[Fictionary] cutty-eye results

[Ranjit Bhatnagar]

oops, I forgot to include Fran's 2 points for guessing correctly, giving a
total of 3!


On Wed, Feb 2, 2022 at 9:35 PM Ranjit Bhatnagar <ranjit at moonmilk.com> wrote:

> The ballots are in and the results are out! The winner by far: Eric's port
> varnish, with 7 points!
>
> Runners-up: Pierre's hole in the cathead with 4, and the real definition,
> "to look askance", also with 4 points, from the 1811 Dictionary of the
> Vulgar Tongue.
>
> Take it away, Eric!
>
>
> *General comments:*
>
> Shiver me timbers, it seems this word sounds nautical to many! - Eric
> Looks like several of us (me included) believe that the term is nautical.
> - Hutch
> There were a lot of hole-based definitions, and also a lot of nautical
> definitions (maybe suggested by CUTTY SARK). - Elliott
> The lure of the Cutty Sark proved strong this round. - Jim
>
>
> *Eric: 7 = 2 (correct guess) + 2 + 2 + 1*
> cutty-eye, n. Port varnish; a mineral deposit formed on stone surfaces
> over centuries from exposure to sea air.
> * 2 points from Jim: for the nickname.
> * 2 points from Ziv: I like it!
> * 1 point from Elliott: I like the term ``port varnish'', but why only in
> ports?  Sea air meets stone surfaces all along the coast.
> * Pierre: Is there such a thing as starboard varnish?
>
>
> *Linda:*
> cutty-eye, v. to estimate a distance or height of an object by using the
> thumb and squinting the eye while doing so.  Nautical term.
> * Elliott: ``Daumensprung'', they call this in Germany.  Your eyes are
> about one-tenth as far from each other as from your thumb when your arm is
> outstretched, so if you see your thumb jump three times the length of a
> 12-meter-long boat when you wink your left vs. right eye, then the boat
> must be about 10 * 3 * 12 = 360 meters away.  But how do you do height?
>
>
> *Ziv: 2 = 1 + 1*
> cutty-eye (n.) an Australian shrub of the genus Iaops
> 1 point from Pierre: One point and the snottygobble award.
> 1 point from Fran
> Elliott: Because it cuts your eye, if you don't have a proper hat on.
>
>
> *Elliott: 1*
> cutty-eye --- (n.)  An ectopic buttonhole, esp. one that has worked its
> way around to the back of the garment where it can no longer be seen by the
> wearer.
> * 1 point from Ziv: Utterly delightful
> * Hutch: "ectopic buttonhole"??? Somehow that doesn't seem possible
> * Pierre: Sounds like an elliottic buttonhole.
> * Jim: Most Elliott definition!
>
>
> *Fran: 1*
> cutty-eye (n) - a void in a cake caused by incomplete mixing of
> ingredients, resulting in uneven leavening.
> * 1 point from Joshua
> * Pierre: Can you have cutty-streuble, cutty-cabbaging, and
> cutty-frogmouth? (This is a reference to my fictionary round from 2015:
> these are all various flaws of the voids in cheese. - Ranjit)
>
>
> *Nicolas: 1*
> cutty-eye, n. [naut.] a wooden shaft to which stays are tied
> * 1 point from Hutch: This seems to be the most believable nautical
> definition besides my other vote.
>
>
> *Hutch: 3 = 2 + 1*
> cutty-eye - n. - a towing or lifting hook with a rectangular or
> (uncommonly) square eye. The shaped eye keeps the hook from rotating, thus
> reducing the likelihood of the line dropping off the hook when slack.
> * 2 points from Pierre
> * 1 point from Jim
> * Hutch: Mine. I think I went into too much detail. Further editing might
> have made it more believable.
> * Ziv: A cool idea, but either I don't understand the setup, or I don't
> understand why the shape would help.
> * Elliott: I'm having trouble picturing this.  What would the hook
> otherwise rotate around?  What is ``the line'' --- the one that is tied
> through the eye of the hook, or the one that is hooked over the crook of
> the hook?
>
>
> *Jean-Joseph: 1*
> cutty-eye - n. - a brandy prepared from quince and fennel.
> * 1 point from Eric: for tastiest.
> * Hutch: This combination feels like it would be nasty tasting
> * Ziv: Yum!
>
>
> *Joshua: 2*
> cutty-eye - n. (Ariz. dial.) - a piece of land in one time zone completely
> surrounded by land in another time zone
> * Elliott: Nice!  Totally implausible, but nice.
> * Eric: Someone's been hanging out in Navajo Nation in Hopi Nation in
> Navajo Nation in Arizona.
> * Pierre: If not observing DST is sufficient to make another time zone,
> this does exist in  Arizona, namely the Hopi reservation.
> * Ziv: Totally would have gotten my delight point if not for the ectopic
> buttonhole
> * Jim: Second-most Elliott definition!
>
>
>
> *1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue: A Dictionary of Buckish Slang,
> University Wit, and Pickpocket Eloquence:4 = 2 + 2*
> cutty-eye (v) - To look out of the corners of one's eyes, to leer, to look
> askance.
> * 2 points from Eric: Literal but I like it.
> * 2 points from Fran
> * Ziv: Just obvious enough to maybe be the real thing—but when I conjugate
> it it sounds wrong again. "cutty-eyeing"? If this had been an adverb, I
> probably would have two-points-ed it.
> * Jim: Honorable mention
>
>
> *Pierre: 4 = 2 + 2*
> cutty-eye, n. The hole in the cathead through which the anchor rode passes.
> * 2 points from Joshua
> * 2 points from Hutch: This rings a loud bell for me.
> * Elliott: ``He marvelled that cats should have two holes cut in their fur
> precisely where their eyes happened to be.'' --- Georg Christoph
> Lichtenberg.
> * Jim: Typo for rope?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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