A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Aug 1 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--barbados X-Bonus: Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed. -Herman Melville, novelist and poet (1 Aug 1819-1891) This week's theme: Places that became verbs Barbados (bar-BAY-doz, -dos, duhs) verb tr. To forcibly ship someone to another place to work. [After Barbados, an island country in the Caribbean, formerly a British colony. Between 1640 and 1660 thousands of Irish people were sent by the British as indentured servants to work in Barbados and elsewhere in the Caribbean. The name of the island is from Portuguese/Spanish barbados (bearded ones). It's not clear whether this refers to the people, the appearance of the dense vegetation, or something else. Earliest documented use: 1655.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Barbados White Cargo: https://amazon.com/dp/0814742963/ws00-20 "Good Irish folk kidnapped, Barbadosed, and never heard from again." Maggie Plummer; Spirited Away; CreateSpace; 2012. -------- Date: Wed Aug 2 00:04:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--solecize X-Bonus: Ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have. -James Baldwin, writer (2 Aug 1924-1987) This week's theme: Places that became verbs solecize (SOL-uh-syz) verb intr. To make an error in language, etiquette, etc. [After Soloi, an ancient Athenian colony in Cilicia, whose dialect the Athenians considered as substandard. Earliest documented use: 1627. The noun form is solecism https://wordsmith.org/words/solecism.html .] There's always room (for improvement) at the Solecism Inn https://wordsmith.org/words/images/solecize_large.jpg Photo: Dorothy Delina Porter https://www.flickr.com/photos/delina/390638081/ "His prose stops clunking only in order to solecise." Christopher Bray; Jack Nicholson Deserves a Better Biography Than This; The Daily Beast (New York); Oct 31, 2013. -------- Date: Thu Aug 3 00:04:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--locarnize X-Bonus: What a child doesn't receive he can seldom later give. -P.D. James, novelist (3 Aug 1920-2014) This week's theme: Places that became verbs locarnize (lo-KAHR-nyz) verb tr., intr. To bring about peace or settle a disagreement by negotiation. [After Locarno, Switzerland, where in Oct 1925, Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain, and Italy met to settle post-WWI disputes and concluded the Locarno Treaties. Earliest documented use: 1925.] Foreign ministers Gustav Stresemann (Germany), Austen Chamberlain (Britain), and Aristide Briand (France) in Locarno https://wordsmith.org/words/images/locarnize_large.jpg Image: Wikipedia Commons "Pilsudski ... manifested a repugnance to have the military convention locarnized." Piotr Stefan Wandycz; The Twilight of French Eastern Alliances, 1926-1936; Princeton University Press; 1988. -------- Date: Fri Aug 4 00:01:04 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--debunk X-Bonus: To be an American is about something more than what we look like, or what our last names are, or how we worship. -Barack Obama, 44th US President (b. 4 Aug 1961) This week's theme: Places that became verbs debunk (di-BUNGK) verb tr. To expose the falseness of a claim, myth, belief, etc. [After Buncombe, a county in North Carolina. In 1820, Felix Walker, a representative from that area, made a pointless speech in the US Congress. While his colleagues in Congress urged him to stop and move to vote on an issue, Walker claimed that he had to make a speech "for Buncombe". Eventually, "Buncombe" became a synonym for meaningless speech, became shortened to "bunkum", and then to "bunk". And if there's bunk, it's one's duty to debunk. Earliest documented use: 1923.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/debunk James Randi, a debunker of spoon bending, paranormal, supernatural, and pseudoscience (b. 7 Aug 1928) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/debunk_large.jpg Photo: Wikipedia Commons This week's toponyms on a map: https://wordsmith.org/awad/images/toponym_verbs.png https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=19nT96ZTW-KHCWeNuf-ce7opA2Ww&ll=35.15679402801613%2C-23.663198350000016&z=3 "They used science to debunk myth and the paranormal -- to keep humanity safe from the real monsters." Michele Hauf; Taming the Hunter; Harlequin; 2017. -------- Date: Mon Aug 7 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--antitussive X-Bonus: No amount of belief makes something a fact. -James Randi, magician and skeptic (b. 7 Aug 1928) They have found a cure for cancer. And diabetes and heart disease and AIDS. If you haven't heard about them, it's only because no one cared enough to forward you these cures they themselves received in a forwarded email, in a WhatsApp message, or on Facebook. When I receive such messages I try to tell the sender that when they find a cure for cancer you'll hear about it on the front page of "The New York Times" (or in the most-respected newspaper around you), not in a forwarded email. No, fasting is not going to cure anyone of cancer. Drinking two glasses of water first thing in the morning is not a cure of diabetes. Taking papaya leaf juice is not a cure for AIDS. And, no, there's no pharma conspiracy to suppress these magic cures. But sometimes it feels that, while everyone else is trying to save humanity by sharing these easy remedies, I'm the official naysayer in the room. It's sisyphean. It's tiring. So I propose the following as the first law of the Internet: Garg's Law: Do not forward anything you've received online without verifying it yourself. I suggest ISPs require new customers to sign and date (in front of two witnesses) that they agree with the law before they can get online. First violation would mean one has to be off the Net for a week. Second violation: a month. Three strikes and you're out. Until that happens (and until they find a cure for the common cold), enjoy this week's five words related to medicine. antitussive (an-tee-TUHS-iv, an-ty-) adjective: Suppressing or relieving coughing. noun: Something that suppresses or relieves coughing. [From Latin anti- (against) + tussis (cough). Earliest documented use: 1909.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/antitussive Good old days ... An ad from The Illustrated Australian News, 1881 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/antitussive_large.jpg Image: clotho98 https://www.flickr.com/photos/clotho98/4019803885/ "She kept complaining of a cough and said that the usual antitussives ... did not help her." Elaine Myrie-Richards; What's New, Doc?; iUniverse; 2010. -------- Date: Tue Aug 8 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--aperient X-Bonus: No one worth possessing / Can be quite possessed. -Sara Teasdale, poet (8 Aug 1884-1933) This week's theme: Words related to medicine aperient (uh-PIR-ee-uhnt) adjective: Having a laxative effect: stimulating evacuation of the bowels. noun: Something that relieves constipation. [From Latin aperire (to open). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wer- (to cover), which also gave us overt, cover, warranty, warren, garage, garret, garment, garrison, garnish, guarantee, and pert. Earliest documented use: 1626.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/aperient Tarrant's Seltzer Aperient. "I never have a headache after a ball because I take Tarrant's Seltzer Aperient." https://wordsmith.org/words/images/aperient_large.jpg Image: Boston Public Library https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/8557186757/ "Who is this wretched fellow Currie? What gives him the authority to criticise our world-standard cartoonist? I will pin his letter on my bathroom wall where its words will act as a cheap aperient, when required, and thus help preserve my boyish good looks." Daily Political Satire One of Cartoonist's Most Demanding Roles; The Advertiser (Adelaide, Australia); Apr 14, 1995. -------- Date: Wed Aug 9 00:01:04 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--emetic X-Bonus: A writer is, after all, only half his book. The other half is the reader and from the reader the writer learns. -P.L. Travers, author, creator of the "Mary Poppins" series (9 Aug 1899-1996) This week's theme: Words related to medicine emetic (i-MET-ik) adjective: Causing vomiting. noun: Something that causes vomiting. [From Latin emeticus, from Greek emetikos, from emetos (vomiting), from emein (to vomit). Earliest documented use: 1658.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/emetic "Miracle of Marco Spagnolo" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/emetic_large.jpg Art: Giorgio Bonola (c. 1657-1700) "While Trump is our emetic, he's the rest of the world's smelling salts. Some key countries around the world are already coming to their senses about the threat of dangerous populists." John Feffer; Trump Provokes Global Backlash; HuffPost (Washington, DC); Feb 24, 2017. -------- Date: Thu Aug 10 00:01:04 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--diuretic X-Bonus: Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die. -Herbert Hoover, 31st US president (10 Aug 1874-1964) This week's theme: Words related to medicine diuretic (dy-uh-RET-ik) adjective: Causing an increased production of urine. noun: A substance that causes such an increase. [From Latin diureticus, from Greek diouretikos, from diourein (to urinate), from dia- (across) + ourein (urinate), from ouron (urine). Earliest documented use: 1400.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/diuretic "I lost 10 pounds during that last thaw ... but it was all water weight." https://wordsmith.org/words/images/diuretic_large.jpg Cartoon: Chris Wildt "Once the diuretics kicked in, Mary Bliss talked and cried and peed and kept drinking all of Katharine's expensive bottled water." Mary Kay Andrews; Little Bitty Lies; Perennial; 2004. -------- Date: Fri Aug 11 00:01:04 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--analgesic X-Bonus: The hands that help are better far / Than lips that pray. / Love is the ever gleaming star / That leads the way, / That shines, not on vague worlds of bliss, / But on a paradise in this. -Robert Green Ingersoll, lawyer and orator (11 Aug 1833-1899) This week's theme: Words related to medicine analgesic (an-uhl-JEE-zik, -sik) adjective: Reducing or eliminating pain. noun: Something that reduces or relieves pain. [From Latin analgesia (absence of pain), from Greek analgesia, from an- (not) + algos (pain). Earliest documented use: 1852.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/analgesic Le Pain https://wordsmith.org/words/images/analgesic.png Image: https://me.me/i/craylittleliars-littlebabydear-tleliars-sometimes-i-just-remember-the-fact-that-1173128 "Many people argue that Mr Abe's monetary and fiscal stimulus has served only as an analgesic, masking the need for radical structural reform." Overhyped, Underappreciated; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 30, 2016. -------- Date: Mon Aug 14 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dog days X-Bonus: Usually, terrible things that are done with the excuse that progress requires them are not really progress at all, but just terrible things. -Russell Baker (b. 14 Aug 1925) My dog Flower is water-shy. Whenever I announce that it's time for a bath, she tries to run to a distant corner. I have to speak in whispers or spell out the word -- b-a-t-h -- lest she catch on and run away. Well, as I put shampoo on her fur, I try to tell her that cleanliness is next to Dogliness and she seems to understand. If there were a heaven, I imagine it would be populated with animals, not humans, considering how we treat animals -- and I'm not talking about giving them a bath. In circuses, zoos, labs, factory farms, and slaughterhouses, sentient animals become things for us to use. This week's A.Word.A.Day is heavenly -- you'll meet dogs, lions, chickens, and birds. dog days (dog dayz) noun 1. The hottest period of the summer. 2. A period of stagnation, lethargy, inactivity, or decline. [A translation of Latin dies caniculares (puppy days), from Greek kunades hemarai (dog days), so called because Sirius, the Dog Star, rises and sets with the sun around this time of the year. The ancient Romans and Greeks considered this period unhealthy and unlucky. The star got its name from Greek seirios (scorching). Earliest documented use: 1538.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/dog%20days Flower enjoying the dog days of summer https://wordsmith.org/words/images/dog_days_large.jpg NOTES: Due to precession (gradual shift in the Earth's axis of rotation), the dog days have shifted since the time of ancient Romans and Greeks. In about 10,000 years, dog days will fall in winter. Enjoy them while you can. This may be an apt time to say that astrology should be spelled as b-u-n-k. Things have moved around there since astrology was invented. Constellations ain't where they used to be. You weren't born under the zodiac sign you think you were. The fault, dear reader, is not in our stars. Or planets. Jupiter has no effect whatsoever on you. This was a public service announcement. You're welcome. "Jeremy Heywood made his name in the 1990s, during the dog days of the last Conservative government." The Unsung Radical; The Economist (London, UK); Feb 10, 2011. -------- Date: Tue Aug 15 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lionize X-Bonus: O, what a tangled web we weave, / When first we practise to deceive! -Walter Scott, novelist and poet (15 Aug 1771-1832) This week's theme: Words from animals lionize (LY-uh-nyz) verb tr. To view or treat someone as an object of great importance. [From the view of the lion as the king of animals. From Anglo-French liun, from Latin leo, from Greek leon. From Earliest documented use: 1825.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/lionize Lion eyes https://wordsmith.org/words/images/lionize_large.jpg Photo: Tambako The Jaguar https://www.flickr.com/photos/tambako/3755128627/ "He had studied and lionized people with money, power, celebrity, and status: politicians, CEOs, financial movers and shakers." JL Daniels; Mirror Opposites; AuthorHouse; 2014. -------- Date: Wed Aug 16 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chicken hawk X-Bonus: Eminent posts make great men greater, and little men less. -Jean de La Bruyere, essayist and moralist (16 Aug 1645-1696) This week's theme: Words from animals chicken hawk (CHIK-en hawk) noun 1. Any of various hawks believed to be preying on chickens. 2. A person who favors military action, yet has avoided military service. [From the slang usage of the word chicken for a coward and hawk for someone who pursues an aggressive policy. Earliest documented use: 1827.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/chicken%20hawk https://wordsmith.org/words/images/chicken_hawk_large.jpg Illustration: DonkeyHotey https://www.flickr.com/photos/donkeyhotey/13927718486/ "I do stand for the Star-Spangled Banner. But I stay in my seat when thousands of fans stand and cheer men and women in the armed services. ... I am neither a dove nor a chicken hawk. I signed up for the Army National Guard before I graduated from high school. ... I sit simply because I think it odd that, of all the categories of Americans that we honor, we honor warriors. I'm resolved that I won't stand until we also honor the profession that will determine whether the United States remains free -- school teachers." Ken Eudy; Sitting Down Could Make Kaepernick Preseason MVP; The Herald Sun (Durham, North Carolina); Sep 9, 2016. https://www.ednc.org/2016/09/08/colin-kapernick-pre-season-mvp/ -------- Date: Thu Aug 17 00:01:04 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--blackbird X-Bonus: I have always supported measures and principles and not men. I have acted fearless and independent and I never will regret my course. I would rather be politically buried than to be hypocritically immortalized. -Davy Crockett, frontiersman, soldier, and politician (17 Aug 1786-1836) This week's theme: Words from animals blackbird (BLAK-buhrd) noun: 1. Any of various birds having black plumage. 2. An indentured laborer or slave kidnapped from the South Pacific. verb tr.: To kidnap a person to work as an indentured laborer or slave. verb intr.: To engage in slave trade. [From the former use of the term blackbird for someone from the South Pacific islands. From the 1860s to 1904 they were kidnapped to mine guano in Peru and work in sugarcane and cotton plantations in Australia and Fiji, and elsewhere. Earliest documented use: 1350 (for the figurative sense of the word: 1845). Also see shanghai https://wordsmith.org/words/shanghai.html and barbados https://wordsmith.org/words/barbados.html . Read more about blackbirding here http://www.noted.co.nz/currently/history/blackbirding-new-zealands-shameful-role-in-the-pacific-islands-slave-trade/ and here https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2015/11/australias-secret-history-as-a-white-utopia/ .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/blackbird https://wordsmith.org/words/images/blackbird_large.jpg Chain gangs, Wyndham, Western Australia, c. 1898-1906 (detail) Photo: State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/17365 "The blackbirded islanders were often promised wages never paid and held as indentured labourers past their promised termination date." Tamara McLean; Vanuatu Raps Aust over Blackbirding; The Australian (Sydney, Australia); Mar 22, 2011. -------- Date: Fri Aug 18 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--spread-eagle X-Bonus: Someone needs to explain to me why wanting clean drinking water makes you an activist and why proposing to destroy water with chemical warfare doesn't make a corporation a terrorist. -Winona LaDuke, activist, environmentalist, economist, and writer (b. 18 Aug 1959) This week's theme: Words from animals spread-eagle (SPRED-ee-guhl) noun: An emblematic representation of an eagle with outspread wings. verb tr.: To position someone with arms and legs stretched out. verb intr.: 1. To assume the form of a spread eagle. 2. To be boastful or bombastic in a display of nationalistic pride. adjective: 1. Lying with arms and legs stretched out. 2. Boastful or bombastic in a display of nationalistic pride. [The eagle, in various positions, has been a popular bird in heraldry. A spread eagle is on the coats of arms of Germany https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Germany Poland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Poland Romania https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Romania and the United States. Earliest documented use: 1550. Also see frogmarch https://wordsmith.org/words/frogmarch.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/spread-eagle The coat of arms of the US https://wordsmith.org/words/images/spread-eagle_large.png "'Residents were regularly harassed, stopped, searched; put up against a wall, the police car, the buildings, and spread-eagled,' Futterman says." Lydialyle Gibson; Policing the Police; ABA Journal (Chicago, Illinois); Sep 2016. "The Glorious Fourth began with a parade to the bandstand for a spread-eagle speech and ended with a barbecue on the edge of town." William Culp Darrah; Powell of the Colorado; Princeton University Press; 1951. -------- Date: Mon Aug 21 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--parergon X-Bonus: I'd prefer to die on my feet than to live on my knees. -Charb (pen name of Stephane Charbonnier), caricaturist and journalist (21 Aug 1967-2015) Time flies when you are having fun. It doesn't feel like it, but in a couple of years, we'll be celebrating 25 years of Wordsmith.org. Words are what unite this community of people in more than 170 countries. Words connect us. People have met here and gotten married. Words bring trouble too. I was once threatened with a lawsuit by an over-enthusiastic reader. That and much more has happened in all these years. I'm writing a book of anecdotes, stories, and reflections of this time. It's tentatively titled "Wordwallah: 25 years of spreading the magic of words" I'll be sharing drafts of excerpts in AWADmail from time to time. Has a word brought a lump in your throat, tickled you, or left you seething? Do you have a story of your own about words and quotations and people you met at Wordsmith.org that you'd like to share? Write to me at words@wordsmith.org. Meanwhile, we'll see some miscellaneous words this week. parergon (pa-RUHR-gahn) noun, plural parerga 1. An accessory, embellishment, or byproduct of a main work. 2. Subsidiary work undertaken in addition to one's main employment. [From Greek parergon, from para- (beside) + ergon (work). Ultimately from the Indo-European root werg- (to do), which also gave us ergonomic, work, energy, metallurgy, surgery, wright, erg https://wordsmith.org/words/erg.html, georgic https://wordsmith.org/words/georgic.html, and hypergolic https://wordsmith.org/words/hypergolic.html . Earliest documented use: 1601.] "'My Century' is something of a parergon, casually tossed off by this larger-than-life imagination." James Gardner; History Bites; National Review (New York); Dec 6, 1999. -------- Date: Tue Aug 22 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--deterge X-Bonus: My stories run up and bite me in the leg -- I respond by writing them down -- everything that goes on during the bite. When I finish, the idea lets go and runs off. -Ray Bradbury, science-fiction writer (22 Aug 1920-2012) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words deterge (di-TUHRJ) verb tr. To wash, wipe, or cleanse. [From Latin detergere (to wipe away), from de- (away from) + tergere (to wipe). Earliest documented use: 1623.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/deterge "Sandy was deterging a slip in the washbasin." Easterns and Westerns; Glendon Swarthout; Michigan State University Press; 2001. "I was in the hospital having my lungs deterged for two days." Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka; Nature's End; Crossroad Press; 2016. -------- Date: Wed Aug 23 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--trangam X-Bonus: A few cobras in your home will soon clear it of rats and mice. Of course, you will still have the cobras. -Will Cuppy, journalist (23 Aug 1884-1949) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words trangam (TRANG-uhm) noun A trinket, puzzle, or odd gadget. [Of obscure origin. Earliest documented use: 1658.] "Vinegar-faced rogue that he is, [he] began to inquire what Popish trangam you were wearing." Walter Scott; The Abbot; Longman; 1820. -------- Date: Thu Aug 24 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--transitive X-Bonus: A writer -- and, I believe, generally all persons -- must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource. All things have been given to us for a purpose, and an artist must feel this more intensely. All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art. -Jorge Luis Borges, writer (24 Aug 1899-1986) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words transitive (TRAN-zi-tiv, -si-) adjective 1. Relating to a construction in which an action passes to an object (e.g. a transitive verb). 2. Involving transition: intermediate, transitional. 3. Changeable; transient. 4. Concerning a relation such that if it holds between A and B, between B and C, it also holds between A and C. [From Latin transire (to cross), from trans- (across) + ire (to go). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ei- (to go), which also gave us exit, transit, circuit, itinerary, adit https://wordsmith.org/words/adit.html, ambit https://wordsmith.org/words/ambit.html, and arrant https://wordsmith.org/words/arrant.html . Earliest documented use: 1571.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/transitive "By the transitive property, he shouldn't have liked her since he didn't like her handiwork." Jamie Mason; Monday's Lie; Gallery Books; 2015. "Inspiration is transitive. At the Malibu triathlon a few months ago, I found myself standing at the swim start between Jillian Michaels, about to do her first open-water event, and Chrissie Wellington, four-time world-champion Ironman winner, who was there to cheer on hundreds of first-timers." Lucy S. Danziger; Get Inspired, Pass It On; Self (New York); Jan 2014. -------- Date: Fri Aug 25 00:01:04 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--synoptic X-Bonus: Bullets cannot be recalled. They cannot be uninvented. But they can be taken out of the gun. -Martin Amis, novelist (b. 25 Aug 1949) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words synoptic (suh-NOP-tik, si-) adjective 1. Relating to a summary or general view of something. 2. Covering a wide area (as weather conditions). 3. Taking a similar view (as the first three Gospels of the Bible: Matthew, Mark, and Luke). [From Greek synopsis (general view), from syn- (together) + opsis (view). Earliest documented use: 1764.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/synoptic "'Thank you for the synoptic report,' I said hollowly." Frederik Pohl; Platinum Pohl; Tor Books; 2005. "The weatherman appeared on the television screen with good news. She couldn't hear his voice but she saw his pointer dancing on the synoptic map." Yael Hedaya; Housebroken; Picador; 2013. -------- Date: Mon Aug 28 00:01:02 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gung ho X-Bonus: Too many parents make life hard for their children by trying, too zealously, to make it easy for them. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher (28 Aug 1749-1832) This week's words are gung-ho, in a literal manner. They work together. They hold hands. How? It'll become clear as the week progresses. Once you see it, what is the longest word chain you can make in this manner? Email it to us at words@wordsmith.org. gung ho or gung-ho (GUHNG-HO) adjective Extremely eager and enthusiastic. [From Chinese gonghe, an acronym from the Gongye Hezuoshe (Chinese Industrial Cooperative Society). The term gonghe was interpreted to mean "work together" and was introduced as a training slogan by US Marine Corps officer Evans Carlson (1896-1947). Earliest documented use: 1942.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gung%20ho "Gung Ho!" A film based on the Makin Island raid led by Lt. Col. Evans Carlson https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gung_ho_large.jpg "And although Brian Van Reet won a Bronze Star for valour, he clearly isn't gung-ho about the American war effort." Mike Doherty; Spoils (book review); Maclean's (Toronto, Canada); Apr 24, 2017. -------- Date: Tue Aug 29 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ho-hum X-Bonus: The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts. -John Locke, philosopher (29 Aug 1632-1704) This week's theme: Linked words ho-hum (HO-huhm) interjection: An expression of boredom, indifference, or resignation. adjective: Boring; dull; routine. [Perhaps of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1924.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ho-hum Ho-Hum Motel https://wordsmith.org/words/images/ho-hum_large.jpg Image: Adam Fagen https://www.flickr.com/photos/afagen/20315202368 "Elevate your summer salads from ho-hum to sublime with the addition of torn fresh basil, mint, or cilantro." Welcome Summer Tastes with Different Fresh Herbs; The Coloradoan (Fort Collins, Colorado); May 24, 2017. -------- Date: Wed Aug 30 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--humbug X-Bonus: The heart of a mother is a deep abyss, at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness. -Honore de Balzac, novelist (1799-1850) This week's theme: Linked words humbug (HUHM-buhg) noun: 1. Nonsense; pretense; deception. 2. An impostor or fraud. 3. A kind of hard mint-flavored candy (British). adjective: Deceptive. verb tr., intr.: To deceive or hoax. [Of unknown origin. Earliest documented use: 1750.] Humbug Mountain State Park https://wordsmith.org/words/images/humbug_large.jpg Photo: Lynn Friedman https://www.flickr.com/photos/lynnfriedman/14752869534/ See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/humbug "It is difficult to judge whether the hard talk by either side is humbug or an intractable position." Neither Side Will Win if Britain Exits the Single Aviation Market; The Economist (London, UK); Mar 22, 2017. -------- Date: Thu Aug 31 00:01:04 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bugbear X-Bonus: The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist." -Maria Montessori, educator (31 Aug 1870-1952) This week's theme: Linked words bugbear (BUHG-bair) noun A source of fear, problem, anxiety, or annoyance. [A bugbear is an imaginary creature, invoked to frighten unruly children. From bug (hobgoblin) + bear, from Old English bera, ultimately from the Indo-European root bher- (bright, brown), which also gave us brown, bruin, brunet/brunette, burnish, and berserk. Earliest documented use: 1552.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/bugbear "Bug Bear" https://amazon.com/dp/168010053X/ws00-20 "Dr Wu says there are multiple reasons for the slowdown ... The biggest bugbear is the guidelines against doctors advertising here, with the greatest impact coming from the ban on the use of 'before and after' pictures." Cheah Ui-Hoon; Cutting Edge Beauty; The Business Times (Singapore); Jan 28, 2017.