Macro. Seems like a zillion years ago, macros were what serious computer people did. A macro was a pre-recorded routine you could enter into your computer to take care of repetitive tasks. As I recall they didn’t always work that well. And then after a time they were supplanted by user programming interfaces. None of which much explains any of today’s three macro words.
A macrocyte is an abnormally large red blood cell, especially one associated with pernicious anemia. Luckily, I’ve never had anemia and kind of doubt I would even recognize a macrocyte if I saw one under a microscope. I greatly regret that I lost the name of whomever it was suggested these three words. I also haven’t the foggiest idea how this image of banana bread relates to these three search terms, though this was a Google image result for macrocyte macrosomia macroglossia. And honestly, it looks very tasty to me.
Macrosomia is more commonly known as big baby syndrome. It applies to newborns weighing in at more than 4,000 grams. It is commonly associated with diabetes during pregnancy and is found to be more common among Hispanic women, Most of the articles I found talked about how hard a really big baby is on the woman’t tail bone. Reading that made me shift uncomfortably on my own tail bone, as I continue to contemplate the banana bread that really does look yummy.
Macroglossia is a severe enlargement of the tongue. That sounds awful, frankly. I suspect if your tongue swelled up huge you would not be able to eat regular food (like that banana bread). Although if your tongue were really severely swollen you might have problems with your airway. That is not a happy thought. I honestly don’t think that whomever suggested these three particular words was thinkging about old early personal computer days macros like I was, and I found myself wondering why these three words, which I have to say win the prize for most obscure words submitted. What about you? Can you suggest Just 3 Words that are even more obscure than these?
Libdrone's Thoughts and Musings 
I think you did a brave attempt with the very “macro” task that was presented to you, and unlike the automated computer commands, you did it with human flourish 🙂 (e)abhijit
You need to browse http://phrontistery.info/ for all kinds of weird and “lost” words. Interesting stuff there. ie, affuage (n 1753 -184)
right to cut wood in a forest for family fire
The family’s right of affuage ensured they would have enough wood for winter.
What a marvelous site! Thanks so much for sharing that, Cathy.
A bit of a stroll down memory lane and using macros with linux that did work fairly well, the only PC in the office was mine and was DOS 3.X. Thanks for the memories and the education as well!
My first computer was Windows 3.1, though after I used it a bit I found myself learning a good bit of DOS. In that early incantation Windows was more a graphic shell than an operating system.
Another great post Alan. Here are my three words (Drunk Durian Dead).
May 31, 2004
AN elderly Thai man died after over-indulging in the notoriously pungent durian fruit, police said today, becoming the kingdom’s second person to die this month from consuming the so-called king of fruit.
Thavin Chaiya, 68, collapsed at a fresh produce market in the northern Thai province of Chiang Mai Sunday after eating durian, police said.
“He ate it there at the market with friends. After eating for a while, he was asking for water and then he fell to the floor and convulsed,” a local police officer said.
“He was known to drink a lot of alcohol, but he was not eating with alcohol at the time,” the officer said, adding that the man died on the way to hospital.
Thavin was the second durian-related death this month, after a diabetic Thai civil servant from the central province of Singburi died during an eating binge on four durians.
That death sparked a warning by Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health against excessive durian consumption.
The ministry advised eating no more than two segments of durian a day, warning that the fruit’s calorie content posed a threat to people with high blood pressure, heart conditions and diabetes.
Thais consider durian to be a “hot” food that should not be mixed with alcohol and which should be offset by consuming other “cooling” foods.
The health ministry urged people to follow the traditional practice of eating durians with mangosteens, as the milder fruit reputedly induces the necessary “cooling” effect.
The spiny durian fruit is banned from most department stores and airlines in Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia because of its pungent aroma.
Thanks you so much, Don. I added your words to my list and will get to them as soon as I can. And I think your comment was a Great three word post!
First of all, you can never go wrong with banana bread, especially if you’ve already had a big helping of bacon (which always takes precedence). Secondly, I’m glad I’ve never had “pernicious” anemia… sounds nasty, and I was no fan of the garden variety one I had.
How about this? Luciferous lattitudinous logolepsy… roughly meaning illuminating, broad obsession with words… and boy did I cheat… check out this site… http://www.kokogiak.com/logolepsy/
well….the precedence of bacon is pretty well established it seems to me. I have added your three words to my list and suspect these will be a new winner in the obscure category
Well, today, thanks to you Alan, I learnt three new words. Unfortunately I don’t think I am going to be able to introduce them into a normal conversation any time soon. Perhaps this should be your challenge to us – an we will let you know how we get on ;>)
well….honestly? If you’re ever tempted to use a word I’ve introduced you to, whether in a blog post or a conversation I certainly encourage it. (Though I am inclined to agree these three words would not likely be conducive to pleasant conversation.) And do let me know if you use one of them in a blog post– I will certainly stop by to comment and share 🙂
OK a strange post with strange words, and I am going to have to google them also to check out why banana bread show up as a result. Life is full of strange intersections. Cheers for taking on a strong challenge today!
I am sometimes clueless about the Google image results. I know that the results are different when searching from different countries, and sometimes if the three words are really obscure, mostly what comes up are my old posts. Google is amazing sometimes, but sometimes it really isn’t.
dactylology
n. – sign language; deaf and dumb language.
dactylomegaly
n. – abnormal largeness of fingers and toes.
dactylonomy
n. – counting on the fingers.
I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that previously the only dactyl word I was familiar with was pteradactyl. I love the three very different words branching from the same root. I have definitely added these to my list. Thanks so much, Omar.
Your phalanges seem to be suffering a bout of macroglossia with this post … not to mention your amnesia related to the inspiration for today’s words … and speaking of “nesia’s” I would like to offer up my three favourites:
Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia
But can you show me where they are on a map? (Just teasing 🙂
on a map??? … no … but Henry Gray created the seminal anatomical diagram almost 200 years ago – http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Gray219.png/94px-Gray219.png
Hm. Both of my babies were over 4000 grams. My goodness – they were way over that. (I was just under it, myself.) I didn’t have gestational diabetes, but when your babies are 9 lbs, 11 ozs and 9 lbs, 13 ozs, most doctors and nurses express some surprise that that’s not a factor! I think it’s the universe’s way of being kind; one of my fears, as a new mom, was that I might break this tiny little person – well, when that “tiny little person” is nearly 10 lbs. and able to lift its head and look you in the eye about 10 minutes after being born, that fear fades fast. They’re not even supposed to be able to DO that, but both of mine did. They also had good lungs and strong voices with which to assert their displeasure or discomfort, so I needn’t have worried on that score, either.
mmmm. I don’t know how tall you are, Holly, but it seems to me that a woman who is say 5’`10″ in her bare feet would probably be much easier able to bear a big baby than one who was short. I know that with midgets one of the big issues in getting pregnant is that a tiny woman may have a full size baby. And it can kill her.
I think that’s a common myth. Tall women can have narrow pelvises; short women, even midgets, have been known to give birth to big babies with no problems. And it’s not the size of the baby, in pounds and ounces, but rather the head circumference, that determines how difficult it will be to give birth to the baby. Babies are squishy – even that “soft spot” atop the head helps with the skull, but there’s only so much flexibility there – it’s all about the head and shoulders, not the weight.
And I’m 5’11” in bare feet. My kids both tower over me, now, though – both are about 6’2″. They make me feel short, secure, and rather proud. 🙂
I think the term macro, as it relates to computers, is still in use: there are excel macros and Photoshop macros…
Interesting words, but I don’t see myself using them any time soon!
Oddly enough, I’ve recently used all three of these words in conversation…
A good friend was recently diagnosed with pernicious anemia and we discussed her macrocytic cells versus my “normal” ones.
My baby was also well over the 4,000 gram mark at an even 10lbs, and one of the first doctors she saw (she was born at home with a midwife, so she was a few days old on her first doctor visit), expressed concern that she was an example of fetal macrosomia. She was not a macrosomic baby by any means, and we switched doctors. An eight month pregnant employee of mine was just told by her doctor that her in-utero child was macrosomic, and I told her to get a second opinion, as any good doctor will tell you that the only way to diagnose macrosomia is with post birth weight and examination.
And finally, a nurse friend asked my if I suffered from macroglossia during an allergic reaction, after which we discussed the difference between macroglossia, (a condition you are typically born with), and a swollen tongue due to allergic reaction.
Great words for this post, but not so obscure in my experience 🙂