[Fictionary] GALLY results

[David Randall]

I invented the definition on the fly (so to speak). Looking it up, I see
there *are* ivory flywhisks! -- but not silk (save for modern rayon-silk),
presumably because silk is absolutely lousy for whisking flies. -- David

On Tue, Jan 14, 2025 at 10:16 AM J-J Cote <marydevinechandler at gmail.com>
wrote:

> So, looking it up afterwards (and probably news to nobody but me), a
> flywhisk is totally a thing, they're used primarily to shoo flies away
> rather than to swat them, and they're often ceremonial, so one made of
> ivory and silk would totally make sense.
>
> Jean-Joseph
>
> On Mon, Jan 13, 2025 at 2:54 PM Fran Poodry <fpoodry at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> GALLY results
>>
>>
>> Jim wins with 7 points, since I didn't count his 1-point vote for
>> himself. Jean-Joseph avoided this problem and checked his sent messages -
>> and earned 6 points to tie with Merriam-Webster.com for second place.
>>
>> -Fran
>>
>> gally, v. to inscribe a possession with a name or other identifying
>> information as proof of ownership
>>
>> -Ranjit, 0
>>
>> “Overthinking this: Fran was excited by the fact that there were verbs,
>> suggesting that just maybe the word isn't really a verb. So for no other
>> reason, I'll throw out this verb.” - Jean Joseph
>>
>> gally, n. a Hungarian plant, Feketefeheria sopronensis, in the family
>> Aristolochiaceae, used in folk medicine.
>>
>> -Pierre, 2
>>
>> 2 points, correct guess
>>
>> “No plants/animals. (And plants don't have nationalities.) (And what kind
>> of plant?) (And the word doesn't look particularly Hungarian to me.)” -
>> Jean-Joseph
>>
>> gally, n. a perch with a vertical scrim beneath it, used in falconry.
>>
>> -Jim, 7
>>
>> 2 points, Ranjit
>>
>> 2 points, Joshua
>>
>> 2 points, Jean-Joseph “This looks way too much like the kind of
>> definition that someone would make up. But also the kind of word someone
>> would choose if she stumbled across it. So for that reason, plus the
>> process of elimination, Two Points!”
>>
>> 1 point, Pierre ”One point and the yarak award. Can you have a bass with
>> a scrim beneath it?”
>>
>> Also Jim gave himself 1 point, but I am not counting it. “1 point, though
>> I don’t remember coming across it when I was looking at falconry terms in
>> preparation for the YARAK round.”
>>
>> gally, v. frighten, terrify
>>
>> -“Gally.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, 6
>>
>> https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gally. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.
>>
>> 1 point, Hutch “I like it”
>>
>> 1 point, Eric “Not clearly wrong”
>>
>> 1 point, Jean-Joseph “Just the sort of ordinary definition that is often
>> real. But it loses the coin toss because of verbiness. One Point!”
>>
>> 2 points, Pierre
>>
>> 1 point, Wesley
>>
>> gally, n. a small, sharpened awl, used to create eyelets or perforation
>> vents in leather shoes or sneakers.
>>
>> -Joshua, 2
>>
>> 2 points, Wesley
>>
>> “As opposed to the dull awls that are used for all other purposes?” -
>> Jean-Joseph
>>
>> gally, adj. of paint, fractured by a network of small cracks.
>>
>> -Eric, 3
>>
>> 2 points, David
>>
>> 1 point, correct guess
>>
>> “I think I've seen a word for this, but I don't think it was ‘gally’.” -
>> Jean-Joseph
>>
>> gally, n. a silk and ivory flywhisk.
>>
>> -David, 2
>>
>> 1 point, Ranjit
>>
>> 1 point, Joshua
>>
>> “It's so tempting to look up whether a "flywhisk" is really a thing. And
>> I'm imagining someone needing one, and being delighted upon being presented
>> with a gally, instead of some pedestrian version made of willow and linen.
>> And I'm wondering whether this is just a flyswatter and the fancy ivory and
>> silk is still just going to smoosh a bug.” - Jean-Joseph
>>
>> This made me think of the Daoist horsetail whisk:
>> https://daoistgate.com/understanding-the-horsetail-whisk/ - Fran
>>
>> gally, adj. comfortable; just right. Likely shortened from "Goldilocks"
>> circa 1850.
>>
>> -Nick, 2
>>
>> 2 points, Jim “2 points for the awesome origin story”
>>
>> “Would have gotten points, but for the derivation.” -Eric
>>
>> “In Swedish there's a word "lagom" that pretty much has this meaning.” -
>> Jean-Joseph
>>
>> gally, n. swagger, insolence.
>>
>> -Jean-Joseph, 6
>>
>> 2 points, Hutch “I can see this noun getting verbed as well.”
>>
>> 1 point, David
>>
>> 2 points, Eric
>>
>> 1 point, correct guess
>>
>> “I wonder if I would have voted for this if I hadn't gone through my Sent
>> messages and found out that it was mine.” -Jean-Joseph
>>
>> Hutch and Wesley, though they did not submit definitions, get 1 point
>> each for guessing correctly.
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Jan 12, 2025 at 3:42 PM Fran Poodry <fpoodry at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Don’t forget to vote on GALLY fictionitions!
>>> I’ll try to tally these up over my lunch on Monday.
>>> -Fran
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jan 3, 2025 at 11:26 AM Fran Poodry <fpoodry at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Please send 1-point and 2-point votes by the morning of January 13.
>>>> I'm excited that there are two verbs and two adjectives among the usual
>>>> collection of nouns!
>>>> -Fran
>>>>
>>>> GALLY
>>>>
>>>> gally, v. to inscribe a possession with a name or other identifying
>>>> information as proof of ownership
>>>>
>>>> gally, n. a Hungarian plant, Feketefeheria sopronensis, in the family
>>>>
>>>> Aristolochiaceae, used in folk medicine.
>>>>
>>>> gally, n. a perch with a vertical scrim beneath it, used in falconry.
>>>>
>>>> gally, v. frighten, terrify
>>>>
>>>> gally, n. a small, sharpened awl, used to create eyelets or perforation
>>>> vents in leather shoes or sneakers.
>>>>
>>>> gally, adj. of paint, fractured by a network of small cracks.
>>>>
>>>> gally, n. a silk and ivory flywhisk.
>>>>
>>>> gally, adj. comfortable; just right. Likely shortened from "Goldilocks"
>>>> circa 1850.
>>>>
>>>> gally, n. swagger, insolence.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> *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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