A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Jun 1 02:58:30 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--daedal X-Bonus: The only thing you take with you when you're gone is what you leave behind. -John Allston daedal (DEED-al) adjective 1. Ingenious and complex in design or function; intricate. 2. Finely or skillfully made or employed; artistic. [Latin daedalus, from Greek daidalos.] "I sang of the dancing stars, I sang of the daedal earth, And of heaven, and the giant wars, And love, and death, and birth." Shelley, Percy Bysshe, Hymn Of Pan. The 1998 Spelling Bee ( http://www.spellingbee.com ) took place in Washington D.C. last week. In this contest, participants compete by spelling the pronounced words and the winner is determined by elimination. This week in AWAD let's look at the some of the words young spellers tackled. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jun 2 00:04:18 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--maieutic X-Bonus: Internet is a good way to get on the Net. -Bob Dole maieutic (may-YOO-tik, mi-) adjective Of or relating to the aspect of the Socratic method that induces a respondent to formulate latent concepts through a dialectic or logical sequence of questions. [Greek maieutikos, from maieuesthai, to act as midwife, from maia, midwife, nurse.] "It cannot consist in supervising the activities involved in acquiring skills - it must be the Socratic mode of teaching, a mode of teaching called `maieutic' because it helps the students by bringing ideas to birth..." Stellwagen, Joel B., The teacher as coach: re-thinking a popular educational paradigm., The Clearing House, 15 May 1997. This week's theme: words from 1998 Spelling Bee. -------- Date: Wed Jun 3 00:04:36 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sang-froid X-Bonus: It is bad luck to be superstitious. -Andrew Mathis sang-froid (sahn-FRWAH) noun Coolness and composure, especially in trying circumstances. [French : sang, blood (from Old French, from Latin sanguis) + froid, cold, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *frigidus, alteration of Latin frigidus.] "The book turned out to be Edwin LefAevre's `Reminiscences of a Stock Operator', a collection of racy tales of topsy-turvy trading and market skulduggery, and of riches won and lost with remarkable sang-froid." Investment classics: When the cream curdles, The Economist, 19 Apr 1997. This week's theme: words from 1998 Spelling Bee. -------- Date: Thu Jun 4 00:06:18 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--seriatim X-Bonus: You have to decide at the end of the day if you can live with yourself. -Princess Anne seriatim (seer-i-AY-tim) adverb One after another; in a series. [Medieval Latin seriatim, from Latin series, series.] David Mason Greene, Donaudy: Arie Antiche Robert Guarino, American Record Guide, 1 May 1997. "To listen to them seriatim is an exercise in boredom, though perhaps to hear individual songs repeatedly might reveal something I've missed." This week's theme: words from 1998 Spelling Bee. -------- Date: Fri Jun 5 00:04:26 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--assonance X-Bonus: The idea that is not dangerous is not worthy of being called an idea at all. -Elbert Hubbard assonance (AS-oh-nans) noun 1. Resemblance of sound, especially of the vowel sounds in words, as in: "that dolphin-torn, that gong-tormented sea" (William Butler Yeats). 2. The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, especially in stressed syllables, with changes in the intervening consonants, as in the phrase tilting at windmills. 3. Rough similarity; approximate agreement. [French, from Latin assonare, to respond to : ad-, ad- + sonare, to sound.] "Rankine sculpts trenchant lyrics that titillate with staccato rhythms and craft. In `West Harbour,' for instance, where Country is boarding a ship for the U.S., ships leaving port `cut clean lines through blue water. At the ship's rear, the sea heals itself.' What a self-assured moment of personification, imagery and assonance." David Mills, Nothing in Nature is Private, Quarterly Black Review of Books, 28 Feb 1995. This week's theme: words from 1998 Spelling Bee. -------- Date: Sat Jun 6 00:04:46 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--integument X-Bonus: The longing to produce great inspirations didn't produce anything but more longing. -Sophie Kerr integument (in-TEG-yoo-ment) noun 1. A natural outer covering or coat, such as the skin of an animal or the membrane enclosing an organ. 2. Botany. The envelope of an ovule. [Latin integumentum, from integere, to cover : in-, on + tegere, to cover.] Lown, Bernard, Clearing the debris.(The Atomic Age at 50), Technology Review, 18 Aug 1995. "The bestialities unleashed in Bosnia, Rwanda, and Chechnya provide evidence, if such be needed, that barbarism is just below the integument in all human societies, whatever their purported moral values or avowed religious persuasions. In the words of an Auschwitz survivor, the psychotherapist Victor Frankl: `Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of. And since Hiroshima we know what is at stake.' It would be no small contribution for generations yet unborn to declare genocidal weapons the exclusive property of the savage twentieth century." This week's theme: words from 1998 Spelling Bee. -------- Date: Sun Jun 7 00:04:27 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--codicil X-Bonus: When you have solved all mysteries of life you long for death, for it is but another mystery of life. -Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) [Sand and Foam] codicil (KOD-i-sil) noun 1. Law. A supplement or appendix to a will. 2. A supplement or appendix. [Middle English, from Old French codicille, from Latin codicillus, diminutive of codex, codic-, codex.] Sharon Walsh, A Will That Cooked Up a Tangled Web, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug 1997. "No lawyer reviewed it to insert the appropriate legalese. And when Cooke died and the will was filed with the court, the witnesses to the codicil had to rush to the courthouse toattest to its authenticity." This week's theme: words from 1998 Spelling Bee. -------- Date: Mon Jun 8 00:55:36 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--numen X-Bonus: The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn...and change. -Carl Rogers numen (NOO-muhn, NYOO-) noun [plural numina (-muh-nuh)] 1. A presiding divinity or spirit of a place. 2. A spirit believed by animists to inhabit certain natural phenomena or objects. 3. Creative energy; genius. [Latin numen, nod of the head, divine power, numen.] "Descent of waters receives much more stress than their volatilization into steam rising above the Falls, the symbolic transformation of unconscious material into spirit or numen." Hamilton, James F., The hero's journey to Niagara in Chateaubriand and Heredia, French and Cuban exiles., Romance Quarterly, 1 Apr 1994. So what is the plural form for the word "atlas"? Atlases? Yes, but not always. When used to refer to collections of maps, it is "atlases." However, in architecture, where atlas is a standing or kneeling figure used as a column, the plural form of the word is "atlantes." While the rules for pluralization in the English language are relatively simple, things do become muddled with exceptions, especially when the rules are inherited from the language, the word came from. This week, let's take a look at words that pluralize in rather novel ways. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jun 9 08:34:56 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--opus X-Bonus: Love your enemies. It will make them crazy. opus (OH-pus) noun [plural opera (OH-puhr-a, OP-uhr-a) or opuses] A creative work, especially a musical composition numbered to designate the order of a composer's works. [Latin. oper-, opus, work.] "Silva includes a suite from another Waxman horror opus, The Invisible Ray, that is good enough to make us want more." Mark Koldys, Overview: Film Music, American Record Guide, 1 Mar 1998. This week's theme: words with offbeat pluralizations. -------- Date: Wed Jun 10 00:04:33 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--virtuoso X-Bonus: How long is a minute depends on which side of the bathroom door you are on. virtuoso (vur-choo-OH-soh, -zos) noun [plural virtuosos or virtuosi (-see)] 1. A musician with masterly ability, technique, or personal style. 2. A person with masterly skill or technique in the arts. 3. A person who experiments or investigates in the arts and sciences; a savant. virtuoso adjective Exhibiting the ability, technique, or personal style of a virtuoso. [Italian, skilled, of great worth, virtuoso, from Late Latin virtuosus, virtuous, from Latin virtus, excellence.] "The film, mostly a cross-country road movie, is not always on target. But Hoffman's virtuoso performance compensates for any drawbacks." Cineman Syndicate, Movie Review: Rain Man, 1 Jan 1984. Some other words that follow similar pluralization but are mostly used in their plural form: graffito/graffiti paparazzo/paparazzi confetto/confetti. This week's theme: words with offbeat pluralizations. -------- Date: Thu Jun 11 00:04:16 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--occiput X-Bonus: Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do in order to achieve what they want to achieve. -Tom Landry occiput (OK-suh-put, -puht) noun [plural occipita (ok-SIP-i-tah) or occiputs]. The back part of the head or skull. [Middle English, from Latin occiput, occipit- : ob-, against. + caput, head.] "The action calls to mind Ogden Nash's delicious tribute to a Senate smut-basher of yesteryear, the same Sen. Reed Smoot of Utah who gave us the Hawley-Smoot tariff: Senator Smoot (Republican Ut.) is planning a ban on smut. Oh root-ti-toot for Smoot of Ut. and his reverent occiput. Smite, Smoot, smite for Ut. Grit your molars and do your dut..." Edwin Yoder; The Urge to Purge High-Tech Smut, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 23 Jun 1995. This week's theme: words with offbeat pluralizations. -------- Date: Fri Jun 12 00:05:55 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--trousseau X-Bonus: A man who is 'of sound mind' is one who keeps the inner madman under lock and key. -Paul Valery trousseau (TROO-soh, troo-SOH) noun [plural trousseaux (-sohz, -SOHZ) or trousseaus] The possessions, such as clothing and linens, that a bride assembles for her marriage. [French, from Old French, diminutive of trousse, bundle.] "Frontier women and men depended on their hands to produce the stuff of their daily lives. Girls began to fill their hope chests with needlework at 10 or 11. It took years to ready a trousseau and household linens. The beauty of a bride's work might be its classic workmanship or its exploration of design and color." Mary Ficklen, We find beauty in creating it., The Dallas Morning News, 06-24-1996, pp 9C. This week's theme: words with offbeat pluralizations. -------- Date: Sat Jun 13 00:04:21 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chrysalis X-Bonus: The Unspeakable Law. As soon as you mention something ... if it is good it goes away, ... if it is bad it happens. chrysalis (KRIS-uh-lis) noun [plural chrysalises or chrysalides (kri-SAL-i-deez)] A pupa, especially of a moth or butterfly, enclosed in a firm case or cocoon. [Latin chrysallis, from Greek khrusallis, khrusallid-, gold-colored pupa of a butterfly, from khrus-, chryso-.] William Allen; Where Beauty Flutters By, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 23 Jul 1995. "The climax of metamorphosis into an adult can be viewed almost daily. Butterflies usually emerge from their chrysalises sometime between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m." This week's theme: words with offbeat pluralizations. (Did you know "butterfly" is an anagram of "flutter by"? For more anagrams, see: Anagram Hall of Fame: https://wordsmith.org/anagram/hof.html -Anu) -------- Date: Sun Jun 14 00:05:49 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--stigma X-Bonus: If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient observation than to any other reason. -Isaac Newton stigma (STIG-mah) noun [plural stigmata (stig-MA-tuh, STIG-muh-) or stigmas] 1. A mark or token of infamy, disgrace, or reproach. 2. A small mark; a scar or birthmark. 3. Medicine. A mark or spot on the skin that bleeds as a symptom of hysteria. A mark or characteristic indicative of a history of a disease or abnormality. 4. stigmata. Marks or sores corresponding to and resembling the crucifixion wounds of Jesus, sometimes occurring during religious ecstasy or hysteria. 5. Biology. A small mark, spot, or pore, such as the respiratory spiracle of an insect or an eyespot in certain algae. 6. Botany. The receptive apex of the pistil of a flower, on which pollen is deposited at pollination. 7. Archaic. A mark burned into the skin of a criminal or slave; a brand. [Middle English stigme, brand, from Latin stigma, stigmat-, from Greek, tattoo mark, from stizein, stig-, to prick.] '"Some people like to climb mountains to be alone,' notes Buchholz. `They need really dense isolation. We call these people loners, a term which has a stigma attached to it. Maybe we should call them soloists instead.'" Buchholz, Ester, The call of solitude, Psychology Today, 11 Jan 1998. This week's theme: words with offbeat pluralizations. -------- Date: Mon Jun 15 00:06:06 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--os X-Bonus: If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? -Albert Einstein os (aws) noun [plural ora (awra, ora)] A mouth or an opening. [Latin os, mouth.] os (aws) noun [plural ossa (osa)] A bone. [Latin, bone.] os (oas) noun [plural osar (oasaar)] A long, narrow ridge of coarse gravel deposited by a stream flowing in or under a decaying glacial ice sheet. [Swedish as, ridge, from Old Norse ass.] Os The symbol for the element osmium. D.L. Stanley, I Hope This Doesn't Effectuate Your Dudgeon, Atlanta Inquirer, 16 Nov 1996. "Naturally, the students couldn't resist testing the teachers' knowledge. `You'd better slow down,' they would tell some unsuspecting pedagogue, `or you might fall and break your os.'" As a result of enthusiastic response and great word suggestions from the readers, we continue with the previous week's theme: words with interesting forms of pluralizations. Let's open this week with "os," a small word with a number of unrelated meanings, each with its own form of plural. This is the second appearance of "os" in AWAD. Earlier it made the list three years ago. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jun 16 00:04:41 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--calcar X-Bonus: When you live in the shadow of insanity, the appearance of another mind that thinks and talks as yours does is something close to a blessed event. -Robert M. Pirsig calcar (KAL-kar) noun [plural calcaria (kal-KAR-ee-uh)] A spur or spurlike projection, such as one found on the base of a petal or on the wing or leg of a bird. [Latin, spur, from calx, calc-, heel.] calcar noun A furnace formerly used in glassmaking for calcination of materials into frit. [Italian calcara, from Late Latin calcaria (fornax), lime (-kiln), from Latin, feminine of calcarius, of lime.] Bloodthirsty: bats., The Economist, 12 Oct 1996. "Dr Schutt discovered that the bat uses the calcar as a thumb-all the better to climb trees with, and a rare example of how natural selection can modify an existing structure for a new use." This week's theme: words with interesting forms of pluralizations. -------- Date: Wed Jun 17 00:04:23 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--arcanum X-Bonus: Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you. -Andre Gide arcanum (aar-KAY-nuhm) noun [plural arcana (-nah). or arcanums] 1. A deep secret; a mystery. 2. Often arcana. Specialized knowledge or detail that is mysterious to the average person. 3. A secret essence or remedy; an elixir. [Latin, from neuter of arcanus, secret.] "The technology of modern weapons is a vast arcanum presided overby a scientific priesthood. Those who may use the weapons, or vote for their use, are not to be privy to their secrets. Any blood shed will be that of citizens, but the decisions are beyond the information of those actually dying, or sending others to their death." Garry Wills, Lincoln, Life, 1 Feb 1991. This week's theme: words with interesting forms of pluralizations. -------- Date: Thu Jun 18 00:05:31 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gravamen X-Bonus: What is laid down, ordered, factual is never enough to embrace the whole truth: life always spills over the rim of every cup. -Boris Pasternak gravamen (gra-VAY-muhn) noun [plural gravamens or gravamina (-VAM-uh-nuh)] Law. The part of a charge or an accusation that weighs most substantially against the accused. [Medieval Latin gravamen, injury, accusation, from Late Latin, encumbrance, obligation, from Latin gravare, to burden, from gravis, heavy. See GRAVE2.] "The gravamen of the mayor's case against the fish market is its presumed governance by organized crime. Let us concede that history if not common sense is on his side of the argument." Murray Kempton, This Reform Is Sure to Flounder, Newsday, 21 May 1995. This week's theme: words with interesting forms of pluralizations. -------- Date: Fri Jun 19 00:04:25 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--corpus X-Bonus: If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. -Derek Bok, President, Harvard University corpus (KOR-puhs) noun [plural corpora (-puhr-uh)] 1. A large collection of writings of a specific kind or on a specific subject. 2. The principal or capital, as distinguished from the interest or income, as of a fund or estate. 3. Anatomy. The main part of a bodily structure or organ. A distinct bodily mass or organ having a specific function. 4. Music. The overall length of a violin. [Middle English, from Latin.] "Students can read the corpus of Greek literature and great chunks of Latin literature on CD-ROM..." Why Greek tunics are back: Neighbours of Hercules, The Economist, 17 May 1997. This week's theme: words with interesting forms of pluralizations. -------- Date: Sat Jun 20 00:04:24 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lemma X-Bonus: Making the decision to have a child is momentous -- it is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. -Elizabeth Stone lemma (LEM-uh) noun [plural lemmas or lemmata (LEM-uh-tuh)] 1. A subsidiary proposition assumed to be valid and used to demonstrate a principal proposition. 2. A theme, an argument, or a subject indicated in a title. 3. A word or phrase treated in a glossary or similar listing. [Latin lemma, from Greek, from lambanein, to take.] lemma (LEM-uh) noun Botany. The outer or lower of the two bracts that enclose the flower in a grass spikelet. [Greek, husk, from lepein, to peel.] "A more difficult normative problem arises for fast-thinking scholars. Mention to them your lemma and they know your theorem before you do." Samuelson, Paul A., On collaboration., American Economist, 1 Sep 1996. This week's theme: words with interesting forms of pluralizations. -------- Date: Sun Jun 21 00:04:16 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cherub X-Bonus: Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau. -Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University,1929 cherub (CHER-uhb) noun [plural cherubim (CHER-uh-bim, -yuh-bim)] A winged celestial being. One of the second order of angels. cherub (CHER-uhb) noun [plural cherubs] A representation of a small angel, portrayed as a child with a chubby, rosy face. A person, especially a child, with an innocent or chubby face. [Middle English, from Late Latin, from Hebrew kerub.] "Nearly 15 years on from his cheerful and knowingde but, the happy-go-lucky cherub of 1978's Alive on Arrival is now pushing middle age, and he feels the added years keenly." Music Source: Arion Berger, David Browne, Alanna Nash, Linda: In Short, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Jan 1992. This week's theme: words with interesting forms of pluralizations. -------- Date: Mon Jun 22 00:34:44 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--splendiferous X-Bonus: A strange form of self-indulgence! There are times when I would be wronged and cheated, that I may laugh at the expense of those who think I do not know I am being wronged and cheated. -Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) [Sand and Foam] splendiferous (splen-DIF-uhr-uhs) adjective Splendid. [Middle English, from Medieval Latin splendiferus, from Late Latin splendorifer : Latin splendor, splendor + Latin -fer.] Magnuson, Ann, Phair play. (rock artist Liz Phair), Harper's Bazaar, 1 Sep 1994. "But soon the party's over and the splendiferous dresses are returned to their rack." This week, we take a glimpse at high sounding words which describe a rather simple idea. Here's a week focusing on substituting the complex and unknown for the known or words that make you ask "Why make life easy?" -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jun 23 00:04:38 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--philoprogenitive X-Bonus: The value of the average conversation could be enormously improved by the constant use of four simple words: "I do not know." -Andre Maurois philoprogenitive (fil-o-pro-JEN-i-tiv) adjective 1. Producing many offspring; prolific. 2. Loving one's own offspring or children in general. 3. Of or relating to love of children. "The government draws the poverty line according to family size and age. For a single person under 65 years, it's an annual income of less than $5,701. For a couple over 65, poverty means income below $6,630. For a married couple with two children, it's an income under $11,113. For philoprogenitive families with nine or more members, the threshold rises to $21,185." Louis S. Richman, Edward Prewitt, The Economy, Fortune, 29 Aug 1988. This week's theme: words that prompt you to say, "eschew obfuscation." -------- Date: Wed Jun 24 00:06:52 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--comestible X-Bonus: Do not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong. -Dandemis comestible (kuh-MES-ti-buhl) adjective Fit to be eaten; edible. comestible noun Something that can be eaten as food. [French, from Old French, from Late Latin comestibilis, from Latin comestus, alteration (influenced by potus, drunk), of comesus, past participle of comedere, to eat up : com-, intensive pref. + edere, to eat.] Steve Hochman, Pop Eye; Pop Music; Am I Blue?; Los Angeles Times, 11 May 1997. "The latest customized comestible honoring a rock act is a non- alcoholic beverage tie-in with the L.A. metal band Motley Crue, which is set to release a new album, `Generation Swine,' on June 24." This week's theme: words that prompt you to say, "eschew obfuscation." -------- Date: Thu Jun 25 00:04:24 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pulchritude X-Bonus: All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure. -Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910) pulchritude (PUL-kri-tood, -tyood) noun Great physical beauty and appeal. [Middle English pulcritude, from Latin pulchritudo, from pulcher, pulchr-, beautiful.] "The brilliant planet Venus and second-brightest planet Jupiter approach each other for the first twenty-one days of April, then are closest together on the mornings of April 22 and 23. On the latter date, the crescent Moon moves in to skirt just past their paired pulchritude for a truly majestic sight." Scaaf, Fred, Songs of spring: welcoming the adolescent season, Mother Earth News, 14 Apr 1998. This week's theme: words that prompt you to say, "eschew obfuscation." -------- Date: Fri Jun 26 00:04:12 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--apothegm X-Bonus: Heredity is a splendid phenomenon that relieves us of responsibility for our shortcomings. -Doug Larson apothegm also apophthegm (AP-oh-them) noun A terse, witty, instructive saying; a maxim. [Greek apophthegma, from apophthengesthai, to speak plainly : apo-, intensive pref. + phthengesthai, phtheg-, to speak.] "If Frederick Taylor in effect said, 'Let the experts lead,' today's apothegm is 'We have met the experts, and they are us.'" Thomas A. Stewart, Smart Managing, Fortune, 29 Sep 1997. This week's theme: words that prompt you to say, "eschew obfuscation." -------- Date: Sat Jun 27 00:04:09 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cerumen X-Bonus: It has been said that a bride's attitude towards her betrothed can be summed up in three words: Aisle, Altar, Hymn. -Frank Muir & Dennis Norden cerumen (suh-ROO-muhn) noun The yellowish, waxlike secretion of certain glands lining the canal of the external ear. Earwax. [New Latin, from Latin cera, wax akin to Greek keros.] "In a major breakthrough brought to us by Los Angeles state Sen. Richard Polanco, licensed audiologists--the folks who test your hearing--may now legally remove ear wax, technically known as cerumen." Jenifer Warren, California Dateline, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec 1997. This week's theme: words that prompt you to say, "eschew obfuscation." -------- Date: Sun Jun 28 00:04:16 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pronunciamento X-Bonus: Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction. -Antoine de Saint-Exupery pronunciamento (proh-nun-si-uh-MEN-toh) noun An official or authoritarian declaration; a proclamation or an edict. [Spanish pronunciamiento, from pronunciar, to pronounce, from Latin pronuntiare.] "Pronunciamentos from the Milanese maestro whose clothes are so coveted stores chain them to the racks: `A man's stature must be elegant with a rather light bone structure. He should be tall, but not too tall. He should have a long neck and important hands and feet..." Giorgio Armani, People, 18 Jul 1991. This week's theme: words that prompt you to say, "eschew obfuscation." -------- Date: Mon Jun 29 01:33:45 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bootleg X-Bonus: An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit. -Gaius Plinius (c. 61-112 A.D.) bootleg (BOOT-leg) tr. verb 1. To make, sell, or transport (alcoholic liquor) for sale illegally. 2. To produce, distribute, or sell without permission or illegally: a clandestine outfit that bootlegs record albums and tapes. bootleg intr. verb 1. To engage in the bootlegging of alcoholic liquor or another product. 2. To attach a transmitter to a dish antenna, creating an uplink via which a signal is sent to a satellite without the knowledge of the satellite's owner. 3. Football. To fake a hand-off, conceal the ball on the hip, and roll out in order to pass or especially to rush around the end. Used of a quarterback. bootleg noun 1. A product, especially alcoholic liquor, that is illicitly produced, distributed, or sold. 2. The part of a boot above the instep. 3. Football. A play in which the quarterback bootlegs. bootleg adjective Produced, sold, or transported illegally: bootleg gin; bootleg tapes. [From a smuggler's practice of carrying liquor in the legs of boots.] Lynnley Browning, Chechen oil theft hurts refinery renewal, Reuters Business Report, 26 Feb 1997. "It is a wild, bootleg industry unmatched anywhere else in the world. Legions of local people eke out a living by scooping up crude oil from idled wells across the republic and making what must be the world's worst gasoline." There is no butter in butterfly, but once there was a boot in bootleg. Notice how words transmute from literal to figurative in this week's collection of words with interesting derivations. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jun 30 00:04:36 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--haywire X-Bonus: Sometimes it's a little better to travel than to arrive. -Robert Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) haywire (HAY-wire) noun Wire used in baling hay. haywire adjective 1. Mentally confused or erratic; crazy: went haywire over the interminable delays. 2. Not functioning properly; broken. [From the use of baling wire for makeshift repairs.] "Their hormones are haywire and they need all the help they can get in the `looking good, feeling great' department." Susannah Constantine and Trinny Woodall, Ready to Wear, The Daily Telegraph, 26 Jul 1997. This week's theme: words with interesting origins.