Welcome to the Guess My Word blog. This is a place to discuss the words of the day chosen by Joon and Mike. This paragraph is here mostly as spoiler space. Here are today's words:
For me this is two words in a row from Mike that I've never heard of. To me, this game only works when the word is one I might actually know, and when it's this obscure it's not really much fun because there is no chance of my getting it.
I think the players here are a pretty well-educated, bright, verbal bunch. I would use those words to describe myself without blushing, even if I'm retired and kind of rickety. I don't mind learning a new word (though I am not looking up the answer because I don't want to pay M=W for access, for Pete's sake) but this is not the place to introduce something that probably one in 1000 *might* know. I imagine I could stun both Joon and Mike with anatomical terms that would make them look pretty silly in some circles, but there is still a 'fair-play' concept here that should govern the limits on word selection. I'm disappointed...but not in myself.
i didn't get mike's word either (baryon was the closest i got), and it was a word that was only just barely familiar to me—and i'm a physicist. nevertheless, your post comes across as petulant and off-putting. i don't think mike reads these comments, so saying "i'm disappointed in you" is unlikely to have the desired effect. even if he did read them, that doesn't seem like the best way of expressing your frustration.
choosing words is easy enough, but mike and i both try to strike a balance between interesting words and familiar words. (it wouldn't be as fun if all of the words were e.g. "cat" and "house".) but everybody has a different notion of "familiar", so occasionally there will be words you don't know. my suggestion is to shrug and move on when that happens, rather than get indignant.
by the way, m-w lookups are free for words that are in the 11th collegiate. barycenter, apparently is only in the unabridged version, which is the one that requires a paid account.
Ouch! - single digit number of guesses to get Joon's word, paired with an I-Never-Heard-Of from Mike!
ReplyDeleteFor me this is two words in a row from Mike that I've never heard of. To me, this game only works when the word is one I might actually know, and when it's this obscure it's not really much fun because there is no chance of my getting it.
ReplyDelete..and this is why I teach kindergarten, not physics. My hats off to you brilliant people, everywhere!
ReplyDeleteI think the players here are a pretty well-educated, bright, verbal bunch. I would use those words to describe myself without blushing, even if I'm retired and kind of rickety. I don't mind learning a new word (though I am not looking up the answer because I don't want to pay M=W for access, for Pete's sake) but this is not the place to introduce something that probably one in 1000 *might* know. I imagine I could stun both Joon and Mike with anatomical terms that would make them look pretty silly in some circles, but there is still a 'fair-play' concept here that should govern the limits on word selection. I'm disappointed...but not in myself.
ReplyDeletei didn't get mike's word either (baryon was the closest i got), and it was a word that was only just barely familiar to me—and i'm a physicist. nevertheless, your post comes across as petulant and off-putting. i don't think mike reads these comments, so saying "i'm disappointed in you" is unlikely to have the desired effect. even if he did read them, that doesn't seem like the best way of expressing your frustration.
Deletechoosing words is easy enough, but mike and i both try to strike a balance between interesting words and familiar words. (it wouldn't be as fun if all of the words were e.g. "cat" and "house".) but everybody has a different notion of "familiar", so occasionally there will be words you don't know. my suggestion is to shrug and move on when that happens, rather than get indignant.
by the way, m-w lookups are free for words that are in the 11th collegiate. barycenter, apparently is only in the unabridged version, which is the one that requires a paid account.