Aug. 29th, 2008 - Pismire

[sea-gaagii.livejournal.com]

pis·mire [pis-mahy-r, piz-]
–noun
an ant.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME pissemyre, equiv. to pisse to urinate + obs. mire ant, perh. < Scand (cf. Dan myre, Sw myra), c. D mier; pejorative name from stench of formic acid proper to ants]

pismire. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pismire (accessed: August 29, 2008).

Sing along if you like:

Just what makes that little ole pismire
Think he'll move that worn rubber tire?
Anyone knows a pismire would tire
Trying to move a worn rubber tire.

But he's got hi-i-igh hopes, he's got hi-i-igh hopes
He's got high apple pi-i-ie-in-the-sk-y-y hopes
So, any time you're gettin' low, 'stead of lettin' go, just remember that pismire
Oops, there goes another worn rubber tire
Oops, there goes another worn rubber tire
Oops, there goes another worn rubber tire

Comments

[alternativepop.livejournal.com]

hahah:) i'll remember that pismire for sure

[jaydenrioblue.livejournal.com]

That's hilarious! Excellent word!

[nerdfury.livejournal.com]

I'm confused - is this a Saturday post since there's no permanent poster here yet, or your usual Friday post but a day late? Or is it actually Friday there and the timezones got changed without sending me a memo?

But wait, it's after midnight here, so it's now Sunday, so it's your.. uh.. June? AAAGH!

june it is

[sea-gaagii.livejournal.com]

I didn't get home from working last night until after 2pm - so I cheated and changed the time - to December.

Re: june it is

[nerdfury.livejournal.com]

AAAAAGGGHH!! *sets self on fire*

[mizdandylynn.livejournal.com]

Maybe this is why my grandmother (from Europe) used to call them Pis-ants....

[fooltothink.livejournal.com]

My nana used to call me a pissant too!

pissant

[sea-gaagii.livejournal.com]

pissant

1661, "an ant," from first element of pismire (q.v.) + ant. Meaning "contemptible, insignificant person" is from 1903.

[vysed.livejournal.com]

Hey when did we decided to go all comedic for word of day? Me likey!

Comic

[sea-gaagii.livejournal.com]

I am always comic for word of the day - you people just don't always know when to laugh.

Re: Comic

[vysed.livejournal.com]

Damn it! I'll try not to skim the definition and ignore the comedy that is you from now on. ha ha.

*flashes the girl scout symbol for honesty*

[tarangryph.livejournal.com]

Weird; this entry shows up in my friends list on sep. 5th, yet the entry itself seems to be dated on Aug. 29th. Huh.

Anyway, would just say that pismire is very likely of Scandinavian origin, as the Danish equivalent is ’pissemyre’ – in polite company changed to ’tissemyre’, as ’tisse’ is considered less rude than ’pisse’. So basically, ‘tissemyre’ is the layman’s term for a specific species of ants, whereas ‘pissemyre’ is a derogatory term often used by larger children about smaller.