A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Thu Oct 1 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--palouser X-Bonus: A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It is a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity. -Jimmy Carter, 39th US President, Nobel laureate (b. 1 Oct 1924) This week's theme: Words originating in rivers palouser (puh-LOO-zuhr) noun 1. Strong, dangerous winds. 2. An improvised lantern. 3. A country bumpkin. [After the Palouse region in northern Idaho and eastern Washington, named after the Palouse river. Earliest documented use: 1903.] Palouse river https://wordsmith.org/words/images/palouser_large.jpg Photo: Jgreenbook / Wikipedia "But with the impetus of a palouser ... these fires converged into one and then burned ferociously for two days." Larry Sears; The Big Burn; The Christian Science Monitor (Boston, Massachusetts); Oct 6, 2009. "When we got opposite the camp we couldn't see nothing at all, and I hollered for someone to come out with a palouser and light us in to camp." Elers Koch; Forty Years a Forester; University of Nebraska Press; 2019. -------- Date: Fri Oct 2 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scamander X-Bonus: When I despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won. There have been murderers and tyrants, and for a time they can seem invincible. But in the end they always fall. Think of it, always. -Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 Oct 1869-1948) This week's theme: Words originating in rivers scamander (skuh-MAN-duhr) verb intr. To take a winding course. [After Scamander, a river in Turkey (modern name: Karamenderes). The river was named after a river god in Greek mythology. Earliest documented use: 1864. Also see meander https://wordsmith.org/words/meander.html .] "Water, or the Fight of Achilles against Scamander and Simoeis" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/scamander_large.jpg Art: Auguste Couder, 1819 "She was scamandering about, touching articles with her fingers." Jamie O'Neill; At Swim, Two Boys; Scribner; 2002. -------- Date: Mon Oct 5 00:01:04 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--unicorn X-Bonus: Even a purely moral act that has no hope of any immediate and visible political effect can gradually and indirectly, over time, gain in political significance. -Vaclav Havel, writer, Czech Republic president (5 Oct 1936-2011) Our planet, this blue planet, is filled with the wonders of nature. Helpful hint: If you haven't realized it already, you're supposed to read this in the voice of David Attenborough. From jellyfish to giraffe to platypus, diversity of animal life on Earth is extraordinary. But sometimes real life is not amazing enough and we have to use our imagination. That's where legendary creatures come in. Once you're creating fiction, you don't have to be constrained by the laws of nature. That's how we get mythological creatures such as the born-again (and again) bird, Phoenix https://wordsmith.org/words/phoenix.html and the three-headed dog, Cerberus https://wordsmith.org/words/cerberus.html . Like Phoenix and Cerberus, there are numerous mythical creatures that are now invoked metaphorically in the English language. Join me as I take you on an extraordinary journey through language. In this intrepid quest, this week we'll meet five spectacular creatures that have found a place in the dictionary. Creatures as distinctive and unique as, well, languages and words. unicorn (YOO-nih-korn) noun 1. A mythical horse-like creature with a horn on the forehead. 2. Something or someone rare or unusual: highly desirable but hard or impossible to find. 3. A startup valued at one billion dollars or more. [From Latin unicornis, from uni- (single) + cornu (horn), ultimately from the Indo-European root ker- (horn, head), which also gave us cornucopia, carrot, cranium, cornea, cervix, and cancer. Earliest documented use: 1225.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/unicorn "A Virgin with a Unicorn" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/unicorn_large.jpg Art: Domenichino, 1604-1605 "The network president, Tina Perry, called the show 'a unicorn in the TV universe'." Leigh-Ann Jackson; ‘Black Love’ Keeps It Simple: Honesty, not Antics; The New York Times; Sep 3, 2020. "'Yes, we are looking for companies that could be unicorns but we're not focused on that as the sole outcome,' says Casey." Marie Boran; Is Ireland too Risk Averse to Produce Its Own Unicorns?; Irish Times (Dublin); Aug 30, 2018. -------- Date: Tue Oct 6 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bunyip X-Bonus: It's said that "power corrupts", but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power. When they do act, they think of it as service, which has limits. The tyrant, though, seeks mastery, for which he is insatiable, implacable. -David Brin, scientist and science fiction author (b. 6 Oct 1950) This week's theme: Words coined after mythical creatures bunyip (BUHN-yip) noun: An impostor. adjective: Counterfeit; phony. [After bunyip, a large mythical creature of Australian Aboriginal legend, who lives in swamps, riverbeds, etc. The word is from Wemba-Wemba or Wergaia language of the Aboriginal people in Victoria. Earliest documented use: 1848.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/bunyip_large.jpg Art: David Lancashire, Stamp: Australia Post NOTES: The most popular usage of the word is in the term "bunyip aristocracy" to refer to people pretending to be socially superior. It was first used by the journalist and politician Daniel Deniehy satirizing an attempt to establish a hereditary peerage in Australia. The label "bunyip aristocracy" stuck and the proposal was dropped. "Greens leader Christine Milne said Mr Abbott was trying to create a fake class system in Australia, a 'bunyip aristocracy'." Labor Likens Tony Abbott to Marty McFly; AAP General News Wire (Sydney, Australia); Mar 26, 2014. -------- Date: Wed Oct 7 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gremlin X-Bonus: An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field. -Niels Bohr, physicist, Nobel laureate (7 Oct 1885-1962) This week's theme: Words coined after mythical creatures gremlin (GREM-lin) noun A source of trouble, especially problems of technical nature. [Of uncertain origin. Perhaps from an alteration of the word goblin or from Irish gruaimin (a gloomy person). Earliest documented use: 1929.] NOTES: Originally, the word gremlin was Royal Air Force slang for a low-level employee. From there it evolved to refer to a mythical creature responsible for problems in aircraft. The word was popularized by the novelist Roald Dahl, a former fighter pilot with the RAF, when he published his children's book "The Gremlins" in 1943. It's not certain how the term was coined. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gremlin A WWII industrial safety poster https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gremlin_large.jpg Image: NARA / Wikimedia "Nobody who has watched the virtual assemblies could hail them as a success, troubled as they have been with technological gremlins." John Ivison; Time to Cancel the "Morning Show"; The Vancouver Sun (Canada); May 22, 2020. -------- Date: Thu Oct 8 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--snark X-Bonus: When Alexander the Great visited Diogenes and asked whether he could do anything for the famed teacher, Diogenes replied: "Only stand out of my light." Perhaps some day we shall know how to heighten creativity. Until then, one of the best things we can do for creative men and women is to stand out of their light. -John W. Gardner, author and educator (8 Oct 1912-2002) This week's theme: Words coined after mythical creatures snark (snahrk) noun 1. A mysterious, imaginary animal. 2. Something or someone hard to track down. [Coined by Lewis Carroll in the poem "The Hunting of the Snark" in 1876. Earliest documented use (outside the poem): 1879.] noun: A snide remark. verb intr.: To make a snide remark. [Of imitative origin, formerly used in the sense to snore or snort. Earliest documented use: 1866.] Cover of "The Hunting of the Snark" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/snark_large.png Illustration: Henry Holiday, 1876 "But [John Cage's] snark hunt proved rather dull. Takis’s own search ends more happily." Simon Ings; Exhibitions: Takis; The Spectator (London, UK); Jul 13, 2019. "That is why the quest for evidence that infallibly indicates guilt (or innocence) is a snark hunt." Larry Laudan; Eyewitness Identifications: One More Lesson on the Costs of Excluding Relevant Evidence; Perspectives on Psychological Science; May 16, 2012. -------- Date: Fri Oct 9 00:01:04 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Bigfoot X-Bonus: From everything that man erects and builds in his urge for living, nothing in my eyes is better and more valuable than bridges. They are more important than houses, more sacred than shrines. Belonging to everyone and being equal to everyone, useful, always built with a sense, on the spot where most human needs are crossing, they are more durable than other buildings and they do not serve for anything secret or bad. -Ivo Andric, novelist, Nobel laureate (9 Oct 1892-1975) This week's theme: Words coined after mythical creatures Bigfoot (BIG-foot) noun: A prominent person in a commanding position, especially a journalist. verb tr.: To dominate or to take control of a situation from someone. verb intr.: To behave in an authoritative, domineering manner. [Bigfoot is a nickname for a Sasquatch, a large, ape-like mythical creature who lives in a remote wilderness, especially the Pacific Northwest region of the US and the adjacent part of Canada. Earliest documented use: 1833.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Bigfoot A tongue-in-cheek sign warning of Bigfoot crossings on Pikes Peak Highway in Colorado https://wordsmith.org/words/images/bigfoot_large.jpg Photo: Gnashes30 / Wikimedia "That FDA commissioner, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, told CNN Friday that this kind of political bigfooting can happen at any time." Elizabeth Cohen; Here's How Trump Could Bigfoot the FDA and Get a Vaccine Out Ahead of the Science; CNN.com; Sep 5, 2020. -------- Date: Mon Oct 12 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--endonym X-Bonus: The mosque is too far from home, so let's do this / Let's make a weeping child laugh. -Nida Fazli, poet (12 Oct 1938-2016) Do you believe there's something to nominative determinism? It's a fancy term for the idea that our names determine our destiny. Perhaps the lexicographer Noah Webster's (16 Oct 1758-1843) name did determine his destination. A webster is, literally, a weaver. And what is compiling a dictionary but assembling it one thread/word at a time? Also, if you go by his first name, he did herd words in one place, in the style of Biblical Noah: Noah Webster, Word herder. Herded words from A to Z* Into "An American Dictionary". He's best known for his "An American Dictionary of the English Language" (1828), but he published all sorts of stuff, including textbooks, his own version of the Bible ("Common Version"), newspaper articles, and more. Besides writing, he served as a legislator in two states (Connecticut and Massachusetts), started an anti-slavery group (Connecticut Society for the Abolition of Slavery), co-founded a college (Amherst College), founded a newspaper ("American Minerva", New York's first daily), and served as a teacher, lawyer, soldier, and more. And you thought you didn't have time?! This week marks Webster's 262nd birthday and in his honor we'll feature words about words and language. *Yes, "Z" rhymes with "dictionary" around here. If that puppy answers to "zed" in your part of the world, you get to write your own verse! Zee or zed, let inspiration flow! Share your Webster tributes (in verse) on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/endonym.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. (The one I wrote is a clerihew, but you can choose any format for your verse.) endonym (EN-duh-nym) noun A name used internally to refer to a place, people, language, etc. For example, Germany's endonym is Deutschland, because that's what Germans call their country. [From Greek endo- (inside, within) + -onym (word, name). Some related words endogenous https://wordsmith.org/words/endogenous.html and endogamy https://wordsmith.org/words/endogamy.html .] NOTES: A counterpart of today's term is exonym https://wordsmith.org/words/exonym.html , a name used by others. Deutschland is the endonym for Germany. Its exonym, for English speakers, is Germany, for French speakers, Allemagne, for Italian speakers Germania, and so on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Germany#/media/File:Germany_Name_European_Languages.svg . The endonym map of the world http://endonymmap.com/ "PLU [People Like Us] is the English elite's secret name for their own upper-middle-class tribe ... So I'll be a good little anthropologist and call this tribe by its own smugly self-satisfied endonym." Kate Fox; People Like Us; New Statesman (London, UK); Oct 10, 2014. -------- Date: Tue Oct 13 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--basilect X-Bonus: You can't do anything with anybody's body to make it dirty to me. Six people, eight people, one person -- you can do only one thing to make it dirty: kill it. Hiroshima was dirty. -Lenny Bruce, comedian and social critic (13 Oct 1925-1966) This week's theme: Words about words and language basilect (BAY-zuh/suh-lekt, BAZ/BAS-uh-lekt) noun The least prestigious variety of a language. [From Latin basis + dialectus (dialect). Earliest documented use: 1965.] NOTES: There's a saying: A language is a dialect with an army and a navy. It was popularized by the sociolinguist Max Weinreich. The idea is that what we call a "dialect" is not any less grammatical or in any way inferior to a "language". The distinction has more to do with other factors, such as the social status accorded by the political and economic might of its speakers. For example, the reason the flavor of English spoken around London or French spoken around Paris is considered "standard" is not because there's something special about them. It's because people in that area have more power. In reality, we all speak a dialect. The opposite of basilect is acrolect, the most prestigious variety of a language. In the middle is mesolect. "The constant babble of thousands of beings speaking hundreds of languages, patois, pidgin, and favored dialects blended together to create a rich basilect brew." Michael Reaves; Star Wars: Coruscant Nights II: Street of Shadows; Ballantine Books; 2008. -------- Date: Wed Oct 14 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--metonymy X-Bonus: The world is mud-luscious ... puddle-wonderful. -E.E. Cummings, poet (14 Oct 1894-1962) This week's theme: Words about words and language metonymy (muh-TAHN-uh-mee) noun A figure of speech in which someone or something is referred to by the name of something associated. For example, the use of the word "crown" to refer to "monarchy". [From Latin metonymia, from Greek metonymia (change of name), from meta- (after, beyond) + onama (name). Ultimately from the Indo-European root no-men- (name) which also gave us name, anonymous, noun, synonym, eponym, renown, nominate, misnomer, moniker, and ignominy. Earliest documented use: 1553.] NOTES: When a part is used to refer to the whole, it is synecdoche https://wordsmith.org/words/synecdoche.html . For example, the use of the word "eyeballs" to refer to viewers or website visitors. In metaphor, the substitution is based on analogy, in metonym on association. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/metonymy "Before I mailed the letters to Violet in Paris, I xeroxed them and put the copies in my drawer. ... I keep the letters as objects, charmed by their various metonymies." Siri Hustvedt; What I Loved; Henry Holt; 2004. -------- Date: Thu Oct 15 00:01:04 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--homeoteleuton X-Bonus: One will rarely err if extreme actions be ascribed to vanity, ordinary actions to habit, and mean actions to fear. -Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher (15 Oct 1844-1900) This week's theme: Words about words and language homeoteleuton (ho-mee-o-TEL-yuh-ton) noun A repetition of the same or similar endings in a sequence of words. [From homeo- (similar) from Greek homoio + -teleutos, from teleute (end). Earliest documented use: 1592.] NOTES: The word also refers to a form of scribal error where a copyist's eye skips to a word with the same ending one or more lines below where they were. "Fittingly, the poem rhymes abab, although the 'b' rhyme in the first stanza is more homeoteleuton than true rhyme." Al Benthall; Worlds of Eye and Ear in the Poems of William Harmon; The Mississippi Quarterly; Jan 2004. -------- Date: Fri Oct 16 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--heterophemy X-Bonus: Truth, in matters of religion, is simply the opinion that has survived. -Oscar Wilde, writer (16 Oct 1854-1900) This week's theme: Words about words and language heterophemy (HET-uh-ruh-fee-mee) noun The use of a word different from the one intended. [From Greek hetero- (different) + pheme (speaking). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bha- (to speak), which also gave us fable, fairy, fate, fame, blame, confess, and infant (literally, one unable to speak), apophasis (allusion to something by denying it will be said) https://wordsmith.org/words/apophasis.html , confabulate https://wordsmith.org/words/confabulate.html , and ineffable https://wordsmith.org/words/ineffable.html . Earliest documented use: 1875.] "In effect, Hyacinth's nervousness results in a classic case of heterophemy: his disrupted mental condition leads him 'to speak without thinking'." Gavin Jones; Strange Talk; University of California Press; 1999. -------- Date: Mon Oct 19 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bident X-Bonus: Life is mostly froth and bubble, / Two things stand like stone, / Kindness in another's trouble, / Courage in your own. -Adam Lindsay Gordon, poet (19 Oct 1833-1870) The Serenity Prayer, written by Reinhold Niebuhr, goes: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Every four years, God, or at least the US Constitution, grants Americans the power to change the things they can. I'm talking about presidents. We get the power to change a president and undo errors of the past. May we have the wisdom to actually use that power in the elections two weeks from now. Meanwhile, this week we'll see five words that appear to be coined after presidential candidates, but aren't. bident (BY-duhnt) noun A two-pronged instrument, weapon, implement, etc. [From Latin bidens (two-pronged), from bi- (two) + dens (tooth). Earliest documented use: 1675.] A mosaic in Sicily, c. 300 AD, https://wordsmith.org/words/images/bident_large.jpg Image: Jerzy Strzelecki / Wikimedia "I landed on the nearest demon, knocking him down while ramming both ends of my bone weapon through his eyes. ... I yanked the bident out and immediately flew up, leaving the other demon to smack into the wall." Jeaniene Frost; Wicked Bite; Avon; 2020. "During this tight match ... Aaron Boretos cheered on his team by shaking his bident." John Cannon; It Was All a Blur; McClatchy-Tribune Business News (Washington, DC); Jan 15, 2010. -------- Date: Tue Oct 20 00:01:04 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--trumpery X-Bonus: I have three ex-wives. I can't remember any of their names, so I just call 'em Plaintiff. -Lewis Grizzard, humorist (20 Oct 1946-1994) This week's theme: Words that appear to be coined after presidential candidates trumpery (TRUHM-puh-ree) noun 1. Something showy but worthless. 2. Nonsense or rubbish. 3. Deceit; fraud; trickery. [From French tromper (to deceive). Earliest documented use: 1481.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/trumpery "The room was crowded with a chilly miscellany of knick-knacks and ornaments, gewgaws, and trumpery of every kind." Leo Bruce; Case for Three Detectives; Academy Chicago; 1980. "History, made up as it is of so much trumpery, treachery, and tyranny, needs deeds of valor, of sacrifice, and of heroism if it is to be palatable." The Medal of Honor: A History of Service Above and Beyond; Zenith Press; 2014. -------- Date: Wed Oct 21 00:01:02 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pensive X-Bonus: Biographical history, as taught in our public schools, is still largely a history of boneheads: ridiculous kings and queens, paranoid political leaders, compulsive voyagers, ignorant generals, the flotsam and jetsam of historical currents. The men who radically altered history, the great creative scientists and mathematicians, are seldom mentioned if at all. -Martin Gardner, mathematician and writer (21 Oct 1914-2010) This week's theme: Words that appear to be coined after presidential candidates pensive (PEN-siv) adjective Sadly thoughtful; wistful. [From Old French pensif (pensive), from penser (to think), from Latin pensare (ponder), frequentative of pendere (to weigh). Ultimately from the Indo-European root (s)pen- (to draw, to spin), which also gave us pendulum, spider, pound, pansy, pendant, ponder, appendix, penthouse, depend, spontaneous, vilipend https://wordsmith.org/words/vilipend.html , pendulous https://wordsmith.org/words/pendulous.html , ponderous https://wordsmith.org/words/ponderous.html , filipendulous https://wordsmith.org/words/filipendulous.html , equipoise https://wordsmith.org/words/equipoise.html , prepend, and perpend https://wordsmith.org/words/perpend.html . Earliest documented use: 1393.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/pensive "When we met last spring, I expected the Belfast-born investor ... to be elated. Instead, I found him to be pensive and almost post-traumatic." Dearbhail McDonald; 'Nama Nearly Destroyed Me' -- Top London Hotelier; Sunday Independent (Dublin, Ireland); Sep 18, 2016. -------- Date: Thu Oct 22 00:01:02 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--devi X-Bonus: Think for yourself and question authority. -Timothy Leary, psychologist and writer (22 Oct 1920-1996) This week's theme: Words that appear to be coined after presidential candidates devi (DAY-vee) noun A goddess. [From Sanskrit devi (goddess). Earliest documented use: 1799.] NOTES: Devi is her middle name. Really. Kamala means lotus; also the name of a goddess. "She is in reality a devi with enormous power and titanic strengths." Anita Myles; Feminism and the Post-modern Indian Women Novelists in English; Sarup & Sons; 2006. -------- Date: Fri Oct 23 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--joe X-Bonus: Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand. -Emily Kimbrough, author and broadcaster (23 Oct 1899-1989) This week's theme: Words that appear to be coined after presidential candidates Joe or joe (joh) noun 1. A fellow; guy. 2. Coffee. [For 1: Short for Joseph, from Hebrew Yoseph, from yasaf (to add or increase). Earliest documented use: 1846. For 2: Origin unknown, perhaps an alteration of java. Earliest documented use: 1941.] "Sure, [Richard Jewell] made some mistakes, but he was just a regular Joe." Mark Daniell; Real-Life Hero; The Ottawa Citizen (Canada); Dec 13, 2019. "He took a sip. 'Wow, this is a great cup of joe!'" John Teofilo Padilla Jr.; Joe and the Peace Eternal; Archway; 2018. -------- Date: Mon Oct 26 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--coquelicot X-Bonus: I have a trunk containing continents. -Beryl Markham, adventurer (26 Oct 1902-1986) If you have ever cooked with whatever is available in the fridge or pantry, you will relate to this week's selection of words. We didn't start with a recipe in mind. Just picked a bunch of words and tossed them in the pan. What came out after we let them wrestle for a while is here this week. Enlightening, tasty, nourishing, filling? You decide. coquelicot (KAHK/KOHK-lee-koh) adjective: Of orangish-red or reddish-orange color. noun: Such a color. [From French coquelicot (red poppy), from its resemblance to the crest of a rooster, from coq (rooster). Earliest documented use: 1795. Also see, coxcomb https://wordsmith.org/words/coxcomb.html .] Poppy flower "Papaver rhoeas" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/coquelicot_large.jpg Photo: Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poppy-closeup.jpg "Do you know, I saw the prettiest hat you can imagine, in a shop window in Milsom Street just now -- very like yours, only with coquelicot ribbons instead of green." David M. Shapard; The Annotated Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen; Anchor Books; 2013. -------- Date: Tue Oct 27 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--capacious X-Bonus: Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use. -Emily Post, author and columnist (27 Oct 1872-1960) This week's theme: Misc. words capacious (kuh-PAY-shuhs) adjective Having a lot of space; roomy. [From Latin capax, from capere (to take). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kap- (to grasp), which also gave us captive, capsule, capable, capture, cable, chassis, occupy, deceive, caitiff https://wordsmith.org/words/caitiff.html , captious https://wordsmith.org/words/captious.html , emancipate https://wordsmith.org/words/emancipate.html , sashay https://wordsmith.org/words/sashay.html , and percipient https://wordsmith.org/words/percipient.html . Earliest documented use: 1614.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/capacious "[Trump's] capacious definition of sucker includes those who lose their lives in service to their country, as well as those who are taken prisoner, or are wounded in battle." Jeffrey Goldberg; Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are 'Losers' and 'Suckers'; The Atlantic; Sep 3, 2020. MUST READ: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/ -------- Date: Wed Oct 28 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--double-talk X-Bonus: Journalist Ed Murrow: "Who owns the patent on this vaccine?" Jonas Salk: "Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?" -Jonas Salk, medical researcher and developer of polio vaccine (28 Oct 1914-1995) This week's theme: Misc. words double-talk (DUH-buhl-tahk) noun: 1. Speech that's a mix of actual words and gibberish. 2. Evasive or ambiguous language meant to deceive or confuse. verb tr., intr.: To engage in double-talk or to try to persuade with it. [From double, from Old French duble/doble (double), from Latin duplus (twofold), from duo (two) + talk, from Middle English talkien, from tale. Earliest documented use: 1938. Also see doublethink https://wordsmith.org/words/doublethink.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/double%20talk "No amount of double-talk or diversionary tactics would be able to sway this jury." J. Leon Pridgen II; Color of Justice; Strebor Books; 2011. -------- Date: Thu Oct 29 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vaporous X-Bonus: Certainly none of the advances made in civilization has been due to counterrevolutionaries and advocates of the status quo. -Bill Mauldin, editorial cartoonist (29 Oct 1921-2003) This week's theme: Misc. words vaporous (VAY-puh-ruhs) adjective 1. Relating to vapor. 2. Producing vapors; volatile. 3. Vague; hazy; obscure; insubstantial; transitory; unreliable; fanciful. 4. Translucent. [From Latin vapor (steam). Earliest documented use: 1527.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/vaporous "Our mother was vaporous. She emerged from her bedroom only at night and always in her nightgown, a sheath of flowered flannel with a disturbingly childlike bow at the neck." Karen Joy Fowler; We are All Completely Beside Ourselves; Penguin; 2013. -------- Date: Fri Oct 30 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--luteous X-Bonus: May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof (White House). -John Adams, 2nd US President, and the first one to live in the White House (30 Oct 1735-1826) This week's theme: Misc. words luteous (LOO-tee-uhs) adjective 1. Of an orange-yellow or greenish-yellow color. 2. Muddy. [From Latin luteus (yellow), from lutum (yellowweed, mud). Earliest documented use: 1656.] Male "Raorchestes luteolus" vocalizing (also known as yellow bush frog) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/luteous_large.jpg Photo: Seshadri.K.S / Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raorchestes_luteolus_vocalizing.jpg#/media/File:Raorchestes_luteolus_vocalizing.jpg "Of the five-thousand-odd species of stinkbug in the world, the brown marmorated kind is the most destructive, the most annoying, and possibly the ugliest. It is roughly the size of a dime, although thicker, but its head is unusually small, even for an insect, which gives it an appropriately thuggish look. Its six legs prop its shield-shaped body up in the air, as if they were pallbearers at the funeral of a Knight Templar. Its antennae are striped with bands of dark and light, while its eyes, should you get close enough to gaze into them, are the vivid red of an alarm clock at night. The 'marmorated' in its name means 'marbled', but 'mottled' is closer to the truth. Entomologists, who have a color palette as elaborate as Benjamin Moore's, describe the underside of its body as 'distinctly pale luteous'." Kathryn Schulz; Home Invasion; The New Yorker; Mar 12, 2018.