A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Nov 1 00:01:21 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--neanderthal X-Bonus: May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof (White House). -John Adams, 2nd US President, and the first one to live in the White House (1735-1826) Neanderthal (nee-AN-duhr-thol) adjective, also Neandertal 1. Of, or pertaining to Neanderthal man, a member of an extinct subspecies of Homo sapiens who lived in caves in Europe and the Mediterranean 100,000 to 30,000 years ago. 2. Boorish, uncivilized. noun 1. Neanderthal man. 2. An unenlightened or uncouth man. [After Neanderthal (literally, Neander valley) in western Germany near Düsseldorf, where bones of a Neanderthal man were first discovered in 1856. In 1904 German spelling was regularized so Thal became Tal.] "Formula One racing is unique for its Neanderthal attitude to everything female." Janet Street-Porter; What is it About Men and Cars?; The Mercury (Durban, South Africa); Jul 13, 2004. "Is hi-tech bad for us? What are you, some kind of Neanderthal? How would we ever cope with the modern era without technology?" Vikas Singh; Is the Hi-tech World Laying Us Low?; The Times of India (New Delhi); Jul 3, 2004. No matter where we stand on earth, we can all enjoy an equally wondrous view of the stars. Yet the age-old wisdom tells us there are three important things to look for when the aim is to call a few yards of this land ours: location, location, location. And location is what we want to pay attention to when it comes to this week's words, for they all came from the names of locations. They're known as toponyms, words derived from places. Whether it's when we drink champagne (from Champagne, France), make a solecism (after Soloi, an Athenian colony in Cilicia), or when we meet our Waterloo (Waterloo, Belgium) we are (perhaps unknowingly) alluding to a distant land and its history. This week's words take us on a tour of Europe. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Nov 2 00:01:11 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--zabernism X-Bonus: What you do is of little significance; but it is very important that you do it. -Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) zabernism (ZAB-uhr-niz-uhm) noun The misuse of military power; aggression; bullying. [After Zabern, German name for Saverne, a village in Alsace, France. In 1912, in this village, a German military officer killed a lame cobbler who smiled at him.] "Both countries have been slaves to Kruppism and Zabernism--because they were sovereign and free! So it will always be. So long as patriotic cant can keep the common man jealous of international controls over his belligerent possibilities, so long will he be the helpless slave of the foreign threat, and 'Peace' remain a mere name for the resting phase between wars." H.G. Wells; In The Fourth Year: Anticipations of a World Peace; 1918. And what is Kruppism? It's an eponym, coined after Alfred Krupp (1812-1887), German industrialist and armament manufacturer. It implies indiscriminate trade in arms and war profiteering. This week's theme: toponyms (words derived from the names of places). -------- Date: Wed Nov 3 01:31:15 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--macedoine X-Bonus: No matter how far you have gone on the wrong road, turn back. -Turkish proverb macedoine (mas-i-DWAN) noun 1. A mixture of diced fruits or vegetables, often served as salad, appetizer, or dessert. 2. A medley or mixture. [From French macédoine, from Macédoine (Macedonia), apparently an allusion to the diversity of people in the region.] "So in her own home -- where raspberries and tiny fraises des bois grow in the garden -- a frequent dessert is an artless salad or macedoine of cut-up fruit, such as peaches, nectarines or apricots, with a few berries thrown into the mix." Karola Saekel; Alice Waters' Newest Showcases Fresh Fruit; San Francisco Chronicle; May 8, 2002. "There are similar impulses in Art Nouveau Bing, the English Aesthetic and American Arts and Crafts movements, the Vienna Secession -- and the style moderne of Czarist Russia, which mixed them all together in a macedoine." Margo Miller; The Man Who Made Art Nouveau; Boston Globe; Sep 11, 1987. This week's theme: toponyms (words derived from the names of places). -------- Date: Thu Nov 4 00:01:15 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cilice X-Bonus: The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. -Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970) cilice (SIL-is) noun 1. An undergarment of haircloth, worn by monks in penance. 2. Haircloth. [From Old English cilic, from Latin cilicium, from Greek kilikion, from kilikios (Cilician). This cloth was originally made of Cilician goats' hair. Cilicia was an ancient region in southeast Asia Minor which later became part of the Roman Empire. It's now part of southern Turkey.] No more hairy undergarments now -- modern cilices are usually made of wires and studded with spikes. Another word that came from the same region is solecism (an error). It's derived from the name of Soloi, a city in Cilicia. "Wearing the cilice, (Louise) Heil said, helps people learn to care less about their own comfort and more about helping other people." David Holley; Founder of Opus Dei Becomes Newest Saint; The Los Angeles Times; Oct 7, 2002. "He (Silas) wears a cilice, a thong that cuts flesh, around his thigh, and he flagellates himself bloody as part of a self-purification cult in accordance to Opus Dei guidelines." Joseph P Szimhart; Fact, Fiction, and Strained Symbolism; Skeptical Inquirer (Amherst, New York); May 2004. This week's theme: toponyms (words derived from the names of places). -------- Date: Fri Nov 5 00:01:29 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--corinthian X-Bonus: Patience is also a form of action. -Auguste Rodin, sculptor (1840-1917) corinthian (kuh-RIN-thee-uhn) adjective 1. Of, or pertaining to the Greek city of Corinth. 2. Of, or relating to the Corinthian order, one of the five classical orders of building design. 3. Highly ornate. 4. Licentious or luxurious. noun 1. A native or inhabitant of Corinth. 2. A profligate or licentious person. 3. A wealthy amateur, especially an amateur yachtsman. [From Latin Corinthius, from Greek Korinthios. After Corinth, a city in Greece, one of the richest and most powerful in ancient Greece.] "Scenic designer Paul Shortt's Corinthian columns and classical motif provided a suitable and efficient backdrop for the action." David Abrams; Near-perfect 'Otello' Needs 'Moor'; The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York); Oct 23, 2004. "The Corinthian spirit which marked out the extreme ironing pioneers has inevitably been diluted in the cash-rich commercial era." Alex Galbinski; NSPCC Steam in to Flatten the Opposition; Barnet and Potters Bar Times (Hendon, UK); Oct 20, 2004. This week's theme: toponyms (words derived from the names of places). -------- Date: Mon Nov 8 00:01:11 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--prelude X-Bonus: Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven. -Rabindranath Tagore, poet, philosopher, author, songwriter, painter, educator, composer, Nobel laureate (1861-1941) prelude (PREL-yood, PRAYL-, PRAY-lood, PREE-) noun 1. An introductory event, performance, or action preceding something more important. 2. A musical section, overture, etc. serving as introduction to the main composition, opera, play, etc. verb tr., intr. To serve as an introduction to something. [From Medieval Latin praeludium, from Latin praeludere (to play beforehand), from prae- (pre-) + ludere (to play). Ultimately from Indo-European root leid- (to play) that is also the ancestor of words such as allude, collude, delude, elude, illusion, and ludicrous.] "While the main vascular congress will begin on November 4, a continuing medical education programme aimed at post-graduate students and junior doctors will be held on November 3 as a prelude to the conference." Kalam to Open 11th Vascular Conference; The Times of India (New Delhi); Nov 3, 2004. "Some interpreted his (Rudy Giuliani's) campaign for the Senate (forestalled by cancer and marital woes) as the prelude to a push for the presidency itself." Clinton and Giuliani Outshine the Candidates; Montreal Gazette (Canada); Oct 27, 2004. The very first car I owned was a black hatchback Volkswagen Scirocco. Before I plonked down my hard-earned graduate-school allowance for this secondhand (euphemistically also called pre-owned or pre-loved) automobile, I made sure its air-conditioning was A-OK. With a name like Scirocco (hot, dry wind), I felt I just had to. How do automakers come up with names for their cars? Some christen their models with feminine sounding names (Ford Festiva, Chevrolet Lumina), probably following the traditional way of naming boats, while others go for macho names (Mitsubishi Galant, Nissan Armada). Some prefer animal names, as a way of ascribing those qualities to their cars (Mercury Cougar, Dodge Viper, Ford Bronco). Others name their cars after places (Dodge Daytona, Chevrolet Corsica, GMC Yukon). Still others take the easy way out and use what appears to be a jumble of letters and numbers though these often indicate engine capacity or some such characteristics. Here are some interesting auto tidbits: o Camry is an anagram of "My car". o "A TOYOTA" is a palindrome, and forms a mirror image. o Chevrolet named a car Nova. In Spanish "No va" means "It doesn't go." o Then there was the unreliable Yugo which earned the nickname "You no go." o Saab is an acronym for Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Swedish Aircraft Company Ltd); BMW is Bayerische Motoren-Werke (Bavarian Motor Works). Ever wondered what your car's name means? This week we explain meanings of five auto names (Prelude is a car from Honda). -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Nov 9 00:01:17 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--caprice X-Bonus: A fly that lands on a carabao feels itself to be higher than the carabao. -Filipino proverb caprice (kuh-PREES) noun 1. A sudden, unpredictable change of mind or behavior. 2. Capriccio: a musical composition in free, irregular style. [From French, from Italian capriccio, from caporiccio (head with bristling hair), from capo (head) + riccio (hedgehog, curly) from Latin ericius (hedgehog).] "Do not deviate by following caprice." Interviews; Zaman (Istanbul, Turkey); Oct 5, 2004. "After interval there was ... Brazilian Impressions, a series of fleeting musical characterisations of the vividness of life told with the caprice and strangeness of a dream." Peter McCallum; Concerto Fantasy; Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Oct 23, 2004. This week's theme: what does that car name mean? Today's word is the name of a car from Chevrolet. There is also a car called Mercury Capri. We hope they named it after the island in Italy but one wonders if they knew that capri means goat. -------- Date: Wed Nov 10 00:01:10 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--protege X-Bonus: Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity. -Frank William Leahy, football coach (1908-1973) protege (PRO-tuh-zhay, pro-tuh-ZHAY) noun One who is protected, guided, and supported by somebody older and more experienced. [From French protégé, past participle of protéger (to protect), from Latin protegere, from pro- + tegere (cover). Ultimately from Indo-European root (s)teg- (to cover) that's the ancestor of other words such as tile, thatch, protect, detect, and toga.] "His (Bear Bryant's) protege, Schnellenberger, listened wisely." Don't Despair; Charlotte Sun (Charlotte Harbor, Florida); Nov 1, 2004. "Mentors focus on results and on people. They build on strengths and stimulate personal growth. They know what their protégé can do and challenge them to do it." Build a New Generation of Managers; Business Day (Johannesburg, South Africa); Oct 26, 2004. This week's theme: what does that car name mean? Today's word is the name of a car from Mazda. -------- Date: Thu Nov 11 00:01:13 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pinto X-Bonus: I love my country too much to be a nationalist. -Albert Camus, writer, philosopher, Nobel laureate (1913-1960) pinto (PIN-to) adjective Marked with patches of white and another color. noun 1. Pinto horse: a horse having patches of white and another color. 2. Pinto bean: a variety of kidney beans having mottled seed. [From American Spanish pinto (spotted), from obsolete Spanish, from Vulgar Latin pinctus (painted), past participle of pingere (to paint). Ultimately from Indo-European root peig- (to cut, mark) that's the source of such words as paint, depict, picture, pigment, pint, and pimento.] Here are two other words to describe horses and other animals: piebald: spotted in black and white. skewbald: marked with patches of white and another color, but not black. "A black-faced, pinto-colored horse, Panda made her Central Massachusetts debut as a guide animal Saturday at the National Education for Assistance Dog Services campus." Mary Anne Magiera; Miniature Horses Make Fine Guides; Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts); Jun 11, 2002. "Add some extra veggies to some pinto or black beans and they are pretty good." Edmund Tijerina; Canary Island Wine is Coming This Way; San Antonio Express News (Texas); Oct 12, 2004. This week's theme: what does that car name mean? Today's word is the name of a now-discontinued car from Ford. For its safety problems and the manufacturer's negligence, Pinto has become a symbol for all such products: http://motherjones.com/news/feature/1977/09/dowie.html -------- Date: Fri Nov 12 00:01:11 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tercel X-Bonus: The mind is but a barren soil; a soil which is soon exhausted, and will produce no crop, or only one, unless it be continually fertilized and enriched with foreign matter. -Joshua Reynolds, painter (1723-1792) tercel (TUR-sel) noun, also tiercel or tercelet The male of a hawk, especially of the peregrine falcon or a goshawk. [From Middle English, from Middle French terçuel, from Vulgar Latin tertiolus, diminutive of Latin tertius (third). Ultimately from Indo-European root trei- (three) that's also the source of such words as three, testify (to be the third person), triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13).] Why the sense of third in the word for a male hawk? It's either from the belief that the third egg produced a male, or from the fact that the male of hawk is one-third smaller than the female. "Adam was a 2-year-old tercel Hubbard had been working with for more than a year. The bird was acquired from a federally licensed breeder for $1,000." Rich Landers; Falconer Puzzled by Loss of Bird; Spokesman Review (Spokane, Washington); Jan 10, 1999. "On this occasion the tercel flew off after a pigeon, and though the bird was fitted with a tracking device, it disappeared." William Shaw; Bird on a Wire; The Observer (London, UK); Apr 13, 2003. This week's theme: what does that car name mean? Today's word is the name of a car from Toyota. -------- Date: Mon Nov 15 00:01:15 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sylph X-Bonus: Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. -Albert Camus, writer and philosopher (1913-1960) sylph (silf) noun 1. A slender, graceful young woman. 2. Any of a race of mythological invisible beings who inhabit air, originally described in theories of Paracelsus. [From New Latin sylpha, apparently a blend of sylva, variant of Latin silva (forest) + nymph.] "But alluring though the fitness industry looks, it is not without risks. The biggest is Britons' fond self-delusion that they are sleek sylphs." Losing a Beer Belly; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 12, 1995. "Like an ugly duckling which has blossomed into a slender sylph, the compact convertible from Stuttgart has finally added some style to a fair amount of substance." Samuel Ee; New kind of SLeeK; The Business Times (Singapore); Mar 20, 2004. A language is a river always on the move. Like pebbles in a meandering stream, words have their meanings shaped over time. The etymologies of words take us back thousands of years to our primitive selves. They tell us the core of what we were. What is a 'female'? The word comes from Latin femina (she who suckles). A 'lady' is, literally, a loaf kneader, from Old English hlaf (loaf) + dige (kneader). A 'lord', in turn, was a loaf guard. Well, we've come a long way from those olden times. Today a 'lady' may well be commanding a spacecraft instead of kneading a loaf of bread. A 'lord' may be pushing a baby-stroller instead of guarding the loaf. This week we focus on words to describe women. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Nov 16 00:01:15 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--giglet X-Bonus: Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart and his friends can only read the title. -Virginia Woolf, writer (1882-1941) giglet (GIG-lit) noun, also giglot A giddy, frolicsome girl. [From Middle English gigelot.] "See, the Ravenna giglet, Mistress Ritta." George Henry Boker; Francesca da Rimini; 1853. "O giglot fortune!--to master Caesar's sword." William Shakespeare; Cymbeline, Act 3, Scene 1. This week's theme: words to describe women. -------- Date: Wed Nov 17 00:01:12 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--milady X-Bonus: My aim is to agitate and disturb people. I'm not selling bread, I'm selling yeast. -Miguel de Unamuno, writer and philosopher (1864-1936) milady also miladi (mi-LAY-dee) noun 1. An English gentlewoman or a woman member of the aristocracy. 2. A woman of fashion. [From French, from English my lady.] "Plus, milady didn't like her hairstyle messed up." Miranda Sawyer; Clutches of the Law; Guardian (London, UK); Mar 6, 2004. "The management boasted of the flame-red 'body-form" chairs, which were guaranteed not to 'cause runs in milady's sheerest hose.'" Dan Barry; Fading To Memory, And Beyond; The New York Times; Feb 25, 2004. This week's theme: words to describe women. -------- Date: Thu Nov 18 00:01:10 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--minx X-Bonus: I knew I'd hate COBOL the moment I saw they'd used 'perform' instead of 'do'. -Larry Wall, programmer, creator of Perl programming language (1954- ) minx (mingks) noun A pert or flirtatious young woman. [Of unknown origin, perhaps from Middle Dutch or Low German.] "This innocent-looking minx had her face right up against the terrible rictal grin of Cape Town's adopted son, Marthinus van Skulkwyk." Ben Trovato; On the Run; Cape Times (Cape Town, South Africa); Feb 24, 2004. "Politics, love, and God -- it's all in there in the raps of Shawn Butler, who keeps his rhymes on the positive tip whether singing about a minx who's caught his eye or the struggles he faced while growing up in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood." Matt McGuire; Rock the Vote!; Chicago Tribune; Feb 25, 2004. This week's theme: words to describe women. -------- Date: Fri Nov 19 00:01:13 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--feme sole X-Bonus: There are books in which the footnotes or comments scrawled by some reader's hand in the margin are more interesting that the text. The world is one of these books. -George Santayana, philosopher (1863-1952) feme sole (fem sol) noun, plural femes sole A single woman, whether divorced, widowed, or never married. [From Anglo-French feme soule, from feme (woman) + soule (single).] "'The sheriff heavily pronounced, 'If she sued for divorce on the grounds of desertion -- which she could and would have done once he'd sailed off -- she would be declared feme sole and regain full control of her own property.'" Joan Druett; A Watery Grave; St. Martin's Minotaur; Oct 4, 2004. "The divorce restored Ann to the status of a feme sole with the right to own and manage her own property." Thomas E. Buckley; The Great Catastrophe of My Life: Divorce in the Old Dominion; University of North Carolina Press; Sep 1, 2002. This week's theme: words to describe women. -------- Date: Mon Nov 22 00:01:21 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--veridical X-Bonus: Books are like imprisoned souls till someone takes them down from a shelf and frees them. -Samuel Butler, writer (1835-1902) veridical (vuh-RID-i-kuhl) adjective 1. Truthful. 2. Real; corresponding to facts; representing reality. [From Latin veridicus, from verus (true) + dicere (to say).] "It's both surreal and veridical, whimsical and graphic, straightforward and sly." Charlotte O'Sullivan; Up to No Good; The Independent on Sunday (London, UK); Sep 29, 2002. "If split-brain patients are given such tests, the left hemisphere generates many false reports. But the right brain does not; it provides a much more veridical account." Michael S. Gazzaniga and John W. Karapelou; The Split Brain Revisited; Scientific American (Washington, DC); Jul 1, 1998. "Post No Bills." Have you ever seen a wall with that notice pasted on it? That reminds me of books, prospectuses, and annual reports with a "blank" page bearing the text: "This page intentionally left blank." In the same vein, this week's A Word A Day theme is intentionally left blank. Instead, I've selected a bunch of whimsical, odd, and fanciful words for us to examine this week. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Nov 23 00:20:12 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--entelechy X-Bonus: If privacy is outlawed, only outlaws will have privacy. -Phil Zimmermann, cryptographer (1954- ) entelechy (en-TEL-uh-kee) noun 1. Perfect realization as opposed to a potentiality. 2. In some philosophies, a vital force that propels one to self-fulfillment. [From Late Latin entelechia, from Greek entelecheia, from enteles (complete), from telos (end, completion) + echein (to have).] "It concerns our final end, our entelechy, the purpose of our existence, where we are going to go." Gray Henry; The First Prophet; Parabola (New York); Spring 1996. "As movies directed by ex-Star Trek actors go, it isn't nearly as jejune as, say, Leonard Nimoy's Three Men and a Baby, but neither does it possess the ambivalent entelechy of LeVar Burton's The Tiger Woods Story." Michael Atkinson; Three Woman and an Organ; The Village Voice (New York); Apr 9, 2002. This week's theme: miscellaneous words. -------- Date: Wed Nov 24 00:34:14 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--condign X-Bonus: Substitute damn every time you're inclined to write very; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. -Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910) condign (kuhn-DYN) adjective Well-deserved, appropriate. [From Middle English condigne, from Anglo French, from Latin condignus, from com- (completely) + dignus (worthy). Ultimately from Indo-European root dek- (to take, accept) that's the ancestor of other words such as deign, dignity, discipline, doctor, decorate, and docile.] "Anger is not a great human accomplishment, even when it is a condign response to events." Leon Wieseltier; The First Palestinian-Israeli War; The New Republic (Washington, DC); Apr 15, 2002. "But the 'doolally' behaviour continued and his (soldier's) superiors considered more condign punishment." Sian Busby; Shell Shock and Awe; The Times (London, UK); Aug 21, 2004. Doolally: see AWAD, May 13, 2002: https://wordsmith.org/words/doolally.html This week's theme: miscellaneous words. -------- Date: Thu Nov 25 00:01:18 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--profluent X-Bonus: The world of books is the most remarkable creation of man. Nothing else that he builds ever lasts. Monuments fall; nations perish; civilizations grow old and die out; and, after an era of darkness, new races build others. -Clarence Day, writer, (1874-1935) profluent (PROF-loo-ent) adjective Flowing smoothly; flowing in full stream. [From Middle English, from Latin profluent-, stem of profluens, present participle of profluere (to flow forth), from pro- (forth) + fluere (to flow). Ultimately from Indo-European root bhleu- (to swell or overflow), from which flow words such as affluent, influence, influenza, fluctuate, fluent, fluid, fluoride, flush, flux, reflux, and superfluous.] "Though (John) Abercrombie is advertised as a 'fusion' guitarist, his profluent style and extraordinary musicality were not diminished by the battery of electronic gadgetry." A. James Liska; Jazz Reviews: John Abercrombie; Los Angeles Times; Jun 2, 1986. "Baptizing in the profluent stream, the sign Of washing them from guilt of sin to life." John Milton; Paradise Lost: Book 12; 1665. This week's theme: miscellaneous words. -------- Date: Fri Nov 26 00:01:14 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--liniment X-Bonus: Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow -Eric S. Raymond, programmer and writer (1957- ) liniment (LIN-uh-ment) noun A liquid preparation (having camphor, alcohol, etc.) for rubbing into the skin to relieve pain or stiffness of a joint. [From Middle English, from Late Latin linimentum (ointment), from Latin linere (to smear). Ultimately from Indo-European root lei-/slei- (slimy) that's also the source of such words as slime, lime, slick, slippery, schlep, and oblivion.] "As a boy, he (Brett Kirk) remembers sitting on the change room floor beside his dad. The smell of sweat and liniment was heavy in his nostrils and he was surrounded by game-weary, sturdy country footballers and their grubby boots." Jessica Halloran; Kirk Takes Dad's Inspirational Mantra All the Way to Finals; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Sep 4, 2004. "Grills flaming behind the terrace, popcorn spewing from the kettles, barbecue sauce wafting along with stale beer and smoke, and sweating horses swabbed in pungent liniment." Cliff Guilliams; Under Our Skin, Ellis Ends Again; Evansville Courier & Press (Indiana); Sep 6, 2004. This week's theme: miscellaneous words. -------- Date: Mon Nov 29 00:01:20 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hie X-Bonus: If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them, and half as much money. -Abigail Van Buren, advice columnist (1918- ) hie (hy) verb tr., intr. To hasten; to go in a hurry. [From Middle English hien, from Old English higian (to strive).] "The other week, during our morning ritual, my phone rang and I had to rush off to answer it. Talk... talk... then followed by my other pre-work activities before finally taking a bath and hieing off to work." Stella A. Estremera; Simple Wisdom; Philippine Sun Star (Manila, Philippines); Nov 14, 2004. "Aniston reportedly hied out of town to meet hubby Brad Pitt in Little Rock, Ark." Michael Sneed; The Rice Report; Chicago Sun-Times; Nov 18, 2004. Has a brief quote you read somewhere ever made you think more than you would have thought after spending several weeks with a heavy tome? Perhaps that's what Friedrich Nietzsche had in mind when he said, "It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book." In this spirit, we'll feature five short yet potent words this week. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Nov 30 00:01:15 EST 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vet X-Bonus: There's a schizoid quality to our relationship with animals, in which sentiment and brutality exist side by side. Half the dogs in America will receive Christmas presents this year, yet few of us pause to consider the miserable life of the pig -- an animal easily as intelligent as a dog -- that becomes the Christmas ham. -Michael Pollan, professor and writer (1955- ) vet (vet) verb tr. 1. To examine: to check for validity, accuracy or authenticity. 2. To subject to veterinary care. noun Veterinarian; veterinary. [Shortening of veterinarian.] noun Veteran: a soldier, especially one who has fought in a war. [Shortening of veteran.] Why is it that to doctor a document is to falsify it, but to vet it is to check it for its accuracy? "Commonwealth Press Union New Zealand chairman Gavin Ellis said 'the suggestion that journalists should give up their copy to judges for vetting is totally unacceptable.'" Judge Says Checks on Journalists Won't Be Abused; New Zealand Herald (Auckland); Nov 12, 2004. "The bills will then be sent to India's finance and law ministries to be vetted before being put before the president for his approval." India on Track For Biggest Tax Revamp; Gulf Daily News (Bahrain); Nov 3, 2004. This week's theme: short words.