A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Sep 1 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--stickybeak X-Bonus: The less a statesman amounts to, the more he loves the flag. -Kin Hubbard, humorist (1 Sep 1868-1930) This week's theme: Words made with animal parts stickybeak (STIK-ee-beek) noun: 1. An overly inquisitive person. 2. An inquisitive look or inspection. verb intr.: To pry or snoop. [From stick, from Old English stician (to pierce or thrust) + beak (slang for a human nose). Earliest documented use: 1914.] "The Eavesdropper", 1655 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/stickybeak_large.jpg Art: Nicolaes Maes https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nicolaes_Maes_-_The_Eavesdropping_Man.jpg NOTES: If you stick your nose where it doesn't belong, you might expect to be called a stickynose. English took the more colorful route and gave us stickybeak, using beak as slang for the human nose. Its two crisp k sounds make it doubly satisfying. The term is more common in Australia and New Zealand, but judging by the vocabulary, there is no shortage of nosy people anywhere: English also has nosy parker, prodnose, https://wordsmith.org/words/prodnose.html busybody, quidnunc, https://wordsmith.org/words/quidnunc.html and yenta. https://wordsmith.org/words/yenta.html "Well, the next day Maureen said she was going over to say hello. To tell you the truth, Mo wanted to have a bit of a stickybeak, curious to see how they were settling in." Yasmine Gooneratne; A Change of Skies; Picador Australia; 1991. "McIntire County was a bona fide mob of stickybeaks putting their noses where they didn't belong." Winter Austin; Sins of the Father; Crimson Romance; 2016. -------- Date: Wed Sep 2 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--moth-wing X-Bonus: Progressive societies outgrow institutions as children outgrow clothes. -Henry George, economist, journalist, and philosopher (2 Sep 1839-1897) This week's theme: Words made with animal parts moth-wing (MAWTH-wing) adjective: Fragile or fleeting. noun: Something fragile or fleeting. [From moth, from Old English moththe + wing, from Old Norse vængir, plural of vængr. Earliest documented use: 1823.] "Giant Peacock Moth", 1889 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/moth_wing_large.jpg Art: Vincent van Gogh https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WLANL_-_artanonymous_-_Nachtpauwoog.jpg "A real moth-wing talent, authentic and alive, however fragile, is manifest in such poems as these." Harriet Monroe; Moth Wings; Poetry (Chicago, Illinois); Nov 1926. "The map I am making is obsolete, a nautical map from 1573, faded, tea-stained yellow, discolored in places by what looks like the heat of too-close candle flame. The paper is moth wing." Michelle Valois; The Portulan Principle; TriQuarterly (Chicago, Illinois); Winter & Spring 2011. -------- Date: Thu Sep 3 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--griffonage X-Bonus: The old poets little knew what comfort they could be to a man. -Sarah Orne Jewett, poet and novelist (3 Sep 1849-1909) This week's theme: Words made with animal parts griffonage (grif-uh-NAHZH) noun Careless or illegible handwriting; scrawl. [From French griffonner (to scribble or scrawl), from griffe (claw). Earliest documented use: 1832.] NOTES: English calls an indecipherable scrawl chicken scratch, and French clearly agrees: griffonage comes from griffe (claw). Medical schools probably require doctors to take a solemn oath to maintain a prescribed level of griffonage on every prescription. My dad was not a doctor, but he practiced griffonage par excellence. The post office sometimes returned his letters because no one could decipher the address. We joked that he should add extra stamps to cover the decoding fee. I would sometimes set one of his letters aside and ask him to decipher it the next time we met. At times, even he couldn't. Thank G̶o̶d̶ Sholes et al. for the typewriter, which my dad used for all his nonpersonal correspondence and, mercifully, some personal letters too. Exhibit A: My dad's griffonage par excellence https://wordsmith.org/words/images/griffonage_large.jpg "Had I the right rag paper, and minerals to mix a passable Elizabethan ink, I could reproduce a couple of lines of Shakespeare's griffonage." Bradford Morrow; The Forgers; Mysterious Press; 2014. -------- Date: Fri Sep 4 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cowhearted 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: Words made with animal parts cowhearted (KOW-har-tid) adjective Cowardly. [From cow, from Old English cu (cow) + heart, from Old English heorte. Earliest documented use: 1660.] Lion Coward https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cowhearted_large.jpg Art: Illustration from "A Complete Guide to Heraldry", 1909 https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Complete_Guide_to_Heraldry/Chapter_11 NOTES: Coward contains no cow. It is from Latin cauda (tail). The word may evoke an animal with its tail between its legs or someone turning tail and fleeing. Cowhearted, however, really is cow + hearted, though its meaning was influenced by the similar-sounding coward. In short, coward is all tail and no cow. The cattle may wish to file a moo-tion for defamation. "Palmering is too cowhearted to accept a challenge." Mona Gedney; Murder Most Indiscreet, in Murder at Almack's; Zebra Books; 2003. -------- Date: Mon Sep 7 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--stuporous X-Bonus: I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it. -Edith Sitwell, poet (7 Sep 1887-1964) Nouns put things on the stage. Adjectives control the lighting, moisture, odor, silhouette, and state of consciousness. This week, we leave familiar, everyday vocabulary backstage and spotlight five uncommon adjectives. One even knows when to stop talking. stuporous (STOO/STYOO-puh-ruhs) adjective Dazed, sluggish, or barely responsive. [From Latin stupere (to be stunned or dazed), which also gave us stupendous, stupefy, and stupid. Earliest documented use: 1712.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/stuporous "Here I and Sorrow Sit", 1783 (Act II Scene I of King John by William Shakespeare) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/stuporous_large.jpg Art: Henry Fuseli https://gallerix.org/storeroom/1772373417/N/805/ "However stuporous the lobster is from the trip home, for instance, it tends to come alarmingly to life when placed in boiling water. ... The lobster, in other words, behaves very much as you or I would behave if we were plunged into boiling water (with the obvious exception of screaming). A blunter way to say this is that the lobster acts as if it's in terrible pain, causing some cooks to leave the kitchen altogether." David Foster Wallace; Consider the Lobster; Gourmet (New York); Aug 2004. -------- Date: Tue Sep 8 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rorid X-Bonus: If more politicians in this country were thinking about the next generation instead of the next election, it might be better for the United States and the world. -Claude Pepper, senator and representative (8 Sep 1900-1989) This week's theme: Uncommon adjectives rorid (ROR-id) adjective Dewy. [From Latin roridus (dewy), from ros (dew). Earliest documented use: 1425.] "Wings of the Morning", 1905 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/rorid_large.jpg Art: Edward Robert Hughes https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edward_Robert_Hughes_-_Wings_of_the_Morning.jpg "When auroral skies With rorid azure bathe his rapturous wings." Owen Meredith; Ode to a Starling; 1869. -------- Date: Wed Sep 9 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nidorous X-Bonus: I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means -- except by getting off his back. -Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher (9 Sep 1828-1910) This week's theme: Uncommon adjectives nidorous (NY-duh-ruhs) adjective Smelling strongly of cooking, burning, or decaying animal matter. [From Latin nidor (strong smell from cooking or burning), unrelated to odor. Earliest documented use: 1626.] "Smell", 1650 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/nidorous_large.jpg Art: Michaelina Wautier https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michaelina_Wautier,_Smell,_1650.jpg "A nidorous stench hangs in the air and our hands or our handkerchiefs or cocktail napkins cover our noses." R.A. Allen; Monday Burning; Literary Review (Madison, New Jersey); Summer 2010. [R.A. Allen's short story Monday Burning actually features a patron in a bar who spontaneously combusts.] -------- Date: Thu Sep 10 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--macilent X-Bonus: Our memories are card indexes consulted and then returned in disorder by authorities whom we do not control. -Cyril Connolly, critic and editor (10 Sep 1903-1974) This week's theme: Uncommon adjectives macilent (MAS-uh-luhnt) adjective 1. Lean or emaciated. 2. Lacking in substance. [From Latin macilentus (lean). Earliest documented use: before 1425.] "The Old Guitarist", 1903-1904 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/macilent_large.jpg Art: Pablo Picasso https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Guitarist "Then he pulled up abruptly and turned to look back at Haggarty's macilent form as it retreated up the corridor." Clive Allan; The Well of the Dead; Troubador; 2017. -------- Date: Fri Sep 11 12:01:03 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--breviloquent 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: Uncommon adjectives breviloquent (bre-VIL-uh-kwuhnt) adjective Using few words. [From Latin brevis (short) + loqui (to speak). Earliest documented use: 1865.] NOTES: The delicious irony is that a word meaning "using few words" is four syllables and twelve letters long. It makes up for the number of words with length. Near-synonyms include laconic https://wordsmith.org/words/laconic.html and pauciloquent https://wordsmith.org/words/pauciloquy.html ; the opposite is loquacious. https://wordsmith.org/words/loquacious.html At the risk of failing to be breviloquent, there is no lack of other ways you could speak, speaking too much: pleniloquence https://wordsmith.org/words/pleniloquence.html speaking pompously: magniloquent https://wordsmith.org/words/magniloquent.html, grandiloquent, https://wordsmith.org/words/grandiloquent.html, altiloguent https://wordsmith.org/words/altiloquent.html, speechify https://wordsmith.org/words/speechify.html, declaim https://wordsmith.org/words/declaim.html, or bloviate https://wordsmith.org/words/bloviate.html speaking foolishly: stultiloquy https://wordsmith.org/words/stultiloquy.html speaking without moving lips: ventriloquism https://wordsmith.org/words/ventriloquism.html speaking while sleeping: somniloquy https://wordsmith.org/words/somniloquy.html and speaking while spraying saliva: sialoquent. https://wordsmith.org/words/sialoquent.html See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/breviloquent "Shrugging the Shoulders", 19th century https://wordsmith.org/words/images/breviloquent_large.jpg Photo: Oscar Gustave Rejlander https://picryl.com/media/shrugging-the-shoulders-360fc1 "[The driver] raised his hands from the wheel in a 'What can you do?' shrug. For once, the exchange was breviloquent." Tara Gallagher; Gratitude: Don't Mention It; Town & Country (New York); Nov 2012. -------- Date: Mon Sep 14 12:01:01 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--evert X-Bonus: Patriotism is proud of a country's virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their own specific virtues. The pride of nationalism, however, trumpets its country's virtues and denies its deficiencies, while it is contemptuous toward the virtues of other countries. It wants to be, and proclaims itself to be, "the greatest", but greatness is not required of a country; only goodness is. -Sydney J. Harris, journalist and author (14 Sep 1917-1986) This week, the letter a is taking a vacation, and e is covering its shifts. Each of our five words differs from a familiar word by that single substitution. They may look like typos, but they're all real words, and none contains an a. For each word, can you write a sentence using it alongside its more familiar lookalike? evert (i-VUHRT) verb tr. To turn inside out or outward. [From Latin evertere (to overturn), from e- (out) + vertere (to turn). Earliest documented use: 1533.] NOTES: Some sea stars evert their stomachs through their mouths to digest prey outside their bodies. They take dining out literally. Evert and avert share Latin vertere (to turn). Their prefixes supply the difference: e- (out) vs a- (away). If the wind everts your umbrella, averting your eyes won't help. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/evert From the book "Golden Rays", 1882 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/evert_large.jpg Engraving: Samuel E. Brown https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Overtaken_by_Wind.jpg "And the spattery gale that has knocked over parking signs and everted umbrellas all morning suddenly quits an hour before match time." David Foster Wallace; Roger Federer as Religious Experience; The New York Times; Aug 20, 2006. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/sports/playmagazine/20federer.html -------- Date: Tue Sep 15 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--villein X-Bonus: Some people with great virtues are disagreeable, while others with great vices are delightful. -Francois, duc de La Rochefoucauld, moralist (15 Sep 1613-1680) This week's theme: Words you might be tempted to emend villein (VIL-uhn) noun A peasant legally bound to a feudal lord, owing labor or dues in return for the use of land. [From Old French vilein (peasant), from Latin villanus (farm worker), from villa (country estate, farm). Earliest documented use: before 1325.] NOTES: The villein worked a plot. The villain plotted. How did a farm worker become a villain? They were originally forms of the same word. The upper classes associated peasants with crude manners, and associated them with bad character. Over time, a word for a country dweller became a word for a scoundrel. By the end of this linguistic journey, the country bumpkin had become Dr. No. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/villein "The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry: March", c. 1440 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/villein_large.jpg Art: Limbourg brothers & Barthélemy d'Eyck https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Les_Tr%C3%A8s_Riches_Heures_du_duc_de_Berry_mars.jpg "The landowners prosper across the cycles while the serfs and villeins do the work." Donald Coxe; George W., Villain; Maclean's (Toronto, Canada); Apr 8, 2002. -------- Date: Wed Sep 16 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rosery X-Bonus: Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation. Tooting, howling, screeching, booming, crashing, whistling, grinding, and trilling bolster his ego. -Jean Arp, artist and poet (16 Sep 1886-1966) This week's theme: Words you might be tempted to emend rosery (ROHZ-uh-ree) noun A garden or part of a garden devoted to roses. [From rose + -ery, from Latin rosa (rose). Earliest documented use: 1745.] NOTES: Rosery and rosary share more than a pronunciation: rosary also has an older meaning of a rose garden. Prayers were likened to a garden or garland of roses, and the name later extended to the beads used to count them. Garden Path, 1900-1910 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/rosery_large.jpg Art: Annie L. Pressland https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Annie_L_Pressland_Garden_path_J_Salmon_postcard.jpg "Last year, I also succumbed to the trend for leaving old-fashioned roses unpruned, with the result that our rosery resembles a briar patch." Mark Griffiths; The New Year; Country Life (Bath, UK); Jan 14, 2015. -------- Date: Thu Sep 17 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mordent X-Bonus: You have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in balance, just to keep the world from running you plumb crazy. -Ken Kesey, novelist (17 Sep 1935-2001) This week's theme: Words you might be tempted to emend mordent (MOR-duhnt) noun A musical ornament typically made by playing a note, the note immediately above or below it, and the original note again in quick succession. [From German Mordent, from Italian mordente (biting), ultimately from Latin mordere (to bite). Earliest documented use: 1806.] NOTES: Both mordant https://wordsmith.org/words/mordant.html and mordent ultimately come from Latin mordere (to bite). Mordant usually describes biting wit; mordent names a musical ornament. But what's the fun in keeping everything neatly organized? Mordant is also an accepted spelling for the musical ornament. Even the spelling gets to improvise. An explanation of ornaments written in Bach's hand (detail), 1720 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/mordent_large.jpg Image: Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bach-ornamentguide.jpg "The chief expert witness for the Beastie Boys in the 'Choir' case was Lawrence Ferrara, who is a professor of music at New York University, and when I asked him to explain the court's ruling he walked over to the piano in the corner of his office and played those three notes: C, D-flat, C. 'That's it!' he shouted. 'There ain't nothing else! That's what was used. You know what this is? It's no more than a mordent, a turn. It's been done thousands upon thousands of times. No one can say they own that.'" Malcolm Gladwell; Something Borrowed; The New Yorker; Nov 22, 2004. -------- Date: Fri Sep 18 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--decedent X-Bonus: Extended empires are like expanded gold, exchanging solid strength for feeble splendor. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (18 Sep 1709-1784) This week's theme: Words you might be tempted to emend decedent (di-SEE-duhnt) noun A person who has died. [From Latin decedens (departing), from decedere (to depart, to die), from de- (away) + cedere (to go, yield). Earliest documented use: 1599.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/decedent "Reading the Will", 1820 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/decedent_large.jpg Art: David Wilkie https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wilkie,_David_-_Reading_the_Will_-_1820.jpg NOTES: Decedent is used chiefly in legal contexts, especially in matters of wills and estates. In the case quoted below, Charlotte Stafford provided $100,000 in trust to ensure a decadent lifestyle for her cat, Kissie Meouw Stafford, and deliberately excluded her three nephews from her will. They challenged the will and lost. The cat got the cream; the nephews got lawyers. Decadent ultimately comes from Latin decadere (to fall away), built on cadere (to fall). Decedent comes from Latin decedere (to depart, to die), built on cedere (to go). The words share a prefix, but their roots take different paths. "By all accounts, decedent was a very intelligent, private, and strong-willed woman who 'ran her life the way she wanted to run it.'" Matter of Stafford; New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department; Nov 27, 2013. https://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2013/2013_07910.htm -------- Date: Mon Sep 21 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--soporiferous X-Bonus: A time will come when a politician who has wilfully made war and promoted international dissension will be as sure of the dock and much surer of the noose than a private homicide. It is not reasonable that those who gamble with men's lives should not stake their own. -H.G. Wells, writer (21 Sep 1866-1946) Dictionaries are like zoos for words: each specimen is neatly labeled and safely contained. But to truly understand a word, you have to observe it in the wild. I look for such sightings in newspapers, magazines, and books. Every so often, an example is so funny, surprising, revealing, or simply strange that it steals the show. This week's five words have little else in common. Their examples do. soporiferous (sop-uh-RIF-uhr-uhs) adjective Inducing sleep. [From Latin sopor (deep sleep) + -fer (bearing). Earliest documented use: 1583.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/soporiferous "The Sleeping Congregation", 1790s https://wordsmith.org/words/images/soporiferous_large.jpg God went WOW; the congregation went ZZZ. Art: After William Hogarth https://picryl.com/media/the-sleepy-congregation-bm-19350522120-1-80328a "The visiting preacher was a grey-haired woman. Her soporiferous sermon induced instant lethargy until she gave a sudden shriek. '...and God went WOW!' she shouted, and repeated this dubious claim twice. Incomprehension skittered among the congregation of six elderly ladies." Angela Huth; Diary; The Spectator (London, UK); Dec 10, 2011. -------- Date: Tue Sep 22 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--misgiving X-Bonus: Learning is acquired by reading books; but the much more necessary learning, the knowledge of the world, is only to be acquired by reading men, and studying all the various editions of them. -Lord Chesterfield, statesman and writer (22 Sep 1694-1773) This week's theme: Words with scene-stealing examples misgiving (mis-GIV-ing) noun A feeling of doubt or apprehension. [From misgive (to cause doubt or apprehension), from mis- (badly or wrongly) + give (in its former sense: to suggest). Earliest documented use: 1582.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/misgiving "The School Exam", 1862 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/misgiving_large.jpg Art: Albert Anker https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_Anker_-_Das_Schulexamen.jpg "Koreans cite the pressures and costs of excessive education as a large part of their reluctance to have children. (American parents in liberal enclaves might share a version of these misgivings.) An auspicious Korean childhood culminates in acceptance to one of Seoul's three most prestigious universities. Admission is primarily based on a student's performance on the national collegiate entrance exam, or Suneung, which is administered every year on a Thu in Nov. The opening of the stock market is delayed that day, and many construction sites are closed. Bus and metro services are increased to ease traffic congestion. Students running late may avail themselves of a police-motorcycle escort. During the English-comprehension section, which requires absolute silence, air-traffic control suspends all takeoffs and landings." Gideon Lewis-Kraus; The End of Children; The New Yorker; Mar 3, 2025. -------- Date: Wed Sep 23 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--timorous X-Bonus: Our conscience is not the vessel of eternal verities. It grows with our social life, and a new social condition means a radical change in conscience. -Walter Lippmann, journalist (23 Sep 1889-1974) This week's theme: Words with scene-stealing examples timorous (TIM-uhr-uhs) adjective Full of fear; timid. [From Latin timor (fear), from timere (to fear). Earliest documented use: c. 1450.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/timorous "The Attack", 1899 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/timorous_large.jpg The Russian doubleheaded eagle is attacking the maiden symbolizing Finland trying to rob her of her book of laws Art: Edvard Isto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Attack_(painting) "[Vladimir Yakunin, then president of Russian Railways,] explained to me that Russia had not invested heavily in high-speed trains out of deference to their neighbours, the Finns: Russia has a lot of Finnish visitors, he explained, but Finns are by nature timorous and he did not want to frighten them by giving them rides on trains that were too fast." Coming Face to Neck With Vladimir Putin; The Economist (London, UK); Mar 21, 2018. -------- Date: Thu Sep 24 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--kidology X-Bonus: If there is such a phenomenon as absolute evil, it consists in treating another human being as a thing. -John Brunner, novelist (24 Sep 1934-1995) This week's theme: Words with scene-stealing examples kidology (kid-AHL-uh-jee) noun The art or practice of bluffing or deceiving. [From kid (to deceive or tease) + -ology (a field of study). The verb kid is probably from the notion of treating someone like a child. Earliest documented use: 1964.] "Between Rounds", 1898-1899 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/kidology_large.jpg Art: Thomas Eakins https://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/sports-in-art "A boxer who wants to win the world heavyweight title has to take on not one but two opponents. He has to beat the current champion, Evander Holyfield. But he also needs to beat George Benton, the champion's trainer. For Mr Benton, known in the fight game as 'the Professor', is just about the best cornerman in the business. ... 'You've got to be a psychologist in this business,' he says. When as a young heavyweight Mr Holyfield was exhausted after three or four rounds of sparring in the gym, Mr Benton coaxed him out of his exhaustion by telling him he had sparred three three-minute rounds when the rounds had, in fact, run for only two minutes. Or by saying he had fought a four-minute round when it had lasted only three minutes. The kidology worked: Mr Holyfield's stamina is no longer in doubt." The Punch Director; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 22, 1992. -------- Date: Fri Sep 25 12:01:03 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--obtuse X-Bonus: No battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools. -William Faulkner, novelist (25 Sep 1897-1962) This week's theme: Words with scene-stealing examples obtuse (uhb-TOOS/TYOOS) adjective 1. Slow or unwilling to understand. 2. Dull or indistinct, as a sound, pain, or sensation. 3. Blunt; not sharp or pointed. 4. Of an angle: measuring more than 90° and less than 180°. [From Latin obtundere (to beat against), from ob- (against) + tundere (to beat), which also gave us pierce, contuse, and obtund https://wordsmith.org/words/obtund.html . Earliest documented use: 1425.] NOTES: The obtuse barracuda (Sphyraena obtusata) is not known to be slow to understand. Its snout is pointed; what the structure anatomists describe as obtuse is the rounded rear tip of its opercle, or gill cover. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/obtuse "Scholars at a Lecture", 1736 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/obtuse_large.jpg Art: William Hogarth https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/392599 "How will Ambassador Hoekstra's removal from Canada be done? The obvious answer: an Air Canada catering cart. ... Hoekstra may not have killed anyone, but he has repeatedly stabbed the Oxford definition of 'diplomat' with a steak knife. Like his fetid https://wordsmith.org/words/fetid.html overlord, Hoekstra has referred to Canadians as 'nasty' and 'mean' and also said he does not understand us. Two insults and a compliment -- make up your mind, Pete. ... Has there ever been a diplomat so utterly obtuse? It perfectly fits the Trump pattern -- a crackpot in charge of health, a sycophant in charge of justice, a succession of professional liars in charge of media and, for ambassador to Canada, a man who combines the bark of a sea lion with the charm of a box jellyfish." Steve Burgess; Please Advise! Where Do I Sign the Hoekstra Heave-Ho Petition?; The Tyee (Vancouver, Canada); Aug 17, 2026. https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026/08/17/Please-Advise-Hoekstra-Petition/ -------- Date: Mon Sep 28 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--idiocracy X-Bonus: It is by character and not by intellect the world is won. -Evelyn Beatrice Hall, biographer (28 Sep 1868-1956) One character can change the whole plot. This week, five words take the stage. Next week, we'll recast one character in each and meet five different words, each with a role and history of its own. idiocracy (i-dee-AH-kruh-see) noun 1. Government by idiots. 2. A society governed or populated by idiots. [A blend of idiot and -ocracy (rule or government). Earliest documented use in this sense: 1967.] NOTES: In the 2006 film "Idiocracy", two people are placed in suspended animation as part of a secret military experiment. Forgotten, they awaken in 2505 to find that society has grown spectacularly less intelligent. Idiocracy: Where the lowest common denominator becomes the gold standard. "Ship of Fools", c. 1490-1500 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/idiocracy_large.jpg Art: Hieronymus Bosch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Fools_(painting) Tara Setmayer: "It's idiocracy at its height right here. I mean, when I saw the pictures of them literally pouring hydrogen peroxide into this, I just was like, oh my God. You know, this is what happens when you fire all the scientists and like the environmental experts and just say, 'I want a reflecting pool.'"   CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip (New York); Jun 16, 2026. "We are sprinting toward idiocracy, eyes glued to a screen." Kara Kennedy; The Death of Reading Is a Civilisational Catastrophe; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Aug 22, 2025. -------- Date: Tue Sep 29 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--androgynous X-Bonus: The pen is the tongue of the mind. -Miguel de Cervantes, writer (29 Sep 1547-1616) This week's theme: A change of character: Act I androgynous (an-DROJ-uh-nuhs) adjective 1. Having both masculine and feminine characteristics, or being neither distinctly masculine nor feminine. 2. Biology: Having both male and female sex characteristics. [From Latin androgynus, from Greek androgynos, from andro- (man) + -gune (woman). Earliest documented use: 1628.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/androgynous "Sleeping Hermaphrodite" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/androgynous_large.jpg Sculptor unknown. Mattress & pillow: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1620 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Hermaphroditus "Lea DeLaria turned Nick Bottom into an androgynous cross between Lou Costello and Ella Fitzgerald." High Points of '06; Daily Record (Parsippany, New Jersey); Dec 31, 2006. -------- Date: Wed Sep 30 12:01:03 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--casque 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) This week's theme: A change of character: Act I casque (kask) noun A helmet or a helmet-like structure. [From French casque (helmet), from Spanish casco (helmet, skull). Earliest documented use: 1580.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/casque "Australian Cassowary" (detail), 1869 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/casque_large.jpg Illustration: John Gould & H.C. Richter, from "The Birds of Australia", Supplement https://flickr.com/photos/vintage_illustration/32493267358/ "'He's pretty much in his adult plumage now, the casque on top of his head is about two and a bit inches tall already,' Mr Biggs said." Plan Hatched for Love Match; Cairns Post / Weekend Post (Queensland, Australia); May 18, 2013.