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AWADmail Issue 63

A Weekly Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages

From: Andrew Merson (andrewATpisys.co.uk)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--clepe

Thought that you might like to know about a word alive, well, and in frequent usage here in the North East of Scotland: clipe. It can be used as a verb or noun, and means to tell on someone, and a clipe is someone who tells on others.

From: Bert Pigg (mtgolfierATaol.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--clepe

Thanks for "cleep". Am an actor and one of my favorite scenes from Macbeth contains the following:

Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men;
As hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs,
Sloughs, water rugs and demi-wolves, are clept
All by the name of dogs: ...

Macbeth, III-1, 93-95.

From: Keen James (kkj2323AThome.com)
Subject: Archaisms

Ancient anecdote:
An American couple bought an old Irish castle.
She: The first thing we'll want is central heating.
He: I think not: We can't have archaic and heat it, too.

From: Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org)
Subject: aptronyms

Aptronyms, they continue to flow. Seeing all these aptronyms makes me wonder if I should be getting in the gargoyle business. We've a nimiety of nyms here now. Let's put a lid on these - here's the last installment:

I must share my favorite example of an aptronym. There is a gynecologist here in northern Virginia named - no lie - Dr. Harry Beaver. He doesn't go by Harold, or H., he's listed in the phonebook as Dr. Harry Beaver. This man must have a great sense of humor, and a real willingness to laugh at himself.
-Duncan Champney (duncancATaol.com)

My name is Ferrie and I am a retired master mariner. For many years one of my jobs was captain on a Island ferry, and yes I was captain Ferrie of the Island ferry. This was constantly brought to my attention as if I would not have noticed it myself. But a more amusing incidence occurred years earlier when I got married. The time of our marriage just happened to coincide with the introduction of new modern ferries being introduced to the sea crossing to our island home. The new ferries were of the roll-on roll-of design with vehicle ramps whereas the previous ones used derricks to load vehicles and cargo. Prior to their introduction there was much local interest in these new vessels and their modern roll-on roll-off capabilities. At the wedding my new wife received the rather risque congratulatory telegram, "Congratulations Betty, you've just gotten the first Roll-on, Roll-off ferry."
-Ray Ferrie (ray.ferrieATpgen.net)

Several years ago the principal flute of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra was Linda Toot. The bassoonist of long standing in the MSO is William Basson.
-George Drury (geodruryATexecpc.com)

The current Florida Bar directory lists eight -- count 'em, eight -- lawyers whose surname is "Law." They outnumber the Justices, of whom only four are listed. One Just. One Juster. Two Judges, neither of whom is a judge. One Council, but no Counsel.
-Al Galbraith (nole66ATyahoo.com)

When I was in fifth grade the treasurer of our gradeschool was Miss Cashdollar. Much later in life I did some Engineering work for a lawyer named Mr. Sues.
-Don McLaughlin (mvfdATwhiteface.net)

One that truly frightened me when I was working years ago in a San Francisco art-supply store. Someone called in an order from a nearby military base. He gave his rank and name as Specialist Mankiller. I thought it must be a rather morbid joke, but sure enough, when he arrived to get his supplies, the name tag on his uniform said "Mankiller." I'm also reminded of Dr. Joblove, whose office I used to walk past on my way to school as a child. I always thought he must be in the right profession if he enjoyed his work that much!
-Deborah Blankenberg (dblankenbergAThotpop.com)

The 2001-2 Membership and Referral Directory of the American Urological Association includes 9 Dr. Peters, 11 Dr. Wang, 4 Dr. Wiener, 4 Dr. Cox, 1 Dr. Dick, 3 Dr. Waters, 1 Dr. Philpott, 1 Dr. Urich, 1 Dr. John Thomas, and my medical school classmate Dr. Insoft.
-Bob Richmond (rsrichmondATaol.com)

The name of the bass singer in the group *NSync is Lance Bass (but he pronounces it like the fish).
-Nathalie Ebacher (nebacherAThotmail.com)

From: Marshall Wohl (marshall_wohlATus.ibm.com)
Subject: Is there a nym for this?

The other day I saw the following headline on CNN.com:
Bush fires rage across Australia

and I asked myself, what had the Australians done to anger our president?

From: Eric Shackle (eshackleATozemail.com.au)
Subject: Newspaper names

Did you know that St. Paul, Minnesota, was once called Pig's Eye? And that Gawler Bunyip is the name of an Australian newspaper? Read about them in the January edition of my e-book.

The raw material of possible poems and histories. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist and poet, on dictionary (1803-1882)