Hi, folks, I'm a couple days late compiling the vote, but that allowed one extra voter, so everybody wins!<br><br>Many people picked up on the Spanish origin. Nora sat out this round, but (after the round was in full swing) did let me know that she knew it, and Eric recognized it when the defs came out. their comments are at the end, so as not to spoil the surprises.<br>
<br>albondiga, n. Colored mortar used for decorative contrast with light-colored brick or stone. From Spanish _albondiga_, cement.<br> - 0 points from Ellen: "Never heard of a word like that for cement. And it doesn't sound like cement."<br>
- 2 points from Nick: "2 points for being the most plausible-sounding Spanish def."<br> - 1 point from Hutch<br> - 2 points from David<br> - 0 points from Jim: "Sorry, I just find "al"+"bond" to be too on-the-nose to believe."<br>
- 0 points from Pierre: "This reminds me of one of the defs of "barbola work"."<br> - 1 point from Jean-Joseph<br> 6 points and the win for Ranjit!<br><br>albondiga, n. A ritual exchange of gifts between the elders of warring Bedouin tribes.<br>
- 0 points from Ellen: "If they're warring, why are they exchanging gifts? ('Tis the season, I suppose, for fictioneers to have gifts on their minds)"<br> - 1 point from Nick: "This doesn't sound like what little Touareg etc. that I've heard, but I'll give it 1 point for not being of Spanish origin."<br>
- 1 point from Pierre.<br> 3 points for Jimmosk<br><br>albondiga, n. Spanish hard-cured beef sausage, including rice and seasoned especially with allspice, cloves, and black pepper.<br> - 1 point from Ranjit: "1 point because I'm hungry."<br>
- 0 points from Ellen: "Difficult to read about sausage when I haven't eaten in thirteen hours"<br> - 0 points from Nick: "Isn't this what chorizo is?" [Actually, chorizo is pork. -Larry]<br> - 2 points from Hutch: "As soon as I saw this, I thought it sounded familiar: 2 points ...Which, of course, means it's wrong *G*"<br>
- 1 point from David<br> - 0 points from Linda: "Nearly supper time so I had to resist the meatballs and sausage."<br> - 0 points from Jim: "Two yummy-sounding Spanish dishes and I sit midway between them like Buridan's Ass, no reason to choose one over the other and so not picking either."<br>
4 points for Eric<br><br>albondiga, n. The Spanish word for "meatball." Albóndigas is the name of a popular Mexican and Spanish dish of spicy meatballs, usually in a tomato sauce. Sopa de albóndigas is a beef-broth soup with meatballs and chopped vegetables.<br>
- 0 points from Ranjit: "If I had any spare hungry points, this would get 'em."<br> - 1 point from Ellen: "The Spanish here is much better than some. 2 points. I'm hungry!"<br> - 0 points from Nick: "Sounds tasty, but I think the def is too long to be real."<br>
- 0 points from Linda: "Nearly supper time so I had to resist the meatballs and sausage."<br> - 0 points from Jim: "Two yummy-sounding Spanish dishes and I sit midway between them like Buridan's Ass, no reason to choose one over the other and so not picking either."<br>
- 0 points from Pierre: "This sounds like I've heard it somewhere."<br> - 2 points from Jean-Joseph<br> - 0 points from Hutch: "[After guessing and then looking up the answer] OMG! Where did you<br>find such an UNdictionary-sounding definition? That's why I voted for the sausage instead of this one: because it sounded so poorly worded."<br>
Well, Hutch, the answer is The Epicurious Food Dictionary, © Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst, which earned 3 points.<br><br>
albondiga, n. A cactus of the American southwest, known for its white sap used medicinally by the Hopi and other Pueblo peoples.<br> - 1 point from Linda<br> - 2 points from Pierre: "No, pal Petah, ya not gonna eat dat albondiga! Two points."<br>
3 points for Nick<br><br>albondiga, n. A metal tip fitting crimped onto the free end of a belt.<br> - 0 points from Nick: "I suppose that could have a name, that leather workers or whoever would care about."<br>
- 2 points from Linda<br> - 2 points from Jim: "Isn't that an aglet? Or maybe that's only for shoelace tips? Well, if there can be a word for the one, there could be an equally-specialized word for the other. 2 points."<br>
- 0 points from Pierre: "Isn't that an aglet? Or are aglets only on shoelaces?"<br>4 points Jean-Joseph<br><br>Albondiga, n. Should be capitalized. A Feast described in James Hilton's Lost Horizon, in which the faithful celebrate with white robes and white foods at the Winter Solstice.<br>
- 0 points from Jim: "I can't believe that, if it were meant to be capitalized, it wouldn't have been presented to us that way."<br> No points for Linda<br><br>albondiga, n. [Span. "good words"] a compliment<br>
- 0 points from Ellen: "Creo que no. I could almost buy "diga" from "decir" except that it's digo/dices/dice and the past participle is dicho; and in any case it's no "buenas palabras" or related."<br>
- 0 points from Nick: "Plausible, but I'd think the more direct Latin would stick around as bendición."<br> - 0 points from Jim: "I find the bon-diga breakdown more plausible than the above "bond" one, but am out of points. Honorable mention."<br>
No points for Hutch<br><br>albondiga, n. (fr. Chicano dialect and slang) - 1. White plaster. 2. A woman who uses too much make-up. 3. A Goth girl.<br> - 2 points from Ranjit: "2 points for clever multiple meanings"<br>
- 1 point from Ellen: "Haha! 1 point for making me laugh. I couldn't submit defs for this one because, also contemporarily, I couldn't clear a spam slogan from my past from out of my head ("Abbondanza! Pizza for one!" for a probably-execrable frozen product, IIRC. I briefly considered shamelessly stealing it but thought it a terrible answer and in any case not worth making anyone take seriously)"<br>
- 0 points from Nick: "Heh."<br> - 1 point from Jim: "I first read this as "Chicago" (hey, c'mon, it's only one letter off) and was perplexed. Perhaps because of my goofup, I now like this def enough to give it my 1-point vote."<br>
- 0 points from Pierre: "First it's colored mortar, now it's white plaster. Huh?"<br>4 points for David<br><br>albondiga, n. A warehouse operated by Moors in Spain for imported goods.<br> - 0 points from Nick: "I guess a lot of the "al" sounding loan words come via Arabic, so this is plausible, but I liked the other ones better and don't know the history well enough to be sure."<br>
No points for Pierre<br><br>Finally, from Nora and Eric:<br><br>Nora: "I haven't played in a while, but I saw your word, and while, I may not know what "albondiga" means in your source, it is a Spanish word meaning "meatball." It can also be used to indicate a person who is a "meathead." I have even heard it used like the word "huevos" or "eggs," which is used to indicate the dangling part of the male anatomy. Anyway, I will sit out this round, and I can't wait to see what people say about it!"<br>
<br>[Hah! Right in the albondigas! I'm going to remember that. - Larry]<br><br>From Eric: "Darn, I'm not going to vote since as soon as I saw "meatball" I recognized the answer. Also, it's pretty clear why my unconscious made me send in a Spanish sausage."<br>
<br>Thanks, folks, and take it away Ranjit!<br><br>-Larry<br>