As some of you regulars will have picked up over time, I am always delighted to come across what is to me a completely new word. By and large I don't count 'swot' words from the more abstruse corners of science and technology which no-one other than the 'men in white coats' would use, not least because I suspect many of them are made up in order to put off non-expert intruders into their cosy little worlds. I come across those sorts of words fairly frequently when I make my periodic attempts to read incomprehensible books promising to explain quantum physics, or fluid mechanics, or the languages of ancient Mesopotamia. Usually by page 10, and after the first six 'new' words have arisen which I have to look up in my trusty OED, I give up and return to my beloved Pulp Fiction.
But this morning, joy of joys, I discovered a new word on Ms. Raccoon's ever-excellent site. Not too suprising because she and her occasional contributors are an erudite lot who write very clear, elegant and literate English, you know, a bit like wot you gets 'ere'! This morning I discover she is giving the NSPCC a cruel but well-deserved kicking and I was on the point of offering to hold her coat and urging her to give 'em one for me - because I detest the NSPCC - when she used this phrase: "the bariatricly challenged elephant in the room". Instantly I paused - goody-goody, I thought, a new word. "Bariatricly" - now what does that mean? Engrossed in the blood sport I was watching, or reading, I decided to come back to it later and tried to press on but . . . no, it kept nagging at me . . . bariatricly . . . what does it mean? Well, of course, in the end I had to stop, swing my revolving office chair round to the shelf behind me upon which lies my always open edition of the OED which also doubles up as a weight training device! But then came the shock which nigh reduced me to tears - I couldn't find the word! My OED had let me down. The single volume upon which I have utterly depended during nine years of blogging had failed me! "Oh the horror . . . the horror!"
And, no, I'm not going to tell you what it means, if you weren't such a bariatric slob you would get off your arse and look it up! Oooops, have I given the game away?
I'm not, I'm just 'big boned'
Posted by: Able | Saturday, 03 August 2013 at 11:47
It's 'relaxed' muscle I tell you!
Posted by: Able | Saturday, 03 August 2013 at 12:59
Get in that swimming pool every morning and within a few weeks the *real* Able will emerge!
Posted by: David Duff | Saturday, 03 August 2013 at 13:30
Oh I exercise regularly, but trunks/shorts? Not allowed as apparently my knees scare the horses (and old ladies, and on one occasion a policeman). It's just middle-age (stop laughing, it wasn't that long ago) spread, it happens to the best of us.
On your original point, I suspect the decline in reading is the main cause of the decline in educational attainment.
I'd guess that there is research that will indicate that our vocabulary is affected positively, or negatively, by our peers and the company we keep. I love the Interweb as I get to hang around with the educated, the erudite (not the same as the former, obviously), those at the top of their professions, those with amazing experiences, ... and you of course, so I can pretend to occasionally know what I'm talking about.
Another hobby (other than learning from people who probably searched their own OED for the right term) is to attempt historical school tests, which can be (very) embarrassing at times.
Have a look at this one for US 8th graders in 1912, linked via Instapundit at:
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/2013/07/no-youre-probably-not-smarter-than-a-1912-era-8th-grader/
I'd be sitting in a corner with the dunce cap on, methinks?
Posted by: Able | Saturday, 03 August 2013 at 15:42
I hardly dare look but I will, I promise - so long as you promise not to tell DM my result!
Posted by: David Duff | Saturday, 03 August 2013 at 15:46
I've never heard (or read it) with the 'ly' ending but - Greek baros "weight," from barys "heavy in weight," often with the notion of "strength, force; also was used figuratively, of suffering, sorrow, sobbing, and could mean "oppressive, burdensome, grave, dignified, impressive."
Yet to visit Miss Raccoon's place so I don't know yet what context it was used in.
Haven't read Able's link yet either - but wasn't it 1912 when the Titanic sailed?
Posted by: JK | Saturday, 03 August 2013 at 18:07
Why are you still using the OED? Just type "define bariatrics" in your google bar, and you'll get an answer, along with an audio givng the pronunciation in both british and american english.
Posted by: Dom | Saturday, 03 August 2013 at 19:40
JK, allow me to remind you that no-one loves a smart arse!
And, Dom, I use Google for everything else but, dammit, 'words is words' and they belong in the OED!
And Able, I took one brief look at that exam and surrendered!
Posted by: David Duff | Saturday, 03 August 2013 at 21:47
Those old school tests are interesting, and always good to trip up idiots who say that exams now are not easier than they used to be.
But check out the editorial matter surrounding them on the site. We learn that whereas before children needed to know the facts, now apparently they need to "understand" (NB, not know about) "alternative energy sources, food security or water management".
In other words, we don't want your stinkin' facts, what we want is the teacher's politics regurgitated without question. And we have ensured, by taking over the training colleges and subverting the universities, that all teachers are guaranteed to be sound in their views and attitudes, even if they don't know the periodic table (mere facts!), or where Manila is.
Posted by: Andrew Duffin | Monday, 05 August 2013 at 12:34
Andrew, I worry about you sometimes, I fear you are a cynic before your time!
Posted by: David Duff | Monday, 05 August 2013 at 12:45