occiput & refractory

refractory (rih-FRAK-tuh-ree), adjective:
1. Stubbornly disobedient; unmanageable.
2. Resisting ordinary treatment or cure.
3. Difficult to melt or work; capable of enduring high temperature.

Refractory comes from Latin refractarius, “stubborn,” from refragari, “to oppose, to withstand, to thwart.”

occiput (OK-suh-put) noun, plural occipita (ok-SIP-i-tah) or occiputs

The back part of the head or skull.

[From Middle English, from Latin occipit, from oc-, from ob- (against) + ciput, from caput (head).]

Senator Smoot (Republican, Ut.)
Is planning a ban on smut.
Oh rooti-ti-toot for Smoot of Ut.
And his reverend occiput.
Smite, Smoot, smite for Ut.,
Grit your molars and do your dut.,
Gird up your l–ns,
Smite h-p and th-gh,
We’ll all be Kansas
By and by.

Opening para of Ogden Nash’s 1931 poem on Sen. Reed Smoot whose anti-porn stance led to a newspaper headline “Smoot Smites Smut”.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply