The Story of Sake

The Story of Sake The Story of Sake The Story of Sake By Mark Nichol Sake is one of those nebulous yet specific words that are employed in a limited number of circumstances. This post discusses its origin and uses. Sake (from the Old English term sacu, meaning â€Å"guilt†), which primarily means â€Å"end† or â€Å"purpose,† is used most transparently in phrases beginning â€Å"for the sake of†: â€Å"For the sake of appearances† pertains to something done solely to result in positive perception rather than sincere, practical benefit, while â€Å"for the sake of argument† introduces a hypothetical proposition that involves a contrary viewpoint, as in, â€Å"For the sake of argument, let’s say that what appears to be murder was an accident.† Meanwhile, â€Å"for the sake of it† is an idiomatic phrase meaning â€Å"for no particular reason†; hell, as a meaningless intensifier, often substitutes sake in this usage. Conversely, â€Å"for old time’s sake† pertains to something done as a nod to nostalgia. Also, one can write â€Å"for (one’s) sake,† as in â€Å"For John’s sake, we didn’t tell him about the incriminating letter,† where sake means â€Å"benefit† or â€Å"welfare.† But â€Å"for God’s sake†/â€Å"for Christ’s sake† (the latter sometimes styled â€Å"for chrissake†) is an expression without meaning except to express some heated emotion, such as exasperation. For the sake of euphemism, such a phrase is often bowdlerized to something like â€Å"for Pete’s sake,† inspired perhaps by St. Peter’s name or by the expression â€Å"for pity’s sake† as part of a plea for mercy. Variations include â€Å"for heaven’s sake† and â€Å"for goodness’ sake†; note the apostrophe indicating the genitive state of goodness, signaling that the sake â€Å"belongs† to goodness. (Even in content in which the style is for an s to follow an apostrophe in possessive case, this idiomatic style prevails.) Conversely, the phrase is sometimes rendered more forceful by replacing the middle word with a word equivalent to brandishing one’s middle finger. The compound namesake originally meant, literally, â€Å"one named for the sake of another,† referring to a child named after a parent or another adult to honor that person; now, its meaning extends to â€Å"anyone sharing one’s name.† On that model was keepsake coined; it refers to something originally belonging to, or otherwise associated with a deceased or departed person that is kept by another to honor the first person’s memory. The word forsake (past tense forsook, and forsaken as a past participle and an adjective), meaning â€Å"abandon† or â€Å"renounce,† stems from the Old English intensifying prefix for-, meaning â€Å"completely,† and sake in its original sense of â€Å"accuse† or â€Å"dispute.† The adjective godforsaken- literally, â€Å"abandoned by God†- refers to someplace or something neglected or remote. Sake is also seen in the expression â€Å"Art for art’s sake,† referring to the sentiment that art exists on its own merits and requires no justification. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Bare or Bear With Me?The Four Sounds of the Spelling OUKn- Words in English

Sample Argumentative and Persuasive Writing Prompts

Sample Argumentative and Persuasive Writing Prompts Any of the 40 statements or positions below may be either defended or attacked in an argumentative essay or speech. Selecting a Position In choosing something to write about, keep in mind Kurt Vonneguts advice:  Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. But be sure to rely on your head as well as your heart: select a topic that you know something about, either from your own experience or  from that of others. Your instructor should let you know whether formal research is encouraged or even required for this assignment. Because many of these issues are complex and wide-ranging, you should be prepared to narrow your  topic  and focus your approach. Selecting a position is only the first tep, and you must learn to prepare and develop your position persuasively. At the end of the following list, youll find links to a number of argumentative paragraphs and essays. 40 Topic Suggestions: Argument and Persuasion Dieting makes people fat.Romantic love is a poor basis for marriage.The war on terror has contributed to the growing abuse of human rights.High school graduates should take a year off before entering college.All citizens should be required by law to vote.All forms of government-funded welfare should be abolished.Both parents should assume equal responsibility in raising a child.Americans should have more holidays and longer vacations.Participating in team sports helps to develop good character.The production and sale of cigarettes should be made illegal.People have become overly dependent on technology.Censorship is sometimes justified.Privacy is not the most important right.Drunk drivers should be imprisoned for the first offense.The lost art of letter-writing deserves to be revived.Government and military personnel should have the right to strike.Most study-abroad programs should be renamed party abroad: they are a waste of time and moneyThe continuing decline of CD sales along wit h the rapid growth of music downloads signals a new era of innovation in popular music. College students should have complete freedom to choose their own courses.The solution to the impending crisis in Social Security is the immediate elimination of this government program.The primary mission of colleges and universities should be preparing students for the workforce.Financial incentives should be offered to high school students who perform well on standardized tests.All students in high school and college should be required to take at least two years of a foreign language.College students in the U.S. should be offered financial incentives to graduate in three years rather than four.College athletes should be exempted from regular class-attendance policies.To encourage healthy eating, higher taxes should be imposed on soft drinks and junk food.Students should not be required to take physical education courses.To conserve fuel and save lives, the 55 miles-per-hour national speed limit should be restored.All citizens under the age of 21 should be required to pass a drivin g education course before receiving a license to drive. Any student caught cheating on an examination should be automatically dismissed from college.Freshmen should not be required to purchase a meal plan from the college.Zoos are internment camps for animals and should be shut down.University students should not be penalized for illegally downloading music, movies, or other protected content.Government financial aid for students should be based solely on merit.Nontraditional students should be exempted from regular class-attendance policies.At the end of each term, student evaluations of faculty should be posted online.A student organization should be formed to rescue and care for the feral cats on campus.People who contribute to Social Security should have the right to choose how their money is invested.Professional baseball players convicted of using performance-enhancing drugs should not be considered for induction into the Hall of Fame.Any citizen who does not have a criminal record should be permitted to carry a concealed weapon.