lauryl

[Dave]

I know this is getting monotonous, but this one is quite common in the context of industrial chemistry, particularly in the term " lauryl alcohol," aka 1-dodecanol.  And for a chemical word, it really is almost pretty  .

[biggerbirdbrain]

... like a  hypnotic aromatic poison to be ingested in very small doses? 

[Dave]

Well, I wasn't exactly thinking along those lines, but that does open up a wealth of possibilities.  Interesting the way your mind works, Threeb!

[biggerbirdbrain]

You have no idea!!

[Alan W]

Ah, yes - Lauryl Alcohol! What times we had together, she and I!

OK, Dave lauryl is in some dictionaries. We probably should also add lauric, since lauryl compounds are usually derived from lauric acid, extracted from vegetable oils.

The origin of these words is apparently related to laurel, as in bay leaves and laurel wreaths.

[Dave]

Thanks, Alan.  I thought that if I could remember it after 38 years it just had to be a word!  Not sure, but I have a vague idea that the stuff has a kind of spicy smell, which could explain the connection with the plant, although I wouldn't recommend adding it to a stew...

[biggerbirdbrain]

Aw, c'mon, Dave -- live on the edge!! 
You've really come up with such great suggestions! And most have been accepted! Might be a record! 

[Dave]

I'm afraid that it reflects the clutter of a mind filled with the dusty litter of years of scratching around in a voluminous bag of assorted interests, Threeb!  (Please note that that is what we in the poetry trade would term the mixed metaphor to end all mixed metaphors-- McGonagall, eat your heart out  !)

One thing that does frustrate me is that I would have a whole lot more junk up there if my injury hadn't screwed up a compulsive reading habit -- have never solved the problem of how to read a book comfortably, and reading on a computer screen makes a very poor substitute.  Audio is also frustrating because it is a completely different way of taking in information, not to mention being bloody s-l-o-o-w.  And, surprisingly enough, the Reader's Digest does not appeal as an option!

Jeez, you didn't really need to hear that, did you?  My mind has been weakened by a particularly tedious poetry assignment today, and it helps to spread the depression  .

Cheers,

Dave (the long-winded)

[biggerbirdbrain]

I actually found that eerily fascinating. You are a very open book (or, poem), Dave. That's rare. You have taught me a lot having read your posts so often, not only about words, lit., and men in cool hats, but about human nature. The daily slog, etc. of obstacles and little victories.

Thanks