Gibraltar (ji-BROL-tuhr) noun

   An impregnable stronghold.

Rock of Gibraltar

   Something or someone whose strength one can rely on.

[After Gibraltar, a British colony on the southern coast of Spain, home of
the Rock of Gibraltar.]

Here are pictures of the Rock of Gibraltar:
http://www.1gibraltarplaza.gi/gibraltar/views.html

   "And it could, at long last, rattle Gibraltar. After all, it's only made
   of clay."
   John Carman, Rivals Chip Away At NBC's Gibraltar / Thursday Night Lineup
   Isn't What it Used to Be, The San Francisco Chronicle, Oct 12, 2000.

   "In this Gibraltar of propriety mediocrity gets intrenched, and
   consolidated, and founded in adamant. An Englishman of fashion is like
   one of those souvenirs, bound in gold vellum, enriched with delicate
   engravings, on thick hot-pressed paper, fit for the hands of ladies and
   princes, but with nothing in it worth reading or remembering."
   Ralph Waldo Emerson, English Traits, 1856.

This week's theme: toponyms or words derived from place names.

Today's AWAD is sponsored by NannyTax, Inc., providing tax compliance services
to employers of domestic help. For useful information and a free consultation,
please visit: http://www.nannytax.com

............................................................................
My theology, briefly, is that the universe was dictated but not signed.
-Christopher Morley, writer (1890-1957)

Q: Tomorrow is my friend's birthday and I forgot to send her a gift. Help!
A: Give the gift of words. Send a gift subscription of A.Word.A.Day at
   http://wordsmith.org/awad/gift.html . It is the gift that keeps on
   giving the whole year long, and beyond.

Pronunciation:
http://wordsmith.org/words/gibraltar.wav
http://wordsmith.org/words/gibraltar.ram