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Olive989's definitions

Great Horned Owl

An otherwise cool bird, terribly afflicted with the malady known as, "resting bitch face."
Do I have resting bitch face, or am I just a bitch that needs rest? I was up all night you know.

-Great Horned Owl. That's hoo.
by Olive989 March 10, 2023
mugGet the Great Horned Owlmug.

Snake in the grass

Someone who pretends to be something other than what they are, while hiding a nefarious agenda.

Note (1.) A snake in the grass doesn't have to be sadistic, but they have to be self-serving enough, they don't care who they hurt in the process of achieving what they want.

Note (2.) The term "snake in the grass" has been around a long time. Long before people had lawnmowers, or constantly trimmed their lawns like a military buzz cut. So the grass metaphor used to be more obvious. When the average person's lawn used to grow past their ankles..snakes were rarely visible.
If you want to describe a cold blooded human with hidden intentions, "snake in the grass" isn't a bad choice.
by Olive989 March 23, 2023
mugGet the Snake in the grassmug.

South Star

The opposite of a North Star. Anything that guides you away from your goals, life purpose, or the best that is in you. It could be addiction or bad habits. It could be the wrong people. It could be hanging on to false or malignant hopes. Whatever it is, it will make your life go south. (Pun intended).
If you follow your south star, your life's natural trajectory is downward.
by Olive989 March 3, 2023
mugGet the South Starmug.

Portmanteaus

When two words are blended together to create one word, using only a portion of each word.

Examples:

(Internet)=Interconnected + Network
(Brunch)= Breakfast + Lunch
(Moped)= Motor + Pedal
(Bash)= Bang + Smash
Most people realize "Brunch" is a portmanteaus, but what about "Internet?"
by Olive989 March 27, 2023
mugGet the Portmanteausmug.

Compound Words

When two (whole) words are combined to create a new word with a new meaning.

(This new meaning can be wildly different from what the original two words mean on their own).

Additionally, there are three different kinds of Compound Words: Open, Closed, and Hyphenated.

Closed compound words have no spaces. Open compound words have separation between the two (or three) words. Hyphenated compound words have hyphens between words.

(Closed Compound Words):

Justice- Just, Ice,
Bargain- Bar, gain,
Kidnapping- Kid, Napping,
Grandparent- Grand, Parent,

Babysit- Baby, Sit,
Pineapple- Pine, Apple,

(Open Compound Words):

(While there’s a physical space between open compound words, the meanings of the two words have been combined. This is why they are still considered Compound.)

Examples:

Cell Phone- Cell, Phone,
First Aid- First, Aid,

Common Sense- Common, Sense,

Real Estate- Real, Estate,

Life Jacket- Life, Jacket,

Rib Cage- Rib, Cage,

Hot Dog- Hot, Dog,

Cotton Candy- Cotton, Candy,

(Hyphenated Compound Words):

Well-being- Well, Being,
Word-of-mouth- Word, Mouth, Of,

Up-to-date- Up, date, to,
Most native English speakers don't give compound words much thought...because we're so overly familiar with them in every day speech. However...Compound words are a great testament to how bizarre (and often hilarious) the English language can be.

Like think about the distinct departure in meaning between say: kidnapping vs. kid napping or one nightstand vs. one night stand, Or what about how we decided to define generational age with words like "Grand" or "Great?" (I.E. Great-Great-Grandparent). We all know there's nothing grand about aging itself, and not everyone's grandparents qualify as "grand" either. "Hot dog" is another little adventure.

There is so much about the world that's wonderful and weird sitting in front of us, but we miss out because we don't pay attention to what's overly familiar.
by Olive989 March 27, 2023
mugGet the Compound Wordsmug.

Negative Cue

The absence of something (some detail, signal, or anomaly) which highlights an answer to a problem or question.
Doctors used to believe all disease manifested as something foreign/outside the body attacking it. In the case of Scurvy, a lot of doctors got tunnel vision looking for a positive cue. (Some Germ or pathogen present that would explain the condition.) But none was to be found. It wasn't until biochemist Fredrick Gowland Hopkins considered what was absent (a lack of vitamin C) that the true cause of scurvy was discovered. This absence was a negative cue.
by Olive989 October 25, 2023
mugGet the Negative Cuemug.

Falling asleep at the wheel

When a hamster finds themselves really tuckered out, after all that cardio. And doesn't want to move from the wheel before taking a nap.
Man. Moo Moo sure has been falling asleep at the wheel a lot lately. I wonder how much he'd hate me if I poked his little belly right now.
by Olive989 March 3, 2023
mugGet the Falling asleep at the wheelmug.

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