Yes, well, there’s a lot to say, but my mind is running off in all directions at once so I’ll stick to my ever-accumulating mass of words stuck on Post-It Notes. I just caught a glimpse of the obituary of the man who invented the glue for Post-It Notes —by accident, as I remember. He wanted a strong adhesive and came up with a gentle one that turned out to serve on gentle reminders for thousands of people.
Arthur Fry (born 19 August 1931) is —was—an American former inventor and scientist. He is credited as the co-creator of the Post-it Note, an item of office stationery manufactured by 3M. As of 2006, Post-it products are sold in more than 100 countries.
con·ur·ba·tion, noun: an extended urban area, typically consisting of several towns merging with the suburbs of one or more cities: the major conurbations of London and Birmingham. ORIGIN early 20th century: from con- ‘together’ + Latin urbs, urb- ‘city’ + -ation.
coruscating, adjective: 1 flashing; sparkling: a coruscating kaleidoscope of colors. • brilliant or striking in content or style: the play's coruscating wit. 2 severely critical; scathing: his coruscating attack on the Prime Minister | a coruscating denunciation of political opportunism. cor·us·cate, verb [no object] literary (of light) flash or sparkle: the light was coruscating from the walls. DERIVATIVES coruscation, |noun . ORIGIN early 18th century: from Latin coruscat- ‘glittered’, from the verb coruscare.
entablature, noun: Architecture a horizontal, continuous lintel on a classical building supported by columns or a wall, comprising the architrave, frieze, and cornice. ORIGINearly 17th century (formerly also as intablature): from Italian intavolatura ‘boarding’ (partly via French entablement ‘entablement’), from intavolare ‘board up’ (based on tavola ‘table’).
asphodel, noun: 1 a Eurasian plant of the lily family, typically having long slender leaves and flowers borne on a spike. Genera Asphodelus and Asphodeline, family Liliaceae. See also bog asphodel. 2 literary an immortal flower said to grow in the Elysian fields. ORIGIN late Middle English: via Latin from Greek asphodelos; compare with daffodil.
revanchist, re·vanch·ism, noun: a policy of seeking to retaliate, especially to recover lost territory: a recipe for deep future resentment, revanchism and renewed conflict. DERIVATIVES revanchist, adjective & noun ORIGIN 1950s: from French revanche, ‘revenge’+ -ism.
ciborium, noun (plural ciboria) 1 a receptacle shaped like a shrine or a cup with an arched cover, used in the Christian Church for the reservation of the Eucharist. 2 a canopy over an altar in a church, standing on four pillars. ORIGIN mid 16th century: via medieval Latin from Greek kibōrion ‘seed vessel of the water lily or a cup made from it’. ciborium (sense 1) is probably influenced by Latin cibus ‘food’.
sfumato, (sfo͞oˈmädō), noun: Art - the technique of allowing tones and colors to shade gradually into one another, producing softened outlines or hazy forms. ORIGIN mid 19th century: Italian, literally ‘shaded off’, past participle of sfumare.
implicature, noun: the action of implying a meaning beyond the literal sense of what is explicitly stated, e.g., saying the frame is nice and implying I don't like the picture in it. • a meaning so implied. ILIKE THIS ONE!
nargile, noun: an oriental tobacco pipe with a long tube that draws the smoke through water; a hookah. 18th century: from Persian nārgīl ‘coconut, hookah’, from Sanskrit nārikela ‘coconut’.
khedive, noun: the title of the viceroy of Egypt under Turkish rule 1867–1914. DERIVATIVES khedival, adjective: khedivial -ˈ adjective ORIGIN via French from Ottoman Turkish ḵediv, from Persian ḵadiw ‘prince’ (variant of ḵudaiw ‘minor god’, from ḵudā ‘god’).
faience, noun: glazed ceramic ware, in particular decorated tin-glazed earthenware of the type which includes delftware and maiolica: [as modifier] : faience figurines. ORIGIN late 17th century (originally denoting pottery made at Faenza): from French faïence, from Faïence, the French name for Faenza.
enfilade, noun: 1 a volley of gunfire directed along a line from end to end: they were mown down by an enfilade of artillery. 2 a suite of rooms with doorways in line with each other. verb [with object] direct a volley of gunfire along the length of (a target): a sweeping crossfire enfiladed our riflemen. ORIGIN early 18th century (denoting the position of a military post commanding the length of a line): from French, from enfiler ‘thread on a string, pierce from end to end’, from en- ‘in, on’ + fil ‘thread’.
bedizened, adjective: literary , dressed up or decorated gaudily: a dress bedizened with resplendent military medals. ORIGIN mid 17th century: from be- (as an intensifier) + obsolete dizen ‘deck out’, probably of Dutch origin.
antimony, noun: the chemical element of atomic number 51, a brittle silvery-white metalloid. (Symbol: Sb) Antimony was known from ancient times; the naturally occurring black sulphide was used as the cosmetic kohl. The element is used in alloys, usually with lead, such as pewter, type metal, and Britannia metal. DERIVATIVES antimonial, adjective antimonic, adjective antimonious, adjective ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting stibnite, the most common ore of the metal): from medieval Latin antimonium, of unknown origin. The current sense dates from the early 19th century. [This is not what I expected.]
corvée, noun: historical , a day's unpaid labor owed by a vassal to his feudal lord. • forced labor exacted in lieu of taxes, in particular that on public roads: they still force the peasants to do corvée. ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French, based on Latin corrogare ‘ask for, collect’. Rare in English before the late 18th century. [I think I do a form of corvée—for my family and friends.]
salmagundi, noun: (plural salmagundis) a dish of chopped meat, anchovies, eggs, onions, and seasoning. • a general mixture; a miscellaneous collection. ORIGIN from French salmigondis, of unknown origin. [I thought this was a kind of party. It pays to look things up.]
I’m going to bed now.