Thursday, June 28, 2007
Incubus
I might have bitten off more than was chewable with today's word. I had no idea of the implications of choosing the word "incubus". I'd never heard of it before and my dictionary didn't mention the specific details which I've just discovered on dictionary.com thanks to the heads up from Pastor Phil. I didn't know anything about it also being the name of a band - but then I'm not up with the play as far as music goes. So, apologies for any offence caused to anyone. Let's just say the simplest dictionary meaning for incubus is that it's an evil spirit believed to descend on sleepers. It can also be used to describe an oppressive nightmare or an oppressive burden or person. Enough said. The invented meanings were great. Alex Beech took the cake and most of the votes with her cuddly invented meaning. Well done, Alex.
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25 comments:
Ooh, I´m thrilled to win, you´ve mane my day. If it weren´t for the fact that I have a good friend visiting on Saturday who I haven´t seen for over a year you would´ve made my week too! I´m going to go and have a good think about a definition for incubus now, back later.
Incubus - form of public transport peculiar to Cuba, constructed from odd bits of 1950's cars nailed together at random. Usually has ten wheels all of different sizes.
An incubus is a thought-tank writers and philosophers strap to their backs while pondering the mysteries of the universe such as why "thunder" and "lightening" in the English language are called "donder" and "blitzen" in Dutch.
An incubus is someone who is really into doing Rubik's cubes.
Stephen from Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
http://stephen-has-spoken.blogspot.com/
During any time of political change, the term 'incubus' is used to describe the official perks (originally just transport) belonging to the person currently in post (incumbent), and fully brandished in every campaign season to ensure the public know exactly who their leader is.
e.g. 'The new prime minister was not happy to see his predecessor arrive at the handover speech with practically his entire incubus.'
To incubus (vb) is to move queues, for example in the supermarket, with the aim of getting served more quickly.
Incubussing is a highly-practised skill and inexperienced incubussers frequently find themselves frustrated when the queue they have just moved to slows down just as they one they moved from speeds up. Of course, had they stayed put they would've been served and on their way out of the shop in question already.
Incubus is the ancient mode of transportation of the indigenous peoples of Mexico.
blog hopping :) u have nice entries ^_^
incubus: transport for the undead. Typically created from former hearses as use for limosine, taxi, or tour service for zombies and vampires.
Passing the graveyard Hubert wondered outloud what was going on in the back of the incubus.
"Quiet!" Mabel shouted out in a hoarse whisper. Knowing that vampires had acute hearing, she knew it was unwise to speak of the incubus after dusk.
Hey Word Imp - edgy word for the day. Living in Salem, MA I knew the real PG13 definition of this word without a dictionary.
Incubus: The Latin word for incorporated. Original usage was limited to the businesses of Roman gods and goddesses, but now can include all clergy-run endeavours as well.
An example of this word in its original form would be in the title of a business run by the god Bacchus: Nectare Bene Incubus, which translates as Good Nectar Incorporated.
Please be gentle, all you speakers of Latin :-)
Incubus: a cube-shaped animal trap used by tribes in the Amazon jungle to catch small game.
I'm sorry if my definition is kind of lame today. I am quite familiar with Incubus (both the word meaning and the rock band), so I struggled with this one.
Any three-dimensional rendering of a figure taken from a cubist painting.
The derivation of this word appears to be from in + cubits, i.e. someone too poor to own any land, but some etymologists say it comes from in + cu (copper), i.e. lacking in coppers.
In any case, it means someone who is poorer than the speaker, which explains its use in the following:
At length I became as rich as the Gurneys -
An incubus then I thought her,
So I threw over that rich attorney's
Elderly, ugly daughter.
- W.S. Gilbert (Trial by Jury)
incubus (n) controversial New Age belief following the "Inner Child" movement in the eighties which purported that every human possesses an "inner teddy bear."
ie., Maggie was encouraged to nurture her incubus, often cuddling herself in public.
Oh, Alex, the ridicule I've endured over the years as I've struggled to stay in touch with my incubus. Those fleeting moments of success have been precious but costly, as the unenlightened seem not to understand and tend to draw away from me with embarrased looks.
(Dare I ask if you too are a follower of Professor Plush?)
incubus: latin for 'people trapped in a windowless, doorless, airtight cubicle'
An incubus is a type of marine creature, which when removed from its natural habitat, dries into lewd shapes which can be used to flag down public transport.
Incubus is the opposite of Uncubus, which is the inability to complete a rubik puzzle.
Incubus is the name of a great band!
An incubus is a bus whose driver leaves the heater on no matter how hot the weather is, so that during the summer passengers feel as if they are being incubated. (I rode on one today...)
Incubus is the bus-like topology used by inkwells.
Incubus is a form of public transportaion, for the future.
In the future time travel will be available to all walks of life. So, since everyone won't be able to afford there own time machine, the incubus will be available. It resembles the buses of today, except instead of transporting it's pasengers to a new location, it'll transport them to a different time.
During the early 1980's there was a failed attempt to add the rubick's cube to the array of Olympic sporting events. The zealot rubick's cubers presented the argument that skinny nerdy types had no representation in the Olympic games and that the nature of cubing lent itself both to the Summer or Winter games. The proponents had buttons and bumper stickers made up that proclaimed " IN CUBE U.S." hoping that if the U.S. came on board others would follow. After all, the highest concentration of cube nerds lived in the U.S. and the U.S. hockey team underdogs had recently beaten the Russians. if America could be convinced then surely Rubick's would reach Olympic status. Unfortunately, this paved the way for other factions of obsessive game players to try to promote there own choices into the Olympics. Operation, Connect 5 and Slinkies were all being touted as the next Olympic "mind sport". Strife and verbal backbiting increased. It is believed that the rather vicious Slinky followers coined the name incubus (which actually refers to a winged demon creature) for the IN CUBE U.S. group. In the end all the "mind sport" contenders were dismissed. It was agreed that it is much more entertaining to watch speedo clad muscle bound divers and lovely ice skaters in skimpy sparkly dresses.
Incubus (n)- a huge scope of things, especially unrelated things. Can be ideas or objects.
i.e. The intricate strata of debris on the floor of my room was an incubus of pieces of cardboard, broken things, things that had been lost for years, and more.
(p.s- thank you for nominating me for feretory!)
Hi Judi,
I don't know who Professor Plush is, but his name sounds like he'd know a thing or two about incubus.
:-)
Alex
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