The world's toughest language game gets even tougher.
May 20, 2025
This week¡¯s theme
Bloody words!
This week¡¯s words
¡°I know my head¡¯s bloody, but I still don¡¯t want to go to the hospital.¡±
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg
bloody-minded
PRONUNCIATION:
(BLUHD-ee-MYN-did)
MEANING:
adjective:
1. Disposed to violence and bloodshed.
2. Stubborn; obstructive. (chiefly used in British English)
ETYMOLOGY:
From blood, from Old English blod + mind, from Old English gemynd (memory, thought). Earliest documented use: 1545.
NOTES:
The word bloody itself has an unexpectedly colorful history. Depending
on where you are, it can be a mild intensifier (bloody fool) or borderline
profane. Its taboo status may have arisen from a mistaken belief that it
referred to Christ¡¯s blood. Bloody in the second meaning of
bloody-minded is used as an intensifier, implying someone is strong-willed.
For more bloody fun, see how
came to be a euphemism for bloody. And if you¡¯re wondering how far it¡¯s
come, look no further than Tourism Australia¡¯s 2006 ad campaign:
¡°¡±
USAGE:
¡°[Jon Meacham] says, ¡®Pilate was a bullying, bloody-minded prefect.¡¯¡±
Jim Keogh; Seeking Truth in Gibson¡¯s ¡®Passion¡¯; Telegram & Gazette
(Worcester, Massachusetts); Feb 19, 2004.
¡°[Virat] Kohli¡¯s ambition is as fierce as ever, his bloody-minded focus
on winning matches undimmed.¡±
Anand Vasu; Trophy Awaits Its Champions; The Economic Times (New Delhi,
India); Mar 9, 2025.
See more usage examples of in Vocabulary.com¡¯s .
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his
inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the
injury. -John Stuart Mill, philosopher and economist (20 May 1806-1873)
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