Quirky thoughts from an old man.
Cromulent
Adjective: Perfectly adequate.
Example: The hotel room at the Motel 6 was cromulent.
This word was made up for an episode of The Simpsons in 1966. It must have filled a need and has become an acceptable word listed in the Webster’s Dictionary among other sources.
“The key to happiness is expecting cromulence.”
A turtle in Palau in 2015.
Stifle
Verb: To prevent something from happening, being expressed, or continuing.
Example one: “She barely stifled a yawn as he droned on.”
Example two: “The parliament stifled dissent by jailing the opposition.”
I joined a school of fish in Palau for a photo opportunity.
Elide
Verb: To suppress or alter a sound, a word or other fact.
Example one: “in the word “ain’t” we elide the r and the o sounds from are not.”
Example two: “while singing the praise of government action the press elided the consequence of the new dependency.”
The photo is again from Palau in 2015. A large friendly fish the name of which I have forgotten. In this description I elided the fact that the fish was begging to be fed.
Jetsam
Noun: Unwanted material or goods that have been thrown overboard from a vessel. Often to lighten the ship during a storm.
Example: “To try and save the ship they heaved the cannon overboard creating a large jetsam field.”
So to answer last weeks riddle: flotsam is accidental and jetsam is deliberate.
Photo is of a Japanese cannon from WWII rusting away in Palau. Taken in 2015.