Word of the day

[Richard Ruck]

chowki

• noun Indian
1. a police station or jail.
2. a low wooden seat or stool.

— origin from Hindi cauki (see chokey).

[Katharine]

chowki

• noun Indian
1. a police station or jail.
2. a low wooden seat or stool.

— origin from Hindi cauki (see chokey).

I didn't know that word but we used to have a chowkidar - a watchman when we lived in Pakistan. Many of them had low seats in wooden huts. The ones employed by the Ambassadors had smart sentry huts painted in national colours.

Our boys were very young and we wanted to explain the duties, without frightening them. The three year old summed it up with great clarity and delightful naivety.
"I see, if Chowkidar sees someone he says 'Are you a bad man?', if he says 'Yes', Chowkidar says 'Shoo' and bad man runs away."

[englishangel]

I bet he loves you for telling the world that, almost as bad as the 'photo in the bath' photo

Or in our case 'wearing sister's pink tutu and tights' photo.

[Richard Ruck]

I have a vague recollection of 'chokey' (meaning prison) being bandied about in various black-and-white American gangster films.

It also pops up in the lyrics of 'Minnie the Moocher' (fans of Cab Calloway and/or The Blues Brothers might remember this).

[Richard Ruck]

Our boys were very young and we wanted to explain the duties, without frightening them. The three year old summed it up with great clarity and delightful naivety.
"I see, if Chowkidar sees someone he says 'Are you a bad man?', if he says 'Yes', Chowkidar says 'Shoo' and bad man runs away."

If only.....

[englishangel]

I have a vague recollection of 'chokey' (meaning prison) being bandied about in various black-and-white American gangster films.

It also pops up in the lyrics of 'Minnie the Moocher' (fans of Cab Calloway and/or The Blues Brothers might remember this).

I have certainly heard the word 'chokey' as applied to a prison.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/chokey

[Katharine]

Our boys were very young and we wanted to explain the duties, without frightening them. The three year old summed it up with great clarity and delightful naivety.
"I see, if Chowkidar sees someone he says 'Are you a bad man?', if he says 'Yes', Chowkidar says 'Shoo' and bad man runs away."

If only.....

Over the last thirty years, he has learnt differently but I agree it would make the world a better place!

Mary, surely every parent has such stories to tell about their infants? Power comes from knowing when to tell them!

[englishangel]

and who to show the pictures to

[Richard Ruck]

chib

Scottish
• noun - a knife used as a weapon.
• verb (chibs, chibbing, chibbed) [with obj.] - stab (someone).

— origin perhaps a variant of shiv.

[Richard Ruck]

buntal

• noun [mass noun] [often as modifier] the straw from a talipot palm used for making hats: a buntal hat.

— origin early 20th cent.: from Tagalog.

And, for those who were wondering, Tagalog is a language of the Philippines!

[Katharine]

buntal

• noun [mass noun] [often as modifier] the straw from a talipot palm used for making hats: a buntal hat.

— origin early 20th cent.: from Tagalog.

And, for those who were wondering, Tagalog is a language of the Philippines!

Buntal - Happy memories. I had not realised what the word meant but we used to go to a place called Buntal in Sarawak for sea food. The restaurants were built out on stilts over the sea. The tiger prawns were fantastic....

Of course I know what Tagalog is, Filipino crooners sing in it.

[Richard Ruck]

buntal

• noun [mass noun] [often as modifier] the straw from a talipot palm used for making hats: a buntal hat.

— origin early 20th cent.: from Tagalog.

And, for those who were wondering, Tagalog is a language of the Philippines!

Buntal - Happy memories. I had not realised what the word meant but we used to go to a place called Buntal in Sarawak for sea food. The restaurants were built out on stilts over the sea. The tiger prawns were fantastic....

Of course I know what Tagalog is, Filipino crooners sing in it.

The seafood place sounds wonderful!

I knew nothing about Tagalog - had to look it up....

[Richard Ruck]

More architecture......

trabeation

• noun [mass noun] the use of beams in architectural construction, rather than arches or vaulting.

— derivatives

trabeated adjective.

— origin mid 16th cent. (denoting a horizontal beam): formed irregularly from Latin trabs, trab- ‘beam, timber’ + -ation.

[Richard Ruck]

Missed a few days....

So, here's a new one :

halation

• noun [mass noun] - the spreading of light beyond its proper boundaries to form a fog round the edges of a bright image in a photograph or on a television screen.

— origin mid 19th cent.: formed irregularly from halo + -ation.

[englishangel]

Missed a few days....

So, here's a new one :

halation

• noun [mass noun] - the spreading of light beyond its proper boundaries to form a fog round the edges of a bright image in a photograph or on a television screen.

— origin mid 19th cent.: formed irregularly from halo + -ation.

Why's that then Richard, have you been ill?