18 October 2014

parlous

[pahr-luh s]

adjective

1. perilous; dangerous.
2. Obsolete. clever; shrewd.
adverb
3. to a large extent; greatly.

Origin

1350-1400; Middle English, variant of perlous, syncopated variant of perilous

Related forms
parlously, adverb
parlousness, noun
Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for parlous
– Thus the parlous state of modeling and the concomitant need for modesty among those addicted to central planning.
– Second is the parlous state of the academic job market.
– Or maybe you’re totally sanguine about the prospect, knowing you’ll find the list parlous simple.

Today’s aphorism

Don’t let the same dog bite you twice.

– Chuck Berry

On this day

18 October – Anti-slavery day, created by an act of the U.K. Parliament in 2010. It defines modern day slavery as child trafficking, forced labour, domestic servitude and trafficking for sexual exploitation. It provides an opportunity to draw attention to the subject and to pressure government, local authorities, public institutions and private and public companies to address the scale and scope of human trafficking.

18 October 1776 – the ‘cocktail’ is invented when a customer requests a drink decorated with a bird-tail, in a New York bar.

18 October 1926 – birth of Chuck Berry, legendary American musician and pioneer of rock and roll and famous for songs such as ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ and ‘Johnny B. Goode’.

18 October 1931 – death of Thomas Edison, U.S. inventor. Born 11 February 1847.