11 December 2014

ingenuous

[in-jen-yoo-uh s]

adjective
1. free from reserve, restraint, or dissimulation; candid; sincere.
2. artless; innocent; naive.
3. Obsolete. honorable or noble.

Origin
Latin
1590-1600; < Latin ingenuus native, free-born, honorable, frank, equivalent to in- in-2+ gen- (base of gignere; see ingenious ) + -uus deverbal adj. suffix; see -ous

Related forms
ingenuously, adverb
ingenuousness, noun
half-ingenuous, adjective
half-ingenuously, adverb
half-ingenuousness, noun

Can be confused
ingenious, ingenuous (see usage note at ingenious )

Synonyms
1. frank, straightforward, open. 2. guileless.

Usage note
See ingenious.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for ingenuous
– The claim is perhaps cagily ingenuous, by a writer often accused of being too cerebral and cool-hearted.
– Many actors could have been too winsome or ingenuous in the part of such a professional good guy.
– It is impossible not to accept it in the ingenuous spirit in which it was fabricated.

Anagram

ennui go use
use gun ion

Today’s aphorism

If the rabble continues to occupy itself with you, then simply don’t read that hogwash, but rather leave it to the reptile for whom it has been fabricated.

– Albert Einstein

On this day

11 December 1941 – Hitler and Mussolini declare war on the United States. The USA responds in kind.

11 December 1946 – establishment of UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) to provide food and healthcare to children in countries devastated by World War II.

11 December 1918 – birthday of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian dissident writer, ‘The Gulag Archipelago‘, ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich‘, ‘The First Circle‘.

11 December 1961 – America’s first direct involvement in the Vietnam civil war, when a US aircraft carrier arrives in Saigon.

11 December 1975 – The Cod War in Iceland continues when an Iceland gun boat fires on unarmed British fishing vessels. Iceland had expanded its fishing zone from 50nm to 200nm from its coast.

11 December 1979 – The Rhodesian government returns power of the country to Great Britain until democratic elections are held. Following the elections, Rhodesia is renamed Zimbabwe.

11 December 1997 – The Kyoto Protocol is agreed to by 150 countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to combat anthropogenic global warming.

10 December 2014

martinet

[mahr-tn-et, mahr-tn-et]

noun
1. a strict disciplinarian, especially a military one.
2. someone who stubbornly adheres to methods or rules.

Origin
1670-1680; after General Jean Martinet (died 1672), French inventor of a system of drill

Related forms
martinetish, adjective
martinetism, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for martinet
– While not slighting the captain’s martinet personality, he gives a performance that is filled with empathetic understanding.
– The reprobate with the heart of gold, or the old-line martinet who resents the incursions of progress.
– It is a triangle romance, with a martinet of a divisional superintendent doing a noble deed during an exciting moment

Anagram

rant item

Today’s aphorism

Racism, xenophobia and unfair discrimination have spawned slavery, when human beings have bought and sold and owned and branded fellow human beings as if they were so many beasts of burden.

– Desmond Tutu

On this day

10 December 1896 – death 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. Born 21 October 1833.

10 December – Human Rights Day.

10 December 1948 – Universal Declaration of Human Rights is adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.

10 December 1959 – James Coburn (star of ‘The Great Escape‘, ‘The Magnificent Seven‘) takes 200 micrograms of LSD-25 for the first time as part of a controlled experiment conducted by Dr Janiger. Other famous people who participated in Janiger’s experiments include Cary Grant (‘North by Northwest‘, ‘An Affair to Remember‘) who took over 100 acid trips, Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper, and author Anais Nin (refer:http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd_history6.pdf andhttp://www.carygrant.net/autobiography/autobiography14.html)

10 December 1967 – Soul singer, Otis Redding and members of the Bar-Kays band are killed when the plane they are travelling on crashes into Lake Monona, Madison, Wisconsin.

10 December 1981 – An epidemic comprising of two diseases, skin cancer and pneumonia, spreads throughout the United States since July, killing 75 people, 92% of whom are gay men. The disease is eventually identified as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

10 December 1983 – Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

10 December 1992 – Prime Minister Paul Keating delivers the historic ‘Redfern Speech’ at Redfern Park, New South Wales. It is regarded as one of the greatest Australian speeches and was the first time a Prime Minister had acknowledged the role that European settlement had in the murders and other travesties inflicted on the indigenous population. In 2007, Radio National listeners voted the speech as the third most unforgettable speech in the world, behind Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech (first) and Jesus’s ‘Sermon on the Mount (second). The speech can be heard here:Redfern Speech – audio or on YouTube. The text is available here: Redfern Speech – Text.

10 December 2002 – Former US President Jimmy Carter is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomatic efforts in solving the Middle East crisis in the 1970s.

10 December 2009 – President Barack Obama is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his ‘extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples‘.

9 December 2014

supernal

[soo-pur-nl]

adjective
1. being in or belonging to the heaven of divine beings; heavenly, celestial, or divine.
2. lofty; of more than earthly or human excellence, powers, etc.
3. being on high or in the sky or visible heavens.

Origin
Middle French, Latin
1475-1485; < Middle French < Latin supern (us) upper + -ālis -al1

Related forms
supernally, adverb

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for supernal
– This, the supernal power of opium, is not a fact of ancient mysteries and visionary poets alone.

Anagram

spurn ale
lapse run
nap rules

Today’s aphorism

I believe time wounds all heels.

– John Lennon

On this day

9 December 1906 – birth of Sir Douglas Nichols KCVO, OBE. Aboriginal activist, raising awareness of aboriginal issues, including treating aborigines with dignity and as people. He played for Carlton football club in the A-grade Victorian Football League (VFL), leaving after racist treatment and joining the Northcote football club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA). Nicholls became a minister and social worker. In 1957, he was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE). In 1972 he was the first aborigine to be knighted. In 1976, he became the 28th governor of South Australia, the first aborigine to be appointed to a vice-regal position. He died on 4 June 1988.

9 December 1947 – Deputy Prime Minister of India, Sandar Valiabbhai Patel announces that India and Pakistan have reached an agreement on the borders of the two countries following partition … except for the issue of Kashmir, which is unresolved to this day.

9 December 1990 – Polish dissident, Solidarity union leader and 1983 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Lech Walesa wins Polish presidential election in a landslide. Solidarity was the Soviet Bloc’s first independent trade union. Walesa presided over Poland’s transition from a communist state to a post-communist state.

8 December 2014

viand

[vahy-uh nd]

noun
1. an article of food.
2. viands, articles or dishes of food, now usually of a choice or delicate kind.

Origin
Middle English, Middle French, Latin
1350-1400; Middle English viaunde < Middle French viande < Vulgar Latin *vīvanda, for Latin vīvenda things to be lived on, neuter plural gerund of vīvere to live

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for viand
– The conversation was rude and clamorous, but the viands and wine were good.
– They had the same fare as the boys, used the tin dishes, and praised the viands.

Anagram

divan

Today’s aphorism

Whoever controls the media, controls the mind.

– Jim Morrison

On this day

8 December 1943 – birth of Jim Morrison, lead singer and song writer for the Doors. Died 3 July 1971.

8 December 1980 – Murder of John Lennon. English guitarist and singer-songwriter for the Beatles. Born 9 October 1940.

8 December 1991 – the Presidents of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus sign the Belavezha Accords declaring the Soviet Union dissolved and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States. The legality of this accord was questionable, however, it was ratified by leaders of all other Soviet republics (except Georgia) on 21 December 1991.

8 December 2004 – death of Dimebag Darrell, (born Darrell Lance Abbott), American musician, founding member of Pantera. Dimebag was shot dead on stage while playing for Damageplan.

7 December 2014

ostensible

[o-sten-suh-buh l]

adjective
1. outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended:
an ostensible cheerfulness concealing sadness.
2. apparent, evident, or conspicuous:
the ostensible truth of their theories.

Origin
French, Latin
1720-1730; < French < Latin ostēns (us), variant of ostentus (see ostensive ) + French -ible -ible

Related forms
ostensibly, adverb
nonostensible, adjective
nonostensibly, adverb
unostensible, adjective
unostensibly, adverb

Can be confused
ostensible, ostensive.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for ostensible
– ostensibly preparing for the north, he secretly planned for the south.
– ostensibly, the restrictions are designed to control illegal logging and related activities.
– In both instances, the company is using my personal data ostensibly to better to serve me, but really to make a buck.

Anagram

sensible to
belies tons
besets loins
bile stones
noble site
best noises
bite lesson
tense boils

Today’s aphorism

The safety of the people shall be the highest law.

– Marcus Tullius Cicero

On this day

7 December 43BC – death of Marcus Tullius Cicero (sometimes Anglicised as Tully), Roman statesman, politician, philosopher, orator. Tully’s influence on Latin and other European languages was immense and still felt up to the 19th century. The history of prose in Latin and other languages was said to be either a reaction against, or a return to, his style. Born 3 January 106BC .

7 December 1941 – bombing of Pearl Harbor by Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. The bombing was a major tactical victory for Japan and led to the United States entering World War II. The USA suffered 2403 deaths, including 68 civilians, and 1178 wounded. Japan lost 64 lives.

7 December 1941 – At the same time as Pearl Harbour, Japan attacked British and Australian forces in Malaysia and Singapore, British forces in Hong Kong and US forces in the Philippines. British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill declared war on Japan as a result. Singapore fell to Japan on 15 February 1942. US General Douglas MacArthur escaped the Philippines in March 1942 as the country fell to Japan. He relocated his headquarters to Brisbane, Australia, and became the Supreme Commander of Allied forces in the Pacific, with forces from the United States, Australia, Netherlands, Britain and other countries coming under his command.

7 December 1987 – USSR President Mikael Gorbachev arrives in the USA for an arms control summit with US President Ronald Reagan. The summit resulted in the Intermediate Nuclear Force Treaty (INF) which called for elimination of all cruise and ballistic missiles and launchers in Europe that had a range of 320 to 3,400 miles. This was one of the most significant arms treaties of the Cold War.

7 December 1988 – An earthquake registering 7.2 on the richter scale, completely destroys the Armenian city of Spitak, in the Soviet Union, killing 50,000.

7 December 2001 – the Taliban regime surrenders 61 days after commencement of US-led war in Afghanistan.

6 December 2014

odious

[oh-dee-uh s]

adjective
1. deserving or causing hatred; hateful; detestable.
2. highly offensive; repugnant; disgusting.

Origin
Middle English, Latin
1350-1400; Middle English < Latin odiōsus, equivalent to od (ium) hatred, odium + -ōsus -ous

Related forms
odiously, adverb
odiousness, noun
unodious, adjective
unodiously, adverb
unodiousness, noun

Can be confused
malodorous, odious, odoriferous, odorous, smelly, stinky.
odious, odorous.

Synonyms
1. abominable, objectionable, despicable, execrable. See hateful. 2. loathsome, repellent, repulsive.

Antonyms
1. attractive, lovable.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for odious
– She learned the rough work of the household, the odious labors of the kitchen.
– He expected odious solitary scavengers but instead found sophisticated hunters living in complex clans.
– The war would be repulsive because the leader was odious.

Anagram

I do duo

Today’s aphorism

The more one listens to ordinary conversations the more apparent it becomes that the reasoning faculties of the brain take little part in the direction of the vocal organs.

– Edgar Rice Burroughs

On this day

6 December 1790 – The United States Capitol is relocated from New York to Philadelphia. Ten years later, the District of Columbia is completed and the capitol permanently relocates there.

6 December 1922 – Creation of the Irish Free State as a dominion under the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Northern Ireland was included in the State, but chose not to join.

6 December 1956 – birth of Randy Rhoads, American heavy metal guitarist, played with Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot. Rhoads was on tour with Ozzy Osbourne, heading to Orlando, Florida when their bus broke down near an airstrip at Leesburg, Florida. While some of the band continued sleeping in the van, the driver (an ex-commercial pilot) took one of the light planes for joy-rides with some of the band members. He didn’t have permission for the flights. Randy Rhoads and make-up artist, Rachel Youngblood were on the second flight. The pilot thought it would be funny to buzz the tour bus by flying as close as possible to it. On the third pass, the plane’s wing clipped the bus causing the plane to spiral out of control and for Rhoads and Youngblood’s heads to smash through the plane’s windshield. The plane severed the top of a pine tree before crashing into a garage at a nearby mansion. Rhoads, Youngblood and the pilot (Andrew Aycock) died instantly, all burnt beyond recognition. In 1987, Ozzy Osbourne released a live album in memory of Rhoads, called ‘Tribute’, it featured Osbourne and Rhoad’s work together. Died 19 March 1982.

6 December 1962 – a deadly smog, mainly containing sulfur dioxide, kills 90 people in London.

6 December 1969 – The Rolling Stones organise a free concert at the disused Altamont Speedway, Livermore, California, featuring themselves, as well as Jefferson Airplane, Santana, the Flying Burrito Brothers and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Hell’s Angels were used as security, but the concert was marred by the deaths of four people, including one who was stabbed by a member of the Hell’s Angels.

5 December 2014

camoufleur

[kam-uh-flur]

noun

– one who camouflages or is skilled in camouflage, particularly military.

Origin:

French: to disguise

Anagram

a clue forum
coal emu fur

Example:

– A team of camoufleurs was responsible for camouflaging military installations.

Today’s aphorism

I pay no attention whatever to anybody’s praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings.

– Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

On this day

5 December – International Volunteer Day

5 December 1791 – death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composer.

5 December 1870 – death of Alexandré Dumas, French author of celebrated works such as ‘Count of Monte Christo‘, ‘The Three Musketeers‘, ‘The Black Tulip‘.

5 December 1972 – Gough Whitlam appointed Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to its first victory since 1949. The results of some electoral seats had not been finalised, so Whitlam and Deputy Prime Minister, Lance Barnard ran a duumvirate government by taking on all 27 ministerial portfolios between them for two weeks, until Whitlam could select his ministry. Labor had won control of the House of Representatives but failed to gain control of the Senate, which resulted in numerous bills being blocked by the Upper House. With the Senate threatening to block supply (failing to vote in favour of the budget), Whitam introduced a bill that was defeated twice in the Senate, leading to a double dissolution of parliament. Labor was reelected at the subsequent election and continued to control the House of Representatives with a reduced majority. In the Senate, Labor and Liberal both won 29 seats, with the balance of power held by two independents. Even with the almost paralysed government that he led, Whitlam managed a number of crucial achievements including abolition of the White Australia policy, withdrawing Australian troops from Vietnam and ended conscription in 1972, granting independence to Papua New Guinea, Medibank, multi-culturalism, abolition of university tuition fees, establishing a new government department for Aboriginal Affairs and one for Environment, Aboriginal Land Fund Commission, Australian Legal Aid Office, National Employment and Training Scheme, Trade Practices Act 1975, Racial Discrimination Act 1975, National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975, Family Law Act 1975. In October 1975, opposition leader Malcolm Fraser again threatened to block supply which would have seen the government’s budget run out on 10 November 1975. A compromise couldn’t be reached and on 11 November 1975, Governor-General Kerr sacked the Whitlam government and appointed Malcolm Fraser as Prime Minister.

5 December 2013 – death of Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician. Born 18 July 1918.

4 December 2014

antiquity

[an-tik-wi-tee]

noun, plural antiquities.
1. the quality of being ancient; ancientness:
a bowl of great antiquity.
2. ancient times; former ages:
the splendor of antiquity.
3. the period of history before the Middle Ages.
4. the peoples, nations, tribes, or cultures of ancient times.
5. Usually, antiquities. something belonging to or remaining from ancient times, as monuments, relics, or customs.

Origin
Middle English, Anglo-FrenchLatin
1350-1400; Middle English antiquite < Anglo-French < Latin antīquitās, equivalent to antīqu (us) old (see antique ) + -itās -ity

Related forms
preantiquity, noun, plural preantiquities.
subantiquity, noun, plural subantiquities.
Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for antiquity
– Searching for or removal of any object of antiquity including arrowheads, pottery or other artifacts is prohibited.
– The techniques used in handcrafting silver have changed little since antiquity.
– No other hominin of such antiquity –including Lucy–is as complete as this one.

Anagram

a tiny quit

Today’s aphorism

It has been my observation that parents kill more dreams than anybody.

– Spike Lee

On this day

4 December 1952 – A deadly smog in London caused by soot and sulphur dioxide from factories, cars and home coal-fires. It continues for four days and kills at least 4,000 people.

4 December 1954 – the first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida by James McLamore and David Edgerton.

4 December 1961 – the birth control contraceptive pill (‘the pill’) available publicly through the National Health Service.

4 December 1969 – 14 police shoot dead two members of the Black Panther Party, Fred Hampton and Mary Clark, who were asleep in their apartment. The Black Panther Party was committed to racial equality and rights for African Americans.

3 December 2014

coterie

[koh-tuh-ree]

noun
1. a group of people who associate closely.
2. an exclusive group; clique.
3. a group of prairie dogs occupying a communal burrow.

Origin
Medieval Latin
1730-1740; < French, Middle French: an association of tenant farmers < Medieval Latin coter (ius) cotter2+ -ie -y3

Synonyms
1. See circle.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for coterie
– There is always a fun-loving coterie of practical jokers in every club.
– Speak to the significance of your ideas beyond your coterie.
– His reliance on a coterie of compatriots provoked particular irritation.

Anagram

cite roe
eco tier
core tie

Today’s quote

I got rabies shots for biting the head off a bat but that’s OK – the bat had to get Ozzy shots.

– Ozzy Osbourne

On this day

3 December – International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

3 December 1944 – Civil war breaks out in Greece following its liberation during World War II, when communist rebels fight democratic forces for control.

3 December 1948 – birth of Ozzy Osbourne, legendary British rocker, former lead singer of Black Sabbath, who has also had a successful solo career. He was born as John Michael Osbourne.

3 December 1984 – Bhopal Union Carbide accident in India in which thousands of people die from toxic gases that leaked from the factory when safety systems failed.

3 December 1992 – the world’s first SMS is sent. This monumental event occurred in the United Kingdom when Neil Papworth of the SEMA Group used a PC to send the message over a Vodafone GSM network to Richard Jarvis of Vodafone, who was using an Orbitel 901 phone. The message was ‘Merry Christmas’.

3 December 1993 – death of Frank Zappa, American revolutionary musician. Born 21 December 1940.

2 December 2014

autarky

[aw-tahr-kee]

noun, plural autarkies.
1. the condition of self-sufficiency, especially economic, as applied to a nation.
2. a national policy of economic independence.

Also, autarchy.

Origin
Greek
1610-1620; < Greek autárkeia, equivalent to aut- aut- + arke- suffice + -ia -ia

Related forms
autarkic, autarkical, adjective
autarkically, adverb
autarkist, noun

Dictionary.com

Anagram

a yuk rat

Today’s aphorism

Freedom is the right to one’s dignity as a man.

– Archibald MacLeish

On this day

2 December – International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.

2 December 1972 – death of Yip Man, Wing Chun Kung Fu grand-master. Immortalised in the movie, Ip Man. Born 1 October 1893.