A.Word.A.Day -- AWADmail Issue 1055

A.Word.A.Day

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AWADmail Issue 1055

A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and Language

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From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
Subject: Interesting stories from the Net

California Man Admits Threatening Merriam-Webster Over Definitions of ‘Woman’ and ‘Girl’
The Independent
Permalink

Six Lyrics That Show Why “Hamilton” Is Tough to Translate
The New York Times
Permalink

From: Roberta Gledhill (easul80 gmail.com)
Subject: Coruscate - Coruscant

You said: No movies for you!

That said - from StarWars website:

A city-covered planet, Coruscant is the vibrant heart and capital of the galaxy, featuring a diverse mix of citizens and culture. It features towering skyscrapers, streams of speeder-filled air traffic, and inner levels that stretch far below the world’s surface. Coruscant was the seat of government for the Galactic Republic and the Empire that followed and was the site of numerous historic events during the Clone Wars. It also housed the Jedi Temple and Archives, which hosted Jedi training and learning for over a thousand generations

I imagine such a city would flash and gleam and show a cerrtain style.

Roberta Gledhill, Wellington, New Zealand

From: Dave Lehnert (pfanques gmail.com)
Subject: coruscate

I had an elementary-school teacher who gave us a list of familiar sayings, but dressed them up in outlandish synonyms and made us figure them out. The first example was, “All that coruscates with effulgence is not ipso facto aureus.”

Dave Lehnert, Lincoln, Nebraska

From: Andrew Pressburger (andpress sympatico.ca)
Subject: rufescent

The Latin word rufus has over time become a personal name.

Rufus Wainwright is a Canadian singer and composer of a variety of works, from pop music to operas. He has actually composed two of the latter genre, the first one about the Emperor Hadrian and his homosexual relationship with his friend Antinous.

Andrew Pressburger, Toronto, Canada

From: Mary Perez (mperez cityoftulsa.org)
Subject: rufescent

I knew immediately what this word meant as I have been watching the West Texas Hummingbird feeder online. The Rufous hummingbird is everything red -- red gorget, red body, red personality!

Mary Perez, Tulsa, Oklahoma

From: Murl Smith (smith.murl gmail.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--brume

The word brume took me back to French history class and the Republican calendar (adopted after the 1789 Revolution), in which the names of the months were changed to reflect the prevailing weather. One of the autumn months was named brumaire, i.e., misty/foggy, followed by frimaire (frosty), etc.

Murl Smith, Berkeley California

From: Doug Finner (stonehusky gmail.com)
Subject: brume

Aviation weather reports are full of abbreviations for different weather conditions. Most of them make sense (RA for Rain, SN for Snow) but the one for mist is BR. A bit of French clears up the fuzziness!

Doug Finner, Alexandria, New Hampshire

Email of the Week -- Brought to you buy I’d Rather Be Grammatically Correct -- It fits brainiacs to a tee.

From: Denny Beck (smokiescat gmail.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--brume

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Before we set our hearts too much on anything, let us examine how happy are those who already possess it. -Francois, duc de La Rochefoucauld, moralist (15 Sep 1613-1680)

The maxim selected from Duke Francois’s repertoire suggests he is a forerunner of Internet reviews, i.e., see how happy others are about a potential purchase before you buy it for yourself.

Denny Beck, Grand Rapids, Michigan

From: Barbara Anuzis (barbara.anuzis gmail.com)
Subject: Aggiornamento

Can learning one new word change a life? Certainly a toddler learning the power of “No” can change the lives of an entire family, but can one new word added to a vast lifetime of vocabulary make a difference?

On Apr 29, AWAD introduced me to aggiornamento. It arrived as I was recovering from a four-year period of inability to create new memories. “Bringing up to date” was exactly what I needed, and what I requested for a Mothers’ Day gift.

Family and friends sent information about what was going on in the world, filling in information I had missed during those years. This led to witnessing the alignment of all the visible planets (which will not occur again until 2040); to catching up on important movies; to learning the issues for the upcoming midterm elections, international events, scientific advancements, environmental concerns and on and on.

AWAD has given me many words to use over the years, but this one word precipitated a major change in my life. Thank you!

Barbara Anuzis, Fairview, North Carolina

From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: brume and coruscate

What golfers on this side of the Atlantic might view as a steady drizzle, their Scottish counterparts would see as a mere brume. Here, our frustrated golfer is stymied in St. Andrews’ par-four 17th infamous road hole pot bunker. Even the weather gods seem to be conspiring against him. On a personal note, on my 50th birthday in 1996, I played St. Andrews, found my ball nestled in the road hole bunker, but amazingly, managed to blast out onto the green in a single stroke. Don’t ask me how. Ha!

Serena Williams, in her first-round of this year’s US Open singles was the very personification of the word coruscate. Like a mighty Marvel superhero, dressed all-in-black, she marched out onto center court in a cape and sequin-studded warmup jacket, complimented by a sparkling clingy top and a multi-layered pleated skirt. Even her flowing curly tresses sparkled with sequins. Serena made it to the third round, ultimately losing to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic. Alas, this was likely Serena’s last competitive match. She insists she won’t be retiring, but as she coyly put it, more like “evolving”. Serena’s star will continue to shine brightly!

Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California

Anagrams


This week’s theme: Misc words 1. Coruscate 2. Plenitude 3. Rufescent 4. Brume 5. Altiloquent	=	1. Radiate; technique 2. Be full; mum knew success 3. Red colors 4. The wet mist 5. Pretentious	This week’s theme: Misc words 1. Coruscate 2. Plenitude 3. Rufescent 4. Brume 5. Altiloquent	=	1. Flame; twinkle 2. Slew 3. Auburn/russet/rose-hued 4. Scotch mist per met. 5. Quite conceited
-Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com)			-Robert Jordan, Lampang, Thailand (alfiesdad ymail.com)



This week’s theme: Misc words 1. Coruscate 2. Plenitude 3. Rufescent 4. Brume 5. Altiloquent	=	1. Sparkle 2. Whew - quite fulsome 3. Red, chestnut, cerise 4. Mist, cloud 5. Emit snob utterance	In this week’s pet theme: Misc words 1. Coruscate 2. Plentitude 3. Rufescent 4. Brume 5. Altiloquent	=	1. Maester showed deft technique 2. Utter opulence & I 3. Russet welt 4. Black mist 5. Sermonic input
-Julian Lofts, Auckland, New Zealand (jalofts xtra.co.nz)			-Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com)

Make your own anagrams and animations.

Limericks

Coruscate

“Can you see how it coruscates, sir?
With a diamond like that she’ll infer
That your love knows no bounds,
And as good as that sounds,
Ma and pa -- and her friends -- will concur.”
-Tony Holmes, Launceston, UK (tony_holmes btconnect.com)

From each clever joke, it is clear:
Your wit really coruscates, dear.
But I think it is best
That you give it a rest;
I’m liable to wet myself here.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

Said Rock Hudson, “I’ll have just what Doris ate,
For together on screen, we two coruscate.
By sharing a diet,
We’re really a riot;
It helps to our chemistry orchestrate.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Plenitude

“Two fried eggs!” said the girl. “I’m not blessed.”
“Where’s my plenitude? Oh, I’m depressed!
I’ll be left on the shelf,
There to fend for myself ...
“True, your mating display don’t arrest.”
-Tony Holmes, Launceston, UK (tony_holmes btconnect.com)

The harvest this year was the best;
With plenitude have we been blessed.
We fortunate few
Know what we must do --
We’ll share it with others hard-pressed.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

Before we went out, I was cued:
“Don’t stare at your date’s plenitude!”
Though other guys do it
You gotta eschew it
Or she’ll think that you’re godawful rude!”
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

To publish my work in a plenitude,
Mr. Garg, you’re a jolly good fella, dude.
Anywhere on this rock
Our ex-prez people mock,
To my pieces both women and men allude.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Rufescent

That noise! Omigod, ‘twas incessant --
I got madder! My face got rufescent!
So I banged on the wall
With my arm! Broke it all!
And now I’m a damned convalescent!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

After bragging that he could catch pheasant,
The hunter did not find it pleasant
When with none he returned
By his buddies was spurned,
And in shame turned a few shades rufescent.
-Janice Power, Cleveland, Ohio (powerjanice782 gmail.com)

An eclipse makes the moon look rufescent;
Other times it appears as a crescent.
When it’s full, werewolves reign;
It drives “loonies” insane,
And makes tides - its hard work is incessant!
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Brume

“We sing songs in the gathering gloom,
As the treetops are shrouded in brume,
Round a campfire whose heat
Toasts marshmallows and feet,
And keeps grizzlies away -- we assume.”
-Tony Holmes, Launceston, UK (tony_holmes btconnect.com)

New arrival in London declared,
“I find myself quite unprepared
for all of this brume.
It will, I presume,
go away, leave our day unimpaired.”
-Anne Thomas, Sedona, Arizona (antom earthlink.net)

On a mountainside misted in brume,
I discovered an odd-looking ‘shroom.
I gave it a try,
And now you know why
I am here in a hospital room.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

That lady sure gave us a fright --
Driving hell-bent sans head- or taillight.
In the thick of the brume,
It could’ve been doom,
For all those behind her that night.
-Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com)

Sleepy Hollow was draped in thick brume.
In the graveyard great danger did loom.
Poor Ichabod Crane
Was not seen again,
When the Horseman arose from his tomb.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“Although war once took place in a brume,
Now we make what we want go ‘Kaboom!’”
Said Dick Cheney. “With drones,
You can eat ice-cream cones
While you’re sending some dude to his tomb.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Altiloquent

Politicians whose constant attacks
On those voters whose morals are lax,
Should avoid -- if they’re prone --
An altiloquent tone,
Or make sure that they’ve covered their tracks.
-Tony Holmes, Launceston, UK (tony_holmes btconnect.com)

Whenever the pastor would preach,
He’d give an altiloquent speech.
He’d pompously drone;
I’d be checking my phone
Well before his conclusion he’d reach.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

High and mighty he was, and altiloquent;
Said Steve Bannon, “Come be a participant!
Build the wall!” So they gave
Lots of cash to that knave,
And he’s now facing years of imprisonment.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Puns

If you want to strengthen your coruscate-boarding regimen of two hours a day will help.
-David Sacks, Avondale Estates, Georgia (david davidsacks-rla.com)

The cover-up of the Ziegfeld Follies dressing room break-in quickly became known as Coruscate.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Writing AWAD limericks and puns gives me plenitude-oo in retirement.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

With all these increasingly severe weather events, I’m sure glad my rufescent leaky.
-David Sacks, Avondale Estates, Georgia (david davidsacks-rla.com)

“It’s your best yet. The eye of newt really makes this brume-om,” said the witch’s son.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

She took her car to the mechanic because when she stepped on the gas, it didn’t go, “Brume, brume.”
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“Since you have no idea what you’re talking about, you’ll have to h-altiloquent speech of any kind and resort to insults and lies to get elected,” said Trump’s advisers.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: Leave It to Beaver

Hmm.. could the beaver become a climate-change game-changer? These large rodents, near-and-dear to us Canucks, are nature’s resourceful engineers, increasing water storage and creating natural firebreaks with their massive dam networks. The California Department of Fish & Wildlife has allocated at least $3 million over the next two years for a restoration program of the dwindling beaver population. How ironic that a creature once deemed a nuisance, and hunted for its pelts, could now be a drought and wildfire combatant.

Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

All envy would be extinguished if it were universally known that there are none to be envied. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (18 Sep 1709-1784)

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