more entries in the Devil’s Dictionary: -bios, faveolus, pleuston, sitology, somatic, snurps, supination, and tarsi.
See the complete Devil’s Dictionary of Scientific Words and Phrases here.
all entries in the Devil’s Dictionary copyright 2019 by Russ Hodge
-bios a suffix attached to organisms indicating the ecosphere – the “living space” – in which they typically reside. Examples include:
halobios the organisms residing inside a halo
limnobios the organisms that live in limonade
limobios anything organic that remains after cleaning a limo
diplobios parasites occupying the bodies of diplomats
geobios animals that live on land; interestingly, an anagram of the word is “boogies”, which means organisms that live in a gelatinous substance extracted from the nose and exposed to air.
faveolus the crater left behind on a person’s face after the removal of a zit
pleuston the aquatic version of a windbag
sitology the scientific study of the interactions between a butt and a chair
somatic everything that remains of a body after the soul has been extracted, whether through surgical, psychological, or divine methods
snurps cynical, quip-like comments in a review, usually delivered in a sarcastic manner
supination a posture adopted by a penitent when petitioning mercy on the part of a superior being, such as a religious authority or a group leader. In proper supination, the ventral side faces upward, toward the superior, exposing the soft parts, basically offering one’s intestines to the predator in the event he or she has a taste for such things.
tarsi structures that keep a person’s eyelids from falling off.
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