Apr 13, 2025
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AWADmail Issue 1189
A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and Language
Sponsor¡¯s Message: ¡°Way better than Wordle.¡± One Up! is the wickedest
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From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
Subject: Interesting stories from the Net
The Conversation
The New York Times
From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
Subject:
What are your favorite places to visit, I asked this week. Here¡¯s a
selection from the responses.
My favorite place to visit is Hawaii. I have been there many times over the
years because it is truly paradise. We are planning a honeymoon there now!
-Janice A Hiley, Rolling Prairie, Indiana (jan janhiley.com)
I¡¯m writing now from Greece, my sanctuary from the world that¡¯s too
much with us. Particularly now, as chaos threatens to engulf the United
States. The area called Mani, on the Peloponnesus, is as far away from
the present as one can get. I¡¯ll turn 87 in a few weeks and have been
coming here for more than 50 years.
-Judy Tinelli, Easton, Maryland (judytinelli hotmail.com)
My favorite place to visit is Philmont Scout Ranch in Northeastern New
Mexico. Took my first backpacking trip there in 1969, then spent four summers
working on the staff. I still consider that my best job ever. A favorite
statement of fellow staff alumni is ¡°I Wanna Go Back to Philmont.¡± If
you see a mysterious vanity license plate IWGBTP you know that car
is being driven by a current or former Philmont staffer.
-Steve Harmony, Mancos, Colorado (steveharmo gmail.com)
Besides NZ, a place I would like to go back to is Prague. I took some advice
and visited the Orloj, or Prague Astronomical Clock early in the morning
so I got a great view of it. We had a cab driver give us a tour
and it was worth it. We ate in one of the oldest restaurants in Prague,
established in the 1500s. Its walls and ceilings were decorated with
paintings done by artists who painted in return for meals. Really,
I can¡¯t think of a location in the world that I have visited which I
would not like to return to just to see it in more detail. There are
always pleasant surprises when I am open to them.
-Que Areste Estavia, Seattle, Washington (queness66 gmail.com)
My wife is Portuguese, so twice a year (spring and late summer) we go
visit her family. I know in the last few years Portugal has gotten very
trendy, but it really is a great place. Especially northern Portugal,
which sometimes gets short shrift compared to the south.
-Deirdre Goldsworth, Denver, Colorado (goldsworth hotmail.com)
A favorite place for my spouse and me to vacay is Yellowstone National
Park. Having been there numerous times before frees us to explore new
areas of it. Our favorite activity is hiking in the backcountry.
-David R. Jennys, Mitchell, South Dakota (drjennys live.com)
One favorite was a condo building on Maui, the other a campsite on a
lake in remote northern California. I liked going to the same place.
It was familiar so it eliminated a day of
getting to know what¡¯s what, where, how etc. leaving more time to start
having fun or relaxing right away. It also expanded on the anticipatory
period, as there was less worry about unexpected aspects and more
anticipating good times.
-Betsy Wilson, El Segundo, California (w_betsy hotmail.com)
Museum of Natural History in NYC, and specifically the Gems and Minerals
exhibit. My (now adult) kids and I were always fascinated, and still are.
-Steve Phelan, Holmes, New York (stephen.d.phelan gmail.com)
I¡¯m an American married to a Swiss and have lived in Bern for over three
decades. My husband and I don¡¯t have to travel more than an hour to see
magnificent Alpine scenery, and we also take vacations all over Europe, a
different region once or twice a year. One
place we go back to almost every year, though, is Paris. It¡¯s less than five
hours from Bern by train, so we can even visit for a long weekend. Who can be
bored in Paris? Yes, it¡¯s packed with tourists, even in November or February,
but as a tourist myself, how can I complain? Plus, since we¡¯ve been there
so many times, we no longer need to stand in line to go up the Eiffel Tower!
-Kim Hays, Bern, Switzerland (kim.n.hays gmail.com)
My favorite place was the clinic of my massage therapist in Toronto where
I used to go on business frequently in the previous century. She¡¯s the one
who told me about A.Word.A.Day which has changed my life!
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
They¡¯re all up there, the mental recapitulations that allow me -- now,
at age 94 -- to revisit and re-exult not merely in the geographic aspects
of the initial visit to my favorite places, but, often far more memorable, the human interactions
that defined them.
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)
From: Pat Bensky (pbensky catbase.com)
Subject:
In the UK, what we now call German Shepherd dogs used to be called Alsatians
-- not because of any association with naughty people in London but because
of the Alsace-Lorraine connection. After WWI, due to anti-German sentiment,
the breed was renamed Alsatian Wolf Dog and then in 1977 was
restored to German Shepherd.
Pat Bensky, Leighton Buzzard, UK
From: Christopher Joubert (chris_joubert hotmail.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--
Cato the Elder (234-149 BCE), the most persistent advocate in the Senate
for the total destruction of Carthage, repeatedly used the phrase Delenda
est Carthago (Carthage must be destroyed).
Christopher Joubert, Cambridge, UK
From: Frank Ninivaggi (capcoder aol.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--
Siberia yes, used by tsars, by the USSR, and you neglected to mention,
by Russia today and Putin.
Frank Ninivaggi, Bronxville, New York
From: Karl R. Huber (khuber mac.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--siberianize
Perhaps one US equivalent is ?
Karl R. Huber, Lake Oswego, Oregon
From: Jerry Delamater (comjhd hofstra.edu)
Subject: Siberia
About six weeks before Putin invaded Ukraine, this about Siberia
appeared in
The New Yorker. My first reaction to the invasion was, ¡°Putin,
you should be thinking of the other side of your country. There are more
serious matters to consider than your petulant animosity to this small
country to your west.¡±
And that wasn¡¯t the only article raising this serious issue. Four years
earlier was also in
The New Yorker.
Jerry Delamater, New Haven, Connecticut
Email of the Week -- Brought to you -- You only think you¡¯re smart.
From: Martin Frampton (sandynap36 gmail.com)
Subject: Siberia
My wife and I met some Siberians c. 1968 when we were holidaying on the Black Sea
coast of Bulgaria. It was one of the few places where Mr & Mrs Capitalist
West could meet Mr & Mrs Communist East. A place where Russians and English
might exchange world views. We coffeed on the beach together -- twenty of
them, two of us with three-year-old twins, and got to know each other. Most
knew some English.
We let them steal our copy of
The Guardian. The Russian ladies stole
our twin boys all day long. Yes, they knew that it was a British agent
who attempted to kill Lenin in 1921 -- the shot badly wounded him.
We subsequently exchanged home visits with one couple who now live in
Moscow. They are still our friends today.
When we flew from Moscow to Kransnoyarsk (central Siberia) we met others, went
strawberry and raspberry picking, had a conducted tour of the museum, and laid
an obligatory bunch of flowers on the war memorial. Rode the local bus
service to meet more Russians during bread and salt ceremonies. When the
beer cellar owner heard we were English, he had the pianist play ¡°Home Home
on the Range¡± and some songs by .
Russia¡¯s monarchies
and Stalin used the place as an endless pit for the unwanted unfaithful. The
weather might be intrusively cold and hostile. The people most definitely
are not.
Martin Frampton, Newton Abbot, UK
From: Elaine Clow (elaine.clow gmail.com)
Subject:
¡°Botany Bay¡± is also a traditional folk song (, 4 min.; )
with many versions.
Elaine Clow, Boscawen, New Hampshire
From: Michael Hegemann (micheg.schlebusch googlemail.com)
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Botany Bay
There is a with the same name in Kent, UK.
I have never
travelled to Australia, but I have visited the British Botany Bay a few
times. It is a nice bay to relax and watch the sea.
Michael Hegemann, Leverkusen, Germany
From: Glenn Glazer (glenn.glazer gmail.com)
Subject: Botany Bay
The was
the sleeper ship launched by Khan (the same character as in the later movie
Wrath of Khan, played by Ricardo Montalban) in the original
Star Trek episode ¡°Space Seed¡±. The name
was given because they launched the ship to escape losing a conflict and
sought a better home in the stars.
Glenn Glazer, Felton, California
From: Carolyn Currie (curriecp gmail.com)
Subject: Van Diemen¡¯s Land
was a
similar penal colony in the 19th century. In 1856 it became self governing
and was renamed Tasmania.
A number of British folk ballads (usually having to do with poachers being
sent away) mention Van Diemen¡¯s Land:
Now come all you wild and wicked youths, wheresoever you may be
I pray now pay attention and listen unto me
The fatal awful transports as you shall understand
The hardships they do undergo upon Van Diemen¡¯s Land.
-Van Diemen¡¯s Land, sung by
As does a song written in 1988 by Adam Clayton, Dave Evans, Larry Mullen,
and Paul Hewson:
Hold me now,
Oh hold me now
¡®Til this hour
Has gone around
And I¡¯m gone
On the rising tide
For to face
Van Diemen¡¯s land
-Van Diemen¡¯s Land, sung by U2
Carolyn Currie, Chicago, Illinois
From: Leslie Mark (ldmark61 gmail.com)
Subject: Thank you!
Leslie Mark, Mission Hills, Kansas
Dear Leslie,
Thank you so much for your lovely letter! Your calligraphy is truly beautiful and a joy to receive.
Your story about your mother and A.Word.A.Day was so touching and heartwarming. It¡¯s wonderful to hear how the words brought you both together.
I really appreciate your kind support. It means a great deal.
Warmly,
Anu Garg
From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: siberianize and Alsatia
The word siberianize reminded me of the Trump administration¡¯s recent
deportation of over 250 Hispanic male illegals from the US to the notorious
El Salvadoran maximum security prison, the Terrorism Confinement Center
(CECOT). None of them received prior legal counsel, and some didn¡¯t even
have criminal records, but, nonetheless, were summarily rounded up and
flown off to that 21st-century gulag. Shameful!
Even though Dickens¡¯ tale of Oliver Twist is fiction, it¡¯s based on the
stark reality that he must have seen and experienced in his day. London¡¯s
Alsatia neighborhood could have been a fitting backdrop to the hardscrabble
world where orphaned Oliver managed to survive, under the
manipulations of petty thief .
Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California
Anagrams
 |
| |
This week¡¯s theme: Toponyms
- Alsatia
- Carthaginian peace
- Cathay
- Siberianize
- Botany Bay
| = |
- Ark
- Halt/abate a siege, isn¡¯t amity - they obey
- Is China
- Be castaway in ¡°the zone¡±
- A prison camp
|
| | | -Julian Lofts, Auckland, New Zealand (jalofts xtra.co.nz) |
| = |
- An easy crime shelter
- A negotiation, yet a payback
- china
- Seize to banish
- Swampy habitat
| = |
- I.e. a cosy mayhem zone
- In nasty bitter pact
- I.e. take China Sea
- Banish, ship away
- Batter, gaol
|
| -Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com) |
| -Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com) |
Make your own and .
Limericks
Alsatia
A deserter was fated to roam
For years from Dubrovnik, his home.
Civil war in Croatia
Made him seek an Alsatia
In Jerusalem, saying, ¡°Shalom.¡±
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)
Said Donald to Elon, ¡°I¡¯ll race ya!
We¡¯ll make the US an Alsatia.
We¡¯ll be lawless and cruel
Just like bullies in school,
Until suggests I replace ya.¡±
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)
¡°Mr. President,¡± whispered the geisha,
¡°Your attractions are clear, prima facie.
I love powerful men
Who break laws now and then,
With the White House your lovely Alsatia.¡±
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
Carthaginian peace
Carthaginian peace in Ukraine
Any right-minded folks would disdain.
But Donald is rootin¡¯
For Vladimir Putin,
Who¡¯s already caused so much pain.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)
¡°My palms every nation must grease,
Or they risk Carthaginian peace,¡±
Declared Donald. ¡°Here¡¯s what
They must bring as my cut:
T¦Ïpless girls from the beaches of Nice.¡±
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
Cathay
Robes of silk that were made in Cathay
Now have tariffs that we have to pay.
But it¡¯s well understood
That it¡¯s all to the good,
And I wear polyester today.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)
¡°I have dreamt of a trip to Cathay,¡±
This New Jerseyite often would say.
¡°But such is my luck
That here I am stuck
And in Hackensack likely to stay.¡±
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)
It conjures up images, no?
With exotic creations, and so
If Cathay as in dreams
Exists as it seems,
Well, of course, that¡¯s where I want to go!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)
Said Cathy, ¡°I¡¯ll travel one day,
To that far away land of Cathay.
Where I¡¯ll climb the Great Wall,
And then have a ball,
While watching those cute pandas play.¡±
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)
With America going cray cray,
I¡¯ll go find some exotic Cathay.
With what¡¯s left of my stocks
I¡¯m not stuck in this box,
But for those who can¡¯t leave, let us pray.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
Siberianize
Dear member of Congress, I ask
That you take on a much needed task.
Stop being a chump
And siberianize Trump.
In the tundra¡¯s cold sun let him bask.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)
Said Donald to Vlad, ¡°Please suggest
Some ways I can deal with a pest.¡±
Said Vlad, ¡°What I do
Is to poison a few,
And siberianize all the rest.¡±
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)
As for Putin, it is no surprise.
For he¡¯s known to siberianize.
If you show some dissent,
You are sent to repent.
Like we¡¯ll have, when democracy dies.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)
¡°I thrill to see fear in your eyes,
Then your kind I siberianize,¡±
Said Donald. ¡°How wrong
That to gangs you belong!
And no proof need materialize.¡±
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
Botany Bay
Captain Cook said, ¡°Good news, folks. Today
We are landing at Botany Bay.
It may sound incredible,
But plants there are edible,
And the sun you can lie in all day.¡±
-Sara Hutchinson, New Castle, Delaware (sarahutch2003 yahoo.com)
Folks were exiled to Botany Bay,
An incredibly long ways away.
It was tough to survive,
But some managed to thrive --
Their descendants are Aussies today!
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)
With immigrants Trump has his way.
He flies them away, no delay.
To El Salvador jail,
Which The Donald does hail
As his personal Botany Bay!
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)
Said the mom, ¡°Hear my prodigy play!¡±
But to listen was Botany Bay.
The boy¡¯s violin skills
Felt like porcupine quills,
But that¡¯s not what I¡¯ll probably say.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
Puns
¡°When it¡¯s time for On the Good Ship Lollipop, alsatia-rly, begin singing,¡±
the director coached Miss Temple.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
¡°So much for you and your stupid elephants, you Carthaginian peace of s**t,¡±
the victorious Roman general said to Hannibal.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
¡°In Afri-cathay still have lots of people who would make great slaves,¡±
pitched the shipping magnate to plantation owners after Elon¡¯s cuts in
government regulation and enforcement.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
¡°One look into your Siberianize and I could spend my life tramping through
the snow,¡± said Donald to Miss Novosibirsk at the Miss Russia pageant
after fleeing the US ahead of a mob.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
The Aussie called his a cappella group The Botany Bay-ers.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)
¡°To train a marine botany bay with water shallow enough to practice storming
the beaches will do,¡± said the chat group¡¯s leaked plans for an android
invasion of Greenland.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
There is also an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without
either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous
ingredient in government, and provisions should be made to prevent its
ascendancy. -Thomas Jefferson, third US president, architect, and author
(13 Apr 1743-1826)
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