24 July 2013

invigilator

[in-vij-uh-leyt-ohr]
noun

1. one who keeps watch
2. British: one who keeps watch over students at an examination.

[in-vij-uh-leyt]
verb (used without object), in·vig·i·lat·ed, in·vig·i·lat·ing.
1. to keep watch.
2. British . to keep watch over students at an examination.
Origin:
1545–55; < Latin invigilātus (past participle of invigilāre to keep watch, stay up late), equivalent to in- in-2 + vigilā- (stem of vigilāre to watch; see vigil) + -tus past participle suffix

Related forms
in·vig·i·la·tion, noun

Today’s aphorism

Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it.

– Alexandré Dumas

On this day

24 July 1567 – Mary, Queen of Scots, forced to abdicate after being accused of adultery and murder. Her 1 year old son becomes King James VI of Scotland, and later King James I, when Scotland and England unify. He also sponsored the Authorised Translation of the bible, which was named after him, the King James Bible.

24 July 1802 – birthday of Alexandré Dumas, French author of celebrated works such as ‘Count of Monte Christo‘, ‘The Three Musketeers‘, ‘The Black Tulip‘.

24 July 1938 – Nescafe, or freeze-dried, coffee invented. Although this wasn’t the invention of instant coffee, but rather the refinement of it. Instant coffee was first invented in 1901 by Satori Kato. In 1906, George Washington invented the first mass produced instant coffee.

23 July 2013

troth

[trawth, trohth]
noun

1. faithfulness, fidelity, or loyalty: by my troth.
2. truth or verity: in troth.
3. one’s word or promise, especially in engaging oneself to marry, such as ‘betrothed’

Origin:
1125–75; Middle English trowthe, trouthe, variant of treuthe, Old English trēowth. See truth

Related forms
troth·less, adjective

Today’s aphorism

Every bad situation is a blues song waiting to happen.

– Amy Winehouse

On this day

23 July 1892 – birthday of Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia. Although Selassie was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian, Rastafarians believe that he is the Messiah returned.

23 July 1934 – Australian batsman, Donald Bradman, scores 304 against England at Leeds, with 43 fours and 2 sixes. He is the only batsman to ever complete two treble centuries in Test cricket.

23 July 1935 – a B-25 Mitchell bomber carrying three people, crashes into the Empire State Building, New York City, killing 14 people. The accident was caused by heavy fog.

23 July 2011 – death of Amy Winehouse. English singer-songwriter. She was 27.

22 July 2013

fealty

[fee-uhl-tee]

noun, plural fe·al·ties.

1. History/Historical .
a. fidelity to a lord.
b. the obligation or the engagement to be faithful to a lord, usually sworn to by a vassal.
2. fidelity; faithfulness.

Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English feute, feaute, fealtye < Anglo-French, Old French feauté, fealté < Latin fidēlitāt- (stem of fidēlitās ) fidelity; internal -au-, -al- from feal, reshaping (by substitution of -al- -al1 ) of fe ( d ) eil < Latin fidēlis

Related forms
non·fe·al·ty, noun, plural non·fe·al·ties.
un·fe·al·ty, noun, plural un·fe·al·ties.

Synonyms
2. loyalty, devotion.

Example:

More surprisingly, he managed to persuade the norman nobility to swear fealty to the boy.

Today’s aphorism

A wise physician said, ‘The best medicine for humans is love’. Someone asked, ‘What if it doesn’t work?’ He smiled and answered, ‘Increase the dose’.

– Unknown

On this day

22 July 1298 – Battle of Falkirk in which the English, led by King Edward VI, defeated the Scots, led by William Wallace. It was part of the First War of Scottish Independence.

22 July 1456 – Siege of Belgrade, or Siege of Nandorfehervar, in which Hungarian troops defeated the Ottoman Turks under the leadership of Sultan Mehmed II. Since 22 July 2011, Hungary celebrates this as their National Memorial Day.

22 July 1933 – Wiley Post completes the world’s first solo flight around the world.

22 July 1946 – Irgun, a militant Zionist group under the leadership of Menachim Begin, bombs Jerusalem’s King David Hotel, which housed the British administrative headquarters for Palestine. The bombing killed 91 people and injured 46.

22 July 1968 – The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacks its first plane, an El-Al Israel Airlines flight travelling from Rome to Tel Aviv, carrying 32 passengers and 10 crew. The plane was diverted to Algiers where 7 crew & 5 Israeli passengers were held hostage for 5 weeks until Israel agreed to exchange imprisoned Palestinian militants.

22 July 1983 – Dick Smith, Australian entrepreneur and adventurer, completes first solo helicopter flight around the world.

22 July 1983 – World’s coldest day recorded at Vostok, Antarctica where the temperature dropped to -89.2oC (128.6oF)

21 July 2013

jingo

[jing-goh]

noun, plural jin·goes, adjective

noun

1. a person who professes his or her patriotism loudly and excessively, favoring vigilant preparedness for war and an aggressive foreign policy; bellicose chauvinist.
2. English History . a Conservative supporter of Disraeli’s policy in the Near East during the period 1877–78.
adjective
3. of jingoes.
4. characterized by jingoism.
Idioms
5. by jingo!, Informal. (an exclamation used to emphasize the truth or importance of a foregoing statement, or to express astonishment, approval, etc.): I know you can do it, by jingo!

Example sentence:

Jingoism dominated the debate in the UN General Assembly.

Origin:

1660–70; orig. conjurer’s call hey jingo appear! come forth! (opposed to hey presto hasten away!), taken into general use in the phrase by Jingo, euphemism for by God; chauvinistic sense from by Jingo in political song supporting use of British forces against Russia in 1878

jingo
“mindless, gung-ho patriot,” 1878, picked up from the refrain of a music hall song written by G.W. Hunt supporting aggressive British policy toward Russia at a time of international tension. (“We don’t want to fight, But by Jingo! if we do, We’ve got the ships, we’ve got the men, We’ve got the money too.”) As an asseveration, it was in colloquial use since 1694, and is apparently yet another euphemism for Jesus, influenced by conjurer’s gibberish presto-jingo (1670). The suggestion that it somehow derives from Basque Jinko “god” is “not impossible,” but “as yet unsupported by evidence” [OED].

Today’s quote

We don’t need no education
We dont need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it’s just another brick in the wall.
All in all you’re just another brick in the wall.

– ‘Another Brick in the Wall Part 2’, The Wall, Roger Waters.

On this day

21 July 1542 – Pope Paul III establishes the Inquisition (the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition) to ‘defend the faith’ against reformists, protestants and heretics.

21 July 1899 – birthday of Ernest Hemingway, American author. He wrote books including ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls‘ and ‘Old Man and the Sea‘.

21 July 1970 – Aswan Dam opens in Egypt.

21 July 1973 – USSR launches Mars-4 space probe to photograph Mars.

21 July 1990 – Roger Waters performs a charity concert of the Pink Floyd concept album, ‘The Wall’, on the site where part of the Berlin Wall had stood. Approximately, 450,000 people attended. The stage was 170m long and 25m high. The concert included special guest performances by a large number of high profile artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Sinead O’Connor, Cyndi Lauper, Joni Mitchell, Bryan Adams and a number of others.

20 July 2013

parochial

[puh-roh-kee-uhl]

adjective

1. of or pertaining to a parish or parishes.
2. of or pertaining to parochial schools or the education they provide.
3. very limited or narrow in scope or outlook; provincial: parochial views; a parochial mentality, football fans are very parochial.

Origin:
1350–1400; late Middle English parochialle < Late Latin parochiālis (see parish, -al1 ); replacing Middle English parochiele < Anglo-French parochiel < Late Latin as above

Related forms
pa·ro·chi·al·ly, adverb
pa·ro·chi·al·ness, noun
in·ter·pa·ro·chi·al, adjective
in·ter·pa·ro·chi·al·ly, adverb
in·ter·pa·ro·chi·al·ness, noun

Today’s aphorism

Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.

– Bruce Lee

On this day

20 July 356 BC – birthday of Alexander the Great, Macedonian King.

20 July 1919 – birthday of Edmund Hillary, New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. Hillary and sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first men to reach the summit of Mt Everest.

20 July 1969 – Apollo 11 becomes the first manned landing on the moon, with Neil Armstrong the first man to walk on the moon, followed by Edwin (Buzz) Aldren Jr. Michael Collins drew the short straw and remained in orbit in order to pick up Armstrong and Aldren later.

20 July 1973 – death of Bruce Lee, martial artist and actor.

19 July 2013

miasma

[mahy-az-muh, mee-]

noun, plural mi·as·mas, mi·as·ma·ta [mahy-az-muh-tuh, mee-]

1. noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere.
2. a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere.
3. an unwholesome or oppressive atmosphere

Example sentence:

The organisation was beset by the miasma of corruption.

Origin:
1655–65; < Neo-Latin < Greek míasma stain, pollution, akin to miaínein to pollute, stain

Related forms
mi·as·mal, mi·as·mat·ic [mahy-az-mat-ik], mi·as·mat·i·cal, mi·as·mic, adjective
un·mi·as·mal, adjective
un·mi·as·mat·ic, adjective
un·mi·as·mat·i·cal, adject

Today’s aphorism

It always seems impossible until it’s done.

– Nelson Mandela

On this day

19 July 64 AD – Rome’s Circus Maximus destroyed by fire, during the Great Fire of Rome.

19 July 1553 – 15 year old, Lady Jane Grey, the ‘Nine Day Queen’, deposed as Queen of England. On his deathbed, King Edward VI (also 15) named his cousin, Lady Jane, as his successor. She ‘ruled’ for 9 days before being deposed and charged with high treason, as was her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley. They were both executed in February 1554.

19 July 1799 – Rosetta Stone discovered by Napoleon’s expeditionary army in Egypt. The Rosetta Stone enabled the translation of hieroglyphs.

19 July 1940 – Adolf Hitler delivers his ‘Last Appeal to Reason’ speech, declaring his victory and appealing for Great Britain to surrender.

19 July 1947 – assassination of General Aung San, founder of modern day Burma and Burmese Army. Father of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese politician, activist and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient.

19 July 1976 – UK rock group, Deep Purple, breaks up.

17 July 2013

cerise

cerise \suh-REES\, noun:

moderate to deep red.

Example Sentence

New South Wales was awash with cerise tonight as the Queensland Maroons celebrated their eighth straight State of Origin Series by defeating the NSW Blues 12-10.

Cerise comes from the French word of the same spelling meaning “cherry.” It entered English in the 1850s describing a shade of cherry red.

Today’s aphorism

QQQUUEEENNSLLANDDDERRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On this day

17 July 2013 – The Queensland Maroons rugby league team win a record 8 consecutive State of Origin series against the New South Wales Blues.

18 July 2013

bulwark

[bool-werk, -wawrk, buhl-]

noun

1. a wall of earth or other material built for defense; rampart.
2. any protection against external danger, injury, or annoyance: The new dam was a bulwark against future floods.
3. any person or thing giving strong support or encouragement in time of need, danger, or doubt: Religion was his bulwark.
4. Usually, bulwarks. Nautical . a solid wall enclosing the perimeter of a weather or main deck for the protection of persons or objects on deck.

verb (used with object)
5. to fortify or protect with a bulwark; secure by or as if by a fortification.

Today’s aphorism

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”

― Hunter S. Thompson

On this day

Mandela Day – An internationally recognised day to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better, and in doing so build a global movement for good. Ultimately it seeks to empower communities everywhere. ‘Take Action; Inspire Change; Make Every Day a Mandela Day’. http://www.mandeladay.com

18 July 64 AD – Great Fire of Rome.

18 July 1918 – birth of Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician.

18 July 1925 – Hitler publishes Mein Kampf.

18 July 1937 – birthday of Hunter S. Thompson, American writer and gonzo journalist.

18 July 1950 – birthday of Richard Branson, British entrepreneur.

17 July 2013

varsity

[vahr-si-tee]

noun, plural var·si·ties, adjective

noun

1. any first-string team, especially in sports, that represents a school, college, university, or the like: He is on the varsity in tennis and in debating.
2. Chiefly British Informal. university.
adjective
3. of or pertaining to a university or school team, activity, or competition: a varsity debater.
Origin:
1840–50; compare versity university, in 17th century; pronunciation probably preserves historical outcome of Middle English ĕr, as in varmint

Related forms
in·ter·var·si·ty, adjective

Today’s aphorism

In the end, it’s not going to matter how many breaths you took,but how many moments took your breath away.

Shing Xiong

On this day

17 July 1774 – Captain James Cook arrives in New Hebrides (now Vanuatu).

17 July 1976 – 25 African countries boycott the opening ceremony of the Montreal Olympics in protest against New Zealand’s sporting links with South Africa.

17 July 1979 – In Nicaragua, Marxist Sandinista rebels overthrow the U.S. sponsored government of President Samoza, who flees to the United States.