Word of the Day

[Giovanni Schwartz]

Knickerbocker Glory: similar to a banana split in a cup.
Peppermint humbug: similar to a candy cane in a ball shape, I think.

Source: Harry Potter #1

[Katya]

ought, n. - zero

(It turns out that "ought" is the British spelling or usage and "aught" is the American version. I always figured the "ought" people were just misspelling it because they'd never see it written.)

[Marduk]

Hrmm, and I'd always preferred the term "naught" to refer to the digit zero. I wonder if they have similar roots?

[Katya]

Hrmm, and I'd always preferred the term "naught" to refer to the digit zero. I wonder if they have similar roots?

They do! "Nought" is the older form ("naught" is a variant), with "ought" being a variant of "nought" due to metanalysis. (That's the same process that turned "a napron" into "an apron.")

[Marduk]

Ah. So it is likely that that process brought about the two variants in "ought" and "aught."

[Katya]

Ah. So it is likely that that process brought about the two variants in "ought" and "aught."

I assume so, but with the added wrinkle that "aught" has also had the opposite meaning (i.e., "anything" as opposed to "nothing") since at least the year 1000. At any rate, the OED doesn't acknowledge that "aught" can mean "zero," so that aspect of its etymology is left to conjecture (at least until I can find an etymological dictionary of American English).

[Giovanni Schwartz]

I just think of Matthew Broderick in the Music Man, saying he graduated from Gary Conservatory in aught nine or aught six or whatever it is.

[Katya]

I just think of Matthew Broderick in the Music Man, saying he graduated from Gary Conservatory in aught nine or aught six or whatever it is.

Yeah, I'm sure The Music Man is where I first heard it.

[yayfulness]

I've only heard it in the context of guns, actually, but I only vaguely remember what it was. Probably something about the gauge.

[Laser Jock]

For shotguns, buckshot sizes include 0 ("aught"), 00 ("double-aught"), and 000 ("triple-aught"). Or maybe you're thinking of something like a .30-06 rifle, aka a "thirty-aught-six"?

[S.A.M.]

decedent, n. - deceased person

Best homegoing(funeral) ever with flowing barbecue sauce fountain.

[yayfulness]

For shotguns, buckshot sizes include 0 ("aught"), 00 ("double-aught"), and 000 ("triple-aught"). Or maybe you're thinking of something like a .30-06 rifle, aka a "thirty-aught-six"?

I've probably heard of the buckshot sizes before, but I was specifically thinking of the "thirty-aught-six." Thanks!

[Katya]

quinzhee, n. (also quinzee) - A shelter made by hollowing out a pile of settled snow. This is in contrast to an igloo, which is made from blocks of hard snow.

[Katya]

plat, n. - a map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land

Source: On the Map, by Simon Garfield (except the source is technically the foreword, which is by Dava Sobel)

[Katya]

miscibility - the property of liquids to mix in all proportions, forming a homogeneous solution

antonym: immiscibility

[C is for]

miscibility - the property of liquids to mix in all proportions, forming a homogeneous solution

antonym: immiscibility

One I already knew! Hooray!

It's like mixability, only the actual word.

[Katya]

miscibility - the property of liquids to mix in all proportions, forming a homogeneous solution

antonym: immiscibility

One I already knew! Hooray!

It's like mixability, only the actual word.

I am very impressed with you for knowing that word because it certainly stumped my spell check.

[Zedability]

miscibility - the property of liquids to mix in all proportions, forming a homogeneous solution

antonym: immiscibility

One I already knew! Hooray!

It's like mixability, only the actual word.

I am very impressed with you for knowing that word because it certainly stumped my spell check.

It's a pretty common word in chemistry.

[Katya]

It's a pretty common word in chemistry.

I'm still impressed. (Chemistry is the bane of my life.)

[Digit]

Apoptosis
A genetically directed process of cell self-destruction that is marked by the fragmentation of nuclear DNA, is activated either by the presence of a stimulus or removal of a suppressing agent or stimulus, and is a normal physiological process eliminating DNA-damaged, superfluous, or unwanted cells —called also programmed cell death.

I'm guessing that if you discovered a way to do this only to cancer cells then you'd be a well-liked person.