A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Oct 1 02:56:05 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--labanotation X-Bonus: No man is useless who has a friend, and if we are loved we are indispensable. -Robert Louis Stevenson, novelist, essayist, and poet (1850-1894) labanotation (lah-buh-noh-TAY-shun) noun, also Labanotation A system of notating details of a dance movement on a staff. [After choreographer Rudolph Laban (1879-1958) who devised it.] To see what a labanotation looks like, visit: http://www.rz.uni-frankfurt.de/~griesbec/LABANE.HTML "The full Labanotation of Gemmill's goal is also being published this summer by Finlay's Pocketbook Press, illustrated with time-lapse photographs of the dance steps." Severin Carrell, The Nutmeg Suite, Independent on Sunday (London), Mar 25, 2001. "According to Odette Blum, who restaged the work from a Labanotation score, `Everything is very simple and very clear. Humphrey knew how to develop a theme and to build up emotional states from quiet to transcendent.'" Margaret Putnam, Dance Concert Offers a Swinging Mix of Moods, The Dallas Morning News, Nov 8, 1996. This week's theme: eponyms, or words derived from people's names. -------- Date: Wed Oct 2 00:01:06 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--doubting Thomas X-Bonus: Everything you've learned in school as `obvious' becomes less and less obvious as you begin to study the universe. For example, there are no solids in the universe. There's not even a suggestion of a solid. There are no absolute continuums. There are no surfaces. There are no straight lines. -R. Buckminster Fuller, engineer, designer, and architect (1895-1983) doubting Thomas (DOU-ting TOM-uhs) noun A person who is habitually doubtful or someone who refuses to believe something until given proof. [After Saint Thomas, apostle, who doubted Jesus Christ's resurrection according to the Bible.] "Since he was elected in 1982, the 43-year-old Braddock has developed a reputation as the `Dr. No' of the House of Representatives. He is the proverbial skeptic in the back row, the doubting Thomas, the heckler of other legislators' proposals more interested in tossing a wrench into the system than making it work better." Doug Underwood, Dr. No' Says Yes to Health Care, The Seattle Times, Mar 16, 1987. "Jo-Ann, an editorial assistant in Manhattan, landed her last boyfriend using the rules, and she was a Doubting Thomas at first." Sharon Krum, Dating Rules, OK! The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia), Nov 21, 1996. This week's theme: eponyms, or words derived from people's names. Note: I'll be on "Weekday" program on Seattle's NPR affiliate KUOW Radio 94.9 FM on Fri, Oct 4, 2002 from 9 to 10 AM Pacific time. To call in the program, dial (800) 289-KUOW. -Anu -------- Date: Thu Oct 3 00:01:05 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--goliath X-Bonus: Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case, the idea is quite staggering. -Arthur C Clarke, science fiction writer (1917- ) goliath (guh-LIE-eth) noun A giant; a person or organization of enormous size or power. [After Goliath, a giant Philistine warrior, who was slain by David using a sling and a stone.] "You may smile at the Goliath-sized ambition of this idea." Mort v. Goliath, The Economist (London), Jul 25, 1998. "The perception of the battle as pitting Goliath against pitiable Davids helps explain why independents are faring so well. For one thing, sheer terror goads many independent owners to improve their shops when Starbucks enters the neighborhood. Kansas City's Broadway Cafe banned smoking and began roasting its own beans when Starbucks opened next door." Kevin Helliker and Shirley Leung, Counting Beans, The Wall Street Journal (New York), Sep 24, 2002. This week's theme: eponyms, or words derived from people's names. -------- Date: Fri Oct 4 00:01:06 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--brodie X-Bonus: I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry; that is, prose, - words in their best order; poetry, - the best words in their best order. -Samuel Taylor Coleridge, poet, critic (1772-1834) brodie (BROH-dee) noun 1. A daredevil or suicidal jump. 2. A spectacular failure. 3. A sudden change in a vehicle's direction. [After Steve Brodie, who claimed to be the first person to survive a dive from the Brooklyn Bridge in 1886.] Should you believe Steve Brodie's claim? Here's the math: http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/301/lectures/node22.html "The yuppie market is where everybody wants to be because that's where the money is -- or was, up until the Dow Jones did a Brodie." John R. White, Buick Regal, The Boston Globe, Nov 15, 1987. "After all the hype, the movie did a brodie after the second week." Jim Beckerman, et al, The Highs & Lows of '97 Movies, Record (Bergen County, NJ), Dec 28, 1997. This week's theme: eponyms, or words derived from people's names. -------- Date: Mon Oct 7 05:11:06 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--weal X-Bonus: To the question whether I am a pessimist or an optimist, I answer that my knowledge is pessimistic, but my willing and hoping are optimistic. -Albert Schweitzer, philosopher, physician, musician, Nobel laureate (1875-1965) weal (weel) noun Well-being. [From Middle English wele, from Old English wela.] weal (weel) noun A ridge on the skin formed as a result of a blow. [Variant of wale, influenced by wheal.] "Mistakes committed by Ignorance in a virtuous Disposition, would never be of such fatal Consequence to the Publick Weal, as the Practices of a Man whose Inclinations led him to be corrupt, and had great Abilities to manage, and multiply, and defend his Corruptions." Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels (Part I: A Voyage to Lilliput), 1726. Jonathan Swift's 1726 book Gulliver's Travels not only takes readers to many exotic worlds, but also introduces them to numerous exotic words. All of this week's words are taken from this great satire, written, according to Swift, "to vex the world rather than divert it". -Anu -------- Date: Tue Oct 8 04:04:09 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pernicious X-Bonus: Sad is his lot, who, once at least in his life, has not been a poet. -Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine, poet, statesman (1790-1869) pernicious (pur-NISH-uhs) adjective Causing great harm; deadly; wicked. [From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin perniciosus, from pernicies (complete destruction), from per- (thoroughly) + nici-, from nex (destruction).] "As for yourself, (continued the King), who have spent the greatest Part of your Life in Travelling, I am well disposed to hope you may hitherto have escaped many Vices of your Country. But by what I have gathered from your own Relation, and the Answers I have with much Pain wringed and extorted from you, I cannot but conclude the Bulk of your Natives to be the most pernicious Race of little odious Vermin that Nature ever suffered to crawl upon the Surface of the Earth." Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels (Part II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag), 1726. This week's theme: Words from Gulliver's Travels. -------- Date: Wed Oct 9 04:04:12 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--glutinous X-Bonus: A guidance counselor who has made a fetish of security, or who has unwittingly surrendered his thinking to economic determinism, may steer a youth away from his dream of becoming a poet, an artist, a musician or any other of thousands of things, because it offers no security, it does not pay well, there are no vacancies, it has no "future". -Henry M Wriston, 11th president of Brown University (1889-1978) glutinous (GLOOT-nuhs) adjective Having the nature of glue; sticky. [From Middle English, from Latin glutinosus, from gluten (glue).] "... he hoped to fit every Body's Fancy, as soon as he could find proper Food for the Flies, of certain Gums, Oyls, and other glutinous Matter to give a Strength and Consistence to the Threads." Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels (Part III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib And Japan), 1726. This week's theme: Words from Gulliver's Travels. -------- Date: Thu Oct 10 00:26:11 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--suborner X-Bonus: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. -Arthur C Clarke, science fiction writer (1917- ) suborner (sub-ORN-uhr) noun One who suborns i.e. induces another to perform an unlawful act secretly or give false testimony. [From Latin subornare, from sub- (secretly) + ornare (to equip). Other words that derive from the same root (ornare): adorn, ornate.] "I am not in the least provoked at the Sight of a Lawyer, a Pick-pocket, a Colonel, a Fool, a Lord, a Gamester, a Politician, a Whore-Master, a Physician, an Evidence, a Suborner, an Attorney, a Traitor, or the like: This is all according to the due Course of Things." Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels (Part IV. A Voyage to the Country of The Houyhnhnms), 1726. This week's theme: Words from Gulliver's Travels. -------- Date: Fri Oct 11 00:01:07 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--approbation X-Bonus: You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose. -Mario M Cuomo, 52nd Governor of NY (1932- ) approbation (ap-roh-BAY-shun) noun Approval, praise, commendation, official sanction. [From Latin approbation, from ap- + probatus, from probare (to test the goodness of).] What do the words approve, prove, probe, probate, probity, and probation have in common? They are all derived from the same root and involve the idea of testing the goodness of something or someone. -Anu "I wrote for their Amendment, and not their Approbation." Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels, 1726. This week's theme: Words from Gulliver's Travels. To read the full text of the book and the research behind it, visit http://www.jaffebros.com/lee/gulliver/ -------- Date: Mon Oct 14 00:01:06 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hapax legomenon X-Bonus: There are two kinds of fools: One says, "This is old, therefore it is good"; the other says, "This is new, therefore it is better." -William R. Inge, clergyman, scholar, and author (1860-1954) hapax legomenon (HAY-paks li-GOM-uh-non) noun, plural hapax legomena A word or form that has only one recorded use. [From Greek hapax (once) + legomenon, from legein (to say).] "Linda Tripp, the faithless friend, says to Monica Lewinsky about the President, `Right now I think he's a schwonk.' This qualifies as what biblical exegetes call a hapax legomenon, the only known use in print, which makes it difficult to define." William Safire, Where's the Poetry?, The New York Times, Nov 1, 1998. "The entire Song of Songs is a hapax legomenon of its own, the Blochs say. It is unique in both the Old and New Testaments because it leaves out God entirely. It never mentions Israel as a people or a nation. It is free of any talk of sin. And it is the only surviving example of secular love poetry from ancient Israel. Why such a romantic poem found its way into the biblical canon is something of a mystery." Laurie Goodstein, Translators Find Sensuality in Bible's `Song of Songs', The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Feb 21, 1998. Today when we spell the word "catalog" instead of "catalogue" we can thank a crotchety, humorless man for saving the wear on our fingers, not to mention savings on paper and those obscenely expensive inkjet printer cartridges. Oct 16 marks the birth anniversary of Noah Webster (1758-1843), who compiled the 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, the first authoritative lexicon of American English. Webster believed in establishing cultural independence from Britain and as such he emphasized a distinct American spelling and pronunciation. His dictionary listed various unusual and shortened spellings of the words. He would have hardly imagined how the tide would turn one day. According to reports, more British and Australian children spell "color" instead of "colour", for example. Webster's suggestion of using "tung" instead of "tongue" didn't stick, though. As he said, "the process of a living language is like the motion of a broad river which flows with a slow, silent, irresistible current." Today Webster's name is synonymous with dictionaries and the date of his birth is observed as Dictionary Day. In his honor, this week we'll present words about words. Happy Dictionary Day! -Anu -------- Date: Tue Oct 15 00:01:11 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--metaphor X-Bonus: My library / Was dukedom large enough. -William Shakespeare, poet and dramatist (1564-1616) metaphor (MET-uh-for) noun 1. A figure of speech in which a word or phrase which is not literally applicable is used in place of another to suggest an analogy. 2. Something used to represent another; a symbol. [From Latin metaphora, from Greek metaphora, from metapherein (to transfer), from pherein (to carry).] "He (Richard Dawkins) took his doctorate under Niko Tinbergen, who won a Nobel Prize for his studies of birds; as a young post-doc he was head-hunted to Berkeley, where he developed his first metaphor of the immortal gene; in this instance they were leading down the generations, discarding the bodies they used as hitch-hikers discard their rides. The full viewpoint of The Selfish Gene appeared when he returned to Oxford as a fellow of New College in 1970." Andrew Brown, Anatomy of a Selfish Genius, The Independent (London), Oct 17, 1998. "As any serious scholar of popular culture knows, God put the lower primates on this planet for one purpose: to make people look silly. And what a good job they do. When it comes to metaphors for human folly, nothing beats a monkey." Movies Can't Ape Censor Board Monkeyshines, The Toronto Star, Jun 23, 2000. This week's theme: words about words. -------- Date: Wed Oct 16 00:01:06 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vulgate X-Bonus: An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight... The truly wise person is color-blind. -Albert Schweitzer, philosopher, physician, musician, Nobel laureate (1875-1965) vulgate (VUL-GAYT) noun 1. Everyday, informal speech of a people. 2. Any widely accepted text of a work. 3. The Latin version of the Bible made by Saint Jerome at the end of the 4th century. [From Late Latin vulgata editio (popular edition), past participle of vulgare (to make public or common), from vulgus (the public).] "A failure to communicate. That phrase, which wormed its way into the vulgate via the great Paul Newman movie, `Cool Hand Luke,' perfectly describes some of the recent imbroglios in which prominent public figures have lately found themselves." Alan Abelson, Up & Down Wall Street: Cloudy Forecast, Barron's (Chicopee, Massachusetts), Feb 12, 2001. This week's theme: words about words. -------- Date: Thu Oct 17 00:01:05 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hyperbole X-Bonus: No two persons ever read the same book. -Edmund Wilson, critic (1895-1972) hyperbole (hy-PUHR-buh-lee) noun A figure of speech in which obvious exaggeration is used for effect. [From Latin, from Greek hyperbole (excess), from hyperballein, from hyper- (beyond) + ballein (to throw).] When you employ hyperbole in your discourse, you are doing what a devil does (to throw), etymologically speaking. The word devil ultimately comes from Greek diaballein (to throw across, slander). Some other words that share the same root are ballistic, emblem, metabolism, parable, problem, parabola, and symbol. What an unlikely bunch of words to claim the same parentage! -Anu "Kathakali: Where Gods and Demons Come to Play is a thoroughly well-researched book, tautly written, clinically shorn of all stylistic hyperbole and perfectly produced with notes, references, glossary and so on." Books: When Two Don't Tango, India Today (New Delhi), Jan 14, 2002. "He once made the mistake of pumping up the volume in a letter sent to a university in Britain, where hyperbole is not the norm. The student was excellent; he called her `outstanding'. The next thing he knew, he was the one getting called -- by the search committee. They wanted to know if the letter had been forged." Alison Schneider, How to Read Those Academic Job References, The Australian (Sydney), Jul 19, 2000. This week's theme: words about words. -------- Date: Fri Oct 18 00:01:06 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--metaplasm X-Bonus: Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 training him. Why would I want somebody to hire his experience? -Thomas J. Watson, industrialist (1874-1956) metaplasm (MET-uh-plaz-uhm) noun A change in a word, for example by adding, omitting, inverting, or transposing its letters, syllables, or sounds. [From Middle English metaplasmus, from Latin, from Greek metaplasmos (remodeling), from metaplassein (to remold) from meta- + plassein (to mold).] Metaplasm is a generic term for almost any kind of alteration in a word. It can be intentional, to produce a poetic effect, to fit a meter or rhyme. Or it can be unintentional -- one we hear quite often nowadays is nucular for nuclear. Some other examples are oft for often, rithmetic for arithmetic, libary for library, sherbert for sherbet. -Anu "It is a kind of metaplasm, in this case the addition of a medial syllable, as in people who say 'realator' instead of 'realtor.'" Zay N. Smith, Filmmakers Cutting Away at Their Rights?, The Chicago Sun-Times, Sep 29, 2002. "So I said, `I'm going to write a letter. The world is getting too sensitive. Anybody who thinks otherwise needs to have his dog-gone brain examined.' `Good idea,' said my sensitive friend, `but avoid using that metaplasm...'" Richard A. Zidonis, Proper Address of the Question, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), Nov 8, 1991. This week's theme: words about words. -------- Date: Mon Oct 21 03:58:04 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--philogyny X-Bonus: A calamity that affects everyone is only half a calamity. -Italian proverb philogyny (phi-LOJ-uh-nee) noun Fondness of women. [From Greek philogynia, from philo- (loving) + -gyn (woman).] "`Hence I speculated,' he continued, `knowing you have been to the altar more than once, I wondered if you were indicating that your personal ontogeny recapitulated ... philogyny.' He wondered whether I was comparing my personal history of fondness for women (or at least for marriage) to the context of being representative of most men." Jan Glidewell, I Think, Therefore I Mess Up, St. Petersburg Times (Florida), Feb 25, 1994. "Applauding each leap or spin like a younger crowd might cheer on an Eddie Van Halen guitar solo, all-embracing L.A. seemed to audibly adore every sexy nanosecond. An exhilarating evening of edgy pop vigor, philogyny and physicality? Of course. Cheesy, too? Certainly. Welcome to rock 'n' roll." Chris Willman, The Joffrey and Prince: A Funky Pas de Deux, The Los Angeles Times, Jul 24, 1993. "I know the word for hatred of women is misogyny. Can you tell me the opposite of this term?" I get this question in my mail often. Today's word answers it. The counterparts of these words are misandry and philandry, hatred and love of men, respectively. And to complete the picture, there is an equal-opportunity term misanthropy, meaning hatred of humankind, where one doesn't discriminate on the basis of sex. A word of note: one who practices philandry is a philandrist, not a philanderer which has an altogether different sense. How come we have two words with same roots but senses as opposite as Mars and Venus: philandry (love of men) vs. philander (to engage in frivolous love of women)? The answer lies in the many organic ways in which language evolves. The latter term comes from Greek philandros (loving of man), to refer to a woman who loves her husband. The term Philander was later used in literature to name a male character, apparently from the mistaken belief that it refers to a man who loves, rather than one who loves a man. This week's AWAD features some lesser-known antonyms of everyday words. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Oct 22 00:34:05 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--exoteric X-Bonus: To see a world in a grain of sand, / And a heaven in a wild flower, / Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, / And eternity in an hour. -William Blake, poet, engraver, and painter (1757-1827) exoteric (ek-so-TER-ik) adjective 1. Not limited to an inner circle of select people. 2. Suitable for the general public. 3. Relating to the outside; external. [From Latin exotericus, from Greek exoterikos (external), from exotero, comparative form of exo (outside).] "In crude terms, some critics of Strauss argue that he interpreted the ancient philosophers as offering two different teachings, an esoteric one which is available only to those who read the ancient texts closely, and an exoteric one accessible to naive readers. The exoteric interpretations were aimed at the mass of people, the vulgar, while the esoteric teachings - the hidden meanings - were vouch-safed to the few, the philosophers." Ronald Bailey, Origin of the Specious: Why Do Neoconservatives Doubt Darwin?, Reason magazine (Los Angeles), Jul 1, 1997. "In their different ways and obviously to a varying degree these two publications should appeal to those who are alienated by exoteric Judaism stripped of its mystical elements. Ronald Isaacs begins by noting that there is no biblical Hebrew word for miracle." Jonathan Galante, Mysticism for the Masses, Jerusalem Post, Aug 27, 1999. This week's theme: relatively lesser-known antonyms of everyday words. -------- Date: Wed Oct 23 00:01:07 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--levity X-Bonus: While we are asleep in this world, we are awake in another one. -Salvador Dali, painter (1904-1989) levity (LEV-i-tee) noun 1. Lack of seriousness; frivolity. 2. Inconstancy; fickleness. 3. Lightness in weight. [From Latin levitas, from levis (light).] "`And guess what?' Jack Kemp asked, trying to shoosh the enthusiastic crowd. When some in the audience started shouting back guesses, he had to say `That was a rhetorical question - you don't have to answer.' That was the only moment of ad-lib levity in the disciplined march of speeches in San Diego." William Safire, San Diego Speech Scorecard, The New York Times, August 19, 1996. "He projected affability more easily than authority, levity more readily than gravity." Frank Bruni, Ambling Into History: The Unlikely Odyssey of George W. Bush, HarperCollins (New York), March 5, 2002. This week's theme: relatively lesser-known antonyms of everyday words. -------- Date: Thu Oct 24 00:01:07 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--diurnal X-Bonus: Just as appetite comes by eating so work brings inspiration. -Igor Stravinsky, composer (1882-1971) diurnal (DY-uhr-nuhl) adjective 1. Of or pertaining to the daytime. 2. Occurring every day. noun Diary; journal; newspaper. [From Middle English, from Late Latin diurnalis, from Latin diurnus (daily), from dies (day).] A large part of the joy of words is in discovering how seemingly unrelated words are related at the root. Some of the cousins of today's word, all of which derived from Latin dies (day), are adjourn, diary, diet, circadian, journal, journey, quotidian, and sojourn. "If I were in the Great Leaders shoes, with the task of calendrical reform now behind me, I'd be thinking of a more ambitious agenda. One key item would be to make time zones horizontal instead of vertical. This runs counter to the diurnal motion of the planet, to be sure, but at a stroke it would solve the problem of Turkmenistan's remoteness from anyplace you'd actually want to be. Thus the capital Ashkhabad, instead of being fully half a day ahead of New York, with all the logistical problems this entails, would now be in the same time zone." Cullen Murphy, My Way, The Atlantic Monthly (Boston), Nov 2002. "During the night colors are not visible, and there can be no doubt that the nocturnal moths, taken as a body, are much less gayly decorated than butterflies, all of which are diurnal in their habits." Charles Darwin, Descent Of Man, 1871. This week's theme: relatively lesser-known antonyms of everyday words. -------- Date: Fri Oct 25 00:01:06 EDT 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dysphoria X-Bonus: Easy reading is damned hard writing. -Nathaniel Hawthorne, writer (1804-1864) dysphoria (dis-FOR-ee-uh) noun A state of anxiety and restlessness. [From New Latin, from Greek dysphoria (discomfort), from dys- (bad), + phoros (bearing), from pherein (to bear).] "Outside a war, the writing disintegrates. The second half of the Seventies shuffles by in a few chapters of post-Vietnam dysphoria and feckless office journalism." Christopher Morris, Book Review / Ace Newsman in Death Plunge Drama, Independent (London), Mar 19, 1994. "Despite this unhappy history, there now seems to be less danger of another cycle of euphoria and dysphoria. Companies with truly talented management, Infosys and Satyam Infoway, have issued ADRs on America's Nasdaq, and ICICI Bank trades on the New York Stock Exchange." Editorial, The Return of a Big Bet, The Wall Street Journal (New York), Jan 27, 2000. This week's theme: relatively lesser-known antonyms of everyday words. -------- Date: Mon Oct 28 06:18:05 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--agelast X-Bonus: You can sometimes count every orange on a tree but never all the trees in a single orange. -A.K. Ramanujan, poet (1929-1993) agelast (AJ-uh-last) noun Someone who never laughs. [From Greek agelastos (not laughing), ultimately from gelaein (to laugh).] "Between the obscene, crude buffoon of the old comedy and the boor, the dour agelast who takes offense at everything ..." Giuseppe Mazzotta, Playboys and Killjoys, Shakespeare Quarterly (Washington, DC), Autumn 1988. "An hour of stand-up which the audience absolutely loves. I don't spot a single agelast." Deborah Ross, Interview: Sandi Toksvig - I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Hairdo, Independent (London), Jul 16, 2001. From the most noble soul to the most dastardly individual, we all share traits that span the spectrum. It would be rare to find a person who can be completely characterized by a single word. This week's AWAD discusses words to help us describe people we come across in our lives. Can you see the face of a friend, relative, or co-worker in these assorted arrangements of the alphabet? -Anu -------- Date: Tue Oct 29 00:51:06 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--illeist X-Bonus: To do great work a man must be very idle as well as very industrious. -Samuel Butler, poet (1612-1680) illeist (IL-ee-ist) noun One who refers to oneself in the third person. [From Latin ille (that) + -ism.] "I've read that some famous sports figures become illeists during press conferences: `He [meaning the speaker] has to work more on his free throws.' I have but one thing to say about that, `Redgate finds that sort of thing somewhat irritating.'" Chris Redgate, The Red Pencil, The Washington Post, Mar 14, 2000. -------- Date: Wed Oct 30 04:29:06 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wisenheimer X-Bonus: The only gift is giving to the poor; / All else is exchange. -Thiruvalluvar, poet (c. 30 BCE) wisenheimer (WY-zen-hy-muhr) also weisenheimer, noun A smart aleck. [From wise + -enheimer (on the pattern of names such as Guggenheimer or Oppenheimer).] "By way of background: Kyrgyzstan is an actual nation located in the Western Hemisphere. Or possibly the Eastern Hemisphere. It's definitely in a hemisphere. ... Why are we interested in this? Certainly it is not because we are juvenile wisenheimers who think these names sound funny." Dave Barry, Kyrgyzstan: Much More Than a Test of Spelling, The Seattle Times, Mar 19, 2001. "Former Gannett Co. Inc. Chairman Allen H. Neuharth launched USA Today Sept. 15, 1982. Wisenheimer journalists said it looked like a comic book. Tagged it McPaper." Twenty - And Lovin' It, Editor & Publisher (New York), Sep 16, 2002. This week's theme: words to describe people. -------- Date: Thu Oct 31 00:01:06 EST 2002 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--strepitant X-Bonus: No metaphysician ever felt the deficiency of language so much as the grateful. -Charles Caleb Colton, author and clergyman (1780-1832) strepitant (STREP-i-tant) adjective, also strepitous Noisy; boisterous. [From Latin strepitantem, present participle of strepitare, from strepere (to make a noise).] "Thus it is not to be wondered at that throughout Mr Anderson was too loud; even his soliloquies, in the orchard of his foe's house, were as strepitous as if challenging the household to oppose him, and, while he overhears Juliet's apostrophe of love to himself, his `asides' are delivered in a tone so loud, that it requires a great effort of imagination in the auditor to suppose the lady does not hear them." Past Notes: Romeo and Juliet, The Guardian (London), Aug 4, 1994. "Three makes rejoinder, expansive, explosive; Four overbears them all, strident and strepitant." Robert Browning (1812-1889), Master Hugues of Saxe-Gotha, Dramatic Lyrics, 1842. This week's theme: words to describe people.