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Jul 18, 2024
This week’s theme
Whose what?

This week’s words
Chekhov's gun
Parkinson's law
Barney's bull
John Thomson's man
collier's faith

John Thomson's man
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

John Thomson’s man

PRONUNCIATION:
(jon THOM-suhnz man)

MEANING:
noun: A man excessively submissive to his woman.

ETYMOLOGY:
Of uncertain origin. Perhaps the original form was Joan Thomson’s man. Earliest documented use: 1513. Some other adjectives to describe such a man are uxorious and henpecked.

USAGE:
“You know what they call you, don’t you? I hear it because they forget I’m your son sometimes. A John Thomson’s man. Someone who’s given up being a man in his own house.”
Robert Crichton; The Camerons; Knopf; 1972.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. -Nelson Mandela, activist, South African president, Nobel laureate (18 Jul 1918-2013)

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