bets/bombs

Once, 3 or 4 years ago, I bet my dad 1 million ($US) that ameliorate means to blow up--to wipe off the face of the map, if you will.

He was right, of course. (lesson: believe your father when he says that he never bets unless he's absolutely sure). Ameliorate means to make better or more tolerable. This was the last time I made a bet with Pops. My gambling debt had to hit 8 million ($US) before I learned the lesson he was trying to teach me--it's better to reach for the dictionary than your wallet

This morning on the radio someone said "Yes, well we are trying to ameliorate the situation in Iraq."

Maybe there's some sort of compromise in that word -- a geographical nuance: "We are trying to make the situation better in Iraq by blowing it up."

(Note: M #1 is up to 23 million ($US) while M#2, the only one of us kids who has any of my grandfather's business sense, is still her own woman, free and clear)