A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Wed Sep 1 00:01:12 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tommyrot X-Bonus: Our elections are free, it's in the results where eventually we pay. -Bill Stern, sports announcer (1907-1971) tommyrot (TOM-ee-rot) noun Nonsense; foolishness. [From English dialectal tommy (fool), shortening of Thomas + English rot.] "Name Game In this age of loony leaders And blatant tommyrot, Do you feel you can distinguish Hussein and who is not?" Erik Barnouw; Pepper...and Salt; The Wall Street Journal (New York); Mar 7, 1991. "Burnham is frankly cynical about the public enquiry. 'That's a lot of tommyrot,' he says, with a broad, crafty smile." Peter Popham; Terminal Damage; Independent (London, UK); May 4, 1996. This week's theme: words that are also names. -------- Date: Thu Sep 2 00:01:11 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--merry-andrew X-Bonus: A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad. -Theodore Roosevelt, Twenty-sixth US president (1858-1919) merry-andrew (MER-ee AN-droo) noun A clown. [From English merry + generic use of proper name Andrew.] "There were new owners, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, the Merry-Andrews who ran the wildly successful disco Studio 54 a decade before (and shared a cell in federal prison for evading taxes on the disco's income)." John Skow; Travel: An Ocean Cruise in Manhattan; Time (New York); Dec 19, 1988. "Merry Andrew, Lawrence called him then, always applauding his wit, his affectations." Robley Wilson, Jr.; Lawrence Lighted a Cigaret and Blew Smoke in Andrew's Direction; The San Francisco Chronicle; Jan 27, 1985. This week's theme: words that are also names. -------- Date: Fri Sep 3 00:01:16 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--garth X-Bonus: I and the public know / What all schoolchildren learn, / Those to whom evil is done / Do evil in return. -W.H. Auden, poet (1907-1973) garth (garth) noun A small yard surrounded by a cloister. Also known as cloister garth. [From Middle English, from Old Norse (garthr) yard. Ultimately from Indo-European root gher- (to enclose or grasp) that is also the ancestor of such words as court, orchard, kindergarten, French jardin (garden), choir, courteous, Hindi gherna (to surround), yard, and horticulture.] "The St. Joseph's Abbey bell tower dominates the view looking out across the garth." Bradford L. Miner; Heeding the Call Abbey Opens Doors to Prospective Monks; Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts); Mar 11, 2001. "In this respect it might be noted that in 1457 the Westminster cloister garth was scythed three times, giving some indication that grass would have been able to grow to some considerable length." Jan Woudstra and James Hitchmough; The Enamelled Mead; Landscape Research (Abingdon, UK); Mar 2000. This week's theme: words that are also names. -------- Date: Mon Sep 6 00:01:14 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gulosity X-Bonus: The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. -Theodore M. Hesburgh, educator (1917- ) gulosity (gyoo-LOS-i-tee) noun Gluttony; greediness. [From Late Latin gulositas, from Latin gulosus (gluttonous), from gula (gullet, gluttony).] "He (Shakespeare) did not drink much ... it is doubtful whether he ate much either. There is gulosity in Ben Jonson's plays, but no slavering in Will's." Anthony Burgess; Shakespeare; Carroll & Graf Publishers; 2002. "The result of my holiday gulosity impacted upon me one night at a Santa Monica restaurant called Rix. The owner had stopped by to chat and was discussing a live jellyfish he planned on placing in a tank as part of the restaurant's decor. I was in a comatose state and when I heard jellyfish I said, 'Sure, I'll try it, just a small bite.'" Al Martinez; Eat, Eat, Eat, Drink, Eat, Chat, Drink, Eat, Eat; The Los Angeles Times; Dec 22, 1999. I don't know why people don't like spam. Think of all the scientific progress that has come thanks to spammers. For example, look at the advances in the frontiers of medicine. Who brought them? Spammers! Let's say you lose your pinkie toe in some home-improvement project. What can you do? Nothing! You go to a doctor and he'll tell you, "Sorry buddy, it's gone. Bye bye." If only you had paid attention to your spam, you'd know that you can grow it back. Not only that, you can grow any body part on you. Even those you never had to begin with. I recently received email from a spammer saying that I can grow my cup size by up to three. Not one. Not two. But up to three! Isn't that fascinating? I love tea. I know that if I use one of those pills, I can have a bigger cup. I wouldn't need to go back to the teapot for a refill. Don't get me wrong. I hate spam. But I don't understand why we can't catch these pests soon. Well, we're going to catch up with them eventually. If they could be sentenced to serve one second in jail for every piece of spam they sent, we wouldn't need to worry about them ever getting out and putting their dirty fingers on their computers again. And I know just the right food for them while they're in the big house -- an unlimited supply of cans of Spiced Ham! In homage to spammers who include lists of random words in their mail, this week's AWAD features five miscellaneous words. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Sep 7 00:01:19 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--synesthesia X-Bonus: One has to be a lowbrow, a bit of a murderer, to be a politician, ready and willing to see people sacrificed, slaughtered, for the sake of an idea, whether a good one or a bad one. -Henry Miller, writer (1891-1980) synesthesia or synaesthesia (sin-uhs-THEE-zhuh, -zhee-uh) noun 1. A sensation felt in one part of the body when stimulus is applied to another part, e.g. visualization of a color on hearing a sound. 2. (In literature) Using an unrelated sense to describe something, e.g. warm sounds or fragrant words. [From New Latin, from syn- (together) + -esthesia, from Greek aisthesis (sensation or perception). Ultimately from Indo-European root au- (to perceive) from which other words such as audio, audience, audit, obey, oyez, auditorium, anesthesia, and aesthetic are derived.] A Scientific American article on the topic: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=hearing-colors-tasting-sh-2003-05 "As many as one in 2,000 people has the mysterious condition known as synesthesia, a mingling of different senses into one. Some taste shapes. Others feel colours or see sounds." Brad Evenson; Symphony of the Senses; National Post (Canada); Feb 26, 2002. "Ms. Mass's novel for young teens about synesthesia, 'A Mango-Shaped Space' (Little, Brown, 2003), tells the story of a 13-year-old girl named Mia who perceives letters, numbers and sounds as colors." Michelle Falkenstein; Jersey Footlights; The New York Times; Jul 4, 2004. This week's theme: miscellaneous words. -------- Date: Wed Sep 8 00:01:16 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--anagnorisis X-Bonus: Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough. -Charles Dudley Warner, editor and author (1829-1900) anagnorisis (an-ag-NOR-uh-sis) noun The moment of recognition or discovery (in a play, etc.) [From Latin, from Greek anagnorizein (to recognize or discover). Ultimately from Indo-European root gno- (to know) that is the ancestor of such words as know, can, notorious, notice, connoisseur, recognize, diagnosis, ignore, annotate, noble, and narrate.] If you've ever been to a movie involving two brothers separated at birth, one of whom ends up as a criminal and the other a police officer, you already know about today's word. Anagnorisis is the point near the end of the movie where the brothers face each other, notice similar lockets in other's necks (that their mother gave them at their birth) and discover that they are twins, drop their guns, and hug each other tightly. Anagnorisis was originally the critical moment in a Greek tragedy, usually accompanied by a peripeteia (reversal), leading to the denouement of a story. An example is when Oedipus recognizes that the woman he is married to (Jocasta) is really his mother. Aristotle discussed it at length in his Poetics ( http://eserver.org/philosophy/aristotle/poetics.txt ). He talked about many different kinds of such recognitions, e.g. by memory, by reasoning, etc. The worst, according to him, is recognition by signs, such as scars, birthmarks, tokens, etc. (including lockets!) "A shame, though, that the anagnorisis of the movie, literally, the recognition scene, falls so short of the novel's heartstopping pathos." Anthony Quinn; Film: Puddle Deep, Mountain High; Independent (London, UK); Dec 26, 2003. "... his latest book, 'Blinded by the Right,' in which he (David Brock) confesses that everything he wrote earlier in his career as a conservative -- before his anagnorisis as a born-again liberal -- was a lie." Kathleen Parker; Let's Put Right-wing Conspiracy Issue to Rest; The Grand Rapids Press (Michigan); Mar 21, 2002. This week's theme: miscellaneous words. -------- Date: Thu Sep 9 00:01:12 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bricolage X-Bonus: I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made. -Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd US President (1882-1945) bricolage (bree-ko-LAZH) noun Something created using a mix of whatever happens to be available. [From French bricolage (do-it-yourself job), from bricoler (to putter around, to do odd jobs), from bricole (trifle), from Italian briccola.] "This, the last instalment of his so-called 'memoirs', is a rich and ragged bricolage of notes and quotes." Our Round-up of Other Eyecatching New Books; The Observer (London, UK); May 11, 2003. "Mounted in the Institute's Orozco Gallery, the avant-garde art here incorporates neon text, motion detectors, latex, video, site-specific installation, found-object bricolage, photography and conceptual art -- and only in a few cases that old-fashioned thing called paint." Michael O'Sullivan; Mexican Art Shows: No Looking Back; Washington Post; Aug 6, 1999. This week's theme: miscellaneous words. -------- Date: Fri Sep 10 00:01:12 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shivaree X-Bonus: All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies. -John Arbuthnot, writer and physician (1667-1735) shivaree (shiv-uh-REE) noun, also chivaree, chivari, charivari A noisy, mock serenade to a newly married couple, involving the banging of kettles, pots and pans. [From French charivari (din, hullabaloo).] "We refrained from celebrating their marriage with primitive gestures, such as a shivaree, even though pots and pans were readily available for nocturnal banging." Julie Salamon; Ten for the Honeymoon; The Wall Street Journal (New York); Aug 27, 1986. "Friends tried to subject them to a shivaree, but the joke was on them. The bride and groom were nowhere to be found." Friends For Life; Capital-Journal (Topeka, Kansas); Mar 21, 2004. This week's theme: miscellaneous words. -------- Date: Mon Sep 13 00:01:17 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--trow X-Bonus: Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. -William Shakespeare, playwright and poet (1564-1616) trow (tro) verb tr., intr. To believe, think, suppose, or trust. [From Middle English, from Old English, ultimately from Indo-European root deru- (to be firm) that's the source of such other words as truth, trust, betroth, tree, endure, and druid.] "Caledon's publicity blurb starts with a quote from Robbie Burns that, all things considered, seems positively spooky. 'Here are we met three merry boys; three merry boys I trow are we!'" Scot August Night; The Age (Melbourne, Australia); Aug 11, 2004. "And he, poor parasite, Cooped in a ship he cannot steer, -- Who is the captain he knows not, Port or pilot trows not..." Ralph Waldo Emerson; Monadnoc; 1847. Fashions come and go. Some year it's bell-bottoms that are cool, another time it might be torn jeans. What is hip for one age is passé for another. The same goes for words. Yesterday's street slang today becomes respectable, suitable for office memos and academic theses. And what were everyday words at one time may be labeled archaic a few hundred years later. As I see it, there's no reason to relegate any word to the attic of time. The more the merrier. Each word on our verbal palette -- whether new or old -- helps us bring out a nuance in conversation and in writing. The words featured here this week are considered archaic but still look to be in good shape. They're old but not yet retired from the language. They still report for duty faithfully, as shown by recent examples from newspapers. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Sep 14 00:01:15 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--verily X-Bonus: The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children. -Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian (1906-1945) verily (VER-uh-lee) adverb In truth, indeed, truly, certainly. [From Middle English verraily, from verrai/verray (very), from Old French verai (true), from vulgar Latin veracus, from Latin verax (truthful).] "He (Kenneth Kaunda) further said ... that he verily believes the detaining authority has no grounds or reasonable belief to detain him." Amos Malupenga; My Safety is in Grave Danger, Says Kaunda; Post of Zambia (Lusaka); Dec 29, 1997. "And verily did the chains fall off all manner of things which sorely needed chaining." Verily Did the Chains Fall; The Australian (Sydney); Jun 6, 2000. This week's theme: archaic words. -------- Date: Wed Sep 15 00:01:13 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mayhap X-Bonus: If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties. -Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman (1561-1626) mayhap (may-HAP, MAY-hap) adverb Perhaps. [From the phrase 'it may hap', from Middle English hap, from Old Norse happ (luck, chance).] "Why it took 12 more days before the appeal was filed (waiting till the last minute), one may never know. Some last ditch attempts by the forces of darkness, mayhap?" Solita Collas-Monsod; Calling a Spade... Good News For a Change; BusinessWorld (Manila, Philippines); Oct 26, 2000. "Are you doing what you should to help this economy roll along? Mayhap you are not fully aware of what you should be doing. Or why you should be happily about the task." Edwin Darby; Is it Your Duty to Buy, Buy, Buy?; Chicago Sun-Times; Sep 10, 1986. This week's theme: archaic words. -------- Date: Thu Sep 16 00:02:04 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--howbeit X-Bonus: The first forty years of life give us the text; the next thirty supply the commentary on it. -Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher (1788-1860) howbeit (hou-BEE-it) adverb Nevertheless. Conjunction Although. [Originally from the expression 'how be it' (however it may be).] Two cousins of this word are sobeit (provided that; if) and albeit (although it be). Only albeit remains in wider currency. "An obscure point about this pact, howbeit a very critical concern, is that the diseases it intends to fight exist in poor countries, mostly in Africa, whereas the generic drugs to fight them with are manufactured elsewhere." E. Ablorh-Odjidja; World Trade, the Next Round; Accra Mail (Ghana); Sep 9, 2003. "But Elton's pride was creaturely, howbeit that of an extraordinary creature; it was a creature's naked claim on the right to respect itself, a claim that no creature's life could of itself invariably support." Wendell Berry; A Jonquil for Mary Penn; The Atlantic (Boston); Feb 1992. This week's theme: archaic words. -------- Date: Fri Sep 17 00:01:12 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--levin X-Bonus: Everything secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity. -Lord Acton, historian (1834-1902) levin (LEV-in) noun Lightning; a bright light. [From Middle English levene. Ultimately from Indo-European root leuk- (light) that's resulted in other words such as lunar, lunatic, light, lightning, lucid, illuminate, illustrate, translucent, lux, and lynx.] "Broad and frequent through the night Flash'd the sheets of levin-light;" Walter Scott; The Dance of Death; 1815. "See! from its summit the lurid levin Flashes downward without warning, As Lucifer, son of the morning, Fell from the battlements of heaven!" Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; At Sea; 1851. This week's theme: archaic words. -------- Date: Mon Sep 20 00:01:14 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--schadenfreude X-Bonus: Certainly virtue is like precious odours, most fragrant when they are incensed, or crushed: for prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue. -Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman (1561-1626) schadenfreude (SHAAD-n-froi-duh) noun Pleasure derived from others' misfortunes. [From German Schadenfreude, from Schaden (damage, harm) + Freude (joy).] "He (Bob Carr) would be only human to feel a touch of Schadenfreude if his state's problems were to cost Latham the election." Miranda Devine; The Pressure is on Latham; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Sep 2, 2004. "Part of the attraction of the first seasons was Schadenfreude -- the joy in watching filmmakers suffer and struggle when they got their big chance. As the New York Sun newspaper put it in a headline 'Bad Film = Good TV'." Peter Henderson; Reality TV 'Project Greenlight' Has New Goal: Money; Reuters; Aug 6, 2004. In an email I received recently, the writer described one of his daughter Hanna's relatives with these words: "Lynne is the wife of the brother of Hanna's husband, Randy." Hmmm... The English language boasts the largest vocabulary of any tongue, but relationships is one area where its impecuniosity shows. Sure, my correspondent could have used the generic term sister-in-law, but that's so vague as to be almost useless. It could imply any of the three possible relationships encompassing maybe a half-dozen people. Many languages have a rich repertoire when it comes to describing relationships. For example, in Hindi one could precisely describe the above relationship with a single word. In fact, there are two separate terms available to further clarify the scene. One could say "Lynne is Hanna's devrani" (if Lynne is the wife of a younger brother of Hanna's husband) or "jethani" (wife of an older brother). While these two words from Hindi aren't part of the English language (yet), there are many others we've borrowed from numerous languages to fill the gaps. This week we'll feature five of them. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Sep 21 00:01:10 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--agitprop X-Bonus: No one ever ever won a chess game by betting on each move. Sometimes you have to move backward to get a step forward. -Amar Gopal Bose, electrical engineer, inventor, founder Bose Corp. (1929- ) agitprop (AJ-it-prop) noun Propaganda, especially one that's political in nature, disseminated through art, drama, literature, etc. [From Russian Agitpróp, from agitatsiya (agitation) + propaganda.] Agitpróp was originally the name of the propaganda arms of the Central Committee and local committees of the Russian Communist Party in the former USSR. "And Stuff Happens will, reportedly, be even more of a hybrid. It is said to be not agitprop or documentary but a written play." Kate Kellaway; Arts: Theatre of War; The Observer (London, UK); Aug 29, 2004. "(Rob) Stein didn't begrudge the manufacturers of corporatist agitprop the successful distribution of their product in the national markets for the portentous catch-phrase and the camera-ready slogan." Lewis H. Lapham; Tentacles of Rage; Harper's Magazine (New York); Sep 2004. This week's theme: words borrowed from other languages. -------- Date: Wed Sep 22 00:01:26 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ananda X-Bonus: Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and the government when it deserves it. -Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910) ananda (AH-nan-duh) noun Pure bliss. [From Sanskrit ananda (joy).] Anandamide is the name given to a compound found in mammalian brains. It's the same compound that's found in chocolate. Now you know why chocolate gives you that feeling of bliss. "In the emerald blue silence there is space for awareful existence of the fullness of ananda." Song of Silence; The Times of India (New Delhi, India); Aug 9, 2004. "Then and there he (William A. Devane) decided that if his quest proved successful, he would name the elusive chemical after ananda." Marijuana And the Brain; Science News (Washington, DC); Feb 6, 1993. This week's theme: words borrowed from other languages. -------- Date: Thu Sep 23 00:01:11 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--soupcon X-Bonus: If you don't find God in the next person you meet, it is a waste of time looking for him further. -Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) soupcon or soupçon (soop-SON, SOOP-son) noun A very small amount. [From French soupçon (suspicion), via Middle French, Late Latin, from Latin suspicere (to look from below, or suspect). Ultimately from Indo-European root spek- (to observe) which is also the ancestor of such words as suspect, spectrum, bishop (literally, overseer), espionage, despise, and telescope.] "Couldn't Bob Levey and Jim Talens have a soupcon of sympathy for the Costco Dad? Where was he supposed to go to change that diaper?" Bob Levey; Changing a Diaper on a Costco Conveyor Belt; The Washington Post; Feb 6, 2003. "Remember that white ruffled blouse you bought last spring? Wear it under a pinstripe suit and you'll be right in step with the biggest womenswear trend of the season: the menswear look with a soupcon of femininity." Pam Thomas; The Feel of Fall; The Providence Journal (Rhode Island); Oct 6, 2002. This week's theme: words borrowed from other languages. -------- Date: Fri Sep 24 00:01:12 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--schlimazel X-Bonus: Don't ask me who's influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life. -Giorgos Seferis, writer, diplomat, Nobel laureate (1900-1971) schlimazel or shlimazel (shli-MAH-zuhl) noun Someone prone to having extremely bad luck. [From Yiddish, from shlim (bad, wrong) + mazl (luck). A related term is mazel tov (literally, good luck) used to convey congratulations or best wishes.] A schlimazel can be concisely described as a born loser. No discussion of schlimazel could be complete without mentioning his counterpart: schlemiel, a habitual bungler. They go together: A schlemiel is one who always spills his soup, schlimazel is the one on whom it always lands. A schlimazel's toast always falls butter-side down. A schlemiel always butters his toast on both sides. "No one would deny (Virginia Governor Mark) Warner took office under lousy conditions - facing an opposition-party legislature during a recession - which qualifies him as a schlimazel." A. Barton Hinkle; So, is the Governor a Schlemiel or a Schlimazel?; Richmond Times-Dispatch (Virginia); Jan 28, 2003. "He (Uncle Danny) ticked off the names on the Pirates' roster. 'Abrams, Gordon, Kravitz, Levy - what are we running, a shlimazel farm?'" Clarke Blaise; Sitting Shivah With Cousin Benny; Salmagundi (Saratoga Springs, New York); Fall 1999. This week's theme: words borrowed from other languages. -------- Date: Mon Sep 27 00:01:15 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wonk X-Bonus: The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. -L.P. Hartley, writer (1895-1972) wonk (wongk) noun An expert who studies a subject or issue thoroughly and excessively. [Of unknown origin.] This word is most often encountered in the term "policy wonk". There are many speculations about the origin of the word, for example an acronym for WithOut Normal Knowledge, or the reverse spelling of the word know, but these claims are not supported by evidence. "This sober, well-ordered city - where John Calvin was laid to rest - is also where the WTO is headquartered and where trade wonks get down to serious business." From Cancun to Geneva; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 30, 2004. "Aside from being a genuine wit and an eloquent policy wonk, (Robert) Reich speaks the language of class." Eric Alterman; The Reich Stuff; Mother Jones (San Francisco, California); Jul/Aug 1995. If archaic words are the grizzled old veterans of a language, slang terms are its feisty teenagers. These are words that are not afraid to experiment, twist, turn, blend, and innovate with language. A few weeks ago we featured archaic expressions and now it's time to give slang its due. Since slang is often born on the gritty streets of language rather than in the language lab, its origins are often hard to pin down. We aren't sure where most of the words for this week originated but that shouldn't stop us from giving them a spin. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Sep 28 00:01:18 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ducat X-Bonus: A visitor from Mars could easily pick out the civilized nations. They have the best implements of war. -Herbert V. Prochnow, banker (1897-1998) ducat (DUK-uht) noun 1. An admission ticket. 2. A piece of money. 3. Any of various gold coins formerly used in some European countries. [From Middle English, from Old French, from Old Italian ducato, from Late Latin ductus, from duchy (so named because the word appeared on some early ducats), from ducy (a territory ruled by a duke or a duchess).] "It was a mixed crowd: producers, musicians, actors, directors and politicos ... and CHUM's Mary Powers, whom everyone strokes to get into her after-Schmooze party, the hottest ducat at the fest." Rita Zekas; Your Dancing Table is Ready; Toronto Star (Canada); Sep 12, 2004. "All this for just $50 per ticket ($75 for a two-day ducat), so this isn't exactly a 'bring the whole family' event." Elizabeth Gabriel; What's Going On And What You Need to Know; San Diego Union Tribune; Sep 13, 2004. This week's theme: slang. -------- Date: Wed Sep 29 00:01:39 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--boffo X-Bonus: Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. -Carl Sagan, astronomer and author (1934-1996) boffo (BOF-o) adjective 1. (Of a movie, play, or some other show) Extremely successful. 2. (Of a laugh) uproarious, hearty. noun 1. A great success. 2. A hearty laugh. 3. A gag or punch-line that elicits uproarious laughter. [Of uncertain origin. Probably a blend of box office or an alteration of buffo, bouffe, or boffola. The term was popularized by Variety, a magazine for the U.S. entertainment industry.] "And until Apple records a boffo holiday season for the mini, it can't officially be called a runaway success." Alex Salkever; My Huge Mistake About the Mini; BusinessWeek (New York); Aug 19, 2004. "His (Patrick Brown's) problem seems to me to be the demands of the production group of which he is a part and which requires a boffo hit every time in order to keep the auditorium packed ..." Norman Rae; Wheaties & Lilies & Severed P's; Jamaica Observer (Kingston, Jamaica); Aug 1, 2004. This week's theme: slang. -------- Date: Thu Sep 30 00:01:44 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--frag X-Bonus: A proverb is a short sentence based on long experience. -Miguel de Cervantes, novelist (1547-1616) frag (frag) noun Fragmentation grenade: a grenade designed to scatter shrapnel over a large area. verb tr. To kill (especially an unpopular superior) by throwing a grenade or other explosive. [From shortening of fragmentation.] The term had its origin in the Vietnam War. How common was fragging? The OED includes this 1971 citation from the Brisbane Courier-Mail: "There were 209 fragging incidents last year, according to the Army and 34 deaths were listed as probably due to these." "A senior Defense Department official said earlier this year. 'I remember when enlisted folks fragged -- as we liked to say -- threw grenades into the officers' quarters in Vietnam. Not a pretty picture." Steven A. Holmes; Is This Really An All-Volunteer Army?; The New York Times; Apr 6, 2003. "Could it happen? Could the LAPD be fragged by the courts? Hit by friendly fire from a federal law that was supposedly gunning for other game?" Patt Morrison; Racketeering Law Could Put LAPD in Bad Company; Los Angeles Times; Sep 1, 2000. This week's theme: slang.