# Guess the word by the definition **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 16, 2008, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-word-by-the-definition/445547 "2008-04-16T02:27:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-word-by-the-definition/445547/1 "2008-04-16T02:27:03Z")
Answer one, leave one. Though I’ll give more than one to get the game going. The definition can be of your own wording so long as it’s correct. Honor system not to cheat by googling keywords. 1. A piece of parchment that has been scraped and reused, with the original text visible through the text that is now on it. Generally used symbolically for evidence of the past as seen in the present. 2. The verb that specifically means ‘to fall from a window’. 3. A genealogical term of German origin, it’s a numbering system for ancestors in your family tree in which men are even numbered, women are odd numbered, a persons’ father is their number x 2 and a person’s mother is (their number x 2) + 1. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-word-by-the-definition/445547/2 "2008-04-16T02:48:27Z")
1. Palimpsest * * * 1. Cargo thrown overboard from a ship and attached to a buoy so that it can be collected later. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-word-by-the-definition/445547/3 "2008-04-16T03:06:11Z")
1. Defenestration ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-word-by-the-definition/445547/4 "2008-04-16T04:07:31Z")
[QUOTE=Cunctator] 1. Cargo thrown overboard from a ship and attached to a buoy so that it can be collected later. [/QUOTE] A 50-50 lifeline for others: I know it’s either flotsam or jetsam, but I’d have to google to find out which one. Palimpsest and defenestration are both correct, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-word-by-the-definition/445547/5 "2008-04-16T06:31:23Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] A 50-50 lifeline for others: I know it’s either flotsam or jetsam, but I’d have to google to find out which one. [/QUOTE] Neither of those was the word that I had in mind. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-word-by-the-definition/445547/6 "2008-04-16T10:15:23Z")
[QUOTE=Cunctator] Neither of those was the word that I had in mind. [/QUOTE] Were you thinking of ligan? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-word-by-the-definition/445547/7 "2008-04-16T19:38:09Z")
IIRC, flotsam is washed overboard; jetsam is thrown overboard. Ligan is correct. _5. Lover of the underdog_ Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-word-by-the-definition/445547/8 "2008-04-16T21:51:27Z")
[QUOTE=Shodan] _5. Lover of the underdog_ [/QUOTE] Polly Purebred? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-word-by-the-definition/445547/9 "2008-04-16T21:53:47Z")
BZZZZT!!! Good guess, though. Hint #1 - created by Samuel Johson. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-word-by-the-definition/445547/10 "2008-04-16T21:54:39Z")
[QUOTE=Shodan] BZZZZT!!! Good guess, though. Hint #1 - created by Samuel Johson. Regards, Shodan [/QUOTE] Well, that rules out my next guess: “Cubs fan.” ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-word-by-the-definition/445547/11 "2008-04-16T22:10:20Z")
[QUOTE=Gukumatz] Were you thinking of ligan? [/QUOTE] Yes, although I’ve usually seen it in its alternative spelling lagan. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-word-by-the-definition/445547/12 "2008-04-17T19:53:03Z")
[QUOTE=Shodan] _5. Lover of the underdog_ [/QUOTE] _Infracaninophile_? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-word-by-the-definition/445547/13 "2008-04-18T05:00:12Z")
The genealogical term is _Ahnentafel_- obscure, but you’ll find it in/on almost any genealogy textbook or web-site.