A.Word.A.Day -- AWADmail Issue 835

A.Word.A.Day

Home

AWADmail Issue 835

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

Sponsor’s Message: What Stephen King said about books applies equally to our wicked smart word game: “(One Up!) is uniquely portable magic.” It’s also way faster and funner than Scrabble and Bananagrams. No board. No complicated rules. 20 or so wicked fun cutthroat minutes. And stealing is the name of the game! Rinse (off your ego), and repeat. Congrats to Email of the Week winner, Tony Pivetta (see below), as well as all AWADers -- you’ll get “free sardines” with every order of $25 or more. Feed your head now >

From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
Subject: Interesting stories from the Net

How Wikitongues Is Saving World Languages from Linguicide
The Independent
Permalink

Bilingual Authors Are Challenging the Practice of Italicizing Non-English Words
Quartz
Permalink

From: Marilyn Warren Bowerman (MarilynBowerman sbcglobal.net)
Subject: malfeasance

In the musical The Music Man, the clueless and cantankerous mayor of River City, Iowa, threatens Professor Harold Hill with arrest for “malfeasance without a permit”.

Marilyn Warren Bowerman, Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan

From: John Whittier (johnrwhittier gmail.com)
Subject: Malfeasance, nonfeasance, misfeasance in Ellisville, MO

When I read today’s word, I immediately jumped to the town of Ellisville, Missouri, where I used to live. The mayor at that time was the subject of impeachment proceedings in which he was accused of all three of these.

John Whittier, Chesterfield, Missouri

Email of the Week brought to you by One Up! -- Summerize your mind >
From: Tony Pivetta (apivetta aol.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--malfeasance

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them. -George Orwell, writer (25 Jun 1903-1950)

My late father had an interesting take on nationalism. When I registered for the draft as an 18-year-old, lo, these many years ago, I asked him point-blank whether he thought I should fight for my country. Surely some wars are just. Wouldn’t I, in that case, have a duty to join the armed forces?

I didn’t see his tirade coming. He fired it off rat-tat-tat-tat in his impeccable Venetian dialect.

“What?! Fight for your country! Are you crazy?! Where do you get these ideas? No! You have no country! You know where my country is? Right here! Between my legs! That’s my country! That’s all I live for! That’s all I’ll fight for! That’s all I’ll die for!”

You could say my dad was an anarcho-priapic. I call it a peaceful brand of nationalism.

Tony Pivetta, Royal Oak, Michigan

From: Craig Good (clgood me.com)
Subject: nepotism

There’s nothing wrong with a little nepotism as long as you keep it in the family.

Craig Good, Vallejo, California

From: Derek Noonan (noonand ntech.ie)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--emolument

We have had the end of a long-running saga here in Ireland as well in a court case that concluded this week. From The Irish Times:

He (the judge, Martin Nolan) said he was looking for an acquittal on count one, the charge alleging that Mr Lowry had not declared the €372,000 as an emolument and had failed to pay income tax on it.

The politician in question is Michael Lowry.

Derek Noonan, Limerick, Ireland

From: Barry Fletcher (bando sympatico.ca)
Subject: Emolument

When I joined the British Royal Engineers back in 1958, we weren’t paid wages or salaries; nor were we paid emoluments; we were paid “casual emoluments”. Every Thursday, we soldiers would parade at the Pay Office where a pay clerk would handwrite the amount paid to each soldier in a small booklet titled “Casual Emoluments” (of course). I wish I still had a copy.

Barry Fletcher, Ancaster, Canada

From: Jeffrey Robert Kostrzewski (kostrzej gdls.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--collusion

This word brings back fond memories of grad school at OSU. I worked with my friend Stephanie to create a computer program that assembled a digital collage of an image made from a database of many smaller images. Similar to other photomosaics, but with an added twist that pictures would be rotated and resized as well.

Anyway, we called the project Collusions because the collage formed an illusion of the main picture. We also liked that the smaller images colluded together to trick the viewer into seeing the main image.

Jeffrey Robert Kostrzewski, Sterling Heights, Michigan

From: Lupi McGinty (volsungaloop gmail.com)
Subject: Just sharing a cartoon...

I’m really enjoying the political cartoons and memes with this week’s words! The puckered orange with Trump’s hair reminds me of this one I drew a while back.

Lupi McGinty, Minneapolis, Minnesota

From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: nepotism & impeachment

The thorny issue of nepotism has dogged the Trump presidency since the day he took his oath of office in January of last year. For Trump, executive branch governance at the highest level has clearly devolved into a decidedly narrowly prescribed family affair. Here, reminding ourselves that The Donald has owned and orchestrated Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, and Miss Universe pageants from 1996-2015, I’ve come up with an entirely unique distinction, even eclipsing the lackluster Miss Congeniality title; namely, the “Miss Nepotism” crown... won by a most deserving contestant; none other than the president’s own daughter, White House advisor and confidante, Ivanka. Daddy Trump and hubby Jared cheer her on from the sidelines.

Trump not only often plays fast and loose with the truth, but seems so cocksure of himself, as is his wont, bloviating from his bully-pulpit and Twitter, that whatever illegalities, improprieties, high crimes, or misdemeanors he may have committed while in Office, Lady Justice will ultimately turn a blind eye. Impeachment? Bah, humbug! And knowing Trump, he might perfunctorily add... “Hmm... that Lady Justice ain’t half bad lookin’, either.” (Sad) My caption is a punning on the title of former Pres. Obama’s bestselling The Audacity of Hope.

Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California

From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
Subject: Anagrams of this week’s words

1. malfeasance 2. nepotism 3. emolument 4. collusion 5. impeach	=	1. foul 2. it’s mum! 3. compensation 4. mole’s alliance 5. ahem, Pence?
-Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com)

1. malfeasance 2. nepotism 3. emolument 4. collusion 5. impeach	=	1. malum 2. fail not pals 3. income 4. scheme 5. inculpate someone
-Robert Jordan, Lampang, Thailand (alfiesdad ymail.com)

From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
Subject: Limericks

A week of words on Donald Trump,
Anu, it’s so hard not to dump.
His actions, you see stuns.
Is full of malfeasance,
As he makes the country his chump.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

Malfeasance is rife in African politics today.
The officials all enter in the frenetic fray
To control the money!
Like bees around honey!
And the populace - exorbitant taxes they pay!
-Monica Broom, Morogoro, Tanzania (monicabroom2015 gmail.com)

Whenever accused of malfeasance,
he fabricates numerous reasons
supporting his act.
Seems our leader, in fact,
to the truth has but meagre allegiance.
-Anne Thomas, Sedona, Arizona (antom earthlink.net)

“To honesty, sir, not malfeasance,”
Said Comey, “I’ll pledge my allegiance.”
Answered Donald, “Nice try,
But these days a good lie
When repeated has much greater credence.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

The illegitimate offspring of popes --
One had to pander to their whims and their hopes!
Nepotism was the way
To make their position okay
And manoeuvre some slippery slopes!
-Del de Souza, Mumbai, India (deldesouza hotmail.com)

Donald appointed Ivanka,
To him she was a nailed-on banker.
Such crass nepotism
Caused much of a schism
And not inconsiderable rancour.
-Denis Toll, Aberdeen, UK (denis.toll outlook.com)

He’s not yet created a schism,
In spite of his bold nepotism.
But surely believe
There’s more up his sleeve.
His goal looks like total fascism!
-Anna C Johnston, Coarsegold, California (ajohnston13 gmail.com)

Donald is what the US has been dealt,
Nepotism, pride, but nothing heartfelt.
Maybe one more offspring?
A little more leftwing?
Did Stormy wear a chastity belt?
-Joe Budd Stevens, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (joebuddstevens gmail.com)

One day to the White House he came,
And things just haven’t been the same.
He’s like a little boy
With a big, bright new toy.
Nepotism seems to be his game.
-Lois Mowat, Orinda, California (lmowat1810 gmail.com)

“I married with foresight and wisdom,
As a pardon assures me no prison.
When my dad had to go,
I became CEO,”
Explained Jared, “I love nepotism!”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

For nepotism Trump may have his reasons:
The hiring is done without pretence.
At a dollar a year
The emolument’s clear,
But it smacks of familial malfeasance.
-Ben Dunham, Marion, Massachusetts (fiddlesr verizon.net)

Gifts given to our presidents
Exert an undue influence.
That’s why our laws
Include a clause
Forbidding these emoluments.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

“My buddies receive no emolument,”
Said Cheney, “through peace and disarmament.”
“Shock and awe,” agreed Rummy,
“Yield profits more yummy;
Let’s sucker the White House’s occupant.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Evidence mounts -- of Russian collusion,
Oh, how I wish it was just an illusion.
We cannot be rootin’
For POTUS and Putin.
It’s time for a major Blue mid-term transfusion.
-Judy Distler, Teaneck, New Jersey (jam1026 aol.com)

He insists there has been no collusion,
While facts he negates by exclusion.
His scowl is so tough
That he thinks it’s enough
To bolster this purblind illusion.
-Willo Oswald, Portland, Oregon (willooswald gmail.com)

There was a wordsmith in collusion
With limerick scribes in effusion.
He’d allude to Trump,
We’d all take the jump,
Pavlov’s bell a foregone conclusion.
-Charles Harp, Victoria, Canada (texzenpro yahoo.com)

Let there be, when the two meet, no illusion,
they won’t talk nuclear proliferation.
It’ll likely be a chat
on Bitcoin format
and how their firms can gain in collusion!
-Shyamal Mukherji, Wakefield, Massachusetts(mukherjis hotmail.com)

Said Mueller, “I’ve reached the conclusion
That there has been quite a profusion
Of meets between us’uns
And a number of Russians.”
But the Tweeter claims there’s no collusion!
-Glenn Ickler, Hopedale, Massachusetts (glennwriter verizon.net)

He keeps hollering, “There’s no collusion”
scatt’ring red herrings in wild profusion.
Despite multiple frauds
his base still applauds.
Illusion - confusion - delusion.
-Zelda Dvoretzky, Haifa, Israel (zeldahaifa gmail.com)

For months there has been much allusion
To Trump and his Russian collusion.
Was it rigged, the election?
Some call it defection,
While others are full of confusion.
-Janice Power, Cleveland, Ohio (janicepower25 gmail.com)

“The Russia thing’s just an illusion,”
Tweeted Donald, “NO HINT of collusion.
Just yesterday, Vlad,
With his top half unclad,
Said he’d kill to clear up the confusion.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

When we eventually reach
The stage where we impeach
Despite the confusion
There clearly was collusion
And malfeasance amidst the figures of speech.
-Jan Bosman, Cape Town, South Africa (jbosman media24.com)

Oh, there once was a man who would preach,
To constituents he tried to reach.
Sadly, some were sucked in,
Placed their votes so he’d win,
Now there’s nothing to do but impeach.
-Judith Marks-White, Westport, Connecticut (joodthmw gmail.com)

We need to learn what history can teach:
That sometimes, yes, you need to impeach;
I won’t say a name,
But, thinking, I came
To a person in the US, quite within reach!
-Marcia Sinclair, Newmarket, Canada (marciasinclair rogers.com)

With his bloated feats of pomposity
We’re aware we’ve unleashed a monstrosity.
With every new speech
There are grounds to impeach
With passion, delight and velocity.
-Gayle Tremblay, Saint John, Canada (gayletremblay hotmail.com)

“Eef my husband zey hunt like a weetch,”
Said Melania, “Others may screech.
But ze jacket I wear
Says ‘I really don’t care,’
And it means ‘Go ahead and impeach.’”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

From: Phil Graham (pgraham1946 cox.net)
Subject: No bawdy politic here

Punching a guy in the malfeasance such a nice thing to do.

Don’t take a nepotism even noon!

“Sorry, dear, but while you were dozing we passed emolument to visit.”

As Sinatra sang about Trump and Putin, “Try, try, try to separate them... it’s a collusion.”

LA Dodger Fernando Valenzuela... how I’d love to see impeach again!

Phil Graham, Tulsa, Oklahoma

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Guard within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness. -George Sand [pen name of Amantine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin], novelist (1 Jul 1804-1876)

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