Monday, September 12, 2011

megillah



megillah [məˈgɪlə] n.

1.) Each of five books of the Old Testament, namely Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther, appointed to be read by adherents of the Jewish faith on certain feast days; freq. with particular reference to the book of Esther, read at the feast of Purim. Also, a copy of any one, or all, of these books.
2.) With allusion to the length of the Megillah: a long, tedious, or complicated story; frequently in the phrase "a whole Megillah" (O.E.D. 2nd Edition).

Etymology: Hebrew megillah roll, scroll.

"She laughed and seemed amenable, so I started with the list, expecting a one- or two-word answer to everything. Instead I got a whole megillah. Most people have a quick answer to 'How do you take your coffee?' Not Hillary. Sometimes she takes her coffee black, she explained, other times with lots of cream, sometimes she likes espresso, sometimes cappuccino." (The Girls in the Van: a Reporter's Diary of the Campaign Trail, Beth J. Harpaz, 2002).

(Esther before Ahasuerus, Jacopo Tintoretto, ~1548)
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It's Monday again, which means it's time to announce this week's contest's winner. It's...Lemons Don't Make Lemonade! She wrote:
The gallimaufry of well-dressed women stood in a circle, fawning over the truculent but broodingly handsome male. At this moment, a young lady of more modest apparel stumbled into their midst. "My Lord," she said, curtseying. Lady Elizabeth, who was painstakingly trying to attract the squire's attention, glowered at the brazen girl. "Either that girl has been goaded by her ill-groomed parents or she has chutzpah none of us know about. Still, I pass that over, if only because she has seven siblings to feed and earning the favor of the squire is the only way." Surprisingly, the squire did not seem offended at the presence of the rosy-cheeked girl, although he was astonished at her audacity. "Courage is a good quality, but beware of the conflicts brought on by courage."
Well done, Lemons. All the more impressive that you used 2 of the rhetorical devices (paralipsis and epanadiplosis). However, I had intended you to use them in addition to the five vocabulary words, but we'll compromise by just giving you 1 point. Okay, so next weeks words are philippic; vim; Wein, Weib, und Gesang; a fortiori, tyro; nonplus; and fain. Good luck and thanks for reading!

19 comments:

Kevin Faulkner said...

Really interesting stuff. I'd heard of the Pentateuch or Torah, the first five books of the bible before, but never this one !

Akissfromthepast said...

i like the pictures that you put among the words :)
meny good pic!
this game whit the scoreboard is great!!!!!!

AllenTesch said...

Only time I've ever heard this used was in Malcolm in the Middle when Hal is trying to through Lois off the trail of some screw up of his.

gman said...

yeah the megillah is pretty boring imho. some of the old testament is good though. I like judges.

meandmythinkingcap said...

I think I can call Mahabharath as Megillah. Mahabharath is Indian epic or Megillah - it is a complex story, much worse than Obama's lineage tree.

Unknown said...

I have never heard this one and I can't imagine that it will catch on as normal usage haha.

D4 said...

My immature side is blossoming today. I could think of a couple of ways to bend the meaning of that word.

Also, congrats to Ms Lemons!

Unknown said...

@Lemons Don't Make Lemonade - what a paragraph. Once again I'm glad I didn't enter. But I will next week.

When I first read the word I have to admit I read it as Magilla Gorilla. I am ashamed.

Jenny Woolf said...

Mm, that's a good one. I know someone who gives you a megillah every time you ask what the time is :)

Jodie-Ann Muckler said...

Cool! I LOVE that word! That is my new favourite word. I'm going to try and add it into as much things I say to my friends as possible.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

All I can think of is that terrible old 1960s cartoon, Magilla Gorilla.

And congrats to you, Miss Lemons. Brava!

Meri said...

I hope no one calls any of my blog posts a megillah :)

themajessty said...

YAY.

I'm pleasantly surprised that I won, because I completely forgot that I've "submitted" my entry two weeks ago.

Mai Yang said...

ohhhhh! the Asian pretty won this time! kudos to her :)

shari said...

Congrats Lemons! ;-) Way to go!

Nice word, E. I've never heard of it! Yeah, I've been trying to up my vocab to keep you interested in reading my blog posts. ;-)

Shutterbug said...

Congrats to Lemons! Talented girl, you are! :D

Anonymous said...

Very interesting, never heard of that word before :O

Once Upon A Time... said...

congrats to lemons!

jos xx

Jennifer Fabulous said...

Congrats to Lemons for being a BAD ASS.

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