-- W 11 -- Vocabulary in Thought and Action

-- W 11 -- Word Elements:  Thought and Belief

Part 1 cred  credibility creed discredit ver  veracity verify veritable fid  confidant defiant fidelity -phobia  acrophobia claustrophobia xenophobia

Part 2 de-  delude destitute deviate non-  nonchalant noncommittal nondescript Idioms behind the eight ball give carte blanche hold out an olive branch leave no stone unturned star-crossed tongue-in-cheek

Trivia In addition to “hold out an olive branch,” many other idioms come from the Bible. The book of Genesis gives us three. Forbidden fruit refers to the apple that Adam and Eve were told not to eat. Since they could not resist temptation, they were banished from paradise. A coat of many colors refers to the coat that Jacob gave to his favorite son, Joseph. This coat caused Joseph’s brothers to become jealous and harm him. As old as Methuselah is taken from verses that give Methuselah 969 years of life. Fidelity has been celebrated in many operas. In Fidelio, by Beethoven, a wife dresses as a man and becomes the assistant jailer in the prison where her husband is held. Her faithfulness is rewarded, and she is able to rescue him. In Turandot, by Puccini, a slave sacrifices her life for the prince she loves. Unfortunately, the prince does not display such fidelity. He promptly marries a princess. Nonchalance is one of many words and phrases that refer to either hot (as in anger) or cold (as in indifferent or lacking emotion). Nonchalance means to be “coolly unconcerned”. But when we are angry, we can be described as hot under the collar. People who lose their tempers easily are said to be hot-headed. In another example of anger, something can make your blood boil. So, to control one’s temper, someone might advise you to cool down or to chill. Horses are animals that have given us many idioms. Horsing around means playing around, as young horses do. A person on a high horse is arrogant and snobby. Toeat like a horse is to eat greedily. Horse feathers! is an exclamation meaning that something is nonsense. To get something straight from the horse’s mouth is to get something from the best authority. This phrase may have originated because horses’ ages can often be estimated from their teeth. The age of a horse is important when you are buying one. So, if you look in a horse’s mouth, you will get a better estimation of age than if you simply ask the seller. Live Links A list of phobias:  http://www.phobialist.com/index.html  The story of Sugihara and others who aided the persecuted during the Holocaust:  http://yad-vashem.org.il/visiting/temp_visiting/temp_index_sugihara.html