Todays Thought

It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment. 

-Ansel Adams, photographer (20 Feb 1902-1984)

FARMER BEN: The misconceptions of a gay farmer and tinder in the sticks

Todays Word

 

grizzle

PRONUNCIATION:

(GRIZ-uhl) 

MEANING:

verb tr.:	To make gray.
verb intr.:	1. To turn gray.
	2. To fuss; to gripe or grumble.
noun:	1. An animal with gray or grizzled fur.
	2. Gray hair.
adjective:	1. Having gray hair.
	2. Gray.

ETYMOLOGY:

For the color-related senses: from Old French grisel, diminutive of gris (gray).
For the grumble sense: origin unknown.
Earliest documented use: 1390.

USAGE:

“My hair has grizzled, I’ve developed a paunch and some rather unpalatable views.”
Sam Wollaston; On the Road; The Guardian (London, UK); Feb 18, 2012.

“Last night, as I was trying to settle my fretting son to sleep, I had a thought, clear as day: ‘I just don’t want to do this any longer.’ He’d been grizzling for 45 minutes, his dad was out, and after a long day at work, all I wanted was a glass of wine and some mindless telly.”
Cathy Adams; Mother Knows Best; The Independent (London, UK); May 10, 2021.

“Consider that I have no hair, no fur, no raiment to disarrange. No silver-trimmed livery-hat to hang on a peg, like Thomas. No grizzle wig to keep free of lice.”
Verlyn Klinkenborg; Timothy; Vintage; 2007.

See more usage examples of grizzle in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

Todays Word

 

onolatry

PRONUNCIATION:

(oh-NOL/NAHL-uh-tree) 

MEANING:

noun:
1. Worship of the donkey or ass.
2. Devotion to foolishness.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek ono- (ass) + -latry (worship). Earliest documented use: 1903.

NOTES:

In the beginning, an ass was merely a donkey. The anatomical term was arse. As words wade along the river of language, they get smoothened with time: curse became cuss, parcel turned into passel, and arse morphed into ass. Of course, both forms coexist.

Regardless of the form, one truth remains: asses get no respect. In any language. Greek gave us onolatry and Latin added asinine to our linguistic stable.

There’s even the onocentaur, but that may be just a half-assed attempt at mythology.

USAGE:

“From his foretelling hoofs; the bray
Of the world of asses following Darius --
The sound that scattered the great Scythian hordes;
The sound of the crowd’s onolatry, and after.”
Edith Sitwell; Out of School: To José Garcia Villa; The Atlantic; Jun 1949.

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Todays Thought

Patriotism is often an arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles. 

-George Jean Nathan, author and editor (14 Feb 1882-1958)