A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Wed Jan 1 00:03:43 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dyed-in-the-wool X-Bonus: Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness. -Seneca dyed-in-the-wool \.di-d-*n-th*-'wu.l\ aj : UNCOMPROMISING Kopvillem, Peeter-Howse, John, Trudeau speaks out, Vol. 105, Maclean's, 09-28-1992, pp 22. "Except for a small handful of dyed-in-the-wool separatists, together with the sprinkling of Montrealers who exercised their vote in favor of the Equality party, just about all the cream of Quebec society approves of this shameful horse trading, and so without batting an eye has backed one or the other of the above-mentioned premiers for 22 years." -------- Date: Thu Jan 2 00:07:01 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--la-di-da X-Bonus: It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot, irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it. -J. Bronowski [The Ascent of Man] la-di-da \.la:d-e--'da:\ aj [perh. alter. of lardy-dardy (foppish)] : affectedly refined or polished : PRETENTIOUS, ELEGANT Robert Woolley on His Life as an Auctioneer, Charlie Rose (PBS), 11-02-1995. "After breakfast, and they'd do the flea markets, they'd do the shops downtown, they'd do the la-di-da places, they'd do the auction houses, and they bought." -------- Date: Fri Jan 3 00:07:12 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bric-a-brac X-Bonus: Among my most prized possessions are the words that I have never spoken. -Orson Rega Card bric-a-brac \'brik-*-.brak\ n [F bric-a'-brac] : a miscellaneous collection of often antique articles of virtu : CURIOS Bruce Sterling, The Hacker Crackdown, 1994 "The seaside house is decorated with telco decals, chunks of driftwood, and the basic bric-a-brac of a hippie crash-pad." -------- Date: Sat Jan 4 00:07:08 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--will-o'-the-wisp X-Bonus: Eyes are vocal, tears have tongues, \ And there are words not made with lungs. -Crashaw will-o'-the-wisp \.wil-*-th*-'wisp\ \-'wis-pish\ n [Will (nickname fr. William) + of + the + wisp] 1: IGNIS FATUUS 2: a delusive goal - will-o'-the-wispish aj -------- Date: Sun Jan 5 00:07:09 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hop-o'-my-thumb X-Bonus: I would rather be able to appreciate things I can not have than to have things I am not able to appreciate. -Elbert Hubbard hop-o'-my-thumb \.ha:p-*-m*-'th*m\ n : a very small person -------- Date: Mon Jan 6 04:24:20 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--benedict X-Bonus: Litigant: a person about to give up his skin for the hope of retaining his bones. -Ambrose Bierce ben.e.dict \'ben-*-.dikt\ n [alter, of Benedick] : a newly married man who has long been a bachelor -- The first week of the new year is going to be an eponym week - a week of words coined after real or fictional people. Let's start with Benedick, a character in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jan 7 00:05:16 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jonah X-Bonus: Do you always want to be right, or do you want to be happy? -H. Jackson Brown, Jr. Jo.nah \'jo--n*\ n [Heb Yo-na-h] 1: an Old Testament prophet cast overboard during a storm sent by God because of his disobedience, swallowed by a great fish, and vomited up after three days in its belly 2: one believed to bring bad luck -------- Date: Wed Jan 8 00:05:11 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gascon X-Bonus: I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year. -The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957 gas.con \'gas-k*n\ n cap 1: a native of Gascony 2: a boastful swaggering person - gascon aj -------- Date: Thu Jan 9 00:05:10 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sibyl X-Bonus: It isn't that they can't see the solution. It's that they can't see the problem. -G.K. Chesterton sib.yl or si.byl.lic \'sib-*l\ \s*-'bil-ik\ \'sib-*-.li-n, -.le-n\ n [ME sibile, sybylle, fr. MF & L; MF sibile, fr. L sibylla)] often capX, fr. Gk 1: any of several prophetesses usu. accepted as 10 in number and credited to widely separate parts of the ancient world (as Babylonia, Egypt, Greece, and Italy) 2a: a female prophet 2b: FORTUNETELLER - si.byl.ic aj Harries, Elizabeth, Simulating oralities: French fairy tales of the 1690s, Vol. 23, College Literature, 06-01-1996, pp 100. "The frontispieces used for the conteuses' tales, then, usually represent them as sibyls, or aristocratic story-tellers, or as Greek goddesses, not as spinning peasant women." -------- Date: Fri Jan 10 00:05:17 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vestal X-Bonus: Modern man thinks he loses something - time - when he does not do things quickly. Yet he does not know what to do with the time he gains -- except kill it. -Erich Fromm 1. ves.tal \'vest-*l\ \-*l-e-\ aj 1: of or relating to the Roman goddess Vesta 2a: of or relating to a vestal virgin 2b: CHASTE - ves.tal.ly av 2. vestal n 1: a virgin consecrated to the Roman goddess Vesta and to the service of watching the sacred fire perpetually kept burning upon her altar 2: a chaste woman Thomas Boswell, It's the Crass Commercialism of the Olympics; Southland Edition, Los Angeles Times, 07-20-1996, pp C-7. "By 1976, we'd gotten the first clue of what was to come: 16,000 vestal virgins on the Olympic Stadium floor at one time." -------- Date: Sat Jan 11 00:05:20 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--magdalen X-Bonus: Persistent people begin their success where others end in failures. -Edward Eggleston mag.da.len or mag.da.lene \'mag-d*-l*n\ \-.le-n\ n [Mary Magdalen or Magdalene woman healed by Jesus of evil spirits (] often cap Lk 8:2), considered identical with a reformed prostitute (Lk 7:36-50) 1: a reformed prostitute 2: a house of refuge or reformatory for prostitutes -------- Date: Sun Jan 12 00:05:20 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bantam X-Bonus: The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, the young know everything. -Oscar Wilde 1. ban.tam \'bant-*m\ n [Bantam, former residency in Java] 1: any of numerous small domestic fowls that are often miniatures of members of the standard breeds 2: a person of diminutive stature and often combative disposition 3: JEEP 2. bantam aj 1: SMALL, DIMINUTIVE 2: pertly combative : SAUCY -------- Date: Mon Jan 13 02:10:40 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--camarilla X-Bonus: When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl. cam.a.ril.la \.kam-*-'ril-*, -'re--(y)*\ n [Sp, lit., small room] : a group of unofficial often secret and scheming advisers : CABAL Juanita Darling, News Analysis; Los Angeles Times, 03-23-1995, pp A-13. "Prospective presidential candidates generally start forming their camarilla --literally, litter--of cronies a dozen years before they plan to run." -- This week's theme: loanwords from Spanish. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jan 14 00:05:26 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--peccadillo X-Bonus: You are not paranoid if they're really after you... pec.ca.dil.lo \.pek-*-'dil-(.)o-\ n or peccadilloes or peccadillos [Sp pecadillo, dim. of pecado sin, fr. L peccatum, fr. neut.] pl of peccatus, pp. of peccare : a slight offense -------- Date: Wed Jan 15 00:05:14 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--paseo X-Bonus: Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent. -Marilyn vos Savant pa.seo \p*-'sa--(.)o-\ n [Sp] 1a: a leisurely stroll : PROMENADE 1b: a public walk or boulevard 2: a formal entrance march of bullfighters into an arena Noel, Charles, Madrid, Vol. 45, History Today, 10-01-1995, pp 26. "These paseos -- de la Florida, de Atocha, del Prado and de Recoletos -- were intended as much for strollers as for vehicles..." -------- Date: Thu Jan 16 00:05:15 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--picaresque X-Bonus: From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life. -Arthur Ashe pi.ca.resque \.pik-*-'resk, .pe--k*-\ aj [Sp picaresco, fr. pi'caro] : of or relating to rogues or rascals; also : of or relating to a type of fiction of Spanish origin dealing with rogues and vagabonds Mendoza, Eduardo-Garcia-Serrano, Victoria, From The City of Wonders, Vol. 36, Literary Review, 04-01-1993, pp 313. "The adventures of the main character Onofre Bouvila, an anti-heroic figure in the picaresque vein, become a textual pretext for touring the city from the perspectives of every social class and political persuasion (i.e., anarchist, nationalist, and conservative)." -------- Date: Fri Jan 17 00:05:13 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--picaro X-Bonus: If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads. -Ralph Waldo Emerson pi.ca.ro \'pe--ka:-.ro-\ n [Sp pi'caro] : ROGUE, BOHEMIAN Boehm, Beth, Feminist metafiction and androcentric reading strategies: Angela Carter's reconstructed readerVol. 37, Critique, 09-01-1995, pp 35. "As with most picaros, part of the appeal of this champagne-guzzling, bawdy entrepreneur is her ability to survive cruel economic and social conditions." -------- Date: Sat Jan 18 00:05:18 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--picaroon X-Bonus: Keep your faith in all beautiful things; in the sun when it is hidden, in the Spring when it is gone. -Roy R. Gilson 1. pic.a.roon or pick.a.roon \.pik-*-'ru:n\ n [Sp picaro'n, aug. of pi'caro] 1: PICARO 2: PIRATE 2. picaroon vi : to act as a pirate -------- Date: Sun Jan 19 00:05:17 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fandango X-Bonus: Of any stopping place in life, it is good to ask whether it will be a good place from which to go on as well as a good place to remain. -Mary Catherine Bateson fan.dan.go \fan-'dan-(.)go-\ n [Sp] 1: a lively Spanish or Spanish-american dance; also : music for this dance 2: TOMFOOLERY -------- Date: Mon Jan 20 00:05:25 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lucullan X-Bonus: Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. -Thich Nhat Hanh Lu.cul.lan or Lu.cul.li.an \lu:-'k*l-*n\ \-'k*l-e--*n\ aj 1: of or relating to Lucullus 2: LAVISH, LUXURIOUS {a ~ feast} Cathy Curtis, A Ceremony's Real Meaning Is Found in Our Hearts; Los Angeles Times, 07-05-1994, pp F-2. "And then we spent hours drinking wine and eating the Lucullan feast prepared by my other sister--who had protested at the ceremony that she was a cook, not a writer, and had nothing to say." -- Here is another week of Eponyms starting off with Lucius Licinius Lucullus, wealthy Roman General famed for his luxurious banquets. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jan 21 00:05:14 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jezebel X-Bonus: To be sure, the dog is loyal. But why, on that account, should we take him as an example? He is loyal to man, not to other dogs. -Karl Kraus Jez.e.bel \'jez-*-.bel\ n [Heb I-zebhel] 1: the wife of Ahab noted for her wickedness often not cap 2: an impudent, shameless, or abandoned woman -------- Date: Wed Jan 22 00:05:21 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--apocalypse X-Bonus: When nations grow old, the arts grow cold and commerce settles on every tree. -William Blake apoc.a.lypse or apoc.a.lyp.ti.cal \*-'pa:k-*-.lips\ \*-.pa:k-*-'lip-tik\ \-ti-k*l\ \-k(*-)le-\ \-t*-.siz-*m\ n [ME, revelation, Revelation, fr. LL apocalypsis, fr. Gk apokalypsis], fr. apokalyptein to uncover, fr. apo- + kalyptein to cover - more at HELL 1a: one of the Jewish and Christian writings of 2 BCE to A.D. marked by pseudonymity, symbolic imagery, and the expectation of an imminent cosmic cataclysm in which God destroys the ruling powers of evil and raises the righteous to life in a messianic kingdom cap 1b: the biblical book of Revelation 2: something viewed as a prophetic revelation - apoc.a.lyp.ti.c aj David Futrelle, IDEAS / Making Hay While the Millennium Dawns / We're not so horrified by visions of the apocalypse as we'd like to pretend, Newsday, 12-08-1996, pp A40. "Some of the doomsayers are downright cheerful about the coming apocalypse." -------- Date: Thu Jan 23 00:05:17 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--armageddon X-Bonus: A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What one can be, one must be. -Abraham Maslow Ar.ma.ged.don \.a:r-m*-'ged-*n\ n [Gk Armageddo-n, Harmagedo-n, scene of the battle foretold in] Rev 16:14-16 1a: a final and conclusive battle between the forces of good and evil 1b: the site or time of Armageddon 2: a vast decisive conflict Bridge, Tony, Literary supplement: Spaceship Earth, Vol. 265, Contemporary Review, 07-01-1994, pp 51. "But despite all this talk of Armageddon and the end of the world -- and with only the briefest of sidelong glances at the global population explosion -- Dr. Suter turns out to be surprisingly optimistic about the future." -------- Date: Fri Jan 24 00:05:16 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--calvary X-Bonus: Don't vote--it only encourages them! cal.va.ry \'kalv-(*-)re-\ n [Calvary, the hill near Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified] 1: an open-air representation of the crucifixion of Christ 2: an experience of intense usu. mental suffering -------- Date: Sat Jan 25 00:05:14 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bunkum X-Bonus: I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity. -Albert Einstein bun.kum or bun.combe \'b*n-k*m\ n [Buncombe County, N.C.; fr. the defense of a seemingly irrelevant speech]made by its congressional representative that he was speaking to Buncombe : insincere or foolish talk : NONSENSE Heath, Dwight, Don't shoot the pianist, Vol. 330, Economist, 02-19-1994, pp 100. "The claim that study of these two languages trains the mind as no other can is bunkum." -------- Date: Sun Jan 26 00:05:20 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scapegoat X-Bonus: In matters of conscience, the law of majority has no place. -Mohandas K. Gandhi scape.goat \'ska-p-.go-t\ n [1scape; intended as trans. of Heb 'aza-ze-l (prob. nam]e of a demon), as if 'e-z'o-ze-l goat that departs, Lev 6:8 (AV) 1: a goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after which he is sent into the wilderness in the biblical ceremony for Yom Kippur 2: a person or thing bearing the blame for others -------- Date: Mon Jan 27 00:47:12 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--noisome X-Bonus: Don't count the days, make the days count. Cross references: 1. malodorous noi.some \'no.i-s*m\ aj [ME noysome, fr. noy annoyance, fr. OF enui, anoi - m]ore at ENNUI 1: NOXIOUS, UNWHOLESOME 2: offensive to the smell or other senses : DISGUSTING - noi.some.ly av Washington Post, Variety, Diane Werts, Pataki's Ducking His Duty in Suffolk Car Deal., Newsday, 11-06-1995, pp A34. "Meanwhile, the intrigue surrounding the matter grows more deep and noisome. The latest malodorous disclosure concerns a $34,375-a-year job as a junior assistant DA in Suffolk District Attorney James Catterson's office." Suggestion for Word.A.Day theme, Things are seldom what they would seem, NOISOME, I'd propose, Not of ear, but of nose, A kind of olfactory nerve scream. -Dr. Chris Papa -- This week's theme, "Things Are Seldom What They Seem," was suggested by Christopher M. Papa, MD. Dr. Papa also pens delightful limericks using words featured in AWAD, and sends them to people on his list at apollohollowATmsn.com. For this week, I've included his limericks right here. As you can see, his email correspondence also runs in limericks though I wonder about his prescriptions... -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jan 28 00:06:10 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--froward X-Bonus: If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live. -Lin Yutang Cross references: 1. contrary fro.ward \'fro--(w)*rd\ aj [ME, turned away, froward, fr. fro + -ward] 1: habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition archaic 2: ADVERSE - fro.ward.ly av Amari, Michele, Sicilian Vespers., History of the World, 01-01-1992. "Citizens, captains of the people, it is my counsel that messengers be sent to all the other towns inviting them to unite with us for the maintenance of the commonwealth, that by force of arms, by daring, and by rapidity of action we should aid the weak, determine the doubtful, and combat the froward." FROWARD's another delight, Forthcoming NOT, rather a fight, Its meaning reverse, Like someone perverse, "Peevish" would just get it right. -Dr. Chris Papa -------- Date: Wed Jan 29 00:05:15 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cupidity X-Bonus: The US has a vital interest in that area of the country. -Dan Quayle referring to Latin America cu.pid.i.ty \kyu.-'pid-*t-e-\ n [ME cupidite, fr. MF cupidite`, fr. L cupiditat-, cupidit]as - more at COVET archaic 1: strong desire : LUST 2: inordinate desire for wealth : AVARICE, GREED Baker, Rob, From Rhinegold to ring and back again, Vol. 16, Parabola, 04-01-1991, pp 24. "Most of the reactions are emotional and predictable: greed, lust, anger, even ignorance and denial, in the case of Siegfried, who learns all too soon that that attitude towards money has no more validity than cupidity and overidentification." CUPIDITY, not cherub cute, It smells, rather, of ill-repute, Though passion its seed, It connotes bad greed, Or avarice quite absolute. -Dr. Chris Papa -------- Date: Thu Jan 30 00:05:20 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--toxophilite X-Bonus: We learn from history that we do not learn anything from history. tox.oph.i.lite \ta:k-'sa:f-*-.li-t\ \-le-\ n [Gk toxon bow, arrow + philos dear, loving] : one fond of or expert at archery - toxophilite aj From the web page of The Society of Archer-Antiquaries. "A shoot is held each year on the ground of The Royal Toxophilite Society, usually in August, where the main object is to demonstrate and encourage the study of equipment and techniques from times past in Britain and other parts of the world." TOXOPHILITE tells of arrow's flight, And not poison's most fearsome fright, William Tell refrain, Not a doleful bane, Or agent of some baleful blight. -Dr. Chris Papa -------- Date: Fri Jan 31 00:05:22 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fatuous X-Bonus: You must allow people to be right, because it consoles them for not being anything else. -Andre Gide Cross references: 1. simple fat.u.ous \'fach-(*-)w*s\ aj [L fatuus foolish - more at BATTLE] : complacently or inanely foolish : SILLY - fat.u.ous.ly av James Wilson on Lack of Shame, Los Angeles Times, 07-04-1995, pp B-8. "It's true that what these men at the top think we should see and hear from popular culture is largely what we do see and hear. But I think it is fatuous to ask these same barbarians to become national moral arbiters." FATUOUS, word non-caloric, Applied to dummy euphoric, Inane and vapid, Demeaning, quite rapid, Jejune and exceeding sophomoric. -Dr. Chris Papa