A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Thu Apr 1 00:01:01 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Trojan X-Bonus: Make no judgments where you have no compassion. -Anne McCaffrey, writer (1 Apr 1926-2011) This week's theme: Places that have given us multiple toponyms Trojan (TRO-juhn) noun 1. A person from Troy. 2. One who exhibits great stamina, energy, and hard work. 3. A merry fellow. 4. In computing, a piece of malware that appears harmless, but causes damage. [After Troy, an ancient city in modern-day Turkey. From the reputation of Trojans in defending their city. The computing sense is from Trojan horse https://wordsmith.org/words/trojan_horse.html . Earliest documented use: 1330.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/trojan Tommy Trojan / Trojan Shrine at the USC https://wordsmith.org/words/images/trojan_large.jpg Sculptor: Roger Noble Burnham, 1930 Photo: Ali Eminov https://flickr.com/photos/aliarda/47146280932/ "Are you my alter-ego? Come, my Trojan half." Richard St. Abam; Fading Glory; Lightning Source; 2019. "When discussing his work ethic, Fabri said: 'This guy had just worked like a Trojan.'" Adrian Proszenko & Chris Barrett; Xerri Bomb League; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); May 27, 2020. -------- Date: Fri Apr 2 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Kentish fire X-Bonus: How far should one accept the rules of the society in which one lives? To put it another way: at what point does conformity become corruption? Only by answering such questions does the conscience truly define itself. -Kenneth Tynan, theater critic and author (2 Apr 1927-1980) This week's theme: Places that have given us multiple toponyms Kentish fire (KEN-tish fyr) noun Prolonged cheering. [From the prolonged derisive cheering in opposition to meetings held in Kent, England, during 1828-29 regarding the Catholic Relief Bill which sought to remove discrimination against Catholics. Earliest documented use: 1834.] "Then Kim would join the Kentish-fire of good wishes and bad jokes, wishing the couple a hundred sons and no daughters, as the saying is." Rudyard Kipling; Kim; Macmillan; 1901. -------- Date: Mon Apr 5 00:19:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Apgar X-Bonus: You can't hold a man down without staying down with him. -Booker T. Washington, reformer, educator, and author (5 Apr 1856-1915) MyHeritage, a genealogy company, recently announced a way to turn a still picture into a video clip. They call it Deep Nostalgia https://www.myheritage.com/deep-nostalgia . I tried a black-and-white picture of my grandmother and was pleasantly surprised. Fond memories came flooding back. I started wondering about people from history who have had words coined after them. I picked five people who lived in a time when videos were not very common, yet not so long ago that they didn't have even black-and-white pictures. Enjoy this week's eponyms and look at the people behind them in a new way. A word coined after a person is known as an eponym, from Greek ep- (after) + -onym (name). Also, MyHeritage's other technologies can colorize black-and-white pictures and turn grainy pictures into sharp snaps. This week we'll try all of them one by one. Note that MyHeritage was not involved in the making of this week's words in A.Word.A.Day. Apgar or apgar (AP-gar) noun A method of assessing a newborn's health. Also known as Apgar score. [After anesthesiologist Virginia Apgar (1909-1974) who devised it. Earliest documented use: 1959.] NOTES: This is a judging world and we get evaluated right from birth (Apgar) to death (how many people came to the funeral). In 1953, Dr. Virginia Apgar devised a quick way to assess the health of a newborn child. She assigned 0, 1, or 2 points for each of the five criteria: heart rate, respiration, muscle tone, skin color, and reflex response. The score is typically calculated at one minute and five minutes after birth. Ten years after the debut of the Apgar score, Dr. L. Joseph Butterfield introduced an acronym as a mnemonic aid for the term: Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration. See backronym https://wordsmith.org/words/backronym.html . Virginia Apgar, 1959 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/apgar.gif https://www.flickr.com/photos/wordsmithorg/51003644900/ Animated from a still photo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Virginia_Apgar#/media/File:Virginia-Apgar-July-6-1959.jpg "She placed the eye drops in and pronounced his apgar of nine and ten." Marsha Brooks; The Architect; Xlibris; 2014. -------- Date: Tue Apr 6 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Pinkerton X-Bonus: We take our colors, chameleon-like, from each other. -Nicolas de Chamfort, writer (6 Apr 1741-1794) This week's theme: Eponyms Pinkerton (PING-kuhr-tuhn) noun A detective. [After Allan Pinkerton (1819-1884), a private detective, who started a detective agency in 1850. Earliest documented use: 1874. Pinkerton may also be the origin of the term fink https://wordsmith.org/words/fink.html .] Pinkerton with Lincoln (photo cropped) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pinkerton.jpg https://www.flickr.com/photos/wordsmithorg/51003669695/ Photo: Mathew Brady, taken some time in the 1860s https://catalog.archives.gov/id/530415 Original black-and-white photo colorized with https://www.myheritage.com/incolor/ "She had her chance due to the carelessness of a Pinkerton hired by Flo's mother to investigate her death." Emily M. Danforth; Plain Bad Heroines: A Novel; William Morrow; 2020. -------- Date: Wed Apr 7 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Yarborough X-Bonus: It is chiefly through books that we enjoy intercourse with superior minds. -William Ellery Channing, clergyman and writer (7 Apr 1780-1842) This week's theme: Eponyms Yarborough or yarborough (YAHR-bur-oh/uh) noun In a card game, a weak hand, especially one in which no card is above a nine. [After Charles Anderson Worsley, 2nd Earl of Yarborough (1809-1897), who is said to have bet 1000 to 1 against the occurrence of such a hand. The actual odds are 1827 to 1. Earliest documented use: 1900.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/yarborough.jpg Original photo https://wordsmith.org/words/images/yarborough_original.jpg from http://www.nationaltrustimages.org.uk/image/564876 Grainy photo enhanced with https://www.myheritage.com/photo-enhancer "For days on end I can't seem to get a hand much better than a yarborough." Louis Joseph Vance; Nobody; George H. Doran; 1915. -------- Date: Thu Apr 8 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Orwellism X-Bonus: It's surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time. -Barbara Kingsolver, novelist, essayist, and poet (b. 8 Apr 1955) This week's theme: Eponyms Orwellism (OR-wuh-liz-uhm) noun Something misleading, such as a word or phrase used euphemistically or ambiguously for propaganda purposes. [After George Orwell (1903-1950), whose novel "1984" depicted a futuristic totalitarian state employing misleading language for propaganda and control. Earliest documented use: 1970. Also see newspeak https://wordsmith.org/words/newspeak.html and Orwellian https://wordsmith.org/words/orwellian.html .] George Orwell https://www.flickr.com/photos/wordsmithorg/51018168080/ Photo enhanced, colorized, and animated with MyHeritage.com "[Premier Kathleen Wynne] also embraced one of neo-liberalism's core tenets: privatization of public goods, under the hideous Orwellism of 'broadening' its ownership." Rick Salutin; Neo-Liberalism Is a Spent Force and Patrick Brown Knows It; Toronto Star (Canada); Dec 1, 2017. -------- Date: Fri Apr 9 00:01:01 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Oakley X-Bonus: The poet is a kinsman in the clouds / Who scoffs at archers, loves a stormy day; / But on the ground, among the hooting crowds, / He cannot walk, his wings are in the way. -Charles Baudelaire, poet, critic, and translator (9 Apr 1821-1867) This week's theme: Eponyms Oakley (OHK-lee) noun A complimentary ticket or pass. Also known as an Annie Oakley. [After the sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1860-1926) who was renowned for her skill, from association of the punched ticket with one of her bullet-riddled targets. Earliest documented use: c. 1910.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Oakley NOTES: As it happens, we don't need to turn a picture of Annie Oakley into a video. A film of hers is available, dating back to 1894, produced by none other than Thomas Edison. It's grainy and jumpy. If only Edison had had the foresight to realize the historic nature of the film and use the HD mode! https://wordsmith.org/words/images/oakley.jpg Watch the film https://www.flickr.com/photos/wordsmithorg/51074679636/ (24 sec.) and learn more about it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Oakley_(1894_film) Videographer: William Heise "He was given an Oakley for the vaudeville theater show." F. Jutte; Het Engelse Taaleigen van Amerika; W.E.J. Tjeenk Willink; 1966. -------- Date: Mon Apr 12 00:01:01 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vulnerary X-Bonus: If life's lessons could be reduced to single sentences, there would be no need for fiction. -Scott Turow, author and lawyer (b. 12 Apr 1949) What's on the menu this week? Mixed veggies, so to speak. More precisely, it's mixed words, as in miscellaneous words. The word miscellaneous is from Latin miscere (to mix), ultimately from the Indo-European root meik- (to mix), which also gave us mix, medley, melee, and promiscuous. We promise not couscous, but a medley of words. Enjoy! vulnerary (VUHL-nuh-rer-ee) noun: Something used for the healing of wounds. adjective: Useful in healing of wounds. [From Latin vulnus (wound) + -ary (relating to). Earliest documented use: 1599.] "Melinda relies upon art to work as a vulnerary." Speak: The Graphic Novel; Kirkus Reviews (New York); Feb 15, 2018. "Periwinkle is also a vulnerary herb, for healing wounds and staunching bleeding." Jane Powers; The Language of Love; Irish Times (Dublin); Feb 14, 2004. -------- Date: Tue Apr 13 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--soporific X-Bonus: There is also an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government, and provisions should be made to prevent its ascendancy. -Thomas Jefferson, third US president, architect, and author (13 Apr 1743-1826) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words soporific (sop-uh-RIF-ik, suh-puh-) adjective: 1. Inducing sleep. 2. Sleepy or drowsy. 3. Dull or monotonous. noun: Something that induces sleep. [From Latin sopor (a deep sleep). Ultimately from the Indo-European root swep- (to sleep), which also gave us insomnia, hypnosis, soporose https://wordsmith.org/words/soporose.html , somniloquy (talking while asleep) https://wordsmith.org/words/somniloquy.html , and somnambulate (to walk in sleep). Earliest documented use: 1690.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/soporific "I snoozed some more, full of bloat-inducing road food and my mother's soporific prattle." Mickey J. Corrigan; Red Hot Blues; Wild Rose Press; 2014. -------- Date: Wed Apr 14 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mummery X-Bonus: The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play. -Arnold J. Toynbee, historian (14 Apr 1889-1975) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words mummery (MUHM-uh-ree) noun An absurd, pretentious, or hypocritical performance. [From Middle French momerie (masquerade), from Old French mommer (to mum or to pantomime). Earliest documented use: 1465.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/mummery "To crown this scene of farce and mummery, a clergyman is mounted in their pulpit to harangue them on the blessings of independence." Danielle Allen; A Forgotten Founder; The Atlantic (Boston, Massachusetts); Mar 2021. -------- Date: Thu Apr 15 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--intransigence X-Bonus: Clear thinking requires courage rather than intelligence. -Thomas Szasz, author, professor of psychiatry (15 Apr 1920-2012) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words intransigence (in-TRAN-si-juhns) noun Unwillingness to compromise, especially from an extreme position. [Via Spanish/French, from Latin in- (not) + transigere (to settle). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ag- (to drive, draw), which also gave us act, agent, agitate, litigate, synagogue, and ambassador. Earliest documented use: 1882.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/intransigence "But many politicians won't budge and the people who elect them won't hold them accountable for their intransigence." Charles M. Blow; Mass Shootings and Our Depraved Political Stagnation; The New York Times; Mar 24, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/opinion/mass-shootings-gun-control.html -------- Date: Fri Apr 16 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--diffidence X-Bonus: Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another. -Anatole France, novelist, essayist, Nobel laureate (16 Apr 1844-1924) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words diffidence (DIF-i-duhns) noun Timidity or shyness. [From Latin diffidere (to mistrust), from dis- (not) + fidere (to trust). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bheidh- (to trust), which also gave us abide, abode, fiancé, affidavit, confide, confident, defiance, fidelity, defy, infidel, and diffident https://wordsmith.org/words/diffident.html . Earliest documented use: 1425.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/diffidence "It's remarkable to find such swagger ... by the slouch of diffidence and doubt." Anthony Lane; Join In; The New Yorker; Jul 22, 2019. -------- Date: Mon Apr 19 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--woodshed X-Bonus: There is a beauty in discovery. There is mathematics in music, a kinship of science and poetry in the description of nature, and exquisite form in a molecule. Attempts to place different disciplines in different camps are revealed as artificial in the face of the unity of knowledge. All literate men are sustained by the philosopher, the historian, the political analyst, the economist, the scientist, the poet, the artisan and the musician. -Glenn T. Seaborg, scientist, Nobel laureate (19 Apr 1912-1999) If you are one of those people who are bothered by the use of the word "invite" as a noun, you should listen to this beautiful, heartfelt song from the musical "Fiddler on the Roof": Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make me a match, Find me a find, catch me a catch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Hj7bp38f8 (video, 4 min.) As it happens, things change and the song eventually becomes: Matchmaker, matchmaker, plan me no plans. ... So bring me no ring, groom me no groom. Find me no find, catch me no catch. One could summarize the whole song as: X me an X or X me no X. At this point, you might be inclined to say: Songwriter, songwriter, noun me no verb verb me no noun. There's a long tradition of this pattern, verbing of nouns and nouning of verbs. Shakespeare in "Richard II" has the Duke of York say: Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle. This week we'll see some nouns and verbs that started out in one form and evolved into another. It happens all the time. Because language. What nouns have you verbed? What verbs have you nouned? Post it on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/woodshed.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Reader, reader, comment me a comment! woodshed (WOOD-shed) noun: 1. A place for storing firewood. 2. A place for administering punishment. 3. A place for intensive practice, especially music practice. verb tr., intr.: 1. To practice diligently, especially on a musical instrument. 2. To punish or reprimand. 3. To coach a witness before a trial. [From the practice of using a woodshed for punishing a child, for intensive music practice, etc. From wood, from Old English wudu + shed, a variant of shade, from Old English sceadu. Earliest documented use, noun: 1764, verb: 1893.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/woodshed https://wordsmith.org/words/images/woodshed_large.jpg Image: Richard https://www.flickr.com/photos/dipfan/617540094/ "With McEnroe you never got the feeling he'd woodshedded for hours at that half-volley." Al Murray; I Was There When ... John McEnroe Played His Last Semi; The Guardian (London, UK); Mar 3, 2003. "Were you ever taken to the woodshed?" Donald G. McNeil Jr.; Fauci on What Working for Trump Was Really Like; The New York Times; Jan 24, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/24/health/fauci-trump-covid.html "Occasionally, when a prospective developer or consultant sent her flowers before a meeting, she would demand, 'Would that guy send these if I was Mr. Mayor?' Her staff learned to hide these bouquets, just so the poor mopes who sent them would not get woodshedded by the mayor before they made their pitch." Joseph Sabino Mistick; Councilwomen Pittsburgh Tough; Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Pennsylvania); Nov 25, 2012. "Paul Ravich will have these witnesses woodshedded to the point of no surprises." David D. Williams; Gamesmanship; SandLine Press; 2014. -------- Date: Tue Apr 20 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--balk X-Bonus: I am, indeed, a king, because I know how to rule myself. -Pietro Aretino, satirist and dramatist (20 Apr 1492-1556) This week's theme: Nouning verbs and verbing nouns balk or baulk (bawk) noun: 1. A check or hindrance. 2. A defeat or disappointment. 3. A beam or rafter. 4. A ridge; an unplowed strip of land between furrows. verb intr.: To stop, hesitate, or refuse to proceed. verb tr.: To thwart or hinder. [From Old English balca (ridge, bank). Earliest documented use, noun: 885, verb: 1393.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/balk A section of a track showing a rail on a baulk https://wordsmith.org/words/images/balk_large.jpg Photo: Geof Sheppard / Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Baulk_road#/media/File:Baulk_road_section_through_longitudinal.jpg "Nothing, agreed, is alien to love When pure desire has overflowed its baulks." Robert Graves; Collected Poems; Cassell; 1965. "She balked at the bedroom door, digging in her heels. 'It's just a bedroom, Katie,' he said. 'We have to pass through it to get to the bathroom where my first aid supplies are.'" Lori Wilde; A Wedding for Christmas; Avon; 2016. -------- Date: Wed Apr 21 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--festoon X-Bonus: In nothing does man, with his grand notions of heaven and charity, show forth his innate, low-bred, wild animalism more clearly than in his treatment of his brother beasts. From the shepherd with his lambs to the red-handed hunter, it is the same; no recognition of rights -- only murder in one form or another. -John Muir, naturalist, explorer, and writer (21 Apr 1838-1914) This week's theme: Nouning verbs and verbing nouns festoon (fe-STOON) noun: A decorative chain or string, of flowers, leaves, ribbons, etc., hanging between two points. verb tr.: To make or hang festoons; to decorate. [From French feston, from Italian festone, from festa (festival), from Latin festa, plural of festum (festival). Earliest documented use, noun: 1676, verb: 1789.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/festoon Architectural festoon, Panthéon, Paris https://wordsmith.org/words/images/festoon_large.jpg Photo: Lionel Allorge / Wikimedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festoon#/media/File:D%C3%A9tail_du_Panth%C3%A9on_en_mars_2014_5.jpg "The usnea lichen hangs in festoons from the white spruce trees." Henry David Thoreau; Walden; Ticknor and Fields; 1854. "Mr A asked for an opinion about the big boat in the Suez canal instead, and I told him that opinions were my bread and butter and he'd have to festoon me with cash for those." Zoe Williams; The Rules Are Easing, the Sun Is Out -- and I Have Forgotten How to Socialise; The Guardian (London, UK); Apr 4, 2021. -------- Date: Thu Apr 22 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bivouac X-Bonus: We understand death for the first time when he puts his hand upon one whom we love. -Madame De Stael, writer (22 Apr 1766-1817) This week's theme: Nouning verbs and verbing nouns bivouac (BI-vuh-ak, BIV-wak, BIV-oo-ak) noun: A temporary encampment, in the open air, typically without tents or cover. verb intr.: To take shelter temporarily for the night. [From French bivouac, from Swiss German beiwacht (supplementary night watch), from bei- (beside) + Wacht (watch). Earliest documented use, noun: 1706, verb: 1809.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/bivouac https://wordsmith.org/words/images/bivouac_large.jpg Photo: Caro Ryan / LotsaFreshAir https://lotsafreshair.com/2017/07/27/what-is-a-bivvy-bag-and-can-it-replace-my-tent/ "'Why can't we just go back to the bivouac and sleep?' Cadet Norris whined." Christopher Cummings; Barbara's Bivouac; DoctorZed Publishing; 2019. "I understand he is numbered among the legions who have bivouacked in your bed." Cecelia Holland; The Belt of Gold; Knopf; 1984. -------- Date: Fri Apr 23 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--savvy X-Bonus: My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go. -Shakespeare, poet and dramatist (23 Apr 1564-1616) This week's theme: Nouning verbs and verbing nouns savvy (SAV-ee) verb: To understand or know. noun: Know-how, practical knowledge, or shrewdness. adjective: Shrewd or knowledgeable, especially in practical matters. [Via pidgin and/or creole language(s), from Portuguese and/or Spanish sabe (do you know?), from Latin sapere (to be wise). Ultimately from the Indo-European sep- (to taste or perceive), which also gave us sage, savant, savor, sapid, sapient, resipiscent https://wordsmith.org/words/resipiscent.html , insipid, and sipid https://wordsmith.org/words/sipid.html . Earliest documented use, verb: 1686, noun: 1785, adjective: 1826.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/savvy https://wordsmith.org/words/images/savvy_large.jpg Image: https://memegenerator.net/instance/50045754/captain-jack-sparrow-a-savvy "'I have never savvied the outlaw mind,' Fred said." Ralph Compton; The Evil Men Do; Signet; 2015. "He was clearly a hoodlum with a lot of street savvy." Robert Littell; A Nasty Piece of Work; St. Martin's Press; 2013. -------- Date: Mon Apr 26 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rostrum X-Bonus: A new word is like a fresh seed sown on the ground of the discussion. -Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher (26 Apr 1889-1951) Around here we do not consume food with animal ingredients -- a plant-based diet works just fine.* We make an exception for words, however. This week we'll feature five such words -- words made with animal parts. Sometimes it's obvious. Sometimes not, and you'll have to read the label for a word's list of ingredients, also known as the etymology. We'll go from head to tail, or at least from beak to tail. *If you are curious why, check out the documentary "Dominion". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQRAfJyEsko&has_verified=1 . rostrum (ROS-truhm, RO-struhm) noun 1. A platform, stage, dais, etc., for public speaking. 2. A beaklike projection on a warship, used for ramming another ship. 3. A snout, beak, or bill of an animal. [In ancient Rome, a speaking platform was decorated with the beaks of captured ships. Hence the use of the term for a speaking platform. From Latin rostrum (snout, bill, beak), from rodere (to gnaw). Earliest documented use: 1542.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/rostrum How long is your rostrum? Probably not as long as this weevil's https://wordsmith.org/words/images/rostrum_large.jpg Photo: André De Kesel https://flickr.com/photos/andredekesel/33843915962/ A replica of Willem Barentsz's ship in Harlingen, The Netherlands: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/rostrum2_large.jpg Photo: Smiley.toerist / Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Beakhead_(nautical)#/media/File:Harlingen_haven_2020_2.jpg "MPs blocked the parliament's rostrum before the start of an extraordinary meeting." Party of Regions Blocks Parliament Rostrum; Kyiv Post (Ukraine); Feb 3, 2010. -------- Date: Tue Apr 27 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--carapace X-Bonus: Reading is seeing by proxy. -Herbert Spencer, philosopher (27 Apr 1820-1903) This week's theme: Words made with animal parts carapace (KAR-uh-pays) noun 1. A hard shell on the back of animals such as turtles, crabs, etc. 2. An attitude developed as a protective measure against something. [From French carapace (shell), from Spanish carapacho (shell). Earliest documented use: 1835.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/carapace https://wordsmith.org/words/images/carapace_large.png Image: Meme Guy https://memeguy.com/photo/379908/pineapple-turtle-pineturtle "Hank, played by Dean Norris, is a false man, too, his carapace of swagger and bad jokes barely covering an unmanageable anxiety." James Parker; 'Til Meth Do Us Part; The Atlantic Monthly (Boston); Jul/Aug 2013. -------- Date: Wed Apr 28 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hackle X-Bonus: There is a rumor going around that I have found God. I think this is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist. -Terry Pratchett, novelist (28 Apr 1948-2015) This week's theme: Words made with animal parts hackle (HAK-uhl) noun: 1. Hairs or feathers on the neck or back of some animals that stand up when the animal is agitated. 2. Temper; anger. 3. A comb for dressing fiber. verb tr.: To comb flax, hemp, or other fibers with a hackle. [Either a variant of heckle, from Middle English hechelen (to comb flax) or from Old English hacele (coat, cloak). Earliest documented use: 900.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/hackle A coyote with hackles raised https://wordsmith.org/words/images/hackle_large.jpg Photo: Ron Dudley https://www.featheredphotography.com/blog/2020/08/29/coyote-with-raised-hackles/ "He'd made her hackles rise faster than a bee's wings could flap. The gall of him saying he would wait for her to propose to him was shocking." Amelia Grey; The Duke In My Bed; St. Martin's; 2014. -------- Date: Thu Apr 29 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pinnacle X-Bonus: A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking. -Jerry Seinfeld, comedian (b. 29 Apr 1954) This week's theme: Words made with animal parts pinnacle (PIN-uh-kuhl) noun: 1. The highest point. 2. An architectural ornament capping a tower, buttress, etc. verb tr.: 1. To reach the peak of achievement, development, etc. 2. To form a pinnacle. [From Old French, from Latin pinnaculum, diminutive of pinna (wing, feather). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pet- (to rush or fly), which also gave us feather, petition, compete, perpetual, pterodactyl, helicopter, appetence https://wordsmith.org/words/appetence.html , asymptomatic https://wordsmith.org/words/asymptomatic.html , empennage https://wordsmith.org/words/empennage.html , impetuous https://wordsmith.org/words/impetuous.html , pencel https://wordsmith.org/words/pencel.html , peripeteia https://wordsmith.org/words/peripeteia.html , petulant https://wordsmith.org/words/petulant.html , propitious https://wordsmith.org/words/propitious.html , pinnate https://wordsmith.org/words/pinnate.html , and lepidopterology (study of butterflies and moths) https://wordsmith.org/words/lepidopterology.html . Earliest documented use: 1330.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/pinnacle Pinnacles on King's College Chapel, Cambridge, UK https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pinnacle_large.jpg Image: Dmitry Tonkonog / Wikimedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinnacle#/media/File:20130808_Kings_College_Chapel_Closeup_01.jpg "From then on began a remarkable journey of perseverance, courage, and fortitude that propelled Nadella to the pinnacle of Microsoft." Raj Chengappa; Microsoft's Satya Nadella Has a Message for You; India Today (New Delhi); Oct 2, 2017. -------- Date: Fri Apr 30 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hightail X-Bonus: How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. -Annie Dillard, author (b. 30 Apr 1945) This week's theme: Words made with animal parts hightail (HY-tayl) verb intr. To move quickly, especially in retreat or in fleeing. [From reference to animals such as cows, rabbits, and deer that raise their tails when fleeing. Earliest documented use: 1908. A synonym is skedaddle https://wordsmith.org/words/skedaddle.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/hightail https://wordsmith.org/words/images/hightail_large.jpg Photo: Robert S Kirk https://www.flickr.com/photos/bobnank/20881358773 "Isaac kills one of the vagrants to save his friend. Unaware that Poe will end up taking the rap for the murder, Isaac hightails it by rail. Meanwhile, Poe samples another of America's decrepit institutions: its prison system." Nailing It; The Economist (London, UK); Apr 25, 2009.