23 December 2013

fustian

[fuhs-chuhn]

noun

1. a stout fabric of cotton and flax.
2. a fabric of stout twilled cotton or of cotton and low-quality wool, with a short nap or pile.
3. inflated or turgid language in writing or speaking: Fustian can’t disguise the author’s meager plot.
adjective
4. made of fustian: a fustian coat; fustian bed linen.
5. pompous or bombastic, as language: fustian melodrama.
6. worthless; cheap: fustian knaves and dupes.

Anagram

as unfit

Today’s aphorism

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

– Arthur Schopenhauer

On this day

23 December 1947 – Bell demonstrates the world’s first transistor radio.

23 December 1972 – 16 survivors of a plane-crash in the Andes, Argentina are rescued. The plane had crashed on 13 October 1972, carrying 45 people. A number of passengers were killed in the crash and some died later from exposure to the cold. Eight died in an avalanche. The survivors lived on chocolate bars, cabin food and the bodies of those who had died.

23 December 2005 – an earthquake in South-East Asia kills approximately 87,000 people, followed by a chemical spill that poisons China’s Songhue River, contaminating the water supply of millions of people.

22 December 2013

solstice

[sol-stis, sohl-]

noun

1. Astronomy
a. either of the two times a year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator: about June 21, when the sun reaches its northernmost point on the celestial sphere, or about December 22, when it reaches its southernmost point. Compare summer solstice, winter solstice.
b. either of the two points in the ecliptic farthest from the equator.
2. a furthest or culminating point; a turning point.

Origin:
1200–50; < Middle English < Old French < Latin sōlstitium, equivalent to sōl sun + -stit-, combining form of stat-, variant stem of sistere to make stand (see stand) + -ium -ium; see -ice)

Anagram

ice slots

Today’s aphorism

Mistakes are always forgiveable, if one has the courage to admit them.

– Bruce Lee

On this day

22 December 1936 – Italy sends thousands of troops to Spain to support the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War who were opposed to the democratically elected left-wing ‘Popular Front’ government which comprised of Trotskyists, communists and other left-wing groups.

21 December 2013

trepan ⁽¹⁾

[trih-pan]

noun

1. a tool for cutting shallow holes by removing a core.
2. Surgery . an obsolete form of the trephine resembling a carpenter’s bit and brace.
verb (used with object), tre·panned, tre·pan·ning.
3. Machinery . to cut circular disks from (plate stock) using a rotating cutter.
4. Surgery . to operate upon with a trepan; trephine.

Origin:
1350–1400; (noun) Middle English trepane < Middle French trepan crown saw < Medieval Latin trepanum < Greek trȳ́panon borer, akin to trŷpa hole, trȳpân to bore; (v) late Middle English trepanen, derivative of the noun

Related forms
trep·a·na·tion [trep-uh-ney-shuhn], noun
tre·pan·ner, noun

trepan ⁽²⁾

[trih-pan], Archaic.

noun

1. a person who ensnares or entraps others.
2. a stratagem; a trap.
verb (used with object), tre·panned, tre·pan·ning.
3. to ensnare or entrap.
4. to entice.
5. to cheat or swindle.
Also, trapan.

Origin:
1635–45; earlier trapan, equivalent to trap1 + -an < ?

Related forms
trep·a·na·tion [trep-uh-ney-shuhn], noun
tre·pan·ner, noun

Anagram

entrap
parent

Today’s aphorism

You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.

– John C. Maxwell

On this day

21 December 1913 – American newspaper, New York World, publishes the world’s first crossword puzzle. It was created by English journalist, Arthur Wynne.

21 December 1940 – birth of Frank Zappa, American revolutionary musician. Died 3 December 1993.

21 December 1991 – representatives of all Soviet Republics, except Georgia, signed the Alma-Ata Protocol which confirmed the Belavezha Accords of 8 December 1991 that declared the Soviet Union dissolved.

21 December 2012 – end of the world as predicted by the Ancient Mayans … or was it just the end of an age within their calendar? All was revealed … and it was a non-event …

20 December 2013

excoriate

[ik-skawr-ee-eyt, -skohr-]

verb (used with object), ex·co·ri·at·ed, ex·co·ri·at·ing.
1. to denounce or berate severely; flay verbally: He was excoriated for his mistakes.
2. to strip off or remove the skin from: Her palms were excoriated by the hard labor of shoveling.

Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English < Late Latin excoriātus (past participle of excoriāre to strip, skin).

Related forms
un·ex·co·ri·at·ed, adjective

Anagram

are exotic

Today’s aphorism

There’s a difference between criminals and crooks. Crooks steal. Criminals blow some guy’s brains out. I’m a crook.

– Ronald Biggs, ‘Great Train Robbery’ robber, died 18 December 2013.

On this day

20 December – International Human Solidarity Day – celebrating unity in diversity, as well as reminding people of the importance of solidarity in working towards eradicating poverty.

20 December 1973 – Basque Nationalists kill Spanish Prime Minister, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco in a car-bombing in Madrid.

20 December 1989 – Operation ‘Just Cause’ in which President George Bush orders 27,684 U.S. troops into Panama in an effort to oust Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Noriega surrendered on 3 January 1990.

19 December 2013

discordant

[dis-kawr-dnt]

adjective

1. being at variance; disagreeing; incongruous: discordant opinions.
2. disagreeable to the ear; dissonant; harsh.
3. Geology . (of strata) structurally unconformable.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English discordaunt < Anglo-French < Latin discordant- (stem of discordāns ), present participle of discordāre. See discord, -ant

Related forms
dis·cord·ant·ly, adverb
non·dis·cord·ant, adjective
un·dis·cord·ant, adjective
un·dis·cord·ant·ly, adverb

Anagram

rancid dots

Today’s aphorism

The wise are instructed by reason, average minds by experience, the stupid by necessity and the brute by instinct.

– Marcus Tullius Cicero

On this day

19 December 1847 – death of Emily Bronte, author of the novel, ‘Wuthering Heights‘.

19 December 1915 – birth of Édith Piaf, French singer. Born Édith Giovanna Gassion, died 10 October 1963.

18 December 2013

mollify

[mol-uh-fahy]

verb (used with object), mol·li·fied, mol·li·fy·ing.

1. to soften in feeling or temper, as a person; pacify; appease.
2. to mitigate or reduce; soften: to mollify one’s demands.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French mollifier < Late Latin mollificāre, equivalent to Latin molli ( s ) soft + -ficāre -fy

Related forms
mol·li·fi·ca·tion, noun
mol·li·fi·er, noun
mol·li·fy·ing·ly, adverb
mol·li·fi·a·ble, adjective
re·mol·li·fy, verb (used with object), re·mol·li·fied, re·mol·li·fy·ing.

Anagram

fly limo

Today’s aphorism

Poverty is the worst form of violence.

– Mahatma Gandhi

On this day

18 December 1942 – U.S. B24 Liberator bomber crashes into Mt Straloch on Hinchinbrook Island, North Queensland. All 29 persons on board were killed. Because of the rugged terrain and monsoonal ‘wet’ season, the bodies were not recovered for some months. The plane had flown from Amberley air base, near Brisbane, to Garbutt air base in Townsville to pick up passengers. The plane crashed during a violent storm, shortly after departure from Garbutt. It was on its way to Iron Range air base, near Lockhardt River, North Queensland.

17 December 2013

juxtapose

[juhk-stuh-pohz, juhk-stuh-pohz]

verb (used with object), jux·ta·posed, jux·ta·pos·ing.

– to place close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.

Origin:
1850–55; back formation from juxtaposition

Anagram

Apex joust

Today’s aphorism

It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.

– Mark Twain

On this day

17 December 1770 – baptism of Ludwig von Beethoven, German composer. One of the world’s most influential composers. He composed 9 symphonies, 5 concertos for piano, 32 piano sonatos and 16 string quartets. Died 26 March 1827.

17 December 1903 – Orville and Wilbur Wright makes the world’s first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight.

16 December 2013

balk

[bawk]

(also baulk)

verb (used without object)

1. to stop, as at an obstacle, and refuse to proceed or to do something specified (usually followed by at ): He balked at making the speech.
2. (of a horse, mule, etc.) to stop short and stubbornly refuse to go on.
3. Baseball. to commit a balk.
verb (used with object)
4. to place an obstacle in the way of; hinder; thwart: a sudden reversal that balked her hopes.
5. Archaic. to let slip; fail to use: to balk an opportunity.

Today’s aphorism

I spent half of my money on booze, women and gambling. The other half I wasted.

– W.C. Fields

On this day

16 December 1980 – death 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. Born 9 September 1890.

15 December 2013

suborn

[suh-bawrn]

verb (used with object)

1. to bribe or induce (someone) unlawfully or secretly to perform some misdeed or to commit a crime.
2. Law.
a. to induce (a person, especially a witness) to give false testimony.
b. to obtain (false testimony) from a witness.

Origin:
1525–35; < Latin subornāre to instigate secretly, orig., to supply, equivalent to sub- sub- + ornāre to equip; see adorn

Related forms
sub·or·na·tion [suhb-awr-ney-shuhn], noun
sub·or·na·tive [suh-bawr-nuh-tiv], adjective
sub·orn·er, noun
un·sub·orned, adjective

Anagram

Rubs on

Today’s aphorism

What is morally wrong can never be advantageous, even when it enables you to make some gain that you believe to be to your advantage. The mere act of believing that some wrongful course of action constitutes an advantage is pernicious.

– Marcus Tullius Cicero

On this day

15 December 1970 – Russia’s Venera 7 spacecraft lands on Venus, the first man-made object to land on the planet. It was launched on 15 August 1970.

14 December 2013

milquetoast

[milk-tohst]

noun (sometimes initial capital letter)

– a very timid, unassertive, spineless person, especially one who is easily dominated or intimidated: a milquetoast who’s afraid to ask for a raise.
Also called Caspar Milquetoast.

Origin:
1935–40, Americanism; after Caspar Milquetoast, a character in The Timid Soul, comic strip by H. T. Webster (1885–1952), American cartoonist

Anagram

most tequila

Today’s aphorism

Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.

– Morticia Addams (from the TV show, ‘The Addams Family’)

On this day

14 December 1972 – The last men to walk on the moon are Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan during the Apollo 17 mission. In all, 12 men walked on the moon between 1969 and 1972.

14 December 2008 – Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist, throws his shoes at US President George W. Bush who was in a press-conference in Iraq.