# Redefinitions (a game) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 5, 2006, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366 "2006-10-05T08:00:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/181 "2006-10-11T02:24:25Z")
Keratoconus: Ice cream served in an enclosed funnel of hair. **Endoscope** ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/182 "2006-10-11T02:54:31Z")
**Endoscope** – Opposite of the beginningoscope valance ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/183 "2006-10-11T04:58:23Z")
Valence: the quality of being an elite ski town. Colloid ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/184 "2006-10-11T13:00:52Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] Colloid [/QUOTE] Man, I just re-read the thread. There are a couple of pretty clever/funny ones in here. The following is not one of them: \*\*colloid: \*\* An alien life form that assumes the shape of a popular Terran sheep dog. (Lassie, phone home?;)) gingham ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/185 "2006-10-11T13:03:25Z")
Colloid: The part of any garment that touches the neck or the area of the body near the neck. Like a collar, but not quite. Calico ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/186 "2006-10-11T13:25:49Z")
[QUOTE=Scribble] Calico [/QUOTE] An ill-fated line of game consoles painted the color of its namesake’s fur. Launched in 1983, it was quickly recalled because of its tendancy to overheat and just lay there on the floor “purring”. Swallowed ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/187 "2006-10-11T14:01:37Z")
Swallowed - Used to refer to a person that has been altered to have butterfly wings. Mystic ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/188 "2006-10-11T14:15:15Z")
Mystic–1. Adj. Said of games, machines or processes that have to be figured out by trial and error; governed by laws that become apparent only when one uses the device or engages in the activity in question. (From the English “Myst”, the name of a computer game in which there was no rule book.) 2. Noun. (pej.) One who is very posessive of his or her flash memory. 3. Noun. (pej.) One who is very possessive of his or her electronics in general (semantic field extended from definition 2.) Scallawag ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/189 "2006-10-11T17:59:57Z")
[QUOTE=Scribble] Scallawag [/QUOTE] The erruption of dandruff experienced by a happy dog with a skin condition. fertilzer ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/190 "2006-10-11T22:07:47Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] gingham [/QUOTE] An actor who emotes in a style ripped off from a certain [prolific thespian.](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0319978/) Still available: fertilizer ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/191 "2006-10-12T02:48:14Z")
Fertilizer: 1. Noun. Imperial military strength, esp. European imperial armed forces. 2. noun. French military strength. Etymology: This word was imported into English from the French “Fer de lis,” or “Iron of the Lily.” This term used to describe French might during the time of Louis XVI. Since the symbol for France was the fleur de lis, a delicate and graceful flower, the wit of the play on words (“fleur” = flower; “fer” = iron) to describe a rough and tough military made the term common. The phrase “fer de lis” also became common in the French colonies, especially in the Caribbean and North Africa, where pirates and indigenous landowners rapidly came to fear French destroyers and slavers. To them, the “fer de lis” was any part of the European colonial enterprise that crushed rebellion swiftly, whether it was the official army, a group of mercenaries, or the merchant marine. In France, use of the phrase “fer de lis” ended quickly after the French Revolution. The term continued to be used in the colonies, from whence the meaning most commonly used in English (i.e., imperial military strength) is derived. And a new word: Crumpet ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/192 "2006-10-12T04:17:42Z")
[QUOTE=Scribble] And a new word: Crumpet [/QUOTE] (BTW, that was a very thorough treatment of “fertilizer.” Bravo.) **crumpet:** That bent horn Dizzy Gillespie used to play. next: happenstance ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/193 "2006-10-12T04:21:21Z")
Nice to see you back in the game, **OneCentStamp**. And thanks for the compliment about the definition and etymology of “fertilizer.” Happenstance: Noun. A deliberate, sometimes dishonest, stance that one takes upon hearing of or witnessing events. ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/194 "2006-10-12T04:22:30Z")
New word: Baloon ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/195 "2006-10-14T05:11:25Z")
[QUOTE=Scribble] New word: Baloon [/QUOTE] I’m not surprised we got stumped her for a while, because the Baloon is really very obscure. It’s a supernatural term from a branch of Egyptian mythology that managed to get transplanted to the Anglo-Celtic Isles… a variety of soul that manifests as a black and white aquatic bird, with a white belly and the head of a person. Let’s see… how about **transmogrification** as the new word? ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/196 "2006-10-14T20:14:33Z")
[QUOTE=chrisk] Let’s see… how about **transmogrification** as the new word? [/QUOTE] Also from the realm of the mythical, a **transmogrification** is a bridge, tunnel, or other passage which allows a sojourner to traverse (_trans_, “across”) an area in which such **mo** nsters as **grif** fins may be lurking. Next word: **speleology** ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/197 "2006-10-14T22:59:22Z")
**speleology** – the study of the vocabulary and syntax of carnival barkers, campaigning politicians, public relations professionals, and the like astrolabe ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366/198 "2006-10-15T03:55:20Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] astrolabe [/QUOTE] **astrolabe:** (One of) Sally K. Ride’s vulva. grifter [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/redefinitions-a-game/375366.md?page=9)