A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon May 1 00:01:16 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sticky wicket X-Bonus: Fame is a bee. / It has a song / It has a sting / Ah, too, it has a wing. -Emily Dickinson, poet (1830-1886) Somehow I wasn't born with the sports gene. Sure, I've played an innings or two of cricket, but that's about it. Since I'm never one to listen to running commentaries on radio or watch live telecasts, my exchange with other sports enthusiasts typically goes like this: Person in the supermarket checkout line: So what did you think of last night's game between the Yankees and the Flying Ducks? Me: Yes. Well, this sports-challenged temperament doesn't have to stop one from using sporting words. There are countless terms from the world of sports we use metaphorically every day, whether it's when we exhort someone to "be a sport" or when we chatter about the economy, saying that it's not dead "by a long shot". This week's AWAD brings together a few words from the world of cricket, football, baseball, and other games and sports, that are used in real life as well. sticky wicket (STIK-ee WIK-it) noun A difficult, awkward or uncertain situation. [From cricket, when the ground is partly wet, resulting in the ball bouncing unpredictably.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "British Prime Minister Tony Blair, maneuvering his way through the sticky wicket of the Middle East, wanted to stress the need to maintain an international coalition." William Safire; Fog of War: Von Clausewitz Strikes Again; The New York Times Magazine; Nov 18, 2001. -------- Date: Tue May 2 00:01:17 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dipsy doodle X-Bonus: One of the funny things about the stock market is that every time one person buys, another sells, and both think they are astute. -William Feather, author, editor and publisher (1889-1981) This week's theme: words from games and sports. dipsy doodle (DIP-see DOOD-l) noun 1. The zig-zag motion of a ball in baseball or of a player in football. 2. An act performed to evade or distract. [Perhaps from baseball or football.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "'It would take a rather wild turn of events to keep it off the East Coast. ... It would have to do some kind of dipsy doodle,' says hurricane center forecaster Jack Beven." Jack Williams; Hugo Turns Eye to East Coast; USA Today; Sep 20, 1989. -------- Date: Wed May 3 00:01:14 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hat trick X-Bonus: We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. -Edward R. Murrow, journalist (1908-1965) This week's theme: words from games and sports. hat trick (hat trik) noun Three successes in a game or another endeavor. For example, taking three wickets with three successive deliveries by a bowler in a game of cricket, three goals or points won by a player in a game of soccer or ice hockey, etc. [From cricket, from the former practice of awarding a hat to a bowler who dismissed three batsmen with three successive balls.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Can real estate investment trusts (REITs) pull off a hat trick? They delivered an impressive total return of 29% in 2000 and a solid 11.5% in 2001, a period when the stock market was in a dive and the economy was sliding into a recession. Sure, vacancy rates are up and rents down, but REIT investors believe they will make money again in 2002." Michael Arndt; REITs Can Be a Roof Over Your Head; BusinessWeek (New York); December 31, 2001. -------- Date: Thu May 4 00:01:16 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wild card X-Bonus: When I reflect upon the number of disagreeable people who I know have gone to a better world, I am moved to lead a different life. -Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910) This week's theme: words from games and sports. wild card (wyld kard) noun 1. In a game of cards, a card having no fixed value. 2. In a game, such as tennis, a player allowed to enter the tournament without having to fulfill qualifying requirements. 3. In computing, a character (usually *) used to represent any character. 4. An unknown or unpredictable factor. [From card games, where such a card has no pre-determined value and is assigned a value by the player holding it.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "A Western diplomat in New Delhi called the thousands of Pakistani-trained militants operating in Indian Kashmir 'a major wild card that is outside the control of either nation.'" Rajiv Chandrasekaran; Kashmiri Rebels Warn of New Strikes; The Washington Post; Jan 3, 2002. -------- Date: Fri May 5 00:01:14 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--standpatism X-Bonus: There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in. -Leonard Cohen, musician (1934- ) This week's theme: words from games and sports. standpatism or standpattism (STAND-PAT-iz-uhm) noun The practice of refusing to consider change in one's beliefs and opinions, especially in politics. [The term has its origin in the game of poker. It stems from stand pat, to play one's hand as it's dealt, without drawing other cards.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Compromise and common sense? Self-righteous standpatism and pigheadedness? We ought to know which has the upper hand after the next three days." Ray Fitzgerald; Sports; Boston Globe; May 6, 1980. -------- Date: Mon May 8 00:01:15 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--aphotic X-Bonus: We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. -Edward R. Murrow, journalist (1908-1965) It's that time of the year again when you get to don your word-sleuth hat. There's something common among this week's words but we're not telling -- it's your task to find the property that applies to all five words this week. Each day this week brings a new word that on the surface may not appear to share a trait with the others, but does. Will you be first to solve the mystery theme? If you think you have the answer, scribble it down and email it to wordsATwordsmith.org (replace AT with @). Only one answer per person, please. aphotic (ay-FO-tik) adjective Lightless, especially without sunlight. [From Greek a- (not) + phot- (light). Ultimately from Indo-European root bha- (to shine) that's also the source of beacon, beckon, phantom, phenomenon, and phosphorous.] The aphotic zone of an ocean or lake is the part that's not exposed to sunlight. At such depths plants grow without photosynthesis. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "In fact, Larry's craven musings and jaundiced view of the world is so aphotic, Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer seem like cheery philanthropists." Vinay Menon; Think Seinfeld Only Darker; The Toronto Star (Canada); Feb 12, 2003. -------- Date: Tue May 9 00:01:28 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--plashy X-Bonus: We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same. -Carlos Castaneda, mystic and author (1925-1998) This week's theme: yours to discover. plashy (PLASH-ee) adjective 1. Marshy; watery; full of puddles. 2. Splashy. [From Middle English plasch (pool), probably of imitative origin.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "It is a vast, archaic, hectic kingdom of stones and boulders and pond-studded bogs; of endless reaches of undulating hills and soaring mountains; of plunging waterfalls and wide, charging rivers, plashy streams and limpid rills." Jeannette Haien; The Wondrous World of Connemara, Ireland; The New York Times; Jul 15, 1990. -------- Date: Wed May 10 00:01:23 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--procellous X-Bonus: Animal factories are one more sign of the extent to which our technological capacities have advanced faster than our ethics. -Peter Singer, philosopher, professor of bioethics (1946- ) This week's theme: yours to discover. procellous (pro-SEL-uhs) adjective Stormy, as the sea. [From Latin procellosus (stormy), from procella (storm).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "I likened myself to a sailor ... to brave the dangers of that procellous sea." Rafael Sabatini; The Strolling Saint; Stanley Paul; 1913. -------- Date: Thu May 11 00:01:15 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scrabble X-Bonus: I found one day in school a boy of medium size ill-treating a smaller boy. I expostulated, but he replied: 'The bigs hit me, so I hit the babies; that's fair.' In these words he epitomized the history of the human race. -Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, and author (1872-1970) This week's theme: yours to discover. scrabble (SKRAB-uhl) verb tr., intr. 1. To scratch or scrape, as with claws or hands. 2. To struggle to obtain something not easily available. 3. To climb over something hastily or clumsily. 4. To scribble. noun The act of scratching, scraping, struggling, scribbling, climbing, etc. frantically, desperately, or with difficulty. [From Dutch schrabbelen, from schrabben (to scrape or scratch).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "The chances are slim to non-existent that enough votes could be scrabbled together to destroy Prodi's lead of 25,000 seats in the Chamber." Michael Braun; You Thought You Had Got Rid of Me?; Spiegel (Hamburg, Germany); Apr 13, 2006. -------- Date: Fri May 12 00:01:29 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--balsamic X-Bonus: A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side. -Aristotle, philosopher (384-322 BCE) This week's theme: yours to discover. balsamic (bal-SAM-ik) adjective 1. Fragrant. 2. Soothing or healing. 3. Relating to balsam. [From Latin balsamum, from Greek balsamon.] Balsam is any of several aromatic plant resins. Balsamic vinegar, named for its supposed health-giving properties, is a dark, sweet and sour vinegar traditionally made in the Modena region in Italy. It's made from white grapes and matured in wooden casks over several years. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) PS: We hope you found this week's five words (aphotic, plashy, procellous, scrabble, balsamic) valuable, but what's the property that makes them all equal? Send your answer to wordsATwordsmith.org (replace AT with @). "Bussing my body with soft balsamic busses..." Walt Whitman; Leaves of Grass; 1900. -------- Date: Mon May 15 00:01:18 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--proceleusmatic X-Bonus: There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, and that is to have either a clear conscience or none at all. -Ogden Nash, poet (1902-1971) Once in a while delivery of this newsletter is delayed and messages complaining of withdrawal symptoms pour into my mailbox. "Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind," as British writer Rudyard Kipling said. That might help explain why some of us get so hooked on them. As time passes, we experience symptoms of mithridatism, the condition of immunity acquired by taking gradually increased doses of something (coined after Mithridates VI, the king of Pontus who tried to build immunity against poisoning). Slowly they take over and we realize we need words with even more potency, words that are unusual, esoteric, or even preposterous, to reach an ever greater high. Are you one of those for whom the dictionary might be better characterized as an addictionary? Help is at hand. Consider this week's words as extra high doses of the fix. proceleusmatic (pros-uh-loos-MAT-ik) adjective Inciting, exhorting, or inspiring. noun A metrical foot of four short syllables. [From Late Latin proceleusmaticus, from Greek prokeleusmatikos (calling for incitement), from keleuein (to rouse to action).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "The ancient proceleusmatic song by which the rowers of galleys were animated may be supposed to have been of this kind." Samuel Johnson; A Journey to the Western Island of Scotland; 1775. -------- Date: Tue May 16 00:01:23 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pulchritude X-Bonus: Most truths are so naked that people feel sorry for them and cover them up, at least a little bit. -Edward R. Murrow, journalist (1908-1965) This week's theme: unusual words. pulchritude (PUL-kri-tood, -tyood) noun Beauty. [From Latin pulchritudo, from pulcher (beautiful).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "[Catherine Deneuve's] pulchritude is as legendary and inspiring as her body of work." Priya Tanna; Celebrating Catherine Deneuve; Daily News & Analysis (Mumbai, India); Apr 27, 2006. -------- Date: Wed May 17 00:01:20 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--terpsichorean X-Bonus: Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise. -Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman (1561-1626) This week's theme: unusual words. 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 song in Greek mythology. The word Terpsichore is the feminine form of terpsichoros (delighting in the dance), a combination of Greek terpein (to delight) and khoros (dance), which is ultimately from Indo-European root gher- (to grasp or to enclose) that's also the source of chorus, carol, choir, garth, court, and garden.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "On the subject of Prezza: Ruskin College, Oxford, his alma mater, is no doubt bracing itself for no end of inquiries following those startling pictures of his terpsichorean skills. Where did he learn to dance?" Peter Kingston; Conference Call; The Guardian (London, UK); May 2, 2006. -------- Date: Thu May 18 00:01:18 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--succedaneum X-Bonus: This world is divided roughly into three kinds of nations: those that spend lots of money to keep their weight down; those whose people eat to live; and those whose people don't know where their next meal is coming from. -David S. Landes, author, professor of economics and history (1924- ) This week's theme: unusual words. succedaneum (suk-si-DAY-nee-uhm) noun A substitute. [From Latin succedere (to succeed), from suc- (a variant of sub-, used before c) and cedere (to go). Ultimately from Indo-European root ked- (to go or yield) that's also the ancestor of exceed, secede, proceed, cease, and necessary.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Sharon's idea of a peace process is a succedaneum for war process." Road Map or Road Rage?; United Press International; May 19, 2003. -------- Date: Fri May 19 00:01:17 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--margaritaceous X-Bonus: Flattery is like chewing gum. Enjoy it but don't swallow it. -Hank Ketcham, comic artist (1920-2001) This week's theme: unusual words. margaritaceous (mar-guhr-i-TAY-shuhs) adjective Pearly. [From Latin margarita, from Greek margarites (pearl).] Margarita, the tequila cocktail, is named after Margarita, the Spanish form of the name Margaret, meaning pearl. Who this woman was isn't certain. Perhaps this offers an opportunity to extend the meaning of the word margaritaceous after the drink. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "The mesial band has something of a margaritaceous sheen, but it is very slight and dull." Charles James Stewart Bethune, et al; The Canadian Entomologist; 1868. -------- Date: Mon May 22 00:01:21 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--erg X-Bonus: The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784) Has a short quotation you read somewhere ever made you think more than you would have thought after spending several weeks with a heavy tome? Perhaps that's what Friedrich Nietzsche had in mind when he said, "It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book." In this spirit, this week we feature five short yet potent words. erg (urg) noun The unit of work or energy in the centimeter-gram-second system. [From Greek ergon (work). Ultimately from Indo-European root werg- (to do) which gave us ergonomic, work, energy, metallurgy, surgery, wright, and orgy.] erg (erg) noun A large area of land covered with shifting sand. Also known as a sand sea. [From Arabic.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Every available erg of waste heat from operating machinery will be used to warm living quarters. In all, it may save 150,000 gallons of fuel every year." Robert Lee Hotz; Last Journey To The Last Place On Earth: At the South Pole, Nothing Can Grow Except the Spirit; The Los Angeles Times; Jun 8, 2001. "A day later we reached Tumbain, a flat table mountain from whose top you look out on the infinity of the erg. The solitude of the place was awesome." John Eisenhammer; Led by Wise Men; The Independent (London, UK); Dec 21, 1996. -------- Date: Tue May 23 00:01:18 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lee X-Bonus: Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity. -Horace Mann, educational reformer (1796-1859) This week's theme: short words. lee (lee) noun 1. Shelter. 2. The side (of a ship, for example) that's sheltered or away from the direction from which the wind blows. adjective Of or pertaining to the side that's away from the wind. [From Middle English, from Old English hleo (shelter).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Sunlight spread in waves across eerily calm fields in the lee of the woods ..." Paul Evans; Wednesday Radio; The Guardian (London, UK); Oct 30, 2002. -------- Date: Wed May 24 00:01:14 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--heft X-Bonus: Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. -Joseph Addison, essayist and poet (1672-1719) This week's theme: short words. heft (heft) noun 1. Weight; heaviness. 2. Importance. verb tr. 1. To test the weight of something by lifting. 2. To heave or hoist. [After heave, on the pattern of cleave/cleft, leave/left, thieve/theft, weave/weft, etc. From Middle English heven (to lift, take).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Turning 40 once meant winding down, but for thousands of Canadian women, it means winding up: hefting barbells, hitting the books, embracing whole new lives." Deborah Jones; Middle-aged? Who, Me?; Chatelaine (Toronto, Canada); Apr 1, 1998. -------- Date: Thu May 25 00:01:16 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tor X-Bonus: The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. -Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) This week's theme: short words. tor (tor) noun 1. A rocky heap on the top of a hill. 2. A peak of a bared hill. [From Middle English, from Old English torr. Of uncertain origin: probably from Celtic.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Felicity Jones is in England with her mother, who is on sabbatical to pursue intensive research into the Arthurian legend. There is speculation that Glastonbury Tor might really be Avalon, where Arthur was taken to die." Renee Steinberg; The Last Grail Keeper; School Library Journal (New York); Dec 2001. -------- Date: Fri May 26 00:01:17 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ret X-Bonus: Once you label me you negate me. -Soren Kierkegaard, philosopher (1813-1855) This week's theme: short words. ret (ret) verb tr. To soak or expose to moisture (flax, hemp, etc.) to remove fiber from softened wood. [From Middle English reten, perhaps from Middle Dutch.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Deep in the city's culture memory is the experience of the linen trade. As Robert Johnstone writes, 'The fibres came to the hacklers retted, dried and scutched, like long, flaxen hair which would comb through metal brushes.'" Tom Paulin; The Vernacular City; The Guardian (London, UK); Feb 23, 2002. -------- Date: Mon May 29 00:01:54 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--manque X-Bonus: The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative the day after the revolution. -Hannah Arendt, historian and philosopher (1906-1975) These adjectives are called postpositive, not because they are positive words. Rather, the designation "positive" alludes to their position -- they are placed (or deposited) after the word they modify, for example, adjective extraordinaire in "teacher extraordinaire". We often find these adjectives in phrases, such as "attorney general" or "court martial". Product names often have adjectives placed postpositively, e.g. Miller Lite or iPod nano. While in many languages (Spanish, French, etc.) adjectives are placed after the noun as a rule, in English there are certain situations where we use adjectives postpositively. When modifying a pronoun, an adjective is usually postpositive, as in "those responsible" or "all present". This week there will be adjectives aplenty here. Let's look at a number of adjectives that say to the noun: "After you!" manque (mang-KAY) adjective Unfulfilled in realization of one's potential or ambition. [From French manqué, past participle of manquer (to lack), from Italian mancare, from manco (lacking, defective), from Latin mancus (maimed, having a crippled hand). Ultimately from Indo-European root man- (hand) that's also the source of manage, maintain, maneuver, manufacture, manuscript, and command.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "Eddie George, governor of the Bank of England, formally opened the building and said: 'I have always seen myself as a trader manque.'" George Trefgarne; City: Sliding euro is an 'embarrassment'; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Jul 17, 1999. -------- Date: Tue May 30 00:01:15 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--redux X-Bonus: There is nothing so agonizing to the fine skin of vanity as the application of a rough truth. -Edward Bulwer-Lytton, writer (1803-1873) This week's theme: adjectives used postpositively. redux (ri-DUKS) adjective Brought back; revisited. [From Latin re- (again) + dux (leader), from ducere (to lead). Ultimately from Indo-European root deuk- (to lead) that led to other words such as duke, conduct, educate, duct, wanton, and tug.] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "The nightmare, redux. Once again Eddie Guardado was an out away from a save. Once again, he couldn't get it done." John Hickey; M's Can't Finish Sox; Seattle Post-Intelligencer; May 4, 2006. -------- Date: Wed May 31 00:01:15 EDT 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--redivivus X-Bonus: Look into any man's heart you please, and you will always find, in every one, at least one black spot which he has to keep concealed. -Henrik Ibsen, playwright (1828-1906) This week's theme: adjectives used postpositively. redivivus (red-uh-VY-vuhs) adjective Revived or reborn. [From Latin re- (again) + vivus (living).] -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) "[C.S. Lewis] thought 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' paganism redivivus, which perhaps it was." Roger Lewis Burgess; Yes, I Admit, God is God; New York Times; Nov 2, 1986.