Science, writing, and science writing. Thanks for visiting.
Jamie Zvirzdin
  • Bio
  • Publications
  • Store
    • Individual Workshops
    • Buy a Coffee for Jamie!
  • Contact

Reading the Scrabble Dictionary: Week 18

5/7/2014

2 Comments

 
A gowk and his gowd are soon parted.

► Photos of the Week:
⚛ Units of the Week
    Gopik: a monetary unit of Azerbaijan
    Gourde: a monetary unit of Haiti
    Gram/gramme: a unit of mass and weight
    Granule: a small particle
    Grapheme: a unit of a writing system
    Graviton: a hypothetical particle
    Groat: an old English coin
    Groschen: a formerly used Austrian coin
    Grosz: a Polish coin
    Guarani: a monetary unit of Paraguay
    Guilder: a monetary unit of the Netherlands
    Guinea: a formerly used British coin
    Hadron: an elementary particle
    Haet: a small amount
    Halala: a Saudi Arabian coin
    Haler: a coin of the Czech Republic
    Hantle: a large amount
    Hao: a monetary unit of Vietnam

Note: obviously I'm a little biased and inconsistent when it comes to these units. I like physics more than chemistry, so I'm listing all of the particles while skipping most of the elements. I'm also not including terms of the family unit (gramps, for example). You gotta draw the line somewhere, but the way we organize systems and ascribe is pretty darn fascinating.


!!! Unexpected Words of the Week
    Goral: a goat antelope
    Gorgon: an ugly woman (hey, what about an ugly man!)
    Gowd: gold
    Gowk: a fool
    Gox: gaseous oxygen
    Gracioso: a clown in Spanish comedy (not to be confused with grazioso: graceful in style)
    Graymail: pressure on an official to reveal sensitive information
    Gremmie: an inexperienced surfer
    Grody: sleazy (brought back memories from the ’90s)
    Grok: to understand intuitively (“Don’t worry, I grok it.”)
    Groyne: a structure built to protect a shore from erosion (A funny word for a really important structure that landowners in the Marshall Islands can use to preserve what little land they have—I edited and typeset a brochure on coral preservation once, so I know more about groynes than I ever thought I would)
    Gruntle: to put in a good humor (hench, when one is disgruntled . . .)
    Gudgeon: to dupe
    Gular: of or pertaining to the throat
    Gulfy: full of whirlpools
    Gulosity: gluttony
    Guy: to ridicule
    Gynandry: the condition of having both male and female sexual organs (I object to the notion that we all fit in pink or blue boxes for many reasons, one of which is that there are too many cases where attempting to do so is harmful for certain people)
    Hafiz: a Muslim who knows the Koran by heart
    Hagride: to harass (Hagrid hagrides?)
    Haint: a ghost
    Hallux: the big toe
    Hansom: a light carriage (gotta have the usual antelope and carriage showing)
    Hapax: a word that occurs only once

♡ Favorite Words of the Week
    Gossipry: the practice of gossiping
    Gourmand: one who loves to eat
    Graduand: one who is about to graduate
    Gramercy: an expression of gratitude
    Grizzle: to complain
    Grue: a shudder of fear
    Guttler: one that guttles (eats rapidly)
    Gybe: to shift from side to side while sailing
    Gyre: to move in a circle or spiral
    Hadal: pertaining to deep parts of the ocean
    Hafter: one that hafts
    Hamartia: a defect of character

(Pages 239–252)
2 Comments
Dave Steck
5/7/2014 02:54:58 pm

Hey, I remember as a kid reading Robert Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land" which coined the word "Grok". It became very popular, a cool lingo. There were T-Shirts saying "I Grok Spock".

Reply
Jamie Zvirzdin link
5/7/2014 03:44:45 pm

Nice! The OED confirms this was the first use: "1961 R. Heinlein Stranger in Strange Land iii. 18 Smith had been aware of the doctors but had grokked that their intentions were benign." Good memory!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Jamie Zvirzdin's

    Writing Blog

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Bennington College
    Book Reviews
    Downloads
    Foreign Service
    Poetry
    Published
    Science
    Word Fun

    Blog Roll

    Archives

    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012


© Jamie Zvirzdin 2021. All Rights Reserved