Study session recap

5 Bee participants representing three teams met Amelia and me last night for a study session at the Dover Legion. It was quite a workout for the dictionary!

I promised to blog the words that came up, and here they are:

PROSOPAGNOSIA: (PRAH suh pag NO shuh) noun
literally “face blindness”—the inability to recognize faces

PROCELEUSMATIC (Prah suh loose MAT ick) adjective
inciting, exhorting, inspiring.
As a noun: a metrical foot of four short syllables, such as “COME TO THE BEE!”

YLEM (EE lem) noun
The original element from which all other elements were derived

CWM (KOOM) no, it is not a typo!
It’s a noun, meaning rounded valley.

SCHWERPUNKT (SHVEHR-pungkt) noun
The point of focus, or area of concentration, particularly in a military operation. I’m sorry, but I think last night I misspoke and confused Schwerpunkt with forswunke (which means tired out). I guess I was forswunke and missed the point (excuse the pun).

SCHAPPE (SHOP uh) noun
fabric trimmings, leftovers from cutting fabric

ULAE (OO lee) noun
We all thought this was a body part, but when I looked it up, we learned that it was a kind of Hawaiian “lizard fish”. I’m guessing the word derives from the sound you must make if you bump into one.

EPEOLATRY (ep pee AHL uh tree) noun
The worship of words. As if you Bee players had to ask.

KOINE (KOY knee) sometimes (KOY nay) noun
A language term: a dialect of one region that becomes the standard for a larger group. Think TV newscasters.

KAKISTOCRACY (ka ka STOCK ruh see) noun
Government by the worst possible people. Thankfully we don’t see that in Dover! Tom did have a funny sentence about another state, though…

DIERESIS (die UH ruhs sis) noun
A pronunciation mark. The double dot, sometimes called the umlaut, that goes above the second vowel in a series of two, reminding us to vocalize that second vowel as its own sound, and not as a diphthong. If you want to get picky, the umlaut is more general and tells us that the vowel is not pronounced the way it normally is. The dieresis is specific to that second vowel sound, like in naïve or Noël. If you ask me, the word should have a dieresis itself, over that first 'e'.

PLOCE (PLO see) noun
The repetition of a word to emphasize or complicate a statement.
I think the dictionary had something like “She was a wife, a wife indeed…” and you can see that the use of ploce suggests that maybe there was more to the Missus than met the eye.

YEDE (YEED) verb
Went. He yeed over the hills and far away. It’s archaic, but I do have to pick out some oddball words if I’m going to stump you people before midnight.

LITOTES (LITE uh TEASE) or (Lye TOE tease) noun
This is one of those words about writing technique: it means a deliberate understatement. My example sentence for you is “I am not unaware of the amount of time Bee players spend studying”.

ADSCITITIOUS (ad sit ISH us) adjective
Supplemental, not necessarily essential.

CHELP (chelp)
Noun: a chirping noise. Verb: to chatter or complain. Quit chelping about how hard the list is. It isn't--not for you!


BDELLOID (DELL oid) Yes, the B is silent
adjective, means leech-like. That will be a fun sentence to write!

WEHRLITE (WERE light) noun a kind of mineral

ORCHIDACEOUS (or kid A shus) adjective
Orchid-like or gaudy and ostentatious. Think Mother’s Day corsages.

YPONOMEUTIDAE (ee pahn uh MYOO tid ay) noun
A family of fruit-eating moths. And yes, we do read the dictionary from start to finish. :-)

PECCADILLO (peck uh DILL owe) noun
Minor offense. Greg and Paul beat me out on this; I was sure there was only one ‘c’.

OMPHALOSKEPSIS (om fallow SKEP sus)
Navel-gazing. During the Bee we will ask for both the spelled word and a demonstration.

ANADIPLOSIS (an uh duh PLOH sus) noun
Another word about writing—it means the repetition of a word. You know, like the ringing of the bells, of the bells in Poe.

HIPPOTOMONSTROSESQUIPEDALIAPHOBIA is off the list. Greg found that I spelled it wrong! The correct spelling is hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliaphobia and here is the link to pronouncing it: http://www.forvo.com/word/hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliaphobia/. Greg, however, can say it—even after a beer.

Thank you all for coming, and a huge thank you to Tom Dixon, who hosted the event.  If you are interested in supporting the Legion and its many public service activities, consider sending a donation or applying for booster membership. Here is their web address:
http://doverlegion.com/ .

Well, now that we’ve had the study night, I am more nervous than ever about the challenges of Bee Night. You see, the competition isn’t really team versus team, it’s team versus word list. You folks have me good and rattled. I’m bringing the dictionary on Thursday!