Book Review: The Meaning of Everything, by Simon Winchester

1 April 2004

Simon Winchester has been making something of a career of late writing books about the Oxford English Dictionary. In 1998 he wrote The Professor and the Madman (British title: The Surgeon of Crowthorne) and has now penned The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary. This latest is something of an unofficial history of the OED. The book was suggested to Winchester by the editors at Oxford University Press and is based on the research Winchester conducted for his 1998 book.

While the story of the OED is not one of high drama or cracking adventure, The Meaning of Everything is a book of great interest to anyone interested in words and lexicography. The creation of the OED was one of the monumental achievements of the Victorian age. (Although it was not completed until 1928, the OED is essentially a Victorian work.) It is also a story of bureaucratic and academic infighting and about how books get published.

The monumental achievement of this dictionary is demonstrated by some simple statistics. The first edition of the dictionary took over 70 years to complete. The idea of a comprehensive dictionary of the English language was first put forward in 1857 and the first edition was not completed until 1928. (And with supplements, a second edition, and with the beginning of a third, the work has never stopped.) The first edition is 15,490 pages long in twelve volumes. It contains 414,825 headwords and 1,827,306 illustrative quotations. At the height of the project, readers were submitting quotations at a rate of 1,000 per day. The cataloging of the English language was truly a massive task and one done without automation or modern information processing tools.

The central figure in the creation of the OED is James Murray, the editor from 1879 until his death in 1915. Murray was the perfect man for the job of compiling this dictionary from scratch—and it was essentially from scratch, the previous two editors, Herbert Coleridge, tubercular grandson of the poet, and Frederick Furnivall, an excellent scholar who let his passion for women distract him from the work at hand, had accomplished little. Murray combined academic brilliance with the drive, vision, and organizational skills of a modern-day entrepreneur.

Murray set the academic standard and shepherded the fledgling work through the bureaucracy of Oxford University Press, juggling the competing goals of maintaining excellence with the demands to publish quickly. When Murray took charge in 1879, it was estimated that the dictionary would run some 7,000 pages, take another ten years to complete, and cost a total of £9,000. It would turn out to take over twice that number of pages, take 49 years to complete, and cost over £300,000. The publishers were expecting 704 completed pages per year, almost two per day, an average of over 33 words per day. This was a dizzying pace, especially when considering that one word, black, took Murray’s chief assistant over three months to complete.

The editor was also responsible for organizing the efforts of a small army of volunteer readers who scoured the corpus of English literature to find uses of specific words. One chapter of the book focuses on two of the more interesting, the hermit Fitzedward Hall who worked in solitude, refusing all visitors, including Murray himself, and W.C. Minor, the surgeon housed in a home for the criminally insane who was the subject of Winchester’s earlier book.

Another of Murray’s arduous tasks was cleaning up the mess left him by the previous editors. Furnivall in particular had distributed the quotation slips collected to date to various sub-editors around the world and recovering these proved a major task. The entirety of the letter H was missing, later found in a villa in Tuscany. The quotations for words beginning with Pa were eventually found in an Irish stable. And the sub-editor for the letter O simply refused to return the material; eventually, Murray convinced him.

Winchester’s treatment of the subject is excellent. The book is readable and Winchester deftly addresses the bureaucratic aspects of publishing such a mammoth work without being overwhelmed by details and minutiae.

Of the books few faults, there are two of note. The first is that the book reads like a hagiography of Murray. This is somewhat understandable as Murray was clearly brilliant, an organizer par excellence, and a man without personal vices. But no one is as saintly as Murray is portrayed in the book. We are told he is a family man (with eleven children, no less) but we learn next to nothing about his wife or his children, except for the work they did assisting him. A bit more humanity in the portrayal would make The Meaning of Everything more interesting.

The second fault is that the book largely ignores the scholarly processes underlying the dictionary. Winchester does a fine job describing the discipline of writing definitions, but ignores etymology and pronunciation. How did Murray and the other editors determine the origins of words? How did they determine the pronunciations? One will not learn these answers by reading this book. Still, these are minor faults when placed in perspective.

Winchester has produced an excellent history of a major academic achievement—in scale the Victorian equivalent of cracking the human genome. Readable, entertaining, and insightful, The Meaning of Everything is a book that deserves a place on the bookshelves of any word lover.

Hardcover; 260 pages; Oxford University Press; October 2003; ISBN: 0-19-860702-4; $25.00

Word of the Month: Mafia

1 April 2004

This past month, Home Box Office, or HBO, a US subscription television service began broadcasting the fifth season of The Sopranos. The Emmy-winning series dramatizes the life of a New Jersey organized crime boss, Tony Soprano and his two “families”—his wife and children and his business associates. Unlike earlier mob-dramas like The Godfather, this series does not treat mobsters as men of honor; Tony Soprano is a violent sociopath, a thug who abuses and mistreats those closest to him. The series has earned host of awards and consistently high ratings.

Because of the premiere of what will probably be the penultimate season of the popular series, our word of the month is mafia, n., a criminal organization; originating in Sicily, but with offshoots operating in the United States; from the Italian, probably a back formation from mafioso, a member of the organization, the ultimate etymology is unknown; 1866.

What interests us here is not the violence of the show or even the nude women who dance in Tony’s strip club (being a subscription cable service, HBO is not limited by same broadcast standards of terrestrial television networks), but rather the language of the show. The series is replete with mob jargon and Italian words, usually spoken using the Sicilian-American pronunciation.

A combination of Southern Italian and Sicilian dialect and several generations in America have rendered some of the Italian terms in The Sopranos barely recognizable. These dialects have a few some distinct consonant shifts in their pronunciation. The letter C is often transmuted to a /g/ sound, and vice versa. Similarly, P becomes /b/ and D is sounded as /t/. Final sounds are often dropped. Thus compare becomes /gumba/ and comare is pronounced /guma/ or, with the New York R added, /gumaɹ/.

Most of the terms, however, are not so difficult for the average American to understand. They are ordinary English words that have particular meanings in the jargon of organized crime. Some of the more common ones, illustrated with quotations from the show, are:

a fa Napoli, interj., Southern Italian dialect, literally go to Naples, but used in the same sense as go to hell.

action, n., 1. gambling, 1887; 2. profit from a venture, esp. from illegal activities, 1957. “As far as two percent of his action, that’s up to you to settle.” (Ep. 6, Pax Soprana)

administration, n., to top-level of the mob hierarchy, composed of the boss, underboss, and consigliere.

associate, n., a criminal who works for and with the mob, but is not a formal member of the organization. “They will undoubtedly be focused on the, as yet unsolved, execution style slaying of Soprano family associate Brendan Filone.” (Ep. 8, The Legend Of Tennessee Moltisanti)

beef, n., a complaint or disagreement, 1899. “These guys I had a beef with at the newsstand.” (Ep. 12, Isabella)

book, n., illegal gambling, from the notebook in which bets are recorded, 1812.

books, the, n., the membership rolls of a mob family. “The books are closed [...] They’re not accepting any new members.” (Ep. 2, 46 Long)

bootleg, 1. v., to trade in illegal liquor, from 1889, after the practice of smuggling bottles of liquor in high boots. 2. adj., counterfeit, unlicensed. “The feds are never gonna surveil an old folks home. I know that’s why I got six truckloads of bootleg polident coming in.” (Ep. 9, Boca)

borgata, n., an mob family, 1963, literally village in Italian.

boss of bosses, n., the leader of the Five Families of New York, no longer in use by the mob, but still found in the press, often in the original Italian, capo di tutti capi.

boss, n., the head of a organized crime family, 1845, the standard English sense is that of a supervisor or overseer, from the Dutch baas meaning master, use in English dates to the early 19th C, first appearing in the works of Washington Irving, although usage by Dutch speakers in New York is recorded as far back as the mid-17th C. “I mean when Jackie was acting boss no one minded ‘cause it all evened out at the end of the day.” (Ep. 6, Pax Soprana)

break an egg, v., to murder.

burn, v., to murder, 1933.

button man, n., a low-ranking member of a criminal organization, a soldier, 1969. Not to be confused with button.

button, n., full-fledged membership in an criminal organization. “They’re talking like the Moltisanti kid might get his button.” (Ep. 17, Commendatori)

can, the, n., prison, 1912. “There are men in the can better looking than my sister.” (Ep. 18, Big Girls Don’t Cry)

cannoli, n. pl., tube of pastry with a sweet filling, such as sweet ricotta cheese or cream, 1925, from the Italian plural of cannolo, ultimately from canna, cane or tube. “Get a pastry box. Move it! That’s better. Now fill it with cannoli, sfogliatelle, and napoleons.” (Ep. 8, The Legend Of Tennessee Moltisanti), “Leave the gun...bring the cannoli.” (The Godfather, 1972)

capo, n., an organized crime leader, one who heads a crew, 1952, from the Italian for head, often Anglicized into captain. “Three of my capos have their mothers in this place?” (Ep. 11, Nobody Knows Anything)

cappicola, n., spiced Italian ham, pronounced /gɑba gul/ in Sicilian dialect. “We had sandwiches brought in the other night, four with ham, salami, cappicola, one eggplant, and the other with tomato and mozzarella.” (Ep. 22, From Where To Eternity)

clip, v., to murder, 1928. “One of the reasons that they tried to have me clipped is because I’m seeing a shrink.” (Ep. 13, I Dream Of Jeannie Cusamano)

comare, n., a mistress, pronounced /guma/ in Sicilian dialect. “I should have stayed with my comare tonight.” (Ep. 19, The Happy Wanderer)

Commission, The, n., the mob’s ruling body, composed of the bosses of the Five Families.

connected, adj., associated with or a member of an organized crime family, 1977. “I’m trying to think. Did I ever meet any connected guys from Delaware?” (Ep. 17, Commendatori)

consigliere, n., a counselor or advisor, from the Italian.

contract, n., an offer of money for a murder, a command to murder, 1941.

Cosa Nostra, n., the mafia, 1963, from the Italian for our thing. “Who invented the mafia? What? La Cosa Nostra, who invented that?” (Ep. 8, The Legend Of Tennessee Moltisanti)

crew, n., a criminal gang, 1946. “There was a time in my life when being with the Tony Soprano crew was all I ever dreamed of.” (Ep. 2, 46 Long)

don, n., the head of an organized crime family, the capo or boss, 1952, from the Italian term of respect.

earner, n., a person who makes a lot of money for a criminal organization. “But he’s one of my best guys, a terrific earner.” (Ep. 26, Funhouse)

eat alone, v., to keep the profits of a criminal enterprise to oneself, not to share with the rest of the organization. “But our uncle, does he eat alone? He doesn’t even pass the salt.” (Ep. 6, Pax Soprana)

enforcer, n., a thug who uses violence, including murder, to execute the criminal organization’s wishes, 1929. “Not seized today, although named in the indictments, was alleged Soprano enforcer and loan-sharking chief, Michael “Grab-Bag” Palmice.” (Ep. 13, I Dream Of Jeannie Cusamano)

executive game, n., a card game for celebrities and other high-rollers that play on credit, paying high interest rates for the privilege. “That’s a certain kind of player. That’s why we call it the executive game.” (Ep. 19, The Happy Wanderer)

family, n., a crime organization, in modern mob use from 1963, but an older and probably separately coined sense of a criminal gang dates to the mid-18th C. “Since you are at the helm, it all gets back to putting up bigger blinds. Really limiting your exposure to potential RICO boo-boos. The only way to run a family these days is bunker style.” (Ep. 14, Guy Walks Into A Psychiatrist’s Office)

Five Families, n., the five major Italian-American organized crime families of New York, the Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Colombo, and Bonanno families. “Wasn’t it Salvatore Lucana, better known as Charlie “Lucky” Luciano, who organized the five families?” (Ep. 8, The Legend Of Tennessee Moltisanti)

flip, v., to inform to law enforcement authorities. “He flipped about ten years ago. He got busted for peddling H.” (Ep. 5, College)

friend of ours, n., a person associated with a criminal organization, esp. a made guy. “Jimmy, let me introduce you to a friend of ours. This is Joey from Dover, Delaware.” (Ep. 17, Commendatori)

fungoo, interj., fuck you, a dialectical pronunciation of the Italian affanculo, there are various English spellings and pronunciations.

G, n., a thousand dollars, abbrev. for grand, 1928.

get a place ready, c.phr., to find site to dispose of a corpse.

give a pass, v., to grant a reprieve, esp. from being murdered.

go away to college, v., to go to prison.

goombah, n., a trusted male friend, from a dialectical pronunciation of the Italian compare, popularized by boxer Rocky Graziano, 1955.

H, n., heroin. “He got busted for peddling H.” (Ep. 5, College)

heavy, adj., armed. “Next time you come in, you come heavy or not at all.” (Ep. 4, Meadowlands)

hit, v. & n., to murder, an underworld killing, an order to commit such a killing, 1942 for the verb, 1950 for the noun. “That’s how they got tipped off about the Bevilaqua hit, huh?” (Ep. 26, Funhouse)

hot place, n., a location where law enforcement conducts or is thought to conduct surveillance on organized crime.

ice, v., to murder, 1941.

joint, the, n., prison, 1933.

juice, v., to receive money from or for illegal activities, esp. usurious interest, 1935. “You’d rather be juiced than pay all at once.” (Ep. 19, The Happy Wanderer)

lam, v., to flee, 1886, from the late-16th C meaning to beat or strike, also a noun, esp. in the phrase on the lam, 1911. “He might’ve recognized me at the gas station; he could lam any time.” (Ep. 5, College)

large, n., a thousand dollars, 1972. “He said there’s twenty-five large in it if we could get him this here ‘get.’” (Ep. 3, Denial, Anger, Acceptance)

loanshark, n., someone who lends money at usurious interest, to lend money at those rates, 1905.

made guy, n., a member of the mob. “Made guy; he flipped about ten years ago. He got busted for peddling H.” (Ep. 5, College)

make, v., to initiate into a secret organization, esp. the mob, 1833.

mattresses, go to (or hit the), c.phr., to engage in a mob war, 1969, from the mattresses used for sleeping in mob hideout. “No one’s going to the mattresses this day and age.” (Ep. 4, Meadowlands)

mob, n., a criminal organization, the mafia, 1927, from an older sense of a criminal gang, 1791, originally a 17th C word for a riotous and disorganized group of people, a clipping of the Latin mobile vulgus. “We just don’t want this place to become another mob hangout like the old Vesuvio.” (Ep. 13, I Dream Of Jeannie Cusamano)

mobbed up, adj., associated with or run by organized crime, 1973. “I’m in the waste management business. Everybody immediately assumes you’re mobbed up.” (Ep. 5, College)

mobster, n., a member or an criminal organization, 1917.

Mustache Pete, n., derogatory term for the older generation of Mafiosi, originally simply a reference to any mustachioed Italian, 1938.

nut, n., a share of money from illegal activity, 1929.

O.C., n., law enforcement abbrev. for organized crime. “I been thinking about taking courses while I’m in the can, Psychology, Criminology, and maybe go give lectures at police departments on O.C..” (Ep. 25, The Knight In White Satin Armor)

omertà, n., a vow of silence, 1909, from a dialectical pronunciation of the Italian umiltà, or humility, in the Italian the term has a broader sense of submission to the Mafia hierarchy.

paesano, n., friend, from the Italian for villager.

pay tribute, v., to give a share of the profit from an illegal venture to the boss. “You know, you got a reputation for immaturity. And it’s not gonna be improved by not paying tributes the acting boss demands of you.” (Ep. 2, 46 Long)

pazzo, adj., crazy, from the Italian, often pronounced as /obætzo/ or /ubætz/. “He looked at me like I was fucking pazzo.” (Ep. 12, Isabella)

pen, the, n., prison, a clipping of penitentiary.

piece of work, n., a murder.

piece, n., a firearm, 16th C.

pinch, v., 1. to steal, 17th C; 2. to be arrested, 1837. “They were gonna pinch you for leaving the scene, but I got you out of it.” (Ep. 25, The Knight In White Satin Armor)

pop, v., to murder. “I hear Tony S’s own mother wants him popped.” (Ep. 12, Isabella)

rat, n., an informer, 1902.  “Through the mouth, the guy was a rat. The eye is just how Francis [Ford Coppola] framed the shot [in The Godfather]. For the shock value.” (Ep. 4, Meadowlands)

RICO, n., abbrev. for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 1970, a law that broadens law enforcement’s powers to investigate and prosecute organized crime.

shakedown, n., an instance of extortion, 1902, also a verb. “But it’s reparations that I seek. Why don’t we call this what it is. A shake down.” (Ep. 10, A Hit Is A Hit)

shy, n., interest charged by a loanshark, from shylock. “You tell my uncle that he gets to keep five percent, five percent of his shy, his sports betting, same with the coke. The joint fitters union, it’s all his, okay?” (Ep. 15, Do Not Resuscitate)

shylock, n., a loanshark, after the character in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, late-19th C. “Did you tell him [...] that ten cents out of every dollar that goes into his kick is directly related to your shylock business?” (Ep. 6, Pax Soprana)

sit-down, n., a meeting, esp. one to resolve a dispute. “I’m arranging a sit down for him with Hesh.” (Ep. 10, A Hit Is A Hit)

soldier, n., a rank-and-file member of a criminal organization, as in foot soldiers, 1963. “Loyal soldier, if you will, and he winds up dead ... Soldier?! Brendan Filone, associate, soldier?!” (Ep. 8, The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti)

stand-up guy, n., someone who lives up to his obligations regardless of the cost. “Your father would catch a bullet for you. Don’t you ever forget that. He’s a stand-up guy.” (Ep. 20, D-Girl)

taste, n., a share in the profits from an illegal enterprise. “Anymore Porsches disappear, make it two towns over, and I want a taste.” (Ep. 14, Guy Walks Into A Psychiatrist’s Office)

tax, v., to take a percentage of the profits from a subordinate’s illegal activities. “Are you telling me that since I’m the new boss I should tax Hesh?” (Ep. 6, Pax Soprana)

underboss, n., the second in command in a criminal organization. “Junior Soprano, alleged boss of the Jersey crime family that bears his name, was indicted today on federal racketeering charges, along with Lawrence ‘Larry Boy’ Barese, ailing alleged underboss, Joseph ‘Beppy’ Sasso, and thirteen other reputed mob figures.” (Ep. 13, I Dream Of Jeannie Cusamano)

vig, n., the interest paid to a loanshark on a loan, clipping of vigorish, 1912, probably from the Russian for earnings, via Yiddish. “The Knicks lost, lieutenant. You’re down two large. Lay off the vig?” (Ep. 4, Meadowlands)

whack, v., to murder. “What are you saying? That unconsciously she tried to whack her best friend?” (Ep. 2, 46 Long)

wiseguy, n., a member of a criminal organization. “I don’t know which is more embarrassing, to be caught in a bordello or to be caught with the wiseguy.” (Ep. 11, Nobody Knows Anything)

Words of 2003

1 January 2004

It seems as if every linguistic group or web site comes up with its own annual list of words of significance for that year. So why should we be any different? What follows is a selection of words that we believe exemplifies and symbolizes 2003. While some of these words and phrases were coined in 2003, most were not. But they all represent some aspect of the past year.

axis of weasel, n., those countries which led opposition to the war in Iraq, especially France and Germany. Interestingly, the phrase was first coined on Usenet 2002 referring to Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld. In 2003, the term was either picked up or re-coined with the newer meaning. The term is a play on Bush’s “axis of evil.”

Bennifer, n., a 2003 vogue term for celebrity couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.

coalition of the willing, n., those countries prepared go to war in Iraq, i.e., US, UK, Spain, Australia, and Italy. President Bush coined the term in November 2002.

CrackBerry, n., jocular nickname of the handheld, BlackBerry email device, so called because use of a BlackBerry and the ability to access email anywhere is addictive like crack cocaine, 2001.

curse of the Bambino, n., 2003 was another one of despair for the Boston Red Sox, who have not won a World Series since they traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920.

debaathification, n., the process of removing Baath party officials from positions of influence in Iraq. The term dates back to at least the first Iraq war in 1992 and is modeled on the denazification of Germany in the 1940s.

downer cow, n., cattle that cannot walk because it is injured or sick for some reason. The term, which dates to at least 1994, rose to prominence in December 2003 with the discovery of a BSE-infected cow in Oregon.

embed, embedded, n. & adj., a journalist who lives an travels with a military unit, accepting certain restrictions on what can be reported for access. The term is Pentagon jargon dating to 1995. The antonym, unilateral, did not catch on in the public consciousness.

fauxmosexual, n., a fashion-conscious, heterosexual male, a blend of faux + homosexual. Cf. metrosexual.

flash mob, n., a spontaneous, electronically-organized gathering in a public place for no particular purpose, a play on flash flood.

freedom fries, n., a term that epitomizes mindless, flag-waving patriotism, after an attempt by several US Representatives to rename French fries in the House cafeteria in protest of French opposition to the war.

GITMO, abbrev., Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Long a standard military abbreviation, this term came to public consciousness with the use of this base as a prison for those captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world.

Governator, n., jocular term for Arnold Schwarzenegger, a blend of governor + terminator.

-izzle, affix, used in a jocular faux-dialect similar to Pig Latin. The final syllable in a word is dropped and –izzle added in its place, e.g., fo’ sho’ becomes fo’ shizzle. The practice was started and popularized by rapper Calvin “Snoop Dogg” Broadus in 2001, but reached mainstream culture in the past year.

kinetic, going kinetic, kinetic targeting, adj., v.phr., & n., military slang opening fire or dropping bombs on a target, cf. soft targeting, or the dropping of leaflets on a target or location.

mad cow, n., popular name for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), 1989. The first case of mad cow in the United States was discovered in December 2003.

manscape, v., shaving and grooming of male body hair, coined on the TV show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, after landscaping.

metrosexual, n., a fauxmosexual.

MOAB, abbrev., acronym officially standing for mass ordnance air blast or, popularly, mother of all bombs, a 21,000 lb bomb fielded in 2003, the acronym also has Biblical associations.

old Europe, n., the traditional US allies in Europe, esp. France and Germany, as opposed to the new allies like Poland and the Czech Republic. Old Europe generally opposed the US/British war in Iraq, while new Europe generally supported the war. Coined by US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

phishing, n., a method of gathering financial or Internet account information by sending fraudulent emails to people asking for the information, a variant of fishing, influenced by phreaking. The term and practice date to at least 1996, but rose to prominence in 2003 when several major banks were victims of phishing expeditions.

punk’d, part., describes the victim of a practical joke, from the name of a 2003 MTV program that featured practical jokes played on celebrities.

quagmire, n., used in 2003 as a reference to the war in Iraq by those who believed it would lead to a bloody, unresolved mess. The term hearkens back to Vietnam.

queer eye, n., fashion sense, esp. that stereotypically exhibited by gay men, from the name of the 2003 television show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, where a team of five gay men perform a make over on a heterosexual man.

recall, n. & v., political practice in some US states that allows the removal of elected officials through petition and vote. The term dates to 1902, but the practice was little used until 2003 when California governor Gray Davis was removed from office in this manner.

roadmap, n., business jargon for a plan, in 2003 it was used as the name for a Middle East peace plan proposed by the US, Russia, the EU, and the UN.

SARS, abbrev., Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, a new respiratory disease, similar to influenza, that was epidemic in 2003.

sex-up, v., to make something more interesting or compelling than it actually is. In 2003 British PM Tony Blair and his government were accused of sexing up an intelligence dossier on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Originally a slang term meaning to add sexual content to a manuscript, 1942, it evolved to mean a more generic form of interest.

shock and awe, n., a US military strategy of demonstrating the futility of further resistance through a sudden and massive bombing campaign. Coined in 1996 by Pentagon strategists, the term came to prominence during the air war over Iraq.

SITCOM, abbrev., jocular term meaning single income, two children, oppressive mortgage, referring to a couple where one parent stays home to care for children, cf. DINK, double income no kids. The term dates to 1996.

sixteen words, n., no compilation of words associated with 2003 would be complete with reference to the infamous sixteen words spoken by President Bush in the February 2003 State of the Union message. “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” The evidence alluded to in the statement was based on a patently obvious hoax which had already been discounted by the US intelligence community.

soft berets, n., British term for signaling non-hostile intent by doffing helmets in favor of berets. 

spam, n., while hardly unique to 2003, electronic spam reached epidemic proportions this past year.

spider-hole, n., a fighting position dug into the group, esp. one used by a sniper, from the metaphorical extension of the lair of a trapdoor spider. The term dates to 1941 in military jargon and came to prominence in 2003 when the term was applied to Saddam Hussein’s hiding place. This popular usage is somewhat different than the traditional military use. The traditional sense is a place where one lies in wait to spring an ambush. Only time will tell if this new sense of a hiding place catches on.

tadpole, n. & v., a young male lover of an older woman, to take on a young male lover, e.g., Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, from a 2002 movie of that title and theme.

taikonaut, n., a Chinese astronaut. In 2003 China launched its first manned spacecraft. The term, however, dates to 2000.

yuppie food stamp, n., jocular term for a $20 bill from an ATM that gained popularity in 2003, after food stamp, the term for the US government assistance coupons. From 1996.

zhuzh, v., to arrange hair or clothing, coined on the TV show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

Annual Foot in Mouth Awards

1 January 2004

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has been awarded the “Foot in Mouth” prize by Britain’s Plain English Campaign for the most baffling comment by a public figure in the past year. The Campaign is an independent group of some 3,500 members who advocate for clear, easily understood English in public statements and documents.

Each year the campaign gives awards to examples of clear and well-constructed prose, but they also give two awards, the Foot in Mouth and Golden Bull, for impenetrable prose.

Rumsfeld won the award for the following statement, made in a February 2002 news briefing:

Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know.

Plain English Campaign spokesman John Lister said, “We think we know what he means. But we don’t know if we really know...”

Rumsfeld narrowly beat newly inaugurated California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (“I think that gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman.”) and former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten (“Having committed political suicide, the Conservative Party is now living to regret it.”)

Last year’s winner was actor Richard Gere for the following statement: “I know who I am. No one else knows who I am. If I was a giraffe and somebody said I was a snake, I’d think ‘No, actually I am a giraffe.”

There were eight different winners of the 2003 Golden Bull Award for the “year’s worst gobbledygook.”

In response to a question asking whether or not they still sold blank CDs, Jungle.com replied, “We are currently in the process of consolidating our product range to ensure that the products that we stock are indicative of our brand aspirations. As part of our range consolidation we have also decided to revisit our supplier list and employ a more intelligent system for stock acquisition. As a result of the above certain product lines are now unavailable through jungle.com, whilst potentially remaining available from more mainstream suppliers.” (Interpretation: “No.”)

In an apology for dispensing a wrong prescription, Lloyd’s Pharmacy replied, “The cognitive process that staff will go through when interpreting prescriptions and selecting drugs is almost intuitive in that the prescription will be read, a decision is then made in the mind of the individual concerned, they will then make a selection based on what they have decided. When an error is made either mentally or in the physical selection process it is difficult for the individual concerned to detect their own error because in their own mind they have made the correct selection.” (Interpretation: “We made an error.”)

On a label for Roast Chicken Salad, department store Marks & Spencer wrote, “Now With Roast Chicken,” prompting patrons to wonder what had been in it before.

Dishwasher manufacturer SMEG included the following in one of their instruction books:

• “At this point you must press contemporary the P1+P2 buttons and then you will see that the first 3 pilot light programs will lid up.’

• “during this phase the writing ‘Time to end’ flashes up.’

• “This allows to make function the dishwasher at the time you want. By pressing one after the oter button DELAY PROGRAM (5), it will be seen on the display the vizualisation of delay hours numbers in which you want to make start the machine from 12 hours onward.’

• “The display will be turned on with a vizualisation that will depend on the state of the dishwasher.’

• “By pressing the relative button of desired program (see table) it will lid up the relative pilot light to confirm that the operation did occurred on the DISPLAY (9) will appear a program duration forecasting (’h.mm’).”

In the company’s defense, SMEG spokeswoman Pauline Dewhurst replied, “SMEG UK is aware that any instruction book, however well written, is often the last point of reference when getting used to a new machine. For this reason we have produced a set of ‘Quick Start Guides’ to assist customers who are moving into new properties with several new products to get used to.” (Interpretation: “Who cares what the instruction book says? No one reads them anyway.”)

The Social Fund’s regulations for maternity and funeral expenses contained the following impenetrable statements:

For the purposes of these Regulations, a person shall be treated as a member of a polygamous relationship where, but for the fact that the relationship includes more than two persons, he would be one of a married or unmarried couple. (Interpretation: For purposes of these Regulations, persons involved in a polygamous relationship shall be treated as if they were married.)

And,

In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation bearing that number in these regulations and any reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph of that regulation bearing that number.” (Interpretation: “Numbered references are self explanatory.”)

Standard Life wrote a trust deed that included the following clause:

‘THE SETTLER HEREBY ASSIGNS unto the Original Trustees who, by their execution hereof accept the position of trustees, each of the policy or policies, particulars whereof are set out in the Schedule hereto, and the monies assured thereby and all other monies which may become payable in respect of the said policy or policies of assurance BUT ALWAYS EXCLUDING any policy or policies which may constitute a Protected Rights Fund of the Standard Life Appropriate Personal Pension Scheme or the Standard Life Stakeholder Pension Scheme (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Policies’) to hold the same unto the Original Trustees upon the irrevocable trusts hereinafter declared concerning the same.

Warburtons Bakers included the following in an advertisement:

With a launch burst of 550 TVRs—and £34m in ‘premiumisation’ opportunities—we’re confident you’ll rise to the challenge. (Interpretation: ???)

Finally, Yousef El-Deiry wrote the following for an article in JMC airline’s Intercom magazine:

As we enter the last third of the summer season, we are faced with a period of operation, which is historically characterised by pre-maturity, both in terms of psychological wind-down and shedding of temporary staff.

‘Once bitten, twice shy,’ and history shows that our bridges can so easily be burnt and the strength of current position lost, if we allow this malice to gather momentum.

The irony is that, it is in the latter stages of a race or championship that fortunes are made or lost, and where heroes are born or die, and we should be in no doubt that; ‘it ain’t over until the fat lady sings.’

You’ll forgive the poetic license of my political incorrectness in using this old adage, but it’s a poignant reminder to be cautious, since there is a real danger that our lines of defence will weaken, as our supply chain fades away with a dilution of resources, vigour and will.

However, there is a positive spin to this dilemma, from which all of us can draw strength and inspiration.

The approach, which I wish to advocate to all our ground team, is to look at the last third of the season as a ‘light at the end of the tunnel,’ the long sought-after jewel in the crown, remaining resolute to sprint to victory.

We must never doubt the difference that we can make in controlling and shaping our own destiny, which for me boils down to one fundamental question, namely leadership’ I am a firm believer that the most effective and motivating form of leadership is that by example.

Hence why I now look to our management team throughout the UK Airports, as I know our ground team will be, to lead from the front and carry the operation through to the end.

The months of September and October are vital to us securing our ground handling and on-time targets, and we must see this through to the end with conviction and pride.

Through these final stages of the race, there will never be more of a need to unite the team and draw on each other’s strength, in order to control suppliers and facilities alike, and keep the programme running smoothly.

This is ground force in its purest form, so rally the troops and show that we are a force to be reckoned with.

At least El-Deiry was good natured about winning the award, commenting, “I was told the cliches in my article were as plain as the nose on my face, but it all looked like Queen’s English to me.

More information on the Plain English Campaign and awards from past years can be found at http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/

Word of the Month: Marriage

1 January 2004

The issue of gay marriage has been much in the news of late and the topic promises to be a hot-button political issue in the 2004 US presidential election. At issue are the questions of whether and how the state should recognize homosexual unions.Therefore, our word of the month is:

marriage, n., the condition of being husband and wife, since 1975 sometimes applied to same-sex couples. Also applied to the ceremony and celebrations associated with the beginning of such a union. Also applied to other forms of relationship, often with a modifer, e.g., plural marriage. Since c.1400, the word has been applied figuratively to any close union or blending of any two things. The word dates to c.1300 and is from the Anglo-Norman mariage. Ultimately it is from the classical Latin verb maritare, to marry, used to refer to people, animals, and the crossing of grapes in viticulture and the nouns maritus/marita, husband/wife.

Currently, only Vermont allows gay couples to form “civil unions.” This statute was signed into law by Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean when he was governor of that state. In November, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that restricting marriage to heterosexual couples violates the state constitution and gave the legislature six months to rectify the inequity. In the United States, the regulation of marriage is traditionally a state function and there is little federal law on the subject. There is a 1996 law, however, that restricts marriage to heterosexual couples for purposes of federal benefits such as Social Security and pensions and gives states the ability to refuse to recognize gay marriages solemnized in other states.

Courts in Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec have ruled that heterosexual-only marriage laws are discriminatory and it appears as if Canada will rewrite its marriage laws to permit gay marriages in the coming year. At present, the Netherlands and Belgium are the only countries that grant identical marriage rights to both gays and heterosexuals.

The heart of the issue is one of semantics. What exactly do we mean by the word marriage? Regular readers of Wordorigins.org are no doubt aware that a word’s meaning is determined by usage, not etymology. If we extend the meaning of marriage to include gay unions, then that is what the word means. But it is interesting to look at where the word comes from and how it has been traditionally used.

In the following pages, we examine words that are associated with the institution of marriage.

annul, v., to reduce to nothing, to eliminate. From the Old French annulle and Latin annullare, to make into nothing. In English use since c.1400. The term is used in reference to marriage meaning to declare that a legal marriage never actually existed.

bride, n., a woman about to be or recently married. From the Old English brýd, c.1000.

civil union, n., a legal joining of two individuals that confers all the legal rights of marriage, but lacking a spiritual or religious dimension. In use since at least 1992:  “Well, marriage is not the correct word or concept; but there is indeed a project of a proposition of law [in France] for a so-called ‘civil union’ contract that would include same-sex couples.” 12 March 1992, soc.motss.

cohabit, v., to live together in sexual relationship, but without the legal sanction of marriage. Since c.1530.

common-law marriage, n., a cohabiting relationship that gains legal sanction through longevity. Common Law is the non-statutory law of England (also used as a basis for law in the United States, sans Louisiana), embodied in old commentaries and judicial precedence. Common law marriage is no longer a recognized legal concept in the United Kingdom and most of the United States. From 1909.

de facto union, n., legal term used in Quebec to denote a cohabiting relationship and the limited rights such a union has under Quebec law.

Defense of Marriage Act, prop.n., also DOMA, 1996 US federal law that exempts states from the requirement to recognize same-sex marriages granted by other states. The US Constitution requires states to give “full faith and credit” to the acts and pronouncements of other states, but also gives Congress some ability to define the parameters of such recognition. The constitutionality of DOMA is an open question.

divorce, n. & v., the legal dissolution of a marriage, the separation of any two things united things, to dissolve a marriage or other union. In English use since 1377. From the French, ultimately from the Latin divortium, which in turn is from divertere, to turn aside. This latter was specifically used in Latin to denote a woman leaving her husband.

domestic partnership, n., a legal union of two people who live together but are not necessarily in a sexual relationship. Generally, a domestic partnership laws do not confer all the rights of a marriage or civil union. In use since 1985 to denote informal arrangements and 1990 as a legal term.

engage, v., to pledge, to bind by contract (1525), specifically to bind in a promise of marriage (1727). From the French engage (en- + gage, pledge).

family, n., a group of people closely related by blood or by close emotional ties. From the Latin familia, household, famulus, servant. The current sense is relatively recent. The word has been in English use since c.1400, the original sense being the servants in a household. By 1545, the term had expanded to include the spouse and children as well as servants. By 1667 the word was being used to include only those related by blood. Related senses include those descended from a common ancestor, a house or lineage, c.1425, and a group of similar or related things, 1611.

nuclear family, n., a social unit consisting of husband and wife and their children, 1949. From the sense of nuclear meaning central, not relating to atomic theory.

gay marriage, n., a legally sanctioned homosexual union, from at least 1984.

groom, n., a man about to be or recently married, a clipping of bridegroom, from the Old English brýdguma. Guma is an Old English poetic word for man. The word was later folk-etymologized into the modern groom through association with that word meaning a type of servant.

homophobia, n., fear toward or hatred of homosexuals. From homo[sexual] + phobia, 1969.

homosexual, adj. & n., pertaining to sexual desires toward or activities with others of the same sex, those who have such desires or engage in such activities, esp. to the exclusion of heterosexual relationships. 1892, from homo- (same) + sexual.

homosexual marriage, n., a long-term cohabiting relationship between members of the same sex, also used recently to refer to a legally sanctioned union. Cited in the OED3 as early as 1955, that early citation has the word “marriage” in quotation remarks.

husband, n., a married man. From the Old English húsbonda, hús (house) + bunda, peasant. Originally (c.1000), the word meant the male head of a household, a freeholder. The current sense dates to c.1290.

lesbian, adj. & n., pertaining to female homosexuality, a female homosexual. Adjectival use is from 1890, the noun is from 1925. The term is a reference to the ancient poet Sappho, a resident of the island of Lesbos in Greece, who allegedly had female lovers (“allegedly” because very little is actually known about her other than fragments of her poetry).

life partner, n., a participant in a long-term cohabiting relationship, esp. a homosexual one. Since at least 1983.

long-time companion, a participant in a long-term cohabiting relationship, esp. a homosexual one. Since at least 1989.

matrimony, n., marriage, 1357. From the Anglo-Norman and ultimately from the Latin matri- (mother) + monium (state or condition).

nuptial, adj. & n., pertaining to marriage or the marriage ceremony, the marriage ceremony itself, 1490. From French, ultimately from the Latin nuptialis, wedding.

significant other, n., a participant in an established romantic or sexual relationship. Originally a sociological term (1940) for a person with great influence over another, the term acquired the current meaning c.1977. Often used in social situations where one wishes to be inclusive or ambiguous over the exact nature of the relationship.

inamorata, n., mistress, girlfriend. From the Italian, 1651.

mistress, n., a governess, obs. (1330); a female head of household, including women who share this authority with a man (c.1375), this sense survives mainly in the abbreviation Mrs.; a woman involved in a romantic relationship with a man, esp. one married to another (c.1425), now the primary sense; a female dominant partner in a sadomasochistic relationship, 1921. From the Anglo-Norman maistresse, the feminine counterpart to master.

fiancé/fiancée, n., a person (man/woman respectively) engaged to marry. From the French, 1853.

wed, v., to marry. From the Old English weddian, c.1000. The original English sense was to make a pledge, esp. one of marriage. Early use applied to the man only, making a pledge to support a woman. By c.1400 applied to both sexes and the mutual act.

wife, n., a married woman. From the Old English wif, c.725. Originally, the word simply meant a woman. By c.888 it had developed the modern sense of a married woman.