A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Nov 1 00:01:03 EDT 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pinstriped X-Bonus: There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up a pen to write. -William Makepeace Thackeray, novelist (1811-1863) pinstriped (PIN-strypt) adjective 1. Having a pattern of thin parallel lines. 2. Formal, conventional, or conservative: relating to the attitudes and opinions of people typically in such dress, for example, those in the legal or financial professions. [Businesspeople, such as bankers and lawyers, are typically seen in suits made of fabric in pattern of narrow stripes. From this association the term has acquired its metaphorical sense. Earliest documented use: 1880.] A pinstriped fabric: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pinstriped_large.jpg Photo: Kaushik Gopal http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaushikgopal/ "What Verizon will certainly do is unload the full weight of its legal might on 101 Monroe St. in a fit of pinstriped mutually assured destruction." Bruce Henoch; Why Verizon Picked Montgomery for Its Battle; The Gazette (Gaithersburg, Maryland); Jul 21, 2006. -------- Date: Wed Nov 2 00:01:03 EDT 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dirty linen X-Bonus: Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war. -Otto von Bismarck, statesman (1815-1898) This week's theme: Fabric words used metaphorically dirty linen (DUHR-tee LIN-uhn) noun Private matters that could be embarrassing if made public. [Linen is a fabric made of flax. Earlier linen was used for undergarments, hence the idiom: to wash (or air) one's dirty linen in public. The word linen is from Latin linum (flax) from which we also have lingerie, via French linge (linen). Sometimes the phrase dirty laundry is used in place of dirty linen. Earliest documented use: 1840.] "In a lurid High Court case, the dirty linen was dragged out in spectacular fashion. Dorothy Dennistoun claimed her husband had forced her into having the affair with General Cowans." Christopher Wilson; Dark Past of the Real Downton Abbey Duchess; The Telegraph (London, UK); Aug 9, 2011. -------- Date: Thu Nov 3 00:01:07 EDT 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--flannelmouth X-Bonus: The Potter books in general are a prolonged argument for tolerance, a prolonged plea for an end to bigotry, and I think it's one of the reasons that some people don't like the books, but I think that it's a very healthy message to pass on to younger people that you should question authority and you should not assume that the establishment or the press tells you all of the truth. -J.K. Rowling, novelist (b. 1965) This week's theme: Fabric words used metaphorically flannelmouth (FLAN-uhl-mouth) noun A smooth-talker, a flatterer, or a braggart. [Besides the fabric, the word flannel can refer to a washcloth, an undergarment, or trousers, but here we are interested in its metaphorical sense which apparently developed from the soft and smooth texture of the fabric. The origin of the word flannel remains fuzzy. Two possible derivations have been suggested: from Welsh gwlanen (woolen article) or from Old French flaine (a kind of coarse wool, blanket). Earliest documented use: 1882.] "Democrats are a lot more entertaining, but they suffer from a terminal case of flannelmouth. At the conventions last summer, the partying Republicans in San Diego did everything they could to keep the press away from their fun. By contrast, the Democrats in Chicago were dragging reporters in for drinks." Nicholas Von Hoffman; Republicans Are From Mars Democrats Are From Venus; Life Magazine; Nov 1996. -------- Date: Fri Nov 4 00:01:04 EDT 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--crapehanger X-Bonus: Comedy has to be based on truth. You take the truth and you put a little curlicue at the end. -Sid Caesar, actor and writer (b. 1922) This week's theme: Fabric words used metaphorically crapehanger or crepehanger (KRAYP-hang-guhr) noun A gloomy person; a pessimist. [A crapehanger was one who hung up black bands of crape as a symbol of mourning. The word is from English crepe/crape, from French crepe, from Latin crispus (curled or wrinkled). Earliest documented use: 1921.] Crepe fabric: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/crapehanger_large.jpg [Photo Vishakha Shah] "'I don't mean to sound like a crapehanger, because I am an optimist by nature,' said Thomas Emmel." William Mullen; Scientists Try for Butterfly Breakthrough; Chicago Tribune; Sep 3, 2002. -------- Date: Mon Nov 7 00:11:03 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--apopemptic X-Bonus: I did try very hard to tell the whole truth without violating my literary instincts. One can write nothing readable unless one constantly struggles to efface one's own personality. Good prose is like a window pane. -George Orwell, writer (1903-1950) It's that time of the year again, the time when we feature odds and ends, one-of-a-kind words. Words that are unusual, picturesque, whimsical, esoteric, or intriguing. And like all the creatures in this world, these words serve a purpose (as shown by the accompanying citations). They make our verbal universe richer and more diverse. So here they are. We've coaxed them out of the dictionary -- it's not often that one finds them in the open -- and we hope you'll welcome them in your diction. apopemptic (ap-uh-PEMP-tik) adjective Relating to departing or leave-taking; valedictory. [From Greek apopempein (to send off, to dismiss), from apo- (away) + pempein (to send). Earliest documented use: 1753.] "It had not been billed as a farewell dinner, and Mr. Kemp hardly was there to deliver an apopemptic address." William F. Buckley; On Saying Goodbye to Jack Kemp; The Dallas Morning News (Texas); Dec 8, 1988. -------- Date: Tue Nov 8 00:01:03 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--forficate X-Bonus: When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set. -Lin Yutang, writer and translator (1895-1976) This week's theme: Odds and ends forficate (FOR-fi-kit, kayt) adjective Deeply forked. [From Latin forfex (scissors). Earliest documented use: 1816.] "Now comes a heat from your forficate thighs." Alexander Trocchi, ed.; Merlin; 1952. -------- Date: Wed Nov 9 00:01:04 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--addlepated X-Bonus: There are two kinds of truth: the truth that lights the way and the truth that warms the heart. The first of these is science, and the second is art. Neither is independent of the other or more important than the other. Without art science would be as useless as a pair of high forceps in the hands of a plumber. Without science art would become a crude mess of folklore and emotional quackery. The truth of art keeps science from becoming inhuman, and the truth of science keeps art from becoming ridiculous. -Raymond Thornton Chandler, writer (1888-1959) This week's theme: Odds and ends addlepated (AD-l-pay-tid) adjective Confused; eccentric; flustered. [From addle (to muddle or confuse), from adel (rotten) + pate (head). Earliest documented use: 1614.] "Addlepated inventor Wallace and his intelligent canine companion Gromit take up a new career as bakers in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death'." Charles Solomon; Cartoon Shorts Vie; Variety (Los Angeles); Feb 12, 2010. -------- Date: Thu Nov 10 00:01:04 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--catawampus X-Bonus: Every man is a damned fool for at least five minutes every day. Wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit. -Elbert Hubbard, author, editor, printer (1856-1915) This week's theme: Odds and ends catawampus (kat-uh-WOM-puhs) adjective 1. Askew; crooked. 2. Diagonally positioned: catercornered. [From cater (diagonally), from French word quatre (four). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwetwer- (four), which also gave us four, square, cadre, quadrant, quarantine (literally, period of forty days). Earliest documented use: 1840. The word is also spelled as cattywampus.] "Have you noticed that life seems a bit catawampus lately?" Scott Marcus; Managing Stress; Times-Standard (Eureka, California); Apr 3, 2011. "A well-used Old Town canoe lies catawampus at the entrance to the cellar." Stephen Williams; Why Ask for the Moon? The New York Times; Jun 10, 2007. -------- Date: Fri Nov 11 00:01:04 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scrobiculate X-Bonus: The path of least resistance makes all rivers, and some men, crooked. -Napoleon Hill, author (1883-1970) This week's theme: Odds and ends scrobiculate (skroh-BIK-yuh-layt) adjective Having many small grooves; furrowed. [From Latin scrobiculus (small planting hole), diminutive of scrobis (trench). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sker- (to cut), which is also the source of skirt, curt, screw, shard, shears, carnage, carnivorous, carnation, sharp, and scrape. Earliest documented use: 1806.] "The stalk is scrobiculate and at first slightly sticky." Alexander Smith and Nancy Weber; The Mushroom Hunter's Field Guide; University of Michigan Press; 1980. -------- Date: Mon Nov 14 00:01:04 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--verisimilitude X-Bonus: Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day. -A. A. Milne author (1882-1956) What is special about the word DIOXIDE? You don't have to be a chemist to know that it reads the same upside down. What has six 'i's? Maybe Martians do, but here we are primarily interested in the words indivisibility and indistinguishability. In this week's selection, we'll feature five words with unusual arrangements of letters. verisimilitude (ver-uh-si-MIL-i-tood, -tyood) noun 1. The quality of appearing to be true or real. 2. Something that has the appearance of being true or real. [From Latin verisimilitudo, from verum (truth) + similis (like). Earliest documented use: 1603.] The word verisimilitude has alternating consonants and vowels. Can you find a longer word with this property? "There are moments in the new musical The Burnt Part Boys that mirror recent events with haunting verisimilitude." David Rooney; Fictional Mining Town; The New York Times; May 19, 2010. -------- Date: Tue Nov 15 00:01:03 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--syzygy X-Bonus: If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the inquisition might have let him alone. -Thomas Hardy, novelist and poet (1840-1928) This week's theme: Words with an unusual arrangement of letters syzygy (SIZ-uh-jee) noun 1. An alignment of three objects, for example, sun, moon, and earth during an eclipse. 2. A pair of related things. [From Latin syzygia, from Greek syzygia (union, pair). Ultimately from the Indo-European root yeug- (to join), which is also the ancestor of junction, yoke, yoga, adjust, juxtapose, rejoinder, jugular https://wordsmith.org/words/jugular.html , and junta https://wordsmith.org/words/junta.html . Earliest documented use: 1656.] One could hyperpolysyllabically contrive a longer word having four 'Y's, but syzygy nicely lines up three of them organically in just six letters. "'To me it's two dots that connect,' Douglas Coupland says, 'I don't know if there's going to be a third one so it makes a syzygy.'" John Barber; Douglas Coupland; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Oct 2, 2009. -------- Date: Wed Nov 16 00:01:03 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--yob X-Bonus: Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. -Oprah Winfrey, talk show host and philanthropist (b. 1954) This week's theme: Words with an unusual arrangement of letters yob (yob) noun A rude, rowdy youth. [Coined by reversing the spelling of the word boy. Earliest documented use: 1859.] There are not a lot of words in the English language that are coined from the backward spelling of another word. Another example is mho, the unit of electrical conductance, coined by reversing ohm, the unit of resistance. Fiction writers sometimes come up with names for their characters by spelling another name or word backwards http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SdrawkcabName . "Like a yob who starts a fight in a pub by saying you have spilled his pint, the Russians offered pretexts that both parties knew were ludicrous." A.D. Miller; A First-Hand Account of Life in Modern Russia; The Guardian (London, UK); Oct 21, 2011. -------- Date: Thu Nov 17 00:01:04 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--kine X-Bonus: Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials. -Lin Yutang, writer and translator (1895-1976) This week's theme: Words with an unusual arrangement of letters kine (kyn) noun A plural of cow. [From Middle English kyn, from Old English cyna, a plural of cu (cow). Earliest documented use: 1598.] Kine is one of the very few words in English (other examples: I/we, me/us) that have no letters in common with its singular form, cow. It is pluralized using the -n marker, as in the words children, brethren, and oxen. "Cows stood belly deep in a ranch pond, doing their impersonation of the kine in John Constable's paintings." Verlyn Klinkenborg; Water and Grasses; The New York Times; Jul 5, 2010. -------- Date: Fri Nov 18 00:01:03 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--spendthrift X-Bonus: Eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love. -Bill Hicks, comedian and social critic (1961-1994) This week's theme: Words with an unusual arrangement of letters spendthrift (SPEND-thrift) noun: A person who spends money wastefully. adjective: Wasteful with money. [A spendthrift is, literally, one who spends his wealth, from Middle English thrift (prosperity), from Old Norse thrifast (to thrive), from thrifa (to grasp). Earliest documented use: 1601.] Spendthrift is the longest word whose phonetic and normal spellings are the same. Two colorful synonyms of this word are dingthrift and scattergood. "A Saudi judge has told a seminar on domestic violence that it is okay for a man to slap his wife for lavish spending." Saudi Judge Says OK to Slap Spendthrift Wife; Agence France Presse (Paris); May 10, 2009. -------- Date: Mon Nov 21 00:15:05 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cacique X-Bonus: We are social creatures to the inmost centre of our being. The notion that one can begin anything at all from scratch, free from the past, or unindebted to others, could not conceivably be more wrong. -Karl Popper, philosopher and professor (1902-1994) If you speak English, you know a little of more than a hundred languages. That's because English has borrowed words from so many languages around the world. Through trade, conquest, colonialism, etc. it came in contact with other languages. When two languages rub against each other, as with humans, there is a certain give and take. Languages exchange words. English has many words from Latin, Greek, French, and Spanish, but it has also borrowed from languages as obscure as Basque (chaparral https://wordsmith.org/words/chaparral.html), Tongan (taboo https://wordsmith.org/words/taboo.html), and Shelta (moniker https://wordsmith.org/words/moniker.html). When English meets with another language, the other language usually ends up badly. That's the downside to the spread of English. It enjoys a certain prestige among languages and everyone wants to learn it. It opens more opportunities. With each successive generation, interest in one's native language declines and eventually there's no one left to speak the tongue. That makes the English-only agitation in a few states around here ludicrous http://www.policymic.com/articles/2072/english-only-language-legislation-hurts-america . English is alive and well and thriving. Linguistic diversity is a good thing. Already a language dies every other week, and with it a whole culture. And as anthropologist and explorer Wade Davis http://www.ted.com/talks/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures.html so well describes it, "a language is not just a body of vocabulary or a set of grammatical rules, ... but an old growth forest of the mind." Fortunately, there's growing recognition of the widespread language death and as a result efforts to do something about it. For example, interest in native languages has been growing and they are now being taught to young people. This week we'll feature words borrowed from languages that are now extinct. cacique (kuh-SEEK) noun A local political boss. [Via Spanish from Taino cacike (chief). Earliest documented use: 1555. Taino is an extinct member of the Arawakan language family spoken in the West Indies.] "About a month after Mayor Daley announced his retirement, many aldermen are still too stunned to know how to function without being bossed. 'Not being told what to do by the cacique is new to a lot of people,' Mr. Munoz said." Dan Mihalopoulos; Daley's Tenure Nears End; The New York Times; Oct 8, 2010. -------- Date: Tue Nov 22 00:01:06 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wampum X-Bonus: All great truths begin as blasphemies. -George Bernard Shaw, writer, Nobel laureate (1856-1950) This week's theme: Words borrowed from languages that are now extinct wampum (WOM-puhm) noun 1. Beads made from shells, strung in strands, belts, etc. used for ceremonial purposes, jewelry, and money. 2. Money. [Short for Massachusett wampompeag, from wampan (white) + api (string) + -ag, plural suffix. Massachusett, now extinct, was a member of the Algonquian language family spoken in the US and Canada. Earliest documented use: 1636.] Wampum beads https://wordsmith.org/words/images/wampum_large.jpg Photo: Stephen Lang http://www.stephenlangphotography.com/ Source: AINS/NMAI http://www.nmaie-newservice.com/ "As GE Chairman Jack Welch said in a talk, 'We've got to get more wampum. That means we've got to have more dot.coms.'" Allan Sloan; Companies Creating New Coin In Push to Enter the Internet Realm; Washington Post; Jul 20, 1999. -------- Date: Wed Nov 23 00:01:05 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pharaoh X-Bonus: On two occasions I have been asked, "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. -Charles Babbage, mathematician and computer scientist (1791-1871) This week's theme: Words borrowed from languages that are now extinct pharaoh or Pharaoh (FAR-o) noun 1. A title of an ancient Egyptian ruler. 2. A tyrant. [Via Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, from Egyptian pr-o, from pr (house) + o (great). The designation was for the palace but later used to refer to the king, just as White House can refer to the US President. Earliest documented use: around 1175. Egyptian is an extinct language of ancient Egypt.] Write your name in hieroglyphs http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/egypt/translator.html "Throughout most of history, governments -- usually monarchies headed by kings, emperors, pharaohs, and other major or minor tyrants -- actually owned everything under their rule, including, believe it or not, the people. In those regimes the population was considered to be subjects, not citizens. That means that the people were treated as the underlings, subjected to the will of the ruler." Tibor Machan; The Orange Grove; The Orange County Register (California); Apr 15, 1999. -------- Date: Thu Nov 24 00:01:04 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mantissa X-Bonus: To cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784) This week's theme: Words borrowed from languages that are now extinct mantissa (man-TIS-uh) noun 1. An addition of little importance. 2. The decimal part of a logarithm or the positive fractional part of a number. [Via Latin mantisa/mantissa (makeweight, something put in a scale to complete a needed weight), from a now extinct language, Etruscan, once spoken in what is now Tuscany, Italy. Earliest documented use: 1641.] A tablet with Etruscan inscription, Cortona, Italy https://wordsmith.org/words/images/mantissa_large.jpg [Photo: Anita Filson http://www.flickr.com/photos/adf_images/3750849578/ ] "Are we supposed to think that most criticism of Mr. John Fowles is a mantissa?" John Leonard; Books of the Times; The New York Times; Aug 31, 1982. -------- Date: Fri Nov 25 00:01:03 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dragoman X-Bonus: Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar. -Bradley Miller, activist (b. 1956) This week's theme: Words borrowed from languages that are now extinct dragoman (DRAG-uh-man) noun, plural dragomans or dragomen An interpreter or guide. [The word took a scenic route to its present form via French, Italian, Latin/Greek, Arabic, and Aramaic, from Akkadian targumanu (interpreter). Earliest documented use: 1300s. Akkadian is a now-extinct Semitic language once spoken in ancient Mesopotamia and written in cuneiform.] Inscriptions in cuneiform, British Museum, London https://wordsmith.org/words/images/dragoman_large.jpg [Photo: Charles Tilford http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlestilford/2552654321/ ] "Soon, Art Buchwald set himself up as the laughing dragoman to American celebrities. The foster home boy became Our Man in Paris. He took Elvis Presley to the Lido." Lance Morrow; Franglais Spoken Here; Time (New York); Sep 30, 1996. "Born in Jerusalem, Wadie Said went from being a dragoman to a salesman in the United States and thence to a hugely successful businessman in Egypt." Penelope Lively; Books: Out of Place: State of Confusion; The Guardian (London, UK); Oct 9, 1999. -------- Date: Mon Nov 28 00:01:03 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--redolent X-Bonus: The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure much. -William Hazlitt, essayist (1778-1830) A picture is worth a thousand words, they say, and if that's true this week we're going to send you a thousand words a day. Artist Leah Palmer Preiss (curiouser AT mindspring.com) has illustrated this week's words in her delightfully whimsical style. Leah makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina. She writes: "I've always been fascinated by the conversation between words and images. Nearly all of my work -- whether as a painter, illustrator, or calligrapher -- combines visual and verbal elements in some fashion. Lately I've been exploring figurative letters. My first series of curiotypes (as I call them) was a full alphabet illustrating scientific terms. "As a longtime fan of A.Word.A.Day, I was very excited when Anu Garg asked me to do a series of curiotypes for this week's words. To create these particular pieces, I collaged printed texts (scanned from old dictionaries) onto canvas, then painted the image with acrylics, using many thin glazes and very small brushes. The originals are 6"x6". "If you'd like to see more of my work, including earlier stages of these images and the scientific alphabet mentioned above, please visit my blog, Oddments & Curiosities http://oddments.blogspot.com ." redolent (RED-uhl-uhnt) adjective 1. Fragrant; smelling. 2. Suggestive; reminiscent. [From Old French redolent (smelling), from Latin redolens, present participle of redolere (to give off a smell), from re- (intensive prefix) + olere (to smell). Earliest documented use: 1439.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/redolent_large.jpg [Illustration: Leah Palmer Preiss http://oddments.blogspot.com/] "There's a heavy dose of irony in the title of Wendy Cope's new book of poems, Family Values. In fact, the phrase, redolent of hypocritical politicians and the moral majority, makes her want to scream." Susan Mansfield; Look Back in Candour; The Scotsman (Edinburgh, Scotland); Apr 9, 2011. "Once again, living rooms are redolent with the pungent scent of sandalwood." Nikki McManus; Where There's Smoke; The Toronto Star (Canada); Dec 5, 1999. -------- Date: Tue Nov 29 00:01:04 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--equable X-Bonus: Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wanted to make a million dollars, the best way to do it would be start his own religion. -L. Ron Hubbard, science fiction author who later started the Church of Scientology (1911-1986) This week's theme: Illustrated words equable (EK-wuh-buhl, EE-kwuh-) adjective 1. Not easily upset; tranquil. 2. Uniform; steady. 3. Free from extremes. [From Latin aequus (even, equal). Earliest documented use: before 1676.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/equable_large.jpg [Illustration: Leah Palmer Preiss http://oddments.blogspot.com/] "It takes a lot to disturb the equable temperament of Celtic goalkeeper Jonathan Gould." Ian Paul; Enforced Rest Has Left Gould Seething; The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland); Sep 29, 1999. "What was, until quite recently, predictable, temperate, mild, and equable British weather, now sees the seasons reversed and temperature and rainfall records broken almost every year." John Vidal; Extreme Weather Ahead; The Guardian (London, UK); Jun 14, 2011. -------- Date: Wed Nov 30 00:01:04 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--terrene X-Bonus: With respect to the number of deaths, arms manufacturers are charitable institutions compared to cigarette manufacturers. -Silvio Garattini, doctor, researcher, professor, and founder of the European Organization for Research on Treatment of Cancer (b. 1928) This week's theme: Illustrated words terrene (teh-REEN, TER-een) adjective Relating to the earth; earthly; worldly; mundane. [From Latin terra (earth). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ters- (to dry), which is also the source of territory, terrace, turmeric, and toast. Earliest documented use: 1300s.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/terrene_large.jpg [Illustration: Leah Palmer Preiss http://oddments.blogspot.com/] "It was just a twitch of the earth, a routine shudder, one of many such minor terrene adjustments recorded in a millennium." Jerry Carroll; Fifteen Seconds Seemed Like Forever; The San Francisco Chronicle; Oct 17, 1990.