3553 🏆 FLEECO

[Paul Keating]

Despite the spelling, this word is pronounced fleece-oh, and that is OED2’s headword. But OED3, being conceived as an online dictionary rather than a book, has a different editorial policy about headwords, that favours the weight of evidence, which is for the odd spelling.

I think that, presented with fleece-oh, nearly all players would have figured out it is #12, an old New Zealand word for a sheep-shearing operative, a function long displaced by automation. Johnny Barrs figured it out anyway, with sufficient confidence to justify a DQ, and so did 6 other players. That gives me a D6 with a guessability of 46%. Tim Lodge, whose def came quite close to the real one, is the winner with 4 + 2 = 6* points.

1	A person who flatters to deceive.
	Votes from Tim Bourne, Debbie Embler, Nancy Shepherdson, Dan Widdis
	Submitted by: Johnny Barrs, who did not vote (DQ). Score: 4.
2	The cup-like structure at the base of a mushroom.
	Votes from Eric Boxer, Tim Lodge
	Submitted by: Shani Naylor, who voted for 3, 12. Score: 2+2=4*.
3	Austral. slang. A bunk house for itinerant sheep shearers.
	Votes from Tony Abell, Dave Cunningham, Shani Naylor, Rey
	Submitted by: Tim Lodge, who voted for 2, 12. Score: 4+2=6*.
4	One who is ignorant of the methods of professional thieving.
	Vote from Mike Shefler
	Submitted by: Nancy Shepherdson, who voted for 1, 13. Score: 1.
5	A form of tobacco placed under the lip, similar to dip or snus.
	No votes
	Submitted by: Efrem Mallach, who voted for 6, 7.
6	The feeling of relief one experiences upon finally locating a lost item.
	Vote from Efrem Mallach
	Submitted by: Mike Shefler, who voted for 4, 7. Score: 1.
7	Relating to the informal economy of vendors selling inexpensive or secondhand articles.
	Votes from Tim Bourne, Debbie Embler, Efrem Mallach, Mike Shefler
	Submitted by: Eric Boxer, who voted for 2, 10. Score: 4.
8	In Florida, the nickname for Florida Power and Light (originally Florida Electric Company until 1955).
	No votes
	Submitted by: Dave Cunningham, who voted for 3, 12. Score: 0+2=2*.
9	A loose thread or unraveled fiber that mars the appearance of an otherwise neat uniform or formal garment.
	No votes
	Submitted by: Dan Widdis, who voted for 1, 10.
10	n. Por. sl. A derogatory term for someone crafty, cheeky, cunning and a bit too clever for their own good.
	Votes from Eric Boxer, Judy Madnick, Dan Widdis
	Submitted by: Debbie Embler, who voted for 1, 7. Score: 3.
11	A fine, almost imperceptible layer of lint or animal dander that accumulates on surfaces only when one is expecting important guests.
	No votes
	Submitted by: Rey, who voted for 3, 12. Score: 0+2=2*.
12	A worker who keeps the shearing board clear by picking up the freshly-shorn fleeces and throwing them on to the wool table for sorting.
	Votes from Tony Abell, Dave Cunningham, Tim Lodge, Judy Madnick, Shani Naylor, Rey
	Real Definition. Score: D6.
13	A proprietary coating used in early 20th-century aviation to reduce metal fatigue in aircraft fuselages. Initially developed for military prototypes, it was later discontinued due to unpredictable chemical reactions in extreme temperatures.
	Vote from Nancy Shepherdson
	Submitted by: Judy Madnick, who voted for 10, 12. Score: 1+2=3*.
	No definition: Tony Abell, who voted for 3, 12. Score: 0+2=2*.
	No definition: Tim Bourne, who voted for 1, 7.

Def no	Player	Voted for	Votes from	Score from votes	Correct guess	Total
3	Lodge	2, 12	Abell, Cunningham, Naylor, Rey	4	2	6*
1	Barrs	DQ	Bourne, Embler, Shepherdson, Widdis	4		4
7	Boxer	2, 10	Bourne, Embler, Mallach, Shefler	4		4
2	Naylor	3, 12	Boxer, Lodge	2	2	4*
10	Embler	1, 7	Boxer, Madnick, Widdis	3		3
13	Madnick	10, 12	Shepherdson	1	2	3*
11	Rey	3, 12			2	2*
8	Cunningham	3, 12			2	2*
No definition	Abell	3, 12			2	2*
6	Shefler	4, 7	Mallach	1		1
4	Shepherdson	1, 13	Shefler	1		1
9	Widdis	1, 10				0
5	Mallach	6, 7				0
No definition	Bourne	1, 7				0

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Paul Keating

Soustons, Nouvelle Aquitaine, France

[Shani Naylor]

This might be a kiwi word, but I've never heard of it here. It sounded very Australian as they commonly put an O on slang (arvo etc). We know this role as a 'rousie' (short for roustabout or rouseabout). As far as I know, the fleece still gets thrown on the table by a person, it's not automated. This was also shown in the film The Salt Path. 

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[Paul Keating]

It guessed it to be a very old word, based on the citations, and when you didn't DQ  I knew my guess was right.  It seems to have died out 80 years ago, because the citations after that are fiction, or old memories.

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Paul Keating

Soustons, Nouvelle Aquitaine, France

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[Daniel B. Widdis]

I thought of submitting a fleece-related def but rejected that thought because it would be too unbelievable.

Apparently not.

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