jam, fiddle jam, clock, clock in, groove

 

Frugal Traveler

Music and Moonshine in the Mellow Ozarks

By SETH KUGEL

In Part 3 of his summer road trip, the Frugal Traveler hops between Missouri and Arkansas, dropping in on a fiddle jam, sipping spirits and tuning into the region's relaxed groove.

* I use dictation software. When I have long-form writing to do, like a book, I dictate into Dragon NaturallySpeaking. My wife once clocked me at 120 words a minute, and that's including making corrections. It's just insanely fast (providing, of course, you know what you want to say)

groove

Pronunciation: /gruːv/

Translate groove | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish

noun

• 1a long, narrow cut or depression in a hard material.
• a spiral track cut in a record, into which the stylus fits.
• Climbing an indentation where two planes of rock meet at an angle of more than 120°.

• 2an established routine or habit:his thoughts were slipping into a familiar groove

• 3 informal a particular rhythm in popular or jazz music:her vocals drift delicately across a soaring soul groove

verb

• 1 [with object] make a groove or grooves in:deep lines grooved her face

• 2 [no object] informal dance to or play popular or jazz music:they were grooving to Motown
• dated play popular or jazz music in an accomplished manner:the rhythm section grooves in the true Basie manner
• enjoy oneself:Harley relaxed and began to groove

• 3 [with object] Baseball, informal pitch (a ball) in the centre of the strike zone: he grooved a fastball in the 9th inning
• North American (in the context of other sports) kick or throw (the ball) successfully; score (a goal) with stylish ease:the San Diego kicker grooved the winning field goal

clock

n.

1. An instrument other than a watch for measuring or indicating time, especially a mechanical or electronic device having a numbered dial and moving hands or a digital display.
2. A time clock.
3. A source of regularly occurring pulses used to measure the passage of time, as in a computer.
4. Any of various devices that indicate measurement, such as a speedometer or a taximeter.
5. A biological clock.
6. Botany. The downy flower head of a dandelion that has gone to seed.

v., clocked, clock·ing, clocks. v.tr.

1. To time, as with a stopwatch: clock a runner.
2. To register or record with a mechanical device: clocked the winds at 60 miles per hour.

v.intr.
To record working hours with a time clock: clocks in at 8 A.M. and out at 4 P.M.
idioms:
around (or round) the clock

1. Throughout the entire 24 hours of the day; continuously.

clean (someone's) clock Slang.

1. To beat or defeat decisively: “Immense linemen declared their intentions to clean the clocks of opposing players” (Russell Baker).

kill (or run out) the clock

1. Sports. To preserve a lead by maintaining possession of the ball or puck until playing time expires.

[Middle English clokke, from Old North French cloque, bell, or from Middle Dutch clocke, bell, clock, both from Medieval Latin clocca, of imitative origin.]

The verb clock in has one meaning:
Meaning #1: register one's arrival at work
Synonyms: punch in, clock on Antonym: clock out (meaning #1)
Also, clock out, end work, as in Please wait for me; I forgot to clock out. T
he allusion here is to punching a time clock, a device that punches the time on a card to record when an employee arrives and departs. [Late 1800s]


Begin work, as in She clocked in late again.
What time did you clock in this morning?
Clocking-in time is 9.00 a.m.

The Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox all lead with the budget that was unveiled yesterday by President Bush, which clocks in at $3.1 trillion and will leave a deficit of more than $400 billion in both fiscal 2008 and 2009.


 jam

verb (jams, jamming, jammed)

• 1 [with object and adverbial] squeeze or pack tightly into a specified space:four of us were jammed in one compartment people jammed their belongings into cars [no object, with adverbial]:mum, dad, and I jammed into the pickup truck
• push (something) roughly and forcibly into position or a space:he jammed his hat on
• [with object] crowd on to (a road or area) so as to block it:the streets were jammed with tourist coaches
• [with object] cause (telephone lines) to be continuously engaged with a large number of calls:listeners jammed a radio station’s switchboard with calls

• 2become or make unable to move or work due to a part seizing up or becoming stuck: [no object]:the photocopier jammed [with object]:the doors were jammed open
• [with object] make (a broadcast or other electronic signal) unintelligible by causing interference: they were jamming broadcasts by the pirate radio ships

• 3 [no object] informal improvise with other musicians, especially in jazz or blues: he had the opportunity to jam with Atlanta blues musicians

noun

• 1an instance of a thing seizing or becoming stuck:paper jams
• short for traffic jam.she was held up in a jam on the M25
• Climbing a hold obtained by jamming a part of the body such as a hand or foot into a crack in the rock.

• 2 informal an awkward situation or predicament:I’m in a jam

3 (also jam session) an improvised performance by a group of musicians, especially in jazz or blues.