A.Word.A.Day Archives
from https://wordsmith.org/awad
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Date: Mon Mar 1 00:01:09 EST 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--goulash
X-Bonus: We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin. -Andre Berthiaume, novelist (b. 1938)
Recently I visited London to attend a wedding. The bride had graduated from
Oxford, and among the guests were some of her fellow graduates and a
professor. After the long ceremony, we chatted about London
weather, Gordon Brown, Queen Lizzie, and language.
Among other things, we talked about the differences between British and
American English. I recalled reading about the inroads American English
is making even in the UK, so I decided to carry out an experiment to find
to what extent American English had "corrupted" English English.
I told them that sometimes the British write certain numerals (e.g. 1 and 7)
differently from how they're written in the US, and asked them to write a
short sentence so I could see if there were other differences in the script.
I quickly thought of a sentence for them to write:
"Her favorite flavors were in the gray catalog, she realized."
I said it aloud and the five Oxonians and the Oxford don kindly wrote it down
on their napkins. I collected the napkins and then told them about
the experiment -- it had nothing to do with handwriting. In reality, that
sentence had five words that could be written with American or British
spellings (favorite/favourite, flavor/flavour, gray/grey, catalog/catalogue
realize/realise).
Of the six people who participated in the experiment, three spelled (spelt)
everything the British way. The other three had one or more words spelled in
American English.
What does this experiment prove? Not much, according to my 12-year-old
daughter, "Your sample size is too small."
Language, by its very definition, is a vehicle of exchange. A language means
nothing in a vacuum. When two people share, they give and take, though the
movement is not always equal in both directions. The US export of movies,
television, music, books, technology, etc. includes something that travels
under the radar: Language.
Will American English take over the other Englishes? Probably not. Will the
English language diverge into distinct languages just as Latin turned into
French, Spanish, Italian, and other languages? Hope not.
But who knows? Only time can tell, but in the meantime, let's celebrate the
diversity of languages by learning words English has borrowed from some of
the less-known languages: Hungarian, Hebrew, Nootka, Afrikaans, and Persian.
Even though they're not as well-known to most of us, they are still spoken
by thousands or millions of people.
goulash (GOO-lahsh, -lash) noun
1. A mixture of disparate elements; hodgepodge.
2. A stew of meat and vegetables, seasoned with paprika.
3. In the game of bridge, a round played with hands produced
by a rearrangement of previously dealt cards.
[From Hungarian guly�s, short for guly�sh�s (herdsman's meat),
from guly�s (herdsman) + h�s (meat).]
Vegetarian goulash: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/goulash_large.jpg
[photo: Apu Kapadia http://www.flickr.com/photos/akapadia/73854740/]
"Much of what we know is little more than a goulash of disparate and
contradictory ideas, rather than accessible clarity."
Ian Mann; Secrets to Being the Cat's Whiskers; The Times (Johannesburg,
South Africa); Jan 31, 2010.
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Date: Tue Mar 2 00:01:08 EST 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cabal
X-Bonus: If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed. -Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (1879-1955)
This week's theme: Words borrowed from various languages
cabal (kuh-BAL) noun
1. A small, secret group of plotters or intriguers.
2. The plots of such a group.
[Via French and Latin, from Hebrew kabbalah (tradition), literally
"something received".]
Notes: Kabbalah is the ancient Jewish tradition of the mystical interpretation
of the Hebrew Bible. During the reign of Charles II of England, it was pointed
out that the names of a group of his ministers (Sir Thomas Clifford, Lord
Arlington, the Duke of Buckingham, Lord Ashley, and Lord Lauderdale) made the
acronym CABAL. Also see backronym https://wordsmith.org/words/backronym.html
"The barrage was the latest salvo from a group of small silver and gold
investors who claim that a cabal of banks is conspiring to keep precious
metals too cheap."
Gregory Meyer; Silver and Gold Critics Win Hearing; Financial Times
(London, UK); Feb 25, 2010.
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Date: Wed Mar 3 00:59:08 EST 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--potlatch
X-Bonus: Twin Mystery. To many people artists seem / undisciplined and lawless. / Such laziness, with such great gifts, / seems little short of crime. / One mystery is how they make / the things they make so flawless; / another, what they're doing with / their energy and time. -Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996)
This week's theme: Words borrowed from various languages
potlatch (POT-lach) noun
1. A ceremonial festival among North American Indians of the Pacific
Northwest involving feasts, lavish gift giving, dances, etc.
2. A party or get-together.
[From Chinook Jargon, from Nootka patshatl (to give, gift).]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/potlatch_large.jpg
[Artist: James Gilchrist Swan]
Learn more about potlatch at http://140.247.102.177/potlatch/default.html
"'[The youth ambassadors] were coming to the biggest potlatch in the world,
sharing and developing a sense of pride in who they are,' Diane Strand says."
Shelley Fralic; World's Biggest Potlatch Changing Attitudes; Vancouver Sun
(Canada); Feb 24, 2010.
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Date: Thu Mar 4 00:01:09 EST 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--laager
X-Bonus: Our greatest pretenses are built up not to hide the evil and the ugly in us, but our emptiness. The hardest thing to hide is something that is not there. -Eric Hoffer, philosopher and author (1902-1983)
This week's theme: Words borrowed from various languages
laager or lager (LAH-guhr) noun
1. A camp, especially one protected by a circle of wagons or armored vehicles.
2. An entrenched policy or viewpoint.
verb tr., intr.
To enclose in a defensive encirclement.
[From obsolete Afrikaans word lager (camp), from Dutch or German Lager (camp).
Ultimately from the Indo-European root legh- (to lie or lay) that is also
the source of lie, lay, lair, fellow.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/laager_large.jpg
[A sketch from the 15th century]
"[The scientists] should repudiate the laager mentality and evasions of
the East Anglia researchers. Instead of grudgingly yielding to Freedom of
Information requests, they should publish their data and workings online
wherever possible."
Ian Katz; The Case for Climate Action; The Guardian (London, UK); Feb 8, 2010.
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Date: Fri Mar 5 00:01:19 EST 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--baksheesh
X-Bonus: In the presence of eternity, the mountains are as transient as the clouds. -Robert Green Ingersoll, lawyer and orator (1833-1899)
This week's theme: Words borrowed from various languages
baksheesh (BAK-sheesh) noun
A payment, such as a tip or bribe.
[From Persian bakhshish, from bakhshidan, from baksh (to give).]
"A certain favoritism, even in the absence of baksheesh-pocketing
headwaiters, is indispensable to restaurants that expect to maintain a
steady clientele -- especially in New York, where every other big shot
seems to demand the 'best' table and, instead of something fabulous to
eat, a custom-baked potato."
Thomas McNamee; The Joy of Cooking; The New York Times Book Review; Jun 23, 2002.
"About 130 officials were fired for taking baksheesh, and the volume of
tariff revenue that actually reached state coffers jumped by almost 50%
in two years."
Maturing Mozambique; The Economist (London, UK); Dec 4, 1999.
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Date: Mon Mar 8 01:01:08 EST 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--semiquaver
X-Bonus: I have never gone to sleep with a grievance against anyone. And, as far as I could, I have never let anyone go to sleep with a grievance against me. -Abba Agathon, monk (4th/5th century)
Next week marks the sexdecennial of Wordsmith.org. Sixteen years ago,
on March 14, 1994, I shared the first word, zephyr (a gentle breeze)
with a handful of friends.
Our circle has grown to 900,000 readers in 200 countries, but we still
have the same love for words. And we're still eager to share them with
you every day.
This reader community is what makes Wordsmith.org. Thank you for being
being a part of it.
To celebrate those 16 years, all five words featured this week will
have some connection with the number 16.
semiquaver (SEM-ee-kway-vuhr) noun
In music, a note having the time value of one-sixteenth of a whole note.
[From Latin semi- (half) + quaver (an eighth note).]
Also called demiquaver. Also see hemidemisemiquaver https://wordsmith.org/words/hemidemisemiquaver.html
Semiquavers: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/semiquaver.png
"Synchronising film and music is tough enough in a modern movie, but spare
a semiquaver of sympathy for Dmitri Shostakovich."
Conrad Walters; Film and Music Marry as Composer Settles Old Score;
The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Nov 5, 2008.
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Date: Tue Mar 9 01:01:15 EST 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--steenth
X-Bonus: The highest result of education is tolerance. -Helen Keller, author and lecturer (1880-1968)
This week's theme: Words related to 16
steenth (steenth) adjective
1. Latest in an indefinitely long sequence.
2. One sixteenth.
[Alteration of the word sixteenth.]
Notes: The formation of the word "steenth" from "sixteenth" took place through
a process called aphesis (from Greek, literally "a letting go"). Aphesis occurs
when an unstressed sound from the beginning of a word gets lost over time.
Some other examples are:
"cute" from "acute"
"'tis" from "it is"
"gypsy" from "Egyptian", from the belief that Gypsies came from Egypt
(they actually came from India).
"And for the steenth time I wondered why he hadn't phoned me."
Robert A. Heinlein; The Cat Who Walks Through Walls; Putnam Publishing; 1985.
http://amazon.com/o/asin/0441094996/ws00-20
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Date: Wed Mar 10 00:01:11 EST 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--armageddon
X-Bonus: Every one of us is precious in the cosmic perspective. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another. -Carl Sagan, astronomer and writer (1934-1996)
This week's theme: Words related to 16
Armageddon (ahr-muh-GED-n) noun
A decisive, catastrophic conflict.
[From the Book of Revelation 16:16 where Armageddon is mentioned. It is
the supposed site of a final battle between the forces of good and evil.
The word is from Greek Harmagedon, from Hebrew har megiddo (Mount Megiddo).]
"In the event that the US unleashed a nuclear Armageddon, the radar
station would have immediately warned Moscow."
Luke Harding; For Sale: One Communist-era Ghost Town; The Guardian
(London, UK); Feb 5, 2010.
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Date: Thu Mar 11 00:01:09 EST 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lincolnesque
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 (1883-1931)
This week's theme: Words related to 16
Lincolnesque (ling-kuh-NESK) adjective
Suggestive of Abraham Lincoln.
[After Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States.]
Last known photo of Lincoln, March 6, 1865: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/lincolnesque_large.jpg
[Photographer: Henry F. Warren]
"A Lincolnesque leader is confident enough to be humble -- to not feel the
need to bluster or dominate, but to be sufficiently sure of one's own
judgment and self-worth to really listen and not be threatened by contrary
advice."
Evan Thomas and Richard Wolffe; Lincoln's Obama; Newsweek (New York);
Nov 24, 2008.
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Date: Fri Mar 12 00:01:08 EST 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--trichotillomania
X-Bonus: Pedantry and mastery are opposite attitudes toward rules. To apply a rule to the letter, rigidly, unquestioningly, in cases where it fits and in cases where it does not fit, is pedantry... To apply a rule with natural ease, with judgment, noticing the cases where it fits, and without ever letting the words of the rule obscure the purpose of the action or the opportunities of the situation, is mastery. -George Polya, professor of mathematics (1887-1985)
This week's theme: Words related to 16
trichotillomania (trik-uh-til-uh-MAY-nee-uh) noun
A compulsion to pull out one's hair.
[From Greek tricho- (hair) + tillein (to pluck, pull out) + -mania
(excessive enthusiasm or craze).]
For more on trichotillomania, see http://trich.org
A related word is trichology: the word for the study and treatment of
hair and its disorders: https://wordsmith.org/words/trichology.html
"Like many with trichotillomania, Neomie said she got some sense of relief
and satisfaction from pulling out her hair."
Michelle Roberts; Women Who Tear Their Hair Out; BBC News (London, UK);
Jul 6, 2009.
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Date: Mon Mar 15 00:01:08 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--salmagundi
X-Bonus: All visible objects, man, are but as pasteboard masks. But in each event -- in the living act, the undoubted deed -- there, some unknown but still reasoning thing puts forth the mouldings of its features from behind the unreasoning mask. -Herman Melville, novelist and poet (1819-1891)
There are times when we have to eat our words, and that's never pleasant.
This week's words are all edible (and some potable), from Latin edere: to eat
(and potare: to drink). Some describe food, others are used metaphorically,
and in some cases, the food origin is hidden in the etymology.
And we have quite a varied menu. We serve words from French, Spanish, and Latin.
Bon app�tit!
salmagundi (sal-muh-GUHN-dee) noun
1. A heterogeneous mixture.
2. A mixed salad of various ingredients, such as meat, eggs, anchovies,
onions, oil, vinegar, etc.
[From French salmigondis (originally "seasoned salted meats"), probably from
salemine (salted food) + condir (to season).]
"After a few years of musical production, the varied musical whims that
have inspired their salmagundi of tracks is happily all over the place."
One-man Band Bounces Back To Originality; Gainesville Sun (Florida);
Jul 1, 2007.
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Date: Tue Mar 16 00:01:10 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--edacious
X-Bonus: How anyone can profess to find animal life interesting and yet take delight in reducing the wonder of any animal to a bloody mass of fur or feathers? -Joseph Wood Krutch, writer and naturalist (1893-1970)
This week's theme: Words about food and eating
edacious (i-DAY-shuhs) adjective
Devouring; voracious.
[From Latin edere (to eat). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ed- (to eat,
to bite) that has given other words such as edible, comestible, obese, etch,
fret, and postprandial https://wordsmith.org/words/postprandial.html .]
"For too many years my edacious reading habits had been leading me into
one unappealing corner after another, dank cul-de-sacs littered with
tear-stained diaries, empty pill bottles, bulging briefcases, broken vows,
humdrum phrases, sociological swab samples, and the (lovely?) bones of
dismembered children."
Tom Robbins; In Defiance of Gravity; Harper's (New York); Sep 2004.
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Date: Wed Mar 17 00:01:09 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--olla podrida
X-Bonus: Nikos Kazantzakis suggests that ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own. -Leo Buscaglia, author, speaker and professor (1924-1998)
This week's theme: Words about food and eating
olla podrida (OL-uh puh-DREE-duh, AWL-yuh, AW-yuh) noun, plural olla podridas or ollas podridas
1. An incongruous mixture.
2. A spicy stew of seasoned meat, vegetables, chickpeas, etc.
[From Spanish olla podrida (literally, rotten pot), from olla (pot) +
feminine of podrido (rotten).]
"Alice Randall's collection of cookbooks is formidable, an olla podrida of
Junior League and soul food cookbooks and classics like The Joy of Cooking."
Penelope Green; What Matters Most; The New York Times; Sep 16, 2009.
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Date: Thu Mar 18 00:01:07 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--prandial
X-Bonus: Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness. All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and chatter. -John Muir, naturalist, explorer, and writer (1838-1914)
This week's theme: Words about food and eating
prandial (PRAN-dee-uhl) adjective
Of or relating to a meal.
[From Latin prandium (late breakfast, luncheon, or meal). Ultimately from the
Indo-European root ed- (to eat, to bite) that is also the source of edible,
comestible, obese, etch, fret, edacious https://wordsmith.org/words/edacious.html
and postprandial https://wordsmith.org/words/postprandial.html .]
"It's different in Britain and the US, where school lunch is generally
collective and systematised. As the political scientist Jennifer Rutledge
notes, state intervention in children's prandial intake has usually been
driven by security fears."
Elizabeth Farrelly; Women Have Bitten Off More Than They Can Chew With
School Lunch; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Oct 8, 2009.
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Date: Fri Mar 19 00:01:08 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gallimaufry
X-Bonus: No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else. -Charles Dickens, novelist (1812-1870)
This week's theme: Words about food and eating
gallimaufry (gal-uh-MAW-free) noun
A hodgepodge; a jumble.
[From Middle French galimafree (stew), probably from galer (to make merry) +
mafrer (to gorge oneself).]
"I've got a gallimaufry of cosmetics bottles of various kinds."
Caroline Kamp; How Do I Look?; The Independent (London, UK); May 21, 2005.
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Date: Mon Mar 22 00:01:09 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cloud-cuckoo-land
X-Bonus: One cannot do right in one department of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in any other department. Life is one indivisible whole. -Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948)
Languages freely borrow words from one another. Often a borrowed word becomes
so assimilated we don't realize its exotic provenance. If you speak English,
you know parts of at least a hundred different languages. Besides the usual
sources -- Latin, Greek, German, French, etc. -- English has words borrowed
from languages as diverse as Tongan (taboo), Hindi (cot), Hungarian (coach),
among others.
Sometimes languages borrow only the idea from a language and translate a word
literally. English skyscraper becomes rascacielos (literally scrape-skies)
in Spanish, gratte-ciel in French, Wolkenkratzer in German, and so on. This
process of borrowing is called loan translation or calque (from French
calquer: to trace or copy).
German Gedankenexperiment becomes "thought experiment" in English through
loan translation. French march� aux puces gets translated as flea market. The
term loan translation itself is a loan translation of German Lehn�bersetzung.
This week in AWAD we'll see five loan translations that have taken root in
English, from Greek, Spanish, Latin, German, and Chinese.
cloud-cuckoo-land or cloud cuckoo land (KLOUD-koo-koo-land) noun
An idealized, unrealistic state; a place out of touch with reality.
[Loan translation of Greek Nephelokokkugia, from nephele (cloud) + kokkux
(cuckoo). The word was coined in The Birds, a comedy by Athenian playwright
Aristophanes (c. 450-388 BCE). Nephelokokkugia was the name of a city in
the sky, built by the birds in collaboration with some Athenians.]
"'Retirement at 58 is cloud cuckoo land for most private sector workers, many
of whom find their pension savings shot to pieces,' said Lord Oakeshott."
Holly Watt; The Million Pound Pension Pots of the Mandarins; The Daily
Telegraph (London, UK); Jan 1, 2010.
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Date: Tue Mar 23 00:01:11 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--moment of truth
X-Bonus: To write that essential book, a great writer does not need to invent it but merely to translate it, since it already exists in each one of us. The duty and task of a writer are those of translator. -Marcel Proust, novelist (1871-1922)
This week's theme: Loan translations
moment of truth (MOH-muhnt of trooth) noun
A crucial point; a turning point; a decisive moment.
[Loan translation of Spanish el momento de la verdad. In bullfighting, the
moment when a matador is about to kill the bull is called el momento de la
verdad.]
"The moment of truth has arrived for the euro. The 16-nation monetary union
faces its greatest test Wednesday in Athens, as the Greek government orders
last-ditch radical cuts in hopes of preventing the eurozone's first debt
default and a wider financial and monetary disaster."
Doug Saunders; Greece Set to Impose Austerity Measures; The Globe and Mail
(Toronto, Canada); Mar 2, 2010.
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Date: Wed Mar 24 00:25:14 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bread and circuses
X-Bonus: The human mind is inspired enough when it comes to inventing horrors; it is when it tries to invent a heaven that it shows itself cloddish. -Evelyn Waugh, novelist (1903-1966)
This week's theme: Loan translations
bread and circuses (bred and SUR-kuh-sez) noun
Things intended to keep people happy and to divert their attention from
problems.
[Translation of the Latin term panis et circenses, from panis (bread) + et (and),
circenses (circuses). The term originated in the satires of Roman poet Juvenal
(c. 60-140). Circus refers to the circus games, such as chariot races, held in
Roman times. The term has been loan translated into many other languages.
In Spanish, for example, it is pan y toros (bread and bullfights).]
"Madrid has set up a series of summits that look a lot like bread and
circuses for a domestic audience at time of economic misery."
John Vinocur; Still Waiting for a Brave New Europe; The New York Times;
Jan 4, 2010.
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Date: Thu Mar 25 00:02:08 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--God's acre
X-Bonus: Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven't done a thing. You are just talking. -Wangari Muta Maathai, activist and Nobel laureate (b. 1940)
This week's theme: Loan translations
God's acre (godz AY-kuhr) noun
A cemetery, especially one next to a church.
[Loan translation of German Gottesacker, from Gott (God) + Acker (field).
The allusion is that the bodies of the dead are sown in the field in hope
of resurrection.]
"Mourning strangers also came to weep anniversary tears at another
cheerless God's acre."
Frank Keating; Ask Not For Whom the Bell Tolls, It Tolls For These;
The Guardian (London, UK); Sep 26, 2006.
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Date: Fri Mar 26 00:02:10 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--paper tiger
X-Bonus: An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because people refuse to see it. -James Albert Michener, novelist (1907-1997)
This week's theme: Loan translations
paper tiger (PAY-puhr TY-guhr) noun
One who is outwardly strong and powerful but is in fact powerless and
ineffectual.
[Loan translation of Chinese zhi lao hu, from zhi (paper) + lao hu (tiger).]
The term is often used to describe countries. In 1956, Chairman Mao of
China applied it to the US. Later it was used in the Western press to
refer to China and its economy.
"But will it be another Arab paper tiger? 'I don't think much can be
accomplished by merely meeting at an annual conference and issuing a
list of recommendations,' Abu Zeid agrees."
Hadia Mostafa; A River Runs Through It; Egypt Today (Cairo); Jul 12, 2004.
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Date: Mon Mar 29 00:02:07 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gotterdammerung
X-Bonus: I'd rather be a climbing ape than a falling angel. -Terry Pratchett, novelist (b. 1948)
The German language's affinity for sesquipedalians once led Mark Twain to
quip, "Some German words are so long that they have a perspective." Having
polysyllabic words in a language is no sin as long as you get your words'
worth. In that respect, those lengthy German words are worth every syllable.
Where else can you find a single word, schadenfreude, for example, that
conveys the whole concept of 'pleasure derived from the misfortunes of
another'? The English language knows a good thing when it sees one, and
has helped itself to many terms from German. This week we'll meet five of
them, both with and without 'perspective'.
Note: German nouns are capitalized, so often you'll see these words written
the same way in English.
gotterdammerung (got-uhr-DAM-uh-roong, -rung) noun
Complete destruction of an institution, regime, order, etc.
[From German G�tterd�mmerung (twilight of the gods), from G�tter, plural
of Gott (god) + D�mmerung (twilight). G�tterd�mmerung was the name of the
last of Richard Wagner's four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen (The
Ring of the Nibelung). The German word G�tterd�mmerung is a translation of the
Old Norse Ragnar�k which in Scandinavian mythology refers to the destruction
of the gods in a battle with evil, resulting in the end of the world.
The term Ragnar�k is from regin (gods) + rok (fate, course) confused by some
with Ragnar�kkr (literally, twilight of the gods).]
"What began as the exuberant union of two college-age strivers is coming to
a devastating end after 18 years, and the Gotterdammerung is being fought
out not in court but inside the couple's perfect house."
Michelle Green; Dirty Divorcing; People (New York); Feb 19, 1990.
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Date: Tue Mar 30 00:02:09 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--realpolitik
X-Bonus: Poisons and medicine are oftentimes the same substance given with different intents. -Peter Mere Latham, physician and educator (1789-1875)
This week's theme: Words borrowed from German
realpolitik (ray-AHL-paw-li-teek, ree-) noun
Politics guided by practical considerations, instead of principles
or ethics.
[From German Realpolitik, from real (real, practical) + politik (politics).]
"Also gone is Sarkozy's former mocking of realpolitik as a political cop-out
of cynical diplomats without principles."
Bruce Crumley; Why France is Selling Warships to Russia; Time (New York);
Mar 3, 2010.
"Under the strongman Soeharto and Cold War realpolitik pragmatism, Indonesia
received large scale US military support that leapfrogged its defense
capability among its Southeast Asian neighbors, despite widespread criticism
from international civil rights groups."
Ristian Atriandi; Rethinking RI-US Military Ties; The Jakarta Post
(Indonesia); Mar 17, 2010.
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Date: Wed Mar 31 00:02:08 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--zeitgeist
X-Bonus: I react pragmatically. Where the market works, I'm for that. Where the government is necessary, I'm for that. I'm deeply suspicious of somebody who says, "I'm in favor of privatization," or, "I'm deeply in favor of public ownership." I'm in favor of whatever works in the particular case. -John Kenneth Galbraith, economist (1908-2006)
This week's theme: Words borrowed from German
zeitgeist (TSYT-gyst) noun
The defining spirit of a particular period: the general cultural,
political, intellectual, and moral climate of an era.
[From German Zeitgeist (spirit of the time), from Zeit (time) + Geist (spirit).]
Google Zeitgeist reveals what's on people's mind by search trends:
http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/zeitgeist/index.html
"Once again Lionel Shriver has stomped into the middle of a pressing
national debate with a great ordeal of a novel ["So Much For That"]
that's impossible to ignore. ... If Jodi Picoult has her finger on
the zeitgeist, Shriver has her hands around its throat."
Ron Charles; So Much For That; The Washington Post; Mar 17, 2010.
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