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Monday 23 January 2017

Spot the Frippet: something aculeate.

Aculeate: a spiky, dance-of-the-tongue word. This makes sense, because for something to be aculeate it must be able to cut or stab. 

It could describe a rose bush:

File:Rose bush.jpg
photo by Rangbaz

 the hedgehog snuffling around underneath it:

File:West European Hedgehog.jpg
photo by Hrald

 the knife used to cut a bloom:

File:Grafting knife 005.jpg
photo by Victor M. Vicente Selvas

 or the bee hiding among the petals:

 File:Native bee in an imported rose.jpg
photo by Narellesg

and each, magically, assumes a new sharp elegance with the word. 

Spot the Frippet: something aculeate. This word especially describes bees, ants and wasps. It comes from the Latin acūleātus, from aculeus, which is a diminutive of acus, needle.



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