hula dancing/ girls, murdrum, Dad dancing,

 Also catching on: “Dad dancing,” which is defined as “awkward, unfashionable, or unrestrained style of dancing to pop music, as characteristically performed by middle-aged or older men.”

Spotlight:

Do they still dance the hula in Hawaii? What would a trip to Hawaii be without the hula dancing? The Polynesians who originally settled in Hawaii developed the undulating movements to illustrate stories that were sung or chanted. Hawaiian traditions, history, myths and prayers were passed on through the generations by way of the hula dances. Missionaries who arrived in the early 19th century tried to suppress the dance, denouncing the movements as heathen, but there was a resurgence of the traditional arts, including the hula, under Hawaii's last elected king, David Kalākaua. Since 1964, thousands have participated in an annual week-long event called the Merrie Monarch Festival, honoring King David Kalākaua. One of the highlights of the week is the Miss Aloha Hula competition, the world's largest hula contest. The festival begins today on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Quote:

"Hey, what is this place? Palm trees, hula girls, pineapples, hula girls, surfboards, hula girls, hula girls, hula girls! Of course, it all adds up, I've somehow landed in Norway." — Freakazoid!

Word of the Day:
murdrum (MUR-drum)

noun
1. The killing of a human being in a secret manner.
2. The fine payable to the king by the hundred where such a killing occurred, unless the killer was produced or the victim proved to be a Saxon.

Etymology
From Medieval Latin, from Old French, murdre, murder.

Usage
"[F]or the unsolved murders of Frenchmen, they inflicted a particularly punitive version of the long-lasting murdrum fine ..." — Saint George for England. Rebecca Colman, Saint George for England, Contemporary Review, Apr 1997. Did you notice that today's word is a palindrome? Two other palindromic words have made the AWAD list so far: minim and Nauruan. -Anu