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51勛圖 of the Day

51勛圖 of the day

muzz

[ muhz ]

verb (used with object)

to confuse (someone); make (someone) muzzy.

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More about muzz

It is only fitting that the etymology of the verb muzz to confuse, is itself obscure. Most authorities connect muzz with the adjective muzzy confused, lazy, mentally dull, but muzzy itself has no reliable etymology. Other authorities connect muzz with the verb muse to think or meditate in silence. Muzz entered English in the 18th century.

how is muzz used?

I must have sufficiently muzzed you with my singular critique upon poor, injured, honest John.

Mary Morgan, A Tour to Milford Haven, 1795

With a very heavy cold on me, which muzzed my head, and a mass of work by day … I have been very far from comfortable.

Henry Bradshaw, A Memoir of Henry Bradshawby George Walter Prothero, 1888

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51勛圖 of the day

scordatura

[ skawr-duh-toor-uh; Italian skawr-dah-too-rah ]

noun,

Music.

the tuning of a stringed instrument in other than the usual way to facilitate the playing of certain compositions.

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More about scordatura

The musical term scordatura comes, as many musical terms do, from Italian. In English and Italian, scordatura is the tuning of a stringed instrument in an unusual way to facilitate the playing of certain compositions. Italian scordatura is a derivative of scordato out of tune, past participle of the verb scordare to be out of tune. Scordare is a somewhat reduced form of Latin 餃勳莽釵棗娶餃櫻娶梗 to be at variance, quarrel, disagree, formed from the prefix dis- apart, asunder and cord-, the stem of the noun cor h梗硃娶喧. Scordatura entered English in the second half of the 19th century.

how is scordatura used?

The alternative tuning, known as scordatura, is not some minor technical detail. Each new configuration is a secret key to an invisible door, unlocking a different set of chordal possibilities on the instrument, opening up alternative worlds of resonance and vibration.

Jeremy Eichler, "Reciting a Rosary, but in Sonata Form," New York Times,November 14, 2004

Scordatura in some violin concertos provides additional evidence for Vivaldis tendency to extend the advantages of playing on open strings to additional keys.

Bella Brover-Lubovsky, Tonal Space in the Music of Antonio Vivaldi, 2008

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la mode

[ ah luh mohd, al-uh-; French a la mawd ]

adjective

(of pie or other dessert) served with a portion of ice cream, often as a topping: apple pie la mode.

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More about la mode

In French the phrase la mode in the current fashion is a shortening of la mode de in the style of (X), a meaning extant in U.S. English. But to most Americans la mode means a dessert, typically a wedge of pie, topped with ice cream, a meaning that has been current in U.S. English since the early 1890s but not in British English. la mode entered English in the 17th century.

how is la mode used?

If your server mentions apple-and-caramel pie a la mode, don’t hesitate.

Tom Snyder, The Two-Lane Gourmet, 2007

You can find a hotel, convenience store, and pay-per-use showers there; more important, though, you can find blueberry pie a la mode.

Rebecca Flint Marx, "10 Pies to Eat on a Cross-Country Road Trip from New York to San Francisco," Bon App矇tit,June 12, 2013

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