TheBanyanTree: Further Helpful information

[Peter Macinnis]

z.  A letter with multiple pronunciations: 'zee' in America, 'zed' in
English-speaking countries.  Some experts have suggested using colour
print to identify such letters, and believe that 'z' should be brown.
Others prefer just to stick with the English pronunciation, saying
that it is easier zed than dun.

zebra.  1. either a black equine with white stripes, or a white equine
with black stripes, depending on the describer's skin colour.  2. A
topic not greatly discussed by mulattoes.  3. Parisian Franglais slang
for an item of female apparel.

zeitgeist.  A popular term this decade with people who own foreign
phrase dictionaries.  A zeitgeist is a form of Maxwell's demon as it
would be if Schrödinger's cat had been locked into the same box with
it for an indeterminate period of time, while being addressed by
Wolfgang Pauli.

Zener diode.  More Zen than Zen, a poem written on both sides of a
*Möbius band* about the sound of one band flapping.  Technicians,
unable to comprehend this rather *zither* concept, have since
developed a more concrete meaning that may be used interchangeably,
but unexpected results are to be expected if a real Zener diode is
used in place of the technical version.

Zeno's paradox.  It is unlikely we will ever be able to get to the end
of this.

zero sum.  A worthless piece of mathematical work which gains no
marks.

Zeus.  The Greek god who coined the phrase 'take me to your *Leda*'.
He was always swanning around.

zither.  The third (vertical) dimension equivalent of hither and
thither.  Zither music often reaches great heights.

zoanescent.  Light produced by the spontaneous combustion of small
mammals, although the use of small amounts of accelerant on animals
such as sloths is generally accepted by most people today.  Lambs are
commonly used, although their poor lasting power is often complained
about, as in 'March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb',
and Viscount Grey's comment just before World War I, that the lambs
were going out, all over Europe.  Since that time, zoanescence has
largely fallen into disuse.

zoomorphic.  Similar in style to *Orphism*, but seen from close-up,
rather than from afar.

zzz.  The common result of excessive and incessant lexicography.