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Word of the dayPrevious Week Next WeekSunday, April 08, 2018
truckle
verb [truhk-uhl]to submit or yield obsequiously or tamely (usually followed by to): Don't truckle to unreasonable demands.Look it upGet to know dictionary.com
What is the origin of truckle?
The noun truckle originally (in the early 15th century) meant “a small wheel with a groove around its circumference for a cord or rope to run.” Later in the same century, truckle also had the meaning “a small wheel or roller placed under a heavy object to help move it.” In the 17th century truckle was short for truckle bed or trundle bed, i.e., a low bed moving on casters and usually stored under a larger bed. It is from this last sense, the supine sense, as it were, that truckle acquired its current meaning “to yield or submit meekly” in the 17th century.Previous DayHow is truckle used?
If anything, having professionals serve who remember that their oath is to support and defend the Constitution—and not to truckle to an individual or his clique—will be more important than ever. Eliot Cohen, "To An Anxious Friend," The American Interest, November 10, 2016
By refusing to truckle to power, by adopting Afro-centric stylings and proclaiming that black really was beautiful, she became a heroine for generations of African American women. Louis Bayard, "Book Review of 'Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone,' by Nadine Cohodas," Washington Post, February 28, 2010
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Word of the daySaturday, April 07, 2018
phraseology
noun [frey-zee-ol-uh-jee]manner or style of verbal expression; characteristic language: legal phraseology.Look it upWhat is the origin of phraseology?
In the early 17th century (1604) phrasiology (or phrasiologie) was the original English spelling of phraseology. There is no Greek noun phrasiología, let alone phraseología, but phrasiology is correctly derived from Greek phrásis “speech, enunciation, expression, idiom, phrase” and the combining form -logía “science (of).” The current spelling phraseology ultimately rests on the Greek word phraseologia “phrase book” of Michael Neander (1525-95), a German humanist, educator and philologist. Neander possibly derived phrase- from phráseōs, the genitive singular of phrásis. Phraseology entered English in the mid-17th century.Previous DayHow is phraseology used?
The will is not exactly proper in legal phraseology. George Bernard Shaw, The Devil's Disciple, 1897
... three previous presidents distinguished themselves through phraseology: “morning in America,” “city on a hill,” “tear down this wall,” “new world order,” “thousand points of light,” “axis of evil,” “bigotry of low expectations.” Derek Thompson, "Donald Trump's Language Is Reshaping American Politics," The Atlantic, February 15, 2018
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Word of the dayFriday, April 06, 2018
mushyheaded
adjective [muhsh-ee-hed-id, moosh-]Informal. inadequately thought out: mushyheaded ideas.Look it upWhat is the origin of mushyheaded?
Mush, cornmeal boiled in water or milk until thick, eaten as a hot cereal, or molded and fried, is originally an Americanism dating back to the late 17th century. A derivative compound, mushhead “a stupid person,” also an Americanism, dates to the mid-19th century; its derivative adjective mush-headed “easily duped, stupid”, dates to the second half of the 19th century. Mushyheaded (or mushy-headed), a variant of mush-headed, dates to the late 20th century.Previous DayHow is mushyheaded used?
Hard-headed because it accepts self-interest as the basic human motivator and does not wish it away into what Alinsky considers the mushy-headed idea that people will do good because they believe in the good. Frank Bardacke, Trampling Out the Vintage, 2011
Though Cotton acknowledges that this might seem elitist, he derides the Federalists’ modern critics as mushy-headed and naive. Molly Ball, "The Making of a Conservative Superstar," The Atlantic, September 17, 2014
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Word of the dayThursday, April 05, 2018
Shangri-la
noun [shang-gruh-lah, shang-gruh-lah]a faraway haven or hideaway of idyllic beauty and tranquility.Look it upWhat is the origin of Shangri-la?
The placename Shangri-La was coined by the English novelist James Hilton (1900-54), but the name has a firm Tibetan etymology. Shangri-La in Tibetan means “Shang Mountain Pass,” from Shang, the name of a region in Tibet; ri means “mountain,” and la means “pass.” Beyond the name itself, everything associated with Shangri-La is pure speculation and fantasy. Shangri-La entered English in 1933.Previous DayHow is Shangri-la used?
A small settlement wedged between fjord-like Lake Chelan and the jagged eastern slopes of the Cascades, Stehekin has several comfortable lodges, an excellent bakery and, best of all, relatively few visitors. ... First, of course, we had to get to this little Shangri-La. Ethan Todras-Whitehill, "In the Cascades, a Trifecta for Outdoor Enthusiasts," New York Times, September 17, 2014
With its youth and isolation and spectacular scenery, there was a tendency to think of Los Alamos as a Shangri-La. Katrina R. Mason, Children of Los Alamos: An Oral History of the Town Where the Atomic Age Began, 1995
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Word of the dayWednesday, April 04, 2018
What is the origin of mythoclast?
English mythoclast comes from two familiar Greek words. The Greek noun mŷthos has many meanings: “speech, word, public speech, unspoken word, matter, fact,” as in mythology, “a set of stories, traditions, or beliefs.” The Greek combining form -klastēs “breaker” is most familiar in iconoclast “one who breaks images or statues” (literally and figuratively). A mythoclast is one who breaks or destroys a myth or myths in general. Mythoclast entered English in the late 19th century.Previous DayHow is mythoclast used?
Tommy Moore, a life-long friend, an insatiable consumer of history, and a fellow mythoclast by constitution, accompanied me to the field on several occasions, and read sections of the working manuscript. Scott Stine, A Way Across the Mountain, 2015
... right now I reckon him a mythoclast, the sort of man you wouldn't trust with the Glastonbury Thorn, the Devil's Arrows at Boroughbridge, or Father Christmas. John Hillaby, "What's under York Minster?" New Scientist, March 29, 1973
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Word of the dayTuesday, April 03, 2018
anecdata
noun [an-ik-dey-tuh, -dat-uh, -dah-tuh]anecdotal evidence based on personal observations or opinions, random investigations, etc., but presented as fact: biased arguments supported by anecdata.Look it upWhat is the origin of anecdata?
Anecdata is a reworking of anecdotal data. Anecdotal comes from the Greek adjective anékdotos “unpublished,” formed from the negative prefix an-, a-, the preposition and prefix ex-, ek- “out of,” and the past participle dotós “given, granted.” Each of the three Greek elements corresponds in form, origin, and meaning to Latin inēditus “unpublished” (the negative prefix in-, the preposition and prefix ex-, ē-, and the past participle datus “given.” Data is the neuter plural of datus used as a noun, “things given.” Anecdata entered English in the late 20th century.Previous DayHow is anecdata used?
Please. Stop letting yourself get carried away based on random anecdata from the Internet. Julie Lawson Timmer, Five Days Left, 2014
Again, industry stats support the anecdata. Publishers are reporting declining ebook sales but growing audiobook revenues, with audio filling the digital revenue gap that ebooks left. Antonio Garcia Martinez, "The Veni, Vidi, Vici of Voice," Wired, February 28, 2018
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Word of the dayMonday, April 02, 2018
inscape
noun [in-skeyp]the unique essence or inner nature of a person, place, thing, or event, especially depicted in poetry or a work of art.Look it upWhat is the origin of inscape?
It is likely that the English poet and Jesuit priest Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-89) coined the noun inscape. The obsolete noun inshape (i.e., internal form or inward shape) was a probable model. Hopkins also coined sprung rhythm and instress (i.e., the force sustaining an inscape). Inscape entered English in 1868.Previous DayHow is inscape used?
Spanish chestnuts: their inscape here bold, jutty, somewhat oaklike, attractive, the branching visible and the leaved peaks spotted so as to make crests of eyes. Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889), "Journal for 1868," The Collected Works of Gerard Manley Hopkins, 2015
What we wanted to do was to marry the meaning with the "inscape" of the poem. Colum McCann, Author's note on "An Ode to Curling," The New Brick Reader, 2013
