3 August 2014

apropos

[ap-ruh-poh]

adverb

1. fitting; at the right time; to the purpose; opportunely.
2. Obsolete . by the way.

adjective
3. opportune; pertinent: apropos remarks.

Idioms
4. apropos of, with reference to; in respect or regard to: apropos of the preceding statement.

Origin:
1660–70; < French à propos literally, to purpose < Latin ad prōpositum. See ad-, proposition

Can be confused: appropriate, apropos, expropriate.

Anagram

poor sap

Today’s aphorism

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.

– Confucius

On this day

3 August 1811 – birthday of Elisha Graves Otis, American industrialist and founder of the Otis Elevator Company. In 1854, he put the finishing touches to his signature invention: a safety device to prevent elevators falling if the cable fails.

3 August 1905 – birthday of Maggie Kuhn, activist and founder of the Gray Panthers, who campaigned for nursing home reform and opposed ageism. She also fought for human rights, social and economic justice, global peace, integration, and mental health issues.

3 August 1914 – World War I heats up: Germany invades Belgium and declares war on France, Britain declares war on Germany, while Turkey signs a pact with Germany.

3 August 1914 – Formation of the World Alliance for International Friendship through the Churches. It’s purpose was to help churches promote peace, disarmament,rights of racial and religious minorities, conscientious objection, arms control, and the League of Nations.

3 August 1963 – birthday of James Hetfield, US rock star, member of Metallica.

3 August 1973 – birthday of Patrick Wilson, American actor, from movies such as ‘the Alamo‘, ‘Watchmen‘, ‘The A-Team‘, ‘Phantom of the Opera‘ – with Gerard Butler and Emma Rossum.

3 August 1973 – Fire kills 51 people at an amusement park on the Isle of Man.

2 August 2014

chicanery

[shi-key-nuh-ree, chi-]

noun, plural chi·can·er·ies.
1. trickery or deception by quibbling or sophistry: He resorted to the worst flattery and chicanery to win the job.
2. a quibble or subterfuge used to trick, deceive, or evade.

Origin:
1605–15; < French chicanerie. See chicane, -ery

Synonyms
1. fraud, deception, knavery. 2. evasion.

Anagram
racy niche
nice chary
A cynic her

Today’s aphorism

After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say ‘I want to see the manager’.

– William S. Burroughs

On this day

2 August 216BC – 2nd Punic War, Battle of Cannae, in which Hannibal defeats the much larger Roman army.

2 August 1776 – the United States Declaration of Independence officially signed by 56 Congressional delegates who were not present on 4 July 1776, when 34 Congressional delegates signed and ratified it.

2 August 1934 – the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 is passed in the United States, levying $1 on commercial dealers of cannabis. It did not outlaw cannabis, but included hefty penalties if the Act was violated, namely five years imprisonment and a $2,000 fine. The Act was repealed in 1970.

2 August 1964 – the first Gulf of Tonkin Incident in which North Vietnamese troops fired on a US destroyer, the USS Maddox (the second incident allegedly occurred on 4 August 1964). The incident gave rise to the US Congress passing the ‘Gulf of Tonkin Resolution’ – officially the ‘Southeast Asia Resolution – which eventually led to the Vietnam War.

2 August 1997 – death of William Seward Burroughs, otherwise known as William S. Burroughs or William Lee, Beat Generation author, painter, spoken word performer. The beat generation rose to prominence in the 1950s and experimented with innovation in art, style, rules and drugs. Burroughs work includes Junkie, Queer, and Naked Lunch. Born on 5 February 1914 .