deep-six

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 6, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>deep-six</strong> &#149; \DEEP-SIKS\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><strong>1 :</strong> to get rid of <strong>:</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discard">discard</a>, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eliminate">eliminate</a></p> <p><strong>2</strong> <em>slang</em> <strong>:</strong> to throw overboard</p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>Citing budget concerns, the city council announced that it has <em>deep-sixed</em> plans to repave the city's bike trails.</p> <p>"The movement impressed the Clinton White House, which began drafting an executive order mandating plain language in government—until an administration attorney <em>deep-sixed</em> the idea because he did not find the mission suitably '<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/magisterial">magisterial</a>.'" — <a href="https://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=2780be8c-325f-4f86-b7e9-34f1bb56d292">Evan Halper, <em>The Los Angeles Times</em>, 13 Mar. 2021</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>Before the introduction of shipboard sonar, water depth was measured by hand with a <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sounding%20line">sounding line</a>. This was generally a rope weighted at one end, with bits of leather called <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mark">marks</a></em> tied on at intervals to measure the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fathom">fathoms</a>. Between the marks, fathoms were estimated by <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deep#h3">deeps</a></em>. The <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leadsman">leadsman</a> (pronounced LEDZ-mun) lowered the line into the water and called out the depth as the rope passed t