A.Word.A.Day--warren
warren (WOR-ehn) noun
1. A place where rabbits live or are kept.
2. A building or area that is overcrowded or has a complicated layout.
[From Middle English warenne, area for breeding game, from Old French,
possibly of Germanic origin.]
"Both cases decided, Dr. Watson, and both in my favour. I haven't had
such a day since I had Sir John Morland for trespass because he shot
in his own warren."
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle put his legendary Sherlock Holmes on the trail of
murderers, blackmailers, burglars, and con men in the cleverest guises.
Crime was everywhere, according to the master detective. "It is my belief,"
he told his ever faithful Dr. Watson, "that the lowest and vilest alleys of
London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling
and beautiful countryside." In pursuit of their quarry, Holmes and Watson
often came face to face with the dark side of the human character. With
brains, pluck, and Watson's trusty service revolver, they conquered all.
Last week, Sherlock Holmes devotees flocked to Dartmoor, in south west
England, to mark the centenary of publication of the famous Holmes adventure
set there, The Hound of the Baskervilles. AWAD pays homage by sampling
words from The Hound and other Conan Doyle tales. -Lauren Weiner
(lauren_weiner@kyl.senate.gov)
(This week's guest wordsmith Lauren Weiner is an editor for Senator Jon Kyl
(Republican, Arizona) in Washington, D.C. Her literary reviews and essays
have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New Criterion, the Wilson
Quarterly, the Baltimore Sun, and many other publications. -Anu)
X-Bonus
Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is
responsible for everything he does. -Jean-Paul Sartre, writer and
philosopher (1905-1980)