Wordsmith.org: the magic of words


A.Word.A.Day

About | Media | Search | Contact  


Home

Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Archives

FAQ


Oct 20, 2024
This week’s theme
Usage examples that are food for thought

This week’s words
parturition
avarice
panacea
scepter
verity

How popular are they?
Relative usage over time

AWADmail archives
Index

Next week’s theme
Words to describe US presidential candidates

Send a gift that
keeps on giving,
all year long:
A gift subscription of A.Word.A.Day or the gift of books
Bookmark and Share Facebook Twitter Digg MySpace Bookmark and Share

AWADmail Issue 1164

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

Sponsor’s Message: “Way better than Wordle.” One Up! is the wickedest word game in the (real) world. “Brilliant. Again, brilliant!” A fabulous holiday gift. Shop now.



From: Robert Burns (robertburns oblaw.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--parturition

Wow, this word is like the typical California Tesla, with multiple infractions. There never was a need for this “word”.

Robert Burns, Ocean Beach, California



From: Richard Goetz (ricogotez gmail.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--avarice

Why billionaires support Trump.

Richard Goetz



From: Michael Sivertz (sivertz bnl.gov)
Subject: panacea

I have always thought of pancakes as the best panacea.

Michael Sivertz, Upton, New York



From: Alexander Nix (revajnix yahoo.co.uk)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--scepter

Your word today immediately reminded me of this as any talk of sceptres usually does!

Trinity College statue’s chair leg replaced with sceptre - BBC

Alexander Nix, Cambridge, UK



From: Ron Balut (ronbalut gmail.com)
Subject: scepter

Adam Savage recently did a video (19 min.) examining ancient war clubs at the NY Metropolitan Museum and one of the remarks was that war clubs were the forerunners of scepters as they were similarly shaped with a shaft and heavy weight at the end.

Ron Balut, Flanders, New Jersey



Email of the Week -- Brought to you buy One Up! -- “The funnest family game ever.”

From: Garry Stahl (tesral wowway.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--verity

I looked up the Verity sculpture because there was something funny going on at the back. That is an interesting bit of public art. A half-vivisected, nυde, pregnant woman with a sword. I’m not sure which puzzles me more. The mind of the artist that made it, or the community it is erected in.

Garry Stahl, Dearborn, Michigan



Greed Knows No Bounds
From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: avarice and panacea

Trump has been grifting forever. His latest hustle is pushing his $100,000 signature watch, to go along with his earlier chintzy $60 bible (made in China), and his recent dive into cryptocurrency. Can we say money-grubbing loser, boys and girls?

Chef Trump's Recipes for Disaster
Trump fancies himself as a problem-solver, when in fact he’s more of a problem-maker. Case in point, at one of his many Covid-19 pressers, he turned towards Dr. Deborah Birx, suggesting, “What about injecting bleach? That might work, right?” Dr. Birx nodded her head in the negative, gobsmacked by Trump’s outlandish suggestion. Yet another of the stable genius’s wacko panaceas. Many people actually died after following Trump’s suggested cure.

Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California



Anagrams

This week’s theme: Usage examples that are food for thought
1. Parturition
2. Avarice
3. Panacea
4. Scepter
5. Verity
= 1. Expectant mother’s delivery (I, ah... I wait)
2. Covetousness
3. Aha, a top cure!
4. A proper staff (a Greek image)
5. The truth
-Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com)

= 1. A nascence, ahem a visit from a stork, a wee fetus pops out, eh
2. Greed, rapacity
3. Elixir
4. Verge
5. The apt truth, oath
= 1. A nascent sea
2. Thirst over-profit
3. So I had a miracle A1 cure
4. Give some pet guy the heft, apex power
5. A truth take
-Julian Lofts, Auckland, New Zealand (jalofts xtra.co.nz) -Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com)

Make your own anagrams and animations.



Limericks

Parturition

She was always refined and patrician,
Until she went through parturition.
When her pain was the worst,
Like a sailor she cursed,
And that threw for a loop her physician.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

Well, hello there, you no-longer fetus!
So glad you could come out to greet us!
Parturition was icky.
Doc used a doohickey
To bring you out, young Miss Lapidus!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

I think of the holiday, Labor Day,
But, not in the usual way.
It’s my greatly fond mission
To hail parturition,
And offer each mom a bouquet.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

When wives undergo parturition,
They have meltdowns like nuclear fission.
Though they curse and they swear,
They expect we’ll be there;
“In my day,” says my Dad, “we went fishin’.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Avarice

For avarice this man is known;
A love of what glitters he’s shown.
He has recently sold
Gaudy sneakers in gold,
Which some folks are eager to own.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

Avarice (or greed) isn’t good!
All Sunday schools teach that you should
Be kind to the poor
And make certain that you’re
An example to your neighborhood!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

“Though my condo is bigly, my avarice
Made me claim that it’s even more cavernous,”
Said Donald. “I lied
To recover my pride,
For not one of my wives has been amorous.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Panacea

Oy vey. So depressed. Mamma mia!
Yes, I needed a quick panacea --
No matter the price.
So, I went for a slice
With chopped liver at my pizzeria.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

He certainly must be afflicted;
Madness he spews unrestricted.
There’s no panacea
For Trump’s logorrhea,
And yes, he will lose as predicted.
-Steve Cabito, Santa Rosa, California (stevecabito gmail.com)

His own panacea Trumps shills
To cure all our modern-day ills.
“If I’m re-elected,
Then you’ll be protected!” --
A prospect that gives me the chills.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

Love lost? There is no panacea
That is, until maybe you see a
New likely guy
Who gives you the eye
(But beware -- maybe, too, gonorrhea!)
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

I once knew a gal named Maria,
whose lover gave her gonorrhea.
A new wonder drug,
Took care of the bug.
She cried, “What a true panacea!”
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“To calm all your fears,” said Maria,
We’ll sing! It’s a true panacea!”
So the children Von Trapp
Came and sat in her lap;
And the Captain? He got an idea.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Scepter

My charm, I admit, was my scepter,
With which off her feet I once swept her.
But our nasty divorce
Made me own up, of course.
I was stupid, and I should have kept her.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

Queen Elizabeth, I have been told,
Truly treasured these items of gold.
And that’s why she kept her
Jeweled orb and her scepter
As carry-ons, not in the hold.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

If you’re gonna play king, you need tools!
To convince the world you make the rules!
A scepter’s one item
That’s sure to delight ’em.
It’s nifty, all covered with jewels!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

“Nine years we’ve been battling Hector,”
Agamemnon groaned, wielding his scepter.
“Helen’s face with those lips
Made us launch all these ships;
Menelaus, you ought to have kept her.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Verity

I judge him with utter asperity,
Because he is lacking in verity.
It wouldn’t be wise
To fall for his lies --
This conman is faking sincerity.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

His speeches with rampant temerity
Do offend not just us, but posterity.
Donald Trump, you must own,
Will always be known
For ignoring all semblance of verity.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

From his mouth there comes nary a verity;
Donald speaks only lies and asperity.
My friends! Vote for Harris,
Or else we’ll embarrass
Ourselves in the eyes of posterity!
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)



Puns

“In this parturition-to priest communing with nature spirits in a Kyoto shrine,” explained the filmmaker to the famous Japanese actor.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“It’s because I’m rich that I have such a beautiful body. Without my money, I’d be cad-avarice,” said the delusional Presidential candidate.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“In the future of this empty panacea mixture of rice, saffron, chicken, and seafood,” said the psychic visiting a Spanish restaurant kitchen.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Dan would panacea-lis commercial he saw on TV, the one with the couple side by side in the bathtubs outside.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“I love my new kitty, Mom, scepter litter box always has to be cleaned,” the young boy said.
-Janice Power, Cleveland, Ohio (powerjanice782 gmail.com)

Trump boasted, “All the women love me, ex-scepter,” referring to Kamala.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“Meghan Markle? I’ll never ac-scepter,” said the Queen.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“Ah! By marrying you theenk you vill cut your husband’s umbilical cord. But vunce you se-verity vill still vant to crawl back in his mama’s vomb,” cautioned Dr. Freud.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)



A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
On behalf of The People, On behalf of every American. Regardless of party. Race. Gender. Or the language your grandmother speaks. On behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey. On behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with. People who work hard. Chase their dreams. And look out for one another. On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth. I accept your nomination for President of the United States of America. -Kamala Harris, US Vice President (b. 20 Oct 1964)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith