Tag: Dictionary Dude

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Cold, Dead Corpse…And You Did Not Call Me On It

I was expecting at least one or two people – JMR aka Dictionary Dude – to call me on a turn of phrase in a recent blog posting: Matrimonial Log – Star Date 5784.045

In this posting I used the following words: “…only to find a cold, dead corpse headed toward rigor mortis laying next to you the next morning.”

A corpse by definition is dead, therefore part of the phrase is redundant, if not repetitious.  But on the other hand, if you do a Google search on the word string “cold dead corpse”, it is everywhere you do not want to be. Essentially it is a very common way of expressing this situation. Ahh… language.

Next thing you know, I will be sharing dad jokes.

Just saying.

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #2,039

yeah I know you did not ask!

Funny how the meaning of words can change over time.

Reginald gaily ejaculated his approbation of the proposition for dining alfresco.

Read in a Victorian novel the previous line would have been perfectly acceptable even somewhat trite.  Now days you would be hotly ejaculating, “Tsk, tsk, please do not send me anymore of your porn.”

Yup, that one was very random!

 

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Word for the Day – Dues ex machina

Dues ex machina

  • Noun:
    1. a character or thing that suddenly enters the story in a novel, play, movie, etc., and solves a problem that had previously seemed impossible to solve
    2. a god introduced by means of a crane in ancient Greek and Roman drama to decide the final outcome
  • Synonyms:
    1. contrivance
    2. gimmick
  • Usage:
    1. Some folks consider Poe’s abrupt ending of The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket a deus ex machina.
  • Encountered:
    1. A comment on my blog by the Dictionary Dude

To see more Words of Day, visit this link: Word of the Day