A.Word.A.Day Archives
from https://wordsmith.org/awad
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Date: Mon May 1 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Yoda
X-Bonus: I live in the world rather as a spectator of mankind than as one of the species. -Joseph Addison, essayist and poet (1 May 1672-1719)
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ... Ok, well, not that long ago,
46 years to be precise -- half in this century, half in the previous one
-- in our own galaxy, the first "Star Wars" film was released.
One way to gauge the cultural influence of a book, film, invention,
anything, is to see how many words it has added to the language. For
example, dozens of characters from Charles Dickens https://wordsmith.org/words/wellerism.html
have become part of the English language. "Star Wars" has also added
to our lexicon.
In the film, Jedi masters wish luck with: "May the Force be with you."
It was not long after the movie's release that the pun "May the Fourth
be with you" was born and ever since "Star Wars" fans use it to greet
each other on what's now known as the Star Wars Day, May 4th.
This week we'll feature five words either coined after characters in
"Star Wars" or popularized by the series.
Are you a "Star Wars" fan? Maybe you have a full-size replica of R2D2 in
your living room. Maybe you have to google to find out who R2D2 was.
How about science fiction, in general? Share on our website
https://wordsmith.org/words/jedi.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org.
Include your location: city, state, and galaxy.
Yoda (YO-duh) noun
A wise mentor, adviser, guru, etc.
[After Yoda, a mentor in the "Star Wars" universe, first appeared in film
"The Empire Strikes Back", 1980. Earliest documented (non-literal) use:
1984. Also see anastrophe https://wordsmith.org/words/anastrophe.html .]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/yoda_large.jpg
Image: Lucasfilm https://www.starwars.com/databank/yoda
"Mimi was my personal Yoda of dieting wisdom. She'd once lost a ton of
weight to get her first job in television, and she was always updating
me with her latest tips and tricks for staying fit."
Kathryn Lilley; A Killer Workout; Obsidian; 2008.
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Date: Tue May 2 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--droid
X-Bonus: Man can be the most affectionate and altruistic of creatures, yet he's potentially more vicious than any other. He is the only one who can be persuaded to hate millions of his own kind whom he has never seen and to kill as many as he can lay his hands on in the name of his tribe or his God. -Benjamin Spock, pediatrician and author (2 May 1903-1998)
This week's theme: Words from "Star Wars"
droid (droid) noun
1. A humanoid robot.
2. A person who behaves in a robot-like manner, showing little
emotion or personality.
[Popularized by the "Star Wars" series which features a number of
humanoid robots. Short for android, from Latin androides (manlike),
from Greek andro- (male) + -oid (resembling). Earliest documented use: 1952.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/droid_large.jpg
Image: USPS
NOTES: On "Star Wars" Day in 2021, the US Postal Service released stamps
featuring "Star Wars" droids https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2021/0504-star-wars-droids-stamps-now-available.htm .
Which one is your favorite droid? Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/droid.html
or email us at words@wordsmith.org.
"Now that Keir Starmer has done Piers Morgan's Life Stories to prove
he's not a droid but a loveable guy with bags of charisma, expect
more of the same."
Brian Reade; Keir PR Drive Goes Down a Cul-de-Sac; The Daily Mirror
(London, UK); Jun 5, 2021.
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Date: Wed May 3 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Jedi
X-Bonus: A prince who is not wise himself will never take good advice. -Niccolo Machiavelli, political philosopher and author (3 May 1469-1527)
This week's theme: Words from "Star Wars"
Jedi (JED-eye) noun
Someone having great skills and powers.
[After the Jedi Order in the "Star Wars" universe. Jedis are heroic
warrior monks who are able to tap into the power of the Force. Earliest
documented use: 1973. Yoda was a Jedi master.]
Actor Rosario Dawson as Jedi Ahsoka Tano in "The Mandalorian" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/jedi_large.jpg
Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahsoka_Tano#/media/File:Rosario_Dawson_Ahsoka_Tano.jpg
"He probably believed his issues with declining global markets,
international currencies, and what other troubles a Jedi like him had
to endure and solve were far too complicated for someone like Mark, a
mere podiatrist."
Dorothea Benton Frank; Folly Beach; HarperLuxe; 2011.
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Date: Thu May 4 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Padawan
X-Bonus: If any man seeks for greatness, let him forget greatness and ask for truth, and he will find both. -Horace Mann, educational reformer (4 May 1796-1859)
This week's theme: Words from "Star Wars"
padawan (PAD-uh-wahn) noun
1. An apprentice or student.
2. A naive, ignorant, or untrained person.
[After Padawans, apprentice Jedis in the "Star Wars" universe. Earliest
documented use: 1973. Yoda was the mentor for the Padawan Luke Skywalker.]
Luke Skywalker and Master Yoda in "The Empire Strikes Back", 1980 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/padawan_large.jpg
Image: Lucasfilm
"Let me explain, my ignorant little padawan. Those satellites up there
are subject to all sorts of outside influences. Small changes in
gravity, micro objects colliding with it, even temperature changes can
all make the satellite move out of alignment."
Bryan Whelan; Mind Your Own Business; Xlibris; 2016.
"He's my Yoda and I'm his Padawan. But maybe he'll be with me when I'm
coaching my son for the first time. ... He'll be looking down."
Jane Havsy; Morristown Beard Teacher, Coach Remembered; Daily Record
(Morristown, New Jersey); Aug 17, 2022.
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Date: Fri May 5 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dark side
X-Bonus: There are three ingredients to the good life; learning, earning, and yearning. -Christopher Morley, writer (5 May 1890-1957)
This week's theme: Words from "Star Wars"
dark side (DARK syd) noun
1. The side that's dark or unlit.
2. The side that's undesirable or evil.
[The metaphorical sense of the term was popularized by "Star Wars" in
which the dark side represents the use of the Force to perpetrate evil.
The opposite is the light side. Earliest documented use: 1975. Also see,
Jekyll and Hyde https://wordsmith.org/words/jekyll_and_hyde.html and yin/yang.]
Darth Vader, a Jedi who moved to the dark side https://wordsmith.org/words/images/dark_side_large.jpg
Image: Wookieepedia https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Darth_Vader%27s_armor
"She sensed a dark side to him, beneath the polished charm."
Marianne Willman; The Wish; St. Martin's Press; 2000.
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Date: Mon May 8 00:01:01 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Vulcan
X-Bonus: No two persons ever read the same book. -Edmund Wilson, critic (8 May 1895-1972)
When reality television personality Kim Kardashian split from her second
husband 72 days after the wedding, comedian and singer "Weird Al"
Yankovic remarked, "Seventy-two days is now an official unit of time known as
a Kardash." https://twitter.com/alyankovic/status/131420334011334656
Reality television rarely ends well, for a marital union or the state
of our Union. Speaking of which, the last reality television administration
got us another unit of time: Scaramucci. https://wordsmith.org/words/scaramouch.html
Neither of these eponyms -- a word coined after someone -- has taken
root in the English language. But over hundreds of years, many others have.
In the past we have featured words coined after real people (Potemkin
village https://wordsmith.org/words/potemkin_village.html),
after fictional people (zelig https://wordsmith.org/words/zelig.html), and
even people from mythology (penelope https://wordsmith.org/words/penelope.html).
We have even featured multiple eponyms coined after a person. For example,
Socrates https://wordsmith.org/words/socratic_method.html .
This week we are featuring words, each of which has more than one meaning.
Now, here's the twist. These multiple meanings are coined after two
different people having the same name.
Vulcan (VUHL-kuhn)
noun: 1. A blacksmith or a metalworker.
2. A miner.
3. A person whose leg is broken or deformed.
4. A cuckold: a man whose wife is unfaithful.
5. One who is extremely logical and shows a lack of emotions, humor, etc.
adjective: Extremely logical, unemotional, etc.
[For noun 1-4: After Vulcan, the god of fire and metalworking in Roman
mythology. Vulcan's mother Juno https://wordsmith.org/words/juno.html
wanted a beautiful child and hurled the plain-looking baby Vulcan off Mount
Olympus. His leg broke when he hit the water. Vulcan may have been ugly
but he married Venus https://wordsmith.org/words/aphrodite.html . On the
other hand, Venus was unfaithful to him. Earliest documented use: c. 450 CE.
For noun 5 and adjective5: After Vulcans, a humanoid species from the planet
Vulcan in the "Star Trek" TV series and movies. Vulcans are extremely logical
and show little emotion. Earliest documented use: 1966.]
"Venus in Vulcan's Forge" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/vulcan_venus_large.jpg
Art: Bartholomeus Spranger (1546-1611) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Venus_and_Vulcan#/media/File:Bartholomeus_Spranger_-_Venus_and_Vulcan_-_WGA21693.jpg
Actors Arlene Martel as T'Pring and Leonard Nimoy as Spock https://wordsmith.org/words/images/vulcan_species_large.jpg
Photo: NBC / Wikimedia https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Spock_and_T%27Pring.jpg
"Your eyes dwell on a Vulcan -- a real blacksmith, brown, broad-shouldered."
Charlotte Brontë; Jane Eyre; Smith, Elder & Co.; 1847.
"From a logical standpoint, it makes perfect sense. What the hell, if she
had to release her inner Vulcan to hide behind, then so be it."
Stacy Gail; Ugly Ducklings Finish First; Carina Press; 2013.
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Date: Tue May 9 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Taylorism
X-Bonus: How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause... It is such a splendid sunny day, and I have to go. But how many have to die on the battlefield in these days, how many young, promising lives. What does my death matter if by our acts thousands are warned and alerted. -Sophie Scholl, student and anti-Nazi activist (9 May 1921-1943) [Her last words before being executed by guillotine.]
This week's theme: Eponyms
Taylorism (TAY-luh-riz-uhm) noun
1. A method of analyzing workflow for process optimization. Also known as scientific management.
2. A modified form of Calvinism. Also known as New Haven theology.
[For 1: After mechanical engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915)
who proposed ways to improve efficiency in manufacturing. Earliest
documented use: 1884.]
[For 2: After theologian Nathaniel William Taylor (1786-1858). Earliest
documented use: 1928.]
Frederick Winslow Taylor https://wordsmith.org/words/images/frederick_winslow_taylor_large.jpg
Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management#/media/File:F._Taylor_1856-1915.jpg
Nathaniel William Taylor https:/wordsmith.org/words/images/nathaniel_william_taylor_large.jpg
Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_William_Taylor#/media/File:Nathaniel_W_Taylor_Memories_of_Yale_life_and_men,_1854-1899_(1903).jpg
"At the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum, automated scheduling
software has created a new high-tech Taylorism that is brutal for all
low-paid workers, but particularly hard for working families."
Rana Foroohar; Women Will Redefine the Labour Market; Financial Times
(London, UK); Sep 20, 2021.
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Date: Wed May 10 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Palladian
X-Bonus: The softer you sing, the louder you're heard. -Donovan, musician (b. 10 May 1946)
This week's theme: Eponyms
Palladian (puh-LAY-dee-uhn) adjective
1. Wise or learned.
2. Relating to wisdom, knowledge, or learning.
[After Athena (also known as Pallas Athena), a goddess of wisdom in Greek
mythology. Her name has also resulted in other words such as palladium
https://wordsmith.org/words/palladium.html and athenaeum
https://wordsmith.org/words/athenaeum.html . Earliest documented use: 1562.]
Of or relating to the classical architectural style of Andrea Palladio.
[After Andrea Palladio (1508-1580), Venetian architect. Earliest documented
use: 1731.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Palladian
A sculpture of Pallas Athena in front of the Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna https://wordsmith.org/words/images/athena_large.jpg
Photo: Gryffindor / Wikimedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athena#/media/File:Austria_Parlament_Athena_bw.jpg
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/palladian_large.jpg
Art: Alessandro Maganza (1556-1630) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Palladio#/media/File:Andrea_Palladio2.jpeg
"From under the cloak's hood, an errant strand of bronze hair dangled
across her Palladian face."
Jonathan Malone; Invictus; 2020.
"The Palladian mansion was three stories tall, constructed of gray
stone, and had so many windows that Sophie suspected the duke paid
a fortune in window taxes."
Maya Rodale; Groom of One's Own; Avon; 2010.
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Date: Thu May 11 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gomer
X-Bonus: Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. -Edsger W. Dijkstra, computer scientist (11 May 1930-2002)
This week's theme: Eponyms
gomer (GOH-muhr) noun
1. A naive and inept trainee or worker.
2. An undesirable hospital patient, one who may be unpleasant, senile, or unresponsive to treatment.
3. A conical chamber used in guns and mortars.
[For 1: Of unconfirmed origin, but likely after Gomer Pyle, a character in
the television series "The Andy Griffith Show", later in his own spin-off
show "Gomer Pyle, USMC", broadcast in the 1960s. Earliest documented use:
1967.
For 2: Most likely from the same origin as sense 1. It has been
suggested that it's an acronym for "Get Out of My Emergency Room", but
that may be a backronym (an acronym coined to explain a word that's not
actually an acronym). Earliest documented use: 1972.
For 3: After Louis-Gabriel de Gomer (1718-1798), French military officer
who invented it. Earliest documented use: 1828.]
"Gomer Pyle, USMC" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gomer_pyle_large.jpg
Image: Amazon https://amazon.com/dp/B00QT4VDC0/
Louis-Gabriel de Gomer https://wordsmith.org/words/images/louis_gabriel_de_gomer_large.jpg
Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis-Gabriel_de_Gomer#/media/File:Louis_gabriel_de_gomer.jpg
an inept colleague or trainee
an enemy aviator, esp. in a dogfight.
(slang, derogatory) A stupid, awkward, or oafish person.
(US, military slang, derogatory) An inept trainee or serviceperson.
(US, military slang) An opponent in combat or in training.
"I was certain any gomer could figure the plan."
Robert Barr; For the Love of Flight; Dorrance Publishing; 2014.
"Another category of gomers was little old ladies in their seventies
whose chief complaint was constipation."
Otis Webb Brawley, MD; How We Do Harm: A Doctor Breaks Ranks About
Being Sick in America; St. Martin's Press; 2011.
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Date: Fri May 12 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--alexander
X-Bonus: At some point, someone who worked at Rockefeller Center must have said, "Boys, I have a great idea for Christmas. Let's kill a beautiful tree that's been alive for seventy-five years and bring it to New York City. We'll stand it up in Rockefeller Plaza and conceal its natural beauty by hanging shiny, repulsive, man-made objects on it, and let it stand there slowly dying for several weeks while simpleminded children stare at it and people from Des Moines take pictures of it. That way, perhaps we can add our own special, obscene imprint to Christmas in Midtown. -George Carlin, comedian, actor, and author (12 May 1937-2008)
This week's theme: Eponyms
alexander (a-lig-ZAN-duhr) verb tr.
1. To praise or flatter.
2. To hang someone.
[For 1: After Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) of Macedon, who never
lost a war and earned widespread renown for his victories. Earliest
documented use: 1700.
For 2: After Jerome Alexander (1590-1670), English judge, who was
disbarred in England for misconduct and moved to Ireland where he delighted
in giving death sentences. Earliest documented use: 1666.]
A medallion commemorating Alexander the Great https://wordsmith.org/words/images/alexander_the_great_large.jpg
Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great#/media/File:Roman_-_Medallion_with_Alexander_the_Great_-_Walters_591_-_Obverse.jpg
"Alexandered: Portrait of Sir Jerome Alexander from Norfolk Who Acquired the Reputation of Being a Hanging Judge in Seventeenth Century Ireland" by John Nelson https://wordsmith.org/words/images/jerome_alexander.jpg
Cover: Amazon https://www.amazon.in/Alexandered-Portrait-Alexander-Reputation-Seventeenth/dp/099290790X
"Alexandered, endless in triumphant march
I forged this world new mint for me."
Frank Miller; Poets Unbound; Writers Club Press; 2001.
"It is getting almost dangerous to talk to me. I lay violent hands
on people ... have people the minute they don't agree with me,
alexandered, at once."
Gerald Stanley Lee; The Ghost in the White House; Dutton; 1920.
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Date: Mon May 15 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Hail Mary
X-Bonus: I feel fairly certain that my hatred harms me more than the people whom I hate. -Max Frisch, architect, playwright, and novelist (15 May 1911-1991)
Sports are more like a religion than one may realize. Each involves rituals
and traditions. We worship our teams and players. We fight over whose team
is better. We gather in large groups to attend the events. We chant, which
supposedly makes the players do as we wish them to do. Also, each has its
dress code, whether a lucky jersey or a special cap.
So it's fitting that today's term combines both sports and religion. I
don't follow any religion on the field or in the clouds, being asporteist
and atheist, but I'd go to any stadium https://wordsmith.org/words/monday_morning_quarterback.html
or church https://wordsmith.org/words/nimrod.html in search of words.
This week we'll feature words from the world of ball games --
American football, bowling, baseball, snooker, and basketball -- that are
often used metaphorically.
Let's begin the service and get the ball rolling.
What are your feelings about sports? Are you an asporteist? What's your
favorite team? Who's your favorite player (mine is Roger Federer
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/sports/playmagazine/20federer.html
though I don't even follow tennis). Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/hail_mary.html
or email us at words@wordsmith.org.
Hail Mary (HAYL MAYR-ee) noun
A last-ditch attempt, made in desperation, having little chance of
success, but potentially resulting in a big payoff.
[From Hail Mary, translation of Latin Ave Maria, the first two words of
a prayer. Earliest documented use: 1930s.]
NOTES: What is a Hail Mary? It is, literally, greetings from the angel
Gabriel and St. Elizabeth to Mary, mother of Jesus. These (or the Latin
Ave Maria) are the first two words of a prayer in the Roman Catholic
Church.
The term is used in American football for a long forward pass or other
desperate play attempted by a losing team in a last-ditch attempt at
the end of a game. The term is also used metaphorically in non-sports
contexts.
Sometimes even the Pope has to throw a Hail Mary:
"That leaves a pope eager to help on behalf of all humanity with few
options except to keep hanging around in front of Russia's door and
to continue making symbolic gestures. Francis has decided it's time
to make a Hail Mary pass ... He's announced that he intends to
consecrate Russia and Ukraine."
Robert Mickens; The Pope's "Hail Mary" Pass; La Croix International
(Montrouge, France); Mar 19, 2022.
It's not clear why an all-knowing, all-powerful, beneficent God wouldn't
do the right thing in the first place, instead of waiting for people to
pray. It's even more unclear why he wouldn't do the right thing even *after*
hearing heartfelt prayers for a just cause.
"Hail, Mary." https://wordsmith.org/words/images/hail_mary_large.jpg
Card: TwigsPaper / Etsy https://www.etsy.com/listing/1052681157/funny-christian-card-hail-mary-religious
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/hail%20mary
"He saw a crack, a slight opening, a way to pull off a Hail Mary."
Vince Flynn; Transfer of Power; Pocket Books; 2008.
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Date: Tue May 16 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--kingpin
X-Bonus: As a general truth, communities prosper and flourish, or droop and decline, in just the degree that they practise or neglect to practise the primary duties of justice and humanity. -William Henry Seward, Secretary of State, Governor, and Senator (16 May 1801-1872)
This week's theme: Words from ball games
kingpin (KING-pin) noun
1. The most important person in an organization, especially one who
is the head of a crime organization.
2. The tallest, foremost, or the central pin in an arrangement of bowling pins.
3. A main bolt, for example, a large vertical bolt in an axle of a vehicle.
[From skittles, a lawn game involving pins that are toppled by a ball,
the ancestor of modern bowling. Earliest documented use: 1773.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/kingpin
"Skittle Players Outside an Inn" 1660 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/kingpin_large.jpg
Art: Jan Steen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skittles_(sport)#/media/File:Jan_Steen_-_Skittles_Players_Outside_an_Inn.jpg
"Cartels have a way of reorganising, and new kingpins are already moving
into the vacant space in the market."
Laundering in Texas; The Economist (London, UK); Oct 26, 1996.
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Date: Wed May 17 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wheelhouse
X-Bonus: Most creativity is a transition from one context into another where things are more surprising. There's an element of surprise, and especially in science, there is often laughter that goes along with the 'Aha'. Art also has this element. Our job is to remind us that there are more contexts than the one that we're in -- the one that we think is reality. -Alan Kay, computer scientist (b. 17 May 1940)
This week's theme: Words from ball games
wheelhouse (HWEEL-haus) noun
1. An enclosed area on a boat or ship that houses the steering wheel.
2. In baseball, the area in which it's easiest for the batter to hit the ball with the most power.
3. One's area of interest or expertise.
[The term has its origins in nautical lingo in which a wheelhouse is a
synonym for a pilothouse. From water the term evolved to the land: in
baseball, it's an area of a batter's greatest striking power. From there,
the term took a broader sense. Earliest documented use: 1835.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/wheelhouse
Wheelhouse 1: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/wheelhouse1_large.jpg
Photo: Neil Cornwall https://www.flickr.com/photos/nbcornwall/15956084659/
Wheelhouse 2: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/wheelhouse2_large.jpg
Photo: Gregory Barkley https://www.flickr.com/photos/flic_pics/4488360113/
"I didn't say it was outside of my wheelhouse. I've done it before."
Kimberly Van Meter; A Wrong Bed Christmas; Harlequin; 2015.
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Date: Thu May 18 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--snooker
X-Bonus: No man treats a motorcar as foolishly as he treats another human being. When the car will not go, he does not attribute its annoying behavior to sin; he does not say, "You are a wicked motorcar, and I shall not give you any more petrol until you go." He attempts to find out what is wrong and to set it right. An analogous way of treating human beings is, however, considered to be contrary to the truths of our holy religion. -Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (18 May 1872-1970)
This week's theme: Words from ball games
snooker (SNOO-kuhr) verb tr.
To cheat, dupe, trap, stymie, etc.
[Snooker is a cue sport played on a billiards table. The origins of the
name are lost to history. Snooker is also slang for a new cadet. The most
popular story is that the word was used by a British army officer, Neville
Chamberlain (not the future PM), commenting on a fellow officer's sub-par
performance at the pool table. In a game of snooker, the word is also used
as a verb for leaving an opponent in a place such that it's impossible to
take a direct shot. This usage likely resulted in the general sense of the
word. Earliest documented use: 1889.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/snooker
"You told me you were no good at this!" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/snooker_large.jpg
Cartoon: Jonnie Griffiths / Zazzle https://www.zazzle.com/snooker_snooter_card-256653995229977113
"'Marty was a con artist and he had me snookered,' remembers Edgell."
Kristian Hammerstad; Ticketmaster's Dark History; The American Prospect
(Washington, DC); Feb 2023.
https://prospect.org/power/ticketmasters-dark-history/
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Date: Fri May 19 00:01:03 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jump ball
X-Bonus: The thing that makes you exceptional, if you are at all, is inevitably that which must also make you lonely. -Lorraine Hansberry, playwright and painter (19 May 1930-1965)
This week's theme: Words from ball games
jump ball (JUHMP bawl) noun
1. A contest too close to call.
2. An undecided situation or one with no preference.
[From the game of basketball in which, to begin or to resume play, an
official throws a ball up between two opponents. Earliest documented use:
1924.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/jump%20ball
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/jump_ball_large.jpg
Photo: USMC / Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Jump_ball#/media/File:USMC-120211-M-YE622-214.jpg
"The early votes are still a jump ball."
Colin Lancaster; Fed Up!; Harriman House; 2021.
"It was a jump ball as to whether I walked out."
Michael Z. Lewin; Missing Woman; Open Road; 2016.
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Date: Mon May 22 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--baloney
X-Bonus: I like to say that arms are not for killing. They are for hugging. -Betty Williams, peace activist, Nobel laureate (22 May 1943-2020)
If language worked only on a literal level, it would still be pretty
useful, though quite insipid. Imagine early astronaut food eaten from
toothpaste tubes. Sure, you get calories, but that's it. Don't expect
color, flavor, or texture.
If baloney only meant a kind of sausage, it would still add value to the
language, but it's the metaphorical sense that adds seasoning.
Anything can serve as a metaphor. This week we'll feature five terms
that are used metaphorically or idiomatically.
What are your favorite figurative expressions in English or another
language? Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/baloney.html
or email us at words@wordsmith.org.
PS: Yes, baloney, literally a sausage, can be a metaphor, but let's not
go bananas. With all due respect to Freud.
baloney or boloney (buh-LOH-nee) noun
Nonsense, such as foolish, deceptive, or pretentious talk.
[From respelling of bologna (pronounced buh-LOH-nee), a kind of seasoned
sausage, from the Italian city of Bologna (buh-LON-yuh; in Italian:
bo-lo-nyah). Earliest documented use: 1928.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/baloney
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/baloney_large.jpg
Cover: Tapas https://www.tapasmagazine.es/
Illustration: Asier https://asiersanz.com/
"Don't give me baloney about being drafted. There is no draft."
Daniel M. Jaffe; The Genealogy of Understanding; Lethe Press; 2014.
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Date: Tue May 23 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--daisy cutter
X-Bonus: If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it. -Margaret Fuller, author (23 May 1810-1850)
This week's theme: Metaphors & idioms
daisy cutter (DAY-zee kuht-uhr) noun
1. In a ball game, a ball that moves close to the ground.
2. A horse that lifts its feet very little off the ground.
3. A bomb powerful enough to flatten a large area, such as a forest.
[From daisy, from Old English dæges eage (day's eye, referring to the
flower closing at night) + cutter, from Middle English cutten. Earliest
documented use: 1791.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/daisy%20cutter
"Daisy Cutter" an animated film, 7 min. https://vimeo.com/52913119
NOTES: A daisy cutter in a ball game is a cute term for a ball that moves
close to the ground. In the military, it's a euphemism. It doesn't cut daisies,
it flattens a forest. It's another name for the 15,000-pound bomb, also
known as BLU-82, that detonates close to the ground and clears the land.
It was dropped in Vietnam, the Gulf War, and Afghanistan. Better to make
daisy chains https://wordsmith.org/words/daisy-chain.html for someone
than to drop daisy cutters.
"First used in Vietnam, daisy cutters would reappear years later,
eviscerating bodies and landscapes in Afghanistan."
Thuy Linh Tu; An American Dream Built on Warfare; The New York Times;
Apr 5, 2022.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/05/opinion/vietnam-refugees-factories-us-military.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20230426072033/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/05/opinion/vietnam-refugees-factories-us-military.html/
"Palmer did not play golf courses; he attacked them. Armed with a
brutish swing that more resembled a hockey slap shot than a daisy
cutter, Palmer brought energy and zest to the staid game."
T. Rees Shapiro; "The King" Attracted Fans to Golf With His Charisma,
Risky Shots; The Washington Post; Sep 26, 2016.
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Date: Wed May 24 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--swan song
X-Bonus: It is the people who scream the loudest about America and Freedom who seem to be the most intolerant for a differing point of view. -Rosanne Cash, singer-songwriter and author (b. 24 May 1955)
This week's theme: Metaphors & idioms
swan song or swansong (SWAN song) noun
A farewell or final performance, appearance, or accomplishment.
[From the ancient belief that swans sang before dying. From Old English
swan. Ultimately from the Indo-European root swen- (to sound), which also
gave us sound, sonic, sonnet, sonata, and unison. Earliest documented use:
1596.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/swan%20song
Schwanengesang (Swan Song), 14 songs, written by the Austrian composer Franz
Schubert (1797-1828) before he died at the age of 31, published posthumously.
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/swan_song_large.jpg
Image: Alpha Classics https://outhere-music.com/en/albums/schubert-schwanengesang-string-quintet
"Although Gadsby meant 'Nanette' to be a kind of swan song, she was so
jazzed by its success that she came out of her brief retirement."
Hilton Als; Only Disconnect; The New Yorker; Jul 29, 2019.
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Date: Thu May 25 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--haircut
X-Bonus: Stop fixing your bodies and start fixing the world! -V (formerly Eve Ensler), playwright and activist (b. 25 May 1953)
This week's theme: Metaphors & idioms
haircut (HAIR-kuht) noun
A reduction in value.
[From Old English hǣr + Middle English cutten. Earliest documented use: 1955.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/haircut
NOTES: The term haircut is used metaphorically in many ways, such as
when assessing the value of an asset pledged as collateral against a
loan. For example, a bank might decide that an asset worth $1000 could
take a 20% haircut and thus be used to secure a loan of at most $800.
The term is also used for other reductions: a pay cut, a cut in benefits,
a reduction in the repayment of a loan, etc.
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/haircut_large.jpg
Image: DALL·E
"The latest projections point to an 11% haircut for Medicare and a
23% one for Social Security when their trust funds run dry."
Third-Rail Thriller; The Economist (London, UK); Apr 15, 2023.
https://wordsmith.org/words/third_rail.html
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Date: Fri May 26 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Piccadilly Circus
X-Bonus: There is no remedy so easy as books, which if they do not give cheerfulness, at least restore quiet to the most troubled mind. -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, author (26 May 1689-1762)
This week's theme: Metaphors & idioms
Piccadilly Circus (pik-uh-dil-ee SUHR-kuhs) noun
A place that is very busy, crowded, or noisy.
[After Piccadilly Circus, a busy area in London where several roads meet.
The area has tourist attractions, entertainment, shopping, and large
illuminated ads. A circus here means a traffic roundabout, but what about
Piccadilly? It's named after a tailor who made a fortune selling
piccadill/pickadill, a lace collar popular in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The American equivalent of the term is Grand Central Station (a train
station in New York City), though for look and feel Times Square (also in
NYC) would be closer.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/piccadilly_circus_large.jpg
Image: Savidge Family https://flickr.com/photos/savidgefamily/5231206651/
"And surely Oslo fjord should be a Piccadilly Circus of boats? But
I couldn't see a single one."
Dick Francis; Slay Ride; Harper & Row; 1973.
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Date: Mon May 29 00:01:03 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rusticle
X-Bonus: War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today. -John F. Kennedy, 35th US president (29 May 1917-1963)
Reader Don Kellogg https://www.kelloggphoto.com of Novato, California, wrote:
"I couldn't find _asporteist_ in my dictionary or in Google."
Well, now you can, at least in Google. And these days that's the first
step to getting a word into a dictionary. I coined the word a couple of
weeks back while introducing a week of words from ball games https://wordsmith.org/words/hail_mary.html .
The word resonated with many readers. Going by how many wrote to say the
word describes them and that they would use the word, it just might get
into a dictionary.
We'll see. Meanwhile, this week we'll see five words that are in Google
_and_ in the dictionary.
Have you ever coined a word? Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/rusticle.html
or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Be sure to Google first to check it's
not already out there. Sometimes two (or more) people independently come
up with the same word.
rusticle (RUHS-tuh/ti-kuhl) noun
An icicle-like formation of rust, as on an underwater shipwreck.
[A blend of rust + icicle, coined by oceanographer Robert Ballard while
describing such formations on the hull of the Titanic, the wreckage of
which he discovered. Earliest documented use: 1986.]
Rusticles on the Titanic https://wordsmith.org/words/images/rusticle.jpg
Photo: NOAA https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/titanic/
Take a video tour of the Titanic rusticles: NOAA https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/titanicwrecksite/
Also learn how to grow and care for your rusticles: Australian National Maritime Museum https://www.sea.museum/2019/01/08/rusticles-and-wrecks
"Andrea Leadsom [British MP] resigned, forcing a mini-reshuffle. This
was not so much rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, as getting
into James Cameron's mini-submarine, dropping to the wreck 12,500 ft
below, sweeping down the rusticle-festooned grand staircase, and
swapping out one of the light fittings because it looks 'a bit much'."
Marina Hyde; Exit Theresa May; The Guardian (London, UK); May 24, 2019.
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Date: Tue May 30 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--infodemic
X-Bonus: Your love to me was like an unread book. -Countee Cullen, poet, novelist, and playwright (30 May 1903-1946)
This week's theme: Coined words
infodemic (in-fuh/foh-DEM-ik) noun
A glut of mostly unreliable, rapidly spreading information relating
to an event, crisis, disease, etc.
[A blend of information + epidemic, coined by the author and columnist
David J. Rothkopf in a "Washington Post" column about the SARS epidemic.
Earliest documented use: 2003.]
How to flatten the infodemic curve https://wordsmith.org/words/images/infodemic_large.jpg
Image: World Health Organization
"Anke Richter says: 'But we didn't really see that the infodemic did
creep in, because you can't stop that with MIQ https://www.miq.govt.nz/
at the border.'"
Kirsty Johnston; The "Cult-Like" Features of Vax Misinformation;
Dominion Post (Wellington, New Zealand); Mar 17, 2022.
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Date: Wed May 31 00:01:02 EDT 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--interrobang
X-Bonus: After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on -- have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear -- what remains? Nature remains. -Walt Whitman, poet (31 May 1819-1892)
This week's theme: Coined words
interrobang or interabang (in-TER-uh-bang) noun
A punctuation mark (‽) formed by a question mark (?) superimposed
on an exclamation point (!).
[Coined in the TYPEtalks Magazine in which the editor Martin K. Speckter
(1915-1988), an advertising executive, selected the word interrobang from
the suggestions sent by the readers. From interrogation point (question
mark) + bang (slang for exclamation point). Earliest documented use: 1962.]
NOTES: Chances are you have used a version of interrobang already. For
example, if you have ever said, "You did what?!" An interrobang is a more
compact version of "?!". When expressing excitement, wonder, or disbelief,
or when asking a rhetorical question, an interrobang may be just the right
punctuation. If you don't know how to type it on your keyboard, WTF works
as a pound-for-pound replacement.
There's even an inverted interrobang (⸘) for use in Spanish, where an
inverted question mark (¿) and inverted exclamation mark (¡) are used
at the beginning of the sentence.
An interrobang is the logo of the State Library of New South Wales in
Australia. https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/
What punctuation mark would you like to form if you could marry two?
How would you use it in a sentence? Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/interrobang.html
or email us at words@wordsmith.org. As always, include your location
(city, state).
When a girl loves a punctuation mark too much https://wordsmith.org/words/images/interrobang_large.jpg
Photo: Jeremy Keith https://www.flickr.com/photos/adactio/3368018014
"I feel the quick bursts of interjections and interrobangs course through
my gut."
Suzanne Samples; A Mad Girl's Love Song; Lulu; 2016.