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Monday Word: Goyle

goyle [or goyal] [gȯi(ə)l]

noun

dialectal, England: a steep narrow valley : RAVINE, GULLY

examples

1. These, though known for their valour and their breed, were whimpering in a cluster at the head of a deep dip or goyal, as we call it, upon the moor. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

2. In front, where a goyle runs up to a hollow of the hill, the ground has been cleared of wood, and the forest of tall teazle-tops is full of goldfinches, flying from seed-head to seed-head, too tame to mind the noise or care for anything but their breakfast. The Naturalist on the Thames 1882

origins

Unknown. Its earliest known use dates back to the early 1600s, with the first recorded instance in 1617 by John Lane. The word is possibly derived from the term "gool," which also refers to a gully or depression. Found (initially) in the dialects of Somerset and Devon.

goyle

conglobate

conglobate (kon-GLOH-bayt, KONG-gloh-bayt) - v., to form into a round compact mass. adj., shaped like a ball.

To conglobe, to use its older synonym. This is Latinate, obvs., taken around 1630 from Latin conglobātus, the perfect passive participial of conglobō, gather into a ball/crowd together, from con-, together + globus, ball + a verb-forming suffix. And yes, we also get globe from globus.

---L.

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DC: Jason Todd-centric Exchange 2025

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Sunday Word: Magniloquent

magniloquent [mag-nil-uh-kwuhnt]

adjective:
speaking or expressed in a lofty or grandiose style; pompous; bombastic; boastful

(click to enlarge)
Examples:

His star power is based on brains and brawn; he can recite magniloquent phrases while also giving the impression that he could fillet an enemy, Jason Bourne style, armed with only a Bic pen (Jody Rosen, Why Is Matt Damon Shilling for Crypto?, New York Times, February 2022)

The revealing, magniloquent letter is one of more than 1,600 records and documents relating to George IV from the Royal Archives published online for the first time. (Mark Brown, Letters shed light on lovelorn prince who became George IV, The Guardian, October 2019)

In such magniloquent language did the doctor describe the very simple process of fixing a door to the top landing of the house, which gave her the floor to herself. (Edgar Wallace, The Hand of Power)

His magniloquent western name was the moral umbrella upon which he balanced the fine problem of his finances. He was widely respected. (James Joyce, Dubliners)

It was empty, magniloquent, abstract, flatulent, pretentious, confused, and sub-human. I could have wept salt tears. But I couldn't do anything else; the young man wanted a clean heart and a new spirit, not a little top-dressing. (Logan Pearsall Smith, Unforgotten Years)

Origin:

1650s, a back-formation from magniloquence, or else from Latin magniloquentia 'lofty style of language,' from magniloquus 'pompous in talk, vaunting, boastful,' from combining form of magnus 'great' (from PIE root meg- 'great') + -loquus 'speaking,' from loqui 'to speak' (from PIE root tolkw- 'to speak'). Wycliffe (late 14c) translates Latin magniloquam as 'speechy'. (Online Etymology Dictionary)

Magnus means 'great' in Latin; loqui is a Latin verb meaning 'to speak.' Combine the two and you get magniloquus, the Latin predecessor of magniloquent. English-speakers started using magniloquent in the 1600s, despite having had its synonym grandiloquent since the 1500s. (Grandiloquent comes from Latin grandiloquus, which combines loqui and grandis, another word for 'great' in Latin.) Today, these synonyms continue to exist side by side and to be used interchangeably, though grandiloquent is the more common of the two. (Merriam-Webster)

Current Mood: accomplished

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dessert

Recipe: "Dark Chocolate Brownies with Raspberry Spread"

I made these tonight.

"Dark Chocolate Brownies with Raspberry Spread"

Ingredients for Brownie Batter:
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/3 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala Itty Bitters
1/3 cup Bettergoods Raspberry, Cardamom, and Rose Fruit Spread

( Read more... )

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MARVEL UNIVERSE: CAP-IRONMAN Big Bang 2025

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Just Create - Monitor Edition

What are you working on? What have you finished? What do you need encouragement on?

Are there any cool events or challenges happening that you want to hype?

What do you just want to talk about?

What have you been watching or reading?

Chores and other not-fun things count!

Remember to encourage other commenters and we have a discord where we can do work-alongs and chat, linked in the sticky

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salad,
seafood

Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Corn and Tomatoes

Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Corn and Tomatoes
Total time: 30 mins Servings: 4
Storage: Refrigerate the shrimp for up to 2 days; the sauce for up to 4 days.

Ingredients

For the sauce
2 cups (2 1/2 ounces) packed fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
2 scallions, coarsely chopped
2 serrano peppers, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
Water, as needed

For the salad
2 ripe avocados (11 ounces total)
1 cup frozen corn kernels, defrosted and chilled
1 cup (6 ounces) grape tomatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
1 pound peeled and deveined, cooked, chilled jumbo shrimp (16-20 count)

Steps

1. Make the sauce: In a blender, place the cilantro, scallions, serrano peppers, mayonnaise, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, vinegar and salt and blend on low to combine, then increase to high and blend until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. Taste, and season with additional salt, if needed. You should have a scant 1 cup.
2. Make the salad: Halve, pit and peel the avocados, and place the flesh of 1/2 an avocado onto each of the 4 serving plates; mash it with a fork. Top each with 1/4 cup each corn and tomatoes, and some of the red onion, then drizzle with the lime juice and sprinkle with salt.
3. Place 4 to 5 shrimp on top of each mound, then spoon the sauce over and serve.

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New Comm to OPEN FIRST ROUND SOON!

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empyrean

empyrean (em-puh-REE-uhn, em-pay-REE-uhn, em-PIR-ee-uhn, em-PAY-ree-uhn) - n., in ancient cosmologies, the highest heaven, believed to be a realm of pure fire or light; in medieval cosmology, the highest celestial sphere, believed to be the abode of God and the angels; the skies, the firmament, the heavens.

I wanted, given this week's theme, to put that last sense first, but the historical order really is as given. This dates to around 1600, from Medieval Latin empyreum, from Latin empȳreus, of the empyrean, from Greek empúrios, fiery, from en-, in + pûr, fire, and yes there's a root of four-element theory in there.

And that wraps up this week of words for the sky -- back with the regular mix on Monday.

---L.

firmament

firmament (FUR-muh-muhnt) - n., the vault of the heavens, the sky; in Ptolemaic cosmology, the eighth celestial sphere, carrying the fixed stars.

Another old one, going back to the early 13th century, taken this time from Latin firmāmentum, the sky, originally support/prop, from firmāre, strengthen/support/make firm + -menutum, noun suffix of agency ("that which"). Firmāmentum was used in the Vulgate Bible to translate the Septuagint Greek steréōma, foundation/framework, from stereós, solid/rigid. This in turn was used to translate Hebrew rāqī́aʿ, the barrier used in Genesis 1:6 to separate the heavenly waters from the earth below, which has a root sense of being beaten out thinly -- which is an interesting image for what Elohim was doing.

---L.

welkin

welkin (WEL-kin) - (lit./arch.) n., the sky, the vault of the heavens.

Another that goes back to Old English, in this case wolcen/wolcn, cloud (cognate of German Wolke, cloud), and after the transition to Middle English welken/wolken, it initially retained that meaning before shifting to the current sense. According to one dictionary, the carol that now starts "Hark, the herald angels sing" was originally "Hark, how all the welkin ring" (using modernized spelling).

---L.

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dessert

Two-Ingredient Banana Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Bites

Two-Ingredient Banana Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Bites
Prep time 3 hours Total time 3 hours Serves: 24

Ingredients

6 very ripe bananas
¾ cup mini chocolate chips, divided

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the bananas into ½-inch slices and lay flat on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1-1/2 hours.
Remove frozen bananas from the freezer and let set out for about 5 minutes while you set up your food processor or blender. You want the bananas to softened just a bit, but still be frozen.
Place the bananas in the food processor and pulse/blend until smooth and creamy. Stir in ½ cup mini chocolate chips.
Grease a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop the banana ice cream into each cup, filling each one almost full, then sprinkle the top of each cup with a few more mini chocolate chips. Place the muffin pan in the freezer for an hour.
Remove the pan from the freezer and pop each bite out with a knife. Stack the banana ice cream bites in a freezer safe container with a lid, placing parchment paper between each layer of bites to keep them from sticking together.
When ready to eat, remove however many bites you want from the freezer container and let set out for a few minutes before eating.

Notes
Store bites in the freezer for 2-3 months.

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Star Wars: Sith September (Sep 1-30)

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Current Mood: blah

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Tuesday word: Harrumph

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Harrumph (verb)
harrumph [huh-ruhmf]

verb (used without object)
1. to clear the throat audibly in a self-important manner.: The professor harrumphed good-naturedly.
2. to express oneself gruffly.

Origin: First recorded in 1935–40; imitative

Example Sentences
Trump is far from the first US president to harrumph at Europe's reluctance to do more for, as well as spend more on, its own defence.
From BBC

"Trousers," exclaims the Prince Andrew character, with a fruity harrumph, as though taken aback by a female interviewer wearing trousers.
From BBC

I humored her harrumphs when my best friend and I waited in line for hours to see the second batch in the late 1990s.
From Los Angeles Times

They treated an audience that knows how to harrumph to a smorgasbord of how things should be done.
From Washington Post

In one harrumph, Trump charged that no incumbent president since 1960 had failed to win the general election after winning Iowa, Florida and Ohio.
From Washington Post

Now YOU come up with a sentence (or fic? or graphic?) that best illustrates the word.

heavens

heavens (HEV-uhns) - n.pl. (usually with "the"), the near sky of atmosphere surrounding the earth; the distant sky of the sun, moon, and stars.

In the singular, the abode of the Deity and the blessed dead, but as noted yesterday, the main sense of Old English heofon was sky. It in turn comes from a Proto-Germanic root of uncertain origin.

---L.

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Trick or Treat MJV Week [Oct 3rd - Oct 9th 2025]

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#Lysiclaude2025Bingo starts this week! (7/17~24)

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Monday: kerning

kerning [kur-ning]

noun

1. the setting of two letters closer together than is usual by removing space between them. Kerning can also set the letter glyphs wider apart, if the layout designer so chooses. The most commonly met kerning tightens the glyphs up (by a varying amount for each pair of glyphs, as adjusted by the typographer) to make text more readable.

examples

1. The finishing airbrushing of an illo, the final tweak or kerning of an art headline, was important to him.
"Pacific NW magazine honors the life and work of art director David Miller" Seattle Times 12/16/22

2. It highlights just how much thought goes into making sure the thickness, kerning, and size of a font is optimal for the environment where it’s viewed. "How to change your font in Slack" The Verge 09/11/20

origins

French carne corner, from French dialect, from Latin cardin-, cardo hinge