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A.Word.A.Day--Garrison finish

You could pay to have a football stadium named after yourself. You might be able to have a hospital wing named in your honor. But there's something money can't buy: having a word coined after your name, so that you become part of the language. Such words are called eponyms, from Greek ep- (after) + -onym (name).

Five people (some from real life, others from fiction) in this week's words achieved that feat, though not intentionally. They all have eponyms coined from their names.

Garrison finish (GAR-i-suhn FIN-ish) noun

The finish of a contest in which the winner rallies at the last moment to score the victory.

[After Edward "Snapper" Garrison (1868-1930), a jockey known for hanging back during most of the race and finishing at top speed to achieve a thrilling victory.]

-Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org)

"Bill said bravely, 'I think we're going to see a real garrison finish. It's the pattern of every classic game -- go ahead, fall behind, come storming back.'" John Helyar; Last Day at Fenway Park; Yankee (Dublin, New Hampshire); Apr 2005;

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