[Fictionary] The zemi-john didn't cross the Atlantic to travel on the sacbe

Mon Feb 16 19:54:12 EST 2015

MY one hope was that I would confuse aLL YOU LINGUISTS OUT THERe WITH A PAST TENSE OF A NOUN.  oops caps lock on again. LInda  PS It's been along winter so far--two feet of snow in RI, and more on the way--I think I  have brain fever.  

---------- Original Message ----------
From: Hutch <hutchinson.jeff at gmail.com>
To: fictionary group <fictionary at swarpa.net>
Subject: Re: [Fictionary] The zemi-john didn't cross the Atlantic to travel on the sacbe
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2015 14:36:27 -0500

The "at least one person" who didn't submit a vote proceeded to win. I'll have to try that again :-) Actually, I've been sick the past week. Thought I had sent a vote, but apparently not.

Racing off to work now. I'll try to get a word out tonight or tomorrow.

BB,HutchÂ -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----Version: 3.1GCM/S d+>- s+:+ a++ C+++$ ULAC>$ P+ L+ !E W++$N+ o K? w++++/--$ O? M- V? PS+ PE/- Y PGP- t++ 5?X-- R !tv? b++++>$ DI++++ D G+> e++ h+ r--?* y++>------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

On Sun, Feb 15, 2015 at 2:44 PM, Pierre Abbat <phma at bezitopo.org> wrote:
but neither did the gnammas cross the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea to
 meet the tafoni.

 While you were sending me defs, a lad traveled by zemi-john looking for a
 nonexistent package. https://forum.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=260752

 "Zemi-john" is from a Gbe language; you wouldn't hear it in Bamako, where they
 speak a Mande language.

 Hutch wins with the keg. Take it away, Hutch!

 Pierre
 -----
 sacbe [pl. sacbim] - n. - keg; an obscure liquid measure equaling 50-60
 zemi-john [or demi-john], or approximately 15-20 gallons; loosely, the
 limit of weight in a barrel, crate, or other package to be lifted and moved
 by a single man
 by Hutch. 9
 Jim: 2
 Nicolas: 2 points for obscure units of measure.
 Eric: One point, for using the Hebrew plural "im", but I'm glad I'm not a
 stevedore in this person's world, am I really supposed to shift that
 weight by myself?
 J-J: Hmm, two definitions regarding vessels for liquid.Â  Nice irregular
 plural, and I can't really think of any good wisecracks, so I'll have to
 give it two points.
 Josh B: Two points for "sacbe = 50-60 zemi-john".

 sacbe - n. (fr. Friulian) - poisoned marzipan
 zemi-john - n. (fr. Neapolitan) - a corrupt apothecary, specializing in sacbe.
 zemi-zany.
 by David Randall. 4
 Ranjit: 1
 Eric: Two points. For once, my big points go to the deliberately entertaining.
 J-J: So obviously and preposterously fabricated.Â  And good for one point.

 sacbe (n) also sackby, saccaby; pl. sacbe (pron. sacbah), sackbia,
 saccabia: a legendary stew or soup whose ingredients are controversial. In
 the 17th and 18th centuries it was often made with woodwort or zemi-john,
 while in modern recreations peucedanum is usually substituted.
 by Ranjit. 4
 2 points for crossing the Atlantic
 David: 1
 Jim: 1
 J-J: Boy, is this ever reminiscent of "salacacaby", if anybody remembers that
 from 1997.Â  If there really is a connection, I'll refrain from
 exploiting my prior knowledge.

 sacbe - n. - A pilgrim who has not brought any candles. (pl. saksbe)
 zemi-john - n. - A kiosk near a pilgrimage site selling candles and
 other devotional items.
 by Jean-Joseph. 3
 David: 2
 Nicolas: Tempting on sac[red] grounds.
 J-J: Mine.Â  This is just a deranged riff on "Saxby Chambliss", which I didn't
 even know how to spell until I looked it up just now.
 Josh B: One point for the pilgrim w/o candles (vote of appreciation; I'm not
 all
 that convinced by the definition.)

 zemi-john (British spelling hemi-john) n. A style of long underwear worn
 by French
 royalty, with a distinctive fastening (sacbe) connecting to the
 corresponding
 upper undergarment.
 by Josh Burdick. 2
 Linda: 2
 Nicolas: This sounds like the start of a fairy tale.
 J-J: Longue-johns?Â  You'd think, being French, that it would be "jeans", but
 that's outerwear.

 zemi-john, n. A West African motorcycle taxi. Also zemidjan, zÃ©midjan.
 sacbe, n, pl. sacbeob. A Mesoamerican highway.
 the truth. 2
 Ranjit: 2
 Nicolas: I don't remember hearing this one in Bamako.
 J-J: So... so... what's the connection?Â  How did the motorcycle cross the
 Atlantic?Â  (But I really like the plural form.)

 sacbe, n. fm. French The SACBEEs were an elite unit of WWII-era combat
 engineers centered around forward deployment of portable folding bridges or
 zemi-johns.
 by Nicolas Ward. 1
 Linda: 1
 J-J: Sounds Linda-ish.

 1) zemi-john, n, a largeÂ  container for liquids
 2) sacbe, n. past sackwas. any regional home-brewed alcoholic beverage. He
 stored the sacbe in zemi-johns.
 by Linda. 0
 J-J: Aside from the detail that, in English, we don't often decline nouns
 into a "past" case...

 Linda:
 Pierre, What a great combo, despite the linguistic confusion.Â  Two points for
 the underwear, and one for the Seabees, errrrr Sacbees.Â  Hon. Men. for the
 candle sellers.

 --
 The Black Garden on the Mountain is not on the Black Mountain.

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