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Feb 25, 2019
This week’s themeTosspot words This week’s words catchall pinchpenny scrapegut rakehell do-all 
All-cat catch-all
Photo: Zoran Milutinovic
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu GargYou might find a person who is a know-nothing and someone who is a do-nothing. That’s OK, as long as a know-nothing is also a do-nothing. The problem begins when know-nothings reach someplace and start doing something. And they often believe they have cure-alls. But enough about stable geniuses of the world! Instead, let’s talk about something more productive. How many tosspot words did you catch above? Tosspots are words coined by combining a verb and a noun. Some examples: spitfire, shunpike, and scofflaw. Important: The noun has to be the object of the verb. So shuteye is a tosspot word, but shut-in is not. This week we’ll feature five tosspot words. What tosspot words have you come up with? Share them below or email us at words@wordsmith.org. catchall
PRONUNCIATION:
(KACH-al)
MEANING:
noun: 1. A bag or another receptacle for holding odds and ends. 2. Something that covers a wide variety of situations. ETYMOLOGY:
From Old Northern French cachier (to chase), from Latin capitare (to try
to catch), frequentative of capere (to take) + Old English eall (all).
Earliest documented use: 1838.
USAGE:
“‘Dysfunctional’ is one of those eminently useful modern words that serves
as a catchall for so many otherwise complicated issues.” Carrie Vaughn; Low Midnight; Tor; 2014. See more usage examples of catchall in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The pain passes but the beauty remains. -Pierre-Auguste Renoir, artist
[responding to Matisse on why he painted in spite of his painful arthritis]
(25 Feb 1841-1919)
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