Lexical Compendium
Wait... what is this? Sometimes I come across a word, phrase, idiom, quote, reference, bit of slang, person of interest, etc that either I don't know or I find amusing, interesting, etc. This is a collection of those items so that I can refer back to them in emails, texts, etc.
Recent Entries:
- : defenestration
- : fridging
- : groyper
"Mice lie and monkeys exaggerate."
Mice lie and monkeys exaggerate.
-- David B. Weiner, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Chair, Gene Therapy and Vaccine Program, CAMB Co-Leader Tumor Virology Program, Abramson Cancer Program University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine
Dr. Weiner coined this aphorism while musing on the use of NHP (nonhuman primates) in HIV vaccines studies at a conference in 2008. In essence, animal models aren't necessarily predictive of how drugs will work in humans.
The phrase is often used in research papers and by science journalists. I can't recall where I first heard it, but I thought of it recently when a friend shared a blurb about how rapamycin is purported to have anti-aging benefits in humans. Though there is no evidence for this in humans, there have been studies with the drug on mice that have found that they live ~12% longer.
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References:
- Transient rapamycin treatment can increase lifespan and healthspan in middle-aged mice Reference ID transient-rapamycin-treatment-can-increase-lifespa
- Of Mice and Mike—An Underappreciated Ebola Virus Disease Model May Have Paved the Road for Future Filovirology Reference ID of-mice-and-mikean-underappreciated-ebola-virus-di
- Swine as biomedical animal model for T-cell research... Reference ID swine-as-biomedical-animal-model-for-t-cell-resear
- Twitter: @justsaysinmice - tweets about scientific and news articles about medical results, IN MICE Reference ID twitter-justsaysinmice
- Bluesky: @inmice.bsky.social - posts about scientific and news articles about medical results, IN MICE Reference ID bluesky-inmicebskysocial
- AIDS vaccine researchers STEP up to the challenge Reference ID aids-vaccine-researchers-step-up-to-the-challenge
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canard
A canard is false or unfounded statement/story.
It literally comes from the French canard meaning "duck." There's a French idiom that goes "vendre un canard à moitié" and means "to sell half a duck," in other words, to swindle someone. Over time this evolved to mean something more like a "false report."
There's a second use of this word in the aviation industry where it's a bit of jargon which describes a configuration in which a small forewing is placed ahead of the craft's main wings.
In the early 1900s French aviation engineers built a plane with these small forewings that was reminiscent of a duck and they started calling these planes "avions canard."
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References:
- Word of the Week: Canard Reference ID wow-canard
- Wikipedia: Canard (aeronautics) Reference ID wikipedia-canard-aeronautics
- Definition: canard Reference ID definition-canard
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infinocchiare
Infinocchiare is an Italian word which means to cheat or swindle someone.
The term has interesting origins. The root of the word comes from the term finocchio which means fennel in English. In the Middle Ages, fennel was used as a masking spice. Wine merchants would serve customers fennel before offering them wine, in order to hide defects. In the same way, butchers began to put it in their salami as an alternative to pepper in order to cover up the taste of not very good meat.
Though not for the same reasons, this tradition persists today. When we were in Tuscany, Italy, we discovered finocchiona salami and I became intrigued with this word.
In Italian, the phrase Non farti infinocchiare means Don't be fooled but it translates precisely in English to Don't get fenneled.
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References:
- Definition: infinocchiare Reference ID definition-infinocchiare
- Wild Sicilian Fennel - An article from a US-based grocer on Italian fennel that has a brief blurb on the etymology of 'infinocchiare.' Reference ID wild-sicilian-fennel
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no tener pelos en la lengua
This Spanish idiom literally translates to "to not have hairs on the tongue." The idiom is used to refer to someone who is outspoken, i.e. does not mince words.
For example:
No me gustó su pintura y le dije; yo no tenia pelos en la lengua.: I didn't like his painting and I told him so; I didn't mince words.
Interestingly, this idiom also exists in other languages. It means roughly the same thing in Italian, Welsh, and Croatian
The concept also exists in Greek and Turkish where it means "I'm tired of repeating myself."
While walking down the street, I heard two people talking about this idiom and it compelled me to research it. Idioms are great, aren't they?
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References:
- Podcast: A Way With Words - The Idiom to Have Hair on Your Tongue Reference ID podcast-a-way-with-words
- Greek idiom "my tongue has grown hair" Reference ID greek-idiom-my-tongue-has-grown-hair
- Definition: no tener pelos en la lengua Reference ID definition-no-tener-pelos-en-la-lengua
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tilt at windmills
To tilt at windmills means to fight or pursue some imaginary adversary.
I've always found idioms to be an interesting part of language and this is one of my favorites. In Jr. High, my class read/translated Don Quixote de la Mancha, which is where this expression comes from.
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References:
- Definition: tilt at windmills Reference ID definition-tilt-at-windmills
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