Viscous
So much more fun to say and write than thick, viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a fluid which is being deformed by either shear or tensile stress (from Wikipedia), but like any great word, it can be applied poetically to mean many more varied and interesting things.
vis·cous [vis-kuhs] adj. having a thick, sticky consistency between solid and liquid; having high viscosity
Synonyms: sticky, viscid, glutinous, gluey, adhesive, gummy, syrupy
Etymology: late 14c., from Anglo-Fr. viscous, from L.L. viscosus "sticky," from L. viscum "anything sticky, birdlime made from mistletoe, mistletoe," probably from PIE root *weis- "to melt away, flow" (used of foul or malodorous fluids); see virus.
34 comments:
Love that word. It has such a mental sound to it.
For a split second my eyes read vicious! Then my brain spotted the extra s in place of the extra i. Ahem. I need coffee! Yay! x
Great, now I'm hungry, but it's too early to go down for breakfast. So now I'm going to be thinking of honey for the next hour and a half. Or Pooh Bear (my son's favorite and only stuffie). :)
This was on one of my freshman chemistry tests! Oh good memories. You are so right that it is more fun than thick.
Just a Nice Girl
Viscous, syrupy--makes me want pancakes this morning. ; )
Every had someone drop honey in yer hair??
I am on a diet and had to see this. My mouth was staring more at the pictures than at the post.
http://kdstormclutteredmind.blogspot.com/
Whenever I see that word I mentally think vicious, which lead me to wonder why it was more fun to say than thick. Oops! :)
That word has always reminds me of kissing. I have no idea why. Weird.
That pesky little 'i' had me all confused (not a hard thing to do) also. Viscosity is a great word to say, but hard to work into a sentence in 'regular' conversation.
I feel ready to go work under the car hood now Matthew.
I hope the draft goes well for your Fins.
Great word that conjures up completely different images to the word 'thick' for which I think Duh!
Great word. It reminds me of when my lip gloss goes bad. Damn.
making me want some honey on my toast!
Ha! I thought the word was vicious at first. Viscous is so much better. Always makes think of motor oil commercials, how old oil loses its viscosity over time, becoming thin & less effective. I actually used this one in my book, but it pertained to blood.
At first, I thought the pic was a glass full of viscous liquid. I'm like, uh.. what the heck are you drinking???
Is that honey in that picture? Because now i totally want some honey
I think this word was used to describe that liquid the guy in The Abyss had to inhale instead of air. Still gives me the creeps to think of doing that.
Great V word! and great word in general. I love words like that. :) "Birdlime made from mistletoe"? LOL Interesting.
Very heavy-sounding word. I like this one!
Mmm...honey.
Mmm...molasses.
As a Chemical Engineer, viscosity (and sheer and tensile stress) are right-at-home words for me. I used to run the viscosity tests for motor oil at the Mobil plant in Beaumont (which is now Exxon-Mobil).
You measure it with, what else, a viscometer. Lord, I looked up viscosity on Wiki, and I understand and have drawn all those charts, and used those wicked-looking equations.
Just the other day I was explaining Newtonian Flow to my brother.
Bingham plastic, Newtonian flow, Shiner Bock Beer, 6th street, Reactor Design final the next morning hungover and still half-drunk.
Good times in Austin.
- Eric
Excellent description for honey.
I'm with DL...I always seem to misread this as vicious.
Yes...honey and molasses! I'm feeling a little hungry right now... can you tell?...:)JP
That's another great word. You have certainly been picking words that are fun to say!
That's another great word. You have certainly been picking words that are fun to say!
GREAT word. Thanks for visiting my blog and for playing in the a to z challenge.
Such a fun word to say. It sticks to your tongue!
Without viscosity, honey would just be a sweet liquid. With it, it's heaven...
Ha, much cooler word than thick!
And probably useful word in my next Words with Friends game!
Hi Matthew .. great word - and so describes the thick gloopy honey like syrup that slides out ..
Viscous says it all really - cheers Hilary
I'm having a chemistry lab flashback.
There are people whose entire job is to check the viscosity of ketchup.
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