A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Wed Mar 1 00:14:25 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Mrs. Grundy X-Bonus: Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later. -Frederick P. Brooks, Jr. [The Mythical Man-Month] Mrs. Grundy (MIS-iz GRUND-ee) noun An extremely conventional or priggish person. [After Mrs. Grundy, character alluded to in the play Speed the Plough by Thomas Morton (1764-1838), British playwright.] "As the author sits at the bullring reflecting on the mysteries of the corrida, he gets to talking with an old lady, a Mrs Grundy or Mme Salieri, the spirit of respectable gentility doing her best with a challenging new experience." David Thomson, Arts : Moving Pictures, Independent on Sunday, 17 Nov 1996. This week's theme: eponyms from fiction. -------- Date: Thu Mar 2 00:14:32 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Dolly Varden X-Bonus: If I could I would always work in silence and obscurity, and let my efforts be known by their results. -Emily Bronte (1818-1848) Dolly Varden (DOL-ee VAR-dn) noun A colorfully spotted trout (Salvelinus malma) of northwest North America and eastern Asia. [After Dolly Varden, a character known for her colorful costume in the novel Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens.] "Chum bump the bottoms of our canoes in their insane upstream urges, and Dolly Varden leap shimmering into our waiting tortillas." Rauber, Paul, Fortress of the bear: paddling in the wake of the heroes of Admiralty Island, Sierra, 15 May 1998. This week's theme: eponyms from fiction. -------- Date: Fri Mar 3 00:47:44 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--man Friday X-Bonus: If there is anything we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves. -Carl Gustav Jung, psychiatrist (1875-1961) man Friday (man FRIE-dee) noun An efficient, faithful male aide or employee. [After Man Friday, a character in Robinson Crusoe, a novel by Daniel Defoe.] "Pivotal to this theme are the triangles between The Kid, Apollonia, and Morris (Morris Day), and between The Kid, Morris, and Jerome (Jerome Benton), Morris' man Friday." Purple Rain, Magill's Survey of Cinema, 15 Jun 1995. This week's theme: eponyms from fiction. -------- Date: Sat Mar 4 00:07:34 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Mickey Mouse X-Bonus: If you would lift me up you must be on higher ground. -Ralph Waldo Emerson Mickey Mouse (MIK-ee mous) adjective, Slang 1. Unimportant; trivial. Irritatingly petty. 2. Intellectually unchallenging; simple 3. Blandly sentimental. Used of popular compositions and performers. Relating to a soundtrack that accompanies the action in an unsubtle, melodramatic way suggestive of music written for animated films. [After the cartoon character Mickey Mouse, created by Walt Disney.] "A French Church of Scientology spokeswoman calls a French government report urging dissolution of the church a `slap-dash Mickey Mouse job in which facts are pulled out of a hat.'" Scientologists denounce French report, UPI 9 Feb 2000. This week's theme: eponyms from fiction. -------- Date: Sun Mar 5 00:07:30 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--big brother X-Bonus: I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter. -Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) big brother (big BRUTH-uhr) noun 1. An older brother. 2. A man who assumes the role of an older brother, as by providing guidance or protection. 3. Also Big Brother. An omnipresent, seemingly benevolent figure representing the oppressive control over individual lives exerted by an authoritarian government. A state, an organization, or a leader regarded in this manner. [Sense 3, after Big Brother, a character in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.] "When all states comply with the federal mandates currently being enacted, there will exist a nationwide network that will make Big Brother look like Baby Huey." Fay Faron, Technology keeps heat on deadbeat dad, The Dallas Morning News, 23 Aug 1996. This week's theme: eponyms from fiction. -------- Date: Mon Mar 6 00:07:44 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--xanadu X-Bonus: It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. -Aristotle Xanadu (ZAN-uh-doo, -dyoo) noun 1. An idyllic, beautiful place. [After Xanadu, a place in Kubla Khan, a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.] "Although bachelor Gates is building a 37,000-square-foot Xanadu, he maintains that wealth 'loses all power to motivate once you have enough to be comfortable.'" Tony Chiu; Nick Gallo, If People Complain, People, 24 Oct 1991. "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree," these opening lines of Coleridge's opium-induced poem brought the word Xanadu to common currency in the English language. But the real provenance of Xanadu is Xandu (17th century spelling, modern spelling Shang-tu), the summer home of Kublai Khan. Marco Polo's travels to the East and his lofty accounts of Kublai Khan's kingdom forever marked Xanadu as a place of exotic luxury and magnificence. During the rest of this week we'll see more toponyms, or words based on place names. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Mar 7 03:18:36 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--boeotian X-Bonus: There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew. -Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) Boeotian (bee-O-shuhn) adjective 1. Of or pertaining to Boeotia or its inhabitants. 2. Dull; obtuse; without cultural refinement. noun 1. A native or inhabitant of Boeotia. 2. A dull, obtuse person; Philistine. [From Boeotia, a district in ancient Greece.] "She confides, `I know the importance of symbolism and the value of making the right gestures'--a rare truth in this repetitive, fuddled, Boeotian and dispiriting autobiography." H. Aram Veeser, The Best of What We Are: Reflections on the Nicaraguan Revolution, The Nation, 30 Sep 1996. This week's theme: toponyms. Errata: French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal's wheel of life ran only 39 years (1623-1662), not (1623-1962) as reported in Sunday's AWAD. Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan lived in the 13th century, not 17th as mentioned here yesterday. Now you know why my high-school counselor discouraged me from pursuing gravestone-carving as a career. -Anu -------- Date: Wed Mar 8 00:07:39 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--byzantine X-Bonus: The mind has exactly the same power as the hands; not merely to grasp the world, but to change it. -Colin Wilson Byzantine (BIZ-en-teen, -tin, bi-ZAN-tin) adjective 1. Of or relating to the ancient city of Byzantium. Of or relating to the Byzantine Empire. 2. Of or belonging to the style of architecture developed from the fifth century A.D. in the Byzantine Empire, characterized by a central dome resting on a cube formed by four round arches and their pendentives and by the extensive use of surface decoration, especially veined marble panels, low relief carving, and colored glass mosaics. 3. Of the painting and decorative style developed in the Byzantine Empire, characterized by formality of design, frontal stylized presentation of figures, rich use of color, especially gold, and generally religious subject matter. 4. Of the Eastern Orthodox Church or the rites performed in it. Of a Uniat church that maintains the worship of the Eastern Orthodox Church or the rites performed in it. 5. Often byzantine. Of, relating to, or characterized by intrigue; scheming or devious. Highly complicated; intricate and involved. noun A native or inhabitant of Byzantium or the Byzantine Empire. "She then began trying to decode the military culture and penetrate its byzantine bureaucracy." Geoffrey Stevens, Starving the military, Maclean's, 13 Apr 1998. This week's theme: toponyms. -------- Date: Thu Mar 9 00:07:37 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Pearl Harbor X-Bonus: We often forgive those who bore us, but we cannot forgive those whom we bore. -Francois, Duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) [Maxims] Pearl Harbor (purl HAHR-buhr) noun Any significant or crippling defeat, betrayal, loss, etc., that comes unexpectedly. [After Pearl Harbor, near Honolulu, on South Oahu, in Hawaii, the site of a surprise attack by Japan on the U.S. naval base and other military installations on December 7, 1941.] "Last week, a top Pentagon official warned members of the Senate Armed Services Committee about an electronic Pearl Harbor by cyberterrorists more likely to go after commercial targets than military ones." Eun-kyung Kim, Reno Looks To Curb Internet Crime, AP Online, 15 Mar 99. This week's theme: toponyms. -------- Date: Fri Mar 10 00:07:32 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Trojan horse X-Bonus: We are usually convinced more easily by reasons we have found ourselves than by those which have occurred to others. -Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) [Pensees] Trojan horse (TRO-juhn hors) noun 1. A subversive group or device placed within enemy ranks. 2. The hollow wooden horse in which, according to legend, Greeks hid and gained entrance to Troy, later opening the gates to their army. 3. A set of instructions hidden inside a legitimate program, causing a computer to perform illegitimate functions. [From Troy, a ancient city of northwest Asia Minor near the Dardanelles.] "Some upholders of academic tradition argue that the universities have been too ready to allow a Trojan horse inside the walls of learning." Science has enriched the university, The Economist, 4 Oct 1997. This week's theme: toponyms. -------- Date: Sat Mar 11 00:07:39 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bridewell X-Bonus: Well-timed silence is the most commanding expression. -Mark Helprin bridewell (BRYD-wel) noun A prison. [After a prison that formerly stood near the church of St. Bride in London during 1545-55.] "Men arrested for crimes such as trespass, public intoxication, lewdness, and domestic violence could be confined to the demiprison of the bridewell ...." Clifford F. Thies, Bring back the bridewell, The World & I, 1 Sep 1995. This week's theme: toponyms. -------- Date: Sun Mar 12 00:07:33 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tabby X-Bonus: Few men speak humbly of humility, chastely of chastity, skeptically of skepticism. -Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) tabby (TAB-ee) noun 1. A rich watered silk. 2. A fabric of plain weave. 3. A domestic cat with a striped or brindled coat of a gray or tawny color. A domestic cat, especially a female. 4. A spinster. 5. A prying woman; a gossip. 6. South Atlantic U.S. A mixture of oyster shells, lime, sand, and water used as a building material. adjective 1. Having light and dark striped markings. 2. Made of or resembling watered silk. [French tabis, from Old French atabis, from Medieval Latin attabi, from Arabic attabi after al-Attabiya, a suburb of Baghdad, Iraq.] "Taffeta is in the same class and demand as satin made of silk. The cloth is made of a plain or tabby weave, and the textures vary considerably." Taffeta, The Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition, 1 Jan 1993. This week's theme: toponyms. -------- Date: Mon Mar 13 00:07:41 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--alacrity X-Bonus: An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't. -Anatole France alacrity (uh-LAK-ri-tee) noun 1. Cheerful willingness; eagerness. 2. Speed or quickness; celerity. [Latin alacritas, from alacer, lively.] "Snider was approved by the museum's board with an alacrity that borders on the suspicious, though time was of the essence: Weyl had already left." Meir Ronnen, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Jerusalem Post, 13 Sep 1996. English is a global language. With the rise of electronic communication, worldwide trade and international travel, its status has far surpassed that of a link language. English is equated with success. Wherever you go-- from the luxuriant rain-forests of Costa Rica to the untamed wilds of Serengeti to the hodgepodge of Eastern bazaars--you're sure to find someone who speaks English albeit in an accent far different from yours. If nothing else, English makes a disguised appearance in hybrids such as Franglais, Spanglish, Hindlish, etc. Of course, this rise in popularity of English is not without a downside. Talk with someone for whom English is not a first language and you sense a feeling of loss. Reactions vary the gamut--from the trace of helplessness of parents whose children can't appreciate a poem in their native language, to lawmakers making it mandatory for a company to also have a Web site in the language of their country before the company can do business there. What do you think? I'd love to hear from you about this subject whether English is your first language or not. Email (garg AT wordsmith.org) and in the meanwhile taste some words taken from newspapers of the world. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Mar 14 00:07:33 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vicissitude X-Bonus: I cannot judge my work while I am doing it. I have to do as painters do, stand back and view it from a distance, but not too great a distance. -Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) vicissitude (vi-SIS-i-tood, -tyood) noun 1. A change or variation. The quality of being changeable; mutability. 2. Often vicissitudes. One of the sudden or unexpected changes or shifts often encountered in one's life, activities, or surroundings. [Latin vicissitudo, from vicissim, in turn, probably from vices, pl. of *vix, change.] "In Jiang's speech, he noted, `People of my age have all experienced vicissitudes of the current century.'" Weimin, Chang, Warm Talks Bring Two Nations Closer, China Daily, 21 Oct 1999. This week's theme: words from newspapers of the world. -------- Date: Wed Mar 15 03:24:18 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--denouement X-Bonus: If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are gone, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing. -Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) denouement (day-noo-MAHN) noun 1. The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot. The events following the climax of a drama or novel in which such a resolution or clarification takes place. 2. The outcome of a sequence of events; the end result. [French denouement, from Old French desnouement, an untying, from desnouer, to undo : des-, de- + nouer, to tie (from Latin nodare, from nodus, knot.] "However, there's not much she can do to spice up Marc Lawrence's witless, uninspired screenplay, which, despite an unpredictable denouement, fails to captivate and leave a meaningful impression." Tam Notosusanto, A Fling Amid Bad Weather in 'Forces of Nature', The Jakarta Post, 8 Aug 1999. This week's theme: words from newspapers of the world. -------- Date: Thu Mar 16 00:17:43 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mammonism X-Bonus: I never did a day's work in my life; it was all fun. -Thomas Edison (1847-1931) mammonism (MAM-uh-niz-uhm) noun The greedy pursuit of riches. [Mammon, riches, avarice, and worldly gain personified as a false god in the New Testament + -ism] "The survey revealed that mammonism, or the principle of the almighty dollar, is strong in Korea with 46 percent of those polled agreeing that money can buy happiness." 44 Pct of Koreans Feel More Dejected After IMF, The Korea Times, 21 Feb 1999. This week's theme: words from newspapers of the world. -------- Date: Fri Mar 17 00:12:35 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--inchoate X-Bonus: Those who write against vanity want the glory of having written well, and their readers the glory of reading well, and I who write this have the same desire, as perhaps those who read this have also. -Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) inchoate (in-KO-it) adjective 1. In an initial or early stage; incipient. 2. Imperfectly formed or developed. [Latin inchoatus, past participle of inchoare, to begin, alteration of incohare : in- + cohum, strap from yoke to harness.] "He (Jacob Zuma, Deputy President of S. Africa) has been caught between an inchoate government legislative programme, a powerful speaker and weak parliamentary management." The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: The 1999 Report Card, Africa News Service, 23 Dec 1999. This week's theme: words from newspapers of the world. -------- Date: Sat Mar 18 00:12:26 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--concomitant X-Bonus: Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) concomitant (kuhn-KOM-i-tuhnt) adjective Occurring or existing concurrently; attendant. noun One that occurs or exists concurrently with another. [Late Latin concomitans, concomitant-, present participle of concomitari, to accompany : Latin com- + Latin comitari, to accompany (from comes, comit-, companion).] "However, the chief executive reminded people that every right entails, as its natural concomitant, a corresponding duty." Human Rights Protected by Basic Law in HK: Tung, Xinhua News Agency, 9 Dec 1998. This week's theme: words from newspapers of the world. -------- Date: Sun Mar 19 00:12:29 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--soporific X-Bonus: Adolescence is a period of rapid changes. Between the ages of 12 and 17, for example, a parent ages 20 years. -Changing Times soporific (sop-uh-RIF-ik, so-puh-) adjective 1. Inducing or tending to induce sleep. 2. Drowsy. noun A drug or other substance that induces sleep; a hypnotic. [From Latin sopor, a deep sleep.] "Indeed, Kapil will be judged as much by his effect on the team as his ability to stir the soporific BCCI." Brrijnath, Rohit, Cricket: Can Kapil Reverse the Swing, India Today, 4 Oct 1999. This week's theme: words from newspapers of the world. -------- Date: Mon Mar 20 00:52:38 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--kulturkampf X-Bonus: Each of us must make his own true way, and when we do, that way will express the universal way. -Suzuki Roshi Kulturkampf (kool-TOOR-kahmpf) noun 1. The struggle (1871-1883) between the Roman Catholic Church and the German government under Bismarck for control over school and ecclesiastical appointments and civil marriage. 2. A conflict between secular and religious authorities. [German : Kultur, + Kampf, struggle (from Middle High German kampf, from Old High German kamph, probably ultimately from Latin campus, field).] "Some secular Israelis, as zealously committed to fighting the kulturkampf as are the rabbis, see the deal as a step towards drawing the ultra-Orthodox out of their ghettos of the mind and into the mainstream of cultural and intellectual life." Israel: Wasn't that worth waiting for?, The Economist, Jul 3, 1999. The German language's affinity for sesquipedalians once led Mark Twain to quip, "Some German words are so long that they have a perspective." Having polysyllabic words in a language is no sin as long as you get your words' worth. In that respect, those lengthy German words are worth every syllable. Where else can you find a single word, schadenfreude, for example, that conveys the whole concept of `pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others'. The English language knows a good thing when it sees one and has generously borrowed terms from German. This week we meet seven of them, both with and without `perspective'. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Mar 21 00:52:28 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ersatz X-Bonus: Love is sunshine, hate is shadow, Life is checkered shade and sunshine. -Longfellow (1807-1882) ersatz (ER-zahts, er-ZATS) adjective Being an imitation or a substitute, usually an inferior one; artificial. [German, replacement, from ersetzen, to replace, from Old High German irsezzan : ir-, out + sezzan, to set.] "Made almost entirely from Ritz crackers, the ersatz pie stood in for the real thing, which cost more to make." David Leite, Dining through the decades our meals are smaller, leaner and quicker now, Chicago Sun-Times, Dec 29, 1999. This week's theme: loanwords from German. -------- Date: Wed Mar 22 00:52:52 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lebensraum X-Bonus: I am I plus my surroundings and if I do not preserve the latter, I do not preserve myself. -Jose Ortega Y Gasset [Meditations on Quixote] (1883-1955) lebensraum (LAY-behns-roum) noun 1. Additional territory deemed necessary to a nation, especially Nazi Germany, for its continued existence or economic well-being. 2. Adequate space in which to live, develop, or function. [German : Lebens, genitive sing. of Leben, life (from Middle High German, from Old High German leben) + Raum, space, from Middle High German roum, from Old High German rum.] "Hitler was convinced that Germany needed to conquer and control vast areas of Eastern Europe in order to provide Lebensraum, or living space." Berke, Joseph H., When little men become big, History Today, Apr 1, 1995. "The first Polynesian colonists found themselves on an island with fertile soil, abundant food, bountiful building materials, ample lebensraum, and all the prerequisites for comfortable living." Diamond, Jared, Easter's end (Easter Island), Discover Magazine, Aug 1, 1995. This week's theme: loanwords from German. -------- Date: Thu Mar 23 00:52:46 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--strafe X-Bonus: The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team. -John Wooden strafe (strayf) verb tr. To attack (ground troops, for example) with a machine gun or cannon from a low-flying aircraft. noun An attack of machine-gun or cannon fire from a low-flying aircraft. [From German (Gott) strafe (England), (God) punish (England), a common World War I slogan, from strafen, to punish, from Middle High German strafen, to contest, admonish.] "An AP reporter took shelter behind some rocks on the edge of the village of Dachu-Borzoi as helicopters swooped down to strafe the woods." Russians, Rebels Fight `Street by Street', Greensboro News & Record, Jan 20, 2000. This week's theme: loanwords from German. -------- Date: Fri Mar 24 00:52:45 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--zeitgeber X-Bonus: If...the machine of government...is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. -Henry David Thoreau zeitgeber (TSYT-ge-buhr) noun An environmental cue, as the length of daylight or the degree of temperature, that helps to regulate the cycles of an organism's biological clock. [From German, literally, time-giver, on the model of Taktgeber an electronic synchronization device] "According to Hallow, the eight-hour work day is also a zeitgeber, but one that interrupts the body's natural desire to rest between 3 and 4 p.m." Jill Jedlowski and Erica Jacobson, A midday nap can be a valuable pick-me-up, The State Journal-Register Springfield, 9 Nov 1998. This week's theme: loanwords from German. -------- Date: Sat Mar 25 00:07:20 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--clerisy X-Bonus: The mark of a good action is that it appears inevitable in retrospect. -Robert Louis Stevenson clerisy (KLER-i-see) noun Educated people considered as a group; the literati. [German Klerisei, clergy, from Medieval Latin clericia, from Late Latin clericus, priest.] "The artist, the scholar, and, in general, the clerisy win their way up into these places, and get represented here, somewhat on this footing of conquest." Emerson, Ralph Waldo, Manners: An Essay: Manners - Part II. This week's theme: loanwords from German. -------- Date: Sun Mar 26 00:01:24 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wunderkind X-Bonus: You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was. -Irish Proverb wunderkind (VOON-duhr-kind, wun-) noun, plural wunderkinder (-kin-duhr) 1. A child prodigy. 2. A person of remarkable talent or ability who achieves great success or acclaim at an early age. [German : Wunder, wonder, prodigy (from Middle High German, from Old High German wuntar) + Kind, child.] "`It's amazing, the age-ism that you find in Hollywood,' Linney groans. `The man is not that old, for heaven's sake. People think he is because he was so young when he did Singin' in the Rain. He was a wunderkind.'" Mike Hughes, TV Movie's Letter-perfect, The Calgary Sun, 12 Apr 1999. This week's theme: loanwords from German. -------- Date: Mon Mar 27 01:59:20 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Ponzi scheme X-Bonus: A child on the farm sees a plane fly overhead and dreams of a faraway place. A traveler on the plane sees the farmhouse and thinks of home. -Carl Burns Ponzi scheme (PON-zee skeem) noun An investment swindle in which high profits are promised from fictitious sources and early investors are paid off with funds raised from later ones. [After Charles Ponzi (1882?-1949), Italian-born speculator who organized such a scheme (1919-1920).] "Rice said he agreed with the SEC that Herl and May were operating a Ponzi scheme in which proceeds from newly sold notes are used to pay interest on older notes." Jim Bohman, Limits set on USA Financial, Dayton Daily News, Feb 4, 1999. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. A Mr. Ponzi offered to double his investors' money in a very short time. Behind his promise of grandiose returns there was no engine of industry to harness human potential and generate revenue. It was all a facade, using the money of new investors to pay off the previous ones. Soon the bubble burst, and with that Ponzi's name was forever etched in contemporary parlance as an eponym for such schemes. (Then again, who knows... he may have been ahead of his time and dealing in Internet stocks :-). At any rate, in this week's AWAD we'll invest our time in more eponyms from fact as well as from fiction. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Mar 28 00:05:10 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Ockham's razor X-Bonus: All humanity is divided into three classes: those who are immovable, those who are movable, and those who move! -Benjamin Franklin Ockham's razor also Occam's razor (OK-ehmz ray-zuhr) noun A rule in science and philosophy stating that entities should not be multiplied needlessly. This rule is interpreted to mean that the simplest of two or more competing theories is preferable and that an explanation for unknown phenomena should first be attempted in terms of what is already known. Also called law of parsimony. [After William of Ockham, an English philosopher of the fourteenth century.] "He took to be real the things his senses revealed and the fewest objects necessary to explain them, this last being a use of Ockham's razor." Reg Naulty, The English soul and God, The Month, Mar 1, 1999. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Wed Mar 29 00:05:12 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Jim Crow X-Bonus: Television is an invention whereby you can be entertained in your living room by people you wouldn't have in your house. -David Frost Jim Crow or jim crow (jim kroh) noun The systematic practice of discriminating against and suppressing Black people. adjective 1. Upholding or practicing discrimination against and suppression of Black people. 2. Reserved or set aside for a racial or ethnic group that is to be discriminated against. [From obsolete Jim Crow, derogatory name for a Black person, ultimately from the title of a 19th-century minstrel song from Crow.] "Having once been a disciple of Jim Crow, (Sen. Strom) Thurmond is now a follower of his baby-boom offspring. Jim Crow was an in-your-face bigot, but Jim Crow Jr. practices a more subtle form of racism. Where the elder Crow openly challenged the right of blacks to equal opportunity, his progeny now endorses it. But what Jim Crow Jr. says and what he does are worlds apart. Every year for more than a decade, Thurmond has issued a proclamation supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week. But at least twice during this period he's voted to cut billions of dollars from higher-education funding measures -- cuts that threatened the very lifeblood of black higher-education institutions." DeWayne Wickham, Black colleges stoop to Thurmond, USA Today, Jun 3, 1996. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Thu Mar 30 00:05:08 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Prince Charming X-Bonus: Education makes people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave. -Henry Peter Brougham Prince Charming also prince charming (prins CHAR-ming) noun 1. A man who fulfills all the romantic expectations of a woman. 2. A man who ardently seeks the company and affection of women. [After Prince Charming, hero of the fairy tale Cinderella.] "A mutual friend had set us up, and I'd instantly decided he wasn't for me. To begin with, his look was all wrong--short, balding, stocky ... not exactly Prince Charming." Edelstein, Andy; Sherman, Beth, From hate-at-first-sight to friends to married, Cosmopolitan, Jan 1, 1995. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Fri Mar 31 03:05:09 EST 2000 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mumpsimus X-Bonus: Contentment consisteth not in adding more fuel, but in taking away some fire. -Thomas Fuller (1608-1661) mumpsimus (MUMP-suh-muhs) noun 1. Adherence to or persistence in an erroneous use of language, memorization, practice, belief, etc., out of habit or obstinacy. 2. A person who persists in a mistaken expression or practice. [From a story, which perhaps originated with Erasmus, of an illiterate priest who said mumpsimus rather than sumpsimus (1st plural perfect indicative of Latin sumere to pick up) while reciting the liturgy, and refused to change the word when corrected] "This mumpsimus ascends the highest heaven of invention, but does not hold up under the applicable case law or the facts." Ann McGuire, The quality of mercy is not strained, Michigan Law Review, Feb 1999. This week's theme: eponyms.