|
Home
|
Mar 19, 2023
This week’s themeWords related to the number 29 This week’s words aderation saturnalian bissextile lunation occiput How popular are they? Relative usage over time AWADmail archives Index Next week’s theme Toponyms 
Like what you see here?Send a gift subscription 
AWADmail Issue 1081A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and LanguageSponsor’s Message: “This is not an IQ test.” The Old’s Cool Wiseacre’s Guide to Life is the newest one of four absolutely FREE e-books that’ll show you how smart you really are, the best way to live happily ever after, and the big difference between a hophornbeam and your Mother-in-Law’s tongue. Smarten up... for nothing! From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) Subject: Interesting stories from the Net The Problem with English Aeon Permalink The End of the English Major The New Yorker Permalink From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) Subject: 29th anniversary contest Thanks to all the readers who sent us words of congratulations on Wordsmith.org’s novevicennial. Some sent it in exactly 29 letters:
Congratulations: twenty-nine años! -Tracy L. Malloy, Lancaster, California (tracylepardmalloy gmail.com) This column’s wonderful! Keep going! -Eric Kisch, Shaker Heights, Ohio (kischmir musicalpassions.com) Gratitude for your novevicennial. -Chris Advincula, Fairport, New York (cadvincula aol.com) CONTEST RESULTS We invited readers to redefine each of this week’s words in 29 letters. Thanks to everyone for participating. So many clever, creative, and funny, entries, it was hard to pick winners, but here they are: WINNERS
Aderation: Not far from adoration, but less hot! -Olga Husson-Membrive, Niort, France (avenger26 gmail.com) Saturnalian: Orgy with sex, lies, and no video tape. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) Bissextile: A (mostly) quadrennial calendar fix. [Since leap days don’t occur in years that are divisible by 100 but not by 400.] -Mark Borreliz, Southborough, Massachusetts (markborreliz msn.com) Lunation: Time between moon mooning us twice. -Jeff Suto, San Carlos, California (jeff jsuto.com) Occiput: Pate. Forehead. Face. Temple. Balance? -Kimball Knuckey, Alexandria, Australia (kknuckey bigpond.net.au) PRIZES Congratulations to the winners! They will receive their choice of any of the following prizes: HONORABLE MENTIONS Some readers sent all five 29-letter definitions that were remarkable: 
Aderation: Valuation but sounds like worship. Saturnalian: A devilish anagram is a natural sin. Bissextile: No. sixty of three hundred sixty six. Lunation: New moon. (Days between them) New moon. Occiput: Pate. Forehead. Face. Temple. Balance? -Kimball Knuckey, Alexandria, Australia (kknuckey bigpond.net.au) Some sent definitions in the form of rhymes or a poem:
Aderation: Assign to a thing value in cha-ching. Saturnalian: Of revelry unchecked: eat, drink, sex. Bissextile: Of a leap day fix for annual hour + six. Lunation: Time of moonglow ere fall of shadow. Occiput: Succinctly said, astern of the head. -Walter S. Hanson, Perry, Georgia (mrbox outlook.com) Aderation: Putting up price tag on everything Saturnalian: Towards an unrestrained spending Bissextile: Rare instants, of the leap year kind Lunation: Moon to moon, the way passions grind Occiput: Things at the back of the human mind. -Vikas N. Prabhu, Bangalore, India (vikasnprabhu gmail.com) Josiah Winslow of Franklin, Wisconsin (winslowjosiah gmail.com) defined each of this week’s words in 29 letters while making an anagram (see the anagram section below). Read on for more honorable mentions.
ADERATION: Money can’t buy love but can value it. -Christophe Sauvage, Paris, France (christophe.sauvage me.com) The assignment of a monetary value. -Bronwyn Fleming, Queenstown, New Zealand (bronfleming yahoo.com) If you have to ask, you can’t afford it. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) This is how much I decided it’s worth. -Ellen Balagna, Trivoli, Illinois (ebalagna peoriacounty.org) I dinnae how much but more than that. -Raymond G Green, Highland, Scotland (zenxan btinternet.com) I know what it’s worth. Name the price! -Tony Holmes, Launceston, UK (tony_holmesbtconnect.com) It costs exactly what I say it costs. -Charlie Cockey, Bilovice nad Svitavou, Czech Republic (czechpointcharlie gmail.com) My definition for what it’s worth, OK? -Bob Carter, Fareham, UK (rfgcarter ntlworld.com) SATURNALIAN: Partying like there is no tomorrow. -Kathy Borst, Yorkville, California (kborst mcn.org) Debauched partying, nothing taboo. -Carolyn McKenzie, Thames, New Zealand (carolynmckenzie libero.it) Parties all day, parties all nights. -Kate Casler, Wilmington, New York (kgscas gmail.com) A night so good that it is bad for you. -Eric Warner Hyde Park, New York (eric.warner825 gmail.com) Just like a bacchanal or wild revel. -Elizabeth Manwell, Kalamazoo, Michigan (elizabeth shockwell.net) Completely drunk on a Saturday eve. -Bob Carter, Fareham, UK (rfgcarter ntlworld.com) Partying, run rings round morality. -Sylvia Bunting, Yorkshire, UK (bunting7 btinternet.com) Party like a servus in dominus’ seat. -Jeff Greenberger, Cutchogue, New York (jeff.greenberger stonybrook.edu) Drinking, dancing, and fornication. -Diane Colello, Saugerties, New York (dianebc22 gmail.com) Characterized by wild debauchery. -Pat Ostrander, Seattle, Washington (jpostran gmail.com) In festive fashion of wild revelry. -Camila Guadalupe Cortea, Tokyo, Japan (cami.scout gmail.com) Roman god Saturn calls us to party. -Carla Calhoun, Tulare, California (cdcalhoun gmail.com) BISSEXTILE A birthday every four years? Poor me. -Anne Reynolds, Arlington, Virginia (annereynolds stanfordalumni.org) Only one birthday every four years. -Sarah Brassington, Sheringham, UK (misstechnophobe gmail.com) Correction unrelated to the sex ID. -Christophe Sauvage, Paris, France (christophe.sauvage me.com) Year divide by four is even? Add a day! -Kathy Borst, Yorkville, California (kborst mcn.org) A magic key for eternal youth: Feb 29. -Lloyd Matthew Thompson, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (the1978one gmail.com) Related to Feb’s novevicennial day. -Perry Keil Thapa, Kathmandu, Nepal (perrythapa gmail.com) It has the twenty-ninth of February. -Maurizio Codogno, Milano, Italy (dotmaudot gmail.com) Another day for February next year. -James Troedel, Barwon Heads, Australia (jktroedel1 bigpond.com) One day more for jumping: a leap year. -Joy Dell, Notre Dame de Lourdes, Canada (joydell83 gmail.com) That extra Feb day every four years. -Carey McIntosh, Monrovia, California (careymissmc gmail.com) My birthday disappears most years. -Laura Dewey, Orange, California (ldewey2111 gmail.com) Every four years we get a year older. -Barb Randall, King City, Canada (barbrandall sympatico.ca) Regular fourth-year calendar jump. -Madeline S. Jolhnston, Berrien Center, Michigan (johnston andrews.edu) What some expected in two thousand. -Elizabeth Wise, Cle Elum, Washington (youngwise74 yahoo.com) Month two of the year is oft cheated. -Lee Colsant, Illinois (leecolsant39 gmail.com) Transpiring once every four years. -R Ramnath, Coimbatore, India (ramudada gmail.com) A wholly useless word for leap year. -Justin Craig, North Little Rock, Arkansas (jecraig87 gmail.com) LUNATION The interval between two new moons. -N. Srivatsa, Noida, India (natarajan.srivatsa gmail.com) Roughly twenty nine and a half days. -Santosh Iyer, Alpharetta, Georgia (santosh_iyer yahoo.com) Days like years of AWAD’s existence. -Lynn Mancini, Newark, Delaware (mancini dtcc.edu) The gap from one new moon to the next. -Madeline S. Johnston, Berrien Center, Michigan (johnston andrews.edu) Time between successive new moons. -Suhail Nazir Khan, Kupwara, India (snkhan1007 gmail.com) From old new moon to the new new moon. -Eric Warner Hyde Park, New York (eric.warner825 gmail.com) From new moon to the succeeding one. -Pat Ostrander, Seattle, Washington (jpostran gmail.com) The moon’s span from new to new again. -Michele Richards, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (michelelamar gmail.com) OCCIPUT Where dad’s hand often meets my head. -Bruce Romano, Mt Pleasant, South Carolina (dcbromano gmail.com) Rear side of the human skull or head. -Priyamvada KE, New Delhi, India (kepriyamvada niyogibooksindia.com) The head part seeing all but itself. -Tony Holmes, Launceston, UK (tony_holmes btconnect.com) Keep your head on, it’s all behind you. -Richard Ibbotson, Glenfarg, Scotland (ribbotson1313 gmail.com) What is boney, behind, and can be bald? -Jim Phelps, Lindsay, Canada (jimphelps41 gmail.com) RESULTS OF THE BONUS CONTEST In a bonus contest we invited readers to guess this week’s words based on hints we gave on Monday. Of the remaining four words, three readers were able to deduce two words each: Saturnalian and Bissextile: -Phil Censky, Mequon, Wisconsin (pwcensky gmail.com) Bissextile and Lunation: -Dada David, Nigeria, Lagos (dadadavidoluwaniyinye gmail.com) -Ivy Kaminsky, Houston, Texas (ivykaminsky yahoo.com) Congratulations to the winners! They will receive their choice of above-mentioned prizes. From: Phil Chernofsky (philch 013.net) Subject: 29 TWENTY NINE Did you know that the words for 29 in English are made up of exactly 29 strokes? Phil Chernofsky, Jerusalem, Israel From: Ren Draya (ren.draya blackburn.edu) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--aderation Thank you for choosing 29 as this week’s focus. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29 has always been one of my favorites and has a universal, timeless relevance. One of the strongest lines, “I all alone beweep my outcast state,” offers a powerful image, is haunting to say aloud, and has exactly 29 letters. By the way, Mar 14, is my birthday, which I share with Michael Caine, Quincy Jones, Steff Curry, Billy Crystal, Simone Biles, and (drumroll) Albert Einstein ... Ren Draya, Professor Emeritus, Blackburn College, Medora, Illinois From: Scott Swanson (harview montana.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--bissextile When my girlfriend and I decided to get married during the winter of 1984, I picked Feb 29 as the date. A year later, she was wondering where the flowers, etc., were. I told her she’d have to wait three more years. We’ll be celebrating our 10th anniversary next year! Glad I didn’t have any word-knowledgeable friends ask me if it meant I was bi-sextile. Scott Swanson, Pendroy, Montana From: David Sices (david.sices gmail.com) Subject: bissextile The French term for a leap year is “une année bissextile”. In Italian and Spanish that’s bisestile. It would seem that the Latins are generally less liable to leap, perhaps, until they’ve looked... David Sices, Chapel Hill, North Carolina From: Troels Forchhammer (troels forchhammer.net) Subject: bissextile Curiously, in Danish usage, leap day (skuddag) is still considered to be Feb 24. Troels Forchhammer, Hedehusene, Denmark From: Nat Kimber (natraekimber gmail.com) Subject: bissextile birthdays A wonderful essay about bissextile birthdays: The Leap-Day Baby’s Paradox The Atlantic Permalink A quotation from the essay: “I turn 12 this year, and I have Pope Gregory XIII and my mother to thank for it.” Nat Kimber, New York, New York From: Marco Davis (davis.marco gmail.com) Subject: Senator Smoot The anti-smut crusader Senator Smoot (of Ut) is the same guy whose notorious Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act decimated world trade and helped turn the 1929 Wall Street crash into a 10-year disaster known as the Great Depression. His bad economic policies obviously had a much more long-lasting impact than his futile efforts at legislating moral rectitude. Marco Davis, Orem, Utah From: June Cussen (june.cussen gmail.com) Subject: Verse in form of Ogden Nash’s DeSantis DeFeats DePorn Gov. DeSantis, Republican, Fla., The Sunshine State poobah, Wants to ban all the books that are WOKE. No penguins raised by menfolk! No Atwood, Morrison, or Blume! Not to mention controlling the womb. He knew what to do, Called all his lies true, And the Grand Old P. shouted Hoorah! June Cussen, Sarasota, Florida From: Paul Foerster (foerster idworld.net) Subject: 29 years 29 has cropped up frequently in my life this year. My age is a multiple of 29. My son’s age is a (different!) multiple of 29. I married Peggy 29 years ago (after my first wife Jo Ann had died of cancer). So all this information allows you to figure out just which multiple of 29 I am. Paul A. Foerster, San Antonio, Texas From: Peter Mehren (bigsur rogers.com) Subject: 29 Have you any readers/subscribers in Twentynine Palms, California? Long ago cartoon: A car crashed into and broke off a palm tree, necessitating change of the town’s name. Peter Mehren, Toronto, Canada
We have subscribers from nearly every city. We probably have at
least 29 subscribers from Twentynine Palms.
-Anu Garg From: Judith Schimke (judithas msn.com) Subject: The Lady From 29 Palms The Lady From 29 Palms (1947) by The Andrews Sisters video (3 min.), lyrics I was a bit young when it came out in 1947 but it could have fit in your contest!😅 I love getting your email. It’s so full of interesting material. I am a better human for reading it. Judi Schimke, Seattle, Washington From: Karla Taylor (kttaylor umich.edu) Subject: 29 Happy anniversary! Also, the narrator of the Canterbury Tales joins a group of pilgrims, “wel nine and twenty in a compaignye” at the beginning of the General Prologue to the work. Karla Taylor, Department of English, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan From: Thomas Cantrell (tom tomcantrell.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--aderation I have enjoyed Wordsmith.org longer than any other blog/article I can recall. There are others out there, but yours is the best; simple, readable, knowledgeable... Love it! Thank you for the simple, wonderful, simply wonderful, easily digestible, A.Word.A.Day with pronunciation, meaning, etymology, usage, and A Thought for Today quotable quotation for dessert! Thomas Cantrell, Salt Lake City, Utah  
Subject: saturnalian and occiput Here, I’ve offered up a little fantastical twist on a Saturnalia, featuring the deity himself, Saturn, as the principle player. In this instance, the god of fertility and agriculture is laying down his law, insisting that the cohort of horny half human/half beasties be excluded from his eponymously named fête. Licentiousness in Saturn’s domain apparently has its limitations. 
Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California Anagrams
Limericks Aderation “Adaeration,” said Wilde with a sneer, “Is the best I can hope for while here. You can give me the price Of a thing in a trice, But its value eludes you, I fear.” -Tony Holmes, Launceston, UK (tony_holmes btconnect.com) I’m puzzled by some aderation And feel a great sense of frustration. An arm and a leg I pay for an egg -- What’s causing this awful inflation? -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) Applying aderation to her dates, She ranked them by their net-worth rates. With markets in a spot, she changed that list a lot, Hoping she’d meet someone like Bill Gates. -Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com) To Stormy’s hotel room invited, What he did didn’t leave her excited. But her steep aderation Of Donald’s flirtation, Will finally get him indicted. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) In America, Earth’s greatest nation, We let nothing escape aderation. Do you want something nice? It’s all there for a price: Decent schools or a heart operation! -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Saturnalian Saturnalian feasts are the best, And should end with you under arrest, On charge one: being drunk; And for two: in the trunk, You’ve three very nice girls -- all undressed. -Tony Holmes, Launceston, UK (tony_holmes btconnect.com) The wedding -- it’s true, I was there -- Was a real saturnalian affair; Where one bawdy guest Got completely undressed, And the bride’s ample bosom was bare. -Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com) “Come to the party with me this Saturday evening,” says he. “’Twill be saturnalian, which sounds a bit alien, but you’re gonna love it. You’ll see!” -Anne Thomas, Sedona, Arizona (antom earthlink.net) Saturnalian parties galore! He believed that’s what college was for. His classes he spurned, And little he learned -- But at least it was never a bore. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) A strong saturnalian streak Overtook my poor brother this week. He was frisky. His wife Got the shock of her life! And decided she likes him best -- meek! -Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com) “At words that are sesquipedalian, I revel in ways saturnalian,” Said Anu. “Beguiled, I go really wild All night till I’m tatterdemalion.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Bissextile “So, St. Patrick, you’re saying one day Every bissextile year a girl may Ask her man, ‘Please be mine! Say me nay and I’ll pine.’ That’s not chauvinist?!” “What can I say?” -Tony Holmes, Launceston, UK (tony_holmes btconnect.com) Sadie Hawkins was almost in tears After waiting for almost four years For that bissextile day, But to her dismay Her proposal was met with just sneers. -Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com) “I hear that this year’s a bissextile. What does that mean?” asked the reptile. “Are we to leap, rather than creep? Which do you think’s the correct style?” -Anne Thomas, Sedona, Arizona (antom earthlink.net) If your birthday’s bissextile, it’s true: You will celebrate only a few. But you’ll age just the same, Which I think is a shame -- So there isn’t an upside for you. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) Though it sounds like a dirty, bad word When “bissextile” is what you have heard, Do not worry or fret. You need not get upset. It just means that a leap year occurred. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “Our Pope’s brilliant, and Lord, we hope next he’ll Make calendars smartly bissextile,” Prayed the cardinals. “Please, Greg, For this change we all beg, As the seasons are bent like a pretzel!” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Lunation “A werewolf? Such things don’t exist; Just a figment or myth,” you insist. Come around at full moon And you’ll soon change your tune; Each lunation, the symptoms persist. -Tony Holmes, Launceston, UK (tony_holmes btconnect.com) Breaking news! It’s a real revelation. Every month ought to be a lunation. Most are longer, you know; And that’s odd, but it’s so. Call it sheer universal inflation. -Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com) Some people will spend this lunation Preparing a big celebration. They’ll clean and they’ll bake; Some soup they will make -- Their seder will be a sensation! -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) I think I will take a vacation, But it won’t have a lengthy duration. I suspect I can use An around-the-world cruise; I’ll return in one passing lunation. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) Dionysus, the god of libation, Said, “Drink up, folks! Why wait a lunation? Indulging in wine Much more often is fine; Come and join me in nightly elation!” -Janice Power, Cleveland, Ohio (powerjanice782 gmail.com) “While racing to do the Creation, I thought it might take a lunation,” Said Yahweh. “But look! I’m in Guinness’s book! Just six days! I deserve an ovation!” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Occiput In anatomy class they insist That the bones in the skull we must list. Now the occiput’s one, But I know I’m not done -- There are twenty-eight others I’ve missed. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) Said Bill, “After bangin’ mah occiput, Ah couldn’t recall where mah socks Ah put. So without them Ah dressed, And went home and confessed, But in Hillary’s eyes, now mah stock’s kaput.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Puns The swami called his love of snakes his aderation. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “We love the news. Our aderation of it knows no bounds,” said Rupert Murdoch. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “OMG, are you from Mars?” asked the shocked Earthlings. “Nope. They’re actually tall and blue. I’m a Saturnalian,” replied the little green man. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “Ceramic flooring appeals equally to men and women,” said the salesperson. “It’s bissextile.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “I will build a wall to keep out ducks and geese! This is a lunation!” the aquatic bird shouted to his flock. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) The peddler loaded up his cart with goods, but couldn’t make his rounds because he’d forgotten where his occiput. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) 
Subject: Ron DeSanctimonious Presumptive presidential candidate, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, recently declared that “backing Ukraine is not in America’s vital security interest.” Now, he appears to be marching in lockstep with the far-right faction of the House, led by Marjorie Taylor Green, Matt Gaetz, and Jim Jordan. The self-anointed crusader against wokeness, DeSantis is shaping up as Trump-lite, aligning himself with the former president’s nationalist/isolationist policies, yet trying to project more of a Mr. Nice Guy persona. Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
It’s best to give while your hand is still warm. -Philip Roth, novelist
(19 Mar 1933-2018)
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise
© 1994-2024 Wordsmith