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May 21, 2010
This week's themeWhose what?
This week's words
Ockham's razor
Morton's fork
Hobson's choice
Achilles' heel
St. Elmo's fire
St. Elmo's fire on a ship
An illustration from the 1875 book The Aerial World by Dr. G. Hartwig
Erratum: Yesterday's entry for Achilles' heel should have read "Trojan prince Paris" instead of "Trojan king Paris".
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with Anu GargSt. Elmo's fire
PRONUNCIATION:
(saynt EL-mohz fyr) 
MEANING:
noun: An electrical discharge visible at the surface of a conductor, as a ship's mast or an airplane's wing. ETYMOLOGY:
After St. Erasmus (mispronounced as Elmo by sailors) who is regarded as the patron saint of sailors and an electrical discharge on the mast of a ship is believed to be a sign of his protection. This phenomenon of corona discharge is also called St. Elmo's light. USAGE:
"When Capt Moody opened the door to the cockpit he saw the windscreen ablaze with a St. Elmo's fire -- a discharge of static electricity."When Volcanic Ash Stopped a Jumbo at 37,000ft; BBC News (London, UK); Apr 15, 2010.
"Donald Holder's lighting design needed more pizzazz, particularly in scenes like the storm that sparks St. Elmo's fire on the ship's masts."
Heidi Waleson; Taming the Whale; The Wall Street Journal (New York); May 4, 2010.
Explore "St. Elmo's fire" in the Visual Thesaurus.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
I need someone to protect me from all the measures they take in order to protect me. -Banksy, street artist (b. 1974) Sponsored by:
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