A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Jan 2 00:01:11 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hesternal X-Bonus: I'll tell you how the sun rose-- / A ribbon at a time. -Emily Dickinson, poet (1830-1886) The wheel of time keeps moving. The old year goes away and the new year claims its place. There's a reason we call it the "wheel" of time. The word "annual" comes from the Latin annus meaning a circuit of the sun, hence a year. Flowers don't bloom any differently just because a new year has begun. Clouds move at the same pace whether it's a new day or a new century. Yet for humans these markers along the trail of life are quite convenient. We brood about what happened yesterday. We plan things for the next week. And with a new year, we feel our knapsack of time is replenished. Again. What we missed doing last year we might be able to accomplish this time. And so the wheel turns. Ultimately, it's all relative. A story goes that a man prays to God. God appears and the man says, "Lord! Our billions of years are your one second. Our billions of dollars are merely a penny for you. Could you grant me a penny?" God smiles, says "Certainly! Back in a second," and disappears. May all your wishes be granted in the new year! * * * This week in A.Word.A.Day we'll look at words about time. hesternal (he-STER-nuhl) adjective Of yesterday. [From Latin hesternus (of yesterday).] There's an equivalent term for "today": hodiernal. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "I passed up a side-street, one of those deserted ways ... dim places, fusty with hesternal excitements and the thrills of yesteryear." Rupert Brooke; Letters From America; Sidgwick & Jackson; 1971. -------- Date: Tue Jan 3 00:01:13 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--perennial X-Bonus: An open mind is a prerequisite to an open heart. -Robert M. Sapolsky, neuroscientist and author (1957- ) This week's theme: words related to time. perennial (puh-REN-ee-uhl) adjective 1. Lasting for a long time; perpetual. 2. (of a plant) Living several years. 3. Recurrent. noun 1. A perennial plant. 2. Something that continues or is recurrent. [From Latin perennis (through the year), from per- (throughout) + annus (year). Ultimately from Indo-European root at- (to go) that is also the source of annual, annals, annuity, and anniversary.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "The city is mounting an unprecedented war on the perennial plague." Brian Bergman; Mosquitoes to Bite it in Winnipeg; Maclean's (Toronto, Canada); May 20, 2002. "Summer harvests of vegetable and fruit crops are maturing quicker and cropping later, while spring-flowering shrubs, annuals, and perennials are growing faster through the winter and coming into bloom sooner." Paul Healy; A Warming Welcome; The Mercury (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia); Jun 8, 2002. -------- Date: Wed Jan 4 00:01:13 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--anachronism X-Bonus: Propaganda is a soft weapon; hold it in your hands too long, and it will move about like a snake, and strike the other way. -Jean Anouilh, playwright (1910-1987) This week's theme: words related to time. anachronism (uh-NAK-ruh-niz-uhm) noun 1. The error of placing a person, object, custom, or event in the wrong historical period. 2. A person, thing, or practice that does not belong in a time period. [From French anachronisme, from Latin anachronismus, from Greek anakhronismos, from ana-, (backwards) + khronos (time).] Anachronism can be of two kinds: parachronism, when the assigned date is too late, and prochronism, when the date is too early. Even language can be fraught with anachronism. Imagine a science fiction story where the protagonist rides a time machine to go back some 500 years. While there, he comments how "nice" someone's dress is. Well, at that time the word nice would have meant "stupid". Sometimes anachronism can be unintentional, a story written in 1970 and set in 2000 that features the USSR, for example. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "The show starts off with a video presentation showing Wakagi, playing a news anchor, reporting on 'recent' events in Japan such as Commodore Perry's visit to the country. This kind of anachronism is repeated halfway through the show." Zal Sethna; 'Cha Cha Cha' From Osaka's Lilliput Army II Makes Audience Go 'Ha ha ha'; Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo, Japan); March 6, 2004. "GSLP/Liberals expressed support for the remarks made by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan that colonialism is an anachronism in the 21st century and the administering powers should work with the Committee of 24." Gibraltar News; MercoPress (Montevideo, Uruguay); Feb 22, 2004. -------- Date: Thu Jan 5 00:01:10 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--yestreen X-Bonus: The problem with being sure that God is on your side is that you can't change your mind, because God sure isn't going to change His. -Roger Ebert, film-critic (1942- ) This week's theme: words related to time. yestreen (ye-STREEN) noun Yesterday evening. [From Middle English yester- + even.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Late, late yestreen I saw the new Moon, With the old Moon in her arms; And I fear, I fear, my master dear! We shall have a deadly storm." Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence. -------- Date: Fri Jan 6 00:01:10 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bimester X-Bonus: I see that sensible men and conscientious men all over the world were of one religion, -- the religion of well-doing and daring, men of sturdy truth, men of integrity and feeling for others. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) This week's theme: words related to time. bimester (by-MES-tuhr) noun A period of two months. [From Latin bimenstris, from bi- (two) + mensis (month).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "I quickly realized that deep winter is the appropriate bimester to join Hans Castorp on his quest." Peter M Leschak; The Snow Lotus; University of Minnesota Press; 1996. -------- Date: Mon Jan 9 00:01:21 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fussbudget X-Bonus: We love flattery, even though we are not deceived by it, because it shows that we are of importance enough to be courted. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) "I love mankind. It's the people I can't stand." Do you ever find yourself repeating those words of cartoonist Charles Schulz? Maybe you feel surrounded by persons described in this week's AWAD. There are times when everyone around us seems less than charming. But remember, just like the fingers of your hand, it takes all kinds to make this world. fussbudget (FUS-buj-it) noun One who is fussy about unimportant things. [From fuss + budget, from Middle English, from Old French bougette, diminutive of bouge (bag), from Latin bulga (bag). Ultimately from Indo-European root bhelgh- (to swell) that is also the source of bulge, bellows, billow, belly, and bolster.] A synonym of this word is fusspot. Usually we dislike fusspots and fussbudgets but sometimes we wish there were fussbudgets among our elected leaders who cared enough to fuss about the budget of this country. The word budget is a marvelous example of how the language goes around. French bougette (little bag) came to English, developed a new sense: budget (a financial estimate), and then went back to French in its new avatar. Most living languages are mongrels and that's what makes them richer. Why fuss about keeping them "pure"? -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "[Nathan Lane] has shone in period pieces and as Bette Midler's fussbudget husband in Isn't She Great." Ryan Gilbey; 'I Don't Know What Goes on in Their Heads Out in Hollywood'; The Guardian (London, UK); Dec 15, 2005. -------- Date: Tue Jan 10 00:01:13 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rident X-Bonus: A king can stand people's fighting, but he can't last long if people start thinking. -Will Rogers, humorist (1879-1935) This week's theme: words to describe people. rident (RYD-uhnt) adjective Laughing; cheerful. [From Latin ridere (to laugh) which is also the source of ridiculous, deride, and risible.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Mamma was gracious and happy. Hetty was radiant and rident." William Makepeace Thackeray; The Virginians; 1859. -------- Date: Wed Jan 11 00:01:10 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rangy X-Bonus: We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -Dwight David Eisenhower, U.S. general and 34th president (1890-1969) This week's theme: words to describe people. rangy (RAYN-jee) adjective 1. Slim and long-limbed. 2. Inclined to roaming. [From Middle English range (row), from Old French rangier (to arrange). Ultimately from Indo-European root sker- (to turn or bend), the source of ranch, rank, shrink, circle, crisp, search, ring, curb, ridge, and curve.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "[Philip] Pullman is a rangy, spirited man in his fifties with a bristling fringe of gray hair; at times, he resembles an intelligent and amused stork." Laura Miller; Far From Narnia; The New Yorker; Dec 26, 2005. -------- Date: Thu Jan 12 00:01:12 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--frowzy X-Bonus: Which of us is not forever a stranger and alone? -Thomas Wolfe, novelist (1900-1938) This week's theme: words to describe people. frowzy (FROU-zee) adjective, also frowsy, frouzy 1. Unkempt, slovenly. 2. Having a musty odor. [Origin unknown.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "[CBC] has been grooming two series for a couple of years - Rideau Hall, about a frowzy former disco queen as governor general, and An American in Canada, about a vain U.S. news anchor who finds himself playing second banana on a third-rate Calgary morning show." Tony Atherton; An Unfunny Thing Happened On the Way to CBC; The Ottawa Citizen (Canada); Feb 27, 2003. -------- Date: Fri Jan 13 00:01:11 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--looby X-Bonus: A good scare is worth more to a man than good advice. -Edgar Watson Howe, novelist and editor (1853-1937) This week's theme: words to describe people. looby (LOO-bee) noun An awkward, clumsy, lazy fellow. [From Middle English loby, from lob (bumpkin).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Who could give the looby such airs?" Jonathan Swift; A Dialogue Between Tom and Robin; 1730. -------- Date: Mon Jan 16 00:01:11 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sipid X-Bonus: There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it. -Dale Carnegie, author and educator (1888-1955) Why is there so much negativity around us? Open a newspaper, watch TV, listen to the radio, and you find nothing but negative words. Ever wonder why some words almost always appear in their negative forms? It's completely evitable, as the words for the next five days prove. This week's AWAD presents words that are scrutable and a quick peek in the dictionary shows that these are licit formations. Use these words in your writing for a gainly touch, a couth appearance. I hope you feel gruntled with this week's theme. sipid (SIP-id) adjective Having a pleasing taste or flavor. [Back formation from insipid, from Late Latin insipidus, from in- (not) + sapidus (savory), from sapere (to taste, to know). Ultimately from Indo-European root sep- (to taste or perceive) that is also the source of sage, savant, savvy, savor, sapid, sapient, and insipid.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "CBS adds two new comedies to the mix this year, moving the insipid 'Major Dad' to Friday nights to make room for John Ritter and Markie Post in the slightly more sipid 'Hearts Afire'." Ed Siegel; Monday: CBS is the Ticket; Boston Globe; Sep 14, 1992. -------- Date: Tue Jan 17 00:01:10 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pervious X-Bonus: If you wouldn't write it and sign it, don't say it. -Earl Wilson, columnist (1907-1987) This week's theme: words better known in their negative forms. pervious (PUR-vee-uhs) adjective 1. Permeable; open to passage or penetration. 2. Open to suggestions, arguments, reason, change, etc. [From Latin pervius, from per- (through) + via (way). Ultimately from Indo-European root wegh (to go, to transport) that is also the source of way, away, wagon, vogue, wiggle, vehicle, voyage, convey, weight, previous, trivial, and vex.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "There is some sense in this: architecture is more pervious to consensual norms than any other area of human endeavour -- which is why it is much easier to date a building than a page of prose." Jonathan Meades; From Po-Mo to So-so; New Statesman; Dec 20, 1996. -------- Date: Wed Jan 18 00:01:11 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vincible X-Bonus: Whoever imagines himself a favorite with God holds others in contempt. -Robert Green Ingersoll, lawyer and orator (1833-1899) This week's theme: words better known in their negative forms. vincible (VIN-suh-buhl) adjective Defeatable; capable of being overcome. [From Latin vincibilis, from vincere (to overcome). Ultimately from Indo-European root weik- (to fight or conquer) which is also the source of victor, vanquish, convince, and evict.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "They had a lead of 21-0 and still the Eagles, who were both pervious and vincible, beat them, 35-30." Steve Jacobson; Boomer Won't Pass the Blame; Newsday (New York); Oct 4, 1993. -------- Date: Thu Jan 19 00:01:10 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--requite X-Bonus: Fine minds are seldom fine souls. -Jean Paul Richter, writer (1763-1825) This week's theme: words better known in their negative forms. requite (ri-KWYT) verb tr. To repay, return for, avenge, or retaliate. [From Middle English requiten, from re- + quiten (to pay), a variant of quit.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "(Charles) Schulz spread himself through an enlarging cast of characters-- Snoopy, the fantasizing dog who dances for sheer joy ... the Little Red-Haired Girl who never requites Charlie Brown's love, never even appears. (One of Schulz's early unrequited loves was a redhead.)" Henry Allen; The Cartoonist Who Drew From Experience; The Washington Post; Feb 14, 2000. -------- Date: Fri Jan 20 00:01:14 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--trepid X-Bonus: People who lean on logic and philosophy and rational exposition end by starving the best part of the mind. -William Butler Yeats, writer, Nobel laureate (1865-1939) This week's theme: words better known in their negative forms. trepid (TREP-id) adjective Fearful; timid. [From Latin trepidus (alarmed).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "[The attacker] then fled, making good his escape by reason of his youth and athleticism, the crowds, ... and the trepid nature of common humanity in such circumstances." Ronan Bennett; Zugzwang: A Serial Novel; The Observer (London, UK); Jan 8, 2006. -------- Date: Mon Jan 23 00:01:17 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--repartee X-Bonus: Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship. -Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900) This week's guest wordsmith, Dr. Mardy Grothe, writes: Tales about clever comebacks and perfectly-executed retorts have been told for many centuries. The stories -- almost always told with a tone of admiration -- pay homage to those rare individuals who've been able to turn the tables on adversaries and opponents with a timely reply. Most of us admire wit under pressure in large part because we don't fare nearly so well in such pressure-filled situations. Many of us stammer or get tongue-tied and, if we do think of a clever response, it comes to mind long after the moment it was needed. This phenomenon, called "staircase wit", comes from the French expression esprit d'escalier, which was first introduced to AWAD subscribers in April 2005. I've been interested in repartee for many decades and have recently assembled more than 600 of my favorite examples -- and the fascinating stories behind them -- in my latest book. There are also many wonderful words and expressions that are related to this fascinating aspect of human interaction. This week we examine the language of repartee. [Dr. Mardy Grothe (drmgrotheATaol.com) is a psychologist, author, avid quotation collector. His most recent book is Viva la Repartee: Clever Comebacks and Witty Retorts From History's Great Wits & Wordsmiths (Collins). For more, visit http://vivalarepartee.com. Anu Garg is away.] repartee (rep-uhr-TEE) noun 1. A quick, witty reply or conversation. 2. Cleverness in making witty conversation. [From repartie (retort), from repartir (to retort), from re- + partir (to part or divide), from Latin partire (to divide), from pars (part).] "Referring to Schwarzenegger's comment at last summer's Republican National Convention that he was inspired to get into politics by Nixon, Angelides offered the repartee: 'Funny thing, Governor. So was I.'" Ezra Klein; 5 Reasons Phil Angelides Is the Anti-Arnold; LA Weekly (Los Angeles, California); Jan 6-12, 2006. -------- Date: Tue Jan 24 00:01:43 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ad lib X-Bonus: In the republic of mediocrity genius is dangerous. -Robert G. Ingersoll, lawyer and orator (1833-1899) This week's theme: words related to repartee. ad lib (ad LIB) noun Improvised speech or music. verb tr. To perform music, speech, etc. spontaneously. verb intr. To improvise. adjective Improvised, impromptu. [From Latin ad libitum (at pleasure).] "From delivery of scripted material to covering slip-ups to ad-libbing, Aznil is probably one of the few in the business who has a sixth sense, comedy wise." Awards: Wide-skrin Disasters at Anugerah; Malay Mail (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); Aug 28, 2003. -------- Date: Wed Jan 25 00:01:10 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rejoinder X-Bonus: As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying it. Words are to confuse, so that at election time people will solemnly vote against their own interests. -Gore Vidal, writer (1925- ) This week's theme: words related to repartee. rejoinder (ri-JOIN-duhr) noun 1. A sharp reply; retort. 2. In law, the defendant's answer to the plaintiff's reply/replication. [From Middle French rejoindre (to rejoin), from re- + joindre (to join), from Latin iungere. Ultimately from Indo-European root yeug- (to join), that is also the root of yoga, yoke, junction, jugular, junta, and adjust.] "But in a quick rejoinder, Chiaba, who is a Kanu life member, dismissed the officials as 'busybodies who are serving their masters in Nairobi'." Ayub Savula; I Want Cabinet Post, Says MP; The Standard (Nairobi, Kenya); Dec 15, 2005. -------- Date: Thu Jan 26 00:01:23 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bon mot X-Bonus: I love you, and because I love you, I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies. -Pietro Aretino, satirist and dramatist (1492-1556) This week's theme: words related to repartee. bon mot (bon mo) noun, plural bons mots A witty remark. [From French bon mot, literally good word. It's from the same language in which mother-in-law is called belle-mere, literally beautiful mother. No wonder French was once the language of diplomacy.] "Many people are familiar with the things [Samuel] Johnson said - with bon mots such as 'patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel' and 'when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life'." Catherine Keenan; Johnson's Defining Glory; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Jan 7, 2006 . -------- Date: Fri Jan 27 00:01:14 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--badinage X-Bonus: It is one of the maladies of our age to profess a frenzied allegiance to truth in unimportant matters, to refuse consistently to face her where graver issues are at stake. -Janos Arany, poet (1817-1882) This week's theme: words related to repartee. badinage (bad-NAHZH, BAD-nahzh) noun Light, playful remarks; banter. [From French badinage, from badiner (to banter).] "The black belt in invective was conspicuously won, however, in his exchange with (the Pulitzer Prizewinner) William Kennedy, whose initial letter of rejection is greeted with a promise to 'jam a bronze plaque far into your small intestine'. Their splenetic badinage is one of the brightest threads in this book." David Profumo; A Good Life; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Oct 18, 1997. -------- Date: Mon Jan 30 00:01:11 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--athenaeum X-Bonus: Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence. -Henri Frederic Amiel, philosopher and writer (1821-1881) We all believe the first climbers to scale Mt. Everest (in 1953) were Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, but that may not be true. In 1924, two other bold adventurers, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, attempted to reach the top of Mt. Everest. They were last sighted near the summit by the expedition's geologist, who was 2000 feet below them. In 1999, Mallory's body -- still intact after 75 years -- was discovered by a group of climbers. Were Mallory and Irvine on their way up or coming down? We don't know, and perhaps never will, unless other climbers find their cameras which may yield clues. Mallory's grandson, George Mallory II, reached the summit in 1995. When asked why climb a mountain, Mallory's famous answer was, "Because it's there." This week's words in AWAD should perhaps be used in the same spirit. Why use these words when other similar words exist? Just because they're there in the dictionary. During the rest of this week we'll see more words that are less-known synonyms of everyday words. athenaeum (ath-uh-NEE-um) noun 1. A library or reading room. 2. A literary or scientific club. [From Latin Athenaeum, from Greek Athenaion, a temple of Athena, the goddess of wisdom.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Whole wings of libraries could be built around the literature of loss ... The Summer After June, Ashley Warlick's second novel, belongs in that vast annex of the athenaeum reserved solely for stories of mourning." Chris Bohjalian; Starting Over; The Washington Post; Apr 2, 2000. -------- Date: Tue Jan 31 00:01:14 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tokology X-Bonus: The satiated man and the hungry one do not see the same thing when they look upon a loaf of bread. -Rumi, poet and mystic (1207-1273) This week's theme: less-known synonyms of everyday words. tokology (to-KOL-uh-jee) noun, also tocology Midwifery or obstetrics. [From Greek toko, child, childbirth + logy.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Stockham sent a copy of her own book, Tokology: A Book for Every Woman ... This practical guide to childbearing and health had enjoyed great popular success." Robert Whittaker; Tolstoy's American Preachers: Letters on Religion and Ethics; TriQuarterly (Evanston, Illinois); Jan 1, 2000.