm not voting for any of the three cinchona defs because it's
probable that one of the two is real."
Jean-Joseph: "Interesting that these definitions appear to come in pairs:
two doctrines, two side effects caused by cinchona, two belt-cinchings, two
unusual growths, and two arguments.  By the bogus principle that any
definition that's close to the real one would have gotten the word rejected,
I will eliminate all of those, which must leave only mine and the real one.
 Since mine is the unusual fish growth, the real one must therefore be the
runt apples and corn."


*cinchonism - n. - An abnormal condition found in some bony pelagic fishes,
characterized by the appearance of extra fins in atypical locations.
-Jean-Joseph, who got 4 points*

Elliott: "Also found in American cars of the 1950s."
1 point from Jim
1 point from Larry
2 points from Linda



*cinchonism - n - the belief that tight clothing (e.g. girdles, cummerbunds)
is healthy, while loose clothing is unhealthy.
-Hutch, who got 2 points*

1 point from Nora
1 points from Elliott: "There is an interesting discussion of
``tight-lacing'' in Paul Fussell's book on the Second World War (_Wartime_)
that sounds something like this. One point."
Jacob: "A little too spot on, don't you think?"



*cinchonism - n - a disorder due to excessive or prolonged use of cinchona
or its alkaloids and marked by temporary deafness, ringing in the ears,
headache, dizziness, and rash.
-Merriam-Webster Online, which got 4 points*
2 points from Eric: "Which means mine was a little too close to the mark."
2 points from Jacob: "most plausible"


*Cinchonism: (noun) The doctrine that a person can achieve a high spiritual
state by paying detailed attention to timing and punctuality.
-Larry*


*cinchonism (n.) -- The doctrine that humans, like mermaids or fauns, are
chimeric, their forequarters and hindquarters belonging to two different
extinct or undiscovered species.  (< Pierre Adrien Maximilien Jean Baptiste
de Cinchon, 1657-1715.)
-Elliott, who got 9 points*

1 point from Eric: "Clearly true, as a human is merely the forepart of a
mermaid placed unnaturally atop the hindquarters of a minotaur."
2 points from David
Elliott: "This definition is itself chimeric, being spliced together from
the Era of Belief in Mythical Creatures and the Era of Belief in
Extinction."
Jim: "3 cheers for a definition that made me snort my woodchuck
(metaphorically) -- but sadly no points."
Pierre: "Reminds me of grue-bleen."
2 points from Hutch: "Absolutely delightful!!!!! I don't believe it for a
second, but it's so good it deserves a 2-point vote!"
1 point from Jacob
2 points from Larry
1 point from Linda


*cinchonism, n.  a dwarfing of part of a fruit or vegetable, such as an
under-developed portion of an apple or under-pollinated corn cob.
-Linda, who got 5 points*
2 points from Jim
1 point from Pierre
2 points from Jean-Joseph

*cinchonism, n. A humorous logical argument typical of Willard van Orman
Quinine.
-Pierre, who got 4 who got 4 points points*
Eric: "Many funny points!"
2 points from Elliott: "OK, I like this one, even though it is a quinine
def.  Two points!"
1 point from Hutch: "Again, I don't believe it. But it's another good
fictionition and deserves my 1-point vote"
1 point from Jean-Joseph: "Probably Elliott.  So I'll give it the other
point."


*cinchonism, n. The jaundiced hue brought on by dosing with cinchona bark or
similar antimalarials.
-Eric, who got 2 points for guessing correctly*


*cinchonism – n.(fr. Spanish) - to make a fetish of tightening your belt,
literally or metaphorically.
-David, who got 2 points*

2 points from Nora
Elliott: "Does ``literally or metaphorically'' apply to ``tightening your
belt'', or to ``make a fetish of''?  I think there would be people in all
four possible cells, even the one where you literally make a fetish of
metaphorically tightening your belt."


*cinchonism, n. (Rhetoric) A type of fallacious argument in which the
audience is assumed to disagree with a previously made argument.
-Jacob, who got 5 points*
1 point from David
2 points from Pierre: "Two points for sounding like mine."
2 points for guessing correctly


Wrapping up, Jean-Joseph said "Interesting, my strategy completely
backfired, the real one is the that most closely matches one of the fakes,
differing only in the symptoms.  And my one-point guess is related to those,
as it refers to a guy named Quinine, when that is actually what is derived
from the bark.  Not that I was aware of that, of course.  I guess that's
what I learned today."

And Larry: "No points for either of the two "cinching one's belt" defs, nor
for either of the two medicinal uses of the cinchona (which I've never heard
of), on the basis that if two defs use a word that might be related, neither
of them is the correct one."


BONUS! Joke defs from Nora:
"Since my brain went directly to the Spanish word "cincho" contained within
the word, and in particular "cinchon" or "giant belt," these are the
definitions I was going to submit. Since I forgot, I will submit them as
jokes because they kind of are. :)"

joke definitions:
cinchonism. n. the action of going for one's belt when threatening children
with discipline. (although this would probably be better if the word were
"cinchonate.")

cinchonism. n. the condition of believing one continues to have a big waist
after weight loss.
-Nora
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