A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Sep 2 00:01:04 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--unbirthday X-Bonus: Progressive societies outgrow institutions as children outgrow clothes. -Henry George, economist, journalist, and philosopher (2 Sep 1839-1897) If you don't see a path, carve it. If you don't see a way, invent it. If you don't find a word you're looking for, coin it. A language belongs to anyone who speaks it, and as the speaker you can do with it what you may. Extend it by adding new words to it. May your coinages go far and wide! Ultimately, all words are coined words, but this week we'll look at five words whose coiners we know about. What word have you coined? Share it on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/unbirthday.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Make sure to google your coinage first to see no one has thought of it earlier. Sometimes many people come up with the same word independently. unbirthday (uhn-BUHRTH-day) noun A day other than one's birthday. [Coined by Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) in "Through the Looking-Glass" (1871). Earliest documented use: 1871.] NOTES: Today is a very special day. Most of our readers (about 99.7% of you) have their unbirthday today. A very happy unbirthday to you! How are you celebrating your unbirthday? And if you happen to have your birthday today, well, a happy birthday to you! Alice with Humpty Dumpty in a cravat he received as an unbirthday present from the White King and Queen: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/unbirthday_large.jpg Illustration: John Tenniel, 1934 "Steve Irwin won't be at his son's 14th birthday, or his unbirthday." Frances Whiting; Shooting Star; The Advertiser (Adelaide, Australia); Nov 25, 2017. -------- Date: Tue Sep 3 00:01:03 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--runcible X-Bonus: Form follows function. -Louis Sullivan, architect (3 Sep 1856-1924) This week's theme: Coined words runcible (RUHN-suh-buhl) noun: A utensil that is a combination of a fork and spoon. Also known as a spork. adjective: Shaped like a combination fork and spoon. [Coined as a nonsense word by the poet Edward Lear (1812-1888) in 1871.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/runcible NOTES: A runcible or spork is the love child of a spoon + fork, but that's not what the word meant in the beginning. Edward Lear coined the word in the poem "The Owl and the Pussycat": They dined on mince, and slices of quince Which they ate with a runcible spoon What runcible meant was left to the imagination of the reader. Lear later used the same word to describe other things: cat, hat, goose, and wall. Eventually, the word took the sense of a spoon that can do the job of both a fork and a spoon. If a spoon and a fork mate to give birth to a runcible or spork, what happens when other pieces of cutlery get together? Luis Giles has done the analysis: https://www.flickr.com/photos/_lulu/8518874072/ https://wordsmith.org/words/images/runcible_large.jpg Image: Julie https://www.flickr.com/photos/sewitsforyou/3466154372/ "Hello, we said, to the beautiful dark starlit bar and the luxury therein: the runcible spoons with their slippery cargo: the snarled silk of tinned bean sprout, the wrinkled flame of the dried lily." Lynn Emanuel; The Dig and Hotel Fiesta; University of Illinois Press; 1994. -------- Date: Wed Sep 4 00:01:04 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chirality X-Bonus: The rightness of a thing isn't determined by the amount of courage it takes. -Mary Renault, novelist (4 Sep 1905-1983) This week's theme: Coined words chirality (ky-RAL-i-tee) noun The property of not being superimposable on its mirror image: dissymmetry. [Coined by physicist, engineer, and mathematician William Thomson, Baron Kelvin, also known as Lord Kelvin (1824-1907). From Greek cheir (hand). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ghes- (hand), which also gave us cheiromancy/chiromancy (palmistry), surgeon (literally, one who works with hands), and enchiridion https://wordsmith.org/words/enchiridion.html (handbook). Earliest documented use: 1894.] Chirality http://wordsmith.org/words/images/chiral.png "Hands, feet, and shoes, [Richard Dawkins] explains, have chirality, i.e., 'there's a left one and a right one and you can't rotate either to make the other'. Socks, on the other hand, are interchangeable. So, he suggests, embrace the diversity and wear your odd socks with pride." Rose Wild; The Science Professor Needs to Put a Sock in It; The Times; (London, UK); May 28, 2016. -------- Date: Thu Sep 5 00:01:03 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--esemplastic X-Bonus: If he does not fight, it is not because he rejects all fighting as futile, but because he has finished his fights. He has overcome all dissensions between himself and the world and is now at rest... We shall have wars and soldiers so long as the brute in us is untamed. -Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, philosopher and second president of India (5 Sep 1888-1975) This week's theme: Coined words esemplastic (es-em-PLAS-tik) adjective Having the capability of molding diverse ideas or things into unity. [Coined by poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), apparently inspired by German Ineinsbildung (forming into one). From Greek es- (into) + en, neuter of eis (one) + plastic, from Latin plasticus (related to molding), from Greek plastikos, from plassein (to mold). Earliest documented use: 1817.] "I once told Giselle she was the essence of the esemplastic act, for as she was giving me the curl of her tongue at that moment, she would pause to speak love words to me in three languages." William Kennedy; Very Old Bones; Viking; 1992. -------- Date: Fri Sep 6 00:01:03 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gonzo X-Bonus: When people are fanatically dedicated to political or religious faiths or any other kind of dogmas or goals, it's always because these dogmas or goals are in doubt. -Robert M. Pirsig, author and philosopher (6 Sep 1928-2017) This week's theme: Coined words gonzo (GON-zo) adjective Having a bizarre, subjective, idiosyncratic style, especially in journalism. [Coined by Bill Cardoso, journalist and author, in 1971. It was first used in a published work by Hunter S. Thompson, journalist and author (1939-2005). Perhaps from Italian gonzo (simpleton) or Spanish ganso (dull or fool, literally a goose). Earliest documented use: 1971.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gonzo https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gonzo_large.png Gonzo fist (two thumbs and four fingers holding a peyote button) A symbol of gonzo journalism Image: Notwist / Wikimedia Commons "Hendrix, backed by his new band Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, launched into a fierce two-hour set that produced one of the greatest filmed moments of the 60s: his gonzo rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner." Douglas Brinkley; Rocking the Revolution; The Australian (Canberra); Aug 16, 2019. -------- Date: Mon Sep 9 00:12:03 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--eustress X-Bonus: There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth. -Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher (9 Sep 1828-1910) There's matter and there's anti-matter. Something similar works with words too. There are words and there are their opposites: if there's utopia https://wordsmith.org/words/utopia.html there's dystopia too https://wordsmith.org/words/dystopia.html . It's just that sometimes the opposite is not as popular, even though it's a perfectly fine, upstanding citizen of the dictionary. In this week's parade of words we bring such antonyms to the front. eustress (YOO-stres) noun A positive, beneficial form of stress. [Coined by the endocrinologist Hans Selye (1907-1982). From Greek eu- (good) + stress, from shortening of distress or from Old French estressei (narrowness or oppression), from Latin strictus, from stringere (to bind tight). Earliest documented use: 1950s.] NOTES: Some examples of eustress are excitement at starting a new job, an upcoming wedding, etc. In general, mild stress works as eustress, bringing motivation and spurring action. Too much stress results in distress. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/eustress_large.jpg Illustration: Tomi Dufva https://www.flickr.com/photos/tomidufva/31354484758/ "Ann was mired ankle-deep in eustress. If she pulled one foot out of its boot, where would she put that foot while she pulled the other foot to freedom?" Elizabeth Schaeffer; The Skein; Trafford; 2012. -------- Date: Tue Sep 10 00:12:02 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nullibiety X-Bonus: The most important scientific revolutions all include, as their only common feature, the dethronement of human arrogance from one pedestal after another of previous convictions about our centrality in the cosmos. -Stephen Jay Gould, paleontologist, biologist, author (10 Sep 1941-2002) This week's theme: There's an antonym for it nullibiety (nuh-luh-BY-uh-tee) noun The state of being or existing nowhere. [From Latin nullibi (nowhere), from nullus (null) + ibi (here, there). Earliest documented use: 1668. The opposite is ubiety https://wordsmith.org/words/ubiety.html .] Nowhere Man (center) https://www.flickr.com/photos/rkpictures/10818633464/ "Nowhere Man" (video, 3 min.) https://vimeo.com/143013061 "Occasionally, some of them show heightened brainwave activity. ... That's what is so intriguing. At the very least it contradicts nullibiety." John Farris; You Don't Scare Me; Crossroad Press; 2015. -------- Date: Wed Sep 11 00:12:02 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--excarnation X-Bonus: You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty. -Jessica Mitford, author, journalist, and civil rights activist (11 Sep 1917-1996) This week's theme: There's an antonym for it excarnation (eks-kahr-NAY-shuhn) noun 1. The removing of flesh, especially from a corpse before burial. 2. The supposed separation of the soul from the body at death. [From excarnate, from Latin excarnare (to remove flesh), from caro (flesh). Earliest documented use: 1847.] NOTES: Excarnation takes place in a body farm in Texas State University in San Marcos. For science! https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2014/10/13/texas-body-donations Stonehenge may have been constructed for excarnation https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91072897 . The Parsi (Zoroastrian) community in India is concerned about the lack of vultures needed for excarnation https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/04/vultures-fate-parsi-sky-burials-uncertain-150401063720435.html . Tower of Silence, Yazd, Iran, where vultures perform excarnation https://wordsmith.org/words/images/excarnation_large.jpg Photo: Bernard Gagnon / Wikimedia "The move toward excarnation is apparent in what is becoming more and more a fleshless society. In medicine, 'bedside manner' and hand on pulse has ceded to the anonymous technologies of imaging in diagnosis and treatment." Richard Kearney; Losing Our Touch; The New York Times; Aug 30, 2014. "I looked at Sam. 'Why didn't they bury people here? Would they just leave the body in a chamber? Wouldn't animals get at them?' She shook her head. 'They didn't bury them. They did excarnation. Afterward they'd arrange the bones in a grave.'" Elizabeth Hand; Hard Light; Thomas Dunne Books; 2016. -------- Date: Thu Sep 12 00:12:03 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dysphemism X-Bonus: Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on "I am not too sure." -H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (12 Sep 1880-1956) This week's theme: There's an antonym for it dysphemism (DIS-fuh-miz-em) noun The substitution of a harsher, deprecating, or offensive term in place of a relatively neutral term. [From Greek dys- (bad) + -phemism (as in euphemism). Earliest documented use: 1884. The opposite is euphemism https://wordsmith.org/words/euphemism.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/dysphemism NOTES: Examples include "death tax" for "estate tax" and "snail mail" for "paper mail". "If my soft touch there with 'people seeking refuge' seems too forgiving, take your pick of the wide array of dysphemisms already available for those fleeing violence and terror, from 'anchor babies' to 'illegal aliens' to the more grammatically efficient 'illegals'-- which crams 'them' into a space-saving adjective." Michael Andor Brodeur; United States of Euphemism: ICE, Border Separations, and How Americans Say the Unspeakable; Boston Globe (Massachusetts); Jun 24, 2018. -------- Date: Fri Sep 13 00:12:03 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nocebo X-Bonus: To have and not to give is often worse than to steal. -Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, writer (13 Sep 1830-1916) This week's theme: There's an antonym for it nocebo (no-SEE-bo) noun A substance producing harmful effects in someone because it is believed to be harmful, but which in reality is harmless. [From Latin nocebo (I will harm), from nocere (to harm). Modeled after its antonym placebo (I will please) https://wordsmith.org/words/placebo.html . Earliest documented use: 1961.] "As Geoff Watts shows, the nocebo's impact can be very harmful. Maybe it's because fear is more powerful than hope." Gillian Reynolds; Radio: Review Pick of the Week; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Feb 14, 2015. -------- Date: Mon Sep 16 00:12:02 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dotard X-Bonus: The man who is always waving the flag usually waives what it stands for. -Laurence J. Peter, educator and author (16 Sep 1919-1990) Freud once said, "The first human who hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization." The good doctor had a point, of course, but a good insult is more than just throwing a bunch of misspelled words into a tweet, commenting on someone's weight or otherwise calling them a lightweight. When it comes to insults William Shakespeare knew how to throw them down with gems like: "Thy sin's not accidental, but a trade." (Measure for Measure) "He has not so much brain as ear-wax." (Troilus and Cressida) "I do wish thou were a dog, that I might love thee something." (Timon of Athens) In this week's A.Word.A.Day, we'll see five words taken from the works of the Bard. Apparently, Shakespearean insults have spawned a cottage industry. There are the usual posters https://amazon.com/dp/B013HJ9HEU/ws00-20 and books https://amazon.com/dp/0517885395/ws00-20 , but you can also find his insults on mugs https://amazon.com/dp/B0038TYV7I/ws00-20, playing cards https://amazon.com/dp/0979818214/ws00-20, gums https://amazon.com/dp/B000SSVA8K/ws00-20, and even bandages https://amazon.com/dp/B00BPWU3SQ/ws00-20 . dotard (DOH-tuhrd) noun One whose mental faculties have deteriorated, especially due to old age. [From Middle English doten (to be foolish). Earliest documented use: 1393.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/dotard "Years ago, when my daughter was in elementary school, there was an election for student council or something, and one of the candidates promised longer recess if he were elected. "Naturally, he won, proving that 'longer recess' is the childhood equivalent of 'Mexico will pay for it.' When it comes to elections, some voters will hear what they want to hear, even if deep down they know you are lying or exaggerating or being a delusional dotard." Greg Jayne; Climate Change May Hoist Inslee; Columbian (Vancouver, Washington); Apr 14, 2019. "Leonato: I speak not like a dotard nor a fool, As, under privilege of age, to brag What I have done being young, or what would do Were I not old." William Shakespeare; Much Ado About Nothing; 1623. -------- Date: Tue Sep 17 00:12:03 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sodden-witted X-Bonus: What power has love but forgiveness? -William Carlos Williams, poet (17 Sep 1883-1963) This week's theme: Shakespearean insults sodden-witted (SOD-en-wit-id) adjective Dull. [From Middle English soden (boiled), past participle of sethen (to boil) + wit (mental capacity). Earliest documented use: 1609, in "Troilus and Cressida".] "Upon our oath, only knaves and sodden-witted loons would quibble that Sir Tony's decree to restore knighthoods and damehoods was inspired." Michael West; Selling Medibank Doesn't Add Up; Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Mar 29, 2014. "Thersites: Ay, do, do; thou sodden-witted lord! thou hast no more brain than I have in mine elbows." William Shakespeare; Troilus and Cressida; 1609. -------- Date: Wed Sep 18 00:01:05 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scullion X-Bonus: A decent provision for the poor is the true test of civilization. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (18 Sep 1709-1784) This week's theme: Shakespearean insults scullion (SKUL-yen) noun 1. A servant who does menial work in a kitchen, such as washing dishes. 2. A lowly or contemptible person. [Of uncertain origin, probably from Old French escouvillon (dishcloth, mop), diminutive of escouve (broom), from Latin scopa (broom) or from scullery (a small kitchen), from Old French escuele (dish), from Latin scutella, diminutive of scutra (pan). Earliest documented use: 1483.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/scullion "The exiled ex-monarch was attended by a huge number of maids, valets, gardeners, and scullions." Nazi Skeletons in Coco's Closet; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Jul 13, 2019. "Falstaff: Away, you scullion! You rampallion! You fustilarian! I'll tickle your catastrophe." William Shakespeare; Henry IV, Part 2; 1599. https://wordsmith.org/words/rampallion.html https://wordsmith.org/words/fustilarian.html https://wordsmith.org/words/falstaffian.html -------- Date: Thu Sep 19 00:01:03 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--knotty-pated X-Bonus: I think everybody who has a brain should get involved in politics. Working within. Not criticizing it from the outside. Become an active participant, no matter how feeble you think the effort is. -Cass Elliot, singer (19 Sep 1941-1974) This week's theme: Shakespearean insults knotty-pated (NOT-ee-pay-tid) adjective Blockheaded or thickheaded. [From Old English cnotta (knot) + pate (head). Earliest documented use: 1598.] "Only a knotty-pated beldame would think she could singlehandedly stop a war." Angeline Fortin; Taken; My Personal Bubble; 2014. https://wordsmith.org/words/beldam.html "Time was, everyone mauled Mr Trump. Boris Johnson, now the foreign secretary [now the prime minister], said he betrayed a 'stupefying ignorance' and branded him 'unfit' to lead America. Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, turned to Shakespeare: 'Trump's a clay-brained guts, knotty-pated fool, whoreson obscene greasy tallow-catch,* right?'" A Difficult Hole; The Economist (London, UK); Jan 28, 2017. *a very fat person "Prince Henry: These lies are like their father that begets them, gross as a mountain, open, palpable. Why, thou claybrained guts, thou knotty-pated fool, thou whoreson, obscene, greasy tallow-catch." William Shakespeare; Henry IV, Part 1; 1623. -------- Date: Fri Sep 20 00:01:03 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gorbellied X-Bonus: It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. -Upton Sinclair, novelist and reformer (20 Sep 1878-1968) This week's theme: Shakespearean insults gorbellied (GOR-bel-eed) adjective Having a large belly: fat. [From gorbelly (large belly), from gor (gore) + belly, from Old English belig (bag). Earliest documented use: 1529.] "Saint Thomas, Stephen, smiling, said, whose gorbellied works I enjoy reading in the original." James Joyce; Ulysses; Sylvia Beach; 1922. "Falstaff: Hang ye, gorbellied knaves, are ye undone? No, ye fat chuffs." William Shakespeare; Henry IV, Part 1; 1623. -------- Date: Mon Sep 23 00:01:04 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hebetic X-Bonus: Very few established institutions, governments, and constitutions ... are ever destroyed by their enemies until they have been corrupted and weakened by their friends. -Walter Lippmann, journalist (23 Sep 1889-1974) If you ever find yourself feeling hopeless, feeling what you do is futile, feeling you are just a cog in the system, pick up a deck of cards and shuffle it. There! You produced something that was unique in the history of the universe and chances are it would never be repeated ever. You arranged those cards in a sequence that happened for the first and last time. Welcome to the power of combinatorics. There are so many ways those 52 cards can be arranged (about 80 unvigintillion ways, roughly the number 80 followed by 66 zeros https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=52!) that your feat was a once-in-a-lifetime event. That's once in the lifetime of the universe (about 14 billion years)! Chances are no one would ever come up with that sequence in a random shuffling of cards. This week we have picked five words randomly. The odds of these five words appearing together has been left as an exercise to the reader. If, for a moment, I can get back to where I started, that card example may appear frivolous, but it has a deeper point. You are special! The universe arranged atoms to make you in a way that will never happen again. No matter how you feel, please drop us a line at any time words@wordsmith.org. We read every email we receive and reply to almost all. We believe each human being is unique and worthy and can make a positive contribution to the universe. hebetic (hi-BET-ik) adjective Relating to or happening at puberty. [From Greek hebe (youth). Earliest documented use: 19th c. Also see hebephrenia http://wordsmith.org/words/hebephrenia.html .] "How intent Io is on imitating the frenzy of the hebetic girls." Gene Wolfe; Latro in the Mist; Orb Books; 2003. -------- Date: Tue Sep 24 00:01:03 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--eventide X-Bonus: Men are often capable of greater things than they perform. They are sent into the world with bills of credit and seldom draw to their full extent. -Horace Walpole, novelist and essayist (24 Sep 1717-1797) This week's theme: Random words eventide (EE-vuhn-tyd) noun The evening time. [From Old English aefentid, from aefen (evening) + tid (time). Earliest documented use: before 1000.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/eventide "Morning flowers lifted their petals from their eventide repose." Joseph J. Bailey; Shadow's Rise; 2012. -------- Date: Wed Sep 25 00:01:05 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cacophony X-Bonus: If we listen, the air is heavy with poems, ripe for plucking. -Yahia Lababidi, aphorist (b. 25 Sep 1973) This week's theme: Random words cacophony (kuh-KOF-uh-nee) noun A harsh mixture of sounds. [From French cacophonie, from Greek kakophonia (harsh sounding), from kakos (bad) + phone (sound). Kakos is ultimately from the Indo-European root kakka-/kaka- (to defecate), which also gave us poppycock, cucking stool https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucking_stool, cacology https://wordsmith.org/words/cacology.html , and cacography https://wordsmith.org/words/cacography.html . Earliest documented use: 1656.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/cacophony "The goat's noisy discontent joined in the cacophony of human and animal sounds." Rebecca Kertz; A Secret Amish Love; Mills & Boon Love Inspired; 2017. -------- Date: Thu Sep 26 00:01:04 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--indefeasible X-Bonus: In a world of fugitives, the person taking the opposite direction will appear to run away. -T.S. Eliot, poet (26 Sep 1888-1965) This week's theme: Random words indefeasible (in-di-FEE-zuh-buhl) adjective Not subject to being revised, defeated, or annulled. [From in- (not) + defeasible, from Old French desfaire (to undo or destroy), from Latin dis- (apart, away) + facere (to do). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dhe- (to set or put), which is also the source of do, deed, factory, fashion, face, rectify, defeat, sacrifice, satisfy, Sanskrit sandhi (joining), Urdu purdah (veil or curtain), and Russian duma (council). Earliest documented use: 1548.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/indefeasible "The document states, 'The Hellenic Republic considers itself to be a proud and indefeasible member of the European Union and an irrevocable member of the euro zone.'" Greece Submits Fresh List of Reforms; Irish Times (Dublin); Apr 2, 2015. -------- Date: Fri Sep 27 00:01:04 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--contumacy X-Bonus: If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin. -Samuel Adams, revolutionary (27 Sep 1722-1803) This week's theme: Random words contumacy (KON-too/tyoo-muh-see) noun Stubborn rebelliousness or insubordination. [From Latin contumacia, from contumax (insolent). Earliest documented use: 1386.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/contumacy "But knowing that a failure to comply might very well be regarded as contumacy, I reluctantly surrendered the names." Catherine Jinks; The Inquisitor; St. Martin's Minotaur; 2002. -------- Date: Mon Sep 30 00:01:04 EDT 2019 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--thinko X-Bonus: Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. -Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel laureate (30 Sep 1928-2016) Here in Seattle, in a Japanese store called Daiso, I came across chair socks.* https://wordsmith.org/words/images/chair-socks_large.jpg That's when I realized how neglectful I had been of the furniture that serves me so faithfully year after year. A chair sock is one of those things that you don't know you need until you see it. And then you think: Why not? Winter is coming (at least in the northern hemisphere), so keep your chairs' feet warm and your conscience clear. In this week's A.Word.A.Day we'll feature words that you don't realize you need until you see them. These are words that might make you say: I didn't know there was a word for it. * Apparently Amazon has them too https://amazon.com/dp/B07T9BB72F/ws00-20 thinko (THING-koh) noun A careless error in thinking. [From think, formed on the pattern of typo (typographical error). Earliest documented use: 1990s.] NOTES: When someone makes a typo and spells "teh" instead of "the", it's not that they don't know the spelling of the word "the". A thinko works the same way: it's a glitch in one's thinking, perhaps due to a distraction, tiredness, etc. "Jordan Edwards, a black 15-year-old, was in the passenger seat of a car at a house party in Balch Springs, near Dallas, when he was shot and killed by a policeman with a rifle. The policeman's boss later told reporters that the car had been driving 'aggressively' backwards towards the officer. But after reviewing body-camera footage, it came to light that the car had been heading away from, not towards the officer. The police chief's retraction? 'I misspoke.' ... But the Balch Springs police chief ... went beyond thinkos." Hit and Misspeak; The Economist (London, UK); May 13, 2017.