|
Home
|
 
Illustration: Alex McCrae
Mar 14, 2021
This week’s themeEuryvocalic words This week’s words autokinesy hypogeusia sanguinolency coequality enunciatory How popular are they? Relative usage over time AWADmail archives Index Next week’s theme Places that have given us multiple toponyms 
Like what you see here?Send a gift subscription 
AWADmail Issue 976A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Dayand Other Tidbits about Words and Language From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) Subject: 27th anniversary contest: euryvocalic headline What a funny, thoughtful, clever collection of responses we received in response to the contest inviting euryvocalic news headlines, real or fictional! We received more than 300 entries. Thank you everyone for entering the contest. As the reader Pete Jones (pete jones.to) wrote: YOU’rE A hIt! It was hard to select just a few winning entries, but here they are, in no particular order:
Ugly Man Bites Dog
Winners receive their choice of a copy of any of my books
or a copy of the word game One Up!.
Read on for honorable (and dishonorable) mentions. Entries that include
aeiouy exactly once are in bold, those that include aeiouwy exactly once
are in bold+italics.-Mike New, Ottawa, Canada (mike noozoo.com) Women May Smoke In Public, Says Court (An actual headline, Hearst’s Sunday American, Atlanta, Georgia, Mar 4, 1917.) -Mikelle Fields, Kansas City, Missouri (mikelle.fields kcmo.org) Why Trump Is A Loser (By Rosamund Pike; The Daily Focus; April Twenty Fourth) (a euryvocalic publication, fictitious; a euryvocalic author line, real name repurposed; a euryvocalic date.) -Steve Babbage, Newbury, UK (steve babbagemail.com)
Queen Forgives Harry -Jeffrey Ho, London, UK (jeff jeffreyho.com) (Prefer to see the headline “Harry Forgives Queen” because it’s Lizzie who needs to ask for forgiveness from Meghan and Harry, but for the purposes of this contest it’s still a fine entry. -Ed.) Aye, IOU (Legislation affirming that a signed IOU is a legally-binding document passes by unanimous vote.) -Robert Sinton, Christchurch, New Zealand (robert.awad sinton.net.nz) ”Y, I O U an E.” (Said the loser of an alpha bet.) -Tom Stafford, Springfield, Ohio (bytomstafford gmail.com) Ind Yank Eng Out (In the recent India-England cricket test match series, England fell out of contention for a slot in the coveted World Test Championship final, when it lost the third test.) Doha Buys Pfizer (Qatar’s decision to go for Pfizer’s Covid vaccine.) -Surya Narayanan, Doha, Qatar (saiprajwal gmail.com) Man Bites Dog, Truly! -Chris Franklin, Sarnia, Canada (christopher.franklin worley.com) Man Bites Dog; Funny -Victor A Poleshuck, MD, Rochester, New York (vpoleshuck gmail.com) Kamala Needles Mitch: “Prop Trump? Why?” (Each word is univocalic and in alphabetical order.) -Frank Crouch, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (fcrouch29 gmail.com) Trump Asks: “Why Not King Me?” -John Rensenhouse, Kansas City, Missouri (renhouse me.com) Trump’s Attorney Flips -Sondra Landin, New York, New York (sunnytravel att.net) Trump Finally Convicted -Geoffrey M. Glick, New York, New York (gmglick gmail.com) Trump Really Doing Jail Time -Ed Rush, Atascadero, California (edmundrush gmail.com) New QAnon Theory Predicts Trump Will Return in April as Easter Bunny (Real satire by Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker) -Charles Harp, Oak Bay, Canada (texzenpro yahoo.com) Convict Hawley & Cruz -Monica Mandel, Oriental, North Carolina (monicacmandel gmail.com) Biden Ably Wins US Post (I worked for 10 years as a journalist and wrote dozens of headlines every night. The challenge then was size and brevity -- fitting in all the elements in 36 or 42 points within three columns or two... Today the challenge is six letters.) -Gautam Basu, New Delhi, India (basug who.int) Dewey Wins Over Truman! -John Ingle, Lovettsville, Virginia (j.ingle verizon.net) Queen Disowns Harry -Ira Artman, Metuchen, New Jersey (ira.artman miacanalytics.com) Aliens by UFO! -Barbara Brown, Anchorage, Alaska (holdthisthought gmail.com) Slimy Real-Estate Mogul Elected Asinine Senate Votes “Not Guilty” Baby Bear Finds Blonde Human in Bed Yogi Berra Announces It Gets Late Early Out There -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Nut Screws and Bolts City -Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com) Rapid City Journal Reports Jefferson Missing From Rushmore -Janice Power, Cleveland, Ohio (powerjanice782 gmail.com) Cuomo Skips NY Race -Ira Artman, Metuchen, New Jersey (ira.artman miacanalytics.com) City-Dump Rats Protest (A story about the impact of required composting laws.) -Gail Zimmerman, Hanover, New Hampshire (zimmerman.gail gmail.com) Ate Piously (A story about how nuns lost weight. Has the added blessing of using each vowel only once and in alphabetical order.) -Jonathan Chilvers, Saltspring Island, Canada (chilvers telus.net) Headless Body Found in Topless Bar -Wolfgang Lehner, Brooklyn, New York (lehner.wolfgang gmail.com) Tom Dewey Wins vs. Truman -Marty Vasas, Brooklyn, New York (marty.vasas gmail.com) Alien Army Runs GOP -Anil Nerurkar, Wayne, New Jersey (anil.nerurkar yahoo.com) Ugly Florida Man Sues RNC Greedy Florida Man Requests Donations Florida Man Spurned by RNC Irony Rules as Florida Man Votes By Mail Appeal of Florida Man Rejected by Court Florida Man Could Destroy Party -Elaine Leibly, Woodstock, Vermont (eleibly wcsu.net) Dr. Gupta Predicts: Covid Gone By Thursday (Using each vowel twice. Something all loyal CNN viewers are waiting for.) -William Politt, Weare, New Hampshire (william.03281 gmail.com) Small Earthquake in Chile, Not Many Dead Famous in the UK in its day. See The Irish Times. -John Mitchell, Sydney, Australia (awad lists.joggernet.com) Scopes “Guilty” In Ape Case (The Chicago Daily News, Jul 21, 1925) Marilyn Monroe Found Dead (Los Angeles Times, 1962) Shuttle Tragedy Stuns Nation (The Chicago Tribune, 1986) -Leslie V Boyer, Tucson, Arizona (boyer viper.arizona.edu) Mentally Fit After Head Amputation -Janet Rizvi, Gurgaon, India (janetrizvi gmail.com) Equality Now! (Re: International Women’s Day which is today) Wordsmith Going Since Tonya Hit -Clem West, Commenailles, France (clemthewest gmail.com) An Ed Is Of Us -- Fy! (New Zealand headline when Ed Sheeran finally passes this gruelling quiz for citizenship (video, 44 sec.). OED definition of Middle English fy) -Bob Stein, Brushton, New York (stein visibone.com) Harry & Meghan Open Up to Winfrey -R Ramnath, Coimbatore, India (ramudada gmail.com) Italy Surrenders, Unconditionally -Tom Oakes, Southbury, Connecticut (toakes snet.net) Biden, Not Trump: Yay! -Dan Crawford, Chicago, Illinois (crawfordd3741 sbcglobal.net) Sheboygan Has Its Own Poet Laureate (It’s true! Also, I live euryvocalically in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA.) -Lisa Vihos, Sheboygan, Wisconsin (lisavihos gmail.com) Anu Garg and A.Word.A.Day Since 1994! -John Schoonover, Sayre, Pennsylvania (schoonoj gmail.com) Lady Eats Alphabet Soup (Subhead: Has big vowel movement) -Will Conway, Dover, New Hampshire (flats14 comcast.net) Names
My daughter’s name is Amy Louise. -Cheryl Riley Peters, Moses Lake, Washington (cpeters137 comcast.net) (All six vowels, once and only once. I nominate her as the official spokesperson for the Euryvocalics Association. -Ed.) I have a friend named Mary Louise. -Pat Hogan, Stevens Point, Wisconsin (via website comments) mY nAmE sUppOrts It: thOmAs qUIglEY. -Thomas Quigley, Fishers, Indiana (totmquigley gmail.com) I had recognized that my full name was euryvocalic; l just did not previously know the word for it. -Susan Diane Lyon, Sammamish, Washington (sdlyon72 gmail.com) My maiden name is Lila Joyce Terlouw. -Lila J. Berger, Oswego, Illinois (lilaberger comcast.net) Just realised that my name is euryvocalic. -Uday Gaitonde, Mumbai, India (gaitondeun gmail.com) I never knew my name, Suzanne Nicole Glynn, was euryvocalic. -Suzanne Glynn King, Schenectady, New York (s.glynnking gmail.com) My full name is William Andrew Young and my father’s name was William Fletcher Young. -Bill “Don’t call me Junior!” Young, Vernon, Connecticut (billsplut gmail.com) New York Herald Tribune -Bob Luckey, Hypoluxo, Florida (luckeybob aol.com) Now that you mention it, my name is euryvocalic: Claude Merzon Galinsky! Happy 27th anniversary! -Claude Galinsky, Westford, Massachusetts (cmgalinsky gmail.com) My full name is euryvocalic: Meredith Ray McQuoid-Greason. -Meredith McQuoid-Greason, Davidsonville, Maryland (mcquoidm si.edu) My full name comes close to euryvocalic, so I have to embellish ever so slightly: “Jeffrey Todd Anbinder, dude”. -Jeffrey Anbinder, Brooklyn, New York (jta1 cornell.edu) Locations
My home is in euryvocalic Surrey, British Columbia. -Leah Murray, Surrey, Canada (leah leahmurray.ca) Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I live, is supervocalic. -Ginger Lawrence, Albuquerque, New Mexico (via website comments) Misc.
The much-maligned song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” has a euryvocalic title.
-John C. George, Barnesville, Georgia (jgeorge gordonstate.edu) I have a univocalic name. Thanks for teaching me this new fact! -Nancy Marshall (nancyquilts54 gmail.com) One of the many reasons why I love French is that it is so vowelly. The word oiseau (bird) for instance has all the vowels with only one interloper. -Rosemary Helen Lloyd, Mt Barker, South Australia (rolloyd indiana.edu) From: Richard S. Russell (RichardSRussell tds.net) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--autokinesy And what do you call a word that only* makes use of one vowel? A: indefinite singular** article preceding consonant E: proposed 3rd-person singular “human” pronoun I: 1st-person singular pronoun O: vocative particle (“O Christmas Tree”) U: text-speak*** for 2nd-person singular pronoun (“you”, but not “y’all”) Y: text-speak*** for interrogative adverb (“why”) *See what I did with the “only” there? **Russian, of course, gets by without articles at all; English dispenses with them for the indefinite plural article. ***Dictionaries being descriptive rather than prescriptive, shortcuts like these are well on their way to being regularized and accepted. Thank you, oyayubi sedai. Richard S. Russell, Madison, Wisconsin From: Patrick Lashbrook (plashbrook msn.com) Subject: Autokinesy The Greek word for automobile is αυτοκίνητο (autokinito). A very literal relationship, though I do not know which is the original. Patrick Lashbrook, Johnson City, Tennessee From: Steve Kirkpatrick (stevekirkp comcast.net) Subject: hypogeusia I learned the related word dysgeusia after I did two small fillings for a patient, then she came back a week later, telling me that I had “killed her taste buds”. I went through the usual questions about new medications, allergies, or recent illnesses. Mystified, I went back to meds: Any changes in dosages? Yes, the same day I did the fillings, her MD had doubled her dosage of one med that listed dygeusia, or altered taste sensation, as a possible side-effect. I asked her to keep taking the med as directed, but to ask her MD if there would be an alternative. Steve Kirkpatrick, DDS, Olympia, Washington From: Victor A Poleshuck (vpoleshuck gmail.com) Subject: Hypogeusia One of the precision anomalies in medicine is the widespread use of the word anemia to mean a reduced quantity of red blood cells. The word should be hypemia; no one would be alive with true anemia. I’ve always wondered as to the source of this an-/hypo- mix-up. Victor A Poleshuck, MD, Rochester, New York From: Geoff Stern (geoffstern verizon.net) Subject: coequality I guess mine is one howl in a gale of protests. Coequal is from the Department of Redundancy Dept, yeah? If one says the Federal government comprises three equal branches, how is that different from saying they are coequal? Is there any use for this word at all? It sounds more impressive or precise or formal, but -- Well, let’s hear the other howls. Geoff Stern, Littleton, Massachusetts
We can say (1 + 4) equals (3 + 2). Even though the expression (1 + 4)
uses completely different numerals from (3 + 2), they are equal in all
respects. You can replace one with another anywhere without a second
thought. You can pay for your latte at a Starbucks with a dollar bill
from one pocket and four from another. Or three dollar-bills from
one pocket and a dollar from a credit card. You still get the exact
same sweet cup of latte, with a cute flower or heart design on the top.
In the US, we have the three coequal branches of the federal government: executive, legislative, and judiciary. Not one is above the other (at least theoretically), but you couldn’t replace one with another. You need one of each. Two judiciary and one executive would still make three branches, supposedly equivalent in power and standing, but so far I haven’t found any takers. Imagine the number of dollar bills we could save and lattes we could buy with them if we replaced 535 members of Congress with another set of just nine Supreme Court justices. And that’s not counting the savings in grandstanding and blather (Ted Cruz, I’m looking at you). -Anu Garg From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com) Subject: sanguinolency and enunciatory 
Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California Pangraph (contains all words from this week) We will long ponder how someone displaying extreme hypogeusia (in the metaphorical sense) was able to seduce millions just with autokinesy, sanguinolency, an inflammatory enunciatory approach, and a rejection of coequality with ... well, anyone (see here). -Ray Wiss, Greater Sudbury, Canada (portray vianet.ca) Anagrams
Make your own anagrams and animations. Limericks When her snacks disappear with no trace, he offers, “Perhaps it’s a case of one more autokinesy in this vicinity. Seems it’s become commonplace!” -Anne Thomas, Sedona, Arizona (antom earthlink.net) “Look alive, men, for that’s a white fin I see; Our harpoons don’t possess autokinesy!” Shouted Ahab. “That whale Ye must go and impale, For he shan’t be found under ye Christmas tree!” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Romance has become a great waste? For love you have lost all your taste? This might just be news to ya It’s just hypogeusia And sex might just help. Don’t be chaste! -Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com) I had Covid-19 in the spring; I had hoped ‘twas the virus’s last fling, But hypogeusia neared, Then my mom stirred and seared; My good fortune -- I didn’t taste a thing! -Sondra Landin, New York, New York (sunnytravel att.net) Invited to wine-tasting, dad replies to his son, “Sorry, lad. I hate to refuse ya, but my hypogeusia won’t let me tell good stuff from bad!” -Anne Thomas, Sedona, Arizona (antom earthlink.net) Her tastebuds have gone on the blink! This fate is much worse than you think. Hypogeusia’s bad, And life is quite sad When meals every day simply stink. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) You can’t do the things that amuse ya, And you might even get hypogeusia. No joy can be found With this virus around; If you win an election, Trump sues ya. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) The Proud Boys, into sanguinolency, have no truck with truth -- authenticity. They shout a racist rebel yell waving their rebel flags as well, while Big Liar denies complicity! -Mariana Warner, Asheville, North Carolina (marianaw6002 gmail.com) Accused of sanguinolency, he denies it, protesting, “Who, me?” Says the sweet ingenue, “If not, why do you always carry that bare snickersnee?” -Anne Thomas, Sedona, Arizona (antom earthlink.net) Sanguinolency would explain His thrilling to bloodshed and pain. Some people find glory In anything gory, But I would just call him insane. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) If you want a fake high school equivalency, At Trump U. you can study sanguinolency. They’ll instruct you to riot When things get too quiet, And teach you the dangers of literacy. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) The two were well-matched, he and she. But after her last shopping spree, “You’ve emptied my wallet!” he cried. “Coequality just isn’t working for me!” -Anne Thomas, Sedona, Arizona (antom earthlink.net) Humanity will one day achieve No one looking to just receive. Coequality Making history Is what we should strive to believe. -Lois Mowat, Orinda, California (lmowat1810 gmail.com) Coequality’s now just a dream; There are haves and have-nots, it would seem. A lucky few thrive, While some can’t survive -- There are people at either extreme. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) After years of R&D germane, The supplier could at last attain Trade’s requisite quality; But this coequality was brief-- standards soon moved to the next plane. -Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com) The world sure has changed since I’m here In ways well intended -- sincere. Coequality reigns! And no woman complains! But some men? “Where’s my shot and my beer?” -Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com) How sublime would the world, golly, be, If people lived in coequality. When we all live as one, A new era’s begun, Filled with wisdom, sweet love, and jollity. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “As part of the Commonwealth polity,” Said the claimant, “we want coequality. In Winnie the Pooh, You let Kanga and Roo Into England, so why not a wallaby?” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Your great speeches, you say, get no glory With your problems enunciatory. Put your worries to bed. Use your email instead, Simply make them epistolatory. -Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com) His enunciatory brash style Did indeed some naïve folks beguile. He had that great need For people to heed What he said, so he lied with a smile. -Sondra Landin, New York, New York (sunnytravel att.net) Says teacher, enunciatory, “Please stand for the pledge to Old Glory!” One kid rolls his eyes. She catches him, cries, “You do that again, you’ll be sorry!” -Anne Thomas, Sedona, Arizona (antom earthlink.net) With a manner enunciatory The bold actor spewed lines laudatory. When he took to the stage, He was the latest rage, His fans were so anticipatory. -Judith Marks-White, Westport, Connecticut (joodthmw gmail.com) I heard the famed senator speak. His patterns of speech were unique. He spoke in a mumble, And that is my humble Enunciatory critique. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) Though at first he just grunts in the story, He soon turns enunciatory. You win, Mary Shelley! My legs are like jelly; My nights are hallucinatory. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Puns Anyone looking at my autokinesy I’m due for a new car! -Lois Mowat, Orinda, California (lmowat1810 gmail.com) In the back seat of an autokinesy continued the research for his landmark work, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Said the doctor, “Now drop your drawers and bend over while I with this hypogeusia.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “Another absentee knight and I ain’t got nobody,” sanguinolency when he left to search for the Holy Grail. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) The goal of the company specializing in nearly identical domesticated animals was Pet-coequality. -Jim Ertner, Greensboro, North Carolina (jde31459 gmail.com) “Our music is as good as any!” said the Bee Gees. “We demand dis-coequality!” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) When the Conservative MP remarked on finding the convent empty during the pandemic, the Mother Superior replied, “We’re on Zoom now! We’re enunciatory!” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com) Subject: Andrew Cuomo 
Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth. -Albert
Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (14 Mar 1879-1955)
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise
© 1994-2024 Wordsmith