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?	The magic of words?

AWADmail Issue 1192

A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Other Tidbits about Words and Language

Sponsor’s Message: Wrench, write, dare, and sew with Shakespeare, Frankenstein, and Einstein at our Old’s Cool Academy classical education summer camp. Starting July 1st. .

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From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
Subject: Interesting stories from the Net


New Scientist



The Wall Street Journal

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From: George Hawkins (hawkinsgeorge3 gmail.com)
Subject:

My wife is a cover thief. In her sleep (allegedly), she rolls away from me, taking the covers with her. I wake up chilled and either have to yank back some of the purloined bedclothes or move closer to her before the next windlassing movement.

George Hawkins, Houston, Texas

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From: Peter Aretin (rancholimbo comcast.net)
Subject: Saint Elmo

was purportedly martyred by having his . He thus became a patron saint of both sailors and intestinal distress. Sailors would call electrical coronas on sailing ships’ rigging Saint Elmo’s fire. As a sometime Tesla coil builder with bad guts, I wear his medal. Can’t hurt.

Peter Aretin, Boulder, Colorado

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From: Patrick Casey (pcasey hawaii.rr.com)
Subject:

I immediately recognized Sir Patrick in the poster. It brought back very pleasant memories of twice being delighted and astounded by his poignant one-actor/40+ characters telling of A Christmas Carol. Well done on your excellent choice casting him as your monopolylogue poster boy!

Patrick Casey, Kailua, Hawaii

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From: Steve Benko (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
Subject: Monopolylogue

Then there’s Jason Alexander’s commercial (, 30 sec.) for Mike’s Amazing Mayonnaise.

Steve Benko, New York, New York

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From: Marion Wolf (marionewolf yahoo.com)
Subject: Monopolylogue

Andrew Scott has received rave reviews (, ) for his one-man version of Uncle Vanya -- a monopolylogue! (But I will leave it to others to shoehorn this word into a limerick.)

Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey

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From: David Franks (david.franks cox.net)
Subject: monopolylogue

It would seem that , a play in which two actors play at least ten characters each, is a diamonopolylogue.

also did a monopolylogue performance of A Christmas Carol, assisted by Mimi Kennedy, that is still played on NPR every year.

David Franks, Fayetteville, Arkansas

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From: Thomas Donovan (twdonovan earthlink.net)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--monopolylogue

My favorite theatrical experience occurred on the stage at Samoa College, circa 1968. Sane (my then-sweetheart and current wife of more than 50 years) and I went to a performance of Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas by a footloose British actor -- one unique monopolyloguist for all two-dozen-plus characters. No costumes, a minimalist set (a rocking chair, a tea table, remnants of a fishing net hung on the curtain); and he captivated us all. Astonishing. I’ve never been able to find out the actor’s name. It remains the greatest dramatic performance I have ever seen. We’ve seen Under Milk Wood a number of times since. Some elaborate productions, some minimal, some vastly disappointing, some ambitious; yet each with a cast of many actors.

Fa’afetai (Thanks),

Tom Donovan, RPCV Western Samoa

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From: Timothy Mooney (tim timmooneyrep.com)
Subject: Monopolylogue

I’ve been performing (video, 3 min.) for 25 years now, and only now do I realize that I’ve been a monopolylogue-ist this whole time!

Tim Mooney, Imlay City, Michigan

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From: Evelyn Tully Costa (evelyn igc.org)
Subject: Audio Book narrators

Some of the most underrated but prolific monopolylogues are audio book narrators. The really good ones literally take on multiple characters of different sexes and accents with the talented dexterity of Robin Williams but go unsung amongst their better-known actor peers.

These unsung talents saved my life during a prolonged illness when I realized that otherwise ordinary books became 3D delights and kept me sane when I could not move.

Evelyn Tully Costa, Brooklyn, New York

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From: Steve Benko (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
Subject:

Based on this word, we can now add an additional meaning to the word illustration. As a portmanteau of ill-lustration, it could mean a sick purging of government employees doing critical work to serve the public.

Steve Benko, New York, New York

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From: Alex McCrae (ajmccrae277 gmail.com)
Subject: monopolylogue and lustration

For monopolylogue, here I’ve cast a singular actor in three key roles in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (aka “What You Will”). Of course, my imagined performance would require clever directorial input to pull off a convincing solo-thespian-playing-all-parts tour de farce.


Here, Trump, the self-proclaimed “stable genius”, misinterprets the FOX News reporter’s statement as flattery, when in fact she’s acknowledging his purging of federal officials whom he believes have not been sufficiently loyal to him, or have allegedly wronged him, while he destroys democracy as we know (knew?) it.

Alex McCrae, Van Nuys, California

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From: Sophie Brudenell-Bruce (sophibruce aol.com)
Subject: Illustrating this week’s words

They say old habits die hard, but this can be positive too. I have picked up an old habit of illustrating an unfamiliar word so that my brain lexicon will visualise it.

A few years back, I did this daily for 18 months and still remember them all, well nearly all! Here are a couple of scribbles from this week’s words.

, London, UK

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Anagrams

This theme: Words that aren’t what they appear to be Windlass Monopolylogue Lustration Unicity Piepowder	=	Get the winch, hoist Solo show yet one attempts many/all parts. Whew! Depuration, ablution Rarity Pied poudre
		-Julian Lofts, Auckland, New Zealand (jalofts xtra.co.nz)

This week’s theme: Words that aren’t what they appear to be Windlass Monopolylogue Lustration Unicity Piepowder	=	Weathered winch-like towboat tether tool Stand-up show (witty, eh?) Ideal purity Oneness Migratory pop-up salesman	=	Steady rise (keep on) Act that has one muppet (poor tot!) with many roles Ablution rite WWW singularity He who peddles
		-Dharam Khalsa, Burlington, North Carolina (dharamkk2 gmail.com)		-Shyamal Mukherji, Mumbai, India (mukherjis hotmail.com)

Make your own and .

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Limericks

Windlass

In my dreams there’s a house on a hill,
Where the plumbing is practically nil.
But a wishing well’s there
With a windlass, I swear.
And my buckets with dreams I can fill.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

When water is just what you need,
Well, then to the well you may speed.
The whatchamacallit
With which you will haul it --
A windlass! -- is handy indeed.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

Said Eve, “It’s no fun being sinless;
That apple up there we should windlass.”
Answered Adam, “Okay,
But a price we will pay,
For from Eden the Lord will rescind us.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Monopolylogue

I offer a worthwhile defense:
Monopolylogue shows can dispense
At very long last
With a standard fare cast;
And they’ll save lots of dollars and cents.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

“As a fish, salamander, and pollywog,
You were great in the pond’s monopolylogue!”
Said the frog to the snail.
“Your performance we hail;
You have won great acclaim in our Raleigh bog!”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Lustration

A ritual purification
Can also be called a lustration.
Some Orthodox Jews
A mikvah will choose
When needing just such a lavation.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

My mom had it right, don’tcha think?
She’d hold my head over the sink
And scrub my mouth out
“Don’t you talk like a lout!”
Lustration as quick as a wink!
-Bindy Bitterman, Chicago, Illinois (bindy eurekaevanston.com)

“I’m proud that my acts of lustration
Helped Donald and Vlad wreck the nation,”
Said Elon. “But now
I must leave for Moscow
Due to shareholder calls for castration.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Unicity

Elected despite his duplicity,
Now Donald displays his toxicity.
The pundits debate
The state of our state --
Our strange situation’s unicity.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

“I belong to the world’s best ethnicity;
We’re supreme in our racial unicity,”
Said Donald. “I’m glad
That I share it with Vlad;
Angry white guys get so much publicity!”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Piepowder

A piepowder suffered the blues.
Some dust somehow sullied his shoes.
His UPS truck
Broke down -- Such bad luck! --
And walking was not what he’d choose.
-Rudy Landesman, New York, New York (ydur36 hotmail.com)

With all sorts of wares he could share,
The piepowder came to the fair.
Since he walked the whole way,
I am sorry to say
His feet are in need of repair.
-Marion Wolf, Bergenfield, New Jersey (marionewolf yahoo.com)

“I hate to go shop in a store.
I long for those great days of yore.”
Then grandpa’d cry louder,
“I miss the piepowder,
Who’d come with a knock on my door.”
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“Though my wife says she’s faithful, I doubt her,
For she’s different now,” said the piepowder.
“I’ve come home to new tricks
That she wants in our mix;
When I do them, her sighs are much louder.”
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

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Puns

“You left me twisting in the windlass-ie,” wept lost-and-frightened when his supposedly heroic dog ran off to chase a squirrel.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“That thin jacket won’t be enough in this windlass,” the Scottish father cautioned.
-Janice Power, Cleveland, Ohio (powerjanice782 gmail.com)

“It might be monopolylogue in to your account and see if your test results have come back,” said Blackbeard to his sick parrot.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

Coining a portmanteau, the censor called all the drawings in the Kama Sutra an example of lustration.
Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“I’m afraid I accidentally overfilled Donald’s lustration when I handed out the desire for power,” fretted the Lord.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

“What a p-unicity,” scoffed Gulliver as he entered the Lilliputian capital.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

The circus apprentice learned how to ride a one-wheeler at the Clown College unicity.
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

“Guv, a bit o’ cannabis in yer piepowder ‘elp ya calm down,” said the London cabdriver to the anxious businessman late for a meeting.
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)

The pastry chef instructed his students, “To finish the apple piepowder it generously with cinnamon.”
-Joan Perrin, Port Jefferson Station, New York (perrinjoan aol.com)

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Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity. -Horace Mann, educational reformer (4 May 1796-1859)