A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Oct 1 00:45:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--druthers X-Bonus: A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It is a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity. -Jimmy Carter, 39th US President, Nobel laureate (b. 1924) This week's theme: Fossil words druthers (DRUTH-uhrz) noun One's own way; preference. [Plural of druther, contraction of "'d rather", as in "I/he/etc. would rather ..." Earliest documented use: 1895.] NOTES: The word is mostly used in the form "If I had my druthers ..." i.e. "If I had my way, I'd rather ..." "If I had my druthers, I'd put you on a plane this second." Laura Marie Altom; A Baby in His Stocking; Harlequin; 2011. "Brazil is aware of its own significance in world affairs, and is charting an appropriately constructive and quite independent course ... despite Washington's druthers." Paul Heinbecker; Getting Back in the Game; Dundurn; 2011. -------- Date: Wed Oct 2 00:08:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dudgeon X-Bonus: When I despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won. There have been murderers and tyrants, and for a time they can seem invincible. But in the end they always fall. Think of it, always. -Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) This week's theme: Fossil words dudgeon (DUHJ-uhn) noun A feeling of anger, resentment, indignation, etc. [Of unknown origin. Earliest documented use: 1380.] NOTES: This word is often used in the term "in high dudgeon" as in "He went off in high dudgeon" meaning "He left in great anger and indignation." "Nancy Pearl: In high dudgeon, one of my fellow committee members loudly announced that I would burn in hell forever for my actions!" Awards Season and Carnegie Longlist; Publishers Weekly (New York); Mar 10, 2013. "Phil Porble had every right to express his dudgeon at being yanked from his august position." Charlotte MacLeod; The Corpse in Oozak's Pond; Mysterious Press; 1987. -------- Date: Thu Oct 3 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--caboodle X-Bonus: The corporate grip on opinion in the United States is one of the wonders of the Western world. No First World country has ever managed to eliminate so entirely from its media all objectivity -- much less dissent. -Gore Vidal, author (1925-2012) This week's theme: Fossil words caboodle (kuh-BOOD-uhl) noun The lot, collection, or crowd. [Perhaps from boodle (money, goods, people), from Dutch boedel (property). Earliest documented use: 1848.] NOTES: The word is mostly seen in the expression "kit and caboodle" meaning "the whole lot". "New York City teems with questionable urban legends. But the fable about the postal clerk and his wife, a Brooklyn librarian, scrimping to amass an astounding collection of modern art, cramming all 5,000 pieces in a rent-controlled one-bedroom apartment, then donating the whole kit and caboodle to the National Gallery of Art in Washington and galleries in all 50 states, is true." Douglas Martin; Herbert Vogel, Fabled Art Collector, Dies at 89; The New York Times; Jul 24, 2012. "Theresa cruised through the office once a month with a caboodle full of scissors, smocks, and hair color." Lisa Baron; Life of the Party; Citadel Press; 2011. -------- Date: Fri Oct 4 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shrift X-Bonus: Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use. -Emily Post, author and columnist (1872-1960) This week's theme: Fossil words shrift (shrift) noun Confession to a priest. Also, penance and absolution that follow confession. [From Old English scrift (confession, penance), from scrifan (to shrive: to impose penance). Ultimately from the Indo-European root skribh- (to cut, separate, or sift) that has resulted in other terms, such as manuscript, scribe, subscribe, scripture, scribble, and describe. Earliest documented use: 897.] NOTES: The term nowadays is mostly seen in the form "to get short shrift" meaning to receive little consideration or a curt treatment. Originally, short shrift was what condemned criminals received: brief time granted to them for confession and absolution before execution. "Their schools focus on religious learning: even basic subjects such as maths and English get short shrift." Talmud and Cheesecake; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 28, 2012. "Downey's midcareer comeback is also given fair shrift in this absorbing account of one man's amazing triumph over his voracious demons." Chris Keech; Robert Downey Jr.: The Fall and Rise of the Comeback Kid; The Booklist (Chicago); Dec 15, 2010. -------- Date: Mon Oct 7 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--furfuraceous X-Bonus: No, no, you're not thinking, you're just being logical. -Niels Bohr, physicist (1885-1962) If you call someone stupid, he might let it go. But tell him he's smelly, chances are he'll protest loudly. While the mind is important (as our minds tell us), bodies are more palpable and accordingly we take those insults more seriously. With that in mind, this week we give you five words that can be used as insults. But like all weapons, remember it's best to use these words only in self-defense and with restraint. furfuraceous (fuhr-fyuh-RAY-shus) adjective 1. Covered with dandruff. 2. Flaky. [From Latin furfur (bran, flake). Earliest documented use: 1650.] "When she looked at the photographs of raging urticaria and furfuraceous rashes, she teetered between repulsion and captivation." Dashka Slater; The Wishing Box; Chronicle Books; 2010. "I met quite a number of composers who were frankly flaky, or furfuraceous, to use a more elegant term." Nicolas Slonimsky; Musings of a Musical Mind; Los Angeles Times; Mar 27, 1988. -------- Date: Tue Oct 8 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pediculous X-Bonus: What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. -Crowfoot, Native American warrior and orator (1821-1890) This week's theme: Insults pediculous (pe-DIK-yuh-luhs) adjective Infested with lice: lousy; contemptible. [From pedis (louse). Earliest documented use: 1540.] "We prisoners called ourselves the Jerseys, not out of respect for this vile, pediculous hulk, but because it was our commonality, the glue that held us in its glorious stink." Jerome Charyn; Johnny One-Eye; Norton; 2008. "Harris called one of the pair a 'slimy, contemptible oaf ... ignorant pediculous loafer ... untalented, worthless, parasitical bloodsucker." Jim Seavor; Our Town Controversial? Providence Journal (Rhode Island); Oct 5, 1985. -------- Date: Wed Oct 9 00:01:07 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--xanthodontous X-Bonus: Imagine there's no countries, / It isn't hard to do, / Nothing to kill or die for, / No religion too, / Imagine all the people / living life in peace. -John Lennon, musician (1940-1980) This week's theme: Insults xanthodontous (zan-tho-DON-tuhs) adjective Having yellow teeth. [From Greek xanthos (yellow) + -odon (toothed). Earliest documented use: 1862. Also see Xanthippe https://wordsmith.org/words/xanthippe.html .] "Nary a xanthodontous smile in sight." Emme Nelson Baxter; Volunteers Deserve a Hand in Tough Times; The Tennessean; May 3, 2009. -------- Date: Thu Oct 10 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pilgarlic X-Bonus: A profound unmitigated loneliness is the only truth of life. -R.K. Narayan, writer (1906-2001) This week's theme: Insults pilgarlic (pil-GAHR-lik) noun A bald-headed person. [Literally peeled garlic, from pill (to peel) + garlic. Earliest documented use: 1529.] "With his cherubic face, big blue eyes, pilgarlic pate, steel-rimmed glasses, and shuffling gait, Horace Greeley looked more like a character out of a Dickens novel than a presidential hopeful." Paul F. Boller Jr.; Presidential Campaigns; Oxford University Press; 2004. -------- Date: Fri Oct 11 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fustilugs X-Bonus: Humanity also needs dreamers, for whom the disinterested development of an enterprise is so captivating that it becomes impossible for them to devote their care to their own material profit. Without doubt, these dreamers do not deserve wealth, because they do not desire it. Even so, a well-organized society should assure to such workers the efficient means of accomplishing their task, in a life freed from material care and freely consecrated to research. -Marie Curie, scientist, Nobel laureate (1867-1934) This week's theme: Insults fustilugs (FUS-ti-lugs) noun A fat and slovenly person. [From Middle English fusty (smelly, moldy) + lug (to carry something heavy). Earliest documented use: 1607.] "'Come on, you old fustilugs,' he called, for she wheezed and blew and mounted with difficulty." Julian Rathbone; Joseph; Little Brown; 2001. -------- Date: Mon Oct 14 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--measly X-Bonus: Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. -Dwight D. Eisenhower, US general and 34th president (1890-1969) A disease puts us at dis ease. No one looks forward to being a patient (Latin pati: to endure/suffer), but no one is immune. Young, old, rich, poor, black, or white. To be healed is to be back to being whole, literally speaking. Illness is common. It's a sign of our familiarity with the diseases that words relating to them have entered the language as metaphors. We use them in a non-medical context. This week we'll see five terms that relate to diseases. But don't worry. Words are not fomites https://wordsmith.org/words/fomites.html . You can't catch anything from these words. measly (MEE-zlee, MEEZ-lee) adjective 1. Ridiculously small or bad. 2. Infected with measles. [Initially, the word measly was used to describe a pig infected with measles, which is probably derived from Middle Dutch masel (blemish) and its spelling influenced by Middle English mesel (leprous, leprosy). Earliest documented use: 1598.] "This summer inmates in Argentina decided they would no longer accept measly payment for the jobs they do in prison." Gilding the Cage; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 17, 2013. -------- Date: Tue Oct 15 00:01:05 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--anemic X-Bonus: The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently. -Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900) This week's theme: Words from diseases anemic (uh-NEEM-ik) adjective 1. Lacking vitality, strength, or colorfulness. 2. Suffering from anemia. [From anemia (a condition in which one has a reduced number of red blood cells or hemoglobin), from Greek an- (without) + haima (blood). Earliest documented use: 1839. The word anemious https://wordsmith.org/words/anemious.html is entirely different.] "You don't have much of a life ... you have to admit your social life is a bit anemic." Robin Kaye; Wild Thing; Sourcebooks; 2011. -------- Date: Wed Oct 16 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sclerotic X-Bonus: Every saint has a past and every sinner a future. -Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900) This week's theme: Words from diseases sclerotic (skluh-ROT-ik) adjective 1. Hard, rigid, slow to adapt or respond. 2. Relating to or affected with sclerosis, an abnormal hardening of a tissue or part. 3. Of or relating to the sclera, the white fibrous outer layer of the eyeball. [From Greek skleros (hard). Earliest documented use: 1543.] "It was getting to be late in the afternoon, and the traffic was crabby and sclerotic." Miss Wyoming; Douglas Coupland; Random House; 2000. "This group decided that if the government bureaucracy had grown so sclerotic, it was time for a small, professional group of private citizens to give attention to delicate problems of the world." Gene Coyle; Diamonds and Deceit; AuthorHouse; 2011. -------- Date: Thu Oct 17 00:01:04 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cancerous X-Bonus: If the rich could hire someone else to die for them, the poor would make a wonderful living. -Jewish proverb This week's theme: Words from diseases cancerous (KAN-suh-ruhs) adjective 1. Having a harmful, uncontrolled growth. 2. Of or relating to cancer: a malignant growth or tumor. [From Latin cancer (crab, tumor, cancer). Canker/cankerous are from the same root. Earliest documented use: 1425.] "The hope implicit in technology's potential to improve the world is balanced here by a cancerous downside that eats holes in the fabric of modern relationships." Gordon Farrer; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Oct 3, 2013. -------- Date: Fri Oct 18 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pestilent X-Bonus: What I like in a good author isn't what he says, but what he whispers. -Logan Pearsall Smith, essayist (1865-1946) This week's theme: Words from diseases pestilent (PES-tl-uhnt) adjective 1. Deadly. 2. Infectious. 3. Harming peace, morals, etc. 4. Annoying. [From Latin pestis (plague). Earliest documented use: 1613.] NOTES: Here's a word that has a full range of meanings from merely annoying to deadly. But that's usually not a problem. In language, context is king. "All the while, I stayed away from the pestilent Win8 and clunked along on my terminally-ill Pavilion laptop with Vista." Darrell Norman; Cry for Help From Behind Enemy Lines; The Gadsden Times (Alabama); Sep 13, 2013. "Heroism by order, senseless violence, and all the pestilent nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how I hate them!" Albert Einstein; The World As I See It; 1949. -------- Date: Mon Oct 21 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tumid X-Bonus: Hundreds of hysterical persons must confuse these phenomena with messages from the beyond and take their glory to the bishop rather than the eye doctor. -James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961) I love words. It's something I gave up my career in software for. Every morning when I wake up I can't wait to begin exploring words and writing about them. I've been doing that for nearly 20 years and wouldn't want to do anything else. That said, there are times when I feel I have to be ready to feed this beast -- A.Word.A.Day -- week after week after week. It opens its hungry maw every Monday and I'd better be ready with another serving of juicy, delicious words. I do my best to come up with new recipes, new arrangements, new flavors. There are times, however, when I just have to reach into my grab-bag of loose words and offer them while I think of a new topic. It's one of those weeks. Enjoy this medley of words while I get back to the word lab, putting finishing touches to next week's material. tumid (TOO-mid, TYOO-) adjective 1. Swollen. 2. Bulging. 3. Pompous, bombastic. [From Latin tumere (to swell). Earliest documented use: 1541.] "Her tumid eyes filled with tears and she began to cry." Joseph Heller; Catch-22; Simon & Schuster; 1961. "Think of all the suits in marketing, communications, and public relations who clog up the institutional arteries with their tumid prose and clichéd sound bites." Blaise Cronin; Bloomington Days; AuthorHouse; 2012. -------- Date: Tue Oct 22 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--primogeniture X-Bonus: Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. -Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman (1561-1626) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words primogeniture (pry-muh-JEN-i-chuhr, pree-, -choor) noun 1. The state of being the firstborn or eldest child in a family. 2. The right of succession and inheritance belonging to the firstborn child. [From Latin primus (first) + gignere (to beget). Not to be confused with primogenitor https://wordsmith.org/words/primogenitor.html . Earliest documented use: 1500.] "Primogeniture! I remembered that, from History 1A. But to hear of this law in reality, in this century, struck me. How could they give all this to one child, leaving the other three without?" Marjorie Leet Ford; The Diary of an American Au Pair; Anchor Books; 2011. -------- Date: Wed Oct 23 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--recidivism X-Bonus: You've got to have something to eat and a little love in your life before you can hold still for any damn body's sermon on how to behave. -Billie Holiday, jazz singer and songwriter (1915-1959) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words recidivism (ri-SID-uh-viz-ehm) noun Relapsing (into smoking, crime, etc.), especially repeatedly. [From Latin re- (again) + cadere (to fall). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kad- (to fall), which is also the source of cadence, cascade, casualty, cadaver, chance, chute, accident, occident, decay, and casuistry https://wordsmith.org/words/casuistry.html . Earliest documented use: 1884.] "'A person is counted in the recidivism rate if he or she reoffends within two years after being discharged', Ms Panapasa said." Ioane Burese; Recidivism Rate Drops; The Fiji Times (Suva); Oct 29, 2011. -------- Date: Thu Oct 24 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mien X-Bonus: The vine that has grown old on an old tree falls with the ruin of that tree and through that bad companionship must perish with it. -Leonardo da Vinci, painter, engineer, musician, and scientist (1452-1519) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words mien (meen) noun Appearance, bearing, or demeanor. [Probably a shortened form of demean (to conduct oneself in a specified manner), influenced by French mine (appearance). Earliest documented use: 1522.] "Everyone Nanako Coates greets walks away smiling. But beyond that exuberant, youthful mien is a seasoned veteran with years of professional experience in the restaurant business." Eizo Kobayashi; Daughter Follows in Family's Culinary Tradition; Oakland Tribune (California); Sep 17, 2013. -------- Date: Fri Oct 25 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--autochthonous X-Bonus: It is kindness immediately to refuse what you intend to deny. -Publilius Syrus, writer (c. 1st century BCE) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words autochthonous (o-TOK-thuh-nuhs) adjective 1. Aboriginal; indigenous. 2. Formed or originating in the place where found. [From Greek autochthon (of the land itself), from auto- (self) + chthon (earth, land). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dhghem- (earth), which also sprouted human, homicide, humble, homage, chamomile, exhume, inhume https://wordsmith.org/words/inhume.html, chthonic https://wordsmith.org/words/chthonic.html , disinter https://wordsmith.org/words/disinter.html , chameleonic https://wordsmith.org/words/chameleonic.html , and Persian zamindar (landholder). Earliest documented use: 1804. The opposite of this term is allochthonous https://wordsmith.org/words/allochthonous.html .] "As if this were a holy place, a shrine where the autochthonous tribes had gathered to worship." T.C. Boyle; The Women; Viking; 2009. -------- Date: Mon Oct 28 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pecksniffian X-Bonus: Journalist Ed Murrow: "Who owns the patent on this vaccine?" Jonas Salk: "Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?" -Jonas Salk, medical researcher and developer of polio vaccine (1914-1995) Plot, characterization, and dialog, these are some of the many ingredients that make up a work of fiction. If you come up with the right name for your characters your work may seem half done. It's an art to name one's "babies", and this week's words illustrate that. We've picked characters from Dickens, Shakespeare, and other writers who chose colorful names for their memorable creations. It's a testament to their naming that these words have become words in the English language. This week we'll see five eponyms: words derived from a person's name. pecksniffian (pek-SNIF-ee-uhn) adjective Pretending to have high moral principles; sanctimonious, hypocritical. [After Seth Pecksniff, a character in Charles Dickens's novel Martin Chuzzlewit. Earliest documented use: 1844.] NOTES: Charles Dickens describes Pecksniff like this: "Some people likened him to a direction-post, which is always telling the way to a place, and never goes there." Seth Pecksniff https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pecksniffian_large.jpg Image: NYPL http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e2-1c34-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 "She said, 'Davis, stop being such a Pecksniffian stuffed shirt.'" Jay Inman; Sunigin; WestBow Press; 2012. "In the meantime, the pecksniffian French consul was feigning indignation." Bob Stockton; Fighting Bob; AuthorHouse; 2011. -------- Date: Tue Oct 29 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--smellfungus X-Bonus: What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784) This week's theme: Eponyms smellfungus (smel-FUNG-uhs) noun A habitual faultfinder or complainer. [After Smelfungus, a hypercritical character in Laurence Sterne's 1768 novel, A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy. Earliest documented use: 1807.] Tobias Smollett, inspiration behind Smellfungus https://wordsmith.org/words/images/smellfungus_large.jpg Art: Nathaniel Dance-Holland, ca. 1764 NOTES: Novelist Laurence Sterne modeled his character Smelfungus after traveler and author Tobias Smollett who complained about almost everything in his 1766 travel book Travels through France and Italy. Here's how Sterne describes Smelfungus: "The learned Smelfungus travelled from Boulogne to Paris, from Paris to Rome, and so on; but he set out with the spleen and jaundice, and every object he pass'd by was discoloured or distorted. He wrote an account of them, but 'twas nothing but the account of his miserable feelings." "And a couple of smellfungus from the Official Paper ... carped that Issel chose to jump when the schedule reached its toughest stretch." Woody Paige; Issel is the Wrong Scapegoat in Nuggets' Mess; Denver Post; Feb 13, 1995. -------- Date: Wed Oct 30 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--falstaffian X-Bonus: The only thing one can give an artist is leisure in which to work. To give an artist leisure is actually to take part in his creation. -Ezra Pound, poet (1885-1972) This week's theme: Eponyms Falstaffian (fal-STAF-ee-uhn) adjective Fat, jolly, and convivial. [After Sir John Falstaff, a character in Shakespeare's plays Henry IV (parts 1 & 2) and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Earliest documented use: 1809.] Falstaff with big wine jar and cup https://wordsmith.org/words/images/falstaffian_large.jpg Art: Eduard von Grützner, 1896 "His hair was long and scruffy, his ties ludicrous and his manner jovial bordering on Falstaffian; a board meeting, for him, was a debate, punctuated by gales of his maniacal laughter." Obituary: John Harvey-Jones; The Economist (London, UK); Jan 17, 2008. -------- Date: Thu Oct 31 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--milquetoast X-Bonus: Poetry should please by a fine excess and not by singularity. It should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost as a remembrance. -John Keats, poet (1795-1821) This week's theme: Eponyms milquetoast (MILK-tohst) noun A timid, unassertive person. [After Caspar Milquetoast, a comic strip character by H.T. Webster (1885-1952). A synonym of the word is milksop. Earliest documented use: 1932.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/milquetoast_large.jpg Image: Wikimedia "Martin Oberman: This is a very tough place. You can't be a milquetoast." Peter Slevin; Testing Rahm; The Washington Post; Sep 13, 2012.