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Nov 27, 2007
This week's theme
Words with built-in definite articles

This week's words
lagniappe
alcove
El Dorado
azimuth
algorithm

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

alcove

(AL-kov) Pronunciation Sound Clip

noun:
1. A recess in a wall.
2. A small, secluded space connected to a room or in a garden.

From French alcôve, from Spanish alcoba, from Arabic al-qubba (the vault).

"Fuller, Smith & Turner, one of London's last remaining brewers, said a wet summer and the introduction of a smoking ban had not dented profits, as drinkers stuck with ales and smokers huddled in outside alcoves. 'Pubs without smoking are much nicer places to be,' Chairman Michael Turner told a press conference."
Alastair Sharp; Brewer Fuller Sees Through Haze of Smoking Ban; Reuters UK; Nov 23, 2007.

See more usage examples of alcove in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

X-Bonus

I prefer the sign NO ENTRANCE to the sign which says NO EXIT. -Stanislaw J. Lec, poet and aphorist (1909-1966)

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