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Oct 4, 2026 This week’s theme A change of character: Act I This week’s words idiocracy androgynous casque venous veracity How popular are they? Relative usage over time AWADmail archives Index Next week’s theme A change of character: Act II Wordsmith Games 🧩 Jigsaw Riddle A Tough Crowd 🌍 Langitude Trace bridewell home AWADmail Issue 1266 A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and Language From: pooder27 (via website comments) Subject: idiocracy Andy Borowitz has a good book on the subject: Profiles in Ignorance: How America’s Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber. pooder27 Email of the Week -- Brought to you by ONEUPMANSHIP® From: Eric Miller (ericmiller1957 gmail.com) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--idiocracy A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: “It is by character and not by intellect the world is won.” -Evelyn Beatrice Hall, biographer (28 Sep 1868-1956) So, why is the world currently being run by those who have neither? Eric Miller, Norwich, Vermont From: Vidyanand Nanjundiah (vidyan alumni.iisc.ac.in) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--androgynous A Hindu example of androgyny is the deity Ardhanarishvara. The word draws on the familiar male-female distinction, but reproductive compatibility in the living world can be more elaborate. Some microorganisms have several mating types; the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila, for example, has seven. Vidyanand Nanjundiah, Hyderabad, India From: Elizabeth Block (elizabethblock netzero.net) Subject: Shackleton’s want ad This is from the book Parkinson’s Law by C. Northcote Parkinson: Wanted: An archaeologist with high academic qualifications willing to spend fifteen years in excavating the Inca tombs at Helsdump on the Alligator River. Knighthood or equivalent honour guaranteed. Pension payable but never yet claimed. Salary of £2000 (or $6000 US) per year. Apply in triplicate to the Director of the Grubbenburrow Institute, Sickdale, Ill., USA. ... The result is a single candidate. He is off his head but that does not matter. He is the man we want. Parkinson’s Law was published in 1957. It’s still funny! Elizabeth Block, Toronto, Canada From: Brenda J. Gannam (gannamconsulting earthlink.net) Subject: veracity I have never doubted the veracity of this adage: Veritas liberabit vos (The truth shall set you free). It is the motto of one of the universities I attended. The Oct 2 NYT features an article about this very subject: when, where, and how to tell the hard truths with grace and aplomb. When to Tell Hard Truths (Permalink) Brenda J. Gannam, Brooklyn, New York From: Rebecca Rice (rebeccarice1865 gmail.com) Subject: I love Wordsmith.org I love Wordsmith.org and have been subscribing to it for years. I have recommended it to several friends, and it brings me a little bit of joy every morning. One very old friend (old in years and in acquaintance!) and I often exchange reactions to particular words, mostly obscure ones we’ve never heard of. We are both writers and consider ourselves pretty literate, so it’s always fun to discover words we don’t know. Rebecca Rice, Hadley, Massachusetts From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com) Subject: idiocracy and androgynous While contemplating the word idiocracy, the familiar expression “The inmates are running the asylum” came to mind. For this scenario, I transported Trump’s fools to a royal court. Here, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Todd Blanche, Kash Patel, and Stephen Miller form the motley entourage of a would-be King Trump. In this court, the sycophantic jesters don’t merely entertain the ruler; they facilitate his rule. David Bowie helped bring androgynous style into mainstream pop culture, challenging conventions of masculine and feminine dress and performance. Later artists such as Boy George, Prince, Sam Smith, and Billy Porter pushed those boundaries. Here, I combine two iconic Bowie looks: Kansai Yamamoto’s “Tokyo Pop” jumpsuit, worn on Bowie’s 1973 world tour, and the lightning-bolt makeup from the Aladdin Sane album cover. The jumpsuit incorporated a kabuki quick-change technique, revealing Bowie in a different costume underneath. Even his clothes had an alter ego. Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California Anagrams This week’s theme: A change of character Idiocracy Androgynous Casque Venous Veracity = Have ass/twit/oaf in charge, idiocy Turns genderqueer A shako Venose Accuracy, the McCoy -Julian Lofts, Auckland, New Zealand (jalofts xtra.co.nz) This week’s theme: A change of character: Act I Idiocracy Androgynous Casque Venous Veracity = Quite a moronic autocracy! So, checking, I see two genders Safety hard hat Have veins Accuracy = Dork’s reign Monoecious cacti Heavy-crash headgear With veins Fact quest... an eye to accuracy -Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com) -Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com) Make your own anagrams and animations. Limericks idiocracy Eliminate measles? We had, But it’s back, thanks to bureaucrats mad. MAHA’s a crock, you see. This idiocracy Surely will kill us, egad! -Steve Cabito, Santa Rosa, California (stevecabito gmail.com) Oh, the voters ignored sage advice And elected this president twice. I cannot see why They’re fond of this guy -- Do they think idiocracy’s nice? -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) “To be smart around here is apostasy, For I’m running a strict idiocracy,” Said Donald. “My cult Won’t let in an adult, And we’re also disdainful of honesty.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) androgynous Androgynous people may say, “My pronoun of choice would be ‘they’.” Although I’m confused When this word is used, I’ve learned to respond with “Okay.” -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) There once was a young hippopotamus Who struggled with being androgynous. Their parents said, “Child, Embrace it! Go wild! It’s not like our kind is monogamous.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) casque For these folks, frisky rams in the main Cause no permanent harm to the brain. A sheepherding Basque Wears a stainless steel casque So his head-butting flocks cause no pain. -William Schemel, Rancho Cordova, California (wschemel aol.com) If a bird has a casque on its head, This helps it keep cool, it is said. But when I’m feeling hot, No such thing have I got -- I turn on the AC instead. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) “Oh, Mama, please buy me that casque! It’ll go with my Halloween mask!” “Oh, Johnny, stop nagging! My shoulders are sagging; Each word that you speak is an ‘ask’!” -Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com) “Are you in construction?” she’d ask. And he wondered how she knew his task. “It is really no guess, I will have to confess: You are wearing that type of a casque.” -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) A soldier donned Kevlar and casque, And set off on a dangerous task. Braving enemy fire, He crawled through the mire To bring Major Hegseth his flask. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) venous Said the heart to its main vessels venous, “You guys are my faves, just between us! While an artery’s fine, Your blood’s colored like wine, And just back from some fun in the p___s!” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) veracity Our president lacks the capacity For truthfulness, that is, veracity. Any claim he might spout Must be greeted with doubt, So famous is he for mendacity! -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) “The media’s fake news,” he cries. “I won that election, you guys!” He has no capacity To engage in veracity. Whenever he speaks, Donald lies. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “You want me to speak with veracity? Quiet, piggy, and cease your audacity!” Said Donald. The dude Needs to stop being rude, But the truth is he lacks the capacity. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Puns Freud’s theory about the ego and superego being subject to darker impulses is an example of id-iocracy. -Jim Ertner, Greensboro, North Carolina (jde31459 gmail.com) “With the collapse of constitutional government, Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube are the chief contenders to turn America into a v-idiocracy,” reported CNN. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) The Ugandan dictator Amin governed ruthlessly as a one-man Idiocracy. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “I’m afraid you’re h-androgynous, Mr. President,” said the doctor. “They’re tiny like a petite woman’s.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “How much Scotch is left in the casque?” asked Pete Hegseth. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Rapunzel’s hair was so long it was like a casque-ading waterfall. -Janice Power, Cleveland, Ohio (powerjanice782 gmail.com) One of the pallbearers tripped, causing the casque-et to fall. -Jim Ertner, Greensboro, North Carolina (jde31459 gmail.com) “I have fled Greece because of its ugly turn from democracy and love to tyranny and hate. I wish to apply for asylum and to take the name Venous,” Aphrodite told the Roman immigration authorities. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) The frustrated German wife said to her husband, “Venous you going to start helping out around ze house?” -Jim Ertner, Greensboro, North Carolina (jde31459 gmail.com) When Grandpa suddenly married again, it surprised e-venous, his family. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “Ms. Wang, as important as the fashion industry is to us and you are to it, I’m afraid we must decline your kind offer to rename New York Veracity,” said Mayor Mamdani. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: The unrestricted competition so commonly advocated does not leave us the survival of the fittest. The unscrupulous succeed best in accumulating wealth. -Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th US president (4 Oct 1822-1893)

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