A.Word.A.Day -- AWADmail Issue 1162

A.Word.A.Day

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AWADmail Issue 1162

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

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From: Mary Novik (mnovik shaw.ca)
Subject: Thought for today, Sep 30

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Racism tends to attract attention when it’s flagrant and filled with invective. But like all bigotry, the most potent component of racism is frame-flipping -- positioning the bigot as the actual victim. So the gay do not simply want to marry; they want to convert our children into sin. The Jews do not merely want to be left in peace; they actually are plotting world take-over. And the blacks are not actually victims of American power, but beneficiaries of the war against hard-working whites. This is a respectable, more sensible bigotry, one that does not seek to name-call, preferring instead to change the subject and straw man. -Ta-Nehisi Coates, writer and journalist (b. 30 Sep 1975)

I think today’s “thought” was biased and very unusual for this fantastic newsletter, which I have been enjoying since it began. Your phrasing is off. You would have been wiser to speak mildly of the excesses of political correctness.

Mary Novik, Vancouver, Canada

It was not my phrasing, it was a quote. It offered valuable perspective about one particular set of extremists from the point of view of a highly intelligent journalist of color with first-hand experience of racial injustice.

My guess is you have never experienced life as a Black person. Consider talking to some Black people to learn what it is like to be in their shoes. Consider taking some time to contemplate why we have phrases like driving while Black.

-Anu Garg

From: Christina Vasilevski (christina.vasilevski gmail.com)
Subject: idiophone

I’d like to bring everyone’s attention to a class of idiophone instruments that gives me a lot of joy: handpans and steel tongue drums.

They look like flying saucers, it’s true. And handpans can be quite delicate, in that they easily go out of tune if not handled properly. But the sound is like nothing else -- by turns sonorous, resonant, chiming, tinkly.

I first learned about handpans a few years ago after listening to the music of Kate Stone, but really fell in love with the Rav Vast variety of drums about two years ago. Now I have three of them in different tunings, plus a fourth steel drum from a competing manufacturer! While I may not be the most skilled or dedicated player, they sound lovely, and there’s a thriving online community for learning how to play these instruments.

Christina Vasilevski, Toronto, Canada

From: Ross Ramsay (raramsay gmail.com)
Subject: Thanatopsis

I have ALWAYS loved AWAD and have been receiving it for... so long. But I don’t know why today of all days is when it struck me, this is the first time I’ve noticed an ambiguity I’m struggling with.

The definition is “a reflection upon death” which strikes me as equally likely to be “a reflection upon the subject of death” (or upon one’s own death but that feels more specific than it needs to be) OR “a reflection occurring when one dies”.

The first is very common through a number of cultures, with things like mindfulness, meditating upon death, etc.
The second feels very common as a literary mechanism, the proverbial life-flashing-before-one’s-eyes concept.

While the example implies that the first interpretation is correct, it does not preclude the second interpretation from also being correct. I assume, in theory, if both interpretations were correct they would be included as two separate definitions.

My question, then, is how do you work towards reducing this ambiguity?

I get a number of word-related emails, and even including dictionaries, I find yours to be the most precise, accurate, and well structured, which is why I feel I should ask, since I respect so much the effort you put in!

Ross Ramsay, Somerville, Massachusetts

Thank you for your thoughtful question. The word thanatopsis indeed suggests both interpretations you mention: the reflective contemplation of death and a fleeting reflection in the face of imminent death.

While the first is the more commonly observed use in literature and discourse, the second is also possible, particularly as a literary device. Think of a philosopher meditating on mortality versus a character in a novel experiencing a sudden, life-altering event. Both scenarios involve thanatopsis, but the context gives the word its specific shade of meaning.

Lexicographers aim to define words based on observed usage, striving to reduce ambiguity while leaving room for variation. Often, the surrounding context -- cultural, historical, or situational -- gives the word its specific meaning. When multiple interpretations persist in common usage, dictionaries may reflect that with additional definitions.

In the case of thanatopsis, the definition, “a reflection upon death”, appears to capture its most frequent application. But as language evolves, and if the second interpretation gains prominence, lexicographers would note that change, just as they continually update entries based on how words live in the world.

Lexicographers take a descriptive approach, but ultimately a dictionary is both descriptive and prescriptive -- capturing language as it is, yet guiding its use. The dynamic interplay between how language is used and how it’s defined can be as intricate as Escher’s Drawing Hands, where each shapes the other.

-Anu Garg

From: Lawrence Crumb (lcrumb uoregon.edu)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--thanatopsis

Thanatopsis is the name of a poem by William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878). It was written in 1817 and a revised version was published in 1821.

Lawrence Crumb, Eugene, Oregon

From: Mardy Grothe (drmardy drmardy.com)
Subject: The pinnacle of success

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, or publicity. -Thomas Wolfe, novelist (3 Oct 1900-1938)

You and your readers should know that this was not authored by Thomas Wolfe, but by the Canadian writer, O.A. Battista. It originally appeared in his 1981 book Quotoons: A speaker’s Dictionary. For more quotes on SUCCESS, go here.

Mardy Grothe, Southern Pines, North Carolina

Thanks for taking the time to alert us about this. We’ve fixed it on the website now. The updated entry is:

You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, or publicity. -Orlando Aloysius Battista, chemist and author (20 Jun 1917 - 3 Oct 1995)

We typically feature quotations on the authors’ birthdays. This one happened to be on the date of Battista’s death.

Also see Quote Investigator's research on this quote.

-Anu Garg

From: Joseph F. Moore (larkstone earthlink.net)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--thanatosis

USAGE:
“In response to a second shrill blast, the dissidents collapsed and feigned thanatosis.”
Wilyem Clark; Edgewise; 2011.

How does one “fake” thanatosis?

If one is faking thanatosis, then the thanatosis is not real. If the thanatosis is not real, then he or she must be truly dead. If one is truly dead, then he or she cannot be faking death. Accordingly, there is no thanatosis involved.

Joseph Moore, Los Angeles, California

From: Scott Kruize (scotkruize yahoo.com)
Subject: thanatosis

How can you have posted this word without referring to the motto of Possum Lodge in The Red Green Show?! Quando omni flunkus, moritati”
Mock Latin for: When all else fails, play dead.

Scott Kruize, Seattle, Washington

From: Luke Reynolds (luke.reynolds gmail.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--thanatosis

I like this example sentence, because if you want to be really nitpicky “feigned thanatosis” would be “pretending to be pretending to be dead”, which is an interesting thought. I think this literal reading of the phrase is applicable to actors portraying a person playing dead.

Luke Reynolds, Seattle, Washington

From: Eric Miller (ericmiller1957 gmail.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--thanatosis

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
He serves his party best who serves the country best. -Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th US president (4 Oct 1822-1893)

While the sentiment is only to be applauded, there is considerable historical irony in who the messenger is. Hayes became president, to the advantage of his party (the Republicans), only by agreeing to the Democrats’ demand to end federal Reconstruction after the Civil War, thus effectively allowing the return of the Confederate elite to power in the South, much to the disadvantage of his country.

Eric Miller, Norwich, Vermont

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From: Norbert McDermott (nmcd nmcdermott.com)
Subject: words differing by a letter

I was born and raised in Ireland, although I swapped it for a career opportunity in a little place called Oreland in Pennsylvania some three decades ago. It required a 4,000 mile trip but only one change of letter as my dear Mom would often remark at the time: swapped Ireland for Oreland. While relevant, that is not the main purpose of my note.

In Dublin, my first career stint had me involved with a typography business that had an important contract to print the daily debates in An Dáil (the lower house of the Irish parliament). This was time-sensitive work. The proceedings of each day’s discussions in the chambers, all recorded in shorthand and later by stenographers, were couriered to us each evening. The debates were typeset word for word, then proofread, printed during the course of the night, bound into booklets, and returned to the chambers the next day as the official written record for members to peruse.

No surprise that the proceedings would very often carry references to Britain, UK, England, etc. and at one point during my tenure Margaret Thatcher was dominating the headlines. The spaghetti hit the fan when one morning it was discovered in the public chamber that the “official” record from the previous day contained a reference to the “Brit-shιt” Prime Minister. I still wonder (tongue in cheek, of course) how very experienced typographers, and a battery of eagle-eyed proofreaders, all managed to miss this little “typo”.

We were reprimanded, castigated, and threatened with possibly losing a very valuable print contract -- but no doubt the castigators also had tongues-in-cheek when issuing their admonitions!

Norbert McDermott, Oreland, Pennsylvania

From: Steve Benko (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
Subject: Words that change by a letter

A triple single-letter switch:
Through limericks, I fill the role of court jester in which I pester Donald Trump lest democracy fester.

A quintuple single-letter switch:
“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. This week I compromised a source to gather information for a story on Cotton Mather,” said Dan Rather in a lather.

Steve Benko, New York, New York

From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: thanatosis

Our word “thanatosis”, the act of faking death, reminded me of North America’s lone marsupial, the Virginia opossum, and its clever ruse when threatened, of “playing possum”. I reckon that JD Vance, in his self-proclaimed hillbilly youth may have eaten a road-killed possum or two (possum pie?). Hmm... Trump and Vance’s recent bogus claim that Springfield, OH, Haitian immigrants are capturing and eating pets is kind of rich, considering Vance’s possible formative taste for feral critters. I concede, perhaps a false equivalency... but I would contend a good one. Yet another conspiracy theory? Ha!

Spinning off our usage example for our word “thanatopsis”, I’ve continued in the vein of how the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., in many of his latter speeches, presaged his premature death. Sadly, the day after his rousing Apr 3, 1968 speech in Memphis, TN, he was assassinated. Just a few months later, campaigning presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy met the same tragic fate.

Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California

Anagrams


This week’s theme: Words differing by a letter 1. Androgenic 2. Ideophone 3. Idiophone 4. Thanatopsis 5. Thanatosis	=	1. What chap steroids do - hair, libido, teen’s penιs 2. Onomatope, honk 3. Hey isn’t strings 4. We fear to die 5. Feign death
		-Julian Lofts, Auckland, New Zealand (jalofts xtra.co.nz)

=	1. “He” is the manly kind 2. Show de facto representation 3. E.g. bongo hit 4. Death wish, it’s refrain 5. “Pose dead” position	=	1. I speak of a male 2. Fancy word 3. Hip noise with no string (i.e., ring, toot) 4. His thesis on death 5. He pretends to be dead
	-Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com)		-Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com)

Make your own anagrams and animations.

Limericks

androgenic

He wanted his muscles to show,
And seem more androgenic, and so
He worked out every day
But, forgive me, I’d say
He was less Tarzan -- more Pierrot!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

This drug’s androgenic and so
It causes your voice to grow low.
And please be aware
You might grow a pair --
It’s really quite potent, you know.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

Said Oog, “Me just love JD Vance;
Like me, he think men wear the pants.
Me applaud a polemic
That’s so androgenic --
At cat ladies we look askance.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

ideophone

I had felt when the orator spoke
That my senses his words just awoke.
Each ideophone
(As such words are known)
Made his speech simply sizzle and smoke.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

The word “sεx” is an ideophone;
When you hear it, with pleasure you moan.
But then you get old;
What ran hot now grows cold,
And the time left to you is on loan.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

idiophone

A composer, who’s yet to be known,
Has a style that’s truly his own.
He’s working right now
On a piece that will wow --
His concerto for idiophone.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

Good gracious, what’s causing that noise?
Oh, let’s chalk it up to those boys
And their idiophone
With which they are prone
To make sounds that evoke in us, “Oy’s!”
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

The crack in an idiophone
Made our forefathers let out a groan.
Though the Liberty Bell
Had rung out, “All is well!”
Now the flaws in that notion were shown.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

thanatopsis

Said Orestes (and here’s a synopsis),
“I need help to avenge our dear pop, sis!
And you’d better stay calm
When we deal with our mom,
And teach her about thanatopsis.”
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

The verse that in high school he read
Was rather depressing, he said.
He wrote a synopsis
Of that thanatopsis:
“One day all that lives will be dead.”
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

With most of Poe’s work, a synopsis
Would be on the theme thanatopsis.
On vacation in Greece
Do not read such a piece,
Lest you throw yourself off the acrop’lis.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

thanatosis

Pretense that you’re dead is one way
To make would-be enemies stay
Far off ‘cause they feel
Thanatosis is real,
And pish-tosh, one less human to slay!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

If a bear should attack, I’d be tense.
I’m not sure what I’d do for defense.
Thanatosis, I know,
Is one way to go,
But with black bears it doesn’t make sense.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

“A golden calf? Oy!” fretted Moses;
“You guys better try thanatosis.
For Yahweh is pιssed,
And no slap on the wrist
Does he give for behavior atrocious.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Puns

“That white whale will kill us all. But if we turn this longboat around androgenic-ide may be averted,” suggested Ishmael.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“I’m sorry, but without showing proper ideophone can’t be activated on our network,” apologized the customer service representative. “How about a gun instead?”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“To help you write the most moronic tweets possible, this is our top-of-the-line idiophone. It’s got the latest in Artificial Stupidity,” said the sales rep to JD Vance and Donald Trump.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“Some people have a smart phone,” my husband would gripe, “while I have an idiophone!”
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“You’ve got me so confused that my head is spinning faster thanatopsis,” said Sue’s brother.
-Janice Power, Cleveland, Ohio (powerjanice782 gmail.com)

“You don’t haf to go to nυde beach. You vill get a good all-over thanatopsis table vith complete privacy,” the UV technician assured the self-conscious customer.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“We have arrived at the beach. You must keep your full habits on at all times. You may not even thanatosis-ters,” commanded the Mother Superior.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

It’s said that “power corrupts”, but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power. When they do act, they think of it as service, which has limits. The tyrant, though, seeks mastery, for which he is insatiable, implacable. -David Brin, scientist and science fiction author (b. 6 Oct 1950)

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