51吃瓜 of the Day
brackish
adjective
somewhat salty or briny, as the water in an estuary or salt marsh.
More about brackish
Brackish 鈥渟omewhat salty or briny鈥� derives by way of the adjective brack 鈥渟alty鈥� from Dutch brak, which may be connected to Middle Dutch brak 鈥渨orthless.鈥� While freshwater has a relatively low sodium chloride content and seawater is far saltier, brackish water occurs where these two salt concentrations mix and merge, producing an environment between the two extremes. Because brackish water is too salty to be used for drinking or farming, the Middle Dutch definition of 鈥渨orthless鈥� surely applies. Note that brackish also contains the suffix -ish, which in this context indicates 鈥渟omewhat鈥� or 鈥渞ather鈥�; while brack is 鈥渟alty,鈥� brackish is salty to less than the full extent. Brackish was first recorded in English in the 1530s.
how is brackish used?
For decades, if you ordered oysters on the half-shell on the eastern Gulf coast, they most likely came from Apalachicola Bay鈥攁n estuary in north Florida where freshwater rivers meet the Gulf of Mexico, creating the perfect brackish mix for growing plump, salty oysters. But in recent years, they’re hard to come by.
Unfathomable Sea! whose waves are years, Ocean of Time, whose waters of deep woe are brackish with the salt of human tears! Thou shoreless flood, which in thy ebb and flow claspest the limits of mortality!
brackish
dojo
noun
a school or practice hall where karate, judo, or other martial arts are taught.
More about dojo
Dojo 鈥渁 school or practice hall where martial arts are taught鈥� is a direct borrowing from Japanese 诲艒箩艒 鈥渄rill hall, Buddhist seminary.鈥� 顿艒箩艒, in turn, follows a familiar trajectory from Middle Chinese, which is the source of hundreds of words that were exported to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam; 诲艒箩艒 derives from a Middle Chinese compound literally translated as 鈥渨ay place鈥� or 鈥減lace of the ways鈥� (compare Mandarin 诲脿辞肠丑菐苍驳), which originated as a transliteration of Sanskrit 产辞诲丑颈-尘补峁囜笉补 鈥渟eat of wisdom.鈥� This Sanskrit term is one of numerous Buddhism-related words that traveled across Asia and became part of the Japanese language, as we learned in the recent 51吃瓜 of the Day podcast about satori. Dojo was first recorded in English in the early 1940s.
how is dojo used?
On Wednesday, as preparations continued for the start of the Olympic judo competition on Saturday, buses arrived at regular intervals to disgorge groups of competitors in front of a set of unremarkable doors. Once they removed their shoes and took a few steps inside, however, it quickly became clear that they were entering a special place. Soon they fanned out across several floors and limbered up inside spartan dojos infused with a fragrance emanating from the pinewood walls.
The four-time Venezuelan youth karate champion [Ricardo Perez] was upset when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of international tournaments in El Salvador, Bolivia and Mexico that he had been preparing for. But his family quickly turned the home into a full-time karate gym, or 鈥�dojo鈥�, rearranging furniture to leave a tatami mat in the center of their living space where he works out and also leads classes via Zoom for children and other youth athletes.
dojo
curlicue
noun
an ornamental, fancy curl or twist, as in a signature.
More about curlicue
Curlicue 鈥渁n ornamental, fancy curl or twist鈥� is a compound of the adjective curly and the noun cue. Curly, from the verb curl, appears in Middle English as crulled 鈥渃urled鈥� and is either derived from or related to Middle Dutch crul 鈥渃url,鈥� of Germanic origin and related to the name of the rolled pastry cruller. The -ru- of crul became the -ur- of curl as the result of metathesis, a linguistic phenomenon in which sounds switch places. Metathesis is also responsible for creating third, thirteen, and thirty from Old English thridda, 迟丑谤脓辞迟脓苍别, and 迟丑谤墨迟颈驳. The cue part of curlicue is most likely from French queue 鈥渢ail,鈥� via Old French from Latin cauda or 肠艒诲补 鈥渢ail,鈥� which we discussed in the recent 51吃瓜 of the Day podcast about codicil. Alternatively, this cue could be in reference to the letter Q and its easily identifiable loops when written in cursive. Curlicue was first recorded in English circa 1840.
how is curlicue used?
Armenia is one of the few countries in the world with its own alphabet鈥攊nvented in the fifth century by St. Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist. The curved letters are full of loops and curlicues, reminiscent of Ethiopia’s Amharic, 鈥� although researchers say there is no connection.
The book is also very much a celebration of Cass [Elliott]鈥檚 beauty and her music, which often intertwine visually by way of [P茅n茅lope] Bagieu鈥檚 curlicue lines and handwritten text, as when the familiar lyrics 鈥淎llll the leaves are brown 鈥� 鈥� swirl together with cigarette smoke.
curlicue