A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Feb 1 00:01:10 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--feme covert X-Bonus: The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life - the sick, the needy and the handicapped. -Hubert Horatio Humphrey, US Vice President (1911-1978) feme covert (fem KOV-uhrt) noun, plural femes covert A married woman. [From Anglo-French feme covert, from feme (woman) + covert (protected).] A feme covert is not the feminine equivalent of 007. Rather, it's a legal term to describe a married woman, one who is covered or protected by a husband. Some have interpreted the term literally to indicate a woman covered by a veil. The opposite of this is feme sole, a single woman, whether divorced, widowed, or never married. "She had already defeated other complainants by claiming that she was feme covert, married 'to one Markham.'" Gustav Ungerer; Mary Frith, Alias Moll Cutpurse, in Life And Literature; Shakespeare Studies (Rutherford, New Jersey); 2000. "Than ladies-errant, unconfin'd, And feme-coverts t' all mankind." Samuel Butler; Hudibras; 1678. This week's theme: words that aren't what they appear to be. -------- Date: Wed Feb 2 00:01:11 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tribology X-Bonus: The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. -George Orwell, writer (1903-1950) tribology (try-BOL-uh-jee, tri-) noun The study of interacting surfaces in relative motion and associated issues, such as friction, lubrication, and wear. [From Greek tribos (rubbing), from tribein (to rub).] Usually words are coined on the streets of language, but here is one instance where a word may be considered to have been synthesized in a lab, if there could be such a thing as a word lab. In 1965, a group of lubrication engineers decided they needed a name for what they did and contacted the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary for help. Out of this came the word tribology, suggested by one C.G. Hardie of Magdalen College. So even though it looks like the perfect word for it, tribology is not the study of tribes. A related term is triboelectricity: electricity generated by friction. "A car that runs more smoothly is a more desirable car. Bad tribology, on the other hand, can lead to wear, unwanted sticking, or slipping of parts inside a transmission." Ivan Amato; Better Ways to Grease Industry's Wheels; Fortune (New York); Sep 28, 1998. "He (Sid Broadbent) says that traditional skate design is still rooted in the blades-strapped-to-boots past, so he designed his own skates. It's all rooted in tribology, he explains." Chris Young; The King of Skatetology; The Toronto Star (Canada); Jan 17, 2004. This week's theme: words that aren't what they appear to be. -------- Date: Thu Feb 3 00:01:17 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nonplus X-Bonus: The more people are reached by mass communication, the less they communicate with each other. -Marya Mannes, writer (1904-1990) nonplus (non-PLUS, NON-plus) verb tr. To put at a loss for what to do, think, or say; perplex. noun A state of perplexity or bewilderment. [From Latin non plus (no more).] "Until this encounter, my only knowledge of codes was the Navajo Code Talkers, the World War II Native American group who used their native language to nonplus the enemy." Jane Greig; Higshmrk E Qcwxivc (No, That's Not A Typo); Austin American Statesman; Sep 14, 2003. "Larger seeds, such as corn, peas, beans and squash, may be planted the usual way, then immediately covered with a loose hay mulch, 1 or 2 inches thick. Covering the corn seeds nonpluses the crows." Ruth Stout; The Couch I Live On; Organic Gardening (New York); Jul 17, 1996. This week's theme: words that aren't what they appear to be. -------- Date: Fri Feb 4 00:01:11 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pedology X-Bonus: And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. -Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900) pedology (pi-DOL-uh-jee) noun The study of soil: its formation, usage, classification, etc. Also called soil science. [From Greek pedon (soil).] If at first you thought pedology was the study of children, you're not completely off. Using the Greek prefix pedo- (child), this term can refer to the field concerned with the development of little ones. But for everyone's sanity, pedology is mostly used when referring to soils, and pediatrics for children. Imagine taking your sick child to a pedologist who turns out to be an expert in soils or expecting a soil specialist to check your backyard when she shows up with a stethoscope around her neck. "Accra's underlying geology and pedology makes the permeability of water difficult." Ken Mensah; Rain, Rain Go Away; Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra); May 27, 2004. "University of Illinois pedology professor Dr. Robert Carmody uses a spade to smooth the wall of a soil pit at the school's South Farms." Charlyn Fargo; Nature's Greatest Gift; State Journal Register (Springfield, Illinois); Jun 21, 2002. This week's theme: words that aren't what they appear to be. -------- Date: Mon Feb 7 00:01:09 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chiaroscuro X-Bonus: The closing years of life are like the end of a masquerade party, when the masks are dropped. -Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher (1788-1860) chiaroscuro (kee-ar-uh-SKYOOR-o) noun The treatment of light and shade in a work of art, especially to give an illusion of depth. Also known as claire-obscure. [From Italian, from chiaro (clear, light) + oscuro (obscure, dark).] "Besides their skill in capturing human emotions, another impressive aspect of Rembrandt's prints is their use of shadow and light and their mastery of chiaroscuro." Alexandra Koroxenidis; Rembrandt's Power in Capturing Human Emotions; Kathimerini (Athens, Greece); Oct 25, 2004. "The chiaroscuro caricatures of America drawn during a close and compelling election campaign suggest that the most pressing problem after the votes are cast will not be the litigious lawyers (are there any other kind?) but the lingering external preconceptions about the US that have hardly been given more colour and depth over the past few months." Editorial: Polls Apart; The Times (London, UK); Nov 1, 2004. Everyone can be an artist. Some of us paint with words, others with musical notes. Some do it with equations while others use bricks and mortar. And some even do it with paints. No matter what medium we use, if we've poured our soul into it, the result is bound to be a masterpiece. This week we feature words related to art made with paints and brushes and multimedia. These words describe concepts from the world of art but many of them can be used figuratively, as metaphors in contexts unrelated to art. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Feb 8 00:01:11 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--collage X-Bonus: To know how to say what others only know how to think is what makes men poets or sages; and to dare to say what others only dare to think makes men martyrs or reformers - or both. -Elizabeth Charles, writer (1828-1896) collage (kuh-LAZH, koh-) noun A form of art where various disparate objects are assembled together. [From French collage (gluing), from coller (to glue), from colle (glue), from Vulgar Latin colla, from Greek kolla (glue). The words protocol and collagen have the same parentage.] Examples of collage: http://home.mindspring.com/~toughskins/collages/collages.html "The authors argue that their book is meant to illuminate the human impact of war by presenting a collage of images, figures, and text, based on the latest research findings, 'that cover... 59 wars that took place within 48 locations'." Dina Ezzat; Reliving the Legend; Al-Ahram Weekly (Cairo, Egypt); Nov 25, 2004. "A collage of their life together is pasted on Hendrickson's apartment wall in Ballard." Tan Vinh; Seniors No Longer Alone For Holiday; Seattle Times; Nov 24, 2004. This week's theme: words related to art. -------- Date: Wed Feb 9 00:01:11 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--grisaille X-Bonus: Nature can provide for the needs of people; [she] can't provide for the greed of people. -Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) grisaille (gri-ZAI, ZAYL) noun A painting in tones of a single color, especially gray, to represent objects in relief. [From French grisaille (grayness), from gris (gray).] An example: Odalisque in Grisaille by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/european_paintings/odalisque_in_grisaille_jean_auguste_dominique_ingres_and_workshop/objectview.aspx?OID=110001152&collID=11&dd1=11 "And the tenants-only restaurant and bar on the uppermost floors -- with their muted grisaille tones, baroque silver staircase surrounding a cylindrical glass elevator, and 360-degree views of all London -- are almost too perfect to believe." David Littlejohn; It's a Pickle, It's a Pineapple -- It's a Brilliant New Skyscraper; The Wall Street Journal (New York); Sep 13, 2004. "Mr. Okshteyn's large, grisaille photorealistic pictures are technically impressive, especially the ones made from graphite." Art Guide; The New York Times; Mar 14, 2003. This week's theme: words related to art. -------- Date: Thu Feb 10 00:01:17 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--encaustic X-Bonus: As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. -Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz encaustic (en-KO-stik) adjective A method of painting using pigments with wax fixed onto the surface by heat. noun A work of art produced by this process. [From Latin encausticus, from Greek enkaustikos, from enkaiein (to burn in), from en- + (kaiein) to burn. Some distant cousins of this word are caustic, calm, and holocaust.] Examples of encaustic: http://www.encaustic.com/photopost/ "However there are just a few lots, mostly in the evening sale, that are to die for, notably a green target painted in encaustic on newsprint in 1956 by Jasper Johns." Meir Ronnen; The Magic of Greatness; Jerusalem Post (Israel); Nov 4, 2004. "Hammond lays on as many as 60 layers of paint, producing a textured surface reminiscent of encaustic, where the paint is embedded in wax." Exhibit is a Fusion of Anarchy, Exactitude; Orlando Sentinel (Florida); Oct 16, 2004. This week's theme: words related to art. -------- Date: Fri Feb 11 00:01:12 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--trompe l'oeil X-Bonus: If it is committed in the name of God or country, there is no crime so heinous that the public will not forgive it. -Tom Robbins, writer (1936- ) trompe l'oeil (tromp loi) noun 1. A style of painting in which objects are rendered in extremely realistic detail, giving an illusion of reality. 2. A painting, mural, etc. made in this style. [From French, literally "fools the eye", from tromper (to deceive) + le (the) + oeil (eye).] Examples of trompe l'oeil: http://trompe-l-oeil-art.com/ "Good trompe-l'oeil work is magical. It persuades you that the subject of the mural is real, that you are indeed seeing a view of smoking Mount St Helens, or a formal baroque garden glimpsed through a filigree-screen gateway, or a stretch of beach on a windy day." Stephen Anderton; When we Practise to Deceive; The Times (London, UK); Jan 4, 2003. "Though these trompe l'oeil pieces are certainly art, they are not meant to stand alone or stick out the way a conventional piece of art might. The skill in placing a piece of trompe l'oeil is to make it become part of a setting." Maureen DePatie; Use Your Trompe Card; Calgary Herald (Canada); Aug 25, 2001. This week's theme: words related to art. -------- Date: Mon Feb 14 00:01:10 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--matrocliny X-Bonus: One owes respect to the living. To the dead, one owes only the truth. -Voltaire, philosopher and writer (1694-1778) matrocliny (MA-truh-kli-nee) noun, also matricliny Inheritance of traits primarily from the mother. [From Latin matro- (mother) + -clino, from Greek klinein (to lean).] Patrocliny is the male counterpart of this term. "This matrocliny in the embryo of the reciprocal hybrids seems to be due to differences in the amount of reserve food material available." A.L. Delisle; American Journal of Botany; June 1938. The world of the English language is becoming genderless. Earlier we had teacheresses in schools, aviatrices in airplanes, and sculptresses in studios. Those feminine suffixes are now cast off and today they're known as teachers, aviators, and sculptors. For other terms, new gender-neutral alternatives are coined: mail-carrier, firefighter, chairperson (or chair), to cite but three examples. It's easy to brush these off as a display of political correctness but there's a reason why we're moving away from those old terms. Often the feminine equivalents of the terms have inferior connotations: imitation (leather/leatherette), small size (statue/statuette), lesser social status (governor/governess), and at times the two terms are poles apart (wizard/witch) - wizard is a compliment while witch is disparaging. Why is it important to recognize this? It's because while our language is a reflection of our society, the reverse is also true. Our society is also shaped by the language. So the trend is towards common terms to describe both men and women in the same professions, especially where the sex of the person is immaterial in context. As a result, the word actor is preferred for both men and women, chairman is giving way to chair, server is preferred to waiter/waitress, and steward/stewardess are known as flight-attendants. All this is not to say that men and women are not different. They are, but where that difference is irrelevant, there is no reason to use two different terms to describe them. There are still occasions where one needs to know separate terms for male and female forms. This week's AWAD explores terms that refer to distinctions between "mankind" and "womankind". -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Feb 15 00:01:09 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--muliebrity X-Bonus: I don't mind that you think slowly but I do mind that you are publishing faster than you think. -Wolfgang Pauli, physicist, Nobel laureate (1900-1958) muliebrity (myoo-lee-EB-ri-tee) noun Womanly qualities; womanhood; femininity. [From Latin muliebritas (womanhood), from muliebris (womanly), from mulier (woman).] Virility is the masculine equivalent of the term. "Did anybody glance around the Delta Center during Friday night's first-round IHL playoff game and notice all the muliebrity on hand? Half of the 6,123 spectators in the green seats were wearing heels and perfume." Gordon Monson; Grizz Keep in Touch With Feminine Side; The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah); Apr 19, 1997. "Janie's story of personal growth may be charted as one that travels from mules to muliebrity." Julie A. Haurykiewicz; From Mules to Muliebrity; Southern Literary Journal (Chapel Hill, North Carolina); 1997. This week's theme: feminine and masculine forms of words. -------- Date: Wed Feb 16 00:01:09 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--misandry X-Bonus: There are three truths: my truth, your truth, and the truth. -Chinese proverb misandry (MIS-an-dree) noun Hatred of men. [From mis-, from miso- (hate) + -andry (male).] The feminine counterpart of this term is misogyny, and hatred of humankind is known as misanthropy. "Television advertising, for example, is deeply infected by misandry. In adverts for everything from jeans to yogurt, men are portrayed as idiots." John Waters; A Hate That Dares Us to Breathe Its Name; Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland); Nov 25, 1997. "Perhaps the monolithic misandry of Veronica Quilligan's Dilly should have signalled, as her facial and body language quite fail to, that the character was being set up for a narrative reversal." Ian Shuttleworth; Two Halves That Don't Add up to One Whole; Financial Times (London, UK); Aug 2, 2001. This week's theme: feminine and masculine forms of words. -------- Date: Thu Feb 17 00:01:12 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sororal X-Bonus: Let the gods avenge themselves. -Roman law maxim, on blasphemy sororal (suh-ROR-uhl) adjective Of or pertaining to a sister; sisterly. [From Latin soror (sister). Ultimately from Indo-European root swesor- (sister) that is also the source of words cousin and sister, and words for sister in other languages such as French soeur, German Schwester, and Dutch zuster.] Fraternal is the male equivalent of this term. "Today, the Williams sisters face off to decide which will advance to the women's finals of tennis's most famous tournament. Venus, 20, and Serena, 18, have publicly rejoiced in the sororal showdown." Frank Ahrens; Sibling Scorekeeping: Will Tennis Match Be Love-All?; The Washington Post; Jul 6, 2000. "Damiano creates several superb moments, among them a duet for Su-Feh Lee and Kathleen McDonagh in which the two dancers slowly embrace and release across a brilliant well of light. Each time they deliver a different version of female compassion: now maternal, now sororal, now carnal." Michael Scott; Direct From the Margins, Three Bring Restless Inspiration to Mainstage; The Vancouver Sun (Canada); May 14, 1994. This week's theme: feminine and masculine forms of words. -------- Date: Fri Feb 18 00:01:13 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--matriarch X-Bonus: Too many parents make life hard for their children by trying, too zealously, to make it easy for them. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher (1749-1832) matriarch (MAY-tree-ark) noun 1. A woman who is the head of a family. 2. A woman who is the founder or leader of a group or community. 3. A venerable old woman. [From Latin matri- (mother) + Greek -arch (leader, ruler).] Patriarch is the masculine form of this word. "But it's the wonderful character of Eka, a matriarch whose tenacity and optimism reminded me of Steinbeck's Ma Joad." Since Otar Left; Magnetic Island News (Australia); Feb 2, 2005. "Conservative enough to be worn to work and designed with enough youthful energy to be worn out for a night on the town, these designs, according to house matriarch Miuccia Prada, represent what men really want from fashion." Cristoph Mark; All's Fine And Dandy in Milan; Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo, Japan); Jan 24, 2005. This week's theme: feminine and masculine forms of words. -------- Date: Mon Feb 21 00:01:09 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mano a mano X-Bonus: The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man's foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher. -Thomas Henry Huxley, biologist and writer (1825-1895) mano a mano (MA-no a MA-no) plural manos a manos adverb In direct competition; head to head. adjective One-on-one; face-to-face. noun 1. A bullfight where two matadors compete in turn, fighting several bulls. 2. A direct or face-to-face confrontation. [From Spanish mano a mano, literally hand to hand.] "Surprise. Mr. Garvey wasn't chosen. Now Mr. Garvey is going mano a mano with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority." The Blacksmith and His Grudge; The New York Times; Feb 5, 2005. "Stories keep circulating that Mitchell has a thing for mano-a-mano dust-ups with his players." Dave Feschuk; Coach Mitchell's Been Known to Pack a Punch; Toronto Star (Canada); Feb 12, 2005. Hola from Buenos Aires, Argentina! I'm enjoying my first visit to South America's southernmost country. I'd always been fascinated about this land ever since I read about the Argentine Pampas and gauchos (cowboys) in my middle school geography. I've been learning Spanish for some time and am looking forward to trying it out with my Argentine friends. That, and to check for myself which way water flows down the drain. Getting back to the word stuff... the name Argentina comes from Latin argentum (silver). Question: What other country has its name derived from a metal? Hint: it's an island nation named after copper. While you mull over that, I'll head out and smell some good air. This week we'll feature five words borrowed from Spanish. Even though these are called loanwords, we don't really return them. Rather, we repay by letting Spanish-speaking nations like Argentina borrow English words from us. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Feb 22 00:01:11 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hoosegow X-Bonus: To fall in love is to create a religion that has a fallible god. -Jorge Luis Borges, writer (1899-1986) hoosegow or hoosgow (HOOS-gou) noun A jail. [From Spanish juzgado (court), past participle of juzgar (to judge), from Latin judicare (to judge). Ultimately from Indo-European root deik- (to show or to pronounce solemnly) that is also the source of other words such as judge, verdict, vendetta, revenge, indicate, dictate, and paradigm.] Like the word hoosegow there is another slang term for prison that came from Spanish: calaboose, from Spanish calabozo (dungeon). "Throughout 2002 and 2003, the CIA sent Chertoff urgent questions asking whether various 'interrogation protocols' could get their agents sent to the hoosegow." Chris Floyd; Criminal World; The St. Petersburg Times (Russia); Feb 8, 2005. "The historic looking hoosegow features a pair of cells complete with iron locks and keys designed by Rose himself." Timothy Mitchell; From Books to 'Book 'em'; Hamilton Ravalli Republic (Montana); Feb 1, 2005. This week's theme: words borrowed from Spanish. -------- Date: Wed Feb 23 00:01:10 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--temblor X-Bonus: Every cask smells of the wine it contains. -Spanish proverb temblor (TEM-bluhr) noun An earthquake. [From Spanish temblor (trembling), from temblar (to tremble), from Vulgar Latin tremulare, from Latin tremulus (tremulous), from tremere (to tremble).] "The temblor measured 3 on the 7-point Japanese intensity scale in Naruse, and 2 and 1 in other parts of Miyagi prefecture." Moderate Quake Jolts Miyagi Pref.; Mainichi Daily News (Tokyo, Japan); Feb 5, 2005. "Powerful temblors rocked the city for more than 10 minutes afterwards." Survivors Adrift on Mounds of Debris; The Borneo Bulletin (Brunei); Feb 1, 2005. This week's theme: words borrowed from Spanish. -------- Date: Thu Feb 24 00:01:10 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pistolero X-Bonus: Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. -H. Jackson Brown, Jr., writer (1940- ) pistolero (pist-LAY-ro) noun A gunman; hired killer. [From Spanish, from pistola (pistol), via German from Czech pístala (pipe, fife).] "A pistolero wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt approached a 22-year-old pedestrian near the corner of Le Conte and Euclid avenues about 10:58 p.m. Thursday and relieved him of his cell phone and the contents of his wallet." Richard Brenneman; Police Blotter; Berkeley Daily Planet; Feb 11, 2005. "Like a menacing pistolero in a Clint Eastwood Western, Alvarado entered the Atlanta Sporting Club with his skilled palms itching and vengeance on his mind." Hank Hersch; Meet the Houdini of Handball; Sports Illustrated (New York); Oct 1, 1990. This week's theme: words borrowed from Spanish. -------- Date: Fri Feb 25 00:01:10 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--incommunicado X-Bonus: Good deeds are the best prayer. -Serbian proverb incommunicado (in-kuh-myoo-ni-KA-do) adjective, adverb Out of contact, either voluntarily or deprived of the right to communicate with anyone; in solitary confinement. [From Spanish incomunicado, past participle of incomunicar (to deprive of communication), from in- (not) + comunicar (to communicate), from Latin communicare, from communis (common). Ultimately from Indo-European root mei- (to change or move) that has given us other words such as commute, mutual, migrate, common, mistake, and immune.] "She's (actor Urmila Matondkar) chosen to be incommunicado in the last few months giving out her number to only a select few who matter." Even the Prime Minister Doesn't Change His Mobile Number; Afternoon Despatch & Courier (Mumbai, India); Feb 11, 2005. "Since confessing his activities and being placed under house arrest almost a year ago, Mr Khan has been incommunicado." Ian Traynor; Special Forces 'On the Ground' in Iran; The Guardian (London, UK); Jan 17, 2005. This week's theme: words borrowed from Spanish. -------- Date: Mon Feb 28 00:01:11 EST 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ebrious X-Bonus: The man who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out. -Chinese proverb ebrious (EE-bree-uhs) adjective 1. Inclined to excessive drinking. 2. Tipsy. [From Latin ebrius (drunk). Two cousins of this word are inebriated and sobriety.] "One seminal figure, Thompson, was a 'dissolute, ebrious, profane, lascivious English-Dutchman'." Nicholas Phillipson; Political Discourse in Early Modern Britain; Cambridge University Press; 1993. "Yet far more terrible the line that flows From ebrious passion to supine remorse." Richard Monckton Milnes (1809-1885); The Fall of Alipius. Guest wordsmith Brett Jocelyn Epstein writes: Food, glorious food! All of us eat to live, but some of us live to eat too. Just like many people today, I greatly enjoy learning about food, experimenting with it, and eating it. I also have a professional interest in the topic, as a writer of articles about restaurants and chefs for Gourmet, The Danish Pioneer, and other publications, and as a translator who has worked on menus and restaurant websites. I've had a lot of fun getting offered morsels of food directly from a chef's dirty fingers (no, thanks!), and writing about a restaurant that only served salmon, in a Monty Python-esque array of dishes, and puzzling over oddly mistranslated dishes advertised on restaurant menus, such as "rasher of joints", "duck with dry fruits and jewels", "well-hung meat", and "cloudberry consume". Because of my dual fascination with all things language and all things culinary, I have started collecting unusual food words. This week, we'll be looking at some of those words. -Brett Jocelyn Epstein (brettATbrettdaniel.net) (Brett Jocelyn Epstein is originally from Chicago and now lives in Sweden. She teaches English, writes articles about Scandinavia, food, and other topics, translates between Swedish and English, and copy edits. She is also the author of a forthcoming textbook, "Ready, Set, Teach: Creative Lessons for the Intermediate English Classroom". http://brettdaniel.net/ )