[Fictionary] AFICOT: Results

[Jean-Joseph Cote]

I never saw the call for defs, the ballot nor the results, just the 
comments afterwards. Presumably some spam folder issue, though I don't 
see it in my spam folder either.

Jean-Joseph

On 6/14/2020 11:44 PM, Joe Robins wrote:
> All, I want to apologize for failing to vote after submitting a 
> definition.?? I never saw a ballot, it turns out to have decided to go 
> into my spam folder.?? Poor form, and I'm kind of glad my definition 
> got no votes in instant retribution.
>
> -Joe
>
>
> On Sat, 13 Jun 2020, Elizabeth Heffner wrote:
>
>> This round drew a wide range of definitions, inspiring these comments:
>>
>>
>> *EM: That word drew some clever defs.?? Although it sounded a lot like
>> APRICOT, it looked unrelated to other English words, which made it 
>> hard to
>> assign votes based on etymological plausibility.?? *
>>
>>
>> *JH: Wow! This one is absolutely all over the place!*
>>
>>
>> The correct definition was the wooden burnishing tool in the form of a
>> lobster claw, primarily used in lacemaking.?? I have one; pic attached.
>> ?? Burnished
>> threads are fuller and lie more smoothly adjacent to one another when 
>> this
>> is desired.
>>
>> Three people correctly guessed the definition and it received the 
>> following
>> comments:
>>
>> *EC*
>>
>>
>>
>> *: I?m pretty certain that lobster claws are essential to lacemaking. 
>> 1 pt.
>> EM: Can you burnish *lace* with *wood*??? This is delightfully 
>> surreal.?? Two
>> points.?? PA: ?But the Barrister, weary of proving in vain?????????????????? 
>> That the
>> Beaver?s lace making was wrong,????????????????????? One point.*
>> *JH: **I thought ?burnish? was something you did to metal???*
>>
>> The winner of the round is *Fran* *P *with *9 points *for the popular
>> definition of the living box.*?????? Elliott M* and *Simon H* were not far
>> behind with
>>
>> *5 each. *I thoroughly enjoyed running this round and dealing with the
>> clever definitions.???? Many thanks!
>>
>> Now to the results and comments!
>>
>>
>>
>> * Joe R: *Aficot, adj: filled to less than half capacity, usually in 
>> regard
>> to a vessel for holding liquid.
>>
>> * JH: *
>> *Somebody is thinking of ?aliquot? I suppose? *
>>
>> *Dave R*:?? Aficot, adj: (British army slang) engaged because the lady 
>> was
>> pregnant.
>>
>> *2 EC:*
>>
>>
>> * Clearly ?AFIanced Cos Of Tummy? 2 points. EM: Oddly plausible.?? The
>> etymology isn?t transparent, but the British military did bring back 
>> a lot
>> of words from India. JM: I?m trying to work out if this would come from
>> rhyming slang, the military concatenated-abbreviation thing, or 
>> something
>> else. But I got nothin?.?? So, no points. *
>>
>> *Elliott M: *Aficot, n: 1. a bell hung as a clapper in a larger bell. 
>> 2. a
>> pair of identical bells hung side by side so as to rebound 
>> alternately off
>> each other.?? 3. a pair of argumentative guests, neither of whom will let
>> the other have the last word.
>>
>> *1 + 2 + 2 for correct guess RB: *
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *1 point and probably by Elliott or David. EM: Newton?s Cradle with 
>> bells
>> instead of balls.?? Why not? JM: Whimsy = Elliott.?? Honorable mention 
>> points
>> for making me smile. PA: ?Navigation was always a difficult art,
>> Though with only one ship and one bell.??????????????????? Two points for the two
>> bells. JH: The bells striking each other strikes me as a bad idea.?? 
>> But I
>> like the development into the third definition from the first two.?? Give
>> this an imaginary tie-breaker point.*
>>
>>
>> *Linda O*: Aficot, n: any of the early, small dropped fruit resulting 
>> from
>> too much pollination which drop off the tree to ensure a crop of larger
>> fruit.
>>
>> * JM*
>>
>>
>> *: I like the concept, but it?s soooo close to ?apricot? that I?m 
>> deterred
>> from guessing it. EM: Too close to APRICOT. PA:?? Why would too much
>> pollination cause fruit to drop? JH: I don?t think that trees do this
>> naturally; I think that people have to manually pick those ?too many
>> fruit?.*
>>
>>
>> *Helen P: *Aficot, n: a string, leather thong, or metal cuff placed 
>> at the
>> ankle to prevent socks from slipping.
>>
>> *2 + 1 EM: *
>>
>>
>> *Used to AFFIX COTTON? JM: So much like the horse-sleeve definition! 
>> But I
>> have less trouble believing people would wear it than horses, so this 
>> one
>> gets the (2) points! JH: A garter? SH: One point to the sock cuffs, 
>> out of
>> sock solidarity.*
>>
>>
>> *Nicolas W: *Aficot, adj: (botany) having pairs of unequally sized
>> embryonic leaves.
>>
>> *2 EM: *
>>
>> *Too close to APRICOT HP: This sounds good, except for ?embryonic?.?? Can
>> leaves be embryonic? FP:?? Sounds legit.?? 2 points.*
>>
>>
>> *E Cohen*: Aficot, n: the smeared fruit exudate inevitable upon 
>> consuming a
>> particularly juicy fruit.
>>
>> *1 + 1 for correct guess EC: *
>>
>>
>> *Mine.?? From ?affectionate apricot?. EM: Too close to APRICOT. JM: 
>> Doesn?t
>> sound like any dictionary writing style I?m used to.?? I like the image,
>> though! JH: Would there be a different word for the juice that runs down
>> your chin when you eat something other than fruit?*
>>
>>
>> *Ranjit B: *Aficot, n: (computational geometry) The affine cotangent.
>>
>> *2 EM: *
>> *But what happened to the other f? PA: I know affine and cotangent
>> separately, and I?ve heard of some modified trig functions such as the
>> haversine, but not the aficot.*
>>
>>
>> *Pierre A: *Aficot, n: the double crown worn by Carolingian kings in the
>> 700s, formed by combining the crowns of Austrasia and Neustria.
>>
>> *2 + 1 + 1 for correct guess FP: *
>>
>> *Honorable mention. EM: Weren?t the Carolingian kings 
>> post-Charlemagne, and
>> hence post-800? JM:?? See, this is where Know Thy Roundrunner can be
>> useful.?? This seems like the kind of word Liz would have come 
>> across.?? But
>> the image of two crowns on one head is silly enough that I?ll give it 
>> only
>> 1 point.*
>>
>>
>> *Jim M: *Aficot, adj: having exactly three prime factors.
>>
>> *EM:*
>>
>> * Mathematicians use each others? names as adjectives (?Suppose 
>> towards a
>> contradiction that S is not Hausdorff?), so maybe there was a number
>> theorist named Aficot? PA: I know of uses for numbers with exactly two
>> prime factors, such as RSA, but what are numbers with three prime 
>> factors
>> used for? JH: I would expect this to have some form of ?tri? in it.*
>>
>>
>>
>> *Simon H**: *Aficot, n: a sock-like sleeve used to protect the lower 
>> leg of
>> a horse from extreme cold, flies, or infected wounds or sores.
>>
>> *1 + 2 + 1 + 1 HP: *
>>
>>
>> *This gets my two points.?? Why would there be two sock definitions if 
>> one
>> were not right??? And the other is mine, so it must be this one. FP: 
>> Horse
>> stuff also sounds legit. 1 point. JM: So much like the 
>> anti-sock-slipping
>> definition!?? And after all, everyone?s heard of horseshoes, so why not
>> horsesocks? And yet I don?t buy it.?? Honorable mention, though. JH: I 
>> know
>> this is a thing, but I?ve never heard a name for it. 1 point.*
>>
>>
>>
>> *Fran P**: *Aficot, n: a living box made by growing fruit trees
>> espalier-style on all sides of a wooden structure, then removing the 
>> inner
>> structure.
>>
>> *1 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 HP: *
>>
>>
>>
>> *I planned to stay away from fruit on this one ? the apricot 
>> connection was
>> too tempting.?? But this is such a beautiful idea! One point. RB: I would
>> like to see one of these! EM: I want to vote against it because it?s too
>> close to APRICOT, but I like the idea so much I can?t help giving it ONE
>> POINT. JM: Why would these need to be *fruit* trees??? Unless the idea is
>> that it supplies you with food as well as lodging?but don?t the trees 
>> keep
>> on growing inward once the walls are removed? JH: Kinda cool idea! I?m
>> doubtful that this is it, but I like the idea! 2 points.*
>>
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-- 
J-J Cote
jjcote at alum.mit.edu