Friday, December 30, 2005

dukhobortsy freeroll

For those times you're struggling to find just the right word, OneLook Reverse Dictionary is here. For example, you can enter a concept like "when you're on vacation but the whole office is closed therefore you have no reason to think the work is piling up so you're uber-relaxed" and get some of these interesting results:

sleep: a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended

Freeroll (poker): a situation that arises during poker play (usually when only two players remain) before the last card has been dealt, in which one player is guaranteed to at least split the pot with his opponent no matter what the final cards are, but where there is some chance he can win the whole pot if certain final cards are dealt.

Howard Waldrop: a science fiction author who works almost entirely in short fiction.

Dukhobortsy: a Russian religious sect founded about the middle of the 18th century at Kharkov. They believe that Christ was wholly human, but that his soul reappears from time to time in mortals. They accept the Ten Commandments and the ``useful'' portions of the Bible, but deny the need of rulers, priests, or churches, and have no confessions, icons, or marriage ceremonies. They are communistic, opposed to any violence, and unwilling to use the labor of animals. Driven out of Russia proper, many have emigrated to Cyprus and Canada.

sinecure: an office that involves minimal duties

abscission: shedding of flowers and leaves and fruit following formation of scar tissue in a plant

metamerism: the condition of having the body divided into a series of similar segments

facultative:
granting a privilege or permission or power to do or not do something

I'm sure a simpler concept will yield more straightforward results.