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Oct 18, 2026
This week’s themeWords that look like misspellings This week’s words venust calender wheal exute irrupt How popular are they? Relative usage over time AWADmail archives Index Next week’s theme Z in the spotlight Wordsmith Games
AWADmail Issue 1268A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and LanguageFrom: John Rowbottom (johnandamandarowbottom gmail.com) Subject: Calender Thanks for the word calender and the photograph of the machine in the rubber works. I hadn’t thought of the word or the actual machine in almost 50 years. I worked on a calender in the late 1970s at a rubber factory in the north of England, loading the hopper with raw rubber, powdered carbon, and sulphur, along with chemicals I’ve forgotten the names of. The resulting sheets were used to line large metal tanks to suppress sparks. I well remember the dust and filth that I worked in and the difficulty in getting clean after each shift (no showers available for menial workers like us). The factory is long gone, and its site is now a housing estate, I believe. Ah, those happy days. John Rowbottom, Mandurah, Australia From: Paula Corbett (corbett.pmc gmail.com) Subject: calender In the 1950s and 1960s my mother had a mangle in the basement that she used to iron sheets, tablecloths, and other linens. Despite the name, it didn’t mangle anything. She sat in a chair and fed the linens between two very hot rollers that were controlled by a foot pedal. Paula Corbett, Alexandria, Virginia
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From: lmarun (via website comments) Subject: irrupt Birders will be familiar with this term, generally used as the noun irruption, which describes when there is a sudden surge in the movement of a population that’s outside the usual pattern of annual migration. This can be due to food shortage or abundance. It can also be a consequence of reproductive success due to food abundance and other favorable environmental conditions that pushes juveniles out of an overcrowded area. The term is also used to describe a local population boom in other animals, including the birds’ prey. Example: Following the lemming irruption in northern Alaska last summer, we saw a snowy owl irruption venturing south in the autumn. lmarun From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com) Subject: venust and wheal  
Anagrams 
Limericks venust The movie star, oh so venust, Has learned over time to adjust To those who will stare Because she’s so fair, And also has got a big bust. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) “Venust!” they will proudly proclaim From now on, when they all hear my name, For I’m spending a week Learning how to be chic And will never again be the same! -Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com) She looked in the mirror and cussed. And she whined that the world is unjust, Adding, “My sister Grace Has a beautiful face. As for me? Well, I’m not so venust.” -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) Down the mountain as Lindsey Vonn schussed, She was beautiful, graceful, venust. For her sport, she was old, And yet destined for gold; But she crashed. Life can be so unjust! -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) calender When calender’s spelled with two e’s, It means a machine that can squeeze. There are all sorts of things That a calender wrings, Like paper or cloth, if you please. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) My granny’s old washing machine Had some rollers to help make clothes clean. And this calender -- wringer -- Would pinch her poor finger, Or worse, if you know what I mean. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “To fashion the sword called Excalibur, First I’ll flatten hot steel in a calender,” said the smith. “Fine. And then, Write this down -- here’s a pen -- Shape and sharpen it,” ordered his manager. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) wheal I had gotten an angry red wheal, That was taking a long time to heal. I’d suffered this pain Because I’d been vain -- I regretted that chemical peel. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) A mosquito enjoying a meal Causes itching and raises a wheal. Yet when Donald gets bit, This he’ll never admit; “It’s come begging,” he says, “for a deal.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “As your breasts are no more than two wheals, I won’t bother to cop any feels,” Said Donald. “I’m glad, Though, you’re here thanks to Vlad; Would you pee on me wearing high heels?” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) exute They’ve exuted the medals he won In all of the races he’s run. No more in first place, He’s held in disgrace Because of the drugs he has done. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) From his post, Hegseth ought to be booted. His thinking is weird, convoluted. Our limit is reached, And he must be impeached. Yes, the Senate should see him exuted. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “I’ll tell you because you’re so cute; My strength comes from being hirsute,” Said Samson. His lover At that blew her cover, Conspiring his hair to exute. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “At this club all our clothes we exute; And no jewels, just a plain birthday suit,” Said the guard at the door. “With inflation I’m poor,” Said the guest, “so this trend I salute!” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) irrupt The big crowds that irrupt in applause Just ignore all the President’s flaws. He’s selfish and mean; His speech is obscene, And he’s broken a whole lotta laws. -Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com) Said young Donald, “Because I’m corrupt, Onto lists of great wealth I’ll irrupt.” So great was his gift For a con or a grift That all three of his wives he pre-nupped. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “This process you mustn’t disrupt,” Groaned Elon, “so don’t interrupt. When a woman I’m stalking Won’t stop all her talking, I can’t make more offspring irrupt.” -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) Puns “E-venust-errans aren’t that stupid,” said the Americans to some Martians who had landed to congratulate us on not letting Trump run for a third term. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “Make Donna Karan an offer she can’t refuse. I’m tellin’ you Calender before she ends you,” the Mafia boss advised Calvin Klein. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “Wheal all go back on the bus when I blow my whistle,” the tour guide instructed her group. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) “Doctor, wheal we ever know what caused that swelling on my arm?” -Jim Ertner, Greensboro, North Carolina (jde31459 gmail.com) “Oog, you have wheals on back,” said the caveman’s concerned wife. “Yes, back and front so cart roll easily,” he explained, misunderstanding her. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “I’ll soon be an exute!” said the Australian pickup truck that was transitioning to sedanhood. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “Add sugar and st-irrupt-o five minutes until fully dissolved,” said the cake recipe. -Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com) “I hate to int-irrupt you, but you keep breaking in on me!” -Jim Ertner, Greensboro, North Carolina (jde31459 gmail.com) “Irrupt-ured a disc lifting your luggage,” the man complained to his wife. -Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com) A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The notion of making money by popular work, and then retiring to do good
work on the proceeds, is the most familiar of all the devil’s traps for
artists. -Logan Pearsall Smith, essayist (18 Oct 1865-1946)
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