A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Jan 1 01:01:56 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vox barbara X-Bonus: I believe in God, only I spell it Nature. -Frank Lloyd Wright, architect (1867-1959) vox barbara (VOKS BAHR-buhr-uh) noun A barbarous word or phrase, especially applied to supposedly neo-Latin terms that are neither Latin nor Greek. [From Latin vox barbara (foreign word or speech).] "To get at what I do mean I need an Anglicism (not, be it noted, a Briticism, which word is an Americanism and a vox barbara to boot)." Kingsley Amis, Amis on English, The Guardian (UK), Mar 10, 1997. This week's theme: words about words. -------- Date: Wed Jan 2 00:02:07 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--patronym X-Bonus: Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. -Lord Acton (John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton), historian (1834-1902) patronym (PA-truh-nim) noun 1. A name derived from the name of father or an ancestor, e.g. Johnson (son of John). 2. A surname or family name. [From Greek patronymous (patronymic), from patri- (father) + -onym (name).] Here are a few more patronyms from other languages and cultures: Arabic bin (bin Laden, son of Laden), bint (Bint Ahmed, daughter of Ahmed) Hebrew ben (Ben-Gurion, son of Gurion; Ben-Hur, son of Hur) Hindi -putra/put (Brahmaputra, son of Brahma; Rajput, son of king) Irish and Scottish Mac/Mc- (McDonald, son of Donald) Irish O (O'Brien, grandson/descendant of Brien) Norman Fitz- (Fitzgerald, son of Gerald) Russian -ich/-vich, as a middle name (Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, son of Pavel). Spanish -ez (Fernandez, son of Fernando; Gonzalez son of Gonzalo) Welsh ap or p (Pritchard from ap Richard, son of Richard). "Consider her humble origins. Born to a Russian species, slapped with a French patronym, she came to us bearing a standard-poodle pedigree that guaranteed her to be purebred American. Just like her owners." Ellen Goodman, Is Your Old Dog Ready to be a Senior Citizen?, The Seattle Times, Nov 19, 1986. This week's theme: words about words. -------- Date: Thu Jan 3 00:01:32 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--inkhorn term X-Bonus: All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed. -Sean O'Casey, playwright (1880-1964) inkhorn term (INGK-horn turm) noun An obscure, ostentatious, or bookish word, especially one derived from Latin or Greek. [From the fact that such a term is used more in writing than in speech.] "The flowery barbarisms of inkhorn terms vanished within years of the appearance of her (Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi's) book ...." Simon Winchester, Roget and His Brilliant, Unrivaled, Malign, and Detestable Thesaurus, The Atlantic Monthly (Boston), May 2001. This week's theme: words about words. -------- Date: Fri Jan 4 00:01:32 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--euphemism X-Bonus: It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen. -Aristotle, philosopher (384-322 BCE) euphemism (YOO-fuh-miz-em) noun Use of a mild, neutral, evasive, or vague term in place of one considered taboo, offensive, blunt, or unpleasant. [From Greek euphemismos, from euphemos (auspicious), from eu- (good) + pheme (speaking).] "Two-and-a-half months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the notorious Executive Order 9066. As a result, more than 110,000 Japanese, virtually all the Japanese-Americans on the mainland, were `evacuated to concentration camps' in remote parts of America's mountain states. The words were his, though they were soon replaced in official parlance by the euphemism, `reception centres'." Books And Arts: The Consequences of Terror; Japanese Internment in America (book review), The Economist (London), Sep 22, 2001. More examples: collateral damage for civilian casualties, second-hand for used, pre-owned for second-hand, pre-loved for pre-owned, budget for cheap, pass away for die, sanitation worker for garbage collector, convivial for drunken. This week's theme: words about words. -------- Date: Mon Jan 7 00:01:38 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sticky wicket X-Bonus: Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time. -Voltaire, philosopher (1694-1778) sticky wicket (STIK-ee WIK-it) noun A difficult, awkward or uncertain situation. [From cricket, when the ground is partly wet, resulting in the ball bouncing unpredictably.] "British Prime Minister Tony Blair, maneuvering his way through the sticky wicket of the Middle East, wanted to stress the need to maintain an international coalition." William Safire, Fog of War: Von Clausewitz Strikes Again, The New York Times Magazine, Nov 18, 2001. Somehow I wasn't born with the sports gene. Sure, I've played an innings or two of cricket but that's about it. Since I'm never one to listen to running commentaries on radio or watch live telecasts on TV, my exchange with other sports enthusiasts typically goes like this: Person in the checkout line: So what do you think of last night's game between the Yankees and the Flying Ducks? I: Yes. Well, this sports-challenged temperament doesn't have to stop one from using the words of sports. There are countless terms from the world of sports we use metaphorically every day, whether it's when we exhort someone to "be a sport" or when we chatter about the economy, saying that it's not dead "by a long shot". This week's AWAD brings together a few words from the world of cricket, football, baseball, and other games and sports, that are used in real life as well. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jan 8 01:01:28 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dipsy doodle X-Bonus: You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) dipsy doodle (DIP-see DOOD-l) noun 1. The zig-zag motion of a ball in baseball or of a player in football. 2. An act performed to evade or distract. [Perhaps from baseball or football.] "`It would take a rather wild turn of events to keep it off the East Coast. ... It would have to do some kind of dipsy doodle,' says hurricane center forecaster Jack Beven." Jack Williams, Hugo Turns Eye to East Coast, USA Today, Sep 20, 1989. This week's theme: words from games and sports. -------- Date: Wed Jan 9 00:01:19 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hat trick X-Bonus: We ought not to treat living creatures like shoes or household belongings, which when worn with use we throw away. -Plutarch, biographer (c. 46-120) hat trick (hat trik) noun Three consecutive successes in a game or another endeavor. For example, taking three wickets with three successive deliveries by a bowler in a game of cricket, three goals or points won by a player in a game of soccer or ice hockey, etc. [From cricket, from the former practice of awarding a hat to a bowler who dismissed three batsmen with three successive balls.] "Can real estate investment trusts (REITs) pull off a hat trick? They delivered an impressive total return of 29% in 2000 and a solid 11.5% in 2001, a period when the stock market was in a dive and the economy was sliding into a recession. Sure, vacancy rates are up and rents down, but REIT investors believe they will make money again in 2002." Michael Arndt, REITs Can Be a Roof Over Your Head, BusinessWeek (New York), December 31, 2001. This week's theme: words from games and sports. -------- Date: Thu Jan 10 00:01:34 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wild card X-Bonus: Education: That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding. -Ambrose Bierce, writer (1842-1914) wild card (wyld kard) noun 1. In a game of cards, a card having no fixed value. 2. In a game, such as tennis, a player allowed to enter the tournament without having to fulfill qualifying requirements. 3. In computing, a character (usually *) used to represent any character. 4. An unknown or unpredictable factor. [From card games, where such a card has no pre-determined value and is assigned a value by the player holding it.] "A Western diplomat in New Delhi called the thousands of Pakistani-trained militants operating in Indian Kashmir `a major wild card that is outside the control of either nation.'" Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Kashmiri Rebels Warn of New Strikes, The Washington Post, Jan 3, 2002. This week's theme: words from games and sports. -------- Date: Fri Jan 11 00:01:57 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cheap shot X-Bonus: In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. -Albert Schweitzer, philosopher, physician, and musician (1875-1965) cheap shot (cheep shot) noun 1. An act of intentional roughness against an opponent, especially in a contact sport. 2. An unsportsmanlike remark or action directed at a known weakness of another. "We don't care if he's Time magazine's `Person of the Year' or not, that was a cheap shot New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani took at Boston and its police." Editorial: Rudy Giuliani Shows Skin Still Very Thin, The Boston Herald, Dec 29, 2001. This week's theme: words from games and sports. -------- Date: Mon Jan 14 00:16:27 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--opsimath X-Bonus: If we have not quiet in our minds, outward comfort will do no more for us than a golden slipper on a gouty foot. -John Bunyan, preacher and author (1628-1688) opsimath (OP-si-math) noun One who begins learning late in life. [From Greek opsi- (late) + math (learning).] "The question, of course, is whether Paul underwent such a system in his youth or, like many before and after him, was either an opsimath or a natural-born rhetorician." Stanley B Marrow, Liberating Words, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly (Washington), Jul 1998. "Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else." Like all genuine humor, this waggish remark carries a grain of truth. There are six billion of us around, and we are very different - in our demeanor, diction, and dreams; in our fingerprints, retinal patterns, and DNA sequences. Yet, no matter which hand we write with, what language we speak, or what we eat, there is something that binds us all, whether it is our preference for a life free from fear, in our efforts to make this world better for us and for others, or in our appreciation of beauty of the soul and our longing for love. With so many people, so many shared traits, and so many differences, there's no wonder we have so many words to describe people. This week we look at five of them. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jan 15 04:21:31 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hellkite X-Bonus: Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children. -Kahlil Gibran, mystic, poet and artist (1883-1931) hellkite (HEL-kyt) noun An extremely cruel person. [From Middle English hell (a place of misery) + kite (a person who preys on others).] "So the old hellkite, Charlie's ex-wife Sarabeth, is in for a surprise visit in the middle of her holiday dinner." Janet Maslin, One Cold Night of Broken Neon and Shady Dives, The New York Times, Nov 6, 2000. This week's theme: words to describe people. -------- Date: Wed Jan 16 00:01:41 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hangdog X-Bonus: Patriotism is often an arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles. -George Jean Nathan, author and editor (1882-1958) hangdog (HANG-dog) adjective 1. Defeated; dejected 2. Shamefaced. [From the notion that the said person deserved to be hanged like a dog. Yes, not too long ago, dogs were hanged for crimes, such as biting.] "Outplacement experts offer these three pieces of advice to holiday job seekers. First, don't stand around the chip dip looking hangdog; someone with a positive self-image makes a much better impression on potential employers. Second, don't come right out and ask for a job; use the parties to arrange future meetings with friends or new acquaintances. Third, don't drink so much that you start crying in your suds." Karen Slater, Firm Touts a New Holiday Bonus: Pink Slips Right Before Christmas, The Wall Street Journal (New York), Nov 23, 1984. This week's theme: words to describe people. -------- Date: Thu Jan 17 00:01:26 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--winebibber X-Bonus: I am a Conservative to preserve all that is good in our constitution, a Radical to remove all that is bad. I seek to preserve property and to respect order, and I equally decry the appeal to the passions of the many or the prejudices of the few. -Benjamin Disraeli, British prime minister (1804-1881) winebibber (WYN-bib-uhr) noun One who drinks much wine. [From Middle English wine + bib (to drink).] "For devoted winebibber Thomas Jefferson, who drank the First Growths of Bordeaux (Lafite, Latour, Haut-Brion, Margaux) even before they were classified as such in 1855, one of his keenest disappointments was the failure to establish vineyards at Monticello." Barbara Ensrud, Jefferson Would Be Proud, The Wall Street Journal (New York), Aug 1, 1997. This week's theme: words to describe people. -------- Date: Fri Jan 18 00:01:49 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cruciverbalist X-Bonus: Our houses are such unwieldy property that we are often imprisoned rather than housed in them. -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862) cruciverbalist (kroo-si-VUHR-buh-list) noun A crossword designer or enthusiast. [From Latin cruci-, stem of crux (cross), + verbalist (one skilled in use of words), from verbum (word).] "In a suburban town in Connecticut, Cora Felton has some small measure of notoriety as the Puzzle Lady, reputed constructor of syndicated crosswords. The much married and generally alcoholic Cora, though, is a front for her niece Sherry, the real cruciverbalist." GraceAnne A DeCandido, Last Puzzle & Testament (book review), The Booklist (Chicago), Jul 2000. This week's theme: words to describe people. -------- Date: Mon Jan 21 00:03:24 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ultramontane X-Bonus: What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness? -Jean Jacques Rousseau, philosopher and author (1712-1778) ultramontane (ul-truh-mon-TAYN) adjective 1. Of or pertaining to people or region beyond the mountains. 2. Supporting the Pope's authority over the Roman Catholic Church in all countries. noun 1. One who lives beyond the mountains. 2. One who favors papal supremacy. [From Medieval Latin ultramontanus, from Latin ultra- (beyond) + mont-, mons (mountain).] "Adopting the sort of tone you use with recalcitrant pets or unruly children, the government makes no concessions. This is par for the course on reform of the Commons, where chief whip Ann Taylor and ultramontane Margaret Beckett, leader of the house, have been veritable forces of conservatism." David Walker, Executive Powers: Modernise is Still One of the Government's Favourite Words, The Guardian (London), May 29, 2000. Once in my life I was a Cleveland Indian. I boarded a plane at the New Delhi airport and landed at my destination, Cleveland, to attend a graduate school at Case Western Reserve University. Soon after arriving, I discovered the picturesque vast expanse of Lake Erie to the north of the city and learnt that we were North Shore residents. Or were we? Lake Erie separates the city of Cleveland from Canada. Upon visiting Canada on the other side of the lake I discovered that the folks there also claimed to be on the North Shore. And I realized they were right, since Cleveland actually lies on the South Shore of the Lake. Now, try telling that to countless business owners in Cleveland who have named their enterprises "North Shore Computers", North Shore this and North Shore that. Well, I guess it's all relative. It all depends on what side of the fence or pond one is on. And the same is true with ultramontane. First it was applied by the Italians, rather contemptuously, to those living north of the Alps, such as the French and Germans. Later, the tables were turned on them, and those on the North began calling Italians ultramontane. Now it could be anyone living on the other side of a mountain, a foreigner, or an ultraconservative. A straightforward looking word, and what a history it packs in those four little syllables! This week we'll look at a few other terms with Italian connections, words of various shapes and sizes from the land of pizza and pasta, and Michelangelo and Da Vinci. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jan 22 00:03:40 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--alfresco X-Bonus: Conversation, n. A fair to the display of the minor mental commodities, each exhibitor being too intent upon the arrangement of his own wares to observe those of his neighbor. -Ambrose Bierce, writer (1842-1914) [The Devil's Dictionary] alfresco (al-FRES-ko) adjective and adverb Outdoors; in the open air. [From Italian alfresco (in the fresh).] "Santa Fe will be less alfresco next year when all its audience is to be roofed, though not walled, from the squalls on New Mexico's mesa." American Opera Festivals: Buffy, Not Stuffy, The Economist (London), Sep 9, 1995. This week's theme: words with Italian connection. -------- Date: Wed Jan 23 00:04:13 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--spaghetti western X-Bonus: Those who write clearly have readers, those who write obscurely have commentators. -Albert Camus, writer and philosopher (1913-1960) spaghetti western (spuh-GET-ee WES-tuhrn) noun A cheap western movie produced in Italy or Spain, typically having Italian actors, an American star, and a generous dose of violence. [From spaghetti (a pasta from Italy), western (a story/movie with 19th century US West setting).] "Alone at night, she bobbed in a sea of spaghetti Westerns, make-my-day police dramas, and goofball comedies." Neil Chethik, A Hard Look at Losing Fathers, The Boston Globe, Nov 29, 2001. This week's theme: words with Italian connection. -------- Date: Thu Jan 24 00:04:14 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--condottiere X-Bonus: If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it. -Margaret Fuller, author (1810-1850) condottiere (kon-duh-TYAR-ee, -ay) noun, plural condottieri A hired soldier; mercenary. [From Italian condottiere, a leader of a group of mercenaries who sold their services to warring states during 14-16th centuries. From Italian, from condotta (conduct).] "Plenty of states are willing to supply condotierre for the Saudis." Y. Sadowski, Revolution, Reform, or Regression?, Brookings Review (Washington, DC), Winter 90/91. "If any doubts remained about Pakistan's covert support for the insurgents, they have now been dispelled: Mere condottieri, dependent on their own resources, could not possibly have mounted this well-orchestrated military assault." Sumit Ganguly, On the Brink in Kashmir, The Nation (New York), Jul 19, 1999. This week's theme: words with Italian connection. -------- Date: Fri Jan 25 00:04:27 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--camorra X-Bonus: Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher (1749-1832) camorra (kuh-MOR-uh) noun A secret group united for unscrupulous purposes. [After Camorra, a secret organization in Naples, Italy, engaged in criminal activities, mostly during the 19th century. From Italian, possibly from Spanish (dispute).] "Granted, the public's taste in art could be called naive by the elitist standards of the camorra of collectors, gallery owners and museum curators who control the art world." American Pop, The Nation (New York), Mar 14, 1994. This week's theme: words with Italian connection. -------- Date: Mon Jan 28 00:03:38 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--esemplastic X-Bonus: So many gods, so many creeds, So many paths that wind and wind, While just the art of being kind is all the sad world needs. -Ella Wheeler Wilcox, poet (1850-1919) esemplastic (es-em-PLAS-tik) adjective Having the capability of moulding diverse ideas or things into unity. [From Greek es- (into) + en, neuter of eis (one) + plastic. Coined by poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), apparently after German Ineinsbildung (forming into one)]. Here is how Coleridge used the term in his 1817 Biographia Literaria or Biographical Sketches of My Literary Life and Opinions. Vol. I, Chapter 13: On the imagination, or esemplastic power. O Adam! one Almighty is, from whom All things proceed, and up to him return If not depraved from good: created all Such to perfection, one first nature all Indued with various forms, various degrees. "Admirers of (A.N.) Wilson, and I have been one of them, may console themselves by speculating that he just got impatient, or tired. Or that a minor demon, in a snit over his prolific output and ambitious subject matter, cast a temporary malediction on his esemplastic powers of fiction-making." Gail Godwin, Losing It All, The Washington Post, Jan 23, 1994. Like a house of cards, Enron corporation came down a few weeks ago. Its bankruptcy proceedings opened what may turn out to be a Pandora's box for more than just the corporation itself. Journalists are using the freshly minted term Enronomics to describe this corporation's brand of economics and accounting: off-the-record dealings, cooking books, and number sorcery that led to its rise and crash. Creative accounting has been going on for ages but it seems that Enron perfected it. Whether the term enronomics sticks, only time will tell. But this is a good example of how new words are coined. Some weather the test of time and get anointed into the venerated pages of dictionaries, while others fade like last year's fashion. This week's AWAD features five words, all coined by people, that have stuck around. Those who brought these expressions to life are a diverse lot. We'll see inventions of a poet, a cartoonist, a zoologist, and two journalists during the next five days. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jan 29 00:03:48 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gonzo X-Bonus: The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn. -Gloria Steinem, women's rights activist, editor (1934- ) gonzo (GON-zo) adjective Having a bizarre, subjective, idiosyncratic style, especially in journalism. [Coined by Bill Cardoso, journalist and author, in 1971. It was first used in a published work by Hunter S. Thompson, journalist and author (1939- ). Perhaps from Italian gonzo (simpleton) or Spanish ganso (dull or fool, literally a goose).] "Gonzo chef! Surly and sexy! Outlaw in the kitchen! Anthony Bourdain's reputation not only precedes him, it also pretty much takes over for him. His 2000 best seller, 'Kitchen Confidential,' was a lurid snapshot of restaurant kitchens at their least appetizing." Laura Shapiro, A Wandering Chef in Search of Adventures in Eating, The New York Times, Jan 8, 2002. "I am reckless enough to risk a small proportion of the family's weekly income on backing my judgment of the likely outcome of a race. ... I do not count this as betting, more as gonzo journalism. I mean, how can I be expected to write about this stuff, without living it?" Martin Kelner, Screen Break: Wanna Bet Roy'll Wipe This One On His Sleeve?, The Guardian (London), Oct 22, 2001. This week's theme: coined words. -------- Date: Wed Jan 30 01:03:04 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hotsy-totsy X-Bonus: Compassion will cure more sins than condemnation. -Henry Ward Beecher, preacher and writer (1813-1887) hotsy-totsy (HOT-see TOT-see) adjective, also hotsie-totsie Just right; perfect. [Coined by Billy DeBeck, cartoonist (1892-1942), famed for his comic strip "Barney Google and Snuffy Smith". Another of his coinage that has found a place in the English language dictionaries is heebie-jeebies meaning jitters or creeps (See AWAD archives, August 1997).] "(Billy Bob) Thornton has played unfathomable, soulful characters before. He was the ace air traffic controller in Pushing Tin, who baffles his colleagues by getting the hotsy-totsy girl." Stuart Jeffries, A Movie About a Barber Who Wants to Be a Dry Cleaner? The Guardian (London), May 14, 2001. This week's theme: coined words. -------- Date: Thu Jan 31 00:03:04 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--psychobabble X-Bonus: Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we can. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) psychobabble (SIE-ko-bab-uhl) noun Language laden with jargon from psychotherapy or psychiatry used without much concern for accuracy. [Coined by journalist Richard Dean Rosen (1949- ). From Greek combining form psycho- (mind) + babble (drivel, blather)]. Here is how Rosen describes the term in his 1977 book "Psychobabble: Fast Talk and Quick Cure in the Era of Feeling" : "Psychobabble is ... a set of repetitive verbal formalities that kills off the very spontaneity, candor, and understanding it pretends to promote. It's an idiom that reduces psychological insight to a collection of standardized observations, that provides a frozen lexicon to deal with an infinite variety of problems." "Only a few missteps jar the play's dreamy atmosphere. Unable to resist knee-jerk references to Freud and Jung, Ms. Zimmerman has her actors spout some psychobabble about myths as public dreams, dreams as private myths, and the like." Amy Gamerman, Theater: A Timely Gift of Timeless Ovid, The Wall Street Journal (New York), Oct 10, 2001. This week's theme: coined words.