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Nov 14, 2012
This week's theme
Words borrowed from German

This week's words
wunderkind
gemutlichkeit
blitzkrieg
kulturkampf
kaffeeklatsch

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

blitzkrieg

PRONUNCIATION:
(BLITS-kreeg)

MEANING:
noun: 1. An intense campaign, for example, an ad blitz. 2. A swift, sudden military attack, especially aerial bombardment.
verb tr.: To attack or destroy in a sudden campaign.

ETYMOLOGY:
From German Blitzkrieg, from Blitz (lightning) + Krieg (war). Earliest documented use: 1939.

USAGE:
"It was a blitzkrieg of love, an admiration avalanche."
Lenore Taylor; Hold on to Your Bonnets; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Oct 6, 2012.

"It's an engineering blitzkrieg meant to awe the Chinese people and show off the nation's new industrial might."
Ian Johnson; China Advances High-Speed Rail Amid Safety, Corruption Concerns; National Geographic (Washington, DC); Oct 5, 2012.

See more usage examples of blitzkrieg in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do. There is no fun in doing nothing when you have nothing to do. Wasting time is merely an occupation then, and a most exhausting one. Idleness, like kisses, to be sweet must be stolen. -Jerome K. Jerome, humorist and playwright (1859-1927)

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