Word of the day October 1
 

The Word of the Day for October 1 is:

condone • \kun-DOHN\ • (verb) to regard or treat (something bad or blameworthy) as acceptable, forgivable, or harmless

A little more information about today’s word:
Since some folks don't condone even minor usage slips, you might want to get the meaning of this word straight. Although English speakers sometimes use "condone" with the intended meaning "approve of" or "encourage," the more established meaning is closer to "pardon" or "overlook." "Condone" comes from the Latin verb "condonare," which means "to give" or "to forgive." "Condonare" in turn combines the Latin prefix "con-," indicating thoroughness, and "donare," meaning "to give" or "to grant." Not surprisingly, "donare" is also the source of our words "donate" and "pardon."

My sentence:
"If you are disrespectful of other students in my classroom," Ms. Pace warned on the first day of school, "I won't condone it."

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

Next sentence?

If you condone a pint of whiskey in ten seconds, then you passed that phase of the initiation into the fraternity.

The cooperate rules said that nobody could eat or drink on the job but the manager condoned some food at peoples desks.

Word of the day October 2
 

The Word of the Day for October 2 is:

convoluted • \KAHN-vuh-loo-tud\ • (adjective) 1. having convolutions; 2. involved, intricate

A little more information about today’s word:
Convolutions, in the concrete sense, are folded, winding shapes. (The irregular ridges on our brain are convolutions.) "Convoluted" and "convolution" are from Latin "volvere," meaning "to roll." "Volvere" has given English many words, but one of the following is NOT from "volvere." Can you pick it out? vault voluminous volley voluble devolve The path from "vault" to "volvere" leads (rather convolutedly) through Middle English, Anglo-French, and Vulgar Latin to Latin "volutus," past participle of "volvere." "Voluble" meant "rolling easily" before it meant "speaking readily," and "voluminous" first meant "consisting of many folds." "Devolve" ("to pass down," as in "the stewardship devolved upon the son") once meant literally "to roll down." The word that doesn’t belong is "volley." It’s from Latin "volare," meaning "to fly."

My sentence (using definition #2):
According to my sister’s convoluted reasoning, I still owed her $20.

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

Next sentence?

Only out of prison a week, the ex- convoluting a business and got caught red-handed.

Tax laws have become so convoluted that only accountants and lawyers understand them completely.

He would often condone verbal assaults from his girlfriend since she's a practicing dominatrix.

The entrepreneur's convoluted plans failed to impress enough investors to assure long lasting stability.

Word of the day October 3
 

The Word of the Day for October 3 is:

flounce • \FLOWNSS ("OW" as in "cow")\ • (verb) 1a. to move with exaggerated jerky or bouncy motions; also, to move so as to draw attention to oneself; 1b. to go with sudden determination; 2. flounder, struggle

A little more information about today’s word:
Despite its rhyming connection with "bounce," the history behind "flounce" is not entirely certain. Its first recorded use as a verb in English occurred in 1542. Some scholars believe it is related to the Norwegian verb "flunsa" (meaning "to hurry" or "to work briskly") and the Swedish "flunsa" ("to fall with a splash" or "to plunge"). The connection is uncertain, however, because the "flunsa" verbs did not appear in their respective languages until the 18th century, long after "flounce" surfaced in English. A second distinct sense of "flounce," referring to a strip or ruffle of fabric attached on one edge, did not appear in English until the 18th century. This "flounce" derives from the Middle English "frouncen" ("to curl").

My sentence (using definition #1a):
The host of the party looked like she was dancing as she flounced about in an effort to greet each of the guests.

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

Next sentence?

After being told to go to the office, Danny flounced out of the classroom.

Back in the day when I sold various and sundry items, I always used a kind of hanging type of scale (you know what I mean) that didn’t always measure a flounce .

DJ Acucrack danced like an epileptic, flouncing like a fish out of water. (This is true, too -- I've seen him perform live, and it was very amusing.)

Word of the day October 6
 

The Word of the Day for October 6 is:

hard-boiled • \HARD-BOYLD\ • (adjective) 1a. devoid of sentimentality; tough; 1b. of, relating to, or being a detective story featuring a tough unsentimental protagonist and a matter-of-fact attitude towards violence; 2. hardheaded, practical

A little more information about today’s word:
As a writer of local color, Mark Twain often used colloquialisms and regionalisms that were unfamiliar to many of his readers. When some of these expressions eventually caught on in the language at large, they were traced back to Twain. For example, he is credited with the first printed use of "blow up" ("to lose self-control") in 1871, of "slop" ("effusive sentimentality") in 1866, and of the phrase "sweat out" ("to endure or wait through the course of") in 1876. "Hard-boiled" is documented as being first used by Twain in 1886 as an adjective meaning "hardened." Apparently, Twain and others saw the boiling of an egg to harden the white and yolk as a metaphor for other kinds of hardening.

My sentence (using definition #2):
The young tycoon proved that to be successful in the cutthroat world of business you need to occasionally put aside hard-boiled business practices and go with your gut instincts.

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

Next sentence?

Was that a cussword I hard-boiled I’m getting me a paddle and going to teach you some manners.

Some folks might call me hard-boiled but I like to think that packing a gat is just realistic in my line of work.

Inspector Lee was a hard-boiled bloke carrying two guns and an attitude.

John found that he had to be hard-boiled just to survive his environment.

Word of the day October 7
 

The Word of the Day for October 7 is:

hiatus • \hye-AY-tus\ • (noun) 1. a break in or as if in a material object; gap; 2a. an interruption in time or continuity; break; 2b. a period when something (as a program or activity) is suspended or interrupted

A little more information about today’s word:
"Hiatus" comes from "hiare," a Latin verb meaning "to gape" or "to yawn," and first appeared in English in the middle of the 16th century. Originally, the word referred to a gap or opening in something, such as a cave opening in a cliff. Occasionally, it has been used to describe holes in clothing, as when Laurence Sterne wrote in Tristram Shandy of "the hiatus in Phutatorius's breeches." These days, "hiatus" is usually used in a temporal sense to refer to a pause or interruption (as in a song), or a period during which an activity is temporarily suspended (such as a hiatus from teaching).

My sentence (using definition #2b):
After the summer hiatus (during which he mostly put his brain on hold), Tony returned to school ready for some serious studying.

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

Next sentence?

Some of my favorite TV show were put on what was called a hiatus by the networks but then never came back.

To celebrate, we basically got hiatus some munchies and then crashed.

Cheryl took a much needed hiatus from the many hours of unrewarding work.

John's job was so stressful, that he felt the need to take a temporary hiatus before he burned out.

I took a hiatus from school this afternoon.

the question that I was asked the most when I toured the
deep, Deep south was, "Why d'yall hiatus so much?
I really wanna know

Mrsand, I don't believe condone fits in your sentence. :/

The people of California disappoint me by forcing their governor to take a hiatus.

Word of the day October 8
 

The Word of the Day for October 8 is:

pidgin • \PIH-jun\ • (noun) a simplified speech used for communication between people with different languages

A little more information about today’s word:
The history of "pidgin" begins about the early 19th century in the South China city of Guangzhou. Chinese merchants interacting with English speakers on the docks in this port sometimes pronounced the word "business" as "bigeon." By the century’s end, "bigeon" had degenerated into "pigeon" and finally "pidgin," which then appropriately became the descriptor of the unique communication necessitated when people who speak different languages meet. Pidgins generally consist of a small vocabulary (Chinese Pidgin English has only 700 words), but some have grown to become the native language of a group. Examples include Sea Island Creole spoken in South Carolina’s Sea Islands; Haitian Creole; and Louisiana Creole. The alteration of "bigeon" to "pigeon" also gave us "pigeon," meaning "an object of special concern" or "accepted business or interest."

My sentence:
Creole, which is now spoken in parts of southern Louisiana, originated as a pidgin spoken between French-speaking colonists and African slaves.

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

Next sentence?

I am on the national "no call" list, but I STILL get tele-marketers pidgin their products to me every day.

:) mrsandman

When asylum-seekers arrive, they often speak little more than a pidgin English, but soon they are capable of much more.

Jim tried to pidgin with John, but speaking louder and slower didn't help since John didn't speak English.

Spanglish is another example of a pidgin language.

While I'd like to consider myself multilingual, I simply have not the extensive command of any language besides English, and it pains me to hold a conversation in pidgin, especially when visiting relatives or touring a foreign country.

Word of the day October 9
 

The Word of the Day for October 9 is:

rutilant • \ROO-tuh-lunt\ • (adjective) having a reddish glow

A little more information about today’s word:
"Rutilant," which first appeared in English late in the 15th century, is used in English today to describe anything with a reddish or fiery glow, such as a sunset or flushed skin. It derives from the Latin "rutilus," meaning "ruddy," which is probably related to the Latin "ruber," meaning "red." "Ruber" itself is a direct ancestor of our word "rubella" (a disease named for the reddish color one's skin turns when afflicted with the condition) and "rubric" (which, among other things, can refer to a book or manuscript heading that is done or underlined in red). "Ruber" is also a distant relative of several English words for things that bear a reddish tone (including "russet," "rust," and "ruby") and even of the word "red" itself.

My sentence:
Embarrassed by the surprise party we sprung on her, Joyce held up her hands in an effort to hide her rutilant face.

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

Next sentence?

The gem had a rutilant luster.

Since you treated my to breakfast this morning, I’d like to take rutilant this afternoon.

The dark clouds had streaks of rutilant color as the sun came up over the mountains.

Naughty Natalie's rutilant buttocks received ample spankings. :suave:

Word of the day October 10
 

The Word of the Day for October 10 is:

skirl • \SKURL\ • (verb) intransitive: of a bagpipe; to emit the high shrill tone of the chanter; also, to give forth music; transitive: to play (music) on the bagpipe

A little more information about today’s word:
Not every musical instrument is honored with its very own verb. But then, not every musical instrument emits a sound that quite matches that of a bagpipe. Depending on your ear, you might think bagpipes "give forth music," or you might be more apt to say they "shriek." If you are of the latter opinion, your thinking aligns with the earliest sense of "skirl"—"to shriek." Beginning around 1400, that early sense was used of screeching maids, winds, and the like. Scottish poet Robert Sempill first used it for bagpipes in the mid-1600s. The meaning of "skirl" has shifted over time, however, and these days you can use the verb without causing offense to bagpipers and bagpipe enthusiasts.

My sentence (using the transitive definition):
The bagpipes skirled, the bodhran drummed, the tartans swirled, and the Summer 2003 Highland Games were ushered in!

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

Next sentence?

Upon trying haggis for the first time the American let out a skirl sound.

The first time I met her I said to myself: “ Skirl is going to be my wife.”

sometimes i skirl while i hurl.

When Andrew stroked her thigh, Mary's toe skirled.

The skirling winds of kilt donning men signaled the annual celebration with an ode to haggis and fine Scottish poetry.

Word of the day October 13
 

The Word of the Day for October 13 is:

waitron • \WAY-trahn\ • (noun) a person who waits tables (as in a restaurant); waitperson

A little more information about today’s word:
Gender-neutral language has become an increasingly common phenomenon in English over the past several decades. Nowadays, it seems natural to hear conversations laced with terms like "mail carrier," "firefighter," "police officer," and "waitron." It’s easy to see how the first three terms came about, but the origin of "waitron," which first appeared in print in 1980, is less straightforward. "Waitron" is probably a blend of "waiter/waitress" and "-tron," a suffix that seems to allude to the machinelike impersonality of waiting tables. Despite this hint of disparagement, "waitron" quickly gained popularity. Its gender-neutrality makes it a convenient substitute for "waiter" or "waitress."

My sentence:
"You waitrons better start picking up these orders before they get cold!" yelled the head chef across the busy restaurant kitchen.

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

Next sentence?

The waitron brought the capon the matron.

When we were filming Apollo 13, I said: “Waitron, I don’t know if I’m ready to experience weightlessness, I have a morbid fear of flying."

-- I dont have a witty sentence for this, but just had to say -- what a COOL WORD!!

Waitron. Yeah I like it, very much. It's def going to become part of my vocab. Thanks! :)

I consider "waiter" to be gender-neutral, the same as "actor". "Waitron" seriously sounds like an insult.

John was one of the best waitrons in the restaurant because he could always get a laugh out of the patrons.

Cliff, a well-dressed but poor college student, made certain to leave a 15% gratuity for the waitron, lest he should return to the same restaurant and find large wads of spit in his soup.

Word of the day October 14
 

The Word of the Day for October 14 is:

poetaster • \POH-uh-tass-ter\ • (noun) an inferior poet

A little more information about today’s word:
In Latin, the suffix "-aster" indicates partial resemblance. In both Latin and English, that often translates to "second-rate," or maybe even "third-rate." Not surprisingly, "poetaster" often goes hand in hand with "doggerel," meaning "verse marked by triviality or inferiority." "Most of the people who send me thick sheaves of handwritten or word-processed doggerel," Ms. Greer tells us, in the Independent article we quote above, "appear never to have read any poetry, good or bad. . . . Every week poetasters, like literary flashers seeking to amaze and appal hapless passers-by with the sight of their grey flaccidities, send their effusions to people like me." Are there are other kinds of "-asters" out there? Yes indeed—we have criticasters, philosophasters, and politicasters, among others.

My sentence:
"Germaine Greer, Chair Of Judges For The National Poetry Competition 2000, Invites Entries From Readers, But Be Warned: Poetasters Need Not Apply"
-- Headline, The (London) Independent, May 7, 2000

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

Next sentence?

When there was a wrong to be righted, she could be counted on to be a loud poetaster for the cause.

I'm a poetaster, and I don't even know it!

...wait....

I enjoy writing poetry but have to admit I am a poetaster.

Yes but I believe the philosophasters rule this portion of the board many times as much as the philosophy thread.

Robert, the quintessential poseur gothboi, had often been accused of being a poetaster with bad makeup, despite his degree in creative writing.

Word of the day October 15
 

The Word of the Day for October 15 is:

sawbones • \SAW-bohnz\ • (noun) slang: physician, surgeon

A little more information about today’s word:
"Sawbones" first cut its teeth in Charles Dickens's 1837 novel The Pickwick Papers, when Sam Weller said to Mr. Pickwick, "Don't you know what a sawbones is, sir? . . . I thought everybody know'd as a sawbones was a surgeon." By the late 19th century, the word had also been used by authors such as H. G. Wells and Mark Twain and was well established in English. Nineteenth-century surgeons used saws to perform amputations, and the word "sawbones" was associated with unskillful hacking. Mercifully, medical technology has improved dramatically since then (the surgical saws used in procedures today are a far cry from the primitive tools of yesteryear), but the word "sawbones" is still used, often in a humorous context.

My sentence:
Before going in for his appendectomy, Uncle George jokingly wondered aloud how much blood he'd have left after the old sawbones had sewn him back up.

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

Next sentence?

Overhearing his collegues share some awful medical humor, the shrink offered his favorite pickup line to the old sawbones: "What's a vein like you doing in a joint like this?"

Man, I'm on a roll tonight with bad puns.

I was a novice at this X-ray stuff, so I just sawbones .

"Dammit Jim, I'm a sawbones not a mechanic."

Word of the day October 16
 

The Word of the Day for October 16 is:

walleyed • \WAWL-IDE\ • (adjective) 1. having walleyes or affected with walleye; 2. marked by a wild irrational staring of the eyes

A little more information about today’s word:
The noun "walleye" has several meanings. It can refer to an eye with a whitish or bluish-white iris or to one with an opaque white cornea. It can also refer to a condition in which the eye turns outward away from the nose. The extended second sense of the adjective "walleyed" came from the appearance of eyes affected with the condition of walleye. You might guess that "walleyed" has an etymological connection with "wall," but that’s not the case. Rather, it is derived from "wawil-eghed"—a Middle English translation of the Old Norse word "vagl-eygr," from "vagl" ("beam") and "eygr" ("eyed").

My sentence (using definition #2):
After getting beaned by the pitcher, the walleyed batter was immediately checked by the paramedics for signs of a concussion.

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

Next sentence?

Judth was starting to feel a little freaked by the walleyed midget in the corner, who hadn't taken his eyes (or one of them, at least) off her all evening.

Judging from his walleyed state, the boxer must have taken quite a beating from the last round.

There is nothing tastier then walleyed trout cooked over an open fire.

Walleyed rather be sitting on the beach in Cancun sipping a margarita, I’m toiling to meet a deadline on a project I care nothing about.

Word of the day October 17
 

The Word of the Day for October 17 is:

clement • \KLEH-munt\ • (adjective) 1. inclined to be merciful; lenient; 2. mild

A little more information about today’s word:
Defendants in court cases probably don't spend much time worrying about inclement weather. They're too busy hoping to meet a clement judge so they will be granted clemency. They should hope they don't meet an inclement judge! "Clement," "inclement," and "clemency" all derive from the Latin "clemens," which means "mild" or "calm." All three terms can refer to an individual's degree of mercy or to the relative pleasantness of the weather.

My sentence (using definition #1):
Alex Marsh is considered a clement judge—the type who lets first-time offenders off the hook and gives repeat offenders the minimum required jail time.

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

Next sentence?

Waiting for clement weather during a rainstorm is not an option when you're in a hurry.

Oh! oh! I must make another sentence.

Arnold could not help but be walleyed from the bazoombas perked up before him.

Oh my darling, Oh my darling, Oh my darling Clementine,
You are lost and gone forever, Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
In a cavern, in a canyon, Excavating for a mine, Dwelt a miner, forty-niner, And his daughter Clementine.

We have been having unusually clement weather for this time of year. Of course now that I've said that it is going to snow.

Yankees pitcher, Roger Clemens, is ironically very inclement on the mound, with 3909 career strike outs.

(go yanks!!)

Uncle ment it when he said strippers were god's gift to the world.

Uh.

You guys are *so* fired.

Word of the day October 20
 

The Word of the Day for October 20 is:

profligate • \PRAH-flih-gut\ • (adjective) 1. completely given up to dissipation and licentiousness; 2. wildly extravagant; prodigal

A little more information about today’s word:
When a royal record keeper reported the "profligation of the knights" 477 years ago, he didn’t mean the knights were wildly indulging in excesses; he meant they were thoroughly defeated in battle. There’s nothing etymologically extreme there; the Latin verb "profligare," which is the root of both "profligate" and the much rarer "profligation" (meaning "ruin"), means "to strike down," "to destroy, ruin," or "to overwhelm." When the adjective "profligate" first appeared in print in English in the 1500s, it meant "overthrown" or "overwhelmed." By 1647 it had acquired its "abandoned or given over to vice" sense, and by 1779 it was being used with the meaning "wildly extravagant."

My sentence (using definition #2):
Each political party tried to paint the other side as profligate wasters of the taxpayers’ money.

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

Next sentence?

Bruce Wayne led an apparently profligate lifestyle in order to keep anyone from thinking he could be Batman.

Everyone liked going to John's profligate parties.

I bought a new car with one of those fancy “keyless entry” keypads, and I just know I’ll profligate the combination when I need it the most.

The Hilton sisters certainly make no apologies for their profligate expenditures.

Word of the day October 21
 

The Word of the Day for October 21 is:

smashmouth • \SMASH-mouth\ • (adjective) characterized by brute force without finesse

A little more information about today’s word:
"Smashmouth" crashed its way into the English language during the 1984 football season to describe the brutally hard-hitting play that is characteristic of the game. It has since been used to describe similar physicality in other contact sports, such as hockey and basketball, and has even forced its way out of the realm of sports into politics; we've been using it to describe hardball tactics in politics since the 1984 U.S. presidential election. However, this political application of "smashmouth" never made it into the end zone. It occurs too rarely in English to merit its own sense in the dictionary.

My sentence:
Monday night’s game, between two teams known for their hard-hitting, aggressive styles, promises to be entertaining if you like smashmouth football.

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

Next sentence?

The mobster took smashmouth measures to secure his position and fortunes.

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?