Such is the stigma around the word itself that some producers asked for the name to be changed to the V-monologues, a request Ms Kotwal flatly refused.

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In fact, the trouble began with the word itself: interior.

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The word itself seems quaint -- civility.

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" She also learned, of course, that the word Zulu itself means "paradise.

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Over the years the word had moulded itself to the shape of an African mouth.

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Yet, Mr Bellos says, the concept of a word itself is almost impossible to define.

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During that time, the word "moor" itself underwent a change of definition: Originally meaning a Muslim, it became a generic term for any person from Africa or from the Ottoman Empire.

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Perhaps the word "obesity" is itself that burning platform.

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For instance, if Microsoft Word is deleted accidentally, the application will restore itself automatically when a user tries to launch a Word.

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Now, the word, if not the thing itself, is back.

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If Obama and his branding group can boil down the broader meaning of the idea, capture its essence in a more forceful word or phrase that evokes imagery beyond the phrase itself, it might work.

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Among the questions raised by critics: Since older books are harder to scan, how much of the word "death" is simply the disappearance of words garbled by the Google process itself?

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It sure looks like Sony Ericsson is keeping itself busy these days, with the company now following up word of its latest hardware with an announcement of its plans for its upcoming PlayNow Arena service.

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In a short preface Mr Kynaston says that his intention was to demythologise the City which had thought of itself as a village in which a man's word was his bond and discipline was administered by a nod and a wink from the governor of the Bank of England.

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The machine itself ships with a couple of good games, the AppleWorks (formerly ClarisWorks) word-processing and spreadsheet package, some graphics software, both the Microsoft and Netscape Web browsers, and a good e-mail program.

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It's an unconventional protest for sure, one that lends itself to great video, funny interviews and front page stories with women kissing and the word "chicks" somewhere in the headline.

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