Friday, November 13, 2009

Word Woman


Welcome to another amazing installment of Word Woman’s Weekly Work-Out! Your mental skills are available on a use-it-or-lose-it basis, so keep in practice by learning new vocabulary. Here’s the Word of the Week to get you started:


Ersatz: Something ersatz is an imitation or a substitute. A German word that came into English in about 1870, ersatz derives from the German ersetzen, to replace. -- “The Facts On File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins”, Robert Hendrickson, Checkmark Books, New York, 1997.


Example: John's ersatz diamond engagement ring did not impress Sally, who knew a cubic zirconium when she saw one. She turned him down cold.




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