Word-Wednesday for May 13, 2026

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for May 13, 2026, the nineteenth Wednesday of the year, the eighth Wednesday of spring, the second Wednesday of May, and the one-hundred-thirty-third day of the year, with two-hundred thirty-two days remaining.

Wannaska Phenology Update for May 13, 2026
rhubarb
Of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of Rheum rhabarbarum in the family Polygonaceae — zhiiwibag in Anishinaabe — have just sprouted this week at Word-Wednesday headquarters. This is a happy moment, not only because the sprouts are a sign of spring, but because it has been such a dry spring. Even the marsh marigolds have been reticent this year. The word rhubarb is likely to have derived in the 14th century from the Old French rubarbe, which came from the Latin rheubarbarum and Greek rha barbaron, meaning "foreign rhubarb". The Greek physician Dioscorides used the Greek word ῥᾶ (rha), whereas Galen later used ῥῆον (rhēon), Latin rheum. These in turn derive from a Persian name for species of Rheum. The specific epithet rhaponticum, applying to one of the presumed parents of the cultivated plant, means "rha from the region of the Black Sea" or the river Volga, rha being its ancient name.

May 13 Fickle Pickle Wednesday Menu Special: Potato Dumpling


May 13 Nordhem Wednesday Lunch: Updated daily, occasionally.


Earth/Moon Almanac for May 13, 2026
Sunrise: 5:45am; Sunset: 8:56pm; 2 minutes, 43 seconds more daylight today
Moonrise: 3:35am; Moonset: 5:15pm, waning crescent, 13% illuminated.


Temperature Almanac for May 13, 2026
                Average            Record              Today
High             64                     89                     72
Low              40                     23                     43

They Say It's May, For Caroline
by Jennifer Mills

I heard it from a tiny sparrow
She whispered in my ear
A sweet song of spring
Fro this sparrow I did hear

Yet the bird did mistake me
Thought I was her baby fowl
And regurgitated worms
Into my ear canal

Now it itches and it hurts
It burns and it stings
An I can no longer hear
The sweet sweet sounds of spring

May 13 Celebrations from National Day Calendar

• National Frog Jumping Day
• National Apple Pie Day
• National Receptionists Day
• National Third Shift Workers Day
• National Crouton Day
• National Fruit Cocktail Day
• Children of Fallen Patriots Day
• International Hummus Day

May 13 Word Pun
Geology rocks, but Geography is where it’s at.


May 13 Word Riddle
What tree in spring is like a temple?*


May 13 The Devil’s Dictionary Word-Pram
BAPTISM, n. A sacred rite of such efficacy that he who finds himself in heaven without having undergone it will be unhappy forever. It is performed with water in two ways—by immersion, or plunging, and by aspersion, or sprinkling.

    But whether the plan of immersion
    Is better than simple aspersion
    Let those immersed
    And those aspersed
    Decide by the Authorized Version,
    And by matching their agues tertian.
                                                —G.J.


May 13 Etymology Word of the Week
esquire
/ES-kwīər/ n., a title appended to a lawyer's surname; a young nobleman who, in training for knighthood, acted as an attendant to a knight, from late 14th century, from Old French escuier "shield-bearer (attendant young man in training to be a knight), groom" (Modern French écuyer), from Medieval Latin scutarius "shield-bearer, guardsman" (in classical Latin, "shield-maker"), from scutum "shield" (see escutcheon).

For initial e-, see e-. Compare squire (n.). Originally the feudal rank below knight, sense broadened in the 16th century to a general title of courtesy or respect for the educated and professional class, especially, later, in U.S., regarded as belonging particularly to lawyers.

It was counted in Britain among the follies of the ex-colonials:

Up to that period [the Declaration of Independence], the esquires in America were British esquires; they then ceased to be so! But still they did, and still they do, call themselves esquires! but how?—upon what right? British esquires they are not—esquires by courtesy cannot exist where there are no knights! ["On the Title of Esquires," reprinted "from a London Journal" in Charleston Daily Courier, July 15, 1824]

Its use and broad application also were derided in the early republic in America:

In our own dear title-bearing, democratic land, the title of esquire, officially and by courtesy, has come to include pretty much everybody. Of course everybody in office is an esquire, and all who have been in office enjoy and glory in the title. And what with a standing army of legislators, an elective and ever-changing magistracy, and almost a whole population of militia officers, present and past, all named as esquires in their commissions, the title is nearly universal. [N.Y. Commercial Advertiser newspaper, quoted in Bartlett, 1859] 

As to the innumerable distinctions of "honorable" and "esquire"—they are a very plague. No office can make a man honorable, who is not so, and none ought to be appointed who are not so before. The title of esquire, so much hackneyed, ought to be regarded in its origin as contemptible and reproachful. It meant a military body-servant—a shield-bearer. [Washington Daily National Intelligencer, Nov. 9, 1820, "from the Federal Republican"] 

A modern writer pithily remarks that "the title of 'Esquire' is now conferred on all who wear a clean shirt." [Dubuque (Iowa) Miner's Express, May 3, 1848, also various other U.S. papers] 

The question is often asked, who is entitled to the title of Esquire, in the United States according to usage. The answer is plain--every man who takes to himself a wife!—Just so. And the rest of mankind are nothing more than Majors and Colonels, and so forth. [reprinted in U.S. newspapers, spring 1852]

There is a discussion in the papers respecting the title of Esquire. It belongs in this country to lawyers, members of the House of Representatives, town and city councils, clerks of the court, justices of the peace, to every man taxed for ten thousand dollars, and to every person who subscribes for any respectable newspaper ten years, and pays in advance. [Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, May 8, 1852] 

May 13 Historic Events, Literary or Otherwise, from On This Day

• 1767 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's first opera Apollo et Hyacinthus, written when he was 11 years old, premieres.
• 1777 University library at Vienna opens.
• 1848 First performance of Finland's national anthem Maamme, composed by Fredrik Pacius, Swedish words by Johan Ludvig Runeberg.
• 1877 Caesar Franck's symphonic poem Lesson Eolides premieres.
• 1878 Danvers State Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts, opens and later serves as inspiration for Arkham Sanitorium in the work of H.P. Lovecraft, which in turn inspires Arkham Asylum of the D.C. Batman universe.
• 1888 DeWolf Hopper first recites the comedic baseball poem Casey at the Bat.
• 1916 First observance of Indian (Native American) Day.
• 1923 Pulitzer Prize awarded to Willa Cather for her World War I-based novel One of Ours.

May 13 Author/Artist/Character Birthdays, from On This Day

• 1735 Horace Coignet, French violinist, singer, and composer
• 1746 Oliver Brownson, American composer.
• 1756 Wojciech Żywny, Polish pianist, composer, and Chopin's first piano teacher.
• 1776 Charles Ots, Belgian composer.
• 1776 Rodrigo Ferreira da Costa, Portuguese composer.
• 1794 Louis Léopold Robert, Swiss painter.
• 1795 Pavel Jozef Šafárik, Czech poet.
• 1840 Alphonse Daudet, French writer.
• 1842 Arthur Sullivan, British composer.
• 1847 Johannes Haarklou, Norwegian organist, composer.
• 1854 Paul Klengel, German pianist, violinist, composer.
• 1856 Peter Henry Emerson, British writer and photographer.
• 1859 August Enna, Danish composer.
• 1866 Ottokar Eugen Novacek, Czech composer.
• 1867 Frank Brangwyn, Welsh painter, muralist and cartoonist.
• 1868 Paolo Gallico, Italian-American concert pianist, composer.
• 1874 Henry Clough-Leiter, American organist, choirmaster, and composer.
• 1874 Percy Redfern Creed, Irish author
• 1876 Raoul Laparra, French composer.
• 1881 Ilona Durigo, Hungarian contralto singer.
• 1882 Georges Braque, French cubist painter and sculptor.
• 1886 Joseph Achron, Lithuanian-American concert violinist and composer.
• 1900 Jos Panhuysen, Dutch author.
• 1904 Earle Birney, Canadian poet and novelist.
• 1906 Thomas Mitchell, British architect.
• 1907 Daphne du Maurier, English writer.
• 1911 Maxine Sullivan [Marietta Williams], American jazz vocalist.
• 1913 František Domažlický, Czech composer.
• 1918 T. Balasaraswati, Indian Bharatanatyam dancer.
• 1925 Anthony Milner, British composer.
• 1926 Wallace Breem, British author.
• 1927 Karl-Heinz Köper, German conductor, and composer.
• 1929 Will Eisma, Dutch composer.
• 1932 Francine Pascal, American author.
• 1933 Alden Ashforth, American composer.
• 1933 Stig Gustav Schonberg, Swedish composer.
• 1934 Adolf Muschg, Swiss writer.
• 1935 Nigel Butterley, Australian pianist, composer.
• 1935 Yizhak Sadai, Israeli composer.
• 1937 (Alessandro) "Teddy" Randazzo, American accordionist.
• 1937 Roch Carrier, Canadian novelist.
• 1937 Roger Zelazny, American poet and science fiction author.
• 1940 Bruce Chatwin, English novelist.
• 1943 Eve Babitz, American artist and author.
• 1943 Ruth Thorne-Thomsen, American photographer.
• 1944 Armistead Maupin, American author.
• 1944 Petr Hapka, Czech composer.
• 1947 Stephen R. Donaldson, American science author.
• 1949 Piotr Moss, Polish-French contemporary classical composer.
• 1954 Johnny Logan [Seán Sherrard], Irish celtic-pop singer and songwriter.
• 1955 Xiaoyong Chen, Chinese contemporary classical composer.
• 1962 Kathleen Jamie, Scottish poet .
• 1969 Patricia Leonard, American classical composer.
• 1986 Ned McDonnell, Irish-American jazz bass guitarist.

Words-I-Looked-Up-This-Week Writer's Challenge 
Write a story or pram from the following words:

• amelled: /a-MeLD/ adj., of a bright color; having a lustrous appearance.
• cochineal: /KÄCH-ə-nēəl/ n., a scarlet dye used chiefly for coloring food.
• dramaturge: /DRÄM-ə-tərɡ/ n., a dramatist; a literary editor on the staff of a theater who consults with authors and edits texts.
• embouchure: /ÄM-bo͞o-SHo͝or/ n., the way in which a player applies the mouth to the mouthpiece of a brass or wind instrument; the mouth of a river or valley.
• holus-bolus: /HOH-luhs-BOH-luhs/ adv., all at once; entirely and without omission, often in a sudden or indiscriminate manner.
• lissome: /LĪS-əm/ adj., (of a person or their body) slim, supple, and graceful.
• oenomel: /EE-nuh-mel/ n., something (esp. thought, language, etc.) in which strength and sweetness are combined.
• polycule: /PAH-lee-kyool/ n., a group of people in a polyamorous relationship.
• scrimer: /SKRIH-mur/ n., a fencing master, gladiator, or a person skilled in the use of a sword.
• thornback: /THÔRN-bak/ n., unmarried women over the age of twenty-six years.

May 13, 2026 Word-Wednesday Feature
spring dance
Our bodies become alive again in spring, and many cultures see dance as the embodiment of spring: springdans in Norwegian, Maypole in England and Germany, Morris Dance in England, Schemenlaufen in Tyrol, Khorovod for the Slavic peoples, St. George's Day dances for the Balkans and Eastern Europeans, Attan in Afghanistan, Bihu in India, Qashqai in Iran, and Sasha in Russia, to name but a few in the colder climes, where spring means so much. In the spirit of spring, this week features the words of writers who appreciate dance — in all its forms and seasonal variations.

DANCE, v.i. To leap about to the sound of tittering music, preferably with arms about your neighbor's wife or daughter. There are many kinds of dances, but all those requiring the participation of the two sexes have two characteristics in common: they are conspicuously innocent, and warmly loved by the vicious.

Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made.

Ted Shawn

Dance is the hidden language of the soul, of the body. And it’s partly the language that we don’t want to show.

Martha Graham

Dancing is the body made poetic.

Ernst Bacon

The poetry of the foot.

John Dryden

The dance is a poem of which each movement is a word.

Mata Hari

Dancing is a sweat job. You can’t just sit down and do it, you have to get up on your feet.

Fred Astaire

Dancing is What Music was Created For.

Advertising Slogan, for Arthur Murray dance studios

Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is no mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself.

Havelock Ellis

Dancing has been a way of lifting the human spirit since the beginning of time.

Gloria Steinem

Every dance is a kind of fever chart, a graph of the heart.

Martha Graham

There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good.

Edwin Denby

Dancing, if done consistently and as part of a measured regimen is a form of life insurance.

James Cagney

Just do the steps that you've been shown
By everyone you've ever known
Until the dance becomes your very own
No matter how close to yours another's steps have grown
In the end there is one dance you'll do alone.

Jackson Browne

How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget.

Don Henley

A perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire.

George Bernard Shaw

Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery.

Martha Graham

We ought to dance with rapture that we should be alive and in the flesh, and part of the living, incarnate cosmos.

D. H. Lawrence

The philosopher’s soul dwells in his head, the poet’s soul is in his heart; the singer’s soul lingers about his throat, but the soul of the dancer abides in all her body.

Kahlil Gibran

There are short-cuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them.

Vicki Baum

Dancing is a primal urge coming to life at the first moment we need to express joy.

James Cagney

From A Year with Rilke, May 13 Entry
Things Intimate and Indifferent, from Letter to Witold Hulewicz, November 13, 1925

For our ancestors, a house, a fountain, even clothing, a coat, was much more intimate. Each thing, almost, was a vessel in which what was human found and defined itself.

Now, from America, empty, indifferent things sweep in—pretend things, life-traps... A house, in the American sense, an American apple, a grapevine, bears no relation to the hope and contemplation with which our ancestors informed and beheld them.

Garden Behind a House
by Vincent van Gogh

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.






*Willow, when it's buddhing.