A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Wed Mar 1 00:01:16 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--palisade X-Bonus: A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers. -Robert Quillen, journalist and cartoonist (1887-1948) This week's theme: a medley of words. palisade (pal-uh-SADE) noun 1. A fence of stakes forming a defense. 2. A line of steep cliffs, especially along a river. verb tr. To fortify with palisades. [From French palissade, Latin palus (stake). Ultimately from Indo-European root pag- (to fasten) that is also the source of peace, pacify, pact, travel, compact, pagan, and peasant.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Another stake in the protectionist palisade is being erected around European steelmaker Arcelor, subject of a 18.6 billion euro hostile take over bid by Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal." Paul Maidment; Luxembourg Rejects Mittal's Plan For Arcelor; Forbes (New York); Jan 2006. -------- Date: Thu Mar 2 00:01:15 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bagatelle X-Bonus: I am malicious because I am miserable. ... If any being felt emotions of benevolence towards me, I should return them a hundred and a hundred fold (words of Frankenstein monster). -Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, author (1797-1851) This week's theme: a medley of words. bagatelle (bag-uh-TEL) noun 1. Something unimportant. 2. A kind of pinball game in which balls are struck with a cue to send them to holes at the other end. 3. A short, light piece of verse or music. [From French bagatelle (trifle), from Italian bagattella (trifle), possibly from Latin baca (berry).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "The climate chaos that would unleash would make the mere collapse of industrial society a sideshow bagatelle." Robert Newman; It's Capitalism or a Habitable Planet - You Can't Have Both; The Guardian (London, UK); Feb 2, 2006. -------- Date: Fri Mar 3 00:01:15 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mulligrubs X-Bonus: The best politics is right action. -Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) This week's theme: a medley of words. mulligrubs (MUL-i-grubz) noun 1. Grumpiness; colic; low spirits. 2. An ill-tempered person. [From mulliegrums, apparently from megrims (low spirits).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "I got the dismals. Not exactly the dumps or mulligrubs, more like moody and uncertain, as when you don't know what's going to happen next." Fred Schmidt; Middle East Thing Puts Chill on Festivities; San Antonio Express-News (Texas); Dec 30, 1990. -------- Date: Mon Mar 6 00:01:34 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--clerisy X-Bonus: I fear nothing, I hope for nothing, I am free. -Nikos Kazantzakis, poet and novelist (1883-1957) The German language's affinity for sesquipedalians once led Mark Twain to quip, "Some German words are so long that they have a perspective." Having polysyllabic words in a language is no sin as long as you get your words' worth. In that respect, those lengthy German words are worth every syllable. Where else can you find a single word, schadenfreude, for example, that conveys the whole concept of 'pleasure derived from the misfortunes of another'? The English language knows a good thing when it sees one and has generously borrowed terms from German. This week we'll meet five of them, both with and without 'perspective'. clerisy (KLER-i-see) noun The well-educated class; the literati; the intelligentsia. [From German Klerisei (clergy), from Medieval Latin clericia, from Late Latin clericus (cleric), from Greek klerikos (belonging to the clergy), from Greek kleros (inheritance).] Ironically, clerisy and clerk have branched out from the same root, that is also the source for clergy and cleric. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "The artist, the scholar, and, in general, the clerisy wins its way up into these places, and gets represented here, somewhat on this footing of conquest." Ralph Waldo Emerson; Manners; 1844. -------- Date: Tue Mar 7 00:01:15 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--putsch X-Bonus: You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do. -Anne Lamott, writer (1954- ) This week's theme: words borrowed from German. putsch (pooch) noun A secretly plotted, sudden attempt to overthrow a government. [From Swiss German Putsch (thrust, blow).] An infamous example was the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. Hitler and his cohorts stormed a beer hall in Munich where a meeting of the Bavarian government was taking place. The putsch failed and they were sentenced to prison. This attempt gave Hitler national attention and he decided to gain power by legal means. It was during this imprisonment that he wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle). -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Another mini-coup, 2003's shopping mall putsch aimed by young officers at Arroyo was yet another reminder of the restive military." Where Has the Hope Gone? The Standard (Hong Kong); Feb 18, 2006. -------- Date: Wed Mar 8 00:01:17 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--zeitgeber X-Bonus: Take long walks in stormy weather or through deep snows in the fields and woods, if you would keep your spirits up. Deal with brute nature. Be cold and hungry and weary. -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862) This week's theme: words borrowed from German. zeitgeber (TSYT-ge-buhr) noun An environmental cue, such as light, that helps to regulate the biological clock in an organism. [Coined by 1954 by Jürgen Aschoff (1913-1998), from German Zeit (time) + Geber (giver).] Zeitgebers are events that keep our circadian rhythms regulated. The alternation of the light/dark cycle of a 24-hour day is the most important natural zeitgeber. Another is the earth's magnetic field. An alarm clock is an example of an artificial zeitgeber. Interestingly, it is claimed that humans' circadian clock has a 25-hour cycle, unlike the earth's 24-hour rotation cycle. In an experiment, subjects lived in a house without windows. There were no external cues, such as clock, television, etc. to give them a hint of when to wake up, eat, sleep, etc. Participants in this study showed a natural rhythm of a 25-hour cycle of sleep, waking up, activity, etc. Shift work and jetlag owing to rapid travel are some of the activities that can disrupt our circadian rhythms. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "According to Hallow, the eight-hour work day is also a zeitgeber, but one that interrupts the body's natural desire to rest between 3 and 4 p.m." Jill Jedlowski and Erica Jacobson; A midday Nap Can Be a Valuable Pick-me-up; The State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois); Nov 9, 1998. -------- Date: Thu Mar 9 00:01:21 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gegenschein X-Bonus: God is conscience. He is even the atheism of the atheist. -Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) This week's theme: words borrowed from German. gegenschein (GAY-guhn-shyn) noun A faint oval patch of light directly opposite the sun in the night sky, caused by reflection of sunlight by dust particles. Also known as counterglow. [From German Gegenschein, from gegen (against) + Schein (glow).] Pictures of gegenschein: http://swisseduc.ch/stromboli/volcano/photoastro/gegenschein-en.html -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Orbiting Gemini astronauts carried out photographic experiments designed by Dr. Ney in 1965 to explain enigmatic phenomena like gegenschein and zodiacal light, faint glows found even in the darkest night sky." Wolfgang Saxon; Edward P. Ney, 75; Searched the Skies for Cosmic Particles; The New York Times; Aug 12, 1996. -------- Date: Fri Mar 10 00:01:28 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--weltschmerz X-Bonus: What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it. -Herbert Alexander Simon, economist, Nobel laureate (1916-2001) This week's theme: words borrowed from German. weltschmerz (VELT-shmerts) noun World weariness; pessimism, apathy, or sadness felt at the difference between physical reality and the ideal state. [From German Weltschmerz, from Welt (world) + Schmerz (pain).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "I hate being told to have a good time! I'll feel the weltschmerz if I want to." Mari Sasano; Things to Do Today; Edmonton Journal (Canada); Dec 3, 2005. -------- Date: Mon Mar 13 00:01:14 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--duodecennial X-Bonus: We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer. -Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian and writer (1906-1945) On March 14, Wordsmith.org completes 12 years of spreading the magic of words, so let's talk about the number twelve. Twelve is a magical number. It's divisible by two, three, four, and six. There are twelve months in a year, twelve hours on a clock, twelve signs of the zodiac, twelve tones in the musical scale, and twelve in a dozen, twelve inches in a foot, twelve Knights of the Round Table, twelve members in a jury (usually), twelve labors of Hercules... twelve must have something going for it. We use the decimal system because there are ten fingers on our hands. But we might as well have used a duodecimal system: there are twelve phalanges on our four fingers (thumb used as an indicator). In fact, some cultures do use duodecimal systems. One can find a Dozenal Society that advocates use of duodecimal system in the US and in other countries. This week we'll explore a few words related to the number 12. duodecennial (doo-uh-di-SEN-ee-uhl, dyoo-) noun A twelfth anniversary. adjective Of or pertaining to a period of twelve years. [From Latin duodecennium (a period of twelve years), from duodecim (twelve) + annus (year).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "The duodecennial cycle of Kumbha melas is probably recent." Ved Prakash Mehta; Portrait of India; Farrar Straus & Giroux; 1970. -------- Date: Tue Mar 14 00:01:16 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--duodenum X-Bonus: There wouldn't be such a thing as counterfeit gold if there were no real gold somewhere. -Sufi proverb This week's theme: words related to number 12, to mark the 12th anniversary of the founding of Wordsmith.org. duodenum (doo-uh-DEE-nuhm, doo-OD-n-uhm, dyoo-) noun The first portion of the small intestine (so called because its length is approximately twelve fingers' breadth). [From Medieval Latin, short for intestinum duodenum digitorum (intestine of twelve fingers), from Latin duodeni (twelve each), from duodecim (twelve).] An illustration of a duodenum: http://www.infovisual.info/03/057_en.html And a view from the inside: http://www.endoatlas.com/du_ge_01.html -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Iron enters the body in foods that are broken down for absorption in the duodenum." Lawrence K. Altman, MD; Iron in Diet is Poison for a Million Americans; The New York Times; Nov 27, 1990. -------- Date: Wed Mar 15 00:01:16 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dodecagon X-Bonus: A poet looks at the world as a man looks at a woman. -Wallace Stevens, poet (1879-1955) This week's theme: words related to number 12, to mark the 12th anniversary of the founding of Wordsmith.org. dodecagon (do-DEK-uh-gon) noun A polygon having 12 sides and 12 angles. [From Greek dodekagonon, from dodeka- (twelve), duo (two) + deka (ten) + -gon (angled).] The Australian 50-cent coin is a regular dodecagon. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "And probably they will build a new Court 1 here at Wimbledon, a huge thing that will appear to be a second Centre Court, complete with the dark green, Elizabethan-theater look of the present Centre Court, with its dodecagon roof, built in 1922." John Jeansonne Wimbledon: It's Back To The Future; Newsday (New York); Jun 28, 1993. -------- Date: Thu Mar 16 00:01:12 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--duodecimal X-Bonus: Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot defend themselves or run away. And few destroyers of trees ever plant any; nor can planting avail much toward restoring our grand aboriginal giants. It took more than three thousand years to make some of the oldest of the Sequoias, trees that are still standing in perfect strength and beauty, waving and singing in the mighty forests of the Sierra. -John Muir, naturalist, explorer, and writer (1838-1914) This week's theme: words related to number 12, to mark the 12th anniversary of the founding of Wordsmith.org. duodecimal (doo-uh-DES-uh-muhl, dyoo-) adjective Of or relating to the number twelve. noun A twelfth. [From Latin duodecimus (twelfth), from duodecim (twelve), from duo (two) + decem (ten).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "According to Catherine, [Robert] ended up believing that aliens were trying to communicate with him via the duodecimal system." Philip French; You've Got My Numbers; The Observer (London, UK); Feb 12, 2006. -------- Date: Fri Mar 17 00:01:13 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--unciary X-Bonus: The writing of a poem is like a child throwing stones into a mineshaft. You compose first, then you listen for the reverberation. -James Fenton, poet and professor (1949- ) This week's theme: words related to number 12, to mark the 12th anniversary of the founding of Wordsmith.org. unciary (un-SEE-uh-ree) adjective Equal to a twelfth part. [From Latin unciarius, from uncia (a twelfth part) which is also the source of the words ounce and inch. An inch is one twelfth of a foot but what about the ounce? The original pound was the troy pound having 12 ounces.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Mon Mar 20 00:01:13 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pyrrhic victory X-Bonus: I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center. -Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., writer (1922- ) "One more such victory and we are lost," exclaimed Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, as he described his costly success in the battle of Asculum in Apulia. With those words he gave us a metaphor to refer to a victory so costly that it's barely better than defeat. If we talk to those who lost their sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, husbands, wives and other loved ones in war, every victory is a Pyrrhic victory. A war is perhaps the only occasion when killing a person is not just accepted but rewarded. If only we could learn to fight wars only with words. Till then, let's look at a few words of war. Pyrrhic victory (PIR-ik VIK-tuh-ree) noun A victory won at too great a cost. [After Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, who suffered staggering losses in defeating the Romans.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "With lawsuits multiplying like crazy and mutual accusations of stealing the election spiralling out of control, almost any result now looks as if it will be a Pyrrhic victory." United States: Whatever Will They Think of Next?; The Economist (London, UK); Nov 25, 2000. -------- Date: Tue Mar 21 00:01:14 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--casus belli X-Bonus: What's madness but nobility of soul at odds with circumstance? -Theodore Roethke, poet (1908-1963) This week's theme: words about war. casus belli (KAY-suhs BEL-i, rhymes with eye, BEL-ee) noun plural casus belli An action or event that causes or is used to justify starting a war. [From New Latin casus belli, from Latin casus (occasion), belli, genitive of bellum (war).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Education, both secondary and tertiary, remains a battleground, though the casus belli seems to be more about funding than egalitarianism." Stan Heyl; Class War - The Struggle Goes On; The Independent (London, UK); May 19, 2001. -------- Date: Wed Mar 22 00:01:16 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fetial X-Bonus: Be like the bird, who halting in his flight / On limb too slight, / Feels it give way beneath him, yet sings / Knowing he has wings. -Victor Hugo, writer (1802-1885) This week's theme: words about war. fetial (FEE-shuhl) adjective, also fecial Relating to declarations of war and treaties of peace. [From Latin fetialis, a member of the Roman college of priests, who performed the rites in such matters.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Joe -- in one of those fetial gestures by which we softened our warring -- had given me a couple of starts." O.A. Bushnell; Ka'A'Awa: A Novel about Hawaii in the 1850s; University of Hawaii Press; 1972. -------- Date: Thu Mar 23 00:01:14 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--polemology X-Bonus: Once upon a time a man whose ax was missing suspected his neighbor's son. The boy walked like a thief, looked like a thief, and spoke like a thief. But the man found his ax while digging in the valley, and the next time he saw his neighbor's son, the boy walked, looked and spoke like any other child. -Lao-tzu, philosopher (6th century BCE) This week's theme: words about war. polemology (po-luh-MOL-uh-jee) noun The science and study of human conflict and war. [From Greek, polemos (war) + -logy (study).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Polemology begins, in other words, with a frank recognition of the overpowering superiority of the strong over the weak, and thus of the likelihood of defeat." Simon Joyce; Resisting Arrest/Arresting Resistance; Criticism (Detroit); Spring 1995. -------- Date: Fri Mar 24 00:01:22 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--spoliation X-Bonus: Poetry is truth in its Sunday clothes. -Joseph Roux, priest and writer (1834-1886) This week's theme: words about war. spoliation (spo-lee-AY-shun) noun 1. The act of pillaging and plundering. 2. Seizure of neutral ships at sea in time of war. 3. The deliberate destruction or alteration of a document. [From Middle English, from Latin spoliation- (stem of spoliatio), from spoliatus, past participle of spoliare (to spoil).] It's one of the most misspelled words around (as spoilation), one out of every ten occurrences, according to Google. It's right there with "definitely" which is misspelled (as definately) at about the same frequency. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "For raids to have an effect, as the Allies quickly learned, they had to be directed not against specific industrial installations but against entire urban centers. The Allied attack on Hamburg in late July 1943 was typical of the kind of spoliation that could be achieved. Half the city's domiciles were destroyed, as were 60% of its water system, 75% of its electricity generation and 90% of its gas works. Forty thousand Germans perished." Gabriel Schoenfeld; The Strategy Behind All That Destruction; The Wall Street Journal (New York); May 8, 2000. -------- Date: Mon Mar 27 00:01:13 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Parthian shot X-Bonus: Woodman, spare that tree! / Touch not a single bough! / In youth it sheltered me, / And I'll protect it now. -George Pope Morris, journalist and poet (1802-1864) My eight-year-old daughter Ananya was about to do her homework, but her mind was elsewhere. She sharpened her pencils. She arranged the eraser, sharpener and ruler in a row. Then she collected the pencil shavings in a pile. "Let's read the first problem," I suggested, but she began doodling. "Well, have you heard the story of the bird's eye?" I asked. Her ears perked up. I began... Long ago in India, there lived a martial arts teacher named Drona. He ran an academy in the middle of the forest where he taught the art of archery. Students traveled for miles and miles to learn from him. A boy named Arjuna wanted to be the best archer in the world. So he decided to study at Drona's academy. He lived in the cottages for students. Drona showed his students how to hold a bow and arrow. He told them to focus, "Look at where you want your arrow to go. Nowhere else." He told them to concentrate, "Think only of what you want your arrow to do. Nothing else." Arjuna listened intently. He practiced and practiced and practiced. One night while Arjuna was eating his dinner, a gust of wind blew out the oil lamp. Arjuna continued eating. "I can eat in the dark because I know where my mouth is," he said to himself, "I don't need to look at anything else." He decided to practice archery in the dark. He relighted the lamp and used it as a target. He thought, "I know where my target is and I don't need to look at anything else." He picked up his bow and arrows and began shooting. TWANG! TWANG! The sound of bow strings filled the air. When Drona heard the sound, he came out of his cottage. The sight of Arjuna practicing archery delighted him. He blessed Arjuna, saying "May your arrows never miss their targets." Soon other students grew envious of all the attention Arjuna was getting. "Why do you think Arjuna is the best among us all?" they asked the teacher. That evening Drona made an announcement. "Tomorrow, there will be an archery competition to find out the best archer," Drona said. "When the sun climbs over the horizon, be ready with your bows and arrows." The students polished their bows. They sharpened their arrows. Next morning they gathered in the yard. Glossy bows and pointed arrows gleamed in the sun. The wind was still but the students' hearts fluttered with excitement. Drona stepped out. In his hands was a bird made of clay. He laid it on a tree far from them. "See that clay bird perched on the tree ahead of us? Aim at its eye," he said. Then he called the first student. The student plucked an arrow from the quiver, placed it on the bow, and pulled the string. "What do you see ahead of you?" Drona asked. "I see the sun, the clouds, the trees," the student replied as he released the string. The arrow shot forward and landed yards away from the tree. The second student took his position. He plucked an arrow from his quiver, placed it on the bow, and pulled the string. "What do you see ahead of you?" Drona asked. "I see the tree, the branches, the leaves," the student replied as he released the string. The arrow shot forward and landed near the roots of the tree. The next student came forward, plucked an arrow from his quiver, placed it on the bow, and pulled the string. "What do you see ahead of you?" Drona asked. "I see the bird, its legs, its wings," the student replied as he let the string go. The arrow shot forward and grazed the wings of the bird. Finally it was Arjuna's turn. He plucked an arrow from his quiver, placed it on the bow, and pulled the string. "What do you see ahead of you?" Drona asked. "I see the eye of the bird," Arjuna replied. "What else do you see, Arjuna?" Drona asked. "Nothing. I see only the round black eye of the bird," Arjuna replied as he released the string. The arrow shot forward with a swoosh. It pierced the center of the eye of the clay bird. "And that's the end of the story," I announced. Ananya thought for a few moments. "Hmmm.. I see. So I'm Arjuna, my pencil is the arrow, and the homework problem is the bird's eye?" she asked. "Yes," I replied. "It's a story from Indian mythology." She didn't even hear me. She was busy with her homework. * * * This week we'll see words related to archery many of which could be used metaphorically in unrelated contexts as well. Parthian shot (PAR-thee-uhn shot) noun A hostile remark made in departing. [After the natives of Parthia, an ancient country in southwest Asia.] Parthians were expert archers. Their specialty was shooting arrows while in (or pretending to be in) retreat which disrupted the enemy forces. The more descriptive term "parting shot" is a synonym. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "'One other thing, Lestrade,' [Sherlock Holmes] added, turning round at the door: 'Rache,' is the German for 'revenge'; so don't lose your time looking for Miss Rachel.' With which Parthian shot he walked away, leaving the two rivals open-mouthed behind him." Arthur Conan Doyle; A Study In Scarlet; 1886. -------- Date: Tue Mar 28 00:01:13 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fletcher X-Bonus: Good books don't give up all their secrets at once. -Stephen King, novelist (1947- ) This week's theme: words related to archery. fletcher (FLECH-uhr) noun A maker of arrows. [From Middle English fleccher, from Old French flechier, from fleche (arrow). Ultimately from Indo-European root pleu (to flow), which also gave us flow, fly, float, fleet, pulmonary, and pluvial.] Sometimes this word is used in extended senses, for one who deals in arrows and also for an archer, but it is one of those occupations that now mostly survive as surnames. Some others are Webster (a weaver), Napier (in charge of the table linen at a royal estate), and Cooper (makes or repairs casks or barrels). In their place, new professions have cropped up: webmaster, knowledge manager, privacy officer, and others. Do you think the pattern will repeat and in a century or two one might find somebody named John Webmaster only because his father had a last name Webmaster? -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "[Richard Head]'s garden is a longbow factory. His wife, Lindsay, is a longbow champion and a full-time fletcher." Angus Watson; Know your Bow: Yew Turn That Changed History; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Oct 8, 2005. -------- Date: Wed Mar 29 00:01:15 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bull's-eye X-Bonus: Tell all the Truth but tell it slant-- / ... The Truth must dazzle gradually / Or every man be blind. -Emily Dickinson, poet (1830-1886) This week's theme: words related to archery. bull's-eye (bulz eye) noun 1. The center of a target. 2. A direct hit. 3. A convex lens or a lantern with such a lens in it. [Why bull's eye? Why not a cat's eye or a dog's eye? Nobody knows. Perhaps it's an indication of the earlier agro-economy and the importance of bovine animals in it. It was probably suggested by the similarity of a bull's round eye with that of a target.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "For the first time, there are four debates and for every one of them, the three opposition leaders will be looking at Mr. Martin as a man with a bull's-eye on his forehead." Greg McArthur; On Deck; Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Dec 2, 2005. -------- Date: Thu Mar 30 00:01:16 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--toxophilite X-Bonus: A wonderful time--the War: / when money rolled in / and blood rolled out. / But blood / was far away / from here-- / Money was near. -Langston Hughes, poet and novelist (1902-1967) This week's theme: words related to archery. toxophilite (tok-SOF-uh-lyt) noun One who is fond of or expert at archery. [Coined by Roger Ascham (1515-1568), scholar and writer, as a proper name and the title of his book Toxophilus, from Greek toxon (bow) + -philos (loving).] Roger Ascham was the tutor for teenager Elizabeth, future Queen Elizabeth I. His book Toxophilus was the first book on archery in English. It was a treatise on archery but it was also an argument for writing in the vernacular: in English. You could say he shot two birds with one arrow. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "In uncertain times, it makes sense to have as many strings to your bow as a well-provisioned fiddler or a prudent toxophilite." EK; Bibliophile; The Guardian (London, UK); Apr 17, 2004. -------- Date: Fri Mar 31 00:01:19 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--best gold X-Bonus: We boil at different degrees. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) This week's theme: words related to archery. best gold (best gold) noun The shot nearest the exact center of the bull's-eye. [The centermost circle (also known as bull's-eye) in a target is yellow or gold, hence the shot nearest to it is called the best gold.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "The John L Morgan Challenge Medal for the best gold at 100 yards went to Alan McCallum." Archery: Hallard Right on Target to Land Crown; Evening Telegraph (London, UK); Jun 12,2004.