I learned that karaoke is a Japanese word, literally translating as "empty orchestra". I've legit thought it was a southern invention all this time, Or, like, I imagined that it was something invented in a saloon in the wild west.
And it's pronounced ka ra okay, not Carry Okie. My students love it when I "correct" them and teach them to say "I went to carryokie last night."
Is it actually still a popular activity among youth? I've never done it myself. EDIT: I guess, now that I think about it, a lot of bars or clubs or whatever usually have a karaoke night when there's no plagues going around.
It's still quite popular in Japan, but it's done in a different style. You and a group of your friends rent a "karaoke box", which is a small room with couches and a big karaoke machine, by the hour. Usually includes free soft drinks and there are all-you-can-drink alcohol options as well. Right now the state of emergency has been lifted nationwide, but the karaoke boxes, pachinko parlors, and gyms are still closed.
stot (v): per Wikipedia: Stotting (also called pronking or pronging) is a behavior of quadrupeds, particularly gazelles, in which they spring into the air, lifting all four feet off the ground simultaneously. Usually, the legs are held in a relatively stiff position. Many explanations of stotting have been proposed; there is evidence that at least in some cases it is an honest signal to predators that the stotting animal would be difficult to catch.
That looks a lot like what foxes will do in the snow to catch their prey unawares. It might not be called Stotting, because they come in face first. And looking at these pics, they're not stiff-legging it. I wonder if there's a name for this? Besides face-planting I mean.
Nose-diving.^ As a fox, I would know. In fact, the infamous stuka took note of our awesome strategy. I might catch some flak for this one.
Stuka dive-bombers are pretty much the coolest thing ever invented. We haven't surpassed them, really.
^World War II should've been the war to end all wars, but that poor dead horse keeps getting beaten worse than Star Wars. Give it a rest, fucking money-grubbers.
There's a beautiful thread somewhere on The Straight Dope Message board where they prove that WWII never happened. Tongue in cheek, of course.
I already commented this on your status, but I truly think you'll appreciate this. It's a WWII short-film about the little known Operation Overweeb and Operation Senpai Market. The acting is world-class. The sequel is surprisingly good too. And you thought Girls und Panzer was degenerate. PFFT-
Not new, but I believe that the etymology is worthy the read: Idiot: (n). A stupid person Etymology: Wiki: The word "idiot" comes from the Greek noun ἰδιώτης idiōtēs 'a private person, individual', 'a private citizen' (as opposed to an official), 'a common man', 'a person lacking professional skill, layman', later 'unskilled', 'ignorant', derived from the adjective ἴδιος idios 'private', 'one's own'. In Latin, idiota was borrowed in the meaning 'uneducated', 'ignorant', 'common', and in Late Latin came to mean 'crude, illiterate, ignorant'. In French, it kept the meaning of 'illiterate', 'ignorant', and added the meaning 'stupid' in the 13th century. In English, it added the meaning 'mentally deficient' in the 14th century. Many political commentators, starting as early as 1856, have interpreted the word "idiot" as reflecting the Ancient Greeks' attitudes to civic participation and private life, combining the ancient meaning of 'private citizen' with the modern meaning 'fool' to conclude that the Greeks used the word to say that it is selfish and foolish not to participate in public life. But this is not how the Greeks used the word. It is certainly true that the Greeks valued civic participation and criticized non-participation. Thucydides quotes Pericles' Funeral Oration as saying: "[we] regard... him who takes no part in these [public] duties not as unambitious but as useless" (τόν τε μηδὲν τῶνδε μετέχοντα οὐκ ἀπράγμονα, ἀλλ᾽ ἀχρεῖον νομίζομεν). However, neither he nor any other ancient author uses the word "idiot" to describe non-participants, or in a derogatory sense; its most common use was simply a private citizen or amateur as opposed to a government official, professional, or expert. The derogatory sense came centuries later, and was unrelated to the political meaning. Another source: In ancient Greek society, an idiotes was a layperson who lacked professional skills. The idiot contributed nothing to public life or the common good. His existence depended on the skill and labor of others; he was a leech sucking the lifeblood from the social body. Related to this, idiocy (from the root idios, “one’s own”) was the state of a private or self-centered person. This contrasted with the status of the public citizen, or polites, such that to be an idiot was to be withdrawn, isolated and selfish, to not participate in the public, political life of the city-state. In Greek society, the condition of idiocy was seen as peculiar and strange (a meaning that is retained in the English word “idiosyncratic”); thus “idiot” was a term of reproach and disdain.
Appetence [ ap-i-tuh ns ] noun 1. intense desire; strong natural craving; appetite. 2. instinctive inclination or natural tendency. 3. material or chemical attraction or affinity.
This isn’t strictly a new word, but it is a word with an alternative meaning I didn’t know existed. It came about while doing the cryptic crossword in the paper. The clue was ‘Sublime’ and even with 4 of the 5 letters already there I was stumped. The answer was ‘noble’ and it turns out sublime can mean ‘Of high spiritual, moral, or intellectual worth.‘ “Oh, he was a perfect gentleman. He was very sublime.” Doesn’t sound right to me.
"irrigardless" i cant even be mad.... Language evolves. I dont use it, but it becoming a word/acceptable is news to me. But.....if "conversate" becomes a word, im throwing away the whole language
I facepalmed the first time i heard an American say they got "burglarized," to be honest. "You mean, you got burgled?" Why the need for un-necessary added letters?
It makes sense when you realize that it comes from burglary, with just an added suffix. Anyway, burglarize is actually the older form, used in both the UK and America.
Irrigardless, I cant even be mad.... Languages evolve. *laughs and runs behind the couch, awaiting @J.T. Woody 's wrath*
