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Apr 10, 2012
This week's theme
Words of nautical origins

This week's words
doldrums
scupper
scuttlebutt
bonanza
groundswell

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

scupper

PRONUNCIATION:
(SKUP-uhr)

MEANING:
noun: An opening for draining water, as on the side of a ship.
verb tr.: 1. To prevent from succeeding. 2. To overwhelm, disable, or destroy.

ETYMOLOGY:
For noun: From Old French escopir (to spit). Earliest documented use: 1485.
For verb: Perhaps from the noun form of the word. Earliest documented use: 1885.

USAGE:
"Three possible misfortunes could scupper recovery."
Inside the Miracle; The Economist (London, UK); Mar 13, 2010.

See more usage examples of scupper in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. -William Arthur Ward, college administrator, writer (1921-1994)

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