Topic: Words/Terms you may not have known about

Posted under Off Topic

Just learned about this anatomy adjective:

spinopostzygapophysial ‎(not comparable)

Relating to the spine and the postzygapophysis

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And liminal from @Genjar the other day

Updated by TruckNutz

Hudson

Former Staff

Furrin_Gok said:
Balderdash!

Hudson said: [...] balderdash [...] (OP forum #202295 July 29 2016)

Coincidence?

My Google Translate phrasebook is too rich in saved words, I can't decide which to put here.
I'm also subscribed to TheFreeDictionary's "Word of the Day," which occasionally gives some pretty weird and wacky words.

Updated by anonymous

Anally, Monies, Ellipsis (didn't know the word, just the usage).

Updated by anonymous

Surcingle; sounds like an onomatopoeic death rattle yet could potentially be used as a piece of bondage gear, and somewhat surprised it's not already a tag

Updated by anonymous

I was able to memorize this word because I wrote it in cursive several times: hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, which is the fear of long words.

One word I have a hard time remembering is "aglet," which is the metal or plastic tip of a shoelace.

I have a mind for botany, and I figured out all on my own one day at work that the calla lily (aka arum lily) does not have a petal, but instead a fused sheathing bract called a spathe, which encloses the central flowering spike called the spadix. The bracts, by the way, are the modified leaves that support the petals in most flowers. I felt like a biologist when I confirmed this later that day on Wikipedia haha.

Updated by anonymous

I learned about countershading from this very site, and also anisocoria which I didn't really learn since I had to look it up again just now.

Aeruginis said:
I have a mind for botany, and I figured out all on my own one day at work that the calla lily (aka arum lily) does not have a petal, but instead a fused sheathing bract called a spathe, which encloses the central flowering spike called the spadix. The bracts, by the way, are the modified leaves that support the petals in most flowers. I felt like a biologist when I confirmed this later that day on Wikipedia haha.

You might be interested in this: I saw phyllody in the wild for the first time last week -- a flower on a wild strawberry seedling that had developed leaves instead of petals. Pretty weird.

Updated by anonymous

Aeruginis said:
One word I have a hard time remembering is "aglet," which is the metal or plastic tip of a shoelace.

kinda reminds me of grommets, those little rings they pass through

now that could be a decent character comedy, Aglet & Grommet

Updated by anonymous

Jib, from which the phrase "I like the cut of your jib" is derived. It refers to a type of sail.

It's really interesting how many common terms have nautical origins.

Updated by anonymous

Ratte

Former Staff

doofhoofoof said:
I learned about countershading from this very site, and also anisocoria which I didn't really learn since I had to look it up again just now.

You might be interested in this: I saw phyllody in the wild for the first time last week -- a flower on a wild strawberry seedling that had developed leaves instead of petals. Pretty weird.

There are plants like acacias which will develop phyllodes for petioles, which look like narrow leaves, themselves, and will completely take over photynthetic functions while the leaves are reduced or absent entirely. The genus Acacia is one such group of plants where the utilization of phyllodes is common.

Updated by anonymous

Assuming that by "term," phrases are acceptable examples, I'm going to throw in the expression "balls to the wall." It has nothing to do with male anatomy, contrary to what some think.
It means the same thing as "to go all-out."

Many planes have balls on the throttle. The "wall" in this instance would be the aircraft's firewall. So, when you open the throttle all the way, you have the "balls to the wall." This usage probably started in the Korean War.

Updated by anonymous

doofhoofoof said:
You might be interested in this: I saw phyllody in the wild for the first time last week -- a flower on a wild strawberry seedling that had developed leaves instead of petals. Pretty weird.

Oh wow that's really cool. In all my wanderings I've never seen that occur.

Phylax said:
now that could be a decent character comedy, Aglet & Grommet

There already is such a comedy, sort of—it's called Wallace and Gromit haha.

Ratte said:
The genus Acacia is one such group of plants where the utilization of phyllodes is common.

Now I have seen that. Most interesting. I'd better study this stuff since it's a strong career interest of mine.

Updated by anonymous

Ratte

Former Staff

Aeruginis said:
Now I have seen that. Most interesting. I'd better study this stuff since it's a strong career interest of mine.

Tropical plants are interesting, like the bougainvillea whose flowers are actually small and white while surrounded by brightly-colored leaves to better attract pollinators, the cacao which flowers directly from its trunk and older branches, or the Callistemon genus whose color actually comes from their stamens and not their corolla.

Updated by anonymous

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