A man asked for a meal in a restaurant. The waiter brought the food and put it on the table. After a moment, the man called the waiter and said:
"Waiter! Waiter! There"s a fly in my soup!"
"Please don"t speak so loudly, sir," said the waiter, "or everyone will want one."
- talk or write incoherently. —n. Walk taken for pleasure. [dutch rammelen]
RAMIFY
v. (-ies, -ied) (cause to) form branches, subdivisions, or offshoots; branch out. [latin ramus branch]
RAMROD
n. - rod for ramming down the charge of a muzzle-loading firearm.
- thing that is very straight or rigid.
RANCID
adj. Smelling or tasting like rank stale fat. rancidity n. [latin rancidus stinking]
RANCOR
n. (brit. Rancour) inveterate bitterness, malignant hate. rancorous adj. [latin rancor: related to *rancid]
RANDOM
adj. Made, done, etc., without method or conscious choice. at random without a particular aim. randomize v. (also -ise) (-zing or -sing). Randomization n. Randomly adv. Randomness n. [french randon from randir gallop]
RANGER
n. - keeper of a royal or national park, or of a forest.
- member of a body of mounted soldiers.
- (ranger) senior guide.
RANKLE
v. (-ling) (of envy, disappointment, etc., or their cause) cause persistent annoyance or resentment. [french (d)rancler fester, from medieval latin dra(cu)nculus little serpent]
RANSOM
—n. - money demanded or paid for the release of a prisoner.
- liberation of a prisoner in return for this. —v. - buy the freedom or restoration of; redeem.
- = hold to ransom (see *hold1).
- release for a ransom. [latin: related to *redemption]
