<div dir="ltr"><div style>Aaaaand we have Pierre's jewel-prongs with 11 points, narrowly defeating <a href="http://thefreedictionary.com">thefreedictionary.com</a>'s darts mark. Congratulations, Pierre! And apologies to all for neglecting the ballot for 3 weeks. My excuse - I got distracted by Paris.</div>
<div style><br></div><div style>- ranjit</div><div style>p.s. apparently it's pronounced kind of like "hockey" and was once spelled that way. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oche">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oche</a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial;font-size:13px"> </span></div>
<div><br></div><br><b>Pierre</b>:<br>oche, n. A device for holding a jewel, consisting of several arms closed partway over the jewel with pliers.<div>9 points + 2 for correct guess<br><br><br>Jim - 2 points</div><div>Nicolas - 2 points: <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">I suspect there probably is a real word for this, but not sure this is </span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">it.</span><br>
<div>Hutch - 2 points</div><div>Elliott - <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">I've seen settings that work that way, but ``device'' suggests to me a tool rather than part of a ring.</span></div>
<div><font face="arial, sans-serif">J-J - 1 point: </font><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Sounds like the way many diamond rings are constructed. I'll give it one.</span><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br>
</font>Linda - 2 points for the jewel-holding device<br><br><br><b>David</b>:<br>oche - n. - a fairy's slave</div><div style>2 points + 2 for correct guess</div><div><br></div><div>Eric - 2 points: What a great idea.</div>
<div>Elliott - <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Ahh, like Tam Lin! Could be, I suppose.</span></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif">J-J - </font><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">It almost seems like there should be a Phil Ochs joke here (and if you decide to try to figure out what I mean by that, be warned that your journey may turn out to be NSFW).</span><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br>
</font><br><br><b>Linda</b>:<br>Oche, expletive. Fr. Afrikaans. Used mildly, it means something like "RATS!" Used more wildly, it is more like an unprintable expletive. Possibly derived from a word that means "Ache". Used somewhat like the German "ACH!"</div>
<div><br></div><div>Elliott - <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Hunh, that's interesting. Can you think of any English swear word that can be used with two intensities? (I can't, but I'm not one of our country's great swearers.)</span></div>
<div><font face="arial, sans-serif">J-J - </font><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">I'm going to reject "ache" defs, just because.</span><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font>
<br><br><b>Elliott</b>:<br>oche (n.) -- A hat equipped with a sound-collecting brim for hearing sermons, reputedly also used for eavesdropping.</div><div><br></div><div>1 point + 2 for correct guess<br><br><br>Jim - <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">You know, I think there is serious publishing potential in an illustrated book that collects all of Elliott's whimsical inventions from fictionary entries.</span></div>
<div><font face="arial, sans-serif">Nicolas - </font><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">This is a great visual, but can't be real, can it?</span></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif">David - 1 point</font></div>
<div><font face="arial, sans-serif">Eric - </font><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">My vote for "most likely to be by Elliott".</span></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif">Elliott - </font><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">It would be more effective as a combination of a hat and a starched ruff, but that just sounded too ridiculous.</span><div class="im" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
J-J - <span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)">Dripping with Elliottude.</span></div><br><br><b>Hutch</b>:<br>oche - n. - [ comp. "ache" ] a non-painful, continuous physical sensation, usu. not very strong<br>
1 point for correct guess</div><div><br>J-J - <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Another "ache" def.</span><br><br><br><br><b><a href="http://thefreedictionary.com">thefreedictionary.com</a>:</b><br>
oche, n (darts) the mark or ridge on the floor behind which a player must stand to throw<br>[of unknown origin; perhaps connected with obsolete oche to chop off, from Old French ocher to cut a notch in]</div><div>10 points</div>
<div><br></div><div>Jim - 1 point</div><div style>Nicolas - 1 point: Plausible.</div><div style>David - 2 points</div><div style>Eric - 1 point: <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Etymology is usually the scarlet letter of fakeness, but less implausible than some, so one point.</span></div>
<div style><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Hutch - 1 point</span></div><div style><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Pierre - 2 points</span></div><div style><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Elliott - 2 points: </span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Sure, why not?</span></div>
<div style>J-J - <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Surely somebody would have known this.</span></div><div>
<br><br><div><b>Nicolas</b>:<br>oche, n. (fm. Chinese) A bell hung from a horn, used by Uighur herdsmen to track their animals.<br>1 point + 1 for correct guess</div><div><br></div><div>Pierre - 1 point</div><div style>Elliott - <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Yurt alert!</span></div>
<div style><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">J-J - </span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">I first pictured the bell as hanging from the kind of horn that you blow through, rather than the kind that grows out of the head of an animal, and I wondered exactly how it was used. I also figured, well, this round is being run by a noted musical instrument inventor...</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br></span></div><div><br><br><b>Eric</b>:<br>oche, adj. in an awkward and lazy manner.</div><div style>2 points + 1 for correct guess</div><div style><br></div>
<div><br></div><div>Jim - <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Tempting to vote for an adjective. But... awkward *and* lazy? Awkward implies a wasteful expenditure of effort in doing something; lazy, the expenditure of as little effort as possible. So I can't vote for it.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">Nicolas - </span><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">A rare adjective def. Makes me think it would rhyme with "gauche" for </span><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">some reason.</span><br>
</div><div style><font face="arial, sans-serif">Elliott - </font><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Awkward *and* lazy? I've done that biathlon, yes.</span></div><div style><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">J-J - 2 points: </span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">The sort of beige, easily overlooked def that often turns out to be right. But maybe that's just what someone wants me to think! Two point anyway.</span></div>
<div class="im" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font><br><br><b>Jean-Joseph</b>:<br>oche - n. - Variant of oak.<br>
</div></div></div><div style>2 points</div><div><br></div><div style>Eric: <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Not implausible, just too boring to be a real def. Unless it's a double fake-out. . . .</span></div>
<div style><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Elliott - 1 point: </span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Conspicuously inconspicuous. </span></div><div style>J-J - <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Mine. This sort of thing is worth a try once in a while.</span></div>
<div style><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Linda - 1 point for the oak variant</span></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div style><b>Jim:</b></div><div style>no def, but 1 point for correct guess</div>
</div>