A.Word.A.Day Archives
from https://wordsmith.org/awad
--------
Date: Wed Jan 1 00:03:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--embiggen
X-Bonus: Be melting snow / Wash yourself of yourself. -Rumi, poet and mystic (1207-1273)
This week's theme: Words coined in comic strips and cartoons
embiggen (em-BIG-uhn) verb tr.
To make larger.
[From em- (to cause to be in) + big (large) + -en (verbal suffix),
formed on the pattern of enliven. Earliest documented use: 1884.]
NOTES: The word was popularized by writer Dan Greaney when he independently
coined it in the television show "The Simpsons". In the episode, "Lisa the
Iconoclast", aired in 1996, the founder of Springfield founder Jebediah
Springfield inspires his fellow cityfolks by declaring "A noble spirit
embiggens the smallest man."
The earliest recorded use of the word is from 1884 which seems to be
self-referential:
"Are there not, however, barbarous verbs in all languages? ... but the people
magnified them, to make great or embiggen, if we may invent an English
parallel as ugly." (Notes and Queries)
A monument honoring Jebediah Springfield, Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida https://wordsmith.org/words/images/embiggen_large.jpg
Photo Tiffany Steinke https://www.flickr.com/photos/tsteinke/11258474683/
"The podcast [Stretch Marks] is all about the things that stretch us
as we enter and stumble through parenthood, the marks the stretches
leave, the embiggening of ourselves (and our bellies)."
Fiona McCann; Advice as Welcome as a Full Night’s Sleep; Irish Times
(Dublin); Aug 26, 2023.
--------
Date: Thu Jan 2 00:03:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Lower Slobbovia
X-Bonus: I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be. -Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (2 Jan 1920-1992)
This week's theme: Words coined in comic strips and cartoons
Lower Slobbovia (LOH-uhr sloh-BOH-vee-uh) noun
A place regarded as isolated, underdeveloped, or unimportant.
[Coined by Al Capp in the comic strip "Li'l Abner" as the name of a
fictional, perpetually snowbound, impoverished, and comically backward
country. Earliest documented use: 1946.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/lower_slobbovia_large.jpg
Image: https://www.hipcomic.com/catalog/issue/al-capps-lil-abner-comics/73/139490
"Compared to the capital of the United States, we are an embarrassment,
a crying shame. True, with one-tenth the US population, we could never
expect our capital to fully match Washington. But do we really have to
look like the first city of Lower Slobbovia?"
Janice Kennedy; National Affirmation Is Something the Americans Do So
Very Well; The Ottawa Citizen (Canada); Apr 6, 2008.
--------
Date: Fri Jan 3 00:03:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cromulent
X-Bonus: "The last word" is the most dangerous of infernal machines; and husband and wife should no more fight to get it than they would struggle for the possession of a lighted bomb-shell. -Douglas William Jerrold, playwright and humorist (3 Jan 1803-1857)
This week's theme: Words coined in comic strips and cartoons
cromulent (KROM-yuh-luhnt) adjective
Valid; acceptable; satisfactory.
[Coined by the television writer David X. Cohen in the animated television
series "The Simpsons". Earliest documented use: 1996.]
NOTES: In the episode "Lisa the Iconoclast" two schoolteachers discuss
the word embiggen they have just heard:
Mrs. Krabappel: Embiggens? Hmm, I never heard that word before I moved to Springfield. https://wordsmith.org/words/embiggen.html
Ms. Hoover: I don't know why. It's a perfectly cromulent word.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcxsgZxqnEg (1 min.)
"What sets the Impreza apart from equally cromulent competitors?"
Dan Neil; Gear & Gadgets; The Wall Street Journal (New York);
May 27, 2017.
--------
Date: Mon Jan 6 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--elsewhen
X-Bonus: Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to truth, follow only beauty, and obey only love. -Kahlil Gibran, mystic, poet, and artist (6 Jan 1883-1931)
To noun is to label someone or something. To adjective is to qualify that
noun. To adverb is to qualify that adjective.
John is a plumber. He is a good plumber. He is a very good plumber.
But adverbs can qualify not just adjectives, but verbs, and even other
adverbs.
He fixes faucets fast.*
Language, like plumbing, relies on the right parts to keep things flowing.
Here at Wordsmith.org, our mission is to help you find the perfect parts
(of speech) -- and to use them with flair.
This week, we're turning our wrench to the ever-versatile adverb. They
typically end in -ly but not always. We'll spotlight adverbs -- some
classic, some quirky -- that prove there’s always more than one way to
fine-tune a sentence.
*I think I have just come up with a tongue twister. Say this three times rapidly:
Phil Fosse fixes faucets fast.
elsewhen (ELS-wen) adverb
At another time.
[A combination of else, from Old English elles + when, from Old English
hwenne. Earliest documented use: 1418.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/elsewhen_large.jpg
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
"Unlike a black hole -- a region of space-time from which you cannot
escape if you get too close -- a wormhole is a region into which you
would disappear only to reappear elsewhere or elsewhen."
Robert Ehrlich; Everybody Knows the Image of T ...; The Washington
Post; May 20, 2001.
--------
Date: Tue Jan 7 00:01:03 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--towardly
X-Bonus: You cannot begin to preserve any species of animal unless you preserve the habitat in which it dwells. Disturb or destroy that habitat and you will exterminate the species as surely as if you had shot it. So conservation means that you have to preserve forest and grassland, river and lake, even the sea itself. This is not only vital for the preservation of animal life generally, but for the future existence of man himself -- a point that seems to escape many people. -Gerald Durrell, naturalist and author (7 Jan 1925-1995)
This week's theme: Adverbs
towardly (TO-uhrd-lee, TORD-lee)
adverb: 1. In a compliant or docile manner.
2. In a pleasant manner.
adjective: 1. Compliant.
2. Pleasant.
3. Favorable.
[From toward, from to + -ward (directional suffix). Earliest documented use: 1513.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/towardly_large.jpg
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
"'You'll see,' the girl whispered towardly, having cuddled under her
thin blanket."
Viktor Khorunzhy; Jennifer. Residence of Grief; Andrew Afonin; 2016.
"Master Wolfall was described by the captain of the ship Anne Francis as
someone who had 'a good, honest woman to wife and very towardly children'
... I cannot recall my own children ever being described as 'towardly'."
Rev. David Long; Church History Goes a Long Way Back; Tribune (Canada);
Aug 31, 2002.
--------
Date: Wed Jan 8 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--passing
X-Bonus: A certain kind of rich man afflicted with the symptoms of moral dandyism sooner or later comes to the conclusion that it isn't enough merely to make money. He feels obliged to hold views, to espouse causes and elect Presidents, to explain to a trembling world how and why the world went wrong. The spectacle is nearly always comic. -Lewis H. Lapham, editor and writer (8 Jan 1935-2024)
This week's theme: Adverbs
passing (PAS-ing, PAH-sing)
adverb: To a surpassing degree.
adjective: Transitory or cursory.
noun: The act, process, or instance of transition, movement, or
transference from one state, place, time, or condition to another.
[From Old French passer, from Latin passare (to pass), from passus (step,
pace). Earliest documented use: 1340.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/passing
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/passing_large.jpg
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
"It is passing strange that the ACCC should see fit not to reveal which
banks are most vulnerable to scams."
Name the Banks Most Vulnerable to Scammers; Sydney Morning Herald
(Australia); Oct 29, 2024.
--------
Date: Thu Jan 9 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--seemly
X-Bonus: The easiest kind of relationship for me is with ten thousand people. The hardest is with one. -Joan Baez, musician (b. 9 Jan 1941)
This week's theme: Adverbs
seemly (SEEM-lee)
adverb: 1. In a pleasing manner.
2. Suitably.
adjective: 1. Pleasing; handsome.
2. Appropriate; fitting.
[From Old Norse sœmiligr (seemly), from sœmr (fitting). Earliest
documented use: 1225. Seemly should not be confused with seemingly,
which means "apparently".]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/seemly
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/seemly_large.jpg
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
"They spoke to each other while still waving and seemly smiling."
Son Of David; Hearts Window; Xlibris; 2012.
"For much of General Franco's dictatorship many of the clergy danced
to his tune. A seemly distance between church and state is probably
better for both, and certainly better for Spanish society at large."
State v Church; The Economist (London, UK); Apr 28, 2001.
--------
Date: Fri Jan 10 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--thither
X-Bonus: Truth is the only merit that gives dignity and worth to history. -Lord Acton (John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton), historian (10 Jan 1834-1902)
This week's theme: Adverbs
thither (THITH-uhr) adverb
To or towards that place.
[From Old English thider. Earliest documented use: before 1150.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/thither
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/thither_large.jpg
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
"At some point in the conversation the Israeli PM excused himself and
asked for the washroom. ... Thither Bibi repaired for a while, and it
may or may not be a coincidence but I am told that later, when they
were doing a regular sweep for bugs, they found a listening device in
the thunderbox [washroom]."
Boris Johnson; Unleashed; Harper; 2024.
--------
Date: Mon Jan 13 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--automania
X-Bonus: To move freely you must be deeply rooted. -Bella Lewitzky, dancer (13 Jan 1916-2004)
Ever run into your accountant at a rock concert and barely recognize them?
You see one side of a person at work. Meet them at another venue -- at the
gym, a park, or maybe a karaoke night -- and suddenly, you're questioning
if they're even the same person.
Words can be like that too, pulling off a neat little trick with their
multiple personas. This week's words wear different hats, showcasing wildly
different meanings sprouting from the same roots. Context is the key --
depending on where you meet them, you might encounter their serious side or
their playful alter ego. It’s like running into your boss moonlighting as
a stand-up comedian or discovering your librarian has a secret life as a
heavy-metal drummer.
automania (aw-toh-MAY-nee-uh) noun
1. An obsession with oneself; egomania.
2. An obsession with automobiles or fast driving.
[From Greek auto- (self), also short for automobile + -mania (excessive
enthusiasm or craze). Earliest documented: for 1: 1835, for 2: 1902.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/automania_large.jpg
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
"So my automania -- my desire for my self to live, to continue; eternity
became a fixation."
John E. Muller; Survival Project; Orion; 1966.
"It's clear that Cars holds a special place in Lasseter's heart, partly
because of the automania that's been a part of his life for as long as
he can remember. 'I'm a car nut,' he says, offering by way of
explanation: 'My father was a parts manager at a Chevrolet dealership.'"
Marc Lee; What Drives the Man at Pixar?; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK);
Jul 16, 2011.
--------
Date: Tue Jan 14 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--airhead
X-Bonus: When one has been threatened with a great injustice, one accepts a smaller as a favour. -Jane Welsh Carlyle, letter writer (14 Jan 1801-1866)
This week's theme: Words with double lives
airhead (AIR-hed) noun
1. An area in a hostile territory, secured for bringing in supplies and personnel by air.
2. A silly or unintelligent person.
3. A horizontal channel created to provide ventilation in a mine.
[For 1: From air + beachhead https://wordsmith.org/words/beachhead.html . Earliest documented use: 1943. Also see bridgehead https://wordsmith.org/words/bridgehead.html .
For 2: From the metaphorical notion that a person's head contains only air. Earliest documented use: 1971.
For 3: From air + head (source of a channel). Earliest documented use: 1817.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/airhead
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/airhead_large.jpg
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
"As the Allied armies advanced east, the Dakotas landed at recently captured
German airfields and finally at Brussels, which became a major airhead."
Ken Cranefield: Pilot Badly Wounded Dropping Supplies Over Arnhem in 1944;
The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Oct 19, 2016.
"Jeff Spicoli, the surfing-obsessed truant ... may have been an airhead,
but he had a vocabulary. Things he enjoyed were 'gnarly' or 'humongous'."
Glenn Kenny; The Greatest Surf Movie in the Universe; The New York Times;
Aug 16, 2024.
--------
Date: Wed Jan 15 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--monophagy
X-Bonus: It is not what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable. -Moliere, actor and playwright (15 Jan 1622-1673)
This week's theme: Words with double lives
monophagy (muh-NAH-fuh-jee) noun
1. The eating of only one kind of food.
2. The act of eating alone.
[From Greek mono- (one) + -phagy (eating). Earliest documented use: 1625.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/monophagy_large.jpg
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
"I feel your pain, but monophagy isn't a diet that anyone is recommending.
... Mike Roman, from Hackensack, New Jersey, says he has eaten a plain
cheese pizza for dinner every night for the past 37 years, since he was
four."
That's Monophagous: the Woman Who Drinks Nothing but Pepsi and Has Done
for the Past 64 Years; The Guardian (London, UK); Oct 16, 2018.
"Monophagy makes a man melancholy and unsocial. ... If a man dines alone,
and has a good dinner, how can he praise it properly if he does not
praise it on the spot."
George Webbe Dasent; Three to One, Vol. 2; Chapman and Hall; 1872.
--------
Date: Thu Jan 16 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--secular
X-Bonus: Be kind to thy father, for when thou wert young, / Who loved thee so fondly as he? / He caught the first accents that fell from thy tongue, / And joined in thy innocent glee. -Margaret Courtney, poet (1822-1862)
This week's theme: Words with double lives
secular (SEK-yuh-luhr)
adjective: 1. Relating to worldly rather than religious matters.
2. Occurring once in an age or century.
3. Enduring over an extended period.
noun: 1. A member of clergy not bound by monastic vows.
2. A layperson.
[From Old French seculer, from Latin saeculum (generation, age). Earliest
documented use: 1290.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/secular
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/secular_large.jpg
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
"Pilgrims to the gravesite often visit Safed, whose picturesque labyrinth
of cobblestone streets attracts secular tourists as well."
Canaan Lidor; Resolve in Safed Amid Rockets; Montreal Gazette (Canada);
Sep 30, 2024.
"Like the Roman emperors, Trump has done a good job of presenting himself
as the proponent of a new age. His America is not 'great', but it can be
'great again'. Augustus, Claudius, and Domitian peddled the same myth.
With the celebratory Secular Games, they signalled that Rome was waving
goodbye to one age and entering a new one reminiscent of the fabled days
of old."
Daisy Dunn; What the Lessons of the Roman Empire Can Teach Us About
Donald Trump; The New Statesman (London, UK); Jan 25, 2017.
"Juvenile systems, including those in Michigan, continue to shrink due
to a secular trend of lower juvenile crime and fewer arrests."
Stop Charging 17-Year-Olds as Adults; Detroit Free Press (Michigan);
Apr 11, 2019.
--------
Date: Fri Jan 17 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wonky
X-Bonus: If you or your parents are immigrants, know that you are part of a proud American tradition -- the infusion of new cultures, talents and ideas, generation after generation, that has made us the greatest country on earth. -Michelle Obama, lawyer, former first lady of the US (b. 17 Jan 1964)
This week's theme: Words with double lives
wonky (WONG-kee) adjective
1. Unreliable; unsteady; not working properly.
2. Concerned with minute details in a field; nerdy.
[For 1: Of uncertain origin, perhaps from dialectal wanky, alteration of wankle,
from Old English wancol (unsteady).Earliest documented use: 1919.
For 2: Of uncertain origin, perhaps related to the first term or the term
wanky. Earliest documented use: 1978.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/wonky_large.jpg
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
"Even in buildings that have light and motion sensors, the technology is
notoriously wonky: They can turn off the lights if someone is standing
still or working at a computer."
Erica Langston; Dim-Witted; Mother Jones (San Francisco); Nov/Dec 2016.
"As wonky as they are, the Gateses quickly realized that the social part of
the foundation was vital. ... [Melinda] once recounted Bill's observation:
'I'm starting to realize that talking to people about tuberculosis at a
cocktail party doesn't go so well.'"
Laura Brown; The Savior in Seattle; Harper's Bazaar (New York); Sep 2014.
--------
Date: Mon Jan 20 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nefandous
X-Bonus: Maybe every other American movie shouldn't be based on a comic book. Other countries will think Americans live in an infantile fantasy land where reality is whatever we say it is and every problem can be solved with violence. -Bill Maher, comedian, actor, and writer (b. 20 Jan 1956)
Eight billion people. That's a lot of humanity -- and a lot of personality!
Which is why I believe one can never have too many words, especially words
to describe people.
Sometimes a single word just won't cut it when summing up someone's essence.
This week's words might help. Who in your life, at work, or beyond fits
one or more of these words?
Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/nefandous.html or email
us at words@wordsmith.org. Include your location (city, state).
nefandous (nuh-FAN-duhs) adjective
So wicked as to defy description: abominable, appalling.
[From Latin nefandus (wicked), from ne- (not) + fandus (to be spoken),
gerundive (verbal adjective) of fari (to speak). Earliest documented
use: 1649.]
NOTES: A synonym of today's word is nefarious, but it's from Latin fas (right, divine law) instead of fari (to speak).
"The Daily Prophet", a newspaper in the Harry Potter universe https://wordsmith.org/words/images/nefandous_large.jpg
Image: Harry Potter Wiki https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Tom_Riddle?file=He_who_must_be_not_be_named_returns.jpg
"Does it not, then, fit such a man to a hair to call him nefandous? ...
Better kiss an asp or a viper; then the risk is a bite and a pain which
the doctor cures when you call him. But from the venom of your kiss,
who could approach victims or altars? What god would listen to one's
prayer?"
Lucian (Translation: H.W. Fowler and F.G Fowler); The Works of Lucian of
Samosata; Oxford University Press; 1905.
"McGraw said, '... Many of the persons who held such opinions
were, of course, guilty of the most nefandous conduct themselves.'"
Peter Brigg; Extrapolation; Brownsville; Summer 1999.
--------
Date: Tue Jan 21 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--minacious
X-Bonus: In those parts of the world where learning and science has prevailed, miracles have ceased; but in such parts of it as are barbarous and ignorant, miracles are still in vogue. -Ethan Allen, revolutionary (21 Jan 1738-1789)
This week's theme: Words to describe people
minacious (mi-NAY-shuhs) adjective
Threatening or menacing.
[From Latin minari (to threaten), from minae (threats). Ultimately from
the Indo-European root men- (project), which is also the source of menace,
mountain, eminent, promenade, demean, amenable, and mouth. Earliest
documented use: 1660. A synonym is minatory.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/minacious
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/minacious_large.jpg
Image: Mr Hideous https://mrhideous.com/product/hideous-minacious/
"[Marilyn Manson's] vocal delivery of this song makes this probably one
of the scariest covers ever. His minacious vocals makes you feel like
you should constantly be looking over your shoulder."
Ellen Fike; Halloween Music; Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne); Oct 12, 2015.
--------
Date: Wed Jan 22 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--perfidious
X-Bonus: Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise. -Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman (22 Jan 1561-1626)
This week's theme: Words to describe people
perfidious (puhr-FID-ee-uhs) adjective
Treacherous; deceitful.
[From Latin perfidus (treacherous), from per- (beyond) + fidus (faith).
Earliest documented use: 1538.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/perfidious
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/perfidious_large.jpg
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
"According to Barnum's version of events, he was ruined by a perfidious
business partner, who tricked him into endorsing half a million dollars’
worth of promissory notes."
Elizabeth Kolbert; You Can't Make It Up; The New Yorker; Aug 5, 2019.
--------
Date: Thu Jan 23 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--prickmedainty
X-Bonus: The shepherd always tries to persuade the sheep that their interests and his own are the same. -Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle), novelist (23 Jan 1783-1842)
This week's theme: Words to describe people
prickmedainty (prik-mee-DAYN-tee)
noun: One overly concerned with their personal appearance: dandy.
adjective: Overly concerned about one's appearance.
[A combination of prick (to pierce) + me + dainty (delicate), from Old
French daintie (pleasure), from Latin dignus (worthy). Earliest documented
use: 1529.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/prickmedainty_large.jpg
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
"The fellow is something of a prickmedainty."
Amanda Scott; Border Wedding; Forever; 2008.
--------
Date: Fri Jan 24 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cumberworld
X-Bonus: There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. -Edith Wharton, novelist (24 Jan 1861-1937)
This week's theme: Words to describe people
cumberworld (KUHM-buhr-wurld) noun
A useless person.
[A cumberworld is one who encumbers the world, literally speaking. From
cumber (hinder), from Anglo-French acumbrer (hinder), from combre (dam,
barrage) + world. Earliest documented use: 1374. Another way to describe
a cumberworld might be a waste of oxygen.]
People like you should be mandated to carry around potted plants, solely
to replace the oxygen you waste. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cumberworld_large.jpg
Image: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/491455378058180248/
"I don't have to accept your coin, cumberworld. I don't have time to
accept anything at all from you -- not lies, not threats, not anything."
N.M. Zoltack; Keepers of the Flames; N.M. Zoltack; 2022.
--------
Date: Mon Jan 27 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--psychrolute
X-Bonus: I will remember that what has brought us up from savagery is a loyalty to truth, and truth cannot emerge unless it is subjected to the utmost scrutiny -- will you not agree that a society which has lost sight of that, cannot survive? -Learned Hand, jurist (27 Jan 1872-1961)
Ever had that moment where a word so specific, so utterly perfect to
describe something that it makes you say: Whoa! You pause, maybe laugh,
and think: Who came up with this?
Welcome to the world of linguistic unicorns, where every odd feeling,
peculiar habit, and indescribable quirk has a secret name waiting to
surprise you.
This week we'll feature five words that might make you go: I didn't
know there was a word for it!
What words have you come up with? Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/psychrolute.html
or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Include your location (city, state).
Important: Google your word first to make sure it doesn't already exist.
psychrolute (SY-kroh-loot) noun
One who likes to bathe in cold water, especially outdoors in natural
bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, and oceans.
[From Latin psychrolutes (bather in cold water), from Ancient Greek
psychrolouteín (to bathe in cold water), from psychro- (cold) + louein
(to bathe). Earliest documented use: 1872.]
NOTES: In the 1800s, British college campuses had psychrolutic societies
that promoted taking a bath outdoors in the winter. This apparently helped
keep impure thoughts away. A once-a-year polar bear plunge was insufficient
to maintain membership. It had to be every single f***ing (freezing) day
during the winter months.
Blobfish belong to the fish family Psychrolutidae, so called because they
live in deep cold water. Biologists are still working to ascertain the
purity of their thoughts.
Some intrepid psychrolutes https://wordsmith.org/words/psychrolute_large.jpg
Photo: Nathan Raupach https://flickr.com/photos/nraupach/12723006173/
Mr Blobby, a specimen of "Psychrolutes microporos" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/psychrolute_fish_large.jpg
Photo: Kerryn Parkinson / Wikimedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr_Blobby_(fish)#/media/File:Mr_Blobby_(fish),_2003.jpg
"So if you're out on the island and you spy a human figure swimming
amid the swans and mallards and the odd chunk of ice, don't be
alarmed. It's just me, your friendly neighbourhood psychrolute."
Kathleen McDonnell; Greetings From a Chilly Beach; The Globe and
Mail (Toronto, Canada); Mar 22, 2006.
--------
Date: Tue Jan 28 00:01:01 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--empleomania
X-Bonus: To a poet, silence is an acceptable response, even a flattering one. -Colette, author (28 Jan 1873-1954)
This week's theme: There's a word for it
empleomania (em-plee-uh/oh-MAY-nee-uh) noun
Mania for holding public office.
[From Spanish empleomanía, from empleo (employment) + -manía (mania).
Earliest documented use: 1841.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/empleomania_large.jpg
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
"Then it dawned on me that Mr. Yang's desire to become a scholar-official
might not have originated only from empleomania. Driven to despair, he
too must have thought of officialdom as the only possible way to live a
life different from a futile intellectual's."
Ha Jin; The Crazed; Vintage; 2007.
--------
Date: Wed Jan 29 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rupestrian
X-Bonus: Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell. -Edward Abbey, naturalist and author (29 Jan 1927-1989)
This week's theme: There's a word for it
rupestrian (roo-PES-tree-uhn) adjective
Relating to, composed of, or carved on rocks.
[From Latin rupes (rock). Earliest documented use: 1800.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/rupestrian_large.jpg
Cartoon: Dan Piraro https://www.facebook.com/bizarrocomics/
"Set in a former 13th-century rupestrian chapel, the hotel has incredible
interiors, with towering arches, golden stone, and rooms carved into the
cave."
Zara Sekhavati; Matera Life & Death; The Independent (London, UK);
Jan 12, 2019.
--------
Date: Thu Jan 30 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--abulia
X-Bonus: The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. -Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd US President (30 Jan 1882-1945)
This week's theme: There's a word for it
abulia (uh-BOO/BYOO-lee-uh) noun
An inability to make decisions.
[From Greek aboulia, from a- (not) + boule (will). Earliest documented use: 1848.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/abulia
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/abulia_large.jpg
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
"This dilemma truly puzzles the brain and confounds the sense. Overcome
by a Hamlet abulia moment, I'm now totally undecided about the right
thing to do in these circumstances."
Mark Carew; A Reunion to Invite, or Not to Invite; Sydney Morning Herald
(Australia); Jul 18, 2012.
https://wordsmith.org/words/hamlet.html
--------
Date: Fri Jan 31 00:01:02 EST 2025
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--siderodromophobia
X-Bonus: To blame the poor for subsisting on welfare has no justice unless we are also willing to judge every rich member of society by how productive he or she is. Taken individual by individual, it is likely that there's more idleness and abuse of government favors among the economically privileged than among the ranks of the disadvantaged. -Norman Mailer, author (31 Jan 1923-2007)
This week's theme: There's a word for it
siderodromophobia (sid-uh-ruh-droh-muh-FOH-bee-uh) noun
The fear of trains.
[From Greek sidero- (iron) + dromos (running) + -phobia (fear). Earliest
documented use: 1879.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/siderodromophobia_large.jpg
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
"He went at night, by sleeper, and was able to make the most interesting
observations of siderodromophobia. ... he was aghast with certainty
that something had gone wrong -- a bridge was out, a train was ahead of
them; perhaps another was coming just behind them, about to smash into
them at sixty miles an hour."
Sinclair Lewis; Arrowsmith; Harcourt Brace; 1925.