Grammar Moses: Of marcescence and Socratic debate

One of the reasons my wife and I rarely get sick of one another is that we are both intensely curious and we both enjoy a good discussion of logic.

One of us will come up with a question about why something is the way it is and then spend the next three hours reasoning out an acceptable answer.

For instance: How do limo drivers queue up at the Oscars so that no one in a $200,000 dress has to wait outside for any length of time looking for a similar black stretch Hummer?

Sometimes we even seek out a trusted resource, such as a dictionary, to tell us whether our theory holds water. But rarely do we skip the Socratic debate.

I think we have found kindred spirits in Rita Boserup and Scott Zapel of Glen Ellyn.

A couple of weeks ago I asked you for your new favorite words.

Theirs is "marcescence."

"My husband Scott and I were recently discussing why some of our oak trees still have their dead leaves," Rita wrote. He discovered it's called "marcescence."

It is most common in shorter or immature trees and the lower branches of mature trees. The theory is that by waiting to shed their dead leaves until spring, the tree creates its own mulch and allows more snow to saturate the ground around the base of the tree.

Nictitate

Bev Cherney recently came across "nictitate" in a crossword puzzle.

"While it doesn't roll off the tongue as easily as 'wink,' there is just something about the word that is appealing," she wrote. "Could it be that the three t-sounds in 'nictitate' imitate three quick winks?"

I can't answer your question, Bev, but I bet if you titillated by nictitating, you could wear out the T on your keyboard quickly.

You might have heard of the word if you own a cat, fish or bird. They all have a nictitating membrane - that creepy third eyelid.

Struthious

Speaking of birds, reader Emilie's new favorite word is "struthious," meaning related to ostriches.

"A person who is struthious has his or her head buried in the sand," she wrote.

Bye bye!

Bob Susnjara is a veteran reporter at the Daily Herald. He's also a hockey enthusiast, by which I mean he actually laces up his skates, puts on pads and hits people on the ice.

I might be a hockey enthusiast, too, but the closest I get to the ice is dropping a couple of cubes in my cocktail while watching the game from a comfy chair with a warm cat in my lap.

So consider Bob's state of mind when you read his rant:

"I've known since grade school that a 'bye' meant you finished high enough to skip a game, that it was a reward when you reached the playoffs. I don't understand why sports media constantly uses 'bye' when the writers or broadcasters mean a team has a week off. You see this all the time in the NFL regular season, and now it's seeped into the NHL, where all teams play 82 games and get a week off. The hockey teams are not getting byes, unless some are playing 78 games."

I'll be gentle in my response, given that Bob carries a hockey stick and is willing to break an ankle now and then for his sport.

Bob, from a prescriptivist's point of view, is absolutely correct. American Heritage, Webster's Third New International (unabridged) and Oxford English dictionaries all agree with him. There is no secondary definition provided in any of these dictionaries that equates to calling a week off in a regular 17-week NFL schedule a "bye."

However, modern, more casual online dictionaries, message boards and FAQs routinely provide two definitions: the traditional tournament definition that Bob supports as well as a secondary usage that includes a week off while others are playing in a regular weekly schedule of matches in football and soccer.

And apparently now hockey.

Roll with the changes, Bob.

Write carefully!

• Jim Baumann is vice president/managing editor of the Daily Herald. Write him at jbau-mann@dailyherald.com. Put Grammar Moses in the subject line. You also can friend or follow Jim at face-book.com/baumannjim.