A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Wed Sep 1 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--victual X-Bonus: Flattery won't hurt you if you don't swallow it. -Kin Hubbard, humorist (1 Sep 1868-1930) This week's theme: Words with unusual pronunciations victual (VIT-l) noun: Food, especially food fit for human consumption. verb tr.: To provide with food. verb intr.: To obtain food or to eat. [From Latin victualia (provisions), from victus (nourishment), past participle of vivere (to live). Earliest documented use: 1303.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/victual Victualling Yard Historical Marker, Kings Wharf, Bermuda https://wordsmith.org/words/images/victual_large.jpg Photo: Jon Dawson https://flickr.com/photos/jmd41280/5627227151/ "An army marches on its stomach. And if the victuals were not up to snuff, then moods grumbled louder than hungry tummies." Jeremy Lee; Jeremy Lee's Recipe for a Hearty Brigade Pudding; The Guardian (London, UK); Nov 4, 2017. -------- Date: Thu Sep 2 00:01:04 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gunwale X-Bonus: Progressive societies outgrow institutions as children outgrow clothes. -Henry George, economist, journalist, and philosopher (2 Sep 1839-1897) This week's theme: Words with unusual pronunciations gunwale (GUHN-l) noun The upper edge of the side of a ship or a boat. [From gun + wale (a plank along the side of a ship), from its use as a support for guns in earlier times. Earliest documented use: 1466.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gunwale NOTES: The word is often used in the idiom "to the gunwales" meaning to be full, almost overflowing. Kids with their arms on a gunwale: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gunwale_large.jpg Photo: Dion Hinchcliffe https://flickr.com/photos/dionhinchcliffe/47926822903/ "Lord's was full to the gunwales on Thursday; never fuller." Michael Henderson; A Day for Deadheads as Rain Drowns Out the Famous Lord's Buzz; The Times (London, UK); Aug 17, 2019. -------- Date: Fri Sep 3 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sidhe X-Bonus: The old poets little knew what comfort they could be to a man. -Sarah Orne Jewett, poet and novelist (3 Sep 1849-1909) This week's theme: Words with unusual pronunciations sidhe (shee) noun 1. A fairy. 2. The race of fairies. 3. A mound or hill where fairies are believed to live. [From Irish sidh (fairy mound). Earliest documented use: 1724.] "Riders of the Sidhe" (1911) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/sidhe_large.jpg Art: John Duncan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aos_S%C3%AD#/media/File:Riders_of_the_Sidhe.jpg NOTES: Now you can see where banshee came from. A banshee is the anglicized spelling of bean sidhe (literally, woman of a fairyland). "From cops to killers, from sidhe to ravens, Duff provides distinct voices to a wide cast of characters." Karen Toonen; The Absolute Book; The Booklist (Chicago, Illinois); May 1, 2021. -------- Date: Mon Sep 6 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--galahad X-Bonus: When people are fanatically dedicated to political or religious faiths or any other kind of dogmas or goals, it's always because these dogmas or goals are in doubt. -Robert M. Pirsig, author and philosopher (6 Sep 1928-2017) Imagine you met someone named, say Johnson, in your personal, social, or professional life. Johnson loved to point out errors in spelling or grammar. But that's not the reason he stood out for you. Rather, while pointing out the error, he made an error himself. Since then, whenever you meet a person who makes an error while pointing out another's error, you might say they were being Johnsonian. That's an example of an eponym, a word coined after a person, from Greek epi- (upon) + -onym (name). Hundreds of words in the English language are coined after people who stand out, for reasons noble or not so noble. We'll feature five such words this week, coined after people real and fictional. What eponyms do you have to share from your life? Post them on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/galahad.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Share instances from your own life, not something you read somewhere. In our quest to meet these eponyms from legend, mythology, and real life, we'll travel to England, Germany, Greece, Rome, and Switzerland. Galahad (GAL-uh-had) noun One who is known for integrity, courteousness, and nobility. [After Sir Galahad, the noblest of the Knights of the Round Table, in the British legend of King Arthur. Earliest documented use: 1854.] Sir Galahad is brought to the court of King Arthur https://wordsmith.org/words/images/galahad_large.png Illustration: Walter Crane, in "King Arthur's Knights: The Tales Retold for Boys and Girls" (1911) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Galahad#/media/File:Sir_Galahad_is_Brought_to_the_Court_of_King_Arthur.png See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Galahad "I'm not a Galahad. I'm a bully, too." Max Phillips; Fade to Blonde; Hard Case Crime; 2004. -------- Date: Tue Sep 7 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--baedeker X-Bonus: America has been called a melting pot, but it seems better to call it a mosaic, for in it each nation, people, or race which has come to its shores has been privileged to keep its individuality, contributing at the same time its share to the unified pattern of a new nation. -King Baudouin of Belgium (7 Sep 1930-1993) This week's theme: Eponyms Baedeker (BAY-de-kuhr) noun A guidebook. [After the German publisher Karl Baedeker (1801-1859) who founded a company that published travel guidebooks. Earliest documented use: 1863.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/baedeker Baedeker's Berlin guide https://wordsmith.org/words/images/baedeker_large.jpg Photo: Manfred Heyde / Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baedeker_1910.jpg NOTES: The red-covered Baedekers were known for their accuracy. Karl Baedeker was meticulous about mentioning the exact number of steps to the roof of a cathedral, for example. The poet A.P. Herbert wrote in his English translation of the opera "La Vie Parisienne": Kings and governments may err But never Mr. Baedeker. The accuracy of the books was offset by rampant racism and misogyny. Check out this description of early Baedekers: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2733416/The-riotously-PC-travel-guides-The-informed-detailed-authoritative-unguardedly-rude-Baedeker-Guides.html . "Mr. Van Ostern's memos, distributed to a mailing list that has grown to 30,000 people, have become the quintessential Baedeker to New Hampshire presidential politics." David M. Shribman; It's Primary Season in New Hampshire. Time to Go Skiing!; The New York Times; Jan 30, 2020. -------- Date: Wed Sep 8 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--zephyr X-Bonus: People forget years and remember moments. -Ann Beattie, novelist (b. 8 Sep 1947) This week's theme: Eponyms zephyr (ZEF-uhr) noun 1. A wind blowing from the west. 2. A gentle breeze. 3. A soft and light garment, fabric, or yarn. 4. Anything having a soft, fine quality. [After Zephyrus, the god of the west wind in Greek mythology. Earliest documented use: before 1150.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/zephyr Zephyrus with the nymph Chloris https://wordsmith.org/words/images/zephyr_large.jpg Art: William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1875 "What lingers, days after you leave the cinema, is ... the zephyr of emotional intensity that blows through the film [Arrival]." Anthony Lane; Talk to Them; The New Yorker; Nov 14, 2016. -------- Date: Thu Sep 9 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--janus-faced X-Bonus: If there existed no external means for dimming their consciences, one-half of the men would at once shoot themselves, because to live contrary to one's reason is a most intolerable state, and all men of our time are in such a state. -Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher (9 Sep 1828-1910) This week's theme: Eponyms Janus-faced (JAY-nuhs-fayst) adjective 1. Looking in two different directions. 2. Having two contrasting aspects. 3. Hypocritical or deceitful. [After Janus, the Roman god of doors, gates, and transitions. Earliest documented use: 1682. The month of January is named after Janus.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Janus-faced "The Triumph of History over Time", 1772 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/janus-faced_large.jpg Art: Anton Raphael Mengs https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anton_Raphael_Mengs,_The_Triumph_of_History_over_Time_(Allegory_of_the_Museum_Clementinum),_ceiling_fresco_in_the_Camera_dei_Papiri,_Vatican_Library,_1772_-_M0tty.jpg "Rabin was always a complex figure and his Janus-faced policies -- on the one hand the tough soldier who allegedly encouraged the army to 'break bones' during the first intifada and on the other hand the 'man of peace' -- loomed large in Israeli history." Seth J. Frantzman; Balancing Security and Necessity; Jerusalem Post (Israel); Mar 24, 2017. -------- Date: Fri Sep 10 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ritz X-Bonus: In a perfect union the man and woman are like a strung bow. Who is to say whether the string bends the bow, or the bow tightens the string? -Cyril Connolly, critic and editor (10 Sep 1903-1974) This week's theme: Eponyms ritz (rits) noun: Luxury, glamor, opulence, etc. verb tr.: 1. To make a show of luxury or opulence. 2. To behave haughtily toward someone; to snub. [After César Ritz (1850-1918), a Swiss hotelier. Earliest documented use: 1900.] NOTES: César Ritz was known for his opulent hotels and was called "the hotelier of kings and the king of hoteliers". The word ritz is often used in the phrase "to put on the ritz" meaning to "make an ostentatious show". See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ritz "The Dinner in the Hotel Ritz in Paris", 1904 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/ritz_large.jpg Art: Pierre-Georges Jeanniot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_Ritz_Paris#/media/File:RitzParisGarden.jpg "In the film ['Elysium'], Earth's rich live on a ritzed-out, ultra-technological satellite in orbit, and leave the poor to fight it out for resources back on the planet." Jacob Hersh; Countdown to the 3rd: A Hair-Raising Scandal; The Daily Evergreen (Pullman, Washington); Sep 10, 2020. "I didn't ask to see you. You sent for me. I don't mind your ritzing." Raymond Chandler; The Big Sleep; Knopf; 1939. -------- Date: Mon Sep 13 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--felix culpa X-Bonus: Much of writing might be described as mental pregnancy with successive difficult deliveries. -J.B. Priestley, author (13 Sep 1894-1984) There's a sequel, there's a prequel, why not an interquel? Turns out there is. It's just that dictionaries haven't picked up on the word yet. An interquel bridges the time gap in a story https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Interquels in two published works. And so it goes. If you can think of something, you can think of a word for it. This week we have rounded up five words that bridge the gaps in the language. Words that may make you say: I didn't know there was a word for it! felix culpa (FAY/FEE-liks KOOL/KUHL-pah) noun, plural felix culpae (KOOL/KUHL-pae/pee) An error or disaster that has fortunate consequences. [From Latin felix culpa (happy fault). Earliest documented use: 1913. A related word is serendipity https://wordsmith.org/words/serendipity.html .] NOTES: Felix culpa is also known as a fortunate fall or happy accident. In Christianity, the fall of Adam and Eve is seen as a felix culpa since it resulted in the coming of Christ. What felix culpa have you experienced in your life? Share it on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/felix_culpa.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. The Fall of Man, 1592 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/felix_culpa_large.jpg Art: Cornelis van Haarlem "I've watched hundreds of clients turn all sorts of disasters -- getting cancer, losing a loved one, going bankrupt -- into felix culpae." Martha Beck; Reversal of Bad Fortune; O, The Oprah Magazine (New York); Jul 2014. "Seawater had protected us, at least after Duke William, and his invasion was a felix culpa, since it bound Britain into European civilisation and prevented us from becoming part of south Scandinavia." Bruce Anderson; The Depths of Tranquillity; The Spectator (London, UK); Sep 15, 2018. -------- Date: Tue Sep 14 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--glossolalia X-Bonus: Once we assuage our conscience by calling something a "necessary evil", it begins to look more and more necessary and less and less evil. -Sydney J. Harris, journalist (14 Sep 1917-1986) This week's theme: There's a word for it glossolalia (glos-uh-LAY-lee-uh) noun Unintelligible utterances occurring during religious excitation, schizophrenia, etc. Also known as speaking in tongues. [From Greek glosso- (tongue, language) + -lalia (chatter, babbling), from lalein (to babble). Earliest documented use: 1879. A related term is coprolalia https://wordsmith.org/words/coprolalia.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/glossolalia Trump's spiritual advisor Paula White in a glossolalia performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFOCAATdxyE Also, a man https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ4114XO-Xo , a child https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kttVCbTrDLw , How they do it https://www.theawl.com/2017/12/i-faked-speaking-in-tongues/ . "He gave Traycee-Lay a quick, irritated look because her glossolalia, which came out something like: 'Oh my Guhd, oh my Guhd... yasyas yas, yasyas yas... in-nin-nin' ... her glossolalia was interfering with his delivery." John Eppel; Hatchings; Ama Books; 2006. -------- Date: Wed Sep 15 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sinisterity 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 sinisterity (sin-uh-STER-uh-tee) noun 1. Left-handedness. 2. Skillfulness in the use of the left hand. 3. Awkwardness or clumsiness. 4. Evilness, unluckiness, etc. [From Latin sinister (left, left hand, unlucky). Earliest documented use: 1623. Some related words are ambisinistrous/ambisinister (clumsy with both hands) https://wordsmith.org/words/ambisinistrous.html .] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/sinisterity.jpg Cartoon: Dan Piraro https://www.facebook.com/bizarrocomics/ "I caught the errant missile left-hand, backhand without thinking or blinking. 'Well held!' exclaimed Percy, astounded at my feat of instinctive sinisterity." Ben Schott; Jeeves and the King of Clubs; Hutchinson; 2018. "The sinisterity of Mitterand's presidency was manifested in a ballooning of the French secret services and numerous wiretapping scandals." Jonathan Widell; Jacques Vergès, Devil's Advocate; McGill University; 2012. -------- Date: Thu Sep 16 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sympatric X-Bonus: Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation. Tooting, howling, screeching, booming, crashing, whistling, grinding, and trilling bolster his ego. -Jean Arp, artist and poet (16 Sep 1886-1966) This week's theme: There's a word for it sympatric (sim-PAT-rik) adjective Occurring in the same geographical area. [From sym-, a form of syn- (together) + patra (homeland), from pater (father). Earliest documented use: 1904. The opposite is allopatric.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/sympatric https://wordsmith.org/words/images/sympatric_large.jpg "Is this allopatric or sympatric speciation?" "No this is Patrick." Image: https://memegenerator.net/instance/67290898/no-this-is-patrick-is-this-allopatric-or-sympatric-speciation-no-this-is-patrick "The Mojave yucca is often sympatric with the Joshua tree but has fibrous leaf edges." James Cornett; Desert Scape: Joshua Tree Not World's Largest Yucca; The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, California); Sep 30, 2012. -------- Date: Fri Sep 17 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--spuddle X-Bonus: What power has love but forgiveness? -William Carlos Williams, poet (17 Sep 1883-1963) This week's theme: There's a word for it spuddle (SPUHD-l) verb intr.: To work feebly. noun: A feeble action or movement. [A blend of spud (a dagger or digging implement) + puddle. Earliest documented use: 1630.] "'I come home from the races and my dad is spuddling about on the farm,' he says." Rick Broadbent; 'I Don't Want Fame -- Just Glory and Money'; The Times (London, UK); Dec 26, 2020. -------- Date: Mon Sep 20 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vorpal 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) There's been a campaign to get a word* in the dictionary. The people behind it are doing it as a tribute to their dad who coined the word and recently died of Covid. They have a nice list of goals, including making the word "official" by getting it into a dictionary. I sympathize with them and admire their wish to honor their dad. I even support their efforts to get their word popularized so others use it. I just don't want lexicographers to be annoyed by forwarded news articles and by reporters calling about when they plan to add this new word to their dictionary to make it "official". I have received a fair number of forwards about it, including suggestions to feature it. That is not how a word gets into a dictionary. A dictionary is not a tribute site. A dictionary adds words based on the evidence of its use. If a word is being used in a wide variety of contexts, in a disparate range of outlets, it shows the word has currency. It shows the word is probably going to stick around in the language instead of disappearing when people move on to the next fad. If you wouldn't want a place that doesn't exist, that nobody is looking for, to be added to Google Maps, you don't want a fanciful coined word to be added to a dictionary. That said, some coined words do get into the dictionary (in a way, all words are coined words). This week we'll feature five such words, whose coiners we know about. What words have you coined? Share them on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/vorpal.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Make sure to google your coinage first to see no one has thought of it earlier. Sometimes many people come up with the same word independently. Note that we are interested in words you yourself have come up with -- not ones you read somewhere. *If you have to know, the word is orbisculate, defined by its campaigners as a verb meaning to accidentally squirt juice on someone. So there's going to be a different campaign for a word that means to purposely squirt juice on someone? vorpal (VOR/VUHR-puhl) adjective 1. Sharp. 2. Deadly. [Coined by Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) in his novel "Through the Looking-Glass". Earliest documented use: 1871.] NOTES: The word appears in the poem "Jabberwocky" in the novel "Through the Looking-Glass". He took his vorpal sword in hand, ... One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! The beamish boy fighting the Jabberwock with a vorpal sword https://wordsmith.org/words/images/vorpal_large.jpg Illustration: John Tenniel "Their vorpal blades glowed in the darkness with a pale blue light." Piers Anthony, et al; Quest for the Fallen Star; Tom Doherty; 2010. -------- Date: Tue Sep 21 00:01:04 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--consilience 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: Coined words consilience (kuhn-SIL-ee-yuhns) noun The linking or agreement of different disciplines when forming a theory or coming to a conclusion. [Coined by the philosopher William Whewell (1794-1866). From Latin con- (with) + salire (to leap). Earliest documented use: 1840. He also coined the words scientist and physicist.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/consilience_large.png Image: JT Velikovsky https://storyality.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/storyality-71b-invalid-criticisms-of-consilience/ "This lucrative sub-industry has further blossomed in recent years due to efforts made by the wealthy founder of the Templeton investment fund, Sir John Templeton, to find harmony and consilience between science and religion. ... Let there be no doubt that as they are currently practiced, there is no common ground between science and religion." Paul Kurtz; Science and Religion: Are They Compatible?; Prometheus; 2013. "A consilience with science offers the humanities many possibilities for new insight." Steven Pinker; The Intellectual War on Science; The Chronicle of Higher Education (Washington, DC); Feb 13, 2018. -------- Date: Wed Sep 22 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--psychobabble X-Bonus: The characteristic of a well-bred man is, to converse with his inferiors without insolence, and with his superiors with respect and with ease. -Lord Chesterfield, statesman and writer (22 Sep 1694-1773) This week's theme: Coined words psychobabble (SY-ko-bab-uhl) noun Language laden with jargon from psychotherapy or psychiatry, used without concern for accuracy. [Coined by journalist Richard Dean Rosen (b. 1949). From Greek psycho- (mind) + babble (drivel, blather). Earliest documented use: 1975.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/psychobabble NOTES: Here is how Rosen describes the term in his book "Psychobabble: Fast Talk and Quick Cure in the Era of Feeling": "Psychobabble is ... a set of repetitive verbal formalities that kills off the very spontaneity, candor, and understanding it pretends to promote. It's an idiom that reduces psychological insight to a collection of standardized observations, that provides a frozen lexicon to deal with an infinite variety of problems." "Unable to resist knee-jerk references to Freud and Jung, Ms. Zimmerman has her actors spout some psychobabble about myths as public dreams, dreams as private myths, and the like." Amy Gamerman; A Timely Gift of Timeless Ovid; The Wall Street Journal (New York); Oct 10, 2001. -------- Date: Thu Sep 23 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rheology X-Bonus: Our conscience is not the vessel of eternal verities. It grows with our social life, and a new social condition means a radical change in conscience. -Walter Lippmann, journalist (23 Sep 1889-1974) This week's theme: Coined words rheology (ree-OL-uh-jee) noun The study of the deformation and flow of matter. [Coined by Eugene C. Bingham (1878-1945), professor of chemistry, inspired by an aphorism of the philosopher Simplicius of Cilicia: "Panta rhei" (Everything flows). From Greek rheo- (flow) + -logy (study). Earliest documented use: 1929.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/rheology "If you have ever given a bottle of tomato ketchup a good shake to make it pour more easily, then you have experimented with rheology. ... If you want to make the perfect ketchup, therefore, rheology is important." Sticky Fingers; The Economist (London, UK); Dec 3, 2011. "Rather than arguing his case, he withdrew from the conference 'because of unforeseen personal problems'. I wondered if plagiarism was the 'unforeseen personal problem'. Interesting. Some Facebook items shed more light on his personal rheology." A. Reynolds; Past Perfect; Archway Publishing; 2014. -------- Date: Fri Sep 24 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--locavore X-Bonus: If there is such a phenomenon as absolute evil, it consists in treating another human being as a thing. -John Brunner, novelist (24 Sep 1934-1995) This week's theme: Coined words locavore (LOH-kuh-vohr) noun One who eats locally grown food. [Coined by Jessica Prentice (b. 1968), chef and author. From local, from Latin locus (place) + -vore (eating), from vorare (to devour). Earliest documented use: 2005.] "If it's been right here on the shelf for the last three months, doesn't that count as eating locally?" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/locavore_large.jpg Cartoon: Isabella Bannerman https://www.jimnolansblog.com/2011/11/locavore-cartoon-by-isabella-bannerman.html "Next week we'd be shooting an episode in which Daphne dated a self-righteous locavore, a fellow who raised his own chickens and made his own goat cheese." Jennifer Weiner; The Next Best Thing; Atria Books; 2012. -------- Date: Mon Sep 27 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--handmaiden X-Bonus: The central function of imaginative literature is to make you realize that other people act on moral convictions different from your own. -William Empson, literary critic and poet (27 Sep 1906-1984) What does a surgeon have in common with a palmer (also known as a pilgrim)? https://wordsmith.org/words/palmer.html Maybe some surgeons pray before a surgery (we'd rather they spent that time double-checking everything so we don't have to hear about yet another doctor who removed the good kidney), but that's not the commonality we are talking about. A surgeon works with hands, literally speaking, so does a palmer. The word surgeon is another spelling for chirurgeon, from Greek cheir (hand). In Medieval Europe, a pilgrim brought back a palm branch as a token of their pilgrimage and hence was known as a palmer. A palm tree is called so because of the resemblance of the shape of its frond to the palm of a hand. What's common between Boca Raton, Florida, and Oral, South Dakota? Both are named after the mouth. Boca Raton is Spanish for a mouse's mouth. Well, this week we're living hand-to-mouth, etymologically speaking. We'll feature words relating to the hand and the mouth. handmaiden (HAND-may-duhn) noun 1. Someone or something that is subservient to another. 2. A personal maid. [From hand + maiden, referring to a young woman who was ready at hand to serve her lady. Earliest documented use: 1350.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/handmaiden https://wordsmith.org/words/images/handmaiden_large.jpg Photo: Paul & Kathy Becker https://flickr.com/photos/becker271/48126906607/ "For years the legal case in Bangladesh had gone nowhere. The country's criminal justice system, slow and the handmaiden of the executive of the day, stood still." Delayed Detonations; The Economist (London, UK); Feb 7, 2014. -------- Date: Tue Sep 28 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--snoutfair X-Bonus: A man's life is interesting primarily when he has failed -- I well know. For it is a sign that he has tried to surpass himself. -Georges Clemenceau, statesman (28 Sep 1841-1929) This week's theme: Hand to mouth snoutfair (SNOUT-fair) noun: A good-looking person. adjective: Good-looking. [From snout (nose, mouth, and jaw) + fair (attractive). Earliest documented use: 1530.] "It's time you returned home to find a suitable husband instead of spuddling snoutfairs here in town." Victoria Malvey; Chasing a Rogue; Pocket Books; 2002. https://wordsmith.org/words/spuddle.html -------- Date: Wed Sep 29 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sticky-fingered X-Bonus: A proverb is a short sentence based on long experience. -Miguel de Cervantes, novelist (29 Sep 1547-1616) This week's theme: Hand to mouth sticky-fingered (STIK-ee fing-guhrd) adjective Given to stealing. [From stick (to fasten or attach), from Old English stician (to pierce) + finger, from Old English. Earliest documented use: 1855.] NOTES: Lime is another word for something sticky or slimy. Birdlime https://wordsmith.org/words/birdlime.html is used to catch birds. From lime we got the term lime-fingered, alluding to someone whose fingers easily adhere to stuff belonging to others, in other words, someone prone to stealing. Eventually the terms sticky-handed and sticky-fingered entered the language. Sometimes the metaphors and reality collide, as in these headlines: Quebec Police Seek Sticky-Fingered Thieves with $30m of Maple Syrup: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/aug/31/quebec-maple-syrup-theft Sticky-Fingered Thieves Made Off with $200 in Honey: https://www.al.com/news/huntsville/2018/10/sticky-fingered-thieves-made-off-with-200-in-honey-sheriff-says.html Let's hope someone fingered the thieves. If you have fingers that are permanently stuck together, well, beaks work too: https://imgur.com/Xn8LR "Rare book thefts occur all the time. ... Some sticky-fingered collectors covet them simply to add luster to their shelves." Marc Wortman and Christopher Sotomayor; The Case Of The Purloined Books; Vanity Fair (New York); Apr 2021. -------- Date: Thu Sep 30 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gobsmacked X-Bonus: Racism tends to attract attention when it's flagrant and filled with invective. But like all bigotry, the most potent component of racism is frame-flipping -- positioning the bigot as the actual victim. So the gay do not simply want to marry; they want to convert our children into sin. The Jews do not merely want to be left in peace; they actually are plotting world take-over. And the blacks are not actually victims of American power, but beneficiaries of the war against hard-working whites. This is a respectable, more sensible bigotry, one that does not seek to name-call, preferring instead to change the subject and straw man. -Ta-Nehisi Coates, writer and journalist (b. 30 Sep 1975) This week's theme: Hand to mouth gobsmacked (GOB-smakt) adjective Utterly surprised; flabbergasted. [From gob (mouth), probably from Irish and/or Scottish Gaelic gob (beak, mouth) + smack (to strike with the palm), probably imitative. Earliest documented use: 1935.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gobsmacked https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gobsmacked_large.jpg Image: https://memegenerator.net/instance/65977868/proyodaadvice-gobsmacked-i-am "People were completely gobsmacked at a politician ... wait for it ... telling the unvarnished truth!" Think of It as Jabs for Jobs; Sun Herald (Sydney, Australia); Aug 15, 2021.