A.W.A.D. - Special Words Contest
with Anu Garg
This week's five words made the cut because they have a special property. What is it? Can you discover the reason these words were selected to be featured?
Email your answer to (contest at wordsmith.org) by Friday. One entry per person, please. Result will be announced in next weekend's AWADmail.
Two winners -- first reader to identify the theme, and a reader randomly selected from all correct entries -- will receive a signed copy of one of my books.
This week's five words made the cut because they have a special property. What is it? Can you discover the reason these words were selected to be featured?
Email your answer to (contest at wordsmith.org) by Friday. One entry per person, please. Result will be announced in next weekend's AWADmail.
Two winners -- first reader to identify the theme, and a reader randomly selected from all correct entries -- will receive a signed copy of one of my books.
odious
PRONUNCIATION: (O-dee-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Highly offensive; inspiring and deserving hatred
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin odium (hatred), from odisse (to hate). Ultimately from the Indo-European root od- (to hate) that is also the source of the words annoy, noisome, and ennui.
USAGE: "All over the US there are people whose lives are being destroyed for lack of proper health care provision, and there is no sight more odious than the rich, powerful, and arrogant trying to keep it that way." Simon Hoggart; Why the American Right Make Me Sick; The Guardian (London, UK); Aug 15, 2009.
asinine
PRONUNCIATION: (ASS-uh-nyn)
MEANING: adjective: Extremely stupid; ridiculous
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin asinus (ass), from the general reputation of donkeys -- entirely undeserved -- as being stubborn and stupid.
USAGE: "With banks crashing and unemployment soaring, Prohibition felt like what it was -- an asinine waste of time and money." Dan Gardner; You Can't Tell Us Drug Legalization is Impossible; The Ottawa Citizen (Canada); Apr 10, 2009.
cagey
PRONUNCIATION: (KAY-jee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Evasive; reticent
2. Shrewd; crafty
ETYMOLOGY: Origin unknown. Perhaps from cage, from cavea (birdcage), from cavus (hollow)
USAGE: "NBC execs were cagey about the prospects of Paula Abdul landing on one of the network's reality-competition programs." Alex Strachan; More Reality Shows for NBC and Maybe Paula Abdul; The Gazette (Montreal, Canada); Aug 6, 2009.
arcadian
PRONUNCIATION: (ahr-KAY-dee-uhn)
MEANING: adjective:
PRONUNCIATION: (O-dee-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Highly offensive; inspiring and deserving hatred
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin odium (hatred), from odisse (to hate). Ultimately from the Indo-European root od- (to hate) that is also the source of the words annoy, noisome, and ennui.
USAGE: "All over the US there are people whose lives are being destroyed for lack of proper health care provision, and there is no sight more odious than the rich, powerful, and arrogant trying to keep it that way." Simon Hoggart; Why the American Right Make Me Sick; The Guardian (London, UK); Aug 15, 2009.
asinine
PRONUNCIATION: (ASS-uh-nyn)
MEANING: adjective: Extremely stupid; ridiculous
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin asinus (ass), from the general reputation of donkeys -- entirely undeserved -- as being stubborn and stupid.
USAGE: "With banks crashing and unemployment soaring, Prohibition felt like what it was -- an asinine waste of time and money." Dan Gardner; You Can't Tell Us Drug Legalization is Impossible; The Ottawa Citizen (Canada); Apr 10, 2009.
cagey
PRONUNCIATION: (KAY-jee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Evasive; reticent
2. Shrewd; crafty
ETYMOLOGY: Origin unknown. Perhaps from cage, from cavea (birdcage), from cavus (hollow)
USAGE: "NBC execs were cagey about the prospects of Paula Abdul landing on one of the network's reality-competition programs." Alex Strachan; More Reality Shows for NBC and Maybe Paula Abdul; The Gazette (Montreal, Canada); Aug 6, 2009.
arcadian
PRONUNCIATION: (ahr-KAY-dee-uhn)
MEANING: adjective:
Idyllically pastoral: simple, peaceful
noun: One leading a simple rural life
ETYMOLOGY: After Arcadia, a region of ancient Greece whose residents were believed to have led quiet, unsophisticated lives of peace and happiness.
USAGE: "Farms, fields, cottages, what [photographer Kevin G. Malella] calls 'the Arcadian view', are blended with industrial images -- mostly nuclear cooling towers -- to create new landscapes that plop the environmentally hazardous engine of contemporary society into our nostalgically folksy lap." Bob Hicks; Questioning Art's Rules and Roles; The Oregonian (Portland); Aug 21, 2009.
devious
PRONUNCIATION: (DEE-vee-uhs)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Departing from the straight or the usual way
2. Sneaky; underhanded
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin devius (out of the way), from de- (out of) + via (way). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wegh- (to go or to transport in a vehicle) that resulted in words such as deviate, way, weight, wagon, vogue, vehicle, vector, envoy, and trivial.
USAGE: "Life has a devious way of hiding the edge of the cliff." Ed Stephens Jr.; Sun! Sand! Co-payments! Saipan Tribune (North Mariana Islands); Aug 28, 2009.
"With John Jowett, he's laid bare British politicians' and lobbyists' devious, sneaky, Machiavellian manoeuvrings in a comedy that may leave audiences wondering if this kind of farce goes on closer to home." Sharu Delilkan; It's A Drag Playing A Political Leader; The Aucklander (New Zealand); Aug 27, 2009.
noun: One leading a simple rural life
ETYMOLOGY: After Arcadia, a region of ancient Greece whose residents were believed to have led quiet, unsophisticated lives of peace and happiness.
USAGE: "Farms, fields, cottages, what [photographer Kevin G. Malella] calls 'the Arcadian view', are blended with industrial images -- mostly nuclear cooling towers -- to create new landscapes that plop the environmentally hazardous engine of contemporary society into our nostalgically folksy lap." Bob Hicks; Questioning Art's Rules and Roles; The Oregonian (Portland); Aug 21, 2009.
devious
PRONUNCIATION: (DEE-vee-uhs)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Departing from the straight or the usual way
2. Sneaky; underhanded
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin devius (out of the way), from de- (out of) + via (way). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wegh- (to go or to transport in a vehicle) that resulted in words such as deviate, way, weight, wagon, vogue, vehicle, vector, envoy, and trivial.
USAGE: "Life has a devious way of hiding the edge of the cliff." Ed Stephens Jr.; Sun! Sand! Co-payments! Saipan Tribune (North Mariana Islands); Aug 28, 2009.
"With John Jowett, he's laid bare British politicians' and lobbyists' devious, sneaky, Machiavellian manoeuvrings in a comedy that may leave audiences wondering if this kind of farce goes on closer to home." Sharu Delilkan; It's A Drag Playing A Political Leader; The Aucklander (New Zealand); Aug 27, 2009.
Comments