X-Bonus
The greatest analgesic(1), soporific(2), stimulant, tranquilizer, narcotic (3), and to some extent even antibiotic -- in short, the closest thing to a genuine panacea (4)-- known to medical science is work. -Thomas Szasz, author, professor of psychiatry (b. 1920)

and placebo(5) (a cure for nothing) in contrast to panacea

To the contrary I find those terms apply when I'm in my cups with a good supply of nice, cold brew

Do I understand you to mean that a nice, cold brew is an
analgesic, a soporific, a stimulant, a tranquilizer, a narcotic, a panacea and a placebo?

On another point, I like the idea of promoting the x-bonus because its one of the main reasons I visit wordsmith.org each day.
A colleague often does not remember the word of the day, but can quote the x-bonus verbatim

Brian: Yes

Welcome aBoard, BrianK...British Columbia? You and others can read the Xplanation of X-bonus here.

While we're explaining things, what's up with the numbers/bolding the OP has added in?

I thought he'd done it himself, Myr. Only thing I can think of.

I'd have thought - actually, I did think - that he was merely high-lighting and enumerating the Medical Terms to which he (the Original Poster) was referring.
-ron o.

... but why those 4 terms and the 5th term he added and not stimulant, tranquilizer and antibiotic? I don't get the "referring" you're referring to. What's the connection? What does his comment mean? I'm totally in the dark... maybe I "fell back" a week too soon?

are you one of those who just ignores the Subject line??
as to the rest of your questions, speculation seems futile.
-joe (whistling in the dark) friday

No, I knew all along that the first part of the original post is the X-Bonus from A Word A Day for whatever day that was which the poster oddly annotated then added "and placebo(5) (a cure for nothing) in contrast to panacea".

People seem to be replying like they understand the meaning of the annotations and the comment, but I guess they don't after all. Is the emperor naked after all?

like they understand the meaning of the annotations and the comment Oh, Honey--I figured out long ago that if I strained my brain over stuff I may well never understand, I'd soon be going crazy. (And NO comments from the peanut gallery, tyvm!)

well, now you're moving towards (1)ad hominem argument.

it also occurred to me at the time that maybe he was enumerating stuff that he had to look up, but I didn't mention it because it seemed willfully attributive and potentially demeaning.
-joe (and I wouldn't do that) friday