POST HASTE ACRONYM CODE

My husband says the word stems from 'Pandora's Box,' meaning 'a source of confusion.' Who's right, or are either one of us right? - Barbara J. That kind of change is how every language grows and flourishes.ĭear Word Detective: My husband and I disagree as to the origin of the word 'pandemonium.' I say the word was formed early in this century when pandas were brought to the United States and caused much curiosity. But they're not wrong to use it in its 'new' sense. A similar (if not so beautiful) case is the word 'decimate,' which originally meant to kill one in every ten soldiers, but since around 1663 has been quite properly used to mean, as the Oxford English Dictionary defines it, 'To destroy or remove a large proportion of to subject to severe loss, slaughter, or mortality.'Īs to the sloppiness or confusion issue, it is true that many folks who use 'myriad' have no idea that it originally meant 'ten thousand,' and that's a shame. Used in this broader, figurative sense as both a noun ('A myriad of choices on the menu') and an adjective ('Tommy offered myriad excuses for his tardiness'), 'myriad' is a very useful and beautiful word. It is true that the original meaning of 'myriad,' based on its Greek roots, was 'ten thousand.' But it is also true that 'myriad' has been used by literate writers to mean 'large or countless numbers' of something since the 16th century, a very long time ago. The short answers are yes, maybe, and you betcha. Your questions are whether the usage of 'myriad' has changed, whether that change is due to popular confusion and/or sloppiness, and whether popular usage, even if wrong, is a good enough reason to change dictionary definitions. Say, do you mind if I go lie down for a while before we continue? All that stuff about the 10,000 facets of the President has given me a slight case of the fantods. Do you think it will come to mean that someday, simply by force of popular perception? - Mark Holleran, via the internet. But the idea that people often get is that 'myriad' means a maze or labyrinth, or a confusing variety. Give it a look.ĭear Word Detective: The dictionary definition of the word 'myriad' is '10,000.' Colloquially, that would translate to 'a lot of,' right? As in, 'Let's examine the myriad facets of the President.' Literally, that would mean 'Let's examine the 10,000 facets of the President.' Frequently, in print and speech, it is used as 'a myriad of,' like 'there was a myriad of choices.' Literally, that doesn't work at all ('There was a 10,000 of choices'!). Speaking of giant radioactive kangaroos, by now you've probably realized that 99.99 percent of the web is a total waste of time, right? Well, in my neverending quest to salvage a smidgen of sense from this vast cyber-wasteland, I have stumbled across a truly fascinating site called The Arts and Letters Daily, a constantly updated compilation of links to articles available on the net and actually worth reading, most of which have to do with literature, art, philosophy or science.

And if anyone tries to sell you some tall tale about giant radioactive kangaroos invading Disney World, please do not help to spread this baseless (and, in any case, greatly exaggerated) rumor. Until then, you'll just have to take my word for the fact that I was very busy.

POST HASTE ACRONYM CODE

I just want you all to know that I have a very good excuse for my tardiness, and I hope that someday I will be able to reveal the reason when I am no longer subject to the rigorous secrecy code binding those of us who work in the field of high-energy marsupial research. OK, those of you who own calendars have probably noticed that this issue of TWD is a little bit late.

Post haste acronym