9 June 2015

macerate

[mas-uh-reyt]

verb (used with object), macerated, macerating.
1. to soften or separate into parts by steeping in a liquid.
2. to soften or decompose (food) by the action of a solvent.
3. to cause to grow thin.
verb (used without object), macerated, macerating.
4. to undergo maceration.
5. to become thin or emaciated; waste away.

Origin of macerate
Latin
1540-1550; < Latin mācerātus (past participle of mācerāre to make soft, weaken, steep); see -ate1

Related forms
macerater, macerator, noun
macerative, adjective
unmacerated, adjective

Synonyms
5. shrink, shrivel, fade, wither.

Dictionary.com

Anagram

eat cream
a cremate
race meat
a car meet

Today’s quote

The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists.

– Charles Dickens

On this day

9 June 1870 – death of Charles Dickens, English writer and social critic. Author of numerous works, including The Pickwick Papers, David Copperfield, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist. Born 7 February 1812.

9 June 1915 – birthday of Les Paul, (born Lester William Polsfuss) American musician and inventor of the solid body electric guitar. The popular Gibson Les Paul was designed in collaboration with him. (Died 2009)

9 June 1934 – Donald Duck makes his film debut in the Disney short film, the Wise Little Hen.

9 June 1961 – birth of Michael J. Fox, Canadian-American actor, producer and author.

9 June 1963 – birth of Johnny Depp, American actor, singer, producer and director.

9 June 1967 – During the Six Day War, Israel captures the Golan Heights from Syria.

9 Jun 1979 – The ‘Ghost Train Fire’ at Luna Park, Sydney (Australia) kills seven.

9 June 2014 – death of Rik Mayall, British comedian and actor. Starred in The Young Ones, Bottom, Black Adder and Drop Dead Fred. Born 7 March 1958.

8 June 2015

graminivorous

[gram-uh-niv-er-uh s]

adjective
1. feeding or subsisting on grass:
A graminivorous animal. Pandas, cattle and horses are graminivores.

Origin of graminivorous
Latin
1730-1740; < Latin grāmin- (stem of grāmen) grass + -i- + -vorous (to eat)

Dictionary.com

Anagram

amorous virgin
a rooming virus
our soaring vim
vision mug roar

Today’s quote

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?

Satchel Paige

On this day

8 June 1921 – birth of Ivan Southall AM, DFC, Australian writer of young-adult fiction and non-fiction. Books include ‘Ash Road’, ‘Let the Balloon Go’, ‘Hill’s End’, ‘Fly West’ and ‘Josh. Died 15 November 2008.

8 June 1967 – During the Six Day War, Israel launched a naval and air assault on the USS Liberty as it sits in international waters near Egypt’s Gaza Strip. The attack left 34 US crewmen dead and injured 171 others. Israel claimed the attack was an accident, while some witnesses claimed it was deliberate.

7 June 2015

turbid

[tur-bid]

adjective
1. not clear or transparent because of stirred-up sediment or the like; clouded; opaque; obscured:
the turbid waters near the waterfall.
2. thick or dense, as smoke or clouds.
3. confused; muddled; disturbed.

Origin of turbid

Latin
1620-1630; < Latin turbidus disturbed, equivalent to turb (āre) to disturb (derivative of turba turmoil) + -idus -id4

Related forms
turbidity, turbidness, noun
turbidly, adverb
unturbid, adjective
unturbidly, adverb

Can be confused
torpid, turbid, turgid.

Synonyms
1. murky, cloudy, roiled, muddy.

Dictionary.com

Anagram

rid tub

Today’s quote

The wine of youth does not always clear with advancing years; sometimes it grows turbid.

– Carl Jung

On this day

7 June 1099 – the First Crusade: Siege of Jerusalem begins.

7 June 1893 – Mohandas Gandhi commits his first act of civil disobedience.

7 June 1929 – The Lateran Treaty is ratified by the Italian Parliament, allowing Vatican City to become an independent sovereign state.

7 June 1954 – death of Alan Turing, British mathematician and computer scientist. Turing is considered to be the father of computer science and artificial intelligence. He invented the ‘Turing machine’ which formulated the computer algorithm. It’s the forerunner for the modern computer. During World War 2, Turing was instrumental in cracking German messages encrypted by the Enigma machine. Sadly, Turing’s achievements were overshadowed by him being charged with gross indecency after admitting to being in a homosexual relationship. On 31 March 1952, following his guilty plea, he was chemically castrated. Two years later, on 7 June 1954,Turing took his own life with cyanide. On 10 September 2009, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown publicly apologised on behalf of the British Government for the ‘appalling way he was treated’. On 23 December 2013, Queen Elizabeth II issued a posthumous royal pardon, clearing Turing of the charge of gross indecency. Born 23 June 1912.

7 June 1975 – the inaugural World Cup cricket match is held in London.

6 June 2015

cognomen

[kog-noh-muh n]

noun, plural cognomens, cognomina [kog-nom-uh-nuh]
1. a surname.
2. any name, especially a nickname.
3. the third and commonly the last name of a citizen of ancient Rome, indicating the person’s house or family, as “Caesar” in “Gaius Julius Caesar.”.

Compare agnomen (def 1).

Origin of cognomen
1800-1810; < Latin, equivalent to co- co- + nōmen name, with -g- on model of nōscī: cognōscī; see cognition

Related forms
cognominal [kog-nom-uh-nuh l, -noh-muh-], adjective
cognominally, adverb

Dictionary.com

Anagram

conmen go
congo men
gnome con

Today’s quote

Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain.

– Carl Jung

On this day

6 June – Queensland Day, which celebrates the establishment of the colony of Queensland. On 6 June 1859, Queen Victoria gave her approval for the new colony by signing the Letters Patent. On the same day, an Order-in-Council gave Queensland its own Constitution.

6 June – Russian Language Day (UN) – coincides with the birthday of Aleksandr Pushkin, Russian poet who is considered the father of modern Russian literature.

6 June 1799 – birth of Aleksandr Pushkin, Russian poet and author of the romantic era. Considered the father of modern Russian literature. He was born into Russian nobility. His matrilineal great grandfather, Abram Gannibal, was brought over as a slave from Africa and had risen to the aristocracy. Died during a duel on 10 February 1837.

6 June 1808 – Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte, is crowned King of Spain.

6 June 1844 – The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) is founded in London.

6 June 1939 – Judge Joseph Force Crater, known as the ‘Missingest man in New York’ is declared legally dead after going missing nine years earlier. His body has never been found, but his disappearance fueled allegations of corruption in the City government and lead to the downfall of political organisation, Tammany Hall.

6 June 1944 – D-day (Operation Overlord), when the Allies launch a massive invasion of Europe to combat the German war machine. Over a million Allied troops storm the beaches of Normandy.

6 June 1961 – death of Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology. He developed the concepts of extraversion and introversion; archetypes and collective unconscious. Born 26 July 1875.

6 June 1982 – the Lebanon War begins when Israeli forces under the command of the Defence Minister, Ariel Sharon, invade southern Lebanon, eventually pushing into Beirut. It lasted until June 1985. Israel suffered 657 dead and 3,887 wounded. Syrian and Palestinian casualties were 19,085 civilian and combatant deaths.

6 June 1984 – Tetris, one of the world’s biggest selling games, is released.

5 June 2015

estoppel

[e-stop-uh l]

noun, Law, Legal
1. a bar or impediment preventing a party from asserting a fact or a claim inconsistent with a position that party previously took, either by conduct or words, especially where a representation has been relied or acted upon by others.

Origin of estoppel
Middle French
1575-1585; < bung, cork, Middle French estoupail stopper. See estop, -al2

Dictionary.com

– Even without a written and signed contract, the court found that the behaviour of both parties constituted an estoppel and issued its ruling as though a contract did exist.

Anagram

peel tops
pot sleep
pole step
pet slope
lost peep

Today’s quote

You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.

– Ray Bradbury

On this day

5 June 1967 – start of the Six Day War, when Israel attacked Egypt and Syria. During the six days of the War, Israel occupied the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, West Bank and East Jerusalem, effectively doubling its size. Although Israel eventually withdrew from the Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula, it continues to controversially occupy Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem.

5 June 1968 – Robert F. Kennedy, Presidential candidate and brother of JFK, shot by Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian-born, Jordanian citizen. Kennedy died the following day. In an interview with David Frost in 1989, Sirhan stated that he opposed Kennedy’s support of Israel and plan to send 50 bombers to Israel to ‘obviously do harm to the Palestinians’. Sirhan was initially sentenced to death, but the sentence was later commuted to life in prison.

5 June 1989 – the ‘Tank Man’ halts a column of Chinese tanks in Beijing for more than half an hour, following protests in Tiananmen Square.

5 June 2000 – start of the Six Day War in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo, between Ugandan and Rwandan forces, destroying a large part of the city.

5 June 2012 – death of Ray Bradbury, American fantasy, science-fiction, horror and mystery fiction writer. Author of Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustratred Man, Something Wicked This Way Comes. The movie Butterfly Effect uses a similar theory to that described in Bradbury’s short-story A Sound of Thunder. In one scene, a Sound of Thunder pennant is hanging on the dormitory door of the main character, Evan. Michael Moore’s movie Fahrenheit 9/11 was named after Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury was not happy with this and pressured Moore to change the title, which Moore refused to do. Born 22 August 1920.

4 June 2015

exophasia

[ek-soh-fey-zhuh, -zhee-uh]

noun
1. ordinary, vocalized, audible speech.

Compare endophasia.

Origin of exophasia
< New Latin; see exo-, -phasia

Dictionary.com

Example

– He called it ‘thinking out loud’, but his wife was exasperated by his constant exophasia with himself whenever he was making a decision.

– On the other hand, the terms ‘exophasia’ and ‘endophasia’ to label audible speech and sub-vocal speech seem to me to be examples of the second type, jargon; they have no advantages over simpler everyday terms’.
(Linguistics and the Teacher, Volume 112 Page 120, by Ronald Carter)

Anagram

Ex Asia Hop
Pi sea hoax

Today’s quote

Weakness is what brings ignorance, cheapness, racism, homophobia, desperation, cruelty, brutality, all these things that will keep a society chained to the ground, one foot nailed to the floor.

– Henry Rollins

On this day

4 June 1988 – death 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 was born on 9 December 1906.

4 June 1989 – Tiananmen Square massacre, Beijing, China. Around a million people had flooded into Tiananmen Square over the past few days, protesting for democracy. On 4 June, the Chinese Army stormed the Square with tanks and armoured cars, killing hundreds of protestors, while arresting thousands of others.

3 June 2015

traipse

[treyps] Informal.

verb (used without object), traipsed, traipsing.
1. to walk or go aimlessly or idly or without finding or reaching one’s goal:
We traipsed all over town looking for a copy of the book.
verb (used with object), traipsed, traipsing.
2. to walk over; tramp:
to traipse the fields.
noun
3. a tiring walk.

Origin of traipse
1585-1595; earlier trapse, unexplained variant of trape, obscurely akin to tramp

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for traipse
– Buy a pair of these and traipse around a big city center or off road through the Icelandic countryside.
(The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Anthony Bourdain in Your Life Allison McNearney November 28, 2014)

Get your own tailored tuxedo blazer to traipse around town in.
(The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Carrie Bradshaw in Your Life Allison McNearney November 28, 2014)

We imagine the cadre of Hollywood starlets who like to traipse about commando would be severely handicapped in this event.
(7 Craziest Guinness Records The Daily Beast Video November 12, 2009)

Anagram

parties
pirates

Today’s quote

Democracy! Bah! When I hear that I reach for my feather boa!

– Allen Ginsberg

On this day

3 June 1924 – Death of Franz Kafka, Austrian novelist, who wrote in German. Two of his books (‘The Trial’ and ‘The Castle’) were published posthumously against his wishes. He wrote of a dehumanised world in which he explored paranoia, isolation, fear and bewilderment, from which the term ‘Kafka-esque’ has been coined. Born 3 July 1883.

3 June 1926 – birth of Allen Ginsberg, leading American beat-generation writer and poet. Died 5 April 1997.

3 June 1937 – Following his abdication in December 1936, former King Edward VIII of Britain, marries American divorcee, Wallis Simpson.

3 June 1968 – Andy Warhol, pop-artist, is shot by feminist Valerie Solanas, founder of the Society for Cutting Up Men (S.C.U.M.) because she felt that Warhol had too much control over her life. Warhol was seriously injured in the shooting. Doctors had to cut his chest open and massage his heart to keep him alive. Warhol survived the shooting, but suffered permanent physical effects. The shooting had a profound effect on the direction his life and art took.

3 June 1992 – Mabo Day: The High Court of Australia found in favour of Eddie Koiki Mabo who had challenged the principle of ‘terra nullius’ (or ‘uninhabited land’). Terra nullius had allowed the Commonwealth Government of Australia to legally take over and own land that had previously belonged to the indigenous people. Unfortunately, Eddie Mabo had died 3 months before the decision was handed down. The ‘Mabo Decision’ was a significant turning point in the history of Australia’s indigenous people, giving legal recognition of indigenous rights to native land title.