A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Fri Nov 1 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--allopatric X-Bonus: The wisest man is he who does not fancy that he is so at all. -Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux, poet and critic (1 Nov 1636-1711) This week's theme: Lesser-known counterparts of words allopatric (al-uh-PAT/PAYT-rik) adjective Existing or occurring in geographically distinct areas. [From Greek allo- (other) + patra (homeland), from pater (father). Earliest documented use: 1942.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/allopatric NOTES: The term is often used in the phrase allopatric speciation to refer to the formation of new species through the geographic isolation of populations. Geographic separation prevents interbreeding and leads to the evolution of distinct characteristics. The counterpart is sympatric https://wordsmith.org/words/sympatric.html (occurring in the same geographical area). "If you really loved me, you'd swim across." Sympatric and allopatric speciation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udZUaNKXbJA Video: Amoeba Sisters "The scientists first played the birds two unfamiliar recorded sounds. One was the alarm cry of an allopatric chestnut-rumped thornbill, a bird not native to Australia. The other was a computer-generated bird sound dubbed 'buzz'." Christina Larson; Birds Learn Another 'Language' by Eavesdropping on Neighbors; Sunday Gazette-Mail (West Virginia) Aug 5, 2018. "Allopatric speciation is the most commonly accepted mode of speciation; it requires geographic separation and considerable time for populations of one species to become adapted to different environments and evolve mechanisms that prevent mating." Jeff Mitton; Treehoppers' Environments Are Defined by Their Host Species; The Daily Camera (Boulder, Colorado); Jul 27, 2017. -------- Date: Mon Nov 4 00:01:03 EST 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--beacon X-Bonus: A king can stand people's fighting, but he can't last long if people start thinking. -Will Rogers, humorist (4 Nov 1879-1935) Languages record not only literal meanings but also metaphors and idioms, as it's easier to understand something when told as a story. After all, each word is a tiny story in itself. A language is a lighthouse of history in an ocean of oblivion. It illuminates the past and helps us avoid the shoals and rocks that tripped up previous generations. In this week's lexical journey we'll explore five terms that are also used metaphorically and idiomatically. What idioms and metaphors have you coined? Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/beacon.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. And as usual, make sure to include your location (city, state). beacon (BEE-kuhn) noun: 1. Something that provides a guiding or warning signal, such as a lighthouse. 2. Someone or something that illuminates, inspires, or guides. verb tr.: 1. To serve as a beacon. 2. To furnish with a beacon, such as outfitting a ship to mark shoals. verb intr.: To emit a signal like a beacon. [From Old English beacen (sign, signal). The word beckon is a cousin. Earliest documented use: before 1150.] NOTES: While a lighthouse is the most common example, the term beacon encompasses any prominent object that signals a location. Examples range from radio stations to radar transponders to the beacons found in life vests. Historically, fires lit on hilltops served as beacons. This legacy is why many cities have neighborhoods or landmarks named Beacon Hill. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/beacon The Arqiva Tower aka Emley Moor Mast https://wordsmith.org/words/images/beacon_large.jpg Emley, Huddersfield, UK Photo: Steven Earnshaw https://www.flickr.com/photos/93988266@N00/36629656/ "Tom Wickham: I’ve been very fortunate to have hockey in my life, and I really want to be a beacon for other young men and other people to aspire to." Darcy Jennings; Full Circle Moment as Wickham Visits Alice; The Northern Territory News (Darwin, Australia); Oct 11, 2024. "A light rain was falling, and then came a rainbow. 'Senator Lugar, look,' I beaconed." Brian Howey; Lugar (and Morris) Converted Swords to Ploughshares; Evansville Courier & Press (Indiana); Aug 30, 2024. -------- Date: Tue Nov 5 00:01:02 EST 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--security blanket X-Bonus: Do you wish the world were happy? / Then remember day by day, / Just to scatter seeds of kindness / As you pass along the way. -Ella Wheeler Wilcox, poet (5 Nov 1850-1919) This week's theme: Idioms & metaphors security blanket (si-KYOOR-i-tee blang-kit) noun 1. A small blanket held by a child for comfort and reassurance. 2. Something that provides a feeling of safety, comfort, or emotional stability. 3. Protective measures designed to prevent the unauthorized dissemination of sensitive information. [From security, from Latin securus (free from care), from se- (without) + cura (care), and blanket, from French blanc (white), referring to undyed wool + -et (diminutive suffix). Earliest documented use: 1944. The term was popularized by Charles Schulz's comic strip "Peanuts", where the character Linus famously clings to his security blanket.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/security%20blanket Linus van Pelt in the comic strip "Peanuts" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/security_blanket_large.jpg Cartoon: Charles Schulz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Van_Pelt#/media/File:Linus_van_Pelt.gif "Keeping up with a child's security blanket can be frustrating at times, especially if it's forgotten somewhere or they just won't do a thing without it regardless of what kind of condition it is in." Jodie Lynn; How to Wean Child From Blankie; St. Louis Post-Dispatch; Aug 25, 2016. "At this point, making a crack about crowd sizes being Mr. Trump's sweaty security blanket is so hackneyed that it might get you booed off the stage at an amateur stand-up comedy night." Shannon Proudfoot; Harris Finds the Secret Skeleton Key to Undoing Trump; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Sep 12, 2024. -------- Date: Wed Nov 6 00:01:02 EST 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--incandescent X-Bonus: I don't think that combat has ever been written about truthfully; it has always been described in terms of bravery and cowardice. I won't even accept these words as terms of human reference any more. And anyway, hell, they don't even apply to what, in actual fact, modern warfare has become. -James Jones, novelist (6 Nov 1921-1977) This week's theme: Idioms & metaphors incandescent (in-kuhn-DES-uhnt) adjective 1. Emitting light when heated. 2. Extremely bright. 3. Displaying intense emotion, such as anger, affection, or zeal. [From Latin incandescere (to become hot, glow), from in- (intensive prefix) + candere (to shine or glow), from candidus (white). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kand- (to shine) which also gave us candle, incense, candid, candida, candent https://wordsmith.org/words/candent.html , and candidate (in reference to white togas worn by Romans seeking office). Earliest documented use: 1794.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/incandescent Original carbon-filament bulb from Thomas Edison's shop in Menlo Park, 1879 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/incandescent_large.jpg Photo: Terren https://www.flickr.com/photos/8136496@N05/2196367244/ "Thomas Edison proved the superiority of incandescent lighting. His company eventually became General Electric, a beacon of American enterprise throughout the 20th century." Bubbleology; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 10, 2024. "Tory MPs ... are incandescent that their leaders have recklessly inflicted economic pain on voters." Camilla Cavendish; This is Starmer's Moment, but Victory Is Not Yet Assured; Financial Times (London, UK); Oct 1, 2022. -------- Date: Thu Nov 7 00:01:02 EST 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nuclear option 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 (2 Oct 1869-1948) This week's theme: Idioms & metaphors nuclear option (NOO/NYOO-klee-uhr op-shuhn) noun 1. The option to use nuclear weapons in a conflict. 2. The most drastic or extreme measure among a range of available options. 3. In the US Senate, a change to the rules that allows a simple majority vote to overcome a filibuster instead of the usual supermajority requirement. [From nuclear, from nucleus (kernel), from Latin nucula (little nut), from nux (nut) + Latin optare (to choose). Earliest documented use: 1962.] NOTES: The phrase nuclear option originated from the literal threat of using nuclear weapons but has since evolved into a metaphor for taking an extreme or last-resort action. In the context of the US Senate, the nuclear option allows the majority party to bypass the typical supermajority vote (usually 60 out of 100 senators) needed to end debate (see filibuster https://wordsmith.org/words/filibuster.html ) on a bill and bring it to a vote. This supermajority requirement is intended to protect minority rights and encourage consensus-building. However, by using the nuclear option, there are some circumstances under which the majority party can force a decision with a simple majority (51 out of 100 senators). https://wordsmith.org/words/images/nuclear_option_large.jpg Photo: Mike Gifford https://www.flickr.com/photos/mgifford/34897432813/ "The nuclear option might be a vote of no confidence in the prime minister." Dealers and No-Dealers; The Economist (London, UK); Jun 15, 2019. -------- Date: Fri Nov 8 00:01:02 EST 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lily-handed X-Bonus: Once and for all / the idea of glorious victories / won by the glorious army / must be wiped out / Neither side is glorious / On either side they're just frightened men messing their pants / and they all want the same thing / Not to lie under the earth / but to walk upon it / without crutches. -Peter Weiss, writer, artist, and filmmaker (8 Nov 1916-1982) This week's theme: Idioms & metaphors lily-handed (LIL-ee-han-did) adjective 1. Having delicate, pale hands, unaccustomed to manual labor. 2. Dandy; foppish; overly refined. [From Old English lilie, from Latin lilium, from Greek leirion. Earliest documented use: 1847.] NOTES: Lily is one of various plants in the genus "Lilium" having flowers that come in white and other colors. The lily has long been associated with whiteness, for example, see lily-livered. https://wordsmith.org/words/lily-livered.html https://wordsmith.org/words/images/lily-handed_large.jpg Photo: solod_sha https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-person-holding-white-calla-lily-flower-in-close-up-photography-7663009/ "[A] year roughing it in Australia on the sheep farms ... He was no longer the lily-handed young city executive who had flown from the city." Kenneth Bulmer; The Insane City; Gollancz; 2013. "Presley remains an aesthete, a lily-handed poet, a tentative idealist." Reuben J. Ellis; "A Little Turn Through the Country"; Journal of American Culture (Bowling Green, Ohio); Fall 1994.