#wordaday — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #wordaday, aggregated by home.social.
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Today's very appropriate 'A Word A Day'
Ozymandias
PRONUNCIATION:
(oz-uh-MAN-dee-uhs)MEANING (noun)
1. A megalomaniac tyrant, especially one whose arrogance is undone by time.
2. A symbol of the impermanence of power and pride.ETYMOLOGY:
After Ozymandias, the first part of the throne name of Ramesses II of Egypt (1279-1213 BCE). Earliest documented use: 1878.#ozymandias #wordsmith #wordaday #trump #dictator
https://wordsmith.org/words/ozymandias.html#comments -
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
"A certain kind of rich man afflicted with the symptoms of moral dandyism sooner or later comes to the conclusion that it isn’t enough merely to make money. He feels obliged to hold views, to espouse causes and elect Presidents, to explain to a trembling world how and why the world went wrong”
-Lewis H. Lapham, editor and writer (1935-2024)To what you cited he added a punch line: “The spectacle is nearly always comic.”
The quotation is from 1989!
More on #LewisLapham
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_H._LaphamFrom #WordADay
https://www.meco.app/share/eabca8f2-466c-4f69-acf3-39f41b188ac9 -
Interesting new book: Contraduction
“In a quiet and unassuming way, Contraduction is utterly brilliant.
Every page has a thought so deep and unexpected that it stops you in your tracks, as you not only realize, “That’s a different, really interesting way to think about the world, exactly the opposite of how I normally view things” but also, “And it is absolutely equally valid (and enriching) to adopt this opposite way of thinking.”
I loved this book. — Robert Sapolsky, author of The Blank Slate and Determined”
#Contraduction #danbarker #wordaday
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0D31ZFR77?ie=UTF8&sr= -
kedge: to move (a ship) by means of a line attached to a small anchor dropped at the distance and in the direction desired.
~Word-A-Day calendar for Tue Jan 10, 2023I don't know that I've heard this word before. It seems perfect to be used metaphorically. For example in school: Often you start with something you know, then kedge to related concepts. Or debating with a friend, it can be better to kedge from a point of agreement rather than leap immediately to a point too far.