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Oct 27, 2011
This week's theme
Whose what?

This week's words
fool's errand
gentlemen's agreement
dogsbody
beginner's luck
driver's seat

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

beginner's luck

PRONUNCIATION:
(bi-GIN-uhrs luk)

MEANING:
noun: The initial good fortune supposedly enjoyed by a novice in a game or another activity.

ETYMOLOGY:
The counterintuitive phenomenon of a novice having success in an activity has been called beginner's luck. It may simply be confirmation bias: one remembers hits, but ignores misses. Earliest documented use: 1897.

USAGE:
"Rookie paddlers will then see if they can dial into beginner's luck, and win a race while they're at it."
Patrick Witwicki; Rainbow Warriors Challenge Paddlers; Muskeg News (Canada); May 25, 2011.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The secret of good writing is to say an old thing in a new way or a new thing in an old way. -Richard Harding Davis, journalist and author (1864-1916)

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