A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Fri Sep 1 00:01:04 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bear leader X-Bonus: The less a statesman amounts to, the more he loves the flag. -Kin Hubbard, humorist (1 Sep 1868-1930) This week's theme: Linked words bear leader (bair LEED-uhr) noun A tutor who travels with a young man. [From allusion to a literal bear leader, a man who led a muzzled bear from place to place to perform in the streets. Earliest documented use: 1749.] "The Bear and Bear Leader - Passing the Hotel D'Angleterre", 1776 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/bear_leader_large.jpg Art: Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827) "The description of the relation between the bear leader and his protege is quite entertaining." Giovanna Summerfield and Lisa Downward; New Perspectives on the European Bildungsroman; Continuum; 2010. -------- Date: Mon Sep 4 00:01:05 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Monday morning quarterback X-Bonus: In a consumer society there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy. -Ivan Illich, philosopher and priest (4 Sep 1926-2002) Three years ago, our local football team here in Seattle won the NFL championship. Leading up to the Super Bowl game and afterward was an orgy of celebration, a non-stop display of team jingoism. Every other car, home, and shop had a "12th Man" banner. Half the population had a T-shirt or a cap with the team logo. OK, I get it. Pride in the home team and all that. But could we display maybe 1% as much pride when a local author wins a National Book Award http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2007_ypl_alexie.html or a local scientist wins a Nobel prize? http://www.washington.edu/news/2016/10/04/uw-professor-emeritus-david-j-thouless-wins-nobel-prize-in-physics-for-exploring-exotic-states-of-matter/ When was the last time we had a parade for them, or for so many who contribute so much to make this world a better place: teachers, librarians, researchers, scientists, authors, poets, and others. If I had my way, I'd make a teacher's salary on par with a football coach's salary, at least in public institutions. You want to pay the football coach more, sure, go ahead, as long as those who teach also get a pay raise. Why not? Whether you're a football fan or not, you'd surely agree that teachers make a bigger contribution in this world. Whether you are a football fan or not, at least it has given us colorful terms in the English language. This week we see five words from football, basketball, baseball, cricket, and other ball games. Monday morning quarterback (MUHN-day MOR-ning KWOR-tuhr-bak) noun One who criticizes others' actions and offers alternatives with the benefit of hindsight. [In the US, professional football games are often played on Sundays. A quarterback in a football game is a player who directs the offensive play of the team. The term alludes to a person offering alternative course of action after the fact, perhaps on a Monday morning around the office water cooler. Earliest documented use: 1930.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/monday_morning_quarterback_large.jpg Image: Matthew Burpee https://www.flickr.com/photos/mburpee/3114794897/ "With every major snowstorm comes the inevitable Monday morning quarterbacks and the ultimate question: What could Buffalo have done better?" Phil Fairbanks; Socked But Plowing On; The Buffalo News (New York); Dec 29, 2001. -------- Date: Tue Sep 5 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--slam dunk X-Bonus: If he does not fight, it is not because he rejects all fighting as futile, but because he has finished his fights. He has overcome all dissensions between himself and the world and is now at rest... We shall have wars and soldiers so long as the brute in us is untamed. -Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, philosopher and 2nd president of India (5 Sep 1888-1975) This week's theme: Terms from ball games slam dunk (slam duhnk) noun: 1. In basketball, a shot in which a player jumps up and slams the ball down through the basket. 2. Something easy to do or certain to occur. verb tr.: 1. To thrust the ball down through the basket. 2. To defeat decisively. [From slam (to hit or thrust), possibly of Scandinavian origin + dunk (to dip), from Pennsylvania German dunke (to dip). Earliest documented use: 1969.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/slam-dunk https://wordsmith.org/words/images/slam_dunk_large.jpg Photo: Keith Allison https://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/3348553882/ "Howell wasn't supposed to be a difficult case. It should have been a slam dunk." Keith Walley; Bloodguilt; Lulu; 2012. -------- Date: Wed Sep 6 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bush league X-Bonus: The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there. -Robert M. Pirsig, author and philosopher (6 Sep 1928-2017) This week's theme: Terms from ball games bush league (bush leeg) noun: A minor league of a professional sport, especially baseball. adjective: Second-rate, unpolished, or amateurish. [From allusion to the bushes, referring to uncultivated land, countryside, the sticks, or small towns. Earliest documented use: 1906.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/bush%20league "Personally, I thought the assignment was bush league from the get-go, and a waste of my time and talents." Philip Carter; Altar of Bones; Gallery Books; 2011. -------- Date: Thu Sep 7 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--googly X-Bonus: I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it. -Edith Sitwell, poet (7 Sep 1887-1964) This week's theme: Terms from ball games googly (GOO-glee) noun: In cricket, a ball bowled with a deceptive action so that it bounces in a direction different from what the batsman was expecting. adjective: (eyes) Staring, bulging, or wide open, in amazement or admiration. [For noun: of unknown origin. For adjective, perhaps from goggle. Earliest documented use: 1901.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/googly A googly ball? https://wordsmith.org/words/images/googly_large.jpg Photo: Pete Brown https://www.flickr.com/photos/chickpeasrule/36248939146/ Video of googly balls (3 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMZuI2ks3hE "Just as you settle on what you intend to do, on the sequence of actions that you need to take, fate bowls you a googly: other things happen that wreck your plans." Andrew Scholes; The Days Grow Short; Lulu; 2014. "Because you thought that would make Saxon Walker go all googly over you, didn't you? You actually thought he might take you in his arms and hug you?" Jaclyn Moriarty; Feeling Sorry for Celia; St. Martin's Press; 2001. -------- Date: Fri Sep 8 00:01:04 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--spin doctor X-Bonus: People forget years and remember moments. -Ann Beattie, novelist (b. 8 Sep 1947) This week's theme: Terms from ball games spin doctor (SPIN dok-tuhr) noun A representative who is adept in presenting a favorable interpretation of events, utterances, and actions for a politician or some other public figure; one who manipulates news. [From ball games (cricket, baseball, etc.) where spinning a ball helps a player project it in the desired direction. From spin + doctor (expert) or from the verb to doctor (to tamper or falsify). Earliest documented use: 1984.] NOTES: Politics has been around for ages but surprisingly the term spin doctor is relatively recent. It arose during the 1984 US presidential election. This term is also used facetiously to refer to people in a number of other professions, e.g., disk jockey, vertigo specialist, bicycle mechanic, and a player who is good at spinning a ball in cricket, tennis, billiards, or some other game. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/spin%20doctor https://wordsmith.org/words/images/spin_doctor_large.jpg "And all the King's spin doctors couldn't put Humpty Dumpty's poll numbers back together again." Cartoon: Harley Schwadron/Jantoo "You don't have a spin doctor to explain away those bad situations." Frank E. Burdett; Laughing at Yourself; Xlibris; 2014. -------- Date: Mon Sep 11 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--whataboutery X-Bonus: You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty. -Jessica Mitford, author, journalist, and civil rights activist (11 Sep 1917-1996) After a week of unusual words https://wordsmith.org/words/hebephrenia.html , reader Bruce C. sent this note: How about next week's theme being "there shouldn't be a word for it"? Palimpsest https://wordsmith.org/words/palimpsest.html and sitzmark https://wordsmith.org/words/sitzmark.html being examples of two words that are just not necessary! I hear you. So many words, so little time. Another way to look at it: when we wish there shouldn't be a word for something, maybe we are wishing there shouldn't be the thing that the word describes. But those things exist, whether we wish them to or not, and so, there are words for them. This week we'll see some of those words. What words would you like to see gone? Write to us at words@wordsmith.org. whataboutery (wat-uh-BAUT-uhr-ee) noun The practice of responding to an accusation by making a counter-accusation, real or imaginary, relevant or irrelevant. [From the response "What about ...?" to a criticism. Earliest documented use: 1974.] Whataboutery on Twitter https://wordsmith.org/words/images/whataboutery.png Image: Twitter NOTES: The word was coined in 1974 in a story about the Northern Ireland conflict. It was widely employed by then USSR as a propaganda technique and is now often a favorite of Trump. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/whataboutism-what-about-it/2017/08/17/4d05ed36-82b4-11e7-b359-15a3617c767b_story.html . It's also known as whataboutism. See also tu quoque https://wordsmith.org/words/tu_quoque.html "'Paris? Don't you care about what happened in Beirut?' Turbo-charged online whataboutery is destroying proper debate." Helen Lewis; If Activists Want Real Change They Must Ditch the Dying Cat; The Guardian (London, UK); Nov 26, 2015. -------- Date: Tue Sep 12 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mythomania X-Bonus: Whenever 'A' attempts by law to impose his moral standards upon 'B', 'A' is most likely a scoundrel. -H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (12 Sep 1880-1956) This week's theme: There's a word for it mythomania (mith-uh-MAY-nee-uh) noun An abnormal tendency to exaggerate or lie. [From Greek mythos (myth) + -mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze). Earliest documented use: 1909.] Pinocchio Park, Collodi, Italy: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/mythomania_large.jpg Photo: Adrian Michael/Wikimedia "I humoured him by listening to his stories about all the grandchildren he probably didn't have. His mythomania, which both terrified and exasperated me, somehow brought us together." Marie-Renee Lavoie; Mister Roger and Me; Anansi; 2012. -------- Date: Wed Sep 13 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tenesmus X-Bonus: Spurned pity can turn into cruelty just as spurned love turns into hate. -Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, writer (13 Sep 1830-1916) This week's theme: There's a word for it tenesmus (tuh-NEZ-muhs, -nes-) noun A distressing but ineffectual urge to defecate or urinate. [From Latin tenesmus, from Greek teinesmos, from teinein (to stretch or strain). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ten- (to stretch), which also gave us tense, tenet, tendon, tent, tenor, tender, pretend, extend, tenure, tetanus, hypotenuse, pertinacious https://wordsmith.org/words/pertinacious.html , detente https://wordsmith.org/words/detente.html , countenance https://wordsmith.org/words/countenance.html , distend https://wordsmith.org/words/distend.html , extenuate https://wordsmith.org/words/extenuate.html , and tenable https://wordsmith.org/words/tenable.html . Earliest documented use: 1527.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/tenesmus "However, his malady increased upon him, and in spite of my colleague's efforts and of my own he is now on shore with an obstinate tenesmus that will keep him there." Patrick O'Brian; The Mauritius Command; Collins; 1977. -------- Date: Thu Sep 14 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--xenophobia X-Bonus: Many a deep secret that cannot be pried out by curiosity can be drawn out by indifference. -Sydney J. Harris, journalist (14 Sep 1917-1986) This week's theme: There's a word for it xenophobia (ZEN-uh-FO-bee-uh, ZEE-nuh-) noun A fear or hatred of people from other countries or cultures. [From Greek xeno- (foreign) + -phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1909.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/xenophobia https://wordsmith.org/words/images/xenophobia_large.jpg Image: Garry Knight https://www.flickr.com/photos/garryknight/32698976143/ "We 'mutts' are the way of the future. That will fix xenophobia in the end -- make it too complicated to maintain." Sher Dawn; 'Twas Brillig: A Dark Faerie Tale for the Grown Ups; Xlibris; 2017. -------- Date: Fri Sep 15 00:01:04 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--kayfabe X-Bonus: We would often be ashamed of our finest actions if the world understood all the motives which produced them. -Francois, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, writer (15 Sep 1613-1680) This week's theme: There's a word for it kayfabe (KAY-fayb) noun Portrayal of staged events as real, especially in professional wrestling. (See also, "reality" shows.) [Of uncertain origin, perhaps Pig Latin or an alteration for "fake" or "be fake". Earliest documented use: 1937.] Donald Trump at Wrestlemania XXIII https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMKFIHRpe7I (video 3.3 min., but you don't have to watch it) "With time and practice, you will learn how to maintain kayfabe in moments like these." Angelina Mirabella; The Sweetheart; Simon & Schuster; 2016. -------- Date: Mon Sep 18 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ovine X-Bonus: Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (18 Sep 1709-1784) Recently, I was in a group when the discussion turned to one's favorite dish. A woman talked about her favorite preparation: smashed potatoes. I had never heard of it. Surely she meant "mashed potatoes", I thought, though the mental image of a chef smashing potatoes with a hammer was funny. Later, I googled the term and learned that there is a real dish named smashed potatoes. Tells you how much I know. Smashed potatoes and mashed potatoes are two different beasts. They have about as much in common as pomme and pomme de terre. What a difference a letter makes. The same is true for the words this week. You can add an initial letter to them to turn them into a completely different word. ovine (O-vyn) adjective Of, relating to, or resembling, sheep. [From Latin ovis (sheep). Ultimately from the Indo-European root owi- (sheep), which also gave us ewe. Earliest documented use: 1676.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ovine "He tells it like it is." https://wordsmith.org/words/images/ovine_large.jpg Cartoon: Paul Noth/New Yorker "George Bernard Shaw said that the English 'worship their great artists indiscriminately and abjectly' and described this phenomenon -- the uncritical ovine devotion to Shakespeare -- as 'Bardolatory'." James Gingell; Rejecting the Cult of Bardolatry Does Not Make You a Philistine; The Guardian (London, UK); May 20, 2016. -------- Date: Tue Sep 19 00:01:02 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--uberty X-Bonus: Nothing is so impenetrable as laughter in a language you don't understand. -William Golding, novelist, playwright, poet, Nobel laureate (19 Sep 1911-1993) This week's theme: Words that result in another word when a single letter is prefixed uberty (YOO-bur-tee) noun Abundance; fruitfulness. [From Latin uber (rich, fruitful, abundant, etc.). Earliest documented use: 1412.] "Uberty comes from uncompromising strife or drive to achieve superior outcomes for the relationships." D. Zooga; Strategic Followership; Palgrave Macmillan; 2014. -------- Date: Wed Sep 20 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lection X-Bonus: There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of the people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will have truly defeated age. -Sophia Loren, actor and singer (b. 20 Sep 1934) This week's theme: Words that result in another word when a single letter is prefixed lection (LEK-shuhn) noun 1. A version of a text in a particular copy or edition. 2. A selection read in a religious service. Also known as pericope https://wordsmith.org/words/pericope.html . [From Latin lection- (reading), from lectus, past participle of legere (to read, choose, collect). Ultimately from Indo-European root leg- (to collect) which also gave us lexicon, lesson, lecture, legible, legal, select, alexia https://wordsmith.org/words/alexia.html , cull https://wordsmith.org/words/cull.html , ligneous https://wordsmith.org/words/ligneous.html , lignify https://wordsmith.org/words/lignify.html , prolegomenon https://wordsmith.org/words/prolegomenon.html , subintelligitur https://wordsmith.org/words/subintelligitur.html , and syllogistic https://wordsmith.org/words/syllogistic.html . Earliest documented use: 1300.] "The site provides information about the history of anti-evolution efforts in Tennessee, a 'virtual information booth' with essays about evolution, the full text of Futuyma's keynote lection from the 1997 Darwin Day." Rebecca Chasan; Fighting Back for Science; Bioscience (Washington, DC); Jan 1998. -------- Date: Thu Sep 21 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rill X-Bonus: Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race. -H.G. Wells, writer (21 Sep 1866-1946) This week's theme: Words that result in another word when a single letter is prefixed rill (ril) noun 1. A small stream. 2. A narrow groove carved by erosion. [From Dutch ril or Low German Rille (groove). Ultimately from the Indo-European root rei- (to flow or run), which also gave us run, rival, derive, and runnel https://wordsmith.org/words/runnel.html . Earliest documented use: 1552.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/rill "Six months ago she'd stood upright on the rill and laughed with delight as the water had splashed over her." Marion Lennox; Meant-to-Be Family; Harlequin; 2015. -------- Date: Fri Sep 22 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--otic X-Bonus: Learning is acquired by reading books; but the much more necessary learning, the knowledge of the world, is only to be acquired by reading man, and studying all the various editions of them. -Lord Chesterfield, statesman and writer (22 Sep 1694-1773) This week's theme: Words that result in another word when a single letter is prefixed otic (O-tik, OT-ik) adjective Relating to the ear. [From Greek ous (ear). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ous- (ear), which also gave us ear, aural, auscultation, scout, and otorhinolaryngology https://wordsmith.org/words/otorhinolaryngology.html . Earliest documented use: 1657.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/otic "Looks like it might be suffering from ear mites as well. Nothing that a bit of otic medication won't cure." H.Y. Hanna; Summer Beach Vets (Book 3); Wisheart Press; 2014. -------- Date: Mon Sep 25 00:01:04 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--drama queen X-Bonus: One definition of success might be: refining our appetites, while deepening our hunger. -Yahia Lababidi, aphorist (b. 25 Sep 1973) It's said that everyone out there knows something you don't. Also, everyone out there is an expert on something. Everyone is unique. I'd add that everyone has a word (or a combination of words) that's perfect to describe them. The challenge is to find it. Well, this week we give you five more words to describe people. drama queen (DRAH-muh kween) noun Someone who is prone to behaving in an exaggeratedly dramatic way: creating unnecessary scenes or making a big deal of small matters. [From Greek drama (action, play) + Old English cwen (woman, queen). Earliest documented use: 1923.] "He's not strong and self-controlled, not cool and tough, not low-key and determined; he's whiny, weepy, and self-pitying. He throws himself, sobbing, on the body politic. He's a drama queen." Peggy Noonan; Trump Is Woody Allen Without the Humor; The Wall Street Journal; Jul 27, 2017. https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/trump-is-woody-allen-without-the-humor-1501193193 -------- Date: Tue Sep 26 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--illiterati X-Bonus: The Hollow Men: Between the idea / And the reality / Between the motion / And the act / Falls the shadow. -T.S. Eliot, poet (26 Sep 1888-1965) This week's theme: Words to describe people illiterati (i-lit-uh-RAH-tee) noun Illiterate or uninformed people. [From Latin illitterati, plural of illiteratus (illiterate). Earliest documented use: 1788.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/illiterati_large.jpg Photo: Chris Goodwin https://www.flickr.com/photos/desrowvisuals/32362471843/ "No one wanted to shoot booksellers, I assured myself -- except for illiterati and television executives during sweeps month." Joan Hess; A Really Cute Corpse; St Martins Press; 1988. "Robert Dennis, a professor of biomedical engineering at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, said, ... 'global climate change [is] still vehemently denied by the scientific illiterati.'" Michael Specter; Test-Tube Burgers; The New Yorker; May 23, 2011. -------- Date: Wed Sep 27 00:01:04 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dastard X-Bonus: Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence. -Henri Frederic Amiel, philosopher and writer (27 Sep 1821-1881) This week's theme: Words to describe people dastard (DAS-tuhrd) noun A malicious, sneaking coward. [Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1440.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/dastard "'Your father must have been a dastard to have left your inheritance so tightly tied up,' Taffy muttered. 'No, he wasn't,' Luke admitted honestly. 'He believed I had so much to learn about managing money that it would take until I was thirty-five to be fit for the responsibility.'" Elizabeth Mansfield; Miscalculations; Jove Books; 2000. -------- Date: Thu Sep 28 00:01:02 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--samfie X-Bonus: There is always more goodness in the world than there appears to be, because goodness is of its very nature modest and retiring. -Evelyn Beatrice Hall, biographer (28 Sep 1868-1956) This week's theme: Words to describe people samfie (SAM-fee, -fy) noun A swindler or a conman. [Of uncertain origin, perhaps from a West African language. Earliest documented use: 1929. The word is typically used in the form "samfie man".] "The investor himself might turn out to be a samfie-man, a big-talking con man who'd carry the village down even further." Gillian Royes; The Sea Grape Tree; Atria Books; 2014. -------- Date: Fri Sep 29 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mammothrept X-Bonus: Too much sanity may be madness. And maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be! -Miguel de Cervantes, writer (29 Sep 1547-1616) This week's theme: Words to describe people mammothrept (MAM-uh-thrept) noun 1. A spoilt child. 2. A person of immature judgment. [From Latin mammothreptus, from Hellenistic Ancient Greek mammothreptos (brought up by one's grandmother), from mamme (grandmother) + trephein (to bring up or nourish). Earliest documented use: 1601.] "And having seen the parents I am impatient to see this youth, the fruit of their strangely unattractive loins: will he be a wretched mammothrept? A little corporal?" Patrick O'Brian; Master and Commander; Lippincott; 1969.