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Aug 16, 2011 This week's theme Words that have many unrelated meanings This week's words coronary fugue marrow talus billet Bach, Fugue 7 in E-flat major Discuss Feedback RSS/XML A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg fugue PRONUNCIATION: (fyoog) MEANING: noun: 1. A musical form in which a theme is repeated in several voices and developed into a complex pattern. 2. A pathological state of consciousness in which someone appears to be conscious of one's actions but has no memory of them after returning to a normal state. ETYMOLOGY: From Italian fuga (escape, flight), from Latin fuga (flight), from fugere (to flee) which is also the source of fugitive, centrifugal, subterfuge, refuge, and fugacious. Earliest documented use: 1597. USAGE: "The balance between strings, harpsichord, and flute was spot on during the meshing lines of the fugue." Libby Hanssen; Second Summerfest Concert Challenges the Status Quo; Kansas City Star; Jul 17, 2011. "On the subway home, I opened my bags to see what, in my shopping-induced fugue state, I had actually purchased." Ariel Kaminer; It's Always Sunny in Targetland; The New York Times; Jul 30, 2010. Explore "fugue" in the Visual Thesaurus. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: They laughed when I said I was going to be a comedian. They're not laughing now. -Bob Monkhouse, comedian (1928-2003)

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