

Jun 9, 2017 This week’s theme

Nouns that became verbs



This week’s words

showboat

gaslight

degauss

Shakespeare

prodnose



“I Love Malling”

(also, vasing, celloing, wide-stancing, and red-sweatering) Photo: hojusaram

“letsgreenthiscity”

(alsoletssaveonpunctuation) Photo: Ade Oshineye

This week’s comments

AWADmail 780



Next week’s theme

Words borrowed from Persian Nouns that became verbs A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg



prodnose PRONUNCIATION: (PROD-nohz)

MEANING: verb intr.: To pry.

noun: A prying person.

ETYMOLOGY: After Prodnose, a pedantic and nosy character, who appeared in the columns of J B Morton in the Daily Express. Earliest documented use: 1954.

NOTES: J B Morton wrote under the pen name Beachcomber. Twenty years before the word appeared in his column, the poet Dylan Thomas wrote in a letter to someone in 1934:

“I want you to think of me today ... singing as loudly as Beachcomber in a world rid of Prodnose.”

USAGE: “The lines between government prodnosing and charitable work become ever more blurred.”

Libby Purves; Charities Must Get Back to Doing Good Works; The Times (London, UK); Dec 23, 2008.



“Now Wallace wants to take this gang of Minnesota prodnoses to the national level.”

Alexander Cockburn; Leave the Press to the Court of Public Opinion; Los Angeles Times; Dec 27, 1996.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Live and let live, be and let be, / Hear and let hear, see and let see, / Sing and let sing, dance and let dance. ... Live and let live and remember this line: / "Your bus'ness is your bus'ness and my bus'ness is mine." -Cole Porter, composer and songwriter (9 Jun 1893-1964)





We need your help



Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere



Donate