A Word A Day

Want to learn a new word a day? A Word A Day publishes a daily email with a word, it's definition, an example and and an audio pronunciation.

Here is a recent example:

A.Word.A.Day--jabberwocky

This week's theme: Yours to discover.

Why did I select these words (anthropomorphize, kafkaesque, excursive, dysphagia and jabberwocky) this week? If you know the answer, email it to (puzzle at wordsmith.org). One answer per person, please. The first reader to uncover the plot will receive an autographed copy of my new book "The Dord, the Diglot, and an Avocado or Two: The Hidden Lives and Strange Origins of Common and Not-So-Common Words". So will another reader randomly selected from all the correct answers.

jabberwocky (JAB-uhr-wok-ee) noun

Meaningless speech or writing.

[After Jabberwocky, a nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll which was part of his novel Through the Looking Glass (1871).]

The poem Jabberwocky is filled with made-up words, yet it has been translated into dozens of languages. Not bad for a nonsensical poem. Original, translations.

-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)

"To the Steelers, [Joey] Porter trying to outtalk them would be so much jabberwocky, nonsensical ramblings that cause no impact and only sound foolish." Alan Robinson; Sound of Silence; Associated Press; Nov 23, 2007.

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