the mensa book of words abbie salny

BOOK OF WORDS, PUZZLES І ODDITIES... The Mensa Book of Words, Word Games, Puzzles & Oddities... The Mensa Book of Words, Word Games, Puzzles & Oddities... To Jerry Salny, as always, and

BOOK OF WORDS, PUZZLES І ODDITIES

The Mensa Book of Words,

Word Games, Puzzles & Oddities

The Mensa Book

of Words, Word Games, Puzzles & Oddities

To Jerry Salny, as always, and to fellow Mensans Roberta Rubin, M.D., and Barnett Zumoff, M.D.,for helpful words

THE MENSA BOOK OF WORDS, WORD GAMES, PUZZLES & ODDITIES. Copyright © 1988 by

Dr Abbie F Salny All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied

in critical articles and reviews For information address Harper & Row, lishers, Inc., 10 East 53rd Street, New York, N.Y 10022 Published simulta- neously in Canada by Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, Toronto

Pub-Designer: C Linda Dingier

Copy editor: Abigail Bok

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Salny, Abbie F

The Mensa book of words, word games, puzzles & oddities

1 Vocabulary 2 English language—Etymology—Miscellanea 3 Word games 4 Puzzles I Title

PE1449.S283 1988 428.1 87-45661

ISBN 0-06-096208-9 (pbk.)

88 89 90 91 92 FG 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

CONTENTS

Foreword vii

Introduction 1

1 Words, Words, and More Words 5

How many common and not so common words came to have their present meanings, how the rest of the world changed our language, and how some people turned into things

2 "That's Not English!" 87

Derivations: Why do we sometimes say "d.v." instead of

"knock on wood"? What is an "amicus curiae," and if you order a dish a la Crecy, what are you most likely to find in it?

3 Misunderstood, Mispronounced, and

Misused 112

Words that are so common most of us don't realize they're being used incorrectly—unless words are your forte (pronounced f o r t , not f o r t - a y , unless you are playing music)

Puzzles and Games 131

How Smart Are You? 145

2 INTRODUCTION

o l d j o k e , a t l e a s t 8 0 , 0 0 1 o p i n i o n s A l t h o u g h t h e M e n s a C o n

s t i t u t i o n s t r i c t l y f o r b i d s M e n s a i t s e l f f r o m e x p r e s s i n g a n o p i n

-i o n , l -i k e - m -i n d e d M e n s a n s h a v e f o r m e d S p e c -i a l I n t e r e s t G r o u p s (SIGs) t o e x c h a n g e i d e a s , u s u a l l y b y m a i l A t l a s t c o u n t w e

b F r o m J o h n Admiralis, a n e a r l y English sea l o r d w h o w a s

r e s p o n s i b l e for f o u n d i n g t h e British Navy

b A particularly bitter drink, a s c o m p a r e d to t h e usual a p e r

-itif, w h i c h is often s e m i s w e e t or, at m o s t , slightly d r y

b Atlas's p i c t u r e a p p e a r e d o n t h e first w i d e l y sold b o o k o f

m a p s , a n d p e o p l e got into t h e habit o f calling it " t h e Atlas,"

b F r o m Captain C h a r l e s Boycott, a l a n d a g e n t in Ireland w h o

m a d e h i m s e l f so u n p o p u l a r that after h a v i n g his life p r o

c F r o m t h e Latin w o r d calculus, "little s t o n e "

30 C A M E L L I A A g e n u s o f e v e r g r e e n closely akin to tea, n o t e d

f o r t h e i r beautiful flowers; a n d t h e s h r u b o f this n a m e

a F r o m Latin camellus, a s t h e leaves h a v e a h u m p resembling

14 THE MENSA B O O K OF W O R D S

b F r o m t h e n a m e given to this style o f t e a c h i n g a n d l e a r n i n g

b y t h e p h i l o s o p h e r C a t e c h i s m u s o f t h e University o f logna in t h e f o u r t e e n t h c e n t u r y

Bo-c Via Latin, f r o m t h e G r e e k roots o f " s o u n d " a n d " b a c k , "

c F r o m t h e Clink Prison o n Clink Street in S o u t h w a r k ,

L o n d o n

37 C O A C H A v e h i c l e ; a private cabin; a m o t o r b u s ; a

four-w h e e l e d special private c a r r i a g e , usually f o r state o c c a s i o n s ,

w e r e activated b y t h e spirit o f t h e s e little d e m o n s

c F r o m the discoverer o f this element, Nicholas Coball ( 1 8 7 1

-1903), w h o h a d it n a m e d after h i m following his early death

from e x p o s u r e to Cobalt 60, a radioactive f o r m

39 C O F F E E Now, t h e p o w d e r m a d e from grinding t h e coffee

16 THE MENSA B O O K OF WORDS

c F r o m Latin, d e r i v e d from cyprium, b e c a u s e it w a s

-c English legal t e r m r e g a r d i n g t h e right o f t h e State to ulate travel in t h e streets

b T h e geologic t e r m for alluvial deposits o f this t y p e

c F r o m t h e G r e e k letter delta, s h a p e d like a triangle, a s t h e

Nile Delta h a s that s h a p e ( m a n y o t h e r s d o not); a n d t h e

a unit o f m o n e t a r y value b y m a n y countries, including Canada,

Australia, N e w Z e a l a n d , a n d t h e United States

18 THE MENSA BOOK OF WORDS

-c F r o m t h e Old E n g l i s h eorl, m e a n i n g " w a r r i o r " ; originally

from t h e Old Norse s p o k e n b y t h e Vikings

c Originally it w a s called b y t h e s a m e n a m e as a c a m e l ,

ap-p a r e n t l y o n t h e t h e o r y that all exotic a n i m a l s w e r e t h e

s a m e

5 3 E N E M Y O n e w h o h a t e s o r dislikes (as a n o u n ) ; hating (as a n

adjective)

a F r o m t h e Latin w o r d m e a n i n g " t h e opposite o f a friend"

b F r o m Old English, m e a n i n g " h a t r e d instilled b y b l o o d "

c S o u r c e u n k n o w n — a p p e a r e d first in t h e King J a m e s

trans-lation o f t h e Bible, as a substitute for t h e word foe

54 E N G I N E E R O n e w h o designs, m a k e s , p u t s to practical use,

2 0 THE MENSA BOOK OF WORDS

t h e Paris street called F r a n c - B o u r g e o i s , o r " f r e e c i t i z e n s "

b F r o m t h e F r e n c h usage o f the coin, a n y m o n e y from F r a n c e

b o t h t h e Milky W a y a n d similar a s s e m b l a g e s o f stars

c F r o m a n early a s t r o n o m e r , Petrus Galax (al-Galax in Arabic)

67 GAS A s u b s t a n c e that h a s n o fixed v o l u m e o r s p a c e , b u t c a n

e x p a n d ; often o n e that is in this c o n d i t i o n u n d e r n o r m a l

ter-restrial conditions (also t h e A m e r i c a n c o n t r a c t i o n for

2 2 THE MENSA BOOK OF WORDS

c F r o m the Old English gunariter, m e a n i n g "to hold in p l a c e "

c F r o m t h e fact that it w a s s u c h a h i g h c a r r i a g e (as y o u c a n

s e e from t h e illustrations o f t h e time) that it w a s n e c e s s a r y

to h a n d p e o p l e in a n d out o f t h e c a b , as it w a s impossible

to d o so w i t h o u t a " h a n d " o r assistance

77 H A Z A R D An old dicing g a m e ; c h a n c e ; a c c i d e n t

a Old F r e n c h hasard, p r o b a b l y from Arabic al-zahr, t h e die;

o n e s t o r y h a s it that it is from Hasart, a castle in Syria,

78 H E A V I S I D E L A Y E R A strongly ionized r e g i o n about sixty

miles u p in t h e a t m o s p h e r e , from w h i c h radio w a v e s a r e

reflected

a F r o m t h e fact that this l a y e r is so h e a v y that t h e w a v e s

b o u n c e right b a c k , not light like t h e rest o f t h e a t m o s p h e r e

b F r o m O Heaviside (and A E Kennelly) w h o i n f e r r e d t h e

e x i s t e n c e o f this l a y e r originally; s o m e t i m e s called t h e

Kennelly-Heaviside l a y e r

c T h e r e is a m u c h lighter l a y e r o f a t m o s p h e r e a b o v e it, t h e

Lightside layer, a n d this w a s n a m e d in c o n t r a s t

7 9 K I O S K ( s o m e t i m e s K Y O S K ) A small pavilion f o r t h e sale o f

p a p e r s , c a n d i e s , tickets, a n d so on, e i t h e r inside o r outside a

building; a small r o o f e d stall (in Britain, a t e l e p h o n e box)

a F r o m t h e Old F r e n c h ciosce, t h r o u g h t h e Italian, m e a n i n g

" p a v i l i o n "

b F r o m t h e C h i c a g o W o r l d ' s Fair in 1892, w h e r e t h e w o r d

w a s i n v e n t e d f o r t h e gaily d e c o r a t e d small b o o t h s selling

s o u v e n i r s

THE MENSA BOOK OF WORDS

c F r o m t h e T u r k i s h , via Persian, keushk, a small pavilion

b F r o m Old English ladye, m e a n i n g t h e w i f e o f a lorde

c F r o m t h e Old English w o r d , n o w lost, dige, c o u p l e d w i t h hlaef, t h e w h o l e w o r d hlaefdige m e a n i n g " d o u g h k n e a d e r "

L A R V A An animal in a n i m m a t u r e b u t active state that differs

m a r k e d l y from a n adult o f t h e s a m e species; f o r e x a m p l e , a caterpillar a n d a m o t h o r butterfly

a F r o m t h e Latin f o r " s m a l l active a n i m a l " : larval

b N a m e given b y D a r w i n as part o f his t h e o r y o f evolution

c F r o m Old English " w e a k , " via lyftadl, " p a r a l y s i s "

87 L E I S U R E T i m e free from e m p l o y m e n t ; free from n e c e s s a r y

26 THE MENSA B O O K OF WORDS

8 9 L I N O L E U M A floor c o v e r i n g m a d e from a fabric that h a s

b e e n i m p r e g n a t e d w i t h a m i x t u r e o f resins, fillers (usually cork),

c F r o m Old English a n d G e r m a n : Luft, " t h e a i r "

9 1 LONGAN A p a r t i c u l a r t y p e o f t r e e ; its fruit, s o m e t h i n g like

b After Lutetia in Italy, w h e r e t h e original settlers h a d lived

c F r o m Latin Lutetia Parisiorum, " t h e m u d t o w n o f t h e

Par-isii" (lutum m e a n s " m u d " in Latin)

96 LYNCH T o j u d g e a n d put to death w i t h o u t benefit o f a formal

trial

a F r o m t h e p r a c t i c e o f h a n g i n g p e o p l e from a nailed-up

l i n c h p i n

b F r o m a w o r d i n v e n t e d b y S h a k e s p e a r e in o n e o f his plays,

indicating this sort o f action

c F r o m Captain William L y n c h o f Virginia

99 M A C H Usually " M a c h n u m b e r , " t h e ratio o f t h e air s p e e d o f

a n aircraft to t h e velocity o f s o u n d u n d e r p a r t i c u l a r conditions

28 THE MENSA B O O K OF WORDS

-c F r o m t h e earliest f o r m o f c o m p a s s , i n v e n t e d b y a n vidual u n k n o w n e x c e p t f o r his n a m e , M a g n e t u s

indi-102 MAGNOLIA An Asiatic a n d A m e r i c a n g e n u s o f t r e e s w i t h

beautiful large solitary flowers a n d lovely foliage

a F r o m M a g n o l u s , in t h e Near East, w h e r e t h e t r e e s first

30 THE MENSA B O O K OF WORDS

b F r o m t h e n a m e o f t h e m a n , J o h a n n e s M a r a s h k , w h o s e family b u s i n e s s first m a d e t h e l i q u e u r u n d e r his supervi-sion in 1 5 8 6

c F r o m Italian marasca, o r amarasca, " a s o u r c h e r r y , " from

t h e Latin amarus, " b i t t e r "

1 1 1 M A R K E T A p l a c e w h e r e g o o d s a r e sold; to sell goods o r

ser-vices; a building, s q u a r e , o r o t h e r public place u s e d f o r s u c h

a W h e n M a r y , Q u e e n o f Scots, w a s ill, this w a s t h e o n l y food

s h e w o u l d eat, h e n c e it w a s called " M a r i e M a l a d e " (sick Mary)

b Via t h e F r e n c h , t h r o u g h P o r t u g u e s e , marmelada, " a

q u i n c e , " originally from Latin melimelon, " a h o n e y a p p l e "

c F r o m t h e Old English m e a n i n g " t o c o o k fruit"

c o m p a n y , o r similar official

a F r o m marscal, " a l e a d e r , " Arabic, a w o r d p i c k e d u p at t h e

t i m e o f t h e C r u s a d e s

a Via S p a n i s h matador, d e r i v e d from t h e v e r b matar, " t o

kill," from Latin mactare, o n e m e a n i n g o f w h i c h is " t o kill

for a sacrificial h o n o r , " from mactus, " h o n o r e d "

a college o r university o r series o f lectures, a n d so o n

a F r o m t h e original r o o t f o r m o t h e r , mater, as colleges a n d

universities a r e often called a l m a m a t e r (dear m o t h e r )

b F r o m t h e diminutive o f matrix in medieval Latin, matricula

c F r o m matriculos, m e a n i n g " a c o u r s e o f s t u d i e s , " m e d i e v a l

Latin

32 THE MENSA B O O K OF WORDS

b Linguists p i c k e d t h e t w o easiest s o u n d s to h e a r a n d tify, a n d t h e y w e r e universally a d o p t e d

127 M E S M E R I Z E Usually u s e d r a t h e r loosely as to fascinate,

d o m i n a t e , o r fix t h e attention of; actually to put into a state o f

34 THE MENSA B O O K OF WORDS

c D e r i v e d from Latin, t h r o u g h early F r e n c h , via Middle

En-glish, from meticulum, m e a n i n g " a n o v e r s e e r "

c F r o m Old English meal, " m i l e p o s t , " m a r k i n g off d i s t a n c e s

1 3 1 MILLINER A m a k e r a n d / o r seller o f w o m e n ' s hats, h e a d g e a r ,

c F r o m Milaner, s o m e o n e w h o t r a d e d in g o o d s from Milan,

particularly d e c o r a t i v e r i b b o n s a n d t h e like u s e d in

trim-m i n g h a t s f o r ladies

W O R D S , W O R D S , AND M O R E W O R D S 35

132 M I N I A T U R E Now, c o m m o n l y , a painting o n a v e r y small

scale; a n y t h i n g r e d u c e d in size

a F r o m t h e Italian miniatura, Latin minium, m e a n i n g " r e d

lead," u s e d for m a n u s c r i p t illumination (meaning c h a n g e d

b y association w i t h mini, " s m a l l " )

b F r o m t h e o b v i o u s m e a n i n g o f t h e Latin mini, m e a n i n g

" s m a l l "

c F r o m t h e f a m o u s p a i n t e r o f tiny portraits o n ivory, G

Miniaturae, w h o d e v e l o p e d (ca 1650) this special f o r m o f p o r

-traiture f o r n e c k l a c e p e n d a n t s

133 M I S E R I C O R D Now, usually, a b r a c k e t o n a t u r n - u p seat o n

a p e r m a n e n t p e w in c h u r c h c h o i r o r o t h e r location

a F r o m Latin miserere, m e a n i n g " t o suffer," p o p u l a r slang

o f the time for sitting, standing, o r kneeling in a cold, drafty

36 THE MENSA BOOK OF WORDS

c F r o m t h e Old English moeb, m e a n i n g " t o a s s e m b l e

b F r o m t h e Norse mord, " o w i n g , " plus gagne, " m o n e y "

c Old F r e n c h mort, " d e a d , " a n d gage, " a p l e d g e "

140 M U S C L E T h e tissue f o r m i n g a contractile structure b y w h i c h

m o v e m e n t o f t h e b o d y is effected

a F r o m Latin musculus, " a m u s c l e , a m o u s e "

b F r o m t h e Old F r e n c h muscleiller, " t o c o n t r a c t "

c F r o m t h e Norse muskelum, " t o p e r s p i r e "