[Fictionary] chalico results!

[David Randall]

Meant to say -- my definition,

Chalico - n. - an importer of slaves from Ethiopia to the Deccan.

Comes from reading Richard Eaton's *A Social History of the Deccan
<https://www.amazon.com/Social-History-Deccan-1300-1761-Cambridge/dp/0521716276/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1672642458&refinements=p_27%3ARichard+M.+Eaton&s=books&sr=1-2&text=Richard+M.+Eaton>*,
which includes a fascinating chapter of the brief 16th-century
slave-soldier regime in the Deccan, slaves indeed not just from Ethiopia,
but from that whole Horn of Africa area. An extension of the larger Muslim
trade in black slaves. Good book, if you're, you know, a history addict
like yours truly. A little dry, but a lot of good info.

On Tue, Sep 3, 2024 at 5:41 PM Ranjit Bhatnagar <ranjit at moonmilk.com> wrote:

> The results are in, and the overwhelming winner, with 11 points, was
> Fran's translucent paper used to protect illustrations in a book! I used to
> buy beautiful but useless 19th century popular science books at Lame Duck
> Books in Philly, and they often had chalicos protecting engravings or
> lithographs.
>
> Coming in second at 5 was Joshua's a small valet or porte-cochère. The
> real definition, which I found in an online waterways glossary that has
> since vanished from the web, was the boatbuilding gunk. I assume the horse
> dung and cow hair added bulk and fiber to the tar to make it more
> digestible - I mean durable.
>
> A big round of applause for Fran! Take it away!
>
> Full results follow. I apologize if I made any tabulating errors, but even
> if so, there's no doubt that Fran is the winner here.
>
> . . . . . . . .
>
> Eric:
> chalico, n. 1. A beardless youth. 2. An incompetent worker.
>
> David: This is someone trying to impersonate me!
> Nick: All I can hear is the Simpsons teen "Uh-oh I dropped the taco in the
> fryer"
> Elliott: This sounds like it could be some character from a play, maybe,
> but I'm out of points.
> J-J: chico
>
> . . . . . . . .
>
> J-J: 1 + 2 = 3 points
> chalico - n. - a channel connecting two bodies of water that is navigable
> only during extreme high water conditions.
>
> 1 point from Nick: Also water related like mine
> 2 points from Fran
>
> . . . . . . . .
>
> Hutch:
> chalico - v. - [fr. Chalico Sewing Machine Company, Long Crendon, Oxon,
> 1910-1932] to dress in stylish but inexpensive clothing
>
> David: honorable mention
> Nick: But is your calico chalico?
> J-J: I love the specificity of the company, and it makes me wonder if
> there really was an outfit making sewing machines then and there by some
> other name. And it is nice to see a verb among the nouns. Seems awkward
> though: "She looks nice, but I think she's just chalicoing".
>
> . . . . . . . .
>
> David:
> Chalico - n. - an importer of slaves from Ethiopia to the Deccan.
>
> Nick: seems too specific.
> Pierre: Seems overly specific. What do you call an importer of slaves from
> Eritrea or Somalia to Kutch or Bengal?
> J-J: I can't think of any specific reason not to pick this, but I'm not
> doing it anyway.
>
> . . . . . . . .
>
> Nicolas: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3 points
> chalico, n. A large, shallow bowl filled with water and used for
> ceremonial foot washing on Maundy Thursday in some Protestant Lenten
> traditions.
>
> 1 point from Joshua
> 1 point from Pierre: because I will use such a bowl next Saturday. I was
> going to say that Saturday won't be maundy, but I looked it up and it will
> be maundy, at least at my church.
> 1 point from Hutch: Related to "chalice"? Seems reasonable
>
> . . . . . . . .
>
> Pierre:
> chalico, n. Any mollusk of the genus Concholepas used in South American
> cuisine, resembling an abalone but actually in the murex family.
>
> Pierre: This is a real critter, but that's not what it's called. There's a
> page of bad translations which has a menu where "Chupe de Locos" is
> translated as "Crazy suck". A chupe is a sort of South American soup, and a
> loco is this mollusk.
> Nick: I'm allergic to shellfish definitions 😆
> J-J: I think I know what a murex looks like, and it's about as far from an
> abalone as you can get (which is probably the point).
>
> . . . . . . . .
>
> Elliott: 1 + 1 + 1 for guessing = 3 points
> chalico (n.) -- A pancake made by ironing batter on a board.
>
> 1 point from David
> Nick: Isn't this just a waffle? 🧇
> 1 point from Fran: because I LOL'ed
> Pierre: How do you keep the iron from dragging the top of the batter?
> J-J: Nice.one!
> Hutch: Funny!!! :-D I saw a video about similar "college dorm" cooking
> techniques a while back. Just long enough ago that I can't remember WHERE I
> saw it :-)
>
> . . . . . . . .
>
> Jim Shead's Waterways Glossary: 2 + 1 = 3 points
>
> https://web.archive.org/web/20080502171306/http://www.jim-shead.com/waterways/glossary.php?st=A&ed=D
> Alternate source:
> https://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?/topic/95715-towpaths-in-the-horse-boat-era/
> chalico (n) - Protective dressing of horse dung, tar and cow-hair used in
> boat building.
>
> 2 points from Joshua
> Nick: It's probably actually this one.
> Pierre: Wouldn't the horse dung disintegrate when the boat is put into the
> water?
> 1 point from Elliott: Does it go on the boat, or on the boatwright?  Or,
> more likely, on the new apprentice, who is assured by his more-senior
> fellows that if you don't do it you'll die of barnacles.
> J-J: I could see if this were the gunk that you jammed into the cracks
> (which I think is really old rope and a bunch of pitch), but I'm wondering
> what would need (presumably temporary) protection, and from what.
> Hutch: Somehow I can't see the dung holding together in the water ... no
> matter how much tar and cow hair is used as glue/binder
>
> . . . . . . . .
>
> Joshua: 2 + 1 + 2 for guessing = 5
> chalico, n. a small valet or porte-cochère on a side entrance to a
> residential building, traditionally used by staff or domestic help.
>
> 2 points from Eric: Ah, the servants' portico.
> Nick: Sounds like portico, but also mixing French throws me.
> 1 point from J-J: Well, something's got to get the one-point vote, so I
> guess it's this one.
>
> . . . . . . . .
>
> Fran: 2 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 11 points
> chalico n., obs. A translucent paper used to protect illustrations in a
> book.
>
> Fran: Wow, I figured everyone would be doing adjectives so I didn't do an
> adjective, and it turns out it's not an adjective and nobody did
> adjectives. I guess my brain is weird.
> 2 points from David
> 1 point from Eric: I guess that needs a word.
> 2 points from Nick: I've seen these in a handful of books for the picture
> plates!
> 2 points from Pierre
> 2 points from Elliott: I always wondered what those were called.  Novel
> name, nameless object.  Bookbinding words often look vaguely Italian, too.
> 2 points from J-J: OK, I think I can picture this.
>
>
>
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