A.Word.A.Day Archives
from https://wordsmith.org/awad
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Date: Wed Aug 1 00:01:05 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bathophobia
X-Bonus: Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed. -Herman Melville, novelist and poet (1 Aug 1819-1891)
This week's theme: Words that appear to be coined by flipping the letter p
bathophobia (bath-uh-FO-bee-uh) noun
A fear of depths or of falling from a height.
[From Greek bathos (depth) + -phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1903.
A related term is acrophobia https://wordsmith.org/words/acrophobia.html .
The p-headed word is pathophobia https://wordsmith.org/words/pathophobia.html
(an irrational fear of disease).]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/bathophobia_large.jpg
Photo: D'Arcy Norman/Wikimedia
"The self-accusing mind's bottomless well, bathophobia. Falling and
falling and falling."
Tom LeClair; Well-Founded Fear; Olin Frederick; 2000.
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Date: Thu Aug 2 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--baragnosis
X-Bonus: I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain. -James Baldwin, writer (2 Aug 1924-1987)
This week's theme: Words that appear to be coined by flipping the letter p
baragnosis (bar-ag-NO-sis, ba-RAG-no-sis) noun
Loss of the ability to sense weight.
[From Greek baros (weight) + a- (not) + gnosis (knowledge). Earliest
documented use: 1921. A synonym is abarognosis, antonym barognosis.
The p-headed word is paragnosis https://wordsmith.org/words/paragnosis.html
(knowledge that cannot be obtained by normal means).]
"Now that I know you have baragnosis, honey -- those jeans do make you
look fat."
Ad; The New York Times; Apr 20, 2007.
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Date: Fri Aug 3 00:01:02 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--boodle
X-Bonus: The world is changed not by the self-regarding, but by men and women prepared to make fools of themselves. -P.D. James, novelist (3 Aug 1920-2014)
This week's theme: Words that appear to be coined by flipping the letter p
boodle (BOOD-l)
noun: 1. An illegal payment, as in graft.
2. A crowd of people.
verb intr.: To take money dishonestly, especially from graft.
[From Dutch boedel (property). Earliest documented use: 1833. Also see
caboodle https://wordsmith.org/words/caboodle.html .]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/boodle
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/boodle_large.jpg
Image: P T https://www.flickr.com/photos/propagandatimes/4597239243/
"[Moss Hart's book] told of a scam to launder police-graft boodle by
producing a flop musical."
Ethan Mordden; Anything Goes: A History of American Musical Theatre;
Oxford University Press; 2013.
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Date: Mon Aug 6 00:01:04 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--olive branch
X-Bonus: One of the primary tests of the mood of a society at any given time is whether its comfortable people tend to identify, psychologically, with the power and achievements of the very successful or with the needs and sufferings of the underprivileged. -Richard Hofstadter, historian (6 Aug 1916-1970)
Bean is a four-letter word and just as versatile. It can mean a person's head
(use your bean!), money (not a bean in his pocket), secret (spill the beans),
the least amount (he doesn't know beans about computers), nonsense (he is full
of beans if he thinks the Yankees can win this year), energy (she's still full
of beans at 102).
Oh, it is also the word for some green vegetables (finish your beans!).
Last month we had a week of words related to fruits https://wordsmith.org/words/apple-polish.html
and we promised to be back with veggies. This week we'll feature five terms
related to vegetables (from Latin vegetare: to invigorate). With an etymology
like that you know they have to be good. So, eat your veggies!
olive branch (OL-iv branch) noun
An offer or gesture of peace, reconciliation, or goodwill.
[In Greek mythology, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, art, and warfare, gave
Athens its first olive tree and hence Athens was named after her (or vice
versa), i.e. Athena was named after Athens, depending on whether you believe
god(s) and goddess(es) created humans or vice versa. Earliest documented
use: 1400.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/olive%20branch
William III & Mary II receive the olive branch from Peace (detail) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/olive_branch_large.jpg
Art: James Thornhill, c.1700
"Yossi Klein Halevi wants to extend an olive branch to his Palestinian
neighbors, and does so, in his incredibly compelling and heartfelt book
'Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor'."
Elaine Margolin; An Olive Branch in Jerusalem; Jerusalem Post (Israel);
May 25, 2018.
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Date: Tue Aug 7 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cabbage
X-Bonus: Those who believe without reason cannot be convinced by reason. -James Randi, magician and skeptic (b. 7 Aug 1928)
This week's theme: Words related to veggies
cabbage (KAB-ij)
noun: 1. Money, especially in the form of bills.
2. A stupid or mentally impaired person.
3. A term of endearment.
4. Scraps remaining from a fabric that has been used to make a garment.
verb tr., intr.: 1. To get intoxicated.
2. To steal or pilfer.
3. To plagiarize.
[For noun 4 & verb 2, 3: Of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of the word garbage. Earliest documented use: 1703.
For everything else: From Anglo-Norman kaboche (head), from Latin caput (head). Earliest documented use: 1391.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/cabbage
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cabbage_large.jpg
Art: Brittany W-Smith https://www.instagram.com/p/BP01TyPAr7l/
"'You have my cabbage?' asked the muscle man."
Bowie Ibarra; Down the Road: The Fall of Austin; Permuted Press; 2011.
"'Good morning, my little Cabbage!' Canuck said."
J.T. James; Strong at the Broken Places; Xlibris; 2016.
"[The women were] judging by the bottles and glasses on the table, well
on their way to being cabbaged."
Joss Wood; Her Boss by Day; Mills & Boon; 2015.
"What you will see next is not completely my own work. ... I must tell you
that I have cabbaged some of the better suggestions here from a show I saw."
From This Place to That; Messenger Inquirer (Owensboro, Kentucky); Dec 14, 2011.
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Date: Wed Aug 8 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pea-brained
X-Bonus: My soul is a broken field, plowed by pain. -Sara Teasdale, poet (8 Aug 1884-1933)
This week's theme: Words related to veggies
pea-brained (PEE-braynd) adjective
Extremely stupid.
[Alluding to the small size of a pea. The word pea is formed from the
misinterpretation of the already singular word pease. The word pease is
fossilized in children's nursery rhyme "Pease porridge hot, pease porridge
cold." Another mistakenly formed singular is the word cherry from the
already singular cherise. Earliest documented use: 1942.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/pea-brained
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pea-brained.jpg
Image: SOCIALisBETTER https://www.flickr.com/photos/27620885@N02/2671077524
"A pea-brained bandit was busted selling $22,750 in stolen broccoli seeds
on Facebook, according to police."
Natalie O'Neill; Weird but True; New York Post; Nov 28, 2017.
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Date: Thu Aug 9 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mushroom
X-Bonus: What magical trick makes us intelligent? The trick is that there is no trick. The power of intelligence stems from our vast diversity, not from any single, perfect principle. -Marvin Minsky, scientist and author (9 Aug 1927-2016)
This week's theme: Words related to veggies
mushroom (MUHSH-room)
verb intr.: 1. To grow rapidly.
2. To develop into the shape of a mushroom.
3. To collect wild mushrooms.
adjective: 1. Of or relating to mushrooms.
2. Developing or growing quickly.
[From allusion to the rapid growth of mushrooms, some literally appearing
overnight. From Old French mousseron, from Latin mussirion. Earliest
documented use: 1440.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/mushroom
Mushroom cloud from the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Aug 9, 1945: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/mushroom_large.jpg
Photo: US National Archives and Records Administration
"More workers are out of jobs and the social safety net has eroded. Anxiety
has mushroomed."
Douglas Todd; Happiness Research Is Beautifully Subversive; The Vancouver
Sun (Canada); Jun 11, 2018.
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Date: Fri Aug 10 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--couch potato
X-Bonus: The one thing we know about torture is that it was never designed in the first place to get at the actual truth of anything; it was designed in the darkest days of human history to produce false confessions in order to annihilate political and religious dissidents. And that is how it always works: it gets confessions regardless of their accuracy. -Andrew Sullivan, writer (b. 10 Aug 1963)
This week's theme: Words related to veggies
couch potato (KAUCH puh-tay-to) noun
A person who leads a sedentary life, usually watching television.
[Why a couch potato? Why not a couch tomato or a couch pumpkin? The term was
coined after boob tube, slang for television. One who watches a boob tube is
a boob tuber and a tuber is a potato. According to the "Bon App?tit" magazine,
the term was coined by Tom Iacino https://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/trends-news/article/tom-iacino-couch-potato .
Yesterday's couch potato is today's mouse potato, spending time in front of
a computer screen, surfing the web. Earliest documented use: 1970s.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/couch%20potato
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/couch_potato_large.jpg
Photo: Bobby Acree https://www.flickr.com/photos/bacr33/4591629551/
"Brooks Koepka went from US Open hero to a depressed overweight couch
potato last year."
Euan McLean; Koepka so Happy to Shape up; Daily Record (Glasgow, UK);
Jun 13, 2018.
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Date: Mon Aug 13 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--newspeak
X-Bonus: There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it. -Alfred Hitchcock, film-maker (13 Aug 1899-1980)
George Orwell predicted it. It's just that his numbers were a little off.
Instead of 1984, it happened some 30 years later (perhaps Orwell didn't
have access to a computer fast enough to precisely account for the retrograde
motion of Jupiter).
Anyway, compare:
"What you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening."
(US President, July 24, 2018)
"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears.
It was their final, most essential command."
(Orwell in "1984")
In this new reality, real news is fake, faux (also spelled as Fox) news is
real.
As an homage to Orwell, this week we'll feature five words he coined in
the novel "1984" that are now a part of the English language.
newspeak (NOO-speek, NYOO-) noun
Deliberately ambiguous or euphemistic language used for propaganda.
[Coined by George Orwell in his novel "1984". Newspeak was the official
language of Oceania. Earliest documented use: 1949.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/newspeak
NOTES: Oldspeak is the opposite of newspeak. For example, in "1984", the
oldspeak "labor camp" is called a newspeak "joycamp". But you don't have
to go to fiction to find newspeak.
What is "torture" in oldspeak becomes "interrogation", or even better,
"enhanced interrogation" in newspeak. While "waterboarding" itself is
newspeak -- no, it's not a water sport -- they go one step further and
couch it as "enhanced interrogation". As if in regular interrogation one
is suffocated with regular water while waterboarding, but in enhanced
they use nothing less than Evian.
Dick Cheney signing a waterboarding kit. What fun! https://wordsmith.org/words/images/newspeak_large.jpg
Image: Showtime http://www.sho.com/who-is-america/season/1
Don't miss the Showtime series "Who Is America?" from which the above
screenshot was taken. Here's a preview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkXeMoBPSDk (video, 11 min., totally worth it)
"In current newspeak, limiting compensation for unfair dismissal is described
as a 'brave reform', whereas limiting the gains from stock options that an
executive may receive through such firings is seen as demagoguery."
Alain Supiot; A Labour Code for the 21st Century; Le Monde Diplomatique,
English ed. (Paris, France); May 2018.
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Date: Tue Aug 14 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--doublethink
X-Bonus: The beginnings and endings of all human undertakings are untidy. -John Galsworthy, author, Nobel laureate (14 Aug 1867-1933)
This week's theme: Words from "1984" that are now a part of the language
doublethink (DUB-uhl-thingk) noun
An acceptance of two contradictory ideas at the same time.
[From George Orwell's novel "1984". Earliest documented use: 1949.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/doublethink
NOTES: Better to do double entendre https://wordsmith.org/words/double_entendre.html
than to doublethink.
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/doublethink_large.jpg
Image: John Perivolaris https://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_john2005/2100613261/
"Meat, for me as for so many, is a moral quandary; a grey area of
doublethink. Britain is a nation of animal lovers, we are often
told, and yet we are also a nation of meat-eaters."
Hugo Rifkind; Meat Is Murder But I Can't Get Enough of It;
The Times (London, UK); Dec 12, 2017.
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Date: Wed Aug 15 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Big Brother
X-Bonus: There is no human being who, as a result of desiring to build a better life, should be named or declared illegal. -Alejandro G. Inarritu, film director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (b. 15 Aug 1963)
This week's theme: Words from "1984" that are now a part of the language
Big Brother (big BRUTH-uhr) noun
An authoritarian person, organization, government, etc., that monitors
or controls people.
[After Big Brother, a character in George Orwell's 1949 novel "1984".
The term big brother for elder brother has been documented from 1809.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Big%20Brother
Plaza George Orwell in Barcelona, Spain https://wordsmith.org/words/images/big_brother_large.jpg
Photo: fibercool https://www.flickr.com/photos/76499396@N00/728743297/
"When do cameras start feeling less like protection and more like Big Brother?"
Michael Dobie; School Security Takes a Big Step; Newsday (Long Island,
New York); Jul 29, 2018.
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Date: Thu Aug 16 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--unperson
X-Bonus: If some persons died, and others did not die, death would indeed be a terrible affliction. -Jean de La Bruyere, essayist and moralist (16 Aug 1645-1696)
This week's theme: Words from "1984" that are now a part of the language
unperson (UHN-puhr-suhn) noun
A person regarded as nonexistent.
[Coined as a noun in George Orwell's 1949 novel "1984". Earliest documented
use: 1646, as a verb meaning to depersonalize or to deprive of personhood.
A synonym is nonperson.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/unperson
Nikolai Yezhov (right), a Soviet secret police official, as a person https://wordsmith.org/words/images/unperson1_large.jpg
Nikolai Yezhov, executed and regarded as an unperson https://wordsmith.org/words/images/unperson2_large.jpg
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
"It is hard now to grasp the disgrace of illegitimacy. Pepita's children
were unpersons. No respectable child could play with them. When visitors
came, they were bundled away."
The Story of the Sackvilles; Knole and Its History; The Economist
(London, UK); Apr 26, 2014.
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Date: Fri Aug 17 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--oldspeak
X-Bonus: I have always supported measures and principles and not men. I have acted fearless and independent and I never will regret my course. I would rather be politically buried than to be hypocritically immortalized. -Davy Crockett, frontiersman, soldier, and politician (17 Aug 1786-1836)
This week's theme: Words from "1984" that are now a part of the language
oldspeak (OLD-speek) noun
Normal English usage, as opposed to propagandist, euphemistic, or
obfuscatory language.
[From George Orwell's 1949 novel "1984". Earliest documented use: 1949.]
Make Orwell Fiction Again https://wordsmith.org/words/images/Make_Orwell_Fiction_Again_large.jpg
Image: mardienyc https://www.zazzle.com/make_orwell_fiction_again_hat-233207675222620727
"It quickly became apparent at the conference, however, that terms like
psychedelic and hallucinogen are pretty much oldspeak. The neologism of
the moment is entheogen -- meaning 'the divine within' -- at least at
this conference."
Richard Gehr; The State of the Stone; The Village Voice (New York);
Nov 5, 1996.
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Date: Mon Aug 20 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tittup
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 (20 Aug 1881-1959)
Once upon a time, it was considered dirty to talk about pants[1]. So they
were called *inexpressibles*. You can't make this stuff up. Some other
synonyms are *ineffables* and *unmentionables* (also used for undergarments).[2]
All this to avoid having to say the words pants, breeches, or trousers.
Today, people have no shame. You can get them to talk about jeans or capris
or dungarees without any hesitation whatsoever. It's as if we have no morals
left. Don't get me started on all the tucking taking place in public. And
to think they were ineffables!
Seriously, we have come a long way. Pants is no longer a four-letter word.
Same with this week's words: they may sound dirty, but aren't.
[1] That too for something named after a saint! St. Pantaleone/Pantalone was
a popular saint in Venice. As a result, it was also a common name among
the Venetians. As a result, a comic character in the Italian commedia dell'arte
was named Pantalone. The leggings this character wore became known as pantalone
(plural pantaloni). And that became pantaloons in English.
[2] If you have more than three pairs of pants and want to call each by a
different name, try these: indescribables, indispensables, innominables,
never-mention-ems, unimaginables, unprintables, unutterables, unwhisperables,
and etceteras. You can thank Vicky (who gave us Victorian morality) for them.
tittup (TIT-uhp)
noun: A lively movement; caper.
verb intr.: To move in an exaggerated prancing manner.
[Apparently imitative of the sound of a horse's hooves. Earliest documented
use: 1691.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/tittup
"[Josh Homme's] wiggling movements while playing guitar and singing
were just a small prance away from the full tittup."
Ludovic Hunter-Tilney; Queens of the Stone Age; Financial Times
(London, UK); Nov 21, 2017.
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Date: Tue Aug 21 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--assize
X-Bonus: I have no respect for people who deliberately try to be weird to attract attention, but if that's who you honestly are, you shouldn't try to "normalize" yourself. -Alicia Witt, actress, singer-songwriter, and pianist (b. 21 Aug 1975)
This week's theme: Words that sound dirty
assize (uh-SYZ) noun
A session of a court or a verdict or an inquiry made at such a session.
[From Old French asise, from asseoir (to seat), from Latin assidere (to sit),
from ad- + sedere (to sit). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sed- (to
sit), which also gave us sit, chair, saddle, soot, sediment, cathedral,
preside, president, tetrahedron,
surcease https://wordsmith.org/words/surcease.html ,
assiduous https://wordsmith.org/words/assiduous.html , and
sessile https://wordsmith.org/words/sessile.html .
Earliest documented use: 1297.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/assize
"I was just finishing up when a runner arrived from the assize with a
summons from my father."
Sarah Downing; Bound; Lulu; 2015.
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Date: Wed Aug 22 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--crunt
X-Bonus: Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch it, and it darts away. -Dorothy Parker, author (22 Aug 1893-1967)
This week's theme: Words that sound dirty
crunt (krunt) noun
A blow on the head with a club.
[Perhaps of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1786.]
"A real crunt would finish the likes of him, and I am not one for killing."
William Edward Wilson; Every Man Is My Father; Saturday Review Press; 1973.
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Date: Thu Aug 23 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cockade
X-Bonus: It matters not how strait the gate, / How charged with punishments the scroll, / I am the master of my fate: / I am the captain of my soul. -William Ernest Henley, poet, critic, and editor (23 Aug 1849-1903)
This week's theme: Words that sound dirty
cockade (ko-KAYD) noun
An ornament, such as a rosette or a knot of ribbons, worn as a badge
on a hat, lapel, etc.
[From French cocarde, from Old French coquarde, feminine of coquard (vain,
arrogant), from coc (cock), of imitative origin. Earliest documented use:
1709.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/cockade
Hungarian cockade https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cockade_large.jpg
Image: Khalai/Wikimedia
NOTES: Not sure if cockade would become ade one day, but cockroach did turn
into roach because the word has a supposedly dirty four-letter combination.
In reality, the word is an anglicization of Spanish cucaracha.
Unfortunately, many schools and corporations will block this issue of
A.Word.A.Day and as a result readers in those places will be deprived of
this essential knowledge for success in modern life.
"His cockade, a circular piece of fabric in red, white, and blue, bobbed
as he moved."
Shana Galen; Traitor in Her Arms; Loveswept; 2017.
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Date: Fri Aug 24 00:01:04 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fallacious
X-Bonus: I would encourage people to look around them in their community and find an organization that is doing something that they believe in, even if that organization has only five people, or ten people, or twenty people, or a hundred people. And to look at history and understand that when change takes place it takes place as a result of large, large numbers of people doing little things unbeknownst to one another. And that history is very important for people to not get discouraged. ... History is instructive. And what it suggests to people is that even if they do little things, if they walk on the picket line, if they join a vigil, if they write a letter to their local newspaper. Anything they do, however small, becomes part of a much, much larger sort of flow of energy. And when enough people do enough things, however small they are, then change takes place. -Howard Zinn, historian, playwright, and social activist (24 Aug 1922-2010)
This week's theme: Words that sound dirty
fallacious (fuh-LAY-shus) adjective
1. Based on false reasoning.
2. Deceptive or misleading.
[From Latin fallere (to deceive). Earliest documented use: 1473.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/fallacious
Get a poster on fallacies, in print or pdf at https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/
"This is part of the propaganda machine. Let's spread a completely fallacious
story and say it needs to be investigated."
Tom McCarthy; Rudy Giuliani Admits 'Spygate' Is Trump PR Tactic Against
Robert Mueller; The Guardian (London, UK); May 28, 2018.
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Date: Mon Aug 27 00:01:04 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scaramouch
X-Bonus: Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion. -Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, philosopher (27 Aug 1770-1831)
A Scaramucci is a unit of time equal to 10 days. It's coined after Anthony
Scaramucci, Director of Communications for Trump ("I'm going to surround
myself only with the best"), https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/01/29/president-trump-may-hire-only-the-best-people-but-he-did-not-rely-upon-them-to-draft-and-implement-his-latest-executive-order/?noredirect=on
who lasted, well, one Scaramucci in that job.
It can be shortened to Mooch. For example, I worked about 255 Mooches in
my last job (AT&T Labs) before quitting to focus on Wordsmith.org full time.
While Scaramucci/Mooch hasn't yet entered the dictionary, many other words
coined after people have. We call such words eponyms, from Greek epi- (upon)
+ -onym (name). This week we'll feature five such eponyms, coined after
people from fiction, mythology, and reality.
Do you have something to share about a short stint at work or elsewhere?
Post it on our website at https://wordsmith.org/words/scaramouch.html or
email us at words@wordsmith.org. No matter how short it was, don't feel
bad -- mayflies last only 0.1 Scaramuccis. And that's their whole lifespan,
not just time at work. Imagine fitting everything -- your terrible twos, teenage
tantrums, semester abroad, adult responsibilities, and midlife crisis -- into
so little time!
Is there a unit of measure you'd like to coin after someone? Share it on our website
https://wordsmith.org/words/scaramouch.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org.
For inspiration, here are some humorous units to get you started:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_humorous_units_of_measurement
scaramouch or scaramouche (SKAR/SKER-uh-moosh/mooch/mouch) noun
A boastful coward, buffoon, or rascal.
[After Scaramouche, a stock character in commedia dell'arte (Italian comic
theater popular from the 16th to 18th centuries). His Italian name was
Scaramuccia (literally, skirmish) -- he was often getting beaten up by
Harlequin. The word is ultimately from the Indo-European root sker- (to
cut), which also gave us skirmish, skirt, curt, screw, shard, shears,
carnage, carnivorous, carnation, sharp, scrape,
scrobiculate (having many small grooves) https://wordsmith.org/words/scrobiculate.html ,
incarnadine (flesh-colored) https://wordsmith.org/words/incarnadine.html , and
acarophobia (fear of small insects; delusion that one's skin is infested with bugs) https://wordsmith.org/words/acarophobia.html .
Earliest documented use: 1662.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/scaramouch
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/scaramouch_large.jpg
Art: Maurice Sand (1823-1889)
"Sadly, it speaks even less of the intelligence of a public that keeps
letting these scaramouches turn out their pockets."
Colin McNickle; Weapons of Mass Redistributionism;
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pennsylvania); Nov 5, 2006.
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Date: Tue Aug 28 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Molotov cocktail
X-Bonus: There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher (28 Aug 1749-1832)
This week's theme: Eponyms
Molotov cocktail (MOL-uh-tof KOK-tayl) noun
A crude bomb made of a bottle filled with a liquid fuel and fitted with
a rag wick that is lighted just before the bottle is hurled.
[After Soviet foreign minister, Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov (1890-1986).
Earliest documented use: 1940.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Molotov%20cocktail
NOTES: It could have been known as a Skryabin cocktail. Molotov was born as
Vyacheslav Skryabin, but he took the name Molotov (from Russian molot:
hammer). During the Winter War between the USSR and Finland (1939-1940),
when the Soviets received international criticism for the bombing of Helsinki,
Molotov claimed they were delivering humanitarian aid. In response, the Finns
sarcastically called those cluster bombs Molotov bread baskets.
If the Soviets were bringing bread to the party, the least the Finns could do
was bring drinks. They called their makeshift incendiary devices Molotov
cocktails and used them to destroy Soviet tanks.
A Molotov bread basket (Soviet RRAB-3 bomb): https://wordsmith.org/words/images/molotov_bread_basket_large.jpg
A Finnish soldier with a Molotov cocktail: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/molotov_cocktail_large.jpg
OK, so where's a picture of Molotov himself? You met him just a few weeks ago here (on the left): https://wordsmith.org/words/unperson.html
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
"Finn [Farrell]'s Facebook message had popped into her work inbox like a Molotov
cocktail, exploding her crammed diary into shards of missed meetings,
unreturned phone calls, and hurried apologies."
Joan Kilby; Meant To Be Hers; Mills & Boon Superromance; 2018.
Notes: A "superromance" from Mills & Boon is the last place you'd expect to
find a Molotov cocktail, but there it is. We bring it to you from wherever
we can source it.
We send our editors around the world in search for words and, when they return
from their perilous journeys abroad and unload their boats, we can't wait to
look at the plunder. Most of the time we discover such treasures as
gemutlich https://wordsmith.org/words/gemutlich.html
and scud https://wordsmith.org/words/scud.html
and orphic https://wordsmith.org/words/orphic.html
but sometimes we learn that they had been reading mushy romances in the
stateroom.
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Date: Wed Aug 29 00:01:04 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--roister-doister
X-Bonus: The mind of a bigot to the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour on it, the more it contracts. -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., poet, novelist, essayist, and physician (29 Aug 1809-1894)
This week's theme: Eponyms
roister-doister (ROI-stuhr doi-stuhr)
noun: A swaggering buffoon or reveler.
adjective: Engaged in swaggering buffoonery.
[After Ralph Roister Doister, the eponymous main character of the playwright
Nicholas Udall's play written around 1552. From roister (to behave in a
boisterous, swaggering manner), from Middle French rustre (boor), from Latin
rusticus (rustic). Earliest documented use: 1592.]
"And the roister-doister swagger of the performers has a definite charm."
Mary Brennan; 'Bestest Bits' That Even the Grown-Ups Will Love; The Herald
(Glasgow, Scotland); Aug 11, 2010.
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Date: Thu Aug 30 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--braggadocio
X-Bonus: An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. -Spanish proverb
This week's theme: Eponyms
braggadocio (brag-uh-DO-shee-o) noun
1. An empty boaster.
2. Empty boasting.
3. Boastful behavior.
[After Braggadochio, a boastful character in Edmund Spenser's 1590 epic poem
"The Faerie Queene". Earliest documented use: 1594. Here's another word that
came to us from the same book: blatant https://wordsmith.org/words/blatant.html .]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/braggadocio
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/braggadocio_large.jpg
Image: Duncan Hull https://www.flickr.com/photos/dullhunk/27840966789
"We are appalled by the braggadocio of corporate hamburger palaces with
huge signs congratulating themselves for selling billions of animal meat
sandwiches."
Richard T. Halfpenny; Funism: the New Religion; Xlibris; 2012.
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Date: Fri Aug 31 00:01:03 EDT 2018
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dickensian
X-Bonus: To stimulate life, leaving it free, however, to unfold itself, that is the first duty of the educator. -Maria Montessori, educator (31 Aug 1870-1952)
This week's theme: Eponyms
Dickensian (di-KEN-zee-uhn) adjective
1. Of or relating to Charles Dickens or his works.
2. Relating to social conditions marked by poverty, social injustice, mistreatment of children, etc.
[After the novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870), whose works portrayed poor
social conditions of Victorian England. Earliest documented use: 1881. Many
of Dickens's characters have become eponyms themselves. Meet some of them
here https://wordsmith.org/words/wellerism.html .]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Dickensian
Charles Dickens: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/dickensian_large.jpg
Portrait from the book "Great Britain and Her Queen", 1897
"Newt Gingrich expanded on Dickensian remarks he'd made recently at Harvard,
where he said 'it is tragic what we do in the poorest neighborhoods,
entrapping children in child laws which are truly stupid,' adding that
nine-year-olds could work as school janitors."
Maureen Dowd; Out of Africa and Into Iowa; The New York Times; Dec 3, 2011.
"The living conditions were Dickensian and the teachers were allowed to beat us."
Angela Wintle; Dickensian Boarding School; The Sunday Telegraph (London, UK);
Jan 10, 2016.