Word-Wednesday for January 18, 2023

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for January 18, 2023, the third Wednesday of the year, the fifth Wednesday of winter, and the 18th day of the year, with 347 days remaining.

 
Wannaska Phenology Update for January 18, 2023
Pine Grosbeak
One of the more beautiful and pleasant visitors to Wannaskan bird feeders, the Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator) contrasts vividly against the whiteness, feeding peacefully in large groups of other Pine or Evening Grosbeaks. Males are reddish-pink and gray, and females are grayish with tents of reddish-orange or yellow on the head and rump.

A member of the true finch family, Fringillidae, the Pine Grosbeak is a frugivore [/ˈfro͞o-jə-ˌvôr/ an animal that feeds on fruit], especially in winter, favoring small fruits, such as rowans. With fruit-crop abundance varying from year to year, pine grosbeak is one of many subarctic-resident bird species that exhibit irruptive [/i-ˈrəp-tiv/ undergoing a sudden upsurge in numbers] behavior. In irruption years, individuals can move long distances in search of suitable food supplies, bringing them farther south and/or downslope than is typical of years with large fruit crops. So, treat your visits with some of your old dates and stale fruit bread.


January 18 Fickle Pickle Wednesday Menu Special: Potato Dumpling


January 18 Nordhem Wednesday Lunch: Updated daily by 11:00am, usually.


Earth/Moon Almanac for January 18, 2023
Sunrise: 8:10am; Sunset: 4:58pm; 2 minutes, 20 seconds more daylight today
Moonrise: 5:14am; Moonset: 1:13pm, waning crescent, 15% illuminated.


Temperature Almanac for January 18, 2023
                Average            Record              Today
High             13                     37                     17
Low             -9                   -44                     11


January 18 Celebrations from National Day Calendar

• National Michigan Day
• National Peking Duck Day
• National Winnie the Pooh Day
• National Thesaurus Day

January 18 Word Riddle
How much did the pirate pay to get his ears pierced?*


January 18 Word Pun
Never buy flowers from a monk. Only you can prevent florist friars.


January 18 Walking into a Bar Grammar
A woman walks into a bar and asks the barman for a double entendre, so he gave her one.


January 18 Etymology Word of the Week
incubus (for the season of recumbency, even if you're prone to being supine)
/ˈiNG-kyə-bəs/ n., from "imaginary being or demon, credited with causing nightmares, and, in male form, consorting with women in their sleep," circa 1200, from Late Latin incubus (Augustine), from Latin incubo "nightmare, one who lies down on (the sleeper)," from incubare "to lie upon"; see incubate; compare succubus.

incubate (v.)
1640s (transitive), "to brood upon, watch jealously" (figurative); 1721 in literal sense "to sit on (eggs) to hatch them," from Latin incubatus, past participle of incubare "to lie in or upon," also in the figurative sense "brood". Intransitive sense "to sit upon eggs" is from 1755.

succubus (n.)
late 14th century, alteration (after incubus, giving a masc. form to a word generally felt as of female meaning) of Late Latin succuba "strumpet," applied to a fiend (generally in female form) having sexual connection with men in their sleep, from succubare "to lie under," from assimilated form of sub "under" (see sub-) + cubare "to lie down"; see cubicle.


January 18 Historic Events, Literary or Otherwise, from On This Day

• 1644 Perplexed Pilgrims in Boston reported America's first UFO sighting.
• 1934 Eugene O'Neill's Days Without End premieres.

January 18 Author/Artist/Character Birthdays, from On This Day

• 1689 Montesquieu, French philosopher and writer.
• 1751 Ferdinand Kauer, Czech pianist and composer.
• 1779 Peter Mark Roget, British lexicographer and inventor of the slide rule.
• 1835 Jan van Droogenbroeck, Flemish poet.
• 1840 Austin Dobson, English poet.
• 1841 (Alexis) Emmanuel Chabrier, French pianist and composer.
• 1848 Ioan Slavici, Transylvanian writer.
• 1873 T.C. Murray, Irish dramatist.
• 1882 A.A. Milne, English author of the Winnie-the-Pooh books.
• 1892 Oliver Hardy.
• 1896 Hans H. Holm, Norwegian poet.
• 1904 Anthony Galla-Rini, American concert accordionist.
• 1908 Junior Crehan, Irish fiddler.
• 1935 Jon Stallworthy, English poet.
• 1935 Raymond Briggs, British children's book author and illustrator.

Words-I-Looked-Up-This-Week Writer's Challenge
Make a single sentence (or poem or pram) from the following words:

• acyrologia: /a-ky-ro—LOJ-ee-a/ n., inexact, inappropriate or improper use of a word; malapropism.
• boanerges: /boh-uh—NUR-jeez/ a vociferous preacher or orator.
• chuffle: /CHUHF-uhl/ v., (of the larger species of cats) to make a low snuffling sound analogous to the purring of smaller cat species, often as a greeting.
• dint: /dint/ n., an impression or hollow in a surface.
• flahoolick: /fla-HOO-lik/ adj., exceedingly generous; extravagant in spending; spendthrifty.
• krump: /krəmp/ v., dance to popular music, especially hip-hop, in a style characterized by rapid, exaggerated movements of the arms and legs.
• misogamous: /mə-ˈsɑ-ɡə-məs/ adj., hostile towards or hating marriage.
• procellous: /prōˈ-se-ləs/ adj., stormy, as at sea.
• satisfice: /ˈsad-əs-ˌfīs/ v., accept an available option as satisfactory.
• tippet: /ˈtip-ət/ n., a woman’s long fur scarf or shawl worn around the neck and shoulders;  a long ceremonial scarf worn especially by the clergy.

January 18, 2023 Word-Wednesday Feature
Dance Words To Stay Warm By
/dans/ v., move rhythmically to music, typically following a set sequence of steps, from circa 1300, dauncen, from Old French dancier (12th century, Modern French danser), which is of unknown origin, perhaps from Low Frankish dintjan and akin to Old Frisian dintje "tremble, quiver." Through French influence in arts and society, it has become the primary word for this activity from Spain to Russia (Italian danzare, Spanish danzar, Romanian dansa, Swedish dansa, German tanzen, modern Russian tancevat).

In English it replaced Old English sealtian, itself a borrowing from Latin saltare "to dance," frequentative of salire "to leap" (see salient (adj.); "dance" words frequently are derived from words meaning "jump, leap"). Native words used for the activity in Old English included tumbian (see tumble (v.)), hoppian (see hop (v)).

If you have a personal appreciation of ballet, or have danced ballet, or had a child that danced ballet, you know that the French language won the naming rights to just about every ballet step, jump, gesture, spin, dangle, posture, and position. Word-Wednesday primarily focuses on English language words, so please consult Chairman Joe if you have questions about arabesque, ballón, cabriole, derrière, échappé, fouetté, glissade, jeté, pas de chat, retiré, sauté, or tendu.

Most other common forms of dance have more familiar or relatable English terms. Ballroom Dance, for example has the cha-cha, fox trot, polka, swing, and waltz. 

Modern Dance and Jazz Dance use descriptive words or metaphors as dance terms, such as:

• bridge: back bend;
• compass turn: an arabesque turn where the toes maintain contact with the floor;
• fan kick:  a high straight leg kick in which the gesture leg makes a swooping circular arc across the front of the body;
• hinge: legs are in parallel, pelvis is pressed diagonally forward, torso tilted diagonally backward, knees are bent and approximately 3” off the floor, heels are raised to 1/4” relevé [rise or spring onto the toes (demi- or full pointe) from plié — yes, ballet bleeds words into Modern Dance, so ask Chairman Joe for translations];
• primitive squat: legs are in parallel, torso is straight, knees are fully bent, with heels remaining on the floor in a squat [ask Sven for Norvegian translation];
• shimmy: shoulder shaking: alternating in a rapid motion [ask Monique].

Tap Dance terms naturally focus on the dancer’s feet, where these dance terms dynamically reference positions, sounds, cultures, famous dancers, and particular rhythms — most with a carefree, fun-loving attitude:

• ball change: two quick changes of weight from one ball of the foot to the other;
• bells/clicks: clicking of the heels together while in the air;
• brush: striking of the ball of the foot or the toe tap against the floor. This is usually done in a forward or sideward direction;
• dig: digging of the heel into the floor without weight transfer;
• flap: brush and step with transfer of weight;
• Irish: movement adopted from Irish folk dances which consists of a shuffle, hop, and a step; this can be done traveling forwards or backwards;
• Maxie Ford: step named for a famous dancer. Consists of a step, shuffle, leap, tap;
• riff: movement combining a brush and a scuff on the same foot;
• riffle: riff combined with a spank;
• scuff: forward movement hitting the heel of the foot on the ground;
• scuffle: scuff followed by a spank;
• shuffle: brush followed by a spank;
• spank: a backward brush of the ball of the foot;

and of course,

• tap: striking the ball of the foot without weight transfer.

Shirley Temple, who began dance lessons at age three, pretty much just demanded Bill “Bojangle” Robinson skip the words and show her the steps…

Fast learner, she was.

Wikipedia lists 1,021 dances in the world, including headbanging, three forms of Irish dance, five Tangos (including the Finnish), and five waltzes, but the list does not include the Anishinaabe Hoop Dance, Friendship Dance, or Round Dance.

So there you have it — a brief primer on dance words — from Abayi to Zwiefacher.


From A Year with Rilke, January 18 Entry
And Everything Matters, from Letters to a Young Poet, Worpswede, Germany, July 16, 1904

The tasks that have been entrusted to us are often difficult. Almost everything that matters is difficult, and everything matters.

Crouching Woman 

by Auguste Rodin

Be better than yesterday,
learn a new word today,
try to stay out of trouble - at least until tomorrow,
and write when you have the time.







*A buccaneer.