A.Word.A.Day -- AWADmail Issue 1056

A.Word.A.Day

AWADmail Issue 1056

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The theme this week is: Words made with combining forms
1. Bridezilla
2. Autolatry
3. Allotriophagy
4. Zoanthropy
5. Orography

1. My haughty bride with a lot to organize
2. Gayly self-worship - h’m, I’m too hot!
3. Pica
4. Bizarre mental disorder
5. Work on the Alps

This week’s theme: Words made with combining forms
1. Bridezilla
2. Autolatry
3. Allotriophagy
4. Zoanthropy
5. Orography

1. Mrs OTT batshit crazy wedding freak, moron
2. Idiolatry
3. Eat brown earth
4. Woolly plushies, hmm zoophilia?
5. Geography

-Robert Jordan, Lampang, Thailand (alfiesdad ymail.com)

-Julian Lofts, Auckland, New Zealand (jalofts xtra.co.nz)

A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and Language

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From: Martina Coxova (coxovi yahoo.com)
Subject: On the topic of bridezilla

Your post today made me laugh. My kids have taken to calling me karenator but I think momzilla is actually much better.

Also just wanted to say a big thank you for your daily words of the day, they are so enlightening!

Martina Coxova, Lausanne, Switzerland

From: Noemie Levy (ncl.levy gmail.com)
Subject: Why I unsubscribed

Consider sociocultural implications of a word like bridezilla, how they lead to misogyny, where they may come from and why we are compelled to use this language.

Noemie Levy, Merritt Island, Florida

Email of the Week -- Brought to you buy The Official Old’s Cool Education -- Shop Now.

From: Nicholas Danforth (nicholasdanforth gmail.com)
Subject: bridezilla

Sadly, nobody’s trying to explain why some brides become bridezillas. For my beloved and me, it was clear: she kept me waiting 32 years while she practiced neurology in Boston, and I kept her waiting as I consulted globally in family planning education. We cohabited often, a bit like Hepburn and Tracy; don’t try this at home, folks, unless you both agree to be childfree -- and dogfree.

When we finally retired enough to plan a wedding, it’s no wonder she worried constantly about every guest, every flower in our garden, every hors d’oeuvre, every wedding song, every tune at our barn dance.

Being an MDiety who is always in control, she wouldn’t consent to hiring a wedding planner. I’d never heard the word Bridezilla until the chaos was over, but there’s no question after waiting all those years that for a few days she was going completely nuts.

“In other words,” as Adelaide laments in that musical, “after waitin’ around for that wonderful band of gold, a person can develop into a... bridezilla”.

Nicholas Danforth, Boston, Massachusett

From: Gregory Serrano (serranog aol.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--bridezilla

When the bridezilla’s mom is equally overbearing, the groom refers to her as the mothra-in-Law.

Gregory Serrano, Lansing, Michigan

From: Robert Berend (tactile8888 yahoo.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--bridezilla

For many years there was and perhaps still is, a company that makes powerful stereo amplifiers called AmpZilla.

Robert Berend, Beverly Hills, California

From: Steve Hait (shait stephenhait.com)
Subject: Mozilla

Free software community founded by members of Netscape, an early web browser company. Netscape was originally called Mosaic which created one of the first widely available and used web browsers, also called Mosaic. Mozilla makes software like the Firefox web browser and the Thunderbird e-mail client. The name Mozilla combines the names Mosaic and Godzilla.

Steve Hait, Columbia, South Carolina

From: Valerie Lerman (valeriekim valeecat.com)
Subject: Word + Zilla

The best (or worst) zilla of all is Orangezilla, my name for Trump.

Valerie Lerman, Evanston, Illinois

From: Lawrence Crumb (lcrumb uoregon.edu)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--autolatry

The Onion had a picture of Trump kneeling in prayer before a picture of himself. I think that qualifies as autolatry.

Lawrence Crumb, Eugene, Oregon

From: Catherine Fryer Cline (cackycline aol.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--autolatry

Serious I-dolatry!

Catherine Cline, Amelia Island, Florida

From: M.M. Serpento (mmserpento earthlink.net)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--autolatry

This reminds me of a very old autograph verse:

You love yourself, you think you’re grand.
You go to the movies, you hold your hand.
You put your arm around your waist,
Bur if you get fresh, you slap your face!

(one of many wonderful bits in Yours Till Niagara Falls by Lillian Morrison)

Mary Margaret Serpento, Farmington Hills, Michigan

From: Brad Beam (b.beam suddenlink.net)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--autolatry

A secondary definition would have to be “worship of, or fascination with, one’s car”.

Brad Beam, Belle, West Virginia

From: Paul Rescino (paul.rescino gmail.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--autolatry

In Toastmasters the first speech project you do is the Icebreaker. This is a short 3-5 minute speech introducing yourself to the club, an autobiography. Some members do this project more than once. On my fourth rendition of this project I did my auto-biography and listed all the cars that I have ever driven.

Paul Rescino, Baltimore, Maryland

From: Bruce Floyd (brucefloyd bellsouth.net)
Subject: Thought of the day

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Mistakes are part of the dues that one pays for a full life. -Sophia Loren, actor and singer (b. 20 Sep 1934)

“We do not receive wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can make for us, which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world. The lives that you admire, the attitudes that seem noble to you, have not been shaped by a paterfamilias or a schoolmaster, they have sprung from very different beginnings, having been influenced by evil or commonplace that prevailed round them. They represent a struggle and a victory.” -Marcel Proust

Many would say that in this journey to receive wisdom we must perforce make numerous errors. Life must beat us up as well as teach us--or to quote William Blake: “You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.” Ah, many a college student, if life at college is as it was when I was a student, learns the aching head of excess, of too much. It’s probably not true in all circumstances--all of us know old fools--but one can hope that as one ages one can learn restraint, though the penalties of impetuosity can teach valuable but painful lessons. Precipitance always seems a bad idea unless one is, for example, putting out a fire in the kitchen. We might come into the world pure, “trailing clouds of glory,” but life stains us, marks us for its own. We often stumble in the dark, lose our way. Most of us play the role of fool with consummate skill. We hope, after this brawl with life, the struggle, we end up having distilled a worthy “point of view from which we come at last to regard the world.”

Bruce Floyd, Florence, South Carolina

From: Lawrence Crumb (lcrumb uoregon.edu)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--allotriophagy

My mother liked to chew on charcoal -- said she would do so with sticks of charcoal passed out in art class. I remember her setting aside charcoal after a fire in the fireplace for future chewing. She also chewed sand until her dentist noticed that the enamel was wearing off her teeth and told her to stop.

Lawrence Crumb, Eugene, Oregon

From: Peirce Hammond (peirceah.03.01 gmail.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--allotriophagy

So, is my love of black licorice candy, which few people seem to share, a candidate for the label semi-allotriophagy?

Peirce Hammond, Bethesda, Maryland

From: S Ramaswami (ramaswami.s gmail.com)
Subject: Re: allotriophagy

In One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a girl named Rebeca has a practice of eating paint that peels off the walls of the house. Now I can name her condition.

Ramaswami S, Thanjavur, India

From: Alan Turner (arturner gmail.com)
Subject: Pica

Pica’s Restaurant is near me. I have never gone in there.

Alan Turner, New Castle, Delaware

From: Lee Entrekin (harpo mindspring.com)
Subject: -anthropy

And I suppose misanthropy is the delusion that you’re an unmarried woman.

Lee Entrekin, Old Fort, North Carolina

From: SarahRose Werner (swerner nbnet.nb.ca)
Subject: Orophagy

Perhaps it’s because I have a degree in geology that when I looked at this week’s list of combining forms, the two that stood out to me were oro- and -phagy. The natural destiny of any landform that stands higher than the surrounding land is to be eroded down to a peneplain by wind and water. Only the motion of the planet’s tectonic plates keep the planet from becoming a set of peneplains. Thus, erosion = orophagy.

SarahRose Werner, Saint John, Canada

From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: allotriophagy and autolatry

In reading the definition of allotriophagy, the word geophagy came to mind, defined as a proclivity to eat earth ... clay, chalk, soil. Medical experts contend that the person may be suffering from some sort of mineral deficiency and instinctively eats earth to right the imbalance. Here, I set up a “forced” geophagy scenario where Mark Twain’s Huck Finn serves up a slice of Mississippi mud pie (a Southern chocolatey dessert) to his pal Skip, who realizes after the first bite that he’s been duped by prankster Huck.

With this week’s word autolatry, I thought I’d take a little reverse time-travel gambit, imagining Trump as the model for sculptor Auguste Rodin’s masterwork, The Thinker. Although, the word “thinker” doesn’t come to mind when considering Trump. He’s allergic to books, yet calls himself a “stable genius”. Rodin was a genius... Trump, far from it. With an outsized ego comes insecurity and vanity. So, in this scenario, his tiny hands become a point of concern. Master Rodin will depict them as he sees them.

Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California

Anagrams


	This week’s theme: Words made with combining forms 1. Bridezilla 2. Autolatry 3. Allotriophagy 4. Zoanthropy 5. Orography	=	1. Worst bride to marry 2. Self-worship, the old “ego” 3. Crazy eating (bark) 4. Whim: I’m the zoo animal 5. Topography, study on a hill
-Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com)

Make your own anagrams and animations.

Limericks

Bridezilla

Lion tamers, whose work had declined,
Are now back in demand, redefined.
Mad bridezilla control
Is to be their new role;
Wedding planners will have them assigned.
-Tony Holmes, Launceston, UK (tony_holmes btconnect.com)

She expected a shower. Instead,
most of her friends quickly fled,
as sweet little Willa
became a bridezilla
when she was about to be wed.
-Anne Thomas, Sedona, Arizona (antom earthlink.net)

Bridezilla is coming on strong --
“The train on my gown is too long!”
The groom steps away;
He’s realized today
His choice for a wife might be wrong!
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

I was tempted to yell out, “Yes, Sarge!”
And salute! She was sweet, my friend Marge;
But she’d changed for her wedding.
I balked! We were getting
A true-life bridezilla in charge!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

She wanted to wed in Manila.
But he said, “Babe, the cost is a killa.”
Her taste, oh so grand,
Was not what he planned,
So he said, “No go” to his bridezilla.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“You’re being an awful bridezilla,”
In frustration Charybdis told Scylla.
“Lots of sailors to wed,
And what happens instead?
Girl, you drown the entire flotilla!”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Autolatry

I am passing a window and see
One bodacious visage -- oh, it’s me!
I must linger and gaze.
In autolatry phase --
Adoration and praise -- golly gee!
-Tony Holmes, Launceston, UK (tony_holmes btconnect.com)

He boasts about how he’s the best;
It’s obvious he’s self-obsessed.
His autolatry’s why
She is dumping that guy --
Their date’s left her less than impressed.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

“Let them say that I’m full of autolatry,
But ‘tis I who invented geometry,”
Said Euclid. “No angle
Or curve do I mangle;
The shapes that I make are top quality.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Allotriophagy

Says Dracula, “Please do not bother me.
I’m writing my autobiography.
It’s going quite well,
so I’ll rest for a spell
and tend to my allotriophagy.”
-Anne Thomas, Sedona, Arizona (antom earthlink.net)

There’s an allotriophagy rule
Which is often a problem in school.
When a child’s big treat
Is some crayons to eat,
It results in most colorful stool.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

Said Anu, “I can’t help it, Papaji;
I love them; it’s allotriophagy.”
“But to eat only words
Is a diet for nerds,”
Said his dad. “You need food. It’s biology.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Zoanthropy

His boldness is due to zoanthropy,
But at last Donald’s facing catastrophe.
He roars and he growls,
But Letitia just scowls;
“Just this once,” she says, “try to act manfully.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Orography

My thesis was rather a novelty;
Its focus? A natural anomaly.
I studied the peaks
On the best of physiques,
And now teach Dolly Parton Orography.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Puns

Of course if a bridezilla doctor should attend her (and then the reception).
-David Sacks, Avondale Estates, Georgia (david davidsacks-rla.com)

A virgin bridezilla-t ease on her wedding night, but it’s rarely a problem these days.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“Ayuh,” said the lobsterman visiting Redwood National Forest, “this here is autolatry than I evuh seen before.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Said the British astronaut to the 300-foot tree on Mars, “’Allotriophagy and you grow this tall, wonder what would ’appen in zero g.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Said the German professor to Ms. Thomas, the poet laureate of Sedona, “Ze class seems down today, zoanthropy-ple a funny limerick or two, if you vouldn’t mind.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

The scientist studied the slides for so long that he thought he was becoming an amoeba. He needed a cure for his proto-zoanthropy.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“Y’all either gimme y’all’s candy orography-ti up y’all’s walls,” said the little trick-or-treater in a cowboy costume.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: Abort! Abort!

Last week, Lindsey Graham did a major flip-flop on abortion rights. He initially agreed with the Supreme Court ruling that the individual states would determine abortion laws. However, his latest position on the issue is that there should be a nationwide Federal ban. Mitch McConnell cleaves closely to the SCOTUS decision, leaving the matter up to the states. He sees Graham’s draconian stance as scaring off moderate women voters leading into the upcoming midterms.

Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

A writer needs three things, experience, observation, and imagination, any two of which, at times any one of which, can supply the lack of the others. -William Faulkner, novelist (25 Sep 1897-1962)

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