www.alphadictionary.com

• ecdysiast •

Pronunciation: ek-di-zee-æst • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: An exotic dancer, strip-teaser, a person who removes his or her clothes while dancing.

Notes: There is an adjective, ecdysial, associated with ecdysis "molting" (see Word History) that might be stretched to the sense of today's word. I would prefer an entirely new family: ecdysiastic, ecdysiastically, and ecdysiasm, all perfectly grammatically formed though currently unendorsed by any dictionary.

In Play: One of the earliest known ecdysiasts was Salomé, who supposedly received the head of John the Baptist in return for a rendition of her seductively ecdysiastic Dance of the Seven Veils. Ecdysiasm has survived the intervening two thousand years: "After flunking out of the ballet academy, Leah Tardes went to work as an ecdysiast and made more money than a ballerina."

Word History: H. L. Mencken has been accorded the honor of creating today's Good Word for 'Miss Georgia Sothern', who asked him for a more dignified name for her profession. In doing so, Mencken modified a scientific term, ecdysis "molting, casting off", as a snakes and crabs molt their old skins or shells as they grow. This word has been around since the middle of the 19th century. Ecdysis was merely taken from the Greek ekdysis "stripping off", the noun from ekduein "to take off". This verb comprises ek "out of, off" + duein "to put on, dress". The root that produced duein also turns up in Sanskrit upa-du- "put on", but apparently was not widely used outside these languages.

An article with some Menken quotes.

Say what you will about the Ten Commandments, you must always come back to the pleasant fact that there are only ten of them.

Yeah, we know; Moses dropped the third tablet and broke it!

I wondered whether there were any long-lost links to ecstacy, 'to stand outside oneself'. Ah, a common prefix based on ecto–, leading to eghs, which also spawned exotic. So, one displaces the rational mind, while the other has displaces clothing.

Correlation does not imply causation.

This might be the right thread to share a warning over what has been called the Home Depot Scam.

A "heads up" for you and any friends you have who may be regular Home Depot customers.

Over the last month I became a victim of a clever scam while out shopping. Simply going out to get supplies has turned out to be quite traumatic. Don't be naive enough to think it couldn't happen to you.

Here's how the scam works:

Two seriously good-looking 18 or 19-year-old girls come over to your car as you are packing your shopping in the trunk. They both start wiping your windshield with a rag and Windex, with their breasts almost falling out of their skimpy T-shirts. It is impossible not to look. When you thank them and offer them a tip, they say "No" and instead ask you for a ride to another Home Depot.

You agree and they get in the back seat. On the way, they start undressing. [There is our connection.] Then one of them climbs over into the front seat and is all over you, while the other one steals your wallet.

I had my wallet stolen April 4th, 9th, 10th, twice on the 15th, three times just yesterday, and very likely again this upcoming weekend.

Again - please beware

Well, for certain ecdysiast sounds more socially acceptable than "pole dancer".

no, It's not socially acceptable.

mark pc bailey

This might be the right thread to share a warning over what has been called the Home Depot Scam.

A friend sent me a similar warning; she claimed to have had her purse stolen repeatedly by young men cleaning windshields at ***mart.

Moral: stay away from big box chain stores.

Say what you will about the Ten Commandments, you must always come back to the pleasant fact that there are only ten of them.

made my day.

***mart.

this.
OTOH if you shop at Target you have no excuse.

-melissa

***mart.

this.
OTOH if you shop at Target you have no excuse.

melissa! Did you get your purse stolen at Target?

No, but I hear she keeps trying!