16 October 2013

duff

[duhf]

verb (used with object) Slang.

1. to give a deliberately deceptive appearance to; misrepresent; fake.
2. British . (in golf) to misplay (a golf ball), especially to misjudge one’s swing so that the club strikes the ground behind the ball before hitting it.
3. Australian.
a. to steal (cattle). e.g. ‘The police arrested the cattle duffer’.
b. (formerly) to alter the brand on (stolen cattle).
c. pregnant, e.g. ‘The last time I saw her, she was up the duff’.
4. to cheat someone.
5. Homer Simpson’s favourite beer, e.g. ‘Mmmm …. Duff Beer …’

Origin:
1830–40; back formation from duffer

Today’s aphorism

The place where you made your stand never mattered. Only that you were there… and still on your feet.

– Stephen King

On this day

16 October – Dictionary Day (in the U.S.A), coinciding with the birthday of Noah Webster (born 1758), creator of Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language and known as the ‘Father of American Scholarship and Education’.

16 October 1834 – London’s House of Lords and House of Commons damaged by fire caused by an over-heating chimney flue during the destruction of tally sticks.

16 October 1962 – start of the Cuban Missile Crisis, known in Cuba as the October Crisis and in Russia as Kарибский кризис (Caribbean Crisis), one of the major events of the Cold War as it brought the world to the brink of nuclear conflict. It started when a USAF U-2 plane photographed evidence of Soviet air bases being constructed in Cuba on 14 October 1962. The U.S. considered bombing the bases, but ended up blockading Cuba, preventing Soviet weapons being delivered. Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev wrote to U.S. President John F. Kennedy, stating the blockade constituted an act of war. For 13 days, the Americans and Soviets conducted talks to resolve the crisis. On 28 October 1962, Kennedy and UN Secretary General U. Thant reached a public and secret agreement with Khrushchev. Publicly, the Soviets agreed to dismantle their weapons in Cuba, while the U.S. gave an agreement to never invade Cuba. Secretly, the U.S. agreed to dismantle its ballistic missiles in Turkey.