Word of the Day: ROUT
To conquer, clobber, or crush
rout (verb) - to defeat completely and put to flight; to cut or dig a groove [rout]
BREAKDOWN: ROUT- (to break)
a rout is a blowout victory or an overwhelming defeat; a disorderly retreat following a major loss; a riot
a router is a power tool used to dig furrows or grooves into material like wood or plastic
a router is also a networking device that connects multiple computers or devices to each other and to the internet
“The way to deal with superstition is not to be polite to it, but to tackle it with all arms, and so rout it, cripple it, and make it forever infamous and ridiculous.” —H.L. Mencken
The double meaning of "router" is the sneaky gem here. The woodworking tool routes grooves by breaking material — same core idea as routing an enemy army. But then networking borrowed it for devices that break up and direct data packets. Same metaphor, entirely different domain. It's like the word itself got routed into unexpected territory.