A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Jun 1 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--orrery X-Bonus: Patriotism is proud of a country's virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their own specific virtues. The pride of nationalism, however, trumpets its country's virtues and denies its deficiencies, while it is contemptuous toward the virtues of other countries. It wants to be, and proclaims itself to be, "the greatest", but greatness is not required of a country; only goodness is. -Sydney J. Harris, journalist and author (1917-1986) This week's theme: Words not named after the person they should be orrery (OR-uh-ree) noun A mechanical model of the solar system that represents the relative motions of the planets around the sun. [After Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery (1676-1731), who was given one of those models by John Rowley, a London instrument-maker. They were invented by George Graham c. 1700. The device would have been better named either after its inventor, Graham, or its maker, Rowley.] Orrery: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/orrery_large.jpg [Photo: Kaptain Kobold http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaptainkobold/127601212 ] "The lamp at the center of the orrery demonstrates the way the sun lends light to the planets." James Fenton; Sheridan the Revolutionary; The New York Review of Books; Feb 4, 1999. "Even the nation's attic couldn't contain a 650-yard-long model of the solar system, so the Smithsonian Institution has put it outdoors, on the National Mall. 'Voyage: A Journey Through Our Solar System', a new permanent installation, represents the solar system at one 10-billionth its actual size. ... "The stations within this giant orrery also feature porcelain information plaques with high-resolution, full-color images of the planets." Eric P Nash; A Smithsonian Spin Through the Cosmos; The New York Times; Feb 10, 2002. -------- Date: Wed Jun 2 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--philippic X-Bonus: Wear your learning, like your watch, in a private pocket, and do not pull it out and strike it merely to show you have one. If you are asked what o'clock it is, tell it, but do not proclaim it hourly and unasked, like the watchman. -Lord Chesterfield, statesman and writer (1694-1773) This week's theme: Words not named after the person they should be philippic (fi-LIP-ik) noun A bitter condemnation, usually in a speech. [From Greek philippikos, the name given to orator Demosthenes's speeches urging Athenians to rise up against Philip II of Macedon.] Demosthenes: British Musuem, London, UK https://wordsmith.org/words/images/philippic_large.jpg [Photo: Mark Crean http://www.flickr.com/photos/petreluk/4137406467/ ] "John McCain sat in the elegant ballroom of the Bayerischer Hof hotel in Munich and listened politely as President Putin delivered a full-throated rant against America and all that it stood for. Mr McCain has long been one of Mr Putin's most outspoken critics, but it was less a rush of anger that overwhelmed him as he listened to the Russian leader's philippic, and more a mounting sense of irony." Gerard Baker; Support for War May Yet be the Undoing of John McCain; The Times (London, UK); Feb 15, 2007. -------- Date: Thu Jun 3 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Buridan's ass X-Bonus: I am I plus my surroundings and if I do not preserve the latter, I do not preserve myself. -Jose Ortega Y Gasset, philosopher and essayist (1883-1955) This week's theme: Words not named after the person they should be Buridan's ass (byoo-RUHD-uhnz ass) noun A situation demonstrating the impracticality of decision-making using pure reason, especially a situation involving two equal choices. [Named after French philosopher Jean Buridan (1300-1358).] Notes: Imagine a hungry donkey standing equidistant from two identical piles of hay. The donkey tries to decide which pile he should eat first and finding no reason to choose one over another, starves to death. This paradox didn't originate with Buridan -- it's been found back in Aristotle's time. A hungry and thirsty man cannot decide whether to slake his thirst first or his hunger, and dies. Buridan, in his commentaries on Aristotle, chose a dog, but his critics, in their parody of Buridan, turned it into an ass. So Buridan's ass was named after a person who neither proposed the paradox nor picked that animal to discuss it. Buridan studied under William of Ockham (of Ockham's razor fame https://wordsmith.org/words/ockhams_razor.html). A cartoon on the debate in the US Congress over whether to build a canal through Panama or Nicaragua: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/buridans_ass_large.jpg [Cartoonist: William Allen Rogers (1854-1931)] "Unless we felt strongly enough to exert ourselves in one direction rather than another, we would do nothing, but would suffer the fate of Buridan's ass." A.C. Grayling; Though Euphoria Will Fade, Hope Springs Eternal; The Canberra Times (Australia); Nov 12, 2008. -------- Date: Fri Jun 4 00:02:11 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--guillotine X-Bonus: As often as Herman had witnessed the slaughter of animals and fish, he always had the same thought: in their behavior toward creatures, all men were Nazis. -Isaac Bashevis Singer, writer, Nobel laureate, (1904-1991) This week's theme: Words not named after the person they should be guillotine (GIL-uh-teen, GEE-uh-teen) noun A device with a heavy blade that drops between two posts to behead someone. verb To execute by guillotine or to cut as if with a guillotine. [After French physician Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (1738-1814) who recommended its use. Ironically the instrument designed as a humane device has come to symbolize tyranny. Dr. Guillotin realized that hanging by rope or beheading by a sword was cruel, and urged a more humane method of execution, one that was swift and relatively painless. Dr. Antoine Louis, secretary of the College of Surgeons, designed a device that was at first called a Louisette or Louison, but eventually it became known as a guillotine.] Dr Joseph-Ignace Guillotin: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/guillotine_large.jpg Source: Musée Carnavalet, Paris, France "It appears that the magnificent eagle may be making a resurgence in Essex County. Too bad we won't be able to enjoy them for long. Soon we will find them lying guillotined below the myriad wind turbines our illustrious premier and his gang believe are so good for us." Mary Anne Adam; Turbines Going to Take Out Eagles; The Windsor Star (Canada); May 6, 2010. -------- Date: Mon Jun 7 00:02:08 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--taxis X-Bonus: Laughter and tears are meant to turn the wheels of the same machinery of sensibility; one is wind-power, and the other water-power. -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., poet, novelist, essayist, and physician (1809-1894) A recent newspaper report about a baseball player read: "Swisher is against resting his injured left bicep." It's not unusual to find constructions such as this in the sports pages of the dailies. Of course, the word is "biceps" (plural is biceps or bicepses), but the writer of the above sentence can be forgiven for assuming the word biceps to be a plural and forming the word "bicep". It happens all the time in the evolution of a language. That's how we got the word pea from the former singular pease ("Pease porridge hot..."), sherry from sherris, and cherry from cherise, for example. taxis (TAK-sis) noun, plural taxes (TAK-seez) 1. Movement of an organism toward or away from a stimulus. 2. Order, arrangement, or classification. 3. The manual repositioning of a displaced body part to its normal position, in a case of hernia, for example. [From Greek taxis (arrangement, order), from tassein (to arrange).] Notes: 1. The word tropism is usually applied to plants: https://wordsmith.org/words/tropism.html 2. The word for a public vehicle, taxi, is unrelated. A taxi is one which taxes, etymologically speaking. It's short for taximeter, the name of the device that calculates the fare. 3. Also see parataxis https://wordsmith.org/words/parataxis.html "I believe every action an insect makes is due to a reflex, a taxis or a tropism." Poppy Adams; The Sister; Anchor; 2009. "Dionysius wanted to see the entire cosmos as a taxis, in the sense of a hierarchy." James H. Charlesworth; Jesus and Archaeology; Wm. B. Eerdmans; 2006. -------- Date: Tue Jun 8 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--starets X-Bonus: A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule. -Michael Pollan, author, journalism professor (b. 1955) This week's theme: Words that appear plural but aren't starets (STAHR-its, -yits) noun, plural startsy (STAHRT-see) A religious teacher or adviser. [From Russian starets (elder). In the Eastern Orthodox Church a starets is a spiritual adviser who is not necessarily a priest.] Sergius of Radonezh (1314-1392), a starets: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/starets_large.jpg [Location: Sergiyev Posad, Russia] "Grigori Rasputin was neither mad nor a monk, but an unconventional starets." Cecilia Rasmussen; Shadowed by Rasputin's Evil Reputation; Los Angeles Times; Oct 10, 1999. -------- Date: Wed Jun 9 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--congeries X-Bonus: As the pain that can be told is but half a pain, so the pity that questions has little healing in its touch. -Edith Wharton, novelist (1862-1937) This week's theme: Words that appear plural but aren't congeries (kon-JEER-eez, KON-juh-reez) noun A collection of miscellaneous things. [From Latin congeries (heap), from congerere (to heap up), from con- (with) + gerere (to carry).] "What an unsightly congeries of mismatched assets the McGuinty government seems to have in mind." David Olive; Ontario's Super-corporation Has Hallmarks of Trial Balloon; Toronto Star (Canada); Mar 9, 2010. -------- Date: Thu Jun 10 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shambles X-Bonus: The difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind. -Charles Darwin, naturalist and author (1809-1882) This week's theme: Words that appear plural but aren't shambles (SHAM-buhlz) noun 1. A state of great disorder. 2. A scene of carnage. 3. A slaughterhouse. [From oak to acorn, from a little piece of furniture to a slaughterhouse. The word known today as shambles started out as scamnum (stool, bench). Over time the word's sense evolved to "a vendor's table", more specifically, a butcher's table. Eventually, the word came to be applied to a meat market or a slaughterhouse. From the state of disarray of such a place, today we use the word metaphorically to denote a place of complete disorder. That's the story of a slaughterhouse. To know what became of a fish market, see billingsgate https://wordsmith.org/words/billingsgate.html ] There are streets named shambles in many towns in England. The Shambles, York: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/shambles_large.jpg [Photo: Peter Edin http://www.flickr.com/photos/peteredin/2848512165/ ] "The program aims to rebuild a system in shambles before nearly 4,000 schools were destroyed." $2 Billion Sought to Overhaul Ruined Haiti Schools; Associated Press; May 15, 2010. -------- Date: Fri Jun 11 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--kudos X-Bonus: To profess to be doing God's will is a form of megalomania. -Joseph Prescott, aphorist (1913-2001) This week's theme: Words that appear plural but aren't kudos (KOO-doz, -dos, KYOO-) noun Praise, honor, or credit. [From Greek kydos (praise, renown).] NOTES: The word kudos is a relatively recent addition to the English language. It entered the language as university slang in Britain, in the early 19th century. It's a singular word, in Greek and in English, but its plural-like appearance prompted some to coin a singular form by dropping the letter s. Many dictionaries (including the OED) now list the word kudo, though marked with an "erroneous" stamp. If the current trends are any indication, chances are over time kudo will drop the black mark on its reputation and become a well-respected word in the language, just as no one today objects to using the word pea (instead of pease) or cherry (instead of cherise).] "The Indian economy continues to grow at a healthy 8%. You and your team deserve kudos for that." Raj Chengappa; Dear Dr Manmohan Singh; The Tribune (Chandigarh, India); May 21, 2010. -------- Date: Mon Jun 14 00:02:11 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--aeolian X-Bonus: Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. -Eleanor Roosevelt, diplomat and author (1884-1962) The part of the world I live in, the Seattle area, is notorious for its rainy weather. The reputation is undeserved -- places such as Miami and New York City receive much more total rain in a year. There's a kernel of truth in that, however. The winter sky here is often gray and often drizzly. The way I see it, weather is a state of mind. How gray one feels inside has little to do with clouds or what the thermometer reads. One could find cheerful people in an icy place like Alaska or gloomy people on a sunny beach in Hawaii. This week we'll look at five words related to weather and climate, words about wind, rain, clouds, and more. aeolian or eolian (ee-O-lee-uhn) adjective Relating to or caused by the wind. [After Aeolus, god of the winds in Greek mythology. As keeper of the winds, he gave a bag containing winds to help with Odysseus's sailing.] A sculpture of Aeolus in Aeolian Islands, Italy: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/aeolian_large.jpg [Photo: Thomas Reichart http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasreichart/229254765/ ] "It would not be surprising if a few features -- even very large ones -- were sculpted by aeolian processes into the pyramidal forms we see." Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan; The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark; Random House; 1995. http://amazon.com/o/asin/0345409469/ws00-20 -------- Date: Tue Jun 15 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--virga X-Bonus: There is as much difference between us and ourselves as between us and others. -Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592) This week's theme: Words related to weather virga (VUHR-guh) noun Rain or snow that evaporates before hitting the ground. [From Latin virga (rod, streak).] Virga: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/virga_large.jpg Art: Elin Pendleton http://www.dailypaintings.com/ Photographs of virga: http://weather-photography.com/album.php?cat=clouds&subcat=virga "Macduff Everton's images are so physical and tactile, you can nearly feel the moisture in the virga." Len Jenshel; 25 All-Time Best Photo Books; National Geographic Traveler (Washington, DC); Jan/Feb 2005. -------- Date: Wed Jun 16 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--El Nino X-Bonus: Just praise is only a debt, but flattery is a present. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784) This week's theme: Words related to weather El Nino (el NEEN-yo) noun A weather phenomenon characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific. [From Spanish El Nino, literally "The Boy Child", referring to Baby Jesus as El Nino phenomenon is noticed near Christmas.] Notes: El Nino, which occurs every three to seven years, is marked by warm sea surface temperature along the coast of Ecuador and Peru in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Its effects on weather are observed around the globe. A counter part is La Nina "The Girl Child" in which unusually cold ocean temperatures are observed in the Equatorial Pacific.] Warm waters shown in white: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/el_nino_large.jpg [Satellite image: NASA] "The Phoenix area had its second coolest May in just over a decade, National Weather Service Meteorologist Craig Ellis said. The cooler temperatures were likely due to El Nino." Brittany Williams; Phoenix Area May See 110 by Sunday; The Arizona Republic; Jun 1, 2010. -------- Date: Thu Jun 17 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pluvial X-Bonus: Our heads are round so that thoughts can change direction. -Francis Picabia, painter and poet (1879-1953) This week's theme: Words related to weather pluvial (PLOO-vee-uhl) adjective Of or relating to rain, especially much rain. [From Latin pluvia (rain), from pluere (to rain). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pleu- (to flow), that is also the source of flow, float, flit, fly, flutter, pulmonary, and pneumonia.] "The inclement weather was expected to continue throughout the week, and meteorologists predict that the next few days will remain pluvial." Inclement Weather Sweeps Israel; The Jerusalem Post (Israel); Jan 18, 2010. -------- Date: Fri Jun 18 00:02:11 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nimbus X-Bonus: I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world. I may not complete this last one but I will try. -Rainer Maria Rilke, poet and novelist (1875-1926) This week's theme: Words related to weather nimbus (NIM-buhs) noun plural nimbi or nimbuses 1. A rain cloud. 2. A halo or aura around the head of a person depicted in a piece of art. [From Latin nimbus (cloud). Ultimately from the Indo-European root nebh- (cloud) that is also the source of nebula, nephometer (a device used in measuring the amount of cloud cover), and Sanskrit nabh (sky).] Buddha with nimbus, 1st-2nd century CE: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/nimbus_large.jpg [Tokyo National Museum] "The works take their cue from the perspective view one might see out an airplane window but become a curious exercise in painterly flatness, the white nimbuses butting up along the faint horizon." Eric Banks; Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction; The Washington Post; Feb 20, 2010. "He saw that at once; he took that also as the meed due his oil wells and his Yale nimbus, since three years at New Haven, leading no classes and winning no football games, had done nothing to dispossess him of the belief that he was the natural prey of all mothers of daughters." William Faulkner; Collected Stories of William Faulkner; Vintage Books; 1995. http://amazon.com/o/asin/0679764038/ws00-20 -------- Date: Mon Jun 21 00:02:13 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--weathercock X-Bonus: All men -- whether they go by the name of Americans or Russians or Chinese or British or Malayans or Indians or Africans -- have obligations to one another that transcend their obligations to their sovereign societies. -Norman Cousins, author, editor, journalist and professor (1915-1990) The French writer and philosopher Albert Camus once said, "Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." Can you recognize people like that around you? This week's words will help you describe them. weathercock (WETH-uhr kok) noun 1. A weathervane, especially one with the figure of a rooster on it. 2. One who changes readily or often. [From weather + cock.] Notes: The words weathercock/weathervane are especially suitable for politicians who change according to prevailing winds. Quebec's legislature has gone so far as to impose a ban on their use. http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/71265-quebec-bans-weathervane-insult A weathercock: https://wordsmith.org/words/weathercock_large.jpg [Photo: Arne Koehler] "William was such a weathercock, how could one be sure?" Barbara W. Tuchman; The Guns of August; Random House; 1962. http://amazon.com/o/asin/0345476093/ws00-20 -------- Date: Tue Jun 22 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--persnickety X-Bonus: Men have slow reflexes. In general it takes several generations later for them to understand. -Stanislaw J. Lec, poet and aphorist (1909-1966) This week's theme: Words to describe people persnickety (puhr-SNIK-i-tee) adjective 1. Fussy about minor details. 2. Snobbish. 3. Requiring keen attention to detail, as a job. [Variant of pernickety (the spelling still used in the UK). Of unknown origin.] "My father and I are both persnickety. We don't like noise in the kitchen, and a few grains of salt on a tablecloth make us shiver." Cedric Vongerichten; Le Fils; New York Magazine; Sep 20, 2009. "And what will the filmmakers eventually get for more than 12 hours of painstaking persnickety work?" Tina Maples; "Dillinger: Gangsters Hit the Library For a Long Shoot; Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, Wisconsin); May 28, 1990. -------- Date: Wed Jun 23 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nescient X-Bonus: I want to realize brotherhood or identity not merely with the beings called human, but I want to realize identity with all life, even with such things as crawl upon earth. -Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) This week's theme: Words to describe people nescient (NESH-uhnt, NESH-ee-uhnt, NES-ee-uhnt) adjective Lacking knowledge or awareness. [From Latin ne- (not) + scire (to know). Ultimately from the Indo-European root skei- (to cut or split) that has also given us schism, ski, shin, science, conscience, nice, scienter https://wordsmith.org/words/scienter.html , adscititious https://wordsmith.org/words/adscititious.html and sciolist https://wordsmith.org/words/sciolist.html ] "The most interesting character development occurs in Zeta-Jones's transformation from nescient wife to underground businesswoman as she tries to preserve her husband's business." Matthew Hunt; Traffic; Richmond Times-Dispatch (Virginia); Jan 12, 2001. -------- Date: Thu Jun 24 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bromidic X-Bonus: Snakes and ladders: the game of organized religions. -Yahia Lababidi, writer (b. 1973) This week's theme: Words to describe people bromidic (broh-MID-ik) adjective Commonplace; trite. [From the former use of bromide compounds as sedatives. Bromine got its name from the Greek bromos (stench) due to its strong smell.] "Joe Lieberman has the hectoring, bromidic, high-rhetorical style reminiscent of an especially pompous clergyman." Michael Kinsley; The Capitol's Pious Pair; The Washington Post; Jan 24, 2003. -------- Date: Fri Jun 25 00:02:12 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--esurient X-Bonus: Each morning puts a man on trial and each evening passes judgment. -Roy L. Smith This week's theme: Words to describe people esurient (i-SOOR-ee-uhnt) adjective Hungry; greedy. [From Latin esurire (to be hungry), from edere (to eat). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ed- (to eat, to bite) that has also given us edible, comestible, obese, etch, fret, edacious https://wordsmith.org/words/edacious.html, prandial https://wordsmith.org/words/prandial.html, and postprandial https://wordsmith.org/words/postprandial.html .] "Rising land values have drawn droves of esurient developers." Melissa Cassutt; Study Reminds Bonita of Need for Greenspace; Marco Eagle (Marco Island, Florida); Jan 11, 2006. "This daily show sends esurient teenage aficionados to the cultural birthplace of their favourite dishes." It's Cold Turkey for the Junk Food Junkies; Evening Standard (London, UK); May 11, 2007. -------- Date: Mon Jun 28 00:02:11 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--coprolalia X-Bonus: We perceive when love begins and when it declines by our embarrassment when alone together. -Jean de la Bruyere, essayist and moralist (1645-1696) It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it. This week we do it, by showcasing words related to -- well, if the English language made any sense (as in words include/exclude) -- the opposite of increment. It may sound like a frivolous topic, but it can be a serious business. Besides the common usage of excrement as fertilizer and fuel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_dung , it plays a critical role in the making of a very expensive coffee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak . At least one war has been fought over it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guano#History . We've put together five words to engage in some dirty talk, though in some cases you may have to look closer to see the connection. Use the words of this week to say what you have to, without using any four-letter words. coprolalia (kop-ruh-LAY-lee-uh) noun An uncontrollable or obsessive use of obscene language. [From Greek copro- (dung) + -lalia (chatter, babbling), from lalein (to talk). A related word is coprolite https://wordsmith.org/words/coprolite.html .] Notes: Involuntary coprolalia is found in approximately 15% of the people who suffer from Tourette's syndrome. It has even been observed in deaf people who use sign language -- they swear in sign language. "That the brain's executive overseer is ablaze in an outburst of coprolalia, Dr. Silbersweig said, demonstrates how complex an act the urge to speak the unspeakable may be." Natalie Angier; Almost Before We Spoke, We Swore; The New York Times; Sep 20, 2005. -------- Date: Tue Jun 29 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scoria X-Bonus: A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of its business, cannot help making celebrities of the people who would destroy it. -Lewis H. Lapham, editor and writer (1935- ) This week's theme: Dirty words scoria (SKOR-ee-uh) noun, plural scoriae (SKOR-ee-ee) 1. In metallurgy, the refuse or slag left from smelting. 2. Porous cinderlike fragments of solidified lava. [From Latin scoria, from Greek skoria (dross), from skor (dung). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sker- (excrement) that is also the source of drek and scatology https://wordsmith.org/words/scatology.html ] Scoria: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/scoria_large.jpg [Photo: NASA] "[The hiker] actually said the snow made it a bit easier, because it was a bit softer to walk on than the rocky scoria." Rescuers Help Injured Man Off Mt Taranaki; Otago Daily Times (New Zealand); Jun 8, 2010. -------- Date: Wed Jun 30 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scatology X-Bonus: I don't hate my enemies. After all, I made 'em. -Red Skelton, comedian (1913-1997) This week's theme: Dirty words scatology (skuh-TOL-uh-jee) noun 1. The scientific study of excrement. 2. An obsession with excrement or excretion. 3. Language or literature dealing with excretory matters in a prurient or humorous manner. [From Greek skato-, combing form of skor (dung). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sker- (excrement) that is also the source of dreck and scoria https://wordsmith.org/words/scoria.html .] "One fund will be left empty, while the second will contain a steaming pile of what, at the risk of descending into scatology, can only be described as two-year Greek government notes." Mark Gilbert; Hedge-Fund Guy Seduces Buffett to Safeguard Bonus; BusinessWeek (New York); Jan 14, 2010.