<div dir="ltr">Well, that's a surprise! I'll work on a plausible, real word!<div>Fran</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sat, Jun 13, 2020 at 10:38 AM Elizabeth Heffner <<a href="mailto:elheffner@googlemail.com">elheffner@googlemail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>This round drew a wide range of definitions, inspiring these comments: <br><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span><i><b>EM:
</b>That word drew some clever
defs.<span> </span>Although it sounded a lot like
APRICOT, it looked unrelated to other English words, which made it hard to
assign votes based on etymological plausibility.<span> <br></span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span><i><span><b>JH: </b>Wow! This one is absolutely all over the place!<br></span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span><b>
</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span><br>The
correct definition was the wooden burnishing tool in the form of a lobster
claw, primarily used in lacemaking.<span> </span>I
have one; pic attached.<span> </span><span> </span>Burnished threads are fuller and lie more
smoothly adjacent to one another when this is desired.<br><br>
Three people correctly guessed the definition and it received the following
comments: <br>
<br>
<b><i>EC</i></b><i>: I’m pretty certain that lobster claws are
essential to lacemaking. 1 pt.<br>
<b>EM: </b><span></span>Can you burnish *lace* with *wood*?<span> </span>This is delightfully surreal.<span> </span>Two points.<span>
</span><br>
<b>PA:</b> “But the Barrister, weary of
proving in vain<br>
<span> </span>That the Beaver’s lace making
was wrong,”<br>
<span> </span>One point.</i><br>
</span><b><i>JH: </i></b><i>I thought “burnish”
was something you did to metal???</i><span><br>
<br>
The winner of the round is <b>Fran</b> <b>P </b>with
<b>9 points </b>for the popular definition
of the living box.<b><span> </span>Elliott M</b> and <b>Simon H</b> were not far
behind with <b>5 each. <br>
<br>
</b>I thoroughly enjoyed running this round and dealing with the clever
definitions.<span> </span>Many thanks!<br>
<b><br>
</b>Now to the results and comments! </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span><b><br></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span><b>
<br>
Joe R: </b>Aficot, adj: filled to less than half capacity, usually in regard to
a vessel for holding liquid.<span> </span><b><br>
<br>
<i>JH: </i></b><i>Somebody is thinking of “aliquot” I suppose?<br>
</i><br>
<br>
<b><i>Dave
R</i></b>:<span> </span>Aficot, adj: (British army
slang) engaged because the lady was pregnant. <b><i>2<br>
<br>
EC:</i></b><i> Clearly “AFIanced Cos Of
Tummy” 2 points.<br>
<b>EM: </b>Oddly plausible.<span> </span>The etymology isn’t transparent, but the
British military did bring back a lot of words from India.<br>
<b>JM: </b>I’m trying to work out if this
would come from rhyming slang, the military concatenated-abbreviation thing, or
something else. But I got nothin’.<span> </span>So,
no points.<br>
</i><br>
<br>
<b><i>Elliott
M</i>: </b>Aficot, n: 1. a bell hung as a clapper in a larger bell. 2. a pair
of identical bells hung side by side so as to rebound alternately off each
other. 3. a pair of argumentative guests, neither of whom will let the
other have the last word.<span> </span><b><i>1</i>
+ <i>2</i> + 2 for correct guess<br>
<br>
<i>RB: </i></b><i>1 point and probably by Elliott or David.<br>
<b>EM: </b>Newton’s Cradle with bells
instead of balls.<span> </span>Why not?<br>
<b>JM: </b>Whimsy = Elliott.<span> </span>Honorable mention points for making me smile.<br>
<b>PA: </b>“Navigation was always a
difficult art,<br>
<span> </span>Though with only one ship and
one bell.”<br>
<span> </span>Two points for the two bells.<br>
<b>JH: </b>The bells striking each other
strikes me as a bad idea.<span> </span>But I like the
development into the third definition from the first two.<span> </span>Give this an imaginary tie-breaker point.</i><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><i>Linda
O</i></b>: Aficot, n: any of the early, small dropped fruit resulting from too
much pollination which drop off the tree to ensure a crop of larger fruit.<br>
<b><br>
<i>JM</i></b><i>: I like the concept, but it’s soooo close to “apricot” that I’m
deterred from guessing it.<br>
<b>EM: </b>Too close to APRICOT.<br>
<b>PA: </b><span> </span>Why would too much pollination cause fruit to
drop?<br>
<b>JH: </b>I don’t think that trees do this
naturally; I think that people have to manually pick those “too many fruit”.</i><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><i>Helen
P</i>: </b>Aficot, n: a string, leather thong, or metal cuff placed at the
ankle to prevent socks from slipping.<span> </span><b><i>2 + 1<br>
<br>
EM: </i></b><i>Used to AFFIX COTTON?<br>
<b>JM: </b>So much like the horse-sleeve
definition! But I have less trouble believing people would wear it than horses,
so this one gets the (2) points!<br>
<b>JH:</b> A garter?<br>
<b>SH:</b> One point to the sock cuffs, out
of sock solidarity.</i><br>
<br>
<br>
<b>Nicolas W: </b>Aficot, adj: (botany)
having pairs of unequally sized embryonic leaves.<span> </span><b><i>2<br>
<br>
EM: </i></b><i>Too close to APRICOT<b><br>
HP: </b>This sounds good, except for “embryonic”.<span> </span>Can leaves be embryonic?<br>
<b>FP: </b><span> </span>Sounds legit.<span>
</span>2 points.</i><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><i>E Cohen</i></b>:
Aficot, n: the smeared fruit exudate inevitable upon consuming a particularly
juicy fruit.<span> </span><b>1 + 1 for correct guess<br>
<br>
<i>EC: </i></b><i>Mine.<span> </span>From “affectionate apricot”.<br>
<b>EM: </b>Too close to APRICOT.<br>
<b>JM: </b>Doesn’t sound like any
dictionary writing style I’m used to.<span> </span>I
like the image, though!<br>
<b>JH: </b>Would there be a different word
for the juice that runs down your chin when you eat something other than fruit?</i><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><i>Ranjit
B</i>: </b>Aficot, n: (computational geometry) The affine cotangent. <b>2<br>
<br>
<i>EM: </i></b><i>But what happened to the other f?<br>
<b>PA:</b> I know affine and cotangent separately,
and I’ve heard of some modified trig functions such as the haversine, but not
the aficot.</i><br>
<br>
<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span><br>
<b><i>Pierre
A</i>: </b>Aficot, n: the double crown worn by Carolingian kings in the 700s,
formed by combining the crowns of Austrasia and Neustria.<span> </span><b><i>2</i> + <i>1</i>
+ 1 for correct guess<br>
<br>
<i>FP: </i></b><i>Honorable mention.<br>
<b>EM:</b> Weren’t the Carolingian kings
post-Charlemagne, and hence post-800?<br>
<b>JM: </b><span> </span>See, this is where Know Thy Roundrunner can be
useful.<span> </span>This seems like the kind of word
Liz would have come across.<span> </span>But the
image of two crowns on one head is silly enough that I’ll give it only 1 point.</i><br>
<br>
<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span><br>
<b><i>Jim
M</i>: </b>Aficot, adj: having exactly three prime factors.<br>
<br>
<b><i>EM:</i></b><i> Mathematicians use each others’ names as
adjectives (“Suppose towards a contradiction that S is not Hausdorff”), so
maybe there was a number theorist named Aficot?<br>
<b>PA:</b> I know of uses for numbers with
exactly two prime factors, such as RSA, but what are numbers with three prime
factors used for?<br>
<b>JH: </b>I would expect this to have some
form of “tri” in it.<span></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><i><span>Simon
H</span></i></b><b><span>: </span></b><span>Aficot, n: a sock-like sleeve used to
protect the lower leg of a horse from extreme cold, flies, or infected wounds
or sores. <b><i>1</i> + <i>2</i> + <i>1</i> + <i>1<br>
<br>
HP: </i></b><i>This gets my two points.<span> </span>Why would there be two sock definitions if
one were not right?<span> </span>And the other is
mine, so it must be this one.<br>
<b>FP: </b>Horse stuff also sounds legit. 1
point.<br>
<b>JM: </b>So much like the
anti-sock-slipping definition!<span> </span>And after
all, everyone’s heard of horseshoes, so why not horsesocks? And yet I don’t buy
it.<span> </span>Honorable mention, though.<br>
<b>JH: </b>I know this is a thing, but I’ve
never heard a name for it. 1 point.<span></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span><span> </span></span></i><span><span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><i><span>Fran
P</span></i></b><b><span>: </span></b><span>Aficot, n: a living box made by growing
fruit trees espalier-style on all sides of a wooden structure, then removing
the inner structure.<span> </span><b><i>1</i>
+ <i>2</i> + <i>1</i> + <i>2</i> + <i>1</i> + <i>2<br>
<br>
HP: </i></b><i>I planned to stay away from
fruit on this one – the apricot connection was too tempting.<span> </span>But this is such a beautiful idea! One point.<br>
<b>RB: </b>I would like to see one of
these! <br>
<b>EM: </b>I want to vote against it
because it’s too close to APRICOT, but I like the idea so much I can’t help
giving it ONE POINT.<br>
<b>JM: </b>Why would these need to be
*fruit* trees?<span> </span>Unless the idea is that
it supplies you with food as well as lodging…but don’t the trees keep on
growing inward once the walls are removed?<br>
<b>JH: </b>Kinda cool idea! I’m doubtful
that this is it, but I like the idea! 2 points.</i></span><span></span></p>
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</blockquote></div><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:small"><i>Fran Poodry (she/her)</i></div><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:small"><i>Oregon, USA</i></div><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:small"><i><br></i></div><div style="font-size:small"><i><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-size:14px;line-height:18px">“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” </span><br style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-size:14px;line-height:18px"><span style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-size:14px;line-height:18px">― </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/61107.Margaret_Mead" style="color:rgb(102,102,0);text-decoration:none;font-size:14px;line-height:18px" target="_blank">Margaret Mead</a></font><br></i></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>