Gallant Efforts

[Naboka]

Naboka, congratulations on over 600 points per game AND over six points per word.

dannyb, thanks

it's the product of dumping faaaaaaaar more games than recorded.

the illusion of Wordtwist "averages."

How's the writing coming along?

[dannyb]

Naboka, congratulations on over 600 points per game AND over six points per word.

[Naboka]

Sooooo close.

The fingers got excited

and clumsy

thought I had typed ags, ach, aahs, and cag

know I tried

all 6 pointers

any 3 of the 4...

but, alas...

Screen Shot 2022-10-02 at 5.18.07 PM.png

[DrPlacebo]

I am disappointed that RAMENIZING isn't a word, especially with birria ramen being as trendy as it is lately.

[2cute]

@2cute " So you're saying that JK borrowed from these various languages to create her terms they use to create spells & passwords (like Fortuna Major, the password to pass through the portrait entrance)? "

"Fortuna" was a Roman Goddess associated with luck or chance; the Greek counterpart is Tyche. Both were associated with both good and bad events. "Major" came into Middle English from Latin "maior" (greater, more important) which is the comparative form of "magnus," likely influenced by the French "majeur." French is a "Romance" language, as are Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. One thing about fiction, you have the freedom to make up anything you want to from whatever resources available.

Ancient books of alchemy, incantations, spells, etc. that made their way to Europe were usually written in Eastern Mediterranean languages (e.g., Hebrew, Arabic, Egyptian and others), which have alphabets & scripts that are not familiar to most Europeans and Americans (South & North). Those texts were translated into Greek and then Latin. Due to the influence of Rome, the texts in Latin would have been more familiar to curious folks in Western Europe, and in order to keep information (right or wrong) from those who did not speak or read Latin, that language was retained by alchemists, practitioners of "magic," those practicing certain religions, early scientists, etc. The history of spellbooks or grimoires is fascinating and deeply entwined with history of religions. There are various practices that aim to understand how the world works, why things happen, cause and effect, how to change aspects of the world or your life. Today we tend to separate those into superstition or magic, and science. "Magical thinking" is the belief that one's ideas, thoughts, actions, words, or use of symbols can influence the course of events in the material world. If the words you use to try to influence the real/material world are not understood by most of the folks around you, so much the better. Because Latin uses an alphabet and script that became widespread, but today is not readily understood by many people, it is a good starting point for spells in today's fiction. JKR used not only Latin but other languages to create spells for the stories. Some are combinations of Latin and Greek, for example. Some are just slightly altered spellings of English words combined in unexpected combinations (fiendfyre). Check out Wizarding World and Oprah Daily.

Fascinating. Thanks!

[JedMedGrey]

I have heard that the crimped edge was quite thick so that the miner could hold that, the stew-filled portion being supported by same. The miner could eat from the folded side. The crimped edge would get quite dirty from the miner's hands and would be discarded - unless the miner was really, really hungry.

[bwt1213]

Good idea, bwt1213! Have you started on the business plan yet? Beef, chicken, pork, lamb or vegetarian with various regional seasonings. Sweet pasties? I guess those are already available to some extent, as fruit turnovers. Hmmm . . . .

In Cornwall, there's even a "Sky Staring Pasty" that has fish heads poking through holes in the dough. I don't think that one will fly over here. But there are fish pasties. The idea is the same in pretty much every community all over the world -- hey, we've got leftovers so what can we do with them? The most common pasty over here is probably the one the inhabitants of Cornwall had maybe once or twice a year as a special dish. Their most usual pasty would have been a rough stew in a heavy crust, and a lot of the time the crust was only there to protect the stew and was itself not edible.

[JedMedGrey]

Good idea, bwt1213! Have you started on the business plan yet? Beef, chicken, pork, lamb or vegetarian with various regional seasonings. Sweet pasties? I guess those are already available to some extent, as fruit turnovers. Hmmm . . . .

[bwt1213]

TACOLOGY is not a thing. It really should be one.

Then so should pastyology. The biggest difference (forget physical appearance) between the two is the calories in a pasty. A proper pasty will be more than 3,000. The ones my mother and my wife and my daughters make are probably more than 4,000. Eating one is like gorging on a Thanksgiving turkey or overindulging on Christmas. Except that you can have a pasty any time. Tacos are tasty but lightweight. It would probably take eight good tacos to equal the eye-crossing capability of one good pasty.

Pasties were made to be wrapped in newspaper and put on the blade of a shovel, which was then put over a candle flame for miners in the tin mines in Cornwall, from whence the English side of my ancestors arose. So they would have a warm lunch while working in the cold depths of the mine. That same pasty was transferred to the UP of Michigan and the iron mines there. And on the Swedish side, the lumberjacks who needed lots of calories ate pasties regularly because they needed every bit of the calories they could get.

Now, pasties are for special occasions, because no one can burn that many calories and no one needs to get fatter. But if you don't know what a pasty is -- at least the version done here in America -- it's simple. Take a pie crust and pile a mix of cubed steak, minced onions, and slivered potatoes onto one half of the crust. Top with chopped or dried parsley. Fold the top over to make a kind of turnover. Crimp the edges, cut some slits to release the steam, and do some egg wash over the top. Bake until done, usually at 350 F. As far as "who would like this?" it comes down to "who likes steak and potatoes?". Some people put ketchup on their pasties, most eat pickles or pickled beets with it, and almost everyone old enough drinks a cold and tasty beer with it. People who dislike beer have some light wine or a cold soda. I had milk with mine until I was 21, and milk is really good with it, too.

I have no idea why there is no such thing as a Pasty Bell or Pasty Paradise franchise. But there ought to be.

[DrPlacebo]

TACOLOGY is not a thing. It really should be one.

[DrPlacebo]

I guess an interim ruler of a microstate is not a MICROREGENT.

[lalatan]

I thought I had a winner when I typed in PHOTOSEVERATION. I reasoned it could describe when the top part of a person's head in a photo is cut off due to bad composition. (a personal pet peeve)

It would be fitting to see a board with FRIGGATRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA in it today. Last time I didn't see it soon enough, botched the spelling and timed out. We'll see how my luck is today...

[JedMedGrey]

@2cute " So you're saying that JK borrowed from these various languages to create her terms they use to create spells & passwords (like Fortuna Major, the password to pass through the portrait entrance)? "

"Fortuna" was a Roman Goddess associated with luck or chance; the Greek counterpart is Tyche. Both were associated with both good and bad events. "Major" came into Middle English from Latin "maior" (greater, more important) which is the comparative form of "magnus," likely influenced by the French "majeur." French is a "Romance" language, as are Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. One thing about fiction, you have the freedom to make up anything you want to from whatever resources available.

Ancient books of alchemy, incantations, spells, etc. that made their way to Europe were usually written in Eastern Mediterranean languages (e.g., Hebrew, Arabic, Egyptian and others), which have alphabets & scripts that are not familiar to most Europeans and Americans (South & North). Those texts were translated into Greek and then Latin. Due to the influence of Rome, the texts in Latin would have been more familiar to curious folks in Western Europe, and in order to keep information (right or wrong) from those who did not speak or read Latin, that language was retained by alchemists, practitioners of "magic," those practicing certain religions, early scientists, etc. The history of spellbooks or grimoires is fascinating and deeply entwined with history of religions. There are various practices that aim to understand how the world works, why things happen, cause and effect, how to change aspects of the world or your life. Today we tend to separate those into superstition or magic, and science. "Magical thinking" is the belief that one's ideas, thoughts, actions, words, or use of symbols can influence the course of events in the material world. If the words you use to try to influence the real/material world are not understood by most of the folks around you, so much the better. Because Latin uses an alphabet and script that became widespread, but today is not readily understood by many people, it is a good starting point for spells in today's fiction. JKR used not only Latin but other languages to create spells for the stories. Some are combinations of Latin and Greek, for example. Some are just slightly altered spellings of English words combined in unexpected combinations (fiendfyre). Check out Wizarding World and Oprah Daily.

[dannyb]

And if you have a fear of having fears, you have phobophobia. Yes, that's an actual condition.

I have mophobia. (Anyone else remember that SNL bit?), but seriously folks I have a pho-bias. I like pho tai much more than pho chin.

[2cute]

@2cute from my memories of reading the books, some terms are supposedly Latin. Prior to the invasion of what is now called Britain by the Angles, Saxons & Jutes (5th - 6th centuries CE), various Celtic languages were spoken there, as well as Latin, from the time that the Romans were in power there (~43 CE to ~500 CE). English is considered a Germanic language, but has been strongly influenced by Romance languages derived from Latin, especially Norman & French . It continues to incorporate words from different languages and is constantly evolving. "English" as spoken in Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, and North America all have distinct characteristics in both actual words and pronunciations. Fascinating and complex subject.

Yes, I'm in the process of also reading the books as I hadn't after I had seen all of the films several times. The books are similar but yet different from the films. It seems the films focus on the title, hence the Prisoner of Azcaban (the one I'm reading now, yes, I'm reading them in succession), in the book there's lots going on that's never mentioned in the films, the film storyline focuses completely on Sirius Black, his whereabouts & how he ultimately in the end does find Harry & ironically doesn't try to kill him like most of the film implies, yet becomes a mentor for him throughout the rest of the series of films.

So you're saying that JK borrowed from these various languages to create her terms they use to create spells & passwords (like Fortuna Major, the password to pass through the portrait entrance)?