This week's theme: uncommon words with common suffixes or prefixes. onychophagia (on-i-ko-FAY-juh, -jee-uh) noun
The practice of biting one's nails. [From Greek onycho-, from onyx (nail) + -phagia (eating).] -Anu Garg (gargATwordsmith.org) "If bad-tasting polish, gloves or fake nails haven't cured your onychophagia, these tips may help." Maria Liberty; Easy, Essential Nail Care; Better Nutrition for Today's Living (Atlanta); Mar 1994. This newsletter is made possible in part by these sponsors: A cure for brain flab! One brain-building, at-a-glance email a day helps keep unsightly ignorance away. http://knowledgenews.net/s?s=aw042606 Always find the right word with the Visual Thesaurus. Wordsmith readers save 10%. Try it free! http://www.visualthesaurus.com/?code=qt4&ad=aw ............................................................................ Kindness is not without its rocks ahead. People are apt to put it down to an easy temper and seldom recognize it as the secret striving of a generous nature; whilst, on the other hand, the ill-natured get credit for all the evil they refrain from. -Honore De Balzac, novelist (1799-1850), Send your comments to (words AT wordsmith.org). To unsubscribe, update address send gift subscription, etc., visit http://wordsmith.org/awad/subscriber.html Pronunciation: http://wordsmith.org/words/onychophagia.wav http://wordsmith.org/words/onychophagia.ram Permalink: http://wordsmith.org/words/onychophagia.html This message was sent to "[email protected]".
