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Des (Des)
Username: Des

Registered: 09-2010
Posted From: 86.151.109.99
Posted on Saturday, July 07, 2012 - 07:29 pm:   

I coined this word the other day to describe myself, I.e. hard-working yet idly misguided. I'm even too quixotiose to be able to define it properly, in fact!
I think many of us who have creative writing skills but can't make a living from them are quixotiose.
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Protodroid (Protodroid)
Username: Protodroid

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 109.79.58.199
Posted on Sunday, July 08, 2012 - 05:06 pm:   

What do you mean by idly misguided?
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Des (Des)
Username: Des

Registered: 09-2010
Posted From: 86.151.109.99
Posted on Sunday, July 08, 2012 - 05:39 pm:   

...like an engine idling - while tilting at windmills with a faulty gps (sat-nav)?
I may have meant something different when I wrote the post yesterday, but that failing is probably a symptom of quixotiosity in the first place.
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.147.137.251
Posted on Sunday, July 08, 2012 - 07:30 pm:   

Is there not already a word Quixotic?
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Protodroid (Protodroid)
Username: Protodroid

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 109.79.67.209
Posted on Sunday, July 08, 2012 - 07:57 pm:   

I don't think we get get much further without defining the word more precisely, Des.
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Simon Bestwick (Simon_b)
Username: Simon_b

Registered: 10-2008
Posted From: 213.106.77.123
Posted on Sunday, July 08, 2012 - 08:04 pm:   

Yep-

Quixotic:
adjective
1.
( sometimes initial capital letter ) resembling or befitting Don Quixote.
2.
extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable.
3.
impulsive and often rashly unpredictable.

But then there's 'otiose'-
Otiose:
adjective
1.
being at leisure; idle; indolent.
2.
ineffective or futile.
3.
superfluous or useless.

So I'm assuming this is a compound word, expressing a combination of romantic/idealistic aspiration but inability to find the motivation to do anything about it.
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Protodroid (Protodroid)
Username: Protodroid

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 109.79.67.209
Posted on Sunday, July 08, 2012 - 08:19 pm:   

I think Des was defining a word related to quixotic, but not quite that?
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Des (Des)
Username: Des

Registered: 09-2010
Posted From: 86.151.109.99
Posted on Sunday, July 08, 2012 - 09:16 pm:   

For me, Bestwick is on the Button.. :-)
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.147.137.251
Posted on Sunday, July 08, 2012 - 09:16 pm:   

I'd never heard Otiose before. hmmm. Quite a nice word that.
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Simon Bestwick (Simon_b)
Username: Simon_b

Registered: 10-2008
Posted From: 213.106.77.123
Posted on Sunday, July 08, 2012 - 09:43 pm:   

*Takes modest bow*

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