[Fictionary] Obturator Results

[Nicolas Ward]

Sorry everyone for dropping the round. I'm not carving out the right
time to manage it. Thanks Elliott et al. for the patient reminders.

Looks like I was not able to fool many of you with the dictionary's
cleft palate definition, and we have a tie between J-J and Pierre:

J-J 5
Pierre 3 + 2
David 1 + 2
Eliott 2 + 1
Linda 3
Ranjit 2

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In assembling the ballot I missed multiple good definitions!

Ranjit obturator, n. A person who documents for social media the
process of choosing and purchasing trend-setting consumer products.
Coined as a portmanteau of obtain + curator. Compare unboxer,
shopographer, influencer.

Hutch obturator, n. A collector; (pejorative) a hoarder, a miser.

Fran obturator, n. A heavy duty swivel to turn a bookcase completely
around, so that the books (or other decor) on the other side can be
viewed. Access to a hidden room may be made possible in the process.

J-J "Aaaaand... looking it up... sure, it's the dental thing.?? Doh!??
Also apparently a number of other things, including a leg muscle and a
sacrificial piston ring on WWI aircraft engines."

Elliott "Hmm, that ``ob-'' prefix seems to have suggested obstruction
or obfuscation to almost everyone."

----

David

obturator, n. A Google algorithm designed to hide unpopular truths.

J-J "Would I believe that they would do this??? Maybe.?? One point on a whim."

Hutch "PREACH, brother! TRUMPet your truth to the sky ... unless
powerful people will get offended."

Eliott "Obstruction/obfuscation def #1. Maybe algorithms can estimate
the popularity of a proposition, but how can they tell whether it's
true?  George Gallup, meet Kurt Gödel."

J-J 1

----

Linda

obturator, n. The planted person in a stage play that makes aside
comments to the audience in order to cover up the real theme of the
play, or to enhance the darker aspects. Populate in Brecht's
productions.

J-J "So, this is someone planted among the cast members, as opposed to
a phony heckler??? But... aren't all of the cast members planted?"

Eliott "Obstruction/obfuscation def #2."

Linda "2 for the Brecht-like ringer"

Linda 2
Hutch 1


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Pierre

obturator, n. A valve that closes suddenly to create a water hammer.

J-J "Oh yeah, I think they had a bunch of these installed in the
heating system in the old factory building where I used to work.??
Somebody tried to explain how a water hammer works to me once, but I
wasn't getting it.?? Doing it on purpose sounds like an excellent
idea... Two points anyway."

Eliott "Obstruction/obfuscation def #3."

Linda "One for the water hammer. No reason."

J-J 2
Linda 1

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J-J

obturator, n. A device for adjusting the number of rotor blades on an autogyro.

J-J "I'm wondering if anybody will think this definition of mine came
from Elliott.?? That's kind of what I was going for."

Hutch "Pretty sure it's not possible to change the NUMBER of rotor
blades. Their pitch and speed, definitely, but I think you'd run into
serious problems taking a rotor blade off or adding one."

Eliott "Two points for creativity and for not being obviously (so to speak) an
obstruction/obfuscation def.  Is this something you can do in flight?  I
suppose you could adjust the number *downwards* without much trouble ...."

Pierre "One point. I'd have given it two if it had adjusted the angle
of attack or bent the blades or the like. How do you adjust the number
of blades while it's
running?"


Eliott 2
Ranjit 1
David 1
Pierre 1

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Dictionary

obturator, n. A dental prosthesis used in the treatment of cleft palate.

J-J "I guess??? This seems to be the only reasonable choice, and it
therefore makes me suspicious.?? So I'm not going to fall for it!"

Eliott "One point for plausibility. Obstruction/obfuscation def #4."

Ranjit 2
David 2
Pierre 2
Eliott 1

----

Elliott

obturator, n. (mus.) A roadie responsible for keeping incense burning
in the band's hotel room to mask the smell of marijuana

J-J "I am most amused by the idea that a dictionary would have a
"Music" subcategory of words, and that it would go beyond Italian
loanwords like "sforzando" and "maestoso" to the the offstage antics
of rock and roll musicians"

Hutch "I don't care what the real definition is. I insist that this is
it ... at least it will be from now on :-) 2 points for delight. And
however many more imaginary tie-breaker points I might have
available!!!"

Eliott "Obstruction/obfuscation def #5.  Tus (stem tur-) being Latin
for a kind of incense, an obturator would be someone who puts incense
in between something and something else, e.g., between Mick Jagger and
the hotel manager."

Hutch 2