A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Jun 2 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Rambo X-Bonus: The business of the poet and the novelist is to show the sorriness underlying the grandest things and the grandeur underlying the sorriest things. -Thomas Hardy, novelist and poet (2 Jun 1840-1928) There was a time I went to the movies several times a week. Comedy, romance, adventure, biopics... anything was fair game, except horror. I prefer my heart rate below 180. There's something magical about how, in just two hours, they conjure a whole world, introduce characters, raise the stakes, resolve it all (mostly), and still leave time for end credits and a catchy theme song. On the way home, my writer's gears would start whirring like a vintage film reel, analyzing the plot, the pacing, the performances. Who nailed it? Who phoned it in? And how would I rewrite the ending? Then came Covid, and my ticket stubs were replaced by running shoes and later dance shoes. This week, we'll roll the reel on five words with ties to the silver screen, some coined by films, some spotlighted by them, others straight out of the movie biz. What are the movies that have stayed with you years after the credits rolled, the ones you still quote, still think about, still recommend? Share at https://wordsmith.org/words/rambo.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Don't forget to include your location (city & state). No need for the zip code unless it's part of the plot twist. And if you’ve ever worked in film, whether in front of the camera, behind it, or even as the hand holding the boom mic in a student short, we'd love to hear about that too. Lights. Camera. Lexicon! Rambo (RAM-bo) noun A violently aggressive person, especially one who disregards rules or authority. [After John Rambo, Vietnam veteran protagonist of the 1982 film "First Blood", based on David Morrell's 1972 novel of the same name. Earliest documented use: 1985.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/rambo_large.jpg Poster: Orion Pictures / Wikimedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Blood#/media/File:First_blood_poster.jpg NOTES: Especially after the release of the sequels ("Rambo: First Blood Part II", etc.) the quiet character Rambo became emblematic of hypermasculine, militarized aggression. Not to be confused with Rimbaud, the French poet. One wields a machine gun, the other a metaphor. Both, however, can leave a room in stunned silence. "Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine just promoted the arming of teachers as the answer to school shootings. ... But by militarizing Miss Landers and turning Mr. Rogers into Rambo, the Buckeye governor put a bullseye on the backs of every teacher and student and shredded the rule of reason in the process." Richard Dawahare; Adding Guns Diverts Us From True Solutions; Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky); Jul 3, 2022. "'According to Spiegel' Ray notes 'Americans are warmongers, mercenaries, cowboys, Rambos, religious nuts, and conceited bungling occupiers who have created a catastrophe-disaster-debacle-quagmire-civil war in the Middle East.'" A Spiegel Catalog of Anti-Americanism; The Weekly Standard (Washington, DC); Jul 31, 2006. -------- Date: Tue Jun 3 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Keystone cop X-Bonus: There is nothing more dangerous than a government of the many controlled by the few. -Lawrence Lessig, professor and political activist (b. 3 Jun 1961) This week's theme: Words with movie connections Keystone cop (KEE-stohn kop) noun An incompetent bungling person, especially a police officer. [After Keystone Cops/Kops, a series of comedy films starting with the 1912 silent film "Hoffmeyer's Legacy". The films were produced by the Keystone Studios. Earliest documented use: 1917.] NOTES: The films featured incompetent policemen in ill-fitting uniforms. They often tripped over each other, got into frenetic chase scenes, and were involved in other chaotic farcical situations. Imagine if the Avengers had no training, no plan, and tripped over their own capes. Such is the energy of the Keystone Cops. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8jphxpi1ro (4 min.) "The parents of Madeleine McCann have been declared suspects by police in Portugal. Many are now referring to the case as a travesty as these Keystone cops have now played a what appears to be desperate move to try and save face." Lynda Johnson; Madeleine McCann Parents Shocked; The National Ledger (Phoenix, Arizona); Sep 8, 2007. -------- Date: Wed Jun 4 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--big chill X-Bonus: If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you've got a problem. Everything else is an inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life is lumpy. A lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat, and a lump in the breast are not the same kind of lump. One needs to learn the difference. -Robert Fulghum, author (b. 4 Jun 1937) This week's theme: Words with movie connections big chill (big CHIL) noun 1. An extremely cold spell. 2. A prolonged period of global cooling or glaciation. 3. A state of emotional letdown, disillusionment, or waning enthusiasm. 4. A metaphor for death or the end of life. [From big, perhaps of Scandinavian origin + chill, from Old English cele (coolness). Sense 3 was influenced by the 1983 film "The Big Chill" in which former college idealists reunite and confront their disappointments. Earliest documented use: 1911.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/big_chill_large.jpg Poster: Columbia Pictures / Wikimedia "[In the film 'The Day After Tomorrow'] there is snow in Delhi and Tokyo is pummelled by hailstones the size of fists. The big chill is a mystery to everybody but Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid), a climatologist in Washington, DC, who moonlights as a soothsayer." Anthony Lane; Cold Comfort; The New Yorker; Jun 7, 2004. "The Albanese government is facing the big chill on many fronts." Tom Dusevic; Challenges of Economic Reality; The Australian (Canberra, Australia); May 23, 2022. "So right before they put you to permanent sleep, the big chill." Maxwell Perry; The Big Truck War; AuthorHouse; 2008. -------- Date: Thu Jun 5 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bunny boiler X-Bonus: What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience? -Adam Smith, economist (5 Jun 1723-1790) This week's theme: Words with movie connections bunny boiler (BUH-nee boy-luhr) noun A person who is dangerously obsessive and vengeful, especially when spurned. [After a character in the 1987 film "Fatal Attraction" who boils a pet rabbit belonging to the family of a married man who has an affair with her but then spurns her. Earliest documented use: 1990.] NOTES: As the playwright William Congreve said in 1697: "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned." In "Fatal Attraction", that fury came with a pot of boiling water. While the term is vivid shorthand for obsessive behavior, it often reflects a double standard: strong emotional reactions in women are pathologized, while similar behavior in men may be cast as tragic or intense. The bunny boiler scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecWhXP2jM28 (2 min.) "Heigl plays Tessa, a Malibu supermom who turns bunny boiler after her stubble-bearded hubby David (Geoff Stults), a Wall Street hotshot turned California microbrewer, dumps her for his new lover Julia." Peter Howell; This Revenge Thriller Is Easily Forgettable;   Toronto Star (Canada); Apr 21, 2017. -------- Date: Fri Jun 6 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--central casting X-Bonus: The hardest-learned lesson: that people have only their kind of love to give, not our kind. -Mignon McLaughlin, journalist and author (6 Jun 1913-1983) This week's theme: Words with movie connections central casting (sen-truhl KAS-ting) adjective: Stereotypical. noun: A company or department that provides actors for minor or background roles, often based on stereotypical appearances. [After Central Casting, a company founded in 1925 to cast actors for minor roles in film and television. Earliest documented use: 1941.] NOTES: Directors typically cast major roles themselves, but minor roles are often outsourced to agencies like Central Casting. The term is often used in the phrase "straight out of central casting", referring to someone who perfectly fits a familiar type, say, a grizzled detective or a slick politician. It may be fine to cast actors who look the part. The trouble begins when leaders select people for real-world positions for their photogenic profiles rather than substance. Life isn't a casting call. Central Casting office, Los Angeles, California https://wordsmith.org/words/images/central_casting_large.jpg Photo: Central Casting https://www.centralcasting.com/ "Joey turned back, catching his own reflection in the mirror. He liked the way he was coming into his look. ... Closer to the central casting look of a man of authority. Someone not to be questioned." Peter Blauner; Sunrise Highway; St. Martin's; 2018. "[Rishi Sunak] is sometimes imagined as a social liberal ... yet his CV is straight from Tory central casting: Winchester College, Oxford University, and the true-blue farming constituency of Richmond, in North Yorkshire." Smiles Atop the Rubble; The Economist (London, UK); Oct 29, 2022. -------- Date: Mon Jun 9 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Nero X-Bonus: Ethics, decency, and morality are the real soldiers. -Kiran Bedi, police officer and social activist (b. 9 Jun 1949) I once had a Canadian friend who was a major Anglophile. Big fan of the monarchy. Fine by me. Some people collect stamps, others collect tiaras (vicariously). When a son was born to William and Kate in 2013, my friend emailed me, brimming with excitement over the arrival of, I quote, "HRH Prince George". The little fellow was barely 48 hours old and he was already a _His Royal Highness_? All he had to do was show up in the right womb? I'd rather reserve that level of reverence for folks who, say, invent vaccines, compose symphonies, or revolutionize the world with poems or books. Still, I did the polite thing. I congratulated her... and added, "Lizzie must be thrilled about her new great grandson." (There went my knighthood.) She was not amused. I asked her how she'd feel if the next mayor of her small town were simply the child of the current one. And their child after that. She changed the subject. To each her own. If someone wants to call Paris Hilton _HRH_, or refer to Kal-El as Superman, well, it's a free world. (Though most of us retire the crown and scepter after preschool.) Kings, queens, dukes, duchesses, it's a charming idea from another century. Way past its time. Sure, democracy has its flaws. Sometimes people make a dreadful choice. But the beautiful thing is, they can fix it in the next election. (And yes, sometimes they make the same dreadful choice again. What can I say, people have short memories.) But at least they are not stuck with the same family forever. Or, stripping them from actual power, while supporting them in the lifestyle of the rich and famous. While most monarchs fade into footnotes, a few live on in the dictionary. This week we'll meet five kings whose names have become words in the language. What's your take on royalty? Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/nero.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Include your location (city, state). Nero (NEE-ro) noun A cruel, depraved, or tyrannical ruler. [After Nero (CE 37-68), Roman emperor (54-68), whose name became synonymous with tyranny. Earliest documented use: 1542.] NOTES: Nero is infamous for his cruelty, excesses, and theatrical self-indulgence. He ordered the deaths of his own mother and at least one of his wives. After being declared a public enemy by the Roman Senate and condemned to death in absentia having fled, he killed himself. As for the story that he fiddled while Rome burned, that's likely a myth. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Nero Nero sculpture in his birthplace of Anzio, Italy https://wordsmith.org/words/images/nero_large.jpg Sculptor: Claudio Valenti Photo: Helen Cook / Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statue_of_Nero.jpg#/media/File:Statue_of_Nero.jpg "Planet Earth is burning and -- to the discerning young eyes from Sweden to Spain -- the Neros of the world are playing the fiddle. Recent climate disasters bear this out." Use It or Lose It; New Straits Times (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); Dec 9, 2019: