A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Thu Sep 1 00:01:13 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fomites X-Bonus: Smoking cures weight problems... eventually. -Steven Wright, comedian (b. 1955) fomites (FOM-i-teez) plural noun Any inanimate object, such as a book, money, carpet, etc. that can transmit germs from one person to another. [From Latin fomites, plural of fomes (touchwood, tinder), from fovere (to warm).] "You and your husband are really betting money that coins and currency are terrific fomites - inanimate objects that may be contaminated with infectious organisms and transmit them. But according to the Food and Drug Administration it's 'not likely.' The paper used for currency contains fungicidal chemicals that remain effective throughout the life of its circulation." Diane Crowley; Bride-to-be Has Genetic Questions About Fiance; Chicago Sun-Times; May 7, 1989. This week's theme: words related to medicine. -------- Date: Fri Sep 2 00:01:09 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--styptic X-Bonus: You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. -Harper Lee, writer (b. 1926) styptic (STIP-tik) adjective 1. Able to check bleeding, whether by contracting the tissues or by promoting clotting. 2. Tending to contract organic tissues. noun A substance that stops bleeding of minor cuts. [From Late Latin stypticus, from Greek stupikos, from stuphein, (to contract).] "'I'm looking for a styptic pencil for an elderly guest,' Tom explained. The styptic pencil - used to stave off minor bleeding - was not to be found but Tom was delighted to come across some Burma Shave, left on the shelf from a bygone age." Bruce Bellingham; Kindness of Strangers; San Francisco Examiner; Dec 2, 2003. This week's theme: words related to medicine. -------- Date: Mon Sep 5 00:01:11 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Madison Avenue X-Bonus: What is morally wrong can never be advantageous, even when it enables you to make some gain that you believe to be to your advantage. The mere act of believing that some wrongful course of action constitutes an advantage is pernicious. -Marcus Tullius Cicero, statesman, orator, writer (106-43 BCE) Madison Avenue (MAD-uh-suhn AV-uh-nyoo) adjective 1. Glitzy; insincere; deceptive. 2. Representing values and practices of the advertising and public relations industries. noun US advertising industry. [After Madison Avenue, a street in New York City that was once the center of the US advertising industry. Perhaps it is symbolic that Park Avenue runs parallel to Madison Avenue.] "[South Africa] focuses unprecedented resources on a Madison Avenue- style HIV-prevention campaign targeted at young people. What is needed instead is a broad mobilization of civic, religious and other grass-roots communities, combined with clear and committed political leadership." Daniel Halperin and Brian Williams; This Is No Way to Fight AIDS in Africa; The Washington Post; Aug 26, 2001. The advertising industry got its name from the eponymous street name. But where did the street get its name from? Answer: from the place where it starts - Madison Square. So why was Madison Square called Madison Square? It was named in honor of James Madison, fourth President of the United States. Who would have thought Madison, this shy, serious, short man (at 5'4", the shortest president in the US history) would one day have his name tacked to the industry noted for its bombast and tall tales? And where did James Madison get his name from? Of course, from his dad Colonel James Madison, Sr. The name Madison indicated a son of Madde, Maud, Madeleine, or Matthew. These days, it's a popular name for both boys and girls. Numerous locations in the Big Apple have become metaphors in themselves: Park Avenue for luxury, fashion, affluence, and high living; or Broadway. What comes to mind when you think of Broadway? Theater. This week in A.Word.A.Day we'll feature terms having origins in New York that have now become allusions. -Anu Garg garg AT wordsmith.org -------- Date: Tue Sep 6 00:01:08 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tenderloin X-Bonus: They defend their errors as if they were defending their inheritance. -Edmund Burke, statesman and writer (1729-1797) tenderloin (TEN-duhr-loin) noun The part of a city notorious for vice and corruption. [After a district in New York City known for vice, crime, corruption, extortion, graft, etc. It received its nickname from the choicest part of the meat, alluding to the luxurious diet of corrupt police members getting an easy income from bribes.] Today, there are Tenderloin districts in other cities, particularly in San Francisco. Another metaphorical term with a similar connotation is "skid row" which has its origin in Seattle. "Forbidden from working, they moved in to a seedy residential hotel in the Tenderloin district as they waited for their application to be approved." Joe Mullin; Refugees' Work; The Mercury News (San Jose, California); Jul 10, 2005. This week's theme: metaphorical terms having origins in New York. -------- Date: Wed Sep 7 00:01:11 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Tin Pan Alley X-Bonus: A sneer is the weapon of the weak. -James Russell Lowell, poet, editor, and diplomat (1819-1891) Tin Pan Alley (tin pan AL-ee) noun Popular music industry; composers, songwriters, and music publishers considered collectively. [After West 28th Street in New York City where music publishers were formerly centered. From the cacophony of cheap pianos and hack musicians the area came to be known as Tin Pan Alley (apparently from the term tinny piano) and eventually became generalized to refer to the whole music industry. The term, popular in the past, is less used today.] The corresponding term in the UK is Denmark Street in London. The UK capital also has the literary equivalent of Tin Pan Alley/Denmark Street in Grub Street, a collective term for hack writers. "[Neil Diamond's] got one foot planted in Tin Pan Alley songcraft and the other in Vegas shtick." Greg Kot; Kneel to Neil; Chicago Tribune; Aug 2, 2005. This week's theme: metaphorical terms having origins in New York. -------- Date: Thu Sep 8 00:01:15 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Bronx cheer X-Bonus: In this age, the mere example of nonconformity, the mere refusal to bend the knee to custom, is itself a service. -John Stuart Mill, philosopher and economist (1806-1873) Bronx cheer (brongks cheer) noun 1. A rude sound indicating disapproval, made by sticking the tongue partly out between the lips and blowing air out in a simulation of flatulence. 2. Any expression of derision or contempt. [Probably after the Bronx, a borough of New York City, the home of Yankee Stadium, where Yankees fans often expressed their opinion of the umpire's decision or an unfavorable play that way.] Bronx cheer has a rather unusual synonym: raspberry (also razzberry, often shortened to razz). How in the world could a sound like that come to be known as a raspberry? To learn this we take a peek at the fascinating working of rhyming slang. "Raspberry tart" was used as a code for "fart" and then the rhyming part was dropped. Other examples of rhyming slang are "butchers" for "look", as in "Take a butchers at this!" (from butcher's hook); "apples" for "stairs" (from apples and pears); china for mate (from china plate). Best-known rhyming slang was used by generations of London Cockneys, but similar rhyming slang is found in many other parts of the world. Some believe the reference to raspberry is from the appearance of the tongue while "cheering". "It wasn't a unanimous Bronx cheer. Many fans stood and applauded for Martinez. Years of excellence outweigh one bad game. Still, it was an out-of-body experience to hear any boos for Pedro on Opening Night at Fenway Park." Dan Shaughnessy; Voices of Fans Are Heard; Boston Globe; Apr 13, 2003. This week's theme: metaphorical terms having origins in New York. -------- Date: Fri Sep 9 00:01:18 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Wall Street X-Bonus: The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think. -Aristotle, philosopher (384-322 BCE) Wall Street (wol street) noun US financial world. [After a street in lower Manhattan, New York City, that was once home to most of the major investment firms, banks, analyst firms, and the New York Stock Exchange. The street got its name from the defensive wall that the Dutch colonists built in the area in 1653 to protect against the British and Native Americans.] Counterparts of Wall Street in other countries are Bay Street (Toronto, Canada), Dalal Street (Mumbai, India), and The City of London or The Square Mile (London, UK). "Eighteen paintings [of Alan Greenspan] were sold to mostly Wall Street types for $1,000 to $4,000." Zinie Chen Sampson; Fed Chairman Inspires Virginia Painter; Associated Press; Aug 12, 2005. This week's theme: metaphorical terms having origins in New York. -------- Date: Mon Sep 12 00:01:21 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sounder X-Bonus: Truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it. -Flannery O'Connor, writer (1925-1964) sounder (SOUN-duhr) noun 1. A person or thing that makes sound. 2. A group of wild boars. [From Old French sundre.] "Yesterday I asked Bill to butcher two piglets from the sounder of eleven the sow dropped two months ago." Guy De La Valdene; For a Handful of Feathers; Atlantic Monthly Press; 1997. The English language is rich in words that describe groups and collections, whether things, places or living beings: a bouquet of roses, a flight of stairs, a cast of actors, and so on. Even more fascinating are words - often poetic, and occasionally descriptive - used to denote groups of animals, such as a school of fish, a pride of lions, or a murder of crows. Here are a few lesser-known terms used for collections of specimens from the animal kingdom. There are proper terms for almost all animals, but one can't just say "a bunch of this" or "a bunch of that". In fact, some animals take different group nouns depending on where they happen to be. A group of ducks are "a paddling" only if in water; in flight they become "a team". Next time you camp out in the wilds and receive a visit from some uninvited guests in the form of, say, boars, you'll know what to say: "Help, I'm surrounded by a sounder of swine." Anything else and the park ranger may not come to the rescue. At one time, all well-bred gentlemen were supposed to know these terms of venery (hunting). The "sport" of killing animals for fun has mostly died out, thankfully, and these terms have also become nearly extinct. How about coining some new words for collections? A diction of word-junkies? A linkup of webmasters? A bugaboo of computer programs? Can you think of other creative group nouns? -Anu Garg garg AT wordsmith.org -------- Date: Tue Sep 13 00:01:10 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--covey X-Bonus: A library is thought in cold storage. -Herbert Samuel, politician and diplomat (1870-1963) covey (KUV-ee) noun 1. A small flock of birds such as partridge or quail. 2. A group or a set. [From Middle English, from Old French covee (brood), feminine past participle of cover (to incubate, hatch), from Latin cubare (to lie down). Some other words in this brood that all came from the same Latin root are cubicle, incubate, couvade, and concubine.] "A black-tailed jackrabbit walks slowly down the wash, ambling tall-eared amid a covey of Gambel's quail, like a cowboy driving his herd." Steve Howe; The Kingdom of the Cactus; Backpacker (Emmaus, Pennsylvania); Sep 1, 1995. This week's theme: collective nouns. -------- Date: Wed Sep 14 00:01:16 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--skein X-Bonus: A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury. -John Stuart Mill, philosopher and economist (1806-1873) skein (skayn) noun 1. A length of yarn wound around a reel. 2. A flock of geese, ducks, or other similar birds in flight. 3. Something suggesting complex twists and tangles. [From Middle English skeyine, from Old French escaigne.] When in flight, geese are called a skein; when not in flight, a gaggle; and when flying in a V formation, they are referred to as a wedge. Ducks take a number of terms too: while in water, they are called a paddling. "The article, described as a tale of 'bank fraud, oil trading, and bombs,' prompted Norman to follow a tangled skein of connections to a second, much broader, story." Linda Grant; Newstrends: A Story You Won't Read in Forbes; Fortune (New York); Oct 2, 1995. "Arrowhead skeins of geese fly northward and land at Walker Bay to breed." Bruce Thorson; Boom and Bus; Canadian Geographic (Ottawa); Mar 13, 1998. This week's theme: collective nouns. -------- Date: Thu Sep 15 00:01:19 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bevy X-Bonus: Learning is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily. -Chinese Proverb bevy (BEV-ee) noun 1. A group of birds or animals, especially larks, quail, or roe buck. 2. A group or collection. [From Middle English bevey.] "A bevy of birds, winging silently across the sky on a clear moonless night, is like a shipful of sailors in the middle of the sea." Kathy Wollard; They're No Birdbrains On a Trip; Newsday (New York); Jun 24, 1997. This week's theme: collective nouns. -------- Date: Fri Sep 16 00:01:11 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--skulk X-Bonus: To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting. -Edmund Burke, statesman and writer (1729-1797) skulk (skulk) verb intr. 1. To hide, evade, or move stealthily. noun 1. Someone who lies in hiding, evades, or lurks. 2. A pack of foxes. [From Middle English skulken, of Scandinavian origin.] "Heaven's Acre Wildlife Center has a gaggle of geese, a skulk of foxes, an over-abundance of raccoons and a singular problem - it violates city zoning." Gary Gerhardt; Wildlife Rehab Center Runs Into the Teeth of Arvada's Zoning Rules; Rocky Mountain News (Denver, Colorado); Aug 6, 1998. This week's theme: collective nouns. -------- Date: Mon Sep 19 00:01:25 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--autonym X-Bonus: The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer. -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862) autonym (O-tuh-nim) noun 1. A person's own name, as distinguished from a pseudonym. 2. A work published under the real name of the author. [From auto- (self) + -onym (name).] "The second half of the book is a comprehensive master list of series characters, listed alphabetically by author autonym. Each entry is followed by the author's pseudonym, series character, and all series titles, chronologically." Carol Krismann and William M White; Silk Stalkings: More Women Write of Murder; Reference & User Services Quarterly (Chicago, Illinois); Jan 1999. Have you discovered the joy of lex? Would you characterize yourself as tending towards heteronyms or homonyms? Or would you just be content being an autonym? Given a choice, would you rather go for a toponym or retronym? Well, I understand if you would rather not share such intimate details of your lexical adventures with just anyone. But remember, no matter what your personal preferences happen to be, always practice safe lex. Do not engage in discourse--whether oral or graphical--with strangers. But don't hesitate to use this week's nyms, words about words, to expand your lexical repertoire. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) heteronym: same spelling, different sound and meaning: lead (verb), lead (metal) homonym: same sound and spelling, different meaning: row (verb), row (noun) toponym: derived from a place name: Waterloo (a crushing defeat) retronym: a term coined to distinguish something due to a new development: analog computer, coined because now almost all computers are digital. -------- Date: Tue Sep 20 00:01:09 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--backronym X-Bonus: Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900) backronym (BAK-ro-nim) noun A word re-interpreted as an acronym. [Compound of back + acronym.] In a backronym, an expansion is invented to treat an existing word as an acronym. An example is the PERL programming language whose name is now explained as an acronym of Practical Extraction and Report Language. When naming, sometimes a suitable name is chosen and then an acronym is retrofitted on top of it: USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism). The clunkiness of the expansion is a quick giveaway. How about forming a backronym for ACRONYM itself: A Contrived Result Of Nomenclature Yielding Mechanism? Often, backronyms serve a useful purpose as mnemonics. For example, see Apgar Score: https://wordsmith.org/words/apgar_score.html "Some people think chad is an acronym standing for Card Hole Aggregate Debris. But Kevin told me about the cyberlegend that chad is a backronym." Marsha Mercer; Chad Finds New Meaning in Post-election Verbiage; Richmond Times-Dispatch (Virginia); Nov 19, 2000. This week's theme: words about words. -------- Date: Wed Sep 21 00:01:10 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ananym X-Bonus: The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone. -Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and novelist (1811-1896) ananym (AN-uh-nim) noun A name formed by reversing letters of another name, often used as a pseudonym. [From Greek ana- (back) + -onym (name).] Examples: o Talk show host Oprah's production company is named Harpo. o Doctor Seuss (Theodore Geisel) wrote many books under the name Theo LeSieg. o Samuel Butler wrote a satirical novel Erewhon (near reverse of Nowhere). "Rongis was an ananym - so named by an employee of the stagecoach company whose own name was Ali Signor." John McPhee; Rising from the Plains; Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1986. This week's theme: words about words. -------- Date: Thu Sep 22 00:01:22 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--charactonym X-Bonus: An idea is not responsible for the people who believe in it. -Don Marquis, humorist and poet (1878-1937) charactonym (KAR-ik-tuh-nim) noun A name of a fictional character that suggests the personality traits of that character. [From English character, from Greek charakter (marking or engraving tool) + -onym (name).] Example: Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Sheridan's first play, The Rivals. She was known for misusing words with humorous results. From mal- (bad) + apropos (fitting). A related word is aptronym, a name that's especially suited to one's profession, e.g. Sally Ride, the astronaut. "The easy-going Lovewit lives up to his charactonym; he enjoys a good joke, and condones mischief when it is clever and profitable to himself." Kenneth Muir, et al; Shakespeare Survey: Volume 22; Cambridge University Press; 2002. This week's theme: words about words. -------- Date: Fri Sep 23 00:01:09 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--anonym X-Bonus: Destroying species is like tearing pages out of an unread book, written in a language humans hardly know how to read, about the place where they live. -Holmes Rolston III, professor of philosophy (1932- ) anonym (AN-uh-nim) noun 1. A false or assumed name. 2. An anonymous person or book. [From French anonyme, from Latin anonymus, from Greek anonymos, from an- (not) + -onyma (name).] "And at the head of those stairs he entered a zone of belonging-ness scarcely imaginable by the hustling anonyms in the mean streets outside." Nelson W. Aldrich Jr.; Death of the Club Man; Seattle Times; Jul 17, 1988. This week's theme: words about words. -------- Date: Mon Sep 26 00:01:11 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--filemot X-Bonus: New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common. -John Locke, philosopher (1632-1704) filemot (FIL-mot) noun, adjective The color of a dead or faded leaf: dull brown or yellowish brown. [From the corruption of the French term feuillemorte, from feuille (leaf) + morte (dead). Ultimately from Indo-European root bhel- (to thrive or bloom) that gave us flower, bleed, bless, foliage, blossom, and blade.] "The walls were panelled; each panel was comparted like a modern office desk, and each compartment crowded with labelled folios all filemot with age and use." Lewis Wallace; Ben-Hur; Harper & Brothers; 1880. Since this newsletter reaches almost all parts of the globe, you may be reading this on a day when there's a torrid sun or a gentle spring breeze. Perhaps you are forced indoors by a drenching monsoon or a frigid snowstorm. But in this part of the world we are celebrating autumn, the season of colors. As the falling leaves form a feast for the eyes, it is a perfect week to talk about colors. Let's consider some unusual words to describe oranges and browns, grays and blues, and other shades in between. Interestingly, there's even a color named after the color of dead leaves! -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Sep 27 00:01:13 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--incarnadine X-Bonus: Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. -John Steinbeck, novelist, Nobel laureate (1902-1968) incarnadine (in-KAHR-nuh-dyn) adjective Flesh-colored; blood-red. noun An incarnadine color. verb tr. To make incarnadine. [Via French and Italian from Latin caro, (flesh). Ultimately from Indo-European root sker- (to cut) that's also the source of words such as skirt, curt, screw, shard, shears, carnage, carnivorous, carnation, sharp, and scrape.] "They wait outside the temple, on steps incarnadine with ministerial sacrifice." Simon Jenkins; It's the Voters Wot Win It; The Times (London, UK); Mar 19, 1997. This week's theme: words for colors. -------- Date: Wed Sep 28 00:01:11 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fuscous X-Bonus: A timid question will always receive a confident answer. -Charles John Darling, lawyer, judge, and politician (1849-1936) fuscous (FUS-kuhs) adjective Of a brownish-gray color; dusky. [From Latin fuscus (dusky).] "What do you miss most when you are away? Sitting in a wind tower at sunset, drinking cold beer and watching the play of light on the roofs below - ancient corrugated iron rusted into every fuscous shade imaginable." Alexander Frater; My Kind of Town; The Sunday Telegraph (London, UK); Sep 12, 2004. This week's theme: words for colors. -------- Date: Thu Sep 29 00:01:14 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--glaucous X-Bonus: A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder. -English proverb glaucous (GLO-kuhs) adjective 1. Of a grayish or bluish green or white color. 2. Covered with a powdery coating of such colors, as on grapes, plums, etc. [From Latin glaucus (bluish-gray or green), from Greek glaukos.] "Ichabod wants to investigate a series of murders in the village of Sleepy Hollow, where bleak forests and glaucous mists suggest Brigadoon* beset by toxic waste." Joe Morgenstern; Tim Burton's Version Of Sleepy Hollow Is Both Sleepy and Hollow; The Wall Street Journal (New York); Nov 19, 1999. Brigadoon: https://wordsmith.org/words/brigadoon.html This week's theme: words for colors. -------- Date: Fri Sep 30 00:10:09 EDT 2005 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--taupe X-Bonus: Questions show the mind's range, and answers its subtlety. -Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824) taupe (toap, rhymes with rope) noun A brownish gray, similar to the color of moleskin. [From French taupe (mole), from Latin talpa.] "Like those of us doomed to repeat history, women seem to buy the same item over and over again. The Buffer's small point of information 'You've already got a top just like that' is rebuffed with: 'No, the old one (relative term, here) is taupe. The new one is ecru*.'" Tom Shields; Men's Place is Secondary in Any Battle of the Wardrobe; Sunday Herald (Glasgow, UK); Sep 4, 2005. *ecru: pale brown, like raw silk or unbleached linen; beige. [From French écru (raw, unbleached).] This week's theme: words for colors.