A.Word.A.Day -- AWADmail Issue 1063

A.Word.A.Day

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AWADmail Issue 1063

A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and Language

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From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
Subject: Interesting stories from the Net

Oldest Known Sentence Written in First Alphabet Discovered -- on a Head-Lice Comb
The Guardian
Permalink

The Secrets of Language
The Atlantic
Permalink

From: Lawrence Crumb (lcrumb uoregon.edu)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--incarnate

In Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s play The Rivals, Mrs. Malaprop speaks of “the devil incarnadine”, one of several malapropisms.

Lawrence Crumb, Eugene, Oregon

From: Gordon Francis Cowell (gordoncowell yahoo.com)
Subject: Incarnate

“Embodied in flesh” can have a more down-to earth connotation. In Spanish, “una uña encarnada” is the term for an ingrown toenail!

Gordon Cowell, Salamanca, Spain

Email of the Week -- Brought to you buy Wise Up! -- Agimatate the situmawaysh.

From: Matt A Nash (mattanash live.com)
Subject: Unplugged

I’ve unplugged and tuned out of news and social media for the past couple of months and am now calmer and have been sleeping better. Immersion in the relentless torrent of vitriol and calamity is unhealthy and stressful. AWAD is always welcome though!

Matt Nash, Whidbey Island, Washington

From: John Whittier (johnrwhittier gmail.com)
Subject: unplugged

The word unplugged makes me think of the phrase cordless screwdriver, which I’ve always thought was a poor descriptor of an electric screwdriver. For decades my toolbox has had a drawer full of screwdrivers, and every one of them is cordless.

John Whittier, Chesterfield, Missouri

From: Paul Wodehouse (wodehouse.paul gmail.com)
Subject: a gogo

In the late 60s I was a regular patron of the Whisky A Go Go on Sunset Blvd. I was a hippie from Canada, was living with a fellow who was practicing for an audition to be on The Dating Game ...he was a plugged-in hipster before hipsters were created ...it was a gasgasgas to watch all the people there.

Paul Wodehouse, Glencoe, Canada

From: Richard Pearton (richard thorpeandhands.co.za)
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--a gogo

Gogo in the Zulu language means grandmother. It is often used by children of all races when referring to their grandmothers even where Zulu is not a child’s first language. Like the way the English refer to their grandmothers as nan.

Richard Pearton, Durban, South Africa

From: Steven Price (sdprice510 me.com)
Subject: Presumptive

An heir or heiress apparent will succeed to a title (including property) because his or her right cannot be defeated by the birth of another person. An heir or heir presumptive is presumed to succeed unless another person with a better claim is born or adopted.

Back in the days of primogeniture, Queen Victoria’s father and uncles had better claims to the monarchy than she did until all four men died without legitimate issue. Until they all died, she was the presumptive successor (she became queen on the death of uncle King William IV).

Steven D. Price, New York, New York

From: Brenda J. Gannam (gannamconsulting earthlink.net)
Subject: at large

The man who conspired to be president at large, is still, at large, at large.

Brenda J. Gannam, Brooklyn, New York

From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: incarnate and a gogo

Florida governor Ron DeSantis has 2024 presidential aspirations. Yet he has to walk a very fine line between being an all-in Trump apologist, while still trying to distance himself from the Big Liar, since he may be running against Trump. Biden has labeled DeSantis “Trump incarnate”.

Our term “a gogo” took me back to the ‘60s dance club scene and the rise of the go-go dancer phenomenon. Go-go dancing originated on the French Riviera at a bar called the Whisky A Gogo. In 1964, a club with the same name opened on LA’s Sunset Strip, the first to introduce suspended-from-the ceiling go-go dancer cages. Mini-skirted, knee-high-booted dancers, on-high, gyrated to the disc-jockey’s high-octane tunes, as club patrons grooved on the dance floor to the percussive beat.

Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California

Anagrams


1. Incarnate 2. Unplugged 3. A gogo 4. Presumptive 5. At large	=	1. Gets real 2. Clear up 3. Vogue 4. Apparent 5. Man digging out	This week’s theme: Postpositives 1. Incarnate 2. Unplugged 3. A gogo 4. Presumptive 5. At large	=	1. Avatar 2. Stark 3. Miss can gorge on unlimited hot veggies 4. Guess tweeple epithet 5. Pop-up	1. Incarnate 2. Unplugged 3. A gogo 4. Presumptive 5. At large	=	1. Animate 2. Unclogged gap 3. Galore 4. Reputative 5. Sprung
-Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com)			-Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com)			-Robert Jordan, Lampang, Thailand (alfiesdad ymail.com)

Make your own anagrams and animations.

Limericks

Incarnate

You assert, “To my spouse’s delight,
I am passion incarnate.” “That’s right!
I embody her dreams --
So much so that she screams
When I enter the room.” Yes -- in fright!
-Tony Holmes, Launceston, UK (tony_holmes btconnect.com)

The devil incarnate, I swear,
You’ll find in that house over there.
Six sitters, a nanny,
And also his granny
No longer will offer their care.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

The highly recommended blind date
was a miser - a Scrooge incarnate.
He’d get only cheap wine,
and a set menu to dine,
And grumbled when denied a rebate.
-Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com)

Some folks really are two-faced; it’s odd,
On the one hand you’re some drunken sod.
You’re the devil incarnate
But you saved a kid? Darn it!
Snatch a child from near death and you’re God!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

“They’ve turned back their clocks,” groaned the marmot;
“I guess I should hibernate, darn it.
Summertime was a lark,
But by 5 it’s now dark;
Standard Time is depression incarnate.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Unplugged

Stepford Wives resonates, I’ll allow.
When I first saw the film I thought, Wow!
Wives should not be unplugged!
All those men should be slugged!
I’m an older and wiser man now.
-Tony Holmes, Launceston, UK (tony_holmes btconnect.com)

Says her dad, “I don’t like the new beau.
When I tried to converse with your Joe,
the guy merely shrugged,
said I wasn’t unplugged,
and called me an old so-and-so!”
-Anne Thomas, Sedona, Arizona (antom earthlink.net)

My friend chose to live off the grid.
I just couldn’t do what he did.
He never felt bugged
By life thus unplugged,
But I would be flipping my lid.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

I have Covid! My life is unplugged!
I could not be more annoyed -- bugged!
When I’m well, the first thing
That will make my heart sing
Will be contact! By some human, hugged!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

On the street late one night I was mugged;
No more iPhone! From Siri unplugged!
My true one and only!
So, desperately lonely,
Some real human beings I hugged.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

A gogo

In Lomé, the city in Togo,
I bought voodoo mementos a gogo.
Some feathers of gulls,
And a few of their skulls,
But dolls are for me a firm no-go.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

At work in her kitchen is she,
exploring a new recipe.
It’s chicken adobo
with sauces a gogo.
How good it will be, we shall see!
-Anne Thomas, Sedona, Arizona (antom earthlink.net)

The cello that fellow can play!
He gave a great concert today.
To celebrate Yo-Yo
There’s champagne a gogo --
I think that he’s swell, I must say.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

The name “Whiskey a Gogo” means fun!
Who doesn’t know that? Everyone
Is at least vaguely aware
That that name means “in there
There’s a lot of it!” (Son of a gun!)
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

If there’s one thing I truly adore,
It’s a soft bed with pillows galore.
With comfort a gogo,
I find that I’m oh, so
Relaxed, and I sleep and restore.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“Though Sauron may send orcs a gogo,
To Mount Doom I shall journey,” said Frodo.
“And I’ll follow,” said Sam,
“Just like Mary’s pet lamb;
You’ll be safe, for I’ve trained in a dojo.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Presumptive

Prince Charles, heir presumptive, would moan,
“Oh, when can I sit on the throne?”
Elizabeth said,
“Not till I am dead,
And into old age you have grown.”
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

I’m confused over where we must place
Today’s word that appears in this space.
Must it always go after?
Why not: “Loud hoots and laughter
When presumptive heir Trump lost his race”?
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

“A red wave was the outcome presumptive,
But the reasoning wasn’t deductive,”
Said Holmes. “Today’s women
Won’t vote for a dimmin’,
Dear Watson, of rights reproductive.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

At large

You have done as you pleased all your life;
This must change, if you’re taking a wife.
Should you say, “I’m in charge,
So I’m roaming at large!”
It will guarantee marital strife.
-Tony Holmes, Launceston, UK (tony_holmes btconnect.com)

On the sixth Donald Trump led the charge,
As his red-nεcked disciples would barge
Into government halls.
But justice still stalls.
He remains as a hot head at large.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

“We weel catch each Darnay still at large,
And do justice!” said Madame Defarge.
“Een zees story by Dickens,
Chop! Chop! Just like chickens
Go heads, weeth Jan 6 mobs een charge!”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Puns

“Me sorry me invented wheel,” said Oog.
“Riding incarnate good for cardiovascular health.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

The defrocked priest and n-unplugged their book about the evils of celibacy on late-night talk shows.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“To Mar-a-L-a gogo and retrieve the stolen documents,” the FBI director told his agents.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“My mother used to be a gogo dancer to help with family finances,” the actress divulged in an interview with Oprah.
-Janice Power, Cleveland, Ohio (powerjanice782 gmail.com)

“Don’t add up the numbers yet, they’re still presumptive,” said the math teacher.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“Our majority in the House isn’t gonna be th-at large,” moaned Speaker presumptive McCarthy.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: Obfuscator-in-Chief

Trump had been out on the midterm hustings in support of GOP candidates who’ve swallowed his Big Lie. Yet his bloviating at these campaign rallies had little to do with bolstering the candidates, but more about priming the pump for his third run at the presidency.

Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

I am in the habit of looking not so much to the nature of a gift as to the spirit in which it is offered. -Robert Louis Stevenson, novelist, essayist, and poet (13 Nov 1850-1894)

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