[Fictionary] AFICOT: Results

Mon Jun 15 13:43:53 EDT 2020

Um, how do I look up if a word has been used, again?
Fran

On Mon, Jun 15, 2020 at 8:33 AM Fran Poodry <fpoodry at gmail.com> wrote:

> Well, that's a surprise! I'll work on a plausible, real word!
> Fran
>
> On Sat, Jun 13, 2020 at 10:38 AM Elizabeth Heffner <
> elheffner at googlemail.com> 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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>>
>
>
> --
> *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>*
>

-- 
*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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