Subliminal

Subliminal actually means something usually below the level of known sensation or consciousness. It can be useful when advertising.

Happy New Year!

Tiro

A tiro (which can also be written as tyro) is a beginner or novice. Two or more are known as tiros.

I'm a tiro when it comes to wildlife photography, but fortunately this little bird hopped off instead of flying away, so I got some of it in focus. Anyone know what it is?

Joint

This post was inspired by my friend Richard Peej's Facebook post. He put up a picture of a carpentry joint (I don't know why, but who am I to judge people's odd hobbies?) Soon others added images of a marijuana joint, Sunday joint and an elbow joint being put to good use (er, yes that last one was me)

Other uses for the word include a place to meet someone for a drink, something done in partnership (eg jointly writing a book) part of a book cover, cutting up a carcass for food, held or belonging to more than one person (joint account) the contrivance by which two artificial things are joined together (that's something to do with plumbing, I think) the part of a stem from which a leaf grows, the cement bit between bricks and to prepare something ready to be joined to something else.

If I've missed any, please let me know - that way this post will be a joint effort.

Mull

A mull is a promontory. Mull can also mean to ponder or consider. Mulling wine, beer or cider is heating it with sugar and spices. Eg I went to the Mull of Kintyre and mulled over whether or not to have a glass of mulled wine.

Mull apparently can also be a form of non acidic compost or a particular type of muslim, so I suppose I could have sat on a pile of mull at a mull* in the company of a mull. We may have mulled things over together, but we'd not have drunk any mulled wine.

*Not Kintyre though as the soils is acidic there.

Now I could have mulled some wine and photographed that as I do like the stuff, but then I remembered how much you like my pictures of Scotland (or at least are too polite to beg me to stop, which is just as good) so here's one of the foghorn at the Mull of Galloway. (I don't actually know the  man in the picture, but he stayed there so long I took the shot anyway, then walked down to see what he was looking at. It was a HUGE seal. He (the man, not the seal) then pointed out various different birds and explained about the tides and other interesting stuff.)

Crenellations of Tantallon

You might have known that crenellation is the uppy downy bits on battlements. You can have a point if you did. To crenallate is to provide a castle or tower with crenellation.

Did you know the uppy downy parts also have proper names? The gaps are crenels or crenelles. The bits between are merlons. Here's a sign to prove I don't just make all this stuff up.

And here's a picture of a castle, showing crenallation, which was taken on our recent trip and is obviously the entire reason for choosing today's word of a week. It's called Tantallon - isn't that a fantastic name for a castle?

We got there early and had the place to ourselves for the first half hour. I really must work it into a story.

Paraselene

A paraselene is a bright spot, especially on a lunar halo. It's sometimes known as a mock or false moon. I'm not sure I entirely follow, but it's a nice word and maybe my friend Sheila will come along and explain it properly.

The picture is of the actual moon, taken by Gary. He's one of the bright spots in my life.