word | 7 Jul 2002 11:00

chawbacon's Word of the Day

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Playwright Lanford Wilson immortalized "The 5th of July"
in 1978. Read about him in our Dictionary of American Writers.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/book/peoplace/amwrit.htm
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The Word of the Day for July 8 is:

chawbacon   \CHAW-bay-kun\   (noun)
     : bumpkin, hick

Example sentence:
     "Tad's such a chawbacon," said Cal, "you'll never take the
backwoods out of him, no matter how hard you try."

Did you know?
     "Chaw" is an alteration of "chew" that is still used in
some English dialects, especially in rural areas. According to
some sources, bacon was a staple of rural folks' diets in the
past. Since the 16th century, "chaw" has been combined with
"bacon" to create a ludicrous name for an uncultured yokel.
Over the centuries, the word has lent its delicious dialect
flavor to a wide range of publications, but it has become less
common in recent decades. Today, city dwellers are as likely as
country folk to chow down on bacon, and the word "chawbacon"
isn't often on the lips of either group.

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