Ack Emma – is a British slang term for “a.m.” as in ante meridian. The phrase derives from a British signalman’s letter code, in which Ack stood for A and so on. This is also where the word Ack Ack for anti-aircraft (AA) fire comes from, as well as the origin of the companion term Pip Emma (see PG Wodehouse, somewhere). Now that we know three letters of the code, where’s the rest?… (08 September 2000:) Well, I just ran across the phrase Tock Emma for “trench mortar”, another phrase that originates in the same code, so we’re 4 down and 22 to go. (05 June 2007): Here we go: Ack Beer Charlie Don Edward Freddie Gee Harry Ink Johnnie King London Emma Nuts Oranges Pip Queen Robert Esses Toc Uncle Vic William Xray Yorker Zebra

Acrolith – you can get some of the meaning of this word from its form; here acro- should be taken to mean extreme rather than high while -lith refers to stone. An acrolith is a statue in which only the extremities (head, hands, and feet) are made of stone, while the other parts are made much more cheaply, of wood, which is then hidden by clever painting or the use of drapery. It is actually common in archaelogical digs to discover a head, hands and feet of a statue, and no “innards”; this is not because of some bizarre underground creature that devours statuary, but rather the age-old human practice of cheapness!

Aftermath can be derived from after mowth, and refers to the second crop of grass or grain that comes up after mowing. Strictly speaking, it refers to anything that comes after something else; however, aside from being the title of a little-known album by the Rolling Stones, it seems otherwise to be reserved for use in newspapers when referring to hurricanes, wars, and serial killers.

Amblygon is a triangle containing an obtuse angle, that is, one of measure greater than 90 degrees.

Annie Oakley – a free pass or complimentary ticket. Our research department was momentarily unable to explain how the sharpshooter of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and “Annie Get Your Gun” became associated with this idea! But then we discovered the connection: one of Annie Oakley’s tricks was to toss a playing card in the air and shoot out the spots. The result was similar to a complimentary ticket, which was typically punched so that it could not be resold. Now there’s an odd train of thought!

Anthrax is related to anthracite, the word for hard coal. Both come from a Greek word meaning “coal”. This relationship can be explained by the most remarkable symptom of a cutaneous anthrax infection: the formation of a hard black cyst in the skin, suggesting a pellet of coal. Surprisingly, the French term for anthrax is charbon, which has an obvious relation to carbon.

1 : foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals; especially : marked by rash lofty romantic ideas or extravagantly chivalrous action

penultimate: Function: adjective

1 : next to the last

2 : of or relating to a penult