A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Mar 3 00:01:02 EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--trimmer X-Bonus: If there be such a thing as truth, it must infallibly be struck out by the collision of mind with mind. -William Godwin, philosopher and novelist (3 Mar 1756-1836) Long before cars, buses, and airplanes, there were boats. Evidence of sea voyages dates back 50,000 years, such as the early migrations to Australia that required crossing open water. This reliance on boats makes sense when you consider that two-thirds of the the planet's surface is water. Seafaring hasn't just shaped human history, it’s also left a lasting wake in our language. Countless everyday phrases have nautical origins, even if we rarely notice their roots on dry land. From learning the ropes (learning to do a job) to going overboard (taking things too far), the language is buoyed by maritime influence. This week we'll dive deep into words of nautical origins. trimmer (TRIM-uhr) noun 1. One who adjusts beliefs, opinions, and actions to suit personal interest. 2. A person or a tool that clips, shortens, neatens, etc. [From trim, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old English trymman/trymian (to arrange, strengthen, etc.). Earliest documented use: 1513.] NOTES: In sailing, to trim the sails is to adjust them for maximum advantage based on the wind's direction. A sailing ship's trimmer monitors the wind and fine-tunes the sails accordingly -- kind of like a political weather vane, https://wordsmith.org/words/weather_vane.html but with actual responsibility. It’s easy to see how the term evolved to describe someone who shifts positions out of self-interest, keeping an ear to the wind and a foot in both camps. Interestingly, trimmer also had another nautical meaning: a worker who arranged coal or cargo to keep the ship balanced. The term gained political prominence when it was applied to George Savile, Lord Halifax. Reclaiming the label, he published "The Character of a Trimmer" (1688) under a pseudonym, defining a trimmer not as an opportunist but as someone who ensures stability: "One who keeps even the ship of state." See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/trimmer A sail trimmer at work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXe7ZV6UmXI (1 min.) "Overton particularly disliked him as a political trimmer, prepared to cut his conscience to the prevailing fashion." Frank McLynn; The Road Not Taken; Bodley Head; 2012. "Stanley Kunitz: 'Most of all, I love being alive. I love the natural world -- and caring and creative people -- and the seekers of justice and truth. Whom do I disdain? Bigots, reactionaries, self-righteous people, zealots, trimmers, bullies, and manipulators." Bill Moyers; Fooling With Words; William Morrow; 1999. -------- Date: Tue Mar 4 00:01:03 EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bilge X-Bonus: When I listen to love, I am listening to my true nature. When I express love, I am expressing my true nature. All of us love. All of us do it more and more perfectly. The past has brought us both ashes and diamonds. In the present we find the flowers of what we've planted and the seeds of what we are becoming. I plant the seeds of love in my heart. I plant the seeds of love in the hearts of others. -Julia Cameron, artist, author, teacher, filmmaker, composer, and journalist (b. 4 Mar 1948) This week's theme: Words having nautical origins bilge (bilj) noun: 1. The bottom (inner or outer) part of a ship or a boat. 2. Water, oil, and waste that collect in the lowest part of a ship or a boat. 3. Nonsense; rubbish. 4. The bulging part of a barrel or a cask. verb tr., intr.: 1. To bulge or swell. 2. To break a hole. 3. To spring a leak. [Probably a variant of bulge, from Old French boulge, from Latin bulga (bag). Earliest documented use: 1522.] NOTES: A ship's bilge is where water, oil, and assorted gunk settle, a sort of maritime garbage disposal, but without the convenience of a "clean" button. The stench was so legendary that sailors naturally extended bilge to mean absolute nonsense. Bilge dumping: The worst pollution you've never heard of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4nQBVEE4BE (12 min.) See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/bilge "Mr [Don] Blankenship is a doughy, charmless ex-convict who praised China's 'dictatorial capitalism' and spent a year in prison for conspiring to evade federal mine-safety standards after an accident killed 29 men at one of his company's mines. His campaign ads featured him staring into the camera while droning racist bilge." The Centre Mostly Holds; The Economist (London, UK); May 12, 2018. -------- Date: Wed Mar 5 00:01:02 EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nauseate X-Bonus: The object of government in peace and in war is not the glory of rulers or of races, but the happiness of the common man. -William Beveridge, economist and reformer (5 Mar 1879-1963) This week's theme: Words having nautical origins nauseate (NAW-zee/zhee/see/shee-ayt) verb tr., intr. 1. To experience or induce nausea (stomach distress with an urge to vomit). 2. To feel or evoke disgust. [From Latin nauseare (to be seasick), from Greek nausea, from naus (ship). Earliest documented use: 1625.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/nauseate "Miracle of Marco Spagnolo" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/nauseate_large.jpg Art: Giorgio Bonola (1657-1700) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadroni_of_St._Charles#/media/File:3205_-_Milano,_Duomo_-_Giorgio_Bonola_-_Miracolo_di_Marco_Spagnolo_(1681)_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall'Orto,_6-Dec-2007.jpg "It nauseates me to think of how much of our lives are spent in front of screens." Francine Kopun; How I Spent Two Days Without TV; Toronto Star (Canada); Apr 14, 2010. -------- Date: Thu Mar 6 00:01:02 EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--keel X-Bonus: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach. -Elizabeth Barrett Browning, poet (6 Mar 1806-1861) This week's theme: Words having nautical origins keel (keel) noun: 1. The beam along the length of the base of a ship or boat on which the frame is built. 2. A fin-like structure on the bottom of a hull, improving stability. verb tr., intr.: To capsize, collapse, or fall. [From Old Norse kjölr. Earliest documented use 1532. See also keelhaul https://wordsmith.org/words/keelhaul.html .] NOTES: The keel is the bottom-most (bottomest!) part of a boat or ship. So, if it's up, well, things are not looking good. This led to the idiom "to keel over" (often dramatically, like a sailor who's had one too many). But if things are on "an even keel", congratulations! You're sailing smoothly. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/keel https://wordsmith.org/words/images/keel_large.jpg Illustration: "Illustrated Marine Encyclopedia" (1890) https://www.google.com/books/edition/Illustrated_Marine_Encyclopedia/j2RAAAAAYAAJ "A grain of the opioid fell to the floor. He concentrated on trying to pick it up, then lost track, as his body went limp. His shoulders slumped and he slowly keeled forward." Rachel Uranga; Plenty of Empty Seats on the Train; Los Angeles Times; Mar 15, 2023. -------- Date: Fri Mar 7 00:01:02 EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--by and large X-Bonus: If we had paid no more attention to our plants than we have to our children, we would now be living in a jungle of weeds. -Luther Burbank, horticulturist (7 Mar 1849-1926) This week's theme: Words having nautical origins by and large (by uhn LARJ) adverb In general; on the whole. [From the world of sailing, describing a ship that could sail well in almost all wind conditions. Earliest documented use: 1669.] NOTES: This phrase has its roots... or should we say, its anchor... in the world of sailing. It originally described a ship that was highly maneuverable. To simplify things a bit, such a ship that could sail well both: _By_ the wind: Sailing into the wind (a tricky maneuver). Think of this as the ship handling the "headwinds" of life. _Large_: Sailing with the wind at its back (much easier!). This is the smooth sailing part. "Large" here means unrestricted, as in at large https://wordsmith.org/words/at_large.html . So, a ship that was good "by and large" could handle pretty much any wind condition. It was the all-terrain vehicle of the 17th-century seas! See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/by%20and%20large https://wordsmith.org/words/images/by_and_large_large.jpg Image: Pixabay https://pixabay.com/vectors/sailing-diagram-points-of-sail-26589/ "'Where my life is at the moment, it's very difficult to do comedy about -- because by and large I'm happy. And nobody really wants to hear about that,' [Hannah Gadsby] says with a laugh. 'People love misery.'" Kerrie O'Brien; The Great Gadsby Takes on the World, Again; Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Aug 27, 2022. -------- Date: Mon Mar 10 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--eclat X-Bonus: All that separates, whether of race, class, creed, or sex, is inhuman, and must be overcome. -Kate Sheppard, suffragist (10 Mar 1847-1934) 31 Years of Wordsmithery On Mar 14, 1994, 31 years ago, I set a tiny linguistic snowball rolling down a hill. It grew, gathered words and wordlovers, and morphed into Wordsmith.org, a haven for people in 170+ countries, united by their love of words. Dictionaries are mum on what to call a 31st anniversary, but we can call it a untricennial or untricennary, from unus (one) + tricies (thirty times) + annus (year). Or, since we love words, we could just say supercalifragilisticexpialitriennial and call it a day. Thank you for being part of this community. Without you, it would be just me, shouting etymologies into the void, and frankly, that's a bit "void-y". CONTEST To celebrate the untricennial, we're holding a contest. The challenge? Write a poem using only 31-letter words! Just kidding. Even the Germans haven't gone that far. Instead, let's make it a Wordle Poem Contest -- your poem must use only five-letter words. Your tale can be about yourself, someone you know, or a public figure. Need inspiration? This week's A.Word.A.Day emails are all five-letter words. Though you don't have to use them in your poem. PRIZES Selected entries will win their choice of: - A copy of any of my books https://wordsmith.org/awad/books.html - The word game One Up! https://oldscoolcompany.com/products/one-up HOW TO ENTER - Email your entries to contest@wordsmith.org by Fri, 3/14. - Include your location (city, state). - Enter as many times as you like. And just to get the ball rolling, here's my entry (though I'm told I'm disqualified). GARG'S STORY (Words Smith) Probe words' lives Trace their roots Write tales Share Email whole world. Inbox (chaos?) eclat or éclat (ay-KLAH) noun 1. Enthusiastic approval or praise. 2. A strikingly brilliant display or effect. 3. Notable success. [From French éclat (splinter, brilliance), from éclater (to burst out), which also gave us slat and eclair. Earliest documented use: 1676.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/eclat "Angry Penguins published the work with great eclat." Michael McGirr; New Twist on 80-Year-Old Literary Hoax; Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Jul 3, 2021. -------- Date: Tue Mar 11 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bosky X-Bonus: All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated, and well supported in logic and argument than others. -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001) This week's theme: Five-letter words bosky (BAH-skee) adjective 1. Densely wooded; covered in trees and shrubs. 2. Pertaining to forests or wooded areas. [From bosk (bush), from Latin bosca. Earliest documented use: 1616.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/bosky https://wordsmith.org/words/images/bosky_large.jpg Photo: Alison Day https://flickr.com/photos/levettday/41987329005/ "The coastal trainline passed a seashore in places ... as lush and bosky as the Great Bear Rainforest." J.R. Patterson; Easy Beauty and the Bosom of Friendship Is What You Get from Wexford; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Oct 12, 2022. -------- Date: Wed Mar 12 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fubsy X-Bonus: All of life is a foreign country. -Jack Kerouac, author (12 Mar 1922-1969) This week's theme: Five-letter words fubsy (FUHB-zee) adjective Short and stout; stocky. [From fubs (chubby person), of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1780.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/fubsy_large.jpg Photo: KNDY https://flickr.com/photos/kndynt2099/22452537016/ "Biggs was a fubsy pudding of a character with a hairpiece that could only have been ordered by dialling 1-800 Toupees." Woody Allen; Mr Biggs and the Boychick; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Jun 23, 2007. -------- Date: Thu Mar 13 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gleed X-Bonus: Don't ask me who's influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life. -Giorgos Seferis, writer, diplomat, Nobel laureate (1900-1971) This week's theme: Five-letter words gleed (gleed) noun A glowing coal. [From Old English gled. Ultimately from the Indo-European root ghel- (to shine), which also gave us yellow, gold, glimmer, gloaming https://wordsmith.org/words/gloaming.html , gloze https://wordsmith.org/words/gloze.html , glimpse, and glass. Earliest documented use: before 1150.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gleed_large.jpg Photo: Cyberguru / Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Firewalking#/media/File:Tarr_Bence_L%C3%A1szl%C3%B3_teaching_firewalking.jpg "Alexander loves and desires her who is sighing for his love. ... Their love grows and increases continually; but the one feels shame before the other; and each conceals and hides this love so that neither flame nor smoke is seen from the gleed beneath the ashes. But the heat is none the less for that; rather the heat lasts longer below the gleed than above it." Chrétien de Troyes (Translation: L.J. Gardiner); Cliges; Cooper Square Publishers; 1966. -------- Date: Fri Mar 14 00:01:03 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sapid X-Bonus: The world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it. -Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (14 Mar 1879-1955) This week's theme: Five-letter words sapid (SAP-id) adjective 1. Having a pleasant taste or flavor. 2. Pleasant; engaging; stimulating. [From Latin sapidus (tasty), from sapere (to taste). Earliest documented use: 1634.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/sapid https://wordsmith.org/words/images/sapid_large.jpg Photo: Sapid, Paris https://www.sapid.fr/ "Sharma's is perfect for date night, buddy's night, and family night because mouthwateringly sapid food in an elegant-yet-relaxed atmosphere pairs perfectly with any mood." Michelle Schaefer; Sharma's Kitchen a Delight for Vegan Taste Buds; Journal & Courier (Lafayette, Indiana); Jul 16, 2018. "Taalbelia [music festival] was a sapid mix of art and culture, tradition and modernity." Ursila Ali; Desert Disco; India Today (New Delhi); Feb 27, 2017. -------- Date: Mon Mar 17 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--farce X-Bonus: We open our mouths and out flow words whose ancestries we do not even know. We are walking lexicons. In a single sentence of idle chatter we preserve Latin, Anglo-Saxon, Norse: we carry a museum inside our heads, each day we commemorate peoples of whom we have never heard. -Penelope Lively, writer (b. 17 Mar 1933) It's said that you are what you eat, but these days perhaps you're also what you tweet. Or stream. Or binge. Just as you might regret indulging in dubious street food, you may later regret swallowing those half-baked WhatsApp forwards and other artificially flavored postings whipped up by paid operatives. Just as a bad diet can lead to health problems, consuming harmful media can pollute our understanding of the world. As an antidote, we'll serve up five delectable words with food-related etymology (literally, true story). Enjoy these words from the culinary world that have simmered their way into everyday language. Each one is a tasty metaphor ready for use beyond the kitchen. farce (fars) noun: 1. A light play, film, or literary work involving absurd, exaggerated, or improbable situations. 2. Humor of this type. 3. An absurd or ridiculous situation; mockery. 4. A mix of finely chopped ingredients used as stuffing. verb tr.: 1. To pad a speech or written work with jokes or witty remarks. 2. To stuff or fill with culinary mixture. [From Old French farce (stuffing, interlude), from Latin farsa, feminine of Latin farsus, from farcire (to stuff). Earliest documented use: 1390.] NOTES: Originally the term referred to forcemeat (also known as farcemeat), a culinary mixture used as stuffing. The term later extended metaphorically to comic interludes actors inserted ("stuffed") into religious plays, eventually leading to its modern comedic meaning. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/farce "Farce Actors Dancing" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/farce_large.jpg Art: Pieter Jansz. Quast (1605-1647) "Election night [in autocracies] is a lifeless tableau of power, often with a hint of farce in the naked ballot-stuffing and inflated tallies." The Drama of Democracy; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 13, 2024. -------- Date: Tue Mar 18 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jammy X-Bonus: We take our bearings, daily, from others. To be sane is, to a great extent, to be sociable. -John Updike, writer (18 Mar 1932-2009) This week's theme: Food words used metaphorically jammy (JAM-ee) adjective 1. Covered with, made with, or like jam; sticky or sweet in texture or appearance. 2. Easy, pleasant, desirable, or profitable, often referring to a situation or opportunity. 3. Lucky, implying an unearned or undeserved advantage. [From jam (fruit preserve made by boiling fruits with sugar), metaphorically extended to denote something desirable or fortunate. Earliest documented use: 1853.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/jammy https://wordsmith.org/words/images/jammy_large.jpg Photo: Christine McIntosh https://www.flickr.com/photos/goforchris/8325388287/ "'So, um, Lucy is the food columnist at the paper,' Greg said, 'I'm queuing up for a jammy gig like that.'" Sophie Cousens; This Time Next Year; Putnam; 2020. "'Fitzpatrick,' slurred Brennie. 'You're a jammy sod. You rarely lose a bet, you have hollow legs, and you're your own man. You don't have a trouble in the world." Roddy L'Estrange; Sensory Perception Plants Doubt and Confusion; Irish Times (Dublin); May 7, 2008.