<html><div>My great-grandmother was a lace-maker, but although she lived to be 101, and she died when I was in my twenties, I never talked with her about lace-making and never saw any of her work. Alas! LInda<br><br>---------- Original Message ----------<br>From: Elizabeth Heffner <elheffner@googlemail.com><br>To: fictionary <fictionary@swarpa.net><br>Subject: [Fictionary] AFICOT: Results<br>Date: Sat, 13 Jun 2020 13:37:43 -0400<br><br></p><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><em><strong>EM: </strong>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></em></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span><em><span><strong>JH: </strong>Wow! This one is absolutely all over the place!<br></span></em></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> </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> <strong><em>EC</em></strong><em>: I’m pretty certain that lobster claws are essential to lacemaking. 1 pt.<br> <strong>EM: </strong>Can you burnish *lace* with *wood*?<span> </span>This is delightfully surreal.<span> </span>Two points.<span> </span><br> <strong>PA:</strong> “But the Barrister, weary of proving in vain<br> <span>        </span>That the Beaver’s lace making was wrong,â€<br> <span>         </span>One point.</em><br> </span><strong><em>JH: </em></strong><em>I thought “burnish†was something you did to metal???</em><span><br> <br> The winner of the round is <strong>Fran</strong> <strong>P </strong>with <strong>9 points </strong>for the popular definition of the living box.<strong><span>   </span>Elliott M</strong> and <strong>Simon H</strong> were not far behind with <strong>5 each. <br> <br> </strong>I thoroughly enjoyed running this round and dealing with the clever definitions.<span>  </span>Many thanks!<br> <strong><br> </strong>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><strong> </strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span><strong> <br> Joe R: </strong>Aficot, adj: filled to less than half capacity, usually in regard to a vessel for holding liquid.<span> </span><strong><br> <br> <em>JH: </em></strong><em>Somebody is thinking of “aliquot†I suppose?<br> </em><br> <br> <strong><em>Dave R</em></strong>:<span> </span>Aficot, adj: (British army slang) engaged because the lady was pregnant. <strong><em>2<br> <br> EC:</em></strong><em> Clearly “AFIanced Cos Of Tummy†2 points.<br> <strong>EM: </strong>Oddly plausible.<span> </span>The etymology isn’t transparent, but the British military did bring back a lot of words from India.<br> <strong>JM: </strong>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> </em><br> <br> <strong><em>Elliott M</em>: </strong>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><strong><em>1</em> + <em>2</em> + 2 for correct guess<br> <br> <em>RB: </em></strong><em>1 point and probably by Elliott or David.<br> <strong>EM: </strong>Newton’s Cradle with bells instead of balls.<span> </span>Why not?<br> <strong>JM: </strong>Whimsy = Elliott.<span> </span>Honorable mention points for making me smile.<br> <strong>PA: </strong>“Navigation was always a difficult art,<br> <span>        </span>Though with only one ship and one bell.â€<br> <span>        </span>Two points for the two bells.<br> <strong>JH: </strong>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.</em><br> <br> <br> <strong><em>Linda O</em></strong>: 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> <strong><br> <em>JM</em></strong><em>: I like the concept, but it’s soooo close to “apricot†that I’m deterred from guessing it.<br> <strong>EM: </strong>Too close to APRICOT.<br> <strong>PA: </strong><span> </span>Why would too much pollination cause fruit to drop?<br> <strong>JH: </strong>I don’t think that trees do this naturally; I think that people have to manually pick those “too many fruitâ€.</em><br> <br> <br> <strong><em>Helen P</em>: </strong>Aficot, n: a string, leather thong, or metal cuff placed at the ankle to prevent socks from slipping.<span> </span><strong><em>2 + 1<br> <br> EM: </em></strong><em>Used to AFFIX COTTON?<br> <strong>JM: </strong>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> <strong>JH:</strong> A garter?<br> <strong>SH:</strong> One point to the sock cuffs, out of sock solidarity.</em><br> <br> <br> <strong>Nicolas W: </strong>Aficot, adj: (botany) having pairs of unequally sized embryonic leaves.<span> </span><strong><em>2<br> <br> EM: </em></strong><em>Too close to APRICOT<strong><br> HP: </strong>This sounds good, except for “embryonicâ€.<span> </span>Can leaves be embryonic?<br> <strong>FP: </strong><span> </span>Sounds legit.<span> </span>2 points.</em><br> <br> <br> <strong><em>E Cohen</em></strong>: Aficot, n: the smeared fruit exudate inevitable upon consuming a particularly juicy fruit.<span> </span><strong>1 + 1 for correct guess<br> <br> <em>EC: </em></strong><em>Mine.<span> </span>From “affectionate apricotâ€.<br> <strong>EM: </strong>Too close to APRICOT.<br> <strong>JM: </strong>Doesn’t sound like any dictionary writing style I’m used to.<span> </span>I like the image, though!<br> <strong>JH: </strong>Would there be a different word for the juice that runs down your chin when you eat something other than fruit?</em><br> <br> <br> <strong><em>Ranjit B</em>: </strong>Aficot, n: (computational geometry) The affine cotangent. <strong>2<br> <br> <em>EM: </em></strong><em>But what happened to the other f?<br> <strong>PA:</strong> I know affine and cotangent separately, and I’ve heard of some modified trig functions such as the haversine, but not the aficot.</em><br> <br> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span><br> <strong><em>Pierre A</em>: </strong>Aficot, n: the double crown worn by Carolingian kings in the 700s, formed by combining the crowns of Austrasia and Neustria.<span> </span><strong><em>2</em> + <em>1</em> + 1 for correct guess<br> <br> <em>FP: </em></strong><em>Honorable mention.<br> <strong>EM:</strong> Weren’t the Carolingian kings post-Charlemagne, and hence post-800?<br> <strong>JM: </strong><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.</em><br> <br> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span><br> <strong><em>Jim M</em>: </strong>Aficot, adj: having exactly three prime factors.<br> <br> <strong><em>EM:</em></strong><em> Mathematicians use each others’ names as adjectives (“Suppose towards a contradiction that S is not Hausdorffâ€), so maybe there was a number theorist named Aficot?<br> <strong>PA:</strong> 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> <strong>JH: </strong>I would expect this to have some form of “tri†in it.</em></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';"><strong><em><span>Simon H</span></em></strong><strong><span>: </span></strong><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. <strong><em>1</em> + <em>2</em> + <em>1</em> + <em>1<br> <br> HP: </em></strong><em>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> <strong>FP: </strong>Horse stuff also sounds legit. 1 point.<br> <strong>JM: </strong>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> <strong>JH: </strong>I know this is a thing, but I’ve never heard a name for it. 1 point.</em></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><em><span><span> </span></span></em></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><strong><em><span>Fran P</span></em></strong><strong><span>: </span></strong><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><strong><em>1</em> + <em>2</em> + <em>1</em> + <em>2</em> + <em>1</em> + <em>2<br> <br> HP: </em></strong><em>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> <strong>RB: </strong>I would like to see one of these! <br> <strong>EM: </strong>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> <strong>JM: </strong>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> <strong>JH: </strong>Kinda cool idea! I’m doubtful that this is it, but I like the idea! 2 points.</em></span></p></div><div id="DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2"><br><table style="border-top: 1px solid #d3d4de;"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 55px; padding-top: 13px;"><a href="http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail" target="_blank"><img style="width: 46px; height: 29px;" src="https://ipmcdn.avast.com/images/icons/icon-envelope-tick-green-avg-v1.png" alt="" width="46" height="29"></a></td><td style="width: 470px; padding-top: 12px; color: #41424e; font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Virus-free. <a style="color: #4453ea;" href="http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail" target="_blank">www.avg.com</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></html>