David Zapatka Is it just me or are you hearing this too? It seems more people are using words or phrases that sound like but are mistakenly used in a semi-logical or seemingly plausible way for the correct word or phrase either on its own or as part of an expression. While at Rudy’s BBQ,…
Tag: Word of the month
Features, June 2022
Word of the Month: Capo
David Zapatka While listening to the Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks tune, “I Have a Capo on my Brain,” last night, I thought, how could a “capo” be on a brain, and secondly, haven’t I heard this word used in another context? The movie The Godfather came to mind. This sparked research into this word.…
Features, May 2022
Word of the Month: Emplacement
David Zapatka While watching the last two episodes of The Expanse, I heard significant dialogue about the rail guns being used by Marcos Inaros, the leader of the Belters’ Free Navy, who was intent on destroying the Inners (pronounced Innas), the people residing on Earth, Luna (the moon), and Mars. These rail guns were powerful…
Features, April 2022
Word of the Month: Ziggurat
David Zapatka Reader John W. Patterson writes, “For what it’s worth, because of my ever-deepening interest in what might be called “The History of Ideas,” I’ve been following your Word column in our Quail Creek Crossing for some years now. In a very real way, etymology is itself a useful adjunct for dealing with the…
Features, February 2022
Word of the Month: Chicane
David Zapatka The Tour de France is one of the greatest sporting spectacles of the year. I love watching the drama and triumph. While watching the broadcast, I heard a commentator describe the upcoming chicane in the course and knew immediately, “chicane” would be my next word of the month. Chicane verb chi·cane | \…
Features, January 2022
Word of the Month: Quincunx
David Zapatka While reading The Labours of Hercules by Alice A. Bailey, in my book-reading group, I ran across the familiar word “quincunx” and had to reach back in my memory to recall where I had been exposed to this word before. Quincunx noun quin·cunx | ˈkwin-ˌkəŋ(k)s 1. an arrangement of five objects with four at the…
Features, December 2021
Word of the Month: Irenic
David Zapatka Friend, fellow bridge enthusiast, and reader Maria Davis wrote, “I came across this word today as I was flying to Miami. I rarely get five hours of uninterrupted reading time! I was reading Essays on Ethics by Jonathan Sachs, so he used the British spelling ‘eirenic,’ which is closer to the original Greek word.…
Features, November 2021
Word of the Month: Contronym
David Zapatka Reader and dear friend, Ellen Engel, suggested I look at Mental Floss’ article on contronyms. I subscribed to Mental Floss for years and enjoyed the magazine. Today, you can only read it online, as its print version has been discontinued. Contronym noun con·tro·nym | ˈkän-trə-ˌnim variant–contranym: a word having two meanings that contradict one another. Origin…
Features, September 2021
Word of the Month: Percipient
David Zapatka Friend, fellow bridge enthusiast, and reader, Maria Davis, wrote, “I enjoyed your article on thraldom. It’s easier to spot the etymology when the alternative spelling thralldom is used. I have seen thrall and enthralled but thral(l)dom is a word that I had not encountered previously. I came across an interesting word today—percipient. It…
Features, August 2021
Word of the Month: Thraldom
David Zapatka While reading page 52 of The Labours of Hercules by Alice A. Bailey in my book reading group, I ran across this sentence: “Let the soul be single in its purpose and freed from the thraldom of matter, and then right action and a right point of view will inevitably be the characteristics of…