A.Word.A.Day --nineteenth hole

A.Word.A.Day

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Mar 11, 2013

This week's theme
Terms with connections to the number 19

This week's words
nineteenth hole
suffragist
bromide
tinnient
extraterritoriality

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

The number 19 appears to be an uninteresting number (or is it?). It seems not to have much going on, unlike the number 7 or 12 or 100, for example. It's a prime number, sure, but there are a whole bunch of primes out there.

So why are we interested in this number? Well, this week marks the novedecennial of Wordsmith.org. Yes, on March 14 we'll complete 19 years. This week we have selected terms that have something to do with the number 19. It's plain to see in today's term, but it may not be so obvious in the remaining words for this week. Can you identify the connection to 19 in the remaining words this week?

nineteenth hole

PRONUNCIATION:

(NYN-TEENTH hol)

MEANING:

noun: The clubhouse or another place, such as a bar or a restaurant, where golfers gather after playing a round.

ETYMOLOGY:

A standard round of golf has eighteen holes, so the next stop after the game, a bar or a restaurant, is called the nineteenth hole. A similar term is the fifth quarter in (American) football. Earliest documented use: 1901.

USAGE:

"The leaders will head to the practice tee to continue perfecting their game, while most golfers head directly to the nineteenth hole for a drink and a bite to eat."
Brad Brewer; Mentored by the King; Zondervan; 2011.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play. -Heraclitus, philosopher (500 BCE)

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