Border leaders call out Chertoff

The Monitor ^ | December 20, 2007 | James Osborne

[Savage Beast]

LOL! Well--we can't know everything--maybe almost everything--no matter how smart and well educated we might be.

I love the dictionary/thesaurus online. It's quick and easy. The etymology, especially, allows exquisite precision.

[nathanbedford]

I use Word Web but I can't get no E-ty-mology. Which one gives good etymology?

[Savage Beast]

There's a dictionary that came with Microsoft Word on this computer. It's good.

Here's an example:

trenchant
trench·ant (trénchənt)
adj

1. incisive: direct, incisive, and deliberately hurtful
trenchant criticism

2. energetic: effective and relevant in the pursuit or achievement of a goal trenchant opinions

[14th century. From Old French , “cutting,” formed from trenchier (see trench).]

-trench·an·cy, n
-trench·ant·ly, adv

Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

The derivation of trenchant from the French word for to cut makes its meaning more precise for me.

There's also a thesaurus that is accessed by a click. Here's an example:

trenchant (adj)

incisive, cutting, sharp, biting, acerbic, severe, scathing, forceful, direct, forthright, caustic, penetrating

antonym: mild

Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

I refer to this dictionary/thesaurus a lot. It helps me find the mot juste, and it's very easy.

I get frustrated when I can't think of just the right word. I like to have the dictionary/thesaurus just one click away.

Merry Christmas! ~S

[Savage Beast]

Somehow the copy got messed up in the paste (post 23). But you get the idea. ~S

[Perchant]

Local leaders have been urging DHS to incorporate the border fence into the levee system that runs along the Rio Grande, a proposal the agency denied in its recent environmental assessment.

Okay, why isn't the fence being built on the levee? It looks to me like the government is trying to create opposition.

[nathanbedford]

Thanks for the tip.

For just plain definitions, I recommend Word Web, a free download which enables you with merely the right click of your mouse to bring up both definitions and synonyms.

[Rosemont]

This administration just does not want to enforce the border.