Word of the Day

: April 3, 2021

moxie

noun MAHK-see

What It Means

1 : energy, pep

2 : courage, determination

3 : know-how

moxie in Context

"On offense, the Giants need more speed, more talent, more explosive plays, more creativity, more power, more moxie. More everything." — Paul Schwartz, The New York Post, 21 Feb. 2021

"Ideally the Legislature, on a bipartisan basis, would summon the political moxie to allow robust competition between the research universities and the community colleges for baccalaureate degrees. If that's not possible, anything that allows a four-year degree to be independently offered by a community college is worth doing." — Robert Robb, The Arizona Republic, 19 Feb. 2021

Did You Know?

"Hot roasted peanuts! Fresh popcorn! Ice-cold Moxie!" You might have heard such a snack vendor's cry at a baseball game—if you attended it in the early 1900s. In its heyday, some claim that the soft drink named Moxie outsold Coca-Cola. 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." In quick time, 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.