Word of the Day Challenge

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

abstruse
adjective ub-STROOSS

Definition

1 : difficult to comprehend : recondite


Weekly Theme
Good vs. Evil


Did You Know?
Look closely at the following Latin verbs, all of which are derived from the verb trudere ("to push, thrust"): extrudere, intrudere, obtrudere, protrudere. Remove the last two letters of each of these and you get an English descendant whose meaning involves pushing or thrusting. Another trudere offspring, abstrudere, meaning "to push away" or "to conceal," gave English abstrude, meaning "to thrust away," but that 17th-century borrowing has fallen out of use. An abstrudere descendant that has survived is abstruse, an adjective that recalls the meaning of its Latin parent abstrūsus, meaning "concealed."

[Remec]

The handsome young man strode through the halls with a distinct purpose in every step. Indeed, in every motion of his body as he made his way up to the conference rooms. Some would, and have, called them interrgation chambers, but Uriel felt that overstated their importance in things. Not to mention that they were way to small to really be considered chambers. He stopped to look at the regal man with the military bearing standing guard without seeming to do so at the door to the room Uriel was headed for.

"Has he said anything so far?"

"Nothing. And I don't think your presence is likely to change that."

"We'll see. Even the fallen are entitled to counsel."

Michael vaguely glanced at the ceiling, the closest Uriel had ever seen him roll his eyes. He brought his gaze back to Uriel's face and "I'm not so sure you're going to get very far if you refer to him as Fallen."

"What approach would you suggest?"

A smile broke across the stern jaw of the other man as he shrugged slightly. "I would have rather dropped him in the field. But he agreed to submit to trial--not that traitors and rebels should have that option--and here we are. He was the head of his own army; 'Fallen' is not something that is going to appeal to him. Or is that too abstruse a concept for you?"

"I hear you. Just let me pass and we'll see what my client says or doesn't say to me." He stepped around Michael and knocked three times on the door before opening it and stepping into the doorway. "Good morning, Lucifer...."

tallied! -Brit

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

wiseacre
noun WYZE-ay-ker

Definition

1 : one who pretends to knowledge or cleverness; especially : smart aleck


Weekly Theme
Good vs. Evil


Did You Know?
Given the spelling and definition of wiseacre, you might guess that the word derives from the sense of wise meaning "insolent" or "fresh"—the sense that also gives us wise guy, wisecrack, and wisenheimer. But, in fact, wiseacre came to English by a different route: it is derived from the Middle Dutch wijssegger, meaning "soothsayer." Wiseacre first appeared in English way back in the 16th century, while the "insolent" sense of wise and the words formed from it are products of the 19th century. The etymologies of wiseacre and wise are not completely distinct, however; the ancestors of wiseacre are loosely tied to the same Old English root that gave us wise.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

prescind
verb prih-SIND

Definition

1 : to withdraw one's attention
2 : to detach for purposes of thought


Weekly Theme
Good vs. Evil


Did You Know?
Prescind derives from the Latin verb praescindere, which means "to cut off in front." Praescindere, in turn, was formed by combining prae- ("before") and scindere ("to cut" or "to split"). So it should come as no surprise that when prescind was first used during the 17th century, it referred to "cutting off" one's attention from a subject. An earlier (now archaic) sense was even clearer about the etymological origins of the word, with the meaning "to cut short, off, or away" or "to sever." Other descendants of scindere include rescind ("to take back or make void") and the rare scissile ("capable of being cut").

[Remec]

Title: Sentencing
WOD: Prescind
Theme: Good vs Evil



The guards led the woman into the space in the center of the court. She stood, hands bound, and looked at the assembled folk from the town and the university...possibly even some of the farms that were quite so outlying as most of them seemed to be, From his position atop his judge's pedestal and podium, August Hammer drew a long breath and gently shook his head. She seems so sure and confident. I hope she learns a lesson from this.

"Goodwife Ingmar, the evidence has been presented. Your case and cause argued. And sentence was passed. Now, as a guilty party, I must hand down your punishment," Hammer told the woman. He took another breath and continued, "As one convicted of dispensing alms and providing support for the indigent, I have no choice but to send you out to be one yourself. This community, down to the last person--even the children shall be instructed on this--shall prescind you from all aspects of society. You are not merely reduced in caste; you are casteless and made pariah."

Marie Ingmar's eyes widened, but she did not show any other emotion to the judge or the audience in the chamber.

"Take her from here to the limit of the township and send her on her way with whatever belongings she might still have claim to. Any property is forfeit to her eldest child or closest kin should she be without. Strike her name from your thoughts and let her presence be as naught but a whisper of wind."

tallied! -Brit

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

finicky
adjective FIN-ih-kee

Definition

1 : extremely or excessively particular, exacting, or meticulous in taste or standards

2 : requiring much care, precision, or attentive effort


Weekly Theme
Comedy


Did You Know?
You may be familiar with an advertising campaign featuring Morris, the finicky housecat who would only eat a certain brand of cat food. Morris's tastes in cuisine are not only very particular, but very fine as well, and that's appropriate given the origin of finicky. The word came about as an alteration of finicking, itself an alteration of another adjective, finical. It's believed that finical derives from the adjective fine. Finicking also gives us finick, a somewhat rare verb meaning "to put on airs" or "to dawdle about."

[Waterr]

Title: Blessed and Corrupted [Shorts]
Theme: Comedy
Word of the day: Finicky

     Its day 5 since my life was changed completely, so far I've managed to keep the form in control but I'm not sure how long until Yargon's warning would come. You still have a lot to learn before you'll be able to combat other 'terrors' effectively, though it means you'll have to finally show your shadow side towards other human beings in combat. (As much to Liana's constant worrying)

     Walking to your school the streets there are rather empty. "Am I late!?", you blurt out instantly as suddenly the world goes slow and you feel as if you're body has materialized into something...lighter. Fudge, you begin to realize you've turn into your shadow form but then you're startled by a deep voice laughing within your thoughts.

"Boy, of all the things that I have tried in scaring your true potential out.THIS alone was apparently enough to do the trick, what is it that you find different from the mental torture I presented you with before?, Yargon asks.
"Because first of all your mental tortures were just illusions, so even if they were potentially true I simply didn't care enough to be affected by it. And second, its because the teacher in first period happens to be the weirdo who has some sort of desire on my mom since kindergarten.", you imply.
"Ah I see, it is about your futile backup plans in handling the situation with him then?", he continues.
"It's worse than you think. The last time this happened was on my freshmen year and back then he kept throwing out jealousy filled complaints about how my father wasn't meant with mum and I wasn't even meant to exist. And all of that was when he also kidnapped me in his car just because he caught me walking to school 2 minutes late."

A hearty laugh echoes in my thoughts again. "So its this finicky behavior to your mother that makes you so terrified at him for being late?", he says with a hint of satisfaction.
"Well now that you know about this I wouldn't be surprised of you attempting to mimic him from now on honestly.'
"Haha! And why would I do that to my mortal friend? It's not like I have the power to do so anyways...Oh wait I do!" He then laughs as if its been 4 days now but its really not.Time is too slow that a second is equal to a day if theoretically converted while in shadow form.

Ugh, this is going to be a long stressful day.

tallied! -Brit

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

bardolater
noun bar-DAH-luh-ter

Definition

1 : a person who idolizes Shakespeare


Weekly Theme
Comedy


Did You Know?
George Bernard Shaw once described a William Shakespeare play as "stagy trash." Another time, Shaw said he'd like to dig Shakespeare from the grave and throw stones at him. Shaw could be equally scathing toward Shakespeare's adoring fans. He called them "foolish Bardolaters," wrote of "Bardolatrous" ignoramuses, and called blind Shakespeare worship "Bardolatry." Oddly enough, Shaw didn't despise Shakespeare or his work (on the contrary, he was, by his own admission, an admirer), but he disdained those who placed the man beyond reproach. The word bardolater, which Shaw coined by blending Shakespeare's epithet—"the Bard"—with an affix that calls to mind idolater, has stuck with us to this day, though it has lost some of its original critical sting.

[Remec]

Title: Movie Night
WOD: bardolater
Theme: Comedy



"Grab your coat," Mike said as he slipped into the apartment, dropped his briefcase by the door and swapped out his suit coat and tie for his favorite old leather bomber jacket. "There's a new movie opening at the Prestige."

Allison looked up from the couch and turned off the television, setting the remote on the cushion beside her. "Isn't that an art house theater? What could be opening there you'd want to see?"

"A new take on 'Titus Andronicus'," Mika told her. "I heard Tarantino directed it."

"That sounds like a terrible idea--I mean, it sounds fitting, but I know how you are about blood and gore and stuff. There's going to be so much; I'm sure of it."

Mike made a small dismissive gesture. "Nothing I can't handle. Besides, it's Shakespeare, how bad can even Tarantino get with that?"

Allison sighed, but got up and grabbed her coat from the hall closet. "You're such a bardolater, you know that, right?"

"Whatever. Come on, we have to hurry."

tallied! -Brit

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

teem
verb TEEM

Definition

1 : to become filled to overflowing : abound

2 : to be present in large quantity


Weekly Theme
Comedy


Did You Know?
The verb teem and the noun team are not just homophones, they are also etymological kin. Teem is derived from Old English tīman or tæman, which originally meant "to bring forth offspring" or "to become pregnant." That word is related to the ancestor of team, the Old English noun tēam, meaning "offspring, lineage, or group of draft animals." Team can still be used to refer to a brood of young animals, especially pigs or ducks, but both teem and team have otherwise largely left their offspring-related senses behind.

[Remec]

Title: An Overweighted Stork
WOD: teem
Theme: Comedy



I was just getting into the groove of my pacing in the hospital waiting area when the doors practically burst open and my sister entered into the space. She was preceded, as usual, by the hellspawn laughingly referred to as my nieces and nephews. I sighed softly, while trying to decide if I was up for dealing with Sheila's band of hooligans. Sheila smiled and asked softly while giving me a hug, "Any word yet?"

"Only thing I've been told is that everything was positive, just a little jumbled up," I said.

"How so?"

"Remember when we had my sperm analyzed because Angela was having problems conceiving and we thought my count might be low?" When Sheila nodded, I continued, "Well, it must have been some other problem 'cause the doctor said I was practically teeming with sperm. Then Angie got pregnant and we forgot all about it. Everything was normal although she seemed to really be putting on weight...'Nothing to worry about'...is what the doctor told us. Told us not to worry that they couldn't get a clear ultrasound. Now we're here and it seems she's been carrying multiple embryos the whole time."

"Oh, Jerry, I hope everything really is okay. Is there a history of multiple births in her family?"

A short, bald-headed man in scrubs came into the space from the delivery rooms and said, "If not, there is now. Congrats on quads Mr Jefferson!"

I took a deep breath and looked at Sheila. "Quads?"

Sheila laughed. "Go teem!"

tallied! -Brit

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

cacophony
noun ka-KAH-fuh-nee

Definition

1 : harsh or discordant sound : dissonance; specifically : harshness in the sound of words or phrases

2 : an incongruous or chaotic mixture : a striking combination


Weekly Theme
Comedy


Did You Know?
Words that descend from the Greek word phōnē are making noise in English. Why? Because phōnē means "sound" or "voice." Cacophony comes from a joining of the Greek prefix kak- (from kakos,meaning "bad") with phōnē, so it essentially means "bad sound." Symphony, a word that indicates harmony or agreement in sound, traces to phōnē and the Greek prefix syn-, which means "together." Polyphony refers to a style of musical composition in which two or more independent melodies are juxtaposed in harmony, and it comes from a combination of phōnē and the Greek prefix poly-, meaning "many." And euphony, a word for a pleasing or sweet sound, combines phōnē with eu-, a prefix that means "good."

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

heartstring
noun HAHRT-string


Definition

1 : the deepest emotions or affections — usually used in plural


Weekly Theme
Comedy


Did You Know?
Before a song or movie or heart-shaped card accompanied by a box of chocolates could tug at your heartstrings, the job was more likely to be accomplished by a surgeon: the word heartstring used to refer to a nerve believed to sustain the heart. You might recognize the word's second syllable in the term hamstring, which refers to both a group of tendons at the back of the knee and to any of three muscles at the backs of the upper legs. It's also apparent in a rare dialect term for the Achilles' tendon: heel string. And in light of these terms, it's not surprising to know that string itself was at one time used independently to refer to cords like tendons and ligaments.

[Daeva]

Word of the day: heartstrings
Theme: Comedy (light comedy)

Enough was enough, it was time to make a break for it while he was in the men's room.  It was enough after the two hour dinner in which she'd learned all about his trials with adult acne and various food allergies as he perused the menu, and the separation anxiety he'd felt when he finally moved out of his mother's house.  It was more than enough when he'd dragged her off to a horrible little karaoke bar and serenaded her with a rendition of "Making Love out of Nothing At All" meant to tug at the heartstrings but only served to make her cringe. But now they were at a little dessert shop and he was trying to be amorous and it was time to leave, she'd grab a cab but she was beyond done with this date.

Marissa didn't consider herself to be too picky, but what was the point of settling for less than what she absolutely wanted? She was young, she knew she was pretty, she was intelligent and fairly self assured, it would be a waste for her to settle on anything but the perfect man.  Everyone she'd been with to date had either been to self involved, too insecure, still living at home or just plain boring.  She wanted exciting, mysterious. She wanted a man who would take her breath away with a look, who would be able to have an intelligent conversation with her, she hadn't gone back to grad school to date the pizza boy, she wanted a man who knew what he wanted and took it, who made her heart jump just at the thought of seeing him. But she wanted someone who cared about her, enough not to encourage her to stay out too late when she had papers due, who will take care of her, but not smother her.  Maybe she was too picky.  One thing was for certain, she wanted a man who she would never, ever consider ditching the way she'd just ditched this guy.

She supposed that she wasn't alone in having a hard time finding that perfect someone. Her dearest friend in the world was still surprisingly single as well. Pete was a good looking man for certain, had a good job and had a lot to offer the right woman, and he seemed just as lost in finding her as she was in finding her own Mr. Right.

By the time she got home she was past the annoyance of the evening. She kicked off her shoes, pulled the short red dress she'd had on off, a waste of a dry cleaning bill she thought, and headed to the bathroom to wash the makeup off her face. She looked at herself once the makeup was off, the transition amazed her. Marissa had such clear and light skin, she'd always felt the need of makeup to darken it, so it didn't contrast her jet black hair quite as much. It didn't matter if she spent hours in the sun, her skin never tanned, it had a porcelain quality to it she'd been told.

Picking up the phone, she called and left a message for Pete to see if he wanted to grab breakfast the next morning so she could vent about her night.

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

apotheosis
noun uh-pah-thee-OH-sis


Definition

1 a : the perfect form or example of something : quintessence

b : the highest or best part of something : peak

2 : elevation to divine status : deification


Weekly Theme
Comedy


Did You Know?
Among the ancient Greeks, it was sometimes thought fitting—or simply handy, say if you wanted a god somewhere in your bloodline—to grant someone or other "god" status. So they created the word apotheōsis, from the verb apotheoun, meaning "to deify." (The prefix apo- can mean "off," "from," or "away," and theos is the Greek word for "god.") There's not a lot of Greek-style apotheosizing in the 21st century, but there is hero-worship. Our extended use of apotheosis as "elevation to divine status" is the equivalent of "placement on a very high pedestal." Even more common these days is to use apotheosis in reference to a perfect example or ultimate form. For example, one might describe a movie as "the apotheosis of the sci-fi movie genre."

[Misty Stone]

Word of the Day: Apotheosis
Genre: Comedy


There was less fanfare than she'd expected.

Where were the teeming masses of worshipers? The huddled clusters of fearful non-believers? The actual horn-blowing fanfare...ers? This was not the apotheosis she had asked for. Not that she had specifically asked to be turned into a lesser god of chaos, but if she had it would have involved more golden thrones and sacrificial orgies!

"Quiet, isn't it," he said. He hadn't been there a moment ago. She didn't appreciate that. She firmly believed people shouldn't just be places they weren't before, so she called down a plague of crotch rot upon him to test her new powers.

He laughed.

That was rude.

"That was rude," she said.

"No, trying to give me—what did you call it? Crotch rot?—that was rude."

"It's rude to read minds without permission."

He canted his head slightly in acknowledgement to her point and she smirked, folding her arms in triumph.

He smiled. "This is why I chose you, you know."

She didn't.

"I didn't," she said honestly. It would be one of the last honest things she'd ever bother saying. This was a decision she was making in the moment, but she was fairly certain she'd be able to uphold it.

He took a deep breath, his chaotic gaze captured by the setting sun. The light caught in his eyes, illuminating a riot of color swirling around irises that were alternately too dark and too bright for comfort. She didn't know what he was, but she knew she'd be sleeping with him later.

He chuckled, so she swore at him in several languages, only three of which she spoke with any fluency, and he shook his head in good humor.

"Yes, this. This is why I chose you." He turned his gaze to her and seemed just as enraptured by the sight of her as he had been the sunset. Perhaps even more so. "The chaos in you is an unstoppable tide. Can you feel it?"

She took a moment to turn her thoughts inward but disliked what she saw there. Introspection was a slow process full of personal revelations and either self loathing or self acceptance, both of which were concepts against which she rebelled, so her mind soon turned away to other things; things to keep her from dwelling on the thoughts she didn't like, or the memories she didn't want to see again.

He simply smiled. "Yes, that chaos. The way you flit from thought to thought, urge to urge, and act on whatever whim strikes you in the moment. You," he said, raising a warm hand to her cheek. Oh yeah, she thought, I'm definitely going to sleep with him later. "You are my avatar."

"What's the catch," she said, trailing a playful finger over the back of his hand.

"No catch! The power is yours to do with as you please! You are a typhoon of chaos whether you have the power of ... crotch rot or not! You do as you see fit, my darling one."

She could think of several people she would like to see turned into small vortexes, and the rest sucked into said vortexes. Well, "people" was generous. Dwarves. Really, they were more like opinionated furniture. And they'd upset her recently—all of them; every single dwarf, everywhere—and she could use a nice genocidal diversion to keep her from thinking about ... well, anything, really. Who could spare a thought for anything while watching dwarves defenestrate themselves right into the vortexes that used to be their friends?

Can furniture have friends?

He smiled at her with affection swirling in his restless eyes as he lowered his hand and took a step back. "It seems you have plans, my love. You should see to them. I'll be watching, my Elysium."

It was her turn to grin, something sly, and coy, and vile, and seductive. "Then I'll be sure to put on a show."

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

gibbous
adjective JIB-us


Definition

1 a : marked by convexity or swelling

1 b: of the moon or a planet : seen with more than half but not all of the apparent disk illuminated

2 : having a hump : humpbacked


Weekly Theme
Comedy


Did You Know?
The adjective gibbous has its origins in the Latin noun gibbus, meaning "hump," and in the Late Latin adjective gibbosus, meaning "humpbacked," which Middle English adopted in the 14th century as gibbous. Gibbous has been used to describe the rounded body parts of humans and animals (such as the back of a camel) or to describe the shape of certain flowers (such as snapdragons). The term is most often identified, however, with the study of astronomy. A gibbous moon is one that is more than a half-moon but less than full.

[Misty Stone]

Word of the Day: Gibbous
Genre: Comedy


He cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked over the hand-stained “parchment” to the bored beauty before him.

“Ahem...” he started, scrunching up his shoulders as she rolled her electric blue eyes. The paper had relaxed where the sweat from his hands had bled into the fibers; if he didn’t start now he wasn’t going to have any parchment left from which to read.

Twilight falls, bathing
you in sacred night’s keeping
The shadows know your
secrets, hidden ‘neath the moon’s
blind eye; new, yet old
older than human kind, yet
younger than the Earth.

He glanced up from his words to read his audience of one’s reaction. She was filing her nails with … dear god, was that a human femur?? The paper trembled between his hands and he forced his eyes back to the words written in rusted red.

Your gibbous silhouette—

“No,” she interrupted sharply. “No, no, no. It’s bad enough you want to read her poetry, but ‘gibbous silhouette’? For real?”

“Wh-what’s wrong with that?” He asked, lifting his head in uncertain challenge, as if he didn’t already know.

She snorted, uncrossing pale legs and drawing his eye to regions he couldn’t plumb, even were he brave enough to try.

“What’s wrong with telling a woman she’s kind of round, but not fully round? Is she pregnant and just starting to show? Are you implying she’s fat, but not that fat? Or are you saying she could have nice proportions, but she’s just under that juicy point? See, I struggle with telling, myself. With that kind of verbiage no wonder you’ve never been laid.”

He felt himself go red, anger and embarrassment swirling violently in his chest. “W-well, I’d like to see you do better!” He shouted at her, and immediately regretted it, clapping a hand over his mouth and watching her in stunned silence; how could he be so bold??

She merely laughed. “I’m not the one trying to sell my soul for the ability to write heart-winning poetry, friend. So I’m not the one whose poetry skills are on trial here. And I’ll be honest with you, you don’t suck as much as I thought you would. I was expecting some real crap when I got the call, but you’re way better than I was expecting. Still tragic, but way better than I expected, so gold star there. That doesn’t mean you would be winning any hearts without our help, though. You’re far too oblivious to pull of actual romance.”

The demoness sat forward in her chair, bracing her elbows on her knees and presenting him a lacivicous view down the decolétage of her form-fitting dress.

He averted his eyes.

“I’m gonna be real with you here. What you’re asking? Despite your tragic circumstances, is a really hefty boon for a soul, okay? The stupidest thing you’re doing is wasting it on one woman. I mean,” she leaned back, crossing her legs again and gesturing with the bone-white nail file with one arm crossed beneath her … not looking! “As soon as this deal is sealed, she’s as good as yours. The conditions of your contract are virtually flawless, and I know you’ll be promoted as soon as we get you downstairs, but until then? You will have the power to make any woman fall in love with you by reading them an original poem.”

“All I want is her,” he said, staring at the point where two walls met the ceiling.

“Congrats. That’s not the language you used in the contract and the contract has been accepted. This interview is a formality. A very entertaining formality. I’m just offering you council on the power you’re about to accept in exchange for your soul.”

“Noted,” he said, the image of her body filling his mind, battling against the innocent beauty of his beloved. He couldn’t tell if it was a trick of the demoness, or his own mortal weakness working against him, but keeping his eyes away from her form became an increasingly difficult challenge.

“Alright,” she sighed. He saw her pale shoulders rise and fall in a shrug from the corner of his eye. He wanted to trace the line of her collarbone with his tongue… No! No! I will not fall to temptation! I must remain pure for my sweet Emilia!

He felt more than he saw her smile.

“Your hand, sir?”

He extended the hand already dressed in stained bandages and winced as the razor-sharp tip of her fountain pen bit into an unclaimed square of flesh, filling the nib with his life’s essence. She used it to scribble something on a piece of fine parchment, which vanished from her lap with an unwholesome glow, as if consumed by invisible flames, leaving not even ash in its wake.

“It’s done,” she said, standing and adjusting the bottom edge of her dress so it sat closer to the middle of her thigh. “The good news is any woman who hears you read one of your original poems, written specifically for her, will fall madly in love with you. The bad news?” She grinned, and he could feel the heat of it against his cheek though she hadn’t moved an inch closer. “You’ll never get any better at writing them.”

She vanished from the room in a similar fashion to the parchment, leaving the barest whisper of something sour and blasphemous in her wake.

The hole she left in him was filled with relief, and a yearning ache to be near her again. It was similar to the pang he felt when watching his Emilia from afar, but something about the demoness’ ache felt … delicious, as well.

He rubbed at his stomach, as if the hole and ache were physical things and recalled her final words with a frown.

“I’ll never get better?”

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

disavow
verb dis-uh-VOW


Definition

1 : to deny responsibility for : repudiate

2 : to refuse to acknowledge or accept : disclaim


Weekly Theme
Pirates


Did You Know?
If you trace the etymology of disavow back through Middle English to Anglo-French, you'll arrive eventually at the prefix des- and the verb avouer, meaning "to avow." The prefix des-, in turn, derives from the Latin prefix dis-, meaning "apart." That Latin prefix plays a significant role in many current English words, including disadvantage, disappoint, and disagree. Avouer is from Latin advocare, meaning "to summon," and is also the source of our word advocate.

[Remec]

Title: Modern-day Blackbeard
WOD: disavow
Theme: Pirates



Kevin Matthews sat at the table in his hotel room. He might normally have been at the desk with his laptop, but there wasn't room for all the dossiers with their photos, resumes, and reams of documentation about the potential agents to choose for the next mission he had been given. He rose to answer a knock at the door, and opened it for his second to enter behind him as he returned to the table and the decisions he had to make.

"New mission already?", Sandra McAllister asked as she glanced over the paperwork strewn across the table.

"Yeah, I got an interruption at dinner last night. Thought it would just be a phone call from home, since I was expecting one, but it was one of those personal playback devices. It disintegrated, of course."

Sandra nodded. "And we got the usual threat that the Secretary would disavow us?"

"Of course."

"So, what's the sitch? I see you have assets from assorted yacht clubs and diving groups in the area, are we going sailing?"

Kevin smiled. "Better than that. Because of the narrow window for acquiring our target, we're going to hit during this weekend's regata. How are your forging skills these days?"

"You need me to forge sailing manifests?"

"Letters of marque," Kevin replied. "Just the thing even modern-day pirates should be carrying. Just in case."

Sandra chuckled. "Arrr, matey," she said

tallied! -Brit

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

prestigious
adjective preh-STIH-juss


Definition

1 archaic : of, relating to, or marked by illusion, conjuring, or trickery

2 : having an illustrious name or reputation : esteemed in general opinion


Weekly Theme
Pirates


Did You Know?
You may be surprised to learn that prestigious had more to do with trickery than with respect when it was first used in the mid-16th century. The earliest (now archaic) meaning of the word was "of, relating to, or marked by illusion, conjuring, or trickery." Prestigious comes to us from the Latin word praestigiosis, meaning "full of tricks" or "deceitful." The words prestige and prestigious are related, of course, though not as directly as you might think; they share a Latin ancestor, but they entered English by different routes. Prestige, which was borrowed from French in the mid-17th century, initially meant "a conjurer's trick," but in the 19th century it developed an extended sense of "blinding or dazzling influence." That change, in turn, influenced prestigious, which now means simply "illustrious or esteemed."

[ReginaWallace]

WOD: Prestigious
Theme: Pirates

The tavern was full of bustle, the lighting warm and dim from the lanterns and fireplace. Women and men of all size and shape were serving the patrons jugs of rum and bowls of stew with a slice of day old bread. At the bar sat a elder man, with peppering hair at different levels of length. He's tunic and pants were indistinguishable of a solid color thanks to the grime and stains, his feet were enclave in worn leather boots. Beside him was a ruffle looking woman, her curly black hair was pulled up is a sad bun, her outfit a mix of brown pants and multi-color dress with layers held up by strips of cloth, and she wore dirty and age heels.
The couple was hunch together over a pitcher of rum, taking gulps from the pitcher as they hand it back and forth. They were hoping to catch any new leads for golden and ruby crusted goblets and dinner ware from the latest Viscountess and her escort's visit to the port. The woman pride herself of being from noble birth and how her mother worked so hard to get where they were. The prestigious Viscountess de Salope Née as she was called behind her back.
"Have you heard dear Gregory? Madam Salope Née has crystal and silver napkin holders. I hear she plans to hold a grand feast in celebrate her 'Father'." the woman's voice was clear but hushed as she spoke to her partner. His dark eyes glanced at her for a minute before he reply.
"Great seas. Seems daddy real wife got the better end of the deal. Viscountess of Slut Born indeed sounds prestigious. Why I do believe it's in fashion!" Gregory's sarcastic behavior echo in his eyes.
"Indeed woman like her prove just how sad it is to be illiterate of language."

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

emote
verb ih-MOHT


Definition

1 : to give expression to emotion especially in acting


Weekly Theme
Pirates


Did You Know?
Emote is an example of what linguists call a back-formation—that is, a word formed by trimming down an existing word (in this case, emotion). As is sometimes the case with back-formations, emote has since its coinage in the early 20th century tended toward use that is less than entirely serious. It frequently appears in humorous or deprecating descriptions of the work of actors, and is similarly used to describe theatrical behavior by nonactors. Though a writer sometimes wants us to take someone's "emoting" seriously, a phrase like "expressing emotion" avoids the chance that we will hear some snideness in the writer's words.

[ZephyrInk]

Title:A Mission Gone Wrong Is A Mission To Be Celebrated
Word of the Day: Prestigious
Theme:Pirates 





The troupe was certain the moment they entered the hall bedecked with streamers of red paper-cuts and belting voices singing couplets that something was amiss. The tallest of the space pirates, a man with one blue eye and one green swiveled around the expanse and sniffed at the air. His pointed ears could hear the firecrackers outside and the cheers of the crowd that must have gathered to see the display. A part of him felt nostalgic at that but he had to remind himself that he was far away from home – light years away actually. A hiss sounded from him as he lifted his watch to take a peek at the date.

“Ah, well isn’t it the Year of the Dog”, he grumbled but then the shortest of them stepped up, pushing his glasses back and chiming as he lifted a finger and corrected his boss there, “year of the pig cap and that I think is the least of our problems. I am quite certain I had punched in the word ‘prestigious’ when I locked in on our destination. This is…a” he took that moment to give the room a quick sweep before he shrugged, “a prestigious bar?”

The others only chuckled at their whiz kid before they patted his back, “well done…kiddo” cried one as he ducked and shifted over to the counters, while another one grimaced along with their captain that they now had to refuel the ship and figure out a way to hide the flag lest they get caught or worse apprehended. There was nothing that ruined a perfectly good mission than landing smack in the middle of a planet that was celebrating a random new year.

“Best, we keep low” said the woman among them as she toddled off towards the doors. “I’ll see if we can find our portal back to where we were actually supposed to be. Watch out for the dragons” A click of her tongue and a two finger salute and she slapped one hand over the door before she made her way out.

“Random indeed, but I think the Guide took the month you plugged in and felt like being ‘prestigious’ with you! hark! Come now lad, we all make mistakes every now and then. Let’s enjoy the festivity and then we can be off to March – the month and enroute a new planet”.

That seemed to have cheered up the human who then nodded and meandered his way through the bustling crowd and over to get himself a drink.   




tallied! -Brit

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

obsequious
adjective ub-SEE-kwee-us


Definition

1 : marked by or exhibiting a fawning attentiveness


Weekly Theme
Pirates


Did You Know?
An obsequious person is more likely to be a follower than a leader. Use that fact to help you remember the meaning of obsequious. All you need to do is bear in mind that the word comes from the Latin root sequi, meaning "to follow." (The other contributor is the prefix ob-, meaning "toward.") Sequi is the source of a number of other English words, too, including consequence (a result that follows from an action), sequel (a novel, film, or TV show that follows and continues a story begun in another), and non sequitur (a conclusion that doesn't follow from what was said before).