Being my first visit to an active volcano, I wanted to get smashmouth of the crater for a souvenir.

A lot of teams like to play smashmouth football, running the ball and letting the defense create opportunities.

Word of the day October 22
 

The Word of the Day for October 22 is:

synecdoche • \suh-NEK-duh-kee\ • (noun) a figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole or vice versa, the species for the genus or vice versa, or the name of the material for the thing made

A little more information about today’s word:
"Synecdoche," from Greek "syn-" ("together") and "ekdochē" ("interpretation"), is a good word to know if you are a budding author. Writers, and especially poets, use synecdoche in several different ways to create vivid imagery. Most frequently, synecdoche involves substituting a part for the whole, as in our example sentence. Less commonly, it involves putting the whole for the part ("society" for "high society"), the species for the genus ("cutthroat" for "assassin"), the genus for the species ("a creature" for "a man"), or the material for the thing made ("boards" for "stage"). Synecdoche is similar to metonymy—the use of the name of one thing in place of something associated with it (such as "Shakespeare" for "the works of Shakespeare").

My sentence:
The poetic use of "fifty sails" for "fifty ships" is an example of synecdoche.

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

Next sentence?

Little did I know that when I was sleeping, my daughter synecdoche off of my keyring and took my car for a joyride!

The author liked using many synecdoches in his works.

He wrote poetry describing every inch of her body, using synecdoches to portray his admiration to his beloved wife.

Word of the day October 23
 

The Word of the Day for October 23 is:

iota • \igh-OH-tuh\ • (noun) 1. the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet; 2. an infinitesimal amount; jot

A little more information about today’s word:
The words "iota" and "jot" share a lot more than just a common meaning -- both ultimately derive from the same word. When Latin scholars transcribed the Greek name of the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet, they spelled it as either "iota" or "jota" (the letters "i" and "j" were simply variants of each other), and these spellings eventually passed into English as "iota" and "jot." Since the Greek letter iota is the smallest letter of its alphabet, both words eventually came to be used in reference to very small things.

My sentence (using definition #2):
My student claimed she had revised her essay, but I did not detect an iota of difference between the new version and the old one.

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

Next sentence?

The twit had not one iota of mental capability to convincingly defend his stance.

Now I have to leave town, because iota mob more money than I can ever pay back.

lol @ mrsandman

If he had an iota of common sense, he wouldn't be trying that dangerous stunt.

Word of the day October 24
 

The Word of the Day for October 24 is:

suffrage • \SUH-frij\ • (noun) 1. a vote given in deciding a disputed question or in electing a person to office; 2. the right of voting; franchise, also the exercise of such right

A little more information about today’s word:
Why would a 17th-century writer warn people that a chapel was only for "private or secret suffrages"? Because since the 14th century, "suffrage" has been used to mean "prayer" (especially a prayer requesting divine help or intercession). So how did "suffrage" come to mean "a vote" or "the right to vote"? To answer that, we must look to the word's Latin ancestor, "suffragium," which can be translated as "vote," "support," or "prayer." That term produced descendants in a number of languages, and English picked up its senses of "suffrage" from two different places. We took the "prayer" sense from a Middle French "suffragium" offspring that emphasized the word's spiritual aspects, and we elected to adopt the "voting" senses directly from the original Latin.

My sentence (using definition #2):
The ratification of the 19th Amendment on August 26, 1920, ended a vigorous campaign for women’s suffrage.

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

Next sentence?

I keep a picture of me in a bathing suit on suffrage , just to remind me to stay on my regimen.

The right of suffrage is a basic right in this country.

The right of suffrage is a basic right in this country, that is, unless you are a disenfranchised teen.

Word of the day October 27
 

The Word of the Day for October 27 is:

phreaker • \FREE-ker\ • (noun) one who gains illegal access to the telephone system

A little more information about today’s word:
"Phreakers" are modern day troublemakers who specialize in attacks on the telephone system. The word, which became popular in the mid-1980s, is probably a combination of the words "phone" and "freak." ("Phreakers" are also known as "phreaks" or "phone phreaks.") A "phreaker" can use either low-tech means, such as whistling or using an instrument to mimic the tones the phone system utilizes to route calls and identify payment, or the more high-tech tactic of breaking into and manipulating the phone company's computer system. Their purpose is often to make long-distance or other expensive calls without paying, although some phreakers seem more interested in causing damage or havoc simply for the sake of doing so.

My sentence:
The company has modified its phone system in order to ward off phreakers.

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

Next sentence?

Crash, Burn, and their cronies were portrayed as phreakers, a subset of hacker culture from the late 80s and early 90s.

I’m phreaked out, because there is just no phreaking way I’m dressing up as a phreak on Halloween as there’s just too many phreaks out there; so a freaker I’ll never be.

Apple co-creator Steve Wozniak was an admitted phone phreaker.

Word of the day October 28
 

The Word of the Day for October 28 is:

scapegoat • \SKAYP-goat\ • (noun) 1. a goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after which he is sent into the wilderness in the biblical ceremony for Yom Kippur; 2a. one that bears the blame for others; b. one that is the object of irrational hostility

A little more information about today’s word:
The history of "scapegoat" is based on a linguistic misunderstanding. On Yom Kippur, the ancient Hebrews would sacrifice one goat for the Lord and lead another one into the wilderness bearing the sins of the people. The ceremony is described in Leviticus, where it is said that one lot shall be cast for the Lord and one for "Azazel." Modern scholars usually interpret "Azazel" as being the name of a demon living in the desert. But ancient biblical translators thought "Azazel" referred to the goat itself, apparently confusing it with the Hebrew phrase "'ez 'ozel," meaning "goat that departs." The mistranslation was carried through Greek and Latin into a 16th-century English translation, where the goat was rendered as "scapegoat"; that is, "goat that escapes."

My sentence (using definition #2a):
The financial advisor was a convenient scapegoat for some of the ill-fated business ventures that the company has undertaken over the years.

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

Next sentence?

Superman was not very happy when his scapegoat dirty from high mileage flying trying to save the world.

mrsandman, your sentences make me cry. *whimper*

My sentence:
Controversial musicians and celebrities have often been a scapegoat for tearing down family values and other social institutions.

Do you like...scapegoat?

I am just waiting to see what crime the media will try to use 'Kill Bill' for a scapegoat.

Word of the day October 29
 

The Word of the Day for October 29 is:

impugn • \im-PYOON\ • (verb) to assail by words or arguments; oppose or attack as false or lacking integrity

A little more information about today’s word:
When you impugn, you hazard repugnant pugnacity. More simply put, you risk insulting someone to the point where he or she wants to sock you. The belligerent implications of "impugn" are to be expected in a word that derives from the Latin verb "pugnare," which means "to fight." In its earliest known English uses in the 1300s, "impugn" could refer to a physical attack (as in "the troops impugned the city") as well as to figurative assaults involving verbal contradiction or dispute. Over time, though, the sense of physical battling has become obsolete and the "calling into question" sense has predominated. As you might expect, the ancestors of "impugn" also gave English other fighting words, including "repugnant" and "pugnacious."

My sentence:
Damaging testimony from several witnesses helped the prosecutor impugn the defendant's character.

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

Next sentence?

It seems that modern politics is mainly about politicians impugning one another rather than discussing important issues.

She’s quite the impugn know, so dressing as Tinkerbell for the Halloween party was just perfect.

Word of the day October 30
 

The Word of the Day for October 30 is:

fatuous • \FATCH-oo-us\ • (adjective) complacently or inanely foolish; silly

A little more information about today’s word:
"I am two fools, I know, / For loving, and for saying so / In whining Poetry," wrote John Donne, simultaneously confessing to both infatuation and fatuousness. As any love-struck fool can attest, infatuation can make fools of the best of us. So it should come as no surprise that the words "fatuous" and "infatuation" derive from the same Latin root, "fatuus," which means "foolish." Both terms have been part of English since the 17th century. "Infatuation" followed the earlier verb "infatuate," a "fatuus" descendant that once meant "to make foolish," but that now usually means "to inspire with a foolish love or admiration." "Fatuous" came directly from "fatuus." It's been used in English to describe the foolish and inane since at least 1633.

My sentence:
No matter what I said to her, Jessy just sat there regarding me with a fatuous smile.

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

Next sentence?

She had absolutely no remorse regarding his demise, in fatuous actually happy.

Irene rolled her eyes as her brother made one fatuous statement after another.

The nonsense board has a lot of fatuous threads.

Word of the day October 31
 

The Word of the Day for October 31 is:

Frankenfood • \FRANK-en-food\ • (noun) genetically engineered food

A little more information about today’s word:
The word "Frankenfood" combines "Franken-" (an allusion to "Frankenstein") and "food." It was coined in 1992 by Paul Lewis, an English professor, who used the word in a letter he wrote to the New York Times in response to the decision of the US Food and Drug Administration to let companies market genetically altered food. Like the monster in Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, Frankenfood has met with hostility from people who would like to see the end of it. Not everyone feels this way (genetically engineered food has its supporters too), but the word "Frankenfood" has a derogatory slant to it and tends to be used by people who view such foods as dangerous mutations.

My sentence:
Proponents of biotechnology insist that genetically altered food products are perfectly safe, but many consumers remain wary of Frankenfoods.

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

Next sentence?

There is some worry that the genetically altered frankenfoods will effect the already existing food stocks.

To Al Frankenfood nor satire, nor humor is the topic in his bitter, callous, hate filled, petty, narrow-minded, partisan politics books.

Little do protestors of Frankenfood know, much of the produce they consume are geneticially altered.

The most infuriating thing about Debbie is her heavy disregard of the consequences as a result of her fatuous hijinks.

It is always amusing to watch a clueless newbie earnestly attempt to impugn a topic posted by a common troll on an unmoderated message board or newsgroup.

Phreakers suck.

I prefer Frankenfood to the real thing!

It seems like there are more supermarkets carrying Frankenfoods every day.