A.Word.A.Day Archives
from https://wordsmith.org/awad
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Date: Mon May 1 00:19:01 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--divagate
X-Bonus: HELP! MY TYPEWRITER IS BROKEN! -E. E. CUMMINGS
di.va.gate \'di_--v*-.ga_-t\ vb
1: to wander about
2: DIVERGE
-- di.va.ga.tion \.di_--v*-'ga_--sh*n\ n
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Date: Tue May 2 00:19:55 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--appurtenance
X-Bonus: Life is too important to be taken seriously. -Oscar Wilde
ap.pur.te.nance \*-'p*rt-( *-)n*ns\ n : something that belongs to or
goes with another thing
SYN: accessory, adjunct, appendage
-- ap.pur.te.nant adj
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Date: Wed May 3 00:19:44 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wassail
X-Bonus: You become a champion by fighting one more round. When things are tough, you fight one more round. -James Corbett (Boxer)
1 was.sail \'wa_:s-*l, wa_:-'sa_-l\ n [ME waes haeil, a salutation
used in toasting, fr. ON ves heill be in good health]
1: an early English toast to someone's health
2: a liquor formerly drunk in England on festive occasions
3: riotous drinking : REVELRY
2 wassail vb
1: CAROUSE
2: to drink to the health or thriving of
-- was.sail.er n
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Date: Thu May 4 00:19:24 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vulpine
X-Bonus: History does not repeat itself; historians merely repeat each other.
vul.pine \'v*l-.pi_-n\ adj : of, relating to, or resembling a fox
esp. in cunning
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Date: Fri May 5 00:19:33 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--manege
X-Bonus: Whatever happens, behave like you meant it to happen.
ma.nege \ma-'nezh\ n : the art of horsemanship or of training horses
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Date: Sat May 6 00:21:18 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--passim
X-Bonus: Help stamp out, remove and abolish redundancy.
pas.sim \'pas-*m\ adv : here and there : THROUGHOUT
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Date: Sun May 7 00:21:51 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mimetic
X-Bonus: Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not understood. -Henry Miller
mi.met.ic \m*-'met-ik, mi_--\ adj
1: IMITATIVE
2: relating to, characterized by, or exhibiting mimicry
-- mi.me.sis \-'me_--s*s\ n
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Date: Mon May 8 00:19:31 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--quisling
X-Bonus: Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do. -Voltaire
quis.ling \'kwiz-lin_e\ n : a traitor who collaborates with the
invaders of his country esp. by serving in a puppet government
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Date: Tue May 9 00:20:01 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--consanguinity
X-Bonus: Either that wallpaper goes, or I do. -Last words of Oscar Wilde
con.san.guin.i.ty \.ka_:n-.san-'gwin-*t-e_-, -.san_e-\ n : blood
relationship
-- con.san.guin.e.ous \-'gwin-e_--*s\ adj
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Date: Wed May 10 00:20:18 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--footling
X-Bonus: Smile, it takes only 13 muscles; A frown takes 64.
foot.ling \-lin_e\ adj
1: INEPT
2: TRIVIAL
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Date: Thu May 11 00:22:02 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--argot
X-Bonus: Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present. -Albert Camus
ar.got \'a_:r-g*t, -.go_-\ n : the language of a particular group or
class esp. of the underworld
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Date: Fri May 12 00:19:27 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--groundling
X-Bonus: I may not always be right, but I'm never wrong.
ground.ling \'grau_.nd-lin_e\ n
1: a spectator in the cheaper part of a theater
2: a person of inferior judgment or taste
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Date: Sat May 13 00:38:05 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--uvula
X-Bonus: Heredity is what sets the parents of a teen-ager wondering about each other. -Laurence J. Peter
uvu.la \'yu_:-vy*-l*\ n, pl -las or -lae \-.le_-\ : the fleshy lobe
hanging at the back of the palate
-- uvu.lar \-l*r\ adj
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Date: Sun May 14 00:19:41 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--generalissimo
X-Bonus: To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness. -Bertrand Russell
gen.er.a.lis.si.mo \.jen-(*-)r*-'lis-*-.mo_-\ n : the chief
commander of an army : COMMANDER IN CHIEF
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Date: Mon May 15 02:18:47 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pooh-bah
X-Bonus: All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -Edmund Burke
pooh-bah also poo-bah n, often cap P&B [Pooh-Bah, character in
Gilbert and Sullivan's opera The Mikado (1885) bearing the
title Lord-High-Everything-Else] (1888) 1: a person holding
many public or private offices 2: a person in high position
or of great influence
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Date: Tue May 16 00:21:57 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--roorback
X-Bonus: You can lead a computer to the Superhighway but you can't make it think. -Des Waller
roor.back n [fr. an attack on James K. Polk in 1844 purporting to
quote from an invented book by a Baron von Roorback] (1855): a
defamatory falsehood published for political effect
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Date: Wed May 17 00:19:45 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rodomontade
X-Bonus: In nothing do men approach so nearly to the gods as in doing good to men. -Marcus Cicero
ro.do.mon.tade n [MF, fr. It Rodomonte, character in Orlando
Innamorato by Matteo M. Boiardo] (1612) 1: a bragging speech
2: vain boasting or bluster: rant -- rodomontade adj
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Date: Thu May 18 00:19:12 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jackanapes
X-Bonus: From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life. -Arthur Ashe
jack.a.napes n [ME Jack Napis, nickname for William de la Pole d.
1450 duke of Suffolk] (1526) 1: monkey, ape 2 a: an impudent or
conceited fellow b: a saucy or mischievous child
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Date: Fri May 19 00:19:28 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--digitalis
X-Bonus: All that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own. -Edwin Markham
dig.i.tal.is n [NL, genus name, fr. L, of a finger, fr. digitus;
fr. its finger-shaped corolla] (1664) 1: foxglove 2: the dried
powdered leaf of the common foxglove containing important glycosides
and serving as a powerful cardiac stimulant and a diuretic
--
All those who thought it had something to do with computers,
raise your hands. (-:
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Date: Sat May 20 00:19:25 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--persnickety
X-Bonus: The best labor saving device is doing it tomorrow.
per.snick.e.ty adj [alter. of pernickety] (ca. 1905) 1 a: fussy
about small details: fastidious b: having the
characteristics of a snob 2: requiring great precision
-- per.snick.e.ti.ness n
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Date: Sun May 21 00:20:45 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gallivant
X-Bonus: Violence is the last resort of the incompetent.
gal.li.vant vi [perh. alter. of gallant] (1823) 1: to go about usu.
ostentatiously or indiscreetly with members of the opposite sex
2: to travel, roam, or move about for pleasure
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Date: Mon May 22 00:19:27 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bibliopole
X-Bonus: Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there. -Josh Billings
bib.li.o.pole or bib.li.op.o.list n [L bibliopola bookseller, fr. Gk
bibliopoles, fr. bibli- + polein to sell] (1775): a dealer esp. in rare or
curious books
--
If you ask me to name the greatest inventions in history, on the
top of my list would be printing press. Imagine a world devoid of
books -- what a desolate place that would be! For this week, I have
selected words about books, those fascinating worlds of words. -Anu
PS: OK, OK, computers would place a close second.
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Date: Tue May 23 00:19:38 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vademecum
X-Bonus: This sentence no verb.
va.de me.cum n, pl vade mecums [L, go with me] (1629) 1: a book for ready
reference: manual 2: something regularly carried about by a person
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Date: Wed May 24 00:19:21 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--athenaeum
X-Bonus: One hundred percent of the shots you don't take don't go in. -Wayne Gretzky
ath.e.nae.um or ath.e.ne.um n [L Athenaeum, a school in ancient Rome for
the study of arts, fr. Gk Athenaion, a temple of Athena, fr. Athene]
(1799) 1: a building or room in which books, periodicals, and newspapers
are kept for use 2: a literary or scientific association
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Date: Thu May 25 00:19:48 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bibliotheca
X-Bonus: You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. -Mark Twain
bib.lio.the.ca n, pl -cas or -cae [L, fr. Gk bibliotheke, fr. bibli- +
theke case; akin to Gk tithenai to put, place--more at do] (ca. 1824) 1:
a collection of books 2: a list of books -- bib.lio.the.cal adj
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Date: Fri May 26 00:21:41 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--codex
X-Bonus: Make a firm decision now... you can always change it later.
co.dex n, pl co.di.ces [L] (1670): a manuscript book esp. of Scripture,
classics, or ancient annals
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Date: Sat May 27 00:19:29 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bibliolater
X-Bonus: Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need. -Kahlil Gibran
bib.li.ol.a.ter n (1847) 1: one having excessive reverence for the
letter of the Bible 2: one overly devoted to books -- bib.li.ol.a.trous
adj -- bib.li.ol.a.try n
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Date: Sun May 28 00:19:34 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bibliomania
X-Bonus: One must not be mean with the affections; what is spent of the fund is renewed in the spending itself. -Sigmund Freud
bib.lio.ma.nia n [F bibliomanie, fr. bibli- + manie mania, fr. LL
mania] (1734): extreme preoccupation with collecting books --
bib.lio.ma.ni.ac n or adj -- bib.lio.ma.ni.a.cal adj
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Date: Mon May 29 00:20:07 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bibliopegy
X-Bonus: I have abandoned the follies of youth for those of old age. -Depew
bib.li.op.e.gy n [ultim. fr. Gk bibli- + pegnynai to fasten together
--more at pact] (ca. 1859): the art of binding books -- bib.li.o.pe.gic
adj -- bib.li.op.e.gist n
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Date: Tue May 30 00:21:05 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--omphaloskepsis
X-Bonus: All wood and no ply makes Jack a dull board.
om.pha.lo.skep.sis n [NL, fr. Gk omphalos + skepsis examination--more
at spy] (1925): contemplation of one's navel as an aid to meditation;
also: inertia 2
--
When a biblio- word managed to spill onto this week, it seems we have
had too many bookish words in a row. Some Linguaphiles complained,
"Enough of these, before I turn into a bibliophobe!" For this week,
I have selected some woirds (-: But before we go any further: caveat
lector (let the reader beware) or simply said: don't try these words
at home. -Anu
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Date: Wed May 31 00:21:50 EDT 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--abiogenesis
X-Bonus: Lots of people know a good thing the minute the other fellow sees it first. -Job E. Hedges
abio.gen.e.sis n [NL, fr. a- + bio- + L genesis] (1870): the supposed
spontaneous origination of living organisms directly from lifeless
matter -- abi.og.e.nist n