Okay, here's the new list! And it's open, unlike this one.

Aaaaand we're off! :-)

casu marzu!

I'm really looking forward to adding to this list. Perhaps this could be an annual thing—I should tag the words with the year. Or maybe just make another list...

Yeah, the comments on it aren't bad either. :)

C_b, this list rules!

Not to worry, sionnach. I'm over it. It was probably "sultana of scat" that got to me. ;-)

I would SO rather be a w.b. of b.f.'s than, say, a colostomy bag.

Aw r_t, please don't sulk. Clearly I was wrong to say you were "just" a walking bag of b.f's, when obviously you are so much more than that.

Anyway, wouldn't you rather be a w.b. of b.f's than a maharanee of scat. Though, personally, I think that bilby made an uncharacteristic error in using this term - the more correct designation would be the sultana of scat.

Dang it. I had to go look up fromunda cheese. Now I know. And you can too, if you dare.

Kind of an interesting etymology, actually...

Good point. But I still haven't forgiven you for giving chained_bear ammunition against me. *sulking*

Reesetee:

On the whole, I think it is preferable to be classified in the 'walking bag of bodily fluids' category. The alternative, after all, is to be a Ringwraith. Which, despite a certain Goth appeal, is a fairly high-stress occupation.

Just sayin'.

"I don't really have a point here. But I do have the day off." --sionnach

I'm going to use that line frequently in the future, I can just tell.

Sionnach, you don't want to know. Really.

And how do you know I'm a walking bag of bodily fluids? Perhaps I only speak for them. Someone must, after all.

Look, ma, no lemurs. Thank you, c_b. I can now reveal that I am not actually a lemur, nor do I know any lemurs personally.

Reesetee, on the other hand, is just a walking bag of bodily fluids. As they taught us in our pharmacokinetics class, to a pharmacokineticist, humans are just walking buckets of (well-mixed) blood.

I don't really have a point here. But I do have the day off.

By the way, what is fromunda cheese?

Dear c_b,

This is just wrong. How, after all, could you enjoy the festive season of Christmas without us? You would most certainly be dead.

Sincerely, and with all due respect,

Bodily fluids

Otters? Dat's an otter ting entoirely! *passes tissue*

I can no longer find lemurs on this list. Which is probably a good thing ... imagine if lemurs had gone on strike and all those lemur industries had ground to a halt. Could have been spelled the end of your rendition of 'Auld Lemur Syne' on New Year's Eve, bunny boo.

Fine. While declaiming loudly in my home office the NERVE of some lemurs, it was brought to my attention that both "lemur" and "otter" can indeed be Christmas words, insofar as they are cute furry critters often given, in stuffed form, as gifts.

I am *considering* removing both said cute furry critters from list. But I do not bow to legal pressure! It is the principle of the thing!

Fine, whatever you say. *sneezes* Lemurs is far more of a Christmas word than, say "perforated bowel" is. But think about the position I'm in. If I remove lemurs from the list, I'll soon get a letter from otters. Then whales. Then, probably, proctologists. And then, before "sputum" or "toenails" or, god forbid, "anal sphincter" gets any ideas, I'll be shutting the entire list down. I don't think I'm alone in saying I NEVER want to receive a letter signed "fromunda cheese."

So, much as I adore lemurs, I have to draw the line somewhere. Now, if Mr. and Mrs. Otter had written... well... *sneezes*

I'm with the lemurs on this. Please sign petition at www.lemursarentlamers.jungle

"It's only in the plural that "lemurs" isn't a Christmas word."

I'm going to pretend that this makes sense. And grudgingly admit that the Yule festival has an intrinsic northern-hemispheric bias, whether we like it or not.

It's only in the plural that "lemurs" isn't a Christmas word. And, sad to say, my northern-hemisphere bias is showing completely. No offense intended. *sneezing from allergies*

Ms Bear!

We continue to wait for a retraction.

The lemur community.

Dear ms C_b:

Here in the forests of Madagascar, when the yuletide season swings around, we too become inspissated with the holiday spirit. Despite its reputation as a Nordic observance, it may interest you to know that we here in the lemur community have been rocking out at Christmas for well over a century, decorating our monkey-puzzle trees with assorted lemurine trinkets, exchanging food treats, and keeping neighboring villagers awake with the famed dawn rendition of the 'Lemurlujah Chorus'.

Thus, it came as a distinct shock, not to say an affront to the entire community of lemurs, to find ourselves included on your 'That is not a Christmas word' list. We feel sure that this is an inadvertent error on your part, and look forward to its immediate rectification. An apology would be gracious, but we will be content with the prompt deletion of our names from the list.

Failure to correct this scurrilous libel against our good name will result in subsequent lemurine legal action.

Wishing you a prosperous new year.

Leonore and Lawrence Lemur

Right, right, as if you weren't a maharanee of scat! But your Christmas day subjects comprised much more diversity and gurry than mine.

There were many, many conversations, and not all of them were scatological or sexual in nature. I swear. In fact, most of them were quite interesting. Many of them, however, were just gross.

I'm really trying hard not to imagine c_b's family and the conversations that joyously unite them ;-)

Another list idea so wacky that it works.