Fauxcellarm

I totally get this.

It is basically the same as the word 'ringxiety', but I like fauxcellarm much more.

Here is the wikipedia entry for ringxiety.

Ringxiety is a portmanteau neologism formed from the words "ringer" and "anxiety." It was first coined by David Laramie, a doctoral student at the California School of Professional Psychology, whose dissertation concerned the effects of cell phones on behavior. Ringxiety is described as the sensation and the false belief that one can hear his or her mobile phone ringing or feel it vibrating, when in fact the telephone is not doing so. Other terms for this concept include phantom ring effect and fauxcellarm. It can also be generalized to describe the sensation of hearing one's phone or doorbell ring while doing such things as taking a shower, watching television, or using a noisy device. The reasoning for this relates partially to the idea that humans are particularly sensitive to auditory tones between 1,000 and 6,000 hertz, and basic mobile phone ringers often fall within this range. This frequency range can generally be more difficult to locate spatially, thus allowing for potential confusion when heard from a distance. False vibrations are less well understood, however, and could have psychological or neurological sources.

OK, it isn't a real word yet but I like it already. I'm not usually an early-adopter, but this one is going straight into the vocabulary

Quagmire

quagmire \KWAG-myr; KWOG-\, noun:
1. Soft, wet, miry land that shakes or yields under the feet.
2. A difficult or precarious position or situation; a predicament.
3. Our driveway.

Quagmire is from quag, a dialectical variant of quake (from Old English cwacian) + mire, from Old Norse myrr, "a swamp."

Visual onomatopoeia

Ewen's got me thinking now. Are there any words that look like their meaning? Hmmm, I know that there are basically two ways of processing language. Most people see or feel the object/meaning/emotion in their head and then associate a word with it. Less commonly, people actually see words in their head. I have heard that some savants associate letters or numbers as images in their head, so a certain number or word forms a "picture" in their head. But this doesn't necessarily translate to what the word means. I'd love to look into this a lot further, but I don't really have the time right now. If anyone can think of anything, I'd love to know.

I think the onomatopoeic word for "the wheels falling off" is clunk.

I am considering taking up hockey again next year. I'm just trying to work out if the two sports are compatible. Running a half marathon or more the day after a premier league game might not be all that much fun, especially if I play midfield where there is more running. If I play fullback, then there is always more opportunity to get hit by balls/sticks which mightn't be too good for running either. Add to that the fact that I always used to get injured a lot more in hockey than in running and it doesn't sound all that appealing.

Went for a short run last night to loosen up the legs and it seems to have done the trick. The DOMS is a lot better today.

Onomatopoeia

Since Ewen has brought it up, I shall reveal my next word: Onomatopoeia.

The formation or use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.
From the Greek word onomatopoios, coiner of names: onomat-, name + poiein, to make.
Words are formed in many different ways, but one of the most fascinating is the tendency to create words that reflect the sound an object makes. This so-called onomatopoeic approach has produced dozens of English words, including splash, buzz, murmur, meow, chirp, hiss, sizzle, neigh, whinny, bang and cock-a-doodle-do.

C2B

Lock me in Eddie. I'm entered into the city to bay on Sunday. I'm hoping to go under 45 minutes. That would get me close to top 100, which I think should qualify me for the elite start next year. I was hoping to get into the elite start this year based on a 10km time from early this year, but the elite spots have been allocated already.

The pace I ran for Corporate cup yesterday morning (16:49 for 4.5km) would just get me under 45. Although I was really pushing it, it was essentially an individual time-trial. I'm hoping the racing conditions might pull me along a bit too.

I'll try to get to the start early for a good position. I won't be able to hang around at the end to chat to CRs and SARRC friends because I've got to get back to work straight away.

Supple - part 2

Q: What does this word make you think of?

A: Me - soft leather gloves or shoes.
My female officemate - breasts (I know, I couldn't believe it either).
Others - breasts x3, bendy flexible type person x5 (assuming this is what Ewen meant), strange NZ dialect for imbibing x1.

So I'm weird OK.

Not so supple: me after running 25km yesterday morning. I was intending to run about 15km, but I got a bit carried away with things. It was not easy and I was hurting by the last 5km. The achilles seems to have held up, it's just the rest of the body that's sore now!

OK, make that crazy too.

Supple

Q: What does this word make you think of?

My answer and my officemate's totally different (and unexpected) answer will be revealed next week, but what do my readers think?

Enough entries for today.

Kibosh

As in, to put the kibosh on. Not my favourite word but an interesting one, mainly because the origin of this word is largely unknown. There are a few theories as to it's origin, but none have been proven.

Anyway, I'm considering putting the kibosh on my aspirations of going in the City 2 Bay this year, not because I'm injured or because I wouldn't make the PB, but because of constraints on time and money. I may go past the course on my way into uni to watch the leaders go by. I probably would have time to go in the race, but by the time I've finished, cooled down, had a shower and travelled back into uni, most of the day would be gone. The chief financial officer has also expressed concerns about the cost of entry, although I should be able to find $20 somewhere. I'll think about it.

Here is the Oxford definition of kibosh.

[Origin obscure. (It has been stated to be Yiddish or Anglo-Hebraic: see N. & Q. 9th ser. VII. 10.)]
1. In phr. to put the kibosh on: to dispose of finally, finish off, do for.
1836 DICKENS Sk. Boz, Seven Dials, ‘Hoo-roar’, ejaculates a pot-boy in a parenthesis, ‘put the kye-bosk [sic] on her, Mary’. 1846 Swell's Night Guide 124 Kybosh on, to put the, to turn the tables on any person, to put out of countenance. 1856 Punch XXXI. 139 (To put the cibosh upon). 1891 C. ROBERTS Adrift in America 9 It was attending one of these affairs which finally put the ‘kibosh’ on me. 1896 H. G. WELLS Wheels of Chance xli, ‘I put the kybosh on his little game,’ he remarks. 1924 Chambers's Jrnl. May 296/2 Standofer's fairly put the kybosh on us this time. 1952 J. CLEARY Sundowners iii. 122 Well, that puts the kybosh on it. 1956 H. G. DE LISSER Cup & Lip xxii. 246 Good for you... You have put the kybosh on them. 1971 Times Lit. Suppl. 7 May 531/2 Not only did the First World War liquidate the Edwardian douceur de vivre. It also put the kybosh on the rationalist's faith in progressive social evolution. 1975 Sunday Post (Glasgow) 10 Aug. 7/3 She'd been looking forward to some salmon fishing, but the heatwave's put the kybosh on that.

Interconnectedness

This word made me laugh, not because of the meaning found in the dictionary:

"in·ter·con·nect ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ntr-k-nkt)v. in·ter·con·nect·ed, in·ter·con·nect·ing, in·ter·con·nects v. intr.
To be connected with each other: The two buildings interconnect. v. tr.
To connect reciprocally: tried to interconnect the two theories.
inter·con·nected·ness n. inter·con·necti·ble or inter·con·necta·ble adj. inter·con·nection n."

But, because of the definition that my supervisor found in wikipedia:

"Interconnectedness is one of many concepts gaining popularity as part of the terminology of a worldview which sees a oneness in all things. A similar term, interdependence, is sometimes used instead, although there are slightly different connotations. Both terms tend to refer to the idea that all things are of a single underlying substance and reality, and that there is no true separation deeper than appearances. Some feel that 'interconnectedness' and similar terms are part of a contemporary lexicon of mysticism, which is based on the same core idea of universal oneness.
Science is coming to the view that everything in this universe is interconnected. A thing exists because there is an observer. Everything is made up of either energies or particles that flit in and out of existence at the quantum level. These particles can be thought of as events in an endless expanse of possibilities. The very act of observation makes them concrete. The universe seems to be a virtual world where everything exists as waves which assumes particulate forms when observed. The line between the observer and the observed seems to blur at the level of sentient beings like humans which can assume the role of both the observer and the observed simultaneously."

Which is one of the biggest loads of bullshit I've ever heard.

Contretemps

Love this word. 1) It isn't pronounced as it it is spelled. 2) I love english words "borrowed" from other languages (I suppose they are all from other languages, but some seem more recent). 3) It just sounds good, especially if you put on a strong French accent. 4) It's a nice sounding way to describe a stuff-up.

contretemps \KAHN-truh-tahn\, noun; plural contretemps \-tahnz\:

An inopportune or embarrassing situation or event; a hitch.

Mrs. Post was the center of a notable contretemps when she spilled a spoonful of berries at a dinner of the Gourmet Society here in 1938. -- "Emily Post Is Dead Here at 86; Writer was Arbiter of Etiquette", New York Times, September 27, 1960

He looked worried, distressed, more distressed than one should look in the face of a slight contretemps. -- Anita Brookner, Undue Influence

Nathan was a fiercely ambitious and competitive man, as quick to take offenceas to give it in his business dealings, and it is not difficult to imagine him responding impetuously to such a contretemps. -- Niall Ferguson, The House of Rothschild

Spoonerisms

Was talking about spoonerisms with a friend at work today and decided to look a few more up. Anyway, a search on google led me to this web page - Fun with Words - which along with many spoonerisms, had dozens of other language manipulation topics including anagrams, Mondegreens and tonguetwisters. I hope you enjoy it, it really brightened up my day.

Croweater

Tesso asked about the nickname for South Australians. As I commented in her blog, we are the croweaters. I have been a proud croweater all my life, but it occurred to me that I didn't actually know why we are called that. I had a rough idea of what it might be, and as it turns out I was nearly right. I thought I'd make it one of my words, not because it has been a favourite word of mine, just because I find it intriguing.

Wikipedia entry:
Croweater is an Australian slang term for people from South Australia. Early settlers often ate the breast meat of crows, parrots and cockatoos when there was a shortage of red meat and the term croweater entered the lexicon in the late 1800s. The term is not considered derogatory.

Now for running news. Yesterday I went for a run at lunchtime. I ran across to the uni loop (2.2km loop) and ran three laps. As I was running, I noticed that my HR was quite high. I wasn't sure if this was due to lost fitness or running too fast. It turns out it may have been a bit of both. In my haste to get out and finally do some running I ran around 4:10-4:20/km which is a lot faster than my usual steady runs. My average HR for each lap was 165, 163 and 167 and the times were 9:31, 9:15 and 9:31. I had the achilles strapped up and it felt fine. The legs still feel OK today, so I think I may be on the way back. Even so, I will make sure I take things slowly.

I did some strength work again this morning which felt really good. I have taken up a new approach to sleep after reading this article. I am going to bed only when I feel tired and setting the alarm for 5:30am every morning. I started on Sunday morning so I could take advantage of the end of daylight savings. Getting up this early was difficult for the first few days, but it has given me more time to get ready and do other things in the morning. I have also found that I am actually tired at night and ready to sleep instead of staying up past midnight and still not feeling tired. As suggested in the article, I'm going to give this approach 30 days to see how it goes, but as I said, I've already seen some benefits.

Serendipity

The word for today is serendipity. I'll leave the history of the word for the reference below. The reason I like the word is because it conveys a sense of more than just luck in making a discovery, but also the skill to recognise something of benefit. You could call it a combination of fortune and perception. It takes nothing to receive something by luck, but it is truly serendipitous to be on a path that leads to an accident in the first place, and then to perceive that the accident is of benefit. I guess what it says to me is that you make your own luck.


ser·en·dip·i·ty ( P ) Pronunciation Key (srn-dp-t)n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties

The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
An instance of making such a discovery.

[From the characters in the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip, who made such discoveries, from Persian Sarandp, Sri Lanka, from Arabic sarandb.]

seren·dipi·tous adj. seren·dipi·tous·ly adv.

Word History: We are indebted to the English author Horace Walpole for the word serendipity, which he coined in one of the 3,000 or more letters on which his literary reputation primarily rests. In a letter of January 28, 1754, Walpole says that “this discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word.” Walpole formed the word on an old name for Sri Lanka, Serendip. He explained that this name was part of the title of “a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of....”

What is the word for...

that chalky yucky feeling you get in your mouth when you eat an unripe banana? You know the one, where you screw your face up and try to suck the leftover banana residue out of your mouth whilst making a silly sucking noise.

I've been savouring my 'nanies lately in the event that the destruction of the banana crop by cyclone Larry will push the price of the remaining crops through the roof into luxury status. They're already $5/kilo, up from $2-3/kilo, but they are still good quality. It's times like these that you start to appreciate what you've previously taken for granted. I generally eat a banana a day. I wonder what price I'll pay to continue this habit?

Almost over the cold. Achilles is feeling a lot better. Might take one more weekend off just for good measure.

Tautology

Today is the first day that I have felt real improvement with my leg. There is still soreness in the muscle on the inside of my lower leg, but the achilles isn't feeling tight and "funny" and the tingles have gone. I've done a few weights sessions now and I think that will help my much neglected core strength a lot. Feeling a bit depressed that I haven't run for a week and I couldn't do my long run, especially seeing all the inspirational running in the marathon and the triathlon.

Today's word is dedicated to the appalling abuse of language by the commentators at channel nine. Along with their overuse of cliches, numerous errors of logic, ridiculous parochialism and continual mispronunciation of names, the nine commentators have managed to take tautology to new levels. I'm sure their mission statement reads: "If we can't find a superlative, we'll make one up". This word is very important to me because it reminds me to say exactly what I mean.

tau·tol·o·gy ( P ) Pronunciation Key (tô-tl-j)n. pl. tau·tol·o·gies
Needless repetition of the same sense in different words; redundancy.
An instance of such repetition.
Logic. An empty or vacuous statement composed of simpler statements in a fashion that makes it logically true whether the simpler statements are factually true or false; for example, the statement Either it will rain tomorrow or it will not rain tomorrow.

Vulgar

Still injured. Have done a couple of weights sessions and my muscles are telling me all about it. Not very happy about not being able to run. I'm sure my leg actually felt worse yesterday than the previous three days rest. It feels a bit better today, so hopefully things are on the way up. Plenty of stretching and massage now and some strengthening exercises when all the soreness is gone. I'm thinking about doing some riding to keep the fitness up. I'll get the bike out tomorrow and see if I can get it to work.

My word today is vulgar. It's not quite the correct descriptor for how my leg feels, but it is close. I like the word vulgar because of the repulsion it can illicit. After reading the history of the word, it might make me sound a bit pretentious.

vul·gar ( P ) Pronunciation Key (vlgr)adj.

Crudely indecent.
Deficient in taste, delicacy, or refinement.
Marked by a lack of good breeding; boorish. See Synonyms at common.
Offensively excessive in self-display or expenditure; ostentatious: the huge vulgar houses and cars of the newly rich.
Spoken by or expressed in language spoken by the common people; vernacular: the technical and vulgar names for an animal species.
Of or associated with the great masses of people; common.

[Middle English, from Latin vulgris, from vulgus, the common people.]
vulgar·ly adv. vulgar·ness n.

Word History: The word vulgar now brings to mind off-color jokes and offensive epithets, but it once had more neutral meanings. Vulgar is an example of pejoration, the process by which a word develops negative meanings over time. The ancestor of vulgar, the Latin word vulgris (from vulgus, “the common people”), meant “of or belonging to the common people, everyday,” as well as “belonging to or associated with the lower orders.” Vulgris also meant “ordinary,” “common (of vocabulary, for example),” and “shared by all.” An extension of this meaning was “sexually promiscuous,” a sense that could have led to the English sense of “indecent.” Our word, first recorded in a work composed in 1391, entered English during the Middle English period, and in Middle English and later English we find not only the senses of the Latin word mentioned above but also related senses. What is common may be seen as debased, and in the 17th century we begin to find instances of vulgar that make explicit what had been implicit. Vulgar then came to mean “deficient in taste, delicacy, or refinement.” From such uses vulgar has continued to go downhill, and at present “crudely indecent” is among the commonest senses of the word.

I'm injured/Reciprocity

I'm injured.
There, I said it. I've been denying it for almost two weeks now (and as my dad always says, denial isn't just a river in Egypt). The injury isn't bad and it really doesn't hurt too much, but something isn't right with my achilles/calf. It feels tight and knotted; almost like it is ready to tear at some moment. I don't want to continue running and wait for that moment. I'll be taking at least this week off to make sure it gets better. In the meantime I think I'll try and do some weights and much-needed core strengthening.

Today's word is relevant to my blogging activity. The word is reciprocity and I'm guilty of showing a lack of it. I am very busy at work at the moment and I haven't been able to return many of the comments on my blog or keep up with reading everyone's blogs on bloglines. So sorry for my lack of reciprocity.

rec·i·proc·i·ty ( P ) Pronunciation Key n. pl. rec·i·proc·i·ties
A reciprocal condition or relationship.
A mutual or cooperative interchange of favors or privileges, especially the exchange of rights or privileges of trade between nations.

reciprocity
n 1: a relation of mutual dependence or action or influence [syn: reciprocality] 2: mutual exchange of commercial or other privileges

[From Latin reciprocus, alternating. See per1 in Indo-European Roots.]

Eclectic

Just realised I haven't logged what I have done in the last week. On Tuesday I had an easy 5km. Wednesday I ran into uni a little harder (10.5km). Thursday morning we did Mona fartlek (well done the Steve on Australia's Brainiest last night). Friday I did a recovery run from home to uni. And yesterday I went for a 21km long run. The achilles and calf are still feeling not 100%, but still no real pain. The run didn't feel too good. I just felt a bit flat in the legs and kind of struggled over the 21km. I was glad when I got back to the start. The calf was feeling a bit sorer today but felt much better after a good stretch. I'll push on and see how training goes this week.

Now to my next word. I had hinted that the next word would be "vulgar", but that will have to wait for next week. Today it is eclectic. I like it because it describes my tastes and my way of life in general. I particularly like the usage of the word as a noun and hope that one day people apply it to me. Also, this week I have included the derivation of the word because it always interests me where words have come from and how they came to be part of our language. I may have to go back and add the derivation of my previous words.

e·clec·tic ( P ) Pronunciation Key adj.

Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles: an eclectic taste in music; an eclectic approach to managing the economy.

Made up of or combining elements from a variety of sources: “a popular bar patronized by an eclectic collection of artists, writers, secretaries and aging soldiers on reserve duty” (Curtis Wilkie).

n. One that follows an eclectic method.

[Greek eklektikos, selective, from eklektos, selected, from eklegein, to select : ek-, out; see ecto- + legein, to gather; see leg- in Indo-European Roots.]

PS. Well done to everyone who ran the Six Foot Track Ultramarathon on Saturday. Phil, it sounds like you had a real battle out there.

Toilette

Ever wanted a better word for the vulgar phrase (vulgar is also another favourite word of mine - stay tuned) "shit, shave and shower"? Well, toilette is it. It is a polite way of saying that you have performed your daily ritual of cleaning and making yourself look and smell good. It may also be a sneaky way of commenting on someone's cleanliness and smell, eg. "He/she had a rather unpleasant toilette". I suppose it is a fairly old-fashioned word, but in this world of newly fabricated, re-defined and lost words, I believe that some deserve to be preserved.


toi·lette ( P ) Pronunciation Key (twä-let)n.
The act or process of dressing or grooming oneself; toilet.
A person's dress or style of dress.
A gown or costume.

Idiosyncrasy

I like to use this word because we are all unavoidably different. Plus it is a really polite way to say that someone is just plain weird. Eg "He certainly has his idiosyncrasies".

Idiosyncrasy
n : a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual [syn: foible, mannerism]

id·i·o·syn·cra·sy (d--sngkr-s)n.
A structural or behavioral trait peculiar to an individual or a group.
A physiological or temperamental peculiarity.
An unusual individual reaction to food or a drug.



Ran home last night. Legs were really sore. Feeling a little niggle in my right achilles. Running home tonight to see how it feels. Hopefully I'll be able to do a light speed session tomorrow.

Speedwork/Revovery/Pert

Had a light speedwork session yesterday to get the legs turning over quickly. Did a couple of km warmup, then 5x400 reps at 1:21 to 1:25 pace with 200m slow recovery between reps then a short break and then 5 more of the same. Finished with a couple more km warmdown and run over to the cafe where we have breakfast.

This morning I ran into SARDI 6km as a recovery run from yesterday. I'll have 48 hours to recover for the 10km race on Sunday morning.

Sunday after the race I will be going to work at SARDI for the open day. If anyone in Adelaide is interested, here are the details.

Next word: Pert. Not the brand of shampoo, although I have used it in the past (before long hair). It's one of those words that just snaps cleanly off the tongue. It gives a feeling of no-nonsense boldness and fun.

pert ( P ) (pûrt)adj. pert·er, pert·est
Trim and stylish in appearance; jaunty: a pert hat.
High-spirited; vivacious.
Impudently bold; saucy.