A.Word.A.Day -- AWADmail Issue 1152

A.Word.A.Day

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AWADmail Issue 1152

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

Have a Foreign Language Love Affair This Summer
The New York Times
Permalink

What Is ‘Nature’? Dictionaries Urged to Include Humans in Definition
The Guardian
Permalink

From: Laurie Fagen (lauriefagen gmail.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--gruntled

Very appropriate today. We got caught in the global IT debacle, and after three days of going back and forth to the airport and six canceled flights, we finally made it out of Phoenix at three this morning and are in JFK until 9 PM tonight when we hope our flight will leave for Dublin! After coffee and breakfast, we are gruntled!

Laurie Fagen, Chandler, Arizona

Email of the Week -- Brought to you buy One Up! -- “The funnest travel game ever.”

From: Barbara Keating (bkeating2 suddenlink.net)
Subject: Airline flights

Many decades ago my grandmother was in England preparing to board a flight across the Channel to France when there was a delay due to mechanical problems. One of the passengers was, well, disgruntled. My grandmother, being the lovely person she was, looked at the fellow traveler and said she thought it was great the flight was delayed if there was a problem with the plane, as she didn’t want the trouble to manifest itself whilst they were in the air over the Channel. Good point, Granny!

Barbara Keating, Blue Lake, California

From: Topi Linkala (nes iki.fi)
Subject: Not disgruntled

I was working internationally in the 90s when this happened:

My flight was from Frankfurt to Vancouver. At my destination my luggage did not arrive, so I went to the luggage counter. There was this American couple having a shout out how their luggage had not arrived and how big a catastrophe that was. I was wondering as they were returning from a vacation in Europe that what kinda catastrophe it is if your dirty laundry is late. So when my number came up I told the lady working there to take a deep breath. Then very calmly I told her that my luggage has not arrived and that I know that she’s not the one who left it in Frankfurt so why would I be angry with her. She looked at me like I was an angel coming down and proclaiming some higher truth. I told her that as my luggage has not arrived I might need to buy some clean clothes for the meeting I was to have the next day. So she informed me that Lufthansa’s policy was that if I want to keep the clothes they pay me half of the price back. If I want full price I’d have to give the clothes to them.

So I bought a couple of white shirts and whatnot. And during free time noticed that Lufthansa’s Vancouver office was in the same block as the hotel I was staying at. So I went there and gave my information and the young lady who served me asked me why I was not angry. I told her the same thing: that she couldn’t be the one who left my luggage in Frankfurt so why would I be angry with her. She told me that I was an exception.

Topi Linkala, Helsinki, Finland

From: Ellen Tipper (lnrainh2o gmail.com)
Subject: Gruntled

I’ve been known to tell a customer service person that I was disgruntled and was hoping that they could help me be gruntled. I often get a blank look.

Ellen Tipper, Florence, Alabama

From: Vinay Kashyap (kashyap.vinay gmail.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--gruntled

What is a contented cat but literally a feline gruntled? The grunts come so fast they merge into a purr.

Vinay Kashyap, Stoneham, Massachusetts

From: Robert Mac (robertmac.com gmail.com)
Subject: ept

Here’s “ept” used on stage.

Robert Mac, Washington, DC

From: Susan James (searex earthlink.net)
Subject: ruth

In the 1982 film In Love with an Older Woman (horrible title), the female protagonist (played by Karen Carlson) gives John Ritter’s character a long speech about ruth/ruthless which fits exactly into your choice of this week’s words. She explains that in business ruthlessness is held as a virtue while in life, ruth is the better option.

Susan James, La Canada, California

From: Henry M. Willis (hmw ssdslaw.com)
Subject: Ruthless

Any mention of “ruth” and “ruthless” reminds me of The Firesign Theater, four hipsters who created surreal comedy albums 50+ years ago, and in particular one of their best pieces, “The Further Adventures of Nick Danger, Third Eye” (28 min.), a parody of hardboiled detective radio dramas of the 40s and 50s. It opened by introducing our hero:

(foghorns in the background) Los Angeles... he walks again by night (whistling) out of the fog and into the smog (coughing) relentlessly, ruthlessly (aside: “I wonder where Ruth is?”) doggedly (barking sounds) ...

It goes on like that for another twenty minutes, piling puns, digressions, and aural jokes on top of each other -- sort of like Finnegans Wake, except easier to follow.

Some of us wondered for years what Ruth had to do with ruthless -- and where she was. Now we know the answer to the first question; we may never get an answer to the second.

Henry Willis, Los Angeles, California

From: Linda Riebel (linda.riebel earthlink.net)
Subject: reck

Ophelia, in her one moment of courage, lightly twits brother Laertes, who has just warned her about not getting too close to Hamlet. She says:

But, good my brother,
Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven;
Whiles, like a puff’d and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads,
And recks not his own rede.

Linda Riebel, Lafayette, California

From: David Micklethwait (micklethwait hotmail.com)
Subject: an unfamiliar affix

Some years ago, the local paper near my cottage in South-West Scotland advertised that a nearby farm was holding a displenishment sale -- I went to it just because I liked the word.

David Micklethwait, London, UK

From: Margaret Mitchell (mitma100 telus.net)
Subject: No Affix

Some thirty years ago our daughter Tina phoned to ask for help to mantle a bike trailer she had bought for her two little ones. When questioned, she said if you can dismantle something to take it apart, surely you can mantle it.

Margaret Mitchell, Kamloops, Canada

From: Sandra J. Kisner (sjk3 cornell.edu)
Subject: A poem

And then there’s the poem by David McCord (1897-1997):

Gloss

I know a little man both ept and ert.
An intro-? extro-? No, he’s just a vert.
Sheveled and couth and kempt, pecunious, ane,
His image trudes upon the ceptive brain.
When life turns sipid and the mind is traught,
The spirit soars as I would sist it ought.
Chalantly then, like any gainly goof,
My digent self is sertive, choate, loof.

Sandra Kisner, Ithaca, New York

From: Jerry Campbell (jerry jlcampbell.net)
Subject: Interesting poem on this week’s theme

A very Descript Man

I am such a dolent man,
I eptly work each day;
My acts are all becilic,
I’ve just ane things to say.
My nerves are strung, my hair is kempt,
I’m gusting and I’m span:
I look with dain on everyone
And am a pudent man.
I travel cognito and make
A delible impression:
I overcome a slight chalance,
With gruntled self-possession.
My dignation would be great
If I should digent be:
I trust my vagance will bring
An astrous life for me.
-J.H. Parker

Jerry Campbell, Albany, California

From: Kevin Parker (kevin.parker wap.org)
Subject: Back-formation short story

No discussion of words like “gruntled” should go without a link to The New Yorker short story that makes a buffet of them:

“It had been a rough day, so when I walked into the party I was very chalant, despite my efforts to appear gruntled and consolate ...” more

Kevin W. Parker, Greenbelt, Maryland

From: Sandy D Amato (sdamato100 aol.com)
Subject: Dems in Array

I just saw a headline that goes with this week’s theme: “Dems in Array”.

Saundra D’Amato, Memphis, Tennessee

Anagrams


This week’s theme: Look Ma, no affix! 1. Gruntled 2. Ept 3. Ruth 4. Reck 5. Descript	=	1. Satisfied 2. Expert 3. Regret 4. Comfort, help 5. Known, like a mud hut sketch	=	1. Thus most cheerful 2. Workmanlike 3. Hope, kind 4. Fret 5. Discrete text gap
		-Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com)		-Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com)


Theme this week is: Look Ma, no affix! 1. Gruntled 2. Ept 3. Ruth 4. Reck 5. Descript	=	1. Toked the kief 2. Expert 3. Compassion whelmed 4. Truthful care 5. Striking
		-Julian Lofts, Auckland, New Zealand (jalofts xtra.co.nz)

Make your own anagrams and animations.

Limericks

gruntled

Since I’m here on a tropical isle,
I am gruntled and wearing a smile.
This worry-free time
Is simply sublime,
But I’ve got to go home in a while.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

Said the kitty, “Some paper you’ve crumpled!
To play with it makes me feel gruntled!
When I’m done, please come snuggle
With me on the double;
Make sure, though, my fur isn’t ruffled!”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

ept

I was deemed to be ever so ept,
And praise I was glad to accept.
But no ifs, ands, or buts --
I am really a klutz.
It’s a secret that I’ve always I kept.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

The applicant seemed quite adept
And might on the job have been ept.
But I wasn’t impressed
With the way he was dressed,
When into my office he schlepped.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

I got fired! Although I am ept,
This week the boss came in and swept
A bunch of us out.
Of course he had clout --
(But all of his girlfriends were kept!)
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

“At debating I’m no longer ept,”
Sighed poor Joe, “although Lord knows I prepped.
And I’ve now heard the cries
Of my friends and allies;
My time’s over. Goodbye!” And we wept.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

ruth

This candidate’s showing some ruth,
And that is refreshing, in truth.
She’s gone center stage
And thanks to her age,
Now Donald looks long in the tooth.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

“Mom has married already? Forsooth!”
exclaimed Hamlet; “ ‘Tis very uncouth.
But what should I do?
Fie, I haven’t a clue!
I fear Shakespeare will show me no ruth.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

reck

That perfectionist’s known for his reck --
And each step of his work he will check.
This gets him straight A’s
And also much praise,
But he’s sometimes a pain in the neck.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

“As the captain each week on Star Trek,
With alien beauties I neck,”
Said James Kirk. “At warp speed
I’m gone after the deed;
For precautions, I thus have no reck.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

descript

Trump’s appearance is rather descript,
And you hardly would call him tight-lipped.
So I ask in despair:
“Donald, please dye your hair,
Also please keep that mouth of yours zipped.”
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

Once in a thesaurus I’ve dipped,
With adjectives I am equipped.
My readers are guided
By details provided --
My characters all are descript.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

Before my blind date, I was tipped
About her looks, which are descript -
From her Cupid’s bow mouth
To everything south
Including that she’s swivel-hipped!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

The pickpocket’s wings were soon clipped,
Because his front tooth, it was chipped.
A witness, no doubt,
Could point the thief out.
“His face,” she’d say, “was so descript.”
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

Said Bill Clinton, his trousers unzipped,
“As an intern, you sure are descript!
And you look good in blue.”
Replied Monica, “Ewwww!
Now this dress will be famous!” she quipped.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Puns

“It’s we infantrymen who bear the brunt of our generals’ stupid decisions,” the gruntled his buddies.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“I before E exc-ept after C,” the girl recited to her teacher.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

When the little boy lost his favorite toy dinosaur he w-ept copious tears.
-Janice Power, Cleveland, Ohio (powerjanice782 gmail.com)

“Kl-ept-omaniacs for Trump!” said the sign at the rally.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Babe retired from Major League Baseball with a record 714 home runs, leaving the sport Ruth-less.
-Janice Power, Cleveland, Ohio (powerjanice782 gmail.com)

“Truth isn’t t-ruth,” said Rudy as he was led away in handcuffs.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“Democracy is d-reck,” said Donald to the Republican Jewish Coalition.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“Don’t stay indoors playing games on your phone all day. Go out and get some reck-reation,” his mother would urge.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“Eef I like-a descript, I make-a de movie,” explained Fellini to the aspiring screenwriter.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

I have forced myself to contradict myself in order to avoid conforming to my own taste. -Marcel Duchamp, artist (28 Jul 1887-1968)

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