# When reading, do you stop to look up a word you don't know? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 2, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-do-you-stop-to-look-up-a-word-you-dont-know/645871 "2013-01-02T20:07:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-do-you-stop-to-look-up-a-word-you-dont-know/645871/41 "2013-01-03T17:43:31Z")
> [@](#): > > “He’s just sticking two fingers up at me.” – Refers to a rude gesture? Like how I might say, “He’s flipping me the bird” or “He’s giving me the finger”? Very rude. I think that this might be the rudest gesture over there. I’m pretty sure that it’s almost exactly the same as our one finger salute in meaning, just done with two fingers instead of one. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-do-you-stop-to-look-up-a-word-you-dont-know/645871/42 "2013-01-03T19:10:14Z")
> [@smaje1](#): > > 1. Quorum – a select group, i.e. members of a council. (Again, I could figure it out from the context, but didn’t know the exact definition) More specifically, the minimum number of members of a committee, council etc that is needed to make binding decisions. If the number is not met then the meeting is said to be inquorate. > [@](#): > > 1. Paracetemol – I see this word often in Britishy books. Is it your term for what Americans commonly call “aspirin”? Is it a common pain reliever? Paracet **a** mol. The British name for what Americans call acetaminophen. > [@](#): > > 1. Holdall – a suitcase? Not quite. More like a large bag, with carrying handles, such as might be used to carry sports gear, or as an overnight bag. > [@](#): > > 1. Recalcitrant zip – Referring to a stubborn zipper? Or is a “zip” something else? Yes, we call the fastening on clothes a zip, not a zipper. > [@](#): > > 1. Casual vacancy – The name of the book! I shall not say what the American term is, although there definitely is one, since to do so would give away a part of the book. I jumped into it without having any clue what a “casual vacancy” is and I’m glad I did. Is it a pretty common British term? Do most Brits understand the meaning of the book title straight away? Because I doubt many Americans do… I would take it to mean a vacancy for a temporary job. In my office, temporary workers who are not on the staff payroll are referred to as “casuals”. > [@](#): > > 1. Board rubber – An eraser for a chalkboard? Yup. > [@](#): > > 1. Spindle-shanked – Said as an insult. Whatever does it mean?? Skinny-legged, or just generally skinny. “Shank” is a kind of archaic word for legs, but still used e.g. in lamb shanks. Edit: re the two-finger gesture. I would say the US-style middle finger has taken over as ruder these days. The V sign is kind of old-fashioned, think the punks of the 1970s. The “wanker” gesture is possibly more offensive than either, depending on context. (Think thumb and fingers formed into a loose circle, then waved in a vigorously wristy sort of fashion.) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-do-you-stop-to-look-up-a-word-you-dont-know/645871/43 "2013-01-03T22:31:20Z")
I don’t understand the question. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-do-you-stop-to-look-up-a-word-you-dont-know/645871/44 "2013-01-03T22:49:35Z")
Isn’t stopping and looking up the definition of a word that you don’t know one of the basic practices of Scientology? A while back when I was looking into it it seemed that that was one of the things that they teach all new members to do all the time when they read. ---
**Author:** ![Fool\_in\_the\_Rain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fool\_in\_the\_Rain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fool_in_the_Rain)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-do-you-stop-to-look-up-a-word-you-dont-know/645871/45 "2013-01-03T23:33:45Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Isn’t stopping and looking up the definition of a word that you don’t know one of the basic practices of Scientology? A while back when I was looking into it it seemed that that was one of the things that they teach all new members to do all the time when they read. Do they ever finish a book? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-do-you-stop-to-look-up-a-word-you-dont-know/645871/46 "2013-01-04T00:45:34Z")
> [@Fool\_in\_the\_Rain](#): > > Do they ever finish a book? That’s the scam. They don’t want you to finish the book Dianetics so you don’t realize what complete bull shit it is. ---
**Author:** ![smaje1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@smaje1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaje1)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-do-you-stop-to-look-up-a-word-you-dont-know/645871/47 "2013-01-04T23:13:14Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I don’t understand the question. Um…you mean the original post? What part don’t you understand? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-do-you-stop-to-look-up-a-word-you-dont-know/645871.md?page=2)