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A Word a Day
For anyone who finds MBA-speak infiltrating daily life (I'll admit to once telling a friend we could "table the discussion for later"), learning new, cool, real words is a good way to spend a rainy afternoon. Anu Garg runs A.Word.A.Day, the website, where, instead of the morning's daily dose of spam, acolytes can receive daily linguistic edification. (The urge to use big words in a review like this is difficult to suppress.) Now he's taken the best of these words and themes and collected them in a slim little volume good for both casual grazing and sit-down-reading.
What's to Like Garg has a logical mind, dividing the book into small chapters with clever themes. There are some humdingers of words, but there are also many surprisingly small entries, as in the chapters "Words that Make the Spell-checker Ineffective" (example: specie, meaning "in kind") and "Words Not to Put on Your Resume" (example: distrait, or absentminded). Anyone who wants to get really meta will like the chapters that are words about words (example: verbigeration, the obsessive repetition of meaningless words and phrases). The truth is, it's just fun to learn new words, stretch the brain a little bit, and to find out how certain etymologies came to be. Pixilated (as opposed to pixelated), meaning whimsical or eccentric, came from the word "pixie," for example, while cremains (from the combining of the words cremate and remains) means exactly what you think. What's to Consider Late in the book, Garg introduces the concept of the malapropism ("the humorous misuse of a word by confusing it with a similar-sounding word"), which seems like an important idea in geek culture. Lots of geeks are autodidacts and readers, and we fall into the habit of mispronouncing or slightly misusing big word. (For years I said prejudice as "pre-justiced" because that was how I thought of the meaning.) To be exact in language -- both in pronunciation and in meaning -- is to have a certain kind of power. It may seem a little prissy to worry about it, but communication is one of those things in daily life that really matter, that people use to make a judgement about how smart or interesting a person is. A weblog filled with all "like, you know" kind of commentary is tedious; a witty one gets forwarded to friends.As corporate-speak becomes more and more intertwined with technology, it's up to all of us to create a discourse community (a concept a friend from Harvard told me about) that makes conversation sparkly and yet exact, even in the middle of a cube farm. But mostly, it's just fun to think about words and how they could be used. Not that it will ever happen, but maybe at the next meeting, during the next inane bizdev presentation, someone will lean over and whisper "Clearly Manager X must have been decerebrated over the holidays, or he would never have perorated like that this afternoon." And we'll all actually know what he's talking about.
Summary Anu Garg loves words, and the book reflects it. He has a natural curiosity and desire to explain bigger concepts about how language evolves and becomes useful. Playful and humorous in his writing style, he's created a book that other people will want to borrow from you.You can purchase A Word a Day from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
defenestrate
Never approach a vast undertaking with a half-vast plan.
"the obsessive repetition of meaningless words and phrases"
Yup, that about describes my posting....
He tried to kill me with a forklift!
Rediculous
Wierd
Definately
Loose/Lose
Perhaps my all time favorite common misspelling is "retarted" when used as an insult.
is 0.000185bps.. Man , that sucks!
I read slashdot for the articles.
Callipygian I wouldn't even have imagined that there would be a word for it.
Is that most geeks are male, most slashdotters are geeks, most males are left-brained, and communications is a predominantly right-brained activity. Is it any wonder that IT is consistently faulted for having poor communications skills? Reading this book will not change the fundamental problem.
The preceding comment has been reviewed and declared to be compliant with HIPPA Phase II regulations.
Example
GROYNE n. ~ This is the correct term for one of those little wooden fences or brick walls that run down English beaches and out into the water for some distance, as a device to check the drifting of the same. Pronounced, and sometimes spelled, groin. "Shall we get together down by the groyne?"
His multiplicating miskpronounsciations and misconstruations are meaking me want to do a retaskification of my thinkisms.
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
I'm a bit of a wordsmith, and find that while learning words on a day by day basis is a good idea, it's actually using them that helps me retain them.
But more importantly, you can learn MANY more than 365 words a year if you look up the 'etymology' of the words you learn (the history and background of how they came into being).
Why? Well, take the word 'malapropism' that was highlighted in this review. It's find learning what it means, but if you rattle along to its dictionary.com entry you find out it comes from the word 'malaprop'. Digging further, you can learn what this really means.
Any French student knows that mal means 'bad' or wrong.
Now, à propos means 'to the subject/purpose'. But what does it also sound like? It's sounds like malappropriate doesn't it?
Now it's a lot easier to remember.
bad + appropriate + for subject = malapropism
a word that's inappropriate for the topic = malapropism.
Now next time you hit words like malice and malfunction you won't have to wonder whether mal meant good or bad.. because you looked up the etymology!
So, look up the history of words you learn, because you could easily end up being able to guess many hundreds of OTHER words simply by knowing the roots.
mogorific carpentry experiments
Did anyone else just check their prefrences to see if there was a word-of-the-day Slashbox? I know, I was disappointed too.
I read the internet for the articles.
Noone it's/its/its'/i'ts/ets
site has a Word of the Day function:
http://www.oed.com/cgi/display/wotd
Today's word is 'mutton', which isn't very interesting until you read the the archaic forms. There is one from 1518: "And from thens to the halfe strete, To get vs there some freshe mete. Why, is there any store of rawe motton? "
Okay, I find the archaic bits interesting. YMMV.
I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
A lot of people underestimate the importance of clear communication, not to mention the role of proper spelling. Want people to take you seriously? Those who have power tend to have education, and if you write poorly, they won't take you as seriously. The internal logic is, "If this person doesn't care enough to take the time to make sure the grammar and spelling are correct -- which are simple enough things to do -- then why should I take the time to read what they have to say, or care about it?"
I'm not saying that someone who spells poorly is stupid, or always wrong about things -- just that they're perceived that way. If you can't even learn to spell properly, what are the odds you can learn to think properly? Yeah, it's a gross oversimplification, but life isn't always fair.
"Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
wier'd, verb, past tense (archaic). To turn someone into a small dam.
retarted, verb, past tense. Bill Gates after he has just been hit with another cream pie.
then lackadaisically would mean "with a shortage of flowers"..
/usr/games/fortune)
(Yes, I get all my posts from
It's surprising than anybody can natter on about the history of 'malapropism' without mentioning that it originates in a coinage: Mrs. Malaprop is a character in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play The Rivals.
Practice. Meh. No double word score for me. :(
I've got a bad attitude and karma to burn. Go ahead. Mod me down.
Aquadextrous - adj. Possessing the ability to turn the bathtub faucet on and off with your toes.
Gurmlish - n. The red warning flag at the top of a club sandwich which prevents the person from biting into it and puncturing the roof of his mouth.
Sniglet (snig'lit) - n. Any word that doesn't appear in the dictionary, but should.
Lactomangulation - n. Manhandling the "open here" spout on a milk carton so badly that one has to resort to using the "illegal" side.
Mozzalastics (maht suh las' tiks) - n. Large deposits of cheese that stick to the top of the pizza box.
Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise. - William Shakespeare
I've been getting a Word of the Day from the good folks at dictionary.com for a few years now. It's been working out really well. My english are now delicious.
Since I became one, I've always liked the fact that I am a speaker of a neolatin language in an English-speaking society; most of the words that are considered "big words" by English speakers are directly derived from our group of languages, and to us they are simple and common words. Many of the "big words" in the review are an example of that. It takes no effort to understand them, and we can always use them if we want to impress someone :).
Seriously speaking, though, it's interesting how (apparently, at least) most, if not virtually all words in English (that come from a non-Latin root) have one or more Latin-derived synonyms. It's always fun to think of them for any random word.
The archives of AWAD is located here. What's the point of linking to the main site?
I'll probably buy that book just because I love the service they provide (for free) so much, but really, it's all in the archives if you want to spare a few bucks.
"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance" - Derek Bok
Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
Carcinoma (n.), a valley in California, notable for its heavy smog.
Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightie.
Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
Gargoyle (n.), an olive-flavored mouthwash.
Bustard (n.), a very rude Metrobus driver.
Coffee (n.), a person who is coughed upon.
Flatulence (n.), the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
Semantics (n.), pranks conducted by young men studying for the priesthood, including such things as gluing the pages of the priest's prayer book together just before vespers.
Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified demeanor assumed by a proctologist immediately before he examines you.
Marionettes (n.), residents of Washington who have been jerked around by the mayor.
Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions.
Circumvent (n.), the opening in the front of boxer shorts.
Frisbatarianism (n.), Belief that, when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.
annmariabell.com
foldplay your photos won't know what hit them.
I think AWAD on Slashdot is a great idea. As the first word, I suggest:
hacker n.
1. One who is proficient at using or programming a computer; a computer buff.
2. One who uses programming skills to gain illegal access to a computer network or file.
3. One who enthusiastically pursues a game or sport: a weekend tennis hacker.
That's been debated for far too long. And as for the argument that use define word meanings, dictionaries don't, that's basically shooting yourself in the foot, as everyone and his brother using "hacker" as in "cracker" is what prudists are arguing against in the first place.
Runner-ups: computer science, operating system, free, theft, intellectual property.
I have a nagging feeling that all the stuff being debated daily on Slashdot could be easily settled in a day or two if we could just agree on what certain keywords mean.
"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance" - Derek Bok
Today's word is "Legs". Lets go back to my place and spread the word.
g
Let's not leave out mute. Not the inability to speak, but when used instead of moot.
Every time I hear someone say it's a mute point, I want to rip their tongue out and render them mute. Then their poor spoken grammar would be a moot point.
Sigh...I feel better now.
Klingons writing books on the English language?!?!
What's Next? "The Joy of Correct Spelling" by the Slashdot editors?
Inflammable means flammable?! Boy, what a country.
Being a bit of a word freak, I took the Google search button
c lient=googlet&q='+escape(q)
o m/search?q='+escape(q)
javascript:
q=document.getSelection();
for(i=0;i q=frames[i].document.getSelection();if(q)break;
}
if(!q)void(q=prompt('Keywords:',''));
if(q)location.href='http://www.google.com/search?
and modified it for use with dictionary.com. The result
javascript:
q=document.getSelection();
if(!q){
void(q=prompt('Enter word to define using dictionary.com. You can also define any word on this web page by highlighting the word and clicking Dictionary.',''))
};
if(q)location.href='http://dictionary.reference.c
is a button on your personal toolbar allowing you to lookup a word which you have highlighted in any webpage.
BTW, I had to insert html breaks in the code to get past slashdots javascript filter.
Also:
seperated
Wordnik, a dictionary project which aims to collect
Gotta be a troll.