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A.Word.A.Day--fedora

fedora (fi-DAWR-uh, -dor-) noun

A soft felt hat with a fairly low crown creased lengthwise and a brim that can be turned up or down.

[After Fedora, a play by Victorien Sardou.]

"At the heat of the day, wearing his dark business suit and the gray fedora he fancied at the time, McCarthy ventured in. White-feathered turkeys, squawking, were hanging from the overhead conveyor belt, waiting to have their throats slit, their feathers plucked and their bodies eviscerated." Frank Wright, McCarthy through the years, Star Tribune, 11 Apr 1996.

What is the yardstick for a fictional work's success in your book? A hefty advance, rave reviews, or a sale of millions? A feat only a very few works have achieved is when the title of the work itself becomes a word in the dictionary. This week's AWAD presents seven words or phrases from the titles of novels, plays, and stories that have taken on a life of their own in the English dictionary. -Anu

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