Axing Words

The editors of Collins Dictionary have decided to give the pink-slip to 24 words in the English Language. Their argument is that, these are lesser known words and have almost 'nil' usage in today's world.

The list of words with their meanings is as follows:

1] Abstergent:- Cleansing or scouring
2] Agrestic:- Rural, rustic, unpolished, uncouth
3] Apodeictic:- Unquestionably true by virtue of demonstration
4] Caducity:- Perishableness, senility
5] Caliginosity:- Dimness, darkness
6] Compossible:- Possible in coexistence with something else
7] Embrangle:- To confuse or entangle
8] Exuviate:- To shed (a skin or similar outer covering)
9] Fatidical:- Prophetic
10] Fubsy:- Short and stout, squat
11] Griseous:- Streaked or mixed with grey, somewhat grey
12] Malison:- A curse
13] Mansuetude:- Gentleness or mildness
14] Muliebrity:- The condition of being a woman
15] Niddering:- Cowardly
16] Nitid:- Bright, glistening
17] Olid:- Foul-smelling
18] Oppugnant:- Combative, antagonistic or contrary
19] Periapt:- A charm or amulet
20] Recrement:- Waste matter, refuse, dross
21] Roborant:- Tending to fortify or increase strength
22] Skirr:- A whirring or grating sound, as of the wings of birds in flight
23] Vaticinate:- To foretell, prophesy
24] Vilipend:- To treat or regard with contempt

There are some people who are opposed to this move by Collins and are trying their best to persuade the editors to reconsider their decision.

Now that these words are to be 'exuviated abstergently' do not use them and 'embrangle' your conversations or writings!

Humour

Among the forward mail jokes doing the rounds, I found this interesting one.
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An Old Story:

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house andlaying up supplies for the winter.The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.
Come winter, the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food orshelter so he dies out in the cold.

Indian Version:

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house andlaying up supplies for the winter. The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshoppernext to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house.

Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding thatGrasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter ..

Mayawati states this as `injustice' done on Minorities.

Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government fornot upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper.

The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to theGrasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for promptsupport as against the wrath of God for non-compliance) .

Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for 'Bengal Bandh' inWest Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.

CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hardin the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and Grasshoppers.

Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'.

Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the ' Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act' [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of the winter.

Arjun Singh makes 'Special Reservation ' for Grasshoppers in Educational Institutions & in Government Services

The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes,it's home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.

Arundhati Roy calls it ' A Triumph of Justice'.

Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice '.

CPM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden '

Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

Many years later...

The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar company in Silicon Valley, 100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India,