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moxie: msg#00005

culture.language.word-of-the-day

Subject: moxie

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It's May! Or is it "might"? Settle the dispute with our
Concise Dictionary of English Usage.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/book.pl?conusg.htm&6
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The Word of the Day for May 6 is:

moxie \MAHK-see\ noun
1 : energy, pep
*2 : courage, determination
3 : know-how, expertise

Example sentence:
It took a lot of moxie for Brandon to go back to school to follow his
dream of becoming a lawyer.

Did you know?
"Hot roasted peanuts! Fresh popcorn! Ice-cold Moxie!" You might have heard
such a vendor's cry at a baseball game -- if you attended one in 1924. That was
the heyday of the soft drink called "Moxie," which some claim outsold Coca-Cola
at the height of its popularity. The beverage was a favorite of American writer
E.B. White, who wrote, "Moxie contains gentian root, which is the path to the
good life. This was known in the second century before Christ and is a boon to
me today." By 1930, "moxie" had become a slang term for nerve and verve,
perhaps because some people thought the drink was a tonic that could cure
virtually any ill and bring vim back to even the most lethargic individual.

* Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.





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