Misquotes, microbes, ticks, chiggers, various and assorted viruses... ...eat us while we're still alive. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
http://wordsmith.org/awad/subscriber.html Here's a link y'all might find cool. They email you a word a day and its derivation. Their story and they're sticking to it.Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Feeding on an organism without killing it--at least not immediately--is called parasitism and the creatures who do it are called parasites. The difference between predators and parasites is that the former weaken their prey so it will put up less of a struggle. Parasites need to keep their host alive to continue feeding, so they avoid weakening it. (Except in certain unusual scenarios.) Mosquitoes, for example (not "misquotes," which are generally harmless Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!), take small sips of blood from a number of hosts whose blood will regenerate for another meal, rather than attempting to suck all the blood out of one individual who will then die.
Please stay on topic. The word must be one that you don't expect us to already know. You must define it and give its etymology, if it's not obvious. Or at least use Google to make a valiant attempt to determine its etymology and then beg for assistance. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I wonder why a mosquito hasn't evolved whose bites don't itch? The hosts would probably be less vigilant about killing mosquitoes if they didn't itch so much.
Damn spell check! Either way, they still eatin' us. 'Sides, mosquitoes have been known to take a delirious, exhausted human down. Then they swarm.Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Least ways I been tol'. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
cuz the itching works for them, anti-coagulant or such. Besides, how many die from being swatted, really? Not enough to force a change, I wouldn't think.:shrug:
That's not an important survival trait for mosquitoes. Very few animals are as limber as humans and can swat a mosquito while it's feeding--and look how bad even we are at it. Parasites that settle down on one individual host for a lifetime of feeding--like ticks (which are arachnids, not insects)--do indeed provide an anesthetic to mask their presence. Yes, spell checkers are not very effective. They can't possibly know that even though the word you typed is spelled correctly, it's the wrong word. And if you do type incorrectly, they're just as likely to "correct" it to the wrong word. These days I write for a living and I don't even bother turning on my spell checker because I don't want the false sense of security. There's no survival disadvantage to killing weak or injured prey. You might as well get 'em, because if you don't the next guy will. But leaving healthy specimens alive to provide your next meal benefits the whole species and is therefore a survival behavior for the species.
"Designated Drunk" "Responsible partiers choose a Designated Driver to drive during a night of debauchery. The Designated Drunk is chosen by the Driver. The Designated Drunk assumes responsibility for all drink offers given to the Driver. The Designated Drunk will take all offers of toasts, shots, and drinking competitions in place of the Driver."
discombobulate to throw into confussion C20 (org. prob. US or Canada) a whimsical alteration of discompose or discomfit
True. But I also see it from the other end. Humans may have evolved to feel that itchy irritation as a danger signal from pests that carried (and still carry) various diseases. Who knows if a cat/dog/bird/mouse actually itch from a mosquito bite. My guess is that they do, but who really knows . . .
I don't use auto correct, and I 'check' up on spell check quasi-manually. But that one got by...Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! BUT THEY STILL BE EATIN' US! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Watch the dog, watch the cat; they scratchin'? Then it itches. From "A Word A Day": perihelion (per-i-HEE-lee-uhn_, -HEEL-yun) noun The point in the orbit of a celestial body that is nearest to the sun. [From Greek peri- (around, near) + helios (sun). The point farthest from the sun is called aphelion, from apo- (away).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Come Jan. 3, Earth will reach perihelion, its closest approach to the sun at 91,399,727 miles." Pete Zapadka; That Sun Feels Mighty Close During Summer. False!; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Jul 6, 2007.
Then there was the guy who staggered out of the bar at 1:55am, tried to open three other people's cars with his key, put the top down instead of turning on the lights, killed the engine four times trying to start it, put it in the wrong gear and almost hit the trash cans, drove all over the parking lot looking for the exit, and finally crept out onto the street at 5mph. All of this monopolized the attention of the cop on duty that night, so meanwhile all the other customers drove off, and note that all of this took place off the public roadways so no citation could yet be issued. As soon as he hit the roadway the red lights came on and he was given a field sobriety test. Which he passed, BAC=0, without having broken any laws. "I'm the Designated Decoy," he told the cop. In many cases itching is actually an allergic reaction and the whole phenomenon of allergies is one of those little wrong turns that evolution occasionally takes and has to sort out later. That is certainly true of many insect toxins. One of the blessings of my life is that I very seldom have a reaction to insect bites, even big mean ones like wasps. I go ouch, but ten minutes after they fly off the pain is gone. No red, no swelling, no itching. (Not true for arachnid bites, however.) If we have that much variation in reaction to these toxins just within our own species, the different chemistry of other species probably makes their reactions unpredictable. Nonetheless, as another post points out, we see our pets scratching little welts so we assume they're having approximately the same sensation that we call itching. Got to define it and give the etymology, dude.
"wifive" "Short for Wireless High-Five, used when you want to give a friend a high-five, but you are further then arms reach from each other. It doesn't involve any physical contact."