A.Word.A.Day Archives
from https://wordsmith.org/awad
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Date: Fri Aug 1 00:03:22 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--malefic
X-Bonus: In order to see birds its is necessary to become a part of the silence. -Robert Lynd
ma.lef.ic a. [L. maleficus: cf. F. malefique. See Malefaction.] Doing
mischief; causing harm or evil; nefarious; hurtful.
Steinbeck, John, Works of John Steinbeck: Character Analysis, East Of
Eden., Monarch Notes, 01-01-1963.
"Cathy is not really a person but a purely malefic force, a catalyst to
the evil in every man. "
--
mel.lif.ic a. [L. mel, mellis, honey + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See -fy.]
Producing honey.
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Date: Sat Aug 2 00:03:22 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--immanent
X-Bonus: Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them. -Samuel Butler, novelist, essayist, and satirist (1835-1902)
im.ma.nent a. [L. immanens, p. pr. of immanere to remain in or near; pref. im-
in + manere to remain: cf. F. immanent.] Remaining within; inherent;
indwelling; abiding; intrinsic; internal or subjective; hence, limited in
activity, agency, or effect, to the subject or associated acts; -- opposed
to emanant, transitory, transitive, or objective.
Foot Moore, George, History Of Religions: Chapter VI., History of the
World, 01-01-1992.
"As a man's mind within his body directs it as it wills, so we must think
that the intelligence immanent in the universe orders the universe as it
pleases."
---
im.mi.nent a. [L. imminens, p. pr. of imminere to project; pref. im- in +
minere (in comp.) to jut, project. See Eminent.] 1. Threatening to occur
immediately; near at hand; impending; -- said especially of misfortune or
peril.
2. Full of danger; threatening; menacing; perilous.
3. (With upon) Bent upon; attentive to.
Tan Ee Lyn, Future HK chamber spurns legal threat., Reuters, 06-07-1997.
"Future legislators on Saturday defied an imminent legal challenge and
passed a string of laws for Hong Kong which will come into effect after
the territory reverts to Chinese rule at midnight on June 30."
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Date: Sun Aug 3 00:03:36 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--phylogeny
X-Bonus: No matter how far you've gone down the wrong road, turn back. -Turkish proverb
phy.log.e.ny n. also phy.lo.gen.e.sis The history of genealogical development;
the race history of an animal or vegetable type; the historic evolution of
the phylon or tribe, in distinction from ontogeny, or the development of
the individual organism, and from biogenesis, or life development generally.
Biehler, Mike, Evolutionists shouldn't resort to lies in our children's
textbooks.., Vol. 23, Alberta Report / Western Report, 04-22-1996, pp 31.
"Fossils offer direct evidence of the pathways taken by living organisms
in their evolutionary history or phylogeny..."
--
phi.log.y.ny n. [Gr. phil- loving + -gyny woman.] Fondness for women;
uxoriousness; -- opposed to misogyny.
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Date: Mon Aug 4 00:03:44 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bromidic
X-Bonus: Snackmosphere: The 95% air inside bags of potato chips.
bro.mid.ic a. lacking in originality : TRITE
"But that didn't mean that the public sessions and backstage consultations
were entirely serene and bromidic."
Paul Gray, Politicians and Business Executives Again Try to Fix Public
Education, Time, 04-08-1996, pp 40.
How bromide came to be attributed to something commonplace and conventional
is interesting. In earlier times, potassium bromide used to be taken as a
sedative. So any statement that was intended to be soothing ("Don't worry,
everything will be OK.") also got the name bromide and hence the adjective
bromidic. A number of words derived from chemical names have colored the
English language as we shall see during this week. -Anu
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Date: Tue Aug 5 00:02:48 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--acidulous
X-Bonus: A person determined never to be wrong won't likely accomplish much. -Ken Wisdom
a.cid.u.lous a. [L. acidulus, dim. of acidus. See Acid.] Slightly sour;
sub-acid; sourish; as, an acidulous tincture; somewhat acid or harsh in
taste or manner
"Like Munroe, she permitted herself no grand, expressive gestures, but then
this is a wry, acidulous work.
Justin Davidson, The Virtuosos of the Philharmonic., Newsday, 02-05-1996,
pp B07.
This week's theme: words from chemistry.
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Date: Wed Aug 6 00:03:00 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--caustic
X-Bonus: Be the master of your will and the slave of your conscience. -Hasidic saying
cau.stic n. [L. causticum (sc. medicamentum). See Caustic, a.] 1. Any
substance or means which, applied to animal or other organic tissue, burns,
corrodes, or destroys it by chemical action; an escharotic.
2. (Optics) A caustic curve or caustic surface.
caus.tic a. [L. caustucs, to burn. Cf. Calm, Ink.] 1. Capable of destroying
the texture of anything or eating away its substance by chemical action;
burning; corrosive; searing.
2. Severe; satirical; sharp; as, a caustic remark.
"It was John Forsyth, the caustic senator from Georgia whose services as
the administration's floor leader had been of immense value, who said,
when he learned of the new party's title, `It is a glorious name, and I
have no doubt they will disgrace it.'"
Byrd, Robert C., The Senate - 1789-1989: Chapter 9 Boom and Bust, Slavery
and France: 1833-1840., U.S. History, 09-01-1990.
This week's theme: words from chemistry.
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Date: Thu Aug 7 00:02:57 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fulminate
X-Bonus: God gave us memories so that we might have roses in December. -James M. Barrie
ful.mi.nate n. [Cf. P. fulminate. See Fulminate, v. i.] (Chem.) (a) A salt of
fulminic acid. See under Fulminic. (b) A fulminating powder.
ful.mi.nate v.i. [imp. & p. p. Fulminated; p. pr. & vb. n. Fulminating.] [L.
fulminatus, p. p. of fulminare to lighten, strike with lightning, fr. fulmen
thunderbolt, fr. fulgere to shine. See Fulgent, and cf. Fulmine.] 1. To
thunder; hence, to make a loud, sudden noise; to detonate; to explode with a
violent report.
2. To issue or send forth decrees or censures with the assumption of supreme
authority; to thunder forth menaces.
ful.mi.nate, v.t. 1. To cause to explode.
2. To utter or send out with denunciations or censures; -- said especially of
menaces or censures uttered by ecclesiastical authority.
Richard Matthews, Missing the Magic: Is Atlanta already burned out on
Olympics?., The Atlanta Journal, 06-13-1996, pp A16.
"And of course we all fume and fulminate about the 422,318 oddball
construction projects that make it nearly impossible to drive anywhere in
Downtown."
This week's theme: words from chemistry.
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Date: Fri Aug 8 00:03:02 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vitriolic
X-Bonus: If a little knowledge is dangerous, where is the man who has so much as to be out of danger? -Thomas Henry Huxley
vit.ri.ol.c\, a. [Cf. F. vitriolique.] (Chem.) Of or pertaining to vitriol;
derived from, or resembling, vitriol; as, a vitriolic taste; especially
virulence of feeling or of speech
vit.ri.ol n. [F. vitriol; cf. Pr. vitriol, vetriol, Sp. & Pg. vitriolo, It.
vitriuolo; fr. L. vitreolus of glass, vitreus vitreous. See Vitreous.]
(Chem.) (a) A sulphate of any one of certain metals, as copper, iron,
zinc, cobalt. So called on account of the glassy appearance or luster. (b)
Sulphuric acid; -- called also oil of vitriol. So called because first
made by the distillation of green vitriol. See Sulphuric acid, under
Sulphuric. [Colloq.]
"Unlike many other districts in Ventura County, Simi Valley has suffered a
steady diet of noisy board meetings, vitriolic letters to the editor and
name-calling directed at board members."
Mack Reed, Simi Schools in Throes of Tumult, Hope; Ventura County Edition.,
Los Angeles Times, 06-02-1996, pp B-1.
This week's theme: words from chemistry.
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Date: Sat Aug 9 00:02:52 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--acidic
X-Bonus: Man is born to live, not to prepare to live. -Boris Pasternak
a.cid.ic a. (Min.) Containing a high percentage of silica; -- opposed to
basic.
2. of or relating to acid; having the character of an acid, as an acidic
solution.
Liz Smith. By Denis Ferrara, St, A Di-Hater Erupts., Newsday,
01-03-1996, pp A11.
"Eddis' three-page diatribe on Diana, which we received just a few
days ago, is articulate and acidic to the max."
This week's theme: words from chemistry.
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Date: Sun Aug 10 00:02:56 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--miscible
X-Bonus: Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
mis.ci.ble a. [ML miscibilis, fr. Latin miscEre] : capable of being mixed;
specif. : capable of mixing in any ratio without separation of two phases
Burke, Edmund, Reflections On The Revolution In France: Part VII,
Great Works of Literature, 01-01-1992.
"Family settlements, rather more general and more strict than they are
in England, the jus retractus, the great mass of landed property held
by the crown, and, by a maxim of the French law, held inalienably, the
vast estates of the ecclesiastical corporations, - all these had kept
the landed and monied interests more separated in France, less
miscible, and the owners of the two distinct species of property not
so well disposed to each other as they are in this country."
This week's theme: words from chemistry.
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Date: Mon Aug 11 00:03:20 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scaramouch
X-Bonus: Our task must be to free ourselves...by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty. -Albert Einstein
scar.a.mouch n. [F. scaramouche, It.scaramuccio, scaramuccia, originally the
name of a celebrated Italian comedian; cf. It. scaramuccia, scaramuccio,
F. escarmouche, skirmish. Cf. Skirmish.] A personage in the old Italian
comedy (derived from Spain) characterized by great boastfulness and
poltroonery; hence, a person of like characteristics; a buffoon.
Nora Ephron, author, screen writer-director, Nat Hentoff, Village
Voice writer, music critic, Charles V. Zehren, reporter at New,
Farewell, Murray Kempton., Newsday, 05-08-1997, pp A51.
"He always looked knowing and amused, with Scaramouch's gift of
laughter and sense that the world was mad."
John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich, a British politician in the eighteenth
century was so fond of gambling that he spent the whole day playing,
while devouring slices of bread with a filling between them. Little did
he know that his name would become eponymous with that food. From sandwich
to boycott, we use numerous eponyms (words named after people) in our daily
discourse. In this week's AWAD, we look at seven not so common eponyms, and
toponyms (words coined after places).
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Date: Tue Aug 12 00:03:03 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--golconda
X-Bonus: The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it. -James Bryce
Gol.con.da n. [fr. Golconda, India, famous for its diamonds] : a rich mine;
broadly : a source of great wealth
This week's theme: eponyms and toponyms.
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Date: Wed Aug 13 00:02:49 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scylla
X-Bonus: You can't always get what you want. But if you try, sometimes you'll find what you need. -Rolling Stones
scyl.la n. A dangerous rock on the Italian coast opposite the whirpool
Charybdis on the coast of Sicily, -- both personified in classical
literature as ravenous monsters. The passage between them was formerly
considered perilous; hence, the saying "Between Scylla and Charybdis,"
signifying a great peril on either hand.
Mexico starts again, The Economist, 26 Aug 1995.
"Through various programmes to recapitalise some banks and mitigate the
pain of high interest rates, Mr Zedillo's government has steered a
clever course between the Scylla of bank failures and the Charybdis of
budget-busting bail-outs."
This week's theme: eponyms and toponyms.
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Date: Thu Aug 14 00:03:20 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pandemonium
X-Bonus: When things look dark, hold your head high so it can rain up your nose.
pan.de.mo.ni.um n. [fr. The capital of hell in Milton's Paradise Lost].
An utterly lawless, riotous place or assemblage.
Donald Burns, The pleasures of the Seoul subways, Korea Times, 7 Jun 1995.
"When the train finally shows up, it's the usual pandemonium. People
scramble desperately to get into the train, barging in immediately so
that the passengers inside must fight their way out."
This week's theme: eponyms.
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Date: Fri Aug 15 00:02:48 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--deipnosophist
X-Bonus: Friends: People who know you well, but like you anyway.
deip.nos.o.phist n. [Gr. deipnosofisth`s; dei^pnon a meal + sofisth`s a wise
man, sophist.] One of an ancient sect of philosophers, who cultivated
learned conversation at meals. One who is a good conversationalist at
meals.
This week's theme: eponyms and toponyms.
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Date: Sat Aug 16 00:02:52 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--milliner
X-Bonus: I'll take a "5" with a "10" attitude over a "10" with a "5" attitude any day.
mil.li.ner n. [From Milaner an inhabitant of Milan, in Italy; hence, a
man from Milan who imported women's finery.] A person, usually a woman,
who makes, trims, or deals in hats, bonnets, headdresses, etc., for
women. Man milliner, a man who makes or deals in millinery; hence,
contemptuously, a man who is busied with trifling occupations or
embellishments.
Susan Chandler, Letter From Chicago : Heady Days for Milliners.,
Vol. 3509, Business Week, 01-13-1997, pp 30D.
"Then two years ago, she went to London, and friends insisted that
to be fashionable, she had to wear a hat. So McKenzie tracked down
a Chicago milliner and took the plunge, ordering a custom-made,
eye-catching chapeau to match her outfit."
This week's theme: eponyms and toponyms.
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Date: Sun Aug 17 00:02:48 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--milesian
X-Bonus: Lazlo's Chinese Relativity Axiom: No matter how great your triumphs or how tragic your defeats, approximately one billion Chinese couldn't care less.
mi.le.sian n. 1. A native or inhabitant of Miletus.
2. A native or inhabitant of Ireland.
mi.le.sian a. [L. Milesius, Gr. ?.] 1. (Anc. Geog.) Of or pertaining to
Miletus, a city of Asia Minor, or to its inhabitants.
2. (Irish Legendary Hist.) Descended from King Milesius of Spain, whose
two sons are said to have conquered Ireland about 1300 b. c.; or
pertaining to the descendants of King Milesius; hence, Irish.
Plutarch, Plutarch's Lives: Pericles, Part III., Great Works of
Literature, 1 Jan 1992.
"That she was a Milesian by birth, the daughter of Axiochus, is a thing
acknowledged."
This week's theme: eponyms and toponyms.
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Date: Mon Aug 18 01:17:41 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--googol
X-Bonus: The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away. -Tom Waits
goo.gol n. [coined by Milton Sirotta, nephew of Edward Kasner, American
mathematician] : the figure 1 followed by 100 zeroes equal to 10^100
Where Homework and The Internet Meet; Orange County Edition, Los Angeles
Times, 30 Jun 1997.
"What's bigger than a billion? Way, way bigger than a trillion? A googol!"
Often I get mail from people asking, "My daughter/son coined this word
last week. How can we get it into the dictionary?" The way to make it
into the dictionary is to use the word often in books, magazines and
other media, and encourage other people to use it. Promote its usage --
writing to dictionary publishers won't help. Although, sometimes all
you have to do is be the nephew of the right person. During this week
we look at more coined words that have entered the dictionary. -Anu
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Date: Tue Aug 19 00:04:39 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--blurb
X-Bonus: Budget: A method for going broke methodically.
blurb n. [coined by Gelett Burgess] a short publicity notice (as on a book
jacket).
blurb v.t. to describe or praise in a blurb.
Laura Reina, Why Movie Blurbs Avoid Newspapers., Editor & Publisher,
08-31-1996, pp 23.
"Dave Kehr, movie critic for the New York Daily News, explained that
most of the blurbs in newspaper movie pages come out of press junkets
hosted by movie studios."
This week's theme: coined words.
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Date: Wed Aug 20 00:02:47 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--boondoggle
X-Bonus: This is my rule of married life: it's better to be happy than to be right. -Click & Clack, the Tappet Brothers
boon.dog.gle n. [coined by Robert H. Link, American scoutmaster]
1. a braided cord worn by Boy Scouts as a neckerchief slide, hatband, or
ornament
2. a wasteful or impractical project or activity often involving graft
"The Alameda Corridor is potentially the greatest boon to the broad
region that stretches from the Pacific through the Inland Empire--and
it is the biggest potential boondoggle."
Bill Boyarsky, The Spin, Los Angeles Times, 03-20-1996, pp B-1.
This week's theme: coined words.
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Date: Thu Aug 21 00:03:27 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--heebie-jeebies
X-Bonus: The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else. -Martina Navratilova
hee.bie-jee.bies n. [coined by Billy DeBeck, American cartoonist in 1923]
jitters, creeps.
Government's Radiation Hotline Sizzling With Complaints., Morning
Edition (NPR), 01-12-1994.
"I think part of the disservice the government has done over the
years is to so shroud radiation and its uses in secrecy that just
the thought of being exposed to radiation for any purpose gives a
lot of people the heebie-jeebies."
This week's theme: coined words.
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Date: Fri Aug 22 00:02:48 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--quark
X-Bonus: Accustomed to the veneer of noise, to the shibboleths of promotion, public relations, and market research, society is suspicious of those who value silence. -John Lahr
quark n. [coined by Murray Gell-Mann in 1964] : any of several elementary
particles that are postulated to come in pairs (as in the up and down
varieties) of similar mass with one member having a charge of + 2/3
and the other a charge of - 1/3 and are held to make up hadrons
Wilson, Jim, Inside the quark. (newly found top quark may be
comprised of even more fundamental particles)., Vol. 173, Popular
Mechanics, 07-01-1996, pp 32(2).
"Understand that no one has actually `seen' a quark. The nature of
quarks--one of their features is a seemingly impossible fractional
electric charge--makes it questionable whether this is even possible.
Like hunters examining moose tracks, physicists can look at the data
streaming off the particle detectors that measure the energy thrown
off by accelerator experiments and say what they suspect has passed
by."
This week's theme: coined words.
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Date: Sat Aug 23 00:02:54 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--kludge
X-Bonus: Destiny: A tyrant's authority for crime and a fool's excuse for failure. -Ambrose Bierce
kludge n. [coined by Jackson W. Granholme in 1962] : a system and
especially a computer system made up of poorly matched components
Leslie Helm, Game Giants Are Scoring on the Rebound; Los Angeles Times,
9 Dec 1996.
"Sega may be in the most difficult position of all. Although it has the
advantage of having exclusive access to the games it develops for its
huge arcade business, many gamers dismiss the machine as a kludge."
This week's theme: coined words.
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Date: Sun Aug 24 00:02:55 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--runcible
X-Bonus: He who throws mud loses ground.
run.ci.ble spoon [runcible was coined with an obscure meaning by Edward Lear
in 1871; it was later applied to a kind of fork used for pickle etc.]
a sharp-edged fork with three broad curved prongs and a cutting edge.
This week's theme: coined words.
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Date: Mon Aug 25 00:02:57 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cachinnation
X-Bonus: If you judge, investigate. -Seneca
cach.in.na.tion\, n. [L. cachinnatio, fr. cachinnare to laugh aloud] Loud
or immoderate laughter.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses From An Old Manse.
"And then did my excellent friend Mr. Smooth-it-away laugh outright,
in the midst of which cachinnation a smoke-wreath issued from his mouth
and nostrils, while a twinkle of lurid flame darted out of either eye,
proving indubitably that his heart was all of a red blaze."
Recently an interesting Reuters story caught my eye: "India Executives
Laugh to Beat Stress." The story goes on to talk about how people in
Bombay and other Indian cities meet in local "laughter clubs" simply to
laugh. Those are not comedy clubs, but informal gatherings of people
who come out of their offices at lunch time and meet on the streets,
beaches, anywhere just to laugh for no apparent reason. Of course there
is a big reason: after a hearty laugh they discover reduced stress levels
and a general feeling of being better over all. Which of this week's
words describe your laugh? By the way, how does this phrase look:
"America Executives"? -Anu
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Date: Tue Aug 26 00:03:00 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--titter
X-Bonus: Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip. -Will Rogers
tit.ter v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tittered; p. pr. & vb. n. Tittering.]
[Probably of imitative origin.] To laugh with the tongue striking
against the root of the upper teeth; to laugh with restraint, or
without much noise; to giggle.
tit.ter n. A restrained laugh.
tit.ter v. i. To seesaw. See Teeter.
Mitch Wagner, cw.Internaut:Eileen Kent, Computerworld, 27 Jan 1997.
"`Everybody gives a titter or a tee-hee when I say this, but flesh
tones are the hardest things to reproduce, either on paper or in the
digital world,'' Kent said.
This week's theme: laugh words.
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Date: Wed Aug 27 00:03:08 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cackle
X-Bonus: No wonder nobody comes here--it's too crowded. -Yogi Berra
cac.kle v. i. [imp. & p. p. Cackled (-k'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Cackling.]
[OE. cakelen; cf. LG. kakeln, D. kakelen, G. gackeln, gackern; all of
imitative origin. Cf. Gagle, Cake to cackle.] 1. To make a sharp,
broken noise or cry, as a hen or goose does.
2. To laugh with a broken noise, like the cackling of a hen or a goose;
to giggle.
3. To talk in a silly manner; to prattle.
cac.kle n. 1. The sharp broken noise made by a goose or by a hen that has
laid an egg.
2. Idle talk; silly prattle.
Le Magnifique; Comment Detruire La Reputation Du Plus Celebre Agent
Secret du Monde; The Magnificent One, Magill's Survey of Cinema, 15
Jun 1995.
"Cackling with devilish glee, Merlin even kills off St. Clair as a
result of his own blundering stupidity."
This week's theme: laugh words.
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Date: Thu Aug 28 00:03:05 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chortle
X-Bonus: The cruelest lies are often told in silence. -Robert Louis Stevenson
chor.tle v. t. & i. [coined by Lewis Carroll (Charles L. Dodgson), and
usually explained as a combination of chuckle and snort. [Humorous]
"O frabjous day ! Callooh ! Callay ! He chortled in his joy." -Lewis
Carroll
X-Files' Eats the Brains of About 10 Million Americans Every Friday
Night. Why? It Isn't Even Normal TV. Maybe the Truth Is in Us,
After All.; Home Edit., Los Angeles Times, 09-10-1995, pp 22.
"Since then, they've smiled and smirked some, but there's been
precious little chortling and no more laughter."
Michael Ventura, The Truth Is Out There. Somewhere. Maybe.; 'The
"chortle" is a good example of portmanteau or sandwich words. Those
are words coined by fusing two or more words. See AWAD archives for
more examples of portmanteaux. -Anu
This week's theme: laugh words.
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Date: Fri Aug 29 00:03:14 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--snicker
X-Bonus: The really efficient laborer will be found not to crowd his day with work, but will saunter to his task surrounded by a wide halo of ease and leisure. -Henry David Thoreau
snick.er v. i. [imp. & p. p. Snickered; p. pr. & vb. n. Snickering.]
[Cf. D. snikken to sob, to sigh.] [Written also snigger.] 1. To laugh
slyly; to laugh in one's sleeve.
2. To laugh with audible catches of voice, as when persons attempt to
suppress loud laughter.
snick.er n. A half suppressed, broken laugh. [Written also snigger.]
A Look at Crime in Three American Cities, All Things Considered (NPR),
11 Aug 1994.
"Reviewing a summary of the legislation for the first time, Grandview
Police Chief Bob Beckers snickers at some of what he believes to be
misguided monies."
This week's theme: laugh words.
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Date: Sat Aug 30 00:03:00 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fleer
X-Bonus: Whenever books are burned men also in the end are burned. -Heinrich Heine, poet, journalist, and essayist (1797-1856)
fleer [imp. & p. p. Fleered; p. pr. & vb. n. Fleering.] [OE. flerien;
cf. Scot. fleyr, Norw. flira to titter, giggle, laugh at nothing,
MHG. vlerre, vlarre, a wide wound.] 1. To make a wry face in
contempt, or to grin in scorn; to deride; to sneer; to mock; to gibe;
as, to fleer and flout.
2. To grin with an air of civility.
fleer v. t. To mock; to flout at.
fle.er n. One who flees.
William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing: Scene I. Before Leonato's
House., Great Works of Literature, 1 Jan 1992.
"Leon. Tush, tush, man! never fleer and jest at me:"
This week's theme: laugh words.
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Date: Sun Aug 31 00:02:55 EDT 1997
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--risible
X-Bonus: Beware of small expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship. -Benjamin Franklin
ris.i.ble a. [F., fr. L. risibilis, fr. ridere, risum, to laugh. Cf.
Ridiculous.] 1. Having the faculty or power of laughing; disposed
to laugh.
2. Exciting laughter; worthy to be laughed at; amusing.
3. Used in, or expressing, laughter; as, risible muscles.
Note: Risible is sometimes used as a noun, in the plural, for the
feeling of amusement and for the muscles and other organs used in
laughing, collectively; as, unable to control one's risibles.
Mickey Kantor, trade cop. (US Trade Representative desires to better
track trade disputes) Vol. 338, The Economist, 01-13-1996, pp 75(1).
"And America's contribution to freer trade there--an offer to
liberalise exports with military applications--was almost risible."
This week's theme: laugh words.