A.Word.A.Day -- AWADmail Issue 1174

A.Word.A.Day

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AWADmail Issue 1174

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

Quiz: Do You Speak 2024?
The New York Times
Permalink

William Labov, Who Studied How Society Shapes Language, Dies at 97
The New York Times
Permalink

From: Daren Krause (dnaxke yahoo.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--disject

When talking about Noel, it would be remiss for any baseball fan not to mention “Big Christmas”.

Daren Krause, Round Rock, Texas

From: Patsy Caropresi (pcaropresi yahoo.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--disject

It is not Xmas. It’s Christ-mas: Christmas.

Patsy Caropresi, Garland, Texas

Sometimes two people can differ, and both can be right. It is Xmas. It is Christmas. It’s Christ-mass. Let’s take a look.

The X in Xmas is not an attempt to replace Christ. It’s the equivalent to the Greek letter chi (χ), the first letter in the Greek word for Christ, Christos (χρῑστός).

χ has been used as an abbreviation for Christ for over a thousand years. Visualize scribes hunched over in monasteries, copying scriptures by hand all day long. Any abbreviation would be a godsend.

If you’re OK with Patsy for Patricia, TX for Texas, and so on, Xmas for Christmas is no different.

That out of the way, let’s look at some fun facts:

Greek christos (anointed) is ultimately from the Indo-European root ghrei- (to rub) which also gave us cream, grime, and Hindi ghee (clarified butter).

Greek christos is a translation of Hebrew mashiah (messiah), which is ultimately from the Semitic root mšḥ (to anoint) which also gave us massage.

-Anu Garg

PS: As I explained in my No el intro on Mon, it included all the letters of the alphabet except L. Where did you think I was going to go for an X?

From: Richard Stallman (rms gnu.org)
Subject: What holiday is tomorrow?

As for Dec 25, some of us call it Grav-Mass, the celebration of comprehensible physical laws, held on Isaac Newton’s birthday.

Richard Stallman, Boston, Massachusetts

From: Hillel Hammerman (drhhammerman gmail.com)
Subject: zygomorphic

In medicine, the cheekbones are called the zygomatic bones. They are symmetrical on axis with the nose.

Dr. Hillel Hammerman, Scarsdale, New York

Email of the Week -- Brought to you buy One Up! -- “Guaranteed to ruin Christmas.”

From: William Pease (peasewmj gmail.com)
Subject: No el

NO el? So what happened to all the Ls this week? I found some of them hiding out:

Really silly though it seems, some mellow fellows, callow but not yellow, did not dally or wallow in some hollow valley of ill will but rallied beside a fallen willow to follow the woolly pulley of a jolly lollygagger Ogden Nash who challenged us to collar a three-L lllama, allured to dolling up in silk pajama. Is there a Llewelyn Lloyd out there to call on as ally as we sally forth?
“The one-l lama he’s a priest. The two-l llama he’s a beast and
I’ll bet a silk pajama, there isn’t any three-l lama.”

William Pease, San Diego, California

From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: forswunk and zygomorphic

Being Santa can be a dirty (and exhausting) job, but someone’s gotta do it. Not only is his Xmas eve delivery run an epic challenge, but one wonders how a portly fellow like him doesn’t get stuck in the chimney, on occasion? Just one of the lingering mysteries that have made this jolly gent, such an endearing Xmas season figure, so iconic.

In researching our word “zygomorphic”, I was intrigued to discover that in the world of flora there are just a mere handful of flower species that fit the definition. Namely orchids, sweet peas, snapdragons, corn and bean flowers. Who knew? Georgia O’Keeffe was renowned for her paintings of old missions, barren, yet beautiful native Southwest landscapes, and sun-bleached bones. But her large-scale paintings of flowers became her signature subject matter. Many believe that O’Keeffe’s extreme closeup floral paintings are erotic, depicting a woman’s intimate anatomy, which she denied. As her contemporary, Gertrude Stein, would say, “A rose, is a rose, is a rose.” Ha!

Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California

Anagrams


This week’s theme: No el Disject Equative Zygomorphic Excubant Forswunk	=	Sow Two objects Symmetric crux Keep safe, vigilant Quite zonked, hun? (He-he!)
		-Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com)

=	Spritz fine X, Y too, same enough Just the twin halves Quick Become wrecked	=	Scatter, sow, thus expend Quite like Yoke form Be watching Jeez! No such vim
	-Robert Jordan, Lampang, Thailand (alfiesdad ymail.com)		-Julian Lofts, Auckland, New Zealand (jalofts xtra.co.nz)

Make your own anagrams and animations.

Limericks

disject

Some friends like to gossip unchecked.
They’ll surround you and show no respect.
There’s no need to boohoo.
Look for friends that are new,
And those gossips you then can disject.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

I promise to be circumspect,
And thus I refuse to disject
Any gossip I hear --
What comes into one ear
Will just fester right there, I expect.
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

Do cover your cough, or your sneeze,
This winter, I’m begging you, please.
So you won’t disject
The germs that infect,
And no one will catch your disease.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“All the Haitians we’ll have to disject,
For in Springfield, the pets I respect,”
Said Donald. “Amnesia
We’ll show towards a visa;
Lost records! An art we’ll perfect!”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

equative

I find aging’s a law of its own,
Equative to nothing I’ve known.
I only hope now
That I have the know-how
To master it -- till I am prone!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

Some believe all opinions are equative;
To that, I respond with an expletive.
Evolution’s a “theory”?
It’s proven true, dearie;
Your faith gives me need of a sedative.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

zygomorphic

Zygomorphic the orchid might be,
With mirror-like true symmetry.
But orchids cannot
Calm me down when distraught;
After conflicts, just chocolate for me.
-Beth Sandel, Cheval Blanc, France (bethjsandel hotmail.com)

There’s a pizza joint that I have found
With pies that do always astound.
And they’ll cut them in half.
Let me tell you, don’t laugh.
They are all zygomorphic and round.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New ork (ydur36 hotmail.com)

Just a sole kind of goddess would Thor pick:
One with figure and face zygomorphic.
“For symmetry’s beauty;
It makes for a cutie,”
Said he, “with blonde hair, to look Nordic.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

excubant

Her excubant heart was the way
She kept all would-be suitors at bay.
But the one who got through
Was the puppy dog who
Simply asked her to join him in play.
-Beth Sandel, Cheval Blanc, France (bethjsandel hotmail.com)

Be cautious and excubant, dear,
When a stranger at night comes too near.
It isn’t too hard
To be on your guard
And give him an angry Bronx cheer.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

Those drones that you see in the sky,
Could be aliens trying to spy.
So you must be excubant
To spot the next mutant
Who happens to be flying by.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

Eating fiber-free foods is imprudent;
Against them you must be excubant.
Too much cheese and you’ll wish
For a raisin bran dish;
Have a bowl and enjoy a good movement.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

forswunk

It’s true that these last several years
Have found me quite often in tears.
I’ve been in a funk,
Completely forswunk;
I just hope all is not it appears.
-Beth Sandel, Cheval Blanc, France (bethjsandel hotmail.com)

Of late I have been in a funk,
Which has rendered me downright forswunk.
I spoke to my shrink.
And what did he think?
“Just go out and get thoroughly drunk.”
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

“From copying books I’m forswunk,
And the pay for it always has stunk.
But I’ve heard lots of hype
About movable type;
Hurry up, Gutenberg!” said the monk.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Puns

“Her speeches are full of truth and facts and all that stuff. I’ll win ‘cu-zygomorphic-tional,” said Donald.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“De service was lousy. I ain’t gonna pay disject-ear it up or I’ll burn down yer restaurant,” said Tony.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“And besides tearin’ up de ch-equative you let me eat free for life so’s I don’ kill youse?” he continued.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“We’ll send everyone who wants to be an excubant-o Florida,” said Fidel after overthrowing Batista.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

The duffer shouted forswunk-lumsily and ended up in a sand trap.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears. -John Vance Cheney, poet (29 Dec 1848-1922)

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