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Jun 16, 2021
This week’s theme
Contractions

This week’s words
bolshie
lackadaisical
blitz
zounds
extrality

blitz
People sheltering in the Elephant and Castle Underground Station during the London Blitz, Nov 1940

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

blitz

PRONUNCIATION:
(blits)

MEANING:
noun:1. A swift, sudden military attack, especially aerial bombardment.
 2. An intense campaign, for example, an ad blitz.
verb tr.:To attack, destroy, conquer, etc.

ETYMOLOGY:
Short for blitzkrieg, from German Blitzkrieg, from Blitz (lightning) + Krieg (war). Earliest documented use: 1939. Also see coventrate.

USAGE:
“I blitzed the final exam, so I’m now, officially, a starchy old accountant, stiff, dull, and sober.”
V.K. Black; Unexpected Places; Harlequin; 2014.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The [Nobel] prize is such an extraordinary honor. It might seem unfair, however, to reward a person for having so much pleasure over the years, asking the maize plant to solve specific problems and then watching its responses. -Barbara McClintock, scientist, Nobel laureate (16 Jun 1902-1992)

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