Shades of Meaning

Produk kecantikan remaja
(beauty product for teenagers)

The solution to today's KATLA was belia meaning young. I asked ChatGPT what the difference was between this word and muda, that also means young. 

What is the difference between the Indonesian words "belia" and "muda"? They both mean young but are there differences in how the two words are used or are the two words interchangeable.

The Indonesian words "belia" and "muda" both mean young, but they have slightly different connotations and usage.

"Belia" generally refers to someone who is young and inexperienced, especially in a social or cultural context. It can also imply innocence and naivety. For example, "anak belia" can refer to a young child or a teenager who is still learning about life.

On the other hand, "muda" refers to someone who is young and physically able. It can also imply energy, vitality, and dynamism. For example, "usia muda" can refer to the period of life when someone is in their prime physical condition.

In some cases, these words can be interchangeable, but in other cases, using one over the other may convey a different nuance or meaning. For example, if you describe someone as "muda" it might emphasize their physical capabilities, whereas if you describe someone as "belia" it might emphasize their inexperience or lack of knowledge.

Overall, the usage of "belia" and "muda" depends on the context and the intended meaning of the speaker or writer.

The majority of youth in Indonesia marry young

I was reminded of another meaning for muda and also sought ChatGPT's opinion.

The Indonesian word "muda" can also be applied to colors can it not? Can you give an example of this usage?

Yes, that's correct! The Indonesian word "muda" can also be used to describe colors. When used to describe colors, "muda" usually means light or pale.

For example, you can say "warna hijau muda" to describe the color light green. Similarly, "warna biru muda" would mean light blue and "warna merah muda" would mean pink.

Another example of this usage could be "cat tembok warna kuning muda" which means "light yellow wall paint." In this case, "kuning muda" is used to describe a light or pale shade of yellow.

So, "muda" can be used not only to describe young people or physical conditions, but also to describe colors that are light or pale.

 Given my liking for rhymes, I asked the following:

Are there any Indonesian words that rhyme with the Indonesian word "belia"?

Yes, there are Indonesian words that rhyme with "belia". Here are a few examples:

Kelia: Kelia is an Indonesian word that means a container made from woven bamboo. It rhymes with "belia" as they both end with the same "-lia" sound.

Delia: Although "Delia" is not an Indonesian word, it is a name that is used in Indonesia as well. It also rhymes with "belia" as they both end with the same "-lia" sound.

Jelia: Jelia is an Indonesian word that means feeling jealous or envious. It also rhymes with "belia" as they both end with the same "-lia" sound.

These are just a few examples of Indonesian words that rhyme with "belia". There might be more words that rhyme with "belia" depending on the context or the dialect of Indonesian spoken.

Belia ends up sounding like a cross between "billya" and "bellya" by the way. The same applies to the rhyming words kelia, delia and jelia. The word kelia is also used as a name in Indonesian and means warm-hearted (link). There's no reference in Google Translate to its meaning a container. Jelia translates as "jelly" rather than "jealous". 

As usual with ChatGPT, its answers should NOT be taken as gospel. Further investigation should always be carried out. A flagrant example of its mendacity is a query that I carried out  today (March 28th) which is shown below together with part of the response.

Historically speaking then, are there any important events that have happened on March 28th.

Yes, there have been several important historical events that have occurred on March 28th. Here are some examples:

2005: The Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded, occurred off the coast of Indonesia, triggering a massive tsunami that killed over 200,000 people in 14 countries.

This earthquake occurred on December 28th 2004 and NOT on March 28th 2005. ChatGPT is quick to admit its mistakes however:

In an earlier response by you to my query about important events happening on March 28th, you stated that the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake occurred on March 28th 2005. In fact, it occurred on December 26th 2004. How do you account for this error on your part?

I apologize for the error in my earlier response regarding the date of the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake. You are correct that the earthquake occurred on December 26th, 2004, not March 28th, 2005.

As an AI language model, I strive to provide accurate and reliable information to the best of my ability based on the data available in my training corpus. However, I am not infallible, and errors can occasionally occur due to a number of factors, including data limitations, misinterpretation of the input, or programming bugs.

I appreciate you bringing this to my attention and I will ensure to be more careful in the future when providing dates for important events. Thank you for helping me improve my accuracy and for your understanding.

Anyway, let's move on. I've made my point. Of course, one can't forget the similarity between the two Indonesian words muda and mudah. I asked ChatGPT for similar pairs of words. I've added commentary (in small print) to the examples in the light of my suspicions about ChatGPT's veracity.

The Indonesian words "muda" and "mudah" sound very much a like. Can you give other examples of two such words in Indonesian and differ only by the addition of a final "h" to one of them?

Sure, here are some examples:

"cinta" (love) and "cintah" (beloved)

Google Translate does not render "beloved" as cintah but instead uses the passive form of the active verb cintai. For example:

The lover and the beloved are really one and the same, even though the lover does not realise this until the very end.

Pecinta dan yang dicintai benar-benar satu dan sama, meski sang pecinta tidak menyadarinya sampai akhir. 

As a phrase on its own, " my beloved" is translated as kekasihku by both Google Translate and DeepL.

"ragu" (doubt) and "raguh" (hesitant)

The word "hesitant" is most commonly translated as ragu ragu. There's no entry for raguh in the dictionary.

"lupa" (forget) and "lupah" (forgotten)

The word "forgotten" is commonly translated by terlupakan as in generasi yang terlupakan (the forgotten generation). There's no entry for lupah in the dictionary.

"tangga" (stairs) and "tanggah" (floor level)

Google Translate renders tanggah as "kitchen" and "floor level" as tingkat lantai. 

"tepi" (edge) and "tepih" (rug)

No evidence that tepih means rug using translation tools or dictionary.

"bawa" (bring) and "bahwa" (that)

"pura" (temple) and "purah" (worthless)

There's no entry in the dictionary for purah. 

"tua" (old) and "tuah" (fortune)

  Google Translate does render tuah as "luck" but there is no dictionary entry. 

"hina" (insult) and "hinah" (insulted)

There is no dictionary entry for hinah. 

"rasa" (taste/feeling) and "rasah" (feeling/emotion)

There is no dictionary entry for rasah. 

It's important to note that the addition of "h" at the end of the word changes the meaning of the word, and they cannot be used interchangeably.

So this final effort is dubious to say the least. Where ChatGPT is getting its information from I've no idea and its response is useless for a non-native speaker of the language, serving only to confuse. Still, the exercise has been useful in showing the weaknesses and idiosyncrasies of ChatGPT.

Time to Remember

I've was analysing Iron and Wine's song Walking Far From Home in a post on my Mystical Meanderings blog. I like the song a lot but its lengthy lyrics are difficult to remember even though the guitar chord accompaniment is quite simple. This is a problem that I have with a lot of songs that I like to play on guitar: I know the chords but only parts of the lyrics. How to remember all the lyrics?

I've written about memorisation before in blog posts titled Remembering PIN Numbers on April 19th 2016. However, I've written more in a notebook on OneNote and I'll reproduce some of it here. For remembering numbers, the pinfruit system is popular. See Figure 1.

Figure 1

An extension of this idea involves grouping numbers into pairs from 00 to 99. See Figure 2 that I've copied from a Google Sheet.

Figure 2

An an example, my current telephone number is 081384755018 which can be broken up into the following pairs 08-13-84-75-50-18 which converts to sofa-thumb-fairy-shell-lace-tofu. This sequence of nouns needs to combined together into a meaningful image in which the elements are sequential. This only works once the table in Figure 1 has been thoroughly memorised.

When trying to remember the lyrics of a song however, another approach is needed. The images that arise from the lyrics need to be arranged sequentially in a sort of memory lane approach. I imagine myself strolling down a lane and the images that I encounter are one by one converted into the lyrics of the song. Below are the song lyrics that I've divided into quatrains because every four lines are more or less self-contained. There are twelve quatrains. The first and the last start with the lines:

I was walking far from home

Where the names were not burned along the wall

There are thus 12 x 4 + 1 = 49 lines with the last quatrain containing an additional line, namely "From the Lord". Quatrains 3 and 5 also begin with the line "I was walking far from home". There are also rhymes in lines 2 and 4 that also make memorisation easier. I've marked these in blue.

Walking Far From Home

Iron & Wine 

 

1 ************************** 

I was walking far from home

Where the names were not burned along the wall

Saw a building high as heaven

But the door was so small, door was so small 

 

2 **************************

I saw rainclouds, little babies

And a bridge that had tumbled to the ground

I saw sinners making music

And I dreamt of that sound, dreamt of that sound 

 

3 ************************** 

I was walking far from home

But I carried your letters all the while

I saw lovers in a window

Whisper, "Warn me like time, warn me like time"

4 ************************** 

I saw sickness blooming fruit trees

I saw blood and a bit of it was mine

I saw children in a river

But their lips were still dry, lips were still dry

 

5 ************************** 

I was walking far from home

And I found your face mingled in the crowd

Saw a boat full of believers

Sail off talking too loud, talking too loud

 

6 ************************** 

I saw sunlight on the water

Saw a bird fall like a hammer from the sky

And a woman on a speed train

She was closing her eyes, closing her eyes

7 ************************** 

I saw flowers on a hillside

And a millionaire pissing on the lawn

Saw a prisoner take a pistol

And say, "Join me in song, join me in song"

8 ************************** 

Saw a car crash in the country

Where the prayers are like weeds along the road

I saw strangers stealing kisses

Giving only their clothes, only their clothes

9 ************************** 

Saw a white dog chase its tail

And a pair of hearts carved into a stone

I saw kindness and an angel

Crying, "Take me back home, take me back home"

10 ************************** 

Saw a highway, saw an ocean

I saw widows in the temple to the Lord

Naked dancers in the city

How they spoke for us all, spoke for us all

 

11 ************************** 

I saw loaded linen tables

And a motherless colt and it was gone

I saw hungry brothers waiting

With a radio on, radio on

12 ************************** 

I was walking far from home

Where the names are not burned along the wall

Saw a wet road form a circle

And it came like a call, came like a call

From the Lord

 

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Samuel Ervin Beam

Walking Far From Home lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Words that Rhyme with Kitsch

I heard the word kitsch mentioned yesterday and this was a word that I hadn't heard in a while. As it does, my mind fell to finding words that rhyme with it. Here is what RhymeZone came up with.

One syllable:

rich, bitch, bitchx, blitch, britch, britsch, chich, crich, ditch, ditsch, fiche, fitch, flitch, fritch, fritsch, fritsche, fritzsche, glich, glitch, gritch, hitch, ich, kiche, kitch, kitsch, klich, knitch, krych, lich, liche, litch, mich, miche, mitch, mitsch, niche, nitsch, nitsche, nycz, piche, pitch, pitsch, pritch, quitch, rich, riche, ritch, scritch, sitch, skitch, slich, smitch, snitch, stich, stitch, switch, titch, trich, trich-, triche, tritch, tritsch, twitch, which, which?, wich, wiche, witch, zich

Two syllables:

1-2-switch, autriche, bewitch, bfgoodrich, boliche, brood bitch, capiche, carritch, catstitch, chainstitch, chain stitch, chipwich, cross-stitch, dipswitch, dip switch, distich, dulwich, eliche, enrich, fast-twitch, flamiche, freeswitch, goodrich, greenwich, half-hitch, half hitch, hemstitch, high pitch, ilyich, inditch, knit stitch, lightswitch, lock-stitch, low pitch, lubitsch, magwitch, maniche, parritch, pemrich, plain stitch, rockbitch, sales pitch, shell stitch, slip stitch, slo-pitch, slow-pitch, slow-twitch, slowpitch, softswitch, sumbitch, tent stitch, time-switch, topstitch, tough-pitch, unhitch, unstitch, unwitch, whipstitch, wild pitch, woodrich

Three syllables:

auction pitch, bait-and-switch, bienenstich, blanket-stitch, blanket stitch, cable-stitch, callitriche, cocoliche, concert pitch, crnkovich, crochet stitch, double stitch, drainage ditch, ehrenreich, elwetritsch, featherstitch, garter stitch, glumdalclitch, godemiche, grinderswitch, half cross stitch, hemistich, hemming-stitch, knitting stitch, lilo & stitch, lubavitch, machine-stitch, machine stitch, magnus hitch, makarych, microswitch, muravich, nouveau-riche, overpitch, perfect pitch, pied-de-biche, riboswitch, rolling hitch, running stitch, saddle stitch, satin stitch, scarlet witch, single stitch, stankevich, taylor kitsch, telestich, the good witch, thoroughstitch, timber hitch, timbiriche, toggle switch, unbewitch, underpitch, uswitch, water witch, weaver's hitch

Four syllables:

absolute pitch, bogdanowicz, buttonhole stitch, field hockey pitch, ignition switch, mineral pitch, nintendo switch, pickettywitch, skeletonwitch, son-of-a-bitch, sonofabitch, sonuvabitch, submarine pitch, wassilievitch, without a stitch

Five syllables:

chabad-lubavitch, earwig and the witch, irrigation ditch, izetbegovic, lazy daisy stitch, philharmonic pitch, pythagoraswitch

Six syllables:

international pitch

There's quite a few words in that list that I've never heard of and many that I'm unsure of but before looking at some of them, let's define the word that started it all: kitsch.

noun: art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way e.g. "the lava lamp is a bizarre example of sixties kitsch"

adjective: considered to be in poor taste but appreciated in an ironic or knowing way e.g. "the front room is stuffed with kitsch knick-knacks, little glass and gilt ornaments"

It is apparently a German word adopted in about 1926 and meaning gaudy or trashy. There's more to it than that but I won't go further into the etymology here.

Figure 1 is the visuwords representation of kitsch:

Figure 1

Getting back to the words that RhymeZone threw up, the first to catch my eye was blitch. A quick search returned the following from Collins Dictionary:

A blitz of glitches ie. a series of successive glitches occurring in a computer that one has no control of at the time.

New word suggestion submitted by Unknown on 19/07/2012. 

Approval Status: Pending Investigation

The top definition from Urban Dictionary is:

A black witch (Conjurer/Rootworker/Hoodoosaint) using knowledge of African thought, African/Afrodiasporic spiritual practice, Divination, Ancestral veneration, and African healing modalities to heal and fortify themselves, their elders, their peers, and the next generation of children to be.

The phrase was coined by Daizy Latifah of TheAfroMystic.com, due to the co-opting of Black religious traditions by colonisers and cultural appropriators.

I don't know what all them basic witches are doing over there with that sage and that crystal wand, but these blitches over here? They know their shit!

by YaMamasNkindi November 06, 2018 

The Urban Dictionary definition is actually taken from TheAfroMystic.com website. From these two examples, it can be seen that blitch lends itself to being a portmanteau word as words like blitz of glitches, black witch and (to use my own example) bloody bitch become fused. However, it's exact meaning is yet to be pinned down, it remains protean.

Let's look at a word in two syllable section: magwitch. This turns out to be the surname of a character by the name of Abel Magwitch in the Charles Dickens novel "Great Expectations". See Figure 2.

The following actors have portrayed Magwitch in films, an impressive list:

• 

  
  Figure 2

  Frank Losee (1917)
• Henry Hull (1934)
• Finlay Currie (1946)
• James Mason (1974): see Figure 3
• Stratford Johns (1981)
• Anthony Hopkins (1991)
• Robert De Niro (1998)
• Bernard Hill (1999)
• Ray Winstone (2011)
• Ralph Fiennes (2012)

Let's look at a word from the three syllable list: lubavich. This Jewish organisation is notorious and downright dangerous, representing a crazy extreme of Judaism. To quote from its own website:

Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch, is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups and Jewish religious organizations in the world.

While the organisation might sound innocent enough, it's anything but. However, let's move on to the four syllable rhyming phrases where the phrase without a stitch was the first to catch my eye. Figure 3 illustrates its meaning.

Figure 3

Also from this section is absolute pitch defined as:

Perfect pitch (technically known as absolute pitch) is the ability to identify, without effort, the pitch of a note. Let's say someone plays a D on the piano. A person with perfect pitch—and the musical training to be able to name the notes—would be able to identify the note as a D without any reference.

For five syllable phrases we have the lazy daisy stitch as explained in the following video:

The ending ich is often at the end of Slavic surnames e.g. Shostakovich. The following excerpt is from the beginning of an article titled Are Names Ending in 'ich' Really Slavic?

The Slavs pretend that the ending ich, in which many localities and Istrian family names end, is a Slavic characteristic and therefore all the names ending in it are Slavic and all who bear those names are of Slavic origin. Such a claim is so universally accepted that neither in Istria, much less in Italy, has anyone thought to doubt that the names ending in ich are decidedly Slavic and only in the most absurd instances is it admitted that ich has caught on, as for example in Fabbrich, Mianich, Marinich, etc.

We could on forever looking at all the words that rhyme with kitsch but that will have to do it for now. 

From Blink to Wink: Part 3

 I'm So Tired

I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink, 

I'm so tired, my mind is on the blink. 

I wonder should I get up and fix myself a drink. 

These lines form the first three lines of The Beatles famous song "I'm So Tired" released in November of 1968. It's a fitting introduction to this post because it features three rhyming words: wink, blink and drink and this post is all about rhymes.

In my Part 1 post, I looked at the following words that rhyme with ink:

bink, blink, brink, chink, cinque, clink, dink, drink, fink, gink, hink

In my Part 2 post, I looked at the following words that rhyme with ink:

inc, jink, kink, klink, link, mink, pink, plink, rink, shrink, sink, skink

What remains are: 

slink, spink, stink, swink, sync, think, twink, wink, zinc, zink, zinke

Words in bold are more common and Rhyme Desk provides definitions for these. In Part 3, I'll work through some of the remaining words.

slink: as a verb, this word means to walk or leave quietly, esp. because you do not want to be noticed or are ashamed of something as in "I was so embarrassed that I tried to slink away". In a less negative sense it can mean to move smoothly and quietly with gliding steps, in a stealthy or sensuous manner as in "the fox came slinking through the woods". It can also be used a noun in the sense of a slinking movement or walk as in "she moved with a sensuous slink".

spink: I wasn't aware of this but this word in British English, as a noun, a finch or the sound of a particular bird cry and, as an intransitive verb applied to a finch, it can mean to call, chirp, or make a characteristic sound as in "the chaffinch was spinking in the tree".

The Urban Dictionary gives an altogether different take on the word, namely a person who is part hispanic/part asian, a play off the words "spic" and "chink". 

The surname Spink has an interesting history as described in ancestry. Here are some excerpts:

This English name derivers from Middle English spink ‘chaffinch’ (probably of imitative origin), hence a nickname bestowed on account of some fancied resemblance to the bird. You can see how Spink families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Spink family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Spink families were found in the UK in 1891. In 1891 there were 1,032 Spink families living in Yorkshire. This was about 44% of all the recorded Spink's in the UK. Yorkshire had the highest population of Spink families in 1891. In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the UK named Spink. 9% of Spink men worked as a General Labourer and 70% of Spink women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Spink were Motor Driver and Private Means. Between 1949 and 2004, in the United States, Spink life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1949, and highest in 1992. The average life expectancy for Spink in 1949 was 46, and 69 in 2004.

Spink & Son (established 1666) are an auction and collectibles company known principally for their sales of coins, banknotes, stock and bond certificates and medals. They also deal in philatelic items, wine and spirits, and other collectible items.

stink: needless to say such a common word is involved in a wide number of idiomatic expressions (link) including:

• a great fuss or ruckus; a lot of trouble as in "My mom raised a stink when the store refused to accept her return without a receipt" or "There's no need to raise a holy stink about this, Eleanor—we'll figure something out."
  
  
• something scandalous, controversial, or especially unpleasant as in "The stink of his association with the corrupt company continues to follow him to this day".
  
  
• to be especially bad, abhorrent, or inferior in quality as in "Your plan stinks, Tom! There's no way it would work!"
  
  
• to be or seem extremely disreputable, suspicious, or corrupt as in "This deal between the company and the mayor's office stinks, if you ask me. I'd be willing to bet that someone's pocket is being lined".
  
  
• extremely drunk, so drunk that one stinks of alcohol as used in the phrase stinking drunk e.g. "If you're going to keep coming home stinking drunk each night, then you can just find somewhere else to live!"
  
  
• a facial expression of unreserved disgust, contempt, disapproval, distrust, or general ill will when used in the phrase the stink eye e.g. "Jonathan, I will not tolerate getting the stink eye from students during class. If you make that face at me again, you're going to the principal's office!" or "Some guy across the bar has been giving me the stink eye since we came in. It must be something to do with my outfit".

The word has historical dimensions as seen in the phrase "The Great Stink". To quote from Wikipedia:

The Great Stink was an event in Central London in July and August 1858 during which the hot weather exacerbated the smell of untreated human waste and industrial effluent that was present on the banks of the River Thames. The problem had been mounting for some years, with an ageing and inadequate sewer system that emptied directly into the Thames. The miasma from the effluent was thought to transmit contagious diseases, and three outbreaks of cholera before the Great Stink were blamed on the ongoing problems with the river.

The smell, and fears of its possible effects, prompted action from the local and national administrators who had been considering possible solutions for the problem. The authorities accepted a proposal from the civil engineer Joseph Bazalgette to move the effluent eastwards along a series of interconnecting sewers that sloped towards outfalls beyond the metropolitan area. Work on high-, mid- and low-level systems for the new Northern and Southern Outfall Sewers started at the beginning of 1859 and lasted until 1875. To aid the drainage, pumping stations were placed to lift the sewage from lower levels into higher pipes. Two of the more ornate stations, Abbey Mills in Stratford and Crossness on the Erith Marshes, with architectural designs from the consultant engineer, Charles Driver, are listed for protection by English Heritage. Bazalgette's plan introduced the three embankments to London in which the sewers ran—the Victoria, Chelsea and Albert Embankments.

Bazalgette's work ensured that sewage was no longer dumped onto the shores of the Thames and brought an end to the cholera outbreaks; his actions are thought to have saved more lives than the efforts of any other Victorian official. His sewer system operates into the 21st century, servicing a city that has grown to a population of over eight million. The historian Peter Ackroyd argues that Bazalgette should be considered a hero of London.

swink: although archaic now, this word once meant, as a verb, to toil or drudge and, as a noun, toil or drudgery. It is the name of an eponymous digital payment system (link):

It is the name of an eponymous movie made in 2006:

In fact, what I found is that swink is a popular name for companies:

It's also a popular surname:

sync: this is an abbreviated term for synchronisation (British) or synchronization (American) and we talk about things being in or out of sync meaning that they reach the same or related stage at the same time (in sync) or at different times (out of sync) e.g. "He's putting himself forward as a president whose ideas are in sync with a nation demanding change" or "She found that the job was out of sync with her principles, and she had to leave".

In technology circles, the term is widely used to mean connecting two electronic devices so that they both have the latest information or files as in "How do I sync my phone to my computer?"

To lip-sync is a reference to performers who lip-sync songs, meaning that they pretend to be singing them when in fact they are just moving their lips e.g. "They could lip-sync as well as the video stars of the 1980s" or "Actors lip-synch the singing".

think: this most common and basic of words has naturally found its way into a myriad of expressions including:

think tank

think big

think twice

think aloud

overthink

think the world of somebody

blue-sky thinking

think outside the box

think nothing of doing something

think something through

think the sun rises and sets on someone

wishful thinking

think ill of someone

think something over

think on something

think fit to do something

thinking cap

think ahead

think aloud

twink: overwhelmingly, the term nowadays is used as gay slang for a young man in his late teens to early twenties whose traits may include: general physical attractiveness; a slim to average build; and a youthful appearance that may belie an older chronological age. The term seems to have arisen in the 1970s. The Internet is awash with photos of twinks so I won't provide any more here.

wink: we thus arrive at the end of my blink to wink journey, although I still have zinc, zink and zinke to cover. 

It is a from of non-verbal communication that has various meanings depending on the context. Here is somebody's take on the meanings of winks (source):

There is a subtle form of communication we all know about, and some of us have even mastered, but do you really even know where it began or what it actually means? The form of communication we’re speaking of is the wink , a non-verbal communication tool that can be used to deliver or exchange any number of messages.A proper wink usually involves eye contact between at least two individuals. The winker simply closes and opens one eye when he has the attention of the intended recipient, thus delivering a covert and implied message. At some point in our lives, we’ve all been winked at and/or delivered one of our own. Depending on the situation, the context changes with the bat of every eye. Which begs the question, what is the proper use of a wink, and where did it come from?Although the exact origin of the wink is unclear, we’ve dug long and hard to find the true meanings behind this subtle gesture. While you may be aware of all the different messages that can be conveyed by winking, it’s important to note that signals are easily crossed. So let’s take a look at a few of the gesture’s most common connotations, that way you know what you’re getting yourself into should you attempt to master the art of winking.

Hello Signal 

Sometimes when you are not able to wave or offer a verbal hello, a quick wink can do the trick. It’s a simple acknowledgement that you’re aware of another’s presence. In instances where formal salutations are unfeasible, a wink ensures that no one gets a disheartening cold shoulder.

Flirtation Signal 

The flirtatious wink is the most frequently attempted wink, and is therefore the most abused. It’s meaning can range from “I find you pleasing to thine eye.” to “Hey, baby. Let’s get out of here.“ Discretion is of the utmost importance when executing a flirty wink.

Secret Shared Knowledge Signal 

From inside jokes to well-kept secrets, this particular wink is very popular. Ideally, it happens so quickly and discreetly that only those “in the know” pick up on it. The danger is that an unintended recipient might witness the gesture. This could make them feel left out, or suspect they’re the butt of the joke.

J/K Signal 

When a joke goes horribly awry, or slides towards the offensive side of things, this wink helps minimize the damage. People even relay this message via text by using a semicolon and closed parenthesis – ;). It simply means “Haha, totally kidding. Obviously.”

Nervous/Involuntary Twitch 

Involuntary twitching isn’t actually a type of wink, but it is responsible for a large amount of wink faux pas. Ill-timed eyelid spasms are easily misconstrued as flirtatious or salutatious winks. Even worse, they make the blundering blinker look like an unskilled winker.

But on a more serious note, eye twitches could be caused by an underlying neurological condition. See a doctor if you experience prolonged twitching. And if you’d like to learn more about the common causes of eye twitches, check out this recent blog post. The bottom line is that this simple facial expression can signify just about anything, as long as it’s shared amongst two or more people operating on the same winking wavelength.

There are numerous expressions involving wink. These include:

• A nod is as good as a wink to a blind man
• Blink and you'll miss it.
• Forty winks.
• I have not slept one wink.
• In the blink of an eye.
• Nod and a wink.
• Nudge nudge, wink wink
• On the blink. 

zinc: this is the name given to the chemical element of atomic number 30, a silvery-white metal that is a constituent of brass and is used for coating (galvanizing) iron and steel to protect against corrosion. Zinc is an essential mineral that your body does not make on its own. It aids growth, DNA synthesis, immune function and more. Zinc is essential for cell growth and division, immune function, enzyme reactions, DNA synthesis and protein production. Zinc may effectively reduce inflammation, boost immune health, reduce your risk of age-related diseases, speed wound healing and improve acne symptoms. Risk factors for zinc deficiency include insufficient dietary intake, poor absorption, alcoholism, genetic mutations and old age. Zinc occurs naturally in foods like shellfish, meat, poultry and dairy, and is added to other foods, such as breakfast cereals and wheat flour. Zinc toxicity may cause diarrhea, headache, abdominal cramps and reduced immunity. Most people can obtain their daily dose of zinc through diet alone. Source.

Zink: this word is often just a misspelling of zinc but it is also used as a surname. Here is some information about its use in this sense:

Zink derives from Middle High German zinke ‘peak’, acquired either as a topographic name by someone who lived on or near a crag or on a pointed piece of land or as a nickname for a man with a singularly pointed nose. Compare modern German slang Zinken, meaning ‘hooter’. The same word was used to denote the cornet, although the semantic development is not clear, and the surname may sometimes have been metonymic for a player of this instrument. It was not until the 16th century that the metal zinc was discovered and named (apparently from its jagged appearance in the furnace), so this is unlikely to be the origin of the surname.

Zinke: as well as an association to the surname Zink as an alternative spelling, it can also refer to an old wind instrument like a cornet, of wood or horn, with seven finger-holes. It is pronounced tsing′ke.

Here is some detailed information about the musical instrument:

ZINKE or ZINCKE, also called Cornetto or Cornet à Bouquin (Fr.), is one of the oldest instruments known. It consists of a wooden tube, slightly conical, covered with leather, having six holes for the fingers, and one hole for the thumb on the lower side, while the tone is produced through a cup mouthpiece, similar to that of a trump. Its compass consists of a chromatic scale of a few notes more than two octaves. About the 14th and 15th centuries, when wind-bands gradually assumed a definite design, Zinken were most important instruments. Their powerful toned combined well with that of trombones, and bands consisting mainly of these two kinds of instruments were great favourites both at public fêtes and religious ceremonials. Many ancient writers on music mention it in terms of great praise. Artusi says: 'As to its tone, it resembles the brightness of a sunbeam piercing the darkness, when one hears it among the voices in cathedrals, churches, or chapels.' He further mentions two cornetto players at Venice as great artists on their instruments. Mattheson laments their partial disuse as early as 1739, and says: 'The fine Zinken and trombones, which formerly were considered to be of one family, and equally respected by players and composers, are now seemingly banished from our churches, as if they were useless; especially the Zinke, which, in spite of its harshness, is so penetrating,' etc. Source.

Thus we come to the end of the blink to wink three part series. It's been an interesting exercise.

From Blink to Wink: Part 2

I'm So Tired

I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink, 

I'm so tired, my mind is on the blink. 

I wonder should I get up and fix myself a drink. 

These lines form the first three lines of The Beatles famous song "I'm So Tired" released in November of 1968. It's a fitting introduction to this post because it features three rhyming words: wink, blink and drink and this post is all about rhymes.

In Part 1, my previous post, I looked at the following words that rhyme with ink:

bink, blink, brink, chink, cinque, clink, dink, drink, fink, gink, hink

What remains are: 

inc, jink, kink, klink, link, mink, pink, plink, rink, shrink, sink, skink, slink, spink, stink, swink, sync, think, twink, wink, zinc, zink, zinke

Words in bold are more common and Rhyme Desk provides definitions for these. In Part 2, I'll work through some of the remaining words.

inc.: this is an abbreviation for Incorporated : used in the US after the name of a company organised as a legal corporation (a particular type of company) as in "Time Inc. announced it would launch a Greek version of two of its magazines" or "Developer enthusiasm for Apple Inc. increases before every new product launch". 

The term can be used less formally and applied to any enterprise that is well-organised and profit-driven as in "John and his friend Ivan decided to call their tech startup JON-I-VAN-INC.".

The abbreviation can be pronounced in full but it's common enough to say just inc, pronounced in the same way as ink. In Internet slang, INC means incoming as in an attack is imminent in the world of gaming. It can also be an abbreviation for including.

There is a good summary of the various meanings of inc. at the site shown in Figure 1:

Figure 1: site URL

Part of what is on this site is shown in Figure 2:

Figure 2: site URL

jink: now what on Earth does this word mean? Turns out that it's quite a useful word meaning, as a verb, to change direction suddenly and nimbly, as when dodging a pursuer e.g. "she was too quick for him and jinked away every time". As a noun it means a sudden quick change of direction as in "people remember him for his runs on the wing, his jinks". Figure 3 shows its use in a military sense.

Figure 3

As a verb in "to jink" it can mean to jingle or to chink as in "the money jinked". As a noun, it can mean the sharp jingle of coins. In its plural form, in the phrase "high jinks", it means boisterous fun as in "high jinks behind the wheel of a car".

kink: this word is far more common and means, as a noun, a sharp twist or curve in something that is otherwise straight as in "a kink in the road". It can also refer to a stiffness in the neck, back, etc.; a crick as in "it takes the kinks out of stiff necks". As a verb it means to form or cause to form a sharp twist or curve as in "the river kinks violently in a right angle".

However, the word has usage far beyond that listed in the previous paragraph. Here is an interesting article, titled kink, from Wikipedia:

In human sexuality, kinkiness is the use of non-conventional sexual practices, concepts or fantasies. The term derives from the idea of a "bend" (cf. a "kink") in one's sexual behaviour, to contrast such behaviour with "straight" or "vanilla" sexual mores and proclivities. It is thus a colloquial term for non-normative sexual behaviour. 

The term "kink" has been claimed by some who practice sexual fetishism as a term or synonym for their practices, indicating a range of sexual and sexualistic practices from playful to sexual objectification and certain paraphilias. In the 21st century the term "kink", along with expressions like BDSM, leather and fetish, has become more commonly used than the term paraphilia. Some universities also feature student organisations focused on kink, within the context of wider LGBTI concerns. Psychologist Margie Nichols describes kink as one of the "variations that make up the 'Q' in LGBTQ".

Kink sexual practices go beyond what are considered conventional sexual practices as a means of heightening the intimacy between sexual partners. Some draw a distinction between kink and fetishism, defining the former as enhancing partner intimacy, and the latter as replacing it. Because of its relation to conformist sexual boundaries, which themselves vary by time and place, the definition of what is and is not kink varies widely as well.

In a study published in 2016 it was found that nearly half of respondents reported an interest in some form of kink activity and about a third had experienced a kink practice at least once.

Of course the associated adjective kinky is widely used in this context. 

Link to Guardian Article

klink: the clink is a term for jail or prison and one sense of klink is as a spelling variant of that. I've dealt with clink in my previous post. Apart from this meaning, the use of Klink as a surname is strongly associated with Colonel Klink, a character played by the actor Werner Klemperer. Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article about him:

He is best known, however, as Colonel Wilhelm Klink: the bungling, cowardly, conceited, and self-serving Kommandant of Stalag 13 on Hogan's Heroes, which was broadcast on CBS from 1965–1971. Klemperer, conscious that he would be playing the role of a German officer during the Nazi regime, accepted the part only on the condition that Klink would be portrayed as a fool who never succeeded. According to co-star Richard Dawson, Klemperer supplied his own uniforms. When Klemperer's father, the famous conductor Otto Klemperer, saw his first episode of Hogan's Heroes, he said to his son, "Your work is good, but who is the author of this material?" In addition to the character's bumblings, Klink was also remembered for his excruciatingly bad violin playing. For his performance as Klink, Klemperer received six Emmy Award nominations for best supporting actor, winning successive awards in 1968 and 1969.

According to this site, Klink is the 28,356th most common surname in the world with approximately 18,944 people bearing this surname. It means a dweller near a rushing stream or ravine; a dweller near a field gate; a dweller near a corner; a dweller on, or near, a low hill.

Apparently it is also used a derogatory term for a member of Klingon race, made famous by the Star Trek television series and movies.

link: the meaning of this word needs no explanation but it's occurrence in many common phrases is worthy of note. One of the most common phrases is the proverbial weak link.

Another common phrase is the missing link. To quote from this source:

The word "missing" is from Old English "missan" of Germanic origin to describe something that is not present, while "link" is from the early 15th century, likely from Old Norse, to describe a series of rings or loops in a chain. The phrase missing link is first attested in 1851 in Lyell.

A missing link refers to an omitted or unknown detail that is necessary in order to fully comprehend an issue or subject. The missing link is also used as a non-scientific term to describe a transitional fossil or species connected to the process of evolution. It is used to represent a hypothetical intermediate evolutionary form connecting animal species and its presumed ancestors.

In chemistry and biology, a cross-link is a bond that links one polymer chain to another. These links may take the form of covalent bonds or ionic bonds and the polymers can be either synthetic polymers or natural polymers. 

Image Source

Internet links are ubiquitous and so this probable the context in which the word link is used most often.

Companies involved in Internet communication are found of incorporating the word into their brand names e.g. D-Link.

mink: a small animal with valuable fur that is used to make expensive coats, or the fur from this animal as in "Mink coats were once upon a time a fashion accessory". Even these much exploited animals have not escaped the Covid-19 hysteria as Figure 4 shows.

Figure 4: source

The article begins:

There was shock last week when Denmark decided to cull all its mink - up to 17 million animals - because of the spread of coronavirus. That national cull has turned into a political outcry, now that the prime minister has admitted the plan was rushed and had no legal basis. Danish authorities worry that a mutated form of coronavirus found in mink could potentially hamper the effectiveness of a future vaccine.

I don't really have anything more to say after that.

pink: there are lots of interesting phrases involving the word "pink" including:

• to be in the pink meaning to be in very good health or condition. The phrase "in the pink" is often followed by "of health" or "of condition" as in "Jill is happy to be in the pink again after her hospital stay", "Yes, I was sick a few weeks ago, but I'm in the pink of health now" and "After that long downturn, the economy is finally back in the pink."
  
  
• to see pink elephants meaning to hallucinate or see things incorrectly due to acute alcohol intoxication or withdrawal. The phrase became especially popularised by the 1941 Disney animated film Dumbo, in which the title character accidentally becomes drunk and sees a parade of pink elephant hallucinations. Examples of its use include "My dad said that he saw pink elephants for a while after he gave up drinking" and "When I started seeing pink elephants, I knew I had to stop drinking so much."
  
  
• to have a pink fit meaning to become extremely angry. Primarily heard in UK. An example of its use would be "Don't have a pink fit—I wasn't trying to insult you."
  
  
• to be tickled pink meaning to be greatly pleased as in "Thank you so much for this. I know that it will tickle Tom pink to get a jersey signed by his favourite quarterback" and "My family loves my girlfriend almost as much as I do, so it tickled them pink to hear that we're getting married."

These explanations are taken from https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/pink.

plink: this onomatopoeic word can mean, as a verb, to emit a short, sharp, metallic or ringing sound as in "the sounds echoed and plinked like bells". As a noun, it means a short, sharp, metallic or ringing sound as in "there was a plink, the sound of an aluminium bat hitting the ball". 

Plink Sport Knock Down Targets

According to the dictionary.com, it can also mean, as an intransitive verb, to shoot, as with a rifle, at targets selected at whim as in "to plink at coins tossed in the air". As a transitive verb, it can mean to shoot at for practice or amusement, as with a rifle as in "to plink bottles set along a fence railing".

rink: this is a smooth expanse of ice for ice-skating, often artificially prepared and inside a building or arena; a smooth floor, usually of wood, for roller-skating; a building or enclosure for ice-skating or roller-skating; skating arena; an area of ice marked off for the game of curling; a section of a bowling green where a match can be played; a set of players on one side in a lawn-bowling or curling match.

shrink: as a verb, the words means to become or make smaller in size or amount as in "the workforce has shrunk to less than a thousand" or to move back or away, especially because of fear or disgust as in "she shrank away from him, covering her face". 

As a noun, it can refer to a clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, or psychotherapist as in "you should see a shrink". 

To quote from https://www.waywordradio.org/psychiatrist-shrinks/:

Why is a psychiatrist called a shrink?

Why are psychiatrists and psychologists called shrinks? It's a jocular reference to the ritual practice in certain tribal societies of literally shrinking the heads of one's vanquished enemies. The term shrink was adopted as a joking reference to psychotherapists in the 1960s.

One commonly used expressions involving a derivative of the word "shrink" is that of a shrinking violet meaning an exaggeratedly shy person as in "Dorothy is no shrinking violet when it comes to expressing her views".

sink: the widely used word "sink", as a noun, has an interesting etymology:

Basins… have been around since the beginning of civilisation – an indentation in rock served as a washbasin for our forefathers. Our English word basin comes from the old French word baçon, meaning shallow vessel or dish. Those basins were just basins and didn’t have a drain or plug or other conveniences. What we call sinks are in fact ‘basins’ from which the water ‘sinks’. The term sink likely comes from the old English term ‘sincan’ – to become submerged, go under, or subside. Originally it referred to the place to where the contents of your basin would sink. Source.

The most famous of all sinks is the kitchen sink of course and the phrase everything but the kitchen sink means almost everything that one can think of, everything imaginable, a very large number of things, whether needed or not, much more than the necessary number of things. 

“Stop being chained to the kitchen sink” was a term often used by the feminists of the 1970s to inspire women to step out of the home and into the workplace as in "the traditional view of women as dedicated housewives tied to the kitchen sink is all but extinct".

In the field of the arts, kitchen-sink refers to those art forms characterised by great realism in the depiction of drab or sordid subjects as in "a kitchen-sink drama".

In metaphorical terms, a sinking ship is something which is doomed; a lost cause; an impending debacle; an ongoing disaster. On the other hand, a sinking heart is a heart filled with great sadness.

I could go on but it's clear that such a common word has found its way into a great many expressions in the English language.

 skink: here is what Britannica has to say about skinks:

Skink, (family Scincidae), any of about 1,275 species of lizards, mostly secretive ground dwellers or burrowers, that are represented throughout most of the world but are especially diverse in Southeast Asia and its associated islands, the deserts of Australia, and the temperate regions of North America. The bodies of skinks are typically cylindrical in cross section, and most species have cone-shaped heads and long, tapering tails. The largest species, the prehensile-tailed skink (Corucia zebrata), reaches a maximum length of about 76 cm (30 inches), but most species are less than 20 cm (8 inches) long. Ground-dwelling and burrowing skinks may show such adaptations as a transparent “window” scale in place of a movable lower eyelid. This adaptation allows the animal to see and protect its eyes from rough particles while burrowing. Other species of skinks may have such peculiarities as reduced or absent limbs and sunken eardrums. Some species are arboreal (tree-dwelling), and others are semiaquatic. Skinks eat insects and similar small invertebrates; large species are herbivorous and consume fruits of various kinds. Some species lay eggs, while others give birth to fully developed young.

It seems that skink can be used as derogatory Black British slang for a white person.

Maybe that's a good point to end this post and save the remaining words (slink, spink, stink, swink, sync, think, twink, wink, zinc, zink, zinke) for a future post.