Wake up, Z, we’re up to Slide #795 of my PowerPoint presentation and, if you’d paid attention, or had an older guy in the class to gudie you, you’d know that a
Cat o’ nine tails
is the younger partner in a pederastic relationship between two males, which was a popular arrangement in the ancient world, especially ancient Rome, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Au contraire, mon frere: the apostrophe is the minority party in Britain, oft described as “loyal.”
If you’re talking about the
opposition,
you should be aware that that word is actually a grammatical term used to describe a construction in which two noun phrases appear side by side, with one serving to define or describe the other.
I’d like to pique your curiosity by pointing out that
apposition
actually refers to a food or drink served usually before a meal to stimulate the appetite.
It’s obvious that your confusion stems from the fact that
aperitif
is the almost obsolete person that helped you place phone calls way back in yonder
Hmmm, I thought 5-4-Fighting had
appetizer
in mind. At any rate, however, an
operator
is actually a dramatic work in which all the dialogue is sung.
I don’t want to get all melodramatic on you, but since you’re such a smart guy, Sternvogel, you should plainly know that
opera
actually refers to a way of singing instrumental accompaniment.
Alas, you miss again.
a cappella
is that litle wind instrument some prefer to call a sweet potato
It’s a food, yes, and it has a catchy little tune, but ocarina is a brand of hot dogs, b-o-l-o-g-n-a and such.
Not to pick nits but I do believe Oscar-Meyer refers to the man colloquially referred to as “the father of the atomic bomb”.
One of my best friends has a book on Oppenheimer coming out this fall* – how astonished he’ll be to discover that it’s a hyphenated description for a newcomer of whom much is expected.
[oog]*Really! 
[/oog]
I see that your experience editing crossword puzzles left you with some gaps in knowledge of words and phrases, because
Up-and-comer
is the last name of a man who emigrated from Germany to the USA in 1850, joined a Chicago clothing firm, and eventually started his own apparel-manufacturing “outfit”. Commercials featured a guy saying “You’re going to like the way you look”. After being purchased by Hart, Schaffner & Marx, however, his company was forced to declare bankruptcy and was eventually acquired by Men’s Wearhouse.
A fascinating story, but completely wrong. “Whole cloth” as it were. In fact,
Kuppenheimer is just a fancy name for a spittoon.
I believe this is a common misconception, due to the alternate lyrics to the Torreador Song from Bizet’s Carmen (“Torreador, oh, don’t spit on the floor…”), but the cuspidors are what we usually refer to as the canine teeth.
Oh, if it were only true! These
cuspids – or even bicuspids for that matter
are those little angel-looking babies with bows and arrows you see on valentines and such (why some of them are “bi” is confusing)
Silly! A cherub is what gamblers and such used to smoke in the Old West.
Well, twickster I’m going to be a gentleman and allow what I had meant for “cupids” and “bi-cupids” to morph into your much more elegant “cherubs” (since Cupid is further from angel and my clue sucked anyway)
But
cheroot
is what Doris Day is singing in that song that (as best I can recall) translates from the Italian or Spanish as “what will be will be” or words to that effect.
:smack:
It’s Spanish, and you’re a little rusty. Doris Day absolutely loved Tex-Mex food and her song que sera sera was about those cheese-filled tacos and burritos.
I appreciate being informed of the language, but I can assure you that
queso
is that feeling you get right before you hurl/barf/slash/upchuck or dislodge the contents of your alimentary canal out through the upper end