DEBOUCH

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Dr. Goodword
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DEBOUCH

Postby Dr. Goodword » Mon Apr 23, 2007 5:16 pm

• debouch •

Pronunciation: dee-bushHear it!

Part of Speech: Verb

Meaning: To issue forth, to come out of a narrowly confining space into a larger one or through a bottleneck.

Notes: The word for the place where something
debouches is used so seldom, it still carries its French diacritics and accentuation: débouché pronounced [de-bu-shay]. The alternative is debouchment, which you may pronounce in either the French or English manner. This noun also serves as a more elegant if more snooty word for "mouth of a river".

In Play: One of the stranger expressions we use and seem to understand is "the river empties into the sea". Actually, very few rivers are ever seen empty; rivers debouch into seas and oceans: "The Mississippi River debouches into the Gulf of Mexico." Armies may debouch through enemy lines if they break through a small hole and disperse on the other side: "Our troops exultantly debouched the enemy line only to advance on a cliff with a 100-foot drop!"

Word History: Today's Good Word obviously is a loaner from French déboucher, a verb made up of de "(out) of" + bouche "mouth". Bouche is from Latin bucca "cheek, mouth", itself borrowed for English buccal "pertaining to the cheek". English buckle comes from Old French boucle, originally the Latin diminutive of bucca, buccula "little cheek, cheek strap (of a helmet)". (Let us debouch a deluge of gratitude on Suzanne Williams, Florida photographer, for suggesting this delightful and useful word.)
Last edited by Dr. Goodword on Wed May 02, 2007 10:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby scw1217 » Mon Apr 23, 2007 8:44 pm

Aw shucks! (But good Dr. you spelled my name wrong, which incidentally has been the bane of my existence.) SuZanne.
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Postby Stargzer » Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:27 pm

Aw shucks! (But good Dr. you spelled my name wrong, which incidentally has been the bane of my existence.) SuZanne.
Oh, SuZanne! Uh ... :wink:


... is it the misspelling or that name that's been the bane?

On second thought, the way that dackel is staring at me, I'd better fermez la bouche!
Regards//Larry

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Postby scw1217 » Thu Apr 26, 2007 7:57 am

:lol: :lol:
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Postby sluggo » Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:50 am

tsk tsk, youse guys and your debouchery...
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Postby skinem » Sat Apr 28, 2007 8:32 pm

Stargzr, you play the banjo? :D

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Postby gailr » Sat Apr 28, 2007 9:20 pm

Stargzr, you play the banjo? :D
:shock:

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Postby Stargzer » Sun Apr 29, 2007 1:02 am

Stargzr, you play the banjo? :D
I have a five-string, and know (from a book) how it's supposed to be played, but I really wouldn't say I can play anything on it other than a simple G chord. :wink:

I'm a wee bit better at guitar. Guitar music strikes a responsive chord in me.


Banjos, at least according to the book I have, are tuned to a G chord.
Stargzr, you play the banjo? :D
:shock:
Skinem, I think Gail is either surprised or dumbfounded as to why you asked that question!

Oh, yeah; the :shock: she posted is a link. :lol:
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

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Postby scw1217 » Sun Apr 29, 2007 8:43 am

Stargzr, you play the banjo? :D
:shock:
Please...that song has been the OTHER bane of my existence!
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Postby Perry » Mon Apr 30, 2007 8:40 am

Call me anencephalous if you will, but I adore the banjo. Just one of many good reasons to live in Asheville. Plenty of banjos are pick roun' hyar.
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Postby skinem » Mon Apr 30, 2007 10:38 am

Well, I certainly don't play the banjo, but my wife does! What good Southern home would be complete without a banjo? (...and a dulcimer, a piano, a couple acoustic guitars as well as the stray electric guitar for playing "Free Bird" and "Sweet Home Alabama". Oh, yeah, and I can't forget the jug!)

Suzanne, I certainly didn't mean bring the pain of the bane!

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Postby Perry » Mon Apr 30, 2007 12:47 pm

Sluggo, if you ever leave the Sheiks, we might have the nucleus of a new group.
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
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Postby gailr » Mon Apr 30, 2007 8:18 pm

I do not play the banjo, although a college roommate did, so I've heard that infamous song up close (although not too close). I even heard it as a duet, with the second part debouching from the telephone from her brother, who was, I guess, phoning it in...

Elsewhere in music news, the latest issue of 5280 has a feature on Björn Türoque (aka Dan Crane) who escaped the cubicle farms to become a professional air guitarist. (I bet that makes for an interesting tax return.)

And some of you were trying to get me to move South! Ha! We got us some culture right here.

-gailr

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Postby scw1217 » Mon Apr 30, 2007 8:58 pm

Suzanne, I certainly didn't mean bring the pain of the bane!
LOL. It's okay. I am used to it. You try growing up in the south with Suzanne as your name!
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Postby skinem » Mon Apr 30, 2007 10:13 pm

Suzanne, I certainly didn't mean bring the pain of the bane!
LOL. It's okay. I am used to it. You try growing up in the south with Suzanne as your name!
Ha! I actually have a neice named Suzanne. I thought it a law that every Southern family have at least one Suzanne!

Now, I do agree with you that it would be tough for me to grow up in the South with Suzanne as my name...but it probably would be anywhere!


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