"Faineant"
faineant \fay-nay-AWN\ (adjective) - 1 : Doing nothing or given to doing nothing; idle; lazy.
(noun) - 1 : A do-nothing; an idle fellow; a sluggard.
"A faineant government is not the worst government that England can have. It has been the great fault of our politicians that they have all wanted to do something." -- Anthony Trollope, Phineas Finn
Faineant is from French, from Middle French fait, "does" + neant, "nothing."
Roddie
An obstacle-free market society? Well, well, well, Au! There's a capitalist in you after all! Repeat after me: Laissez faire, laissez passer, Vote Pro, Vote Pro...
In my case, it reminded me of that corn pie that they sometimes serve here in Buenos Aires with pizza.
Roddie
Hey, I'll have to check my family tree now that you mention it. I also read it like Fay (Fay Wray was the thing to first come into my mind, remember King Kong?), but then saw it with its ending and thought "yummy!"
Roddie
"Blackguard"
blackguard \BLAG-uhrd\ (noun) - 1 : A rude or unscrupulous person; a scoundrel. 2 : A person who uses foul or abusive language.
(adjective) - 1 : Scurrilous; abusive; low; worthless; vicious; as, "blackguard language."
(transitive verb) - 1 : To revile or abuse in scurrilous language.
"In spite of his fine manners and rich clothing Ross was, at heart, little more than a common blackguard, capable of stabbing someone in the back and utterly destroying them if it would get him further in his world."
Blackguard is from black + guard (no shit, Sherlock!) The term originally referred to the lowest kitchen servants of a court or of a nobleman's household. They had charge of pots and pans and kitchen other utensils, and rode in wagons conveying these during journeys from one residence to another. Being dirtied by this task, they were jocularly called the "black guard."
Roddie
"Tinkling"
How to Deal With a tinkler pup
Is your puppy a tinkler? If he is, you are probably wondering if he will ever grow out of it. Well, the answer is yes and no. Yes he will get over it if you deal with the problem correctly, and no if you don't. For young puppies tinkling isn't a conscious behavior. Puppies will tinkle when they are scared, over-excited or anxious. Whenever you catch your puppy tinkling you should avoid disciplining him. Discipline will only make the problem worse...
The dog is so submissive and fearful that he piddles in an instant when triggered by something. What turns on the tinkle? Several things can cause this unwanted behavior, including a loud noise, a visitor reaching out toward the dog or the dog's owner pointing and yelling.
By any other name, fear tinkling is called "submissive wetting," and it is common among shy and fearful dogs. Something frightens the dog, and he wets out of fear.
Roddie
Hi!
Actually, there is a "llamador" in Spanish, but for "doorbell", right?
As to "tinkling", this use of the term is not listed in any English dictionary I've checked. But it is common usage among vets and animal lovers. I will ask my vet about a Spanish technical equivalent, although I fear there is none. I believe they refer to it as a case of "incontinencia urinaria leve producto de emociones fuertes".
My German Shepherd would sometimes squirt a few drops upon my return home after many hours. Rather than annoying me, this display would touch my heart.
Roddie
Hey!
I forgot to mention that lots of people use "submissive wetting" rather than "tinkling", but this is not a comprehensive alternative, as it only involves urinary incontinence in shy or fearful dogs, and does not include instances of overanxiety or extreme joy.
Your dog is smarter than mine, Au. No "roddies" for me! But you've given me an idea: I'll buy my woman a pet bee for her birthday.
Roddie
"Oscitant"
oscitant \OS-i-tant\ (adjective) - 1 : Yawning, gaping from drowsiness. 2 : Inattentive, dull, negligent.
"Left-leaning Ted was well known for his tirades against the 'oscitant press' (as he saw it) in the days prior to Hurricaine Katrina."
>From Latin oscitant, present participle of oscitare, to yawn : os, mouth + citare, to move.
Roddie
"Corybantic"
corybantic \kor-i-BAN-tik\ (adjective) - Wild; frenzied; uncontrolled.
"Harold felt that the radio show was worse than merely 'bad,' thinking that it penetrated the mind, filling it with a babble of distractions, blasts of corybantic or sentimental music, and continually repeated doses of drama that brought no catharsis."
After Corybant, an ancient priest of Phrygian goddess Cybele, who performed wild ecstatic dances in her worship.
"Agitprop"
agitprop \AJ-it-prop\ (noun) - Propaganda, especially pro-communist political propaganda disseminated through literature, drama, music, or art.
"Fed up with the agitprop over the war, Phineas made up a stencil and went out spray-painting it over any and all pro-war posters he could find."
Agitprop comes from Russian, from agitatsiya, "agitation" + propaganda.
Roddie