A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Sun Oct 1 00:29:16 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tarmac X-Bonus: Observe your enemies, for they first find out your faults. -Antisthenes tarmac (TAHR-mak) noun A tarmacadam road or surface, especially an airport runway. verb tr. To cause (an aircraft) to sit on a taxiway. verb intr. To sit on a taxiway. Used of an aircraft. [Originally a trademark.] "Official predictions suggest that Britain faces a future of rising congestion and pollution, as more countryside disappears under concrete and tarmac." Driving Britain off the roads, The Economist, Jan 24, 1998. This week's theme: brand names that have entered the dictionary. -------- Date: Mon Oct 2 00:04:08 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ahimsa X-Bonus: What is to give light must endure burning. -Viktor Frankl, author, neurologist and psychiatrist, Holocaust survivor (1905-1997) ahimsa (uh-HIM-sah) noun The principle of noninjury to living beings. [Sanskrit ahimsa : a-, not + himsa, injury (from himsati, he injures).] "As my conception of Ahimsa went on maturing, I became more vigilant about my thought and speech. The lines in the Anthem: Scatter her enemies And make them fall; Confound their policies, Frustrate their knavish tricks particularly jarred upon my sentiments of Ahimsa." M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments With Truth, 1927. Today is October 2, the day Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in the year 1869. A man born some two centuries ago may appear irrelevant to our age, but in reality his life and message are still applicable to our lives today. As opposed to being a tale of great achievements, as most autobiographies are, his `Story of My Experiments With Truth' is a collection of introspections and experiences in his search for truth. "Let us not reduce the standards of truth even by a hair's breadth for judging erring mortals like myself," he writes in the introduction. In a world where success is measured by what kind of car one drives, how lavish a house one lives in, can we learn something from a man who got by with just a loincloth? This week's AWAD picks a few words from his autobiography, translated from the original in Gujarati by Mahadev Desai. Visit your local library or click http://www.mahatma.org.in to learn more about Mahatma, literally, great soul. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Oct 3 00:04:08 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--satyagraha X-Bonus: Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they will then be powerless to vex your mind. -Leonardo da Vinci, painter, engineer, musician, and scientist (1452-1519) Satyagraha (suh-TYAH-gruh-uh, sut-YAH-gru-ha) noun The policy of passive resistance inaugurated by Mohandas Gandhi in 1919 as a method of gaining political and social reforms. [Sanskrit satyagrahah : satyam, truth (from sat-, sant-, existing, true) + agrahah, determination, insistence : a-, to + grahah, act of seizing, from grhnati, he seizes.] Events were so shaping themselves in Johannesburg as to make this self-purification on my part a preliminary as it were to Satyagraha." M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments With Truth, 1927. This week's theme: words from Gandhi's autobiography. -------- Date: Wed Oct 4 00:04:08 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--iniquity X-Bonus: The reason there are so few female politicians is that it is too much trouble to put makeup on two faces. -Maureen Murphy iniquity (i-NIK-wi-tee) noun 1. Gross immorality or injustice; wickedness. 2. A grossly immoral act; a sin. [Middle English iniquite, from Old French, from Latin iniquitas, from iniquus, unjust, harmful : in-, not + aequus, equal.] "One golden rule is to accept the interpretation honestly put on the pledge by the party administering it. Another is to accept the interpretation of the weaker party, where there are two interpretations possible. Rejection of these two rules gives rise to strife and iniquity, which are rooted in untruthfulness." M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments With Truth, 1927. This week's theme: words from Gandhi's autobiography. -------- Date: Thu Oct 5 00:04:12 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--stripling X-Bonus: D'you call life a bad job? Never! We've had our ups and downs, we've had our struggles, we've always been poor, but it's been worth it, ay, worth it a hundred times I say when I look round at my children. -W. Somerset Maugham, novelist, dramatist, short-story writer (1874-1965) [Of Human Bondage] stripling (STRIP-ling) noun An adolescent youth. [Middle English, possibly from strip.] "He (Tryambakrai Mazmudar) was an experienced man of mature age and knew the world. I was yet a stripling of eighteen without any experience of the world." M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments With Truth, 1927. This week's theme: words from Gandhi's autobiography. -------- Date: Fri Oct 6 00:04:10 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--obeisance X-Bonus: The Lord prefers common-looking people. That is the reason He makes so many of them. -Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the U.S. (1809-1865) obeisance (o-BAY-sans, o-BEE-) noun 1. A movement of the body expressing deep respect or deferential courtesy, as before a superior; a bow, curtsy, or other similar gesture. 2. Deference or homage. [Middle English obeisaunce, from Old French obeissance, from obeissant, present participle of obeir, to obey.] "I was always glad to be relieved from my duty, and went straight to the bedroom after doing obeisance to my father." M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments With Truth, 1927. Five or seven messages in a week? That was a close poll. We received 4112 votes for five compared to 4049 for seven. This is your list and accordingly, beginning with next week AWAD will go out five days a week. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to voice your opinion. Your love and concern shows--a good number of people sent their votes for five to indicate that we, the people at Wordsmith, should take some time off. Here are some selections from the comments that came with the ballots. (Ballot, from Italian ballotta, a small ball used to register a vote. So for this poll, maybe I should call these emailots). -Anu If you go to five, you'll have to change the name of this valuable mailing to FWAW. Scott Murphree-Roberts I'd vote with the Beatles - eight days a week! Please don't stop AWAD at weekends! Barbara Cooper, Rome, Italy With so many words to learn, we need at least seven days a week. Helen Slade Oh, Like I'd Just Stop BREATHING on Weekends? More work for you, more fun for me. Seems like a no-brainer to me! Thanks for the great service! Hampton G. Miller In the Middle East, Thursday and Friday are the weekend. Here in New Zealand, our Monday is your (North American) Sunday. The "weekend" therefore stretches from Thursday to Monday. Seen from a global perspective (which is the only reasonable view to take on a language as ubiquitous as English) the issue is therefore meaningless. Regards, Philip Gould I like 7. I enjoy the email, and use it to verify that my email is up and running. Audrey Calvo If, like the gallant little tailor, you're up to seven at a blow, so am I! Heartfelt thanks for 'A word a day' and AWADtalk -- the highlights of my day! Cheers, Paulb Take a break on weekends! Give me time to absorb all the wonderful new words you have sent during the week! Maddytg Take the weekend off. Although I will miss the extra two entries, I'd rather see you conserve your efforts. I would hate to see this wonderful service burn out because of fatigue. Jane Dinielli Have weekends free. I think AWAD is great, but I also think you deserve time off. I hope enough others agree! Art Funkhouser, Bern, Switzerland I say take a break but I really love your programme - even if it does spell the American way, eh? Rod Dawson, Canada I love wordsmith. I feel smarter, look smarter. But I want to be dumb on weekends and find that I don't pay attention as much. Please don't think that we don't love you as much as ever just because we want slightly less of you. Janice Heilmann This week's theme: words from Gandhi's autobiography. -------- Date: Sat Oct 7 00:04:10 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--abjure X-Bonus: We are not retreating - we are advancing in another direction. -General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) abjure (ab-JOOR) verb tr. 1. To renounce under oath; forswear. 2. To recant solemnly; repudiate. 3. To give up (an action or practice, for example); abstain from. [Middle English abjuren, from Old French abjurer, from Latin abiurare : ab-, away + iurare, to swear.] "I abjured meat out of the purity of my desire not to lie to my parents, but I didn't abjure the company of my friend." M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments With Truth, 1927. This week's theme: words from Gandhi's autobiography. -------- Date: Sun Oct 8 00:04:12 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--actuate X-Bonus: A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do you know that his future will not be equal to our present? -Confucius, philosopher and teacher (551-479? BCE) [Analects] actuate (AK-choo-ayt) verb tr. 1. To put into motion or action. 2. To move to action. [Medieval Latin actuare, actuat-, from Latin actus, act, from agere, act-, to drive, do.] "That was the last friendly tussle we had. It did not affect our relations in the least. I could see and appreciate the love by which all my friend's efforts were actuated, and my respect for him was all the greater on accounts of our difference in thought and action." M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments With Truth, 1927. This week's theme: words from Gandhi's autobiography. -------- Date: Mon Oct 9 00:04:10 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ambiguity X-Bonus: All sunshine makes a desert. -Arabic proverb ambiguity (am-bi-GYOO-i-tee) noun 1. Doubtfulness or uncertainty as regards interpretation. 2. Something of doubtful meaning. [From Latin ambiguus, uncertain, from ambigere, to go about : ambi-, around + agere, to drive.] Ambigram: https://wordsmith.org/words/ambiguity.gif AMBIGUITY Ambiguity is one of a handful of English words whose meaning describes itself. In other words, "Ambiguity" is ambiguous. It refers, on the one hand, to a situation of imprecision, of obscurity, because more than one interpretation is possible. On the other hand, something ambiguous can be understood perfectly well - but from more than one point of view. We are amused at the fable of the elephant and the six blind men, each of whom understood the elephant to be a very different animal. But we seem to lose that good-natured perspective just in time to assume that our own point of view on the world is more accurate than that of many of the other human beings on the planet. We avoid ambiguity as much as possible, feeling threatened that it may expose our own point of view as merely an option. But we should embrace ambiguity. After all, each of our eyes sees a slightly different, two-dimensional, view of reality. Those two images are synthesized by the brain into a single three-dimensional image, which we think of as "more real" than a 2-D view. The more points of view we are able to see, the more clearly we understand the world around us. Reality is ambiguous. Ambiguity is synthesis. I like to think that looking at everything - not only words - from alternate points of view, can enhance our understanding of the world around us. AMBIGRAMS Ambigrams are words that can be read from more than one point of view. I have been creating ambigrams as visual meditations on language--as commercial graphics and as fine art pieces--for almost thirty years. Anu has invited me to share my unique point of view on language with his A.Word.A.Day audience. I certainly appreciate this opportunity. I hope you will enjoy looking at words in this new way and find it both entertaining and thought-provoking. Each day this week, your AWAD regular mail will consist of an ambigram, a paragraph or so about a particular word, exploring some unorthodox points of view regarding its meaning. As it really makes more sense to view the ambigram first, and in a format that allows you to invert it, I suggest that you print it out, so you can enjoy its symmetry and reversibility before and while you read. -John Langdon (langdojwATdrexel.edu) (This week's Guest Wordsmith, John Langdon, teaches in the College of Design Arts at Drexel University in Philadelphia. For more information on ambigrams visit his Website: http://www.coda.drexel.edu/wordplay .) -------- Date: Tue Oct 10 00:04:09 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--philosophy X-Bonus: The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) philosophy (fi-LOS-uh-fee) noun 1. Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline. The investigation of causes and laws underlying reality. A system of philosophical inquiry or demonstration. 2. Inquiry into the nature of things based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods. 3. The critique and analysis of fundamental beliefs as they come to be conceptualized and formulated. 4. The synthesis of all learning. 5. All learning except technical precepts and practical arts. 6. All the disciplines presented in university curriculums of science and the liberal arts, except medicine, law, and theology. 7. The science comprising logic, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and epistemology. 8. A system of motivating concepts or principles. 9. A basic theory; a viewpoint. 10. The system of values by which one lives. [Middle English philosophie, from Old French, from Latin philosophia, from Greek, from philosophos, lover of wisdom, philosopher.] Ambigram: https://wordsmith.org/words/philosophy.gif PHILOSOPHY My fondness for ambiguity in language and its graphic representation hurtles me headlong into the hallways of heady philosophy. Like ambiguity, philosophy tends to scare a lot of people, and it does so for the same reason. Maintaining a single point of view on an issue is often the easiest path, but it is not consistent with a philosophical spirit. After all, "philosophy" is derived from Greek words meaning, "the love of wisdom" not "stubborn entrenchment." In fact, if one loves wisdom and searches after truth, then one is required to look at things from more than one point of view. This week's theme: words with ambigrams. -------- Date: Wed Oct 11 00:04:13 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--energy X-Bonus: In words as fashions the same rule will hold,/ Alike fantastic if too new or old;/ Be not the first by whom the new are tried,/ Nor yet the last to lay the old aside. -Alexander Pope, poet (1688-1744) energy (EN-uhr-jee) noun 1. The capacity for work or vigorous activity; vigor; power. 2. Exertion of vigor or power. Vitality and intensity of expression. 3. Usable heat or power. A source of usable power, such as petroleum or coal. 4. The capacity of a physical system to do work. [French energie, from Late Latin energia, from Greek energeia, from energos, active : en-, in, at + ergon, work.] Ambigram: https://wordsmith.org/words/energy.gif ENERGY Philosophers search for truth in much the same way that artists do. They don't really expect to find any definite answers. They mainly want to provide and investigate more ways of looking at the world. But scientists differ slightly. Science strives to provide very definite, measurable and provable truths. In the back of their minds though, scientists understand that those truths are only temporary, and that they may very well be replaced someday by another truth. So they're really not so different from artists and philosophers after all. Einstein's Theory of Relativity has been accepted as a scientific truth. But it has so far not been found to mesh with quantum physics. It may very well be that the 21st century will modify one or both of those truths as well. So for the time being, we can look at energy as mass times the speed of light times the speed of light. From another point of view, energy is the capability of a body to do work or produce an effect. It's possible that the second definition will outlast the first. -John Langdon, http://www.coda.drexel.edu/wordplay This week's theme: words with ambigrams. -------- Date: Thu Oct 12 00:04:09 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gravity X-Bonus: A penny will hide the biggest star in the universe if you hold it close enough to your eye. -Samuel Grafton gravity (GRAV-i-tee) noun 1. The natural force of attraction exerted by a celestial body, such as Earth, upon objects at or near its surface, tending to draw them toward the center of the body. The natural force of attraction between any two massive bodies, which is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. Gravitation. 2. Grave consequence; seriousness or importance. 3. Solemnity or dignity of manner. [French gravite, heaviness, from Old French, from Latin gravitas, from gravis, heavy.] Ambigram: https://wordsmith.org/words/gravity.gif GRAVITY If it weren't for gravity, we wouldn't know which way was was up. Without gravity to pull things "down," there would be no such thing as up or down. This is an excellent example of the yin/yang idea that nothing exists except in relation to its opposite. The opposite of gravity is weightlessness. A fair conclusion: Gravity is the soul of wt. -John Langdon, http://www.coda.drexel.edu/wordplay This week's theme: words with ambigrams. -------- Date: Fri Oct 13 00:04:10 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--syzygy X-Bonus: There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a vacuum. -Arthur C. Clarke, writer (1917- ) syzygy (SIZ-uh-jee) noun 1. Astronomy. Either of two points in the orbit of a celestial body where the body is in opposition to or in conjunction with the sun. Either of two points in the orbit of the moon when the moon lies in a straight line with the sun and Earth. The configuration of the sun, the moon, and Earth lying in a straight line. 2. The combining of two feet into a single metrical unit in classical prosody. [Late Latin syzygia, from Greek suzugia, union, from suzugos, paired : sun-, syn- + zugon, yoke.] Ambigram: https://wordsmith.org/words/syzygy.gif SYZYGY This curious word comes from the Greek language, where it meant the yoking of two oxen. Over the eons, it came to mean the joining of any two entities without losing the individual characteristics of either one. This idea brings the yin/yang symbol to mind, and also the ambigrammatic phenomenon of two letters being joined into one shape without loss of their readability. In astronomy, however, "syzygy" is defined as an alignment of three heavenly bodies in the solar system, more like the periodic alignment of the three Ys in the word. How could a word that once implied the pairing of two entities come to refer to the alignment of three? The answer comes in the fact that in science, no phenomenon can be investigated without taking into account the presence of the investigator. And when two heavenly bodies are seen to be in alignment, they are being seen from a third, which is necessarily in the same straight line. So no matter which way you look at the syzygy ambigram, it satisfies both sides of its ambiguous definition. -John Langdon, http://www.coda.drexel.edu/wordplay This week's theme: words with ambigrams. -------- Date: Mon Oct 16 00:04:10 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--avid X-Bonus: All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward. -Ellen Glasgow, novelist (1874-1945) avid (avid) adjective 1. Having an ardent desire or unbounded craving; greedy. 2. Marked by keen interest and enthusiasm. [Latin avidus, from avere, to desire.] "Global Exchange, for instance, is an outfit of 40 people based in San Francisco, and an avid believer in street protest." Angry and effective, Economist, Sep 23, 2000. A popular motivational saying goes, "Desserts is stressed spelled backwards." This is an example of a reversible word, which when read from the right yields another word. All of this week's words exhibit this quality. Just like reversible clothing that changes pattern when worn inside out, reversible words result in other usable words. A special case of reversible words is palindromes, which spell the same when reversed. So palindromes are a subset of reversible words which in turn are a subset of anagrams. Another name for reversible words is semordnilap, a self-referential word coined by reversing the word palindromes. Some words coined in this manner have actually entered the dictionary. Here are two examples: YOB (a rowdy youth), coined by reversing BOY, and MHO (former unit of conductance), coined by reversing OHM, the unit of electrical resistance. Taking inspiration from the above desserts/stressed saying, can you coin a pithy aphorism using some word and its semordnilap? Don your wordsmith hats and send your gems to (garg AT wordsmith.org). Original entries only, please. I'll publish selected ones here in a compilation next week. Here is a helpful hint: you can elicit semordnilapic quality in many words by forming their plural, past tense, etc. Also, semordnilaps are especially useful in creating longer palindromic words. Here is a simple example, "Devil Dennis sinned, lived." Can you come up with something more interesting? Email them to the above address. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Oct 17 00:04:09 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--debut X-Bonus: Fame is a vapor; popularity an accident; the only earthly certainty is oblivion. -Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910) debut (day-BYOO, DAY-byoo) noun 1. A first public appearance on a stage, on television, etc. 2. The first appearance of something, as a new product. 3. The formal introduction and entrance of a young woman into society, as at an annual ball. 4. The beginning of a profession, career, etc. verb intr. 1. To make a debut, as in society or in a performing art. 2. To appear for the first time, as on the market. verb tr. 1. To perform for the first time before an audience. 2. To place on the market for the first time; introduce. adjective Of, pertaining to, or constituting a first appearance: [French debut, from debuter, to give the first stroke in a game, begin : de-, from, away (from Old French de-) + but, goal, target, from Old French butte.] "The suspense builds from the first pages of Mary Howard's debut novel-- a book so sure-handed and graceful that you might forget it's a murder mystery." Nina Sonenberg, Discovering the Body (book review), The New York Times, Oct 8, 2000. This week's theme: semordnilaps, or words that spell other words when reversed. -------- Date: Wed Oct 18 00:04:10 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ogre X-Bonus: The main dangers in this life are the people who want to change everything - or nothing. -Nancy Astor, first woman member of Parliament in England (1879-1964) ogre (O-guhr) noun 1. A giant or monster in legends and fairy tales that eats human beings. 2. A person who is felt to be particularly cruel, brutish, or hideous. [French, probably ultimately from Latin Orcus, god of the underworld.] "As the ogres gorge themselves, the planks are pulled out, spilling them into the pit, and hot rocks and boiling water poured over them until they burn to death." Geraldine Nagle, The nightmare's mask, Parabola, Sep 22, 1998. This week's theme: semordnilaps, or words that spell other words when reversed. -------- Date: Thu Oct 19 00:04:09 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--strop X-Bonus: Everyone is born with genius, but most people only keep it a few minutes. -Edgard Varese, composer (1885-1965) strop (strop) noun 1. A strap, especially a short rope whose ends are spliced together to make a ring. 2. A flexible strip of leather or canvas used for sharpening a razor. verb tr. To sharpen (a razor) on a strop. [Middle English strope, band of leather, probably from Old English, thong for an oar, from Latin stroppus, twisted cord, from Greek strophos, from strephein, to turn..] "He absently sharpened his razor along a leather strop for several moments, gazing into the middle distance." Mark Leyner, I dream of Liddy, Elle, Oct 1999. This week's theme: semordnilaps, or words that spell other words when reversed. -------- Date: Fri Oct 20 00:09:09 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nonet X-Bonus: I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career. -Gloria Steinem, women's rights activist, editor (1934- ) nonet (no-NET) noun 1. A combination of nine instruments or voices. 2. A composition written for such a combination. [Italian nonetto, from diminutive of nono, ninth, from Latin nonus.] "Lovano leads a slightly different nonet in performances of his rich and surprising charts." ShortList, Village Voice, May 23, 2000. (Tenon, a term from carpentry, denotes a projection on the end of a piece of wood shaped for insertion into a mortise to make a joint. -Anu) This week's theme: semordnilaps, or words that spell other words when reversed. -------- Date: Mon Oct 23 00:09:30 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--indolent X-Bonus: If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants. -Isaac Newton, philosopher and mathematician (1642-1727) indolent (IN-duh-lehnt) adjective 1. Disinclined to exert oneself; habitually lazy. Conducive to inactivity or laziness; lethargic. 2. Causing little or no pain. Slow to heal, grow, or develop; inactive. [Late Latin indolens, indolent-, painless : Latin in-, not + Latin dolens, present participle of dolere, to feel pain.] "Wherever it came from, the musical came with its hair mussed and with an innocent, indolent, irreverent look on its bright, bland face. Walter Kerr, On musical comedy, NY Herald Tribune, Sep 1, 63. "I love mankind. It's the people I can't stand." Do you ever find yourself repeating these words of cartoonist Charles Schulz? Maybe you just happen to be around persons described in this week's AWAD. We have all been somewhere when almost everyone around seems less than charming. But remember, just like the fingers of a hand, it takes all kinds to make this world. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Oct 24 00:09:09 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--malingerer X-Bonus: If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons. -James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961) malingerer (muh-LING-gehr-uhr) noun One who feigns illness or other incapacity in order to avoid duty or work. [From French malingre, sickly.] "But all you need to know about Rodriguez is that when a backswing from a bat broke his jaw a couple of years ago, he missed only one game. He is absolutely no malingerer. Jim Reeves, Injured Pudge might feel relief, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Jul 26, 2000. This week's theme: words to describe people. -------- Date: Wed Oct 25 00:09:25 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scullion X-Bonus: I took a speed reading course and read 'War and Peace' in twenty minutes. It involves Russia. -Woody Allen, author, actor (1935- ) scullion (SKUL-yen) noun 1. A kitchen servant who does menial work. 2. A low or contemptible person. [Middle English sculyon, probably from Old French escouvillon, dishcloth, diminutive of escouve, broom, from Latin scopa, branches, broom.] "The old cook enraged, The scullion gone wild." W.B. Yeats, The Wild Swans at Coole, 1919. This week's theme: words to describe people. -------- Date: Thu Oct 26 00:09:10 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--smarmy X-Bonus: The artist must raise the cup of his vision aloft to the gods in the high hope that they will pour into it the sweet mellow wine of inspiration. -Paul Brunton smarmy (SMAR-mee) adjective 1. Hypocritically, complacently, or effusively earnest; unctuous. 2. Sleek. [From smarm, to smear.] "But `weasel' lives on as a synonym for that subspecies of Hollywood gentry, the entertainment industry executive, conjuring up a whole host of smarmy tassel-shoe traits." Richard Conniff, You can call him `cute' or you can call him `hungry', Smithsonian, Feb 1997. This week's theme: words to describe people. -------- Date: Fri Oct 27 00:09:09 EDT 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--arriviste X-Bonus: Superfluous wealth can buy superfluities only. -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862) arriviste (a-ree-VEEST) noun 1. A person who has recently attained high position or great power without due effort or merit; an upstart. 2. An unscrupulous, vulgar social climber; a bounder. [French, from arriver, to arrive, from Old French ariver.] "Even for those with little religious feeling, the spectacle of arriviste Alawite families from Syria's northern hills lording it over the grand old families of Damascus and Aleppo is hard to swallow." Bashar's world, Economist, Jun 17, 2000. This week's theme: words to describe people. -------- Date: Mon Oct 30 00:09:10 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--charnel X-Bonus: Who, being loved, is poor? -Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900) charnel (CHAR-nel) noun A repository for the bones or bodies of the dead; a charnel house. adjective Resembling, suggesting, or suitable for receiving the dead. [Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin carnale, from neuter of Latin carnalis, of the flesh, from caro, carn-, flesh.] "This ending does not follow Hugo's novel, in which Esmeralda is hanged, and her body taken to the charnel house of Montfaucon, where Quasimodo enters the vault and stays with her, embracing her body until he dies of starvation." The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Magill's Survey of Cinema, Jun 15, 1995. October 31 marks Halloween, the day when fear is celebrated in many parts of the world. On this day, many people wear strange costumes, make-up, or masks that are supposed to cause dread in others. But one doesn't need to buy exotic paraphernalia, for words--arranged properly--are simply enough to inspire fright. Consider The Monkey's Paw, a short story from English writer W.W. Jacobs http://www.advsys.co.uk/homepages/chris/shortstr/paw.html . This little tale also serves as a good reminder of the old adage, just in time for Christmas: Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Oct 31 00:09:16 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--diablerie X-Bonus: A man may be very industrious, and yet not spend his time well. There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of life getting his living. -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862) diablerie (dee-AH-ble-ree, -ab-luh-) noun 1. Sorcery; witchcraft. 2. Representation of devils or demons, as in paintings or fiction. 3. Devilish conduct; deviltry. [French, from Old French, from diable, devil, from Latin diabolus.] "Gretchen is not as tender and delicate as one might wish, while Mephistopheles is quite lacking in diablerie or malevolence at Horenstein's leaden tempos." Steven Haller, Overview: Franz Liszt, American Record Guide, Jan 11, 1996. This week's theme: words to mark Halloween.