Two cowboys come upon an Indian lying on his stomach with his ear to the ground. One of the cowboys stops and says to the other, "You see that Indian?"
"Yeah," says the other cowboy.
"Look," says the first one, "he’s listening to the ground. He can hear things for miles in any direction."
Just then the Indian looks up. "Covered wagon," he says, "about two miles away. Have two horses, one brown, one white. Man, woman, child, household effects in wagon."
"Incredible!" says the cowboy to his friend. "This Indian knows how far away they are, how many horses, what color they are, who is in the wagon, and what is in the wagon. Amazing!"
The Indian looks up and says, "Ran over me about a half hour ago."
n. - painful or horrific experience; severe trial.
- hist. Test of an accused person by subjection to severe pain, with survival taken as proof of innocence. [old english]
ORDURE
n. Dung. [latin horridus: related to *horrid]
ORGASM
—n. Climax of sexual excitement. —v. Have a sexual orgasm. orgasmic adj. [greek, = excitement]
ORIENT
—n. (the orient) countries east of the mediterranean, esp. E. Asia. —v. - a place or determine the position of with the aid of a compass; find the bearings of. B (often foll. By towards) direct.
ORIGAN
n. (also origanum) wild marjoram. [latin from greek]
ORIGIN
n. - starting-point; source.
- (often in pl.) Ancestry, parentage.
- math. Point from which coordinates are measured. [latin origo origin- from orior rise]
ORIOLE
n. (in full golden oriole) bird with black and yellow plumage in the male. [latin aurum gold]
ORMOLU
n. - (often attrib.) Gilded bronze; gold-coloured alloy.
- articles made of or decorated with ormolu. [french or moulu powdered gold]
ORNATE
adj. - elaborately adorned.
- (of literary style) convoluted; flowery. ornately adv. Ornateness n. [latin: related to *ornament]
ORPHAN
—n. Child whose parents are dead. —v. Bereave (a child) of its parents. [latin from greek, = bereaved]
Crocodiles and alligators are surprisingly fast on land. Although they are rapid, they are not agile; so if you ever find yourself chased by one, run in a zigzag line. You"ll lose him or her every time.
