A.Word.A.Day -- AWADmail Issue 813

A.Word.A.Day

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AWADmail Issue 813

A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and Language

Sponsor’s Message: Hey, Wisenheimers! When was the last time you gave a gift to the cleverheads in your life that you were actually proud of? Email of the Week winner, Alice Moshan Kintisch (see below), as well as all AWADers, can impress/suppress their brainy friends and school family know-it-alls for the rest of the year with our wicked smart word game: One Up! -- The Gift That Keeps on Giving. SPLURGE NOW.

From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
Subject: Interesting stories from the Net

Garbage Collectors Open Library with Abandoned Books
CNN
Permalink

But Do You Have the Biggest Word, Fairbanks?
Daily News-Miner
Permalink

From: Sam Long (gunputty comcast.net)
Subject: Fabian

Q. Fabius Maximus was nicknamed Verrucosus “Warty” (says Plutarch) because he had a wart on his upper lip. The Romans apparently liked giving less-than-complimentary nicknames to prominent men. M. Tullius Cicero (or an ancestor) had a mole or wart shaped like a chickpea (L. cicer) on his nose. Caligula, the infamous Emperor, got his nickname “Bootikin” as a child from the legionaries in his father Germanicus’s army because he had a miniature suit of armor complete with soldier’s sandals (caligae) that he often wore when with his father in the field. (He reigned as C. Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus and apparently didn’t like his nickname, but he’s universally known by the nickname.)

Sam Long, Springfield, Illinois

From: Mohammed Sethi (via website comments)
Subject: fabian

Wow! Now I can make the connection with so many “verrucous” descriptions of pathological lesions in my medical vocation. Verrucous carcinoma, verruca vulgaris, myrmecia verrucae, verrucous onycholysis, verrucous psoriasis, ... the list is endless!

Mohammed Sethi, Cedarburg, Wisconsin

From: Andrew Pressburger (andpress sympatico.ca)
Subject: fabian

The moderate British socialists at the beginning of the twentieth century, preferring peaceful evolution to outright revolution in achieving their goal, named themselves The Fabian Society after the Roman general Fabius, who used delaying tactics in the Second Punic War against Hannibal, dooming the enemy to starvation and eventual defeat on Roman soil. In modern history, Russia twice successfully applied this tactic: first against Napoleon in the 19th century and later against Hitler in the 20th.

Andrew Pressburger, Toronto, Canada

Email of the Week brought to you BUY One Up! -- Every Smart Aleck’s Delight/Doom.
From: Alice Moshan Kintisch (amkintisch verizon.net)
Subject: stent

I’ll be forever grateful for Dr. Stent! He’s saved my husband and brother from having to undergo the much more complicated (and therefore potentially more dangerous) heart surgery to deal with clogged arteries. Some patients have more than one stent put in, and most go on to lead longer lives with no side effects and much faster recoveries.

Alice Moshan Kintisch, Upper Nyack, New York

From: Clive Brookes (rbrookes netspace.net.au)
Subject: stents

It is thanks to the two stents I had put in that I am still around to send this email.

Clive Brookes, Melbourne, Australia

From: Ann Gullberg (anniepie10 mac.com)
Subject: Stents

Stents can be used in places other than blood vessels. Ureteral stents are placed in ureters when the ureter has swelling from kidney stone removal or correction of stricture. Stents can also be placed in the common bile duct after ERCP to maintain the duct.

Ann Gullberg, Clear Lake, Indiana

From: Lawrence Crumb (lcrumb uoregon.edu)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--hymeneal

In Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta HMS Pinafore, seaman Ralph Rackstraw is trying to elope with Captain Corcoran’s daughter. The chorus sings

Carefully on tiptoe stealing,
Hymen will provide the fare;
For a clergyman is waiting
To unite the happy pair.

Of course, they don’t make it, since the boatswain, Dick Deadeye, has tipped off the captain.

Lawrence Crumb, Eugene, Oregon

From: SarahRose Werner (swerner nbnet.nb.ca)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--hymeneal

Conversation between two teenage boys overheard on a New York City bus some years ago: “You won’t believe what they named the baby!” And then, in a lower tone, “It has to do with sex.” I realized immediately that the baby was quite likely a boy born to Jewish parents and named Hyman.

SarahRose Werner, Saint John, Canada

From: Connie Branson (connie.r.branson gmail.com)
Subject: hymeneal

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
As the pain that can be told is but half a pain, so the pity that questions has little healing in its touch. -Edith Wharton, novelist (24 Jan 1862-1937)

Thought for the Day: Several years ago my husband and I were adopting a beautiful little boy. In our state a child must be with the adoptive family for a full year before the adoption can be finalized. Our sweet baby boy died of SIDS before the adoption could be finalized. A year and a half later we were in the process of adopting a beautiful dark-eyed, ebony-haired baby girl. Before the year was up the biological mother changed her mind, leaving me with pain beyond my ability to express. Said a friend to me, “Well, you can just pretend you were babysitting her, right?” I think I understand the Thought for Today enough to be careful when with people in pain.

Connie Branson, Alameda, California

From: Lars Christensen (larschristensen yahoo.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--euhemerism

The usage of the term “euhemerism” among scholars of Chinese history curiously has the exact opposite meaning: the claim that figures in traditional early history began as pure legend and were later fitted into seemingly authentic history. Confucius himself is said to have participated in this rationalization. According to a story preserved in the the Records of Ritual Matters by Dai the Elder (Dadai Liji), a disciple asked how the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) could have been a real person, since he was said to have lived 300 years. Confucius replied that this is a misunderstanding, that he really lived a century, then for a century after that the people revered his spirit, and the century after that they followed his teachings, “and that is why they say 300 years.” Accordingly, the Yellow Emperor was fitted into traditional chronologies with the dates 2698-2598 BCE. In the twentieth century, many scholars, particularly those of the Doubting Antiquity School, rejected such accounts as mere euhemerism.

Lars Christensen

From: Ted No (via website comments)
Subject: euhemerism

So, what is the word for the idea that devils are based on historically evil persons whose stories became exaggerated/minimized in the retelling?

Ted No

From: Lloyd Thomas (via website comments)
Subject: Roland

To this day I can still recite those words from “La Chanson de Roland” that we had to memorize in French class. It went something like, “Roland sent bien que la mort l’entreprend, Que de la tête au coeur elle descend.” Roland knows all too well that death is going to catch him, descending from his head to his heart.

Lloyd Thomas

From: Janet Moursund (janetmoursund gmail.com)
Subject: Thank you!

Thank you, thank you, over and over. Your post begins my day, and your thought of the day often ends it.

Janet Moursund, Eugene, Oregon

From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: Eponyms; Fabian

Inspired by blogmeister Anu’s introduction to this week’s “eponyms” word-theme, and how various US presidents have left their eponymous marks with original coined words, I’ve conjured up this presidential tableau. Only time will tell what particular word (or words) might capture The Donald’s “Trumpiness”... self-coined “stable genius”, last year’s puzzling twitter gaffe, “covfefe”, or “dotard” -- North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un’s choice Trump-dissing word that last spring sent social media all atwitter searching for the definition of this obscure word.

Only in the bizarro world of “The AWAD Zone” could the likes of Philadelphia’s own ’60s pop-singing sensation Fabian (Forte) match up with circa 3rd-century-BCE’s brilliant military strategist, statesman, hero of the Punic Wars, and Rome native son, Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus. Who knows... two famed fellow paisanos chronologically separated by over two millennia could well be distant kissin’-cousins? Pass the parmesano, per favore.

Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California

From: Cheryl Tigchelaar (cheryltigchelaar cogeco.ca)
Subject: Eponyms

Today, the Toronto Star joined other major North American daily newspapers by publishing an article about Canadian-American political analyst David Frum’s new book, Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic

I think it was just a matter of time to see who would generate a clever eponym. This one might just stick.

Cheryl Tigchelaar, Dundas, Canada

From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
Subject: Anagrams of this week’s words

1. fabian 2. stent 3. hymeneal 4. euhemerism 5. roland	=	1. safe 2. tube in ill man 3. tender hymn 4. a hero 5. same	=	1. safe 2. inner tube? 3. anthem 4. heroism named 5. ally
		-Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com)		-Robert Jordan, Lampang, Thailand (alfiesdad ymail.com)

From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
Subject: limericks

Pilates, reiki, chiropractics --
He’s tried every torturous practice.
But Octavian’s spastic
back isn’t elastic.
At best, those are fabian tactics.
-Phyllis Morrow, Fairbanks, Alaska (pmorrow alaska.edu)

Said Adam, “Eve, ‘twas a mistake
of prohibited fruit to partake.
You should have had maybe an
attitude fabian,
not to be fooled by that snake!”
-Anne Thomas, Sedona, Arizona (antom earthlink.net)

Kim Jong-Un and the mullahs Iranian
Should be dealt with in ways firm but fabian.
If we keep taunting kooks
Who have missiles and nukes,
We’ll need rooms with a view subterranean.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Some stents to repair my stenosis,
Strong mints to reduce halitosis,
New hip, contact lenses,
Huge medical expenses...
I yearn for a NAD^* diagnosis!
(^*No Abnormality Detected)
-Mary Boy, Falkensee, Germany (mary.miller.boy googlemail.com)

An artery may need a stent
So expensive you can’t pay the rent.
Republicans answer,
“Bad heart? Or got cancer?
No problem, go live in a tent.”
-Janice Power, Cleveland, Ohio (janicepower25 gmail.com)

There are many who live normal lives because they are fitted with a stent,
That enables the fluids in their vessels to be quite naturally sent.
We thank God for men with ideas,
Who take risks in spite of their fears,
And thereby enhance countless beings by their willingness to experiment.
-Monica Broom, Morogoro, Tanzania (monicabroom2015 gmail.com)

We know that he’s more than content
To grab women without consent.
He’s crude and obscene.
Really nuts or just mean?
Perhaps his brain needs a big stent.
-Anna C. Johnston, Coarsegold, California (ajohnston13 gmail.com)

“To insert an arterial stent,”
Said the surgeon, “We need your consent.”
Answered Donald, “That word
Isn’t one that I’ve heard,
I just grab for what makes me content.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

One nearsighted girl fish with zeal
sought a union, ichthy-hymeneal
-- no brains or brawn needed
only spawn by him seeded --
but her boy fish cried, “Nix, I’m an eel!”
-Brenda J. Gannam, Brooklyn, New York (gannamconsulting earthlink.net)

She knew she had majorly erred
in pledging to share her login password.
Her spouse now routinely edits
all her feminist #MeToo tweets.
Some of their hymeneal vows were truly absurd!
-Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com)

Bride and groom, as the wedding bells peal,
exchange vows solemn and hymeneal;
hope that as man and wife
they will share a good life
since true love’s such a part of the deal.
-Zelda Dvoretzky, Haifa, Israel (zeldahaifa gmail.com)

Ivana, Marla, Melania -- three,
Make quite a hymeneal history.
We’ve Trump as our prexy
Believing he’s sexy,
But Stormy could make this a big phallic-cy.
-Judy Distler, Teaneck, New Jersey(jam1026 aol.com)

When she reads of his life hymeneal,
From her lips in delight comes a squeal.
“The Donald’s my muse;
When his exploits make news,
I’m inspired!” declares Danielle Steel.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Euhemerism I can’t see,
I’ll stick to just one deity.
But I’ll shop
Till I drop--
Consumerism’s more for me.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

A big man in euhemerism’s story
Stood alone in his own category.
It was not my intention,
But allow me to mention
His toga was made of Old Glory.
-Gayle Tremblay, Saint John, Canada (gayletremblay hotmail.com)

Donald Trump and his euhemerism,
They were based on extreme narcissism.
“Not to fear,” to the Dreamer,
“I’m such a good schemer,
I’ll undo multiculturalism.”
-Judith Marks-White, Westport, Connecticut (joodthmw gmail.com)

There’s much to be said about Zeus,
Whose love life he gave no excuse.
His euhemerism
Was sheer egotism.
Yes, Zeus was a randy old goose.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

By theory of euhemerism
(A herald, perhaps, of surrealism)
Old “gods” were just mortals
Whose tales passed all portals.
A true philosophical schism.
-Anna C. Johnston, Coarsegold, California (ajohnston13 gmail.com)

A man in the park’s naturism
Was his way to seek euhemerism.
“The Greeks would admire
My lack of attire,”
He said, as they took him to prison.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Roland, Oh Roland, a hero indeed,
Who fills all requirements that heroes need,
Covered with glory,
In famed ancient story;
Among others well-known, he takes the lead!
-Marcia Sinclair, Newmarket, Canada (marciasinclair rogers.com)

When it comes to being a flirt
He’s my Roland in a tight shirt.
We both roll our eyes,
Espousing our lies.
It’s in jest and no one gets hurt.
-Lois Mowat, Orinda, California (lmowat1810 gmail.com)

Said Hitler, “Ve’ll march into Poland;
Zat army von’t give us a Roland.”
“But someday,” said Rommel,
“Though Europe ve’ll pommel,
America’s eyes vill be opened.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

From: Phil Graham (pgraham1946 cox.net)
Subject: Un-hep inimical puns

As for Ms. Dunaway, Fabian out-of-work actress due to her age.

For jokes like these aorta spend a stent in jail... or perhaps the punitentiary.

I told the drill sergeant, “Hymeneal keep me from marching today.” (Didn’t work.)

Pointing at the two guitarists, the drummer said, “Thanks to euhemerism is off tonight.”

If you play a Chuck Berry song backward, is it Roland Rock?

Phil Graham, Tulsa, Oklahoma

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Barricades of ideas are worth more than barricades of stones. -José Martí, revolutionary and poet (28 Jan 1853-1895)

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