This week's theme: words about words.
verbigeration (vuhr-bij-uh-RAY-shun) noun
Obsessive repetition of meaningless words and phrases.
[From Latin verbigerare (to talk, chat), from verbum (word) +
gerere (to carry on).]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"Some words are standard, but with a twist; some are liberated from
patriarchal prejudice and restored to archaic meanings; some are new
and sharp as an ungrateful crone, and a feast for (Mary) Daly familiars.
A sample:
'Abominable snowmen of androcratic academia: freezers and packagers
of learning; chilling throng of frigid fellows, specialists in
verbigeration and refrigeration of knowledge.'"
Audrey DeLaMartre; Bible Speaks to Fill Readers With 'Holy Chutzpah',
The Star Tribune (Minneapolis); Nov 1, 1987.
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The automobile has not merely taken over the street, it has dissolved the
living tissue of the city. Its appetite for space is absolutely insatiable;
moving and parked, it devours urban land, leaving the buildings as mere
islands of habitable space in a sea of dangerous and ugly traffic. -James
Marston Fitch, historic preservationist (1909-2000)
Online Chat: Is French still relevant? Join us for a chat with Julie Barlow,
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on May 8 at 6 pm Pacific (GMT -8). More details at http://wordsmith.org/chat
Pronunciation:
http://wordsmith.org/words/verbigeration.wav
http://wordsmith.org/words/verbigeration.ram
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