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Word of the Day

Word of the day

asana

[ ah-suh-nuh ]

noun

any of the postures in a yoga exercise.

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More about asana

The noun asana, “any of the postures in a yoga exercise,” comes from the Sanskrit noun āsanam “(act of) sitting, sitting position,” from the Sanskrit root ās– “to sit, be seated,” from the Proto-Indo-European root ēs– “to sit,” found only in Indo-Iranian, Greek, and Hittite: Sanskrit ā́ste, Avestan āste, Greek hēstai, and Hittite esa, esari all mean “he sits.” Asana entered English in the first half of the 19th century.

how is asana used?

Getting in to the correct asana is good but you must also train your mind not to oscillate.

Dr. Rajalakshmi, quoted in "What India's Traditional Yoga Teachers Want You to Know for the International Day of Yoga," Time, June 20, 2018

I can still do some asanas. And I never could get the hang of meditation, but I still can do an asana or two.

Loudon Wainwright III, "Loudon Wainwright III Opens Up About The 'Exes & Excess' That Inform His Music," Fresh Air, September 6, 2017
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Word of the day

jo

[ joh ]

noun

Scot.

beloved one; darling; sweetheart.

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More about jo

The common noun jo, “darling, sweetheart,” is Scots, a variant of joy. Jo occurs in many noted Scots authors, including Robert Burns’s “John Anderson my jo!,” Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Just twa o’ my old joes, my hinny dear” (“Just two of my old sweethearts, my honey dear”). Jo entered English in the first half of the 16th century.

how is jo used?

… her ne’er-do-well jo had provided her with a rope-ladder during the forenoon service, by which she had descended into his arms when she believed the house to be all at rest …

John Galt, Lawrie Todd, 1830

John Anderson, my jo!

Robert Burns, "John Anderson my Jo," Scots Musical Museum, Vol. 3, 1790
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Word of the day

chocolate-box

[ chaw-kuh-lit-boks, chok-uh-, chawk-lit-, chok- ]

adjective

excessively decorative and sentimental, as the pictures or designs on some boxes of chocolate candy; prettified: decorous, chocolate-box paintings of Victorian garden parties.

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More about chocolate-box

The compound noun chocolate box dates from around 1865 and has the literal meaning “a package, box, or tin filled with chocolates.” Such packages or boxes are typically decorated in a showy, gaudy, sentimental style. By the end of the 19th century, the compound noun acquired the function of an attributive adjective, hyphenated as chocolate-box, meaning “excessively decorative and sentimental.”

how is chocolate-box used?

It works best when everyone stops worrying about conjuring a chocolate-box version of the past and allows the duo’s raw talent to shine through.

Alexis Petridis, "The Secret Sisters," The Guardian, February 17, 2011

But if it’s verdant folds, ­chocolate-box villages and a taste of eternal England that you want, try East Kent ….

Will Hawkes, "The idyllic Cotswolds are overrun with tourists. Try East Kent instead." Washington Post, January 9, 2020
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