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Jul 20, 1999

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Eponyms

This week's words
orwellian
berserk
macadam
mansard
stakhanovite
euhemerism
argonaut

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berserk

berserk (ber-SURK, -ZURK) adjective

1. Destructively or frenetically violent.

2. Mentally or emotionally upset; deranged.

3. Unrestrained, as with enthusiasm or appetite; wild.

noun

1. One that is violent, upset, or unrestrained.

2. A berserker.

[From berserker, one of a band of ancient Norse warriors legendary for their savagery and reckless frenzy in battle. Old Norse berserkr : *bera, feminine of bjorn, bear + serkr, shirt.]

"The film is a wonderful satire of the perils of modern life. Charlie plays a factory worker who goes berserk, tries his hand at a variety of jobs, and befriends a homeless young woman--played by his wife Goddard-- who steals his heart."
Movie Review: Modern Times, Cineman Syndicate, 1 Jan 1994.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY