词汇大师-- Terms That Janus Would Have Loved

　　I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: two-faced words, also known as Janus words — after the Roman god with two faces looking in opposite directions —or contronyms.
RS:We are talking about a word that has developed two opposite meanings, explains linguist¹ and author Richard Lederer.
Richard Lederer
RICHARD LEDERER: "We know that words over time, almost all words, especially nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, develop different meanings. And we have some words that have more than a hundred meanings. But contronyms develop opposite meanings. Take the word 'out': just a three-letter word; sometimes an adverb, sometimes a preposition or a particle. When the sun is out, you can see it; when the lights are out, then you can't see them. So it is both visible and invisible."
RS: "Can you give us a few more examples.?  Out, you suggested. How about 'fast'?"
RICHARD LEDERER: "Right, and fast can mean moving quickly or firmly in one place. And that's the rarer meaning, but you 'hold fast' to something, it means you stay with it, whereas 'she ran fast' would be somebody moving rapidly. And similarly, 'bolt' —to secure in place, and then also to dart² away, so it's both still and moving. 'I'll bolt the door' — you're securing it in place so that it won't move. And 'Did you see the horse bolt, or the bolt of lightning?' That has to do with very rapid movement."
RS: "Well, in these contradictions, did they come later as the word evolved?"
RICHARD LEDERER: "You get one, and then through history it moves along. For example, when I was in law school, we would have moot³ court arguments, and the idea in moot court was that something was arguable. And I still feel that's the more sacred, puristic meaning. But now, a 'moot point' —and many people say 'mute point,' gulp⁴, don't do that."
AA: "What they mean is m-o-o-t, moot."
RICHARD LEDERER: "M-o-o-t."
RS: "Not m-u-t-e, right?"
RICHARD LEDERER: "Right. But they're thinking if it's 'moot,' you don't speak about it, it's already settled. And it's a little bit like 'academic.' You know, academic, you discuss things, But then we've gotten, and I think this is almost a pessimism⁵ sometimes, 'That's academic,' meaning it isn't worth talking about, it's not related to the real word, it's 'of the academy.' And these changes do mirror our history, and I have collected, oh, I'd say about thirty of these. I don't think there are too many more, and I think they are one of the most precious categories."
AA: "Wait, thirty ... which?"
RICHARD LEDERER: "Contronyms."
AA: "That's all? Only about ... "
RICHARD LEDERER: "I ... I don't think there a lot more that are truly contronymic. Maybe up to fifty."
RS: "I like 'dust.' I thought that was a good one."
RICHARD LEDERER: "Right, and tell us about that."
RS: "Well, dust, to remove dust, or you ... "
AA: "Spread, right."
RS: "Spread it around."
AA: "You get dust on the table, and then you go and dust it off, right?"
RS: "No, no, you dust for fingerprints⁶."
RICHARD LEDERER: "Yes, yes, you throw dust around when you're dusting crops. But when you dust the room or the floor, you remove it. And a little bit like trim. When you trim a tree, you add to it, but when you trim a hedge or fat off a piece of meat, you remove it.
"And, again, this may be a collective tearing of hair for second-, third-, fourth-language speakers, but words have a right to change. You take 'sanction' —s-a-n-c-t-i-o-n. And when there is a sanction or you're sanctioning someone, are you censuring⁷ it or giving approval? Well, in general, when you say something like 'The governing body plans to sanction the event,' that probably means they're giving its blessing⁸, when you do a verb like that. The other sanction is usually a noun. 'Should our country impose new sanctions on,' then you name the country, then it means that you are condemning⁹ it, you are restricting their activity. And as you master the language, you get a sense in context how you're going to be clear with your meaning."
AA:      Linguist and prolific¹⁰ author Richard Lederer has a chapter about contronyms in his book "Crazy English." You can read the chapter on our Web site, voanews.com/wordmaster.
RS:      Where you can also subscribe¹¹ to our podcast. And that's WORDMASTER for this week. With Avi Arditti, I'm Rosanne Skirble.
___
Janus Words
In the year 1666 a great fire swept through London and destroyed more than half the city, including three-quarters of St. Paul's Cathedral. Sir Christopher Wren¹², the original designer of the cathedral and perhaps the finest architect of all time, was commissioned to rebuild the great edifice¹³. He began in 1675 and finished in 1710 -- a remarkably¹⁴ short period of time for such a task. When the magnificent edifice was completed, Queen Anne, the reigning¹⁵ monarch¹⁶, visited the cathedral and told Wren that his work was “awful, artificial, and amusing.” Sir Christopher, so the story goes, was delighted with the royal compliment, because in those days awful meant “full of awe¹⁷, awe-inspiring,” artificial meant “artistic,” and amusing, from the muses¹⁸, meant “amazing.”
That was 300 years ago. Today, the older, flattering meanings of awful, artificial, and amusing have virtually disappeared from popular use. Indeed, the general rule of language is that when a single word develops two polar meanings, one will become obsolete¹⁹. Occasionally, though, two diametrically opposed meanings of the same English word survive, and the technical term for these same-words-opposite meanings pairs is contronyms. More popularly, they are known as Janus words because the Roman god Janus had two faces that looked in opposite directions.
Here’s a little finger exercise. Remember that I'm the teacher, so you must try to do what I ask. Make a circle with the fingers on your left hand by touching²⁰ the tip of your index finger to the tip of your thumb. Now poke²¹ your head through that circle.
If you unsuccessfully tried to fit your head through the small digital circle, you (and almost any reader) thought that the phrase “poke your head” meant that your head was the poker²³. But if you raised your left hand with the circle of fingers up close to your forehead and poked²⁴ your right index finger through that circle until it touched your forehead, you realized that the phrase "poke your head" has a second, and opposite, meaning: that the head is the pokee.
Here are two sentences that will solidify²⁵ your understanding of how Janus words work:
“The moon is VISIBLE tonight.”
“The lights in the old house are always INVISIBLE.”
Although the two capitalized words are opposite in meaning, both can be replaced by the same word -- out. When the moon or sun or stars are out, they are visible. When the lights are out, they are invisible.
Here are some contronymic sentences that show how words wander wondrously²⁶ and testify to the fact that nothing in the English language is absolute:
with. alongside; against: a. England fought with France against Germany. b. England fought with France.
clip. fasten; separate: a. Clip the coupon²⁷ to the newspaper. b. Clip the coupon from the newspaper.
fast. firmly in one place; rapidly from one place to another: a. The pegs²⁸ held the tent fast. b. She ran fast.
bolt. to secure in place; to dart away: a. I'll bolt the door. b. Did you see the horse bolt?
trim. add things to; cut away: a. Let's trim the Christmas tree, b. Let's trim the hedge.
dust. remove material from; spread material on: a. Three times a week they dust the floor. b. Three times each season they dust the crops.
weather. withstand; wear away: a. Strong ships weather storms. b. Wind can weather rocks.
handicap. advantage; disadvantage: a. What's your handicap in golf? b. His lack of education is a handicap.
commencement. beginning; conclusion: a. Beautiful weather marked the commencement of spring. b. She won an award at her high school commencement.
hold up. support; hinder: a. Please hold up the sagging²⁹ branch. b. Accidents hold up the flow of traffic.
keep up. continue to fall; continue to stay up: a. The farmers hope that the rain will keep up. b. Damocles hoped that the sword above his head would keep up.
left. departed from; remaining: a. Ten people left the room. b. Five people were left in the room.
dress. put items on; remove items from: a. Let's dress for the ball. b. Let's dress the chicken for cooking.
temper. soften³⁰; strengthen: a. You must temper your anger with reason. b. Factories temper steel with additives³¹.
cleave³². separate; adhere firmly: a. A strong blow will cleave a plank³³ in two. b. Bits of metal cleave to a magnet.
give out. produce; stop producing: a. A good furnace will give out enough energy to heat the house. b. A broken furnace will often give out.
sanction. give approval of; censure³⁴: a. The NCAA plans to sanction the event. b. Should our country impose a new sanction on Libya?
screen. view; hide from view: a. Tonight the critics will screen the film. b. Defensemen mustn't screen the puck.
oversight³⁵. careful supervision³⁶; neglect: a. The foreman was responsible for the oversight of the project. b. The foreman's oversight ruined the success of the project.
qualified³⁷. competent; limited : a. The candidate for the job was fully²² qualified. b. The dance was a qualified success.
moot. debatable; not worthy³⁸ of debate: a. Capital punishment is a moot point. b. That the earth revolves³⁹ around the sun is a moot point.
certain. definite; difficult to specify⁴⁰: a. I am certain about what I want in life. b. I have a certain feeling about the plan.
mortal. deadly; subject to death: a. The knight⁴¹ delivered a mortal blow. b. All humans are mortal.
burn. to destroy; to create: a. Let’s burn the evidence. b. Let’s burn a CD.
buckle⁴². fasten together; fall apart: a. Safe drivers buckle their seat belts. b. Unsafe buildings buckle at the slightest tremor⁴³ of the earth.
trip. to stumble; to move gracefully⁴⁴: a. Don't trip on the curb⁴⁵. b. Let's trip the light fantastic.
put out. generate; extinguish: a. The candle put out enough light for us to see. b. Before I went to bed, I put out the candle.
unbending. rigid⁴⁶; relaxing: a. On the job Smith is completely unbending. b. Relaxing on the beach is a good way of unbending.
wear. endure through use; decay through use: a. This suit will wear like iron. b. Water can cause mountains to wear.
scan. examine carefully; glance at hastily: a. I scan the poem. b. Each day, I scan the want ads.
fix. restore, remove part of: a. It's time to fix the fence. b. It's time to fix the bull.
seeded. with seeds; without seeds: a. The rain nourished the seeded field. b. Would you like some seeded raisins⁴⁷?
critical. opposed; essential to: a. Joanne is critical of our effort. b. Joanne is critical to our effort.
think better. admire more; be suspicious of: a. I think better of the first proposal than the second. b. If I were you, I'd think better of that proposal.
take. obtain; offer: a. Professional photographers take good pictures. b. Professional models take good pictures.
impregnable. invulnerable to penetration⁴⁸; able to be impregnated: a. The castle was so strongly built that it was impregnable. b. Treatments exist for making a childless woman more impregnable.
wind up. start; end: a. I have to wind up my watch. b. Now I have to wind up this discussion of curious and contrary contronyms.
-- from "Crazy English" (Pocket Books) by Richard Lederer

1 linguist   

n.语言学家；精通数种外国语言者

参考例句：

• I used to be a linguist till I become a writer.过去我是个语言学家，后来成了作家。
• Professor Cui has a high reputation as a linguist.崔教授作为语言学家名声很高。

2 dart   

v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲

参考例句：

• The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
• Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。

3 moot   

v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会

参考例句：

• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point.那个在董事会上提出讨论的问题仍未决的。
• The oil versus nuclear equation is largely moot.石油和核能之间的关系还很有争议。

4 gulp   

vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽

参考例句：

• She took down the tablets in one gulp.她把那些药片一口吞了下去。
• Don't gulp your food,chew it before you swallow it.吃东西不要狼吞虎咽，要嚼碎了再咽下去。

5 pessimism   

n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者

参考例句：

• He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
• There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。

6 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 censuring   

v.指责，非难，谴责( censure的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I would wish not to be hasty in censuring anyone. 我总希望不要轻易责难一个人。 来自辞典例句
• She once said she didn't want to open a debate censuring the Government. 有一次她甚至提出不愿意在辩论时首先发言抨击政府的政策。 来自辞典例句

8 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

9 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

11 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。

12 wren   

n.鹪鹩；英国皇家海军女子服务队成员

参考例句：

• A wren is a kind of short-winged songbird.鹪鹩是一种短翼的鸣禽。
• My bird guide confirmed that a Carolina wren had discovered the thickets near my house.我掌握的鸟类知识使我确信，一只卡罗莱纳州鹪鹩已经发现了我家的这个灌木丛。

13 edifice   

n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室)

参考例句：

• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。
• There is a huge Victorian edifice in the area.该地区有一幢维多利亚式的庞大建筑物。

14 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

15 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

16 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

17 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

18 muses   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的第三人称单数 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• We have listened too long to the courtly muses of Europe. 欧洲那种御用的诗才，我们已经听够了。 来自辞典例句
• Shiki muses that this is, at least, probably the right atmosphere. 志贵觉得这至少是正确的气氛。 来自互联网

19 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

20 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

21 poke   

n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
• Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。

22 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

23 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

24 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 solidify   

v.(使)凝固，(使)固化，(使)团结

参考例句：

• Opinion on this question began to solidify.对这个问题的意见开始具体化了。
• Water will solidify into ice if you freeze it.水冷冻会结冰。

26 wondrously   

adv.惊奇地，非常，极其

参考例句：

• She grow wondrously fond of stealing off to corners by herself. 她变得出奇地喜欢独自躲在角落里。 来自辞典例句
• If you but smile, spring zephyrs blow through my spirits, wondrously. 假使你只是仅仅对我微笑，春天的和风就会惊奇的吹过我的心灵间。 来自互联网

27 coupon   

n.息票，配给票，附单

参考例句：

• The coupon can be used once only.此优惠券只限使用一次。
• I have a coupon for ten pence off a packet of soap.我有一张优惠券买一盒肥皂可以便宜十便士。

28 pegs   

n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• She hung up the shirt with two (clothes) pegs. 她用两只衣夹挂上衬衫。 来自辞典例句
• The vice-presidents were all square pegs in round holes. 各位副总裁也都安排得不得其所。 来自辞典例句

29 sagging   

下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。
• We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。

30 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

31 additives   

n.添加剂( additive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• chemical additives in petrol 汽油中的化学添加剂
• It'says on the packet that these crisps contain no additives. 包装上说这些炸薯片不含添加剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 cleave   

v．(clave；cleaved)粘着，粘住；坚持；依恋

参考例句：

• It examines how the decision to quit gold or to cleave to it affected trade policies.论文分析了放弃或坚持金本位是如何影响贸易政策的。
• Those who cleave to the latter view include many conservative American politicians.坚持后一种观点的大多是美国的保守派政客。

33 plank   

n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目

参考例句：

• The plank was set against the wall.木板靠着墙壁。
• They intend to win the next election on the plank of developing trade.他们想以发展贸易的纲领来赢得下次选举。

34 censure   

v./n.责备；非难；责难

参考例句：

• You must not censure him until you know the whole story.在弄清全部事实真相前不要谴责他。
• His dishonest behaviour came under severe censure.他的不诚实行为受到了严厉指责。

35 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

36 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

37 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

38 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

39 revolves   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 )；细想

参考例句：

• The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是，轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》

40 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

41 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

42 buckle   

n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲

参考例句：

• The two ends buckle at the back.带子两端在背后扣起来。
• She found it hard to buckle down.她很难专心做一件事情。

43 tremor   

n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震

参考例句：

• There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
• A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。

44 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

45 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

46 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

47 raisins   

n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These raisins come from Xinjiang,they taste delicious. 这些葡萄干产自新疆，味道很甜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mother put some raisins in the cake. 母亲在糕饼中放了一些葡萄干。 来自辞典例句

48 penetration   

n.穿透，穿人，渗透

参考例句：

• He is a man of penetration.他是一个富有洞察力的人。
• Our aim is to achieve greater market penetration.我们的目标是进一步打入市场。