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.