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Jun 24, 2008
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Whose what?

This week's words
deadman's hand
yeoman's service
bum's rush
devil's advocate
widow's walk

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with Anu Garg

yeoman's service

PRONUNCIATION:
(YO-muhnz SUHR-vis)

MEANING:
noun: Efficient, useful, or loyal service.

ETYMOLOGY:
From yeoman (servant or assistant), probably a blend of young + man, or from ga (region) + man.

USAGE:
"Commissioner Ralph Carpenter, who sits on the reform commission, is a good man and hard worker. He has done yeoman's service for the governor."
Toni Gold; A Better Bureaucracy Won't Fix The DOT; Hartford Courant (Connecticut); Nov 11, 2007.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The perfection of a clock is not to go fast, but to be accurate. -Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues, moralist and essayist (1715-1747)

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