spirits, sprite, damper, damping, deadening, limbo, hold back. synesthesia. On the Hunt for a Sprite on a Midsummer’s Night

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• On the Hunt for a Sprite on a Midsummer’s Night

A subtle sprite can watch the brew for long,
But only time can make the ferment strong.
---Faust

MOVIES

‘Música’ Review: What He Hears Is What We Get

Rudy Mancuso stars in and directs an inventive debut feature about a man with synesthesia who tries to manage his complicated life and relationships.

Living in limbo

Almost 1.8m Syrians have fled their country for its neighbouring states and beyond. But no country has granted them official refugee status

 

 

 

Fighting Flares in Tense Tripoli

A nervous limbo, punctuated by gunfire, took hold of Libya's capital, damping hopes by rebels and their international allies that Gadhafi's supporters would melt away.

Don’t hold back the tide

The Arab spring was always better described as an awakening: the real revolution is not so much in the street as in the mind. The internet, social media, satellite television and the thirst for education—among Arab women as much as men—cannot co-exist with the deadening dictatorships of old. Egyptians, among others, are learning that democracy is neither just a question of elections nor the ability to bring millions of protesters onto the street. Getting there was always bound to be messy, even bloody. The journey may take decades. But it is still welcome.

synesthesia聯覺

Synesthesia

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Synesthesia

Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads ...

‎Grapheme–color synesthesia · ‎In art · ‎Lexical–gustatory synesthesia · ‎Number form

hold back

hesitate to act or speak:he held back, remembering the mistake he had made before

hold someone/something back

prevent or restrict the advance, progress, or development of someone or something:Jane struggled to hold back her laughter

(hold something back) refuse or be unwilling to make something known:you’re not holding anything back from me, are you?

Limbo ：靈薄獄；古聖所；幽域；界外；被遺忘的地方；邊：根據教會初期神學家之意見，靈薄獄（音譯）為在耶穌之前死去的善人等候救恩之處所；也是未受洗之嬰兒，和無機會受洗又無重罪去世的成人居留之處所。拉丁文稱作 Limbus ，參閱伯前三 18-20 。

limbo

Syllabification: (lim·bo)

Pronunciation: /ˈlimbō/

Translate limbo | into French | into Italian

noun

• 1 (also Limbo) (in some Christian beliefs) the supposed abode of the souls of unbaptized infants, and of the just who died before Christ’s coming.

• 2an uncertain period of awaiting a decision or resolution; an intermediate state or condition:the fate of the Contras is now in limbo
• a state of neglect or oblivion:children left in an emotional limbo

Origin:

late Middle English: from the medieval Latin phrase in limbo, from limbus 'hem, border, limbo'

damper
n.One that deadens, restrains, or depresses:

 Rain put a damper on our picnic plans.

An adjustable plate, as in the flue of a furnace or stove, for controlling the draft.

Music.A device in various keyboard instruments for deadening the vibrations of the strings.A mute for various brass instruments.A device that eliminates or progressively diminishes vibrations or oscillations, as of a magnetic needle.


damp

• [dǽmp]

[形]

1 湿気のある, 湿っぽい

damp weather
じめじめした天気.

2 ((古))熱意を失った；気のぬけた, 活気のない.

━━[名]

1 [U]（不快な）湿気, しめり, 湿度(moisture)；もや, 霧, 水蒸気(vapor)；湿っている部分［場所］.

2 ((通例a 〜))失望, 落胆, 意気消沈；((a 〜))落胆させるもの, じゃまするもの

cast ［strike］ a damp on ［over］ ...
…の元気をなくさせる, に暗い影を投げる.

3 [U]（鉱坑内の）有毒ガス.

━━[動](他)

1 〈物を〉湿らせる(moisten).

2 〈活力・熱意などを〉そぐ, くじく, 鈍らせる；〈行動を〉はばむ；〈人を〉落胆させる

damp a person's spirits
元気をそぐ

damp production
生産を鈍らせる.

3 〈弦・太鼓の振動を〉止める；〈音を〉弱める((down))；《物理学》〈振幅・波動を〉減衰させる.

damp ... down/damp down ...

(1) …の火力を落とす, 〈火を〉弱める.
(2) …を和らげる, 鎮める；〈経済成長率などを〉鈍化させる.
(3) ⇒(他)3

damp off

《植物病理》立ち枯れ病にかかる.

［中英語. 原義は「湿気, 煙」］

damp・ly

[副]元気［熱意］なく.

Damping is a technique in music for altering the sound of a musical instrument.

(dămp)
adj., damp·er, damp·est.

1. Slightly wet. See synonyms at wet.
2. Archaic. Dejected.

n.

1. Moisture in the air; humidity.
2. Foul or poisonous gas that sometimes pollutes the air in coal mines.
3. Lowness of spirits; depression.
4. A restraint or check; a discouragement.

tr.v., damped, damp·ing, damps.

1. To make damp or moist; moisten.
2. To extinguish (a fire, for example) by cutting off air.
3. To restrain or check; discourage.
4. Music. To slow or stop the vibrations of (the strings of a keyboard instrument) with a damper.
5. Physics. To decrease the amplitude of (an oscillating system).

phrasal verb:
damp off Botany.

1. To be affected by damping off.

[Middle English, poison gas, perhaps from Middle Dutch, vapor.]

dampish damp'ish adj.
damply damp'ly adv.
dampness damp'ness n.

deadening	(adjective) So lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness.
Synonyms:	boring, ho-hum, irksome, tedious, tiresome, wearisome, dull, slow
Usage:	He envied Joe, down in the village,… fantastically and gloriously drunk and forgetful of Monday morning and the week of deadening toil to come. spirit n. The vital principle or animating force within living beings. Incorporeal consciousness. The soul, considered as departing from the body of a person at death. Spirit The Holy Spirit. A supernatural being, as: An angel or a demon. A being inhabiting or embodying a particular place, object, or natural phenomenon. A fairy or sprite. The part of a human associated with the mind, will, and feelings: Though unable to join us today, they are with us in spirit. The essential nature of a person or group. A person as characterized by a stated quality: He is a proud spirit. An inclination or tendency of a specified kind: Her actions show a generous spirit. A causative, activating, or essential principle: The couple's engagement was announced in a joyous spirit. spirits A mood or an emotional state: The guests were in high spirits. His sour spirits put a damper on the gathering. A particular mood or an emotional state characterized by vigor and animation: sang with spirit. Strong loyalty or dedication: team spirit. The predominant mood of an occasion or a period: "The spirit of 1776 is not dead" (Thomas Jefferson). The actual though unstated sense or significance of something: the spirit of the law. An alcohol solution of an essential or volatile substance. Often used in the plural with a singular verb. spirits An alcoholic beverage, especially distilled liquor. tr.v., -it·ed, -it·ing, -its. To carry off mysteriously or secretly: The documents had been spirited away. To impart courage, animation, or determination to; inspirit. [Middle English, from Old French espirit, from Latin spīritus, breath, from spīrāre, to bre A sprite is a spirit, a mythical, fairy-like creature who lives by the water. Sprites are supernatural and sometimes tricksy. sprite Pronunciation: /sprʌɪt/ Translate sprite | into Italian sprite noun [ C ]    literary UK   /spraɪt/ US   /spraɪt/ Add to word list  a fairy (= a small imaginary person with wings) especially one connected with water: a sea/water sprite noun 1 an elf or fairy. 2a computer graphic which may be moved on-screen and otherwise manipulated as a single entity. 3a faint flash, typically red, sometimes emitted in the upper atmosphere over a thunderstorm owing to the collision of high-energy electrons with air molecules. Origin: Middle English: alteration of sprit, a contraction of spirit