The weekly word/phrase: "The Peanut Gallery"

So, as those that may have come to know me a bit might know, I tend to spout out random ridiculous crap sometimes. And now that I am YM pres in my congregation, I get to spout out even more random ridiculous crap. And that has lead me to this weeks weekly word/phrase.

During Priesthood today, the boys, which provide men endless means of enjoyment, (mostly because I can mock them all day, and they seem to think that is affection, which is great, because they love my sarcasm :), were making large amounts of noise and obnoxious comments. That allowed me to utter the phrase...."Quiet in the Peanut Gallery" which was wonderfully poignant I thought. And then, as kids do all too often, they asked "What is the Peanut Gallery? What does that mean?"

Now me, I had never looked up the phrase peanut gallery. Who looks up that phrase? On top of that....who doesn't know what it means? I mean really, this is basic English or so I thought. So, I started to spout of at how at theaters, the cheap seats were called the peanut gallery because the poor people sat there and they served peanuts as food, and if they didn't like what was going on or were just drunk and disorderly they would throw peanuts and their shells! And alas, just to cover my **** (those four asterisks are for the word "self", but it makes it much more intriguing if you don't know what the word really is).

So alas we have our word/phrase for the week:

"The Peanut Gallery"

1. The hindmost or uppermost section of seating in a theater balcony, where the seats are cheapest.

2. A group of people whose opinions are considered unimportant: "Pressure is building ... to force ... Alan Greenspan to cut interest rates and pump up the money supply. [He] has politely ignored these catcalls from the peanut gallery" (H. Erich Heinemann).
3. A peanut gallery s an audience that heckles the performer. The term originated in the days of Vaudeville as a nickname for the cheapest (and ostensibly rowdiest) seats in the theater; the cheapest snack served at the theater would often be Peanuts, which the patrons would sometimes throw at the performers on stage to show their disapproval. The phrases "no comments from the peanut gallery" or "quiet in the peanut gallery" are extensions of the name.

In the late 1940s the Howdy Doody show adopted the name to represent their audience of 40 kids.

So, there you have it folks...the Peanut Gallery! Enjoy!

Weekly Word: Farding

Oh, you are gonna love me for this one.

Yes yes, I know you don't know this word, and I know you know the word it sounds like...but gentlemen, if you want to have a little fun with your special lady friend, or for that matter, just as long as she is a lady friend, doesn't have to be all that special. Or ladies, if you enjoy a little potty mouth every once in a while, or wish to show a little literary hi-brow to those gutter minded men around you, then Farding is the word for you.

So. let's start with what Webster's has to say about Farding:

Main Entry: fard
Pronunciation:\ˈfärd\
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French farder, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German faro colored — more at perch
Date: 15th century
1: to paint (the face) with cosmetics
2 archaic : to gloss over
— fard noun archaic

So, next time you are late for dinner, and it happens to be because your special lady friend isn't ready...you can quite literally to tell her to stop Farding.....and let's go! :)

Weekly Word: Exegesis

This is one of my favorite ones. I learned this word back in undergrad, and for some reason it has stuck with me. Who would have known that I would still remember it to this day.

So what does it mean?

Exegesis (from the Greek ἐξηγεῖσθαι 'to lead out') is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text.

Now the fun part is how you use it. Most commonly the word is used in an academic setting...like in a summary of a text, an analysis of some written document or something similar. Clearly, it has several uses in law, but lawyers like to ask for a case summary rather than the exegesis of the case, because they don't want analysis or critical explanation...they just want recitation.......BORING!

Challenge of the week....use the word exegesis...even if it is just putting the word in a sentence in the comments on this blog!

Weekly Word: Bifurcate

This weeks word is one that I have come across a lot in the legal context, and I think it is just the funniest word in the world for a few reasons. 1. Because it sounds so weird when you use it...definitely a $0.50 word. 2. Because I don't think that many people know that it has uses outside of the legal world. and 3. Because if you rip out the word bifurcate in a sentence, let me tell you, a lot of people will be impressed with the language. It makes the word Pedantic look like an obnoxious attempt to sound smart without any knowledge of the english language.

According to Webster, it means the following:

transitive verb : to cause to divide into two branches or parts.

In more contextual settings, such as the law:
Bifurcation (law), the division of issues in a trial for example the division of a page into two parts.

And in the world of clothing:
Bifurcation in context of clothing: clothing which separately covers each leg (such as trousers) is called bifurcated clothing, while clothing which covers them jointly (such as skirt) is called unbifurcated clothing.

Things or areas that you may want to or are interested in using Bifurcate:
A road that is under construction and being split, you could use the word bifurcate.
"They are going to bifurcate the highway."

You could use it in the world of work, when a discussion is getting too complex.
"Let's bifurcate this discussion"

That is the end of the the weekly word!