MIMESISn pl. -MESISES or -MESES mimicry MIMETICadj
61 points (11 points without the bingo)
MIMESIS is just another term for MIMICRY in the world of zoology, but it's not just limited to the science of animals, it's used elsewhere as well. But no matter where you use the words, their definitions are the same—to IMITATE closely. In the following photo, you'll see a planthopper mimicking a leaf.
You're going to see a lot of IMITATING going on by humans this Halloween, but in the land of horror movies, my favorite example of mimesis come from John Carpenter's The Thing, in which an alien hides amongst the inhabitants of an Antarctic research station. The life form is able to imitate and reproduce whatever it absorbs, cell for cell—even humans.
It's truly one of the best horror movies for Halloween—one of those movies you can't stop watching over and over again. The film is one hundred percent creepy, thanks in part to the eerie trademark music of isolation and despair employed by Carpenter (this time composed by Ennio Morricone). The special effects are superior to any CGI you'll see these days, especially compared to the half-remake, half-prequel that just came out by director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
The above poster is for the 2011 semi-remake of The Thing.
Synonyms
MIMICRYn pl. -IES an instance of mimicking
Above, some truly creepy physical effects from Carpenter's version.
Related Words
APEvAPED, APING, APES to mimic
APERn pl. -S one that apes
APERYn pl. -ERIES the act of aping
COPYvCOPIED, COPYING, COPIES to imitate COPYABLE adj
COPYCATv-CATTED, -CATTING, -CATS to imitate
COPYISTn pl. -S an imitator
IMITABLEadj capable of being imitated
IMITATE v -TATED, -TATING, -TATES to behave in the same way as
IMITATORn pl. -S one that imitates
MIMEvMIMED, MIMING, MIMES to mimic
MIMERn pl. -S one that mimes
MIMICv-ICKED, -ICKING, -ICS to imitate closely
MIMICALadj of the nature of mimicry
MIMICKER n pl. -S one that mimics
MIMICKING present participle of mimic
MIMING present participle of mime
Insect photo by Mila Zinkova
What's a Scrabble Bingo?
A bingo is when a player empties his or her rack in one turn, placing all seven of their letters on the board to create a word that's at least seven letters long. The term "bingo" is used primarily in the U.S., but elsewhere it's simply known as a "bonus" because you get a bonus of 50 points added to your turn's score. "Scrabble Bingo of the Day" will focus on these high scoring plays, teaching you some interesting and possibly unusual seven-letter or longer words accepted in a game of Scrabble.
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