WordMaster Wizardry

I play a word game on my iPhone called WordMaster and last night I reached the highest score that I've ever achieved in the game. See Figure 1.

Figure 1

I was helped by a phenonomenal point score of 203 for the word BEEFLESS that not only used all seven letters but also fell across a Triple Word Square. This was the highest score that I've ever received for a word. See Figure 2.

Figure 2

I was also aided by another score of 102 for JOUR that also fell on a Triple Word Square. See Figure 3.

Figure 3

There's not much more to say except that I felt I needed to record the accomplishment.

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.

Normies and Associated Words

I notice that James Corbett of Corbett Report fame has been using this term for some time now and it's a term that perfectly suits a friend of mine who is an utter conformist when it comes to accepting whatever mainstream media propaganda is being trotted out. The top urban dictionary definition of the word is "a person who keeps up with mainstream media, and does what popular culture tells them to do". Here is part of longer definition on the same site:

A person gravitating to social standards, accepted practices, and fads of their own time & geographic grouping without broader cultural perspectives from which they draw. Normies possess a lack of interest in ideas not easily accessible or being outside of their/society's current range of acceptance. A straight. A follower. Most normies adopt a "popularity is the only measure of good or bad" mindset at an early age. Normies typically have a sense of cultural superiority over "counter culture" movements & foreign cultures. They will often try to discredit out cultures or choices falling outside of their majority think claiming those of other dispositions are mentally ill or out of touch with reality.

The equivalent term from my youth (late 60s and early 70s) would have been someone described as straight, who didn't smoke marijuana and take psychedelics, and had conservative political views. Nowadays, especially since the Covid-1984 scamdemic/plandemic was unleashed, a normie is someone who accepts the "official narrative" as propounded by MSM (mainstream media) sources.

Despite being a septuagenarian, I realise that there are other takes on the term "normie", especially in regards to memes on social media. Figure 1 illustrates this:

Figure 1

This investigation led me on to weeb versus normie with Figure 2 showing an infographic on the meaning of the former term:

Figure 2: source

However, there's a plethora of associated terms as can be seen in Figure 3. I can personally identify as a Boomer in the graphic and then, in addition to Normies and Weebs, there are Geeks, Memers, Gamers, Cosplayers, Bronies and Furries. I'm familiar with Geeks and Gamers and I know what a Meme is but I'm not familiar with Cosplayers and Bronies. I think Furries are people who like depicting humans with animal characteristics (cat ears, tails etc.).

Figure 3: source

One urban dictionary definition of a furry is (from March of 2021):

1. Someone with an interest in anthropomorphic animals.

2. An anthro or a human/ultra humanoid animal character. (Popular examples being Loona from HelluvaBoss, Lola Bunny, Beastars characters, etc.)

The furry fandom is a subculture focused around cartoon animals, anthropomorphic animals, and human-animal hybrids, commonly expressed through art, costumes, cosplay, roleplay, media, etc.

A definition of cosplay is literally "Costume Play", dressing up and pretending to be a fictional character (usually a sci-fi, comic book, or anime character). 

A brony is described as follows in this definition from September 2013:

A fan of the show "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic". Often male, but female fans are not uncommon. Bronies usually show a want to be accepted as normal people, but don't appear to realise that to be treated the same as anyone else, they need to stop making sure everyone knows and remembers that they are a brony at all times, without fail. They also don't appear to understand that most people don't appreciate the internet being taken over by their fandom, which is another main cause for the hate of bronies.

Here is good definition of dank that seems to pop up a lot amidst the previous terms:

Dank, is an adjective which is over-used by people in general and mostly by people trying to appear cool to their stoner friends. Dank means dark, sticky, gooey, and potent. It was originally a common word to describe disgusting basements and caves ect. Then the world of pot took it over and was using it very correctly to describe very potent strains of marijuana, seeing as the definition of dank meets all the qualities you find in good marijuana. Then "squares" and people who wanted to look cool to stoners started using it to describe anything they think is "cool" which in turns makes them believe they themselves are "cool" as well. In reality it makes them seem as illiterate as an ape. M&M's are not dank, chips are not dank, and your clothes are definitely not dank, you need to stop overusing and killing the word.

All this takes us right back to good old normy, norm, Norm (as in a person's name), normal and normality, normalcy, normalization/normalisation, normally, normative etc. with the etymology of normal being described as follows (source):

c. 1500, "typical, common;" 1640s, in geometry, "standing at a right angle, perpendicular," from Late Latin normalis "in conformity with rule, normal," in classical Latin "made according to a carpenter's square," from norma "rule, pattern," literally "carpenter's square," a word of unknown origin (see norm). Meaning "conforming to common standards or established order or usage, regular, usual" is attested from 1828 but probably is older than the record [Barnhart].

VOCABULARY: words ending in OSIS

Continuing with my pre-sleep activities, I'd been thinking about words ending in OSIS but could remember only a frustrating few such as psychosis, neurosis, mitosis, meiosis and kurtosis. I knew there must be many more. A search of THE FREE DICTIONARY led to the following:

• A: atherosclerosis (a disease in which plaque builds up inside your arteries. Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to your heart and other parts of your body. Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found in the blood. Over time, plaque hardens and narrows your arteries); ankylosis (abnormal stiffening and immobility of a joint due to fusion of the bones); asbestosis (a chronic inflammatory and scarring disease affecting the tissue of the lungs. People with the condition may experience severe shortness of breath and are at an increased risk for certain cancers, including lung cancer and, less commonly, mesothelioma); apotheosis.
  
• B: brucellosis (a bacterial infection that affects thousands of people worldwide. Avoiding unpasteurised dairy products and taking precautions when working with animals or in a laboratory can help prevent brucellosis; symptoms may include joint and muscle pain, fever, weight loss and fatigue; some people develop stomach pain and cough; treatment includes antibiotics; relapses are common).
  
• C: cyanosis (the bluish or purplish discolouration of the skin or mucous membranes due to the tissues near the skin surface having low oxygen saturation); cirrhosis (a condition in which the liver does not function properly due to long-term damage. This damage is characterised by the replacement of normal liver tissue by scar tissue; cirrhosis is most commonly caused by alcohol, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease).
  
• D: diagnosis; dermatosis (a broad term that refers to any disease of the skin, especially one that is not accompanied by inflammation e.g. dermatosis papulosa nigra (DPNs) are very common benign brown warty papules that appear in African Americans and other patients with dark skin phototypes; DPNs usually affect the cheeks, neck, and upper chest); diverticulosis.
  
• E: endometriosis (a condition whereby the tissue from the inside of the womb is growing outside of it)
  
• F: fibrosis (the formation of excess fibrous connective tissue in an organ or tissue in a reparative or reactive process. This can be a reactive, benign, or pathological state. In response to injury, this is called scarring, and if fibrosis arises from a single cell line, this is called a fibroma); fluorosis (dental fluorosis, also termed mottled enamel, is an extremely common disorder, characterised by hypomineralisation of tooth enamel caused by ingestion of excessive fluoride during enamel formation).
  
• G: gnosis
  
• H: halitosis; hypnosis
  
• I: immunodiagnosis
• J: none known
  
• K: keratosis (solar keratosis or actinic keratosis, also commonly known as sunspots, are rough, red, scaly, or crusty spots on the skin that are caused by excessive exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation (UVR) from the sun. They are more common on sun-exposed areas, such as the face, nose, ears, chest, forearms, and back of the hands); kurtosis (the sharpness of the peak of a frequency-distribution curve).
  
• L: listeriosis (an illness usually caused by eating foods contaminated with the bacteria known as Listeria monocytogenes. Listeriosis is a serious disease in pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems. Infection is treated with antibiotics); leucosis (avian sarcoma leukosis virus is an endogenous retrovirus that infects and can lead to cancer in chickens; experimentally it can infect other species of birds and mammals)
  
• M: miosis (a process where a single cell divides into two identical daughter cells); meiosis (a process where a single cell divides twice to produce four cells containing half the original amount of genetic information. These cells are sex cells – sperm in males, eggs in females); metempsychosis (the supposed transmigration at death of the soul of a human being or animal into a new body of the same or a different species); metamorphosis; mononucleosis (infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV, human herpesvirus 4, HHV-4) in which there is an increase of white blood cells that have a single nucleus (monocytes), the infection can be spread by saliva, also known as mono, the kissing disease); misdiagnosis; myxomatosis
  
• N: necrosis; neurosis; narcosis (a state of stupor, drowsiness, or unconsciousness produced by drugs)
  
• O: osteoporosis; osmosis
  
• P: psychoneurosis; psychosis; prognosis; pediculosis (infestation with lice)
  
• Q: none known
  
• R: none known
  
• S: scoliosis; silicosis
  
• T: toxoplasmosis; tuberculosis; trichinosis (a disease resulting from infestation with Trichinella spiralis, occurring in humans, caused by ingestion of infested, undercooked pork, and characterised by fever, muscle weakness, and diarrhea); thrombosis
  
• U: none known
  
• V: varicosis (any condition characterised by distension of the veins); virosis (infection with a virus)
  
• W: whoosis (an object or person whose name is not known or cannot be recalled)
  
• X: xerosis (abnormal dryness, as of the eye or skin)
  
• Y: none known
  
• Z: zoonosis (any disease of animals communicable to humans); zygosis (the union of two gametes; conjugation); zymosis (any infectious disease; the development process or spread of such a disease)
  

VOCABULARY: words ending in EX

I often play a game as I'm trying to go to sleep in which I try to rhyme words ending in various combinations of letters. For two nights in a row, I was trying to finds words ending in ex and managed to find quite a few. However, I realised that there were plenty more that I was missing so today I determined to discover some more. Here are some of the more common words arranged alphabetically:

A: apex, annex

B: biconvex, biflex (meaning bent in two places) 

C: circumflex, codex, convex, cortex, complex, cybersex 

D: desex, duplex, diplex (pertaining to the simultaneous operation of two radio transmitters or to the simultaneous reception and transmission of radio signals over a single antenna through the use of two frequencies. 

E: the ending itself (ex) seems to be the only known word 

F: flex, fourplex (four family apartment house) 

G: googolplex (a number that is equal to 1 followed by a googol of zeros and expressed as 10^10^100 where a googol is a number that is equal to 1 followed by 100 zeros and expressed as 10^100). 

H: hex, haruspex (in ancient Rome, one of a class of minor priests who practiced divination, especially from the entrails of animals killed in sacrifice). 

I: ibex (any of several wild goats of the genus Capra, inhabiting mountainous regions of Eurasia and North Africa, having long, recurved horns), index, intersex (an individual having reproductive organs or external sexual characteristics of both male and female). 

J: no known words 

K: Kleenex (a brand name for a soft, disposable paper tissue, used especially as a handkerchief). 

L: lex (Latin for law), latex (a milky liquid in certain plants, as milkweeds, euphorbias, poppies, or the plants yielding India rubber, that coagulates on exposure to air). 

M: megaplex, multiplex 

N: neocortex 

O: octuplex (presumably an eight family apartment house) 

P: pyrex, perspex, perplex, pontifex (a member of the Pontifical College, which was presided over by a chief priest (Pontifex Maximus)) 

Q: quadplex 

R: rex, retroflex (bent backward) 

S: sex, spandex (a synthetic fibre composed of a long-chain polymer, used chiefly in the manufacture of garments to add elasticity), simplex, subcortex. 

T: triplex (threefold; triple).  

U: no known words 

V: vertex, vortex, vex

W: no known words 

X:  no known words 

Y: no known words 

Z: no known words 

It's always good to work some of these words into a sentence. For example, I'll vex my ex with a hex.