A.Word.A.Day -- AWADmail Issue 1209

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AWADmail Issue 1209

A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and Language

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From: Seun Lari-Williams (seunlw gmail.com)
Subject: No Yesterdays on the Road? Ask a Nigerian

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road. -William Least Heat-Moon, travel writer (b. 27 Aug 1939)

Today’s quote struck me differently. A beautiful idea, but not quite the case when you’re escaping what we Nigerians call japa (slang for migrating to escape hardship).

For some of us, yesterdays are not erased on the road. They are dug up, inspected, and too often held against us. And if our yesterdays are not available, our futures are scrutinised at consulates, airports, and immigration desks before we even set off.

Seun Lari-Williams, Antwerp, Belgium

From: Howard Jack (howard.jack.au gmail.com)
Subject: Thought for Today

No yesterdays on the road... It’s true only for one’s own personal life, values, etc. However, and unfortunately, one’s nationality, colour, race, etc. may well be held against one as they may well interpret one’s past from those characteristics and from the behaviours of others from the past.

Howard Jack, Grafton, Australia

From: Barbara Anuzis (barbara.anuzis gmail.com)
Subject: Serendipitous

As a high school senior, I attended a lecture by a visiting chemistry professor who discussed serendipitous discoveries such as teflon, velcro, and Post-It notes. The memorable title of his talk: “Serendipity favors the prepared mind.”

Barbara Anuzis, Fairview, North Carolina

From: Eric Mack (ewm44118 yahoo.com)
Subject: Serendipitous
And then there’s the 2001 movie, Serendipity.

Eric Mack, Jerusalem, Israel

From: Cheryl Faris (kingfaris sbcglobal.net)
Subject: Serendip

Thank you for the daily dose of joy and elucidation! And occasional snarkiness!

“Sons of Serendip” is a quartet, finalists on America’s Got Talent in 2014. They have continued their musical career since then. They are talented and charming (like you). Give them a listen! (video, 4 min.)

Cheryl Faris, Los Angeles, California

From: Norm Cohen (normcohen@hotmail.com)
Subject: serendipity

My favorite definition of serendipity is from Dr. Julius H. Comroe, Jr who said: “Serendipity is looking in a haystack for a needle and discovering a farmer’s daughter.”

Norm Cohen, Brentwood, California

From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: kryptonite and serendipitous

Wannabe strongman, the so-called “Man of the Deal” (as opposed to “The Man of Steel”... Superman), Trump has one glaring vulnerability, his kryptonite being flattery. As a narcissist and having an inordinate desire to be liked and praised, he finds it hard to differentiate genuine, heartfelt admiration from just plain sycophancy. Here, Putin plays Trump like a fiddle... or would that be a balalaika? Ha!

Hmm... I could argue that my discovering this week’s ancient Persian word for Sri Lanka, “Serendip”, a totally foreign (literally) word to me, was a tad serendipitous. Having spent the month of July of last year exploring this fascinating island, I thought a cartoon featuring a native Sri Lankan (Asian) elephant and a toque macaque monkey conversing about the many iterations of the island’s name would be fun and hopefully illuminating.

Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California

From: Sarah Wright (wrightsarahh hotmail.com)
Subject: Cats and Birds

Last week, one of your readers correctly noted the great toll cats take on our bird population. My indoor-outdoor cat actually has an outdoor job, and I hated that she used to kill so many birds, about one every couple of weeks. Then I discovered Birds Be Safe and bought several of their colorful collars. The death count is down to about one bird per year, still more than I’d like, but such an improvement! Here is a picture of Clio modeling one of her collars.

Sarah Wright, Greensboro, North Carolina

Anagrams


	This week’s theme: Toponyms Smithfield bargain Kryptonite Punic Byzantinize Serendipitous	=	Hoping for the prize in it Superman’s weak link In doubt Optimize aesthetics Sent by my destiny
			-Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com)
=	Skim buyer He-man’s rizz; his one debility Feint, dupe Knotty posit, mot-- grist....win I.e. happenstance	=	Synonym - deceit My weak spot: I ebb & I perish. RIP. Isn’t honest Make puzzling It’s fortunate I hinted
	-Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com)		-Julian Lofts, Auckland, New Zealand (jalofts xtra.co.nz)

Make your own anagrams and animations.

Limericks

Smithfield bargain

My good friend got a broker’s advice
For some stocks at a very low price.
It was all bogus jargon
For a bad Smithfield bargain.
The poor fool lost his shirt in a trice.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

He was offered a deal on a yacht.
While it seemed a good price, it was not.
Jared trusted, you know,
In dear Tiffany’s beau,
But a bargain from Smithfield he got.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

The car salesman said with a sneer,
“There’s no Smithfield bargain in here.
The car’s as it should.
Don’t look ‘neath the hood.
The engine is extra, it’s clear.”
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“Weeth Donald I made Smeethfield bargain,
Though back then I deed not know thees jargon,”
Said Melania. “Jail
Eet’s been like, eef upscale;
Do you theenk ‘e might geeve me a pardon?”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

kryptonite

It’s kryptonite Democrats seek
To somehow make Donald Trump weak.
But in a cruel twist,
It doesn’t exist,
And lately the outlook is bleak.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

Now Epstein is Trump’s kryptonite.
Those files, they give him a fright.
His past will undo
The Donald, it’s true,
If ever the truth comes to light.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“As the sun is for me kryptonite,
I must sleep in my crypt till tonight,”
Said the count. “Though I’m smitten,
Please wait to be bitten;
Don’t think me, my dear, impolite.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Punic

Said Donald, “I solemnly vow
To take on betrayers right now!
If they dare throw me shade,
Then I’ll order a raid!”
He’ll punish the Punic, and how!
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

She dated a man born in Munich,
But found that his actions were Punic.
She’d threaten this mister,
Who romanced her sister.
“Get out, or I’ll make you a eunuch!”
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“In my harem you’ll never be Punic,
For to guard it I’ll make you a eunuch,”
Said the sultan. “Temptation
Is gone with castration;
You’ll find that it’s quite therapeutic.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

byzantinize

It’s best in a lecture to state
Your topic right out of the gate.
Don’t byzantinize;
Keep it simple -- that’s wise.
Just give it to listeners straight!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

Our old teacher would say, “It is wise
When you write not to byzantinize.
Keep your arguments clear.
Then more A’s will appear.
And your grades will improve, no surprise.”
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

Said Ghislaine, “Though I’m lower than slime,
Donald’s lackeys will ease my jail time!
Through my libertine eyes
I’ll just byzantinize
What is simple: sex trafficking crime.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

serendipitous

Ben Franklin did once fly a kite
To prove that his theory was right,
And lightbulbs now glow.
Serendipitous? No!
It was science, and Ben saw the light.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

When she traveled with Mom and with Dad,
Serendipitous run-ins they had.
Their old neighbor they met
On a trail in Tibet
And again when they visited Chad.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

How lovely to see you, Monsieur!
We hear you’ve developed a cure
For that nameless disease
Which has made us all wheeze.
Serendipitous, sir, to be sure!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

“Dropping egg into pot serendipitous!
It hard-boiled!” said Oog. “Such deliciousness!
Next morning me tried
Scrambled kind! And then fried!
We so lucky that birds are oviparous!”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Puns

“Those who enter a Smithfield bargain access to the finest local brews as well as sandwiches made from our world-famous ham,” said the Virginia town’s tourist brochure.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“I dream of the millions we’ll make from kryptonite-ly,” said Donald of his plans to sell worthless digital coins to his unsuspecting followers.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“We won’t visit the kryptonite,” decided the family. “We’ll go to the mausoleum tomorrow.”
-Janice Power, Cleveland, Ohio (powerjanice782 gmail.com)

“Though your manhood is punic-ome here,” said Stormy, thinking of the six figures she could ultimately demand to keep quiet.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

As a teenager, Nicholas had such bad body odor, his friends would hold their noses and cry, “Punic!”
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“Though he knew she was a complicated woman, one look from those Byzantinize and he was hopelessly in love,” wrote the romance novelist.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“If you’re finding the cookie too stiff, bring it over to your cup of coffee serendipitous I shall demonstrate,” said the barista respectfully.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can’t eat money. -Alanis Obomsawin, filmmaker (b. 31 Aug 1932)

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