[Fictionary] ASTEISM results!

[Fran Poodry]

>
> asteism, n. a sect of Transylvanian Unitarianism in which meditation is
> the primary form of worship. Fran
> Scary Buddhists? Scary Friends?
> Rule 2.


Not scary. Historical. Transylvania is a place where Unitarians have been
around for a long time. See
https://www.uua.org/beliefs/who-we-are/history/faith.

I figured it would be pretty obscure, though.

Fran

On Mon, May 25, 2020 at 6:38 AM Ziv Stern <nzivstern at gmail.com> wrote:

> Though they doubted themselves, Elizabeth is our runaway winner (as well
> as the only person to guess the correct answer!)
>
> At least one classicist among us correctly recognized the etymology of
> this word, from ἄστυ (astu: city)! However, this word’s been on a journey
> since then which altogether erased the “city” connection: > ἀστεῖος (
> asteios: urbane, polite, witty) > ἀστεϊσμός (asteismos: wit, particularly
> ironical self-deprecation, mock-modesty)
>
> The earliest citation in the OED is from Puttenham’s The arte of English
> poesie (1589): “Asteismus, or the Merry scoffe, otherwise The ciuill
> iest.”
>
> General comments:
> - Guiding principle for this round, no stars. "Asterism" is a word and
> this isn't it.
>
> - Given the several similarities, I wonder if some of our players will be
> accused of peeking at each other’s papers? I guess it was a foregone
> conclusion that we’d all submit nouns.
>
>  - I am discounting all defs referring to stars, as the word should have
> "astr" or "aster" in it. An asterism is a constellation considered as a
> pattern of stars rather than a region of sky.
>
> - This is hard. None of the defs has a meaning resembling that of anything
>
> resembling "aste" that I know of, except mine (Greek αστυ, town) and the
> stars
>
> (Greek αστηρ, αστρον).
>
>  - Rule 1: I am auto-discounting anything connected with stars.
>
>    Rule 2: I am auto-discounting anything connected with wacky belief
> systems.
>
> asteism, n. the belief that we are made of star stuff. Joe
>
> Wasn't that something cooked up by Claude Degler during one of the
> Numbered Fandoms?
>
> See Rules 1 and 2.
>
> asteism, n. belief in the wholesome properties of mildew. David
>
> Some people will believe anything. Unfortunately, I still won’t believe
> this def.
>
> Rule 1 doesn't come into play but...ick!  Rule 2.
>
> asteism, n. reluctance to examine or confront a complex issue.
>
> Ranjit: 2 + 1 = 3
>
> I work with quite a few people who suffer from this, and I would be
> delighted if there is a name for it.
>
> We certainly need a word for this.
>
> asteism, n. polite irony; a genteel and ingenious manner of deriding
> another. Wiktionary <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/asteism>
>
> No points, but a condition to aspire to.
>
> Also plausible.  Also very 'Jim', should derision absolutely be called
> for, not that Jim would stoop so low.
>
> asteism, n. belief that humans came from the stars about a million years
> ago. Linda
>
> I wonder why the million years is in there? Is there some discontinuity in
> the hominid fossil record?
>
> And are bummed because tree-of-life root doesn't grow here.
>
> Rules 1 and 2.
>
> asteism, n. inability to sequence episodic memory correctly, usually
> following cerebral trauma. Elizabeth: 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 for
> correct answer = 13
>
> I thought this sounded plausible when I crafted it, but now I am
> cringing.  This is normal.
>
> Two points. Extra points for breaking off the "a" into "not", which makes
> the word seem to have a reasonable shape.
>
> I'm sure there's a word for that.  Why not asteism?  2 points!
>
> asteism, n. a sect of Transylvanian Unitarianism in which meditation is
> the primary form of worship. Fran
>
> Scary Buddhists? Scary Friends?
>
> Rule 2.
>
> asteism, n. a lenticular flat-topped elevation in karst topography caused
> by an intrusive igneous dike.
>
> Eric: 2 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 6
>
> I can picture what you're talking about, but "asteism" just doesn't have
> the right vibes.
>
> I always vote for lentils. 2 points!
>
> I’m a sucker for geology definitions. 2 points.
>
> Goodness.  Intrusive igneous dike sounds very...in your face.  I may have
> to use it as an insult in my next Medieval RPG.
>
> asteism, n. a belief popular in the vicinity of Bow Church (London) that
> the world was created in five days.
>
> Jean-Joseph: 1 + 1 = 2
>
> One point. Because why should God get a shorter weekend than I do? (I'm
> sure the Bow Church part is a clever joke which I don't get.) (I'll give
> this my definition-most-likely-to-be-by-Elliott award, as well.)
>
> Five days, huh?  Shaved one off the previous record of six? I like the
> idea of a religious belief that's *that* local, why there?  Is ``five
> days'' Cockney rhyming slang for something like ``a Great Blaze'', i.e.,
> the Big Bang?  Anyhow, one point for amusement value.
>
> That'd make the believers almost exclusively Cockney in the old and truer
> sense of being born within earshot of the bells of Bow Church (these days
> it tends to be a label given to any Londoner).  I don't see Cockney folks
> buying into that really.  Also, Rule 2.
>
> asteism, n. also called a "sky burial", the practice of allowing a
> deceased person's body to be consumed by vultures.
>
> Simon: 1 + 2 = 3
>
> Sky-Clad to Sky Burial: The Stations of a Modern Pagan Life. Random
> House, $29.95.
>
> I love the term sky burial, although I think you’d still need to do some
> actual burying with the leftover bones…
>
> I learned of sky burial from reading Sandman, and it seems possible that
> whoever wrote this did too, so I'll give them 1 point for good taste.
>
> A common practice in ancient ... Persia, I think.  You put the body up in
> a high place so that only the birds could get it.  Two points for probably
> being the real one.
>
> Pretty sure this is a practice known as jhator.  My memory may be failing
> me.   Actually, scratch that, we all know my memory IS failing me...it's
> just a question of whether or not the demolition gang got to that bit yet.
>
> asteism, n. in ancient Greece, the government of surrounding towns or
> colonies as subordinates of a city-state.
>
> Pierre: 1 = 1
>
> By process of elimination, 1 point
>
> I'm feeling quite peeved at my inability to recall the actual term.
> Obviously this is what happens to Classicists when they don't Classic for
> sufficiently lengthy periods.  It's not 'asteism' in any case.  At least I
> don't think so. I'm now engaging in critical levels of self-doubt.  That
> might even make a good definition for Asteism.
>
> asteism, n. a condition of the fingernails, often caused by an iron
> deficiency, which presents as a pattern of longitudinal ridges on the nail.
>
> Jim: 1 + 1 = 2
>
> While I believe you're describing a real condition, I don't think
> "asteism" would be the word for it
>
> Plausible, but I have this condition and thus have looked it up previously.
>
> *examining his fingernails*  Hmm, do I have asteism?  I don't think I have
> an iron deficiency, but there are definitely longitudinal ridges on my
> fingernails.  Does this apply to toenails as well?
>
> Bonus (from Elliott):
>
> Here's Edward Gibbon on sky-burial among the Persians:
>
> The disappointment of the philosophers provoked them to overlook the real
>
> virtues of the Persians; and they were scandalized, more deeply perhaps
>
> than became their profession, with the plurality of wives and concubines,
>
> the incestuous marriages, and the custom of exposing dead bodies to the
>
> dogs and vultures, instead of hiding them in the earth, or consuming them
>
> with fire.  (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Ch. XL.)
>
> The adoration of fire was introduced into Colchos by the zeal
>
> of the Magi: their intolerant spirit provoked the fervor of a Christian
>
> people; and the prejudice of nature or education was wounded by the
>
> impious practice of exposing the dead bodies of their parents, on the
>
> summit of a lofty tower, to the crows and vultures of the air.  (Decline
>
> and Fall of the Roman Empire, Ch. XLII.)
>
> He doesn't call it asteism because ... what do you know, because asteism
>
> is something completely different!
>


-- 
*Fran Poodry (she/her)*
*Oregon, USA*



*“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” ― Margaret Mead
<http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/61107.Margaret_Mead>*
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