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Theme List Following is a list of all themes featured in AWAD so far. Although AWAD started in March, 1994, weekly themes did not become a regular feature until June, 1996. 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 2008 Jan 2008 Whose what? (animal edition) Miscellaneous words Words with color as metaphor What does that company name mean? Feb 2008 Words related to sleep Words related to medicine Short words Whose what? (named after specific persons) Mar 2008 Lesser-known counterparts of common words Words to mark the quadridecennial of the founding of Wordsmith.org: 14-letter words, 14-letter definitions Words from guest wordsmith Matt Ball, founder of Vegan Outreach Words from Yiddish Words formed by contraction Apr 2008 Words to describe people Words made using combining forms Verbs Words derived from the names of mythical creatures May 2008 Eponyms Words related to beards Eponyms Archaic words Jun 2008 Insults Words borrowed from Irish Toponyms Whose what? Words from medicine Jul 2008 Words made using combining forms Words related to royalty Words about words and language Words with hidden connections to animals Aug 2008 Metaphorical descriptions of people Miscellaneous words Words for physical characteristics used to describe people figuratively Why use a simple word? Sep 2008 Words that appear to be misspellings Your theme here? 2007 Jan 2007 Odd-looking words Words that have many unrelated meanings Eponyms Yours to discover Words with hidden animals Feb 2007 Miscellaneous words Words that are homophones of everyday words Porcine words to mark the Chinese new year There is a word for it Mar 2007 Latin terms in English Words related to the number 13 to mark the thirteenth anniversary of Wordsmith.org Hair today, gone tomorrow Miscellaneous words Apr 2007 Professions of the past Words that seem risque Words for odds and ends Words having vowels aeiou once and only once, and in order Words about words May 2007 Expressions coined after the names of birds Eponyms Words borrowed from Spanish Words to describe people Jun 2007 Words that turn into other words when beheaded Archaic words Toponyms coined after places in Ireland Miscellaneous words Jul 2007 Words from theater Words about diplomacy Words from the writing of Judge Bruce M. Selya Unusual words used in famous quotations Words with double connections Aug 2007 Red-herring words Words related to calendar Words with hidden animals Miscellaneous words Sep 2007 Words derived from Indo-European roots Words formed by false splitting Fabric words used metaphorically Toponyms Oct 2007 Miscellaneous words Terms from law Words for bosses, officials, and leaders There is a word for it Words related to food Nov 2007 Adjectives Words to describe people Eponyms Words with a built-in definite article Dec 2007 Miscellaneous words Whose what? Yours to discover Words borrowed from other languages Newly coined words 2006 Jan 2006 Words related to time Words to describe people Words related to repartee Less-known synonyms of everyday words Feb 2006 Loanwords from Sanskrit Coined words Red-herring words Miscellaneous words Mar 2006 Words borrowed from German Words related to number 12, to mark the 12th anniversary of the founding of Wordsmith.org. Words about war Words related to archery Apr 2006 Terms imported from other languages Words related to death and taxes Words about books Uncommon words with common suffixes or prefixes May 2006 Words from games and sports Yours to discover Unusual words Short words Adjectives used postpositively Jun 2006 Long words Fear and Desire Professions that exist mainly as surnames Words related to shoes Jul 2006 Yours to discover Words related to the eyes Words from Yiddish Eponyms Verbs Aug 2006 Words related to forecasting and divination Miscellaneous words There is a word for it Words about poetry Sep 2006 Words from chemistry Slang/informal terms Words related to pirates Miscellaneous words Oct 2006 Words related to teaching, learning, and schools Words that aren't what they appear to be Words about books Words to describe people Ordinal words Nov 2006 Blend words Words with a built-in definite article Miscellaneous words Words that appear to be misspellings Dec 2006 Desserts used metaphorically Words for body parts used figuratively Reduplicatives Adjectives used postpositively 2005 Jan 2005 Words borrowed from other languages Words related to movie making Miscellaneous words Reduplicatives Words that aren't what they appear to be Feb 2005 Words related to art Feminine and masculine forms of words Words borrowed from Spanish Words related to eating and drinking Mar 2005 Toponyms Words related to the number eleven Words to describe people Words about wordplay Apr 2005 Words derived from mythical creatures Words relating to religion Words about books Verbs May 2005 Allusions and personifications Miscellaneous words Eponyms Insults Words from music Jun 2005 Words from the 2005 Spelling Bee Slang Words from The Devil's Dictionary Archaic words Jul 2005 Terms from Latin Words from movie titles Words derived from Italian landmarks Words related to forecasting Aug 2005 Biblical allusions Words to describe people Words that appear to be misspellings Miscellaneous words Words related to medicine Sep 2005 Metaphorical terms having origins in New York Collective nouns Words about words (nyms) Words for colors Oct 2005 Words formed using combining forms Eponyms Words about words There is a word for it Words that aren't what they appear to be Nov 2005 French terms for food Words from the plant kingdom Uncommon homophones of common words Assorted words Dec 2005 Eponyms Terms from French Words related to words, writing, and language Words to describe the Earth's features 2004 Jan 2004 Earls who became words (or places that became words) Words related to medicine Words that aren't what they appear to be Assorted words Feb 2004 Words with variant spellings Words borrowed from Yiddish Yours to discover Words for insults Mar 2004 Words for body parts used figuratively Words related to writing Words related to elections Descriptive words to apply to people Unusual words Apr 2004 Words from law Contranyms: words with opposite meanings Eponyms Miscellaneous words May 2004 Words that appear contradictory Words to describe people Words about relations Coined words Words from French Jun 2004 Unusual verbs Words to describe physical characteristics of people Words to highlight rankism Eponyms Jul 2004 Miscellaneous words Words to describe people Expressions derived from pet animals Unusual words Aug 2004 Words derived from Old English Toponyms or words derived from place names Latin expressions Words from Greek Words that are also names Sep 2004 Miscellaneous words Archaic words Words borrowed from other languages Slang Oct 2004 Miscellaneous words Words to describe people Words from politics and elections Eponyms Nov 2004 Toponyms What do those car names mean? Words to describe women Miscellaneous words Short words Dec 2004 Words from the world of money and finance Hair today, gone tomorrow Eponyms Words to describe people 2003 Jan 2003 Words about words Words from the word game Derivation Eponyms Verbs Feb 2003 What does that company name mean? Toponyms Words with interesting etymologies Words to describe people Mar 2003 Words from mathematics that have other meanings as well Words about collecting and study of things Words from the world of law Words based on numbers Apr 2003 Words to describe poetic forms Words derived from many different languages Toponyms Words to describe people May 2003 Words to describe words Miscellaneous words Words borrowed from African languages Metal words used as metaphors Jun 2003 Numeric terms Yours to discover Anglo-Saxon words Slang/informal terms Miscellaneous words Jul 2003 Abbreviations and acronyms Words from architecture Words that aren't what they appear to be Words of horse-related origins Aug 2003 Words of horse-related origins Words coined after someone's name Portmanteau or blend words Words to describe your opponents Sep 2003 Words with origins in war Terms from Latin Words related to the solar system Words originating in Southeast Asian countries Oct 2003 Words based on numbers Words originating in Australia Words from the works of Gwendolyn Brooks Words derived from Sanskrit Nov 2003 Eponyms Archaic words Miscellaneous words Words formed in error Dec 2003 Words borrowed from Native American languages Words borrowed from Spanish Words from aviation Words to describe people Words related to movies 2002 Jan 2002 Words from sports Words to describe people Words with Italian connection Coined words Feb 2002 Toponyms or words derived from place names Miscellaneous words Words with presidential connections Words from theater Mar 2002 Words to describe people Words from Russian Eponyms Words that seem unreal Apr 2002 Loanwords from Spanish Terms with origins in food You guess the theme Words about books and writing Words from Yiddish May 2002 Words from law Toponyms Words that appear misspelled Words from Arabic Jun 2002 Words formed erroneously What's in a name? Words based on fish names Words that appear misleading Jul 2002 Eponyms from fiction Yours to discover Terms employing various nationalities Words with double connections Words related to calendar Aug 2002 False cognates (words that appear to be related but aren't) Red-herring words Terms related to the body Words about buying and selling Sep 2002 AEIOU words Miscellaneous words Words that have changed meaning with time Words about wordplay Oct 2002 Words from Gulliver's Travels Words about words Lesser-known antonyms of everyday words Words to describe people Nov 2002 Words `borrowed' from other languages Words from medicine Words from poetry Kangaroo words Dec 2002 Toponyms Words from the major source languages of English Short words Miscellaneous words Words from the military 2001 Jan 2001 Words better known in their negative forms Yours to discover Words from Dante's Inferno, a verse translation by Jean Hollander and Robert Hollander Words from "Made in Japan", by Sony co-founder Akio Morita Less well-known synonyms of everyday words Feb 2001 Words from speeches Words with all the vowels Coined words English as a global language Mar 2001 Eponyms Words from AWAD archives Words about words Uncommon words with common suffixes Apr 2001 Words to describe people Words to describe odds and ends Words formed by metathesis or transposing letter (false splitting) Eponyms Wordpix May 2001 Wordpix Ordinal words Words for odds and ends Words to describe people Jun 2001 Words from the names of newspapers Red-herring words Yours to discover New words in the OED Jul 2001 Words ending in "eric" Words from war Words for physical characteristics used to describe people figuratively Less-known counterparts of everyday words Words evolved using folk etymologies Aug 2001 Words from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writings Words about words Words formed using combining forms Words related to places Sep 2001 Words related to body parts that are used metaphorically Eponyms Latin terms Verbs Oct 2001 Words from chess Unusual words Words with color as metaphor Animal words Red-herring words Nov 2001 Words to describe people Words from mathematics Words that appear to be mis-spellings of everyday words Wordpix Dec 2001 Eponyms Nyms Irregular plurals Archaic words Words about words 2000 Jan 2000 Words for miscellany Coined words Words often used in a sense different from their established definitions Words that have reversed their meaning Yours to discover Feb 2000 Words about words Words not to put on a resume Verbs Eponyms Mar 2000 Toponyms Words from newspapers of the world Loanwords from German Eponyms Apr 2000 Miscellaneous words Words to describe people Words about words Words with unusual etymologies May 2000 Words with animals Words from classical mythology Words that sprout other words when beheaded Words from medicine Jun 2000 Words from government, politics, and elections Words about book-lovers Feminine and masculine forms of words Red-herring words Jul 2000 Unusual, esoteric, preposterous words Words to drop into conversation with a therapist Words for ailments and afflictions Eponyms You discover the themes of the words Aug 2000 Words about books and writing Words that make one say, "I didn't know there was a word for that." Words from Italian Words from the world of learning Sep 2000 Syndromes, principle, rule, law, corollary Words from the hackers' jargon Words about words Brand names that have entered the dictionary Oct 2000 Words from Gandhi's autobiography Words with ambigrams Semordnilaps, or words that spell other words when reversed Words to describe people Words to mark Halloween Nov 2000 Eponyms Words from German Words from the world of literature Animal words that are used figuratively Dec 2000 Fictional characters who live on in the dictionary Words from poetry Animal-related words that are used metaphorically Words about words 1999 Jan 1999 Tree words Reduplicatives Words about people and food Words about books Feb 1999 Words related to eating and food Nautical words Words about words Words from the names of newspapers Mar 1999 Words derived by adding suffixes Pi words to mark Pi Day (March 14) Words about punctuation and diacritics Words that go out of their way to not apply to themselves Apr 1999 Eponyms Toponyms Words from Greek mythology Words with slightly different spellings from some everyday words May 1999 Words with slightly different spellings from some everyday words Words about diplomacy Readers to discover the theme Words from The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce Loanwords from Hindi and Sanskrit June 1999 Collective nouns What would you ask words if you could speak with them? Eponyms Words to describe people July 1999 Verbs Words with variant spellings Eponyms Words about teeth August 1999 Words from Greek and Roman mythology Words or phrases from the titles of fictional works Eponyms Words with no theme Loanwords from Japanese September 1999 Words with no theme Eponyms Words about words Words about numbers October 1999 Words about colors Words about relations Greek words Toponyms or words derived from place names November 1999 Words for everyday things and anatomical features Words from Greek and Roman mythologies Words for animal offspring Words to describe people December 1999 Foreignisms Words related to the human body, its actions and conditions Words to describe people from particular places Coined words 1998 Jan 1998 Words from chess Words about forts and castles Words with numbers Words about pregnancy Feb 1998 Words about body parts Words from Joseph Heller's "Catch-22" Hair today, gone tomorrow Poison words Mar 1998 Words from the 3rd vol. of OED Additions Words from Faulkner's "Mule in the Yard" Words with weird pronunciations Words from Scott Joplin songs' titles Short words Apr 1998 People and places that became words Words with interesting histories Words with interesting histories Words about the quality of speech May 1998 Words about symbols Words with interesting histories Words with interesting histories Words with interesting histories Jun 1998 Words from 1998 Spelling Bee Words with novel pluralizations Words with novel pluralizations Words that make you say, "Eschew obfuscation" Words with interesting origins Jul 1998 Words from "The Figured Wheel" a collection of poetry by Robert Pinsky Words to describe people To need or not to need Aug 1998 Words of all kinds Words of all kinds People and places that became words People and places that became words Words from math Sep 1998 Words with synonyms that appear suspiciously like their antonyms Reduplicatives Eponyms Places that became words Oct 1998 Words derived from place names Meta words or words about words Portmanteaux or blend words Words about writing Nov 1998 Words that violate the "i before e" rule Back-formations A verbal zoo Words to describe people Words with an unusual arrangement of letters Dec 1998 Words about oceans and seas Idioms Eponyms False splitting 1997 Jan 1997 Eponyms Loanwords from Spanish Eponyms Things Are Seldom What They Seem Feb 1997 Slang Valentine's Day: words of affection, passion, and romance Cold words Eponyms Mar 1997 Eponyms AWAD's third anniversary: Words from AWAD archives Incubus, and what else to avoid while shopping for shoes Words from Rabindranath Tagore's "Geetanjali" Eponyms Apr 1997 Words from Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" Portmanteau words "It was a dark and stormy night..." Similar sounding ten* words that can be confusing May 1997 Loanwords from Spanish Looong words Arthur Conan Doyle's "A Study in Scarlet" Dickensian characters who have turned into eponyms Jun 1997 Words from 1997 Spelling Bee Words from Patrick O'Brian's novels Words pertaining to animals Professions of yesterday that now exist mostly as surnames Jul 1997 AWAD's recommendations for some unusual areas to work in Tongue twisters "These are all real words." Twin words Aug 1997 Words from chemistry Eponyms Coined words Words about laughing Sep 1997 Trademarks that are often used figuratively Eponyms from fiction Fear and desire Figures of speech Words about stamps Oct 1997 Toponyms Positional words Aeiou words or words with all the vowels Skywatchers' watchwords Nov 1997 Oeuvres of nature Words that seem risque Words from Gibran's Sand and Foam Eponyms from fictional characters Dec 1997 Much Ado About Nothing Topology words Words from Tintin Comics Words from Tintin Comics Words from Maya Chandrasekaran's novel 1996 Jan 1996 Words of hope, peace and wisdom Words from German Eponyms Miscellaneous words Words from Greek mythology Feb 1996 Portmanteaux or blend words Miscellaneous words Back-formations Miscellaneous words Mar 1996 Miscellaneous words Miscellaneous words Words about books Miscellaneous words Apr 1996 Words about words Miscellaneous words Miscellaneous words Number words May 1996 Eponyms from fiction Miscellaneous words Miscellaneous words Miscellaneous words Jun 1996 Words from Greek mythology Bird words Jul 1996 Loanwords from Hindi Words to mark the 1996 Summer Olympics Bad people in history who got a word after themselves Words about marriage Aug 1996 Savory words AWAD's guide to life on other planets Eponyms Eponyms Sep 1996 Words after names of cities Weather words Eponyms Words about colors to mark the autumn Oct 1996 Loanwords from Sanskrit Flip-flop words Odds and ends Halloween words Nov 1996 Verbs Book words Words about words Words of nautical origins Dec 1996 Eponyms Eponyms from fiction Forgotten Positives Forgotten Positives Picturesque expressions 1995 Weekly themes did not become a regular feature until June, 1996. Please see monthly archives for the words posted before that date. 1994 Weekly themes did not become a regular feature until June, 1996. Please see monthly archives for the words posted before that date.

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