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May 26, 2025
This week’s themeWhose what? This week’s words Aaron's rod chef's kiss rat's nest devil's tattoo Adam's ale 
Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh: An Allegory of the Dinteville Family, 1537
Artist unknown Previous week’s theme Bloody words! 
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu GargIn 2019 the Apostrophe Protection Society shut down. Did they run out of those curly little marks? Did they think apostrophe abuse had been eradicated at last? Neither. Its founder, John Richards, was 96 and tired. “Ignorance and laziness present in modern times have won!” he declared. “This poor defenceless creature is indeed a threatened species.” With all due respect, that’s only half true. In some places it’s a threatened species; in others, an invasive one. The universe’s apostrophe supply, overall, stays in equilibrium. Anyway, Richards was tired, and who can blame him? People forget to add an apostrophe where it’s needed and sprinkle one in at random, just in case, like salt on bland grammar. Not long after, Richards died. He had earned his rest. But in 2022, a man named Bob McCalden revived the Society to carry Richards’ legacy. (Or should it be Richards’s? Or Richard’s? Or just Richards? Discuss below or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Present your best argument for each.) I visited the Apostrophe Protection Society’s online store. It offers the usual fare: mugs, T-shirts, books, etc., but curiously omits the two most essential tools in any punctuation vigilante’s kit: a black marker and a bottle of whiteout. Back in 2019, I made the case for retiring the apostrophe altogether. And I still believe it’s better to say hasta la vista to this twisted little squiggle. What would happen to the English language?! Nothing, itd just stroll on unbothered. Context, after all, is king. It tells you whether someone meant it is or its possessive. Sure, you can craft a sentence where it’s ambiguous but then one can do that even with the apostrophe. Until it goes the way of the penny, though, we might as well use it correctly. This week, we feature terms that answer the question: Whose what? Each includes an apostrophe exactly where it belongs. Aaron’s rod
PRONUNCIATION:
(air-uhnz ROD)
MEANING:
noun: 1. A powerful force that overcomes others around it. 2. Any of various plants with tall, flowering stems, like goldenrod or mullein. 3. An architectural molding featuring a snake motif, sometimes with vines and leaves. ETYMOLOGY:
After Aaron, a prophet in the Old Testament. Earliest documented use: 1631.
NOTES:
In the biblical talent show that was Pharaoh’s court (Exodus 7-12),
God tells Moses and his brother Aaron what miracle to perform: toss Aaron’s
staff in front of Pharaoh and, abracadabra, it becomes a snake. Pharaoh
summons his own magicians who perform the same trick. Aaron’s rod, well,
literally, eats the competition.
In Numbers 17:8 it sprouted and produced almonds. A magical staff indeed.
USAGE:
“Only the Caspar mill was running, Fort Bragg being the Aaron’s rod
that had swallowed all the others.” Peter Johnstone (ed.); Giants in the Earth; Heyday Books; 2001. See more usage examples of Aaron’s rod in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
A man that is ashamed of passions that are natural and reasonable is
generally proud of those that are shameful and silly. -Lady Mary Wortley
Montagu, author (26 May 1689-1762)
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