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Oct 25, 2026
This week’s themeZ in the spotlight This week’s words zillionaire spizzerinctum zazzy pizzazz izzard How popular are they? Relative usage over time AWADmail archives Index Next week’s theme Eponyms from antiquity Wordsmith Games
AWADmail Issue 1269A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and LanguageFrom: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) Subject: Interesting stories from the Net Your Dog May Link Sounds With Shapes, Just Like You Do Phys.org Permalink Stop Making Sense: Focus on Sounds to Help Learn a Language, Study Suggests The Guardian Permalink From: Dan Bell (belldan hotmail.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--zillionaire You wrote: “At $1 million a day, that sum would last more than 3,000 years.” And in regular people’s money, if you could save $50,000 per year, it would take 20,000 years to have just one billion! Dan Bell, Paradise, California
Email of the Week -- Brought to you by ONEUPMANSHIP®
From: Terry Stone (cgs7952 bellsouth.net) Subject: Zillions and Jillions When I was a child, the California public schools I attended would allow our teachers to pass out monthly sales flyers from Scholastic Books. I was an avid reader, and my parents would purchase one or two from each month’s selections that I’d pick out. One of my favorites was Zero to Zillions: The Arrow Book of Number Magic by Irwin Weiss (1966). I remember being quite disappointed when the author explained that a zillion was not an actual number. Needless to say, over time, this interesting tome, with all its arithmetical magic, became dog-eared from all the times my siblings and I went poring over its pages. Where that book referred to zillions, my father, a land surveyor, often used our Texas familial colloquialism jillions (with heavy emphasis on the j). It both amused and puzzled me a bit because he was usually so precise when it came to numbers. His profession, after all, required exactness down to the inch. Terry Stone, Goldendale, Washington From: Marcia Ian (gnudle icloud.com) Subject: Zillionaire According to Fran Drescher, Donald Trump’s 1996 cameo on The Nanny involved a negotiation over one word. The script originally had Fran Fine describe him as a millionaire. His assistant requested “billionaire”. Drescher proposed “zillionaire” instead, and Trump’s team agreed. Marcia Ian, Bellingham, Washington From: Kara Muller (kym24karatgold gmail.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--zillionaire Gobazintrillion: A combination of googol, bazillion, and trillion. A noun meaning A LOT. 😅 Kara Muller, George, South Africa From: Allan E Prentice (allan.e.prentice gmail.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--zazzy I think I first came across “zazzy” in The Big Bang Theory, during Sheldon’s cat-adoption phase. He named one of the cats Zazzles because, as he explained, “He’s so zazzy!” Allan Prentice, Eugene, Oregon From: Mike Zim (mikewzim gmail.com) Subject: Those zazzy can-can dancers Seurat’s high-kicking can-can dancers and the attentive overcoated ringside patron made me remember Father Modesty. In 1886, an employee at Paris’s Élysée-Montmartre dance hall exhibited behavior commonly shown by 20th-century pro wrestling referees.
Coutelat du Roche, a mildly comic character, was hired by management
to forestall any threat of intervention by the police, by acting as an
inspector of the performance. Put simply, Du Roche’s role was to peer up
the dancers’ skirts as they made their high kicks to ensure that they
were wearing knickers -- not always the case! But while earning himself
the nickname Père la Pudeur, or Father Modesty, the inspector was pretty
easygoing and had a habit of looking away at the crucial moment. -David Sweetman, p. 162, Explosive Acts: Toulouse-Lautrec, Oscar Wilde, Félix Fénéon, and the Art & Anarchy of the Fin de Siècle Mike Zim, Columbus, Ohio From: Mark Santangelo (msantangelo jtcc.org) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--zazzy For YEARS now I have been daring my students to use this as their starter word in Wordle. Someday... Mark Santangelo, College Park, Maryland From: Kenneth Kirste (kkkirste sbcglobal.net) Subject: Pizazz Like a pinball machine, the word pizazz bounced me back into the late 1940s when my family would gather around the radio in our living room to listen to The Baby Snooks Show. How did my mind land there? Your word today popped these lyrics from the song “I’m the Greatest Star” into my noggin:
In all of the world so far I’m the greatest star Who is the pip with pizazz? Who is all ginger and jazz? Sung by Barbra Streisand, it’s from the 1964 Broadway musical Funny Girl, based on the life of comedian and Broadway star Fanny Brice. It was Brice who first created the precocious child character Baby Snooks during her days in vaudeville, eventually parlaying it into a long-running popular radio broadcast. Ken Kirste, Sunnyvale, California From: Mardy Grothe (drmgrothe gmail.com) Subject: Doris Lessing
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: It is our stories that will recreate us, when we are torn, hurt, even destroyed. -Doris Lessing, novelist, poet, playwright, Nobel laureate (22 Oct 1919-2013) Loved your “Thought for Today” from Doris Lessing. It comes from her 2007 Nobel lecture, “On Not Winning the Nobel Prize” (Dec 7, 2007). In her address, she continued:
It is the storyteller, the dream-maker, the myth-maker, that is our
phoenix, that represents us at our best, and at our most creative.
Lessing was reflecting on the enduring importance of storytelling, particularly its power to sustain and renew human beings in the face of war, catastrophe, and suffering. The metaphor of the phoenix, the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes, makes her point especially powerful. In Lessing’s view, stories aren’t simply a form of entertainment -- they help us rebuild ourselves and our lives after we’ve been overwhelmed or traumatized. For more quotes on the importance of stories and storytelling, go here. Mardy Grothe, Southern Pines, North Carolina From: Chris Roth (cnroth gmail.com) Subject: five Zs How about pizzazzize (verb): to add pizzazz? Chris Roth, Dexter, Oregon From: Philip Gottling (gottlingbsn usa.net) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--izzard No discussion of izzard would be complete without a mention of English performer Eddie Izzard. Philip Gottling, Honolulu, Hawaii From: Laura Peebles (lhpeebles aol.com) Subject: Zee/Zed When my stepmother moved from Canada to the US, she didn’t realize that we used zee, not zed, for the last letter of the alphabet. She was nonplussed when spelling a name over the phone to the operator (remember those?) and kept saying “ZED! You know, the last letter of the alphabet!” One of my favorite cartoons is a guy standing in front of a museum exhibit, reading a description: “Adze. Formerly used for cutting wood, now used for getting rid of the Z in Scrabble.” Laura Peebles, Arlington, Virginia From: Frederick Kreutz (fkreutz wi.rr.com) Subject: z words Years ago, when I was teaching, I encountered sprezzatura and convinced my seventh-grade homeroom students to adopt that as their class nickname. We wanted to be known as the “sprezzaturas”! They liked it. Fred Kreutz, Mukwonago, Wisconsin From: Julie Pinnella (jespinn530 aol.com) Subject: Z words I’m quite confident that you’re aware of Zzyzx, California, but on the off chance that you’re not... Julie Pinnella, Torrance, California From: Ann Bietsch (adbietsch comcast.net) Subject: Z words While the letter z is somewhat rare in English, it is very common in Polish. For that reason, the Polish version of Scrabble has five Z tiles. In the English version of Scrabble, that tile is worth 10 points. In the Polish one, each tile is only worth one point. Ann Bietsch, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania From: Sarah Ingram (sarah.ingram wvt.nhs.uk) Subject: Z You wrote: “In Shakespeare’s day, Z was rarely used in English, and S often did its work.” Still in the UK we use S more often than Z at the ends of words. Recognise/recognize, paralyse/paralyze, etc. Much to the annoyance of my spellchecker! Sarah Ingram, Hereford, UK From: Michael Poxon (mikethestarman gmail.com) Subject: zed and zee A couple of years back I was giving a talk in the US about the star RZ Piscium and included an aside to ask afterwards if the largely US audience wanted to know why we in Britain call it zed and they call it zee. They were surprised to learn that zed comes, through French and Latin, from the Greek letter name zeta. Michael Poxon, Norwich, UK From: Henry M. Willis (hmw ssdslaw.com) Subject: The letter Z Z seems to have always had a special power in American English, judging from the words you have brought us this week, but especially in the last thirty or so years. You can see this in hip hop (boyz, playaz, eyez), online world (ZOMG), teen slang (rizz), tagging, and other newly created lingos, where Z makes ordinary words more edgy and emphatic. As an example, in the world of trading cards, congratulations became grats, then gratz, before getting shortened even further to grz, which can be lengthened to grzz and grzzz when you’re really enthusiastic. Henry Willis, Los Angeles, California From: TerraCinque (via website comments) Subject: Abbreviations I’m perplexed that you keep abbreviating the names of the months and days of the week (Mon, Thu, Mar, etc.). It’s not like space is at a premium, and it’s a little jarring to see. Why did you start doing it, Anu? TerraCinque
It’s deliberate. I like the symmetry of three letters for every day
and month: less typing, the same information. These forms are familiar
from calendars; I’d like to make them familiar in prose, too. Consider
it my small campaign for shorter days and months.
Besides, if we don’t trim a few letters from the calendar, where will we find room for words like spizzerinctum? -Anu Garg From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com) Subject: zillionaire and izzard  
Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California Anagrams 
Limericks zillionaire Those zillionaires willing to pay Can influence Donald today. They give him their cash; He adds to his stash And happily does things their way. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) To his girlfriend the zillionaire said, “Why, of course, I am happy to wed. But I’ll ask you to sign Right here on the line Just in case a divorce lies ahead.” -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) I really don’t think it is fair That some people get more than their share. Many struggle to eat, Or to make their ends meet, And jerk Musk is a twit zillionaire. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “The White House has made me a zillionaire; When I leave, though, I’ll take some Brazilian air,” Said Donald. “My grift Here will leave DAs miffed, But I’ll hide as a plain old civilian there.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) spizzerinctum All those contracts -- well, somehow he inked ’em. And his businesses -- Elon has linked ’em. He is a success -- In part I would guess It’s because of his great spizzerinctum. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) “Those Iranian ships, sir? We sinked ’em!” Said Pete Hegseth with great spizzerinctum. “They’re sure to surrender; It’s time for a bender! Let’s break out my bottles and drink some!” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) zazzy F. Scott and his Zelda were zazzy, A couple of dressers quite snazzy. They were known for their style, All the rage for a while, Way back in an age that was jazzy. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) Now Millie, a flapper, was zazzy. Her taste in her clothes really snazzy. With devil-may-care, She’d bob her long hair, And she liked all her music quite jazzy. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) While Duke Ellington’s music was jazzy, His clothes were what made the man zazzy. Said he, “What we need With this band that I lead Is some style; I gotta look snazzy.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) pizzazz Onstage she displays a pizzazz -- You might say a razzamatazz. Whatever it’s called, We’re all just enthralled, Amazed at the talent she has. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) They once called it “razzamatazz”, Folks were “on” all the time -- age was jazz! Later, tho, I suspect Those poor old legs, wrecked, Could just vaguely remember pizzazz! -Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com) Said the Red Sox, “We wish we’d had Yaz, For the Yankees sure played with pizzazz. Against Schlittler and Rice The results weren’t nice; Aaron Boone’s got the team, yes he has.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) izzard Her toddler’s a genius, a wizard, Reciting from A through to izzard! He is smart, it is true, But the kid’s only two -- He’s trying to eat his pet lizard! -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) “Although Anu missed lizard and gizzard, I’m the star of this week,” said the izzard. “I’m uncommon, you say? I dispute that! No way! For I’m also in blizzard and wizard!” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Puns The richest man in South America’s largest country is a Bra-zillionaire. -Jim Ertner, Greensboro, North Carolina (jde31459 gmail.com) From modest beginnings, Domino’s made its founder one of the industry’s wealthiest piz-zillionaires. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) A zillionaire Lingus ads appeared on her phone after her recent trip to Ireland. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “At Sal’spizzerinctum-mies get filled with hot delicious pies while the calories are skated away!” said the billboard. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “Zsa-zazzy-ro forces in the universe could ever tear us apart,” said Eva Gabor to her sister. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “Dividing the circumference of a circle by its diameter gives you a number with real pizzazz,” said the nerdy math professor. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “Maybe the w-izzard will give you some courage,” Dorothy told the Cowardly Lion. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “I never sc-izzard before,” said the blushing young lesbian to her partner. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) My least favorite part of a turkey is the g-izzard. -Jim Ertner, Greensboro, North Carolina (jde31459 gmail.com) A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given
us to understand. -Pablo Picasso (25 Oct 1881-1973)
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