A.Word.A.Day Archives from http://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Thu Aug 1 00:51:15 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--uxorial X-Bonus: We do not remember days; we remember moments. ux.o.ri.al \.*k-'so-r-e--*l, -'so.r-; .*g-'zo-r-, -'zo.r-\ aj [L uxorius] : of, relating to, or characteristic of a wife 1995 JENNIFER BRADLEY, The New Republic Apr. 3 "But when Fortune hinted at an uxorial advantage for Mrs. Gramm, Pertschuk lectured that she 'has demonstrated a quiet competence and an ability to deal generously with the vast divisions of opinion that mark this agency's deliberations.'" (regarding directorship of Bureau of Economics at the Federal Trade Commission by Wendy Lee Gramm, wife of Senator Phil Gramm). -------- Date: Fri Aug 2 00:51:16 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--affiance X-Bonus: Imagine a school with children that can read or write, but with teachers who cannot, and you have a metaphor of the Information Age in which we live. -Peter Cochrane 1. af.fi.ance \*-'fi--*n(t)s\ n [ME, fr. MF, fr. affier to pledge, trust, fr. ML affidare to pledge], fr. L ad- + (assumed) VL fidare to trust - more at FIANCE` archaic : TRUST, CONFIDENCE 2. affiance vt : to solemnly promise (oneself or another) in marriage : BETROTH -- A quayle in hand is worth two in the bush. I've been informed that Monday's quote about Latin that was attributed to Dan Quayle is apocryphal. He never uttered such words (though he is quite capable of, considering other gems he voiced from time to time). Thanks to all those who made the correction. This reminds me of Rev. William A. Spooner, the father of spoonerism -- some of the choicest spoonerisms are mistakenly attributed to him. -Anu -------- Date: Sat Aug 3 00:53:31 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--conjugal X-Bonus: He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough. Cross references: 1. matrimonial con.ju.gal \'ka:n-ji-g*l, k*n-'ju:-\ \.ka:n-ji-'gal-*t-e-, -ju:-\ aj [MF or L; MF, fr. L conjugalis, fr. conjug-, conjux husband,wife, fr. conjugere to join, unite in marriage] : of or relating to marriage, the married state, or matrimonial relations - con.ju.gal.i.ty n -------- Date: Sun Aug 4 00:57:48 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nuptial X-Bonus: Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experience. -Ralph Waldo Emerson Cross references: 1. matrimonial 1. nup.tial \'n*p-sh*l, -ch*l, nonstand -ch*-w*l\ aj [L nuptialis, fr. nuptiae, pl., wedding, fr. nuptus, pp. of (Xnubere to marry; akin to Gk nymphe- bride, nymph 1: of or relating to marriage or the marriage ceremony 2: characteristic of the breeding season 2. nuptial n : MARRIAGE, WEDDING - usu. used in pl. -------- Date: Mon Aug 5 02:26:23 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sapor X-Bonus: Thought is the labour of the intellect, reverie is its pleasure. -Victor Hugo sa.por \'sa--p*r, -.po.(*)r\ \.sa--p*-'rif-ik, .sap-*-\ \'sa--p*-r*s, 'sap-*-\ n [ME, fr. L - more at SAVOR] : a property (as bitterness) affecting the sense of taste : SAVOR, FLAVOR - sa.po.rif.ic aj -- It is often said: You are what you eat. Perhaps it'd we more accurate to say that we are what we read, write and speak. Expand your menu with this week's savory words. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Aug 6 00:51:23 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--viand X-Bonus: I have often regretted my speech, never my silence. vi.and \'vi--*nd\ n [ME, fr. MF, fr. ML vivanda food, alter. of L vivenda, neut. pl. of] vivendus, gerundive of vivere to live - more at QUICK 1: an article of food pl 2: PROVISIONS, FOOD 1865 DICKENS, Mut. Fr. I. iv, "After some discussion..a decision was pronounced in favour of veal-cutlet... R. W. himself went out to purchase the viand." -------- Date: Wed Aug 7 00:51:26 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--victual X-Bonus: It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. -Seneca 1. vict.ual \'vit-*l\ n [alter. of ME vitaille, fr. MF, fr. LL victualia, pl., provisions,]victuals, fr. neut. pl. of victualis of nourishment, fr. L victus nourishment, fr. victus, pp. of vivere to live - more at QUICK 1: food usable by man pl 2: supplies of food : PROVISIONS 2. victual vb or vict.ualed or vict.ualled; or vict.ual.ing; or vic.ual.ling : to supply with food 1: EAT 2: to lay in provisions -------- Date: Thu Aug 8 00:54:58 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--trencherman X-Bonus: Is it not better to aim your spear at the moon and strike only an eagle, than to aim your spear at the eagle, and strike only a rock? tren.cher.man \'tren-ch*r-m*n\ n 1: a hearty eater archaic 2: HANGER-ON, SPONGER 1994 JAMES LE FANU, Sunday Telegraph, 15 May, "Where Smith stuck to a rigorous low-fat diet and lost two stone in weight, Bevin was a trencherman who started his day with a cooked breakfast. " -------- Date: Fri Aug 9 00:51:26 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--frugivorous X-Bonus: The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust fru.giv.o.rous \fru:-'jiv-*-r*s\ aj [L frug-, frux + E -vorous] : feeding on fruit 1809 SYD. SMITH, in Edin. Rev. Apr. 147 "Philippics against frugivorous children after dinner, are too common." -------- Date: Sat Aug 10 00:51:28 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pica X-Bonus: We think caged birds sing, when indeed they cry. -John Webster 1. pi.ca \'pi--k*\ n [prob. fr. ML, collection of church rules] 1: 12-point type 2: a unit of 1/6 inch used in measuring typographical material 2. pica n [NL, fr. L, magpie - more at PIE] : a craving for unnatural food -------- Date: Sun Aug 11 00:51:27 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--aliment X-Bonus: You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses. -Ziggy 1. al.i.ment \'al-*-m*nt\ \.al-*-'ment-*l\ \-*l-e-\ n [ME, fr. L alimentum, fr. alere to nourish - more at OLD] : FOOD, NUTRIMENT; also : SUSTENANCE - al.i.men.tal av 2. al.i.ment \'al-*-.ment\ vt : to give aliment to -------- Date: Mon Aug 12 00:51:42 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--plutonian X-Bonus: The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything. Except what is worth knowing. Journalism, conscious of this, and having tradesman-like habits, supplies their demands. -Oscar Wilde plu.to.ni.an \plu:-'to--ne--*n\ aj often cap 1: of, relating to, or characteristic of Pluto or the lower world : INFERNAL 2: of or relating to the planet Pluto The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe "`Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked, upstarting `Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!'" -- Is there life on Mars? If there were life on planets besides earth, what would it be like? Here is AWAD's guide to life on other planets. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Aug 13 00:51:42 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--martial X-Bonus: We are not in a position in which we have nothing to work with. We already have capacities, talents, direction, missions, callings. -Abraham Maslow mar.tial \'ma:r-sh*l\ \-sh*-le-\ aj [ME, fr. L martialis of Mars, fr. Mart-, Mars] 1: of, relating to, or suited for war or a warrior 2: relating to an army or to military life 3: experienced in or inclined to war : WARLIKEic of war. MARTIAL suggests esp. the pomp and circumstance of war; WARLIKE implies esp. the feeling or temper that leads to or accompanies war; MILITARY applies to what pertains to a soldier or to the art or conduct of war esp. on land - mar.tial.ly av SYN syn MARTIAL, WARLIKE, MILITARY mean of or characterist -------- Date: Wed Aug 14 00:51:39 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--saturnine X-Bonus: Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I don't care. -William Safire Cross references: 1. sullen sat.ur.nine \'sat-*r-.ni-n\ aj archaic 1a: born under or influenced astrologically by the planet Saturn : SLOW, SLUGGISH 1b: having a sardonic aspect : WRY 2: of, relating to, or produced by the absorption of lead into the system {~ poisoning} - sat.ur.nine.ly av THE CASE BOOK OF SHERLOCK HOLMES by ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE "Finally, his eyes came round to the fresh and smiling face of Billy, the young but very wise and tactful page, who had helped a little to fill up the gap of loneliness and isolation which surrounded the saturnine figure of the great detective." -------- Date: Thu Aug 15 00:51:47 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--earthy X-Bonus: Frisbeetarianism, n.: The belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck. earthy \'*r-the-, -the-\ aj 1: consisting of or resembling earth {an ~ flavor} archaic 2: EARTHLY, WORLDLY 3a: DOWN-TO-EARTH, PRACTICAL 3b: UNREFINED, GROSS {~ humor} -------- Date: Fri Aug 16 00:53:46 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--saturnalia X-Bonus: Truth can never be told so as to be understood, and not be believed. -William Blake sat.ur.na.lia \.sat-*r-'na-l-y*, -'na--le--*\ \-'na-l-y*n, -'na--le--*n\ n or saturnalias also saturnalia [L, fr. neut. pl. of saturnalis of Saturn, fr. Saturnus] pl but sing or pl in constr cap 1: the festival of Saturn in ancient Rome beginning on Dec. 17 sing, pl 2a: an unrestrained often licentious celebration : ORGY 2b: EXCESS, EXTRAVAGANCE - sat.ur.na.lian aj -------- Date: Sat Aug 17 00:52:41 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mercurial X-Bonus: Don't you hate it when life doesn't follow the manuals? 1. mer.cu.ri.al \(.)m*r-'kyu.r-e--*l\ \-e--*-le-\ aj [mercury + -al] 1: of, relating to, or born under the planet Mercury 2: having qualities of eloquence, ingenuity, or thievishness attributed to the god Mercury or to the influence of the planet Mercury 3: characterized by rapid and unpredictable changeableness of mood 4: of, relating to, containing, or caused by mercury - mer.cu.ri.al.ly av 2. mercurial n : a pharmaceutical or chemical containing mercury -------- Date: Sun Aug 18 00:51:58 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jovial X-Bonus: Once you have flown, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward; for there you have been, there you long to return. -Da Vinci Cross references: 1. merry jo.vial \'jo--ve--*l, -vy*l\ \-e-\ aj cap 1: of or relating to Jove 2: marked by good humor : JOLLY - jo.vial.ly av -------- Date: Mon Aug 19 01:06:18 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pollyanna X-Bonus: Devils can be driven out of the heart by the touch of hand on hand, or mouth on mouth. -Tennessee Williams Pol.ly.an.na \.pa:l-e--'an-*\ n [Pollyanna, heroine of the novel Pollyanna (1913) by Eleanor Porter] : one characterized by irrepressible optimism and a tendency to find good in everything 1976 H. H. HUMPHREY, Educ. Public Man ii. 25, "I sound Pollyanna-ish when I speak of my childhood, my family, and Doland, but I think it is real and not simply nostalgia." -- "...proper names that have become improper and uncommonly common..." is how Willard R. Espy describes eponyms, and that is the theme for this week's words in AWAD. How many of these characters have you met in real life? -Anu -------- Date: Tue Aug 20 00:52:44 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--quixotic X-Bonus: Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. -Ralph Waldo Emerson (Circles) Cross references: 1. imaginary quix.ot.ic \kwik-'sa:t-ik\ \-i-k*l\ \-k(*-)le-\ aj [Don Quixote, hero of the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605, 161]5) by Cervantes : idealistic to an impractical degree; esp : marked by rash lofty romantic ideas or extravagantly chivalrous action - quix.ot.i.cal aj -------- Date: Wed Aug 21 00:51:17 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--frankenstein X-Bonus: A thick head can do as much damage as a hard heart. -H.W. Dodds Fran.ken.stein \'fran-k*n-.sti-n, -.ste-n\ n 1: a student of physiology in Mary W. Shelley's novel Frankenstein whose life is ruined by a monster he creates 2: a work or agency that ruins its originator 3: a monster in the shape of a man 1958 I. ASIMOV, Naked Sun xiv. 172 "Do you know robots started with a Frankenstein complex against them.? They were suspect. Men distrusted and feared robots." -------- Date: Thu Aug 22 00:51:22 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--braggadocio X-Bonus: ELBONICS: Two people maneuvering for one armrest in a theater. brag.ga.do.cio \.brag-*-'do--s(h)e--.o-, -(.)sho-\ n [Braggadocchio, personification of boasting in Faerie Queene by Edm]und Spenser 1: BRAGGART, BOASTER 2a: empty boasting 2b: COCKINESS -------- Date: Fri Aug 23 00:51:26 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--malapropism X-Bonus: I hate quotations. -Ralph Waldo Emerson mal.a.prop.ism \'mal-*-.pra:p-.iz-*m\ n [Mrs. Malaprop, character noted for her misuse of words in R. B. Sheridan]'s comedy The Rivals (1775) 1: a usu. humorous misapplication of a word; specif : use of a work sounding somewhat like the one intended but ludicrously wrong in the context 2: an example of malapropism (as in "an allegory on the banks of the Nile") -------- Date: Sat Aug 24 00:51:28 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--maffick X-Bonus: It is the customary fate of new truths to begin as heresies and to end as superstitions. -T.H. Huxley maf.fick \'maf-ik\ vi [back-formation fr. Mafeking night, English celebration of the lifting of] the siege of Mafeking, So. Africa, May 17, 1900 : to celebrate with boisterous rejoicing and hilarious behavior 1900 Westm. Gaz. 25 May 2/3 "The feathers..are sold for a penny each to enable mafficking revellers to tickle other revellers' noses." -------- Date: Sun Aug 25 00:51:23 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--martinet X-Bonus: Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them. -Paul Valery mar.ti.net \.ma:rt-*n-'et\ n [Jean Martinet, 17th cent. F army officer] : a strict disciplinarian 1868 LD. BLOOMFIELD, in Lady G. Bloomfield Remin. (1883) II. xix. 320 "He is considerate, strict but not a martinet." -------- Date: Mon Aug 26 02:52:28 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pickwickian X-Bonus: A man is a critic when he cannot be an artist, in the same way that a man becomes an informer when he cannot be a soldier. -Gustave Flaubert Pick.wick.ian \pik-'wik-e--*n\ aj [Samuel Pickwick, character in the novel Pickwick Papers (1836-37)]by Charles Dickens 1: marked by simplicity and generosity 2: intended or taken in a sense other than the obvious or literal one 1953 'N. BLAKE`, Dreadful Hollow 147 "Blount, whose Pickwickian exterior camouflaged a mind as ruthlessly purposeful as a guided missile." -- Continuing with last week's theme, here are few more eponymous delights. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Aug 27 02:29:37 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--protean X-Bonus: No matter how old a mother is she watches her middle-aged children for signs of improvement. -Florida Scott-Maxwell pro.te.an \'pro-t-e--*n, pro--'te--\ aj 1: of or resembling Proteus : VARIABLE 2: readily assuming different shapes or roles 1970 Nature 6 June 968/1 "We have surveyed the occurrence of such protean behaviours and defined them as behaviours which are sufficiently unsystematic in appearance to prevent a reactor predicting in detail the position and/or actions of the actor." -- Yesterday's word Pickwickian happens to have another (medical) definition. So be careful when you call a simple and generous person Pickwickian. From: Brent Krupp (washington.edu) Seeing this definition for Pickwickian really surprised me. The term is used in medicine with an entirely different meaning and I did not know that it had any other "lay" definition. From my Webster's medical dictionary: Pickwickian syndrome n: obesity accompanied by somnolence and lethargy, hypoventilation, hypoxia, and secondary polycythemia. Pickwick, Samuel, literary character. Pickwick is the title character in the novel _The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club_ (1836-1837) by Charles Dickens. In the novel one of the characters, Joe, is described as a "fat and red-faced boy in a state of somnolence." The term "Pickwickian syndrome" was first used by C. S. Burwell in an article on the syndrome in 1956. The name was chosen because Dickens' description was the first description of the syndrome found in literature. Also mentioned by Kenneth Buckwalter, MD (iupui.edu), Fred Roberts (aol.com), Laughlin (trail.com), Nina Klionsky (rochester.edu), and Bob Mullan (cdc.gov). -Anu -------- Date: Wed Aug 28 00:51:48 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pyrrhonism X-Bonus: When you hire people that are smarter than you are, you prove you are smarter than they are. -R. H. Grant Pyr.rho.nism \'pir-*-.niz-*m\ \-n*st\ n [F pyrrhonisme, fr. Pyrrhon Pyrrho, 4th cent. BCE Gk philoso]pher, fr. Gk Pyrrho-n 1: the doctrines of the founder of a school of skeptics in Greece 2: total or radical skepticism - Pyr.rho.nist n 1833 MS. FOUND IN A BOTTLE, Edgar Allan Poe "I have often been reproached with the aridity of my genius; a deficiency of imagination has been imputed to me as a crime; and the Pyrrhonism of my opinions has at all times rendered me notorious." -- Also from Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce: PYRRHONISM, n. An ancient philosophy, named for its inventor. It consisted of an absolute disbelief in everything but Pyrrhonism. Its modern professors have added that. -------- Date: Thu Aug 29 00:51:35 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--punic X-Bonus: Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is. -Thomas Szasz 1. Pu.nic \'pyu:-nik\ aj [L punicus, fr. Poenus inhabitant of Carthage, modif. of Gk Phoi]nix Phoenician 1: of or relating to Carthage or Carthaginians 2: FAITHLESS, TREACHEROUS 2. Punic n : the Phoenician dialect of ancient Carthage -- Few more examples of last week's word, malapropism: From: John S. Fullford (modicon.com) Or the best malaprop of all... and this is a true story: After uttering a characteristically malapropian phrase and having it brought to her attention my mother said, "Well, just call me Mrs. Maladroit!" From: Bill Rausch (owt.com) My favorite is a "mute point", i.e. one that cannot speak for itself. Finally, here's one from someone who didn't want her name disclosed: "I prefer to remain anomalous." -Anu -------- Date: Fri Aug 30 00:51:26 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--achates X-Bonus: Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching? Acha.tes \*-'ka-t-(.)e-z\ n [L] 1: a faithful companion of Aeneas in Vergil's Aeneid 2: a faithful friend -------- Date: Sat Aug 31 00:51:27 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shyster X-Bonus: Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after. -Anne Morrow Lindbergh shy.ster \'shi--st*r\ n [prob. after Scheuster fl1840 Am attorney frequently rebuked in a New York court for pettifoggery] : one who is professionally unscrupulous esp. in the practice of law or politics : PETTIFOGGER