{"id":258,"date":"2021-05-08T12:07:50","date_gmt":"2021-05-08T17:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordofweek.com\/?p=258"},"modified":"2021-05-08T12:07:50","modified_gmt":"2021-05-08T17:07:50","slug":"word-of-the-week-56-metonym","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordofweek.com\/?p=258","title":{"rendered":"W<\/strong>ORD OF THE <\/strong>W<\/strong>EEK <\/strong>#56 \u2013 metonym<\/a><\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Regarding Abe Lincoln\u2019s marriage \u201cTheir marriage was a metonym of the divided nation.\u201d<\/em> from Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Metonym (also metonymy) is a noun defined as a name or expression used as a substitute for something else with which it is closely associated. For example: “Washington is a metonym for the federal government of the US.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is pronounced as you might say MET uh him, but substituting nim for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithin a year, the restaurant\u2019s name was a metonym<\/strong> for excellence in the art of raw fish.\u201d<\/em> New York Times<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe little glass monocle designed as corrective eyewear wound up as a comic prop, a universal\u00a0metonym<\/strong>\u00a0for wealth and snobbery<\/em>.\u201d The Atlantic

This is a perfect word for Word of the Week. Use it in your communication, and it will make you appear intelligent without sounding pretentious.\u00a0 To learn more about this word, and to hear the correct pronunciation go to the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/metonym<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going back to the initial quote from Abe regarding his marriage, it goes on to say\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd ( the metonym) carried a lesson:  a house divided could<\/u> stand if the two sides were thoroughly devoted to the union.  Just as Walt Whitman in his poetry offered companionship and affection as the panacea for the shattered America, so the Lincolns remained devoted to each other and their children despite strains on their relationship,  The strains were real.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note:\u00a0 Lincoln was a civil and trial lawyer in Springfield, Illinois from 1836 until 1860, and handled thousands of cases.\u00a0\u00a0 He traveled a rural circuit and was away from home about 50% of the time.\u00a0 It has been said that he liked being on the road.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That brings up the question: Were his absences easing or exacerbating the strain on their marriage?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And although companionship and affection might have worked out OK for the Lincolns, it  certainly did not work out well for the nation\u2026..a Civil War erupted with an estimated 700,000 dead, about 2% of the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that is a serious political divide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A previous \u201cWord of the Week\u201d revisited:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

black swan event \u2013 it comes as a surprise and has a major effect. “This pandemic is considered by many to be a black swan event.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Black_swan_theory<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A word that is not a word but should be:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

velocitude:  the feeling of wellbeing associated with being in prolonged transit.  From \u201cMating\u201d a novel by Norman Rush<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know that feeling.\u00a0 It is a good feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quote of the Week:
<\/strong>
<\/strong>\u201cPower tends to corrupt.  Absolute power corrupts absolutely\u201d<\/em>  Sir John Dalberg-Acton<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is a pretty famous quote.\u00a0 Do you agree with it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Until next Saturday,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gramps<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fifty-six weeks of great words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 –\u00a0 \u00a0exacerbate – to make worse “Your input just exacerbates an already difficult situation.”
2-\u00a0\u00a0 assuage – to make a situation or feeling less intense. “I pray our Heavenly Father may assuage you of the anguish of your grief.”.
<\/a>3 –\u00a0 \u00a0force majeure’ –\u00a0\u00a0unforeseeable circumstance that prevents someone from fulfilling a contract. “The tenant will not be required to pay rent due to the force majeure’ clause.
4 –\u00a0 \u00a0sanguine –\u00a0<\/a>optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation. “I’m trying to be\u00a0sanguine\u00a0about this, but I see a major roadblock”
5 –\u00a0 \u00a0segue – (seg way)\u00a0proceed to what follows without pause.\u00a0 “She has the skill to easily\u00a0segue from political conversations into subjects less controversial.”
6 –\u00a0 \u00a0bifurcate –\u00a0to cause to divide into two branches or parts. “We have decided to bifurcate this large project.”
7 –\u00a0 \u00a0indolent –\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>habitually lazy – “His failure in life may stem from his indolent ways as a youth”.
8 –\u00a0 \u00a0ameliorate –\u00a0to make better or more tolerable\u00a0–\u00a0\u00a0“this drug should ameliorate your pain”
9 –\u00a0<\/a> truncate -to shorten by or as if by cutting off – “A truncated version of this report is on the web.”
10 – nascent –\u00a0<\/a>coming or having recently come into existence\u00a0\u00a0“His nascent idea for a business turned into a goldmine”
11 – b\u00e9chamel – a rich white sauce – “He made a lump-free b\u00e9chamel for her, and, in return, she gave him her love.”
12 – anarchy –\u00a0 absence of government – “The revolution began when anarchy took root in just one city”.
13 – rhetorical question – a question not intended to require an answer. “Is this a beautiful day or what?”
14 – milieu –\u00a0the physical or social setting in which something occurs or develops.- “His discipline is a result of growing up as part of the military milieu”
15 – nadir – the lowest point – “The stock market reached its current nadir in March”
16 – black swan event – comes as a surprise and has a major effect. “This pandemic is considered by many to be a black swan event.”
17 – myopic –\u00a0narrow in perspective and without concern for broader implications.\u00a0 “Your myopic view of this project is disturbing”.
18 – quixotic –\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>foolishly impractical\u00a0especially in the pursuit of ideals – “His quixotic pursuit for her affection was quite simply foolish.”
19 – prescience –\u00a0human anticipation of the course of events – foresight.\u00a0 “His intuitive prescience helped to make him a success”
20 – laconic and laconic riposte – use of a minimum of words, and a short clever response to an insult or challenge.\u00a0 In response to a demand to\u00a0immediately\u00a0surrender\u00a0he sent back the following: “Nuts”.
21 – protean – ability to change, versatile.\u00a0 “The coronavirus is protean in its ability to either make you sick or not.”
22 – ephemeral – lasting a very short time or perhaps only one day. “Custer was chasing an ephemeral Indian city.”
23 – catch-22 –\u00a0a dilemma or difficult\u00a0circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions.\u00a0 From the novel “Catch-22”.
24 – arrogate –\u00a0to take or claim something without justification. “In order to accomplish his dream he arrogated to himself controversial powers”.
25 – obtuse – difficult to understand, lacking intellect.\u00a0 “The responses to his remarks this week were even more obtuse.”\u00a0
26 –\u00a0purloin –\u00a0to appropriate wrongfully (steal), often pertaining to a theft that is a breach of trust.\u00a0 “When she opened her new office she purloined one of my listings”.
27 – salience –\u00a0the quality of being particularly\u00a0noticeable\u00a0or important.\u00a0\u00a0“It is not clear that raising the electoral salience of the Supreme Court will work to the president\u2019s advantage.
28 – confabulate – to talk normally or to hold a discussion.\u00a0 “He likes to confabulate.”
29 – animus – a usually prejudiced and often spiteful or malevolent ill will. \u201cI have no animus or agenda for the Affordable Care Act.\u201d
30 \u2013 puerile – to act or communicate in a juvenile, silly or childish manner. \u201cHis puerile ways are giving a poor impression at his job interviews\u201d.
31 \u2013 regnant – having the greatest influence – \u201cThe regnant belief\u201d.
32 \u2013 roil \u2013 to be agitated or chaotic \u2013 \u201cthe politics of slavery was roiling the United States\u201d.
33 \u2013 sonder – The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.
34 \u2013 inculcate – To instill or teach someone an attitude, idea, or habit by persistent instruction. \u201cThey will try to inculcate you with a respect for culture.\u201d
35 \u2013 mendacity \u2013 untruthfulness, lying. \u201cHe blew the whistle on the mendacity of the politician.\u201d
36 \u2013 pejorative \u2013 Expressing contempt or disapproval.\u00a0 Having negative connotations.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPermissiveness is often used a pejorative term\u201d.
37 \u2013 dystopian \u2013 A world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized fearful lives, often associated with a totalitarian government or an environmentally degraded world. \u201cThe dystopian future of a society bereft of reason\u201d.
38 \u2013 Occam\u2019s razor \u2013 The simplest answer may be the preferred answer.
39 \u2013 execrate or execrable \u2013 very bad \u2013 \u201cThe execrable hotel food.\u201d
40 \u2013 immutable \u2013 unchangeable \u2013 Do not make the mistake of assuming that public opinion is immutable.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
41 \u2013 prurient – having or encouraging an excessive or unwholesome interest in matters of sex.\u00a0
\u00a0\u201cShe\u2019d been the subject of much prurient <\/em><\/strong>curiosity\u201d.
42 \u2013 obsequious – exhibiting fawning attentiveness. Exaggerated deference of manner.\u00a0 \u201cWaiters who are obsequious in the presence of celebrities.\u201d
43 \u2013 iconoclast –\u00a0 a person who attacks settled beliefs or institutions \u201cHe was a prolific writer with a reputation for iconoclastic insight and irreverent prose.\u201d
44 \u2013 oblique – something not parallel nor at a right angle to a specified or implied line \u2013 slanting.
\u201cWe sat on the settee oblique to the fireplace. Or something not done in a direct way such as \u201cHe issued an oblique attack on the president\u201d.
45 \u2013 profligate \u2013 wasteful \u2013 wildly extravagant.\u00a0 \u201cHe has always been a profligate spender, which is why he is broke.\u201d
46 – raconteur \u2013 a good teller of stories.\u00a0 \u201cWe always invite her to dinner because she is a fine raconteur\u201d.
47 \u2013 taciturn – a person who is reserved or uncommunicative in speech\u2026saying little.\u00a0 It usually connotes unsociability. \u201cNothing bothered the taciturn <\/strong>Hogan more that excessive praise.\u201d<\/em>
48 \u2013 fungible – capable of mutual substitution: interchangeable\/\u00a0 \u201cThe court’s postulate is that male and female jurors must be regarded as\u00a0fungible<\/strong>.\u201d
<\/em>49 \u2013 filibuster – The use of tactics in an attempt to delay or prevent action especially in a legislative assembly. This currently requires a 60 vote Senate majority. \u201cThey stopped the bill from coming to a vote by the use of a filibuster\u201d.
<\/em>50 \u2013 hegemony – preponderant influence or authority over others: Domination. \u201cThey battled for hegemony in Asia.\u201d<\/em>
51 \u2013 de facto – being such in effect though not formally recognized or contrary to established law \u201ca de facto state of war\u201d <\/em>for a war that has not been officially declared.
52 \u2013 blockchain \u2013 an open, distributed leger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way.
53 \u2013 b\u00eate noire \u2013 A person or thing one particularly dislikes or is strongly detested. \u201cThe abuse of women was a b\u00eate noire for Lincoln.\u201d
54 \u2013 evince -\u201cto constitute outward evidence of\u2026.to display clearly: reveal. \u201cHe evinced a depraved mind.\u201d
55 \u2013 virago – a loud overbearing woman.\u00a0 Domineering, violent, or bad tempered. \u201cDemocrats, on the other hand, saw Jessie as a Republican virago.\u201d
56 \u2013 metonym – \u00a0a name, or expression used as a substitute for something else with which it is closely associated. \u201cWashington\u00a0is a metonym for the federal government of the US.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 –<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Regarding Abe Lincoln\u2019s marriage \u201cTheir marriage was a metonym of the divided nation.\u201d from Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times. Metonym (also metonymy) is a noun defined as a name or expression used as a substitute for something else with which it is closely associated. For example: “Washington is a metonym for the federal government … Continue reading W<\/strong>ORD OF THE <\/strong>W<\/strong>EEK <\/strong>#56 \u2013 metonym<\/a><\/strong><\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordofweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordofweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordofweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordofweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordofweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=258"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wordofweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":264,"href":"https:\/\/wordofweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258\/revisions\/264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordofweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordofweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordofweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}