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Jan 29, 2020
This week’s theme
Words about books

This week’s words
bibliophilia
chrestomathy
biblioclast
feuilleton
bibliophage

Anthony Comstock
Anthony Comstock, who destroyed 15 tons of books and gave us comstockery
Photo: Wikimedia

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

biblioclast

PRONUNCIATION:
(BIB-lee-uh-klast)

MEANING:
noun: One who destroys or mutilates books.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek biblio- (book) + -clast (breaker). Earliest documented use: 1880.

USAGE:
“Mr Raving was none too subtle a blend of born-again Christian, mini-arsonist, and my computer studies master. Once during a lesson, I had to retrieve a text-book from my bag necessitating the removal of everything else. Raving went, well, raving when he saw a copy of Eric Von Daniken’s ‘Chariots of the Gods’ appear. He grabbed the book almost before it landed on my desk and, with a zeal that would have made a Nazi biblioclast proud, set it alight and threw it into the bin while crossing himself with a ruler. A week later I was summoned to the office of the school library to explain why I hadn’t returned said book. I said: ‘Because Mr Raving destroyed it, sir.’ Aghast he replied: ‘Another one?!’”
Spike Breakwell; Disabled: Joe Egg’s School Days; The Independent on Sunday (London, UK); Feb 29, 2004.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against its government. -Edward Abbey, naturalist and author (29 Jan 1927-1989)

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