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 -noun 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]