Wednesday, November 23, 2016

What is the first word you spoke aloud?

I take attendance by having the students answer a question.

What is the first word you spoke aloud?

  • cheese
  • cat
  • mommy
  • app
  • photosynthesis
  • 为什么 
  • 역ㅯ
  • 丈子
  • 日本語
  • clock
  • 仍叮
  • ni
  • yo
  • 丈马
Apologies if I mis-transcribed the non-Latin characters. I'm pretty sure that "app" was a joke, but I am suspicious that this is not outside the realm of possibility.


This post's theme word is pullulate, "to sprout or breed," or "to swarm or teem," or "to increase rapidly." The pullulating family featured many ullulating infants.

Monday, November 21, 2016

If you were a superhero/villain, what would your catchphrase be?

I take attendance by having students answer a question.

If you were a superhero/villain, what would your catchphrase be?

Halfhearted heroism:
  • I tried :P
  • I feel like I need to say something but I don't really know (<-- about="" an="" anticlimax...="" li="" talk="">
  • You stop that!
  • Save me.
  • Life is so complicated. (<-- a="" and="" arriving="" at="" chaos="" himself="" i="" imagine="" just="" li="" madness.="" of="" ongoing="" scene="" superman="" surveying="" the="" to="" tutting="" wreckage="">
  • "And have a good day!"
  • No.
  • Ugh, I guess I'll help you if I have to.
  • "I'm not that kind of superhero; please stop asking me to fly."
  • eh, maybe tomorrow
Mathy (and I'm not sure what the accompanying costume or scenario is):
  • min flow
  • P = NP
  • "If a vertex cover is polynomial time reducible to..."
  • I am a CS major
Onomatopoeia:
  • Give me the meatloaf, pow!
  • beep boop
  • meep
  • swagsauce swagu
  • Bananana
  • pow
  • Gotcha!
Entertaining:
  • "CATCHPHRASE!!"
  • Student X wrote: "ITS helpdesk, this is X how can I help you"
  • "I'mma let you finish... but Beyoncé had one of the best music videos of all time!"

The winner was a repeat-offender-for-sarcasm, whose catchphrase, "a pun so infuriating it distracts my enemies," leaves a lot to the imagination while still conveying the right smug tone for a catchphrase. And not really committing to heroism or villainy. (Although some might argue that the entire punnish approach puts it squarely in "villainy".)


This post's theme word is desuetude, "a state of disuse." He heaved himself out of the recliner and said, in a voice cracking from desuetude, "If humanity needs me again, I can come out of retirement and be Superman. Again." then sighed melodramatically.