A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Fri Feb 1 00:01:06 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--suppurate X-Bonus: Society is composed of two great classes: those who have more dinners than appetite, and those who have more appetite than dinners. -Sebastien-Roch-Nicolas de Chamfort, writer (1741-1794) This week's theme: what does that company name mean? suppurate (SUHP-yuh-rayt) verb intr. To produce or secrete pus. [From Latin suppuratus, past participle of suppurare, from sub- + pur- (pus).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "From one perspective, a certain irony attends the publication of any good new book on American usage. It is that the people who are going to be interested in such a book are also the people who are least going to need it. ... The sorts of people who feel that special blend of wincing despair and sneering superiority when they see EXPRESS LANE - 10 ITEMS OR LESS or hear dialogue used as a verb or realize that the founders of the Super 8 motel chain must surely have been ignorant of the meaning of suppurate." David Foster Wallace; Tense Present: Democracy, English, And the Wars Over Usage; Harper's Magazine (New York); Apr 2001. "We do not expect the son of the England football team captain to follow him in the job or John Major's son to be Prime Minister. So why do we exalt the law of succession in the case of kings and queens? Because THEY want to keep it that way. They rather enjoy the ruling biz. It beats emptying bedpans in an NHS hospital. Simple Sophie has brought this suppurating carbuncle on the face of public life to the boil." Paul Routledge; Why We Must Axe the Royals; The Mirror (London); Apr 10, 2001. -------- Date: Mon Feb 4 00:01:06 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--somniloquy X-Bonus: We all have handicaps. The difference is that some of us must reveal ours, while others must conceal theirs, to be treated with mercy. -Yahia Lababidi, writer (b. 1973) Sleep has been called temporary death, but there's so much that goes on during that time of repose. While visiting that other world one might walk, talk, grind teeth, and sometimes dream. Your brain is more active while you're asleep than when watching television. And that's even when you don't walk or talk in sleep. No wonder our language is rife with sleep-related idioms. You can sleep in, on, out, around, with, and over. You can lose sleep over things. You can go without food for a while but you can't cheat on sleep. It demands its dues. According to a report, you would be 25% less alert on the loss of just an hour's worth of sleep. This week's five words are all about sleep. somniloquy (som-NIL-uh-kwee) noun The act or habit of talking while asleep. [From Latin somnus (sleep) + loqui (to speak).] Read about a man whose nighttime soliloquies sold as LP albums: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dion_McGregor -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Somniloquy can occur in all stages of sleep (both dream and nondream sleep), though individuals awakened while talking in their sleep will often recall dreaming. Sleep talking usually does not result in significant problems for individuals; however, it may be embarrassing if noted by family or friends." Sleep Talking Usually Not Serious; The Cincinnati Post; May 4, 2004. -------- Date: Tue Feb 5 00:01:07 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--diurnation X-Bonus: The door of a bigoted mind opens outwards so that the only result of the pressure of facts upon it is to close it more snugly. -Ogden Nash, poet (1902-1971) This week's theme: words related to sleep. diurnation (dy-uhr-NAY-shuhn) noun The habit of sleeping or being dormant during the day. [From Latin diurnus (daily), from dies (day).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Many others hide away in the daytime, an adaptation called diurnation." Neil Champion; Deserts; Black Rabbit Books; 2007. -------- Date: Wed Feb 6 00:01:06 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--soporose X-Bonus: The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary. -H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (1880-1956) This week's theme: words related to sleep. soporose (SOP-uh-ros) adjective Sleepy; in an unusually deep sleep. [From Latin sopor (a deep sleep). Ultimately from the Indo-European root swep- (to sleep) that is also the source of insomnia, hypnosis, and somnambulate (to walk in sleep).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "We have a world-class orchestra and a world-class young conductor in Esa-Pekka Salonen. Let's develop a world-class audience to enjoy their music. This can be done by making certain that difficult music is heard at concerts before the old chestnuts lull the 'music lovers' into their customary soporose state." On a Dissonant Note; Los Angeles Times; Sep 18, 1999. -------- Date: Thu Feb 7 00:01:05 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hypnopompic X-Bonus: If a man would register all his opinions upon love, politics, religion, learning, etc., beginning from his youth and so go on to old age, what a bundle of inconsistencies and contradictions would appear at last! -Jonathan Swift, satirist (1667-1745) This week's theme: words related to sleep. hypnopompic (hip-no-POM-pik) adjective Pertaining to the semiconscious state before waking. [From Greek hypnos (sleep) + pompe (sending away).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "In my customarily prolonged hypnopompic condition on Saturday morning, I became aware that there was a government 'initiative' about passports." Bryan Appleyard; My Life As a Sock Puppet; New Statesman (London, UK); Feb 26, 2007. -------- Date: Fri Feb 8 00:01:06 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lychnobite X-Bonus: Crown: A headgear that makes the head superfluous. -Gabriel Laub, author (1928-1998) Upcoming talks by Anu Garg: Feb 9: Woodinville: Journey of a Thousand Words Feb 14: Bainbridge Island: Words of Love & Love of Words Feb 29: Seattle: Language Myths & Hoaxes See details at https://wordsmith.org/awad/speaking.html This week's theme: words related to sleep. lychnobite (LIK-nuh-byt) noun One who works at night and sleeps during the day. [From Greek lychnos (lamp) + bios (life).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Before the enfeebled of the dull-eyed lychnobite of the press could succumb to its influence, the cheerful voice of the magician awoke him." Observer Journal (Dunkirk, New York); Nov 5, 1887. -------- Date: Mon Feb 11 00:01:06 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sequela X-Bonus: To freely bloom - that is my definition of success. -Gerry Spence, lawyer (b. 1929) The human body has been described as the most complex machine around. No wonder Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, said, "The life so short, the craft so long to learn." This complex machine has an equally bewildering number of terms to describe its various conditions, symptoms, cures, effects, and side-effects. This week we review five of them. sequela (si-KWEL-uh) noun, plural sequelae (si-KWEL-ee) A pathological condition resulting from a previous disease or injury. [From Latin sequela (sequel).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Lin noted that usually, patients who receive cardiovascular stent operations have a 50 percent risk of getting coronary artery narrowing as a sequela from the operation." Gene Related to Curbing Cancer Found; The China Post (Taipei, Taiwan); Jan 31, 2008. -------- Date: Tue Feb 12 00:01:06 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nosology X-Bonus: Evil is like a shadow - it has no real substance of its own, it is simply a lack of light. You cannot cause a shadow to disappear by trying to fight it, stamp on it, by railing against it, or any other form of emotional or physical resistance. In order to cause a shadow to disappear, you must shine light on it. -Shakti Gawain, teacher and author (b. 1948) This week's theme: words related to medicine. nosology (no-SOL-uh-jee) noun 1. The branch of medical science that deals with classification of diseases. 2. A systematic classification or list of diseases. [From New Latin nosologia, from Greek nosos (disease) + -logy (study).] No, you wouldn't go to a nosologist if you have nose trouble. The term for the branch of medicine that deals with the ear, nose, and throat is otorhinolaryngology (or otolaryngology). You have to use all three to pronounce it. -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Marvin's Room is so loaded up with terminal illness that it has as much nosology as narrative: there are paralysing strokes, mental illness, asphyxiation, leukaemia, senility and chronic back pain. Even the doctor's receptionist is on lithium. But above all, there's the Big C -- Crying." Matthew Sweet; Cinema: When DJ Just Stands For Dirty Jokes; Independent on Sunday (London, UK); Jun 22, 1997. -------- Date: Wed Feb 13 00:01:06 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--idiopathy X-Bonus: I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way. -Edgar Guest, poet (1881-1959) This week's theme: words related to medicine. idiopathy (id-ee-OP-uh-thee) noun A disease of unknown origin or one having no apparent cause. [From New Latin idiopathia (primary disease), from Greek idiopatheia, from idios (one's own, personal) + -pathy (feeling, suffering).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Beneath the complexity and idiopathy of every cancer lies a limited number of 'mission critical' events that have propelled the tumour cell and its progeny into uncontrolled expansion and invasion." Gerald I Evan and Karen H Vousden; Proliferation, Cell Cycle And Apoptosis* in Cancer; Nature (London, UK); May 17, 2001. *Apoptosis is the word for a cell's death by suicide, also known as Programmed Cell Death (PCD). -------- Date: Thu Feb 14 00:01:05 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sternutation X-Bonus: If you wish to be loved, show more of your faults than your virtues. -Edward Bulwer-Lytton, author (1803-1873) This week's theme: words related to medicine. sternutation (stur-nyuh-TAY-shuhn) noun The act of sneezing or a sneeze. [From Latin sternuere (to sneeze).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "And all three forget their sectional differences in a delightful concert of sternutation. No business is too grave; no speaker too elegant to be sneezed at." Marjorie Hunter; The Days of Snuff and Such; The New York Times; Dec 4, 1985. -------- Date: Fri Feb 15 00:01:06 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nosocomial X-Bonus: No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country. -Alexis de Tocqueville, statesman and historian (1805-1859) This week's theme: words related to medicine. nosocomial (nos-uh-KO-mee-uhl) adjective Originating or acquired in hospital. Used to refer to infections. [From Latin nosocomium (hospital), from Greek nosokomeion (one who tends the sick).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "'All the patients that died had serious illnesses, and we don't believe it was a nosocomial infection,' a spokesman for the Sapporo hospital said." Outbreak of Drug-resistant Bacteria; The Yomiuri Shimbun (Tokyo, Japan); Feb 9, 2008. -------- Date: Mon Feb 18 00:01:05 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cairn X-Bonus: A good listener helps us overhear ourselves. -Yahia Lababidi, author (b. 1973) The sharper the point of the needle, the more easily it goes through. The thinner the blade of the sword, the more swiftly it cuts through. Often the same goes for words. A short, potent word helps convey the idea in just a few letters. This week we'll feature a few single-syllable words, and in the spirit of this week's theme, we'll keep this paragraph short. cairn (kairn) noun A heap of stones set up as a landmark or a memorial. [From Scottish Gaelic carn (pile of stones).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Four of us were knackered* after a five-hour walk that followed little painted cairns around rolling farmland." Keri Welham; Put Your Best Foot Forward; The Dominion Post (Wellington, New Zealand); Jan 16, 2008. *knackered: exhausted (British slang) -------- Date: Tue Feb 19 00:01:07 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wax X-Bonus: A belief which leaves no place for doubt is not a belief; it is a superstition. -Jose Bergamin, author (1895-1983) This week's theme: short words. wax (wax) verb intr. To increase, to grow, or to become. [From Old English weaxan. Ultimately from the Indo-European root aug- (increase) which is also the source of auction, authorize, inaugurate, augment, august, auxiliary, and nickname ("a nickname" is a splitting of the earlier "an ekename", literally, an additional name).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "The stars are out as we stand on Seven Mile Beach strapping on flippers while Adrian waxes enthusiastic." Carol Perehudoff; It's a Dogfish-eat-dogfish World at the bottom of the Sea; Toronto Star (Canada); Feb 16, 2008. -------- Date: Wed Feb 20 00:01:07 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--weald X-Bonus: Writing the last page of the first draft is the most enjoyable moment in writing. It's one of the most enjoyable moments in life, period. -Nicholas Sparks, author (1965- ) This week's theme: short words. weald (weeld) noun A woodland. [From Old English weald (forest).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "I loved the weald and the buzzards circling in the sky." Philippa Gregory; The Other Boleyn Girl; Touchstone; 2003. -------- Date: Thu Feb 21 00:01:05 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--echt X-Bonus: No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be. -Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (1920-1992) This week's theme: short words. echt (ekht) adjective Authentic; typical. [From German echt (genuine, typical).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Costume and prop man Pete Rush has provided echt polyester '70s garb for Miles and weathered denim for the farmers." Barbara Adams; Farm Life Not So Simple in Stellar 'Drawer Boy'; The Ithaca Journal (New York); Oct 28, 2004. -------- Date: Fri Feb 22 00:01:06 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lea X-Bonus: Every man feels instinctively that all the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action. -James Russell Lowell, poet, editor, and diplomat (1819-1891) This week's theme: short words. lea (lee, lay) noun A grassland. [From Old English leah (meadow). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leuk- (light) that has resulted in other words such as lunar, lunatic, light, lightning, lucid, illuminate, illustrate, translucent, lux, and lynx.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea." Thomas Gray; Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. -------- Date: Mon Feb 25 00:01:06 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Buckley's chance X-Bonus: Who breaks the thread, the one who pulls, the one who holds on? -James Richardson, poet, professor (b. 1950) Last year we featured a week of terms in the pattern "x's y", for example "busman's holiday" (a vacation spent doing things as at work) or "widow's peak" (a v-shaped hairline at the top of the forehead). Terms that answer the question "Whose what?" generate a huge response from readers. Perhaps that's because each of those phrases has a story behind it. Last month we featured a week of such terms coined after animals, such as a dog's letter (the letter R) and a mare's nest (a confused mass; a hoax). This week we'll discuss terms named after specific persons. Buckley's chance (BUK-leez chans) noun No chance at all (or only a very slim chance). Also called "Buckley's and none" or "Buckley's hope". [The origin of the term isn't certain but the most popular story pins it to William Buckley (1780-1856), a British convict transported to Australia. There, he escaped and found refuge among the Aborigines for more than three decades. When he was rediscovered he had forgotten how to speak English. Since survival in the outback was difficult it was said that anyone lost there had Buckley's chance of making it. Another possibility is a pun on the Melbourne department store Buckley and Nunn, i.e. one has two chances: Buckley's and none (both of which are 'no chance').] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "First of all, understand that Kookaburra III has Buckley's chance of beating Stars & Stripes." Barry Lorge; It's the Same Language, Almost; The San Diego Union-Tribune; Feb 2, 1987. -------- Date: Tue Feb 26 00:01:06 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Pandora's box X-Bonus: In the youth of a state arms do flourish; in the middle age of a state, learning; and then both of them together for a time; in the declining age of a state, mechanical arts and merchandise. -Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman (1561-1626) This week's theme: Whose what? Pandora's Box (pan-DOR-uhz boks) noun A source of many unforeseen troubles. [In Greek mythology Pandora received a "gift" of a jar which she was told never to open. Her curiosity got the better of her. She opened the lid, and out came its contents: all the evils of human life.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Many midwives avoid asking difficult questions, says Stanley, 'because they know that if they open the Pandora's box, they simply will not have the resources to offer the support that the woman will need.'" Lucy Atkins; I Felt Completely Out of Control; The Guardian (London, UK); Jan 29, 2008. -------- Date: Wed Feb 27 00:01:06 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Job's comforter X-Bonus: Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right. -Martin Luther King, Jr. This week's theme: Whose what? Job's comforter (johbz KUM-fuhr-tuhr) noun A person who tries to console or help someone and not only fails but ends up making the other feel worse. [Originally there was not just one, but three Job's comforters. In the Biblical story these people tried to console Job, an upright person, that his troubles must be divine retribution for his sins. There are Job's comforters in current times as well: soon after any disaster these TV preachers are ready to explain how the afflicted had offended gods and brought it upon themselves.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Parting with my son William this past June was difficult. He was going abroad to study language for two semesters. 'I don't know why I feel so sad,' I told my husband. 'I just feel as if he is going to the other side of the world.' 'He is,' said my husband in his role as Job's comforter. 'That's where China is.'" Julia McCue; Full of Great People ; Portland Press Herald (Maine); Feb 13, 2005. -------- Date: Thu Feb 28 00:01:05 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Buggin's turn X-Bonus: Eminent posts make great men greater, and little men less. -Jean de la Bruyere, essayist and moralist (1645-1696) This week's theme: Whose what? Buggin's turn (BUG-inz turn) noun Assignment to a position based on seniority or rotation, instead of merit. Also Buggins's turn. [The identity of this original Buggin(s) fellow is, unfortunately, lost in the mist of history.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "In the [Jamaica Constabulary Force], the law of Buggin's turn is firmly entrenched. Quality is secondary to seniority and cronyism." John Maxwell; Justice Not Blind, But Dumb; Jamaica Observer (Kingston, Jamaica); Jan 8, 2006. -------- Date: Fri Feb 29 00:01:05 EST 2008 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Pele's hair X-Bonus: A child's education should begin at least one hundred years before he is born. -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., poet, novelist, essayist, and physician (1809-1894) This week's theme: Whose what? Pele's hair (PAY-layz hair) noun Thin strands of volcanic glass, formed when lava is thrown into the air by the explosion of a volcano. [After Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes.] A picture of Pele's hair: http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Imgs/Jpg/Tephra/30410914_030_caption.html -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "'Look, Pele's hair,' he said. A long glassy filament of lava lay on his palm." Anne Chalfant; Blown Away; Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, California); Jan 1, 2007.