18 February 2014

rhetoric

[ret-er-ik]

noun

1. (in writing or speech) the undue use of exaggeration or display; bombast.
2. the art or science of all specialized literary uses of language in prose or verse, including the figures of speech.
3. the study of the effective use of language.
4. the ability to use language effectively.
5. the art of prose in general as opposed to verse.
6. speech or discourse that pretends to significance but lacks true meaning: all the politician says is mere rhetoric
7. the art of making persuasive speeches; oratory.
8. (in classical oratory) the art of influencing the thought and conduct of an audience.
9. (in older use) a work on rhetoric.

Origin:
1300–50; < Latin rhētorica < Greek rhētorikḕ ( téchnē ) rhetorical (art); replacing Middle English rethorik < Medieval Latin rēthorica, Latin rhētorica, as above

rhetorical [ri-tawr-i-kuhl, -tor-]

— adjective
1. concerned with effect or style rather than content or meaning; bombastic. A rhetorical question – a question to which an answer is not expected.
2. of or relating to rhetoric or oratory

rhe’torically

— adv

Anagram (rhetoric)

richer to
or thrice
rich rote
hot crier
I or retch

Today’s aphorism

Striving to better, oft we mar what’s well.

– William Shakespeare (from King Lear, Act 1, Scene 4) 

On this day

18 February 1294 – death of Kublai Khan, of the Mongol Empire. He was the grandson of Genghis Khan. In 1271, Kublia Khan established the Yuan Empire ruling over modern-day Mongolia, China and Korea. He became the first non-Chinese Emperor to conquer all of China. He was born on 23 February 1215.

17 February 2014

touchstone

[tuhch-stohn]

noun

1. a test or criterion for the qualities of a thing, e.g. touchstone of truth.
2. a black siliceous stone formerly used to test the purity of gold and silver by the color of the streak produced on it by rubbing it with either metal.

Origin:
1475–85; touch + stone

Synonyms
1. standard, measure, model, pattern.

Anagram

chosen tout
notches out
snoot chute
no cute host

Today’s aphorism

The true test of a civilization is, not the census, nor the size of the cities, nor the crops — no, but the kind of man the country turns out.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist (1803-1882)

On this day

17 February 1933 – End of Prohibition, when the US Senate passes the Blaine Act.

17 February 1934 – birth of Barry Humphries, Australian comedian, famous for characters such as Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson.

17 February 2007 – Sylvester Stallone is held by Australian Customs for a couple of hours after prohibited items, believed to be medication, were confiscated from his baggage.

16 February 2014

inane

[ih-neyn]

adjective

1. lacking sense, significance, or ideas; silly: inane questions.

2. empty; void.

noun

3. something that is empty or void, especially the void of infinite space.

Origin:
1655–65; < Latin inānis

Related forms
in·ane·ly, adverb

Synonyms
1. pointless. See foolish.

Anagram

A nine

Today’s aphorism

We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.

― Konstantin Josef Jireček

On this day

16 February 1923 – the burial chamber of King Tutankhamen in Egypt is opened, after it was recently discovered by British archaeologist, Howard Carter. The tomb was 3,000 years old.

16 February 1936 – The left-wing Popular Front is elected to power in Spain. The Popular Front was a coalition of numerous Communist and Socialist parties, including the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), Communist Party of Spain (PCE),  Worker’ Party of Marxist Unification (POUM), Republican Left (IR) and Republican Union Party (UR). The pact which enabled the formation of the Popular Front was supported by Galician (PG) and Catalan nationalists (ERC), the Workers’ General Union (UGT) and the anarchist trade union, Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT). The Popular Front had defeated the National Front (a coalition of right-wing parties) in the elections, and was formed to combat the rising tide of right-wing Fascism throughout Europe. In July 1936, conservative monarchists led by General Francisco Franco instigated a military coup that started the Spanish Civil War. Franco received backing from Mussolini and Hitler, while some of the left-wing forces, including the International Brigade (formed of volunteers from all over Europe) received backing from Stalin. British author, George Orwell, a democratic socialist, travelled to Spain and fought with the POUM because he wanted to help defeat Fascism. It was only be chance that Orwell didn’t join the International Brigade. The POUM (an anti-Stalinist Communist Party) was declared an illegal organisation in 1937 by the government in an effort by Communist forces to purge Troskyists, forcing Orwell to flee or face imprisonment. Orwell wrote of his Spanish Civil War experience in Homage to Catalonia. His experience made him a life-long anti-Stalinist and committed Democratic Socialist. In April 1939, Franco’s forces defeated the Popular Front, installing him as President. Franco ruled Spain with a military dictatorship until his death in 1975. 

16 February 1959 – Fidel Castro sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba after leading a successful revolution against the President Batista.

16 February 1983 – Ash Wednesday bush-fires burn over 2,000m2 of land in South Australia and Victoria, killing 75 people, destroying more than 3,700 buildings, and more than 2,500 people lost their homes.

15 February 2014

dysphemism

[dis-fuh-miz-uhm]

noun

1. the substitution of a harsh, disparaging, or unpleasant expression for a more neutral one. For example: ‘Though often meant to shock or offend, dysphemisms may also serve as in-group markers to signal closeness’.
2. an expression so substituted.

Origin:

1880–85; dys- + (eu)phemism

Related forms
dys·phe·mis·tic, adjective

Antonyms
euphemism.

Anagram

sped shimmy
dips my hems

Today’s aphorism

The word good has many meanings. For example, if a man were to shoot his grandmother at a range of five hundred yards, I should call him a good shot, but not necessarily a good man.

– G.K. Chesterton

On this day

15 February 1989 – the last Soviet troops leave Afghanistan after a 10 year occupation referred to as the Soviet Union’s ‘Vietnam’. The Soviets had invaded on 24 December 1979 in response to Afghan insurgents (armed by the United States) who had been attacking Soviet troops. The occupation lasts for 10 years and results in the deaths of between 600,000 and 2,000,000 Afghan civilians, as well as 6,000,000 refugees who fled to Pakistan and Iran. The cost of the Afghan occupation is a significant factor that led to the economic collapse of the Soviet Union. During the Soviet occupation, the United States funded Afghan resistance in the form of the Mujahideen and other militant Islamic groups, out of whom emerged Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The Afghan people continue to suffer and to comprise a significant portion of global refugee numbers because of the involvement of the USSR and the USA during this period.

14 February 2014

umbrage

[uhm-brij]

noun

1. offense; annoyance; displeasure: to feel umbrage at a social snub; to give umbrage to someone; to take umbrage at someone’s rudeness.
2. the slightest indication or vaguest feeling of suspicion, doubt, hostility, or the like.
3. leaves that afford shade, as the foliage of trees.
4. shade or shadows, as cast by trees.
5. a shadowy appearance or semblance of something.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Old French; see umbra, -age

Synonyms
1. pique, grudge, resentment.

Anagram

Bear gum
grab emu

Today’s aphorism

I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.

– David Bowie.

On this day

14 February – Valentine’s Day

14 February 1779 – death of Captain James Cook, British explorer. Made three major voyages in which he discovered many of the islands of the south pacific, including the east coast of Australia. Cooktown, Queensland, is named after him. The house he grew up in was relocated from Yorkshire, England, to Melbourne, Australia and is open to visits (now known as Captain Cook’s Cottage and is situated in Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne). Died 14 February 1779 after being stabbed by Hawaiians who credited their Chief Kalanimanokahoowaha (Kanaina) with the kill. Captain Cook’s body was then subjected a funeral ritual that was normally reserved for a Chief. Born 27 October 1728.

14 February 1929 – St Valentine’s Day massacre when Chicago gangster, Al Capone’s Italian gang killed seven of Bugs Moran’s Irish gang.

13 February 2014

antidisestablishmentarianism

[an-tee-dis-uh-stab-lish-muhn-tair-ee-uh-niz-uhm, an-tahy-]

noun

– originally, opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England (meaning to remove the Anglican church as the state church of England, Ireland and Wales). Now, it’s opposition to the belief that there should no longer be an official church in a country.

Example: When people are asked for the longest word they know, they often say antidisestablishmentarianism.

Antidisestablishmentarianism is one of the longest words in the English language, with 28 letters and 12 syllables.

Anagram

A Databases Interim Hint Slim Sin
Mine Ambassadress hit a lint in it

Today’s aphorism

Don’t let your happiness depend on something you may lose.

– C.S. Lewis

On this day

13 February 1915 – birthday 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.

13 February 1920 – the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland is recognised by the League of Nations (predecessor of the United Nations).

13 – 15 February 1945 – the bombing of Dresden in which 722 British and 527 USAF aircraft drop more than 3,900 tons of explosives on Dresden, Germany. At the time, Nazi Germany claimed more than 300,000 casualties, however, an official report in 2010 claimed that casualties were around 25,000, historians generally number the casualties between 35,000 and 135,000. Because of the number of refugees in the city, it is unlikely the exact figure will ever be known.

13 February 2008 – Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologises to Australia’s indigenous peoples, particularly those of the stolen generation from whom children were forcibly removed from their parents.

12 February 2014

apical

[ey-pi-kuhl, ap-i-]

adjective

1. of, at, or forming the apex.
2. Phonetics . (of a speech sound) articulated principally with the aid of the tip of the tongue, as t or d.

noun
3. Phonetics . an apical sound.
Origin:
1820–30; < Latin apic- (stem of apex ) apex + -al

Related forms
a·pi·cal·ly, adverb

Anagram

ail cap

Today’s aphorism

What is laid down, ordered, factual is never enough to embrace the whole truth: life always spills over the rim of every cup.

– Boris Pasternak

On this day

12 February 1809 – birth of Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United State of America. Assassinated 15 April 1865.

12 February 1912 – the Last Emperor of China, Hsian-T’ung is forced to abdicate by republicans, ending 2000 years of imperial rule. The Republic of China formed on 1 January 1912, followed by the People’s Republic of China, which formed on 1 October 1949.

12 February 1983 – Legendary 1960′s folk duo, Simon and Garfunkel, play a reunion concert at VFL Park, Melbourne.

11 February 2014

pliant

[plahy-uhnt]

adjective

1. bending readily; flexible; supple; adaptable: She manipulated the pliant clay.
2. easily influenced; yielding to others; compliant: He has a pliant nature.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English < Old French, present participle of plier to ply2 ; see -ant

Related forms
pli·an·cy, pli·ant·ness, noun
pli·ant·ly, adverb
non·pli·an·cy, noun
non·pli·ant, adjective
non·pli·ant·ly, adverb

Synonyms
1, 2. pliable, flexile. See flexible. 2. manageable, tractable, docile.

Anagram

lip tan
plan it

Today’s aphorism

Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.

– Noam Chomsky

On this day

11 February 1847 – birth of Thomas Edison, U.S. inventor. Died 18 October 1931.

11 February 1916 – Emma Goldman arrested for campaigning for birth control in New York.

11 February 1945 – The Yalta Agreement is signed by Josef Stalin (USSR), Winston Churchill (UK), Franklin D. Roosevelt (USA), regarding the control of Germany once World War II finishes.

11 February 1979 – the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, is overthrown by the Iranian Revolution, and replaced by the Ayatollah Khomeini.

10 February 2014

misology

mi-SOL-uh-jee, mahy-

noun

1. distrust or hatred of reason or reasoning.

Origin

from Greek misologia, from misos hatred + logos word, reasoning. See logos ]

mi’sologist

— noun

Anagram

is gloomy
oily smog
my igloos

Today’s aphorism

The poorer we are inwardly, the more we try to enrich ourselves outwardly.

– Bruce Lee

On this day

10 February 1898 – birth of Bertolt Brecht, German playwright, writer and theatre practitioner.

10 February 1992 – death of Alex Haley, U.S. author of ‘Roots‘, ‘Malcolm X‘. (Born 1921).

9 February 2014

fecund

[fee-kuhnd, -kuhnd, fek-uhnd, -uhnd]

adjective

1. producing or capable of producing offspring, fruit, vegetation, etc., in abundance; prolific; fruitful: fecund parents; fecund farmland.
2. very productive or creative intellectually: the fecund years of the Italian Renaissance.

Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin fēcundus, equivalent to fē- (see fetus) + -cundus adj. suffix; replacing late Middle English fecounde < Anglo-French

Related forms
non·fe·cund, adjective
un·fe·cund, adjective

fecundity

[fi-kuhn-di-tee]

noun

1. the quality of being fecund; capacity, especially in female animals, of producing young in great numbers.
2. fruitfulness or fertility, as of the earth.
3. the capacity of abundant production: fecundity of imagination.

Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin fēcunditās fruitfulness, fertility. See fecund, -ity

Related forms
non·fe·cun·di·ty, noun
su·per·fe·cun·di·ty, noun

Anagram (fecundity)

city unfed

Today’s aphorism

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.

– Alice Walker

On this day

9 February 1944 – birth of Alice Walker, American author, poet and activist. She grew up in the America’s deep south, under the notorious ‘Jim Crow’ laws which segrated whites and blacks. She has since written numerous books, including the Pulitzer Award winning ‘The Color Purple’ which addressed much of the issues facing society in Georgia in the 1930s.

9 February 1981 – death of Bill Haley, who arguably had the world’s first ever rock’n’roll song, ‘Rock Around the Clock’. He was born 6 July 1925.

9 February 1997 – death of Brian Connolly, Scottish rocker, lead singer of Sweet (Fox on the Run, Ballroom Blitz, Teenage Rampage, Action). Born 5 October 1945.