A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Sat Feb 1 07:31:38 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--antimacassar X-Bonus: We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are. -Talmudic Saying an.ti.ma.cas.sar \.ant-i-m*-'kas-*r\ n [anti- + Macassar (oil) (a hair dressing)] : a cover to protect the back or arms of furniture Mosman, Jan, Mollywood and lunch-boxes, Vol. 339, Economist, 05-04-1996, pp 89. "Though in decline as a community, they are distinctive with their pale skins and European dress, and with their habits from pre-independence days--eating old-fashioned English dishes such as shepherd's pie, for example, or putting antimacassars on armchairs and sofas." Keep furniture clean from the guys, Using ANTIMACASSAR is wise, It isn't a lout, Whose shouting about, The lash stuff that's on ladies' eyes. -Dr. Chris Papa -------- Date: Sun Feb 2 00:05:21 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--comity X-Bonus: First say to yourself what you would be, then do what you have to do. -Epictetus com.i.ty \'ka:m-*t-e-\ n [L comitat-, comitas, fr. comis courteous, fr. OL cosmisX, fr. com- + -smis (akin to Skt smayate he smiles) 1a: a courteous code of behavior 1b: COMITY OF NATIONS 1c: the informal and voluntary recognition by courts of one jurisdiction of the laws and judicial decision of another 2: avoidance of proselytizing members of another religious denomination "Messrs. West and Lerner seem to think that dialogue in and of itself is an unmitigated virtue. But dialogue can as easily lead to enmity as comity." Julius Lester, Difficult Dialogue., Forward, 03-24-1995, pp PG. COMITY, sayeth the pol, With fixed smile, like a painted doll, It's not a scene funny, Or meeting 'bout money, Or plan for an elephant droll. -Dr. Chris Papa [That's comedy and committee] -------- Date: Mon Feb 3 00:07:20 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--copacetic X-Bonus: The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it. -John Ruskin co.pa.cet.ic or co.pe.set.ic \.ko--p*-'set-ik\ aj [origin unknown] slang : very satisfactory Greco, Susan-Nelson, Melody, The buddy system.., Inc., 01-01-1900, pp 52. "Somehow the idea of asking Joe and Mary Lunchbucket to pay $165 for a few days of festivities--or $595 for Equinox's Millionaire Workshop--seems, well, not quite copacetic." -- This week's gonna be a cool theme, like, slang words. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Feb 4 00:05:27 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shamus X-Bonus: It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. -Seneca sha.mus \'sha:m-*s, 'sha--m*s\ n [prob. fr. Yiddish shames sexton of a synagogue; prob. fr. a jocular comp]arison of the duties of a sexton and those of a store detective slang 1: POLICEMAN slang 2: a private detective Terry Kelleher, ON THE COVER Borscht Belt Humor in Brahmin Boston, Newsday, 03-05-1995, pp 03. "When he's not swapping stereotypes with Ma (Rhoda Gemignani), who serves as his receptionist, Lou may be most in character when scuffling with a deadbeat bookie or sucker-punching a sleazy shamus." -------- Date: Wed Feb 5 00:07:53 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--switcheroo X-Bonus: The US is naked, absolutely nude, to attack by the Soviets. -Senator Dan Quayle 8/20/88 switch.er.oo \.swich-*-'ru:\ n [alter. of switch] slang : a surprising variation : REVERSAL ROSE-MARIE TURK, Calender Goes to the Oscars; Fashion; Mostly Minimal Efforts, Los Angeles Times, 03-28-1995, pp F-3. "It was a fiercely fought competition in which actors and actresses made last-minute switcheroos." -------- Date: Thu Feb 6 00:05:14 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--moola X-Bonus: The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, the young know everything. -Oscar Wilde moo.la or moo.lah \'mu:-l*\ n [origin unknown] slang : MONEY Bernard Baumohl, John Greenwald, Thomas Mccarroll,, Bizwatch, Time, 07-08-1996, pp 45. "Major exhibits like New York City's 1992 Matisse retrospective can raise more moola than a Super Bowl or presidential convention." -------- Date: Fri Feb 7 00:05:23 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--schmo X-Bonus: This above all: to thine own self be true, \ And it must follow, as the night the day, \ Thou canst not then be false to any man. -Shakespeare schmo or schmoe \'shmo-\ n or schmoes [prob. modif. of Yiddish shmok fool, fr. Slovenian shachek>mok] pl slang : JERK de Yampert, Rick, Suffering from entertainment writers' guilt no more, Vol. 127, Editor & Publisher, 01-01-1994, pp 48. "Then, like some Woody Allen schmo, this internal monologue begins: `But it is work -- very stressful work. I've returned to the office after a concert and had only 40 minutes until deadline - 40 minutes to blast out a review.'" -------- Date: Sat Feb 8 00:05:23 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dibs X-Bonus: You become a champion by fighting one more round. When things are tough, you fight one more round. -James Corbett (Boxer) dibs \'dibz\ n [short for dibstones (jacks), fr. obs. dib (to dab)] pl slang 1: money esp. in small amounts slang 2: CLAIM, RIGHTS Stephen Baker & John Rossant, People: Entrepreneurs : John Connelly's Holy Hook-up, Business Week, 10-07-1996, pp 64. "So it's little surprise that when the Catholic Church decided to market its art, the Vatican's favorite gambler got first dibs." -------- Date: Sun Feb 9 00:05:17 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--heist X-Bonus: All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. -Martin Luther King, Jr. 1. heist \'hi-st\ vt [alter. of 1hoist] 1: chiefly dial : HOIST slang 2a: to commit armed robbery on 2b: STEAL 2. heist n slang : armed robbery : HOLDUP; also : THEFT Sally Ann Stewart, Casinos now hot target for robbers in Las Vegas, USA TODAY, 05-24-1994, pp 09. "The heist is the latest in a string of terrifying robberies here - seven in the past 18 months, five that are suspected to be gang-related." -------- Date: Mon Feb 10 02:29:33 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--aubade X-Bonus: Eyes are vocal, tears have tongues, \ And there are words not made with lungs. -Crashaw au.bade \o--'ba:d\ n [F, fr. (assumed) OProv aubada, fr. OProv alba, auba dawn, fr]. (assumed) VL alba, fr. L, fem. of albus white 1: a song or poem greeting the dawn 2a: a morning love song 2b: a song or poem of lovers parting at daybreak 3: morning music Tragedies of William Shakespeare and Sonnets: Shakespeare's Life, Monarch Notes, 01-01-1963. "The parting dialogue between Romeo and Juliet also takes a traditional form: that of the aubade or dawn-song." -- Valentine's Day, the holiday honoring lovers is around the corner. What could be a better theme for this week than the words of affection, passion, and romance! -Anu -------- Date: Tue Feb 11 00:05:14 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--inamorata X-Bonus: I shall live badly if I do not write, and I shall write badly if I do not live. -Francoise Sagan in.amo.ra.ta \(.)in-.am-*-'ra:t-*\ n [It innamorata, fr. fem. of innamorato, pp. of innamorare to]inspire with love, fr. in- (fr. L) + amore love, fr. L amor - more at AMOROUS : a woman with whom one is in love or has intimate relations Robert X. Cringely, Opinions : Notes from the Field, InfoWorld, 04-22-1996. "An old inamorata, an Angeleno model-turned-actress who, rather comically, married Norm's stepson, invited me to share their digs." -------- Date: Wed Feb 12 00:05:15 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--amative X-Bonus: It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it. -Dan Quayle am.a.tive \'am-*t-iv\ aj [ML amativus, fr. L amatus] : disposed or disposing to love : AMOROUS - am.a.tive.ly av Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure, 1895. "There was something in Phillotson's tone now which seemed to show that his three months of remarriage with Sue had somehow not been so satisfactory as his magnanimity or amative patience had anticipated." Aristotle, On the Generation of Animals, Book II, 350 BCE "A similar thing has been seen to take place in those birds that are amative, as partridges and hens. Among birds of prey hawks of different form are thought to unite, and the same applies to some other birds." -------- Date: Thu Feb 13 00:05:17 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--moonstruck X-Bonus: Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. -General George S. Patton, Jr. moon.struck \-.str*k\ aj : affected by or as if by the moon : as : mentally unbalanced : romantically sentimental : BEMUSED, DISTRACTED Roha, R.R., Goldwasser, J., All in the wrist, Economist, 02-23-1991, pp 88. "Tomorrow's moonstruck but musically unaccomplished lover may soon get a chance to serenade with the help of a computer." -------- Date: Fri Feb 14 00:05:19 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--amoretto X-Bonus: Statisticians know that if you put a man's head in a sauna and his feet in a deep freeze, he will feel pretty good - on the average. amo.ret.to \.am-*-'ret-(.)o-, .a:m-\ \-'ret-(.)e-\ n or amo.ret.ti or amorettos [It, dim. of amore] pl : CUPID, CHERUB -------- Date: Sat Feb 15 00:05:43 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--paean X-Bonus: Someday you will get your big chance -- or have you already had it? pae.an \'pe--*n\ n [L, hymn of thanksgiving esp. addressed to Apollo, fr. Gk paian, paio|B-n, fr. Paian, Paio-n, epithet of Apollo in the hymn : a joyously exultant song or hymn of praise, tribute, thanksgiving, or triumph Bloom, Alexander, The alchemy of youth, World & I, 01-01-1994, pp 326. "What is striking about these recent paeans to a lost life is that, at the time, American-life especially for intellectuals seemed an age of lead." -------- Date: Sun Feb 16 00:05:36 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--amorist X-Bonus: This is the final test of the gentleman: his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him. -William Lyon Phelps am.or.ist \'am-*-r*st\ \.am-*-'ris-tik\ n : a devotee of love and esp. sexual love : GALLANT - am.or.is.tic aj -------- Date: Mon Feb 17 03:50:56 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gelid X-Bonus: Be the master of your will and the slave of your conscience. -Hasidic saying gel.id \'jel-*d\ \j*-'lid-*t-e-, je--\ aj [L gelidus, fr. gelu frost, cold] : extremely cold : ICY - ge.lid.i.ty n Jim Murray, Riviera Enjoys a Nostalgic Week; Los Angeles Times, 02-25-1996 "A Pacific storm swept across Riviera early in the week and a gelid wind followed it." Mae M. Cheng, A Thaw in U.S.-China Relations., Newsday, 11-24-1996 "President Bill Clinton, having inherited the mixed blessings presented by the end of the Cold War between the West and the Soviet empire, now has the chore of ensuring that another, equally gelid, conflict does not lock China and the United States in a frozen embrace for the next century." -- This week's selection of words will probably give some hint of temperatures around here these days. It sure is hard to type fast with gloves on! How does it look in your part of the world? -Anu -------- Date: Tue Feb 18 00:05:16 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hyperborean X-Bonus: Contempt is the weapon of the weak and a defense against one's own despised and unwanted feelings. -Alice Miller hy.per.bo.re.an \.hi--p*r-'bo-r-e--*n, -'bo.r-; -(.)p*r-b*-'re--*n\ aj 1: of or relating to an extreme northern region : FROZEN 2: of or relating to any of the arctic peoplesHyperborean n [L Hyperborei (pl.), fr. Gk Hyperboreoi, fr. hyper- + Bore]as 1: a member of a people held by the ancient Greeks to live beyond the north wind in a region of perpetual sunshine 2: an inhabitant of a cool northern climate Seaman, Donna, Just-so-high stories, Vol. 327, Economist, 04-03-1993, pp 79. "Tucked way on a hyperborean island well above the Arctic Circle, a small population of mammoths rode out the retreat of the ice beyond the reach of men and the tumultuous ecological changes that swept the Siberian mainland." -------- Date: Wed Feb 19 00:05:17 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--frigorific X-Bonus: He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. frig.o.rif.ic \.frig-*-'rif-ik\ aj [L frigorificus, fr. frigor-, frigus frost] : causing cold : CHILLING Aristotle, Metaphysics, Book I, 350 BCE, translated by W.D. Ross "Now since contraries do not occur in the same thing, but science is a potency which depends on the possession of a rational formula, and the soul possesses an originative source of movement; therefore, while the wholesome produces only health and the calorific only heat and the frigorific only cold, the scientific man produces both the contrary effects." -------- Date: Thu Feb 20 00:05:22 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pogonip X-Bonus: If I listen, I have the advantage. If I speak, the others have it. pog.o.nip \'pa:g-*-.nip\ n [Southern Paiute] : a dense winter fog containing frozen particles that is formed in deep mountain valleys of western U.S. -------- Date: Fri Feb 21 00:05:17 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--furfuraceous X-Bonus: Love: a temporary insanity, curable by marriage. -Ambrose Bierce fur.fu.ra.ceous \.f*r-f(y)*-'ra--sh*s\ aj [LL furfuraceus, fr. L furfur bran] : consisting of or covered with flaky particles -------- Date: Sat Feb 22 00:05:16 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lyophilize X-Bonus: Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress. -Thomas A. Edison ly.oph.i.lize \li--'a:f-*-.li-z\ vt : FREEZE-DRY Core News, A Publication of The Johns Hopkins Genetic Resources Core Facility Vol. 2, No. 1 Fall, 1995. "The DAF will be happy to lyophilize your samples if higher concentrations are required." -------- Date: Sun Feb 23 02:24:11 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--congeal X-Bonus: Life is not a static thing. The only people who do not change their minds are incompetents in asylums, who can't are those in cemeteries. -Everett Dirksen con.geal \k*n-'jE-l\ Middle English congelen, from Middle French congeler, from Latin congelare, from com- + gelare to freeze -- more at COLD] 1 : to change from a fluid to a solid state by or as if by cold 2 : to make viscid or curdled : COAGULATE 3 : to make rigid, fixed, or immobile Jonson, Ben, Alchemist, The: Scene III. The same, Great Works of Literature "And giving him solution; then congeal him; And then dissolve him; then again congeal him;" -------- Date: Mon Feb 24 11:39:55 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pierian X-Bonus: Many a man's reputation would not know his character if they met on the street. -Elbert Hubbard Pi.eri.an \ pI-'ir-E-*n\ adj 1591 : of or relating to the region of Pieria in ancient Macedonia or to the Muses who were once worshiped there 2 : of or relating to learning or poetry Alexander Pope. An Essay on Criticism. London: Lewis, 1711. Facs. edn.: Scolar Press, 1970. PR 3626.A1 1970 "A little learning is a dangerous thing, Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring." -- Eponyms are little time capsules. They capture a bundle of history in just a few letters from the alphabet. This week, we touch ancient times with seven of these fascinating words. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Feb 25 00:05:25 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--janus-faced X-Bonus: Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed, and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. -Henry David Thoreau Janus-faced /'jA-n*s-fAst/ adj : 1682 [ fr. Janus, a Roman god that is identified with doors, gates, and all beginnings and that is represented artistically with two opposite faces]: having two contrasting aspects; especially : DUPLICITOUS, TWO-FACED Verburg, Peter, `Janus-faced' Preston?, Vol. 21, Alberta Report/Western Report, 06-13-1994, pp 9. "Prof. Flanagan also objects to Mr. Manning's criticism of the prime minister for not examining de-confederation. 'I don't care for this type of Janus-faced policy,' says Prof. Flanagan, a reference to the Roman god with faces looking in two directions at the same time." -------- Date: Wed Feb 26 00:05:18 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--galahad X-Bonus: Always hold your head up, but be careful to keep your nose at a friendly level. -Max L. Forman Gal.a.had \'ga-l-"had\ n 1 : the knight of the Round Table who successfully seeks the Holy Grail 2 : one who is pure, noble, and unselfish Marianne Catalano, DIALOGUE / Weddings And The Single Guest., Newsday, 04-09-1996, pp B18. "Couples eagerly leave the dinner tables to strut their stuff while I sit conspicuously waiting for the father of the bride or some other kindly Sir Galahad to rescue me." -------- Date: Thu Feb 27 00:05:21 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dionysian X-Bonus: Every man has his follies - and often they are the most interesting thing he had got. -Josh Billings Di-o-nys-i-an adj. 1. a. Of or relating to Dionysus or the Dionysia. b. Of or relating to any of several historical persons named Dionysus. 2. a. Of or devoted to the worship of Dionysus b. Often dionysian. Of an ecstatic, orgiastic, or irrational nature; frenzied. 3. Often dionysian. In the philosophy of Nietzsche, of or characteristic of creative-intuitive power as opposed to critical-rational power. Brustein, Robert, The theater of pain, Vol. 207, New Republic, 11-09-1992. "It was precisely because of his differences from Aeschylus that Nietzsche hated this `civic mediocrity,' calling Euripides a `poet of aesthetic Socratism' who banished Dionysian ecstasy and heroism from the drama." -------- Date: Fri Feb 28 00:05:30 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--marplot X-Bonus: How come wrong numbers are never busy? mar-plot n. A stupid and officious meddler whose interference compromises the success of an undertaking.[After Marplot, a character in The Busy Body, a play by Susanna Centlivre (1667?-1723)] Ballinger, Franchot, Ambigere: The Euro-American Picaro and The Native American, Vol. 17, MELUS, 04-01-1991, pp 21. "Coyote's role as marplot in the Maidu creation myth, as in others, reminds us that the grand design of the gods is not always of an appropriately human dimension, and it is Coyote who establishes the human realities of earthly life."