A.Word.A.Day -- AWADmail Issue 1159

A.Word.A.Day

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AWADmail Issue 1159

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

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The News in One Word

Trump: “The migrants are walking off with the town’s geese.” (Reference)

Anserine.

From: Bill Richardson (kymrbill aol.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--elocutionary

Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones is said to have claimed the secret to his singing success was his “vowel movements”.

Bill Richardson, Orange, California

From: Paul Blaney (pblaney emoryhenry.edu)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--elocutionary

My father’s favorite joke, posed in this exact way, was: What word contains all five vowels in order, and I should warn you that the answer is facetious.

Paul H. Blaney, Abingdon, Virginia

From: Que Areste Estavia (queness66 gmail.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--vituperatory

I went to a very small middle school. We had one teacher both years. He was full of sayings, one of which was “How’s your vituperosity” which I, of course, looked up.

Que Areste Estavia, Seattle, Washington

From: Clare Moffatt (clare.moffatt.uk gmail.com)
Subject: Certainty

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on “I am not too sure.” -H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (12 Sep 1880-1956)

My mother could sometimes be forthright in her views. My brother-in-law described her as “Always certain, seldom right.”

Clare Moffatt, Hailsham, UK

From: Barron Hall (barronhall hotmail.com)
Subject: Mencken quotation

Remember Mencken’s quotation every time Carrothead opens his mouth or mangles a tweet. His appeal to his cultists is his absoluteness -- it soothes their terror at the uncertainty of the world and absolves them of their choice to remain ignorant of facts.

Barron Hall, Fairfax, Virginia

From: Kenneth Kirste (kkkirste sbcglobal.net)
Subject: Perfunctionary

In my early days of managing, I was coached how to respond to a request for an employee recommendation when the person was a perfunctionary performer but you didn’t want to hurt his chances of landing a new job: tell them “You’d be very lucky to get him to work for you.”

Ken Kirste, Sunnyvale, California

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

From: Jay Florey (JayFlorey57 comcast.net)
Subject: Vowels and Consonants

Your introduction to this week’s theme reminded me of a segment on Cartalk years ago about airlifting vowels into Bosnia (audio, transcript).

Jay Florey, Olympia, Washington

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

I’m anticipating the day when someone will name their kid Aeiouy!

Brenda J. Gannam, Brooklyn, New York

From: Craig Matthiessen (racinut6 gmail.com)
Subject: Car names with all the vowels

This reminded me of a quiz some years ago where the question was to name three vehicles sold in the US that had all the vowels in the model name. Two quickly came to mind: Mercury Mountaineer and Toyota Sequoia. The third wasn’t so easy. The only name I could think of was a Lamborghini Murciélago but wasn’t sure that counted. Never did find the answer to the quiz. Maybe one of your readers knows.

R.C. Matthiessen, Burke, Virginia

From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: vowels vs consonants and vituperatory

During my recent 3-week trip to Sri Lanka, I was struck by the extreme length of many place names; but further, their superfluity of vowels, starting with the nation’s former ancient capital, Anuradhapura. Similarly, many towns in Wales also have gobsmackingly long names (and very short ones, as well). Unlike vowel-heavy Sri Lankan town names, Welsh ones are an agglomeration of varied consonants. Bwichgwyn, Crymych and Plwmp are prime examples. Although they do rely heavily on the letter “Y”, which functions as a surrogate vowel.

VP Harris, even prior to her sudden rise as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, has been the target of the slings, arrows... and darts (Ha!) of Trump’s outrageous vituperation and vitriol. It appears he’s finally settled on a Harris nickname,”Comrade Kamala”. He’s labelled her, without any evidence, a Marxist. Trump, himself, has had well-documented past bromances with communist dictators Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un and Xi Jinping.

Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California

Anagrams


This theme: Words with all vowels 1. Elocutionary 2. Commensurability 3. Vituperatory 4. Equivocacy 5. Perfunctionary	=	1. Stylistic 2. Comparability, equivalent 3. Sardonic theme, how hateful 4. Very uncertain, wooly, moot 5. Cursory purview
		-Julian Lofts, Auckland, New Zealand (jalofts xtra.co.nz)


This week’s theme: Words with all the vowels 1. Elocutionary 2. Commensurability 3. Vituperatory 4. Equivocacy 5. Perfunctionary	=	1. Vocative, eloquent 2. Employee measurability 3. Scurrilous, lewd 4. Uncertainty 5. The part of my work which shows no creativity
		-Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com)

Make your own anagrams and animations.

Limericks

elocutionary

An actor, a mere supernumerary,
Attempted to be elocutionary.
And he made a big speech
(A huge overreach).
His success would have been revolutionary.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

Though he lacks elocutionary skill,
He is giving campaign speeches still.
The people file out.
They’re bored, there’s no doubt,
For how often they’ve heard all his swill!
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

Will I get up in front of the class?
And talk? Nah, I let that one pass.
Elocutionary stuff
Is all high-class guff
My talking is mostly all sass!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

Donald Trump, yes, is losing his mind.
All his words incoherent, unkind.
His rants elocutionary
Do tilt revolutionary,
And democracy? Leaves it behind.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

The debate? Her finesse elocution’ry
Ran circles ‘round his, at least usually.
Her thoughts? Straight and steady
Like uncooked spaghetti,
Where his were all screwy like fusilli.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

commensurability

It’s something I really can’t bear.
You ignore me and give me the air.
Whereas I love you dearly,
As you must see clearly.
No commensurability’s there.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

The debate may determine the race,
Since the candidates met face to face.
Commensurability
Of mental agility,
Will predict who the voters embrace.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

Bragged Donald, “My bigly virility
And ‘uge size show commensurability.”
Answered Stormy, “Perhaps
In your mind there are gaps
Or delusions brought on by senility.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

vituperatory

Donald Trump obfuscated, that cur.
To reply in clear terms he’d demur.
His replies were a joke,
And the words that he spoke --
Vituperatory they were.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

Donald Trump must be singing the blues,
If he’s heard all those pans on the news.
He bombed in debate,
And really must hate
His vituperatory reviews.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

Though Donald’s vituperatory,
JD Vance, you’re a whole ‘nother story.
On our kitties we dote,
And dude, cat ladies vote!
We like purring, not dumb oratory!
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

equivocacy

With equivocacy you may win
Most any election you’re in.
Let people decide
Just what you’ve implied,
And later get out there and spin.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

Equivocacy is the way
Trump always has something to say.
So “concepts” of “plans”
Makes us throw up our hands.
“C’mon, man, just tell us today!”
-Steve Cabito, Santa Rosa, California (stevecabito gmail.com)

She never could make up her mind,
So Ann’s friends always left her behind.
She suffered, dear me,
From equivocacy.
“Why can’t I be forceful!” She pined.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

Despite all their literacy,
They have lost their legitimacy.
Ask at Ivy League schools
If hate speech breaks the rules,
And they practice equivocacy.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

perfunctionary

I confess I write lim’ricks most days
In lazy, perfunction’ry ways.
But I have been blessed,
As you might have guessed,
With genius; and that really pays.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

How lazy we found the new guy!
He gave a perfunctionary try.
It was hardly his best,
And we weren’t impressed --
He lasted one day, and that’s why.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

“He behaves so deesfunctionally
Zat I have no compunction, you see?”
Said Melania. “So,
On my jacket I’ll go
Weeth a message perfunctionary.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Puns

“I shall compile a book of words used in public speaking and call it an elocutionary,” thought Anu.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“Eating this apple will commensurability to think for yourself, Eve,” said the serpent.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“I never ‘ave Labor Party wαnkers at me parties, but I’ll in-vituperatory friend who says you’re not a bad bloke,” said the Conservative MP.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“A decent arrow case is the right of every archer regardless of wealth or background,” said the head of Equivocacy, the equal quivers advocacy group.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“You think I want to strip-search you? But I have to as perfunctionary requirements,” said the prison guard to the former President.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Understand this, I mean to arrive at the truth. The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to seekers after it. -Agatha Christie, author (15 Sep 1890-1976)

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