Adjudication of what is common

[TRex]

I suspect the adjudicator as to whether a word is common (Alan, I presume?) has a background in chemistry and/or medicine, or at least a strong academic focus in one or both of those fields. My suspicion is fuelled by the pattern I have discerned of classifying as common words which are chemical elements (e.g. lutetium), chemical compounds (e.g. adenine, which used to be common), or technical medical terms (e.g. prolapsed and recta, the latter which used to be common). I can't remember other specific words, but recall multiple instances that a word classified as common was a technical medical term or technical chemical term.

So, is my suspicion close to correct?

[TRex]

Another medical term classified as 'common' in the Standard puzzle of Saturday 25 September 2010:
chine

I'd never heard of it. I wonder how many players know this word and consider it common.

[birdy]

I wouldn't think of it as an everyday word, but I knew it as a cut of meat.  I didn't know the boat or topographical meaning until I googled it.

[pat]

I'm the other way round, birdy. I didn't know it could mean a cut of meat but I know the topographical meaning, simply because I've visited Shanklin Chine on the Isle of Wight.

[ilandrah]

I love your detective work TRex and am interested to see if your theory will prove correct.

I certainly didn't attempt chine, though I do think I have seen it here before.

I know that the word list sees constant revision and words are regularly shuffled back and forth, added and dismissed.
This alone can confuddle my already addled brain. Though I tend to use the standard puzzle to attempt anything that occurs to me as a possible word. This can be a fun way to discover words that I can add without totally trashing my percentile score.

Of course, I then forget which tab I am currently playing or make numerous typos that demolish any attempt at a perfect score anyway. 

[TRex]

I'm now aware of several meanings of cline. Thanks for the education to all. (I hadn't looked past the first definition in the Free Dictionary.)

[TRex]

Another chemical compound classified as 'common' in the Challenge puzzle of Sunday 26 September 2010:
malachite

I actually 'found' this word by surmising that if the nine-letter word were a chemical-type word it might end in -ite, rearranging the remaining letters in a way the seemed plausible and plugging the result into a Google search. When I Googled 'malachite', the first hit was for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malachite where I discovered it was 'a copper carbonate mineral'. Doubting this could be the nine-letter word -- it seemed to unusual to be 'common' -- I tried it and, to my pleasant surprise, found I had the main word! (Aha!, I thought, it was a chemical-type word!) The Wikipedia article mentions that malachite is found in Broken Hill, New South Wales (any Chihuahua players live in those environs?).

This is another word I've never before encountered. How many players know this word and consider it common?

[rhino]

Hi TRex - malachite is commonly found in Australia and Africa.  It's a dark green mineral which is often carved into animal shapes or jewellery items.  Malachite is always interesting because each piece has different stripe patterns/shading.

Rita

[birdy]

I'm no gemologist, but I am familiar with the term malachite.  I'm not sure I could have described it, though.

[pat]

I know the word but only had a vague idea what it meant. I'm most familiar with it through birding - there's a stunning bird called the malachite kingfisher.

[technomc]

here is a picture [i hope!!]

[technomc]

and one of the kingfisher Birdy mentioned.

[TRex]

Wow, I now know a lot more about malachite. Thanks, everyone.

I don't expect Linda would agree, but I thought the malachite kingfisher a very attractive bird. But since the mineral is basically green, I would have expected the bird to be more green than blue. Interesting that. Thanks for the pics, T.

[technomc]

You're welcome... Linda was not so enthralled!!

[Linda]

Especially as I was eating my breakfast at the time!