A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Fri Oct 1 00:01:03 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hardfisted X-Bonus: In our world of big names, curiously, our true heroes tend to be anonymous. In this life of illusion and quasi-illusion, the person of solid virtues who can be admired for something more substantial than his well-knownness often proves to be the unsung hero: the teacher, the nurse, the mother, the honest cop, the hard worker at lonely, underpaid, unglamorous, unpublicized jobs. -Daniel J Boorstin, historian, professor, attorney, and writer (1 Oct 1914-2004) This week's theme: Hand to mouth hardfisted (HARD-fis-tid) adjective 1. Stingy. 2. Tough, aggressive, or ruthless. 3. Having hands made rough by labor: hardhanded. [From hard + fisted, from Old English fyst (fist). Earliest documented use: 1612.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/hardfisted https://wordsmith.org/words/images/hardfisted_large.jpg Image: https://viewcomiconline.com/police-comics-issue-118/ "Callovan inherited his wealth from his hard-fisted old father." Francis Clement Kelley; The City and the World and Other Stories; Extension Press; 1913. "The plains were crawling with rough, hardfisted men, who had been weaned on skinned knuckles and a swift kick to the balls." Matt Braun; Cimarron Jordan; Pocket Books; 1975. -------- Date: Mon Oct 4 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chosisme X-Bonus: The unrestricted competition so commonly advocated does not leave us the survival of the fittest. The unscrupulous succeed best in accumulating wealth. -Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th US president (4 Oct 1822-1893) "Working" has a different meaning for writers. If you are a writer, writing doesn't necessarily mean typing away on a keyboard or scribbling on a piece of paper. Writing happens when you are walking or taking a shower or pulling weeds in the backyard. Simply staring out a window also works. Once your writing is done, you just need to dump it on a sheet of paper or into a computer. This week we'll see a few words related to writing. How would you describe what you do in a way that clears misconceptions or puts it in a different light? Share it on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/chosisme.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. chosisme (sho-ZEEZ-muh) noun A literary style which focuses on description of objects, not on interpretation, plot, characterization, etc. [From French, from chose (thing), from Latin causa (case, thing). The idea is associated with the writer and filmmaker Alain Robbe-Grillet. Earliest documented use: 1960s.] "'How are things?' someone asks the author at a party. That sets him off. How are things? You mean, in what way do things exist? How should I know? What, even, is a thing? I'd better write a book about it. And so he does: a book of short meditations on everyday objects, a contemporary exercise in happy chosisme." Steven Poole; How Are Things?; The Guardian (London, UK); Nov 5, 2005. -------- Date: Tue Oct 5 00:01:03 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pilcrow X-Bonus: Within one linear centimeter of your lower colon there lives and works more bacteria (about 100 billion) than all humans who have ever been born. Yet many people continue to assert that it is we who are in charge of the world. -Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and author (b. 5 Oct 1958) This week's theme: Words related to writing pilcrow (PIL-kroh) noun A symbol (¶) used to indicate paragraph breaks. [Apparently an alteration of the word paragraph, with r changing into l and remodeled along the more familiar words pill and crow. Earliest documented use: 1440.] NOTES: In the beginning, a piece of writing was one big amorphous chunk of text: no punctuation, no upper/lowercase, no spaces. Writing real estate was expensive, whether tablets, skins, or papyrus. With time punctuation marks entered the language. A pilcrow signified a change in topic, even though the text still flowed without any visual breaks. Eventually, actual paragraph breaks were employed and the pilcrow sat at the beginning of the paragraph, often embellished in red color. When printing came along, the hand embellishment of the pilcrow disappeared though the space marked for it remained at the beginning of the paragraph as an indent. The pilcrow took a well-earned retirement, though you can still find it if you know where to look in your word processor. Pilcrow signs in "Villanova, Rudimenta Grammaticæ" (1500) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pilcrow_large.jpg Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilcrow#/media/File:Villanova-rudimenta-grammatic%C3%A6-Valencia-1500.jpg "I suggest adding a pilcrow for persons who read while driving." Vladimir Nabokov; Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle; McGraw-Hill; 1969. -------- Date: Wed Oct 6 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--paremiography X-Bonus: It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy. -George H. Lorimer, editor (6 Oct 1867-1937) This week's theme: Words related to writing paremiography or paroemiography (puh-ree-mee-AH-gruh-fee) noun 1. The writing or collecting of proverbs. 2. A collection of proverbs. [From Latin paroemia (proverb), from Greek paroimia (proverb) + -graphy (writing). Earliest documented use: 1818.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/paremiography_large.jpg Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paremiography#/media/File:Paremiography_books.JPG "But such are the pitfalls of lexicography in general and paremiography in particular. It takes time for 'new' words and phrases to be picked up, and some expressions never make it into dictionaries and collections." Wolfgang Mieder; "Good fences make good neighbours": History and Significance of an Ambiguous Proverb; Folklore (Abingdon, UK); Aug 2003. -------- Date: Thu Oct 7 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dithyramb X-Bonus: No, no, you're not thinking, you're just being logical. -Niels Bohr, physicist (7 Oct 1885-1962) This week's theme: Words related to writing dithyramb (DITH-i-ram/ramb) noun 1. A piece of writing or speech in an inflated or wildly enthusiastic manner. 2. An impassioned Greek choral song, originally in honor of the god Dionysus or Bacchus. [From Latin dithyrambus, from Greek dithyrambos. Earliest documented use: 1603.] "Although [John Moore] extols the art of tending bar, and goes into dithyrambs over the delicate hues and shades of liquors and liqueurs, the storyline invites more cause than effect, like a watered drink at happy hour." Len Gasparini; Where Everybody Knows Your Name; The Toronto Star (Canada); May 21, 2000. "Telephonically, I cornered US poet laureate Billy Collins in his office overlooking the Capitol. Interrupted in mid-dithyramb (my poetic license has not expired), Collins bobbed and weaved, poetically." Alex Beam; When Poets Take License Too Far; Boston Globe; Oct 29, 2002. -------- Date: Fri Oct 8 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--obelus X-Bonus: We must learn to honor excellence in every socially accepted human activity, however humble the activity, and to scorn shoddiness, however exalted the activity. An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher. The society that scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water. -John W. Gardner, author and leader (8 Oct 1912-2002) This week's theme: Words related to writing obelus (OB-uh-luhs) noun, plural obeli 1. A sign (minus or division sign) used in ancient manuscripts to indicate a spurious or doubtful word or passage. 2. A sign (†) used to indicate reference marks. Also known as obelisk or dagger. [From Latin obelus, from Greek obelos (spit). Earliest documented use: c. 450.] NOTES: In typography, an asterisk is used to indicate a footnote as is an obelus aka obelisk. In Asterix comics, the character Obelix is the best friend of the hero Asterix. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/obelus_large.jpg Graphic: Monotype https://www.monotype.com "The young scribe returned to the works of Trismegistus and, at the old man's command, added an obelus after each asterisk." Joanne Reay; Romeo Spikes; Gallery Books; 2011. -------- Date: Mon Oct 11 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dovecote X-Bonus: A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and in all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this world no one is all knowing and therefore all of us need both love and charity. -Eleanor Roosevelt, diplomat and writer (11 Oct 1884-1962) I recently learned about something called competitive birding, in a most fascinating article in the latest issue of the "Scientific American" magazine. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/extreme-birding-competition-is-a-cutthroat-test-of-skill-strategy-and-endurance/ As one of the participants in the contest says, "This isn't birding. This is war." So if you like war, or if you like to shoot birds, try competitive birding instead. Leave your gun at home and pick up a pair of binoculars. Birds didn't do anything to hurt you -- why would you hurt them? Shoot with a camera instead. Speaking of not hurting, if you have birds in a cage, please let them go. They belong in the open skies, not in a tiny prison. Thank you. (Think about how you'd feel if you were simply going about your day, on your way to get groceries for your family and someone captured you and put you behind bars for the rest of your life (same with the fish). A word in the mind is worth two in the book. This week we'll share with you birds that have become metaphors in the English language. Call them bird words. Are you into birding? Share your stories on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/dovecote.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Even if you are not a birder, write us anyway and tell us about your bird encounters. dovecote (DUHV-koht) or dovecot (DUHV-kot) noun 1. A structure with holes for housing domestic pigeons. 2. A settled group, especially one of a quiet, conservative nature. [From dove, from Old English dufe + cote (shelter, coop), from Old English cote. Earliest documented use: 1425. A synonym is columbarium https://wordsmith.org/words/columbarium.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/dovecote NOTES: The word is sometimes used in the idiom "a flutter in the dovecote" meaning "a disturbance in a settled, conservative group". In Shakespeare's "Coriolanus", the title character, Roman general Caius Marcius (later given the name Coriolanus), has a thing for bird metaphors. He calls allowing plebeians (commoners) to have any power over the patricians (ruling class) as allowing "the crows to peck the eagles". When asked where he lived, he replies, "In the city of kites and crows". Later, he brags "like an eagle in a dove-cote, I flutter'd your Volscians in Corioli" meaning that he destroyed Volscians in Corioli. Corioli was a town in the ancient territory of Volsci in Italy. It was in recognition of his military feat in Corioli that he was given the nickname Coriolanus. A dovecote in Egypt https://wordsmith.org/words/images/dovecote_large.jpg Photo: Rachid H https://flickr.com/photos/rachidh/15719184668/ "The studio became a dovecote for the right wing. 'These are believers talking to believers. It was like listening to a convention of preachers discussing the merits of tithing.'" James Kilpatrick; Create Similes with Care of Frugal Stonemason; The Augusta Chronicle (Georgia); Jul 8, 2000. -------- Date: Tue Oct 12 00:01:03 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--puttock X-Bonus: Someone is Hindu, someone is Muslim, someone is Christian / Everyone is hell-bent on not becoming a human being. -Nida Fazli, poet (12 Oct 1938-2016) This week's theme: Bird words puttock (PUHT-uhk) noun 1. Any of various birds of prey. 2. A greedy person, especially one who preys on others. [Of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old English putta (hawk). Earliest documented use: 1175.] A buzzard with a mouse https://wordsmith.org/words/images/puttock_large.jpg Photo: Rob Zweers https://flickr.com/photos/rob_zweers/38998494414/ "He feeds on sin like a puttock." Simon Palfrey; Attending to Tom; Shakespeare Quarterly (Oxford, UK); Spring 2014. -------- Date: Wed Oct 13 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--raven messenger X-Bonus: The age difference between myself (29) and the oldest House members is ~60 years. For better or worse, young people will live in the world Congress leaves behind. That's why I focus on our future: addressing climate change and runaway income inequality, ending school-to-prison pipelines, etc. -Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman to serve in the US Congress (b. Oct 13, 1989) This week's theme: Bird words raven messenger (RAY-vuhn mes-uhn-juhr) noun A messenger who does not arrive or return in time. [In the Bible, Noah sends a raven to go scout the scene, but the bird never returns to the ark. Earliest documented use: 1400. Also known as a corbie messenger https://wordsmith.org/words/corbie_messenger.html .] A raven messenger in the game "Hearthstone" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/raven_messenger_large.jpg Image: Hearthstone Wiki https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Messenger_Raven "But by then Zanja should be far away, with no raven messenger to tell the news." Laurie J. Marks; Earth Logic; Tor; 2004. -------- Date: Thu Oct 14 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pigeonhole X-Bonus: Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. -Dwight D. Eisenhower, US general and 34th president (14 Oct 1890-1969) This week's theme: Bird words pigeonhole (PIJ-uhn-hohl) noun: 1. A hole or recess for a pigeon to nest or rest. 2. One of a series of small compartments for filing papers, etc. 3. A stereotypical category, not reflecting the complexities. verb tr.: 1. To place in, or as if in, a pigeonhole. 2. To lay aside for future consideration. 3. To stereotype, to put into a preconceived, rigid category. [From pigeon, from Old French pijon (a young bird), from Latin pipio, from pipere/pipare (to chirp) + Old English hol. Earliest documented use: 1577.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/pigeonhole pigeonhole, noun 1 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pigeonhole1_large.jpg Image: Romana Klee https://flickr.com/photos/nauright/12550513733/ pigeonhole, noun 2 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pigeonhole2_large.jpg Image: Stop TTIP https://flickr.com/photos/eci_ttip/32079873533/ pigeonhole, noun 3 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pigeonhole3_large.jpg Image: Fixers https://flickr.com/photos/fixersuk/12175133936/ "She hardly knew Rory, so pigeonholing him into one of her ten male types would be wrong. But the tattoos, earrings, and leather suggested a guy who was carrying around lots of pain and anger." Hope Ramsay; The Bride Next Door; Grand Central Publishing; 2018. -------- Date: Fri Oct 15 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--war hawk X-Bonus: He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. -Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher (15 Oct 1844-1900) This week's theme: Bird words war hawk (WAR hawk) noun One who advocates war, military intervention, or other aggressive measures. [After hawk, a bird of prey + war, from Old English (werre) + hawk, from Old English heafoc. Earliest documented use: 1792.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/war%20hawk https://wordsmith.org/words/images/war_hawk_large.jpg Cartoon: Steve Sack, Star-Tribune NOTES: A war hawk (or, simply, hawk) advocates war, a dove (or, peace dove) peace. Then there's the species chicken hawk, https://wordsmith.org/words/chicken_hawk.html which clamors for war only to send others to fight and do the dirty work while staying safely behind. Most war hawks are simply chicken hawks. The term war hawk was especially applied to members of the 12th US Congress (1811-1813) who advocated for war with Britain. Among other motives for the war was the annexation of Canada. They got their war, now known as the War of 1812. The British burned the White House and the Capitol, among other federal buildings. The war ended in 1815. Some 25,000 died. It was a draw. The US national anthem came out of this war. The lawyer Francis Scott Key went to negotiate with the British in Baltimore, Maryland, and after a night of heavy bombardment saw a US flag still flying on Fort McHenry. He was inspired to write the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry" that later became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner" and was set to the tune of an old English drinking song. In Nov 1929, "Ripley's Believe it or Not!" ran a cartoon with the caption "America has no national anthem!" https://www.flickr.com/photos/wordsmithorg/51553514090/ By Jan 1930, five million Americans had signed a petition to make "The Star-Spangled Banner" the national anthem. The US Congress got into action. It took them just about a year and in Mar 1931, President Hoover signed the bill formally recognizing the poem as the national anthem. "Our approach to the Middle East is simple. We see a natural resource, or an opportunity to crank up the American war machine, and we go for it. The Clintons and Bushes are two sides of the same war hawk coin. We send our young to fight under the allure of American pride." Daniel Cody; Congress in Perspective; The Chronicle (Hempstead, New York); Sep 16, 2021. -------- Date: Mon Oct 18 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--brewstered X-Bonus: The notion of making money by popular work, and then retiring to do good work, is the most familiar of all the devil's traps for artists. -Logan Pearsall Smith, essayist (18 Oct 1865-1946) Each word has a story. It tells us where it has been and how it reached us. From Latin, Greek, whatever. But not every word has a story story. By that I mean a word that comes with a whole mythology or a novel behind it. This is a word with a backstory, because it's coined after a person. We call such words eponyms, from Greek epi- (upon) + -onym (name). This week we'll introduce you to five eponyms. These are coined after characters from real life and fiction. They have been in the language for hundreds of years or just a couple of decades. They are words coined after people on both sides of the Atlantic. They are all part of the language now. Say hello to them. If you were to turn into an eponym and become a part of the language, what would your dictionary entry read? Share with us at words@wordsmith.org. As always, include your location (city, state). brewstered (BROOS-tuhrd) adjective Very rich. [After Montgomery Brewster, the title character of the 1902 novel "Brewster's Millions" by George Barr McCutcheon. Earliest documented use: 2001.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/brewstered_large.jpg A poster of the 1985 film adaptation "Brewster's Millions" Poster: Universal Pictures NOTES: In the novel "Brewster's Millions", Montgomery Brewster inherits $1 million when his grandfather dies. An uncle who hated this grandfather promises Brewster $7 million if he could spend that one million from the grandfather within a year. There are certain conditions, of course. He can't just give the money away, he must get something of value in return, etc. The novel has been adapted into musicals, radio plays, and dozens of movies in many languages. "He says he's gonna buy a Mackie D's when he's brewstered. Wade tells him that the franchise on that is a million." Graham Johnson; Gang War; Mainstream Publishing; 2011. -------- Date: Tue Oct 19 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hoover X-Bonus: Traditionalists are pessimists about the future and optimists about the past. -Lewis Mumford, writer and philosopher (19 Oct 1895-1990) This week's theme: Eponyms hoover (HOO-vuhr) noun: A vacuum cleaner. verb tr.: 1. To clean, especially with a vacuum cleaner. 2. To consume or acquire quickly, eagerly, or in large amounts. [After the industrialist William Henry Hoover (1849-1932). Earliest documented use: 1934.] Hoover Suction Sweeper factory https://wordsmith.org/words/images/hoover_large.jpg Photo: Remarkable Ohio https://remarkableohio.org/picture.php?/7940 NOTES: Have you suction-swept your place this week? What? Before there was Hoover, there was the Electric Suction Sweeper Company. It was founded by a janitor/inventor, James Murray Spangler, in Ohio. His was not the first vacuum, but it was the first practical one. He showed it to his cousin, Susan Hoover, who told her husband and son about it, and they bought into the business. The company started a subsidiary in the UK and the US company was eventually sold to others. As a result, the word hoover as a synonym for a vacuum is common mostly in the UK. If you thought there should be a hovering hoover, you are not alone. In the 1950s the company made a vacuum named Hoover Constellation that kinda hovered: https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8412068/hoover-constellation-vacuum-cleaner-vacuum-cleaner If you have already started thinking about what to give to women in your life this holiday season, consider this Hoover ad from 1940. It suggests men give their mothers, wives, and daughters a vacuum cleaner for Christmas. "You can show that devotion by giving each of them the same gift ... a Hoover Cleaner." Good old times! Showing appreciation for three generations of women in the family with a thoughtful, practical gift! https://www.flickr.com/photos/wordsmithorg/51558921952/ Of course, Hoover was not the only one. The ad was a product of its time. Check out this ad for a Sears vacuum cleaner https://www.flickr.com/photos/wordsmithorg/51560406854/ "For now, campaigns from both parties are hoovering up as many cellphone numbers as possible, and Parscale has said texting will be at the center of Trump’s reelection strategy." McKay Coppins; The Billion-Dollar Disinformation Campaign to Reelect the President; The Atlantic (Boston, Massachusetts); Mar 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/03/the-2020-disinformation-war/605530/ -------- Date: Wed Oct 20 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cookie monster X-Bonus: My mother used to tell me -- she would tell my sister -- my mother would look at me and she'd say, "Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last." And that's why breaking those barriers is worth it. As much as anything else, it is also to create that path for those who will come after us. -Kamala Harris, first female vice president of the US (b. 20 Oct 1964) This week's theme: Eponyms cookie monster (KU-kee mon-stuhr) noun Someone or something that is insatiably hungry or greedy. [After Cookie Monster, a puppet character in the children's television show "Sesame Street". Earliest documented use: 1971.] NOTES: Cookie Monster is fond of cookies. How fond? The story goes that when he won a contest on a quiz show and was offered his choice of a prize from: $10,000 cash, a car, a trip to Hawaii, or a cookie, well, he took a cookie. His signature song is "C is for Cookie" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye8mB6VsUHw (2 min.). He loves to chomp on cookies, but he is anything but cookie-cutter https://wordsmith.org/words/cookie-cutter.html . "Sea Is for Cookie", a mashup of Cookie Monster and "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" created in a Photoshop battle https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cookie_monster_large.jpg Illustration: Put_It_All_On_Red https://www.reddit.com/r/photoshopbattles/comments/1cfo34/great_wave_of_kanagawa_4335_2990/c9gd5k9/ "The internet's cookie monsters are harvesting your secrets." Caroline Baylon; Big Brother Is Cashing in on You; OpenDemocracy (London, UK); Mar 28, 2014. "Think of black holes as giant cosmic Cookie Monsters." Ethan Siegel; No, Black Holes Don't Suck Everything Into Them; Forbes (New York); Jun 19, 2019. -------- Date: Thu Oct 21 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--marplot X-Bonus: We read books to find out who we are. -Ursula K. Le Guin, author (21 Oct 1929-2018) This week's theme: Eponyms marplot (MAHR-plot) noun A meddlesome person who spoils a plan by interference. [After Marplot, the titular character in the 1709 play "The Busy Body" by Susannah Centlivre (1669-1723). Marplot means well and tries to help only to get in the way of others and foul things up. Earliest documented use: 1709.] Charles Pasternak (left) as Marplot in "The Busy Body" production at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville https://wordsmith.org/words/images/marplot_large.jpg Photo: Brynn Yeager https://artsknoxville.com/index.php/2017/02/25/review-cbts-the-busy-body-clever-intelligent-and-entertaining/ "And if Ben tried to say they were surely now all past the age for such folly, the others would accuse him of being a marplot." Annie Burrows; A Scandal at Midnight; Harlequin; 2021. -------- Date: Fri Oct 22 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Panglossian X-Bonus: That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, but in a new way. -Doris Lessing, novelist, poet, playwright, Nobel laureate (22 Oct 1919-2013) This week's theme: Eponyms Panglossian (pan-GLOS-ee-uhn) adjective: Blindly or unreasonably optimistic. noun: One who is optimistic regardless of the circumstances. [After Dr. Pangloss, a philosopher and tutor in Voltaire's 1759 satire "Candide". Pangloss believes that, in spite of what happens -- shipwreck, earthquake, hanging, flogging, and more -- "All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds." The name is coined from Greek panglossia (talkativeness). Earliest documented use: 1831. The word pangloss https://wordsmith.org/words/pangloss.html is used in the same manner.] Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Pangloss in an LA Opera production of Candide https://wordsmith.org/words/images/panglossian_large.jpg Photo: Ken Howard / LA Opera https://www.laopera.org/discover/la-opera-content/broadway-takes-la-opera/ "The clueless desert viceroys ... misled reporters with their Panglossian scenarios of progress." Maureen Dowd; Neocons Slither Back; The New York Times; Sep 15, 2012. -------- Date: Mon Oct 25 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--breadcrumb X-Bonus: Those who compare the age in which their lot has fallen with a golden age which exists only in imagination, may talk of degeneracy and decay; but no man who is correctly informed as to the past, will be disposed to take a morose or desponding view of the present. -Thomas Babington Macaulay, author and statesman (25 Oct 1800-1859) Fairy tales and folktales, we grew up listening to them. They were mere amusements, or not. Latest research has quantified the benefits of listening to stories. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/listening-to-a-story-helps-hospitalized-kids-heal/ Stories we grow up hearing take root in our collective consciousness. Many of the characters, places, concepts, and utterances have become part of the language. This week we'll look at five of them. breadcrumb (BRED-cruhm) noun 1. A small fragment of bread. 2. One in a series of markers placed as a navigational aid. 3. One of several hints or clues leading to a person, place, etc. [From bread, from Old English bread + crumb, from Old English cruma. Earliest documented use: 1519.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/breadcrumb https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Hansel_and_Gretel_on_stamps#/media/File:DBP_1961_369_Wohlfahrt_H%C3%A4nsel_und_Gretel.jpg NOTES: In the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel, their parents drop the two siblings off in the forest because they are not able to feed them (if only there had been a strong social safety net). The smart kids drop breadcrumbs along the way so they can trace their steps back and find their way home. In computing, website design, etc., breadcrumbs help users as a navigation aid and tell them where they are in a program, website, etc. Hansel and Gretel leaving a breadcrumb trail https://wordsmith.org/words/images/breadcrumb1_large.jpg Image: Deutsche Bundespost / Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Hansel_and_Gretel_on_stamps#/media/File:DBP_1961_369_Wohlfahrt_H%C3%A4nsel_und_Gretel.jpg A breadcrumb trail on a website https://wordsmith.org/words/images/breadcrumb2_large.jpg Photo: Douglas Mut https://flickr.com/photos/dmuth/5337998138/ "He leads you around with a trail of almost imperceptible breadcrumbs into worlds you never knew existed." Kit de Waal; John le Carré Remembered by Writers and Friends; The Guardian (London, UK); Dec 15, 2020. -------- Date: Tue Oct 26 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Tom Thumb X-Bonus: No government can love a child, and no policy can substitute for a family's care. But at the same time, government can either support or undermine families as they cope with moral, social, and economic stresses of caring for children. -Hillary Clinton, secretary of state and senator (b. 26 Oct 1947) This week's theme: Words coined after fairy tales and folktales Tom Thumb (tom THUM) noun 1. A very short person. 2. An insignificant or unimportant person, especially one who lacks the power or ability in spite of high rank. [After Tom Thumb, the hero of many folktales, who is the size of his father's thumb. Earliest documented use: 1579. Also see lilliput https://wordsmith.org/words/lilliput.html and lilliputian https://wordsmith.org/words/lilliputian.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Tom%20Thumb "Tom Thumb" (1958) film poster https://wordsmith.org/words/images/tom_thumb_large.jpg Image: Wikimedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Thumb_(film)#/media/File:TomthumbPoster.jpg "He can't wear clothes built for a giant, nor for a Tom Thumb either." James P. Blaylock; Land of Dreams; JABberwocky Literary Agency; 2012. -------- Date: Wed Oct 27 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Domdaniel X-Bonus: This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in. -Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President (27 Oct 1858-1919) This week's theme: Words coined after fairy tales and folktales Domdaniel (dom-DAN-yuhl) noun A place of wickedness. [From French domdaniel (house of Daniel), apparently from Latin or Greek. Earliest documented use: 1801.] NOTES: It's not clear who Daniel is in the term Domdaniel. The place Domdaniel was introduced by a French continuation of the "Arabian Nights" by Dom Chaves and M. Cazotte in the late 18th c. Later, the place has appeared in the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, H.P. Lovecraft, and Neil Gaiman, among others. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/domdaniel_large.jpg Image: memegenerator https://memegenerator.net/instance/73169661/magic-caverns-when-you-show-your-sorcerer-friends-your-magic-cavern-and-theyre-like-domdaniel "They generally proceeded to the Domdaniel, riding on spits, pitchforks, or broomsticks." Charles Mackay; Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions; Richard Bentley; 1841. -------- Date: Thu Oct 28 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Chicken Licken X-Bonus: The human mind is inspired enough when it comes to inventing horrors; it is when it tries to invent a heaven that it shows itself cloddish. -Evelyn Waugh, novelist (28 Oct 1903-1966) This week's theme: Words coined after fairy tales and folktales Chicken Licken (CHIK-en LIK-n) noun Someone who is a pessimist and alarmist, always warning others of impending calamities. [After a hen in a children's tale who, when hit on the head by a falling acorn, believes the sky is falling. Earliest documented use: 1922. The character is also known by other names, such as Chicken Little and Henny Penny.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/chicken_licken_large.png Image: me.me https://me.me/i/brace-yourselves-7-the-sky-is-falling-memegenerator-net-brace-yourselves-90b6483e583242f8bacf78289e114209 "Haldane has been an eternal optimist during the crisis, telling people they must reject the economics of Chicken Licken." Mark Shapland; Rush To Shop Fuelled By Pandemic Savings; Daily Mail (London, UK); Apr 13, 2021. -------- Date: Fri Oct 29 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--open sesame X-Bonus: Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you? -Fanny Brice, entertainer (29 Oct 1891-1951) This week's theme: Words coined after fairy tales and folktales open sesame (oh-puhn SAYS-uh-mee) noun Something that is an easy and effective way to bring out a desired result, gain access, etc. [From the phrase "open sesame" that opened the door to the robbers' cave in the story "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves". Earliest documented use: 1722.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/open%20sesame "Open sesame!" "Your username or password are incorrect." "Op3n $e$ame?" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/open_sesame_large.jpg Cartoon: Dan Piraro https://www.facebook.com/bizarrocomics/ "Fully recognizing that FREE FOOD is the open sesame to our hearts, the Dolphins ... roll out new food options for fans this season." Hal Habib; Dolfans, You Asked for Better Stadium Food -- and You Got It. Sort of; Palm Beach Post (Florida); Sep 3, 2014.