firefly, lightning-bug, vernacular, low-slung, ladle, one-stop, poke

"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—'tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning."
— Mark Twain in a letter to George Bainton (15 October 1888)

Pope Amuses and Insults With Remark on Parenting

By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO

In saying that Roman Catholics should not breed “like rabbits,” the pope set a new standard for the papal vernacular.

The technology industry has undergone an accelerating wave of consolidation as companies like Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, EMC and Dell have made large acquisitions. The deals reflect a desire by large technology companies to offer a wider range of hardware, software and services so that customers see them as one-stop shops.

Unions in America

Poking Walmart, choking Twinkies

Why America’s private-sector unions are in decline

Spotlight:

Shopping at the Supermarket

There are still a lot of villages where people go daily to buy their bread, dairy products, vegetables and staples from a number of small neighborhood shops. In much of the developed world, though, since the introduction of home refrigeration, consumers opt for the convenience of less frequent shopping at the one-stop supermarket. On this date in 1930, Michael J. Cullen opened the first supermarket in the US, the King Cullen Grocery Company, in Queens, NY. It took another three years for the term "supermarket" to make it into the vernacular.

Quote:

"I never make a trip to the United States without visiting a supermarket. To me they are more fascinating than any fashion salon." — Wallis, Duchess of Windsor

Mr. Zumthor’s buildings do not share a common vernacular. They range from tall and circular to low-slung and boxy. For his Field Chapel to St. Nikolaus von der Flüe, completed in 2007, in Mechernich, Germany, Mr. Zumthor formed the interior from 112 tree trunks configured like a tent. Over 24 days, layers of concrete were poured around the structure. Then for three weeks a fire was kept burning inside so that the dried tree trunks could be easily removed from the concrete shell. The chapel floor was covered with lead, which was melted on site and manually ladled onto the floor.





Marketers and cellphone makers are only too happy to fill the newest generation gap. Last fall, Firefly Mobile introduced the glowPhone for the preschool set; it has a small keypad with two speed-dial buttons depicting an image of a mother and a father. AT&T promotes its wireless service with television commercials poking fun at a mom who doesn’t understand her daughter’s cellphone vernacular. Indeed, IDC says revenue from services and products sold to young consumers or their parents is expected to grow to $29 billion in 2010, up from $21 billion in 2005.

firefly, lightning-bug 螢火蟲

ladle noun [C]
a very big spoon with a long handle and a deep cup-shaped part, used especially for serving soup:
a soup ladle

ladle 
verb [T] (ALSO ladle out)
to put soup or other liquid food into bowls to give to people, using a ladle

sling (HANG) 
verb [T usually + adverb or preposition] slung, slung
to hang something over something, especially in a careless way:
I usually sling my jacket over the back of my chair.



vernacular
noun [C usually singular]
1 the form of a language that a regional or other group of speakers use naturally, especially in informal situations:
The French I learned at school is very different from the local vernacular of the village where I'm now living.
Many Roman Catholics regret the replacing of the Latin mass by the vernacular.

2 SPECIALIZED in architecture, a local style in which ordinary houses are built

3 SPECIALIZED dance, music, art, etc. that is in a style liked or performed by ordinary people

vernacular adjective
His lively vernacular style goes down well with younger viewers.
old stone vernacular buildings ━━ n. （the ～） 自国語; 地方語, お国ことば; （職業上の）専門語; （動植物の）俗名.
━━ a. （言語が）自国の; 方言の; （建築など）その地方特有の.

poke

音節

poke¹

発音

póuk

レベル

社会人必須

pokeの変化形

pokes (複数形) • poked (過去形) • poked (過去分詞) • poking (現在分詞) • pokes (三人称単数現在)

[動](他)

1 …を（指・ひじ・棒などで）突く, 押す((with ...))；〈人の〉（体を）つつく((in ...))

poke a person in the face
人の顔をつつく.

2 …を突っ込む((into ...))

poke a stick into the ground
枝を地面に突き立てる.

3 〈穴・進路などを〉（…を）つついて［押して］作る((in, through ...))

poke one's way through a crowd
群衆を押し分けて進む.

4 〈頭・指・棒などを〉ぐっと突き出す, 押し出す

poke one's head out of a doorway
戸口から頭を突き出す.

5 〈火などを〉（突くようにして）かき立てる((up)).

6 ((略式))((ふつう〜 -selfまたは受身))〈人を〉（狭い場所に）閉じ込める((up/in ...)).

7 ((俗・禁句))…と性交する.

━━(自)

1 ［poke at A］〈A（物）を〉（指・棒などで）つつく, 押す；〈A（食べ物）を〉いやいやつつく

poke at the fire with a stick
棒で火をつつく.

2 突き出る；はみ出る；広がる((out, up, into, through)).

3 おせっかいを焼く, 出しゃばる；（…を）詮索(せんさく)する((into ...))；ほじくる, あさる((around, about)).

4 のらくらする, ぶらぶらする, のろのろ進む((along, about)).

━━[名]

1 押す［突く, つつく］こと

He took a poke at her with his umbrella.
彼女を傘で突いた.

2 ((略式))のみこみのおそい人, のろま, ぐず.

3 ((俗))性交.