A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Sep 1 00:14:37 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vinculum X-Bonus: While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior. -Henry C. Link vinculum (VING-kyuh-lum) noun 1. Mathematics. A bar drawn over two or more algebraic terms to indicate that they are to be treated as a single term. 2. Anatomy. A ligament that limits the movement of an organ or a part. 3. A bond or tie. [Latin, bond, tie, from vincire, to tie.] "It excels in setting equations. Fraction bars, underscores, baseline rules and vinculum rules will automatically adjust either with the addition or subtraction of characters." ProType Math 9.0, SoftBase, 19 Dec 1994. This week's theme: words from math. -------- Date: Wed Sep 2 01:14:54 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--singularity X-Bonus: Visits always give pleasure - if not the arrival, the departure. -Portuguese Proverb singularity (sing-gyuh-LAR-i-tee) noun 1. The quality or condition of being singular. 2. A trait marking one as distinct from others; a peculiarity. 3. Something uncommon or unusual. 4. Astrophysics. A point in space-time at which gravitational forces cause matter to have infinite density and infinitesimal volume, and space and time to become infinitely distorted. 5. Mathematics. A point at which the derivative does not exist for a given function of a random variable but every neighborhood of which contains points for which the derivative exists. In this sense, also called singular point. [Middle English singuler, from Old French, from Latin singularis, from singulus, single.] Frances Spalding, Book Review / A grey dandy: Whistler while he worked, Independent, 8 Nov 1994. "His earliest biographers presented him as the isolated genius and a singularity has clung to his status ever since." Freitag, Stefan; Opitz, Karsten, Enhancements in blending algorithms, Hewlett-Packard Journal, 1 Oct 1995. "Before we conclude this section, we still have to address the question of singularities, which are critical for every marching algorithm. In our context, we have to deal with two types of singularities: those of the surfaces to be marched and those of their intersection." This week's theme: words from math. -------- Date: Thu Sep 3 00:29:18 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--annulus X-Bonus: Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler. -Albert Einstein annulus (AN-yuh-luhs) noun 1. A ringlike figure, part, structure, or marking, such as a growth ring on the scale of a fish. 2. A ring or group of thick-walled cells around the sporangia of many ferns that functions in spore release. The ringlike remains of a broken partial veil, found around the stipes of certain mushrooms. 3. Mathematics. The figure bounded by and containing the area between two concentric circles. [Latin anulus, ring, diminutive of anus.] "The standard Creative Disc uses the same clearpolycarbonate material to carry the information as aconventional CD. Unlike its more conventional sibling however, the spun aluminium reflective layer is only applied to a small internal annulus - equivalent in size to that of a standard 8cm CD - leaving the remainder of the CD clear." Sonopress: Creative Disc widens the marketing designer's possibilities, M2 PressWIRE, 5 Sep 1997. This week's theme: words from math. -------- Date: Fri Sep 4 00:04:40 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--protract X-Bonus: Listen or thy tongue will keep thee deaf. -American Indian Proverb protract (proh-TRAKT, pruh-) tr.verb 1. To draw out or lengthen in time; prolong: disputants who needlessly protracted the negotiations. 2. Mathematics. To draw to scale by means of a scale and protractor; plot. 3. Anatomy. To extend or protrude (a body part). [Latin protrahere, protract- : pro-, forth. + trahere, to drag.] "To have an interval just after the guard decided to help the lovers escape, seemed an unnecessary way of protracting this not very gripping adventure, though perhaps it was convenient for the caterers involved in the reception. Classical : Mozart Double Bill Covent Garden Festival, London, Independent, 3 Jun 1996. This week's theme: words from math. -------- Date: Sat Sep 5 00:04:58 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--involution X-Bonus: Lots of folks confuse bad management with destiny. -Kin Hubbard involution (in-vuh-LOO-shuhn) noun 1. The act of involving. The state of being involved. 2. Intricacy; complexity. 3. Something, such as a long grammatical construction, that is intricate or complex. 4. Mathematics. The multiplying of a quantity by itself a specified number of times; the raising to a power. 5. Embryology. The ingrowth and curling inward of a group of cells, as in the formation of a gastrula from a blastula. 6. Medicine. A decrease in size of an organ, as of the uterus following childbirth. A progressive decline or degeneration of normal physiological functioning occurring as a result of the aging process. [Latin involutio, involution-, from involutus, past participle of involvere, to enwrap.] "While mainstream America was engaged in expansion and evolution into a bigger and bigger country, Thoreau was advocating its opposite: involution and introspection. An untypical Yankee, he preferred to be rather than do. He chose a life of contemplation over frenzied activity, or the Saint Vitus' dance, as he derisively put it. He did not want to become a slave to an economy that would atrophy his spiritual life." Lakshmimani, A Confluence of the Ganga and Walden, Little India, 30 Sep 1994. This week's theme: words from math. -------- Date: Sun Sep 6 00:04:58 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--congruent X-Bonus: Science is the tool of the Western mind and with it more doors can be opened than with bare hands. It is part and parcel of our knowledge and obscures our insight only when it holds that the understanding given by it is the only kind there is. -C.G. Jung (1875-1961) congruent (KONG-groo-uhnt, kuhn-GROO-) adjective 1. Corresponding; congruous. 2. Mathematics. Coinciding exactly when superimposed: congruent triangles. Having a difference divisible by a modulus: congruent numbers. [Middle English, from Latin congruens, congruent-, present participle of congruere, to agree.] "The life-paths of men and women, and to a lesser extent, of black and white Americans, are much more likely to be congruent than at any time in history." Clark, Josh, et al, 20 ways we've changed, Mother Jones, 11 Jan 1996. "The language of geometry became a powerful means of communicating ideas through terms that had previously been just words on a textbook page. Other applications to geometry and measurement involved in the crane-folding process included forming congruent triangles..." Elizabeth S. Senger, et al., Mathematical meaning in context, Teaching Children Mathematics, Mar 97. This week's theme: words from math. -------- Date: Mon Sep 7 00:06:33 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--flammable X-Bonus: Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example. -Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910) flammable (FLAM-uh-buhl) adjective Easily ignited and capable of burning rapidly; inflammable. [From Latin flammare, to set fire to, from flamma, flame.] "In the movie (Money Train), a pyromaniac sets token booths ablaze with flammable liquid. In real life, Mr. kaufman, an African American husband and father, was burned over 80 percent of his body when assailants squirted a flammable liquid in the token slot of the booth he was working at." Chinta Strausberg, It is time for Hollywood to wake up, Michigan Chronicle, 26 Dec 1995. Does one wear a flammable or an inflammable dress (or is it nonflammable) to put out a fire? We keep this week's AWAD aflame with words having synonyms that appear suspiciously like their antonyms. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Sep 8 00:04:34 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--personate X-Bonus: `Automatic' simply means that you can't repair it yourself. -Mary H. Waldrip personate (PUR-suh-nayt) tr.verb 1. To play the role or portray the part of (a character); impersonate. 2. To endow with personal qualities; personify. 3. Law. To assume the identity of, with intent to deceive. [Late Latin personare, personat-, to bear the character of, represent, from Latin persona, person.] "`It might become necessary to re-run a constituency's election in a very few cases - one a century, perhaps - when the winner's majority is smaller than the number of personated votes. That is a small price to pay for a truly secret ballot,' says the Liberty report." John Rentoul, Election '97: Liberty attacks marked ballots, Independent, 23 Apr 1997. This week's theme: words with synonyms that appear like their antonyms. -------- Date: Wed Sep 9 00:04:40 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tegument X-Bonus: A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer. -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) tegument (TEG-yuh-muhnt) noun A natural outer covering; an integument. [Middle English, from Latin tegumentum, from tegere, to cover.] "Why should this worthless tegument endure, If its undying guest be lost forever? O, let us keep the soul embalmed and pure In living virtue, that when both must sever, Although corruption may our frame consume, The immortal spirit in the skies may bloom!" Horace Smith, Address to the Mummy at Belzoni's Exhibition, The World's Best Poetry on CD (tm), 20 Mar 1995. This week's theme: words with synonyms that appear like their antonyms. -------- Date: Thu Sep 10 00:05:12 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--criminate X-Bonus: A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature. -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) criminate (KRIM-uh-nayt) tr.verb 1. To accuse of a crime or other wrongful act; incriminate 2. To cause to appear guilty of a crime or fault; implicate [Latin criminari, criminat-, to accuse, from crimen, crimin-, accusation.] "She (Anne Askew) came to London, and was considered as offending against the six articles, and was taken to the Tower, and put upon the rack, - probably because it was hoped she might, in her agony, criminate some obnoxious persons; if falsely, so much the better." Dickens, Charles, A Child's History Of England: Chapter XXVIII. England Under Henry The Eighth., History of the World. This week's theme: words with synonyms that appear like their antonyms. -------- Date: Fri Sep 11 00:04:52 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--privation X-Bonus: Go often to the house of thy friend, for weeds choke the unused path. -Ralph Waldo Emerson privation (pry-VAY-shuhn) noun 1. Lack of the basic necessities or comforts of life. The condition resulting from such lack. 2. An act, condition, or result of deprivation or loss. [Middle English privacion, from Old French, from Latin privatio, privation-, from privatus, past participle of privare, to deprive.] "The hardship allowance (privation package) was paid in a bid to attract qualified personnel to serve inremote areas of the country." Tabby Moyo, 'Bring Back Our Bonuses!' Urge Public Workers, Africa News Service, 24 Sep 1997. This week's theme: words with synonyms that appear like their antonyms. -------- Date: Sat Sep 12 00:04:47 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--filiation X-Bonus: In truth you owe naught to any man. You owe all to all men. -Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) [Sand and Foam] filiation (fil-ee-AY-shuhn) noun 1. The condition or fact of being the child of a certain parent. Law. Judicial determination of paternity. 2. A line of descent; derivation. 3. The act or fact of forming a new branch, as of a society or language group. The branch thus formed. "Although the filiation may seem distant, my book is at heart an exposition of an old Chicago concept." Abbott, Andrew, Of time and space: the contemporary relevance of the Chicago School. (Chicago school of sociology), Social Forces, 1 Jun 1997. This week's theme: words with synonyms that appear like their antonyms. -------- Date: Sun Sep 13 00:06:39 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--candescence X-Bonus: Whatever you do may seem insignificant, but it is most important that you do it. -Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) candescence (kan-DES-uhns) noun The state of being white hot; incandescence. [From Latin candescens, candescent-, present participle of candescere, inchoative of candere, to shine.] "... a high flame which, by regulating, he reduced to quiescent candescence and lit finally a portable candle." James Joyce, Ulysses, Ithaca. This week's theme: words with synonyms that appear like their antonyms. -------- Date: Mon Sep 14 00:08:22 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tussie-mussie X-Bonus: Life's most urgent question is: what are you doing for others? -Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) tussie-mussie (TUS-ee-MUS-ee) or tuzzy-muzzy (TUZ-ee-MUZ-ee) noun 1. A small bouquet of flowers; a nosegay. 2. A cone-shaped holder for such a bouquet. [Middle English tussemose, perhaps reduplication of *tusse.] "A woman also had to be pretty precise about where she wore flowers. Say, for instance, a suitor had sent her a tussie-mussie (a k a nosegay). If she pinned it to the `cleavage of bosom,' that would be bad news for him, since that signified friendship. Ah, but if she pinned it over her heart, `That was an unambiguous declaration of love.'" Meadow, James B., Rocky Mountain News, 26 Jan 1998 This week's AWAD features reduplicatives, words formed when a term is either repeated exactly as it is (as in bonbon), or with a slight variation in the vowel (as in ping-pong), or consonant (as in higgledy-piggledy). This process of compound word formation is known as reduplication. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Sep 15 00:06:19 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--herky-jerky X-Bonus: Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous patience. -Admiral Hyman Rickover herky-jerky (HUR-kee-JUR-kee) adjective Spasmodic, irregular, and unpredictable, as in movement or manner. [Reduplication of jerky.] "The last time that producers for "60 Minutes" broadcast video footage taken with a hidden camera, they used the herky-jerky idiom of journalism verite to show Florida pawn shop owners buying potentially stolen goods." Felicity Barringer, New Rules, New Caution: Telling a Journalistic Coup From a Crime, New York Times, 26 Jul 1998. This week's theme: reduplicatives -- words formed using repeating forms. -------- Date: Wed Sep 16 00:06:48 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--knickknack X-Bonus: Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play. -Immanuel Kant knick-knack also nick-nack (NIK-nak) noun A small ornamental article; a trinket. [Reduplication of knack.] "Floors were carpeted and the casement windows had wide ledges holding lamps, china, Staffordshire figurines and books of interest to visitors, like Crossing's `Guide to Dartmoor,' still unsurpassed though published in 1912. Everywhere I looked, some pretty little knickknack was tastefully tucked." Susan Spano, At Home on the Moors, New York Times, 8 Jun 1997 This week's theme: reduplicatives -- words formed using repeating forms. -------- Date: Thu Sep 17 00:07:07 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wishy-washy X-Bonus: Genius is eternal patience. -Michelangelo wishy-washy (WISH-ee-wosh-ee) adjective 1. Thin and watery, as tea or soup; insipid. 2. Lacking in strength of character or purpose; ineffective. [Reduplication of washy, thin, watery from wash.] "Ideologically, the idea appeals to analysts across the board, including the right-wing libertarians at the Cato Institute, the self-conscious centrists at the Democratic Leadership Council, and the wishy-washy liberals at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. And these subsidies and tax breaks cost us anywhere from $53-$87 billion a year, depending on whether you believe the Progressive Policy Institute or the Cato Institute." Alterman, Eric, The Reich stuff. (Labor Secretary Robert Reich opposes corporate welfare), Mother Jones, 17 Jul 1995. This week's theme: reduplicatives -- words formed using repeating forms. -------- Date: Fri Sep 18 00:06:55 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shilly-shally X-Bonus: It is not necessarily true that averaging the averages of different populations gives the average of the combined population. -Simpson's Paradox shilly-shally (SHIL-ee-shal-ee) intr.verb 1. To procrastinate. 2. To be unable to come to a decision; vacillate. 3. To spend time on insignificant things; dawdle. shilly-shally adjective Hesitant; vacillating. shilly-shally noun Procrastination; hesitation. shilly-shally adverb In a hesitant manner; irresolutely. [Reduplication of the question shall I?.] "It was an unmistakable signal to Russians, and to Mr Clinton, that there will be no more fudge, drift or shilly-shally in government policy." Tony Barber, Boris looks for help from Bill, Independent on Sunday, 16 Mar 1997. This week's theme: reduplicatives -- words formed using repeating forms. -------- Date: Sat Sep 19 00:04:50 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pell-mell X-Bonus: Education ... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading. -G.M. Trevelyan pell-mell also pellmell (pel-mel) adverb 1. In a jumbled, confused manner; helter-skelter. 2. In frantic, disorderly haste; headlong. [French pele-mele, from Old French pesle mesle, probably reduplication of mesle, imperative of mesler, to mix.] "(S)ays Eric Forsman, a biologist with the Forest Service. `If we continue pell-mell down the path of eliminating these old forests, we'll never have the opportunity to learn because they won't be there to study.'" Ted Gup, Owl vs Man In the Northwest's battle over logging, jobs are at stake, but so are irreplaceable ancient forests, TIME, 25 Jun 1990. This week's theme: reduplicatives -- words formed using repeating forms. -------- Date: Sun Sep 20 00:04:34 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mishmash X-Bonus: It is better to be roughly right than to be precisely wrong. -John Maynard Keynes mishmash (MISH-mash, -mahsh) noun A collection or mixture of unrelated things; a hodgepodge. [Middle English misse-masche, probably reduplication of mash, soft mixture.] "I came away feeling that Indian English is not just a savory stepmother tongue to hundreds of millions of Indians (more Indians, after all, speak English than Englishmen do), and not just an invaluable memento of a centuries-long mishmash, but also a grand and distinctive product of a culture as verbally supple and full of energy as any I know." Pico Iyer, English in India: Still All the Raj, New York Times, 10 Aug 1997. This week's theme: reduplicatives -- words formed using repeating forms. -------- Date: Mon Sep 21 00:05:47 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chauvinism X-Bonus: Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing. -Benjamin Franklin chauvinism (SHOW-vuh-niz-uhm) noun 1. Militant devotion to and glorification of one's country; fanatical patriotism. 2. Prejudiced belief in the superiority of one's own gender, group, or kind. [French chauvinism eafter Nicolas Chauvin, a legendary French soldier famous for his devotion to Napoleon.] "It's also worth noting here that blaming cancer or other illnesses on bad feelings lets other possible culprits off the hook -- for instance the nuclear power industry, chemical pollutants in our food and our environment, etc. Again, health chauvinism works to prop up the status quo, to undermine voices for radical change." Pelka, Fred, Sick? `It's Your Own Damn Fault!', On the Issues, 1 Mar 1994. Rev. William Archibald Spooner, the father of spoonerism not only gave the English language a new word, an eponym, but also an artful device for repartee. The story goes that a member of parliament cut off another calling him a shining wit, and then apologized for making a spoonerism. This week let us look at seven other examples of eponyms -- words formed using people's names. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Sep 22 00:04:23 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tattersall X-Bonus: The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. -Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910) tattersall also Tattersall (TAT-uhr-sawl, -suhl) noun 1. A pattern of dark lines forming squares on a light background. 2. Cloth woven or printed with this pattern. tattersall adjective Having a pattern of dark lines forming squares on a light background. [After Tattersall's horse market, London, England after Richard Tattersall (1724-1795), British auctioneer.] "Patterns include traditional windowpane, tattersall, glen plaid, bird's-eye, and herringbone. And, in what is a radical departure for this master of modern tailoring, there is a return to structure." Hochswender, Woody, Armani Classico, Esquire, 1 Feb 1996. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Wed Sep 23 00:05:16 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--titian 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] titian (TISH-uhn) noun Color. A brownish orange. [After Titian (from his frequent use of the color in his paintings). Originally Tiziano Vecellio. 1488?-1576. Italian painter who introduced vigorous colors and the compositional use of backgrounds to the Venetian school.] "The vivacious, beautiful, titian-haired Garson was a class act all the way." The best of vivacious Greer Garson and low-key Ben Johnson, Star Tribune, 23 Apr 1996. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Thu Sep 24 00:04:29 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--simony X-Bonus: What we see depends on mainly what we look for. -John Lubbock simony (SIE-muh-nee, SIM-) noun The buying or selling of ecclesiastical pardons, offices, or emoluments. [Middle English simonie, from Old French, from Late Latin simonia after Simon Magus, a sorcerer who tried to buy spiritual powers from the Apostle Peter (Acts 8:9-24).] "A related theme--the preacher or moraliser unmasked--has been richly illustrated in recent years by examples from real life: a string of corrupt American televangelists, self-appointed `men of God', who revelled in greed, lust and simony, the very things they were thought to be railing against." Gilchrist.(book reviews), The Economist, 19 Nov 1994. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Fri Sep 25 00:04:28 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--romeo X-Bonus: "Stay" is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary. -Louisa May Alcott, writer and reformist (1832-1888) Romeo (ROE-mee-oe) noun A man who is devoted to lovemaking or the pursuit of love. [After Romeo, the hero of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.] "While he enjoys being the quirky Romeo instead of the quirky nerd, he's still uncomfortable with the mushy parts." Neal Justin, No teenage loser now, Cryer gets the girl at last, Star Tribune, 23 Oct 1995. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Sat Sep 26 00:04:29 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pinchbeck X-Bonus: Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes. -Henry David Thoreau pinchbeck (PINCH-bek) noun 1. An alloy of zinc and copper used as imitation gold. 2. A cheap imitation. pinchbeck adjective 1. Made of pinchbeck. 2. Imitation; spurious. [After Christopher Pinchbeck (1670?-1732), English watchmaker.] "These we use not: but the worthless pinchbeck coins of yesterday..." Aristophanes (Translation: Rogers, B.B.), Frogs, The: Part III This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Sun Sep 27 00:04:32 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jacobin X-Bonus: Go often to the house of thy friend, for weeds choke the unused path. -Ralph Waldo Emerson Jacobin (JAK-uh-bin) noun 1. A radical or extreme leftist. 2. A radical republican during the French Revolution. 3. A Dominican friar. [French after the Jacobin friars, in whose convent the Jacobins first met.] "Undoubtedly the biggest reason that Gates' shattering of records has passed by without exciting Jacobin passions in the heartland is the democratization of Wall Street and the growth of mutual funds." Randall E. Stross, Bill Gates: Richest American Ever and You Thought Rockefeller Had Money, Fortune, 4 Aug 1997. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Mon Sep 28 00:01:39 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--laputan X-Bonus: Hating people is like burning down your own house to get rid of a rat. -Henry Emerson Fosdick Laputan (luh-PYOOT-n) adjective Absurdly impractical or visionary, especially to the neglect of more useful activity. [After the flying island of Laputa in Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, where absurd projects are pursued and useful pursuits neglected.] "Nice to know that the cast enjoyed themselves, as is clear from the weighty press release (itself something of a Laputan document)." Steven Poole, Small screen, Independent, 5 Apr 1996. What do angry temperaments, idle philosophers, and conjoined twins have in common? The words for all of them are derived from place names. This week let's look at words for the above, and a few others, all coined using names of places both real and fictional. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Sep 29 00:01:23 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vesuvian X-Bonus: We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases. -Goethe (1749-1832) vesuvian (vi-SOO-vee-uhn) noun A slow-burning match formerly used for lighting cigars; a fusee. vesuvian adjective Marked by sudden or violent outbursts. [After, Mount Vesuvius, a volcano, 1,281 meter high, of southern Italy on the eastern shore of the Bay of Naples.] "And how do we think about ourselves and each other? If the news out of Washington is any indication, Americans are in a period of Vesuvian philosophical upheaval." Bruning, Fred, The moral bankruptcy of America in the '90s, Maclean's, 11 Sep 1995. This week's theme: words derived from place names. -------- Date: Wed Sep 30 00:03:03 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--siamese X-Bonus: If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live. -Lin Yutang Siamese (si-uh-MEEZ, -MEES) adjective 1. Of or relating to Siam; Thai. 2. Closely connected or very similar; twin. 3. Of or being a Y-shaped dual connection between two pipes or hoses and a larger pipe or hose. Siamese noun 1. A native or inhabitant of Siam; a Thai. 2. The Thai language. [After Chang and Eng (1811-1874), joined Chinese twins born in Siam (Thailand).] "Today I saw the picture of the two-headed, two-spined and two-hearted girl and it makes me wonder if perhaps it would be more accurate and kinderto the family to use the term `Siamese twins' here rather than the, admittedly, more sensational, eye-catching `Two-Headed Wonder'." Linda Belonje, Insensitive title, The Nation, 6 Jul 1998. "Amazingly, the work areas don't seem to be congested even though the space contains the assembly/control center, a sub assembly station for joining the Siamese crankcase cores..." Hirano, Harry, et al., Coremaking at Toyoda. (Toyoda Automatic Loom Works Prototype Foundry in Obu, Japan), Foundry Management and Technology, 1 Feb 1998. This week's theme: words derived from place names.