The Words of the Week - August 23

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‘Supermoon’

Supermoon, the word, was on the rise this week as a supermoon, the moon, was also on the rise.

Monday’s supermoon will reach its full peak at 2:26 p.m. EDT, according to NASA, but you might not even notice the difference that night if you aren’t careful. “I personally can't tell the difference between a supermoon and a regular moon,” Fred Espenak, a scientist emeritus for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, told Morning Edition. “And I've been looking at the moon all my life.”
— Mansee Khurana, NPR.org, 19 Aug. 2024

A supermoon is not necessarily better than any other moon; we define supermoon as “a full moon occurring when the moon is at or near the closest point in its orbit.” The term was coined by American astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 to describe both a new and a full moon occurring at or near (within 10 percent of) perigee. However, supermoon came to denote the more-restrictive meaning of a full moon at perigee. Nolle claimed that a supermoon would cause an increase in severe weather and earthquakes, but no such connection has been found.

‘Cheesesteak’

Cheesesteaks—in all their gooey, umami glory—were in the news this week, leading to a bump in lookups for cheesesteak.

U.S. Sen. JD Vance wanted to know why Pat’s King of Steaks didn’t have Swiss cheese. “I don’t like Swiss cheese either ... Why do you guys hate Swiss cheese so much, what’s the story?” the Republican vice presidential nominee asked at the counter Monday afternoon. Following a campaign stop in North Philadelphia, Vance headed down to Pat’s for a cheesesteak. “He asked about why we don't have Swiss cheese,” said Pat’s manager Sammy Garcia with a laugh. “We thought that was funny.”
— Jesse Bunch and Nick Vadala, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 Aug. 2024

The word cheesesteak, as we define it, refers to “a sandwich consisting of thinly sliced beef topped with melted cheese and condiments (such as fried onions or peppers).” In their meatier exegesis on the subject, our friends at Encyclopædia Britannica note that “Cheez Whiz—a product that Kraft Foods launched in the early 1950s to imitate the sauce used in Welsh rarebit—is the traditional choice for cheese in Philadelphia, but American cheese and provolone are common as well.”

‘Roll call’

Lookups for roll call rose on Tuesday night, the second night of the Democratic National Committee convention in Chicago.

The ceremonial roll call to affirm Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee on the second night of the Democratic National Committee Tuesday featured surprise celebrity guests, a DJ and an unexpected live music performance to transform the process that is usually considered one of the more boring and predictable portions of the gathering.
— Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2024

Roll call refers to the act or an instance of calling off a list of names, as for checking attendance or recording a vote. Roll call can also refer to a time allotted for a roll call, or to a list or roster. The term was first used in a military context in the mid-1700s.

‘Mensch’

Mensch also saw a bump in lookups this week, likely in connection with the Democratic National Committee convention.

[Second Gentleman, Doug] Emhoff’s remarks captivated the audience, which laughed at the lighter moments and listened quietly at others. At least one person in the crowd carried a sign reading “Doug for First Mensch.” He recounted a recent moment amid the whirlwind of her becoming the Democrats’ presidential nominee: She was resting at home in “her favorite chair” when her phone rang. Was it, Emhoff wondered, some pressing issue of government? Not quite. Harris was talking to her stepdaughter, Ella. “That’s Kamala,” he said. “That scene was a perfect map of her heart. She’s always been there for our children, and I know she’ll always be there for yours too.”
— Faith E. Pinho, The Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2024

We define mensch as “a person of integrity and honor.” It comes from the Yiddish word mentsh, which translates directly as “human being” but is also used specifically for a good or admirable person. It was first used in English in the mid-1800s.

‘Unserious’

Unserious spiked in lookups as the word featured prominently in Vice President Kamala Harris’s address at the Democratic National Committee convention on Thursday night, and then in headlines and articles covering her speech.

Harris: Consequences of Electing ‘Unserious’ Trump are ‘Extremely Serious’
— (headline) The Wall Street Journal, 23 Aug. 2023

Harris lays out the case against ‘unserious’ Trump in historic DNC acceptance speech
— (headline) The Independent (London), 23 Aug. 2023

“In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man,” Ms. Harris said. “But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”
— Katie Rogers and Reid J. Epstein, The New York Times, 22 Aug. 2023

Our definition of unserious is straightforward enough: “not serious.” Serious, on the other hand, has multiple meanings, so context is required to determine which flavor of “not serious” applies in any given situation. With regard to Vice President Harris’s remarks, it is unlikely, for example, that she intends the serious in unserious to mean “excessive or impressive in quality, quantity, extent, or degree,” as in “making serious money” or “serious stereo equipment.” In calling her opponent unserious, she may instead mean that he is not “thoughtful or subdued in appearance or manner,” not “in earnest,” or “not deeply interested or devoted.” In calling the consequences of his reelection serious, she likely intends yet another sense of the word: “having important or dangerous possible consequences.”

Word Worth Knowing: ‘Bluey’

Our online dictionary defines bluey as an adjective that is synonymous with bluish and means “somewhat blue” or “having a tinge of blue.” Bluey is considerably less common than bluish, though it does appear in print from time to time, as when WIRED writer Adrienne So described the water in her local river as “shimmering, bluey-green, and crystal clear.” As a noun, according to our unabridged dictionary, bluey has been used trebly, and chiefly in Australia, to refer to: a blue crab (Portunus pelagicus); any of several Australian lizards; and a bundle carried by a swagman (“drifter”), due to the blue blanket commonly used to wrap the bundle.