A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Sep 2 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--misogynoir X-Bonus: There are conditions of blindness so voluntary that they become complicity. -Paul Bourget, novelist (2 Sep 1852-1935) Last year, Dan Barker, an author, speaker, and co-president of FFRF, told me about a word he had coined, contraduction, for the act of inverting reality. As he describes it, "Have you ever been sitting in a train that's not moving when the train next to you starts to move and you briefly think it is you who is moving? You got it backward." That's contraduction. Another example of contraduction is claiming that conditions like gravity and other constants were fine tuned for us. In reality, it's we who evolved to fit them. The fallacy has been around, but the word is new. It isn't yet in the dictionary, but it fills a need, and if enough people use it, it might even find a place. Thankfully, Dan Barker has written a compact, very readable book that offers more examples and insights. The book is out this week https://www.amazon.com/Contraduction-Dan-Barker/dp/1839195975 And that's the secret to coining a word. Identify a concept that has been around yet doesn't have a word to describe it. This week we'll feature five coined words that are already in the dictionary. Do you have examples of contraduction? Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/misogynoir.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org (include your location: city, state). misogynoir (muh-soj-uh-NWAR) noun Hatred or prejudice directed toward Black women. [Coined by the scholar and writer Moya Bailey (b. 1983) as a blend of misogyny https://wordsmith.org/words/misogyny.html + French noir (black). The word misogyny is from Greek miso- (hate) + gyne (woman). Earliest documented use: 2010.] NOTES: This term highlights the intersectional nature of the discrimination Black women face, where both racism and sexism intertwine. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/misogynoir_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "[Trump] spat misogynoir about Vice President Kamala Harris's qualifications, spoke incoherently and falsely about the state of America's major cities and airports, and praised the wife of his son, Don Jr., who is not married. No calls for him to take a mental fitness test followed." Kimberly Atkins Stohr; Biden and Trump Are Showing Their Stark Contrast; Boston Globe (Massachusetts); Jul 11, 2024. "There is a long history of media misogynoir in sports. Before her retirement, Serena Williams was constantly a victim of vitriolic commentary about her looks, with one Australian cartoonist drawing a racist caricature of her and a Romanian TV host comparing Williams to a monkey." Janice Gassam Asare; Media Misogynoir; Forbes (New York); Apr 7, 2024. -------- Date: Tue Sep 3 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--outgrabe X-Bonus: A harbor, even if it is a little harbor, is a good thing, since adventurers come into it as well as go out, and the life in it grows strong, because it takes something from the world, and has something to give in return. -Sarah Orne Jewett, poet and novelist (3 Sep 1849-1909) This week's theme: Coined words outgrabe (out-GRAYB) verb intr. To emit strange noises, such as bellowing, whistling, and shrieking. [Coined by Lewis Carroll in the poem Jabberwocky. He described the word as connected with the old verb to grike or shrike. Earliest documented use: 1855.] NOTES: Lewis Carroll described it as a past tense of outgribe, but now outgrabe is taken as the infinitive form. See more words coined by Lewis Carroll https://wordsmith.org/words/galumph.html . https://wordsmith.org/words/images/outgrabe_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "When everything else failed, the police used less powerful versions of the same device to subdue juice addicts who outgrabed." Alan Dean Foster; Montezuma Strip; Aspect; 1995. -------- Date: Wed Sep 4 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--intertextuality 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 intertextuality (in-tuhr-teks-chuh-WA-luh-tee) noun Interpretation of a text in relation to other texts, rather than in isolation. [Coined by the philosopher and novelist Julia Kristeva (b. 1941) in French as intertextualité, from inter- (between) + textuel (textual), from Latin texere (to weave). Ultimately from the Indo-European root teks- (to weave), which also gave us context, texture, tissue, tectonic, architect, technology, subtle, and subtile https://wordsmith.org/words/subtile.html . Earliest documented use: 1970.] NOTES: Intertextuality reminds us that every piece of writing is influenced by what came before it, consciously or not. Other texts provide the essential context for understanding any given text, making the literary world a vast, interconnected web of ideas and influences. No text is an island. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/intertextuality_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "The 11 short stories in this collection each weave together, playful in their intertextuality as they nod to other stories in the collection and beyond." Aimée Walsh; Across Unknowable Terrain; Irish Times (Dublin); Aug 26, 2023. -------- Date: Thu Sep 5 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--genteelism X-Bonus: To want to meet an author because you like his books is as ridiculous as wanting to meet the goose because you like pate de foie gras. -Arthur Koestler, author (5 Sep 1905-1983) This week's theme: Coined words genteelism (jen-TEE-liz-uhm) noun The substitution of a word that is believed to be more polite or refined. For example, washroom for lavatory. [Coined by the lexicographer H.W. Fowler (1858-1933). From genteel, from French gentil (noble), from gens (clan). Earliest documented use: 1926.] NOTES: The words we use for bathrooms have evolved over time, reflecting a desire for more genteel expressions, but the origins of most of them have something to do with washing. washroom: from Old English wascan (to wash) lavatory: from Latin lavare (to wash) latrine: from Latin lavare (to wash) toilet: from French toilette (small cloth) restroom: from Old English restan (to rest) bathroom: from Old English baeth (to bath) loo: origin unknown. Various unsubstantiated theories include Waterloo, French l’eau (water) and lieu (place). What is your word for restroom in polite company? https://wordsmith.org/words/images/genteelism_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "Sir, please honor us by partaking of our offering... or would you rather bathe and wash (a genteelism that includes evacuating the bowels) first?" Udai Rathor; Kojia -- The Ugly One; Strategic Book Publishing; 2012. -------- Date: Fri Sep 6 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--googolplex X-Bonus: You are never dedicated to something you have complete confidence in. No one is fanatically shouting that the sun is going to rise tomorrow. They know it's going to rise tomorrow. When people are fanatically dedicated to political or religious faiths or any other kinds 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 googolplex (GOO-guhl-pleks) noun The number 1 followed by a googol number of zeros. [Coined by Milton Sirotta (1911-1981), nine-year-old nephew of the mathematician Edward Kasner. From googol https://wordsmith.org/words/googol.html + -plex as in duplex. Earliest documented use: 1937.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/googolplex NOTES: Googol is the number 1 followed by 100 zeros (10^100). Googolplex is (10^googol or 10^10^100). It's so big that it's not even possible to spell it out in long form (1000000000...). We would fill the whole universe before we come even close to writing out the number. It is even bigger than the number of atoms in the universe. So what is such a number good for? It's often used in a hyperbolic sense to signify an incredibly large quantity of something -- far beyond anything we could actually count or imagine. Also see, google https://wordsmith.org/words/google.html https://wordsmith.org/words/images/googolplex_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "So while the rest of the class did sprint drills, I did upper-body work (translation: a googolplex of push-ups)." Brett A. Halbleib; Training Day; Indianapolis Star (Indiana); Jul 1, 2007. "Trump was booked in Georgia for one of his googolplex of criminal cases." Mike Freeman; Trump Sneakers Aren't Going to Sway Black Americans; USA Today (McLean, Virginia); Feb 26, 2024. -------- Date: Mon Sep 9 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--elocutionary X-Bonus: There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth. -Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher (9 Sep 1828-1910) Vowels and consonants, the dynamic duo of language. Vowels -- A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y -- are the social butterflies at the party, bringing melody, flow, and rhythm to the conversation. They glide through words, making everything sound lively and connected. Consonants, on the other hand, are the sturdy framework, the reliable guests who give words their shape and structure. But here’s the magic: when the vowels and consonants start interacting, the party truly comes alive. Vowels glide in between consonants, adding warmth and movement, turning static clusters of consonants into words that dance off your tongue. The vowels bring the conversation to life, giving the consonants something to wrap around, something to hold. Without consonants, language would be a mushy mess; without vowels, it would be dry and rigid. While we can't get all consonants into a single word without the party getting too wild, we can do that with vowels. This week we've picked five words, each of which has all the vowels present. elocutionary (el-uh-KYOO-shuhn-uhr-ee) adjective Relating to public speaking, especially in clear, expressive, and often emphatic manner. [From Latin eloqui (to speak out), from ex- (out) + loqui (to speak). Earliest documented use: 1846.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/elocutionary https://wordsmith.org/words/images/elocutionary_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "[Harry Houdini] taught himself to speak in advanced elocutionary English, and to write in the ornate tones of period ballyhoo." https://wordsmith.org/words/ballyhoo.html David Denby; Chain Me Up; The New Yorker; Mar 30, 2020. -------- Date: Tue Sep 10 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--commensurability 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: Words with all the vowels commensurability (kuh-men-suh/shuh-ruh-BIH-lih-tee) noun 1. The quality of being in proportion or suitable in relation to something else. 2. The quality of being measurable by a common standard; comparability. [From Latin com- (together) + mensurare (to measure). Earliest documented use: 1570.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/commensurability_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "Aristotle agreed there was a problem about the commensurability of any barter -- how would you equalise the use-value of a shoe/bed/house?" Peter Jones; In Praise of Barter; The Spectator (London, UK); Dec 10, 2011. -------- Date: Wed Sep 11 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vituperatory X-Bonus: A straw vote only shows which way the hot air blows. -O. Henry, short-story writer (11 Sep 1862-1910) This week's theme: Words with all the vowels vituperatory (vy-TOO/TYOO-pruh-tor-ee) adjective Criticizing bitterly, scathing, abusive. [From Latin vituperare (to blame), from vitium (fault) + parare (to make or prepare). Earliest documented use: 1586.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/vituperatory_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/vituperatory "The loose-cannon 'undiplomat' [John Bolton] best known for his vituperatory anti-UN mouthings and unbridled arrogance." J.A. Lopez; Own Worst Enemies; San Gabriel Valley Tribune (West Covina, California); Jun 1, 2005. -------- Date: Thu Sep 12 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--equivocacy 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: Words with all the vowels equivocacy (i-KWIV-uh-kuh-see) noun The quality of being deliberately ambiguous or vague. [From Latin aequi-/equi- (equal) + vocare (to call), from vox (voice). Earliest documented use: 1646.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/equivocacy_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "The smuggler Han Solo -- whose did-he-or-didn't-he equivocacy has perplexed director George Lucas for decades." Michael Idato; A Cultural Force, Awakened; The Age (Melbourne, Australia); Nov 30, 2019. -------- Date: Fri Sep 13 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--perfunctionary 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: Words with all the vowels perfunctionary (puhr-FUNK-shuh-ner-ee) adjective Done without any interest, care, or effort. [Alteration of perfunctory, from Latin perfunctorius (careless), from perfungi (to get through with), from per- (through) + fungi (to perform). Note that fungus has a different origin, likely from Greek spongos (sponge). Earliest documented use: 1838.] Conflict of Disinterest https://wordsmith.org/words/images/perfunctionary_large.jpg Cartoon: Dan Piraro https://www.facebook.com/bizarrocomics/ "He had no success in his nefarious acts of trying to paw her, except for a perfunctionary kiss. She had skillfully and cleverly warded off his amorous advances." Brian D. Kharpran Daly; The Pangs of Love; Prowess Publishing; 2021. -------- Date: Mon Sep 16 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--polyandry X-Bonus: Would the boy you were be proud of the man you are? -Laurence J. Peter, educator and author (16 Sep 1919-1990) Playing with words is like playing in a giant Legoland -- The admission is free and you get an unlimited supply of blocks we call combining forms, for example poly-, hyper-, -phobia, etc. You get to mix and match, plug and unplug, combine and decombine them. You can combine more than two pieces as a kind of verbal polygamy (no judgment here). See this 45-letter word that resulted from an orgy of eight combining forms: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis https://wordsmith.org/words/pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.html . This week we'll feature words made by connecting two combining forms. We are going to be using these combining forms, though not necessarily in that order: poly- (many), neo- (new), hyper- (over, above), hiero- (sacred, priestly), arthro- (joint), -andry (male), -plasty (formation), -phile (lover), -nym (name), -phant (one who shows). What can you make by joining two or more of these? Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/polyandry.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. As always, include your location. polyandry (POL-ee-an-dree) noun The practice of having multiple husbands or male mates at the same time. [From Greek poly- (many) + -andry (male). Earliest documented use: 1680.] Draupadi and her five brother husbands https://wordsmith.org/words/images/polyandry_large.jpg Art: Raja Ravi Varma, 1910 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyandry#/media/File:Draupadi_and_Pandavas.jpg See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/polyandry "The better parts of the culture had to be preserved. That included, for [Tashi Tsering], the practice of polyandry, by which his mother had slept contentedly with two brothers, one upstairs and one down, and he had never cared which man his father was." Between Two Worlds; The Economist (London, UK); Dec 20, 2014. -------- Date: Tue Sep 17 00:01:03 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hypernym X-Bonus: What power has love but forgiveness? -William Carlos Williams, poet (17 Sep 1883-1963) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms hypernym (HY-puhr-nim) noun A broad term that encompasses specific words within a category. For example, "color" is a hypernym of "red", "blue", "green", etc. [From Greek hyper- (over, above) + -onym (name). Earliest documented use: 1971. The counterpart is hyponym https://wordsmith.org/words/hyponym.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/hypernym https://wordsmith.org/words/images/hypernym_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "The realm of financial technology is a hodgepodge of businesses touching finance, investing and capital movements that is lumped into a trendy but amorphous hypernym." Jason Schenker; Robot Advisers a Big Market Risk; Sunday Gazette-Mail (Charleston, West Virginia); Mar 19, 2017. -------- Date: Wed Sep 18 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--arthroplasty 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: Words made with combining forms arthroplasty (AR-thruh-plas-tee) noun The surgical repair or replacement of a joint. [From Greek arthro- (joint) + -plasty (formation, repair, molding). Earliest documented use: 1890.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/arthroplasty Hip joint replacement https://wordsmith.org/words/images/arthroplasty_large.jpg Image: NIH/Wikimedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthroplasty#/media/File:Hip_replacement_Image_3684-PH.jpg "He started into a detailed description of the total hip arthroplasty he'd just finished with such enthusiasm it would be easy to assume this was the first hip he'd ever replaced, not the two-thousandth." Peter Hogenkamp; The Intern; TouchPoint Press; 2020. -------- Date: Thu Sep 19 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--neophile X-Bonus: We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams. -Jeremy Irons, actor (b. 19 Sep 1948) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms neophile (NEE-uh-fyl) noun One who loves new or novel things. [From Greek neo- (new) + -phile (lover). The opposite is neophobe https://wordsmith.org/words/neophobia.html .] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/neophile_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "My inner neophile adores discovering a feature I've never come across before." Helen Coffey; Luxury Escape; The Independent (London, UK); Feb 16, 2020. -------- Date: Fri Sep 20 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hierophant X-Bonus: There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of the people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will have truly defeated age. -Sophia Loren, actor and singer (b. 20 Sep 1934) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms hierophant (HY-uhr-uh-fant, HY-ruh-) noun 1. An interpreter of sacred mysteries or esoteric knowledge. 2. One who explains or provides commentary on complex or obscure topics. [From Greek hiero- (sacred, priestly) + -phant (one who shows). Earliest documented use: 1676.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/hierophant_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "The Hungarian pianist Andras Schiff has become ... something of a hierophant of the central Austro-German canon." Robert Battey; Classics Delivered With Finesse, Feeling; The Washington Post; Mar 17, 2015. -------- Date: Mon Sep 23 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--exhort 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) This week's words might look like a simple assortment of adjectives, verbs, and nouns, but we're going to add a twist. We're going to change a letter in each word and see what happens. Think of this as the linguistic version of CRISPR, except no need for high-tech tools. Here's an example: Change one letter of the word *adorable* and you could turn it into *odorable*. Is someone odorable adorable? It depends. The word odorable simply means "able to be smelled". Maybe it's a pleasant smell, maybe not. Over the next two weeks, we'll highlight five such word pairs. Got any word pairs of your own that fit this theme? Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/exhort.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Include your location (city, state). exhort (ig-ZORT) verb tr., intr.: To urge, persuade, advise, etc. earnestly. noun: The act or an instance of earnest urging, advising, etc. [From Latin ex- (out) + hortari (to urge). Ultimately from the Indo-European root gher- (to like or want), which also gave us yearn, charisma, greedy, and hortatory https://wordsmith.org/words/hortatory.html . Earliest documented use: 1475.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/exhort https://wordsmith.org/words/images/exhort_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "Last year British government ministers exhorted workers to get back to the office." The Pyjama Revolution; The Economist (London, UK); Oct 30, 2021. "We have written an exhort to the criminal court of the city of Banes to depose the occupants of the car." Dr. Carlos J. Bringuier; Crime Without Punishment; AuthorHouse; 2013. -------- Date: Tue Sep 24 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--extort X-Bonus: In my youth I thought of writing a satire on mankind; but now in my age I think I should write an apology for them. -Horace Walpole, novelist and essayist (24 Sep 1717-1797) This week's theme: Words differing by a letter extort (ik-STORT) verb tr. To obtain something by psychological pressure, intimidation, force, threat, etc. [From Latin extorquere (to wrench out), from ex- (out) + torquere (to twist). Earliest documented use: 1529.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/extort https://wordsmith.org/words/images/extort_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "Former Speaker John Boehner called the [House Freedom Caucus] group's members 'legislative terrorists' for blocking routine procedural measures in order to extort demands from the Party’s leaders." David D. Kirkpatrick; Maga Mike; The New Yorker; Mar 25, 2024. -------- Date: Wed Sep 25 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nemorous X-Bonus: A writer needs three things, experience, observation, and imagination, any two of which, at times any one of which, can supply the lack of the others. -William Faulkner, novelist (25 Sep 1897-1962) This week's theme: Words differing by a letter nemorous (NEM-uh-ruhs) adjective Relating to a forest; wooded. [From Latin nemus (grove). Earliest documented use: 1623.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/nemorous_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "Evelyn says that Paradise itself was but a kind of nemorous temple or sacred grove planted by God Himself and given to man." Alexander Porteous; Forest Folklore, Mythology, and Romance; George Allen & Unwin; 1928. -------- Date: Thu Sep 26 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--memorous 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: Words differing by a letter memorous (MEM-uhr-uhs) adjective Likely to be remembered; notable. [From Latin + memoria (memory). Earliest documented use: 1530.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/memorous_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "Troy's father proposed that they leave Des Moines and start a new life in Beganning, California. Eager to escape the memorous pains that his hometown held, Troy agreed." LeRoy Powell III; Vengeance; Writers Club Press; 2000. -------- Date: Fri Sep 27 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--androgynic X-Bonus: Life is short. Be swift to love! Make haste to be kind! -Henri Frederic Amiel, philosopher and writer (27 Sep 1821-1881) This week's theme: Words differing by a letter androgynic (an-druh-JIN-ik) adjective 1. Exhibiting traits associated with male as well as female identities. 2. Having a gender presentation that blends or transcends traditional binary categories. [From Greek andro- (man) + -gune (woman). Earliest documented use: 1834.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/androgynic_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "[Ernie Trova] created a form that became a totem of the times, the sleek, androgynic Falling Man. The figure is featureless, limitlessly reproducible, instantly identifiable, and eventually, and perhaps appropriately, rather commercial." Robert W. Duffy; Adding to the Accumulation; St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri); Feb 4, 1996. https://www.ashevilleart.org/work-of-the-week/trovascope-and-the-falling-man/ -------- Date: Mon Sep 30 00:01:02 EDT 2024 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--androgenic X-Bonus: Racism tends to attract attention when it's flagrant and filled with invective. But like all bigotry, the most potent component of racism is frame-flipping -- positioning the bigot as the actual victim. So the gay do not simply want to marry; they want to convert our children into sin. The Jews do not merely want to be left in peace; they actually are plotting world take-over. And the blacks are not actually victims of American power, but beneficiaries of the war against hard-working whites. This is a respectable, more sensible bigotry, one that does not seek to name-call, preferring instead to change the subject and straw man. -Ta-Nehisi Coates, writer and journalist (b. 30 Sep 1975) You've likely heard of the butterfly effect -- how a tiny change, like a butterfly flapping its wings in a distant prairie, could stir up a storm on the other side of the world. Just as a small change in nature can cause a ripple, so can the smallest tweak in language create entirely new meanings. Welcome back to week two of our wordplay adventure! This week, we continue our journey by making a tiny shift -- just one letter -- to each word and see how it transforms. We begin with a change to last Fri's androgynic https://wordsmith.org/words/androgynic.html . What words like this can you think of? Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/androgenic.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. For even more linguistic mischief, check out the weeks where each word had two definitions, differing by just a single letter: https://wordsmith.org/words/connate.html https://wordsmith.org/words/palatine.html androgenic (an-druh-JEN-ik) adjective 1. Relating to the development of male characteristics. 2. Having origin in the male sex. [From Greek andro- (man) + -genic (producing). Earliest documented use: 1919.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/androgenic https://wordsmith.org/words/images/androgenic_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "[Mossy Kilcher] has finished a memoir about her young life on the homestead, meant partly as her corrective to the androgenic versions of Alaskan life promoted by reality television." Grayson Haver Currin; Folk Songs for Alaska Get a Second Life; The New York Times; Jul 15, 2020. "Danazol was commonly used to treat endometriosis in the 1980s, but many cis-gender women were turned off the medication because of the androgenic effects of a deepening voice and coarse facial hair." Christel Yardley; "Every Boy Should Know About It"; Dominion Post (Wellington, New Zealand); Dec 8, 2020.