12 November 2014

obtrude

[uh b-trood]

verb (used with object), obtruded, obtruding.
1. to thrust (something) forward or upon a person, especially without warrant or invitation:
to obtrude one’s opinions upon others.
2. to thrust forth; push out.
verb (used without object), obtruded, obtruding.
3. to thrust forward, especially unduly; intrude.

Origin
Latin
1545-1555; < Latin obtrūdere to thrust against, equivalent to ob- ob- + trūdere to thrust

Related forms
obtruder, noun
preobtrude, verb (used with object), preobtruded, preobtruding.
unobtruded, adjective
unobtruding, adjective

Synonyms
1. impose, force. 3. shove, push.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for obtrude
– He should remember not to obtrude on the privacy of the members he does not know.
– Whatever pain he suffered, he bore it in silence, and seemed only anxious not to obtrude his malady.
– Clearing shall also include the removal and disposal of structures that obtrude, encroach upon, or otherwise obstruct the work.

Anagram

doubter
bred out

Today’s aphorism

To give aid to every poor man is far beyond the reach and power of every man. Care of the poor is incumbent on society as a whole.

– Baruch Spinoza

On this day

12 November 1927 – Josef Stalin takes full control of the Soviet Union after Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party a few weeks earlier.

12 November 1944 – sinking of the German battleship, Tirpitz. The Allies had tried for two years to sink the ship. Finally, 32 British Lancaster bombers attack and sink the ship.

12 November 1990 – Swiss computer scientist, Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, publishes a formal proposal for hyper-text transfer, this followed his proposal for Information Management, published in March 1989. On 25 December 1990, he makes the world’s first successful communication between a hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP) client and a server; and the world wide web is born. He is director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) which oversees the ongoing development of the world-wide web.

11 November 2014

prescient

[presh-uh nt, ‐ee-uh nt pree-shuh nt, ‐shee-uh nt]

adjective
1. having prescience, or knowledge of things or events before they exist or happen; having foresight:
The prescient economist was one of the few to see the financial collapse coming.

Related forms
presciently, adverb
nonprescient, adjective
nonpresciently, adverb
unprescient, adjective
unpresciently, adverb

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for prescient
– The selection now looks prescient.
– In 2006, Sterling published an entire cookbook on hummus—and that turned out to be a prescient publication.
– His remarks proved prescient.

Word Origin and History for prescient
adj.
1620s, from Middle French prescient (15c.) and directly from Latin praescientem (nominative praesciens), present participle of praescire (see prescience ).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Anagram

i percent
pence stir
trip scene
nicer pets

Today’s aphorism

Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him.

– Epictetus

On this day

11 November 1880 – execution by hanging, of Ned Kelly, Australian bush-ranger.

11 November 1918 – End of World War I. Commemorated as ‘Remembrance Day’ in British Commonwealth countries and ‘Armistice Day’ in other nations, recognising the armistice signed at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. In 1954, the United States, changed Armistice Day to ‘Veterans Day’ and made it a public holiday to recognise those who have served in the armed forces, not just those who served in World War I.

11 November 1954 – Pensioners’ Revolt, United Kingdom. Thousands of pensioners march in a rally in London calling for an increase of their pensions by 17s 6d, which would take a single person’s pension to £2 10s per week.

11 November 1975 – Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam (Labor Party) sacked by the Governor-General and replaced by Malcolm Fraser (Liberal Party).

11 November 2004 – death of Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader in Paris after falling into a coma. The cause of his death is disputed, with some believing he was poisoned by Israel, others believing it was from cirrhosis.

10 November 2014

palliasse

[pal-yas, pal-yas, pal-ee-as, pal-ee-as]

noun
1. (Chiefly British). a mattress of straw; pallet.

Also, paillasse. (American)
Origin
French, Italian
1500-1510; < French < Italian pagliaccio straw pallet, equivalent to pagli (a) straw (< Latin palea chaff) + -accio pejorative noun suffix. From French paillasse, from Italian pagliaccio, ultimately from Latin palea

Dictionary.com

Example

– Trainees recalled wire beds with palliasses and the iron wardrobes: ‘they used to wake you up by running down the centre of the hut belting these iron wardrobes with a truncheon’. From ‘Gough Whitlam: a moment in history: the biography – Volume 1’, by Jenny Hocking.

Anagram

alias spiel
pals liaise

Today’s aphorism

If your world doesn’t allow you to dream, move to one where you can.

– Billy Idol

On this day

10 November 1919 – birth of Mikhail Kalashnikov, Soviet Union hero, inventor of the world’s most popular assault weapon, the AK-47, or ‘Kalashnikov’. The AK-47 stood for Kalashnikov Assault, 1947, the year it was designed. He was awarded the ‘Hero of Russia’ medal as well as Lenin and Stalin prizes. Kalashnikov invented the AK-47 to protect the national borders of the Soviet Union. The AK-47 has a simple design, which makes it very reliable and easy to replicate. Kalashnikov hadn’t patented the design internationally. As a result, of the estimated 100 million AK-47s in the world today, it is believed that at least half are copies. Although his weapon has been favoured by armies and guerillas across the globe, Kalashnikov claimed he never lost sleep over the numbers of people killed by it. He always maintained that he invented it to protect the ‘Fatherland’s borders’. He did however, rue the use of it by child soldiers. Kalashnikov was a World War II veteran who was wounded in 1941. While recovering in hospital he conceived the design. Died 23 December 2013.

10 November 1969 – Sesame Street debuts on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), featuring muppets by Jim Henson. It is one of the longest running tv shows in history and has been highly successful at increasing the literacy and numeracy skills of children.

10 November 1982 – Leonid Brezhnev, Soviet President, dies in office from a heart attack.

9 November 2014

mien

[meen]

noun
1. air, bearing, or demeanor, as showing character, feeling, etc.:
a man of noble mien.

Origin
1505-1515; probably aphetic variant of obsolete demean bearing, demean2; spelled with -ie- to distinguish it from mean2

Can be confused
mean, mien.

Synonyms

appearance, look; carriage.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for mien
– Voters seemed put off by his gloomy and aloof mien.
– Offit is quick-witted, funny, and — despite a generally mild-mannered mien — sometimes so assertive as to seem brash.
– I’m ever amazed by the undignified mien of many sales reps.

Anagram

mine

Today’s aphorism

Vice is a monster of so frightful mien
As to be hated needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.

– Alexander Pope

On this day

9-10 November 1938 – Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) – Nazi paramilitary forces (the Brownshirts) and non-Jewish German citizens attack Jews, smash windows of synagogues, shops and houses. At least 91 Jews were killed in the attack and more than 30,000 incarcerated in concentration camps. Over 1,000 synagogues and 7,000 businesses were destroyed or damaged. The Nazis undertook the attack following the assassination of German diplomat Ernst Vom Rath by Herschel Grynszpan in Paris, a German-born Polish Jew. However, it is likely that the attack would have happened anyway, as Kristallnacht is seen as the beginning of Hitler’s Final Solution which was to eliminate Jews from Europe. The Final Solution culminated in the Holocaust, in which more than 6 million Jews were executed, along with many other ‘undesirables’, such as Gypsys, homosexuals and dissidents. At its height, the Nazis had over 40,000 concentration camps in which millions of Jews and others were executed, sometimes by firing squad, but often by gas chamber. The Nazis also conducted medical experiments on the prisoners, in an effort to build a genetically modified ‘master race’. The subjects who survived the experiments were usually executed and dissected.

9 November 1967 – First edition of Rolling Stone magazine is published, and features John Lennon.

9 November 1989 – fall of the Berlin Wall. Construction of the wall commenced in 1961 and was completed in 1962, to separate the Communist controlled East Berlin from the capitalist West Berlin. The Communist government claimed that it was to protect East Germany from Fascist forces in West Germany, although it was mainly to prevent the mass defections from the Eastern bloc. Between the end of World War II and the construction of the Wall, more than 3.5 million people defected to the West. The Wall was more than 140km long, with numerous guard towers and check-points. It symbolised the ‘Iron Curtain’, which was used to describe the attempts of Europe’s Eastern bloc, including the Soviet Union, to severely restrict contact with the West.

8 November 2014

vociferous

[voh-sif-er-uh s]

adjective
1. crying out noisily; clamorous.
2. characterized by or uttered with vociferation :
a vociferous manner of expression.

Origin
1605-1615; vocifer(ant) + -ous

Related forms

vociferously, adverb
vociferousness, noun
unvociferous, adjective
unvociferously, adverb
unvociferousness, noun

Can be confused

veracious, vociferous, voracious.

Synonyms
1. loud, noisy, vocal, uproarious, boisterous.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for vociferous
– Yet a small but vociferous number of scientists remain undeterred.
– Being vociferous breeders and feeding on the eggs and chicks of other birds, crows drove indigenous species from entire suburbs.
– The over vociferous anti-drug people have a long history of exaggeration and lies.

Anagram

four voices
voice for us

Today’s aphorism

Remember my friend, that knowledge is stronger than memory, and we should not trust the weaker.

― Bram Stoker, Dracula

On this day

8 November 1836 – birth of Milton Bradley, U.S. board-game maker, credited with launching the board-game industry. Died 30 May 1911.

8 November 1847 – birth of Bram Stoker, Irish novellist, author of ‘Dracula’. Died 20 April 1912.

8 November 1960 – 43 year old, John F. Kennedy wins the presidential election and becomes the youngest President of the United States of America.

8 November 1973 – In Brisbane, Australia, a home-made bomb is placed on a teacher’s desk. It detonates, killing one student, injuring 8 others, while the teacher loses both hands.

7 November 2014

peevish

[pee-vish]

adjective
1. cross, querulous, or fretful, as from vexation or discontent:
a peevish youngster.
2. showing annoyance, irritation, or bad mood:
a peevish reply; a peevish frown.
3. perverse or obstinate.

Origin

Middle English

1350-1400; Middle English pevysh < ?

Related forms

peevishly, adverb
peevishness, noun
unpeevish, adjective
unpeevishly, adverb
unpeevishness, noun

Synonyms
1. petulant, irritable, snappish. See cross.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for peevish
– The movie has the metabolism, logic and attention span of a peevish 6-year-old.
– While he can be peevish and even mean, he is also frequently funny and generous.
– Martin isn’t a very likable character—he’s peevish, disdainful and annoyingly self-important.

Anagram

eve ship

Today’s aphorism

Learn as much by writing as by reading.

– Lord Acton

On this day

7 – 8 November 1917 – October Revolution. Part of the Russian Revolution which commenced with the February Revolution (8-12 March 1917) and which overthrew the Russian Provisional Government and replaced it with the Soviet government. (This date is from the New Style Gregorian calendar and corresponds with 25 October 1917 under the Old Style Julian calendar).

7 November 1956 – Suez Canal Crisis. Egyptian President Nasser announces that he will nationalise the Suez Canal Company and in the interim, freezes their assets. In response, France, Britain and Israel attack Egypt, including the bombing Cairo. They had attacked in order to gain control of the Suez Canal and to remove Nasser from power. The United Nations issued a resolution requiring France, Britain and Israel to withdraw. The United States and the Soviet Union backed the U.N. resolution and the three antagonists were forced to withdraw.

7 November 2000 – George W. Bush wins the most controversial U.S. presidential election in history. Because of the closeness of the election results in Florida, a number of actions were taken in the U.S. Supreme Court. Before recounting could close, the Supreme Court declared George W. Bush the victor, with a majority of between 500 and 2,000 votes, even though it was revealed that George W. Bush’s brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush removed 58,000 names from the electoral role (based on ethnicity and who were likely to vote Democrat).

6 November 2014

abstruse

[ab-stroos]

adjective

1. hard to understand; recondite; esoteric:
abstruse theories.
2. Obsolete. secret; hidden.
Origin

Latin

1590-1600; < Latin abstrūsus thrust away, concealed (past participle of abstrūdere), equivalent to abs- abs- + trūd- thrust + -tus past participle suffix

Related forms

abstrusely, adverb
abstruseness, noun

Can be confused

abstruse, obtuse.

Synonyms

1. incomprehensible, unfathomable, arcane.

Antonyms

1. clear, uncomplicated, simple; obvious.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for abstruse

– Unfortunately, it is sometimes difficult for the economic operators to comprehend the abstruse provisions correctly.
– If your initial topic seems abstruse, consider the motivation that led you to it in the first place.
– It’s often stimulating, but too abstruse for the average reader.

Anagram

brats use
bats user
stare bus

Today’s quotes

Hats off to Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, a great aviator and a man. He has just done another great service for Australia in blazing his air trail over the Pacific. Other men who serve Australia receive big salaries, why not “Smithy”? Better to pin a flower on his coat now than to send him a wreath when he has gone.

– Letter signed as ‘Cheerio’, published in the Courier Mail, 22 November 1934.

On this day

6 November 1985 – Iran-Contra Affair revealed in the media. U.S. President Ronald Reagan exposed as having sold arms to Iran in order to secure the release of Americans being held by an Iranian group and to also help the U.S. to continue illicitly funding the Nicaraguan Contras after Congress had banned further funding arrangements. The Contras were rebels who were committing human rights violations while opposing the ruling Marxist Sandinista regime. Numerous high-ranking members of the Reagan government were indicted, including Casper Weinberger (Secretary of Defence, later pardoned by President George H.W. Bush), William Casey (Head of CIA), Robert McFarlane (National Security Advisor), Oliver North (member of the National Security Council), and John Poindexter (National Security Advisor).

6 November 1999 – Australians vote to keep the Queen as head of state instead of establishing a republic.

3 November 2014

bathos

[bey-thos, -thaws, -thohs]

noun
1. a ludicrous descent from the exalted or lofty to the commonplace; anticlimax.
2. insincere pathos; sentimentality; mawkishness.
3. triteness or triviality in style.

Related forms

bathetic (adjective)
1. displaying or characterized by bathos:
– the bathetic emotionalism of soap operas.

Origin
1630-1640; < Greek: depth

Can be confused
bathos, pathos.

Synonyms
2. maudlinness, tearfulness; mush, gush, schmaltz. 3. insipidity, inanity.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for bathos
– But there is nothing but excess, self-indulgence and bathos.
– And in reading their requests the bathos of the ultimate penalty is impossible to ignore.
– The film is an unqualified delight, never descending into sloppy sentiment or boggy bathos.

Anagram

so bath

Today’s quote

I guess I look like a rock quarry that someone has dynamited.

– Charles Bronson

On this day

3 November 1913 – The United States introduces income tax.

3 November 1921 – birth of Charles Dennis Buchinsky, otherwise known as Charles Bronson, American actor. Died 30 August 2003.

3 November 1957 – Laika becomes the world’s first space-dog when the Soviet Union launches Sputnik II, sending the first ever living animal into space. Laika is the first animal to orbit the earth. She was a stray-dog which was chosen to undergo training with two other dogs, before being selected for the mission. In 2002 it was revealed that she died within hours of take-off from over-heating when one of the motors failed to separate from the payload.