A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Apr 1 00:05:23 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pavlovian X-Bonus: Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Pav.lov.i.an aj 1926 1 : of or relating to Ivan Pavlov or to his work and theories 2 : being or expressing a conditioned or predictable reaction : AUTOMATIC Warren P. Strobel, Clinton playing loose with the fax?, The Washington Times, 08-18-1996, pp 20. "Call it rapid response, or Pavlovian conditioning, or as one senior Dole campaign official did, `premature fax-ulation.' Call it what you will, but take a look at information warfare in the modern presidential campaign." Booth, Stepher, Products test reports, Vol. 13, Popular Electronics, 03-01-1996, pp 34. The feature is activated through the VR678HF's on-screen menu, which is to say you needn't use it if you like to watch the commercials, or use them to signal Pavlovian refrigerator raids or comfort breaks." This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Wed Apr 2 00:05:26 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lilliputian X-Bonus: Good advice is always certain to be ignored, but that's no reason not to give it. -Agatha Christie lil.li.pu.tian aj : 1726 1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of the Lilliputians or the island of Lilliput 2 a : SMALL, MINIATURE b : PETTY This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Thu Apr 3 00:06:26 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pharisaical X-Bonus: A man's dreams are an index to his greatness. -Zadok Rabinwitz phar.i.sa.ical adj. : 1531: marked by hypocritical censorious self-righteousness : of or relating to the Pharisees Kroes, Rob, The reception of American films in the Netherlands: The interwar years, Vol. 28, American Studies International, 10-01-1990, pp 37. "Among us Europeans who were traveling together in America ... there rose up repeatedly this pharisaical feeling: we all have something that you lack; we admire your strength but we do not envy you. Your instrument of civilization and progress, your big cities and your perfect organization, only make us nostalgic for what is old and quiet, and sometimes your life seems hardly to be worth living, not to speak of your future." This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Fri Apr 4 00:05:27 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--clerihew X-Bonus: Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry. -Mark Twain cler.i.hew n [Edmund Clerihew Bentley died 1956 English writer : 1928] : a light verse quatrain rhyming aabb and usually dealing with a person named in the initial rhyme Stevenson, M., Your chance to out-write `The Economist', Vol. 317, Economist, 12-22-1990, pp 80. "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 alterat'on Would to God someone could alter Sir Walter." This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Sat Apr 5 00:05:35 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jorum X-Bonus: Never explain - your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you anyhow. -Elbert Hubbard jo.rum n [perhaps fr. Joram in the Bible who "brought with him vessels of silver" (2 Sam 8:10--Authorized Version) : 1730] : a large drinking vessel or its contents Goldsmith, Oliver, She Stoops To Conquer: Act First. "Then come, put the jorum about, And let us be merry and clever, Our hearts and our liquors are stout, Here's the Three Jolly Pigeons for ever." This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Sun Apr 6 00:05:28 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pygmalionism X-Bonus: The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet. -James Oppenheim Pyg.ma.lion.ism n [L, fr. Gk PygmaliOn : a king of Cyprus who makes a female figure of ivory that is brought to life for him by Aphrodite] The condition of loving a statue, image, or inanimate object; love for an object of one's own making. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Mon Apr 7 00:05:52 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lenitive X-Bonus: These days people seek knowledge, not wisdom. Knowledge is of the past, wisdom is of the future. -Vernon Cooper len.i.tive aj [ME lenitif, fr. MF, fr. ML lenitivus, fr. L lenitus, pp of lenire : 15th century] : alleviating pain or harshness : SOOTHING "...and before the members sat, administer to each of them lenitives, aperitives, abstersives, corrosives, restringents, palliatives, laxatives, cephalalgics, icterics, apophlegmatics, acoustics, as their several cases required; and according as these medicines should operate, repeat, alter, or omit them at the next meeting." Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels not only takes the readers to many exotic worlds, but also introduces them to numerous exotic words. All of this week's words are taken from this great satire, written, according to Swift, "to vex the world rather than divert it." -Anu -------- Date: Tue Apr 8 00:05:34 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--restive X-Bonus: A great many people mistake opinions for thoughts. -Herbert V. Prochnow res.tive aj [ME restyf, fr. MF restif, from rester to stop behind, remain : 15th century] 1 : stubbornly resisting control : BALKY 2 : marked by impatience : FIDGETY synonym see CONTRARY "Yet I am of opinion this defect arises chiefly from a perverse, restive disposition." This week's theme: Words from Gulliver's Travels. -------- Date: Wed Apr 9 07:39:04 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--apothecary X-Bonus: Security is when everything is settled. When nothing can happen to you. Security is the denial of life. -Germaine Greer apoth.e.cary n [ME apothecarie, fr. ML apothecarius, fr. LL, shopkeeper, fr. L apotheca storehouse, fr. Gk apothEkE, fr. apotithenai to put away, fr. apo- + tithenai to put -- more at DO : 14th century] 1 : one who prepares and sells drugs or compounds for medicinal purposes 2 : PHARMACY "This doctor therefore proposed, that upon the meeting of a senate, certain physicians should attend at the three first days of their sitting, and at the close of each day's debate, feel the pulses of every senator; after which, having maturely considered, and consulted upon the nature of the several maladies, and the methods of cure, they should on the fourth day return to the senate house, attended by their apothecaries stored with proper medicines;..." This week's theme: Words from Gulliver's Travels. -------- Date: Thu Apr 10 00:05:27 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--prognostic X-Bonus: I haven't been wrong since 1961, when I thought I made a mistake. -Bob Hudson prog.nos.tic n [MEpronostique, fr. MF, fr. L prognosticum, fr. Gk prognOstikon, fr. neuter of prognOstikos foretelling, fr. progignOskein : 14th century] 1 : something that foretells : PORTENT 2 : PROGNOSTICATION, PROPHECY "One great Excellency in this Tribe is their Skill at Prognostics, wherein they seldom fail; their Predictions in real Diseases, when they rise to any Degree of Malignity, generally portending Death, which is always in their Power when Recovery is not." This week's theme: Words from Gulliver's Travels. -------- Date: Fri Apr 11 00:03:08 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lenity X-Bonus: Don't be afraid to go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is. -H. Jackson Brown, Jr. len.i.ty n : 1548 : the quality or state of being lenient : CLEMENCY "This envoy had instructions to represent to the monarch of Blefuscu the great lenity of his master, who was content to punish me no farther than with the loss of my eyes;" This week's theme: Words from Gulliver's Travels. -------- Date: Sat Apr 12 00:03:27 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cashier X-Bonus: Elbonics: Two people maneuvering for one armrest in a movie theater. 1ca.shier vt [Dutch casseren, fr. MF casser to discharge, annul -- more at QUASH : 1592] 1 : to dismiss from service; especially : to dismiss dishonorably 2 : REJECT, DISCARD 2cash.ier n [Dutch or MF; Dutch kassier, fr. MF cassier, from casse money box : 1596] : one that has charge of money: as a : a high officer in a bank or trust company responsible for moneys received and expended b : one who collects and records payments 1:1 "He had before served me a scurvy trick, which set the Queen a laughing, although at the same time she was heartily vexed, and would have immediately cashiered him, if I had not been so generous as to intercede." This week's theme: Words from Gulliver's Travels. -------- Date: Sun Apr 13 07:22:47 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--diadem X-Bonus: All the arguments to prove man's superiority cannot shatter this hard fact: in suffering the animals are our equals. -Peter Singer [Animal Liberation] di.a.dem n [ME diademe, fr. OF, fr. L diadema, fr. Gk diadEma, fr. diadein to bind around, from dia- + dein to bind; akin to Skt dAman rope: 13th century] 1 a : CROWN 1; specifically : a royal headband b : CROWN 6a(1) 2 : something that adorns like a crown "For instead of a long train with royal diadems, I saw in one family two fiddlers, three spruce courtiers, and an Italian prelate." This week's theme: Words from Gulliver's Travels. -------- Date: Mon Apr 14 12:52:35 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--palimony X-Bonus: If growing up is the process of creating ideas and dreams about what life should be, then maturity is letting go again. -Mary Beth Danielson pal.i.mo.ny n [blend of pal and alimony : 1979] : a court-ordered allowance paid by one member of a couple formerly living together out of wedlock to the other Shauna Snow, Morning Report; Los Angeles Times, 05-12-1995, pp F-2. "A woman who claims that she lived for more than two years with Dr. Dre, has filed a $10-million palimony lawsuit against the rapper, seeking damages for alleged breach of contract, fraud and emotional distress." This week's theme is portmanteau words. Portmanteaux are created by fusion of sound and meaning from two or more other words. These are also known as blend words or amalgam words. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Apr 15 00:02:37 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--muzzy X-Bonus: There are two kinds of men who never amount to much: those who cannot do what they are told, and those who can do nothing else. -Cyrus Curtis muz.zy aj [perh. blend of muddled and fuzzy : circa 1728] 1 a : deficient in brightness : DULL, GLOOMY b : lacking in clarity and precision 2 : muddled or confused in mind -------- Date: Wed Apr 16 00:02:41 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--prissy X-Bonus: We know what we are, but know not what we may be. -Shakespeare pris.sy aj [prob. blend of prim and sissy Date: 1895] : being prim and precise : FINICKY Adams, James, Blood spin, Vol. 29, American Spectator, 05-01-1996, pp 29. "A fastidious, even prissy, reporter, he had the skills to follow a paper trail, and too much integrity not to." This week's theme: Portmanteau words. -------- Date: Thu Apr 17 00:02:44 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ruckus X-Bonus: Nature teaches more than she preaches. There are no sermons in stones. It is easier to get a spark out of a stone than a moral. -John Burroughs [Time and Change] ruck.us n [prob. blend of ruction and rumpus : circa 1890] : ROW, DISTURBANCE This week's theme: Portmanteau words. -------- Date: Fri Apr 18 00:02:48 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--splurge X-Bonus: Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching? 1splurge n [perh. blend of splash and surge : 1830] : an ostentatious effort, display, or expenditure 2splurge vi : 1843 1 : to make a splurge 2 : to indulge oneself extravagantly -- often used with on vt : to spend extravagantly or ostentatiously This week's theme: Portmanteau words. -------- Date: Sat Apr 19 00:02:47 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--splatter X-Bonus: Friends: People who know you well, but like you anyway. 1splat.ter vb [prob. blend of splash and spatter : 1785] transitive senses : SPATTER intransitive senses : to scatter or fall in or as if in drops 2splatter n : 1819 : SPATTER, SPLASH This week's theme: Portmanteau words. -------- Date: Sun Apr 20 00:02:46 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chump X-Bonus: If people listened to themselves more often, they would talk less. chump n [per. blend of chunk and lump : 1883] : FOOL, DUPE McGregor, Alan, Champs and chumps, Vol. 327, Economist, 05-08-1993, pp 98. "But given the lack of effective regulation, and the propensity of most managers to find chumps for their rising stars or champions to flatten, the matches are often mismatches. The sport is becoming ever more of a circus." This week's theme: Portmanteau words. -------- Date: Mon Apr 21 00:02:57 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pabulum X-Bonus: Is this true or only clever? -Augustine Birrell pab.u.lum n [L, food, fodder; akin to L pascere to feed -- more at FOOD : 1733] 1 : FOOD; especially : a suspension or solution of nutrients in a state suitable for absorption 2 : intellectual sustenance 3 : something (as writing or speech) that is insipid, simplistic, or bland Krystal, Arthur, Closing the books, Harper's Magazine, 03-01-1996, pp 54. "Nor does it seem worth the effort to peruse the various book-review sections, literary journals, or publishers' catalogues, all of which at one time were pabulum to me." "It was a dark and stormy night...," the notorious opening line of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel "Paul Clifford" (1830) has become synonymous with bad prose. This week's words are dedicated to works and the authors who seem inspired by Bulwer-Lytton. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Apr 22 00:02:49 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--taradiddle X-Bonus: Nothing ruins the truth like stretching it. tar.a.did.dle n [origin unknown : circa 1796] 1 : FIB 2 : pretentious nonsense Kephart, Paula, The injuries of war, Vol. 336, Economist, 07-29-1995, pp 64. "That sort of taradiddle is old stuff, though. More original, and richer for the linguist if not the Bosnians, has been this war's contribution to the dictionary of doublespeak. Safe, we now know, means deadly dangerous; a rapid reaction will occur next month, maybe; an air strike is what happens when a ground-launched missile hits a NATO warplane; and a protection force offers none of either. How long till we pigeonhole rape under the catch-all of collateral body count?" This week's theme: "It was a dark and stormy night..." -------- Date: Wed Apr 23 00:03:02 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fustian X-Bonus: program (pro'-gram) [vi] To engage in a pastime similar to banging one's head against a wall but with fewer opportunities for reward. fus.tian n [ME, fr. OF fustaine, fr. ML fustaneum, perh. fr. fustis tree trunk, fr. L, club Date: 13th c.] 1 a : a strong cotton and linen fabric b : a class of cotton fabrics usually having a pile face and twill weave 2 : highflown or affected writing or speech; broadly : anything highflown or affected in style Patt Morrison, California Elections; Los Angeles Times, 11-06-1994, pp A-3. "In the same coxswain's voice that once delivered fustian editorials on Los Angeles' CBS-TV affiliate--some of which so offended his future wife that she agreed to a blind-date dinner just to set him straight--Sauter said:..." This week's theme: "It was a dark and stormy night..." -------- Date: Thu Apr 24 00:02:48 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bombast X-Bonus: There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line. -Oscar Levant bom.bast n [ME bombast cotton padding, fr. MF bombace, fr. ML bombac-, bombax cotton, alteration of L bombyc-, bombyx silkworm, silk, fr. Gk bombyk-, bombyx : 1589] pretentious inflated speech or writing Richard Corliss, The Arts/Video: Cartoongate All Politics are Loco in This Animated Survey., Time, 10-07-1996, pp 100. "Bill Clinton woos voters with the ardor of Pepe Le Pew. Bob Dole's cranky bombast suggests a gaunter Foghorn Leghorn. And Ross Perot? Yosemite Sam." This week's theme: "It was a dark and stormy night..." -------- Date: Fri Apr 25 00:03:06 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--screed X-Bonus: To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being. I should be unwilling to take the life of the lamb for the sake of the human body. I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man. -Mahatma Gandhi screed n [ME screde fragment, alteration of OE scrEade -- more at SHRED : circa 1789] 1 a : a lengthy discourse b : an informal piece of writing 2 : a strip (as of plaster of the thickness planned for the coat) laid on as a guide 3 : a leveling device drawn over freshly poured concrete Krause, Reinhardt, The man Japan wants to forget, Vol. 337, Economist, 11-11-1995, pp 85. "A screed attacking his lack of patriotism became a bestseller last summer." This week's theme: "It was a dark and stormy night..." -------- Date: Sat Apr 26 00:03:20 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--circumlocution X-Bonus: We are always paid for our suspicion by finding what we suspect. -Henry David Thoreau cir.cum.lo.cu.tion n [L. circumlocution-, circumlocutio, fr. circum- + locutio speech, fr. loqui to speak : 15th c.] 1 : the use of an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea 2 : evasion in speech William Scally, U.S. Senate confirms Albright and Cohen to Cabinet, Reuters, 01-22-1997. "Known for her forthright speech and avoidance of diplomatic circumlocution, Albright was warmly praised by members of both parties." This week's theme: "It was a dark and stormy night..." -------- Date: Sun Apr 27 00:02:48 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--penster X-Bonus: Doust thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of. -Benjamin Franklin penster [fr. pen sb. + -ster.] One who uses a pen in a small way; a petty writer; a literary hack. This week's theme: "It was a dark and stormy night..." -------- Date: Mon Apr 28 00:02:50 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tenacious X-Bonus: How long is a minute depends on which side of the bathroom door you are on. te.na.cious aj [L tenac-, tenax tending to hold fast, fr. tenEre to hold: 1607] 1 a : not easily pulled apart : COHESIVE, TOUGH b : tending to adhere or cling especially to another substance : STICKY 2 a : persistent in maintaining or adhering to something valued or habitual b : RETENTIVE synonym see STRONG Jim Impoco, America's hippest grandpa., U.S. News & World Report, 09-27-1993, pp p. 67. "Mention Redstone's name to friends, and the word ``tenacious'' comes up--often in the same breath with which his near death in a burning Boston hotel is recounted. Redstone survived the 1979 blaze by clinging to the ledge outside his third- story room, with the flames licking his right hand. Badly burned, he endured 60 hours of surgery and was told he'd never again walk--a prognosis he now recalls when playing tennis (although the racket must be strapped to his disfigured hand)." While writing, have you ever found yourself wondering if the word you wanted in your sentence was tenacious or tenuous or something else? This week we look at some similar sounding ten* words that can be easily confused. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Apr 29 00:02:31 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tenuous X-Bonus: Love: a temporary insanity, curable by marriage. -Ambrose Bierce ten.u.ous aj [L tenuis thin, slight, tenuous -- more at THIN : 1597] 1 : not dense : RARE 2 : not thick : SLENDER 3 a : having little substance or strength : FLIMSY, WEAK b : SHAKY 2a synonym see THIN Lopez, Barry, On the wings of commerce.., Vol. 291, Harper's Magazine, 10-01-1995, pp 39. "In this world, `perishable' refers to more than flowers, food, and newspapers; it includes everything in tenuous fashion: watches, video games, shades of lipstick, a cut of trouser--objects for which a few days' head start on store shelves is crucial." This week's theme: telling tenacious from tenuous, and other ten* words. -------- Date: Wed Apr 30 00:02:53 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tendentious X-Bonus: Many a man's tongue broke his nose. -Seumas MacManus ten.den.tious aj : 1900 : marked by a tendency in favor of a particular point of view : BIASED Andrew Cawthorne, Algeria's editors condemn suspension, shut papers., Reuters, 12-11-1995. "Algerian authorities, who have given themselves draconian powers over the press in their battle against Muslim fundamentalists, Sunday ordered the French-language newspaper Liberte shut for two weeks. They accused the daily of carrying repeated tendentious information." This week's theme: telling tenacious from tenuous, and other ten* words.