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sallymn posting in

machinations [mak-uh-ney-shuhns]

noun:
scheming or crafty actions or artful designs intended to accomplish some usually evil end

Examples:

Instead of a unified empire, the smaller kingdoms of the Heptarchy still dominate, their various dangerous machinations providing the raison d’être for the differing orders. (Valorie Castellanos Clark, Brigitte Knightley’s debut romantasy novel is as irresistible as its title, Los Angeles Times, July 2025)

His machinations were getting no coverage to speak of, but even at that early stage, Vrabel - Volin noted - was purging the Patriots roster of players connected to his predecessors, one-year head coach Jerod Mayo and before that, legendary head coach Bill Belichick. (Jon Vankin, Mike Vrabel's Ruthless Purge of Bill Belichick Patriots Players Continues, Newsweek, August 2022)

Created in the 1980s by Tim Rice and the genius songwriters behind ABBA, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, Chess the Musical is a densely-packed and complicated story about the machinations of the shadowy secret forces of the United States and Russia in the midst of the Cold War, as their two chess masters battle for supremacy. (Brenda Harwood, Cold war machinations in densely-packed show, Otago Daily Times, May 2025)

The more complex your lives become with intellectual machinations, piles of paper, and social intrigue, the less you are aware of the Simplicity of the Moment. (Laurence Galian, The Sun at Midnight: The Revealed Mysteries of the Ahlul Bayt Sufis)

Machinations, hollowness, treachery, and all ruinous disorders follow us disquietly to our graves. (William Shakespeare, 'King Lear')

(click to enlarge)
Origin:

late 15c, machinacion, 'a plotting, an intrigue,' from Old French machinacion 'plot, conspiracy, scheming, intrigue' and directly from Latin machinationem (nominative machinatio) 'device, contrivance,' noun of action from past-participle stem of machinari 'to contrive skillfully, to design; to scheme, to plot,' from machina 'machine, engine; device trick' (Online Etymology Dictionary)

pauamma posting in

free_speech

It's that time of the fortnight again. If you have a link related to free speech but no time or energy to write an entry around it, or if you want or need to remain anonymous, this is the entry to do it for the next 2 weeks. Or, if a comment sparks a thought, feel free to jump in and reply or join the conversation.

neo_ultra posting in

synthworld

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ysabetwordsmith posting in

followfriday

Got any Follow Friday-related posts to share this week? Comment here with the link(s).

Here's the plan: every Friday, let's recommend some people and/or communities to follow on Dreamwidth. That's it. No complicated rules, no "pass this on to 7.328 friends or your cat will die".

Current Mood: busy

calzephyr posting in

1word1day

Kourabiedes - noun.

The inventor of kourabiedes couldn't know they had a smash hit on their hands back in the 10th century with a confection popular throughout the Mediterranean and West Asia. There are as many regional variations for this almond-loaded shortbread as there are names--qurabiya, ghraybe, ghorayeba, ghoriba, ghribia, ghraïba, gurabija, ghriyyaba, and kurabiye, to name a lot!

Kourabiedes is the Greek version, often shaped into balls or crescents and dusted with icing sugar. They are popular at Christmas and other special occasions.

By Jastrow - Own work, CC BY 2.5, Link

simplyn2deep posting in

1word1day

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Dialect (noun)
dialect [dahy-uh-lekt]

noun
1. Linguistics., a variety of a language that is distinguished from other varieties of the same language by features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, and by its use by a group of speakers who are set off from others geographically or socially.
2. a provincial, rural, or socially distinct variety of a language that differs from the standard language, especially when considered as substandard.
3. a special variety of a language.: The literary dialect is usually taken as the standard language.
4. a language considered as one of a group that have a common ancestor.: Persian, Latin, and English are Indo-European dialects.
5. jargon or cant.

Other Word Forms
dialectal adjective
subdialect noun

Related Words
accent, idiom, jargon, language, lingo, patois, pronunciation, slang, terminology, tongue, vernacular, vocabulary

See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
Synonyms
2. patois, idiom

Synonym Study
See language.

Origin: First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin dialectus, from Greek diálektos “discourse, language, dialect,” equivalent to dialég(esthai) “to converse” ( dia- “through, between” + légein “to speak”) + -tos verbal adjective suffix; dia-

Example Sentences
Jones also had to swap her British accent out for a thick, distinctive Delco accent, as the dialect spoken by those from Delaware County is affectionately called.
From Los Angeles Times

She has to know the city, its peoples, dialects, and languages.
From Los Angeles Times

The 37-year-old former Doctor Who star, who grew up in Inverness, posted on Instagram that "my dialect coach can sit this one out".
From BBC

"It betrays your class. It betrays your origin. All over the world people are trying to reclaim accents and dialects that have been lost."
From BBC

I had a great dialect coach called Jude McSpadden who was fantastic, and she kept me on track.
From Los Angeles Times

flareonfury posting in

dw_community_promo

GOAL: Write 15 fanfics (100 words mim.) for 15 different prompts.
CLAIMING: NO LIMIT! ANYTHING (CHARACTER/PLACE/PAIRING/CROSSOVER/ETC)!!
PLEASE JOIN

mcu15!!!

stonepicnicking_okapi posting in

1word1day

steganography [steg-uh-nog-ruh-fee]

noun

the technique or practice of concealing a secret message or image in a digital file or physical object that is not secret, as when watermarking a digital image or using invisible ink.

examples

1. The art of hiding secrets in plain sight is called steganography—distinct from the more commonly used cryptography, which hides the message itself but not the fact that it is being shared. "AI Could Smuggle Secret Messages in Memes." Scientific American. 1 Sept 2023.

2. This time, some variants use techniques such as steganography, an obfuscation method rarely seen in mobile malware. Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 23 Sep. 2024.

origins
Steganography is a word that was resurrected after being in disuse for almost 150 years! It was put to rest in the early 1800s, labeled an archaic synonym of "cryptography" by dictionary makers, but was brought back to life in the 1980s as a word for a type of digital cryptography. There is nothing cryptic about the word's origin; it is based on the Greek word steganos, meaning "covered" or "reticent."

Peniarth MS 423D is a volume of astrological texts written in Latin. It is a transcript, dated 1591, of Steganographia by Johannes Trithemius (1462-1516), which was originally written in the late 1490s. Steganography is the act of writing in a secret code. This version is in the hand of Dr John Dee, Queen Elizabeth I's ‘favourite philosopher’.

yourlibrarian posting in

common_nature

Some views of the McKenzie River, which we got a great look at since the road we took followed and crossed over it.

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nverland posting in

lost_too_soon

springsodas posting in

addme

Name: Star/Soda

Age: Late 20s

I mostly post about: Fanart, fanfiction, character/story development, personal ramblings

My hobbies are: Illustration, writing, collecting figures, plushies, and other merchandise (both official and fanmade)

My fandoms are: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003, IDW, 1990, Splintered Fate), Pokemon, plenty of other animated TV shows and video games I won't bother listing

I'm looking to meet people who: Share my interests, are open-minded and respectful, and otherwise pleasant and chill to be around.

My posting schedule tends to be: Aiming for at least once a week, possibly more frequently depending on how chatty I feel or if I have art/writing I'd like to share

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: I do not tolerate any form of bigotry. AI "art" and "writing" is also a major no-no, and I have a few major squicks on the shipping front that I prefer to avoid as much as possible. In addition, I will not subscribe to or add users to my access list who are under the age of 18.

Before adding me, you should know: For the moment, none of my entries are locked and anyone is free to subscribe. If an entry has potentially sensitive/triggering content, there will be a warning beforehand. Anyone is free to comment on my posts as well; however, I prefer to interact with others who are at least 20 or older, and will not be responding to comments by minors.

Current Mood: curious
Current Music: Felt So Free (Shawn Christmas)

huxleyenne posting in

addme

Name: Risa

Age: 36

I mostly post about: I ramble briefly about writing, wrestling, people, whatever I'm feeling. I try to save my most crude and raunchy language/ideas for the fanfiction that I write. As a person who's been on the Internet long enough to know what it's like to run a Geocities site, I've seen... oh god. I've seen things. We've all seen things we cannot unsee. Sometimes I can be a little sardonic and grumpy about it, but I have a sense of humor. I'd always rather laugh, even when I'm crying. Not in a toxic positivity sort of way, but more in a way that I don't burden people with too much emotional baggage.

My hobbies are: Writing fanfiction, reading books and wrestling fic, watching emotionally damaged pretty people in tights get into stage fights, cooking and baking, and walking/jogging/hiking as my antidepressant (I've lost 95lbs. I am a weight loss advocate, but I'm neither fatphobic, nor do I view weight loss in an of itself as fatphobic. Let's respect each other, OK?) I'm not nearly the gamer I used to be, but I have dabbled enough in JRPGs, D&D, and Magic the Gathering that we can have conversations about all of these things.

My fandoms are: World Wrestling Entertainment (the superstars, particularly Dusty's kids ~~f*ck the company, though!~~), South Park, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Final Fantasy (in general, but 9 and 8 are overwhelmingly my faves) Stardew Valley, and gosh. Take me back to 90s/early 2000s Nicktoons and anime all day.

I'm looking to meet people who: I'm looking for chill friends who do their own thing, but take the time to say hello every now and then. I will try to do the same. I've been showing up to DW every day since I registered, so I dare say I'll be around. The only other social media site I use is Tumblr, and I don't do much there other than like and occasionally reblog wrestling stuff. AO3 is the site I'm most active on. I go where the fic goes.

My posting schedule tends to be: I'm aiming to update 3-4 times a week about any thoughts relevant to writing, but I won't force it. If I got nothing to say, then that's that. IRL, my life is super boring. I work. I exist. Not much to say about that. Carving out a little writer life on the Internet is my excitement.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: People under 18 is a hard no. MAGA is a harder no. If you are an existential threat to my people in the LGBT community, I don't respect that and never will. I will fight this prejudice until my dying breath, including any random internalized sexism/queerphobia that may still linger inside of me.

Before adding me, you should know: I'm just a writer, guys. The current flavor is kinky wrestling yaoi, which you can read on AO3 if you're interested. Other than that, I'm cobbling together a collection of original work. My favorite DW community is

fic_promptly, and I plan on posting a lot of fills. I'm still getting used to being back on DW. Apologies if I'm not always consistent.

Current Mood: hopeful
Current Music: Distant Worlds (FF9) - You're Not Alone

purplecat posting in

dw_community_promo

An Image of Yoko Tsuno and Khani hugging from the Yoko Tsuno albums. It has the words Ladiesbingo, for Any Kind of Relationship between Women and the url ladiesbingo.dreamwidth.org superimposed over it

Ladies' Bingo Round 2025-2026 (Round 13) Sign-ups

Event Description:

ladiesbingo is a bingo challenge for creative works about the relationships between women. It runs for seven months (from September until March).

The motivation behind the community is to encourage people to make creative works focused on female characters and their relationships.

Round 13 (2025-2026) is now open.

sallymn posting in

1word1day

oneiric [oh-nahy-rik]

adjective:
of, relating to, or characteristic of dreams

Examples:

Then there's Jake Messing's selection as Best Artist, whose dense and powerful images seem to peer into the oneiric heart of Healdsburg, that dream state between what we think we know and what we can barely imagine. (Best of Arts and Entertainment 2024, The Healdsburg Tribune, November 2024)

Set to a haunting score by the director's brother Giorgi, this melancholic mystery presents Georgia's open plains and mountain regions in alien, oneiric contexts. (Christian Zilko, NYFF Reveals 2025 Currents Lineup, Including New Films by Tsai Ming-liang and Radu Jude, The Guardian, August 2025)

In 'A Boy Named Isamu,' James Yang imagines an ideal, almost oneiric day in the life of the sculptor Isamu Noguchi as a young child. (Sergio Ruzzier, Portraits of Three Artists as Young Children, New York Times, November 2021)

More practically, and from a totally different point of view, M Chabaneix, having studied the continuous subconscious, divides it into nocturnal and waking subconsciousness. If the former be a question of sleep or of the moments preceding sleep, it is oneiric or pre-oneiric. (Remy de Gourmont, Decadence, and Other Essays on the Culture of Ideas)

I prefer to write first drafts as soon as possible after waking, so that the oneiric inscape is still present to me. (Will Self, How I Write)

He is at once a stratum of the earth and a streamer in the air, no painted dragon but a figure of real oneiric power. (Seamus Heaney, Beowulf)

As George Orr slipped into another oneiric state, the fabric of reality trembled. His dreams, potent and uncontrolled, reshaped the world with each passing thought, blurring the lines between imagination and actuality. (Ursula K Le Guin, The Lathe of Heaven)

Origin:

'of or pertaining to dreams', 1859, from Greek oneiros 'a dream' + -ic. (Online Etymology Dictionary)

The notion of using the Greek noun oneiros (meaning 'dream') to form the English adjective oneiric wasn't dreamed up until the mid-19th century. But back in the late 1500s and early 1600s, linguistic dreamers came up with a few oneiros spin-offs, giving English oneirocriticism, oneirocritical, and oneirocritic (each having to do with dream interpreters or dream interpretation). The surge in oneiros derivatives at that time may have been fueled by the interest then among English-speaking scholars in Oneirocritica, a book about dream interpretation by 2nd-century Greek soothsayer Artemidorus Daldianus. In the 17th century, English speakers also melded Greek oneiros with the combining form -mancy ('divination') to create oneiromancy, meaning 'divination by means of dreams'. (Merriam-Webster)

neo_ultra posting in

synthworld

Chill vibes.
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marycuntrarian posting in

dw_community_promo

Come join and post discussions, fanworks, reviews, etc! I'm starting the comm with our own Friday Five, so reply now and meet some fellow fans!
Community TV

ysabetwordsmith posting in

followfriday

Got any Follow Friday-related posts to share this week? Comment here with the link(s).

Here's the plan: every Friday, let's recommend some people and/or communities to follow on Dreamwidth. That's it. No complicated rules, no "pass this on to 7.328 friends or your cat will die".

Current Mood: busy

calzephyr posting in

1word1day

Paçoca de amendoim - noun.

Paçoca de amendoim is a sweet treat from Brazil, whether made by hand or in a factory.

Allegedly paçoca comes from the Tupi word pa'soka which means "crumble". The chief ingredients are peanuts, sugar, honey, and salt, but some recipes also include flour.

By Leonardo "Leguas" Carvalho - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, Link

prisca posting in

dw_community_promo

Fandom Empire's last challenge of this year is:

August 27 - September 10: Sign-up
September 7 - December 7: Challenge open
December 8 - December 14: Final scores

At the end of the challenge, there will be banner/badges for everyone and 50 DW points for three randomly chosen regular (2 missed weeks maximum) participants.

Check out the information post here.

I would be glad to have you around. If you are interested, don't hesitate to sign up here.

marycuntrarian posting in

addme

Name: Mary Cuntrarian or Kat, my real nickname. She/They

Age: near 40

I mostly post about: Right now my journal is new so I'm not exactly sure but I haven't written anything since about 2015. I'm mostly posting stream of consciousness thoughts and things that won't leave my brain like themes in fiction and in life. I might make my journal friends-only soon since that's a thing I can do and write things that are more personal because my life is sort of a mess at the moment and I need to write it out. I'm an artist and I've been putting a lot of effort into my art career recently so I know I'll be writing about my process and struggles there.

My hobbies are: I dabble in all kinds of painting and crafts, but mostly watercolor and ink. I crochet, do some embroidery, I'm relearning web design and have started making web pages as art and for fun. I used to play more video games but nothing has caught my interest lately but I have played Disco Elysium, Fallout 76, Stardew Valley, Breath of the Wild, some GTA Online, Animal Crossing (Pocket Camp, but it counts!) and other random rpgish games. I also have been playing a lot of Dungeons and Dragons lately, and I love coming up with characters! Trying to get back into writing, right now just blogging but maybe fiction and poetry soon. I don't know if I'll write fanfic, I have started making icons again and I think I'll have fully regressed into my old LJer self if I write fanfic again. Which might not be BAD.

My fandoms are: Currently I have some hyperfixations but I hesitate to call them fandoms in the old fashioned way. I'm less obsessed with things than I used to be but I will say my old fangirl tendencies have popped up a little again.

Right now I'm into The Matrix movies including Resurrections, Neo/Trinity might make me read fic again and I'm also watching Sense8 for the first time and I'm really liking it so I'm in a Wachowski Sisters kinda mood.

I love AEW wrestling and I'll list my favorite wrestlers for you if you care. lol

I'm also watching Legends of Tomorrow and almost done with it, pretty into it and I love Constantine.

I recently read the Southern Reach series and could talk about those books forever. Jeff Vandermeer and Edward Carey are my favorite living authors with Shirley Jackson being my favorite classic writer.

Music I'm fannish about is Lord Huron and Tyler the Creator. I'm into indie hip hop and I've gotten into riot grrrl music for the first time recently.

I'm looking to meet people who: Just want to talk and connect? No bullshit, just sharing random cool thoughts and ideas. I'm a stoner, can we start an internet blunt rotation? lol

I've seen a lot of people saying this online recently but I'm looking for that old internet feeling again. I made a Neocities page, I want to talk to people about shit again and not just tweet a few sentences and hope it gets likes.

My posting schedule tends to be: Sporadic as of late but I'm going to post more now that I'm here. I was posting on tumblr here and there but I felt like there were no conversations to be had there. I'm aiming for once a week at least.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: No bigotry, no terfs, no AI worshippers, MAGA-heads or generally fuckery. I'm basically a dirty commie and I'm not too afraid to talk about it so if that makes you uncomfortable oh well.

Before adding me, you should know: I'm currently struggling quite a bit in life, lost a lot of my agency and control because of lack of money, lost my apartment, and my general sense of self so I might talk about that at times. I'm disabled and queer, neurodivergent and cannot find a job to save my life and currently live with my partner and their family which is rough. If you don't want to hear about my personal bullshit from time to time, I'm probably not the person to follow.

Current Mood: anxious

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Wartime

"History repeats itself, the war will soon begin"

Reading

Sunday Word: Machinations

Fortnightly links collection entry #224

Shanti People - Mahishasura Mardini (Droplex Remix)

Follow Friday 9-12-25

Thursday Word: Kourabiedes

Tuesday word: Dialect

MCU15 > prompt tables

Word: Steganography

McKenzie River

Maru has passed away

Hello!

Huxleyenne's Theme Hits

Ladies Bingo 2025-2026

Sunday Word: Oneiric

Horisone - Together (Original Mix)

I made a Community community

Follow Friday 9-5-25

Thursday Word: Paçoca de amendoim

Fandom Empire presents: Bingo

sad dirty elder millennial commie seeks friends for virtual coffee

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September 2025

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