Word of the day September 1
 

The Word of the Day for September 1 is:

vermicular • \ver-MIH-kyuh-ler\ • (adjective) 1a. resembling a worm in form or motion; 1b. vermiculate; 2. of, relating to, or caused by worms

A little more information about today’s word:
What does the word "vermicular" have in common with the pasta on your plate? If you're eating vermicelli (a spaghetti-like pasta made in long thin strings) the answer is "vermis," a Latin noun meaning "worm." If you dig deep enough, you'll find that "vermis" is the root underlying not only "vermicular" and "vermicelli," but also "vermiculate" (which can mean either "full of worms" or "tortuous") and even "worm" itself.

My sentence (using definition #1a):
Viewed from above, the stream's vermicular course undulated across the landscape, winding and twisting like a living thing.

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition.

Next sentence?

The growing conditions were perfect for grapes with a fine vermicular loam for planting.

The gentleman, who's name was Frankie, except on stage (which he was), where he worked as "Farmer Bob", flung his overalls over Doris' head and continued gyrating awkwardly to the strains of the banjo piece from "Deliverance", while Doris noted the vermicular behaviour of his less-than-impressive appendage and wondered if there wasn't a joke about worm farming in there somewhere.

The vermicular mountain pass was considered a dangerous route to take.

My mouse cord, is quite often vermicular in shape.

His thoughts resembled a vermicular trail...meadering this way and that.

Word of the day September 2
 

The Word of the Day for September 2 is:

Dunkirk • \DUN-kerk\ • (noun) 1. a retreat to avoid total defeat; 2. a crisis situation that requires a desperate last effort to forestall certain failure

A little more information about today’s word:
"Dunkirk" is the English spelling of the name of the French town of Dunkerque, which is located on the Dover Strait near the Belgian border. In 1940, Dunkerque was the scene of a massive evacuation of Allied forces to England after the fall of France to Germany during World War II. Death seemed certain for the 300,000 soldiers who had retreated to Dunkerque until hundreds of naval and civilian vessels arrived to ferry them to safety. The impact of the event was so great that within a year "Dunkirk" was being used for any military retreat carried out to avoid total defeat. Soon after, the word was extended beyond the military sphere and it is now used for any crisis that needs a miracle to save the day.

My sentence (using definition #2):
"In 1981, [President Ronald] Reagan said the country faced an 'economic Dunkirk' if tax rates weren't slashed."
-- Fred Barnes, The Weekly Standard, April 9, 2001

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition.

Next sentence?

If it wasn't for a role in an acclaimed movie, the actor was about to face the Dunkirk of his career after a string of bad movies.

Gibson stepped up to the plate and said to himself: “You’re not dunkirk , hit one out of here now and you’ll be immortalized!”

President Kennedy faced a Dunkirk when the Russians blocked off Berlin but he saved the day with a contasnt airlift of supplies.

It seems that his stomach problems had a vermicular cause.

I faced a Dunkirk when I said she didn't look fat in that dress.

Word of the day September 3
 

The Word of the Day for September 3 is:

Davy Jones's locker • \day-vee-joanz-LAH-ker\ • (noun) the bottom of the ocean

A little more information about today’s word:
Was there a real Davy Jones? Folks have been pondering that question for centuries. Sailors have long used "Davy Jones" as the name of a personified evil spirit of the ocean depths, but no one knows exactly why. Some claim the original Davy Jones was a British pirate, but the evidence that this person existed is lacking. Others swear he was a London pub owner who kept drugged ale in a special locker, served it to the unwary, then had them shanghaied. But the theory considered most plausible is that "Davy" was inspired by St. David, the patron saint of Wales. (St. David was often invoked by Welsh sailors.) "Jones" is traced to Jonah, the biblical figure who was swallowed by a whale.

My sentence:
The old seaman shook his head sadly and said, "That ship was sunk on a reef three years ago, and every poor soul aboard sent to Davy Jones's locker."

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition.

Next sentence?

It seems that most pirate movies have someone about to walk the plank to go to Davy Jones's locker.

The handsome young pirate was caught sleeping with the captains wife so the captain order that he be tied to a anchor and dropped into Davy Jones Locker.
Needless to say none of the crew tried that again.

Because of her incessant infidelity, I vowed that she would never
see the light of davy jones’s locker in her room till she’s an old woman.

Word of the day September 4
 

The Word of the Day for September 4 is:

osculate • \AHSS-kyuh-layt\ • (verb) kiss

A little more information about today’s word:
"Osculate" comes from the Latin noun "osculum," meaning "kiss" or "little mouth." It was included in a dictionary of "hard" words in 1656, but we have no evidence that anyone actually used it until the 19th century (except for scientists who used it differently, to mean "contact"). Would any modern writer use "osculate"? Ben Macintyre did. In a May 2003 (London) Times piece entitled "Yes, It's True, I Kissed the Prime Minister's Wife," Macintyre wrote, "Assuming this must be someone I knew really quite well, I screeched 'How are you,' . . . and leant forward preparatory to giving her a chummy double-smacker . . . Perhaps being osculated by lunatics you have never seen before is one of the trials of being a Prime Minister's wife. She took it very well. "

My sentence:
"I've been osculated to death," Kevin complained, wiping his cheeks to remove the vestiges of kisses planted there by adoring aunts and cousins on his wedding day.

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition.

Next sentence?

After being apart for months the young couple spent twenty minutes osculating in the airport lobby.

I agree, I did osculate , the timing just wasn't right to ask you any sooner.

At the reception, people kept hitting thier forks against the side of their glasses to get the newlyweds to osculate.

Never try to osculate with an oscillating fan.

Word of the day September 5
 

The Word of the Day for September 5 is:

antebellum • \an-tih-BEH-lum\ • (adjective) existing before a war; especially existing before the Civil War

A little more information about today’s word:
"Antebellum" means "before the war," but it wasn't widely associated with the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865) until after that conflict was over. It comes from the Latin phrase "ante bellum" (literally, "before the war"). Although it did appear in at least one publication around 1847, that reference clearly wasn't to the War Between the States. The term's earliest known association with the Civil War is found in an 1862 diary entry: "Her face was placid and unmoved, as in antebellum days." The author of that line, Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut, recorded the observation of life during the Civil War while accompanying her husband, an officer in the Confederate army, on one of his missions.

My sentence:
Gone With the Wind, published June 30, 1936, follows Scarlett O'Hara from her life of privilege in the antebellum South, through the hardships of the Civil War, and into the post-war reconstruction period.

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition.

Next sentence?

antebellum · \an-tih-BEH-lum\ · (verb) the act of un-ringing a bell; especially when you have said or done something that you really regret

A little more information about todays word:

You’ve all told the boss to take a leap…then decided that that was not the proper thing to say. Therefore you decide to “antebellum”.

The problem is that you just can’t “antebellum”…you can’t un-ring a bell, otherwise it would be a different world now, wouldn’t it?

My sentence:

I joined the Marines when I was 18, if I could antebellum , I might have chosen the Air Force or the Navy.

There is far too much romanticism based around the antebellum South.

For many people antebellum times are more innocent times.

I always seem to cry in the movies when the lovelorn couple finally meet up and osculate.

My rich uncle built a boat and the first day he put it in the water it sank straight down to Davy Jones's Locker.

There was a very tense period during the antebellum period as the two countries became more hostile.

Word of the day September 8
 

The Word of the Day for September 8 is:

shanghai • \SHANG-hye\ • (verb) to force aboard a ship for service as a sailor; also to trick or force into an undesirable position

A little more information about today’s word:
In the 1800s, long sea voyages were very difficult and dangerous, so people were understandably hesitant to become sailors. But sea captains and shipping companies needed crews to sail their ships, so they gathered sailors any way they could—even if that meant resorting to kidnapping by physical force or with the help of liquor or drugs. The word "shanghai" comes from the name of the Chinese city of Shanghai. People started to use the city's name for that unscrupulous way of obtaining sailors because the East was often a destination of ships that had kidnapped men onboard as crew.

My sentence:
"I'm being shanghaied!" cried Uncle Jim at the family picnic when Aunt Marie pulled him away from the volleyball game to start the barbecue.

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition.

Next sentence?

Jane shanghaied John into helping her move.

The bartender Mikey Finn was known for drugging mens drinks and then shanghaing them into the British Navy.

I have to shanghai the kids to get them to go to the dentist.

Due to an unfortunate incident involving me webbles, I
shanghai ,and was thereafter dubbed a soprano.

Word of the day September 9
 

The Word of the Day for September 9 is:

viand • \VYE-und\ • (noun) 1. an item of food; especially a choice or tasty dish; 2. plural: provisions, food

A little more information about today’s word:
Are you someone who eats to live, or someone who lives to eat? Either way, you'll find that the etymology of "viand" reflects the close link between food and life. "Viand" entered English in the 15th century from Anglo-French ("viande" means "meat" even in modern French), and it derives ultimately from the Latin "vivere," meaning "to live." "Vivere" is the ancestor of a number of other lively and life-giving words in English, including "victual," "revive," "survive," "convivial," and "vivacious."

My sentence (using definition #2):
Adam couldn't help smiling as he read the opening line of the invitation to the Smith's annual wine-tasting and dinner party: "Join Us for Vino and Viands."

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition.

Next sentence?

Viand da vorld didn’t you vait for me? (I vas just vashing my Veimaraner!)

The viand of the day at the diner was always a favorite among the customers.

Life is about amour, joy, music and viands.

Word of the day September 10
 

The Word of the Day for September 10 is:

rotisserie • \roh-TIH-suh-ree\ • (adjective) of, relating to, or being a sports league consisting of imaginary teams whose performance is based on the statistics of actual players

A little more information about today’s word:
Fantasy sports such as rotisserie baseball have become popular even among lukewarm sports fans. First invented in 1979 by publishing consultant Daniel Okrent, rotisserie baseball allows fans a way to follow their pastime interactively by compiling teams of real-life players and rating the success of their team based on those players. We can attribute this new sense of the word "rotisserie" to La Rotisserie Francaise, the now-defunct Manhattan restaurant where Okrent and his fellow rotisserie buffs first gathered to perfect the rules of the game and to compare statistics. Variations of the game have since spread to a number of other major sports (including football and basketball), and the word "rotisserie" is applied to these games as well.

My sentence:
Miguel watched the game intently, rooting not only for the home club but also the players on his rotisserie team.

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition.

Next sentence?

It's difficult starting a rotisserie football team because one can never really tell how well a team will do in the NFL.

When putting together a rotisserie one shouldn't go entirely by statistics, numbers rarely tell the whole story.