[Fictionary] darb results (at last)

E Cohen eac at inbox.com
Sun Apr 23 16:28:25 UTC 2023


All -- sorry for the delay, thank you for your patience.

Jim's ruffless neckcloth is our winner! It is a darb of a definition.


real definition

darb, n. Something outstanding of its kind. "A darb of a boat." "Mr. 
Willoughby is such a darb."

2 Ranjit, 1 Jim	= 3

Ranjit: 2 points because this def is indeed a darb.

Elliott: I think people who would say that would not put a period after 
the "r" in "Mr".

Elliott also notes that "darb" is not in the OED!


Elliott

darb, n. A thirding knife.

1 David, 1 Ranjit = 2

Pierre: How is that different from a halving knife?

Ranjit: 1 vote for this just because it would be useful for so many 
thirding tasks!

Author: Intended to not be guessable as mine, and to stimulate 
discussion as to how to make this useful item.

Eric: I'm not even sure what this could mean?


Joshua

darb, n. Steamed corn husks, shredded. Often used as a topping for 
salads or tamales.

Hutch: You do use steamed corn husks as the wrapping for tamales. 
However, I don't think they are edible, even after shredding. This would 
be like eating wood.

Pierre: I've eaten many tamales, and I've never seen a corn husk used 
with a tamal
except to wrap it.

Elliott: Sounds indigestible, at least by humans.


Jim

darb, n. A ruffless neckcloth similar to a very short tie, popular in 
Scotland in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

2 David, 1 Hutch, 1 Pierre, 2 Jean-Joseph, 1 correct vote = 7

Hutch: This feels possible. I'm guessing I'm thinking of the Disney 
movie about Darby O'Gillis.

Elliott: Voting no, mainly on the basis of not recalling this word in 
the title of any Scottish country dance (``Next up is Lord Montrose's 
New Darb, a 4x32 reel for four couples'').


Hutch

darb, n. [Fr. jargon of the GLH Company, of West Chester, Pennsylvania: 
a major manufacturer of office equipment in the early 19th Century.] A 
desk with drawers or storage on only one side of the knee space; compare 
klore (usu. pronounced klo-ore), a desk with drawers or storage on both 
sides of the knee space.

Author: This one might be boring enough to be believable.

Pierre: I have such a darb in storage.

Elliott: Both of which outsold the vrisko, a desk with drawers or 
storage between the knees."


Pierre

darb, v. (Sport.) To fail to broadcast an award-winning or memorable 
water ballet performance.	

1 Elliott = 1

Hutch: LMAO!!!

Elliott: One point for laughs.


Ranjit

darb, v. Of birds, to hunt by diving into water from a height.

1 Jean-Joseph, 2 Jim, 2 correct vote = 5

Hutch: I'm fairly familiar with birds. I know there are several that DO 
this, but I've never heard of this word, so I doubt this one.

Pierre: I've read about kingfishers, and I don't remember seeing this 
darb come up.


Nicolas

darb, n. A savory plum sauce used primarily in Lebanese cuisine.

2 Pierre = 2	

Pierre: Two points for being like my misqueme sauce.


Jean-Joseph

darb, v. To treat new or repaired masonry with materials that will 
accelerate the aging process, in order that it will visually match 
existing adjacent workings.

2 Hutch, 2 Elliott = 4

Hutch: I have the vaguest feeling of this being right.

Author: My def about the masonry is a real thing, but the term I've 
heard use for it is "to dinge" (as in to make dingy). The friend (Clive 
Bolton!) who said they were going to do it to his wall said that the 
final step was "dinging the wall", but I suggested that it should be 
"dingeing the wall". One recipe that I've heard involves gathering moss 
and other organic materials from nearby and tossing it in a blender with 
buttermilk, then pouring the glop onto the stones.

Eliott: The definition, without the word, sounds plausible and 
interesting, and when you put the word back in, it sounds appropriate 
(maybe connected with German _derb_ `coarse'?).  If this isn't the right 
one, it ought to be."


-- Eric




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