A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

attic salt  (AT-ik salt)  noun  Refined, delicate wit.  Also known as attic wit.  [From Attic (of Greece or of Athens, after Attica, a region in southeast Greece surrounding Athens) + salt (wit).] 

wegotism  (WEE-guh-tiz-uhm)  noun  The habit of using “we” when referring to oneself.  A blend of we + egotism.  Earliest documented use:  1797.  Also see nosism, royal we, and illeist.

freemium  (FREE-mi-uhm)  noun  A pricing model in which the basic product or service is free, but extra features must be paid for.  adjective  Relating to such a model.  A blend of free + premium.  Earliest documented use:  1994.

slacktivism   (SLAK-tuh-viz-uhm)  noun  Activism that requires minimal effort.  A blend of slack + activism.  Earliest documented use:  1995.

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From:  Richard Plattner  Subject:  wegotism  Another variant is the “irresponsible we”.  Like when I tell my wife we need to get something done, and what I really mean is I want her to do it.  You won’t be surprised to learn that it was my wife who coined the phrase.
From:  Chris Witham  Subject:  slacktivism  The original meaning of “slacktivism” was positive. “Slacktivism” was the title of a seminar series Dwight Ozard and Fred Clark gave at Cornerstone Festival in 1995.  Fred Clark describes the seminar series and the meaning behind the word thus:  We chose the theme of “slacker activism” (which Dwight shortened, despite my objection that it sounded gimmicky) as a way of confronting the use of “slacker” as an epithet by Baby Boomers who had heard of, but not seen, the activity of those who don’t necessarily show up to marches (and thus are derided as slackers) but do act to make things better (thus activism) in small but measurable ways (such as planting trees) is always at the core of his description of what he and his colleague had in mind when talking about “slacker activism”, and therefore what Dwight Ozard meant when he coined the term “slacktivism”.  Obviously, very few people (mostly readers of Fred Clark) use the word as originally intended by Dwight Ozard, but I’m always interested in the original meanings of words, even if those meanings have long since become obsolete, and I’m sure others are too.

SweeTango (brand name) or 'Minneiska' is a cultivar (cultivated variety) of apple (Malus domestica) developed by the University of Minnesota in 2000 and first sold in the US in 2009.  It is a hybrid of two other apples varieties the university developed: the popular 'Honeycrisp' (the “mother”) and the early-ripening 'Minnewasheta' (brand name Zestar!, the “father” or pollinator).  The name SweeTango is a brand name of the 'Minneiska' apple, and is a registered trademark owned by the University of Minnesota.  Patent No.:  US PP18,812 P3 says it was obtained on May 13, 2008 by breeders David S. Bedford and James J. Luby.  The main feature distinguishing 'Minneiska' from other early ripening varieties known to the inventor is the longer time its fruit can be stored with little change in texture or flavor.  'Minneiska' fruit have a storage life of three to four months in refrigeration compared to one or two months for other common commercial early season varieties we have observed including 'State Fair' (not patented), 'Arends' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 2,800), and 'Minnewashta'.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SweeTango

The difference between blackball and blacklist, as Twain said, might be the difference between lightning and lightning bug (or, if you prefer, the difference between a ham sandwich and Hamtramck).  When you use (or encounter) either word, you should understand what it means.  Historically, a blacklist is a list of individuals, organizations, or even entire countries that some entity finds undesirable, for whatever reason.  It might be due to a legitimate concern:  a blacklist of known criminals, for instance, or of countries with an unacceptable level of government corruption.  But blacklists are just as often used for discrimination on social or ideological grounds.  It is necessary to note that a blacklist does not have to physically exist for someone to be blacklisted:  the entire process can be informal, occurring only by word of mouth, or by wink and nod, or by tacit complicity.  It’s a matter of intent and outcome.  The concept of a blacklist is probably as old as human society itself; as a specific phrase in English, the OED dates it as far back as 1624 as a noun (with variable shades of meaning) and 1837 as a verb.  This is different from being blackballed.  The term blackball comes from a process by which any existing member of a group has the power to prevent a new member from joining.  This is not a “the majority rules” process, but a veto power:  in a club of 100, if only one existing member blackballs a potential member, that candidate will be rejected.  (In practice, organizations that use a blackball method usually require at least two black balls, but the principle is the same.)  OED offers examples of blackball (in the correct context) as a noun back to 1550 and a verb to 1765.  Christopher Daly  https://thebettereditor.wordpress.com/2017/10/27/blacklist-vs-blackball/

Today we apply “charlatan” to any kind of con artist or “pitchman.”  The original meaning of “charlatan,” when the term first appeared in English in the 17th century, was a patent medicine salesman, an itinerant seller of useless potions, liniments and cures.  We also called such smooth-talking hucksters “quacksalvers” (from the “quacking” sound of their patter as they pushed their phony “salves”), a term eventually shortened to “quack.”  An even older term for the species, “mountebank,” comes from the Italian “monta in banco,” literally “to climb up on the bench,” referring to the elevated platform from which the “quack” usually made his sales pitch.  “Mountebank” and “quack” are both also used today in the more general senses of “con artist” and “fraud.”  The roots of “charlatan” are, perhaps fittingly, a bit obscure.  According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it is derived from the Italian “ciarlatano,” meaning “babbler,” thought to be from “ciarla,” to prattle or chat, a word possibly formed in imitation of the sound of someone babbling.  Etymologist Hugh Rawson, however, identifies “ciarlatano” as a mutation of “cerretano,” a seller of phony Papal indulgences, taken from the name of the Italian village of Cerretto, which supposedly produced many such con artists.  http://www.word-detective.com/2008/04/charlatan/

The new charalatans include sock puppets and trolls.  See https://fordhamcyberculture.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/sockpuppeting-the-ethics-and-who-does-it-harm/

"Where there is a will, there is a way."  The phrase dates back to 1640--George Herbert's "Jacula Prudentusm."  "To him that will, ways are not wanting."  The modern version, "Where there is a will, there is a way." appeared in "New Monthly Magazine" in 1822.  "Wise Words and Wives' Tales:  The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New" by Stuart Flexner and Doris Flexner (Avon Books, New York, 1993).

https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/57/messages/854.html

On November 8, 1830, an 11-year old piano virtuoso named Clara Wieck took the stage of the Leipzig Gewandhaus for her first solo recital.  Her father was a piano teacher, who had groomed Clara for a solo career since infancy.  Little Clara wrote original works for her own use.  Clara’s Op. 1, a set of four Polonaises, was published the following year.  In 1840, over her father’s strenuous objections, Clara eventually married composer Robert Schumann, a handsome young man who had moved into the Wieck household as a boarder just a month before Clara’s 1830 Leipzig debut.  Clara’s own career as a composer and  performer would eventually span five decades, and, like her father, she became one of the most famous piano teachers of her time.  Composers Datebook

THE PARADISE PAPERS   An international media investigation into 13.4 million documents accessed by German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, has brought into focus Appleby, a Bermuda-headqaurtered firm into focus.  According to the company website, the firm has about 470 staff.  These include 60 partners.  However, there are only 10 offices globally and the locations include Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Hong Kong and Shanghai.  It claims to be one of the top offshore law firms.  "The Group advises public and private companies, financial institutions, and high net worth individuals, working with these clients and their advisers to achieve practical solutions, whether in a single location or across multiple jurisdictions," the company's website says.  However, the Indian Express investigation has revealed that the company helps the rich and wealthy to avoid taxes, hide names and even supply directors for shell companies.  http://www.firstpost.com/business/paradise-papers-appleby-the-offshore-legal-advice-and-services-firm-thats-at-the-centre-of-the-media-probe-4195639.html

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1796  November 8, 2017  On this date in 1602, the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford was opened to the public.  On this date in 1895, while experimenting with electricity, Wilhelm Röntgen discovered the X-ray.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_8  Thought For Today  Your voice dries up if you don't use it. - Patti Page, singer (8 Nov 1927-2013)