Paul Keating
December 30th, 2007, 04:57 PM
The winner of round 1870 is Russ Heimerson, whose definition "coarse
undyed
woollen cloth" received 4 votes, plus 2 points for guessing the
correct def.
There were 2 players in coveted second place with 4 points each: Tim
Bourne
and Toni Savage.
The true definition was 14: "a female dancer, a danceress" (OED2),
which 3
perceptive players guessed. I played with the idea of leaving "a
danceress" out
because I knew that some players would find it a honeypot. Is it a
lexicographer's in-joke, to define an obsolete word with another
obsolete word?
And why define a word with two apparent synonyms?
Obviously, because they are not synonyms.
Since _danceress_ is obsolete, there's no way to retrieve what it
really meant,
but on the analogy of _authoress_ and _poetess_, I assume that Murray
considered that what a danceress does has no direct masculine
equivalent,
and so the word is not synonymous with "a female dancer". And lest
you
feel that we have moved beyond such Victorian sexism, consider that
we have no direct masculine equivalents of _dancing girl_ (as in
"bring on the ~ ~s") or _showgirl_ or even _ballerina_.
John Barrs DQd with not only a spot-on etymology but even a creditable
rendering
of the only Middle English citation for the word (from Chaucer's The
Knight's Tale).
That is, it seems, a mistake on Chaucer's part: he apparently read
_navi bellatrici_
(= 'warlike ships') from Boccacio as _navi ballatrici_ (= 'dancing
ships') and
rendered it as _shippes hoppesteres_.
The only other citation the OED has is Old English, and in deference
to some
players' software's distaste for Unicode, I won't quote it because
it's got eths
(allowed by DOS), thorns (also allowed), and yoghs (not allowed).
(I know this is right because for once I did the archaeology.)
1. that feeling of ennui that precedes the discovery that your cat
has
vomited on your favourite carpet or your breakfast cereal is once
again soggy
Vote from: Bourne
Submitted by: Shefler, who scores 1 + 2, total 3.
2. the innate ability of a cat to orient itself as it falls in order
to land on its feet, often uninjured
No votes
Submitted by: Widdis.
3. the festival celebrating the completion of the hop harvest [hop +
estre = yesterday]
No votes
Submitted by: Barrs.
4. the interface between two partially miscible fluids
No votes
Submitted by: Emery.
5. a tightly-woven basket for carrying water
Vote from: Lodge
Submitted by: Stevens, who scores natural 1.
6. a soup of potato and cabbage
No votes
Submitted by: Hirst.
7. coarse undyed woollen cloth
Votes from: Schultz, Shepherdson, Abell, Madnick
Submitted by: Heimerson, who scores 4 + 2, total 6.
8. a kind of Flemish lace
Votes from: Shepherdson, Carson, Abell, Cunningham
Submitted by: Bourne, who scores natural 4.
9. a low public house
Vote from: Hirst
Submitted by: Madnick, who scores natural 1.
10. a lighthouse
Votes from: Emery, Hirst, Cunningham
Submitted by: Crom, who scores natural 3.
11. a wishing star
Votes from: Heimerson, Widdis, Stevens
Submitted by: Cunningham, who scores natural 3.
12. a greenhouse [Arch.]
Votes from: Schultz, Shefler
Submitted by: Savage, who scores 2 + 2, total 4.
13. an arable plain [Afr.]
Vote from: Lodge
Submitted by: Shepherdson, who scores natural 1.
14. a female dancer, a danceress
Votes from: Heimerson, Savage, Shefler
Real definition from OED2
15. fish trapped in flooded polders
No votes
Submitted by: Scott.
16. a fabric with contrasting horizontal stripes
Votes from: Savage, Madnick
Submitted by: Carson, who scores natural 2.
17. a basketball player [Du and S Afr, fr US colloq "hoopster"]
No votes
Submitted by: Schultz.
18. a brilliantly witty remark that causes distress in the hearer for
not having made it himself
Votes from: Widdis, Carson
Submitted by: Abell, who scores natural 2.
19. an ante-chamber of an ancient Egyptian tomb, in which were placed
artefacts for the use of the deceased in the afterlife
Votes from: Emery, Bourne, Stevens
Submitted by: Lodge, who scores natural 3.
Player Def Voted for Votes Guess DP Total
------ --- --------- ----- ----- -- -----
Heimerson 7 11 & 14 4 2 6
Bourne 8 1 & 19 4 0 4
Savage 12 14 & 16 2 2 4
Crom 10 N/V 3 0 3
Cunningham 11 8 & 10 3 0 3
Lodge 19 5 & 13 3 0 3
Shefler 1 12 & 14 1 2 3
Abell 18 7 & 8 2 0 2
Carson 16 8 & 18 2 0 2
Madnick 9 7 & 16 1 0 1
Shepherdson 13 7 & 8 1 0 1
Stevens 5 11 & 19 1 0 1
Barrs 3 DQ 0 0
Emery 4 10 & 19 0 0
Hirst 6 9 & 10 0 0
Schultz 17 7 & 12 0 0
Scott 15 N/V 0 0
Widdis 2 11 & 18 0 0
undyed
woollen cloth" received 4 votes, plus 2 points for guessing the
correct def.
There were 2 players in coveted second place with 4 points each: Tim
Bourne
and Toni Savage.
The true definition was 14: "a female dancer, a danceress" (OED2),
which 3
perceptive players guessed. I played with the idea of leaving "a
danceress" out
because I knew that some players would find it a honeypot. Is it a
lexicographer's in-joke, to define an obsolete word with another
obsolete word?
And why define a word with two apparent synonyms?
Obviously, because they are not synonyms.
Since _danceress_ is obsolete, there's no way to retrieve what it
really meant,
but on the analogy of _authoress_ and _poetess_, I assume that Murray
considered that what a danceress does has no direct masculine
equivalent,
and so the word is not synonymous with "a female dancer". And lest
you
feel that we have moved beyond such Victorian sexism, consider that
we have no direct masculine equivalents of _dancing girl_ (as in
"bring on the ~ ~s") or _showgirl_ or even _ballerina_.
John Barrs DQd with not only a spot-on etymology but even a creditable
rendering
of the only Middle English citation for the word (from Chaucer's The
Knight's Tale).
That is, it seems, a mistake on Chaucer's part: he apparently read
_navi bellatrici_
(= 'warlike ships') from Boccacio as _navi ballatrici_ (= 'dancing
ships') and
rendered it as _shippes hoppesteres_.
The only other citation the OED has is Old English, and in deference
to some
players' software's distaste for Unicode, I won't quote it because
it's got eths
(allowed by DOS), thorns (also allowed), and yoghs (not allowed).
(I know this is right because for once I did the archaeology.)
1. that feeling of ennui that precedes the discovery that your cat
has
vomited on your favourite carpet or your breakfast cereal is once
again soggy
Vote from: Bourne
Submitted by: Shefler, who scores 1 + 2, total 3.
2. the innate ability of a cat to orient itself as it falls in order
to land on its feet, often uninjured
No votes
Submitted by: Widdis.
3. the festival celebrating the completion of the hop harvest [hop +
estre = yesterday]
No votes
Submitted by: Barrs.
4. the interface between two partially miscible fluids
No votes
Submitted by: Emery.
5. a tightly-woven basket for carrying water
Vote from: Lodge
Submitted by: Stevens, who scores natural 1.
6. a soup of potato and cabbage
No votes
Submitted by: Hirst.
7. coarse undyed woollen cloth
Votes from: Schultz, Shepherdson, Abell, Madnick
Submitted by: Heimerson, who scores 4 + 2, total 6.
8. a kind of Flemish lace
Votes from: Shepherdson, Carson, Abell, Cunningham
Submitted by: Bourne, who scores natural 4.
9. a low public house
Vote from: Hirst
Submitted by: Madnick, who scores natural 1.
10. a lighthouse
Votes from: Emery, Hirst, Cunningham
Submitted by: Crom, who scores natural 3.
11. a wishing star
Votes from: Heimerson, Widdis, Stevens
Submitted by: Cunningham, who scores natural 3.
12. a greenhouse [Arch.]
Votes from: Schultz, Shefler
Submitted by: Savage, who scores 2 + 2, total 4.
13. an arable plain [Afr.]
Vote from: Lodge
Submitted by: Shepherdson, who scores natural 1.
14. a female dancer, a danceress
Votes from: Heimerson, Savage, Shefler
Real definition from OED2
15. fish trapped in flooded polders
No votes
Submitted by: Scott.
16. a fabric with contrasting horizontal stripes
Votes from: Savage, Madnick
Submitted by: Carson, who scores natural 2.
17. a basketball player [Du and S Afr, fr US colloq "hoopster"]
No votes
Submitted by: Schultz.
18. a brilliantly witty remark that causes distress in the hearer for
not having made it himself
Votes from: Widdis, Carson
Submitted by: Abell, who scores natural 2.
19. an ante-chamber of an ancient Egyptian tomb, in which were placed
artefacts for the use of the deceased in the afterlife
Votes from: Emery, Bourne, Stevens
Submitted by: Lodge, who scores natural 3.
Player Def Voted for Votes Guess DP Total
------ --- --------- ----- ----- -- -----
Heimerson 7 11 & 14 4 2 6
Bourne 8 1 & 19 4 0 4
Savage 12 14 & 16 2 2 4
Crom 10 N/V 3 0 3
Cunningham 11 8 & 10 3 0 3
Lodge 19 5 & 13 3 0 3
Shefler 1 12 & 14 1 2 3
Abell 18 7 & 8 2 0 2
Carson 16 8 & 18 2 0 2
Madnick 9 7 & 16 1 0 1
Shepherdson 13 7 & 8 1 0 1
Stevens 5 11 & 19 1 0 1
Barrs 3 DQ 0 0
Emery 4 10 & 19 0 0
Hirst 6 9 & 10 0 0
Schultz 17 7 & 12 0 0
Scott 15 N/V 0 0
Widdis 2 11 & 18 0 0