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Aug 2, 2026
This week’s themeMisleading words This week’s words antipelargy misdoubt withsay depurate disannul How popular are they? Relative usage over time AWADmail archives Index Next week’s theme Words that sound dirty, but aren’t Wordsmith Games
AWADmail Issue 1257A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and LanguageFrom: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) Subject: Interesting stories from the Net Love Language: The Undying Dream of Esperanto Harper’s Permalink Punctuation: A Generational Divide The Atlantic Permalink This Skill May Keep Your Brain Younger. Here’s How to Learn It. The Washington Post Permalink From: David Swidler (swidlerdavid gmail.com) Subject: antipelargy An interesting parallel appears in Jewish sources. The Hebrew word for stork, חסידה (ḥasidah; see Leviticus 11:19 and Deuteronomy 14:18), comes from the same root as ḥesed, meaning kindness or lovingkindness. The King James Bible often uses “lovingkindness” to translate ḥesed. The Talmud says the bird was so named because it shows kindness to its fellows by sharing food. Some later commentators add an ironic gloss: the stork extends kindness only to its own circle. They connect that limitation with its status as a nonkosher bird. David Swidler, Tel Aviv, Israel
Email of the Week -- Brought to you by ONEUPMANSHIP®
From: Laurie Tompkins (Laurietom29 outlook.com) Subject: Antipelargy Dredging up a memory from a long-ago chemistry class, I looked up antimony, one of the less familiar elements in the periodic table, to see where its anti- came from. To my surprise, there is no consensus about the origin of medieval Latin antimonium, from which the English word antimony derives, though hypotheses abound. Stibnite, an antimony sulfide, was among the minerals used in kohl, the dark eye cosmetic of the ancient world. And here I thought multipurpose cosmetics, such as blush that can also be applied to the lips, were a modern invention. Laurie Tompkins, Laupahoehoe, Hawaii From: Pascal Pagnoux (pascal.pagnoux gmail.com) Subject: Anti- You wrote:
So, what is anti- doing here? Greek anti- has senses besides “against”:
it can also mean “in return” or “in exchange”. Compare antiphony,
in which singers or choirs answer one another. They are not feuding;
they are simply taking turns.
Anti- can also mean like or corresponding to. I had long been puzzled by the Greek name Antipater, borne by various kings, philosophers, and generals. Why would parents give a child a name that seemed to mean “against the father”? It turns out that Antipater means “like the father”. Pascal Pagnoux, Saint-Gaudens, France From: Steven Stine (scstine1672 gmail.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--misdoubt This reminds me of the Mexican dish frijoles refritos, commonly called refried beans in English. Spanish re- can mean again, but it can also intensify a verb. Refreír can mean to fry thoroughly, so refritos does not necessarily mean fried twice. Steven Stine, Libertyville, Illinois From: Mary Boy (mary.miller.boy googlemail.com) Subject: Withsay The with- in this word is cognate with German wider, meaning against, as in Widerspruch (contradiction or objection) and Widerstand (opposition or resistance). The corresponding verbs are widersprechen (to contradict, literally to speak against) and widerstehen (to resist, literally to stand against). Mary Boy, Falkensee, Germany From: Mardy Grothe (drmardy drmardy.com) Subject: Incorrect Attribution
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: If I could, I would always work in silence and obscurity, and let my efforts be known by their results. Thought you would like to know that today’s quote is by Charlotte Brontë, not Emily. It appears in a letter she wrote to her lifelong friend Ellen Nussey on Nov 2, 1841. The full letter is reproduced in Elizabeth Gaskell’s The Life of Charlotte Brontë (1857), Volume I, Chapter X. Mardy Grothe, Southern Pines, North Carolina
Thanks for taking the time to send the correction. We have corrected the
attribution on the website.
-Anu Garg From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com) Subject: disannul and depurate  
Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California Anagrams
Make your own anagrams and animations. Limericks antipelargy To his parents so much does he owe That great antipelargy he’ll show. Their love, he has learned, Can thus be returned -- And whenever he’s needed, he’ll go. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) I have a good friend name of Margie, Whose mother, when ill, did take charge, see. “For me she was there, So for her, I will care.” In an act of sweet antipelargy. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “With my parents,” said teenager Margie, “Every day there’s some new argy-bargy. When ‘I hate you!’ I scream, They’re a total nerd team, Saying, ‘Girl, where’s your antipelargy?’” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) misdoubt Each statement from Trump I misdoubt, For over the years I’ve found out That this is a guy Who just loves to lie, Whatever he’s talking about. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) “Mom and Dad,” said their son, “I’ve come out; I’m gay, this you mustn’t misdoubt.” “At least you have sex,” They said over their specs; “In our fifties, we’ve hit quite a drought.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) withsay That two-year-old, gleeful at play, Discovered a new word today. He’ll give it a go, And shouting out “No!” His mother’s requests he’ll withsay. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) Whatever it is I suggest, My parents both feel they know best. They withsay all my plans: “It is not in your hands,” They insist if I dare to protest. -Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com) “Allegations of crime I withsay,” Said Donald; “I take the Fifth, k? Aileen Cannon and SCOTUS Have put you on notice; I won’t be that scum Jack Smith’s prey.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) depurate This lettuce let’s depurate well, For lately we all have heard tell That deep cleaning’s the trick To avoid getting sick With symptoms that come straight from hell. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) “The swamp in DC I will depurate,” Promised Donald, “and end the whole welfare state. I’ll build ballrooms, fix pools; It’ll all shine like jewels!” But his building contractors were second-rate. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) disannul “The more that this matter I mull, I think I now find you quite dull. So you’ll understand Just what I have planned: This marriage we must disannul.” -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) She found that her blind date was dull, And the chatting had dropped to a lull. So when she was able, She fled from their table. This mismatch she did disannul. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “This trip may our lives disannul, For an iceberg’s torn open the hull,” Said the Titanic’s crew. “Here we go ‘neath the blue; Well, the movie they make won’t be dull.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “From our midst all brown people I’ll cull, And their citizenship disannul,” Proclaimed Donald. “Born here? Still my goons you should fear, For the laws don’t go in my thick skull.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Puns “We had no idea that Samson was so antipelargy whiz,” said the Philistines as the temple came crashing down on them. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “Sorry, was it Mrs. or Misdoubt-fire?” asked the nanny’s new employer. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Because his daughter was always second-guessing herself, her father dubbed her Misdoubting Thomas. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) Withsay-ings like “To be or not to be,” the Bard achieved global fame. -Janice Power, Cleveland, Ohio (powerjanice782 gmail.com) “Me you should move into cave withsay yes!” Oog implored his girlfriend. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Dana Carvey’s Church Lady on SNL was always accusing people of being withsay-tan. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “Y’all may never git the top job, but as a depurate pretty highly,” Sheriff Taylor assured Barney Fife. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “Disannul become my second wife,” said Robert De Niro, playing Henry VIII, to his courtiers. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Glad-disannuled her marriage when she found out her husband was cheating on her. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of
the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things
that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the
people who were alive, or who had ever been alive. -James Baldwin, writer
(2 Aug 1924-1987)
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