A.Word.A.Day -- AWADmail Issue 1177

A.Word.A.Day

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AWADmail Issue 1177

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

Sponsor’s Message: “Scrabble on steroids, with a thieving twist.” One Up! -- where stealing is the name of the game. “My daily dose of dopamine.” A wicked smart Christmas gift. Game on!

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

Can You Read Cursive? It’s a Superpower the National Archives Is Looking for.
USA Today
Permalink

A Million-Dollar Challenge to Crack the Script of Early Indians
BBC
Permalink

The Terrifying Realization That an Unresponsive Patient Is Still in There
The New York Times
Permalink

From: JoAnne Rankin (joakr aol.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--automania

You wrote:

Ever run into your accountant at a rock concert and barely recognize them? You see one side of a person at work. Meet them at another venue -- at the gym, a park, or maybe a karaoke night -- and suddenly, you’re questioning if they’re even the same person.

I practiced as a dental hygienist for fourteen years, when dental personnel always wore uniforms. I would occasionally meet a longtime patient walking down the street or in a store, and it often took them a moment to recognize me. One man finally did, and announced rather loudly, “I didn’t recognize you with your clothes on.”

JoAnne Rankin, Kenilworth, Illinois

From: Jill Brandt Fitzpatrick (itsjfitz verizon.net)
Subject: heavy-metal librarians

I work in a middle school library in a large school district. No heavy-metal drummers that I know of, but one of our librarians used to compete in a roller derby league!

Jill Fitzpatrick, Glen Allen, Virginia

From: Laurie Webb (barefootwitch yahoo.com)
Subject: Comment on double lives of words

Sent by request of my brother, with whom I share four vocabulary words every day in an effort to improve our Scrabble games.

My sister, a retired nurse, and I were delighted to learn that the extremely competent and compassionate cardiac surgeon who performed my complicated open-heart surgery has another life as a guitar player in a local band. I and several friends attended one of his recent performances and thoroughly enjoyed the music. I would love to be a blues guitarist myself, but will just make the best of the additional years provided to me by my surgeon with the “double life”.

Jay Karutz, Renton, Washington

Laurie Webb, Renton, Washington

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

Whenever I see words using “auto” or “self”, I am reminded of the Russian use of “samo” in a similar fashion:

samovar = self-boiler, heated tea urn
samolyot = self-flyer, airplane

Brenda J. Gannam, Brooklyn, New York

From: Daniel Millstone (danielmillstone yahoo.com)
Subject: airhead

Is airhead a big distance from luftmensch?

Daniel Millstone, Brooklyn, New York

From: John Seiver (JohnSeiver dwt.com)
Subject: Airhead

I think some readers might note there is a fourth meaning for airhead:

Any of the BMW motorcycles with air-cooled, twin-cylinder, horizontally-opposed “boxer” engines produced from 1923-1995. Also refers to owners of these motorcycles.
From the engine’s cylinders, which stick out sideways in the air to cool the engine.

John Seiver, Washington, DC

Email of the Week -- Brought to you buy One Up! -- Perfectly horrible holiday fun.

From: Jerry Delamater (comjhd hofstra.edu)
Subject: monophagy

Perhaps the best, certainly the most surreal, example (video, 4 min.) of the second definition of monophagy is from Luis Bunuel’s film Phantom of Liberty (Le Fantôme de la Liberté), in which characters use the toilet while sitting around a table together but go to individual small rooms to eat alone.

Jerry Delamater, New Haven, Connecticut

From: Patrick Casey (via website comments)
Subject: monophagy

I worked in boys homes for many years and always said they would happily eat pizza for dinner every night forever!

Patrick Casey

From: P Tucker Withington (ptw pobox.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--secular

TIL!

I have always heard the term “secular” used in finance and economics and never understood what was meant when they talked about a “secular trend”, because the only definition I knew was “not religious”. It always mystified me, as I did not think religion had much influence at all in finance. (Well, maybe some investing philosophies are based on faith. 🙄)

Finally I understand that it means a “long term” trend.

I guess that I can also say I am a secular subscriber to AWAD, and thank you for making my day, every day!

P. Tucker Withington, Plymouth, Massachusetts

From: Nan Cross (sunthismorning gmail.com)
Subject: Wonky

The word “wonky” is of somewhat common use in the quilting world. Quilters love the creation of beautiful and useful quilts, but the “ideal” of quiltmaking requires perfect-precision cutting of pieces and perfect precision of stitching 1/4” seams in order to produce a perfectly flat quilt top. And very good and experienced quilters, let alone enthusiastic, inexperienced ones, can fall short of the precision required. Any part of the quilt-top not as flat as perfection would require is referred to as wonky -- and is, of course, a routine experience.

Nancy Cross, Hamtramck, Michigan

From: Eric Miller (ericmiller1957 gmail.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--wonky

One unsubstantiated origin story for wonky in its meaning as a synonym of nerdy is that it was a slang in-joke among Harvard students in the early-to-mid 1970s: “wonk” is both “know” backwards and an off-color allusion to “wank”. I can attest that the adjectival form was indeed used as a double entendre that way.

An important usage-distinction (at that time, anyway) between “wonk” and “nerd” was that “nerd” was used to refer to a personality trait, a permanent condition, whereas “wonk” was something that anyone might do, when the need arose (thus its use primarily as a verb): “Oh man, I have a Chem 20 midterm coming up; I really gotta wonk out for the next few days.” Yes, “to wonk out” was a standard way to package the verb.

Eric Miller, Norwich, Vermont

From: Howard Jack (howard.jack.au gmail.com)
Subject: The greatest country on earth

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
If you or your parents are immigrants, know that you are part of a proud American tradition -- the infusion of new cultures, talents and ideas, generation after generation, that has made us the greatest country on earth. -Michelle Obama, lawyer, former first lady of the US (b. 17 Jan 1964)

Oh Dear - even Michelle O overstates the greatness. A wonky view along with a lot of others who say the same thing. (video, 4 min)

Howard Jack, Grafton, Australia

From: Louis Phillips (louisprofphillips gmail.com)
Subject: Willy Wonky

Willy Wonky -Willy Wonka’s twin brother. Wonky also has a chocolate factory but nothing in his factory works properly.

Louis Phillips, New York, New York

From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: automania and wonky

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, owner of X (formerly Twitter), Trump bromancer and wealthiest person on Earth, fits both definitions of our word “automania”... having a love for cars and an unbounded ego. Oh, and a huge passion for rocketry and space travel, as well. Hmm... missile-maniac? Ha!

“Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings fits the profile of a bona fide trivia wonk. As winner of the most consecutive “Jeopardy!” games ever... 74, and author of several books, from “Ken Jennings’ Trivia Almanac”, to “Brainiac” and “Maphead”, he thrives in deep dives into the weeds of the trivia-verse, translating his vast spectrum of general knowledge into a rewarding career as a popular TV game show host and best-selling author.

Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California

Anagrams


This week’s theme: Words with double lives Automania Airhead Monophagy Secular Wonky	=	Yeah, Trump has this view How ditsy Koala, wee silkworms adore & eat one menu Laic Bung doh!	=	Ego; ambitious speed Air vent; weak wit (huh?) I eat same chow; solo Worldly; human Nerd; shaky
		-Julian Lofts, Auckland, New Zealand (jalofts xtra.co.nz)		-Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com)
	=	A car-mad way Seem stupid Like, woo one dish Here monks are without a vow Highly unstable	=	A petrolhead’s whim suits his egoism Dumbhead or vent Why eat kale on your own Laic Weak
		-Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com)		-Robert Jordan, Lampang, Thailand (alfiesdad ymail.com)

Make your own anagrams and animations.

Limericks

automania

The nightmare is virtually here,
In the guy who has made his career
Causing chaos and pain.
Automania’s plain;
The consequence will be severe
-Beth Sandel, Cheval Blanc, France (bethjsandel hotmail.com)

I’m obsessed with myself. I’m a star.
I demand that you read my memoir.
Automania’s my lot.
Oh, I almost forgot,
That I’m also in love with my car.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

If you think about cars quite a lot,
Automania’s what you have got.
I’m sure you’re aware
This love I don’t share.
Do I care about cars? I do not.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

Count Dracula had automania.
He raced up and down Transylvania.
But, due to his plight,
Drove only at night,
And rested by day in Albania.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

Said the shrink, “Sir, you have automania,
Together with bad kleptomania.
From the White House you’ll drain
All Fort Knox with that brain,
And do other bizarre miscellanea.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

airhead

What an airhead that fellow has wed!
She has not got a thought in her head.
But she’s stunning, you see;
She’s a 36 D,
And she’s simply amazing in bed.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

“I’m sorry your mom’s such an airhead,
But your dad loves me now,” the au pair said.
“He’ll get a divorce,
And we’ll marry, of course.”
The kids answered, “Like hell! Don’t you dare wed!”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

monophagy

I like food that is trendy and hot
And have dinner at eight on the dot.
But I can’t get a date.
For my friends that’s too late.
So, monophagy’s often my lot.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

Monophagy’s dull, some would say;
You eat the same thing every day.
Monogamy too
Could bore one, it’s true,
But still it’s considered okay.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

A determined monophagy diner,
I eat all alone; it’s far finer.
I don’t have to share
My apple and pear
Or listen to some perplexed whiner!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

“You’re quite a lothario wannabe,
But remove yourself, please, from on top of me,”
Said Stormy. “Uh, dinner?
I need to get thinner;
Besides, I now practice monophagy.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

secular

Religion for me, to this day,
Has had minimal int’rest per se.
But I’m not a pariah,
For Handel’s Messiah
I love in a secular way.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

He said, “I’m a secular Jew;
There’s nothing religious I do.
But some Yiddish I’ll use,
And I often will choose
To eat a nice bagel or two.”
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

“The government needs to be secular;
Mixing church and state’s highly irregular,”
Said our founders. Yet still
We hear contrary swill
In an era with phones that are cellular.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

wonky

He was wonky in high school, a nerd.
But at the reunion I heard
That he’s rich, and he’s hot,
While the cute jocks are not,
And I wonder just how this occurred.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

The chairs were all wonky at best
No good if one wanted to rest.
But I found a couch that
Would let me lie flat
And as cozy as if in a nest!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

His ceiling fan’s gone on the fritz.
Its uselessness just gives him fits.
He feels like a jerk
Because it won’t work.
That wonky fan in its box sits.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

The airlines these days are so wonky
That I’d rather be riding a donkey.
The delays make us chumps
And the flight’s full of bumps;
In the bathroom, I can’t without qualm pee.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Puns

“I f-automania for words in therapy for years, but they couldn’t cure me,” sighed Anu.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“You’ve got a f-airhead of hair there,” the barber told Fred, who worried about his receding hairline.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“Do you d-airhead the ship towards Scylla and Charybdis?” the crew asked Odysseus.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“Hey monophagy-ta is my favorite Mexican food,” said the Jamaican.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“If you’ve got a secular-en could be rich!” the conman cornered Ms. Bacall at the stage door.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“In one par-secular-rive at the Gamma Quadrant. Turn left at the first neutron star,” Siri instructed Captain Kirk.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

At the Australian Open, Coco Gauff wonky points against her opponent.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“Here in Tai-wonky elements of our mutually beneficial relationship are low tariffs and protection from mainland China,” the premier attempted to explain in a call to the incoming US president.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night. -Edgar Allan Poe, poet and short-story writer (19 Jan 1809-1849)

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