Friday 3 August 2012

Odin's Raven!

'The Pixie's Word of the Moment'


Mountweazel (noun)


Definition: A spurious entry deliberately included in a dictionary or encyclopaedia in order to trap plagiarists.


Etymology: Lilian Virginia Mountweazel was a fictitious character introduced into the 1975 edition of the  New Columbia Encyclopaedia - Ms Mountweazel, so the story goes, was an entirely fabricated photographer of rural post boxes.


Example:  Whilst the word 'Flange' has largely been accepted into modern vernacular to refer to a group of baboons, one cannot help but think that it might be something of a Mountweazel when its origins in 80's satirical power house, Not the 9 O'clock News are considered.


Author's Note:  Personally I think Mountweazel is an excellent name for a super hero... I can just picture it now... cape majestically billowing in the wind... whiskers twitching... overseeing the might of our fair language and  the power of original thought (with properly sited and credited source references of course).


Obviously his arch nemesis would be the dastardly Hypno-Stoat ... that rotten scoundrel!


Brilliant!



The Pixie's Thesaurus of Rant was brought to you today by the letter ┼ and the number 17 and the flagrant abuse of the following websites: Dictionary.com