A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Thu Jul 1 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pillbox X-Bonus: One is happy as a result of one's own efforts once one knows the necessary ingredients of happiness: simple tastes, a certain degree of courage, self denial to a point, love of work, and above all, a clear conscience. -George Sand [pen name of Amantine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin], novelist (1 Jul 1804-1876) This week's theme: Words with many meanings pillbox (PIL-boks) noun 1. A small container for pills. 2. A small fortified enclosure, used for firing weapons, observing, etc. 3. A small brimless hat with a flat top and straight sides. 4. Something small or ineffectual. [From pill, from Latin pilula (little ball), from pila (ball) + box, from Old English, from Latin buxis, from pyxis (boxwood box), from Greek pyxis, from pyxos (box tree). Earliest documented use: 1702.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/pillbox A British WWII pillbox: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pillbox_fort_large.jpg Photo: Wikimedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillbox_(military)#/media/File:Pillbox_Type_25,_Sheephatch_Lane_(front).JPG Jackie Kennedy in a pillbox, 1963 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pillbox_hat_large.jpg Photo: Cecil W. Stoughton / Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kennedys_arrive_at_Dallas_11-22-63_crop_headshot.jpg "A few yards from a Czech Army pillbox built as a defense against Nazi Germany, the archaeologists discovered a cattle bone ...." Andrew Higgins; Slavs and Germans Weren't Always Rivals, Rune Finding Suggests; The New York Times; May 16, 2021. "Honey touched the pillbox sitting on top of her head, still there covering her blond hair's dark roots." Elmore Leonard; Up in Honey's Room; William Morrow; 2007. "We do not buy the line that it was just a pillbox thrown by some kids. The damage was too extensive." Manila Bombings Must Be Solved; The Filipino Express (Jersey City, New Jersey); Jun 4, 2000. -------- Date: Fri Jul 2 00:01:01 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--plight X-Bonus: In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute. -Thurgood Marshall, US Supreme Court Justice (2 Jul 1908-1993) This week's theme: Words with many meanings plight (plyt) noun: 1. An unfortunate situation. 2. A pledge. 3. A fold, wrinkle, braid, etc. Also called plait or pleat. verb tr.: 1. To become engaged to marry. 2. To promise. 3. To fold, wrinkle, braid, etc. [For noun/verb 1, 2: From Old English pliht (danger). For noun/verb 3: From Anglo-Norman plit (fold, wrinkle, condition), from Latin plicare (to fold). Earliest documented use: 450.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/plight "Edvin breaks down and starts to cry; he hates the life as a tradesman that has been mapped out for him, and his parents are not sympathetic to his plight." Hilton Als; Dream Lover; The New Yorker; Feb 15, 2021. "Puts on her silken vestments white, And tricks her hair in lovely plight." Samuel Taylor Coleridge; Christabel; John Murray Press; 1816. "Effie supposed that once you were engaged, had agreed to be on the same team, you were no longer able to kvetch to your friends about your partner's shortcomings -- that sort of whinging suddenly became disloyal once you'd both plighted your troth." Harriet Walker; The Wedding Night; Random House; 2021. https://wordsmith.org/words/kvetch.html "House Republicans ousted Cheney from leadership ranks and, in doing so, further plighted its troth to Trump." Scot Lehigh; GOP Leaders Can't Finesse the Party's Trump Problem; The Boston Globe (Massachusetts); May 19, 2021. troth: loyalty; word; promise; truth -------- Date: Mon Jul 5 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--papier-mache X-Bonus: We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like? -Jean Cocteau, author and painter (5 Jul 1889-1963) Ever metaphor? You do meet them every day, whenever you speak, read, or write. A language is a giant shoebox of metaphors. This box has lead balloons https://wordsmith.org/words/lead_balloon.html , loose cannons https://wordsmith.org/words/loose_cannon.html , dirty linen https://wordsmith.org/words/dirty_linen.html , and more. Help yourself to whatever you like. Yes, you can even cherry-pick https://wordsmith.org/words/cherry-pick.html . Some language metaphors are obvious, but many others aren't. Did you know that a muscle is, literally speaking, a little mouse? That's because someone thought the movement of a muscle, such as the biceps, resembled a mouse scurrying around. https://wordsmith.org/words/myology.html This week we'll feature words that are often used metaphorically. MIXED METAPHOR CONTEST: Usually, I'd not recommend mixing metaphors, but with a special arrangement with the language directorate we have secured a literary license to share with you. Go ahead, mix things up! It's valid for a limited time only, so go nuts! What mixed metaphors can you come up with using one or more words featured this week? The mixier the better! HOW TO ENTER: 1. Share them on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/papier-mache.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. 2. Include your location (city, state). 3. Send them by Fri. Original entries only, not something you read elsewhere. PRIZES: Selected entries will receive a signed copy of any of my books https://wordsmith.org/awad/books.html or a copy of the game Word Up! https://www.oldscoolcompany.com/products/one-up To get you started, here's a mixed metaphor I came up with: "You used papier-mache to create this village?" Prince Grigory chewed out his underlings. "Why not something sturdier like cardboard?" https://wordsmith.org/words/potemkin_village.html Let a thousand mixed metaphors breed and spread the light! papier-mache (pay-puhr muh-SHAY) noun: A mixture of pulped paper, glue, etc., used in making sculptures, boxes, ornaments, etc. adjective: 1. Made of papier-mache. 2. Fragile; temporary; false; illusory. [From French papier-mâché (chewed paper). Earliest documented use: 1753.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/papier-mache https://wordsmith.org/words/images/papier-mache_large.jpg Photo: Dominique Donois https://flickr.com/photos/dedeauchateau/436232239/ "It will be more capable, respected, and durable than the papier-mache facade of power ... in Brussels." Walter Russell Mead; Europe for Realists; The Wall Street Journal (New York); Oct 1, 2016. -------- Date: Tue Jul 6 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sough X-Bonus: Animal factories are one more sign of the extent to which our technological capacities have advanced faster than our ethics. -Peter Singer, philosopher, professor of bioethics (b. 6 Jul 1946) This week's theme: Words used metaphorically sough (suhf, sau) verb intr.: To make a moaning, sighing, whistling, murmuring, or rustling sound. noun: 1. Such a sound. 2. A rumor. [From Old English swogan (to rustle, whistle, etc.). Earliest documented use: before 1066.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/sough "Or one could tell the name of the estate, and gesture toward imagined slopes, or sound the wind that soughs among the leaves at evening when the fruit is taking shape." Catharine Savage Brosman; Olives; The Southern Review; Spring 2000. "'Why, sir,' says Alan, 'I think I will have heard some sough of the sort.'" Robert Louis Stevenson; Kidnapped; Cassell and Company; 1886. -------- Date: Wed Jul 7 00:01:01 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--woolgathering X-Bonus: Sin lies only in hurting others unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense. -Robert A. Heinlein, science-fiction author (7 Jul 1907-1988) This week's theme: Words used metaphorically woolgathering (WOOL-gath-uh-ring) noun 1. Daydreaming. 2. Absentmindedness. [From wool, from Old English wull + gathering, from Old English gaderian. Earliest documented use: 1553.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/woolgathering https://wordsmith.org/words/images/woolgathering1_large.jpg Tufts of wool on barbed wire fence https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5210617 Photo: Neil Theasby https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5210617 "Gathering Wool" 1893 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/woolgathering_large.jpg Art: Henry Herbert La Thangue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleaning#/media/File:Henry_Herbert_La_Thangue_-_Gathering_Wool.jpg NOTES: Woolgathering may be aimless wandering of the mind these days, but once it was serious work. It was pulling tufts of wool caught on bushes or fences or left on the ground by sheep. Besides today's word, the English language has many other ovine-related https://wordsmith.org/words/ovine.html terms, such as sheep's eyes https://wordsmith.org/words/sheeps_eyes.html and sheeple https://wordsmith.org/words/sheeple.html . "So lost in her woolgathering, she hadn't even noticed that her cousin had gone back to rummaging through the trunk." Elizabeth Boyle; Confessions of a Little Black Gown; Avon; 2009. -------- Date: Thu Jul 8 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scabby X-Bonus: People are like stained glass windows: they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within. -Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, psychiatrist and author (8 Jul 1926-2004) This week's theme: Words used metaphorically scabby (SKAB-ee) adjective 1. Having scabs. 2. Mean or contemptible. [From scab, from Old Norse skabb (scab, itch). Earliest documented use: 1526.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/scabby Scabby the Rat at a strike https://www.flickr.com/photos/75012107@N05/13904932607/ Photo: Montgomery County Planning Commission https://www.flickr.com/photos/75012107@N05/13904932607 NOTES: The word scab started out as a skin disease, evolved into a word for a crust over a wound, and then figuratively, into a moral disease. Eventually, it was applied to a mean person, especially a strike-breaker. Two other terms for such a person are fink https://wordsmith.org/words/fink.html and blackleg https://wordsmith.org/words/blackleg.html . "Tam felt like a scabby trick was being played on him." Clifford Roberts; Dead Nobles; BookBaby; 2014. -------- Date: Fri Jul 9 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--flagship X-Bonus: We now know that memories are not fixed or frozen, like Proust's jars of preserves in a larder, but are transformed, disassembled, reassembled, and recategorized with every act of recollection. -Oliver Sacks, neurologist and writer (9 Jul 1933-2015) This week's theme: Words used metaphorically flagship (FLAG-ship) noun: 1. A ship that carries the fleet commander and flies the commander's flag. 2. The best or the most important of a group of things. [From flag, of obscure origin + ship, from Old English scip. Earliest documented use: 1672.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/flagship The "Victory", Nelson's Flagship, c. 1890s: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/flagship1_large.jpg Photo: LOC https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002708062/ Tiffany's flagship store, Fifth Ave, New York https://wordsmith.org/words/images/flagship2_large.jpg Photo: David Shankbone / Wikimedia NOTES: The word flagship is often used attributively, for example, a flagship store, a flagship university, etc. An attributive noun is a noun that describes another noun, for example, the word "table" in "tablecloth". "I was capitalising on my success as a business owner by opening a flagship shop for my leather bags for men and women." Rosa Temple; Playing for Keeps; HarperCollins; 2018. -------- Date: Mon Jul 12 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tammany X-Bonus: Words / as slippery as smooth grapes, / words exploding in the light / like dormant seeds waiting / in the vaults of vocabulary, / alive again, and giving life: / once again the heart distills them. -Pablo Neruda, poet, diplomat, Nobel laureate (12 Jul 1904-1973) You know you have arrived if you find yourself performing on a Carnegie Hall* stage, but how do you get there? No need for a GPS. As any New Yorker would tell you, the way to Carnegie Hall is: Practice, practice, practice! It's one of the most prestigious performance venues in the world. It's a place where not only is Tchaikovsky's music performed, but also one where Tchaikovsky himself performed. (He conducted his own "Festival Coronation March" in the inaugural concert in 1891.) Carnegie Hall has now become a synonym for success. This week we'll visit five other buildings and venues that have words coined after them. We'll make stops in a hall, a theater, a museum, a prison, and a factory. And our itinerary will take us from the US to France to England, back to France, and to the US. What building's name do you use metaphorically? Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/tammany.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. *Till you reach _the_ Carnegie Hall, consider stopping by one of the other Carnegie Halls in Pittsburgh https://pittsburghsymphony.org/venues/carnegie-music-hall , West Virginia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Hall,_Inc. , and Scotland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Hall,_Dunfermline . If you have to have _the_ Carnegie Hall but you are too busy to woodshed https://wordsmith.org/words/woodshed.html , you could still perform there. The place can be rented, no auditions required. tammany (TAM-uh-nee) adjective Relating to political corruption. [After Tammany Hall in New York City, former home of the New York County Democratic Party, which was known for corruption. Earliest documented use: 1872.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/tammany Tammany Hall Facade https://wordsmith.org/words/images/tammany_large.jpg Photo: Eden, Janine, and Jim https://www.flickr.com/photos/edenpictures/50575140158/ NOTES: Tamanend or Tammany was a wise and peaceful Delaware Indian chief who became known as the "patron saint" of America. Many social clubs and societies were named after him. Tammany Hall in New York was one such place that evolved into a political machine notorious for its corruption. It was active from 1789-1967. "The posture of a Tammany politician, forever launching into insincere Biblical harangues at exactly the wrong moment." Ray Conlogue; The 101 Miracles of Hope Chance; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Jan 19, 1989. -------- Date: Tue Jul 13 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Grand Guignol X-Bonus: If life had a second edition, how I would correct the proofs. -John Clare, poet (13 Jul 1793-1864) This week's theme: Words coined after buildings and venues Grand Guignol (grahn gee-NYOL) [*the first syllable is nasal] noun: An event, entertainment, etc., of a sensational or horrific nature. adjective: Gruesome, grotesque, or horrifying. [From Le Grand Guignol (literally, The Great Puppet), a theater in Paris that specialized in such entertainment. Earliest documented use: 1905.] NOTES: Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol started in 1897 in a former chapel in Paris. Its specialty was gruesome and gore. A typical evening featured a series of short plays. It's said that the theater measured the success of a play by how many in the audience fainted. As a marketing gimmick, the theater management hired doctors to be in attendance. The theater closed its doors in 1962. Charles Nonon, its director at the time, said: "We could never compete with Buchenwald. Before the war, everyone believed that what happened on stage was purely imaginary; now we know that these things -- and worse -- are possible." See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Grand%20Guignol The Théâtre du Grand-Guignol https://wordsmith.org/words/images/grand_guignol_large.jpg Photo: Carl Guderian https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjacques/308848526 "The contemplation of suicide, blatant racism, and a family of 'trapped', emotionally stunted snobs: nobody expected Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey to be as dramatic as it was, or as grim. ... One bombshell and within-palace-walls horror story followed another, one numbing thud after another. ... This Grand Guignol was just getting started." Tim Teeman; Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Oprah Interview Was a Royal Family Depth Charge; The Daily Beast (New York); Mar 8, 2021. -------- Date: Wed Jul 14 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chamber of horrors X-Bonus: Literature encourages tolerance -- bigots and fanatics seldom have any use for the arts, because they're so preoccupied with their beliefs and actions that they can't see them also as possibilities. -Northrop Frye, writer and critic (14 Jul 1912-1991) This week's theme: Words coined after buildings and venues chamber of horrors (CHAYM-buhr ov hor-uhrz) noun A collection of horrifying things, ideas, people, etc. [After the Chamber of Horrors, a room in Madame Tussaud's waxwork exhibition in London. It displayed waxworks of notorious criminals and other infamous historical figures. Earliest documented use: 1849.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/chamber_of_horrors.jpg Photo: bearexposed https://www.flickr.com/photos/38443582@N00/6088377726/ "Dr Charles Eugster: Old age can be a chamber of horrors but it's never too late to change your life and try something new." Aine McMahon; "Work Is Fundamental for Longevity," Says 94-Year-Old; Irish Times (Dublin); Jun 28, 2014. -------- Date: Thu Jul 15 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bastille X-Bonus: My ambition is to live to see all of physics reduced to a formula so elegant and simple that it will fit easily on the front of a T-shirt. -Leon Max Lederman, physicist, Nobel laureate (15 Jul 1922-2018) [He had to sell his Nobel medal to pay his medical bills https://www.vox.com/health-care/2018/10/4/17936626/leon-lederman-nobel-prize-medical-bills ] This week's theme: Words coined after buildings and venues bastille (ba-STEEL) noun A prison. [After Bastille, a fortress in Paris, that was used to hold prisoners. From Old French bastille (fortress), alteration of bastide, from Old Provençal bastir (to build). Earliest documented use: 1400.] NOTES: Bastille (French pronunciation: bas-TEE-yuh) was built in the 14th century and stormed on Jul 14, 1789, marking the beginning of the revolution. The anniversary (Bastille Day) is celebrated as a national holiday in France. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/bastille The Bastille in the first days of its demolition https://wordsmith.org/words/images/bastille_large.jpg Art: Hubert Robert, 1789 "It sounded like the perfect solution: Simply ask the man in the bulletproof booth to switch the (carwash) machine off and allow me to escape from my bubbly bastille." Pat Craig; 'Survivor: Carwash'; Honk If You're Stuck; Contra Costa Times (California); Mar 29, 2004. -------- Date: Fri Jul 16 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Hawthorne effect X-Bonus: We denizens of Earth have a common vice: We take what we're offered, whether we need it or not. You can get into a lot of trouble that way. -Robert Sheckley, science-fiction author (16 Jul 1928-2005) This week's theme: Words coined after buildings and venues Hawthorne effect (HAW-thorn i-FEKT) noun An improvement in workers' performance attributed to the special attention they received when singled out for a study. [After Hawthorne Works, a factory complex of the Western Electric Company, where this effect was observed. The complex was named after the original name of the town where it was located. Earliest documented use: 1958.] NOTES: In the 1920s, researchers studying a group of workers at the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois, observed something peculiar. They found that the productivity increased irrespective of the change in the direction of a variable. For example, the performance improved under brighter lights, but also when the lighting level was reduced. The researchers attributed this phenomenon to the workers' perception that they were being given some attention. The very realization of being singled out for study motivated them to perform better. A few cousins of the Hawthorne effect are the placebo effect https://wordsmith.org/words/placebo.html and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Hawthorne Works, ca. 1907 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/hawthorne_effect_large.jpg Image: Western Electric / Wikimedia "AJC: What do you think of the popularity of shows like 'The Bachelor' or 'Fear Factor'? Janeane Garofalo: They're not reality shows. They're completely imitation-of-life shows. It's the Hawthorne effect. You are aware of the camera, so your actions aren't real." Rodney Ho; Interview: Garofalo, One Funny Technophobe; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia); Nov 22, 2002. -------- Date: Mon Jul 19 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--quotennial X-Bonus: I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, "Mother, what was war?" -Eve Merriam, poet and writer (19 Jul 1916-1992) Anticruelty means against cruelty, anticavity is against cavities, but antiquity does not mean against quitting. That's language for you. Patterns are useful, but don't anticipate them to help you out each time. This week we'll introduce you to five terms and you might think you can figure them out, but watch out for their antics -- they are not what they seem. quotennial (kwo-TEN-ee-uhl) adjective Yearly. [From Latin quot (how many) + annus (year). Earliest documented use: 1878. A related word is quotidian (happening every day; commonplace). https://wordsmith.org/words/quotidian.html .] "The Dallas Cowboys defense has been a point of contention with fans over the past few years." Daniel Ruppert; Dallas Cowboys: Quality vs Quantity, the Quotennial Question; SportDFW.com; Feb 14, 2017. -------- Date: Tue Jul 20 00:01:03 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--philocynic X-Bonus: It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. -Edmund Hillary, mountaineer and explorer (20 Jul 1919-2008) This week's theme: Words that aren't what they seem philocynic (fil-oh-SIN-ik) noun: A dog lover. adjective: Fond of dogs. [From Greek philo- (loving) + kyon (dog). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwon- (dog), which is also the source of canine, chenille (from French chenille: caterpillar, literally, little dog), kennel, canary, hound, dachshund, corgi, cynosure https://wordsmith.org/words/cynosure.html , and cynic https://wordsmith.org/words/cynic.html . Earliest documented use: 1830.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/philocynic_large.jpg Photo: Ned Harris https://flickr.com/photos/ned_harris/51154972698/ NOTES: If you are a cat lover, don't lose heart. There's a word for you as well: ailurophile https://wordsmith.org/words/ailurophile.html . But, of course, dogs are the best. "Ironically, Dr. Seuss, creator of The Cat in the Hat, much preferred dogs. Other celebrated philocynics include Sigmund Freud, Helen Keller, Sir Isaac Newton, Fyodor Dostoevsky, E.B. White, and John Steinbeck." Bradley Trevor Greive; Why Dogs Are Better Than Cats; Andrews McMeel; 2009. -------- Date: Wed Jul 21 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--obviate X-Bonus: The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed. -Ernest Hemingway, author and journalist, Nobel laureate (21 Jul 1899-1961) This week's theme: Words that aren't what they seem obviate (OB-vee-ayt) verb tr. To render unnecessary; to remove, avoid, or prevent. [From Latin obviare (to act contrary), from ob- (against) + via (way). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wegh- (to go or to transport in a vehicle), which also gave us pervious https://wordsmith.org/words/pervious.html , ochlophobia (a fear of crowds) https://wordsmith.org/words/ochlophobia.html , and ochlocracy (mob rule) https://wordsmith.org/words/ochlocracy.html . Earliest documented use: 1567.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/obviate "In addition to bringing me a $112 government disability check every month, my insomnia leaves me with that many more hours per day to get things done, obviates the necessity for hotel rooms while traveling, and otherwise enhances life." Lawrence Block; The Scoreless Thai; HarperCollins; 2009. -------- Date: Thu Jul 22 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mamaguy X-Bonus: If you could say it in words there would be no reason to paint. -Edward Hopper, painter (22 Jul 1882-1967) This week's theme: Words that aren't what they seem mamaguy (MA-muh-gai) verb tr.: To tease or deceive, especially by flattery. noun: An instance of this. [From Spanish mamar gallo (to suckle a rooster).] NOTES: The word has nothing to do with a mama or a guy. The word is from Caribbean English, especially from Trinidad. It has its origins in cock-fighting, apparently referring to a rooster who is gently sucking at his opponent instead of pecking him with force. "'And I find your skin and all looking nice.' 'Hush your mouth. Mamaguying an old woman like me.'" Ingrid Persaud; Love After Love; Random House; 2021. -------- Date: Fri Jul 23 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--diplomatics X-Bonus: Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph. -Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia (23 Jul 1892-1975) This week's theme: Words that aren't what they seem diplomatics (dip-luh-MAT-iks) noun The study of documents, especially historical documents, in an effort to authenticate, date, interpret, etc. [From Latin diploma (a letter of recommendation or an official document), from Greek diploma (a folded paper). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dwo- (two) that also gave us dual, double, doubt, diploma (literally, folded in two), twin, between, redoubtable https://wordsmith.org/words/redoubtable.html , dubiety https://wordsmith.org/words/dubiety.html , diplopia https://wordsmith.org/words/diplopia.html , and didymous https://wordsmith.org/words/didymous.html . Earliest documented use: 1808.] NOTES: In ancient times, an official document was folded over and sealed. A diplomat is one who carries a diploma, literally a folded paper or a letter of introduction. You could say that in diplomatics one vets a document to make sure it's not been doctored. "Vella's manuscript could not have survived a careful examination conducted according to the rule of diplomatics." Marco Codebò; Narrating from the Archive; Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; 2010. -------- Date: Mon Jul 26 00:01:03 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--misericord X-Bonus: Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world. -George Bernard Shaw, writer, Nobel laureate (26 Jul 1856-1950) I have been diving in the dictionary for decades, but this ocean of words is so immense I get pleasantly surprised from time to time. A few weeks ago someone shared the word misericord. I was able to get a faint idea of what it might mean, but I was not prepared for all of its facets. You mean there's a word in the English language for a place that may be, basically, a monks' frat house? This word also means a dagger. And you can also use it for a hinged seat. Yes, yes, and yes. There's such a word, and there is an unexpected common theme in all these senses of the word, as you'll see below. A language is a reflection of its speakers. It expands to fill a need. If they need a word for a bachelor pad to chill out, away from the prying eyes of the abbot, who is the language to get in the way? Do your thing, it says, I'm here to make you happy. Feel free to twist me, make me play another role, whatever. No morality police here. This week we'll share with you five words that may make you say: I didn't know there was a word for it. Use them any way you like. A language is an ABC (abbacy?) with no humorless enforcers taking all the joy out of it. misericord (mi/muh-ZER-i-kord) noun 1. Compassion, pity, or mercy. 2. Something to provide support to a standing person. Typically a small projection from the underside of a hinged seat that can be used for support when the seat is turned up. 3. A place where rules are relaxed. Typically a room, apartment, etc., in a monastery where monastic rules are not enforced. 4. A dagger used to deliver the death stroke to a seriously wounded person. [From Old French misericorde, from Latin misericordia (pity or mercy), from misereri (to pity) + cor (heart). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kerd- (heart), which also gave us cardiac, cordial, courage, concord, cordate https://wordsmith.org/words/cordate.html , accord https://wordsmith.org/words/accord.html , discord, record, and recreant https://wordsmith.org/words/recreant.html . Earliest documented use: 1230.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/misericord_seat_large.jpg Photo: Kandschwar/Wikimedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misericord#/media/File:Chorgestuehl-SK-Bechtolsheim.jpg NOTES: If you were to summarize misericord in plain words, it would be a mercy, a mercy seat, a mercy room, and a mercy weapon. A misericord was built under a church seat for worshipers to support their bottoms when standing. Since a misericord under a seat was usually out of sight, it was an inviting proposition for the woodcarver to depict something naughty, subversive, or forbidden. Examples: a schoolmaster spanking a student (St. Botolph's Church, UK) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misericord#/media/File:Boston_Stump_misericord_03.JPG a fox in bishop's clothing, preaching to geese (St. Laurence's Church, Ludlow, UK) https://www.flickr.com/photos/47859152@N05/7488123608/in/album-72157630389782890/ a mermaid (Notre Dame church in Les Andelys, France) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misericord#/media/File:Les_Andelys_(27)_%C3%A9glise_Nte_Dame_7.jpg an angel doing something (Church Saint-Prix in Noizay, France) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misericord#/media/File:Noizay_(37)_%C3%A9glise_Saint-Prix_11.jpg NSFW (Tréguier cathedral, France) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misericord#/media/File:Tr%C3%A9guier_(29)_2_edit.jpg The fact that a misericord supported the undersides of a person during long homilies https://wordsmith.org/words/homily.html probably inspired many a scene of mooning. https://www.e-travelmag.com/france/misericordsart/ . A misericord in a monastery, on the other hand, was not just a seat, but a whole room or an apartment where rules were relaxed. One could eat what was forbidden in the regular refectory https://wordsmith.org/words/refect.html . Another word for a refectory is frater and the misericord was called flesh-frater. So it *was* a frat house, in a manner of speaking. A flesh-frater? See the usage example below. Finally, misericord as a mercy weapon delivered the death stroke (also known as the mercy stroke or coup de grâce) to hasten the death of a mortally wounded person. "Roddy chose a tapestried stool as a misericord, uncomfortable enough to avert the danger of relaxing." David Stuart Leslie; Two Gentlemen Sharing; Secker & Warburg; 1963. "'By St. Loy!' Joan cried suddenly. 'We'll pleasure ourselves now. Will you take ale, lady, in the misericord?' Sweeping with mockery, she led me, while the following shadows loomed behind, down a low passage with a dim, fanned roof and gilded bosses. 'A shapely building, this,' I murmured." Rosemary Hawley Jarman; We Speak No Treason; Little, Brown; 1971. "He kept his enemy in sight as his fingers searched frantically for the misericord fastened to his swordbelt." Tara O'Dell; My Gallant Knight; Zebra; 1999. -------- Date: Tue Jul 27 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--contrafactum X-Bonus: Euphemism is a euphemism for lying. -Bobbie Gentry, singer and songwriter (b. 27 Jul 1944) This week's theme: There's a word for it contrafactum (KON-truh-fak-tuhm) noun A composition that makes use of an existing piece of music with different lyrics. [From Latin contrafacere (to counterfeit), from contra- (against) + facere (to make or do). Earliest documented use: 1940.] NOTES. A contrafactum aka contrafact is, literally speaking, counterfeiting. It's what you get when an existing tune is used with a new set of words. A well-known example is The Star-Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the US, which is sung to the music of "The Anacreontic Song" popularly known as a drinking song https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anacreontic_Song . Other examples of contrafacta are when secular music is used for religious purposes and vice versa. "At other times, the relationship between contrafacta seems far-fetched. Why should 'Peter's Denial' have the same music as Judas's reproach of Jesus for befriending Mary Magdalene?" Joseph P. Swain; The Broadway Musical; Scarecrow Press; 2002. -------- Date: Wed Jul 28 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--akrasia X-Bonus: I have forced myself to contradict myself in order to avoid conforming to my own taste. -Marcel Duchamp, artist (28 Jul 1887-1968) This week's theme: There's a word for it akrasia or acrasia (uh-KRAY-zh/zhee-uh) noun The lack of will or self-control resulting in one acting against one's better judgment. [From Greek akretes (powerless), from a- (without) + kratos (power, strength). Earliest documented use: 1806. The adjective form is akratic https://wordsmith.org/words/akratic.html .] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/akratic_large.jpg Illustration: Viktor Hertz https://www.flickr.com/photos/hertzen/31861295934/ NOTES: A well-known experiment in akrasia is the Marshmallow Experiment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment which tested children's ability to self-control for delayed gratification. Those who were able to wait for rewards tended to have greater success in life. "By better ordering your thoughts you become less susceptible to the weakness of akrasia, [Steven Nadler] writes in his latest book, 'Think Least of Death: Spinoza on How to Live and How to Die'." Joe Humphreys; A Philosophical New Year Resolution for Reason Over Self-Gratification; Irish Times (Dublin); Dec 31, 2020. -------- Date: Thu Jul 29 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--aquabib X-Bonus: I have noticed that when chickens quit quarreling over their food they often find that there is enough for all of them I wonder if it might not be the same with the human race. -Don Marquis, humorist and poet (29 Jul 1878-1937) This week's theme: There's a word for it aquabib (AK-wuh-bib) noun 1. A water-drinker. 2. A teetotaler. [From Latin aqua (water) + bibere (to drink). Ultimately from the Indo-European root poi- (to drink), which also gave us potion, poison, potable, beverage, bibulous https://wordsmith.org/words/bibulous.html , bibacious https://wordsmith.org/words/bibacious.html , and Sanskrit paatram (pot). Earliest documented use: 1731.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/aquabib_large.jpg Image: https://cheezburger.com/9017338368/the-art-of-water-drinking-without-the-effort "He came across a hulking pewter herbivore failing to slake his thirst despite becoming increasingly watery. 'Stop drinking,' Billy ordered the sippopotamus, for the aquabib truly had had enough." Morgan Benson; The Mating Rituals of the Burning Giraffe; Xlibris; 2010. -------- Date: Fri Jul 30 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--eidolon X-Bonus: I am now quite cured of seeking pleasure in society, be it country or town. A sensible man ought to find sufficient company in himself. -Emily Bronte, novelist (30 Jul 1818-1848) This week's theme: There's a word for it eidolon (eye-DOH-luhn) noun 1. An idealized form. 2. A phantom. [From Greek eidos (form, idea), ultimately from the Indo-European root weid- (to see), which also gave us wise, view, supervise, wit, eidos https://wordsmith.org/words/eidos.html , and eidetic https://wordsmith.org/words/eidetic.html . Earliest recorded use: 1828.] "She is an eidolon, an archetype for the evolution of humankind, from the waters to the sky." Dana Redfield; Jonah: A Novel; Hampton Roads Publishing; 2000. "You are magical. An eidolon. I sometimes doubt that you exist." Bert O. States; Girl of My Dreams; The Hudson Review (New York); Autumn 1998.