Date: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 14:46:12 EDT From: "a word in need..." Subject: Re: [WRITERS] FILL: Need a new dictionary. On Thu, 30 Apr 1998 10:21:47 EDT, AlicesMom pondered: :) I'm having trouble finding a few words in my dictionary. Actually, :) I guess I should say I can't find my dictionary. So would someone :) please tell me what obfuscatory and exiguous mean? [you'll pardon me if I have some fun with words? no harm intended, I just enjoy tickling the keys now and then. Watch out for flying consonants, okay? and here we go!] Thank you, thank you, thank you...let me just say this about that, with a hefty dose of gab, and a couple of shots of surrealistic punctilio... Delving into the well-ordered pixels of the OED, we find: obfuscate obfuscate o(hook)bfA.skeit, o(hook).bfAskeit, , v. f. L. obfuscat-, ppl. stem of obfuscare to darken, obscure, f. ob- (ob- 1 b) + fuscare to darken, fuscus dark. See also the later form offuscate. 1. trans. To darken, obscure (physically); to deprive of light or brightness; to overshadow or eclipse; to make dark or dusky. Now rare. 2. fig. To darken or obscure to the mind or intellectual perception; to deprive of clearness, render obscure; to deprive of lustre or glory, throw into the shade. Obs. 3. To deprive of clearness of perception: a. to dim (the sight); b. to darken, obscure (the understanding, judgement, etc.); to darken the understanding of (a person), stupefy, bewilder. we do NOT find obfuscatory, but we may assume that this is some heathen twist upon the actual word, so that if one were to darken or obscure something to the intellectual perception, perhaps casting dung over the bright light of reason or some such intriguing contribution to the bewilderment quotient of the reciprocating respondents...well, if one were to commit such, the action might be considered obfuscatory by those cogniscenti who would little use such a term of ill-considered approbation and glee. We are reminded that there is an aphorism about "Eschew obfuscation" which may be irrelevant, but rather inarticulate. as for the other term... exiguous exiguous egzi.giu,s, a. f. L. exigu-us scanty in measure or number (f. exigere to weigh strictly: see exact v.) + -ous. Scanty in measure or number; extremely small, diminutive, minute. a skoosh, perhaps? or maybe a wee little pinch? So, in sum, in the dark, small and not a full measure...unlikely to be applicable to any of the brilliant wits here, overflowing with words and punctuation, snickering-snackering their way along the sententious paragraphs, slathering down the poetic roundelays, with a pantoum here, a haiku there, hare a rhythm, there a rhyme, everywhere a slippery slime... well, mayhap a bit of obfuscation for the frivolity of it, but always a full measure and then a few extra words, ne'er scanty or rare... and with a hearty high-ho, keyboard, on and on he goes... tink