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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2007 10:45:31 GMT -5
For all of us who use the word incorrectly...
The Word of the Day for April 4 is:
ingenuous \in-JEN-yuh-wus\ adjective *1 : showing innocent or childlike simplicity and candidness 2 : lacking craft or subtlety
Example sentence: "The face of the old man was stern, hard-featured, and forbidding; that of the young one, open, handsome, and ingenuous." (Charles Dickens, _The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby_)
Did you know? Today, the words "ingenuous" and "ingenious" have distinct meanings and are not used interchangeably, but that wasn't always the case. For many years, the two words were used as synonyms. "Ingenious" has always had the fundamental meaning of "clever," and "ingenuous" has been most often used to suggest frankness and openness (owing either to good character or, now more often, innocence), but there was a time when "ingenious" could also mean "frank" and "ingenuous" could mean "clever." The publication in 1755 of Samuel Johnson's _Dictionary of the English Language_, in which these synonymous uses are not recognized, may have had something to do with establishing "ingenious" and "ingenuous" as distinct words. In any case, they appear to have ceased being used as synonyms by about 1800.
*Indicates the sense illustrated by the example sentence.
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Post by goGopherBill on Apr 4, 2007 14:10:49 GMT -5
bigot... One obstinately or intolerant devoted to his own church,party,belief..or opinion.
I am guilty as charged. I respect and OBEY this country's laws,traditions and History. I will not tolerate those who do not. I will not buckle to enemies of the state..foriegn or domestic.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2007 8:28:01 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for April 6 is:
quip \KWIP\ noun 1 a : a clever usually taunting remark : gibe *b : a witty or funny observation or response usually made on the spur of the moment 2 : quibble, equivocation 3 : something strange, droll, curious, or eccentric : oddity
Example sentence: To almost every comment I made, Adam responded with a quip and a smile.
Did you know? "Quip" is an abbreviation of "quippy," a noun that is no longer in use. Etymologists believe that "quippy" derived from the Latin "quippe," a word meaning "indeed" or "to be sure" that was often used ironically. The earliest sense of "quip," referring to a cutting or sarcastic remark, was common for approximately a century after it first appeared in print in 1532. It then fell out of use until the beginning of the 19th century, when it underwent a revival that continues to the present day.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2007 8:09:01 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for April 11 is:
akimbo \uh-KIM-boh\ adjective or adverb *1 : having the hand on the hip and the elbow turned outward 2 : set in a bent position
Example sentence: The model, arms akimbo, struck a pose at the end of the runway.
Did you know? It's "akimbo" nowadays, but in Middle English, the spelling "in kenebowe" was used for the bent, hand-on-hip arm (or later, for any bent position). Originally, the term was fairly neutral, but now saying that a person is standing with "arms akimbo" implies a posture that communicates defiance, confidence, aggressiveness, or arrogance. In her novel _Little Women_, Louisa May Alcott took the word one step further, extending it into the figurative realm when she explained that tomboyish Jo had not been invited to participate in an elegant event with the other young ladies of the neighborhood because "her elbows were decidedly akimbo at this period of her life."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Gorf on Apr 11, 2007 9:43:52 GMT -5
Since the primary description refers to a single hand and elbow does that describe "arm akimbo" as opposed to "arms akimbo" and does it imply less defiance, confidence, aggressiveness, or arrogance than "arms akimbo"?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2007 10:23:14 GMT -5
Arm akimbo is more in the line of petulant. Picture Rademacher being given feedback.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2007 8:05:08 GMT -5
he Word of the Day for April 12 is:
churlish \CHUR-lish\ adjective 1 : of, resembling, or characteristic of a churl : vulgar *2 : marked by a lack of civility or graciousness : surly 3 : difficult to work with or deal with : intractable
Example sentence: She was obviously very upset over losing the match, but that's no excuse for her churlish behavior toward her opponent.
Did you know? It is easy to understand how "churlish" has come to mean "vulgar," "surly," and "intractable" if you know your English history. In Anglo-Saxon England a churl, or ceorl, was a freeman of the lowest rank who owned and cultivated a small farm. He had certain rights and had the upward mobility to rise to the rank of thane. After the Norman Conquest, however, many churls became serfs, and the word "churl" eventually came to be used as a pejorative for a rude, ill-bred person.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2007 8:37:19 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for April 13 is:
grog \GRAHG\ noun : alcoholic liquor; especially : liquor (as rum) cut with water and now often served hot with lemon juice and sugar sometimes added
Example sentence: "Let's go and find a real bar," said Mort. "We shouldn't have to settle for the grog they serve in this place."
Did you know? Eighteenth-century English admiral Edward Vernon reputedly earned the nickname "Old Grog" because he often wore a cloak made from grogram (a coarse, loosely woven fabric made of silk or silk blended with mohair or wool). In Old Grog's day, sailors in the Royal Navy were customarily given a daily ration of rum, but in 1740 the admiral, concerned about the health of his men, ordered that the rum should be diluted with water. The decision wasn't very popular with the sailors, who supposedly dubbed the mixture "grog" after Vernon. Today, "grog" can be used as a general term for any liquor, even undiluted, and someone who acts drunk or shaky can be called "groggy."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2007 8:37:36 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for April 26 is:
wowser \WOW-zer\ noun, chiefly Australian : an obtrusively puritanical person
Example sentence: "I'm no wowser, but I draw the line at abusive, foul-mouthed drunks." (Mike Smithson, [South Australia] _Sunday Mail_, July 2, 2006)
Did you know? "Wowser" is a delightful word with an interesting background, though its ultimate origin is unknown. The word first appeared in print in 1899, in the Australian journal _Truth_, and was instantly popular in Australia. It spread to New Zealand, where it remains in use, and then eventually arrived in England, possibly brought by the Australian troops who served there during World War I. The American writer and editor H. L. Mencken liked "wowser" and attempted to introduce it in the United States. He used the word frequently in _American Mercury_, the literary magazine he edited. Despite Mencken's efforts the term never truly caught on in American English, though it is used occasionally.
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2007 9:11:31 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for May 3 is:
camarilla \kam-uh-RILL-uh\ noun : a group of unofficial often secret and scheming advisers; also : cabal
Example sentence: A resistance group has sprung up and is plotting to overthrow the tyrant leader and his camarilla.
Did you know? "Camarilla" is borrowed from Spanish and is the diminutive of "camara," which traces to the Late Latin "camera" and means "room"; a "camarilla," then, is literally a "small room." Political cliques and plotters are likely to meet in small rooms (generally with the door closed) as they hatch their schemes, and, by 1834, "camarilla" was being used in English for such closed-door groups of scheming advisers. The word is relatively rare in formal English prose, but it still finds occasional use in news stories. Some other descendants of the Latin "camera" include "camera," "comrade," "camaraderie," and "bicameral."
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2007 10:22:27 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for May 4, 2007 is:
pratfall \PRAT-fawl\ noun 1 : a fall on the buttocks *2 : a humiliating mishap or blunder
Example sentence: It was amusing to watch the pratfalls of the slow-witted cartoon cat as he was continually outsmarted by the clever mouse. Did you know? The human posterior has been given a number of designations over the centuries, some not acceptable in polite company. "Prat," a slang term with only slightly indecorous overtones, has been used in reference to the backside since the 16th century. It wasn't until the 1930s, however, that falling on one's prat gave rise to the term "pratfall." The word first cropped up in the lingo of comedy theater, where a pratfall is often part of a slapstick routine. It wasn't long before we gave the word its extended sense of "blunder." Now, with "prat" rarely used as a synonym of "derriere" anymore, "pratfall" is as apt to suggest getting a pie in the face as landing bang on one's behind.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2007 9:19:26 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for May 6 is:
sprachgefuhl \SHPRAHKH-guh-fuel\ noun : an intuitive sense of what is linguistically appropriate
Example sentence: One review of the book praised the author's sprachgefuhl and her graceful, literary style.
Did you know? "Sprachgefuhl? was borrowed into English from German at the end of the 19th century and combines two German nouns, "Sprache," meaning "language, speech," and "Gefuhl," meaning "feeling." We're quite certain that the quality of sprachgefuhl is common among our readers, but the word itself is rare, making only occasional appearances in our language.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2007 8:39:52 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for May 10 is:
atrabilious \at-ruh-BIL-yus\ adjective 1 : given to or marked by melancholy : gloomy *2 : ill-natured, peevish
Example sentence: Conscious of his landlord?s atrabilious temperament, Daniel knew to wait until the moment was right before asking for an extension on the rent.
Did you know? "Atrabilious" is a somewhat rare word with a history that parallels that of the more common "melancholy." Representing one of the four bodily humors, from which it was once believed that human emotions originated, "atrabilious" derives from the Latin "atra bilis," literally meaning "black bile." The word "melancholy" derives from the Greek "melan-" and "chole," which also translates as "black bile." In its original sense, "atrabilious" meant "melancholy," but now it is more frequently used to describe someone with an irritable or unfriendly temperament. A word with a meaning similar to that of "atrabilious" is "splenetic," which is named after the organ in the body (the spleen) once thought to secrete black bile.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2007 9:07:47 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for May 13 is:
infix \IN-fiks\ noun : a derivational or inflectional affix appearing in the body of a word
Example sentence: "In addition to suffixes and prefixes, the language [Inuktitut] has infixes, denoting tense or gender...." (Stephanie Nolen Iqaluit, _The Independent_, July 29, 2000)
Did you know? Like prefixes and suffixes, infixes are part of the general class of affixes ("sounds or letters attached to or inserted within a word to produce a derivative word or an inflectional form"). Infixes are relatively rare in English, but you can find them in the plural forms of some words. For example, "cupful," "spoonful," and "passerby" can be pluralized as "cupsful," "spoonsful," and "passersby," using "s" as an infix. Another example is the insertion of an (often offensive) intensifier into a word, as in "fan-freakin'-tastic." Such whole-word insertions are sometimes called "infixes," though this phenomenon is more traditionally known as "tmesis."
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2007 10:17:28 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for May 16 is:
corybantic \kor-ee-BAN-tik\ adjective : like or in the spirit of a Corybant; especially : wild, frenzied
Example sentence: From the sound of the first guitar chord, the mosh pit looked like a swarm of bees in a corybantic dance.
Did you know? The big name in goddesses in Phrygia (Asia Minor) in the fifth century B.C. was Cybele (also called Cybebe or Agdistis), the "Great Mother of the Gods." According to Oriental and Greco-Roman mythology, she was the mother of it all: gods, humans, animals ... even nature itself. The Corybants were Cybele's attendants and priests, and they worshipped her with an unrestrained frenzy of wildly emotional processions, rites, and dances. "Corybantic," the adjective based on the name of Cybele's attendants, can be used to describe anything characterized by a similarly unrestrained abandon.
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