AWADmail Issue 189
December 3, 2005
A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day
and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages
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From: Anu Garg (gargATwordsmith.org)
Subject: Misc.
Yiddish Chat
Chat about the joy of Yiddish with Michael Wex, author of "Born to Kvetch"
Dec 5, 2005, 5 PM Pacific (GMT -8) at http://wordsmith.org/chat
Interesting stories from the net
Whither the Southern Accent?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051123/ap_on_re_us/southern_identity_accents_1
Looking for a sign:
http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=5135495
Translating Harry Potter:
http://www.manager.co.th/IHT/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9480000165875
Seattle, the most literate city:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/books/250264_litseattle30.html
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From: Anu Garg (gargATwordsmith.org)
Subject: Parisology contest
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/parisology.html
I had proposed a contest when I featured the word parisology a month ago. I
invited readers to become writers and make this useful word better known.
You responded and used the word in articles, letters, newsletters, memos, etc.
The examples had to be from print sources. Here are the results.
The first prize (an autographed copy of the new book Another Word A Day) to
Dionne Olsen (olsendATcnc.bc.ca) for using the word in her newspaper column
in Prince George Free Press (Canada):
"When it comes to communicating, politicians are probably the most notorious
for their parisology skills. How many times have you listened to a speech
and wondered what exactly was the point?"
Second prize (a premium subscription of A.Word.A.Day) goes to Elizabeth A.
Neary (eanATtsglaw.com), Attorney at Law, for using the word in a court
document:
"The deliberate language in the cover letter is not mere parisology -- it
is purposefully misleading. The memorandum is a sham."
Honorable mention: Kendell Thompson (kendell_thompsonATnps.gov) of the US
National Park Service for using the word in his monthly column in the
newsletter The Spectacle.
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From: Matilda Lipscomb (malipscombATmodulonet.fr)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--shenanigan
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/shenanigan.html
With regard to "order"....I have a great respect for the order of our
universe. But can someone please explain to me why the planet Venus spins
counter-clockwise while all the other planets spin clockwise? On Venus,
the sun rises in the west and sets in the east.
Now what on earth did the "intelligent designer" have in mind here?
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From: Martin Robinson (martyrobATcomcast.net)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--nival
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/nival.html
If a sailor's belly button filled up with snow, it would be a
naval nival navel.
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From: Eric Shackle (eshackleATozemail.com.au)
Subject: somnific
Young mothers often think "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is somnific, and
sing it to their youngsters as a lullaby. Everyone knows the first verse
of this beautiful poem, but few know who wrote it. Many mistakenly believe
Mozart composed the tune. All is revealed in the December issue of my
e-book: http://bdb.co.za/shackle
............................................................................
Words are chameleons, which reflect the color of their environment.
-Learned Hand, jurist (1872-1961)
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