Hey Cats! A word I learned today.
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wrote on 20 Nov 2021, 18:49 last edited by
I've mentioned I love Alastair Reynolds' use of rare and unusual words.
Today I read portcullis:
noun A grating of iron or wooden bars or slats, suspended in the gateway of a fortified place and lowered to block passage.
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wrote on 20 Nov 2021, 18:51 last edited by
Kinda like a chastity belt.
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wrote on 20 Nov 2021, 19:04 last edited by
That’s funny - is that an unusual word in the US? It’s quite common to use it in the uk (at least when discussing castles, which I guess we do more than you)
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That’s funny - is that an unusual word in the US? It’s quite common to use it in the uk (at least when discussing castles, which I guess we do more than you)
wrote on 20 Nov 2021, 19:08 last edited by@doctor-phibes said in Hey Cats! A word I learned today.:
That’s funny - is that an unusual word in the US?
Well, unusual to me, at least.
It’s quite common to use it in the uk (at least when discussing castles, which I guess we do more than you)
Reynolds is Welsh, by the way.
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@doctor-phibes said in Hey Cats! A word I learned today.:
That’s funny - is that an unusual word in the US?
Well, unusual to me, at least.
It’s quite common to use it in the uk (at least when discussing castles, which I guess we do more than you)
Reynolds is Welsh, by the way.
wrote on 20 Nov 2021, 19:22 last edited by@george-k said in Hey Cats! A word I learned today.:
Reynolds is Welsh, by the way.
Growing up in the north of England, no holiday to Wales would be complete without a visit to one of their castles, of which there are many...which might explain the vocabulary of an average English bloke
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wrote on 20 Nov 2021, 19:32 last edited by
I am shocked you aren’t familiar with the word, George.
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wrote on 20 Nov 2021, 19:33 last edited by
Not unusual to those of us who read fantasy books as kids. I bet that word even appears in Tolkien.
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wrote on 20 Nov 2021, 19:53 last edited by
Yep, George; I was already familiar with that word from medieval castles and warfare and such like.
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@george-k said in Hey Cats! A word I learned today.:
Reynolds is Welsh, by the way.
Growing up in the north of England, no holiday to Wales would be complete without a visit to one of their castles, of which there are many...which might explain the vocabulary of an average English bloke
wrote on 20 Nov 2021, 19:55 last edited by@doctor-phibes Hey, Phibes, which castle is that? And what is that round thing in the middle? Was that the oubliette?
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wrote on 20 Nov 2021, 20:28 last edited by
Does a day go by without using the word portcullis?
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wrote on 20 Nov 2021, 20:29 last edited by
I think mostly white people use the word.
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wrote on 20 Nov 2021, 20:32 last edited by
@horace said in Hey Cats! A word I learned today.:
I think mostly white people use the word.
And I am mostly white
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@doctor-phibes Hey, Phibes, which castle is that? And what is that round thing in the middle? Was that the oubliette?
wrote on 21 Nov 2021, 02:08 last edited by@catseye3 said in Hey Cats! A word I learned today.:
@doctor-phibes Hey, Phibes, which castle is that? And what is that round thing in the middle? Was that the oubliette?
That's Caernarfon Castle. The round thing is where Prince Charles was made Prince of Wales - I think it's a modern construction. I remember visiting not long after that had happened, when I was very young.
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wrote on 22 Nov 2021, 17:59 last edited by George K
@george-k said in Hey Cats! A word I learned today.:
I've mentioned I love Alastair Reynolds' use of rare and unusual words.
Today I read portcullis:Today I read Panthalassa:
https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/panthalassa
Proper Noun: A universal sea or single ocean, such as would have surrounded Pangaea.
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wrote on 22 Nov 2021, 18:17 last edited by
Around here those are called....
Drop gates.......