A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Apr 1 00:01:10 EST 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--redoubtable X-Bonus: You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive. -James Baldwin, writer (2 Aug 1924-1987) redoubtable (re-DOU-tuh-buhl) adjective Arousing fear or awe; evoking respect or honor. [From Middle English redoubtabel, from Old French redoutable, from redouter (to dread), from re- (again) + douter (to doubt, fear).] Redoubtable ultimately derives from Indo-European root *dwo-, meaning two. A person of two minds about something is in doubt or dubious. The uncertainty of doubt can give rise to fear, even dread. Thus, a redoubtable person is to be feared, or at least respected. In contrast, a fact too apparent even to be doubted is indubitable. Others in this *dwo- family that are not obvious include "tw" words betwixt, between, twig, twilight, twist, twine, intertwine, twill, and twinkle. Numerous "bi" words are in this family, but it would be a cruel April Fool's joke to suggest that bikini is among them. Bikini is an atoll in the Marshall Islands of the Pacific, where the U.S. exploded an atomic bomb in 1946. The next year, this bathing suit was named not for its dual covering but rather for its supposed explosive effect on males' libidos. "But Charles having got over to Scotland, where the men of the Solemn League and Covenant led him a prodigiously dull life, and made him very weary with long sermons and grim Sundays, the Parliament called the redoubtable Oliver home to knock the Scottish men on the head for setting up that prince." Charles Dickens; A Child's History Of England; 1854. "Even the redoubtable Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers, whom the Jets beat last Sunday to win the American Football Conference East, has a losing road record for his career (41-46)." Gerald Eskenazi; Less Booing and More Believing; The New York Times; Jan 2, 2003. This week's theme: words based on numbers by guest wordsmith Stewart Edelstein (sedelsteinATcohenandwolf.com). -------- Date: Wed Apr 2 00:01:08 EST 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--travail X-Bonus: Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. -Scott Adams, cartoonist (1957- ) travail (truh-VAYL) noun Painfully difficult work; agony, anguish; the pain of childbirth. verb intr. To work strenuously, toil; be in labor. [From Old French travailler (to work hard), from Vulgar Latin tripaliare, (to torture with a tripalium). A tripalium was a three-staked instrument of torture.] Travel also derives from travailler, with reference to the hardships of a journey. The first recorded use of travel (as travelen) was in the 14th century, when anyone venturing on a journey could expect to face many hardships, even if not encountering a three-staked torture device. Travail and travel derive from Indo-European root *trei-, meaning three. Less obvious words in this family include trammel, sitar, trivia, trivial, troika, trivet, testify, testimony, testament, attest, contest, detest, and protest. These last seven words derive from Latin testis, with reference to a (third party) witness, also the source of the word for the testicles that bear witness to male virility. One more word in the *trei- family is triskaidekaphobia, fear of the number thirteen. "Mustapha and Ishaya Bamaiyi may never have liked each other's guts but their travails have many parallels. Both are products of the Abacha years and are both counting on good luck and a lot of legal antics to save their necks." Goodluck Ebelo and Seyi Oduyela; A Rescue Effort Hits the Top Gear Reports; Tempo (Lagos, Nigeria); Jan 13, 1999. "One keeps turning pages, savoring pithy moments like this, long after wearying of the mouthpiece characters and their trumped-up travails." Scott Prater; Trumped-up Travails; The Atlantic Monthly (Boston); Apr 2003. This week's theme: words based on numbers by guest wordsmith Stewart Edelstein (sedelsteinATcohenandwolf.com). -------- Date: Thu Apr 3 00:01:13 EST 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--carillon X-Bonus: Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does Nature, because in her inventions, nothing is lacking and nothing is superfluous. -Leonardo da Vinci, painter, engineer, musician, and scientist (1452-1519) carillon (KAR-i-lon) noun A set of stationary bells in a tower, usually played from a keyboard. [From Late Latin quaternion, via Old French quarregnon (by fours) with reference to the fact that the original carillon consisted of four bells hung in the tower of a church.] Things and people are often grouped in fours, giving rise to a number of four-based words other than carillon, such as square, quatrain, quadrille, quartan, and quaternary. Groups originally of four are also the basis for our words cadre, squad, and squadron. Cater-cornered derives from Middle English cater, meaning four at dice. Sometimes things are divided by four, as in farthing, quadrant, quart, quarter, quarto, and quadroon. Less obvious words from the same Indo-European root from which all these words derive, *kwetwer-, include quarry, quarantine, and quarrel -- a tool with a square head and a square windowpane, not the argument, for which only two are required. "Get down to Sydney University to experience a free carillon recital. Edward Grantham, honorary carillonist, the University of Sydney and the University of Sydney War Memorial Carillon are commemorating the 197 staff and students who died in World War I." Things To Do; The Sunday Telegraph (Sydney, Australia); Aug 4, 2002. "The original Bournville today still has its idyllic village green, flanked by twee half-timbered shops, red telephone boxes and a church with a carillon that chimes out popular hymns at regular intervals." Chris Arnot; Poetic justice: Dylan Thomas collaborating with Quakers?; The Guardian (London, UK); Mar 28, 2001. This week's theme: words based on numbers by guest wordsmith Stewart Edelstein (sedelsteinATcohenandwolf.com). -------- Date: Fri Apr 4 00:01:06 EST 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--quintessence X-Bonus: I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars. -Walt Whitman, poet (1819-1892) quintessence (kwin-TES-ens) noun 1. The pure, concentrated essence. 2. Most perfect embodiment of something. [From Middle French quinte essence, from medieval Latin quinta essentia (fifth essence).] Greek philosophers before Aristotle reasoned that four elements comprised all matter: earth, air, fire, and water. Aristotle added a fifth element that he believed permeates all things and forms the substance of the heavenly bodies, which he called aither (our word ether). Ancient Greeks also referred to the aither of Aristotle as pémpte ousia, the fifth essence, a term which by loan translation became quinta essentia in Medieval Latin, and our word quintessence. The Indo-European root for quintessence is *penkwe-, which evolved into such words as finger, fist, foist, pentagon, pentathlon, pachisi, keno, Pentecost, and quinquagenarian. "A fragrance may be a tool for invigorating the quintessence of what once joined the soul mates, if the other ingredients are present in the relationship." Marilu Garrido; 'Romance' Finds Fashion Once Again; The News (Mexico City, Mexico); Dec 14, 1999. "`Corruption' as used by the Chief Justice captures the quintessence of the cancer afflicting the judicial system." Ahumah Ocansey; The Case For Judicial Reform; The Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra, Ghana), Nov 5, 1999. This week's theme: words based on numbers by guest wordsmith Stewart Edelstein (sedelsteinATcohenandwolf.com). -------- Date: Mon Apr 7 00:26:06 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cento X-Bonus: If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen. -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862) cento (SEN-to) noun A literary work, especially a poem, composed of parts taken from works of other authors. [From Latin cento (patchwork).] "(John) Ashbery includes in Wakefulness one poem explicitly produced by collage, though not from his own writing, the cento `The Dong with the Luminous Nose.'" Vernon Shetley; The New York School of Poetry; Raritan (New Brunswick, New Jersey); Spring 1999. "Bernadette Mayer: I think poets are honored to be plagiarized. I know I am. There's a form called a cento, which is a poem made up entirely of lines from poems by other authors. Again, I see this as a way to share language and ideas, not necessarily a sneaky method to claim someone else's ideas as your own." Daniel Kane; The Live Poet's Society; Ms (New York); Jun/Jul 2001. Imagine that a poem is a quilt, each line made up of a patch from a different colorful cloth, and you'll have a good idea not only of what a cento looks like, but also of how the word cento evolved. Homer and Virgil have served as the sources for many a cento author. Nowadays, centos are typically humorous. Here is an anonymous poem titled Familiar Lines: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/7086/anonfamiliarlines.htm Before reading further, can you identify the poems each of the lines in the above mentioned cento is taken from? Here is the answer: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/7086/anonfamiliarlinesol.htm Here's a more ambitious attempt - a cento crafted from poems in many different languages: http://www.worldofpoetry.org/semicento.htm This week we'll look at some other words to describe poetic forms. -Anu (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Apr 8 00:26:06 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--haiku X-Bonus: Every reader finds himself. The writer's work is merely a kind of optical instrument that makes it possible for the reader to discern what, without this book, he would perhaps never have seen in himself. -Marcel Proust, novelist (1871-1922) haiku (HY-koo) noun A form of Japanese verse having three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables respectively, involving allusions and references to nature or seasons. Also, a poem written in this form. [From Japanese haikai no ku (comic verse).] "Takiguchi is more lyrical: `Poetry is bottled wine, Haiku is bottled poetry'." City Diary: Take a Haiku; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Oct 10, 1998. "Tacoma Water received 333 entries from Tacoma fifth- and seventh-grade students in a contest to write haikus about water. The first-prize winner in the fifth grade was Miranda Foster of DeLong Elementary School with this haiku: `Evaporation/ Condensation's next in line/Precipitation.' First place in the seventh grade went to Lauren Anderson of Mason Middle School with this haiku: `Clean and beautiful/Look at our precious water/ Remember, conserve!'" Tacoma Water Honors Haiku Efforts By 5th-, 7th-Graders; The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington); Jun 19, 2002. This week's theme: words to describe poetic forms. -------- Date: Wed Apr 9 00:01:09 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--triolet X-Bonus: To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. -Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President (1858-1919) triolet (TREE-uh-lit, -lay) noun A poem or stanza of eight lines, having a rhyme scheme ABaAabAB, in which the first, fourth, and seventh lines are the same, and the second is the same as the eighth line. [From French, literally small trio.] "The teaching of English has so degenerated these days that it's hard to believe that Ira's school curriculum included a rigorous training in classical verse forms such as the ballad, the triolet, the rondeau, the villanelle and the sonnet, but it did. "In the first decades of the century the daily newspapers in New York were full of poetry, too: there were columns devoted to light verse, and often a theatre review or sports notice would be written in couplets or quatrains." John Tranter; He's Got Rhythm; The Australian (Sydney); Mar 30, 1996. Some computing triolets: http://web.mit.edu/6.033/1997/www/triolets.html This week's theme: words to describe poetic forms. -------- Date: Thu Apr 10 00:01:06 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--clerihew X-Bonus: The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks. -Tennessee Williams, dramatist (1911-1983) clerihew (KLER-uh-hyoo) noun A humorous, pseudo-biographical verse of four lines of uneven length, with the rhyming scheme AABB, and the first line containing the name of the subject. [After writer Edmund Clerihew Bentley (1875-1956), who originated it.] Here is one of the first clerihews he wrote (apparently while feeling bored in a science class): Sir Humphrey Davy Abominated gravy. He lived in the odium Of having discovered sodium. "Walter Bagehot, our most famous editor (from 1859 to 1877), advocated `animated moderation' in writing. And Sir Walter Layton, Crowther's immediate predecessor, spent hours rewriting his staff's articles--so many hours that one of his frustrated colleagues hit back with a clerihew: Sir Walter Layton Has a passion for alteration Would to God someone could alter Sir Walter." M. Stevenson; Your Chance to Out-write `The Economist'; The Economist (London, UK); Dec 22, 1990. "Settled in his living room with Italian liqueurs, I notice poet Henry Taylor's latest book, Brief Candles, a collection of clerihews: `Hart Crane/ plunged into the bounding main./ His situation could not have been graver:/ His father invented the candy lifesaver.'" Michael Dirda; Excursions; The Washington Post; Jul 2, 2000. More clerihews: http://www.smart.net/~tak/clerihew.html This week's theme: words to describe poetic forms. -------- Date: Fri Apr 11 00:01:12 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--concrete poetry X-Bonus: Of course, it's possible to love a human being -- if you don't know them too well. -Charles Bukowski, writer (1920-1994) concrete poetry (KON-kreet PO-i-tree, kon-KREET -) noun Poetry that employs physical arrangement of words or letters on a page for visual effect to add to the meaning of the poem. [From either Portuguese poesia concreta or German konkrete Dichtung.] "He (Bob Cobbing) was drawn to concrete poetry's ability to operate on the margins of language." Bob Cobbing (obituary); The Times (London, UK); Nov 7, 2002. "The main work is a series of three dozen extraordinary fabric collages, or miniquilts, stitched from clothing labels. Ms. (Berty) Skuber began by using labels from her own clothes, but most have been contributed by friends and strangers around the world who heard about her project. It is both an international collaboration and a labor-intensive species of concrete poetry, minutely composed but random, personal but unsentimental." Art Guide; The New York Times; Nov 1, 2002. Examples of concrete poetry: http://www.gardendigest.com/concrete/cvpindex.htm This week's theme: words to describe poetic forms. -------- Date: Mon Apr 14 00:03:06 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sangfroid X-Bonus: People hate as they love, unreasonably. -William Makepeace Thackeray, novelist (1811-1863) sangfroid or sang-froid (san-FRWA) noun Calmness, especially under stress. [From French sang-froid (literally cold blood).] "He (Sergei Karjakin) has an awkward gait. His long arms do not swing at all as he glides along, but for a 12-year-old with a slight build and a sensible side-parting he has considerable sangfroid." Nigel Farndale; He's a Cold-blooded Chess Genius at 12; The Vancouver Sun (Canada); Jan 8, 2003. "Lemony Snicket's approach is wholly different, featuring the offhand sang-froid of a standup comedian." Kristi Beavin; Roller Skates; The Horn Book Magazine (Boston); Nov/Dec 2001. After a recent week of words from law, where many of the words are of French origin, I received this email from a reader: "I propose you no longer feature words which have a base or stem from the French language. I no longer see that as a positive e-mail." In these times when emotions run high, it's understandable why someone would say that, why US lawmakers would rename French fries and French toast in their cafeteria menus. Or why some German professors think they need to exclude English terms from their vocabulary. This is not the first time linguistic revisionism is being attempted. During World War I, in the US, some had tried to rename sauerkraut as "liberty cabbage", for example. But we're all so interconnected, as are our languages, that any such attempt quickly falls flat on its face. "Freedom fries" they say? Well, there's still some French remaining, as the word fry comes from Old French frire. "Freedom toast"? What about toast which comes from Middle French toster. Thinking along these lines, we may even have to rename the US (from Old French estat). Estimates vary, but at least one-quarter of words in the English language have a French influence. In the two lines that the above-mentioned reader sent us, at least six words have French connections (propose, feature, base, language, positive, mail). A language isn't owned by a country. French belongs as much to Senegal or Canada or anyone else who speaks it as it does to France. To celebrate the diversity of the English language, this week we'll look at five words that have come into English from five different languages. -Anu (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Apr 15 00:03:07 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dragoman X-Bonus: I don't need time. What I need is a deadline. -Duke Ellington, jazz pianist, composer, and conductor (1899-1974) dragoman (DRAG-uh-man) noun, plural dragomans or dragomen An interpreter or guide. [The word took a scenic route to its present form via French, Italian, and medieval Latin/Greek, from Arabic tarjuman, from Aramaic turgemana, from Akkadian targumanu (interpreter).] "Soon, (Art) Buchwald set himself up as the laughing dragoman to American celebrities. The foster home boy became Our Man in Paris. He took Elvis Presley to the Lido." Lance Morrow; Franglais Spoken Here; Time (New York); Sep 30, 1996. "Born in Jerusalem, he (Wadie Said) went from being a dragoman to a salesman in the United States and thence to a hugely successful businessman in Egypt, running a stationery importing firm." Penelope Lively; Books: Out of Place: State of Confusion; The Guardian (London, UK); Oct 9, 1999. This week's theme: words derived from many different languages. -------- Date: Wed Apr 16 00:03:07 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hinterland X-Bonus: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. -Hanlon's Razor hinterland (HIN-tuhr-land) noun 1. An area behind the coastal region. 2. The remote part of a region, away from the cultural influence of a city; back country. [From German hinterland, from hinter (hinder) + land (land).] "Though some Singapore developers are making money in China's real estate market, Singapore can't rely on a vast Chinese hinterland for future markets and growth." Philip Segal & Richard Borsuk; Hong Kong Solutions; Far Eastern Economic Review (Hong Kong); Mar 20, 2003. "Wireless is making a difference in the hinterland, too. Paul Baran moved to Kaslo, B.C., in the Kootenay Mountains in 1999 after 20 years working as a journalist in Hong Kong. Until recently, Baran, 53, had to make do with telephone Internet access because no high-speed service was available." Michael Snider; The Wonders of WI-FI; Maclean's (Toronto, Canada); Mar 17, 2003. This week's theme: words derived from many different languages. -------- Date: Thu Apr 17 00:03:07 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--apparat X-Bonus: We have met the enemy and he is us. -Walt Kelly, cartoonist (1913-1973) apparat (ap-uh-RAT, ah-puh-RAT) noun Structure, mechanism, etc. of an organization, especially a political one. [From Russian apparat, from German, from Latin apparatus (equipment).] "Alice (Mahon) has no intention of handing her seat on to a miserable lackey of the hated apparat ..." Matthew Norman; Comment and Analysis: Diary; The Guardian (London, UK); Jul 27, 1999. "That seemed destined to change after the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65, which relaxed the grip of the papal apparat and elevated the importance of individual conscience." Bill Keller; Is the Pope Catholic?; The New York Times; May 4, 2002. This week's theme: words derived from many different languages. -------- Date: Fri Apr 18 00:03:06 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--blighty X-Bonus: This is the devilish thing about foreign affairs: they are foreign and will not always conform to our whim. -James Reston, journalist (1909-1995) Blighty (BLY-tee) noun, also blighty 1. England as one's home. 2. Military leave. 3. Wounds that secure a soldier return to home. [From Hindi vilayati (foreign, European), from vilayet (foreign country), from Arabic wilaya (province).] "The irony of his (Mick Jagger's) knighthood is that it suggests the strutting, posturing rock rebel is, after all, just another product of the post-war bourgeoisie who secretly craves the respect of the Establishment - respect that a title, in status-conscious Blighty, guarantees. Membership of one of London's famously stuffy old gentleman's clubs can be expected to follow." The Satisfaction of a Title; The Evening Post (Wellington, New Zealand); Jun, 17, 2002. "Parents in Blighty have complained a TV ad showing electric eels slithering out of taps and toilets is making their kids afraid to go to the bathroom." First Light; The Edmonton Sun (Canada); Jun 13, 2002. This week's theme: words derived from many different languages. -------- Date: Mon Apr 21 03:30:05 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--xanadu X-Bonus: One can never pay in gratitude; one can only pay "in kind" somewhere else in life. -Anne Morrow Lindbergh, writer (1906-2001) Xanadu (ZAN-uh-doo, -dyoo) noun An idyllic, exotic place of great luxury. [After Xanadu, a place in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem titled Kubla Khan.] "For many New Yorkers concerned about the use of public space, there is a more important question. Where's the sense in turning the magnificent courthouse into a Xanadu for bureaucrats and a few showcase students, with ordinary New Yorkers inevitably kept out by armed guards and signs that scream 'go away'?" Clyde Haberman; A City Jewel In the Hands Of Mr. Cubicle; The New York Times; Mar 30, 2002. "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 (New York); Oct 24, 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. Xanadu (modern spelling Shang-tu) was the site of the summer home of Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, and founder of the Mongol dynasty in China. 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, words based on place names. -Anu (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Apr 22 00:39:10 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jericho X-Bonus: Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. -Ovid, poet (43 BCE - CE 17) Jericho (JER-i-ko) noun A place out of the way; an unspecified place; a place of concealment. Often used in the phrase "go to Jericho". [After Jericho, an ancient city of Palestine, northwest of the Dead Sea, where David had his servants wait until their beards had grown. As in Samuel, a book of the Bible, "And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown."] "The best advice as you worry whether your mail lottery envelope will end up in Jacobs Field or shipped by mistake to Jericho is to savor every anxious moment of this season." Bud Shaw; No Tribe Season Will Match This; The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio); Sep 21, 1995. This week's theme: toponyms (words derived from place names). -------- Date: Wed Apr 23 00:01:08 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Star Chamber X-Bonus: Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. -Kahlil Gibran, mystic, poet, and artist (1883-1931) Star Chamber (star CHAYM-buhr) noun A court or group marked by arbitrary, oppressive, and secretive procedures. [After the Star Chamber in the Palace of Westminster in London. It was the site of a closed-door court appointed by King Henry VII of England in the 15th century. Notorious for its abuse of power, it was abolished by the Long Parliament in 1641. The chamber was so named because its ceiling was decorated with stars.] "`This is the most incredible Star Chamber proceeding, the most incredible lack of due process I've ever heard of,' Mitchelson said. `I'm the alleged perpetrator, and I was not even invited.'" Edward J. Boyer; Mitchelson Angry, Vows to Block Aid for 2 Women; The Los Angeles Times; Jan 25, 1989. "Every time a new England football manager is appointed we wonder what his weaknesses are, because before long we shall certainly find out. The job takes men who are already exceptional achievers and tests them and tests them until such weaknesses as they have become glaringly apparent. To take the job is to enter the Star Chamber, a ruthless, searching, unpitying interrogation that lasts for years." Simon Barnes; Curse of England's Impossible Job; The Times (London, UK); Apr 26, 2002. This week's theme: toponyms (words derived from place names). -------- Date: Thu Apr 24 00:01:07 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Bronx cheer X-Bonus: The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool. -William Shakespeare, playwright and poet (1564-1616) Bronx cheer (brongks cheer) noun 1. A rude sound indicating disapproval, made by sticking tongue partly out between the lips and blowing air out, in a simulation of flatulence. 2. Any expression of derision or contempt. [Probably after Bronx, NY, the home of Yankee Stadium, where Yankees fans often expressed their opinion of the umpire's decision or an unfavorable play that way.] Bronx cheer has a rather unusual synonym: raspberry. How in the world could a sound like that come to be known as a raspberry? To learn this we take a peek at the fascinating working of rhyming slang. "Raspberry tart" was used as a code for "fart" and then the rhyming part was dropped. Other examples of rhyming slang are "butchers" for "look", as in "Take a butchers at this!" (from butcher's hook); "apples" for "stairs" (from apples and pears); china for mate (from china plate). Best-known rhyming slang was used by generations of London Cockneys, but similar rhyming slang is found in many other parts of the world. -Anu "Travis also notes in the Post that, contrary to UK reports, Tom Cruise will go to next week's Academy Awards with Penelope Cruz. `I think it's very gutsy of him because the Oscars will be crawling with Aussies and they might give Tom the Oz equivalent of a Bronx cheer because he's a bit unpopular with them for dumping Australia's sainted Nicole,' the Kiwi-born columnist waxes. Sainted?" Peter Holder, et al; Sydney Confidential; The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia); Mar 18, 2002. "It wasn't a unanimous Bronx cheer. Many fans stood and applauded for Martinez. Years of excellence outweigh one bad game. Still, it was an out-of-body experience to hear any boos for Pedro on Opening Night at Fenway Park." Dan Shaughnessy; Voices of Fans Are Heard; Boston Globe; Apr 13, 2003. This week's theme: toponyms (words derived from place names). -------- Date: Fri Apr 25 00:01:14 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--boeotian X-Bonus: It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them. -Leo Buscaglia, author (1924-1998) Boeotian (bee-O-shuhn) adjective 1. Of or relating to Boeotia or its citizens. 2. Dull; boorish. noun 1. A native of Boeotia. 2. A person who is dull or lacking in culture. [From Boeotia, a district in ancient Greece, noted for its thick air and the proverbial dullness of its people.] "Such notions of Boeotian extravagance hold no sway in Whitehall, where the most draconian Government cuts have been felt by one and all." Matthew Fort; What's eating Britain; The Guardian (London, UK); Dec 30, 1995. "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; Addicted to Privilege; The Nation (New York); Sep 30; 1996. This week's theme: toponyms (words derived from place names). -------- Date: Mon Apr 28 00:03:06 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nonesuch X-Bonus: Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784) nonesuch also nonsuch (NUN-such) noun A person or thing without an equal. [From none, from Middle English non, from Old English nan + such, Middle English such, from Old English swelce.] "Truth is, he's (Noel Perrin) a nonesuch, combining the `humorous stoicism' that he calls `the basic New England characteristic' with a hands-on approach to rural living." Frank Levering; Book World: Noel Perrin: Back Down On the Farm; The Washington Post; Dec 9, 1991. "She was a nonesuch, a nonpareil, yet seemed Pallid and slightly wilted now, a flower Long after the rainy season." David Wagoner; The Return of Orpheus, Poetry (Chicago); Jan 1998. It takes all kinds to make the world and it shows in this week's selection of words. For the next five days we'll see words to describe people of various persuasions. You may meet them at work or on a train, in a park or in a house next door--almost anywhere on earth. Here's a fun exercise for you: find at least one person epitomizing the day's word, every day this week. With some six billion of us around there can't be any excuse for insufficient data. -Anu (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Apr 29 00:00:11 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--eristic X-Bonus: It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards. -Lewis Carroll, mathematician and writer (1832-1898) eristic (i-RIS-tik) adjective Characterized by controversy or disputes. noun 1. One who engages in arguments or disputes; a controversialist. 2. The art of disputation. [From Greek eristikos, from erizein (to wrangle), from eris (strife). Eris was the goddess of discord in Greek mythology. The Romans called her Discordia.] "Finally, Truth and Progress exhibits both the dazzle and idiosyncrasy of Rorty's literary style and eristic habits--the sharp insider wit, the hyperactive thumb-nailing of other thinkers to hawk fresh images of their thought ..." Carlin Romano; Books & the Arts: Rortyism for Beginners; The Nation (New York); Jul 27, 1998. "Endlessly questioning nuances of meaning in front of exasperated colleagues, or calling attention to inappropriate administrative power, might make you the star of the show in Plato's Academy or Aristotle's Lyceum. But is that too obnoxiously eristic for the faculty meeting, a ritual most characterized by the common desire of its participants to see it end promptly, so everyone can go home and forget about disliked colleagues?" Carlin Romano; On Collegiality, College Style; The Chronicle of Higher Education (Washington, DC); May 26, 2000. This week's theme: words to describe people. -------- Date: Wed Apr 30 04:07:07 EDT 2003 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rainmaker X-Bonus: Try to learn something about everything and everything about something. -Thomas Henry Huxley, biologist (1825-1895) rainmaker (RAYN-may-kuhr) noun 1. A person with a strong ability to bring in new business or produce results, especially through the use of influence, connections, etc. 2. One believed to be able to cause rain either by magic (for example, some native American groups) or by science (for example, by seeding the clouds with chemicals such as silver iodide from an airplane). [From rain, from Middle English rein, from Old English regn, ren + maker, from make, from Middle English maken, from Old English macian.] "Compared with other rainmakers of the late 1990s, Mr Fastow might not look so greedy." Prosecutor's dilemma, Enron And the Economics of Greed; The Economist (London); Aug 31, 2002. "The Time-Warner-Paramount battle brought together a monsoon's worth of Wall Street rainmakers." Bill Saporito; The Inside Story of Time Warner; Fortune (New York); Nov 20, 1989. This week's theme: words to describe people.