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Aug 23, 2026 This week’s theme Words that say it twice This week’s words circumambient hapchance concomitance overplus gangway How popular are they? Relative usage over time AWADmail archives Index Next week’s theme There’s a word for it Wordsmith Games 🧩 Jigsaw Riddle Practicing the Keys 🌍 Langitude Trace home AWADmail Issue 1260 A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and Language From: Robert Burns (robertburns oblaw.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--circumambient Trash. Obviously, “around” and “go around” have unnecessary redundancy. It’s a defective art word for Latin geeks and nothing more. I’d use “ambirient”, but then I’d execute the Romans. Robert Burns, Ocean Beach, California From: Roberta Palestine (rfpchoc aol.com) Subject: Another redundant word In dermatology, mycosis fungoides roughly translates as mushroom-like fungal disease, but it is not fungal at all. It is a type of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Roberta Palestine, MD, Highland Beach, Florida From: Ann Hoffner (hoffnerann gmail.com) Subject: Double words in Bahasa Melayu I spent a lot of time in Indonesia and Malaysia. Both Indonesian and Malay use doubled words in a variety of contexts. One of my favorites is jalan-jalan. Jalan means a road, path, or walkway; jalan-jalan means to take a walk or stroll. This is called reduplication, and it may involve repeating a word in full or in part. Ann Hoffner, Newark, New Jersey From: Alex Pimentel (pimentelconstruction.ap gmail.com) Subject: Words that say it twice One phrase I often hear on looky-loo real estate shows, such as House Hunters is added bonus. Another word that seems redundant is forewarn. Is there a postwarn that would be of any use? Alex Pimentel, Richmond, California From: Timothy Hinds (awadth thinds.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--circumambient There’s a pretentiously named lake near us in a generally pretentious city: Lochmere Lake. I don’t think the people who named it realized that the name means lake, lake, lake. Timothy Hinds, Raleigh, North Carolina From: Simon (simon.unshod gmail.com) Subject: Words that say it twice Geography abounds with names that say it twice or even more, often when incomers add their descriptor for the feature to what they think is the local name of the feature, but is actually the local descriptor for the feature. I’ve long had a fondness for Torpenhow, which in some interpretations is hill, hill, hill. Simon, Wadalba, Australia From: Matthew Grierson (mattgrierson windowslive.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--hapchance Working in retail during the COVID-19 pandemic, I got irritated by people asking for RAT tests. I would reply, “So you want a Rapid Antigen Test Test?” Unfortunately, most people looked at me in complete bewilderment. One woman laughed and replied, “Yes, it’s like me saying I work for the IRD department.” Matthew Grierson, Auckland, New Zealand Email of the Week -- Brought to you by ONEUPMANSHIP® From: Joan Perrin (perrinjoan aol.com) Subject: Concomitance My twin sister, Mae, and I shared a special concomitance. A few times over the years, we independently chose the exact same birthday card for each other. Quite often, we completed each other’s sentences. Since her passing four years ago, I miss my wombmate and the connection we had. Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York From: Tania Sanchez (tania.sanchez gmail.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--concomitance A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, and that is to have either a clear conscience or none at all. -Ogden Nash, poet (19 Aug 1902-1971) Are those not ... two ways? Tania Sanchez, Buckingham, UK From: David Policansky (davidpolicansky gmail.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--gangway The Dutch word gang has quite a few meanings and appears in many compounds. Its sense of a passage or way appears in uitgang (exit) and ingang (entrance). It can also refer to walking or going; thus, a voetganger is a pedestrian, and voortgang is progress. It can even mean a course in a meal. The word has cognates in German, Danish, and English. Quite a busy little word. David Policansky, Santa Fe, New Mexico From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com) Subject: gangway and concomitance This scenario, featuring Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei, was inspired by the near homophony of Weiwei and “way way”, the repetition hidden in our word gangway, and Anu’s note: “No way! Yes way! Way way!” What can I say? I have a soft spot for puns. Indeed, Ai’s Sunflower Seeds installation at Tate Modern, which ran from Oct 2010 to May 2011, comprised 100 million individually handcrafted and hand-painted porcelain seeds. They covered 1,000 square meters of the Tate’s Turbine Hall floor to a depth of 10 centimeters. It was a tour de force, no two ways about it. Contemplating our word “concomitance” -- the state of occurring or existing together -- brought to mind Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder’s 1982 duet Ebony and Ivory (video, 4 min.). McCartney envisioned the black and white piano keys as symbolic of diverse cultures around the globe living together harmoniously. Here Paul and Stevie, at their fantastical keyboard, are in perfect concomitance. A duet could be defined as concomitance with a soundtrack. Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California Anagrams This week’s theme: Words that say it twice Circumambient Hapchance Concomitance Overplus Gangway = Wow, they get around! Best occurance, kismet Accompaniment with Rich lavishment Hectic passageway -Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com) = Encircling Thus occur by accident Now at the same time Hmm, we know what is over capacity The passage = Encircling (with crummy view!) Perchance seems ok Get to associate with Most abundant cache Pathway -Julian Lofts, Auckland, New Zealand (jalofts xtra.co.nz) -Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com) Make your own anagrams and animations. Limericks circumambient Circumambient air full of smoke, With fine particles making us choke. Conditions too dry, An orange-colored sky -- All this change in our climate’s no joke. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) Said Custer at Little Bighorn, “Men, this fight will be no can of corn. With these tribes circumambient, Our lives may be transient. I wish I were home watching pοrn.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) hapchance It was thanks to a hapchance of fate That she met her remarkable mate. They got stuck side by side On a carnival ride -- Which much later they called their first date. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) Said King Arthur, “Hey, check out this map, Lance; We may locate the Grail there with hapchance.” The knight answered, “You go; I’ll stay here at home, bro,” Where he got Guinevere’s special lapdance. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) concomitance We synchronized swimmers must aim For movements that all look the same. Since mermaids we’re not, We practice a lot: Concomitance: that is our game! -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) It seems me and my twin sister Mae, Had a special connection someway. Our concomitance grand Was not ever planned; We would know what the other would say. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “With our bombs we will show them our dominance,” Said Donald, exuding great confidence. He’s so sure of his views That he readily spews Both delusions and lies in concomitance. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) overplus Transforming the White House of old, In overplus Trump’s added gold. He thinks it’s Versailles, And I want to cry -- This tacky decor leaves me cold. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) “You must not at this dog’s odor fuss; He’s got brains in a huge overplus,” Said the breeder. “His talk Makes a burglar balk; They turn tail once they hear Rover cuss!” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) gangway The gangway was crowded and so The passengers’ progress was slow. We all had to wait, Which wasn’t so great, ‘Cause everyone wanted to go. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) At the party young Fred had a drink. Well, he had more than one, I do think. Then he yelled, “Gangway! Quick! I am feeling quite sick,” And threw up in the host’s kitchen sink. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “In your life, when you need a gangway, Consider what Yin and Yang say,” Said Lao Tzu. “In the Dao, You’ll find wisdom, and how! It’s in clear black and white, no dang gray.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Puns “It’s so embarrassing to have all these circumambient friends and relatives here for this,” sighed the 8-day-old Jewish baby boy. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “Did the administration’s colossal Iranian mis-hapchance to lower your testosterone levels?” the congressional committee asked Pete Hegseth. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “I had no idea that seashells held to your ear could be used as meditation aids,” said the Hindu monk. “Yes, if you chant into a concomitance-ers with the sound of the sea,” replied his fellow seeker. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “A hang-overplus early morning class equals a failing grade,” the annoyed math professor lectured his bleary-eyed students. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “The rules to play Twenty-one are simple,” the gambler told her friend. “You lose if you go overplus the house takes your bet.” -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “We’ve been doing Our Gangway too long,” commiserated now-elderly Spanky, Alfalfa, and Buckwheat. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: If an animal does something, they call it instinct. If we do exactly the same thing for the same reason, they call it intelligence. -Will Cuppy, humorist and journalist (23 Aug 1884-1949)

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