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A.Word.A.Day--piliform

piliform (PIL-i-form) adjective

Having the form of a hair.

[From Neo-Latin piliformis, from pili- (hair) + -form.]

"As movie time approaches, you're satisfied that since the theater is sparsely populated, nobody will occupy the seat in front of you... Just when you're feeling safe, boom: Marge Simpson makes her way down the row and plunks herself right in your line of vision, her retro beehive obscuring all but the very margins of the scream, uh, screen. The solution: Snip a page out of the 'Edward Scissorhands' book. Marge's do would make a fine topiary, with an appropriately topical cinematic theme. Be creative. An exhibition of, say, `The Perfect Storm' would call for a piliform wave; `Me, Myself & Irene' might inspire a bouffant bovine." Bob Ivry, When You Mind Very Much If They Do, Other Moviegoers Got Your Goat? Don't Get Mad Get Even, The Record (Bergen County, New Jersey), Jul 16, 2000.

This week's theme: words formed using combining forms.

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