A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Nov 3 12:01:01 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--elsewhither X-Bonus: This is the devilish thing about foreign affairs: they are foreign and will not always conform to our whim. -James Reston, journalist (3 Nov 1909-1995) The other day I came across this photo titled "The bottlecap that wanted to be an adverb". https://wordsmith.org/words/images/adverb_bottle_cap_large.jpg Photo: Quinn Dombrowski https://flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/5030102836/ I had so many questions. Is that even legal in the state of Tennessee? Do those lawmakers instead want _bottles_ to choose their caps' identity? Some of you may already be bristling at the thoughts of having to refer to a bottlecap as an adverb instead of a noun. As for me, I say let the bottlecap decide how it feels. It costs nothing to honor its preferred part of speech. If it feels like an adverb trapped in a noun's body, who am I to disagree? Adverbs, a minority among the parts of speech, already receive so much hate. "I am dead to adverbs; they cannot excite me." (Mark Twain) "The road to hell is paved with adverbs." (Stephen King) As if it's an adverb's job to make Twain hard. And seriously, like people go to Stephen King to lead them to salvation! Let's be gentle with all parts of speech, especially adverbs. You don't have to like them, but if someone else does, at least respect their choice. Though many adverbs wear their -ly proudly and happily, some go incognito. This week, we'll meet five of these quiet rebels, adverbs that don't fit the mold. elsewhither (ELS-swith-uhr) adverb In a different direction. [From Old English elleshwider, from elles (else) + hwider (whither). Earliest documented use: before 1150.] NOTES: In the age of knights and quills, it was a perfectly normal word for turning your horse, or your thoughts, in another direction. Today, it feels delightfully out of place, like a traveler who lost the GPS signal and wound up on some byway far from their destination. Use elsewhither when you need to sound poetic while leaving a party early. (I enjoyed it, but I must now go elsewhither.) "Christina's World", 1948 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/elsewhither_large.jpg Art: Andrew Wyeth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina%27s_World "[Charles Strickland's] soul aimed elsewhither." William Somerset Maugham; The Moon and Sixpence; Grosset & Dunlap; 1919. -------- Date: Tue Nov 4 12:01:02 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--posthaste X-Bonus: When the Judgment Day comes civilization will have an alibi, "I never took a human life, I only sold the fellow the gun to take it with." -Will Rogers, humorist (4 Nov 1879-1935) This week's theme: Adverbs posthaste (post-hayst) adverb With great speed. [From the phrase "haste, post, haste" Earliest documented use: 1545.] NOTES: Before email, air mail, and the telegraph, high-speed delivery meant a person on horseback galloping through mud, rain, and the occasional chicken crossing the road (Why?). The posts were stations along the route where tired messengers and their exhausted mounts could be quickly swapped out for fresh ones. If a letter had to be delivered quickly, it was inscribed "Haste, post, haste." Over time, the phrase shortened to posthaste (or post-haste). You could say posthaste is the ancestor of ASAP, only dustier and with more horsepower. Pony Express 100th anniversary commemorative https://wordsmith.org/words/images/posthaste_large.jpg Stamp: USPS https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Pony_Express_Stamps#/media/File:Pony_Express_centennial_stamp_4c_1960_issue.jpg See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/post-haste "Moses [Brown] rode posthaste to Boston, and got John released." Frances Fitzgerald; Peculiar Institutions; The New Yorker; Sep 12, 2005. -------- Date: Wed Nov 5 12:01:02 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--abreast X-Bonus: To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men. -Ella Wheeler Wilcox, poet (5 Nov 1850-1919) This week's theme: Adverbs abreast (uh-BREST) adverb 1. Side by side and facing the same direction. 2. Informed; up-to-date. [From a- (on, at) + breast, from Old English breost. Earliest documented use: 1450.] NOTES: Originally, abreast described people (or horses, soldiers, or ships) moving shoulder to shoulder, or more precisely, with chests aligned. The figurative sense came later: staying abreast of the news meant keeping yourself in line with the latest developments. So if you're reading this, you're already abreast of the word abreast. "Flower Festival: Feast of Santa Anita", 1931 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/abreast_large.jpg Art: Diego Rivera https://www.moma.org/collection/works/78492 See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/abreast "The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ... keeps the world abreast of research into global warming and its impact." Risks and Regulations; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 24, 2024. -------- Date: Thu Nov 6 12:01:02 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ad nauseam X-Bonus: I don't think that combat has ever been written about truthfully; it has always been described in terms of bravery and cowardice. I won't even accept these words as terms of human reference any more. And anyway, hell, they don't even apply to what, in actual fact, modern warfare has become. -James Jones, novelist (6 Nov 1921-1977) This week's theme: Adverbs ad nauseam (ad NAW-zee-uhm) adverb To an excessive degree. [From Latin, from ad- (toward) + from nausea (sea-sickness), from naus (ship). Earliest documented use: 1565.] NOTES: Ever heard someone repeat a joke until it stopped being funny, or watched a commercial so often you could recite it backwards in your sleep? If so, you've experienced it ad nauseam. The ancient Romans knew something about overdoing it: banquets, conquests, togas, and orgies ad nauseam, literally until one is feeling queasy. "The Shipwreck", 1805 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/ad_nauseum_large.jpg Art: J.M.W. Turner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shipwreck_(Turner) See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ad%20nauseam "Robert Sapolsky: I say over and over, ad nauseam, until they're rolling their eyes, that all of what I write about are statistical patterns, all are trends." Brian Bethune; The End of Free Will; Maclean's (Toronto, Canada); May 15, 2017. -------- Date: Fri Nov 7 12:01:01 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--anywhen X-Bonus: I love my country too much to be a nationalist. -Albert Camus, writer, philosopher, Nobel laureate (7 Nov 1913-1960) This week's theme: Adverbs anywhen (EN-ee-hwen) adverb At any time. [From any + when, from Old English ǣnig + hwenne. Earliest documented use: 1834.] NOTES: English, in its boundless capacity for linguistic possibilities, once welcomed anywhen alongside anywhere and anyhow. Sadly, anywhen never quite caught on, perhaps because time, unlike place or manner, resists easy invitation. Still, it's a handy word for those who prefer to keep their schedules flexible. Postpone it, prepone it (for some reason it's highly popular in India), https://wordsmith.org/words/prepone.html or simply pone it. Anywhen is good. "Time Transfixed", 1938 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/anywhen_large.jpg Art: René Magritte https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Transfixed "Though the stories are centred on Dhaka, they could have happened anywhere, anywhen." Divya Dubey; Dhaka in 10 Short Takes; India Today (New Delhi); Jan 23, 2017. -------- Date: Mon Nov 10 12:01:02 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--writhen X-Bonus: You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips. -Oliver Goldsmith, writer and physician (10 Nov 1730-1774) When I finish a marathon, https://wordsmith.org/words/marathon.html one of the first questions I get is: "So, where are you running next." In the past, I have replied Victoria, https://wordsmith.org/words/hallux.html or Auckland, https://wordsmith.org/words/aroha.html or Mumbai. https://wordsmith.org/words/ombrophobe.html This year, I've been replying simply: "Marathon." That usually earns me a puzzled look. “What do you mean marathon?” Then I say, “Marathon marathon.” After a few beats, I explain that I'm going to run the original marathon, where it all started, the one that started it all: from the town of Marathon, Greece, where Pheidippides ran to Athens to announce the Greek victory over the Persians in the Battle of Marathon. https://maps.app.goo.gl/2sPY9QAz29rxHtwd6 Well, this past weekend I traced Pheidippides's footsteps, all 26 miles / 42 km of them. Before that I visited places such as Hydra https://wordsmith.org/words/hydra.html and Delphi. https://wordsmith.org/words/delphic.html It feels a bit surreal. What do you mean hydra is a place? It's actually a monster! So, yes, I ran the Marathon Marathon. And somewhere around mile 20 (where the body starts negotiating with the soul), I started thinking about linguistic doubles, names that echo themselves. If you're a purist who believes coffee should be black, you might ask someone ordering a caramel-whipped-iced-vanilla-something, "Are you drinking coffee coffee, or one of those sugary drinks with traces of coffee?" That line of thought led me to English English. Or words that are not borrowed, adopted, or naturalized from other languages, but born and bred in the language: Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon. We've borrowed from dozens of tongues, for example, pundit from Hindi, mosquito from Spanish, and faux from French. But this week we'll feature five good, old-fashioned English English words, descended straight from the linguistic ancestors. PS: You might expect a Greek-themed week (how could I resist, after a literal run through mythology?), but we've done that several times before: https://wordsmith.org/words/aphrodite.html (multiple eponyms after a character) https://wordsmith.org/words/aphrodisiac.html https://wordsmith.org/words/orphic.html https://wordsmith.org/words/autolycan.html https://wordsmith.org/words/odyssey.html https://wordsmith.org/words/aesculapian.html PPS: Where should I run next? Keep your suggestions coming. writhen (RITH-uhn) adjective Twisted; coiled; contorted. [From Old English, past participle of writhan (to twist). Earliest documented use: before 1150.] NOTES: Writhen describes anything turned or gnarled, from the roots of an old oak to the wrought iron curls of a cathedral gate. Poets of old loved the word, but in modern times, you might say politicians’ explanations, corporate mission statements, and some user agreements come pre-writhen. "Laocoön and His Sons", 27 CE https://wordsmith.org/words/images/writhen_large.jpg Sculptor unknown https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laoco%C3%B6n_and_His_Sons See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/writhen "In the back of the museum, beyond the more popular bones of the mastodon and the saber-tooth, there were three twisted human skeletons posed in elegant and writhen shapes." Sadie Bruce; Little Girls in Bone Museums; Fantasy & Science Fiction (Newark, New Jersey); Mar/Apr 2015. "I tell her what I fear: I'll walk into fogged, writhen woods & die." Christian J. Collier; The Compline; Poetry (Chicago, Illinois); Sep 2024. -------- Date: Tue Nov 11 12:01:02 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shrive X-Bonus: If you put fences around people, you get sheep. Give people the room they need. -William L. McKnight, businessman and philanthropist (11 Nov 1887-1978) This week's theme: Words from English English shrive (shryv) verb tr.: 1. To hear a confession. 2. To impose penance. 3. To free from guilt. verb intr.: 1. To make a confession. 2. To hear a confession. [From Old English scrift (confession, penance), from scrifan (to shrive: to impose penance). Earliest documented use: before 1150.] NOTES: Here's a word that does it all, like a one-stop soul shop. Shrive covers the entire moral supply chain: hearing a confession, handing out a penalty, and wiping the slate clean. Earlier, people went to priests for shriving. These days, they go to therapists, life coaches, and podcasts. ("Tell me about your mother... and say three Hail Marys.) https://wordsmith.org/words/hail_mary.html The most common form of the word lives in the phrase "to get short shrift", meaning to receive little time, attention, or sympathy. https://wordsmith.org/words/shrift.html Originally, the quick confession and absolution given to condemned prisoners before execution. "The Confession", 1838 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/shrive_large.jpg Art: Giuseppe Molteni https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Molteni See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/shrive "The final fine stays at $500, and the new member is properly shriven." Colby Cosh; Liberal MP Gets off Lightly for Theft of Flyer; Calgary Herald (Canada); Jan 31, 2022. -------- Date: Wed Nov 12 12:01:02 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tidings X-Bonus: No one in this world, so far as I know -- and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me -- has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby. -H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (12 Sep 1880-1956) This week's theme: Words from English English tidings (TY-dingz) noun News. [From Old English tidung (announcement, piece of news), from tidan (to happen). Earliest documented use: before 450.] NOTES: Once upon a time, before breaking news broke our spirits, people brought tidings. Good ones, usually. As in glad tidings of great joy. The word tidings carries the jingle of bells and the rustle of parchment. It hails from an age when messages arrived by messenger, not by push alerts and pop-ups. So if you ever get an email with the subject line "Good tidings from your bank" don’t believe it. "Annunciation", c. 1472-1476 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/tidings_large.jpg Art: Leonardo da Vinci https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annunciation_%28Leonardo%29 See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/tidings "Stock indexes opened in positive territory Wednesday, as investors awaited the latest tidings from the Federal Reserve." Daniel de Visé; Fed Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged; USA Today (Arlington, Virginia); Mar 19, 2025. -------- Date: Thu Nov 13 12:01:01 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--screed X-Bonus: It is perhaps a more fortunate destiny to have a taste for collecting shells than to be born a millionaire. -Robert Louis Stevenson, novelist, essayist, and poet (13 Nov 1850-1894) This week's theme: Words from English English screed (skreed) noun 1. A long piece of writing or speech, especially one that's tedious or denunciatory. 2. A long strip of material such as wood, plaster, metal, or paper. 3. A tool (a strip of wood or metal) used to level off freshly poured concrete. [From Old English screade (strip). Earliest documented use: 1350.] NOTES: A screed is what happens when passion outruns editing. It's a fancy word for a rant. Imagine a medieval monk rolling out an endless scroll of grievances, the original angry blog post. It's literally a long strip, from the same root that gave us the word shred. "Cicero Denounces Catiline", 1889 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/screed_large.jpg Art: Cesare Maccari https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cicer%C3%B3n_denuncia_a_Catilina,_por_Cesare_Maccari.jpg See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/screed "Calling this a 'book' is a reach, because it is really just a screed against everything [Denis] Leary finds annoying." Rochelle O'Gorman; Where Boston's the Backdrop; Boston Globe; May 31, 2009. -------- Date: Fri Nov 14 12:01:02 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bounden X-Bonus: Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love. -Claude Monet, painter (14 Nov 1840-1926) This week's theme: Words from English English bounden (BOUN-duhn) adjective Obligatory; binding. [A past participle of bind, from Old English bindan (to bind). Earliest documented use: 1325.] NOTES: A bounden duty is one you're tied to, morally, legally, or emotionally. Think of it as the spiritual ancestor of a Terms-of-Service agreement, but with fewer checkboxes and more conscience. The word itself sounds so formal that you can drop it anywhere to sound more heroic. For example, add this to any wedding vows. "It is my bounden duty to take out the recycling." "The Accolade", 1901 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/bounden_large.jpg Art: Edmund Leighton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Accolade_by_Edmund_Blair_Leighton.jpg See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/bounden "Taking specialised care of our pets is part of our bounden duty, for what we get in return." Aroon Purie; The Demand for Pets Has Increased; India Today (New Delhi); Mar 20, 2023. -------- Date: Mon Nov 17 12:01:02 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Gallio X-Bonus: We are a landscape of all we have seen. -Isamu Noguchi, sculptor and architect (17 Nov 1904-1988) The English language has thousands of eponyms, words coined after people, real and fictional, who have, for better or worse, made a name for themselves. Think sandwich (after Earl of Sandwich, who was too busy gambling to put down his cards for lunch) and Machiavellian (after Niccolò Machiavelli, who could have written The Art of the Steal). https://wordsmith.org/words/machiavellian.html Still, as a percent of the human population, earning an eponym is exceedingly rare. It's like linguistic immortality, but not always the flattering kind. The latest, and rather grim, candidate for this honor is the Kavanaugh stop. The honorable Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a recent ruling, found it no problemo for officials to racially profile people based on skin color or language. https://abovethelaw.com/2025/10/the-kavanaugh-stops-legacy-50-days-170-detained-citizens-zero-answers/ Welcome to the new United States of America, where every morning millions of school kids pledge allegiance to "liberty and justice for all" and by afternoon learn there's a constitutional asterisk. Only time will tell whether this eponym takes root in the lexicon, as other infamous ones, such as Benedict Arnold, https://wordsmith.org/words/benedict_arnold.html Quisling https://wordsmith.org/words/quisling.html and Judas https://wordsmith.org/words/judas.html have. Meanwhile, this week we'll look at five eponyms that have firmly become a part of the English language. Gallio (GAL-ee-oh) noun One who is indifferent or uncaring. [After Junius Annaeus Gallio Annaeanus, a Roman senator, noted for refusing to intervene in a dispute. Earliest documented use: 1850. Adjective: gallionic https://wordsmith.org/words/gallionic.html] NOTES: Acts 18:12-17 (KJV) recounts how Gallio declined to judge a quarrel over "words and names" and "cared for none of those things." Gallio was the original meh-gistrate. Today, if he were replying by email, he'd have simply said, "Not my circus, not my monkeys." If texting, 🤷 Not to be confused with Galileo who cared a lot about revolutions. Gallio? Not so much, planetary or political. Gallio and Paul https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gallio_large.jpg Illustration: Jim Padgett / FreeBibleimages https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/paul-corinth/ "Mrs. MacHugh was a Gallio at heart ... who disregarded great questions; who cared little or nothing what people said of her; who considered nothing worth the trouble of a fight." Anthony Trollope; He Knew He Was Right; Strahan and Co.; 1869. -------- Date: Tue Nov 18 12:01:01 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Babbittry X-Bonus: Poets are like the decathletes of literature. -Terrance Hayes, poet (b. 18 Nov 1971) This week's theme: Eponyms Babbittry or Babbitry (BAB-uh-tree) noun Complacent materialism and smug conformity. [After George Babbitt, who demonstrated middle-class values and attitudes in the novel "Babbitt" (1922) by Sinclair Lewis. Earliest documented use: 1920.] NOTES: When Sinclair Lewis was still shaping his novel, he wrote to his publisher Alfred Harcourt: "The name now for my man is George F. Babbitt, which, I think, sounds commonplace yet will be remembered, and two years from now we'll have them talking of Babbittry." A century later, Babbitt may not top baby-name charts, and the term Babbittry may not be common, but Babbittry the mindset is alive and well. And is currently very proud of its new, slightly-better-than-the-neighbor's quartz countertops. While the name is not common anymore there's a real-life person named George Babbitt, a USAF general. https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/107800/george-t-babbitt/ "Babbitt" (1st paperback edition) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/babbittry_large.jpg Image: Abebooks https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Babbitt-First-Paperback-Edition-Dust-Jacket/30623769065/bd "LA in the 1920s and 30s was beginning to shake off its reputation for hayseed Babbittry, or at least to acquire a critical mass of urban sophisticates possessing expansive tastes and sometimes the wallets to indulge them." Patt Morrison; Pouring one out for LA; Los Angeles Times; Nov 19, 2023. https://wordsmith.org/words/hayseed.html -------- Date: Wed Nov 19 12:01:02 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chauvinist X-Bonus: Destroying species is like tearing pages out of an unread book, written in a language humans hardly know how to read, about the place where they live. -Holmes Rolston III, professor of philosophy (19 Nov 1932-2025) This week's theme: Eponyms chauvinist (SHO-vuh-nist) noun: One who believes in the superiority of one's country, group, gender, etc. adjective: Believing in or relating to such beliefs. [After Nicolas Chauvin, a legendary French soldier in Napoleon's army, noted for his fanatical patriotism. The figure of Nicolas Chauvin was popularized in the play "La Cocarde Tricolore" by the Cogniard brothers. Earliest documented use: 1877. The concept is known as chauvinism. https://wordsmith.org/words/chauvinism.html] NOTES: Nicolas Chauvin supposedly loved Napoleon so much he made modern fanboys look like stoics. He was wounded 17 times, yet couldn't stop singing La Marseillaise. Whether he actually existed is debated, but his overzealous devotion gave us chauvinism. Originally, a chauvinist was an ultra-patriot, but over time the term broadened to include sexism, partisanship, and group smugness of every stripe. From "My country, right or wrong" it became "My anything, right or wrong." Wrong, who said wrong, mine's always right. Actually, mine's better. "Christmas morning (and forever after) she'll be happier with a Hoover" https://wordsmith.org/words/chauvinist_large.jpg Vintage Ad: https://www.amusingplanet.com/2010/09/45-vintage-sexist-ads-that-wouldnt-go.html See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/chauvinist "Now Ms Silva is under attack in Brazil. Having returned to the helm of the environment ministry in 2023, on July 2nd she was summoned before a committee in the lower house of Congress to testify about deforestation. Lawmakers hurled insults at her for almost seven hours. They called her 'inelegant' and 'a disgrace', compared her to terrorists and told her to resign. In a previous exchange, senators had told her she 'should know her place' and that she did not deserve respect. "Such chauvinist language is nasty, and reflects the state of environmental discourse in Brazil today." A Losing Battle; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 12, 2025. -------- Date: Thu Nov 20 12:01:01 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Dantean X-Bonus: If you want a symbolic gesture, don't burn the flag, wash it. -Norman Thomas, minister and social reformer (20 Nov 1884-1968) This week's theme: Eponyms Dantean (DAN-tee-uhn, dan-TEE-uhn) adjective 1. Relating to Dante or his writings. 2. Having a hellish quality. [After Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), author of "Divine Comedy" (1321), an epic poem depicting the circles of hell, purgatory, and paradise. Earliest documented use: 1785.] NOTES: Dante took his readers on the original guided tour of hell, long before reality television. His Inferno is so vivid you can almost smell the sulfur (and the despair). And it has no fewer than nine circles. Among others, Dante fills the circles of hell with corrupt politicians, greedy clergy, and feuding nobles. If only his hell were real. "Dante and Virgil in Hell", 1850 (Note that it's not Dante and Virgil in the foreground. They're the two calm tourists in the back left.) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/dantean_large.jpg Art: William-Adolphe Bouguereau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_and_Virgil See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Dantean "I change into a new T-shirt (every night this week will feature Dantean levels of humidity, and by Sunday my tent will house a moraine of deeply fragrant laundry)." https://wordsmith.org/words/moraine.html Barrett Swanson; Sobriety and Transcendence at Bonnaroo; Harper's Magazine (New York); Feb 2025. "The book is, instead, a sober Inferno, a hellish manual of cautionary tales, with the increasingly frustrated White as a Dantean guide into the hot depths." Vinson Cunningham; Up from Urkel; The New Yorker; Dec 23, 2024. -------- Date: Fri Nov 21 12:01:03 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Plimsoll line X-Bonus: To learn who rules over you, simply find out whom you are not allowed to criticize. -Voltaire, philosopher (21 Nov 1694-1778) [This quotation is misattributed. It's actually from Kevin Alfred Strom, an American neo-Nazi.] This week's theme: Eponyms Plimsoll line (PLIM-suhl/sohl lyn) noun 1. Any of various horizontal lines on the side of a ship indicating the depth to which it may be immersed under various conditions. 2. A threshold or limit. [After Samuel Plimsoll (1824-1898), British MP, whose efforts led to the regulation of the shipping industry. Earliest documented use: 1877.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Plimsoll%20line NOTES: Samuel Plimsoll fought to prevent overloaded ships from becoming death traps. Before his reforms, unscrupulous shipowners would slap fresh paint on decrepit vessels, overfill them with cargo (sometimes junk disguised as valuables), and insure them for more than they were worth. These vessels, often called "coffin ships", were more valuable when sunk (never mind the sailors on board). Plimsoll’s campaign led to the Merchant Shipping Act, which set legal limits on how much cargo a ship could carry. The safety marks on a ship's hull, known as the Plimsoll line or Plimsoll mark, indicate safe loading levels based on water type (salt or fresh), temperature, and other conditions. Having saved countless sailors, Plimsoll turned his attention to another group suffering at sea -- cattle, which were often transported in horrific conditions on overcrowded ships. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Cattle_Market#Samuel_Plimsoll And what about Plimsoll shoes? Originally designed as beachwear, they feature a horizontal band where the rubber sole meets the canvas upper -- resembling a Plimsoll line. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/plimsoll_line_large.jpg Photo: Wualex / Wikimedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Load_line_(watercraft)#/media/File:Freibordmarke.jpg TF – tropical fresh water F – fresh water T – tropical seawater S – summer temperate seawater W – winter temperate seawater WNA – winter North Atlantic BV - Bureau Veritas (the classification society that surveyed this vessel's load line) "I know that my plimsoll line of privacy stands far far higher than it does with the majority of mankind." Sir Denis Forman; Son of Adam; Little, Brown; 1992. "I drink [the wines] gladly, right up to my Plimsoll line." Kevin Gould; Tea and wilderness; Financial Times (London, UK); Nov 19, 2011. "[Hockey player Ric] Seiling was harpooned in a sensitive area, south of his plimsoll line, and he collapsed in great pain to the ice." Rex MacLeod; Strange Weakness Puts Fergus on Shelf; Toronto Star (Canada); Dec 29, 1986. -------- Date: Mon Nov 24 12:01:02 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cavil X-Bonus: Flags are bits of colored cloth that governments use first to shrink-wrap people's brains and then as ceremonial shrouds to bury the dead. -Arundhati Roy, writer and activist (b. 24 Nov 1961) The other day I came across this sign at the local library: "Unlock your next read." https://wordsmith.org/words/images/unlock_your_next_read_large.jpg Does it bother you? If so, you have my understand. But I don't see any problems with the library's playful invite. If I had to cavil, I might extend it for the sake of completeness. Since libraries also lend audiobooks and DVDs, why not? "Unlock your next read, listen, and watch." Language works best when we let it breathe -- and play. Tighten your grip too much and, like love, it gasps. Nouning verbs and verbing nouns happen all the time. It's how we get things done. This week we'll feature terms that have taken the leap in one direction or the other. What words would you extend? Give it a think and share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/cavil.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Include your location (city, state). cavil (KAV-uhl) verb tr., intr.: To raise a trivial or frivolous objection. noun: A trivial or frivolous objection. [From Old French caviller (to mock or jest), from Latin cavillari (to jeer), from cavilla (jeering). Earliest documented use: verb: 1548, noun: 1570.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/cavil "Ms Mankiller was not an easy taskmaster. She scolded the people of Bell until they obeyed her. When the tribal council cavilled about her disregard for ceremony, she turned off their microphones." Obituary: Wilma Mankiller; The Economist (London, UK); Apr 24, 2010. "At Disney, [Yuja Wang's] rendition of Debussy’s L'Isle Joyeuse was brilliant to a fault ... My cavils about the Disney recital pretty much end there, though." Alex Ross; Thoroughly Modern; The New Yorker; Jun 3, 2024. -------- Date: Tue Nov 25 12:01:01 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shirtfront X-Bonus: How anyone can profess to find animal life interesting and yet take delight in reducing the wonder of any animal to a bloody mass of fur or feathers? -Joseph Wood Krutch, writer and naturalist (25 Nov 1893-1970) This week's theme: Nouning the verb, verbing the noun shirtfront (SHUHRT-fruhnt) noun: 1. The front of a shirt. 2. A high, front-on collision or bump on an opponent. 3. An aggressive direct confrontation. verb tr.: 1. To run at and collide with someone. 2. To confront someone aggressively. [From shirt, from Old English scyrte + front, from Old French front (forehead), from Latin frons (forehead, front). Earliest documented use: noun 1808, verb 1952.] NOTES: In Australian football, the term acquired a new meaning: a full-speed collision a player would use to flatten an opponent. Basically, giving someone your full frontal... enthusiasm. In 2014, after the downing of flight MH17, the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said, "I am going to shirtfront Mr. Putin, you bet I am." From there, the meaning broadened. Today, to shirtfront someone can mean to confront them aggressively anywhere: football field, parliament, or in online comments. When it comes to clothing-related language, there's always a new wrinkle. If only all conflicts could be resolved by ironing out our differences. See examples of shirtfronting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha8gpQK_3kQ (2 min.) See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/shirtfront "They comb the club, attempting to shirtfront the perpetrator, and make sure the frightened woman gets home in a cab." Cameron Woodhead; Timely Message From a Toilet Cannot Be Ignored; The Age (Melbourne, Australia); Feb 2, 2024. -------- Date: Wed Nov 26 12:01:02 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--foin X-Bonus: Ideologies separate us. Dreams and anguish bring us together. -Eugene Ionesco, playwright (26 Nov 1909-1994) This week's theme: Nouning the verb, verbing the noun foin (foin) verb intr.: To thrust with a weapon; lunge. noun: A thrust with a weapon. [From Old French foine (trident), from Latin fuscina (trident). Earliest documented use: verb 1400, noun: 1450.] NOTES: A word fit for a fencing manual or a swashbuckling novel, foin is what you do when you want to poke someone, with a sword or metaphorically. Shakespeare uses the word, usually when characters are getting stabby or merely pretending to. If you've ever tried to spear the last olive in a jar with a fork, congratulations: you've performed a domestic foin. "Charge of the Lancers" 1916 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/foin_large.jpg Art: Umberto Boccioni https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Umberto_Boccioni_-_Charge_of_the_Lancers.jpg "I snatched the policeman's saber from its sheath, foined at him with the point to gain a moment's start on him and his companion." Emile Capouya; In the Sparrow Hills; The Antioch Review (Yellow Springs, Ohio); Spring 2012. "On either part, and many a foin and thrust Aim'd and rebated; many a deadly blow." Robert Southey; Roderick, the Last of the Goths; 1814. -------- Date: Thu Nov 27 12:01:02 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--flyspeck X-Bonus: Use only that which works and take it from any place you can find it. -Bruce Lee, martial artist and actor (27 Nov 1940-1973) This week's theme: Nouning the verb, verbing the noun flyspeck (FLY-spek) noun: 1. A small dot made by the excrement of an insect, such as a fly. 2. Something tiny or insignificant. adjective: Tiny or insignificant. verb tr.: 1. To mark with flyspecks. 2. To examine in minute detail, especially to nitpick. [From fly + speck, from Old English fleogan + specca. Earliest documented use: noun: 1723, verb: 1850.] Flyspeck on an apple. Despite the name, no fly took credit for this artwork. It's the work of a harmless fungus. The apple suffers only a cosmetic indignity. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/flyspeck_large.jpg Photo: Katie Hargrav https://www.flickr.com/photos/khargrav/2942448293 See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/flyspeck "In 1948, the Rev. Tim LaHaye, fresh out of seminary and working on an undergraduate degree at Bob Jones University, accepted a pastorate in Pumpkintown, SC, a flyspeck of a town so puny it doesn't even appear on state maps." Rob Boston; Left Behind; Church & State (Silver Spring, Maryland); Feb 2002. "Looking tense and tired, Smith watched as Cherry and Lutz flyspecked his creation." Keith Naughton; The Fast and the Luxurious; Newsweek (New York); Jan 13, 2003. -------- Date: Fri Nov 28 12:01:01 AM EST 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--toboggan X-Bonus: When nations grow old, the arts grow cold and commerce settles on every tree. -William Blake, poet, engraver, and painter (28 Nov 1757-1827) This week's theme: Nouning the verb, verbing the noun toboggan (tuh-BOG-uhn) noun: 1. A flat-bottomed sled curled up at the front. 2. A sharp decline. verb intr.: 1. To ride a toboggan. 2. To decline rapidly. [From one of the languages of the Algonquian family spoken by American Indians. Perhaps from Mi'kmaq topagan (sled). Earliest documented use: 1829.] NOTES: The word began on snowy hills but now often appears on Wall Street, where tobogganing is significantly less fun. Childhood: toboggan = delight Adulthood: toboggan = your portfolio Ideally, a toboggan is the only place where it's optimistic to say, "It's all downhill from here." When politicians toboggan in polls, there is rarely a hot cocoa at the bottom. In the Southern US, a toboggan is also a knit hat (a beanie). https://wordsmith.org/words/images/toboggan_large.jpg Artist unknown https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=76608&picture=tobogganing-pretty-winter-scene See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/toboggan "Retirement Association of Colorado took an $11 billion investment hit in 2008, when Wall Street tobogganed into recession." Tom Roeder; Unenviable Tasks Await Returning Lawmakers; The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colorado); Jan 12, 2010.