This week's theme: words that aren't what they appear to be. woebegone (WO-bi-gon) adjective
Affected with, or exhibiting, woe. [From Middle English woe + begon (beset).] Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=thesaurus Woe-Be-Gone! Sounds like the perfect name for a drive-thru pain-relief outlet. What a shame, the word means the opposite of what it appears to be. There is a variety of Australian carpet shark called wobbegong (named from an Australian Aboriginal language). If one ever comes in touch with this fish, a woebegone status is certain. -Anu Garg gargATwordsmith.org "Tara, woebegone and still hiccuping with the force of her crying, was at the door." Hema Nair; Growing Up Tara; Little India (New York); Oct 31, 2002. Sponsors' Messages: Telemachus or the Memoirs of an Immortal God by Robert J. Thieblot. A good read for the intelligent. Check it out at http://amazon.com/o/asin/0965946509 The delights of "Prinderella and the Since," "Beeping Sleauty," and 41 other tales twisted by Col Stoopnagle can be yours from http://stoneandscott.com Subscribe to http://delanceyplace.com -- a carefully selected non-fiction book excerpt free to your email each day. It's the thinking person's daily quote. ............................................................................ Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. -Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman (1561-1626) Share the magic of words. Send a gift subscription of A.Word.A.Day: http://wordsmith.org/awad/gift.html Pronunciation: http://wordsmith.org/words/woebegone.wav http://wordsmith.org/words/woebegone.ram Permalink: http://wordsmith.org/words/woebegone.html This message was sent to "[email protected]".
