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]