Words for Women Writing Memoir, #38

by Matilda Butler on February 9, 2012

Post #49– Women’s Memoirs, Rosie the Riveter – Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett

Memoir Writers, Storytellers and Journalers, All Benefit from Careful Word Choice, #38

Here’s the 38th word on our list that can first be attributed to the period of World War II between 1940 and 1945.

I love today’s word — have never noticed it before. I can think of lots of uses for it. Wish it really worked.

automagically, adv.

Etymology: Blend of automatically adv. and magically adv.
orig. U.S. (esp. in the language of advertising). Now chiefly Computing colloq.

Definition: Automatically, esp. in a way that seems ingenious or inexplicable; as if by magic.

First use as listed in Oxford English Dictionary:

1945 Chicago Tribune 2 Sept. f14 (advt.) The Thor Automagic Washer is a streamlined cabinet with two separate tubs?. Each tub is complete in itself—compact, sanitary, operated automagically.

Background for Our (Mostly) Daily Word from World War II

A memoir writer carefully chooses her words. That’s the only way to convey meaning and emotion to readers. There is another level of word choice that a writer needs to consider. Words that are appropriate for the time period.

When Kendra and I were writing our collective memoir, Rosie’s Daughters: The “First Woman To” Generation Tells Its Story, we kept a book nearby that contained a new word that gained popularity in each year. This became a vital resource as we tried to find ways to recreate the different decades.

Let’s say you are writing about your childhood and using dialogue. Not only should you use the language level appropriate for your age, you should also be careful to not include words that weren’t even in the dictionary at that time.

Introducing Words First Known to be Used During World War II

This year, we’re going to bring you words introduced during World War II — 1940-1945. We continue our fascination with that period after our research for writing the memoir Rosie’s Daughters. Words from an era help to define that time period. We’ll post a word almost every day — always late in the afternoon. Be sure to check in regularly.

Where do we find these words? The Oxford English Dictionary, of course. OED is a resource for all writers, containing information not just about meaning and pronunciation but also about changes in our language, history and origins of more than 500,000 words. It traces the original public use of words through about 2.5 million quotations.

It is possible to search by year when the word was first introduced. By putting in 1940-1945, we found 2,122 words with a first documented use during World War II. We’re sharing many of these with you this year.

We are excited to share with you our new AUTHENTIC ROSIE THE RIVETER COLLAR PIN — EMPLOYMENT BADGE.

We’ve had many requests for one over the years, but knew it would take a lot of research to do this right. Finally, this fall, we tackled the job. To learn more about the history of Rosie the Riveter’s pin, actually her employment badge, and how we created it, just click here.

ROSIE THE RIVETER ZIPPER PULL. We fell in love with our Rosie the Riveter pin and wore it everyplace. It became my favorite piece of jewelry. It was a great way to get into conversations with people when they asked what I had on my collar. But then winter came and my Rosie pin was buried under a coat.

Then we came up with the idea of a Rosie the Riveter Zipper Pull. It’s just a little smaller than our Rosie Collar Pin — perfect to wear on all your jackets and vests. We never leave the house without one one.

They’re fun, inexpensive, and great conversation starters. Wear one proudly to declare that you are an empowered woman. To order yours today, just click here.

By the way, if you are interested in Rosie the Riveter’s red and white polka-dot bandana, be sure to visit our store. Rosie represents the 18 million women who were working during World War II — the symbol of strength, courage, and empowerment.

If you want the official look, the official red and white polka dot scarf, we’ve got what you are looking for because no one else offers a true Rosie the Riveter bandana. Our bandana is a generous 27 x 27 inches so you can tie it just like Rosie the Riveter did. You also get more white polka dots — large ones just like Rosie wore — and in a random pattern. We studied her bandana to make sure we were offering you an authentic look. And finally, we’re pleased to say it is Made in the USA.

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