A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Thu Dec 1 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--blubber X-Bonus: If God exists, I hope he has a good excuse. -Woody Allen, author, actor, and filmmaker (b. 1 Dec 1935) This week's theme: Onomatopoeic words blubber (BLUHB-uhr) verb intr.: To weep noisily. verb tr.: To speak incoherently while weeping. adjective: Swollen; puffed out. noun: 1. The layer of fat in whales and other marine mammals. 2. Excess body fat. [From Middle English bluberen (to bubble), from bluber (bubble, foam), of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: c. 1400.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/blubber Blobfish https://wordsmith.org/words/images/blubber_large.jpg Photo: Grufnik https://www.flickr.com/photos/grufnik/6245807750/ "'I tried to maintain a face that was calm and cool, but I blubbered like a baby,' Joseph Fiennes said." Fiennes Defends Michael Jackson Role; The Straits Times (Singapore); Feb 6, 2016. -------- Date: Fri Dec 2 00:01:02 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chunter X-Bonus: The question is whether or not you choose to disturb the world around you, or if you choose to let it go on as if you had never arrived. -Ann Patchett, writer (b. 2 Dec 1963) This week's theme: Onomatopoeic words chunter (CHUHN-tuhr) verb intr. To mutter, grumble, or chatter. [Of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1599.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/chunter_large.jpg Photo: Glass Angel https://www.flickr.com/photos/47859152@N05/4932658739/ "All they [passengers in the train] did was chunter on about lambs, holidays, solar panels, grass growing, farming, the health service, marinades, Niagara Falls, the Taliban, and -- honestly -- noisy neighbours." Louise James; Biddies Doing My Head In; Belfast Telegraph (Northern Ireland); Mar 27, 2016. -------- Date: Mon Dec 5 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--succulent X-Bonus: Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished? Yes, work never begun. -Christina Rossetti, poet (5 Dec 1830-1894) Earlier this year, as in the last few years, I gave a few words to the artist Leah Palmer Preiss http://www.leahpalmerpreiss.com/ (curiouser AT mindspring.com) and she used alchemy and gramarye and who knows what to convert those words into magical works of art. Enjoy each of this week's words accompanied by her illustrations. See previous years' illustrations here: 2015 https://wordsmith.org/words/gramarye.html 2014 https://wordsmith.org/words/juggernaut.html 2013 https://wordsmith.org/words/felicitous.html 2012 https://wordsmith.org/words/bursiform.html 2011 https://wordsmith.org/words/redolent.html succulent (SUHK-yuh-luhnt) adjective: 1. Juicy. 2. Having thick fleshy leaves or stems for storing water, as a cactus. 3. Interesting or enjoyable. noun: A succulent plant. [From Latin succus (juice). Earliest documented use: 1601.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/succulent https://wordsmith.org/words/images/succulent_large.jpg Art: Leah Palmer Preiss http://www.leahpalmerpreiss.com/ "This gorgeous chardonnay majors on succulent peachy fruit." Top Tipples; Western Daily Press (Bristol, UK); May 7, 2016. "This was fabulous, very succulent gossip!" Joclyn Gipson; Dangerous Sister; Dog Ear Publishing; 2006. -------- Date: Tue Dec 6 00:01:02 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--marmorean X-Bonus: A timid question will always receive a confident answer. -Charles John Darling, lawyer, judge, and politician (6 Dec 1849-1936) This week's theme: Illustrated words marmorean (mahr-MOHR-ee-uhn) also marmoreal (mahr-MOHR-ee-uhl) adjective Resembling marble or a marble statue, for example, in smoothness, whiteness, hardness, coldness, or aloofness. [From Latin marmor (marble). Earliest documented use: 1656.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/marmorean https://wordsmith.org/words/images/marmorean_large.jpg Art: Leah Palmer Preiss http://www.leahpalmerpreiss.com/ "The museum is housed in a large marmorean white building." William Wilson; Surprising Mix at New Museum; Los Angeles Times; Apr 13, 1987. -------- Date: Wed Dec 7 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--afflatus X-Bonus: Students who acquire large debts putting themselves through school are unlikely to think about changing society. When you trap people in a system of debt, they can't afford the time to think. -Noam Chomsky, linguistics professor and political activist (b. 7 Dec 1928) This week's theme: Illustrated words afflatus (uh-FLAY-tuhs) noun A creative impulse or inspiration. [From Latin afflatus (a breathing on), from ad- (to) + flare (to blow). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhle- (to blow), which also gave us blow, bladder, blather, blast, flavor, inflate, and flatulence. Earliest documented use: 1649.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/afflatus https://wordsmith.org/words/images/afflatus_large.jpg Art: Leah Palmer Preiss http://www.leahpalmerpreiss.com/ "His stories ... are the perennial sources of his creative afflatus." Shafey Kidwai; The Past Never Died; The Hindu (Chennai, India); Feb 12, 2016. -------- Date: Thu Dec 8 00:01:04 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--peregrination X-Bonus: The real index of civilization is when people are kinder than they need to be. -Louis de Bernieres, novelist (b. 8 Dec 1954) This week's theme: Illustrated words peregrination (per-i-gruh-NAY-shuhn) noun Traveling from place to place, also a course of travel, especially on foot. [From Latin peregrinari (to travel abroad), from peregrinus (foreign), from peregre (abroad), from per- (through) + ager (field, country). Ultimately from the Indo-European root agro- (field), which is also the source of agriculture, acre, peregrine, pilgrim (a variant of peregrine), and agrestic https://wordsmith.org/words/agrestic.html . Earliest documented use: 1475.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/peregrination https://wordsmith.org/words/images/peregrination_large.jpg Art: Leah Palmer Preiss http://www.leahpalmerpreiss.com/ "Here's a sample of what I recorded from my peregrinations around society's watering holes last year." Adam Helliker; The End of the Year Review; The Express on Sunday (London, UK); Jan 3, 2016. -------- Date: Fri Dec 9 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ostentatious X-Bonus: Those who put out the people's eyes, reproach them for their blindness. -John Milton, poet (9 Dec 1608-1674) This week's theme: Illustrated words ostentatious (os-tuhn-TAY-shus) adjective Pretentious or vulgar display in an attempt to impress others. [From Latin ostentare (to display), frequentative of ostendere (to show), from ob- (against) + tendere (to stretch). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ten- (to stretch), which is also the source of tense, tenet, tendon, tent, tenor, tender, pretend, extend, tenure, tetanus, hypotenuse, tenable https://wordsmith.org/words/tenable.html , extenuate https://wordsmith.org/words/extenuate.html , countenance https://wordsmith.org/words/countenance.html , tenuous https://wordsmith.org/words/tenuous.html , distend https://wordsmith.org/words/distend.html , pertinacious https://wordsmith.org/words/pertinacious.html , and detente https://wordsmith.org/words/detente.html . Earliest documented use: 1590.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ostentatious https://wordsmith.org/words/images/ostentatious_large.jpg Art: Leah Palmer Preiss http://www.leahpalmerpreiss.com/ "Ghe moved ... through an ostentatious arch encased in gold leaf into a spacious cabin, onto the rich carpet." J. Gregory Keyes; The Waterborn; Del Rey; 2015. -------- Date: Mon Dec 12 00:01:02 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--behoof X-Bonus: The ring always believes that the finger lives for it. -Malcolm De Chazal, writer and painter (12 Sep 1902-1981) The dramatist Dennis Potter once said, "The trouble with words is that you never know whose mouths they've been in." Well, with some words, you do want them to be in other mouths, in mouths that know what they are talking about. Having traveled through those mouths the words acquire a cachet, a stamp of approval, a certain imprimatur. This week we'll look at five words that have flowed through well-known writers' mouths, pens, or keyboards. The people whose quotations will illustrate this week's words are Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, Saki, Edward Abbey, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. behoof (bi-HOOF) noun Advantage; benefit. [From Old English behof (profit, need). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kap- (to grasp), which is also the root of captive, capsule, chassis, cable, occupy, deceive, caitiff https://wordsmith.org/words/caitiff.html , captious https://wordsmith.org/words/captious.html , and gaff https://wordsmith.org/words/gaff.html . Earliest documented use: around 1275.] "Is not every man a student, and do not all things exist for the student's behoof?" Ralph Waldo Emerson; The American Scholar, a speech delivered Aug 31, 1837. -------- Date: Tue Dec 13 00:01:04 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--comminute X-Bonus: The walls of books around me, dense with the past, formed a kind of insulation against the present world and its disasters. -Ross Macdonald, novelist (13 Dec 1915-1983) This week's theme: Usage examples from well-known authors comminute (KOM-uh-noot, -nyoot) verb tr. and intr. To pulverize. [From Latin comminuere, from com- (intensive prefix) + minuere (to lessen). Ultimately from the Indo-European root mei- (small) that also gave us minor, minister, diminish, minimum, menu, mystery, and mince. Earliest documented use: 1626.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/comminute "I ask you to pronounce s-o-w, and you ask me what kind of one. If we had a sane, determinate alphabet, instead of a hospital of comminuted eunuchs, you would know whether one referred to the act of a man casting the seed over the ploughed land or whether one wished to recall the lady hog and the future ham." Mark Twain in a Speech in New York City; Dec 9, 1907. -------- Date: Wed Dec 14 00:01:02 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--maffick X-Bonus: Style is time's fool. Form is time's student. -Stewart Brand, writer and editor (b. 14 Dec 1938) This week's theme: Usage examples from well-known authors maffick (MAF-ik) verb intr. To celebrate boisterously. [Back formation from Mafeking (now Mahikeng), a town in South Africa, where a British garrison was besieged for 217 days during the Boer War. Lifting of the siege on May 17, 1900, sparked wild celebrations in London. Earliest documented use: 1900.] Mahikeng, South Africa: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/maffick.png Map: Wikimedia "Mother, may I go and maffick, Tear around and hinder traffic?" Saki aka HH Munro (1870-1916). -------- Date: Thu Dec 15 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--inhere X-Bonus: The universe is made of stories, not of atoms. -Muriel Rukeyser, poet and activist (15 Dec 1913-1980) This week's theme: Usage examples from well-known authors inhere (in-HEER) verb intr. To belong to something by its very nature; to be an inseparable part of something. [From Latin inhaerere (to be attached), from in- (in) + haerere (to stick). Earliest documented use: 1563.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/inhere "As any honest magician knows, true magic inheres in the ordinary, the commonplace, the everyday, the mystery of the obvious. Only petty minds and trivial souls yearn for supernatural events, incapable of perceiving that everything -- everything! -- within and around them is pure miracle." Edward Abbey; Abbey's Road; Plume; 1979. -------- Date: Fri Dec 16 00:01:02 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--spavined X-Bonus: One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don't come home at night. -Margaret Mead, anthropologist (16 Dec 1901-1978) This week's theme: Usage examples from well-known authors spavined (SPAV-ind) adjective 1. Suffering from spavin, a disease involving swelling of hock joints in a horse. 2. Old; decrepit; broken-down. [From Old French espavain (swelling). Earliest documented use: 1430.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/spavined "If they ever praise each other's bad drawings, or broken-winded novels, or spavined verses, nobody ever supposed it was from admiration; it was simply a contract between themselves and a publisher or dealer." Oliver Wendell Holmes; The Long Jolt on Public Opinion; The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table; 1858. -------- Date: Mon Dec 19 00:01:02 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--platitudinarian X-Bonus: You must protest / It is your diamond duty / Ah but in such an ugly time the true protest is beauty. -Phil Ochs, folksinger (19 Dec 1940-1976) The other day, I saw this sign in front of a store. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/seattle_lighting_sign_small.png It's supposed to read Seattle Lighting. It was ironic that a lighting store had its lights burned out, but it prompted another thought. What words are there that form another word when one letter is burned out, say an initial? The word "there" does it particularly well: there -> here -> ere -> re. But there's no there there -- we want more interesting words. This week we'll look at five unusual words, each of which yields another unusual word when its first letter goes dark. Think of these words as holiday lighting that still glows even when one of its bulbs goes out. platitudinarian (plat-i-tood-n-AR-ee-uhn, -tyood-) noun One who utters platitudes or trite remarks. [From French plat (flat). Ultimately from the Indo-European root plat- (to spread), which is also the root of flat, to flatter, plan, plant, plantain, plateau, plaza, platinum, supplant, and transplant. Earliest documented use: 1854. Remove the initial letter and you get latitudinarian https://wordsmith.org/words/latitudinarian.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/platitudinarian "Her successor, Livingston Biddle, was a platitudinarian, who to this day likes to expatiate on his slogan that 'the arts mean excellence'; one need only listen to him for two minutes to cease believing in art and excellence both." Joseph Epstein; What to Do About the Arts; Commentary; Apr 1995. -------- Date: Tue Dec 20 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--orotund X-Bonus: If we would have new knowledge, we must get us a whole world of new questions. -Susanne Langer, philosopher (20 Dec 1895-1985) This week's theme: Words that keep glowing even with a burnt-out letter orotund (OR-uh-tund) adjective 1. Strong, clear, rich (as in voice or speech). 2. Pompous, bombastic. [Contraction of Latin ore rotundo (with a round mouth), from ore, from os (mouth) + rotundo, from rotundus (round), from the Indo-European root ret- (to run or roll). Other words derived from the same root are rodeo, roll, rotary, rotate, rotund, roulette, and round. Earliest documented use: 1799. Remove the initial letter and you get rotund https://wordsmith.org/words/rotund.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/orotund https://wordsmith.org/words/images/orotund_large.jpg Illustration: Joe Brown http://www.christianslaughtoo.com/ "Christopher Lee plants himself centre-stage and unfurls a rich and orotund thespian's voice." Ludovic Hunter-Tilney; Singles and Albums for Christmas; Financial Times (London, UK); Dec 22, 2014. "The first pages listed fifteen high government officials with orotund titles." Herman Wouk; War and Remembrance; Little Brown & Co; 1978. -------- Date: Wed Dec 21 00:01:02 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--suberous X-Bonus: If there is a God, I don't think He would demand that anyone bow down or stand up to Him. -Rebecca West, author and journalist (21 Dec 1892-1983) This week's theme: Words that keep glowing even with a burnt-out letter suberous (SOO-buhr-uhs) adjective Like cork in appearance or texture. [From Latin suber (cork oak). Earliest documented use: 1670. Remove the initial letter and you get uberous https://wordsmith.org/words/uberous.html .] An image in which each pixel is made up of a cork https://wordsmith.org/words/images/suberous_large.jpg Photo: Koorosh Nozad Tehrani https://www.flickr.com/photos/25071770@N05/14299949901/ "Most of the year [floss silk trees] are noticed primarily for their unique trunks that are covered with suberous, pea green bark and large, squat, keep-your-distance thorns." Joshua Siskin; Learning About Spectacular-Looking Floss Silk Trees; Daily News (Los Angeles, California); Sep 11, 2014. -------- Date: Thu Dec 22 00:01:02 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--parable X-Bonus: What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other? -George Eliot (pen name of Mary Ann Evans), novelist (22 Nov 1819-22 Dec 1880) This week's theme: Words that keep glowing even with a burnt-out letter parable (PAR-uh-buhl) noun A short story that illustrates a moral lesson. [From Old French parable, from Latin parabola (comparison), from Greek parabole (comparison), from paraballein (to compare), from para- (beside) + ballein (to throw). Earliest documented use: 1250. Remove the initial letter and you get arable https://wordsmith.org/words/arable.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/parable The parable of good Samaritan https://wordsmith.org/words/images/parable_large.jpg Art: Vincent van Gogh "You have honored me this day with your story, which in other words, was like a parable." Michael Grant; Who Moved My Friggin' Provolone?; CreateSpace; 2016. -------- Date: Fri Dec 23 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dubiety X-Bonus: Every noon as the clock hands arrive at twelve, / I want to tie the two arms together, / And walk out of the bank carrying time in bags. -Robert Bly, poet (b. 23 Dec 1926) This week's theme: Words that keep glowing even with a burnt-out letter dubiety (doo-BY-i-tee, dyoo-) noun Doubtfulness or uncertainty. [If you're experiencing dubiety, you are of two minds, etymologically speaking. From Latin dubius (wavering), from duo (two). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dwo- (two) that also gave us dual, double, doubt, diploma (literally, folded in two), twin, between, redoubtable https://wordsmith.org/words/redoubtable.html , and didymous https://wordsmith.org/words/didymous.html . Earliest documented use: 1750. Remove the initial letter and you get ubiety https://wordsmith.org/words/ubiety.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/dubiety "For starters, individuals can exercise healthy dubiety, especially when an opportunity sounds too good to be true (spoiler: it probably is)." Trust but Verify; Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah); Oct 31, 2016. -------- Date: Mon Dec 26 00:01:02 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chintz X-Bonus: One has to be a lowbrow, a bit of a murderer, to be a politician, ready and willing to see people sacrificed, slaughtered, for the sake of an idea, whether a good one or a bad one. -Henry Miller, writer (26 Dec 1891-1980) A reader sent me a picture of this tattoo http://img01.deviantart.net/afe0/i/2010/083/d/c/brand_new_tattoo_lyrics__d_by_nightmare58710.jpg that says "I see God in birds and Satan in long words." It's a splendid tattoo and I love our feathery friends. What I was really intrigued about was what the owner of this artwork had against long words. Turns out the line is from a song http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/brandnew/sink.html . Not sure I agree with it. Just as all living beings, human and non-human, of all shapes and sizes, of all colors and stripes, enrich our world, so do words, short and long, homegrown and imported, plain and exotic, enrich our language. About 10 years ago we did a week of long words https://wordsmith.org/words/internationalization.html . This week we'll feature another set of long words, except that these words are long in some special manner. chintz (chints) noun A printed and glazed cotton fabric, typically with a flowery pattern. [From chintz, a printed cotton fabric imported from India, from Hindi chheent (spattering, stain). Earliest documented use: 1614. The word has resulted in the adjective chintzy meaning gaudy or stingy https://wordsmith.org/words/chintzy.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/chintz NOTES: Longest word with all letters in alphabetical order. There are others with the same length, but they are everyday words, such as "almost" and "begins". A dress in chintz https://wordsmith.org/words/images/chintz_large.jpg Photo: Hugo Maertens/Wikimedia "Caspian fingered the edge of the chintz curtain." Beatriz Williams; Tiny Little Thing; Berkeley Books; 2015. -------- Date: Tue Dec 27 00:01:04 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sesquipedalian X-Bonus: I talk about going to his [George W. Bush's] Inauguration and crying when he took the oath, 'cause I was so afraid he was going to "wreck the economy and muck up the drinking water" ... the failure of my pessimistic imagination at that moment boggles my mind now. -Sarah Vowell, author and journalist (b. 27 Dec 1969) This week's theme: Long words sesquipedalian (ses-kwi-pi-DAYL-yuhn) adjective 1. Polysyllabic. 2. Relating to or using long words. 3. Long-winded. [From Latin sesqui- (one and a half) + ped- (foot). First recorded use: 1615.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/sesquipedalian Notes: "Sesquipedalian" is a long word about long words. Literally speaking, a sesquipedalian word is one and a half feet long. A related word is sesquicentennial (150th anniversary). Fussbodenschleifmaschinenverleih (Floor grinding machine rental) Hamburg, Germany https://wordsmith.org/words/images/sesquipedalian_large.jpg Photo: txmx 2 https://www.flickr.com/photos/txmx-2/15009432199/ "Their explanations might have been completely legitimate, or they might have been sesquipedalian bushwa." Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston; Earth Unaware; Tor Books; 2012. https://wordsmith.org/words/bushwa.html -------- Date: Wed Dec 28 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dermatoglyphics X-Bonus: Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly. -Rose Franken, author and playwright (28 Dec 1895-1988) This week's theme: Long words dermatoglyphics (duhr-mat-uh-GLIF-iks, -muh-tuh-) noun 1. The ridge patterns of skin on the inner surface of the hands and feet. 2. The scientific study of these skin patterns. [Coined in 1926 by Dr Harold Cummins (1893-1976) from Greek dermato- (skin) + glyphein (to carve). Ultimately from the Indo-European root gleubh- (to tear apart), which is also the source of cleave, glyph, clever, and clove (garlic). And that's also where we get cleavage, cleft palate, and cloven hooves. Earliest documented use: 1926.] NOTES: It is one of the longest words with no repeated letters. Can you find another one of the same length? Here's a hint: you can't copyright it. It's 'uncopyrightable'. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/dermatoglyphics https://wordsmith.org/words/images/dermatoglyphics_large.jpg Photo: Josean Prado https://www.flickr.com/photos/joseanprado/2910820805 "Finger patterns can show the presence of inherited diseases. Don't tell me you've forgotten about dermatoglyphics." Jessica Matthews; Maverick in the ER; Harlequin; 2011. -------- Date: Thu Dec 29 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hemidemisemiquaver X-Bonus: The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border. -Pablo Casals, cellist, conductor, and composer (29 Dec 1876-1973) This week's theme: Long words hemidemisemiquaver (hem-ee-dem-ee-SEM-ee-kway-vuhr) noun A sixty-fourth note. [From Greek hemi- (half) + French demi- (half) + Latin semi- (half) + quaver (an eighth note), from Middle English quaveren (to shake or tremble). Earliest documented use: 1853.] NOTES: It's a long word about the shortest note in music. For another example of prefixes gone wild, see preantepenultimate (fourth from the last) https://wordsmith.org/words/preantepenultimate.html . See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/hemidemisemiquaver https://wordsmith.org/words/images/hemidemisemiquaver.png "'Commissaire, you have a foreigner's ear for our glorious language. Their names are completely different, CAYO and CAYOo,' Martiniere said, lingering the merest hemidemisemiquaver on the final imagined phoneme of the second 'YO'." Alexander Campion; Killer Critique; Kensington; 2012. -------- Date: Fri Dec 30 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--supercalifragilisticexpialidocious X-Bonus: The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. -L.P. Hartley, writer (30 Dec 1895-1972) This week's theme: Long words supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (soo-puhr-ka-li-fra-juh-lis-tik-eks-pi-uh-li-DO-shuhs) adjective Extraordinarily wonderful. [A fanciful formation. Earliest documented use is from 1949, though this word was popularized by the 1964 film "Mary Poppins".] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/supercalifragilisticexpialidocious_large.png Illustration: János Szüdi https://www.flickr.com/photos/szudi/6866379257 "You might as well say, 'Let's give the customer a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious experience.' But saying it doesn't make it so." Lewis Carbone; Clued In; Pearson; 2010.