bromide

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The Word of the Day for July 22 is:

bromide   \BROH-myde\   noun
     1 : a binary compound of bromine with another element or a 
radical including some (as potassium bromide) used as sedatives
     2 a : a commonplace or tiresome person : bore *b : a 
commonplace or hackneyed statement or notion

Example sentence:
     "Most presidents like to quote Harry Truman's 'the buck 
stops here' bromide...." (Michael Tackett, _The Daily 
Telegraph_, May 2004)

Did you know?
     After bromine was discovered in 1827, chemists could not 
resist experimenting with the new element. It didn't take long 
before they found uses for its compounds, in particular 
potassium bromide -- which was used as a sedative to treat 
everything from epilepsy to sleeplessness. By the 20th 
century, "bromide" was being used figuratively to apply to 
anything or anyone that might put one to sleep because of 
commonness or just plain dullness. Today, bromides are no longer 
an ingredient in sedative preparations, but we can still feel 
the effects of figurative bromides as we encounter them in our 
daily routines.  

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.