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Sep 8, 2024
This week’s themeCoined words This week’s words misogynoir outgrabe intertextuality genteelism googolplex How popular are they? Relative usage over time AWADmail archives Index Next week’s theme Words with all the vowels 
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AWADmail Issue 1158A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and LanguageSponsor’s Message: OLD’S COOL. LACRAWESOME. HOW IS THE COW? -- Try our wit on for size. 100% Cotton Beautifully Made in America T-shirts and polos. The perfect gift. Shop Now. From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) Subject: Interesting stories from the Net From School Librarian to Activist: “The Hate Level and the Vitriol Is Unreal” The New York Times Permalink [This Nov, vote for people who don’t hate librarians and teachers.] Suspected Burglar Caught After Sitting Down With Book BBC Permalink From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) Subject: contraduction This week I invited readers to send their examples of contraductions. Here’s a selection.
I was startled and confused recently when it appeared that my dear
son-in-law, who is in his 60s and whom I hadn’t seen for more than a year,
was still growing. I mean vertically!
He wasn’t wearing cowboy boots. We were standing together on level ground, and How could it be that he was still growing? The family and I all enjoyed a big laugh about my illusion, as the joke was on me! It was another dad gum learning experience, as he (a retiring physician) and my daughter realized the cause immediately. Gravity has taken its toll on me. Now in my late 80s, I have lost 1.5 inches in height. -Mariana Warner, Asheville, North Carolina (marianaw6002 gmail.com) Thinking that the Sun revolves around the Earth. -Cengiz Günay, Atlanta, Georgia (cengique gmail.com) I’m reading Christopher Hitchens’s excellent treatise God Is Not Great, which contains examples of contraduction, unsurprising given that the technique seems to be a specialty of religion (to which you alluded by mentioning evolution in your example). This one appears on only the second page, where he quotes his childhood teacher of both nature and scripture: “Seeking ambitiously to fuse her two roles as nature instructor and Bible teacher, she said, ‘So you see, children, how powerful and generous God is. He has made all the trees and grass to be green, which is exactly the color that is most restful to the eyes. Imagine if instead, the vegetation was all purple, or orange, how awful that would be.’” -Brian Hoffman, Greenfield, Massachusetts (kabeyun mac.com) When moving slowly into a parking place and the car next to you starts backing out. Generally you are so disoriented you slam on the brakes until reality sets in. -Jerry McLellan, Asheville, North Carolina (jerryfmclellan gmail.com) On Sydney harbour I paddled my kayak up to the side of a huge moving ship and the instant that all I could see was the ship I suffered such extreme contraduction that the false sensation of suddenly moving sideways at the speed of the ship initiated a correction manoeuvre which nearly capsized the kayak. -Don Ross, Sydney, Australia (anaortic gmail.com) We may believe that evolution is phony and that God created Hοmο sapiens, whereas Hοmο sapiens certainly created the idea of God. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) I have long marveled at the miracle of human beings evolving to perfectly fit the bicycle -- two feet for pedals, two hands for handlebars, a bυtt for the seat. -Tom Montgomery, Bothell, Washington (tommont82 outlook.com) From: Nate Cope (etanc aol.com) Subject: contraduction I really enjoyed today’s AWAD and appreciate the risk that you are taking. Dan Barker’s Godless was such an excellent deconstruction story but I imagine that a segment of your audience may not appreciate your attempts to challenge what can only be understood as mythology. The fine tuning example was a great example of a contraduction and I applaud your quest for truth. Nate Cope, Scottsdale, Arizona From: Norman Smith (ncsmith1952 gmail.com) Subject: Outgrabe In the German version of Jabberwocky, “outgrabe” is translated as “ausgraben”, which means, “to dig up”. Norman Smith, Ottawa, Canada From: Dee Larson (via website comments) Subject: outgrabe As a former teacher, I loved sharing Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” with the students! We’d analyze the wacky words for their usage and content so as to sort out possible meanings.Then the kids got to illustrate their favorite line. The mome raths with their “outgrabing” were never seen as threatening moans because Carroll repeated their existence after the jabberwock was slain. Girls liked to draw them as weird flowers dancing or such. Dee Larson, Columbia, Maryland From: Henry M. Willis (hmw ssdslaw.com) Subject: Intertextuality Dante was, along with Shakespeare, perhaps the most original writer in Western literature. While others had written about the afterlife, no one had created as immense and detailed a vision of Heaven and Hell, populated with both real and mythic characters, as Dante did. Dante also helped fashion what has become modern Italian out of the vernacular Tuscan he spoke. But original as he was, Dante also believed in intertextuality centuries before the word existed. He not only retold, quoted and paraphrased the Bible and classic Latin poetry throughout the Divine Comedy, but encountered many of the poets who had gone before him on his journey through the next world. Those writers spoke in the style in which they had written, and, when given the chance, stopped what they were doing to critique other poets’ styles and influence -- including their influence on Dante. And Dante did not just illustrate his dependence on the poets of the past, but dramatized it. When Dante first meets Virgil, who will guide him through Hell and most of Purgatory, he refers to him as both his master and his “author,” a word that could mean any number of things, from inspiration to parenthood. He compares Virgil to his mother in the scene in Hell in which, when they were being pursued by angry demons, Virgil grabbed him and carried him away the way a mother carries her child out of a burning house. Virgil, like a good parent, instructs, criticizes and praises Dante, as appropriate; when they reach the shores of Purgatory Virgil wipes the grime of Hell off Dante’s face. And when Dante finally encounters Beatrice in Purgatory, he is so shaken that he immediately turns to Virgil, “as a child runs to his mother when he is afraid or in distress,” only to discover that Virgil has gone back to Hell. Dante not only recognized his debt to Virgil, but celebrated it. A true intertextualist -- although Dante might have come up with a better word or phrase to express that concept. Henry Willis, Los Angeles, California From: Robert Hamlin (comingdetractions gmail.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--intertextuality You wrote: “Intertextuality reminds us that every piece of writing is influenced by what came before it, consciously or not.” You make a very good point but I would suggest that a piece may also be influenced by what comes after, in that those later pieces influence the understandings and interpretations which may change how we view the earlier work. Bob Hamlin, Wilder, Vermont From: Lisa Barksdale (ecbark gmail.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--intertextuality Would it be fair to say that no text just fell out of a coconut tree? :) Lisa Barksdale, Providence, Rhode Island From: Barbara Anuzis (barbara.anuzis gmail.com) Subject: genteelism Somewhere along the way, our family has taken to using the phrase, “I’m going to rest” to announce our intention to use the restroom. It conveys the message succinctly, but occasionally confuses people who may overhear us. Barbara Anuzis, Fairview, North Carolina From: Rick Carmickle (via website comments) Subject: Washing one’s hands I took my grandma to San Francisco Pier and she would say, “I’m going to wash my hands.” Our family has been saying that for 30 years now. Rick Carmickle, Denver, Colorado From: Max Montel (maxmontel yahoo.com) Subject: bathroom insurance One of my grandfather’s favorite stories was of being stopped by a woman who asked if he knew where she could “get some insurance”. It took him quite a while to figure out that she was looking for a toilet. He loved the memory so much, he would usually say, before a trip or an outing, “Does anyone need to get some insurance?” Max Montel, Los Angeles, California
Email of the Week -- Brought to you buy OLD’S COOL -- Smart t-shirts for smarty pants.
From: Kenneth Kirste (kkkirste sbcglobal.net) Subject: genteelism The word genteelism reminded me of an astounding bit of television history. In the early days, the Tonight show, was filmed the night before it aired and, in Feb 1960, the censors edited out a joke told by the then-host, Jack Paar without bothering to consult him. His humorous story turned on the use of the initials WC, which is a genteelism for “water closet” (which itself is a genteelism for a flush toilet). The premise was a woman renting a room by mail and inquiring about the location of the nearest WC. The respondent misinterprets WC as meaning a Wayside Chapel and shocks the woman by writing such things as “it is situated nine miles from the room you will occupy”,” it is capable of holding about 229 people”, “it is only open on Sunday and Thursday”, and “I shall be delighted to reserve the best seat for you, if you wish, where you will be seen by everyone”. Paar was offended by the censorship and made history by quitting on-air the following day. It was several weeks before he returned. I find the incident to be a lovely reminder of how far we’ve come since those days when TV censors cut a joke over a genteelism of a genteelism. Ken Kirste, Sunnyvale, California From: Joan Perrin (perrinjoan aol.com) Subject: Genteelism I’m reminded of the word genteelism when I think of a story talk show host Dιck Cavett told about a family he knew back in Nebraska whose name was pronounced O’Thussey, but it was spelled Outhouse. Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York From: Robert L Wilson (wilson math.wisc.edu) Subject: What names actually describe numbers... googolplex? I’m a retired mathematician, and for a while the department sent me letters that had come in that did not clearly belong somewhere else. I got a letter from a girl asking if “a gazillion” was a number. She had wanted to use it, but the boys in her class made fun of her for doing so. Clearly this was a minefield... My reply said there are different ways we use the word “number”. Sometimes we mean something we could do arithmetic with. But if I say “I’ll bet there are a thousand cows in that field”, that is quite different. That version of “thousand” is not a number you do arithmetic with, but at the same time it is not meaningless. I put in more details, but the point is that what a word means, or even whether it is a word, depends on how it is being used. Bob Wilson, Fitchburg, Wisconsin  
Subject: misogynoir and outgrabe Who better to exemplify the quintessential misogynoir than Trump? Case in point, he disrespects Black women reporters, often starting his query responses with “That’s a very nasty question!”. At the recent National Association of Black Journalists conference he claimed that he’d only recently discovered that VP Kamala Harris was Black. Then there’s his faux struggle with pronouncing her name. Where does it end? Perhaps when Trump loses to the Harris/Walz ticket on Nov 5? 
Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California Anagrams
Make your own anagrams and animations. Limericks misogynoir Trump’s evident misogynoir Is part of his crude repertoire. It’s all the more reason This electoral season To bid him at last au revoir. -Otis Stroup, Catonsville, Maryland (ohstroup gmail.com) A young lady was taken aback By a cop, whom they really should sack. With misogynoir He halted her car. Her offense? -- She was driving while black. -Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com) Serena’s a great tennis star, Who’s put up with misogynoir. Her attackers, in truth, Are much more than uncouth -- How vile their critiques of her are! -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) He’s known for his misogynoir. His hatred is very bizarre. He goes on attack, ‘Cause Harris is Black. We must bid Donald Trump au revoir. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) Now that Kamala’s gotten this far, Donald’s going for misogynoir. But he asks, “Will the Court Tolerate such blood sport?” “You will get off scot free,” says Bill Barr. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) outgrabe There was Abraham (let’s call him Abe), Who would sacrifice Isaac, his babe. But the Lord, He said: “No! We will not sink so low. Say your prayers -- no more need to outgrabe.” -Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com) If your cell phone outgrabes, please know this: There is something for sure that’s amiss. Phones beep, and they ring; They buzz, and they ping, But you won’t hear them squeak, shriek, or hiss. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) I knew a young man name of Gabe, Who said that when he was a babe He had trouble breathing Because he was teething, And in great distress he’d outgrabe. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) You’d never hear Lincoln outgrabe About women who don’t have a babe. So to “All men are equal”, We now need a sequel: “And cat ladies, also.” Right, Abe? -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) intertextuality My Fair Lady by Lerner and Loewe Is based on Pygmalion, you know. They were both filled with awe For both Ovid and Shaw. That’s intertextuality, yo! -Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com) To speak kindly of writers’ reality, Start with “inter-”, then add, “-textuality.” They set out to create, But it’s often their fate To beg, borrow, or steal -- quite a malady. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) genteelism Thomas Crapper’s remembered today For improving the loo in a way. But it’s really a shame, How we’re using his name. It’s not a genteelism, nay. -Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com) Use genteelisms when you converse In the place of those words that are worse. Don’t say “s***house”; instead You might speak of the “head”, Or say “loo” -- that’s much nicer and terse. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) Our school ma’am would hasten to blur, With genteelism some curse or slur. Her behavioral coup Was we stopped saying loo; It’s washroom, according to her. -Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com) My bestie is holier than thou; I put up with it, though I’ll avow His genteelism gets me And often upsets me. I throw up my hands, yell, “Not now!” -Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com) Dear Anu, too much genteelism In AWAD is causing a schism. Real people like me Use bad language, you see, And those words you won’t write? Well, we miss ‘em. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) googolplex You love me a bushel and peck? That’s nice, she said, but what the heck. I would love you much more If you didn’t snore. It’s a googolplex pain in the neck. -Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com) A googolplex times I’ve heard said With Trump there lies trouble ahead. So I’ve now taken note, And that’s why I’ll vote For Kamala Harris instead! -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) When a number is very complex, And all of those zeroes do vex, You surely can choose A neat shortcut to use. Use this quick, easy word: googolplex. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “How many before you? A googolplex!” Said Stormy, “now try to your noodle flex. The way that you’ll feel Will be worth a great deal, So Donald, write giant, not frugal checks.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Puns “After negotiating peace between Egypt and Israel, you deserve a spa day with a nice misogynoir,” said Mrs. Sadat. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “Rita Hayworth outgrabe-ls Grabel’s gams,” her press agent would brag. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “School libraries are full of printed material that’s corrupting our children’s minds. We must dig a deep hole and intertextuality,” said the Moms for Liberty. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “I’d ‘druther you just call me. I’m not intertextuality on these here new phones,” her grandmother told the teen. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “Doc, I dream that I’m swimming and my willy turns into a snake.” “Ah! Zees ees classic case of genteelism.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “Why don’t you googolplex-iglass, and see who sells the small display cases we need?” the museum director lectured his assistant. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, new York (perrinjoan aol.com) A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
If more politicians in this country were thinking about the next generation
instead of the next election, it might be better for the United States
and the world. -Claude Pepper, senator and representative (8 Sep 1900-1989)
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