Friday, July 31, 2009

Quidnuncs = News Media?

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

Gimme a P! Gimme an E!! Gimme an A!!! Gimme a C!!!! Gimme another E!!!!!
I’ll take it. Thank you.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

I love the way you speak to me when I turn down the volume of sounds around me and close my own mouth for a while. For you speak to me of things that matter. You whisper hints and suggestions that make sense or sound like they’ll be fun. You give me encouraging words and affirmation. You gently remind me of someone in need or of a promise I’ve not yet fulfilled. You call me to account for some wrong I’ve done. You point out to me some beauty or joy that has not fully registered with me. As long as I’m willing to listen patiently, you will speak. You don’t shout to get my attention. Your whisper is my command.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“It’s not my job, God.”

[Not exactly what He said in the Garden of Gethsemane.]

D. Blog: Word of the Week – “quidnunc”

[Thanks to yourdictionary.com]

Part of Speech: noun

Pronunciation: ['kwid-nêngk]

Definition: A busybody, a nosy person, especially one who is always asking questions that are none of his or her business.

Usage: Kids, today's word is one you can have a lot of fun with because it sounds much worse than it really is: "You're just a big quidnunc! Now stay out of my room!" Say that to an older sibling and they will certainly tell your parents. But all you have to do is bring a dictionary with you to dinner to teach the trouble-maker an important lesson—knowledge is power. If you are older, you probably know at least one quidnunc without a dictionary in the office. Now, you can fend off their quidnunckery verbally without lowering your speech standards.

Suggested Usage: The plural of today's word is a simple "quidnuncs" but we seem unable to decide whether the quality that distinguishes quidnuncs is "quidnuncism" or "quidnunckery." (We are inclined to prefer the latter.)

Etymology: From the Latin phrase Quid nunc? "What now? What's going on?" "Quid" comes from the Proto-Indo-European *kwo-. As we now know, PIE [k] became [h] in English, so we would expect hwa-something in English. Well, pronounce "what" slowly and listen to yourself. We actually switch the [h] and [w] in our writing, for "what" is pronounced [hwaht]. So, "where," "when," and "which" developed from the same primitive words as Latin "quid," quo "where," quando "when." By the way, Russian chto "what" and kto "who" come from the same root with to "that" suffixed to it.

[Sure, I recognize a few of them in the media.]

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