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Jan 10, 2022
This week’s theme
Birds

This week’s words
black swan
gowk
lame duck
henpeck
ostrichism

black swan
Photo: photoroad / 123rf

Previous week’s theme
Words for people
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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

Covid deniers tell me it’s all made up. A reader in France often emails me random YouTube videos and other conspiracy links suggesting that Covid is a hoax.

I finally asked him: Are you aware of any other instance in which all governments in all countries, doctors, scientists, journalists, nearly everyone (even people who run funeral homes) went along with a conspiracy? It was only left to some guys on YouTube and Fox News to tell the truth?

What do you know, this reader has an answer for everything. He asks me to find the FACTS (Important note: FACTS are more factual than mere facts or even Facts).

We respectfully disagree with the reality-deniers, but there’s something we all can agree on: Birds aren’t real.

As the brave people behind the above website explain:

“The Birds Aren’t Real movement exists to spread awareness that the US Government genocided over 12 billion birds from 1959-2001, and replaced these birds with surveillance drone replicas, which still watch us every day.”

At any other time we would have commented upon the verbing of the word genocide, but this is a grave matter and we don’t want to be flighty. We thank the people behind this movement for uncaging the truth and not parroting the government lies.

I hope the anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers now realize the real reason the rest of us have been diligently putting our masks on: so our faces are partially covered and the government can’t easily ID us with the face-recognition algorithms in these “birds”. We don’t want to be sitting ducks with our faces exposed.

Also, now you know the real reason I have been recommending not keeping birds in our homes.

When the birds were real, they were integral to our lives and they continue to be a part of the language. This week we’ll feature five such words.

PS: It’s about time I exposed the real etymology of the word “bird” that the dictionary publishers have been hiding from the general public -- such a conspiracy! It’s actually an acronym.
BIRD: Biotronic Intelligence Reconnaissance Drone

black swan

PRONUNCIATION:
(BLAK swan)

MEANING:
noun:
1. An unpredictable occurrence that has major consequences.
2. Something extremely rare.

ETYMOLOGY:
From the former belief that all swans were white until black swans were discovered in Australia in 1697. Earliest documented use: 1570.

USAGE:
“‘You’d better have plans for a black swan,’ McGill’s Moore said. ‘Companies are going to think a lot more about risk. Boards need to ask themselves what they will do if something like COVID-19 happens again.’”
Frédéric Tomesco; Quebec Inc.; Montreal Gazette (Canada); Jun 27, 2020.

“You’re my black swan, Belle. I love you. And now things will never be the same for me.”
Sara Sheridan; Brighton Belle; Kensington Books; 2016.

See more usage examples of black swan in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Truth is the only merit that gives dignity and worth to history. -Lord Acton (John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton), historian (10 Jan 1834-1902)

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