by Fearman December 16, 2007

Middling quality thriller novelist who probably does his homework on the research end of things, is full of American jingoism, and avoids including sex scenes in his books because he thinks that makes them more respectable. Has had two middling good movies made of his work, The Hunt for Red October and The Sum of All Fears.
by Fearman May 26, 2008

The opposite of Christideuteronoleviticality, which is the corruption of the message of the pale (Jewish) Galilean by the 1500-year-older blatherings of a group of psychotic priests who should have done posterity a great big favour and gone out and gotten shagged a whole lot more often.
by Fearman January 05, 2008

Extremely brief nap as devised by Catalan Surrealist artist Salvador Dali. He would slide off to sleep in a chair with his arm over the side, holding a spoon over a plate on the floor. The instant he fell asleep, his hand would loosen up and the spoon would fall out and hit the plate with a clatter that woke him up again. He claimed that the brief rest thus afforded him worked wonders.
by Fearman December 23, 2007

Someone so obsessed with the minutiae of lower-middle-class good manners that they utterly miss the point of the exercise. The name of the game for these people is not showing consideration for others at all, but merely showing off their own upward mobility in the most vulgar way possible. There are few people more annoying than etiquette freaks, who themselves typically flout the most elementary standards of civilised behaviour every chance they get. A typical etiquette freak would be the character of Hyacinth Bouquet in "Keeping Up Appearances".
There is of course an entire industry of books and other sources supplying the requirements of etiquette freaks, often including such nuggets of folk wisdom as the following, in a book by Angela Lansbury (presumably not the actress): "A lady only has her name in the paper on three occasions in her life: when she is born, when she marries and when she dies."
There is of course an entire industry of books and other sources supplying the requirements of etiquette freaks, often including such nuggets of folk wisdom as the following, in a book by Angela Lansbury (presumably not the actress): "A lady only has her name in the paper on three occasions in her life: when she is born, when she marries and when she dies."
An etiquette freak will always endeavour to have as many different varieties of knives, forks and spoons for their guests as possible at a dinner party. Preferably all laid out at the same time.
by Fearman August 07, 2007

The expanding belly of a pregnant woman. Some women think it looks like the side of a bus, we do collectively need to watch that population curve, and some psychotic bible-jerkers who call themselves pro-life give the whole thing a tang of sulphur for everyone else, but despite it all, that bump remains one of the most drop-dead gorgeous sexy things in the world.
by Fearman December 26, 2007

Psychological effect noted by psychologist Bertram R. Forer in 1948, under which any fairly large and diverse group of people may come to believe that a tenuously balanced personality reading (especially one which, for the purpose of the test, is copied and handed out for them to ponder individually) applies strongly to each of them as individuals. Later studies have shown that the effect tends to be strongest when the recipient is given to understand that the reading has supposedly been tailored to them as an individual, that the person making the propositions is an authority they feel they can trust, and/or that most or all of the personality traits listed are positive ones, in other words flattering. The Forer effect may be of import in understanding the popularity of such pseudosciences as fortune telling or astrology.
Personality reading used to illuminate the Forer effect (thanks to Wikipedia):
You have a need for other people to like and admire you, and yet you tend to be critical of yourself. While you have some personality weaknesses you are generally able to compensate for them. You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage. Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You also pride yourself as an independent thinker; and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be rather unrealistic.
Now ... how does this apply to YOU?
You have a need for other people to like and admire you, and yet you tend to be critical of yourself. While you have some personality weaknesses you are generally able to compensate for them. You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage. Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You also pride yourself as an independent thinker; and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be rather unrealistic.
Now ... how does this apply to YOU?
by Fearman March 11, 2008
