tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162206974728931335.post7557431341817345580..comments2024-03-28T08:20:11.686-05:00Comments on Daughter Number Three: The Smell/Odor/Aroma/Stink TestDaughter Number Threehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171356533232458827noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162206974728931335.post-55329716517617130272013-09-23T05:35:37.565-05:002013-09-23T05:35:37.565-05:00I had a class today and my students implored me to...I had a class today and my students implored me to distinguish the difference between these words. I wasn't able to give them as much detail. However, my impromptu answers were pretty spot on.109Law2https://www.blogger.com/profile/08289638748422700047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162206974728931335.post-48293539868590800102012-10-10T10:41:56.351-05:002012-10-10T10:41:56.351-05:00I love the word "odiferous," though I do...I love the word "odiferous," though I don't think I've ever used it. Odiferous vs. smelly -- I automatically know which one smells worse. Odiferous might mean onions or garlic, while smelly evokes dirty laundry, maybe even sewage.<br /><br />Even "reek" in its origins wasn't exactly negative, as Michael's example shows. That idea of emanating is the original meaning.<br />Daughter Number Threehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08171356533232458827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162206974728931335.post-29763392545449066852012-10-10T08:45:59.078-05:002012-10-10T08:45:59.078-05:00That pattern is interesting for sure. Reek makes m...That pattern is interesting for sure. <i>Reek</i> makes me think of Shakespeare’s sonnet 130: “And in some perfumes is there more delight / Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.” In his edition of the sonnets, Stephen Booth points out that in S’s time, the verb <i>reek</i> could mean “breathe forth, emanate.” But, he adds, the word (as noun and verb) was already moving toward the idea of a foul smell.<br /><br />The CAPTCHA below stinks! An out-of-focus photo of what must be a number.Michael Leddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05547732736861224886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162206974728931335.post-89767599529359740942012-10-10T07:04:43.364-05:002012-10-10T07:04:43.364-05:00I wonder if odor could be modified more positively...I wonder if odor could be modified more positively as "odiferous," which I always liked the sound of for completely unscholarly reasons it reminds me of coniferous, and thus delightful foresty, er, odors. (Unscholarly, too, since according to the online etymology dictionary, it's actually derived from a more unwieldy form.) <br /><br />Just to muddy the waters, I always equate "Aroma" with the skunk from Homer Price. Good effort, Homer!pepperyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10052933253593305659noreply@blogger.com