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Jun 1, 2025
This week’s themeWhose what? This week’s words Aaron’s rod chef’s kiss rat’s nest devil’s tattoo Adam’s ale How popular are they? Relative usage over time AWADmail archives Index Next week’s theme Words with movie connections ![]() keeps on giving, all year long: A gift subscription of A.Word.A.Day or the gift of books ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() AWADmail Issue 1196A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and LanguageSponsor’s Message: “Scrabble on steroids, with a thieving twist.” One Up! -- where stealing is the name of the game. “My daily dose of dopamine.” A wicked smart anytime gift. Game on! From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) Subject: Interesting stories from the Net The Good Grammar Scam The Web of Language Permalink How a Booker Prize-Winning Work From India Redefined Translation The New York Times Permalink From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) Subject: Apostrophe This week’s theme of apostrophe brought a flood of responses. Here’s a selection.
I say Richards’. Why? Because that’s what my (late) Mom would say. Mom
was The Apostrophe Queen. Even in her last years, when dementia had dulled
her faculties significantly, she would spot and deplore out loud any
misplaced apostrophe on a restaurant menu, shop awning, or sign. Debate
all you want, but Mom rules. -Ellen D. Murphy, Portland, Maine (radochas gmail.com)
As an English composition and medical punctuation workshop instructor, I
always taught that if adding an apostrophe does NOT add another pronounced
syllable, then simply add the apostrophe with no following ‘s’: in, say,
the phrase “Mary Richards’ popularity”, “Richards’” is usually
pronounced as just two syllables; same with “Lizzie’s popularity”.
But if adding an apostrophe DOES add another pronounced syllable, then
follow the apostrophe with an ‘s’: “Liz’s popularity”, “Christmas’s
popularity”. Of course, people -- and contexts -- don’t always agree whether or not adding an apostrophe (especially to a z-sound-ending noun) adds a new pronounced syllable: “Jesus’s life” vs. “in Jesus’ name”. It seemed to help my students if I gleefully jammed, into one example sentence, illustrations of the bothersome point: “Richard’s and Chris’s shared goal was to emulate Mary Richards’ iconic TV smile -- a goal that all the Richards and Chrises and wannabe Mary Richardses of the world might enjoy; but perplexed by their memories of past Christmases and by Christmas’s continuing popularity, Richard and Chris were not sure about Jesus’s vs. Santa Claus’s smiles.” -Mary E. Knatterud, Minneapolis, Minnesota (knattm3 gmail.com)
It can’t be simply “Richard”, because that’s actually dropping a letter
of his name. It can’t be Richards with no apostrophe, because that calls for “the” in front to make it a qualifier rather than a possessive: “the Richards legacy”. That leaves Richards’ as you used it or Richards’s. In my view, the governing principle here, evolved through common usage, is how it rolls off the tongue when there’s already an s sound at the end. Roger Maris’s legacy is a home run record that lasted over 60 years. Extra s, si! Fred Mertz’s legacy is as an iconic supporting character for Lucy Ricardo. Extra s, si! [He] revived the Society to carry [on] Richards’s legacy. Extra s, no! The first s being preceded by a d is converted to a z sound, making two separate z sounds in a row when the possessive apostrophe s is added. Too hard to say in a multi-syllable word, doesn’t sound right. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
What became known as the greengrocer’s apostrophe was seen in signs outside
greengrocers’ shops in England when I lived there in the sixties. Ripe tomatoe’s three shillings a pound Cheap banana’s Juicy orange’s You’ve no idea what a fight I had with Grammarly (to fix three errors press tab) to leave those three apostrophes alone. -Barbara Bushby, Longmont, Colorado (bushmikk gmail.com)
Some of us will always need apostrophes. -Sandy D’Amato, Memphis, Tennessee (sdamato100 aol.com)
Here’s a rule breaker for you: Harris’s hawk: There is also Harris’s antelope squirrel, which, being proper names, didn’t change with the grammatical times. Perhaps you can identify when the grammar powers decided to drop the s after an apostrophe. Regarding Aaron’s rod, which sounds like a teenage description of a body part, I have most often seen and heard it described as the staff of Aaron. I depicted a flowering version for a tallit I created for a client descended from Aaron. -Beth Surdut, Santa Fe, New Mexico (info bethsurdut.com)
I’m a longtime subscriber, also from Seattle. In 2015 I moved to London,
to the Angel neighborhood in the Islington borough. I was walking
through Camden Passage a few years back, and looked up to see a plaque
commemorating
Alexander Cruden, who died there in 1770. I looked him up, and this man
was hilarious: He would walk around London with a sponge and paintbrush,
and “fix” incorrect signs (including wrong apostrophes, but also things he
found “morally incorrect”). He was also legitimately insane. I love history. -Denise Jo, London, UK (dj.jonestown gmail.com)
The US Board on Geographic Names abhors the apostrophe. The Massachusetts
offshore island Martha’s Vineyard is a rare exception. The deletion
of apostrophes from existing place names created a few oddities, like a
hamlet on the East Branch Delaware River in New York known as Fishs Eddy. I
suspect that the location may have originally been named for the prominent
19th-century New York politician Hamilton Fish or a member of his family,
rather than for any aquatic creature found in the river. -Charlie O’Reilly, Dunedin, Florida (charliez0726 gmail.com)
As you note it’s also about when to resist the urge to make something
possessive: leave the apostrophes out! Here in Maine and New Hampshire two
examples come to mind from when visitors feel the need to insert them where
they don’t belong. The body of water off Mount Desert Island/Bar Harbor,
ME, is Frenchman Bay, not Frenchman’s. And if you visit Mt. Washington
and want a challenging hike, try Tuckerman Ravine, not Tuckerman’s! Either
way, enjoy the vistas for the vista’s sake ;-) -Chuck Dinsmore, Damariscotta, Maine (salamanderdoc gmail.com)
Indeed, in the German language, there are no apostrophes. Just the s.
So, as you wrote below, context is king. -John Lavallee, Munich, Germany (john.lavallee tdsynnex.com)
In my (former English teacher’s) view, we’d be much better off without
the apostrophe used to indicate possession. We did without it till three
or four centuries ago, our sister language German has lived happily enough
without it (although, God knows, German should have shed declensions when
English did) and, best of all, we’d get rid of those extraneous apostrophes
having nothing to do with possession that people insert in plurals. -Richard K. Cross, Bethesda, Maryland (rcross umd.edu)
I vote for dropping the apostrophe altogether. The reason is that the
Scandinavian languages do quite well without it. They use the S as a
possessive indicator with no problems. -Robert Graziani, Sugar Land, Texas (rgraziani mac.com)
If memory serves, Bernard Shaw used no apostrophes. -Cynthia Hood, Sherman Oaks, California (cynthiahood mac.com)
Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, NY, used to
be called Proctor’s Theatre. They dropped the apostrophe, maybe when
“www.” entered our lives? You would have to check with them on their
history. They are clearly sentimental about it, though. The cafe in the
theatre lobby is called The Apostrophe. -Kathryn Reinhardt, Willsboro, New York (kathryn.reinhardt gmail.com)
I believe no apostrophes worked for Cormac McCarthy. It took a few pages
to adapt to his punctuation style
but then, as an English teacher, I found it liberating. -Tim Milhorn, Chico, California (tim.milhorn yahoo.com)
It is often said that apostrophes to denote possession are not needed. That
is more than 90% true. But not 100%. Look at these examples: Why should we give American taxpayers’ money as freebies? Changes in the health service have made doctors’ work harder. The apostrophe serves much the same purpose as a road sign announcing that the shopping centre is away to the left: though the sign changes nothing, the centre being where it is, sign or no sign, it is helpful. -G. Taylor, Lasswade, Scotland (krapserves aol.com)
It would be sacrilege to dishonor the Dominican nuns of my youth. Long
live the apostrophe! -James Mason, Albuquerque, New Mexico (beryberygood yahoo.com)
North Queensland is the place to go for apostrophes, there are more per
square mile than anywhere else on the planet. All plurals are automatically
decorated with an apostrophe before the final ‘s’, as is the word
‘it’s’ when it is a possessive not a contraction. One sees them
everywhere, and not just on shop signs, in store windows, hospitals and
supermarkets -- I have even seen them liberally sprinkled over the text
of the prospectus for an expensive private school. -Frances Gillespie, Fortingall, UK (frandavidgill outlook.com)
My friend recently told me of a sentence they have in English class
illustrating the importance of the apostrophe.
“There is a difference (small but vital) between a business that knows
its sh*t and a business that knows it’s sh*t.” -Otto Muller, South Africa (otto1muller gmail.com)
More years ago than I will admit to, a controversy arose in The Sydney
Morning Herald about the Mens (the toilet for males) in Sydney’s Hyde Park. Should it have an
apostrophe? I believed that it should, and I suggested that one be taken from
the Ladie’s Hairdresser in the Sydney suburb of Lewisham. Unfortunately,
the whole controversy made no impression at all. Both sorts of error are
more common than they were back then. -Grant Agnew, Brisbane, Australia (ggttwwaa gmail.com)
My contention is that the apostrophe (in English, at least) should be treated
on a par with the letters of the alphabet; it’s part of the spelling of
certain words, operating at word level rather than, as punctuation does,
at sentence level. -Dave Erickson, San Jose, California (daveeee sbcglobal.net)
The apostrophe is needed to transliterate those languages (such as
Hawaiian) that have distinct, language-specific phonemes that are
represented by it. The glottal stop is such a phoneme and is very common
in Hawaiian. Actually the name of the island is Hawai’i, although in the
written language the actual sign used is a reversed apostrophe. As I write,
Kilauea is erupting from (what I assume) is its main vent, called pu’u
‘o’o. Pick the apostrophes out of that! -Michael Poxon, Norwich, UK (and sometime briefly Hawaiian resident) (mikethestarman gmail.com)
From Shropshire Star:
Apostrophes are now banned from new street names in Cambridge -- amid fears
they would be too confusing. The decision to outlaw all punctuation from
new road names has been branded “deplorable” and condemned as “pandering
to the lowest denominator”, especially in a city renowned for learning
-John Craw, Glenford, Ohio (thecrawh gmail.com)
From: Heinrich Moser (henry moser.au) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--rat’s nest Western Australia has its very own rat’s nest, Rottnest Island approximately 19 kms off the coast from Fremantle, so named because the Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh mistook a local marsupial for rats. They are, in fact, quokkas who in recent times have become insta-famous by having their selfies taken with the odd celebrity (e.g. Roger Federer). Heinrich Moser, Shenton Park, Australia
Email of the Week -- Brought to you buy One Up! -- Perfectly horrible family fun.
From: Kenneth Kirste (kkkirste sbcglobal.net) Subject: Rat’s nest When I saw rat’s nest as meaning a confused mess, it brought a smile to my lips as my mother’s term for this was a hurraw’s nest. I’d never thought about the origin of the phrase as it was too clear from the context that she was quite angry with me when she’d say something like, “Clean up your room. It looks like a Hurraw’s Nest!” It was several years after her death when I stumbled upon a photograph of a heron’s nest and the penny dropped that this was a term my mother either misheard or misunderstood. I laughed out loud at my discovery. But my joy disappeared when I realized I had no one to share my insight about the root of my mother’s puzzling expression because my parents, brother, and sister were all dead. That is until this week, when I was afforded an opportunity to share this story with the AWAD readership. Ken Kirste, Sunnyvale, California From: Paul Glover (pglover bulkley.net) Subject: Apostrophes, and rat’s nests I have a collection of quotes, and one of them is by Nan Parati, as below:
Many years ago while working at a market, I saw where a clerk had
written a sign reading: “Bagel’s 50 cents”. I said to him, “We sell
‘Bagels’ as a plural, not as a possessive. There shouldn’t be an
apostrophe!” To which he haughtily replied, “I went to a Catholic
school. We didn’t have bagels.” -Nan Parati Here are two examples of rat’s nest wiring from a trip to Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2008.
Paul Glover, Smithers, Canada From: Paul Castaldi (paulcast55 verizon.net) Subject: Devil’s tattoo The “devil’s tattoo” may remind Seinfeld fans of an episode (video, 1 min.) featuring the “jimmy legs”, aka restless legs syndrome (RLS). It’s also known as Willis-Ekbom Disease, a neurological disorder causing a strong, irresistible urge to move the legs, often accompanied by uncomfortable sensations. Paul Castaldi, Havertown, Pennsylvania From: Simon Done (simondone999 yahoo.co.uk) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--Adam’s ale A slightly old UK term is corporation pop, pop being soda and corporation being municipal, sounding fancy but just being water. Simon Done, Kendal, UK From: Michael Poxon (mikethestarman gmail.com) Subject: Adnams ale No, that’s not a typo! Not far from me, in Southwold (Suffolk) there is a long-established local brewer of ‘real ale’, Adnams, who have been making beer long before the real ale trend began. Michael Poxon, Norwich, UK From: James Bovis (jpbovis annapolis.gov) Subject: Adam’s ale I have been a water treatment plant operator for 30+ years and until today had never heard of Adam’s ale. This is why I love and contribute to A.Word.A.Day. Funnily enough, I work with a fellow named Adam. Of course, I will share this term with him. Tonight instead of having a whiskey with Branch Water, I will have a whiskey with an Adam’s Ale chaser. James P. Bovis, Superintendent Annapolis Water Plant, Annapolis, Maryland From: Henry M. Willis (hmw ssdslaw.com) Subject: Adam’s ale There are lots of Biblical passages that praise water (Amos 5:24, Isaiah 12:3, Isaiah 44:3, to pick just a few) but a French poet (and soldier, diplomat, historian, and politician) chose instead to invoke scripture in order to condemn the drinking of water while praising wine:
Tous les méchants sont buveurs d’eau: C’est bien prouvé par le déluge Louis-Philippe, Comte de Ségur (1753-1830) (The wicked are all drinkers of water -- as is demonstrated by the Flood) The entire poem is worth a read. Henry Willis, Los Angeles, California From: Will Hobbs (willhobbs01 hotmail.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--Adam’s ale This term reminds me of a term I heard from a trucker. I asked him what he was hauling and he replied, “Sailboat fuel,” which turned out to be air, i.e., his truck was empty. Will Hobbs, Depoe Bay, Oregon From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com) Subject: rat’s nest and chef’s kiss To counter the assertion that Trump’s unscripted, meandering speeches exhibit a mishmash of incoherent thoughts, a veritable stream of unconsciousness, Trump came up with his concept of “the weave”, claiming that all his rambling nonsense somehow comes together into one big beautiful coherent message... NOT! Chef Roberto, renowned for his creative Italian culinary flair, deems his latest batch of minestrone soup up to his high standards... perfecto! However, his friend begs to differ. Perhaps he got distracted and added too much salt, or an excess of garlic? Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California From: Sophie Brudenell-Bruce (sophibruce aol.com) subject: Adam’s ale and Chef’s kiss
Anagrams
Make your own anagrams and animations. Limericks Aaron’s rod The brothers had heeded their God: To Pharaoh they took Aaron’s rod. This powerful stick Did more than one trick! Egyptians then oohed and they aahed. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) “Checks and balances? No, sharin’s odd; I am Trump, and I wield Aaron’s rod. At my feet the whole world Many billions has hurled; In gold sneakers I’ll have Barron shod.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) chef’s kiss Excuse me for commenting, Miss, But your dress truly is a chef’s kiss. It has je ne sais quoi. But please don’t wear a bra. Then I’ll surely be living in bliss. -Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com) “This dish is delish!” I declare. “I love the desserts you prepare.” I give a chef’s kiss To indicate this -- “Now pass me another eclair.” -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) He said, “I just love that young miss. With such a great girl, you’ll find bliss. She’s smart, and she’s funny. The fact she’s got money, Is certainly just a chef’s kiss. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) Said Donald, “There’s something amiss; At my edicts the courts always hiss. To my Stalinist credo It’s only Alito And Thomas who give a chef’s kiss.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) rat’s nest My whole wardrobe fits me to a tee. This, I think, all can easily see. But I have to confess, That my house is a mess. It’s a rat’s nest. Unseen, but by me. -Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com) His collection of junk has grown vast; It’s amazing just what he’s amassed! Some people, I guess, Can live with a mess, But his rat’s nest leaves neighbors aghast. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) “My life has become a rat’s nest,” Said Lucrezia, “due to incεst. But my dad is the pope, So there’s reason to hope That my critics will give it a rest.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) devil’s tattoo I get nervous when I’m in the loo And can’t do what I went there to do. So, I sit there and think And tap on my sink A woebegone devil’s tattoo. -Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com) He is tapping a devil’s tattoo, But his boredom his Mom will pooh-pooh. “Why don’t you go play?” She’s likely to say, “Or I’ll find you some chores you could do.” -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) Have you heard of a devil’s tattoo? Well, you should have because, my friend, you Are tapping your finger ‘In tune’ with that singer. Oh gosh, I am doing it too! -Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com) In a library it is so true, Don’t engage in a devil’s tattoo. If your noise breaks the hush, They will ask you to shush. For to rap on the table’s taboo. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) While tapping a devil’s tattoo, Young Brutus let out an “Achoo!”, Yet despite his bad cold Stabbed his mentor of old. Queried Caesar while falling, “Et tu?” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Adam’s ale In the Garden of Eden all hail The bev’rage that’s always on sale. It goes for a song, So you’ll never go wrong With a bottle of iced Adam’s ale. -Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com) Whenever he hiked on that trail, From streams he would drink Adam’s ale. But wise this was not; Diseases he got, With symptoms I shall not detail. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) There’s a pump on a street in the city. It’s useful, but not very pretty. It bears a cute sign “Adam’s Ale -- sure beats wine!” That gets down to the ol’ nitty gritty! -Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com) “Though to drink there is just Adam’s ale, Don’t eat apples, and joy will prevail,” Said the Lord. “In the sun You will have so much fun! Not one inch of your skin will be pale!” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Puns Hank Aaron’s rod would catch him lots of fish when he was off from the baseball season. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “I’m so sorry for the delay,” apologized the maitre d’. “The sous-chef’s kiss-ing the waiter in the supply closet, but your dinner will be out shortly.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Be sure to speak to our two chef’s Kiss-inger told his wife in preparation for the big diplomatic dinner. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station , New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “The little b-rat’s nest-le bar got all over my couch,” complained Cinderella’s evil stepmother. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “The devil’s tattoo artist gets privileges like breaks from torture. So you might try to think of any special skill of yours that would please him,” the River Styx ferryman suggested to the new arrival. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “I’ll take Weapons of Mass Destruction for $50.” “And the answer is, ‘This is how to create a nuclear explosion.’” <Ding!> “What is, split adam’s Ale-x.” “Correct! Time for Double Jeopardy after a short break!” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) John Adam’s ale-ing ended on July 4th,1826. Within hours, Thomas Jefferson also passed away. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete
than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extension of the
senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear.
They are not brethren; they are not underlings; they are other nations,
caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the
splendor and travail of the earth. -Henry Beston, naturalist and author
(1 Jun 1888-1968)
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