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The winning snigleteers, printed below, are rewarded with £30 each. The extra fiver goes to Brian Murdoch, although, try as I might, I couldn’t imagine Suralan using a seven-syllable word.
expolydesmondísnic (adj., also noun; joc., usually derog.) ‘[being in possession of, someone who has] a mediocre degree from a recently chartered university in a subject whose academic content is questionable’. Etymol. mixed ( = bastard neologism, cp. television for proculvision): Lat. + Grk ex + poly[technic], with nom. prop. elements [D]esmond [Tutu], univ. sl. ‘lower second’ + [Walt D]isn[ey], creator of Mickey Mouse, in hum. reference to degree subject matter. Late 20c.–early 21c., as: ‘a two-two in handbag design from the University of Bognor Regis? I’m not having some bloody expolydesmondisnic as my apprentice. You’re fired!’ (BBC programme, 2009); perh. formed as contrast with trianguláureate (adj., often iron./sarc.) ‘[being in possession of] a degree from Oxford, Cambridge or London; etymol. pure: Lat. triangulum with pun on aureus/laureatus, golden, crowned, hence coming from the golden triangle; also applied in other contexts; for quotations see: privilege, toff.
Brian Murdoch
fablonaire, fab-lon-er, n., one who fully believes in the truth of a statement that he earnestly desires to be true, against all evidence. Also assoc. v. fablonate, n. fablonation and v. (US) fablonationise. [Orig. uncertain, prob. from the French faire blanc noir to make black into white; cf 18c. F saying noir est blanc quand le but est bon, attrib. Voltaire. But also poss. deriv. from Fablon, commercial Eng. sticky-back plastic product designed to change permanently the appearance of shelves, tables etc.]
Ex: ‘Mr Blair has always been able to simulate conviction, but this is beyond acting: he has now become a fablonaire.’ The Spectator
Noel Petty
enoui: noun, the acute, deflating feeling attendant upon discovering that your favourite rock band or artist is having their latest album produced by Brian Eno. You know how it’ll be; ambient ‘atmospheres’ unreproducible live, the pretentious avoidance of tunes, improvisational noodling on every track and sleeve notes detailing the necessarily vague, non-musical ‘strategies’ behind each piece. The word originated in the 1990s when Eno failed to give U2 a decent follow-up to The Joshua Tree. But in recent years the word has applied more widely to any predicable disappointing collaboration; comedies co-written by Harry Enfield, films involving Stephen Soderbergh, television plays attempting to echo Dennis Potter’s triumph by coupling Michael Gambon and Stephen Poliakoff.
Adrian Fry
pollywollydoodling, n., act of scribbling childish rhymes in the margin of a notebook to while away the time; after the song ‘Polly Wolly Doodle’ (c. 1840).
arcadermatitis, n., extremely irritant itching of the thumbs after expenditure of approximately £5 worth of two-pence pieces in failing to dislodge an overhanging lip of the same coins in a seaside amusement arcade (compound of arcade and dermatitis).
kaempfertable, adj., experiencing a soothing sensation of ease, while lounging in a semi-supine position, with music playing in the background to which no attention is being paid and which is of no appeal to anyone or anything. Also, acting in a manner consistent with being dead. After Kaempfert, Berthold (1923–1980), German orchestra leader.
kebabble, n., (1) noisy, unintelligible conversation in city precincts during the early hours of the morning (compound of kebab and babble)
(2) children’s board game, also known as BINGE!, based on (1).
Bill Greenwell
digivann, 1) n., a holiday experienced solely through digital photographs recording every room occupied, meal consumed, sight visited, group encountered, preferably angled to include oneself as an integral part of each famous location. Compound: from digi- (dim. of digital — a device operated by one’s finger, often without conscious decision) and vann — etym. various: i) dim. of vanguard — forefront (of technology), or of competitive travel; ii) dim. of vantage — the best sight, position, thus reflecting glory on the viewer; iii) dim. of vanitas — artistic representation of human vanity in which physical objects merely reinforce mankind’s progression towards death/the grave.
Also 2) n. and v. : experience seen solely through the digital camera screens of others — as in ‘The Louvre was so crowded I had to digivann the Mona Lisa via the guys in front.’
D.A. Prince
No. 2552: Alleggro
The late Bernard Levin wrote that he liked his eggs boiled for the duration of the Overture to The Marriage of Figaro. You are invited to spice up a cookery column, some menus or recipes with similar cultural references. Maximum 150 words. Entries to Competition No. 2552 by 3 July or email jamesy@greenbee.net.
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