I think we set a new record for the number of submissions for today�s word.

The winner of the WOD for Thursday, November 18, 2010 is MarionG with her daffyniton for calamistrate:

There will be a drill today and our sixth graders are in charge of the calamistration .

At 13.00 there will a siren and the entire student body needs to go down to the shelters in the basement of the school. To practice how to do this in an orderly fashion so we may be prepared in case of a real calamity, the 6th graders have been given the task to administrate the drill. They are divided into teams to go and help the lower grades, some 6th graders are responsible for bringing the stretchers and first aid kits, others are in charge of making sure the little ones stay calm during the pandemonium that always breaks loose the moment the siren is heard.

We really hope they will calamistrate better than last year �s sixt grade. Last year�s drill was a total mess. Some of the lower grades never were notified the drill started and they forgot to tell the 4th graders that the drill was over and that they were allowed to get out from under the tables.....They were stuck there for over half an hour (I would know, I was there!)

To calamistrate; verb. to administrate the sequence of events in case of a calamity.

Usually it is the task of the police force and the fire brigade to calamistrate.

except for the WOD, the story is true, thank god (or my shedule) I taught only until 12.30 so I could get away before the madness started.....

The actual definition is:

Cal`a`mis�trate   Pronunciation: ~mĭs�trāt

 This is the message I sent to Marion letting her know she had won.

 Tag you´re it! Congratulations you have won international fame for your submission. You will soon receive a message so that you can provide us with your bank account number and secret password so that we can transfer your winnings directly into your account. ;-)

Calamistrate

I�ve regularly noticed that in the �Word of the Day� Competition, music plays no part whatsoever.  By an uncanny set of circumstances, it again does not feature in this week�s Competition, leading me to firmly believe that this is a vital, hidden clue.

I have occasionally commented on the rise to fame of British composers, who, in the United Kingdom were almost unknown, but on immigrating, achieved total oblivion.

Roger Hammerstone was a Nonentity here, (having been born on the Island of Nonent).  He had written only one number, �The Sam and Janet Song� for his show �South Pathetic�.

He went to America, was given a �partner�, and the Rogers and Hammerstein musical, �South Pacific� had a smash hit:

�Sam and Janet Evening, you may see a Stranger, you may see a Stranger across a Crowded Room ... �

In a similar way, Joe Green, from British West Hartlepool, wrote an operette.  (An �operette� is a little bit of �opera�; similarly a �cigarette� is a little bit of �cigar�; a �sextet� is a little bit ... well, you get the idea!)

Incidentally: �Why did the Frenchman refuse the omelette made with 2 eggs?�

Because �Un �uf is un �uf!"

Yes, Joe Green wrote an operette, �If She Wants to Wriggle, Let Her!� and it was a resounding failure.

He went to Italy, changed his name to Giuseppe Verdi, renamed the opera �Rigoletto�, and it was a smash hit.

There were several changes, because of censorship.  The character of the Cockney Cuban Chinaman, Sparrow Fu Chilli was renamed Sparafucile in compliance with the Race Relations Act; and the trio was increased to a quartet to remove any suggestion of menagerie � trois.  Finally, so as to avoid advertising, the aria, �Il telefeno ï¿½ mobile�, (�I have a mobile phone�), was changed to �La donna � mobile�, (�This woman is always on the move�).

And thus, we finally arrive at Calamistrate.

This is a word of Scottish and Irish descent, via a Nordic connection with the island of Iceland.  You are all acquainted with the geysers of Iceland.  What you possibly do not know is that �geezer� is Anglo-Scottish-Nordic for �man�.

Who was �the man� in question?  His name was Calam, which is an abbreviation for the Scottish name Malcolm, Mael-Colum.

Instantly, you are on to it, (provided you speak with a strong Irish accent!)

Yes, Calam-mistrate, �Calam-mistreat� is the mistreatment that Calam received from the immigration authorities in Ireland when he tried to smuggle in a pair of wild haggis from Scotland for breeding purposes.

Les