21 October 2014

argot

[ahr-goh, -guh t]

noun
1. a specialized idiomatic vocabulary peculiar to a particular class or group of people, especially that of an underworld group, devised for private communication and identification:
a Restoration play rich in thieves’ argot.
2. the special vocabulary and idiom of a particular profession or social group:
sociologists’ argot.

Origin

Latin

1855-1860; < French, noun derivative of argoter to quarrel, derivative Latin ergō ergo with v. suffix -oter

Related forms

argotic [ahr-got-ik]

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for argot
– Some novices feel compelled to create lexicons of their new argot.
– In the argot of civil rights, high lending lending standards will result in what is called disparate impact.
– Or, to put it in the argot familiar to every first-year law student, money is fungible.

Anagram

Gator
go art

Today’s aphorism

If moderation is a fault, then indifference is a crime.

– Jack Kerouac

On this day

21 October 1492 – Christopher Columbus discovers America.

21 October 1772 – birthday of Samuel Taylor Colleridge, English poet.

21 October 1833 – birth of Alfred Bernhard Nobel, Swedish chemist and armaments manufacturer, inventor of dynamite and the Nobel Prizes. Was known as the ‘Merchant of Death’. A newspaper stated that he ‘became rich by finding ways to kill people faster than ever before‘. As a result, he decided to leave a better legacy than that and used his estate to establish and fund the Nobel Prizes, which included the Nobel Peace Prize. Died 10 December 1896.

21 October 1967 – Thousands of anti-Vietnam-war protestors attempt to storm the Pentagon.

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

20 October 2014

repugnant

[ri-puhg-nuh nt]

adjective
1. distasteful, objectionable, or offensive:
a repugnant smell.
2. making opposition; averse.
3. opposed or contrary, as in nature or character.

Origin
Middle English, Middle French, Latin
1350-1400; Middle English repugnaunt < Middle French < Latin repugnant- (stem of repugnāns, present participle of repugnāre), equivalent to repugn (āre) to repugn + -ant- -ant

Related forms

repugnantly, adverb
unrepugnant, adjective
unrepugnantly, adverb

Synonyms

3. antagonistic, adverse, hostile.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for repugnant

– Carving up humanity with a system of psychiatric labeling is rather repugnant in any case.
– Rising inequality isn’t only morally repugnant, he said, it is economically inefficient and damaging to the country.
– It can be a smart loss mitigation strategy, even if philosophically repugnant.

Anagram

anger punt
a pen grunt

Today’s aphorism

The sun is shining, as it’s always done
Coffin dust is the fate of everyone
Talking ’bout the rich folks
The poor create the rich hoax
And only late breast-fed fools believe it.

– Sixto Rodriguez, from Rich Folks Hoax

On this day

20 October 1977 – Plane crash in Mississippi kills 3 members of rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, along with their manager, the pilot and co-pilot.

20 October 2011 – death of Muammar Gaddafi, former leader of Libya. He had been shot to death by rebel fighters following the overthrow of his government.

19 October 2014

ruse

[rooz]

noun

1. a trick, stratagem, or artifice.

Origin
late Middle English
1375-1425; late Middle English (noun use of obsolete rusen to detour) < Middle French, derivative of ruser to retreat. See rush1

Synonyms
See trick.

Ruse
[roo-sey]

noun

1. a city in N Bulgaria, on the Danube.

Dictionary.com

Word Origin and History for ruse
n. early 15c., “dodging movements of a hunted animal;” 1620s, “a trick,” from Old French ruse, reuse “diversion, switch in flight; trick, jest” (14c.), back-formed noun from reuser “to dodge, repel, retreat; deceive, cheat,” from Latin recusare “deny, reject, oppose,” from re-, intensive prefix (see re- ), + causari “plead as a reason, object, allege,” from causa “reason, cause” (see cause (n.)). It also has been proposed that the French word may be from Latin rursus “backwards,” or a Vulgar Latin form of refusare. Johnson calls it, “A French word neither elegant nor necessary.” The verb ruse was used in Middle English.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Anagram

sure
user
rues

Today’s aphorism

Revolutions are always verbose.

– Leon Trotsky

On this day

19 October 1924 – Leo Trotsky, one of the founders of the Soviet Union and founder of the Red Army, is thrown out of the Soviet Politburo and his followers persecuted after he opposed Stalin. Trotsky was eventually expelled from the Communist Party and in 1929 was deported from the Soviet Union. He continued his opposition to Stalinism from his base in Mexico.

19 October 1944 – birth of Peter Tosh, Jamaican reggae singer and musician. From 1963 to 1974, Tosh was a member of Bob Marley and Wailers until going solo. His most famous song is ‘Legalize It’, about legalising marijuana. Tosh’s album, ‘Bush Doctor’, included a duet with Mick Jagger in the song, ‘Don’t Look Back’. Tosh was a Rastafarian. He campaigned against apartheid, which he sang about on his album ‘Equal Rights’. Tosh was murdered on 11 September 1987, after three men broke into his house and tortured him in an effort to extort money. After several hours, one of the men shot Tosh in the head, killing him. Two other friends of Tosh’s were also killed.

19 October 2001 – 353 asylum seekers drown when the boat they are on sinks 70km south of Java. The victims included 146 children, 142 women and 65 men. They were travelling from Indonesia to Australia and were predominantly Iraqi. Australian authorities labelled the boat SIEV-X (SIEV is short for ‘Suspected Illegal Entry Vehicle’). The incident became a major political issue and coupled with other incidents, such as the ‘Tampa crisis’ and the ‘Children Overboard affair’, resulted in major changes to Australia’s migration laws, including excising 4,600 islands from Australia’s migration zone and introduction of the controversial ‘Pacific Solution’.

17 October 2014

wrangle

[rang-guh l]

verb (used without object), wrangled, wrangling.
1. to argue or dispute, especially in a noisy or angry manner.
verb (used with object), wrangled, wrangling.
2. to argue or dispute.
3. to tend or round up (cattle, horses, or other livestock).
4. to obtain, often by contrivance or scheming; wangle:
He wrangled a job through a friend.
noun
5. a noisy or angry dispute; altercation.

Origin
Low German
1350-1400; Middle English, apparently < Low German wrangeln, frequentative of wrangen to struggle, make an uproar; akin to wring

Related forms

outwrangle, verb (used with object), outwrangled, outwrangling.
unwrangling, adjective

Can be confused
wangle, wrangle.

Synonyms
1, 5. quarrel, brawl. 5. argument.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for wrangle
– Matt needed to wrangle and relocate it but it put up a bit of a fight.
– Bonus points if you can wrangle a week-day visit when the crowds tend to be lightest.
– The officer also made a call asking for some help to wrangle the critter.

Anagram

we gnarl

Today’s aphorism

If you want to be a millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline.

– Richard Branson

On this day

17 October 1814 – London Beer Flood causes the deaths of 8 people. The flood occurred when a vat containing 610,000 litres (135,000 gallons) of beer ruptured, causing other vats in the building to also rupture, resulting in a total of 1,470,000 litres (323,000 gallons) to flood nearby streets, destroying two homes and the wall of a pub. Those killed were living in the basement of houses which filled with the beer. The brewery was sued, however, the court ruled the event an ‘Act of God’.

17 October 1901 – U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues an Executive Order changing name of the ‘Executive Mansion’ to the ‘White House’.

17 October 1938 – birth of U.S. daredevil, Evel Knievel (Robert Craig Knievel). Knievel was best known for his failed attempt to jump over the Grand Canyon on a rocket-propelled motor-bike. He also successfully, and often unsuccessfully, attempted long distance motor-bike jumps, such as jumping 14 buses. Through his career, Knievel broke 35 bones. Died 30 November 2007.

17 October 1989 – Mother Teresa awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

17 October 2010 – Mary McKillop is canonised by Pope Benedict XVI, becoming Australia’s first saint.

17 October 2011 – Richard Branson, of Virgin Group, opens the world’s first commercial space-port, which he has based in Mexico. The first commercial launch is expected in 2013.

16 October 2014

dragoon

[druh-goon]

noun
1. (especially formerly) a European cavalryman of a heavily armed troop.
2. a member of a military unit formerly composed of such cavalrymen, as in the British army.
3. (formerly) a mounted infantryman armed with a short musket.
verb (used with object)
4. to set dragoons or soldiers upon; persecute by armed force; oppress.
5. to force by oppressive measures; coerce:
The authorities dragooned the peasants into leaving their farms.

Origin
French
1615-1625; < French dragon, special use of dragon dragon, applied first to a pistol hammer (so named because of its shape), then to the firearm, then to the troops so armed

Related forms
dragoonage, noun
undragooned, adjective
Dictionary.com

Anagram

go adorn

Today’s aphorism

By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community.

– Oscar Wilde

On this day

16 October – Dictionary Day (in the U.S.A), coinciding with the birthday of Noah Webster (born 1758), creator of Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language and known as the ‘Father of American Scholarship and Education’.

16 October 1834 – London’s House of Lords and House of Commons damaged by fire caused by an over-heating chimney flue during the destruction of tally sticks.

16 October 1854 – birth of Oscar Wilde, Irish writer and poet. Wilde wrote a number of plays, poems and epigrams. His only novel was ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’. His plays included ‘The Importance of Being Ernest’, and ‘Salome’. In addition to English, he was fluent in German and French. In 1895, Wilde was convicted of ‘gross indecency’ which related to some of his homosexual relationships. He received the maximum sentence of two years hard labour. On his release from prison in 1897, Wilde moved to Paris, living in exile and poverty. He died on 30 November 1900 from cerebral meningitis. He was buried at Cimetière de Bagneux, but in 1909 his remains were transferred to Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris.

16 October 1962 – start of the Cuban Missile Crisis, known in Cuba as the October Crisis and in Russia as Kарибский кризис (Caribbean Crisis), one of the major events of the Cold War as it brought the world to the brink of nuclear conflict. It started when a USAF U-2 plane photographed evidence of Soviet air bases being constructed in Cuba on 14 October 1962. The U.S. considered bombing the bases, but ended up blockading Cuba, preventing Soviet weapons being delivered. Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev wrote to U.S. President John F. Kennedy, stating the blockade constituted an act of war. For 13 days, the Americans and Soviets conducted talks to resolve the crisis. On 28 October 1962, Kennedy and UN Secretary General U. Thant reached a public and secret agreement with Khrushchev. Publicly, the Soviets agreed to dismantle their weapons in Cuba, while the U.S. gave an agreement to never invade Cuba. Secretly, the U.S. agreed to dismantle its ballistic missiles in Turkey.

15 October 2014

euphony

[yoo-fuh-nee]

noun, plural euphonies.

1. agreeableness of sound; pleasing effect to the ear, especially a pleasant sounding or harmonious combination or succession of words:
the majestic euphony of Milton’s poetry.

Origin
Late Latin Greek
1615-1625; Late Latin euphōnia < Greek euphōnía. See eu-, -phony
Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for euphony
– He and his speechwriters deserve credit for using the accident of euphony to give the argument cohesiveness and force.
– Avoid the possessive unless its omission destroys the euphony of the name or changes its descriptive application.

Anagram

honey up

Today’s aphorism

If music be the food of love, play on.

– William Shakespeare

On this day

14 October 2014

sartorial

[sahr-tawr-ee-uh l, -tohr-]

adjective

1. of or pertaining to tailors or their trade:
sartorial workmanship.
2. of or pertaining to clothing or style or manner of dress:
sartorial splendor.
3. Anatomy. pertaining to the sartorius.

Origin

Late Latin
1815-1825; < Late Latin sartor tailor + -ial

Related forms

sartorially, adverb
presartorial, adjective
unsartorial, adjective
unsartorially, adverb

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for sartorial

– They even share a sartorial tie: the devout in both faiths wear special undergarments.
– But the sartorial façade of sophistication was a flimsy one.
– We scavenged our search results for reports on the screenings, implications of sartorial missteps, and expressions of sisterhood.

Anagram

sailor art
oar trials
A Tsar roil

Today’s aphorism

I raise up my voice – not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.

– Malala Yousefzi

On this day

14 October 1066 – Battle of Hastings. When King Edward of England died, William the Duke of Normandy felt the throne should go to him. Meanwhile, Earl Harold Godwinson (cousin of King Edward) felt the throne was his. The two went to battle with William decisively defeating Harold. The battle changed history as William brought England under Norman rule and stripping the Saxons of their rights. King William introduced three major changes, firstly, he made himself the principal authority, having executive, judicial and legislative power. (This was replaced centuries later by the Westminster System, which separates these three powers). Secondly, William introduced a new language and culture, by replacing 300 years of Anglo-Saxon culture with a French dialect. Thirdly, he introduced the feudal system in which a plot of land (called a fief) would be given to loyal followers.

14 October 1322 – Scotland forces led by Robert the Bruce defeat England at Byland, forcing King Edward II to grant Scotland’s independence.

14 October 1947 – American pilot, Chuck Yeager, breaks the speed of sound in the experimental jet, Bell X-1, travelling at Mach 1 and at 45,000 feet.

14 October 1959 – death of Errol Flynn, Australian-born American actor. Born 20 June 1909.

14 October 2012 – Felix Baumgarten, Austrian adventurer, becomes the first man to break the speed of sound while in freefall after jumping from a helium balloon at the edge of space, 39km above the surface of the earth. He reached a speed of 1,342 km/hr (1.24 times the speed of sound). He also broke the record for the highest altitude reached in a manned balloon flight.

13 October 2014

desultory

[des-uh l-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee]

adjective

1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful:
desultory conversation.
2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random:
a desultory remark.

Origin

Latin

1575-1585; < Latin dēsultōrius pertaining to a dēsultor (a circus rider who jumps from one horse to another), equivalent to dēsul-, variant stem of dēsilīre to jump down ( dē- de- + -silīre, combining form of salīre to leap) + -tōrius -tory1

Related forms

desultorily, adverb
desultoriness, noun

Synonyms

1. See haphazard.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for desultory

– The complexity of the field ensures that all too many graduate projects end up with only desultory results.
– It helps that he is by nature a desultory, recessive fellow.
– This sort of thing went on for a while in a desultory, unplanned fashion.

Anagram

sultry ode
ye old rust

Today’s aphorism

Shine on you crazy diamond.
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision, rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions, come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!

– Pink Floyd, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, from the album Wish You Were Here

On this day

13 October 54AD – death of Claudius, Roman Emperor.

13 October 1307 – Pope Clement V orders the overthrow, arrest and torture of Knights Templar in France. This is believed to be the origin of Black Friday or Friday the 13th being unlucky.

12 October 2014

maladroit

[mal-uh-droit]

adjective
1. lacking in adroitness; unskillful; awkward; bungling; tactless:
to handle a diplomatic crisis in a very maladroit way.

Origin

Middle French

1665-1675; < French, Middle French; see mal-, adroit

Related forms
maladroitly, adverb
maladroitness, noun

Synonyms
clumsy, inept; gauche.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for maladroit
– When he was in office he proved a politically maladroit figure in terms of getting his negatives up.
– Your correspondents may find solace in such similarly maladroit utterances.
– Most damaging of all were his maladroit dealings with the army.

Anagram

To admiral
marital do
mad tailor

Today’s aphorism

Lunch time is an illusion. Lunch time doubly so.

– Douglas Adams, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

On this day

12 October 1492 – Christopher Columbus lands on an island in the Bahamas, claiming ‘East Asia’ for King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.

12 October 1810 – world’s first Oktoberfest when the people of Munich are invited to celebrate a Bavarian royal wedding.

12 October 1823 – Charles MacIntosh, Scottish inventor, sells his first water-proof ‘rubber raincoat’, which became known as the ‘MacIntosh’ or ‘Mac’.

12 October 1944 – ‘Columbus Day Riot’ in which 35,000 hysterical teenage girls dressed in bobby socks, descend on Times Square, New York City, in anticipation of Frank Sinatra appearing.

12 October 1979 – ‘Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ by Douglas Adams is first published. He eventually wrote a total of 5 books in the series, with a sixth one being written by Eoin Colfer.

12 October 2002 – Terrorist bombings of the Sari Club and Paddy’s Bar in Kuta, Bali, kill 202 people and injure 209. Members of Jemaah Islamiyah, a group linked with Al Qaeda, are convicted of the crime and on 9 November 2006, three of them are executed by firing squad.