This week’s theme
Toponyms

This week’s words
Smithfield bargain
kryptonite
Punic

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(KRIP-tuh-nyt)

MEANING:

noun: A vulnerability, especially in someone who seems otherwise unstoppable.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Krypton, Superman’s home planet, whose explosion scattered radioactive kryptonite. Earliest documented use: 1943.

NOTES:

Superman may be faster than a speeding bullet, but kryptonite turns him into slower than a buffering wi-fi. Traditionally it’s shown in green, but DC writers have minted a whole rainbow of kryptonite, each with its own quirky effect. His real kryptonite, of course, is Lois Lane. Unlike kryptonite, krypton is real. It’s an inert gas discovered in 1898, named from Greek krypto- (secret, hidden) because it’s rare. See also: Achilles’ heel.

USAGE:

“Though Sportacus is an unstoppable wakeup force in a town that’s fast asleep, his kryptonite is sugar. Just the slightest bit makes him instantly lethargic, and he crumples to the ground in a heap.”
LazyTown Loves Sportacus; Dominion Post (Wellington, New Zealand); Aug 14, 2007.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: