Wednesday, November 26, 2014

word of the day: aphorism

The word of the day is aphorism:

a terse saying embodying a general truth, or astute observation, as “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Lord Acton).
French aphorisme < Late Latin aphorismus < Greek aphorismós definition, equivalent to aphor (ízein) to define (see aphorize ) + -ismos -ism (dictionary.com)
"When, in 2004, Daniel Boulud went looking for a new pastry chef for his main New York restaurant, someone in Paris suggested Ansel, and though on his arrival here he spoke scarcely a word of English - he now speaks it with crisp, aphoristic clarity - he had a very successful run in the high-end restaurant."
 - Adam Gopnik, "Bakeoff: What is happening to our pastry?", 3 November 2014 The New Yorker 

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