2008 Woodie Awards
Super Lackadaisical Expiali-gross-cious
Brian Maloney
Issue date: 3/7/06 Section: Opinion
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My new year's resolution (which I'm just getting around to now) is to destroy the reputation of the word "lackadaisical." I simply hate it. And maybe it's one of those once-you-start-looking-for-it-you-find-it-everywhere things, but this word seems to be enjoying a sort of undeserved renaissance.
Prior to the last edition, I can't recall having seen this word in this publication. Nevertheless, I am employing The Cynic as my soapbox. Further, I daresay that rants (mine especially) are more interesting to read than the economic implications of international trade trends or whatever-that's why a paper called The Wall Street Journal exists. I might have spared you from this crappy article and instead posted it as a bulletin on "myspace," but I'd really feel a lot easier about putting The Cynic on my resume than a wacky blog site.
So now that you understand why this article is here, let us delve in the particular shortcomings of the word "lackadaisical." Most importantly, its meaning is vague. The menacingly large dictionary standing lonely amid the computers in Bailey-Howe defines the word as "lacking life, spirit or zest." Remember in middle school when we had it hammered into our skulls that you can't define a word using the word? It's impossible. The definition isn't the only problem though. If something is lacking life, spirit or zest, who is authorized to make that assessment? It's not like there's a handheld zest meter that one could use to test the lackadaisicality (just made that word up now) of their comrades. This is what I mean when I suggest that the meaning of the word is vague. It refers to an absence of characteristics which are of a conceptual nature.
The etymology is also quite interesting. The word's heritage is archaic and from folk traditions. Lackadaisical is the addition of the popular -ical suffix to the term "lackaday." This word is defined as an "archaic word used to express sorrow or regret." In turn, "lackaday" stems from "alack the day" which in turn comes from "alack" which itself came into being when someone coughed while trying to say "alas."
Prior to the last edition, I can't recall having seen this word in this publication. Nevertheless, I am employing The Cynic as my soapbox. Further, I daresay that rants (mine especially) are more interesting to read than the economic implications of international trade trends or whatever-that's why a paper called The Wall Street Journal exists. I might have spared you from this crappy article and instead posted it as a bulletin on "myspace," but I'd really feel a lot easier about putting The Cynic on my resume than a wacky blog site.
So now that you understand why this article is here, let us delve in the particular shortcomings of the word "lackadaisical." Most importantly, its meaning is vague. The menacingly large dictionary standing lonely amid the computers in Bailey-Howe defines the word as "lacking life, spirit or zest." Remember in middle school when we had it hammered into our skulls that you can't define a word using the word? It's impossible. The definition isn't the only problem though. If something is lacking life, spirit or zest, who is authorized to make that assessment? It's not like there's a handheld zest meter that one could use to test the lackadaisicality (just made that word up now) of their comrades. This is what I mean when I suggest that the meaning of the word is vague. It refers to an absence of characteristics which are of a conceptual nature.
The etymology is also quite interesting. The word's heritage is archaic and from folk traditions. Lackadaisical is the addition of the popular -ical suffix to the term "lackaday." This word is defined as an "archaic word used to express sorrow or regret." In turn, "lackaday" stems from "alack the day" which in turn comes from "alack" which itself came into being when someone coughed while trying to say "alas."