A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Thu, 4 Aug 1994 00:03:23 -0400 (EDT) Subject: A.Word.A.Day--anodyne X-Bonus: Egotism: Doing a crossword puzzle with a pen. an.o.dyne \'an-*-.di_-n\ n : something that relieves pain : a soothing agent -- Our server had been sick again. it is up now, after a weeklong recuperation. -Anu -------- Date: Fri Aug 5 12:36:38 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--afflatus X-Bonus: Your fault -- core dumped. af.fla.tus \*-'fla_-t-*s\ n : divine inspiration -------- Date: Sat Aug 6 00:03:38 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vaquero X-Bonus: Give me a lever long enough, and a place to stand, and I'll break my lever. va.que.ro \va_:-'ke(*)r-o_-\ n : a ranch hand : COWBOY -------- Date: Sun Aug 7 00:03:06 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--oubliette X-Bonus: Bad command or file name. Go stand in the corner. ou.bli.ette \.u_:-ble_--'et\ n : a dungeon with an opening only at the top -------- Date: Mon Aug 8 00:03:06 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--necrology X-Bonus: Mowmuffins: Dried accumulation of grass on the underside of lawnmowers. ne.crol.o.gy \n*-'kra_:l-*-je_-\ n 1: a list of the dead 2: OBITUARY -------- Date: Tue Aug 9 00:03:17 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--portiere X-Bonus: In English, every word can be verbed. por.ti.ere \.po_-rt-e_--'e*r, po_-r-'ti*r\ n : a curtain hanging across a doorway -- try typing this word on your keyboard. notice anything unusual? all the eight letters in "portiere" fall on the upper row of a keyboard! even the sequence of keystrokes appear to be finely orchestrated. - anu -------- Date: Wed Aug 10 00:03:16 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pollywog X-Bonus: He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead. pol.li.wog or pol.ly.wog \'pa_:l-e_--.wa_:g\ n : TADPOLE -------- Date: Thu Aug 11 00:03:06 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pluvial X-Bonus: College: The fountains of knowledge, where everyone goes to drink. plu.vi.al \'plu_:-ve_--*l\ adj 1: of or relating to rain 2: characterized by abundant rain -------- Date: Fri Aug 12 00:03:04 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dace X-Bonus: Success comes in cans Failure comes in can'ts. dace \'da_-s\ n, pl dace : a small freshwater fish related to the carp -- not a very interesting word in its definition, but notice the spelling. all the four letters in dace are taken from the first five characters of the alphabet (4/5). another remarkable word is facade (5/6). -anu -------- Date: Fri Aug 12 00:03:04 EDT 1994 Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--dace Following today's posting of "dace," many linguaphiles fished out similar words. Here is today's yield: Frits Stuurman of ruu.nl wrote about "cab" (he calls the word 100%). He also mentioned a Dutch village by the name of Abcoude, having letters a-e all in right sequence. "Cab" was also sent in by Darin Stumme of uni.edu and Dabe Murphy of umd.edu. Dabe added, "Hey, my name fits in that category too!" Avid linguaphile Martha O'Kennon of albion.edu was reminded of "another cool game to make words out of the musical letters a-g, like cabbage etc." Sandra Teare from gte.com recalled a Trivial Pursuit question she encountered recently. She asked, "What is the shortest word that uses the letters a-f at least once each?" Any feedback on this one? Beirne Konarski of summitis.com and Evan Robinson of mit.edu, both came up with "decade." A.J. Kait calling in from reach.com had a pair, "How about debacle - all of the first five letters, and 6/7. Even better is cabled - again, all 5 and 5/6. Is that `L' a coincidence?" Observant linguaphile Damian Chadwick from ucsc.edu noted that "facade," is special in another way - it can be typed entirely with the left hand. While we are chasing around the alphabet, anyone heard of the word "abecedarian?" Yes, it is an actual English word meaning "a person learning the alphabet." Interestingly, it also means "one teaching the alphabet." tip-tap of raindrops near Lake Erie... Anu -------- Date: Sat Aug 13 00:03:06 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--picot X-Bonus: Nothing ruins the truth like stretching it. pi.cot \'pe_--.ko_-\ n : one of a series of small loops forming an edging on ribbon or lace -------- Date: Sun Aug 14 08:38:53 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pompadour X-Bonus: If at first you do succeed, try to hide your astonishment. pom.pa.dour \'pa_:m-p*-.do_-r\ n : a style of dressing the hair in which it is combed back to stand erect -------- Date: Mon Aug 15 00:03:08 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sybarite X-Bonus: Cleanliness is next to clean-limbed, in the dictionary. syb.a.rite \'sib-*-.ri_-t\ n : a lover of luxury : VOLUPTUARY -------- Date: Tue Aug 16 00:03:07 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scapegrace X-Bonus: Never eat prunes when you're famished. scape.grace \-.gra_-s\ n : a reckless rascal -------- Date: Wed Aug 17 00:03:07 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mahatma X-Bonus: It is difficult to legislate morality in the absence of moral legislators. ma.hat.ma \m*-'ha_:t-m*\ n [Skt maha_-tman great-souled, fr. maha_-- great + a_-tman soul, self] : a person revered for high-mindedness, wisdom, and selflessness -------- Date: Thu Aug 18 00:03:06 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--glabrous X-Bonus: How many weeks are there in a light year? gla.brous \'gla_--br*s\ adj : SMOOTH; esp : having a surface without hairs or projections -------- Date: Fri Aug 19 00:03:07 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--stevedore X-Bonus: Don't use no double negatives, not never. ste.ve.dore \'ste_--v*-.do_-r\ n [Sp estibador, fr. estibar to pack, fr. L stipare] : one who works at loading and unloading ships in port -------- Date: Sat Aug 20 00:03:08 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--quadrennium X-Bonus: Like a force of nature/Love can fade with the stars at dawn. -N. Peart qua.dren.ni.um \-e_--*m\ n, pl -ni.ums or -nia \-e_--*\ : a period of 4 years -------- Date: Sun Aug 21 00:03:07 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pinnace X-Bonus: God's last name is not "Dammit". pin.nace \'pin-*s\ n 1: a light sailing ship 2: a ship's boat -------- Date: Mon Aug 22 00:03:07 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lyceum X-Bonus: Arithmetic is being able to count up to twenty without taking off your shoes. -- Mickey Mouse ly.ce.um \li_--'se_--*m\ n 1: a hall for public lectures 2: an association providing public lectures, concerts, and entertainments -------- Date: Tue Aug 23 00:06:37 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mollycoddle X-Bonus: People who live in windowed environments shouldn't cast pointers. Cross references: 1. indulge 1. mol.ly.cod.dle \'ma:l-e--.ka:d-*l\ n [Molly, nickname for Mary] 1: a pampered weakling; specif : an effeminate man 2: GOODY-GOODY 2. mollycoddle \-.ka:d-lin, -*l-in\ \-.ka:d-l*r, -*l-*r\ vt or mol.ly.cod.dling : CODDLE, PAMPER - mol.ly.cod.dler n -------- Date: Wed Aug 24 00:03:02 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mythomania X-Bonus: Every child comes with the message that God is not yet tired of the man. -Rabindranath Tagore, poet (1861-1941) mytho.ma.nia \.mith-*-'ma--ne--*, -ny*\ \-ne--.ak\ n [NL, fr. Gk mythos + LL mania] : an excessive or abnormal propensity for lying and exaggerating - mytho.ma.ni.ac nor ;aj -------- Date: Thu Aug 25 00:03:04 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--oology X-Bonus: Knocked; you weren't in. -- Opportunity ool.o.gy \-je-\ n : a branch of ornithology dealing with birds' eggs -------- Date: Fri Aug 26 00:03:02 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hypocorism X-Bonus: I am prepared for all emergencies but totally unprepared for everyday life. hy.po.co.rism or hy.po.co.ris.ti.cal \hi--'pa:k-*-.riz-*m; .hi--p*-'ko-(*)r-.iz-, -'ko.(*)r-\ \.hi--p*-k*-'ris-tik\ \-ti-k*l\ \-ti-k(*-)le-\ n [LL hypocorisma, fr. Gk hypokorisma, fr. hypokorizesthai to call by pet names, fr. hypo- + korizesthai to caress, fr. koros boy, kore- girl : a pet name or the use of pet names; also : EUPHEMISM - hy.po.co.ris.ti.c aj -------- Date: Sat Aug 27 00:03:02 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--triskelion X-Bonus: The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. - Aristotle tri.skel.i.on or tri.skele n [triskelion fr. NL, fr. Gk triskeles three-legged, fr. tri- + skelos leg; triskele fr. Gk triskeles--more at isosceles] (1857): a figure composed of three usu. curved or bent branches radiating from a center -------- Date: Sun Aug 28 00:03:02 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--williwaw X-Bonus: Whatever games are played with us, we must play no games with ourselves but deal in our privacy with the last honesty and truth. -Emerson wil.li.waw \'wil-e_--.wo_.\ n : a sudden violent gust of cold land air common along mountainous coasts of high latitudes -------- Date: Mon Aug 29 00:03:02 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jurassic X-Bonus: The world is filled with willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them. - Robert Frost Ju.ras.sic adj [F jurassique, fr. Jura mountain range] (1831): of, relating to, or being the period of the Mesozoic era between the Triassic and the Cretaceous or the corresponding system of rocks marked by the presence of dinosaurs and the first appearance of birds--see geologic time table -- Jurassic n -------- Date: Tue Aug 30 00:03:02 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis X-Bonus: That life is worth living is the most necessary of assumptions, and were it not assumed, the most impossible of conclusions. -George Santayana pneu.mo.no.ul.tra.mi.cro.scop.ic.sil.i.co.vol.ca.no.co.ni.o.sis \'n(y)u:-m*-(.)no--.*l-tr*-.mi--kr*-'ska:p-ik-'sil-i-(.)ko--(.)v\ n [NL, fr. Gk pneumo-n + ISV ultramicroscopic + NL silicon +]a:l-'ka--no--.ko--ne--'o--s*s ISV volcano + Gk konis dust : a pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of very fine silicate or quartz dust -------- Date: Wed Aug 31 00:03:02 EDT 1994 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--virtu X-Bonus: All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain. -Epictetus vir.tu \.v*r-'tu_:, vi*r-\ n 1: a love of or taste for objects of art 2: objects of art (as curios and antiques)