13 March 2014

scud

scud (1)

[skuhd]

verb (used without object), scud·ded, scud·ding.

1. to run or move quickly or hurriedly. ‘Best scud along’
2. Nautical . to run before a gale with little or no sail set.
3. Archery. (of an arrow) to fly too high and wide of the mark.

noun
4. the act of scudding.
5. clouds, spray, or mist driven by the wind; a driving shower or gust of wind. ‘clouds scud by’.
6. low-drifting clouds appearing beneath a cloud from which precipitation is falling.

Origin:
1525–35; Middle Low German – schudden to shake

scud (2)

[skuhd]

verb (used with object), scud·ded, scud·ding.
1. to cleanse (a trimmed and roughly depilated skin or hide) of remaining hairs or dirt.
noun
2. the hairs or dirt removed by scudding.

Origin:
1635–45; perhaps to be identified with obsolete scud dirt

Scud could be the possible origin of the word ‘skeddadle’, meaning to leave somewhere in a hurry.

Anagram

cuds

Today’s aphorism

To be able to look back upon one’s past life with satisfaction is to live twice.

– Lord Acton

On this day

13 March 1929 – The Butler Act is passed, making it illegal to teach the theory of evolution in schools in Tennessee. The Act was repealed in 1967.

13 March 1969 – Disney releases the hit movie, The Love Bug, based on a Volkswagen Beetle with a life of its own.

13 March 1979 – a left-wing military coup in Grenada overthrows Prime Minister, Sir Eric Gairy. His leadership was controversial with allegations of illegitimately winning the election, rigging a Miss World contest and calling for the United Nations to establish a committee to investigate UFOs and extraterrestrial life.

13 March 1996 – Sixteen children at the Dunblane Primary School in Scotland are shot dead by former boy scout leader, Thomas Hamilton. The massacre resulted in stricter gun laws in the United Kingdom.

12 March 2014

logolepsy

[loh-goh-lep-see]

– an obsession with words.

‘To say he suffered logolepsy would be to ignore the extreme pleasure that the malady brought him’.

Anagram

ogle ploys
yelp logos
lop sly ego
go ply sole

Today’s aphorism

One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.

– Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums

On this day

12 March 1922 – birth of Jack Kerouac, American beat-generation writer, ‘On the road‘. Died 21 October 1969.

12 March 1922 – Mahatma Gandhi arrested for promoting boycotts and civil unrest. He had campaigned for passive resistance to the British Empire and encouraged followers to not buy anything made in Britain or Europe.

12 March 1930 – Mahatma Gandhi, 61 years old, leads a peaceful protest against the ‘salt tax’ which the British Empire had introduced. He and his followers marched more than 320 km to the salt mines in Jalalpur.

12 March 1945 – death of Anne Frank, author of the ‘Diary of Anne Frank’, from typhus. She was born on 12 June 1929.

11 March 2014

verboten

[ver-boht-n; German fer-boht-n]

adjective

– forbidden, as by law; prohibited.

Origin:
1910–15; < German: past participle of verbieten to forbid

Anagram

borne vet
verb note

Today’s aphorism

A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.

– George R.R. Martin

On this day

11 March 1845 – death of Johnny Appleseed, American environmentalist. The exact date of Appleseed’s death is in dispute, with some sources claiming 18 March 1845 and others as ‘Summer 1845′. 11 March is celebrated in the USA as ‘Johnny Appleseed Day’. He was born as John Chapman and was a nurseryman who introduced significant numbers of apple trees to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and Illinois. His legend grew while he was still alive because of his generous nature, care for animals and the environment, and respect he had for the American Indian tribes who believed he’d been touched by the ‘Great Spirit’ because of his love and admiration for them and the gospel message he preached. Born 26 September 1774.

11 March 2003 – The United States renames the humble ‘french fries’ to ‘freedom fries’ in response to the French President, Jacques Chirac, condemning the U.S. actions in Iraq.

11 March 2004 – Madrid bombings in which 191 people are killed and 1800 injured. Basque Separatists were blamed for the bombing, although did not claim responsibility. Al Qaeda-linked terrorists were also suspected of the attacks as they occurred exactly 911 days after the 9/11 attacks in the USA. In 2007, 28 suspected terrorists with links to Al Qaeda were charged. On 31 October 2007, the Spanish National Court found 21 of the defendants guilty on charges ranging from forgery to murder. Most were sentenced to 23 years or less, however, three of the accused were sentenced to 42,924 years in prison.

11 March 2007 – an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter Scale strikes off the coast of Japan, triggering a tsunami that kills thousands of people and causes the world’s the Fukushima nuclear disaster, in which three of the six nuclear reactors melted down, releasing significant amounts of radiation. It was the world’s second largest nuclear disaster, surpassed only by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.

10 March 2014

interdict

[n. in-ter-dikt; v. in-ter-dikt]

noun

1. Civil Law. any prohibitory act or decree of a court or an administrative officer.
2. Roman Catholic Church . a punishment by which the faithful, remaining in communion with the church, are forbidden certain sacraments and prohibited from participation in certain sacred acts.
3. Roman Law. a general or special order of the Roman praetor forbidding or commanding an act, especially in cases involving disputed possession.
verb (used with object)
4. to forbid; prohibit.
5. Ecclesiastical . to cut off authoritatively from certain ecclesiastical functions and privileges.
6. to impede by steady bombardment: Constant air attacks interdicted the enemy’s advance.

Origin:
1250–1300; (noun) < Latin interdictum prohibition, noun use of neuter of interdictus past participle of interdīcere to forbid, equivalent to inter- inter- + -dic- (variant stem of dīcere to speak) + -tus past participle suffix; replacing Middle English enterdit < Old French < Latin, as above; (v.) < Latin interdictus; replacing Middle English enterditen < Old French entredire (past participle entredit ) < Latin, as above

Related forms
in·ter·dic·tor, noun
un·in·ter·dict·ed, adjective
interdiction, noun – an act or instance of interdicting

Anagram

cried tint
tin credit

Today’s aphorism

Necessity is blind until it becomes conscious. Freedom is the consciousness of necessity.

– Karl Marx

On this day

10 March 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell makes the first successful telephone call. His first words were ‘Mr Watson, come here, I want to see you’.

10 March 1917 – British forces drive Turkish forces out of Baghdad, taking control of the city.

10 March 1964 – birth of Neneh Cherry, Swedish singer, song-writer.

10 March 1940 – birth of Carlos Ray Norris, aka Chuck Norris, American actor, martial artist and invincible superhero.

9 March 2014

kyrofelonoshophobia

[keer-oh-fee-loo-noo-shoh-foh-bee-yah]

– fear of cartoon characters.

Anagram

A Bookshelf Hoop Irony
A Bolero Fishhook Pony
A Bonfire Hook Holy Ops
Ooh looks a phony fibre

Today’s aphorism

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.

– Albert Einstein

On this day

9 March 1454 – birth of Amerigo Vespucci in Florence, Italy. Italian explorer, financier, navigator and cartographer. Vespucci believed that Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the ‘New World’ or ‘East Asia’ (now known as the Bahamas) and the land mass beyond it, was not part of Asia, but a separate ‘super-continent’. America is named after Vespucci. Died 22 February 1512 in Seville, Spain.

9 – 10 March 1945 – A new U.S. offensive against Japan is launched in which more than 2,000 bombs were dropped on Tokyo over a 2 day period, killing around 80,000 people and destroying 40km2. The attack was known as ‘Operation Meetinghouse’ and is considered the single worst bombing in history. It is also believed the official death toll was greatly understated by both Japan and America for their own reasons. Operation Meetinghouse was only one of a number of fire (incendiary) bombings of Japan between 17 November 1944 and 15 August 1945. The fire-bombings demolished every Japanese city, except for Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were reserved for the atomic bomb attacks of 6 and 9 August 1945. The incendiary and atomic bombings killed at least 2 million Japanese civilians.

9 March 1934 – birth of Yuri Gagarin, Soviet astronaut. On 12 April 1961, he became the first man into space and to orbit Earth while aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft.

8 March 2014

cathexis

[kuh-thek-sis]
noun, plural ca·thex·es

[kuh-thek-seez] Psychoanalysis .

1. the investment of emotional significance in an activity, object, or idea.
2. the charge of psychic energy so invested.
Origin:
1920–25; < Neo-Latin < Greek káthexis a keeping, equivalent to kathek- (variant stem of katéchein to keep, hold on to, equivalent to cat cat- + échein to have, hold) + -sis -sis, as translation of German Besetzung a taking possession of (Freud’s term)

Related forms
ca·thec·tic [kuh-thek-tik] adjective

Anagram

teach six
taxes chi
axes chit

Today’s aphorism

We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.

– Native American proverb

On this day

8 March – International Women’s Day.

8 March 1010 – Ferdowski completes his epic poem, Shahnameh (The Book of Kings). The poem is 50,000 verses long and tells the story of Persia, from creation to the Islamic conquest in the 7th century. Ferdowski commenced the poem in 977AD. It is the national poem of Iran and is revered by Zoroastrians. The poem is celebrated every year in Iran and by Persian speakers in surrounding areas, including Afghanistan and Tajikstan.

8 – 12 March 1917 – February Revolution in Russia. Following International Women’s Day celebrations many women march out of factories and encourage male counterparts to participate in the strikes and rallies. The first of two events that formed the Russian Revolution, resulting in the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, which ended the Romanov dynasty and saw the creation of the Russian Provisional Government, initially led by Prince George L’vov and then by socialist Alexander Kerensky.

8 March 1973 – Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Australia, is fire-bombed, killing 15 people. The building was on the corner of Amelia Street and St Paul’s Terrace. It was claimed the fire was part of an extortion attempt of night-club owners. The men found guilty of the crime, continued protesting their innocence from prison, claiming they were verballed.

7 March 2014

supererogation

[soo-per-er-uh-geyt]

verb (used without object), su·per·er·o·gat·ed, su·per·er·o·gat·ing.

– to do more than duty requires.

Origin:
1730–40; < Late Latin superērogātus (past participle of superērogāre to pay out in addition), equivalent to super- super- + ērogātus past participle of ērogāre to pay out, equivalent to ē- e-1 + rog ( ere ) to ask + -ātus -ate1

Related forms
su·per·er·o·ga·tion, noun
su·per·er·o·ga·tor, noun

Anagram

organise troupe
prisoner outage
operation surge
Guinea troopers
up to reorganise

Today’s aphorism

If you can talk brilliantly about a problem, it can create the consoling illusion that it has been mastered.

– Stanley Kubrick

On this day

7 March 1876 – Scottish-born Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone.

7 March 1988 – Cyclone Bola strikes Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne/East Cape region of north-eastern New Zealand. It is one of the costliest cyclones to hit N.Z. Three people were killed and thousands evacuated.

7 March 1999 – death of Stanley Kubrick, legendary movie producer. Some of his movies include ’2001 – A Space Odyssey’, ‘The Shining’, ‘A Clockwork Orange’, ‘Full Metal Jacket’ and ‘Eyes Wide Shut’.

7 March 2011 – Charlie Sheen fired from U.S. sitcom, ‘Two and a Half Men’ after allegations of drug abuse.

6 March 2014

buffalo

So, everyone knows the meaning of this word, yes? Then I’ll lead with the example sentence as I’m sure it will make perfect sense to you:

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

This is not a shopping list of buffalo, but a grammatically correct sentence which has obvious meaning. It was written by William J. Rapaport (just so he’s not left out of the equation). When you think you understand the sentence, or if you’re too excited or lazy to work it out yourself, read on. The sentence means:

Buffalo from Buffalo (New York) who are bullied by other buffalo, themselves bully buffalo.

Do you still feel confident in your understanding of the definition of buffalo?

buffalo

[buhf-uh-loh]

noun, plural buf·fa·loes, buf·fa·los ( especially collectively ) buf·fa·lo.

1. any of several large wild oxen of the family Bovidae. Compare bison, Cape buffalo, water buffalo.
2. buffalo robe.
3. a buffalofish.
4. a shuffling tap-dance step.

verb (used with object), buf·fa·loed, buf·fa·lo·ing. Informal.

5. to puzzle or baffle; confuse; mystify: He was buffaloed by the problem.
6. to impress or intimidate by a display of power, importance, bully, etc.: The older boys buffaloed him.

Origin:
1535–45, Americanism; earlier bufalo < Portuguese (now bufaro ) < Late Latin būfalus, variant of Latin būbalus bubal

Not to labour the point, but how about this example using a couple of more of the definitions listed above:

Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo.

(Bullied confused tapdancing buffalo from Buffalo, New York, who are bullied by confused tap-dancing buffalo also bully other confused tap-dancing buffalo from Buffalo).

Yes, I know … it’s all bull!

Anagram

luff boa
a fob flu
flob oaf

Today’s aphorism

Persons appear to us according to the light we throw upon them from our own minds.

– Laura Ingalls Wilder, novelist (1867-1957), author of ‘Little House on the Prairie’ and others in the ‘Little House’ series.

On this day

6 March 1836 – death of Davy Crocket, American frontiersman, King of the Wild Frontier. Davy Crockett shot his fair share of buffalo.

6 March 1899 – aspirin is patented in Germany by Friedrich Bayer and Co. It is the brand name for acetylsalicylic acid, which included an extract from the bark of the willow tree. (Just as well, I’ve got a headache from the Buffalo sentences).

6 March 2012 – A three-year old McNuggett shaped like George Washington sells for $8,100 on eBay by a woman in Nebraska. I wonder if she lived in Buffalo County, Nebraska?