12 September 2013

simpatico

[sim-pah-ti-koh, -pat-i-]

adjective

– congenial or like-minded; likable: I find our new neighbor simpatico in every respect.

Origin:
1860–65; < Italian: literally, sympathetic, equivalent to simpat ( ia ) sympathy + -ico -ic. Compare Spanish simpático, French sympathique, German sympatisch

Today’s aphorism

Most writers would agree that fiction illuminates the greater truths of life in a way that living life does not.

– ZZ Packer

On this day

12 September 1869 – death of Peter Roget, British lexographer and creator of Roget’s Thesaurus. (Born 18 January 1779).

12 September 1885 – the highest scoring soccer match in history is a Scottish Cup match played between Arbroath and Bon Accord. Arbroath won 36-0.

12 September 1990 – formal end of World War II. In 1945 there was no formal German state to accept the terms of surrender or the ongoing governing of Germany. The 1945 Potsdam Agreement set the provisional terms under which the Allies would govern Germany. The lack of a German government at the time, became known as ‘The German Question’ and was used by the U.S.A. as the reason for maintaining American bases in West Germany throughout the Cold War. It wasn’t until German re-unification in 1990, that the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) unified. To achieve full sovereignty the new unified state was required to accept the terms of the Potsdam Agreement. A settlement was then negotiated with the new German government between the new German state, the U.S.A, France, U.S.S.R and Britain, formally ending World War II.

12 September 2001 – Ansett, Australia’s first commercial airline, collapses.

12 September 2003 – death of Johnny Cash, American singer and musician. Born 26 February 1932.

11 September 2013

internecine

[in-ter-nee-seen, -sahyn, -nes-een, -nes-ahyn]

adjective

1. of or pertaining to conflict or struggle within a group: an internecine feud among proxy holders.
2. mutually destructive.
3. characterized by great slaughter; deadly.
Also, in·ter·ne·cive [in-ter-nee-siv, -nes-iv]

Origin:
1655–65; < Latin internecīnus, internecīvus murderous, equivalent to internec ( āre ) to kill out, exterminate ( inter- inter- + necāre to kill) + -īnus -ine1 , -īvus -ive

Today’s aphorism

Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.

– Maya Angelou

On this day

11 September 1297 – William Wallace leads Scottish forces to victory against the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

11 September 1941 – construction of the Pentagon commences in Washington DC. (Completed on 15 January 1943).

11 September 1948 – death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the father of Pakistan. Leader of the Muslim League calling for the creation of Pakistan. Served as Pakistan’s first Governor-General from 15 August 1947 until his death.

11 September 1972 – Democratically elected President Salvador Allende of Chilé, is overthrown in a U.S. sponsored coup which brings to power General Augusto Pinochet. The Church Committee, commissioned by the U.S. Department of State to investigate covert C.I.A. operations in Chilé, found that Henry Kissinger had directed the C.I.A. to prevent the socialist Allende from being elected, then to undermine his presidency, before supplying arms to a military junta which succeeded in overthrowing Allendé.

11 September 2001 – 9/11 Terrorist Attacks in which four commercial airliners were hijacked by Al Qaeda terrorists. Two planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City, one plane hit the Pentagon in Washington DC and one crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought with the hijackers. Approximately, 3,000 people died in the attacks.

10 September 2013

poultice

— n

1. Also called: cataplasm a local moist and often heated application for the skin consisting of substances such as kaolin, linseed, or mustard, used to improve the circulation, treat inflamed areas, etc. a soft, moist mass of cloth, bread, meal, herbs, etc., applied hot as a medicament to the body.
2. slang ( Austral ) a large sum of money, esp a debt

[C16: from earlier pultes, from Latin puls a thick porridge]

Today’s aphorism

Music is the short-hand of emotion.

– Leo Tolstoy

On this day

10 September – World Suicide Prevention Day.

10 September 1945 – birth of José Feliciano, Puerto Rican singer/musician.

9 September 2013

credence

[kreed-ns]

noun

1. belief as to the truth of something: to give credence to a claim.
2. something giving a claim to belief or confidence: letter of credence.
3. Also called credence table, credenza. Ecclesiastical . a small side table, shelf, or niche for holding articles used in the Eucharist service.
4. Furniture. credenza ( def 1 ) .

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English < Middle French credence < Medieval Latin crēdentia. See credent, -ence

Related forms
non·cre·dence, noun

Synonyms
1. credit, faith, confidence.

Today’s aphorism

If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.

– Paul Neal ‘Red’ Adair, American oil well firefighter

On this day

9 September 1543 – Mary Stuart crowned ‘Queen of Scots’. She was 9 months old.

9 September 1828 – birth of Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer, (‘Anna Karenina‘, ‘War and Peace‘). Died 20 November 1910.

9 September 1890 – birth of Harlan Sanders who eventually becomes a Colonel and chickens throughout Kentucky, and ultimately the rest of the world, are never the same again as he invents Kentucky Fried Chicken. Died 16 December 1980.

9 September 2004 – Australian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, bombed. 10 people killed.

8 September 2013

rout

[rout]

noun

1. a defeat attended with disorderly flight; dispersal of a defeated force in complete disorder: to put an army to rout; to put reason to rout.
2. any overwhelming defeat: a rout of the home team by the state champions.
3. a tumultuous or disorderly crowd of persons.
4. the rabble or mob.
5. Law. a disturbance of the public peace by three or more persons acting together in a manner that suggests an intention to riot although they do not actually carry out the intention.
6. a large, formal evening party or social gathering.
7. Archaic. a company or band of people.

Today’s aphorism

We must learn to regard people less in light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.

– Dietrich Bonhoeffer

On this day

8 September – International Day of Literacy.

8 September 1504 – Michelangelo unveils his iconic sculpture, ‘David‘.

8 September 1930 – Richard Drew invents ‘scotch’ tape, the world’s first transparent, adhesive tape … otherwise known as ‘sticky tape’.

8 September 1966 – Star Trek premiers on NBC TV in the U.S.

8 September 2006 – death of Peter Brock, Australian car racing legend. Born 26 February 1945.

7 September 2013

nuance

[noo-ahns, nyoo-, noo-ahns, nyoo-; French ny-ahns]

noun, plural nu·anc·es [noo-ahn-siz, nyoo-, noo-ahn-siz, nyoo-; French ny-ahns] Show IPA .
1. a subtle difference or distinction in expression, meaning, response, etc.
2. a very slight difference or variation in color or tone.
Origin:
1775–85; < French: shade, hue, equivalent to nu ( er ) to shade (literally, to cloud < Vulgar Latin *nūbāre, derivative of *nūba, for Latin nūbēs cloud) + -ance -ance

Related forms
nu·anced, adjective
un·nu·anced, adjective

Synonyms
1. subtlety, nicety, hint, refinement.

Today’s aphorism

I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.

– Oscar Wilde

On this day

7 September 1876 – birth of C.J. Dennis, Australian poet (Songs of a Sentimental Bloke). Died 22 June 1938.

7 September 1978 – death of Keith Moon, British musician, drummer for ‘The Who’.

6 September 2013

quaff

[kwof, kwaf, kwawf]

verb (used without object)

1. to drink a beverage, especially an intoxicating one, copiously and with hearty enjoyment.
verb (used with object)
2. to drink (a beverage) copiously and heartily: We spent the whole evening quaffing ale.
noun
3. an act or instance of quaffing.
4. a beverage quaffed.

Origin:
1515–25; origin uncertain

Related forms
quaff·er, noun
out·quaff, verb (used with object)
un·quaffed, adjective

Synonyms
1. swallow, gulp, swig, guzzle.

Today’s aphorism

‘And when they found our shadows
Grouped ’round the TV sets
They ran down every lead
They repeated every test
They checked out all the data on their lists
And then, the alien anthropologists
Admitted they were still perplexed
But on eliminating every other reason
For our sad demise
They logged the only explanation left
This species has amused itself to death’

– Roger Waters, from the song, ‘Amused to death’.

On this day

6 September 1819 – the lathe patented by Thomas Blanchard.

6 September 1919 – death of Worm Pander, sculptor. (Born 20 June 1864).

6 September 1930 – Democratically elected Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen overthrown by fascist and conservative forces. Hipólito was affectionately known as ‘el peludo‘ (the Hairy Armadillo) because of his introverted character. A revolutionary, left-wing politician, Hipólito was also known as the ‘Father of the Poor’. He was twice president (1916-1922 and 1928-1930). He introduced numerous important social reforms, becoming a hero to the working class, including compulsory male suffrage, a rise in the standard of living for Argentina’s working class, improvements in factory conditions, regulation of working hours, compulsory pensions and universally accessible public education system.

6 September 1943 – birth of Roger Waters, bassist and vocalist for Pink Floyd.

5 September 2013

mercurial

[mer-kyoor-ee-uhl]

adjective

1. changeable; volatile; fickle; flighty; erratic: a mercurial nature.
2. animated; lively; sprightly; quick-witted.
3. pertaining to, containing, or caused by the metal mercury.
4. (initial capital letter) of or pertaining to the god Mercury.
5. (initial capital letter) of or pertaining to the planet Mercury.

Today’s aphorism

Beauty fades, dumb is forever.

– Judge Judy (Sheindlin)

On this day

5 September – Freddie for a Day. Dress up as Freddie Mercury for the day. FFOD is the brainchild of Liz Swanton and raises money for the Mercury Phoenix Trust. The MPT was founded in 1992, following Freddie Mercury’s death, and helps AIDS charities throughout the world. To participate or find out more, go to: http://www.freddieforaday.com.au or http://www.freddieforaday.com

5 September 1689 – Tsar Peter the Great of Russia, starts taxing men’s beards. He wasn’t the first to do this however. In 1535, King Henry VIII also taxed beards and Queen Elizabeth I reintroduced the tax later that century.

5 September 1847 – birth of Jesse James, U.S. outlaw. (Died 3 April 1882).

5 September 1877 – death of Crazy Horse, Sioux Chief (not to be confused with a Sous Chef … or an 1960′s rock band of the same name, who teamed up with a crazy hippy named Neil Young). Born around 1840 (Chief Crazy Horse that is, not Neil Young.

5 September 1939 – United States declares its neutrality in the Second World War.

5 September 1946 – birth of Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara) on Zanzibar. British musician and vocalist. Lead singer of rock group, Queen. Died 24 November 1991.

5 September 1997 – death of Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu) in Yugoslavia, winner of Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work in the slums of Calcutta.

4 September 2013

defenestrate

[dee-fen-uh-streyt]

verb (used with object), de·fen·es·trat·ed, de·fen·es·trat·ing.

– to throw (a person or thing) out of a window.

Example sentence:

I nearly defenestrated my computer.

Today’s aphorism

Perhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously close to wanting nothing.

– Sylvia Plath

On this day

4 September 1937 – birth of Dawn Fraser AO MBE, Australian swimming legend. Won Olympic gold medals in 1956, 1960 and 1964, as well as a number of silver medals.

4 September 2006 – death of Steve Irwin, ‘The Crocodile Hunter’, Australian wildlife expert and television personality. (Born 22 February 1962).

3 September 2013

mendacious

[men-dey-shuhs]

adjective

1. telling lies, especially habitually; dishonest; lying; untruthful: a mendacious person.
2. false or untrue: a mendacious report.

Origin:
1610–20; < Latin mendāci- (see mendacity) + -ous

Related forms
men·da·cious·ly, adverb
men·da·cious·ness, noun
un·men·da·cious, adjective
un·men·da·cious·ly, adverb

Antonyms
1, 2. veracious.

Today’s aphorism

I write because I must. It’s not a choice or a pastime; it’s an unyielding calling and my passion.

– Elizabeth Reyes

On this day

3 September 1901 – Australian national flag flies for the first time. The Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne has the honours. 3 September is celebrated each year as Australia’s National Flag Day.

3 September 1939 – Britain declares war on Germany.

3 September 1970 – death of Alan Wilson. American guitarist and singer-songwriter for Canned Heat. He was 27.