I thought I'd start a word of the day feature, for the amusement and edification of my fellow Britmodellers.

Today's word is: Weasel

Good one. Can we have Stoat or Badger tomorrow?

Patience, my young Padawan.

Splendid! And - it turns out - collective nouns for weasels are boogle, gang, pack, and confusion. My favourites are boogle and confusion.

Thanks Obi-Jiff

A confusion of weasels - brilliant!

Who says we aren't educational on here?

I vote Badger, as it stoatally different

Wait and see, my pretties!

that's why they're weasealy identified !!!!!!!!

Wild Weasel, YGBSM



Julien

Now how bad ass is this!



Photo from Boeing.

Julien

^{mad ferret !!!}

I thought we were supposed to stay off politics?

On behalf of the Weasel Association of Great Britian I would like to say that why we as weasels are cunning deceitfully we are no way as bad a Politicans and demand a retraction of this statement!

Julien (Head Weasel)

Today's word is: Weasel
[/quote]

A term of endearment....eh?

ggc

Head Weasel? Since when were you built like a weasel?

Head Weasel??

Weasel have to take a vote on it!!!




Sorry!! I'll go now

Weasels are mammals in the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family.

Originally, the name "weasel" was applied to one species of the genus, the European form of the Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis). Early literary references to weasels, for example their common appearances in fables, refer to this species rather than to the genus as a whole, reflecting that people know a lot less in the past, but were happy. In technical discourse, however, as in American usage, the term "weasel" can refer to any member of the genus, or to the genus as a whole. Of the 16 extant species currently classified in the genus Mustela, ten have "weasel" in their common name, five have stoat and one has Roger. Among those that do not are the ermine, the two species of mink, and the polecats or ferrets.

Weasels vary in length from twelve centimetres to forty-five kilometres (Oxford to London), and usually have a dark brown or aqua upper coat, white or light green belly, and black or purple fur at the tip of the tail; in many species, populations living at high latitudes need oxygen and moult to a white coat with black fur at the tip of the tail in winter. They have long slender bodies, apart from fat ones, which enable most of them to follow their prey into burrows (see fat ones). Their tails are typically almost as long as the rest of their bodies. As is typical of small carnivores, weasels have a reputation for cleverness, guile and being run over. They also have tails that can be anywhere from 22-33 cm long and they use these to defend the food they get and to claim territory from other weasels or to just flounce around with. The average weasel weighs about 198 grams (7 ounces), slightly more than 3 times that of the European Sparrow.

Weasels feed on small mammals and sushi, and in former times were considered vermin since some species took poultry from farms, or rabbits from commercial warrens. Certain species of weasel and ferrets have been reported to perform the mesmerizing weasel war dance, after fighting other creatures, or acquiring food from competing creatures. In folklore at least, this dance is particularly associated with the stoat and Ricky Gervais.

Collective nouns for a group of weasels include boogle, gang, pack, and confusion.

Weasels occur all across the world except for Antarctica, Australia, and neighbouring islands. The latter being because: antartica is too effing cold, Australia- you'd be on a barbi and neighbouring islands you'd be in a hangi.


Prof Jonners

Well a weasel thats had a big dinner!

Julien

Jon, that's exactly the sort of informative text I was hoping for when I started this thread!

Hello children.

Today's word is Sasquatch

Dammit. I was hoping for limpit. I've gone off badgers.

I thought I'd steer away from small mammals today, and go for the big ones. What will tomorrow bring? Could it be elephant, or hippopotamus? Or will it be something non-animal?

There was a model company called Sasquatch, not weasally confused with Airfix!

Regards

David

You know there is no such creature as a Sasquatch, it's just Julien out in his Weasel suit again!

Prof Jonners here again. ahem,

Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, is an alleged ape-like creature purportedly inhabiting forests and supermarkets, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America and Bolton. Bigfoot is usually described by the 'sober' as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid with big feet. Many believers in its existence should be involuntarily euthanased, but contend that the same or similar creatures are found around the world under different regional names, most prominently the Yeti of the Himalayas, but also the Hugo of Chelsea and the Trev of Chelmsford.

The scientific community considers Bigfoot to be a combination of folklore, misidentification, and drunken red-neck lying, rather than a real creature. In general, mainstream scientific consensus does not support anything, let alone the posited existence of megafauna cryptids such as Bigfoot, because of the improbably large numbers necessary to maintain a breeding population (well at least 2) and because climate and food supply issues would make such purported creatures' survival in reported habitats unlikely, without the nearby locality of a Tesco; or an Aldi, in less affluent areas. Despite these facts, Bigfoot is one of the more famous examples of scary big hairy 'effers within the pseudoscience of cryptozoology. The collective noun for this cryptid is either a
'moron', "holeafock" or, and only, for the sasquatch, 'Tosse' [named after Marcell Tosse Vonoff, the now discredited Anglo-Russian explorer of the interior in the early 1800s. q.v. tossing the caber]
TV programmes featuring Saquatch should not be confused with the British BBC2 programmes Sprinquatch or Autumnquatch , even those these feature a volatile, overly hairy, vaguely humanid species , Exgoodiens Twatensii, or Oddfoot.


There will be a test later.

Prof Jonners

Once again, Jon, . Alright, let's see what you can do with this - today's word is:

Englebert Humperdinck

No problems, Eddie Izzard

Nuff said

And there's me thinking that's two words there . . .

For the purposes of 'Word of the Day,' word can mean word or words. Anyway, it's my thread, so I can do what I like!

And thus the old addage that 'Power corrupts' is proven!

Christian the Married

I've been seduced by the power of the Dark Side.

Obi-Jiff
What rules do you use for Scrabble???

Regards

David

My own!

I suppose I score fewer points for using Gerry Dorsey instead?

It depends if he's on a triple word score.

Hey!

I resemble that remark

Julien

Professer Jonners here again with all you need to know:

40 years ago the American public became semi aware. A singer with the ridiculously daft name of Engelbert Humperdinck, born Arnold George Thomas Matthew Mark Luke John Rajeev Guptar Sudha Dorsey Singh in Madras, India, the son of a British engineer and the youngest boy in a family of ten children (which was technically illegal, not to mention physically unlikely, but never mentioned in the Mess).

He moved to England at the age of 10. Growing up, he wanted a bandleader. But, things went in a different direction and, at 17, he sang on a public street for the first time. At this point, he decided to use the name Gerry Dorsey as his professional name and he became quite popular working around the United Kingdom until his progress was interrupted by a stint in the military, shooting people. He returned and picked up the Bandleader where he had left him but with a bout with tuberculosis. This took him out of the scene again and to the Scrubs. When he was finally ready to "re-start" his career again, at the suggestion of his manager, he decided it would be a crazy idea to re-emerge with a new image and, thus, Engelbert Humperdinck was born. He borrowed this name from a German composer, who understandably had decided not to use it, preferring instead to be known as Blimpy Boy - which he felt conferred greater gravitas.

Dubbed music’s “King Of Romance,” by Tone Deaf Monthly, the multiple Grammy nominee (nominee only please note) with the ultra-annoying three and one half octave range has sold over 150 million records worldwide, mostly from car boot sales, including 64 gold and 24 platinum painted albums and is currently marking four decades since his parole. He first entered the American pop charts with his smash hit “Re-grease Me (And Let Me Love Again).” The song went to # 1 in eleven countries and was banned in 32 others; Thanks to nothing, it was so big in the United Kingdom that it managed to prevent The Beatles’ two-sided hit “Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever” from reaching the top of the charts.
The next decade brought such hits as “After the Lovin', comes the shovin’,” “Winter World Of Leather,” “Am I That Easy,” “The Last Walt,” “There Goes My Everything- if only,” “Les Bicyclettes De Bolton” and “A Man Without Glove.” He has now recorded almost 80 albums including many multi-language versions, and some award winning totally silent ones.

This singer extraordinaire, whose music is instantly ignorable , has withstood the test of time by cosmetic surgery and Botox with his sensitive interpretation of lyrics. But he has never limited himself to just one genre having recorded everything from movie themes to disco, rock and even farmyard animal impressions. He is also extremely proud of the fact that he has been able to use his fame to help raise funds for numerous charitable causes, principally Help the Hard of Hearing Stay that Way for Their Own Sanity.
Engelbert has 'performed' for Her Majesty the Queen, several Presidents and many heads of state, but has never been re-convicted. In 1978 he received a “Georgie Award” from the American Guild of Variety Artists recognizing him as “Entertaining for a Year.” In 1989 he joined the elite performers from the worlds of Movies, Television and Music when he was honored with a star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame, next to Rin Tin Tin and Lassie.

There will be a short test later.

prof Jonners

and in a disclaimer - all the above is for humourous intent rather than anything else, and its allpretty much untrue - so lawyers stay out of it!

Are we sitting comfortably?

Engelbert Humperdinck was, of course, a German composer, born at Siegburg, in the Rhine Province. He was best known for his opera, Hänsel und Gretel, which was first produced at Weimar, in 1893. He was greatly influenced by Richard Wagner, worked as his assistant and eventually became music tutor to the composer's son, Siegfried.

While in Berlin, Humperdinck began work on Hänsel und Gretel after his sister asked him to compose music for a play for her children in 1890. He first started to compose Hänsel und Gretel, based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, as a Singspiel consisting of a play with 16 songs and piano accompaniment. A few months later, he presented his fiancée Hedwig Taxer with Hänsel und Gretel as an engagement present.

Quickly realising the work's potential, Humperdinck instead decided to create a full-scale opera, and in January 1891 he began working on a complete orchestration. Nearly three years later Richard Strauss —who dubbed it "a masterpiece of the highest quality… all of it original, new, and so authentically German"— conducted its premiere. With its highly original synthesis of Wagnerian techniques and traditional German folk songs, Hänsel und Gretel was an instant and overwhelming success. It was such a success that in 1923 it became the first complete opera ever to be broadcast on radio (from Covent Garden, London), and eight years later it was the first to be transmitted live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York.

Shortly before his death in 1921, Humperdinck developed a hearing affliction and remained partially deaf for the remainder of his life. On January 5, 1912, Humperdinck suffered a severe stroke. Although he was eventually able to recover, his left hand remained permanently paralyzed. On September 26, 1921, Humperdinck attended the performance of his son Wolfram's first production as a director of Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischutz in Neustrelitz. During the performance he had a heart attack. He died the next day from a second heart attack. In his memory, Hänsel und Gretel was performed several weeks later by the Berlin State Opera. The opera is still a worldwide favourite.

eh up,

were are not becoming cultured here are we?

Julien

You speak for yourself, Weasel-boy!

Today's word is:

wombat

A large member of the marsupium bearing Metatheria (first evolved during the Late Cretaceous 100 million years ago) that goes BANG!

Christian the Married

Anyone on here a fan of Cow and Chicken? (Phil B, I'm looking at you!)

Chicken's favourite computer game was Immoral Wombat - I always wanted a copy of that game.

'WOMBAT' is, of course, how Jonathan Ross pronounces 'Combat'


David

it was every squaddies ambition to meet a young lady who bangs like a belt fed Wombat.

And did you?

Guilty as charged!
Hey, I'm hungry. Is it Toosday? We always have pork butts and taters on Toosday.

Ah, I feel better now.
Phil.

Wombats have been hunted for this behavior, as well as for their fur and simply for sport. Some species (the northern hairy-nosed wombats) are now critically endangered, while others (the common or coarse-haired wombat) are still hunted as vermin.


So says National Geographic. Can you expand on these habits of your's Greg?