A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Thu Apr 1 00:07:25 EST 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hemidemisemiquaver X-Bonus: Have more than thou showest, / Speak less than thou knowest. -William Shakespeare hemidemisemiquaver (hem-ee-dem-ee-SEM-ee-kway-vuhr) noun Chiefly British. A sixty-fourth note. "The rest of the event offered carefree virtuosity, musical probing and Levinson's breathtaking intelligence. Bartok's Dance Suite uncovered all the colors and kinetic irresistibility of its parts; the Schoenbergpieces were handsomely sculptured to a hemidemisemiquaver." Daniel Cariaga, Music Review; At 26, Levinson Shows He's a Versatile Force at the Keyboard, Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec 1998. Why does it take the longest to pronounce the word for the shortest note? This week's theme: words that go out of their way to not apply to themselves. -------- Date: Fri Apr 2 00:07:23 EST 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--descender X-Bonus: I like simple, if it's complex then I don't understand it. -Seymour Cray, inventor of the Cray supercomputer descender (di-SEN-duhr) noun 1. One that descends. 2. The part of the lowercase letters, such as g, p, and q, that extends below the other lowercase letters. A letter with such a part. [Middle English descenden, from Old French descendre, from Latin descendere : de- + scandere, to climb.] "Sloop is not a single font but a set of three related fonts--Sloop One, Two, and Three--that offer different degrees of ornamentation. Sloop One's lowercase letters have relatively short and straight ascenders and descenders..." Fenton, Erfert, Type style, Macworld, 1 May 1995. Why does descender have ascenders but no descenders among its nine letters? This week's theme: words that go out of their way to not apply to themselves. -------- Date: Sat Apr 3 00:07:18 EST 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--diminutive X-Bonus: If a man loves the labour of his trade, apart from any question of success or fame, the gods have called him. -Robert Louis Stevenson diminutive (di-MIN-yuh-tiv) adjective 1. Extremely small in size; tiny. 2. Of or being a suffix that indicates smallness, youth, familiarity, affection, or contempt, as -let in booklet, -kin in lambkin, or -et in nymphet. noun 1. A diminutive suffix, word, or name. 2. A very small person or thing. [Middle English diminutif, from Old French, from Latin diminutivus, from diminutus, present participle of diminuere.] "It strained the limits of turn-of-the-century credulity to suggest that tiny bacteria, themselves invisible except to die microscope, were at the mercy of even more diminutive microbes." Radetsky, Peter, The good virus. (the use of bacteriophages to fight antibiotic-resistant bacterial diseases), Discover Magazine, 1 Nov 1996. Why isn't diminutive really diminutive? This week's theme: words that go out of their way to not apply to themselves. -------- Date: Sun Apr 4 00:07:43 EST 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--opuscule X-Bonus: For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love. -Pythagoras opuscule (o-PUS-kyool) noun A small, minor work. [Latin opusculum, diminutive of opus, work.] "The second part of Stillman's dissertation treated the small opuscule of a Mr. Henry Dark who, while living in England before emigrating to Boston, was presumed to have been John Milton's secretary. In a short text of 1690 entitled The New Babel, Dark made America equal in status to the promised land of the Old Testament ..." Brault, Pascale-Anne, Translating the impossible debt: Paul Auster's `City of Glass.' Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction, 22 Mar 1998. Why is the word that describes a small work bigger than the one that describes a larger work? This week's theme: words that go out of their way to not apply to themselves. -------- Date: Mon Apr 5 11:58:55 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hoyle X-Bonus: Where so many hours have been spent in convincing myself that I am right, is there not some reason to fear I may be wrong? -Jane Austen Hoyle (hoil) noun A reference book of rules for card games and other indoor games. Idiom: according to Hoyle: In accord with the prescribed rules or regulations. [After Edmond Hoyle (1672?-1769), British writer on games.] "I try to do this correctly, according to Hoyle, or his Norwegian counterpart." Pearl Swiggum, The Joy of Gifts..., Wisconsin State Journal, 6 Jan 1997. Eponyms -- AWAD's perennial favorites -- make their appearance once again. There is a reason for their popularity: where else can you a find a whole story in just one word? This week's selection features words named after people famous and infamous, real and fictional, well-known and obscure. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Apr 6 00:07:17 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--judas X-Bonus: A critic is one who leaves no turn unstoned. -George Bernard Shaw Judas (JOO-duhs) noun 1. One who betrays another under the guise of friendship. 2. judas. A one-way peephole in a door. [Middle English, from Late Latin Iudas, Judas Iscariot, from Greek Ioudas, from Hebrew yehuda, Judah.] "Who do you think lacks character: one who genuinely suffers from a sexual disorder or one who is a Judas?" Buvan Nathan, Looking at Politics, Chicago Independent Bulletin, 5 Feb 1998. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Wed Apr 7 00:07:18 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gargantua X-Bonus: Let your life lightly dance on the edges of time like dew on the tip of a leaf. -Rabindranath Tagore, poet (1861-1941) gargantua (gar-GAN-choo-uh) noun A person of great size or stature and of voracious physical or intellectual appetites. [After the giant hero of "Gargantua and Pantagruel" by Francois Rabelais.] "To top it all off, the harvests, despite their gargantuan scale, are too small to sustain the overcapitalized fleet." Bernton, Hal, Battle for the deep, Mother Jones, 1 Jul 1994. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Thu Apr 8 00:07:22 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tarzan X-Bonus: There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his. -Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968) Tarzan (TAHR-zuhn, -zan) noun A powerfully built man of great agility and valor. [After Tarzan, the hero of a series of jungle tales by Edgar Rice Burroughs.] "It wasn't a normal four hour walk - more like an obstacle course for budding Tarzans." H. Macinnes, Climb to Lost World, 1974. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Fri Apr 9 00:07:22 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--manichean X-Bonus: What hunger is in relation to food, zest is in relation to life. -Bertrand Russell Manichaean or Manichean (man-i-KEE-uhn) also Manichee (MAN-i-kee) noun A believer in Manichaeism. adjective Of, or relating to Manichaeism; dualistic. Manichaeism (man-i-KEE-iz-uhm) also Manichaeanism (-KEE-uh-niz-uhm) noun 1. The syncretic, dualistic religious philosophy taught by the Persian prophet Manes, combining elements of Zoroastrian, Christian, and Gnostic thought and opposed by the imperial Roman government, Neo-Platonist philosophers, and orthodox Christians. 2. A dualistic philosophy dividing the world between good and evil principles or regarding matter as intrinsically evil and mind as intrinsically good. [From Middle English Maniche, from Late Latin Manichaeus, from Late Greek Manikhaios, from Manikhaios, Manes, the founder of the philosophy.] "Certainly films such as `Barry Lyndon' and `The Shining' are imbued with an almost Manichean sense of the force of evil and the fallibility of man." A director's life: One of the best, The Economist, 13 Dec 1997. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Sat Apr 10 00:07:20 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jeremiad X-Bonus: Custom will reconcile people to any atrocity. -George Bernard Shaw jeremiad (jer-uh-MIE-uhd) noun A literary work or speech expressing a bitter lament or a righteous prophecy of doom. [French jeremiade, after Jeremie, Jeremiah, author of The Lamentations, from Late Latin Ieremias, from Hebrew Yirmeyahu.] "A year ago, in his now-famous jeremiad against Hollywood, Dole challenged Time Warner executives: `Must you debase our nation and threaten our children for the sake of corporate profits?'" Saletan, William, Sin of omission: how long can religious conservatives go on about protecting kids from dangerous drugs without saying anything about smoking?, Mother Jones, 15 May 1996. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Sun Apr 11 00:07:22 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nemesis X-Bonus: It is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust. -Samuel Johnson nemesis (NEM-i-sis) noun 1. A source of harm or ruin. 2. Retributive justice in its execution or outcome. 3. An opponent that cannot be beaten or overcome. 4. One that inflicts retribution or vengeance. 5. Nemesis. Greek Mythology. The goddess of retributive justice or vengeance. [Greek, retribution, the goddess Nemesis, from nemein, to allot.] "Matsushita urgently needs DVD to confront its nemesis, Sony, which has been quicker to sell digital-video products that have large profit margins." Consumer electronics: Slipped disc, The Economist, 3 Jan 1998. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Mon Apr 12 00:56:43 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ruritanian X-Bonus: The flower that follows the sun does so even on cloudy days. -Robert Leighton (1611-1684) Ruritanian (roor-i-TAY-nee-uhn) adjective Of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a mythical place of high, typically comic-opera, romance. [After Ruritania, imaginary realm in the novel The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope.] "Popular mythology has it that teleworkers all live in Ruritanian bliss in the wilds of Wales with only sheep as neighbours." Ross Clark, Property: The middle of nowhere will not do, The Daily Telegraph, 25 Jul 1998. If a novel has contributed a word to the dictionary, one can safely assume that it must have been a popular work. In fact, English lawyer Anthony Hope's (1863-1933) novel was such a hit that he gave up his law practice in favor of writing. The kingdom of Ruritania is the setting for his 1894 novel "The Prisoner of Zenda", and its 1898 sequel "Rupert of Hentzau". Acts of treason, chivalry, and romance take place in this fanciful place that gives us today's word. In this week's theme we visit toponyms: words derived from place names. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Apr 13 00:07:25 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rubicon X-Bonus: Humour is the only test of gravity, and gravity of humour, for a subject which will not bear raillery is suspicious, and a jest which will not bear serious examination is false wit. -Aristotle Rubicon (ROO-bi-kon) noun A limit that when passed or exceeded permits of no return and typically results in irrevocable commitment. [Latin Rubico, Rubicon-, Rubicon, a short river of north-central Italy, the crossing of which by Julius Caesar and his army in 49 BCE began a civil war.] "The age-old Labour debate between universal and means-tested social benefits is being decisively resolved in favour of means-testing. Tony Blair's government has indeed crossed the Rubicon." The universal means test, The Economist, 6 Mar 1999. This week's theme: toponyms. -------- Date: Wed Apr 14 00:07:23 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--parthian X-Bonus: The most dangerous of all falsehoods is a slightly distorted truth. -G.C. Lichtenberg (1742-1799) Parthian (PAHR-thee-uhn) adjective 1. Of or relating to Parthia or its people, language, or culture. 2. Delivered in or as if in retreat. noun 1. A native or inhabitant of Parthia. 2. The Iranian language of the Parthians. "Could there be a Parthian burst of speed? Profits for the year ended last month should show a big leap off their five-year plateau." Lord of dullest virtue. (Britain's General Electric), The Economist, 15 Apr 1995. This week's theme: toponyms, or words derived from place names. -------- Date: Thu Apr 15 00:07:21 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--laodicean X-Bonus: Most of us are just about as happy as we make up our minds to be. -Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) Laodicean (lay-od-i-SEE-uhn) adjective 1. Of or relating to Laodicea. 2. Indifferent or lukewarm especially in matters of religion. noun A native or inhabitant of Laodicea. [Adjective, sense 2, in reference to Revelation 3:14-16.] "Somewhere in between, one finds Texas Gov. George W. Bush striking a pose that some pro-lifers consider unacceptably Laodicean." Tony Snow, Anatomy of the unending debate, The Washington Times, 12 Mar 1999. This week's theme: toponyms. -------- Date: Fri Apr 16 00:07:27 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lazaretto X-Bonus: The illusion that we are separate from one another is an optical delusion of our consciousness. -Albert Einstein lazaretto (laz-uh-RET-o) also lazaret or lazarette (laz-uh-RET) noun 1. A hospital treating contagious diseases. 2. A building or ship used as a quarantine station. 3. Often lazaret. A storage space between the decks of a ship. [Italian lazzaretto : lazzaro, lazar (from Late Latin Lazarus.) + Italian dialectal Nazareto, popular name for a hospital maintained in Venice by the Church of Santa Maria di Nazaret.] "The station consisted of a wharf and boathouse, warehouse, disinfecting house with three steam chambers, two detention barracks, barrack and kitchen building, pump house, surgeon's house, officers' quarters, lazaretto (a `leper's house' or isolation hospital), and a convalescent building. Lucaccini, Luigi F., The Public Health Service on Angel Island., Public Health Reports, 11 Jan 1996. This week's theme: toponyms. -------- Date: Sat Apr 17 00:07:21 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--coventry X-Bonus: Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. -Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910) Coventry (KUV-uhn-tree) noun A state of ostracism or exile. [After Coventry, England (possibly from the sending of Royalist prisoners there during the English Civil War).] "Chris Ash, tribunal chairman, said the panel was not satisfied that Mrs. Edghill, of Sevenoaks, Kent, was ostracised or `sent to Coventry by other dealers'." Daniel Waddell, Woman City dealer loses sex discrimination case, The Daily Telegraph, 25 Jun 1998. This week's theme: toponyms. -------- Date: Sun Apr 18 00:07:24 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--magenta X-Bonus: Live as you will have wished to have lived when you are dying. -Christian Furchtegott Gellert magenta (muh-JEN-tuh) noun A moderate to vivid purplish red. [After Magenta, a town of northwest Italy.] "Cosmos are also graceful plants with feathery foliage. Some have fairly long flowering stems as in the case of Cosmos bicolor, with the flowers usually in white, magenta or even deep maroon red." Lam Peng Sam, Vibrant, colourful cosmos, New Straits Times, 7 Feb 1998. This week's theme: toponyms. -------- Date: Mon Apr 19 00:07:48 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--terpsichorean X-Bonus: The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. -Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968) terpsichorean (turp-si-kuh-REE-uhn, turp-si-KOR-ee-uhn, -KORE-) adjective Of or relating to dancing. noun A dancer. [From Terpsichore, The Muse of dancing and choral singing in Greek mythology.] "Terpsichorean experts are lamenting the fact that it is impossible to develop really conservative dance steps while British dancers are under American influence." In Our Pages: 100, 75 AND 50 Years Ago 1923: Wanton Dance, International Herald Tribune, 20 Jul 1998. "It's Greek to me." Have you ever found yourself uttering these words to denote something unintelligible? While there may be some truth in the saying, Greek mythology has been a rich source of many colorful words in the English language. You know what they say, "The Greeks had a word for it." This week we feature seven adjectives derived from the names of some fanciful gods, Muses and other heroes. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Apr 20 00:07:25 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--eolian X-Bonus: The way I see it, if you want rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. -Dolly Parton eolian also aeolian (ee-O-lee-uhn, ee-OL-yuhn) adjective Relating to, caused by, or carried by the wind. [From Aeolus, the god of the winds in Greek mythology.] "While on a field trip to southeastern Utah, microbiologist Harry Kurtz, Jr. of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, was intrigued by striped stains on eolian--or wind-formed--sandstone." Microbial Masons, ScienceNOW, 20 May 1998. This week's theme: words from Greek mythology. -------- Date: Wed Apr 21 00:07:23 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--herculean X-Bonus: The more original a discovery, the more obvious it seems afterward. -Arthur Koestler Herculean (hur-kyuh-LEE-uhn, hur-KYOO-lee-) adjective 1. Often herculean. Of unusual size, power, or difficulty. 2. Of or relating to Hercules. Resembling Hercules. [From Hercules, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, a hero of extraordinary strength who won immortality by performing 12 labors demanded by Hera.] "If it hopes to match the Intel-Windows standard, Apple's engineering challenge is to eliminate the ROMs without replacing them with the Unix crutch. But this herculean task would be difficult to accomplish by the 1996 target for platform-compatible computers, sources said." Howard, Stephen; Hall, Mark, Shrink-wrapped OS to be option on clones, MacWEEK, 14 Nov 1994. This week's theme: words from Greek mythology. -------- Date: Thu Apr 22 00:07:28 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--elysian X-Bonus: A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, writer (1759-1805) Elysian (i-LIZH-uhn) adjective 1. Of or relating to the Elysium Fields, the abode of the blessed after death. 2. Blissful; delightful. [Latin Elysium, from Greek Elusion (pedion), Elysian (fields).] "Marshaling a small ensemble of strings, horns, saxophones and other woodwinds, veteran arranger Manny Albam has drawn from the legacy of early Sinatra arrangers Alex Stordahl and Gordon Jenkins to create an elysian landscape in which the burly-sounding Lovano can romp and, at the top of his range, skitter." Jeremy Helligar; Eric Levin; Lyndon Stambler; Craig, Picks & Pans: Song, People, 13 Jan 1997. This week's theme: words from Greek mythology. -------- Date: Fri Apr 23 00:07:25 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--promethean X-Bonus: Because the heart beats under a covering of hair, of fur, feathers, or wings, it is, for that reason, to be of no account? -Jean Paul Richter, writer (1763-1825) Promethean (pruh-MEE-thee-uhn) adjective 1. Relating to or suggestive of Prometheus. 2. Boldly creative; defiantly original. noun One who is boldy creative or defiantly original in behavior or actions. [From Prometheus, a Titan who stole fire from Olympus and gave it to humankind for which Zeus chained him to a rock and sent an eagle to eat his liver, which grew back daily.] "Nonetheless, (W.C.) Fields is a Promethean figure in the world of film comedy, and even at less than his absolute best, he still commands our attention." Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, Magill's Survey of Cinema, 15 Jun 1995. This week's theme: words from Greek mythology. -------- Date: Sat Apr 24 00:07:21 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dionysiac X-Bonus: Everything has been figured out except how to live. -Jean-Paul Sartre Dionysiac (die-uh-NIS-ee-ak) adjective 1. Of or relating to Dionysus, the god of wine and of an orgiastic religion celebrating the power and fertility of nature. Of or relating to Dionysia, ancient Greek festivals held seasonally, chiefly at Athens, in honor of Dionysus. 2. Often dionysiac. Ecstatic or wild; Dionysian. [Latin Dionysiacus, from Greek Dionusiakos, from Dionusios.] "Its `heady cocktail of flippancy, camp sensibility and Dionysiac naughtiness' are among the attributes New York critic Clive Barnes admired in a recent Broadway production of Noel Coward's `Private Lives.'" Nadine Goff, Rep's `Private Lives' to Unfold, Wisconsin State Journal, 5 Jan 1995. This week's theme: words from Greek mythology. -------- Date: Sun Apr 25 00:07:22 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bacchic X-Bonus: There are only two enterprises that refer to their customers as users, and one is illegal. -Michael Hammer Bacchic (BAK-ik) adjective 1. Of or relating to Bacchus (Dionysus). 2. bacchic. Drunken and carousing; bacchanalian. "`For years, I couldn't bear to even think about this stuff,' Sanders says of the Fugs' recordings. `I thought it was ghastly. Then I started listening to it, and I realized it had some pizzazz, some artistry, certainly a Bacchic or Dionysian fervor to it.'" Scott Isler, Woodstock's Back, And So Are Fugs. The '60s bad boys are planning their own reunion concerts upstate, Newsday, 14 Jul 1994. This week's theme: words from Greek mythology. -------- Date: Mon Apr 26 00:07:39 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--compellation X-Bonus: Be the change you want to see in the world. -Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) compellation (kom-puh-LAY-shuhn) noun 1. The act of addressing or designating someone by name. 2. A name; an appellation. [Latin compellatio, compellation-, from compellatus, past participle of compellare, to address.] "That name and compellation of little Flock, doth not comfort, but deject, my Devotion ... " Browne, Sir Thomas, Religio Medici: Section V., Great Works of Literature, 1 Jan 1992. If you use spell-checkers in your day-to-day affairs, you know they are not a panacea for cacography. We all have seen them approve "their" where "there" was intended and learned the hard way that there is no substitute for good old eyeballing. This week's AWAD features seven words from a compilation I have made of some relatively obscure words that are spelled only slightly differently from many everyday words. Let's look at these words that render your spell-checker less affective, oops make that less effective. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Apr 27 00:07:20 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--calender X-Bonus: If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right. -Henry Ford calender (KAL-uhn-duhr) noun A machine in which paper or cloth is made smooth and glossy by being pressed through rollers. verb tr. To press (paper or cloth) in the rollers of such a machine. [French calandre, from Vulgar Latin *colendra, alteration (possibly influenced by Latin columna, column), of Latin cylindrus, roller.] "Heated calender rollers have much the same effect as a hot iron on fabric." Jim Rosenberg, From The Flexo Front, Editor & Publisher, 9 Mar 1996. This week's theme: Words with slightly different spellings from some everyday words. -------- Date: Wed Apr 28 00:07:16 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--redound X-Bonus: If words are to enter men's minds and bear fruit, they must be the right words shaped cunningly to pass men's defenses and explode silently and effectually within their minds. -J.B. Phillips redound (ri-DOUND) verb intr. 1. To have an effect or consequence. 2. To return; recoil. 3. To contribute; accrue. [Middle English redounden, to abound, from Old French redonder, from Latin redundare, to overflow.] "His (Harry Denton) main problem has been isolation, after all, and anything that will bring him closer to his workforce will redound to the company's benefit." Suzy Wetlaufer - HBR, After the Layoffs, What Next?, Harvard Business Review, 1 Sep 1998. This week's theme: Words with slightly different spellings from some everyday words. -------- Date: Thu Apr 29 00:07:25 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--quean X-Bonus: Let him that would move the world, first move himself. -Socrates quean (kween) noun 1. A woman regarded as being disreputable, especially a prostitute. 2. Scots. A young woman. [Middle English quene, from Old English cwene, woman.] "A witch, a quean, an old cozening quean! Have I not forbid her my house?" Shakespeare, William, The Merry Wives of Windsor: Act IV, Scene II. This week's theme: Words with slightly different spellings from some everyday words. -------- Date: Fri Apr 30 00:07:20 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dragoon X-Bonus: If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire - then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience. -Robert Fulghum dragoon (druh-GOON) noun A heavily armed trooper in some European armies of the 17th and 18th centuries. verb tr. 1. To subjugate or persecute by the imposition of troops. 2. To compel by violent measures or threats; coerce. [French dragon, carbine, dragoon, from Old French dragon, dragon.] "The ruling military junta routinely locks up its critics, sometimes torturing them. Villagers are dragooned into unpaid labour." Nastier and nastier: Myanmar (attacks against dissident Aung San Suu Kyi) The Economist, 16 Nov 1996. This week's theme: Words with slightly different spellings from some everyday words.