A weapon, right?
How many other words come to mind which have an exclusive “buddy” word to accompany them?
I’ll start you off:
Brazen - Hussy;)
Thanks
Q
I wanna play! - moist 
What you’re talking about is called “collocations”: words or sentences which are used as a block, so much so that it’s shocking to see one without the other even if it’s also correct. One could brandish a sign, but the collocation with weapon is so strong, that “brandish a sign” sounds like they’re about to brain someone with it rather than just lifting it high so it can be seen.
‘Staunch’ when used politically in the U.S. It is almost always an older Republican white guy.
“Disgruntled” --> former employee.
Nava! Thank you!
I knew that had to have a name, I just couldn’t think of how to look for it!
It’s no secret I’m fascinated by the English language with its many nuances and am a huge fan of Richard Lederer (Richard Lederer - Wikipedia) and his humorous “examination” of it.
Stem (verb) - the tide.
Quasi
Wreak havoc
Postal - well, postal worker I guess.
Bay of Pigs <–> Fiasco
William Safaire, in his excellent Dictionary of American Politics, claims that no other words have been as tightly bound together as “Bay of Pigs” and “fiasco”.
Pitard —
Is this ever used except with “Hoisted on his/her own”?
Good one, ToC!
Heh, I always thought a petard was part of a ship, like a sail, but this tells me different:
So when you read the French definition, does it make you think of the origin of the word fart as in “Ewwwwww! He petarded!”
No?
Oh well!
Thanks
Q
Shagnasty, when you look up the definition of staunch, it makes you wonder if someone may have misused the word, because it is supposed to mean “lessen the flow of (for example) blood”, or any liquid.
How in the world they paired that word up with Republican is beyond me!
Anyone care to take a crack at it?
Thanks
Q
This one’s endemic to the deep South, I think (and it may also be a bit of a reach :)):
Self-avowed - white supremacist.
Q
That’s not what I think of.
I had not considered that there might be a more eclectic collocation to the word. What a great poem!
Thanks, BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed! (Hopefully Pyewacket survived?;))
Q
Waterloo=defeat?
Short version: The meanings are related in that stopping the flow of something such as blood requires the stopper, or stanch, to be firm and unyielding, like a staunch conservative.
Now here’s the part where I get out my gigantic old dictionary and geek out:
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (1979 edition) defines “stanch” as a transitive verb, intransitive verb, noun, and adjective, and says that in all of those uses it is also written “staunch.” In that order:
v.t.:
[ol]
[li]to stop or check the flow of (blood or other bodily fluid).[/li][li]to stop or check the flow of blood from (a cut or wound). [I.e., you can “stanch a wound”][/li][li]to quench or stop, as thirst; to allay, appease, or quell. (Archaic or Dial.)[/li][/ol]
v.i.: to stop flowing, as blood; to cease to flow. [interesting: You could say, “After appropriate medical attention, the blood stanched.”]
n.:[ol]
[li]Anything that stanches. (Obs.)[/li][li]a dam or weir for accumulating a body of water to flood a shallow place so as to float a vessel over it. [I dearly hope that someday I am in position to use the word in this sense.][/li][/ol]
a.:[ol]
[li]sound; strong and watertight; seaworthy.[/li][li]firm in principle; steady; constant and zealous; loyal. [There’s your “stanch/staunch conservative”][/li][li]strong; firm; substantial; solidly male. [???][/li][li]in hunting, pursuing without fault or wavering, as a hound.[/li][/ol]
fierce critic
underage drinker
scathing criticism
venerable statesman
diabolical plot
gushing review
gravely ill
Lucre is always filthy.
And why can’t you find any light- or medium-duty aluminum foil?