Episode #004, 30.10.2011: irrecoverably

irrecoverable, adjective. That cannot be recovered or remedied. Hence irrecoverably, adverb.

In a sentence: “The key is irrecoverably lost.”

I think it is an interesting word, that’s why I picked it. However, there is not much more to say. But, I’ll make it up to you with the next episode.

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Episode #003, 23.10.2011: to boondoggle

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to boondoggle, verb. To waste time on a pointless activity.

In a sentence: “Opponents think this is a government boondoggle.”

This word, as a noun, was coined by Robert H. Link, an American scout, in 1929 and is braided ring to hold a neckerchief, which is a type of scarf. Another word for boondoggle is woggle.

However, in 1935 The New York Times reported how, as part of a New Deal program, the production of boon doggles was taught. From then on, the word signifies also wasteful government program and its corresponding verb.

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Episode #002, 16.10.2011: surreptitiously

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surreptitious, adjective. Underhand, kept secret, done by stealth, clandestine. Hence surreptitiously, adverb.

In a sentence: „Surreptitiously the thief walked through the house.“

So our second word means something that is done in secret. I think it has a nice sound to it, because of the double r.

It originated in the 15^th century and is a combination of the Latin words surripio and rapio, both meaning to steal or to snatch.

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Episode #001, 09.10.2011: gobbledygook

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gobbledygook or gobbledegook, noun (slang). Pompous official jargon. It is an imitation of the sound that turkeys make.

In a sentence: „I can’t understand this legal text. It sounds all like gobbledygook.“

I picked this word as my first word, because obviously it sounds very funny. It is probably meant that way, to make fun of people who use incomprehensible words, signifying little, in order to sound important.

This term was coined by Maury Maverick, a Member of Congress of the first half of the 20^th century. Interestingly enough, his grandfather is the source of another word, maverick, which means showing independence in thoughts or actions.

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Episode #000, 02.10.2011: Introduction

Hello. I’m Marco the German. This is the first episode, or rather episode 0 of my podcast, which shall be called A Word a Week.
I have been studying the English language for more than 10 years, since 2000 and I even spend one year in High School. Over the years I have stumbled across some very distinctive words, which I want to share with you. This will be a podcast for people who are interested in the English language, no matter what their level is.
I am using The Concise Oxford Dictionary, the second edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English, dict.cc, wiktionary.org and other sources.
From time to time, I will do a special episode which I call a spotlight episode. This episode is not about a word, but about a topic, that might be of interest to you.
About the format: I will post episodes every Sunday. I will try to keep them short, but I will do longer episodes now and then. I chose this format, because I listen to a lot of podcasts and I myself enjoy this type of format the most.
I will be presenting mostly words that I myself did not know a couple of years ago, thereby trying to give you content that I would have very much liked to have listened to then.
Here is one thing I learned about learning a language: If you don’t understand something, just keep on reading or listening, especially if there are multiple words that give you trouble. You will eventually figure out what they mean because of the context. Always feel free to look up a word (or ask me!), but remember that if you are new to the language, this might be very tiring.
By the way: Doing a podcast might be tiring, too. But as I have already written more than 52 scripts, you can be sure that this podcast will last for at least one year.
My E-Mail address is awordaweek@hotmail.de. Feel free to write to me, if you know some words that I could talk about or if you have suggestions, compliments or feedback. I would really like to know, if my pronunciation is right, whether I talk to slow or too quickly and if I can improve in any way.
It would also be interesting to know, who my listeners are and where they come from. So, again, just drop me a line: awordaweek@hotmail.de

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