benedict

PRONUNCIATION: (BEN-i-dikt)
MEANING:
noun: A newly married man, especially one who was previously thought to be a confirmed bachelor.
ETYMOLOGY:
From alteration of Benedick, character in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Earliest documented use: 1821.
USAGE:
"Columbus Moise, the old bachelor lawyer, who is soon to be a benedict, answered the toast."
Miguel Antonio Otero; My Life on the Frontier, 1882-1897; 1935.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: ****
A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury. -John Stuart Mill, philosopher and economist (1806-1873)

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BENEDIT (BIN-et-it) - heavy-handed editing as with an axe.

ETYMOLOGY: Shakespeare's drinking companion, Ben Jonson, edited several of Shakespeare's plays, mostly with spleen and spite.
After reading a yet-unnamed play Ben scrawled in big letters across the cover, THIS IS MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. The bard set down his drink and said "Rightly so, Ben" Then smiled.