A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Jul 1 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cracker-barrel X-Bonus: To do the opposite of something is also a form of imitation. -Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, scientist and philosopher (1 Jul 1742-1799) What comes to mind when you think of America, especially American exports? Maybe you think of jumbo jets, software, e-commerce, all of which are done right here where I live, in the Seattle area. Maybe you think of American music -- genres like jazz, rock 'n' roll, and the global phenomenon that is Taylor Swift. Or maybe Hollywood movies, from Charlie Chaplin to Mickey Mouse to Avatar to Frozen. However, our most ubiquitous and widely recognized export might surprise you. It’s not a product or a piece of technology but a simple two-letter word: OK https://wordsmith.org/words/ok.html . This seemingly unremarkable term has become a universal symbol of understanding, used and recognized across continents. Yes, we make words too, though not all our word products are as widely known as "OK". It’s time to shine a light on more of these linguistic creations. As we celebrate America's 248th birthday this Jul 4, let’s spotlight five Americanisms -- words that were Made in America, born in the USA. cracker-barrel (KRAK-uhr bar-uhl) adjective Plain, rustic, homespun, direct, or unsophisticated. [From cracker (wafer), from crack, from Old English cracian (to resound) + barrel, from Old French baril, from Latin barriclus (small cask). Also see pork barrel https://wordsmith.org/words/pork_barrel.html and double-barreled https://wordsmith.org/words/double-barreled.html . Earliest documented use: 1877.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/cracker-barrel NOTES: Cracker barrels were barrels containing loose crackers (thin crisp biscuits or wafers). Customers would fill a bag to buy however much they needed. The empty barrels were often used as tables or stations around which people gathered to trade gossip. The term evolved to mean plain, rustic, or unsophisticated, alluding to the old-style country stores where these conversations took place. See also furphy https://wordsmith.org/words/furphy.html and scuttlebutt https://wordsmith.org/words/scuttlebutt.html . "Cleaner than the Cracker Barrel Sunshine L.-W. Soda Crackers No more ordinary bulk crackers for you" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cracker-barrel_large.jpg Image: Ad in "The May Bugle", May, Oklahoma, Oct 2, 1913 / https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-may-bugle/69766238/ "Quoting the cracker-barrel wisdom of a sales manager he knows, Dr. Grossman cautions each and every senior manager not to 'tell a guy about your grass seed until you know something about his lawn.'" Joseph F. McKenna; Close Encounters of the Executive Kind; Industry Week (Nashville, Tennessee); Sep 6, 1993. -------- Date: Tue Jul 2 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jamboree X-Bonus: In order for me to write poetry that isn't political / I must listen to the birds / and in order to hear the birds / the warplanes must be silent. -Marwan Makhoul, poet (b. 2 Jul 1979) This week's theme: Americanisms jamboree (jam-buh-REE) noun A large rally, assembly, celebration, etc. characterized by festive activities and a sense of community. [Of unknown origin. Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting Movement, popularized the term by using it for the first World Scout Jamboree in 1920. However, the term existed even before the movement was founded. Earliest documented use: 1868.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/jamboree 24th World Scout Jamboree, Glen Jean, West Virginia https://wordsmith.org/words/images/jamboree_large.jpg Photo: Jean-Pierre Pouteau / World Scouting https://flickr.com/photos/worldscouting/48362268497/ "More than 2,200 people, including members of the royal family, have been invited for the three-day jamboree." Coronation of King Charles III; The Economic Times (New Delhi, India); May 5, 2023. -------- Date: Wed Jul 3 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lickety-split X-Bonus: Now I can look at you in peace; I don't eat you any more. -Franz Kafka, novelist (3 Jul 1883-1924) [while admiring fish in an aquarium] This week's theme: Americanisms lickety-split (lik-uh-tee-SPLIT) adverb At great speed. [A fanciful formation from lick (fast) + split. Earliest documented use: 1859.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/lickety-split https://wordsmith.org/words/images/lickety-split_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "'There's a wind high up in the pines,' said Nell. ... 'And the windmill's goin lickety-split,' said Howard." Mary O'Hara; My Friend Flicka; Lippincott; 1941. -------- Date: Thu Jul 4 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ripstaver X-Bonus: Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in the same worn-out soil. My children have had other birthplaces, and, so far as their fortunes may be within my control, shall strike their roots into unaccustomed earth. -Nathaniel Hawthorne, writer (4 Jul 1804-1864) This week's theme: Americanisms ripstaver (RIP-stay-vuhr) noun Something or someone remarkable. [From rip (to tear) + stave (to break or crush). The combination of these verbs suggests a forceful energy or a breaking of boundaries, implying something exceptional. Earliest documented use: 1828. A synonym is ripsnorter https://wordsmith.org/words/ripsnorter.html .] "Monty tells me you three are real ripstavers, and he doesn't say that very often about anybody. You must have impressed him!" Michael D. Cooper; The Runaway Asteroid; Critical Press Media; 2022. -------- Date: Fri Jul 5 00:01:03 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hunky-dory X-Bonus: It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning. -Bill Watterson, comic strip artist (b. 5 Jul 1958) This week's theme: Americanisms hunky-dory (HUHNG-kee DOR-ee) adjective Very satisfactory; fine. [From hunky (satisfactory), from hunk (in a good position), from Dutch honk + dory (of unknown origin). Earliest documented use: 1866.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/hunky-dory "Now, we are told, everything is transparent, above board, and hunky-dory." Rob Edwards; A Conflict of Interest; New Scientist (London, UK); Jun 26, 2004. -------- Date: Mon Jul 8 00:01:01 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--adulterate X-Bonus: Be advised that all flatterers live at the expense of those who listen to them. -Jean de la Fontaine, poet and fabulist (8 Jul 1621-1695) To *adulterate* is not really an *adult* thing to do. We are not giving a moral lesson here. We are simply speaking etymologically. *Adulterate* is from Latin adulterare (to corrupt) while *adult* is from Latin adolescere (to grow up). Completely different roots.¹ Language can sometimes be like a whodunit. Those you suspect have nothing to do with it, and vice versa. This week we'll feature five words whose looks may be misleading: they don't mean what you might guess they mean. ¹*Adulterate* and "adultery" are related, though. When you engage in either, you introduce something/someone "other" to the picture. Now that we have done adultery, let's do infantry as well. While adultery typically involves adults in practice, but not etymologically, infantry does NOT involve infants in practice, but it does etymologically. Members of the infantry were youth, literally speaking, foot soldiers, too inexperienced to be members of the cavalry. adulterate (uh-DUHL-tuh-rayt) verb tr. To add a cheaper or inferior substance to something. [From Latin adulterare (to corrupt), from ad- (toward) + alter (other). Earliest documented use: 1526.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/adulterate https://wordsmith.org/words/images/adulterate_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "Marseglia denied that he has ever adulterated his olive oil with other vegetable oils." Tom Mueller; Slippery Business; The New Yorker; Aug 13, 2007. -------- Date: Tue Jul 9 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--metromania X-Bonus: I wanted to live my life so that people would know unmistakably that I am alive, so that when I finally die people will know the difference for sure between my living and my death. -June Jordan, writer, teacher, and activist (9 Jul 1936-2002) This week's theme: Misleading words metromania (met-ruh-MAY-nee-uh) noun A mania for writing poetry. [From Greek metro- (measure, meter) + -mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze). Earliest documented use: 1791.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/metromania_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "The entire lot of thirty poems was composed this morning, and to tell you the truth, I found rather nasty the task of parodying the product of metromania." Vladimir Nabokov; The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov; Vintage; 1997. -------- Date: Wed Jul 10 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sexennial X-Bonus: I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success... Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything. -Nikola Tesla, electrical engineer and inventor (10 Jul 1856-1943) This week's theme: Misleading words sexennial (sek-SEN-ee-uhl) noun: An event occurring every six years. adjective: Happening every six years; lasting for or relating to six years. [From Latin sex (six) + annus (year). Earliest documented use: 1646.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/sexennial_large.jpg Image: VLPGifts / Amazon https://www.amazon.com/VLPGifts-Youve-Been-Loved-Years/dp/B0CTHNR65V "Asarem had captured an impressive sixty-seven percent of the vote when she'd won her second sexennial term a year earlier." David R. George III and Una McCormack; Typhon Pact: Pocket Books; 2013. -------- Date: Thu Jul 11 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--placer X-Bonus: We grow tyrannical fighting tyranny. The most alarming spectacle today is not the spectacle of the atomic bomb in an unfederated world, it is the spectacle of the Americans beginning to accept the device of loyalty oaths and witchhunts, beginning to call anybody they don't like a Communist. -E.B. White, writer (11 Jul 1899-1985) This week's theme: Misleading words placer (for 1 & 2: PLAS-uhr, for 3 & 4: PLAY-suhr) noun 1. A deposit of valuable minerals found in sand or gravel. 2. A place where such a deposit is washed to extract the valuable minerals. 3. One who finishes in a particular place in a contest. 4. One who arranges something. [For 1 & 2: From Spanish placer (sandbank), from Catalan placer (shoal), from Latin platea (street), from Greek plateia hodos (broad street). Earliest documented use: 1829. For 3 & 4: From place, from Latin platea (street), from Greek plateia hodos (broad street). Earliest documented use: 1578.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/placer https://wordsmith.org/words/images/placer_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "In a rich placer I've heard that men have washed $50 worth in one pan." Pat Miller; Emily; Xulon Press; 2005. "Placer mining sounds like a strange hobby for a guy who's already got money." Paul Garmisch; Couchwife; First Edition Design; 2015. -------- Date: Fri Jul 12 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--psychrophobia X-Bonus: We are not going to be able to operate our Spaceship Earth successfully nor for much longer unless we see it as a whole spaceship and our fate as common. It has to be everybody or nobody. -Buckminster Fuller, engineer, designer, and architect (12 Jul 1895-1983) This week's theme: Misleading words psychrophobia (sy-kruh-FO-bee-uh) noun An abnormal fear of cold. [From Greek psychro- (cold) + -phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1727.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/psychrophobia_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "Do you live in an igloo? Then you definitely do not have psychrophobia." North Hills News Record (Warrendale, Pennsylvania); May 30, 1978. -------- Date: Mon Jul 15 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Chekhov's gun X-Bonus: The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart. -Iris Murdoch, writer (15 Jul 1919-1999) A friend of mine once brought me a box of thin baked savory biscuits. a brand called "Mary's Gone Crackers". https://www.marysgonecrackers.com/ It reminded me of the brand name "Kellogg's Corn Flakes". It was obvious the crackers were made by someone named Mary, but what kind of crackers are "gone" crackers? I wondered. Maybe "gone" was some obscure slang for "delicious"? Then I realized that the word "gone" in "Mary's Gone Crackers" is not an adjective, but a verb. In other words, Mary has gone crackers, similar in meaning to, should she ever diversify her product line, "Mary's Gone Nuts". The apostrophe-s in the construction "Mary's" is ambiguous. It could mean one of three possibilities, the correct one of which must be inferred: Mary has Mary is Of Mary (possessive) Context often helps, but not always. Hence, products with funny-punny names. While you can possess those crackers for a few bucks (or have a dear friend bring them to you -- thanks, Persim!) there's no possessive there. But all of this week's terms have the apostrophe-s construction and you can be sure it's a possessive eponym. Also, while we know who Mary is (Mary Waldner, a psychotherapist turned baker), and we also know who the people are in some of the terms featured this week, the possessors in other terms shall remain obscure. Chekhov's gun (chek-ofs GUHN) noun 1. The literary principle that if an element is introduced in a story, it must be shown to have a purpose. 2. An element introduced in a story that is revealed to have a purpose later on. [After the playwright and doctor Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) who espoused this principle. Earliest documented use: 1951.] NOTES: Chekhov said, "One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn't going to go off." Not trying to be a smart alec, but one must never place a loaded firearm on a stage or set, going off or not. At any rate, we understand his point and it wasn't about the rifle gathering rust. Also see: red herring https://wordsmith.org/words/red_herring.html McGuffin https://wordsmith.org/words/mcguffin.html prolepsis https://wordsmith.org/words/prolepsis.html Ockham's razor https://wordsmith.org/words/ockhams_razor.html "I wish you'd get rid of that thing." https://wordsmith.org/words/images/chekhovs_gun_large.jpg Cartoon: Shannon Wheelie https://www.shannonleowheeler.com/ "The producers rub it in a bit. 'The Northwest Territories is home to over 3,000 bears,' says the narrator, who speaks in a low, ominous growl and who I quickly suspect to be a bear. In dramatic terms, bears are Chekhov's gun, and if at least one person isn't eaten by a bear by the end of this show it will betray a loose grasp of dramatic structure on the part of the ursine narrator." Patrick Freyne; One Survivalist Wants to "See What I'm Made Of"; Irish Times (Dublin); Aug 11, 2023. -------- Date: Tue Jul 16 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Parkinson's law X-Bonus: Every student needs someone who says, simply, "You mean something. You count." -Tony Kushner, playwright (b. 16 Jul 1956) This week's theme: Whose what? Parkinson's law (PAHR-kin-suhnz law) noun The observation that work expands to fill the time available. [After C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993), author and historian, who first articulated this observation in 1955 in an article in "The Economist". Earliest documented use: 1955.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Parkinson's%20law NOTES: Parkinson's Law is often applied to time management, but it can be generalized. Move into a bigger house, and you eventually acquire more stuff to fill it. Overbudget a project, and chances are it'll use all the funds (and still go over budget). https://wordsmith.org/words/images/parkinsons_law_large.jpg Image: Prajula Ravichandran https://medium.com/@prajularavichandran/the-parkinsons-law-what-is-it-and-how-to-overcome-it-5334cd876de6 "By some creepy Parkinson's Law, anxiety expanded to fill the time available, especially the television time." Hendrik Hertzberg; The Talk of the Town; The New Yorker; Oct 29, 2001. "Greta drove; I sat next to her, and the Oozer, in a spatial variation on Parkinson's Law, contrived to fill the back seat on his own." Hugh Leonard; A Wild People; Methuen; 2001. -------- Date: Wed Jul 17 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Barney's bull X-Bonus: Never underestimate the determination of a kid who is time rich and cash poor. -Cory Doctorow, author and journalist (b. 17 Jul 1971) This week's theme: Whose what? Barney's bull (bar-neez-BUL) noun Someone or something in a very bad condition or situation. [Apparently from a popular 19th-century pantomime in which an escaped bull is chased by various characters until the exhausted animal is captured by a farmhand. Earliest documented use: 1834.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/barneys_bull_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "Barney's bull of a pain in my innards." Charles Boardman Hawes; The Mutineers; Atlantic Monthly Press; 1920. -------- Date: Thu Jul 18 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--John Thomson's man X-Bonus: If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. -Nelson Mandela, activist, South African president, Nobel laureate (18 Jul 1918-2013) This week's theme: Whose what? John Thomson's man (jon THOM-suhnz man) noun A man excessively submissive to his woman. [Of uncertain origin. Perhaps the original form was Joan Thomson's man. Earliest documented use: 1513. Some other adjectives to describe such a man are uxorious https://wordsmith.org/words/uxorious.html and henpecked https://wordsmith.org/words/henpeck.html .] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/john_thomsons_man_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "You know what they call you, don't you? I hear it because they forget I'm your son sometimes. A John Thomson's man. Someone who's given up being a man in his own house." Robert Crichton; The Camerons; Knopf; 1972. -------- Date: Fri Jul 19 00:01:03 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--collier's faith X-Bonus: I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in. -George McGovern, senator, author, professor, and WWII pilot (19 Jul 1922-2012) This week's theme: Whose what? collier's faith (KAHL-yuhrz fayth) noun Unreasonable faith; blind faith. [From Latin fides carbonarii (collier's faith), from German köhlerglaube (collier's faith). The term may have arisen from the dangerous and uncertain nature of coal mining. https://wordsmith.org/words/collier.html . Earliest documented use: 1680.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/colliers_faith_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "Our love for art might inspire in us a collier's faith to say what others have said before and will say again after us. Namely that even if the situation is ominous, and even if we're very poor &c. &c., yet we firmly concentrate on one single thing, on painting, naturally." [Van Gogh writing to his brother Theo, circa Nov 8, 1883] Patrick Grant; Reading Vincent van Gogh: A Thematic Guide to the Letters; 2016. -------- Date: Mon Jul 22 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gruntled X-Bonus: If it is committed in the name of God or country, there is no crime so heinous that the public will not forgive it. -Tom Robbins, writer (b. 22 Jul 1936) If you have ever flown, chances are you have been disgruntled. There's so much that has to come together to make a flight happen. To start with, a machine (a high-tech tube weighing hundreds of tons built with millions of parts that all work), people (on the tarmac, in baggage handling, at the security line, and more), weather gods (arranging the right atmospheric conditions anywhere between the origin and the destination). It's funny-not-funny to see a passenger getting mad at the airline agent at the gate, as if the agent had a hand in the delay or cancellation. Fortunately, most flight experiences should result in people feeling gruntled. They have taken you from place A to B, a few hundred miles or tens of thousands. They sometimes have even served hot food and shown popular movies. So the next time your flight is delayed or your baggage is lost why not find a seat at the gate and ponder about something else instead, for example, this big wondrous universe of ours: stars in the Milky Way, animals deep in the ocean, or the private lives of passengers around you. Or think about language. For example, If we have disgruntled, why not gruntled? Disgruntled has been with us since 1847. Then in 1938 the novelist P.G. Wodehouse wondered: Why not gruntled? So he coined the word in his novel "The Code of the Woosters". We call this process back-formation https://wordsmith.org/words/bludge.html : taking an existing word and removing parts from it to make a new word. (Although in disgruntled, dis- is an intensive prefix, not as a negative prefix.) In the case of some other words, the non-affixed form has existed for a long time. For example, the word whelm https://wordsmith.org/words/whelm.html . It's just that it's not as common as overwhelm and underwhelm. In this week's selection we'll look at five words you likely are more familiar with in their affixed forms. These are words that might make you say: "Look Ma, no affix!" gruntled (GRUHN-tuhld) adjective Contented; happy. [Back-formation from disgruntled, from dis- (intensifier) + gruntle (to grumble), frequentative of grunt. Earliest documented use: 1938.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gruntled_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "I'm glad. That you're gruntled." Ruby Barrett; The Romance Recipe; Carina Press; 2022. -------- Date: Tue Jul 23 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ept X-Bonus: Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph. -Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia (23 Jul 1892-1975) This week's theme: Look Ma, no affix! ept (ept) adjective 1. Competent; skillful. 2. Effective; appropriate. [Back-formation from inept, from Latin ineptus (unsuitable or absurd), from in- (not) + aptus (apt). Earliest documented use: 1938.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/ept_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "An ept goon would have done the job right.” Gina Robinson; Spy Games; Kensington; 2009. "I am much obliged..to you for your warm, courteous, and ept treatment of a rather weak, skinny subject." E.B. White; Letters of E.B. White; Harper & Row; 1976. -------- Date: Wed Jul 24 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ruth X-Bonus: Only the stupid steal from the rich. The clever steal from the poor. The law usually protects the rich. -Carsten Jensen, author (b. 24 Jul 1952) This week's theme: Look Ma, no affix! ruth (rooth) noun 1. Compassion. 2. Contrition. [From Middle English ruthe, from ruen (to rue). Earliest documented use: 1200. The common affixed form is ruthless.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ruth https://wordsmith.org/words/images/ruth_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "Gerda [feared] that her daughter, showing no ruth, might hurt others beyond repair." Lella Warren; Foundation Stone; Knopf; 1940. -------- Date: Thu Jul 25 00:01:03 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--reck X-Bonus: Hatred is the most accessible and comprehensive of all the unifying agents. Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil. -Eric Hoffer, philosopher and author (25 Jul 1902-1983) This week's theme: Look Ma, no affix! reck (rek) noun: Care or concern. verb tr., intr.: To care or concern. [From Old English reccan (to care). Earliest documented use: 1150. The common affixed form is reckless.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/reck_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "What little reck [King James] had of the faces he trod on in climbing from a pit of his own digging." Victor MacClure; She Stands Accused; Lippincott; 1935. -------- Date: Fri Jul 26 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--descript X-Bonus: So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, Caesars and Napoleons will duly rise and make them miserable. -Aldous Huxley, novelist (26 Jul 1894-1963) This week's theme: Look Ma, no affix! descript (di-SKRIPT) adjective Having distinctive features or qualities. [From Latin descriptus, past participle of describere (to describe), from de- (off) + scribere (to write). Earliest documented use: 1665. The opposite, more common affixed form is nondescript https://wordsmith.org/words/nondescript.html .] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/descript_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "And he had been staring at her that day, although nothing about her had been very descript until he got up close, and then everything was." Jennie Shortridge; Love Water Memory; Gallery Books; 2014. -------- Date: Mon Jul 29 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gee-whiz X-Bonus: human wandering through the zoo / what do your cousins think of you. -Don Marquis, humorist and poet (29 Jul 1878-1937) I had been in the US barely a week to attend graduate school. After class I was chatting with a girl. Time flew. We didn't realize how long it had been. Then she looked at her watch and said "Oh, fudge! I have got so much homework today!” She picked up her backpack and made her way to the lecture hall exit. When I returned to my apartment that afternoon, I was still thinking about the fudge. I knew about fudge the candy, but that sense didn't fit here, so I did what I always did when I had a question. I called the library. “Reference, please,” I said. When the reference librarian came on the line, I said "Does the word fudge also mean something other than a candy?” “How do you use it in a sentence?” she asked. “Oh, fudge! I have got so much homework today!” There was a pause. Then she said, "I don’t know" and hung up.* She probably thought I was a prank caller. Eventually I figured out the euphemism by the context and by the similarity of the sounds and common initial letters. That was some 30 years ago. Things have changed. The F-word is much more common these days. Maybe you use a minced version, such as "fudge" or maybe you prefer it in its original form**, or none of the above. It's a free world -- you choose how you speak. That said, one should mind the company one is in. This week we'll see five minced oaths. Minced oaths are euphemisms: softened forms of words considered offensive in other contexts, such as words related to god, to bodily functions, and to other things considered taboo. *Fudging that answer notwithstanding, as far as I'm concerned, you can't pay the librarians enough for what they do and how much they help. **The word "fυck" has been a part of the language for 500 years. The actual practice, far longer. So, no need to be embarrassed of either. gee-whiz (jee-WIZ/HWIZ) adjective: 1. Marked by wonder, surprise, enthusiasm, etc. 2. New; impressive; exciting. interjection: Expressing surprise, dismay, enthusiasm, annoyance, etc. [Euphemism for Jesus, with the second syllable replaced by whiz, a playful exclamation evoking surprise and wonder. Earliest documented use: 1872.] "All that symbology he and Langdon bring to the game is never without its gee-whiz excitement." Janet Maslin; Atlas, Buckling a Little; The New York Times; Oct 5, 2017. "I can make you mine, taste your lips of wine Anytime, night or day Only trouble is, gee whiz I'm dreamin' my life away." The Everly Brothers (Lyrics: Boudleaux Bryant); All I Have to Do Is Dream; Acuff-Rose Publications; Apr 21, 1958. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbU3zdAgiX8 -------- Date: Tue Jul 30 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sacre bleu X-Bonus: I am now quite cured of seeking pleasure in society, be it country or town. A sensible man ought to find sufficient company in himself. -Emily Bronte, novelist (30 Jul 1818-1848) This week's theme: Minced oaths sacre bleu or sacré bleu (sah-kruh/kray BLUH/BLOO) interjection An expression of surprise, dismay, annoyance, etc. [From French sacrebleu (sacred blue), from sacré bleu, minced oath for sacré dieu (holy god). The term is no longer used in contemporary French. Earliest documented use: 1869.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/sacre_bleu_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "The ahhs and the oohs -- and occasional sacre bleus -- perfectly matched the rhythm of the fast-paced battle." Rick Maese; Getting the Party Started; The Washington Post; Jul 25, 2024. "A slightly farcical dispute that reaches its apex when they both turn up to an event wearing the same designer gown. Sacre bleu." Olivia Petter; "I Would Get Home in Tears"; The Independent (London, UK); Dec 24, 2022. -------- Date: Wed Jul 31 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tarnation X-Bonus: Kind words, kind looks, kind acts, and warm hand-shakes, -- these are means of grace when men in trouble are fighting their unseen battles. -John Hall, pastor (31 Jul 1829-1898) This week's theme: Minced oaths tarnation (tar-NAY-shuhn) interjection: Used to express surprise, anger, irritation, annoyance, etc. noun: Damnation; hell. adjective: Damned. adverb: Damnably. [Alteration of darnation (influenced by tarnal https://wordsmith.org/words/tarnal.html ) which itself is a euphemism for damnation, from Latin damnare (to condemn), from damnum (damage). Earliest documented use: 1790.] "Speaking of ignorance, what in tarnation is going on with the Miss USA pageant?" Dianne Williamson; It's Kind of a Wacky Li'l World; Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts); Jun 10, 2012.