Word of the Day (a challenge)

[Deviate]

i get these courtesy of Wordsmith.org and thought, hey, wouldn't it be great to expand others' vocabularies as well as my own???

so, here it is. i'll post a word of the day and y'all see how well you can use it throughout the board, wherever you see fit. then i'll post a new word the next day and we'll start all over again.

cool? i thought you'd dig it.

okay --------------------------------------------------------------------------

today's word:

blackball (BLAK-bawl) verb tr.

1. To vote against, especially to prevent someone from joining a club or a group.

2. To ostracize or boycott.

noun

A negative vote.

[From black + ball. From the former practice of depositing a white ball or a black ball as a ballot to vote for or against a candidate.]

"But Mohammad Reza Khatami - who was deputy parliament speaker and among more than 2,400 candidates blackballed from Friday's elections - warned against public demonstrations to demand change, saying Iranians have no appetite for another revolution." Brian Murphy; Khatami: Iran Doesn't Want Revolution; Kansas City Star (Missouri); Feb 18, 2004.

"(Fernando) Ricksen's ban kicks in immediately, blackballing him from Rangers' next two matches against Dundee and Dunfermline." Keith Jackson; Football: Fernan-doh; Daily Record (Glasgow, UK); Mar 17, 2004.