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May 11, 2018
This week’s theme
Words derived from animals

This week’s words
black dog
gobemouche
mooncalf
pork barrel
railbird

railbirds
Railbirds at the World Poker Tour

This week’s comments
AWADmail 828

Next week’s theme
Words made using combining forms
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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

railbird

PRONUNCIATION:
(RAYL-buhrd)

MEANING:
noun:
1. A horse-racing enthusiast.
2. A spectator at a contest.
3. An observer who offers uninvited advice or criticism.

ETYMOLOGY:
A railbird is someone who watches horse races or training sessions from the railing along the track. Bird is slang for a person with a specific character, a peculiar person. Earliest documented use: 1793.

USAGE:
“A lot of railbirds surrounded one of the tables. She couldn’t see who was playing but she sensed at once that it was a money game.”
Richard Koff; Runout; iUniverse; 2003.

See more usage examples of railbird in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The sole difference between myself and a madman is the fact that I am not mad. -Salvador Dali, painter (11 May 1904-1989)

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