This week’s theme
Nouning the verb, verbing the noun

This week’s words
cavil
shirtfront
foin
flyspeck

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(FLY-spek)

MEANING:

noun:	1. A small dot made by the excrement of an insect, such as a fly.
	2. Something tiny or insignificant.
adj.:	Tiny or insignificant.
verb tr.:	1. To mark with flyspecks.
	2. To examine in minute detail, especially to nitpick.

ETYMOLOGY:

From fly + speck, from Old English fleogan + specca. Earliest documented use: noun: 1723, verb: 1850.

USAGE:

“In 1948, the Rev. Tim LaHaye, fresh out of seminary and working on an undergraduate degree at Bob Jones University, accepted a pastorate in Pumpkintown, SC, a flyspeck of a town so puny it doesn’t even appear on state maps.”
Rob Boston; Left Behind; Church & State (Silver Springs, Maryland); Feb 2002.

“Looking tense and tired, Smith watched as Cherry and Lutz flyspecked his creation.”
Keith Naughton; The Fast and the Luxurious; Newsweek (New York); Jan 13, 2003.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: