Wordsmith.org: the magic of words


A.Word.A.Day

About | Media | Search | Contact  


Home

Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Archives

FAQ


A.Word.A.Day--honcho

Pronunciation RealAudio

honcho (HAWN-choh) noun

One who is in charge of a situation; leader; boss.

verb tr.

To organize, manage, or lead a project, event, etc.

[From Japanese hancho, from han (squad) + cho (chief).]

"It picked up three awards, including best editor for head honcho Anthony Thornton ..." Owen Gibson, New Media Diary, The Guardian (London) Oct 14, 2002.

"Believe it or not, you can buy a $6,000 shower curtain for your home. But why would you? Former Tyco International tycoon Dennis Kozlowski did. He also spent $2,200 on a wastebasket, nearly $3,000 on coat hangers and nearly $6,000 on sheets. ... `The prices are not out of line, but they're off the scale when it comes to priorities," says Bilhuber, whose client list includes ex-AOL Time Warner honcho Robert Pittman, Michael Douglas, David Bowie and his model wife, Iman, and designer Hubert Givenchy." Maria Puente, Tchotchkes of the Rich And Infamous, USA Today (McLean, Va.) Sep 27, 2002.

(A tchotchke [CHACH-kuh] is a cheap trinket, a knickknack.)

This week's theme: words `borrowed' from other languages.

X-Bonus

We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. -Viktor Frankl, author, neurologist and psychiatrist, Holocaust survivor (1905-1997)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith