A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Jun 1 00:01:09 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--purlicue X-Bonus: Perfect valor is to behave, without witnesses, as one would act were all the world watching. -Francois, duc de La Rochefoucauld, moralist (1613-1680) "That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone. "When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra." Alice and Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass might as well have been talking about this week's words. While the word "set" has the largest number of meanings -- the Oxford English Dictionary has 26 pages devoted to this little three-letter word -- each of this week's hard-working words has many unrelated meanings that are interesting. Come to think of it, Alice's one word mean can mean more than one mean word. With this week's words in AWAD Humpty Dumpty is going to have to pay a lot. Let's get our money's worth. purlicue (PUHR-li-kyu) noun 1. The space between the extended forefinger and thumb. 2. A flourish or curl at the end of a handwritten word. Also known as curlicue. 3. A discourse, especially its summarizing part. [Of uncertain origin, probably from Scots pirlie (curly).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Won Li's attentions moved to the weblike purlicue between my thumb and forefinger." Suzann Ledbetter; A Lady Never Trifles with Thieves; Pocket; 2003. -------- Date: Tue Jun 2 00:01:06 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--trammel X-Bonus: It is a trick among the dishonest to offer sacrifices that are not needed, or not possible, to avoid making those that are required. -Ivan Goncharov, novelist (1812-1891) This week's theme: Words having many unrelated meanings trammel (TRAM-uhl) verb tr. To restrain; to hinder. noun 1. Something that limits or hinders. 2. A fishing net having three layers. 3. An instrument for drawing ellipses. 4. A shackle used in training a horse to amble. 5. An instrument for gauging and aligning parts of a machine. 6. A hook for hanging a pot or a kettle over a fire. [From Old French tramail, from Latin tremaculum, from tres (three) + macula (mesh). Ultimately from the Indo-European root trei- (three) that's also the source of such words as three, testify (to be the third person: to bear witness), and triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "John Singleton, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. spokesman, said [the ban on cigarette sales at Boston drugstores and on college campuses] does trammel on businesses' right to sell what they want to sell." Stephen Smith; Hub Seeks More Bans on Tobacco; The Boston Globe; Sep 4, 2008. "'Lost in Showbiz asks what constitutes a crisis?' Jonathan Blake continues, free of the trammels of punctuation." Marina Hyde; Our High Priest of Showbiz Offers Up Some Vehicle Specs; The Guardian (London, UK); Apr 27, 2009. -------- Date: Wed Jun 3 00:01:06 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--grig X-Bonus: If your morals make you dreary, depend on it they are wrong. -Robert Louis Stevenson, novelist, essayist, and poet (1850-1894) This week's theme: Words having many unrelated meanings grig (grig) noun 1. A cricket or grasshopper. 2. A small or young eel. 3. A lively or lighthearted person. [The word is often used in the phrase "merry as a grig". The word is of uncertain origin, though various theories have been suggested, such as a corruption of "merry as a cricket" or "merry as a Greek", as in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida: "Then she's a merry Greek indeed."] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "When all is reversed and we shall be like the insane, to whom the antics of the sane seem the crazy twistings of a grig." E.B. White; Removal; 1938. "I walked into my local branch of Boots the Chemist as merry as a grig, with a twinkle in my eye and an annoying whistle on my lips." The Weasel; Independent (London, UK); Jun 8, 1996. -------- Date: Thu Jun 4 00:01:06 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--growler X-Bonus: Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility. -St. Augustine (354-430) This week's theme: Words having many unrelated meanings growler (GROU-luhr) noun 1. One that growls. 2. A container (as a pail or pitcher) brought by a customer to fetch beer. 3. A small iceberg. 4. A four-wheeled cab. 5. An electromagnetic device for testing short-circuited coils. [From growl, from Middle English groule, grollen (to rumble), probably of imitative origin.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "When Euro-metal comes to mind it can often rouse visions of hairy, horn-helmeted growlers howling about faraway lands and legendary times." Fawnda Mithrush; Primordial: Thoroughly Modern Metal; Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada); May 7, 2009. "The two-story building will feature a to-go bar on the first floor for beer aficionados to buy and fill growlers." Rachael Fisher; Brewing Company on the Move; The Anchorage Daily News (Alaska); May 1, 2009. "We sailed the 30-mile stretch of the Atlantic Sound, otherwise known as Iceberg Alley. The smaller, granite-hard growlers are to be avoided just as deftly as the enormous floating glacial islands." Neill Johnston; Cool Cruise Among Ice and Penguins; Birmingham Post (UK); May 15, 2009. "So this growler will get into Audi R8 territory for about a third of the Audi's $130,000 starting price tag." Jeremy Cato; New Challenger Even Better; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Feb 19, 2008. -------- Date: Fri Jun 5 00:01:07 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gaff X-Bonus: It is not life and wealth and power that enslave men, but the cleaving to life and wealth and power. -Buddha (c. 563-483 BCE) This week's theme: Words having many unrelated meanings gaff (gaf) noun 1. A pole with a hook on the end, used to land large fish. 2. A metal spur for a gamecock. 3. A hoax or fraud. 4. Gimmick or trick. [From gaffe (boat hook). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kap- (to grasp) that is also the root of captive, capsule, chassis, cable, occupy, and deceive.] noun Harsh treatment or criticism. verb tr. (to stand or take the gaff) To receive severe criticism; to endure hardship. [Of unknown origin.] verb tr. 1. To cheat. 2. To gamble. [Of uncertain origin.] noun 1. A place of entertainment, especially with a disreputable reputation. 2. A house, apartment, shop, or other building. [Origin unknown. ] noun A social error; a faux pas. [A variant of gaffe.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "I had murdered a couple of nice halibut, impaling them with the gaff and then happily beating their brains out all over the deck of a friend's boat." Richard Chiappone; The Killing Season; Anchorage Press (Alaska); May 13, 2009. http://anchoragepress.com/articles/2009/05/13/news/doc4a0b7290ef623367527883.txt "Derek Dingle, a famous closeup man, adjusted the Cigarette Through Quarter trick by palming and replacing one gaffed quarter with another." Adam Gopnik; The Real Work; New Yorker; Mar 17, 2008. "'They don't want to take the gaff when something goes wrong,' said Bud Long." A Dismal Record; The Fresno Bee (California); Aug 9, 1992. -------- Date: Mon Jun 8 00:01:07 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--churrigueresque 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) Self-improvement author Dale Carnegie once said, "A person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language." No wonder we put it to use any chance we get: from naming a business (Wal-Mart) to naming a child (Ron Jr.). For the same reason, we insist that a hospital auditorium or a park bench carry our name in return for our money. We name inventions, diseases, countries, products, plants, mountains, planets, and more after people's names. We even coin words after them. Such words are called eponyms, from epi- (upon) + -onym (name). This week's AWAD examines five words named after people. churrigueresque (choor-ee-guh-RESK) adjective Baroque; lavish; over-the-top. Also, churrigueresco. [After José Benito Churriguera (1650-1725), Spanish architect and sculptor, whose family was known for extravagant architectural decorations.] Zacatecas Cathedral, Mexico: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/churrigueresque_large.jpg [Photo: J. Bernal Fernandez http://www.flickr.com/photos/himnoda/3385670465/ ] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "I had what I considered to be a reasonable plan for finding out what was going on in McAllen, Texas. I would call on the heads of its hospitals, in their swanky, decorator-designed, churrigueresco offices, and I'd ask them." Atul Gawande; The Cost Conundrum; The New Yorker; Jun 1, 2009. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande "With Chihuly, who works with an army of technicians, everything depends on visual excess. He is the most baroque of modern artists -- or more accurately, his art belongs to the tradition of the Churrigueresque." Richard Dorment; The Mind-blowing Gift of a Master; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Feb 20, 2009. -------- Date: Tue Jun 9 00:01:08 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Mata Hari X-Bonus: The price we pay for money is paid in liberty. -Robert Louis Stevenson, novelist, essayist, and poet (1850-1894) This week's theme: Eponyms Mata Hari (MA-tuh HAR-ee, MAT-uh HAR-ee) noun A seductive woman who works as a spy. [After exotic dancer Mata Hari, a stage name of Margaretha Geertruida Zelle (1876-1917). She was a Dutch woman, who took a Malay name, allegedly spied for the Germans, and was executed by the French. Her stage name Mata Hari means sun, literally "eye of the day", from Malay mata (eye) + hari (day, dawn).] A picture of Mata Hari: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/mata_hari_large.jpg [Source: Wikimedia] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Roxana Saberi, in the space of a few months, has gone from freelance journalist arrested for carrying an illicit bottle of wine, to American Mata Hari spying against Iran for the CIA and now a free woman allowed to return home." Richard Beeston; Ayatollah Ali Khameini's Hidden Hand in Roxana Saberi Case; The Times (London, UK); May 12, 2009. -------- Date: Wed Jun 10 00:01:06 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rachmanism X-Bonus: I find it difficult to feel responsible for the suffering of others. That's why I find war so hard to bear. It's the same with animals: I feel the less harm I do, the lighter my heart. I love a light heart. And when I know I'm causing suffering, I feel the heaviness of it. It's a physical pain. So it's self-interest that I don't want to cause harm. -Alice Walker, author (b. 1944) This week's theme: Eponyms rachmanism (RAK-muh-niz-uhm) noun The exploitation and intimidation of tenants by landlords. [After Peter Rachman (1919-1962), a landlord in London who became notorious for unethical practices including driving out tenants to maximize revenue from his rental properties. Another fellow who got his name in the dictionary for harassing tenants is Charles Boycott (1832-1897), a British land agent in Ireland, whose mistreatment of tenants resulted in his getting ostracized, i.e. he was boycotted.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "It is a story of pure Rachmanism. She had been threatened, had her rent cheque refused, her electricity cut off, and seen her absent neighbours' flats cleared of all their possessions, while rubbish was dumped outside her door." Peter Beaumont; Drowned City Cuts Its Poor Adrift; The Observer (London, UK); Dec 11, 2005. The term Rachmanism is a Britishism, though unscrupulous landlords are found everywhere. The above usage example is from the UK, but even if not mentioned, it'd be easy to tell: in just one sentence it manages to include four examples that illustrate the spelling and vocabulary differences between British English and American English: cheque/check, neighbour/neighbor, flat/apartment, and rubbish/trash. -------- Date: Thu Jun 11 00:01:07 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mausoleum X-Bonus: He who postpones the hour of living is like the rustic who waits for the river to run out before he crosses. -Horace, poet and satirist (65-8 BCE) This week's theme: Eponyms mausoleum (maw-suh-LEE-uhm, -zuh-) noun A large tomb, usually an ornate stone building. [After Mausolus, a Persian governor in 4th century BCE. His monumental tomb was considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, after which any grand tomb is now called a mausoleum.] Taj Mahal, Agra, India: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/mausoleum_large.jpg (photo: Udit Kulshrestha http://www.flickr.com/photos/uditk/ ) Also see columbarium https://wordsmith.org/words/columbarium.html -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Wu is leading a delegation to attend the 80th anniversary of the burial of Sun Yat-sen at a mausoleum in Nanjing." Flora Wang and Mo Yan-chih; Chen Chu Praised For Saying President; Taipei Times (Taiwan); May 23, 2009. -------- Date: Fri Jun 12 00:01:09 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--martinet X-Bonus: Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. -Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1928) This week's theme: Eponyms martinet (mar-ti-NET, MAR-ti-net) noun A strict disciplinarian. [After Jean Martinet, an army officer during the reign of Louis XIV in France. He was a tough drill master known for his strict adherence to rules and discipline. He was killed by friendly fire during the siege of Duisburg in 1672.] The siege of Duisburg during which General Martinet was fragged: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/martinet_large.jpg -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Many people believe the agency acts like a martinet. They say the agency is hard-headed and hard-hearted. They say it is dictatorial and unyielding." APA Motives Commendable; Press-Republican (Plattsburgh, New York); May 11, 2009. -------- Date: Mon Jun 15 00:03:06 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--choleric X-Bonus: Society is composed of two great classes: those who have more dinners than appetite, and those who have more appetite than dinners. -Sebastien-Roch-Nicolas de Chamfort, writer (1741-1794) Ancient medical practitioners believed that a healthy body had a balance of four essential fluids, also known as humors (from Latin humere: to be wet, which also gave us the word humid). Those humors were blood, yellow bile (aka choler), black bile, and phlegm. Each humor was associated with a season and an element (air, water, fire, and earth). An imbalance of humors was thought to cause a change in temperament or worse. Thankfully, we have come a long way from that theory about the human body. We no longer use that method to diagnose people's conditions, though the terms live on in the language by being used as metaphors. An illustration of the four temperaments that result from the dominance of one of the humors https://wordsmith.org/words/images/sanguine_large.jpg [From Physiognomische Fragmente by Johann Kaspar Lavater, 1775] choleric (KAHL-uhr-ik) adjective Easily irritated or angered; hot-tempered. [From Latin cholericus, from Greek cholerikos, from chole (bile). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ghel- (to shine) that is also the source of words such as yellow, gold, glimmer, gloaming, glimpse, glass, arsenic, and cholera.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "In every choleric outburst from Sir Alan, every lifted eyebrow and pursed lip from his lieutenants, the subtext is clear." Libby Purves; The Apprentice; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Jun 6, 2009. -------- Date: Tue Jun 16 00:31:06 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--phlegmatic X-Bonus: Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst that is unquenchable? -Kahlil Gibran, mystic, poet, and artist (1883-1931) This week's theme: Medicinal words to describe people phlegmatic (fleg-MAT-ik) adjective 1. Having a sluggish temperament; apathetic. 2. Calm or composed. [From Latin phlegmaticus, from Greek phlegmatikos, from phlegm (inflammation, the humor phlegm supposedly as a result of heat), from phlegein (to burn).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "So why are Israelis almost hysterical about the Iranian threat, while South Koreans are phlegmatic about the North Korean threat?" Gwynne Dyer; Koreans, Israelis and Nukes; The Korea Times (Seoul); May 26, 2009. -------- Date: Wed Jun 17 00:31:05 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sanguine X-Bonus: We all have handicaps. The difference is that some of us must reveal ours, while others must conceal theirs, to be treated with mercy. -Yahia Lababidi, author (b. 1973) This week's theme: Medicinal words to describe people sanguine (SANG-gwin) adjective 1. Cheerfully optimistic or confident. 2. Having a healthy reddish color. 3. Blood-red. [From Old French sanguin, from Latin sanguineus (bloody), from sanguis (blood).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "As usual, Phillips is sanguine: Michael is totally focused now, and the insurance wasn't a problem, it was just expensive." Robert Sandall; Will Michael Jackson Survive His Concert Marathon? The Sunday Times (London, UK); May 31, 2009. -------- Date: Thu Jun 18 00:15:14 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--melancholic X-Bonus: The door of a bigoted mind opens outwards so that the only result of the pressure of facts upon it is to close it more snugly. -Ogden Nash, poet (1902-1971) This week's theme: Medicinal words to describe people melancholic (mel-uhn-KOL-ik) adjective 1. Gloomy; wistful. 2. Saddening. 3. Of or related to melancholia. [From Latin melancholia, from Greek melancholia (the condition of having an excess of black bile), from melan- (black) + chole (bile), ultimately from the Indo-European root ghel- (to shine) that is also the source of words such as yellow, gold, glimmer, gloaming, glimpse, glass, arsenic, and cholera.] Four temperaments in smileys, depicted by the tilt of the eyes and the turn of the mouth: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/melancholic.jpg Top row: Phlegmatic, choleric, Bottom row: sanguine, melancholic. [Graphic: Noe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Noe ] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Zach Galifianakis: The only kind of music I do know how to play is melancholic, sad stuff because nothing happy is coming out of my body musically." Kate Ward; Zach Galifianakis; Entertainment Weekly (New York); Jun 4, 2009. -------- Date: Fri Jun 19 00:15:22 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bilious X-Bonus: If a man would register all his opinions upon love, politics, religion, learning, etc., beginning from his youth and so go on to old age, what a bundle of inconsistencies and contradictions would appear at last! -Jonathan Swift, satirist (1667-1745) This week's theme: Medicinal words to describe people bilious (BIL-yuhs) adjective 1. Extremely unpleasant. 2. Ill-natured; irritable. 3. Relating to bile. [From Latin bilis (bile).] Also see atrabilious https://wordsmith.org/words/atrabilious.html -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "The Sharia introduction in some states of the federation has been a victim of these groups of elites' unbridled intimidatory and bilious antics." Abubakar Gimba; The Season of Unreason; Daily Trust (Abuja, Nigeria); Sep 18, 2002. -------- Date: Mon Jun 22 00:01:06 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--eleemosynary X-Bonus: To freely bloom - that is my definition of success. -Gerry Spence, lawyer (b. 1929) Have you ever taken a vacation that's planned to every nanosecond? At 9:37 we visit the Garden of Standonburg and spend an hour and 18 minutes there, then we reach the Pamponi Museum at 11:09, and then .... Well, that's not a vacation, is it? Sometimes it's best to let yourself roam through what may come, with no plan, no schedule, no rules, no aim, and nothing to guide except a free mind and open heart. This week's AWAD is prepared in just that spirit. A word tickles our fancy and leads us to some others that bring forth new sights. We skip some of them, move ahead or perhaps take a leisurely stroll through the dictionary. There's nothing common among the words selected -- at least as far as we know. There's no theme to constrain our word choices during the next five days. Or maybe that's the theme. eleemosynary (el-uh-MOS-uh-ner-ee, el-ee-, -MOZ-) adjective Relating to charity. [From Latin eleemosynarius, from eleemosyna (alms), from Greek eleemosyne (pity, charity), from eleemon (pitiful), from eleos (pity).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "The Guzmans started their non-profit organization, Path of Hope Foundation, 18 years ago. Their single goal: to care for the poor who live near their corner. The Thanksgiving dinner is one of their eleemosynary events." Lynn Seeden; Free Thanksgiving Dinner Feeds 1,400; Orange County Register (Santa Ana, California); Dec 4, 2003. -------- Date: Tue Jun 23 00:01:09 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--obloquy X-Bonus: Evil is like a shadow - it has no real substance of its own, it is simply a lack of light. You cannot cause a shadow to disappear by trying to fight it, stamp on it, by railing against it, or any other form of emotional or physical resistance. In order to cause a shadow to disappear, you must shine light on it. -Shakti Gawain, teacher and author (b. 1948) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words obloquy (OB-luh-kwee) noun 1. Censure or abusive language towards someone, especially when expressed by many. 2. Disgrace resulting from public condemnation. [From Latin obloquium (talking against, contradiction), from ob- (against) + loqui (to speak). Ultimately from the Indo-European root tolkw- (to speak) that is also the source of somniloquy https://wordsmith.org/words/somniloquy.html loquacious https://wordsmith.org/words/loquacious.html and allocution https://wordsmith.org/words/allocution.html ] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "[Jimmy Carter] is a man who is prepared to risk the obloquy and criticism of die-hard neocons and nervous fellow senior Democrats to break the chains of Washington's foolish Middle East peace policy." Carter Mission; Arab News (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia); Apr 9, 2008. -------- Date: Wed Jun 24 00:01:06 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--palliate X-Bonus: I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way. -Edgar Guest, poet (1881-1959) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words palliate (PAL-ee-ayt) verb tr. 1. To ease the symptoms of a problem without fixing its cause. 2. To make an offense appear less severe by excuses or apologies; extenuate. [From Latin palliare (to cover), from pallium (cloak).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "When success came it palliated his sense of loss for a while." Frank Carrigan; John Lennon: The Life; Brisbane Times (Australia); Jan 9, 2009. -------- Date: Thu Jun 25 00:01:06 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--countervail X-Bonus: If you wish to be loved, show more of your faults than your virtues. -Edward Bulwer-Lytton, author (1803-1873) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words countervail (koun-tuhr-VAYL) verb tr., intr. To counterbalance or to neutralize. [From Old French contrevaloir, from Latin contra (against) + valere (to be strong). Ultimately, from the Indo-European root wal- (to be strong) that is also the source of valiant, avail, valor, and value.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "China is the unique case of a country arming a neighbour with nuclear weapons to countervail a rival." K. Subrahmanyam; Befriending the Dragon; The Times of India (New Delhi); Jul 5, 2004. -------- Date: Fri Jun 26 00:01:06 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--excoriate X-Bonus: No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country. -Alexis de Tocqueville, statesman and historian (1805-1859) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words excoriate (ik-SKOR-ee-ayt) verb tr. 1. To severely criticize someone or something. 2. To strip off the skin. [From Latin excoriare (to strip or to skin), ex- (out) + corium (skin, hide). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sker- (to cut) that is also the source of words such as skirt, sharp, scrape, screw, shard, shears, carnage, curt, carnivorous, hardscrabble https://wordsmith.org/words/hardscrabble.html and incarnadine https://wordsmith.org/words/incarnadine.html .] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Why is she [Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, president of Philippines] being excoriated for trying to implement her campaign promise?" Efren L. Danao; Give Light, Not Heat, to Cha-cha Issue; The Manila Times (Philippines); Jun 17, 2009. -------- Date: Mon Jun 29 00:01:06 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jake X-Bonus: Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary. -Reinhold Niebuhr, theologian (1892-1971) Poet Carl Sandburg once described slang as "a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands, and goes to work." Nothing wrong with words in a tie and suit, but sometimes only slang can do the job. Since slang is often born in the back-alleys of language rather than in a sanitized hospital room, it's not easy to pin down its origins. Does that matter? Go ahead, hire this week's five hardworking words for your verbal mill. jake (jayk) adjective Satisfactory; all right; okay. [Of unknown origin.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "So far as the state is concerned, everything is jake. But the council seems determined to throw a monkey wrench into the works." James Gill; Council Seems Eager to Trip Up Churchill; The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana); Apr 20, 2005. -------- Date: Tue Jun 30 00:01:07 EDT 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rhubarb X-Bonus: A belief which leaves no place for doubt is not a belief; it is a superstition. -Jose Bergamin, author (1895-1983) This week's theme: Slang rhubarb (ROO-bahrb) noun A heated dispute; brawl. [The origin of the plant name rhubarb is from Greek rha (perhaps from Rha, an ancient name of the river Volga on whose bank rhubarb was grown) + barbaros (foreign), but why the word developed this slang sense is unknown. We do know that this usage was popularized in baseball. The Oxford English Dictionary has the first citation from 1943: "Mr 'Red' Barber,.. who has been announcing the games of the Brooklyn Dodgers, has used the term 'rhubarb' to describe an argument, or a mix-up, on the field of play." (NY Herald Tribune) It's unconfirmed whether the word has any connection with "hey rube", https://wordsmith.org/words/hey_rube.html the term for a circus brawl, or its theatrical use: when the noise of background conversation is to be simulated, a group of actors is asked to repeat the word rhubarb.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "People should get their domestic rhubarbs, verbal fisticuffs, and emotional jugular-snatching completely out of the way before they show up for a house tour." Richard Ford; Independence Day; Alfred A. Knopf; 1995. http://amazon.com/o/asin/0679735186/ws00-20