Word of the Week: Tumour

Word of the week brings you up close and personal with the noble tongue of English. This tongue will be wiggled in places where only the brave dare venture. Tumour :: tyoo-mer -nountumorous dancing 1. awkward humour: Ricky Gervais' tumour never fails to make me feel self-conscious and awkward. 2. an instance of attempting to be amusing, but failing miserably: the tumour in this post just makes it unbearable to read. 3. the lack of the faculty of perceiving what is humorous to others: his tumour is really starting to affect his social life. 4. an abnormal growth of tissue resulting from uncontrolled, progressive multiplication of cells and serving no physiological function: sometimes a tumour is just a tumour. -verb 5. to attempt, unsuccesfully, to comply with the wishes or mood of another: Oh god, Bill! Stop tumouring me! You're just embarrassing us both.

Origin: 9th c; OE: þumoersc < ON: tymøssa - a peculiarly scented and coloured sealsbladder cap, worn by Viking raiders to the British Isles, much to the embarrasment of the Anglo-Saxons who would often rather submit themselves to the invaders' axes than live on with the memory of the hat.

[tags]word,of,the,week,tumour[/tags]

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