Word For The Day, Tuesday, September 16, 2003: Fastidious

Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online | 09/16/2003 | The Janitor

[VRWCmember]

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".

fastidious \fass-TIH-dee-uss\ adjective
1. having high and often unpredictable standards
2. showing a meticulous or demanding attitude *

* Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Example sentence: The celebrated imperial Easter eggs designed by goldsmith Peter Carl Faberge are regarded as the ultimate in fastidious workmanship.

Did you know?
There's nothing offensive about fastidious workmanship, and yet the word "fastidious" traces to the Latin noun "fastidium," meaning "disgust." "Fastidium" itself is most likely a combination of the Latin words "fastus," meaning "arrogance," and "taedium," meaning "irksomeness." ("Taedium" also gave us our "tedium.") In keeping with its Latin roots, "fastidious" once meant "haughty" or "scornful" or "disgusting" or "disagreeable," although those uses are now archaic or obsolete. The word then came to be applied to someone who was overly difficult to please or squeamish, and later, to work which reflected a demanding or precise attitude.

Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the Word for the Day in a sentence.
The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day.

The Review threads are linked for your edification. ;-)
Practice makes perfect.....post on....

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[Robert A Cook PE]

"Not only am I quick, but I'm very accurate as well. I could get you in the eye from 5 ft away. ...

One must always keep his eye on the prize.

http://www.strangecosmos.com/view.adp?picture_id=11644

And the closer the sir is to the prize, the close the eye is held to the surprize. ....

[Conspiracy Guy]

I am the Walrus, co co cah choo!

[Argh]

What a laugh when I read this earlier. And these jokers are feeling really ripped off. See randog's comment at reply # 9 for a pertinent remark re cost per unit.

I wonder why the heck they're growing it, or trying to, in a mine? Flin Flon's way up the hell in the middle of nowhere: the federal gummint here likes to distribute OUR largesses to places that can use the help, but why in a mine? (Bobby Clarke of the Philadelphia Flyers was from Flin Flon, along with maybe another player or two from that team in the 70's).

[RJayneJ]

I try to be fastidious about cleaning the fish bowl where a verigated fantail goldfish resides. What does is mean when your goldfish swims upside down? This is a real question that needs an answer from someone that knows something about fish.

[Texan5]

Jumping those conclusions can be dangerous...

[theDentist]

Suddenly the same Caifornians who couldn't care a whit about the type of medium used in their voting for Governor or President are being fastidious that those same machines not be used in Grey's recall.

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

Bill Parcells as a coach is fastidious
Last night Dallas was fast, New York hideous
The head coach of The Giants
Helped the 'Boys with compliance
Kicked a field goal too soon: it was piteous

[Robert A Cook PE]

We need somebody to look into the problem..... Behaps Hillary's lovers in the press can help.

http://www.strangecosmos.com/view.adp?picture_id=11184


Seriously though, have you tried turning the bowl upside down?

(That way, when the fish turns over, it will think it's upside down, and then right itself naturally....)

[honeygrl]

The answer:
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgoldfish.html

"Several fish diseases can cause fish to swim like drunks (and some species of fish swim upside down normally!), but the most common one affecting goldfish is swim bladder disease. Your fancy globoid-shaped goldfish - orandas, ranchus, ryukins, fantails and moors - are especially susceptible to this condition. Sometimes they recover and sometimes they don't.

The swim bladder controls bouyancy in fish. It's a small sac in the front of the abdomen which fills with air to increase bouyancy and deflates if the fish needs less. Goldfish have a pneumocystic duct which allows air to leave the swim bladder through the digestive tract, so if there's impaction of food--one possible cause of swim bladder problems--this messes things up.

A number of things can cause swim bladder disease, and goldfish do seem to be predisposed to it. The egg-shaped fishes described above might get it more often because they have been bred into such strange shapes that their guts are squeezed into a small part of the abdomen. It can also possibly be caused by a virus or bacterium, but usually does seem related to diet. One of my books recommends soaking the dry food before feeding, or changing to live or frozen food to lessen the chance of food impaction. It's also a good idea to just stop feeding them for a few days if you notice them behaving oddly after eating, and sometimes that will take care of the problem.

The cure-all for most goldfish diseases that's always worth a try is adding 1 teaspoon of uniodized table salt per gallon to the tank."

There is your answer. :)

[Slip18]

My two brothers and I thought it would be cool to put battery acid on our legs and arms one night. It didn't hurt going on, but my mom's hand sure did. The battery acid really didn't burn too badly, just raised skin. No blisters or anything cool like that.

[VRWCmember]

Somehow when I saw that picture, I thought the caption should be "A little more, a little more..."

[Conspiracy Guy]

Do you believe in The Separation of Nothing and The State?

[Slip18]

That's a really cute photo, Cook!

[Conspiracy Guy]

Mommas should not let their babies grow up to be cowboys.

[NeoCaveman]

And look at this. The former perfumed prince of the pentagon, the bomber of the Serbs and the ally of jihad is throwing his hat in the race.

I may have to switch from Sharpton to Dean to help prevent this clinton clymer boy.

[Slip18]

With what cleaning supply did you fastiduously clean the fish bowl?

If he's upside down, he's taking a nap. They can nap for a few days.

[xsmommy]

i can't give up on my rev. al....

[VRWCmember]

Do you believe in The Separation of Nothing and The State?

In the sense that Congress (nor the Courts) shall pass no law regarding the establishment of nothing, nor the free exercise thereof, yes I do.

The courts have established Nothing as the official state religion, and I have a right to be free from the ACLU and a bunch of pushy atheists pushing their faith in Nothing down my throat.

[honeygrl]

What do you feed it? As a long time fish keeper and breeder my personal suggestion is to stop feeding it and change the water (only half the water at a time to preserve the good bacteria if it's in a tank but all if it's in a bowl) everyday for a few days. Fish can live up to 2 wks without food so it won't starve to death. If it's living in a bowl (a big no-no for goldfish, who produce ALOT of waste) think about moving it up to a small tank with a filter. And if you really love the goldfish, you buy a gravel syphon once it's in a tank and syphon goop from the gravel once every 2wks. The salt suggestion from the last post is a great idea too. It help prevent or cure a lot of diseases.

[NeoCaveman]

You gotta love Al but the most important thing is stopping the Klinton Crime Family that would be Don Hillary and her capo Clark.