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Aug 16, 2026 This week’s theme Is it a noun or a verb? Both! This week’s words assart rapture skirr corbel mordant How popular are they? Relative usage over time AWADmail archives Index Next week’s theme Words that say it twice Wordsmith Games 🧩 Jigsaw Riddle The Starry River 🌍 Langitude Trace punic home AWADmail Issue 1259 A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and Language From: Charles valorz (cjvalorz juno.com) Subject: Nouns and verbs Some time ago, I came across “Inscription on a Lipstick”, a simple but profound poem by Yip Harburg: Oh, innocent victims of Cupid Remember this terse little verse; To let a fool kiss you is stupid, To let a kiss fool you is worse. Notice how kiss and fool exchange places and parts of speech between lines three and four. Chuck Valorz, Santa Cruz, California Email of the Week -- Brought to you by ONEUPMANSHIP® From: Jeremy Scott (jeremypatrickscott gmail.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--rapture The Greek verb behind the concept of the Rapture is harpazō (ἁρπάζω), meaning to snatch, seize, or carry off. In 1 Thessalonians 4:17, it appears as harpagēsometha (ἁρπαγησόμεθα), “we shall be caught up.” The Latin Vulgate renders it rapiemur, a form of rapere (to seize), the Latin verb behind rapture. I am a practicing Buddhist living in a monastery, and my meditation practice includes what is called pīti in Pali, often translated as rapture. This phenomenon can accompany deep concentration. In my experience, it can involve cool, blissful sensations of squeezing, pulling, undulating, vibrating, or spinning in and around the head. It can suffuse the entire body in strong waves of energy. Fascinating! Jeremy Scott, San Jose, California From: Elizabeth Block (elizabethblock netzero.net) Subject: Rapture During rehearsals for the first production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, the actor playing Nanki-Poo delivered “Rapture!” too enthusiastically after Yum-Yum told him that she did not love Ko-Ko. Gilbert called out, “Modified rapture!” The actor repeated the phrase. Gilbert liked it and added “modified” to the script. It is still there. Elizabeth Block, Toronto, Canada From: Simmonsville-cloud (via website comments) Subject: skirr I have this image of geese and the moon, a framed print, in our hall. It, and two or three other examples of Asian art (this is a memory stretch for me) were included in a subscription to Smithsonian magazine, I believe, back in the mid-1970s. They decorated our children’s rooms for years. Our son also had two of them framed in his home. I am delighted to get the name of the artist! Simmonsville-cloud From: JHH-Tea (via website comments) Subject: mordant The word mordent is related to mordant. A mordent is a musical ornament used by, for example, Bach. In modern terminology, an upper mordent might embellish C by quickly playing C-D-C, while a lower mordent would be C-B-C. In Bach’s time, however, mordent usually referred only to the lower-note figure. As with mordant, the name comes from Italian mordente (biting), from mordere (to bite), suggesting the little “bite” the ornament gives the sound. JHH-Tea From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com) Subject: corbel and skirr The Trumpification of Washington, DC, continues as Donald Trump pushes a collection of highly personal building projects. The White House East Wing was demolished for a ballroom project above an underground security complex. His proposed triumphal arch, nicknamed “L’Arc de Trump,” has received preliminary approval, although the National Park Service says it would alter historic sightlines involving the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House. A rushed Reflecting Pool renovation has required repairs, and the Oval Office now glitters with gold-colored ornament. Inspired by the skirr usage example mentioning the 13th-century Sufi mystic and poet Rumi, I imagined a whirling dervish of the Mevlevi order immersed in the sema ceremony, a ritual of prayer and meditation. The dervish spins counterclockwise, seeking to subdue the ego and draw closer to God. His right palm faces upward to receive divine grace, while his left faces downward to pass that grace to the earth. On the sidelines, a dumbfounded Tasmanian Devil, a renowned spinner in his own right, appears to have met his whirling match. Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California Anagrams This week’s theme: Is it a noun or a verb? Both! Assart Rapture Skirr Corbel Mordant = Thwaite (somber, dark?) Euphoria Hasten Truss, star bracket Borne vitriol sermon? -Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com) = Smooth or even bare land Euphoria Skitter, a whirr Bracket, mason’s truss Bitter = To make arable, thwaite Transport or in trance, eh Birds hover, skim Truss Be sour -Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com) -Julian Lofts, Auckland, New Zealand (jalofts xtra.co.nz) Make your own anagrams and animations. Limericks assart The bulldozers now have departed; The forest’s completely assarted. Our seeds we must sow, So new crops will grow -- Let’s roll up our sleeves and get started. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) The farmer whose nickname was Art, When planting, knew just where to start. His biggest land tract Was where he attacked; It was there Art would start to assart. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “When my forests you humans assart,” Said Gaia, “you strike at my heart. They’re the way that I breathe, And without them you’ll seethe; Just ask ChatGPT, it’s so smart!” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) rapture What marvelous rapture and bliss! She’d never before felt like this. Her heart turned to mush The day that her crush Came closer and gave her a kiss. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) I’m uncertain where “rapture” might fit -- A noun or a verb, what is it? I just know how it feels Bringing forth lotsa squeals! An’ it’s something you don’t want to quit! -Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com) The Swifties, great fans of Miss Swift, Think her concerts are her special gift. So each note they will capture, And scream in a rapture, Which leaves all their parents just miffed. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “When the crust of the planet we fracture,” Said the oil exec, “I’m in rapture. Toxic waste we may leave, And the land will upheave, But just think of the profits we capture!” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) skirr Back and forth round the house does she skirr. She is moving so fast, she’s a blur. I wish that she’d nap Right here in my lap, Where I’d feel her contentedly purr. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) I’ve been stopped by a strange-sounding skirr, Not at all like a barking or purr ... As I leave for the day This noise gets in my way, And I can’t figure out what it’s fer! -Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com) “What is that odd noise?” shouted Bert, As his vacuum was picking up dirt. Then it made a loud whir, And continued to skirr, As poor Bert had sucked up his own shirt. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) Getting older, it’s often occurred, That my memory’s foggy or blurred. So I cry, “Where the hell Are my keys and my cell?” When all ‘round the house, I have skirred. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) Said the kitty, “You want me to purr? Scratch my ears, then, or else I will skirr. But stop when I say! If you fail to obey, An encounter with claws will occur.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) When the night before Christmas occurred, No creature all through the house stirred. But this poem is short, So the rest I’ll abort ‘Bout an elf who around the world skirred. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) corbel That corbel up there on the wall Some architect once did install. Now please don’t confuse Which term one should use: It isn’t a gargoyle at all. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) That corbel outside on our wall? No one pays it attention at all! But I think that it leers, And it scares me to tears ... Now how can I make the thing fall? -Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com) “This tower you see had a corbel,” Said the tour guide, “with beauty immortal. But sea levels rose Due to fuels that they chose, So to find it, you now have to snorkel.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Said the bird, “From my perch on this corbel, I chirp, and I sing, and I warble. Then when people walk by, Bombs away from on high! I poop on their heads and I chortle.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) mordant How mordant is that fellow’s wit! And he does make me laugh, I’ll admit. But I guess it is true If his jokes are on you, His punchlines can sting quite a bit. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) His pottery work is so fine That I wanted his vase to be mine. A mordanted heart Was a part of his art, And it formed the most perfect design. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “Though this diaper when dry was absorbent, It’s time I was changed; it’s important,” Said the baby. “We’ll pass,” Said her folks. “It’s just gas.” But her cries grew increasingly mordant. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Puns “You think you’re getting in? What kind of an assart thou?” Saint Peter asked Donald at the pearly gates. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) The avant-garde artist wouldn’t use brushes, but painted his pictures with his posterior. He called it assart. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “I even will rapture-ning butter, and oh yeah, while I pull on an udder!” sang the dairy farmer’s hip-hop-loving son. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) The office playboy would chase after anyone wearing a skirr-t. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “You really think she might go out with me, dad?” “You’ll never know if you don’t a-skirr, son.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “Before I met you and learned to love, I was rotten to the corbel,” blubbered the former Beast after his rapture. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “The first pages of The Inferno are great! Write some mordant-é,” urged Alighieri’s editor. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Eminent posts make great men greater, and little men less. -Jean de La Bruyere, essayist and moralist (16 Aug 1645-1696)

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