11 July 2015

legerdemain

[lej-er-duh-meyn]

noun
1. sleight of hand.
2. trickery; deception.
3. any artful trick.

Origin of legerdemain
late Middle English
1400-1450; late Middle English legerdemeyn, lygarde de mayne < Middle French: literally, light of hand

Related forms
legerdemainist, noun

Example

The Opposition party twisted the government’s policy through legal legerdemain.

Dictionary.com

Anagram

realigned me
enameled rig

Today’s quote

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.

– Hal Borland

On this day

11 July 1833 – Yagan, indigenous Australian warrior of the Noongar people, is killed by a young settler named William Keates. From around 1831, white settlers had taken over so much of the land that the Noongar were denied access to traditional hunting grounds and rivers. In need of food, Yagan led a series of raids on crops and cattle being farmed by the settlers. In the process a number of white settlers were killed. Yagan was declared an outlaw and eventually arrested with other Noongar men. Yagan was sentenced to death but was saved by a settler, Robert Lyon, who argued that Yagan was defending his land from invasion and should therefore be treated as a prisoner of war. Yagan and other Noongar men were exiled to Carnac Island, from which they eventually escaped. More raids to obtain supplies ensued and more settlers were killed. A group of Noongar, including Yagan, were on their way to collect flour rations, when they came across two brothers, William and James Keates who convinced Yagan to stay with them to avoid arrest. William shot Yagan dead and the brothers fled. They were attacked later that day by the Noongar and William was speared to death. James escaped and claimed the reward on Yagan, however, his actions were widely criticised, with Yagan’s killing described by the Perth Gazette as ‘a wild and treacherous act’.

11 July 1977 – Nine years after his assassination, Martin Luther King is posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by United States President Jimmy Carter.

11 July 1979 – US space station, Skylab, ignites on re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, causing debris to rain down on Australia. The space station was unoccupied at the time.

10 July 2015

alpenglow

[al-puh n-gloh]

noun
1. a reddish glow often seen on the summits of mountains just before sunrise or just after sunset.
Origin of alpenglow Expand

German
1870-1875; < German Alpenglühen, with glow replacing German glühen

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for alpenglow

Historical Examples

On August 23, 1869, the evening alpenglow was very fine, though it did not reach its maximum depth and splendour.
(Fragments of science, V. 1-2, John Tyndall)

“No; it is only what people call the alpenglow,” said Bracy softly, for the wondrous beauty of the scene impressed him.
(Fix Bay’nets, George Manville Fenn)

When those glossy domes swim into the alpenglow, wet after rain, you conceive how long and imperturbable are the purposes of God.
(The Land of Little Rain , Mary Austin)

Anagram

Nepal Glow
angel plow

Today’s quote

Pizza makes me think that anything is possible.

– Henry Rollins

On this day

10 July 1856 – Birth of Nikola Tesla, Serbian American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer and futurist. Inventor of alternating current (A/C) electricity supply. Died 7 January 1943.

10 July 1942 – birth of Ronald James Padavona, otherwise known as Ronny James Dio, heavy metal singer. Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne as lead singer of Black Sabbath, for two years before leaving after disagreements with other band members. Dio was also associated with Rainbow, Dio, and Elf. Died 16 May 2010.

10 July 1947 – birth of Sixto Rodriguez, elusive American folk musician. Rodriguez recorded two albums, Cold Fact and Coming From Reality, in the early 1970s. Neither album sold well in the USA, however, unknown to Rodriguez, he gained cult status in Australia and South Africa. Rodriguez disappeared into obscurity as legends abounded of his fate, including that he had either shot himself or set fire to himself on stage. In the 1996, two South African fans, Stephen ‘Sugar’ Segerman and Craig Styrdrom, tracked him down in Detroit, breaking the news to him that he was bigger than Elvis and the Rolling Stones in South Africa. Rodriguez flew out to South Africa and performed six concerts. Rodriguez has since played concerts across the globe, including Australia, South Africa, USA, UK. The Oscar-winning documentary, ‘Searching for Sugarman’ is a gritty, intriguing biopic of this story.

9 July 2015

febrile

[fee-bruh l, feb-ruh l or, esp. British, fee-brahyl]

adjective

1. pertaining to or marked by fever; feverish.

Origin of febrile

Medieval Latin
1645-1655; < New Latin, Medieval Latin febrīlis. See fever, -ile

Related forms

febrility [fi-bril-i-tee], noun
nonfebrile, adjective
postfebrile, adjective
unfebrile, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for febrile

– In the febrile atmosphere of Greece waiting for the onslaught everyone knows is coming, secret agents are proliferating.
(The Perfect Spy Thriller for Dads Michael Korda June 17, 2010)

Anagram

be rifle
if rebel
brie elf

Today’s quote

The only thing that is more expensive than education is ignorance.

– Benjamin Franklin

On this day

9 July 1941 – British military cryptologists break the Enigma code which the German Army was using for encrypting messages used for directing ground to air operations. However, a group of Polish cryptologists claim to have assisted in the cracking of Enigma and have been campaigning for recognition of their part in the break-through.

9 July 1946 – birth of Ronald Belford ‘Bon’ Scott, Scottish-born Australian rock musician. Most famous as the lead-singer of legendary hard rock band, AC/DC. Scott died on 19 February 1980, after choking on his own vomit following a heavy drinking session.

9 July 1982 – In the early hours of the morning, 30 year old Irishman, Michael Fagan breaks into Buckhingham Palace and makes his way to Queen Elizabeth II’s bedroom. Reports at the time, claimed that he spent 10 minutes in there talking with the Queen before being arrested, however, Fagan later claimed that the Queen immediately fled the bedroom and summoned security. The incident was the biggest royal security breach of the 20th century.

9 July 2004 – A US Senate Intelligence Committee finds that the CIA misrepresented the threat posed by Iraq, which was used by President George W. Bush in order to justify the 2003 Iraq invasion by the ‘Coalition of the Willing’.

7 July 2015

fawn (1)

[fawn]

noun
1. a young deer, especially an unweaned one.
2. a light yellowish-brown color.

adjective
3. light yellowish-brown.
verb (used without object)
4. (of a doe) to bring forth young.

Origin of fawn (1)
Middle English, Middle French, Latin
1225-12751225-75; Middle English fawn, foun < Middle French faon, foun, feon ≪ Vulgar Latin *fētōn-, stem of *fētō offspring, derivative of Latin fētus fetus
Related forms Expand
fawnlike, adjective
Can be confused Expand
faun, fawn.

fawn (2)

[fawn]

1. to seek notice or favor by servile demeanor:
The courtiers fawned over the king.
2. (of a dog) to behave affectionately.

Origin
before 1000; Middle English fawnen, Old English fagnian, variant of fægnian to rejoice, make glad, derivative of fægen happy; see fain
Related forms

fawner, noun
fawningly, adverb
fawningness, noun

Synonyms
1. toady, truckle, flatter, kowtow.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for fawn

Of course, this could be explained by the admittedly large percentage of the audience composed of fawning film students.
(James and the Giant Internet Company: Franco and AOL Get Kissy Faces Amy Zimmerman September 17, 2014)

Constantino Diaz-Duran on how the Golden Globe-nominated filmmaker dupes his fawning American fan base.
(Is Pedro Almodóvar a Fraud? Constantino Diaz-Duran January 13, 2010)

The fawning strangers ask questions like “What was it like…being shot at?”
(American Dreams: The Essential Book of 2012 Nathaniel Rich December 27, 2012)

Today’s quote

Silence is argument carried out by other means.

– Che Guevara

On this day

7 July 1941 – birth of Bill Oddie, English comedian, start of ‘The Goodies’.

7 July 1953 – After graduating from medical school in June 1953, Dr Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara sets out on a train trip from Argentina to Bolivia and the Andes. His family don’t see him for six years, when he emerged in Havana, fighting for Fidel Castro’s Cuban Revolution. Following the successful overthrow of the government, Che was given key government positions within the Castro regime, including as Minister of Industries to implement agrarian reform.

7 July 1985 – 17 year old Boris Becker becomes the youngest player to win Wimbledon.

7 July 2005 – Four suicide bombers detonate themselves on London’s transport system, killing 56 people and injuring 700.

7 July 2007 – The New 7 Wonders Foundation officially declares a new ‘Seven Wonders of the World’ list:

The Great Wall of China
Petra, Jordan (a city carved into rock)
Christ Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Machu Picchu, Peru
Chichén Itzá Pyramid, Mexico
Roman Colisseum, Italy
Taj Mahal, Indian

The Original Seven Wonders of the World were:

Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Statue of Zeus, Olympia, Greece
Mausoleum of Maussollos at Hallicarnassus
Colossus of Rhodes
Lighthouse of Alexandria

5 July 2015

missive

[mis-iv]

noun
1. a written message; letter.
adjective
2. sent or about to be sent, especially of a letter from an official source.

Origin of missive
late Middle English Medieval Latin
1400-1450; late Middle English (letter) missive < Medieval Latin (littera) missīva sent (letter), equivalent to Latin miss (us) (past participle of mittere to send) + -īva, feminine of -īvus -ive

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for missive

The missive was received back in London by David Barrie, a senior diplomat, who appended his own note.
(British Officials Portrayed Reagan as a “Bozo” Nico Hines, Ben Jacobs April 29, 2014)

To blog from behind bars, Gioeli begins by writing a missive by hand.
(Meet the Mafia’s First Blogger, Tommy Gioeli Michael Daly March 29, 2012)

Still, after the missive, he admitted that he did not vote for the great Barack hope.
(Let the Awards Season Begin Rachel Syme January 6, 2009)

Anagram

miss vie

Today’s quote

What is freedom? Freedom is the right to choose: the right to create for oneself the alternatives of choice.

– Archibald MacLeish

On this day

5 July 1937 – The canned meat, Spam (spiced ham) released to market by Hormel Food Corporation.

5 July 1946 – the first bikini goes on sale after its debut at a fashion show in Paris. It was designed by Parisian engineer, Louis Réard. He named it after Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean where the USA had been conducting testing of atomic bombs. Réard hoped that the bikini would have an ‘explosive commercial and cultural reaction’ just like an atomic bomb.

5 July 1989 – Former US Marine and white-house aide, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North given a three-year suspended sentence, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours of community service after being convicted of ‘accepting an illegal gratuity’, ‘aiding and abetting in the obstruction of a congressional inquiry’ and ordering the destruction of documents during his role in the Iran-Contra affair (a political scandal during the Reagan administration in which the US government was selling weapons via intermediaries to Iran, a nation that was blacklisted from receiving weapons. The profits were channeled through Nicaraguan terrorist groups, the Contras, which were violently opposing Nicaragua’s ruling left-wing Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction).

5 July 1996 – Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.

4 July 2015

coulrophobia

[kool-ruh-foh-bee-uh]

noun
1. an abnormal fear of clowns.

Origin of coulrophobia

Greek

1980-1985; coulro- (perhaps < Greek kolon limb; with sense of ‘stilt-walker’, hence ‘clown’) + -phobia

Related forms
coulrophobic, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com

Anagram

oh lop caribou

Today’s quote

The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.

– Archibald MacLeish

On this day

4 July 1943 – birth of Alan Wilson. American guitarist and singer-songwriter for Canned Heat. Died 3 September 1970.

4 July 1991 – Dr Victor Chang, a Chinese-Australian cardiac surgeon is shot dead during a failed extortion attempt. Chang pioneered heart transplants. He was born on 21 November 1936.

2 July 2015

legerity

[luh-jer-i-tee]

noun
1. physical or mental quickness; nimbleness; agility.

Origin of legerity
Middle French
1555-1565; < Middle French legerete, equivalent to leger (< Vulgar Latin *leviārius; see levity, -ary ) + -ete -ity

Synonyms
lightness, grace, alacrity, celerity.

Dictionary.com

Anagram

I try glee
legit rye

Today’s quote

Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.

– Ernest Hemingway

On this day

2 July 1839 – Twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 rebelling African slaves led by Joseph Cinqué take over the slave ship, Amistad. The 49 adults and four children had been captured in Sierra Leone and sold into slavery in Cuba. After commandeering the ship, the men demanded the ship’s navigator (Don Montez) to return them home. Montez deceived them and sailed up the USA east coast to Long Island. The USA took custody of the ship and a court-case ensued over the legal status of the slaves. In 1841, in the case of the United States v The Amistad, the US Supreme Court ruled that the slaves had been illegally transported and held as slaves. The Court ordered them to be freed. 35 of them returned to Africa in 1842.

2 July 1900 – the first Zeppelin flight takes place in Germany.

2 July 1937 – Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific while attempting an equatorial round-the-world flight.

2 July 1961 – death of Ernest Hemingway, American author. He wrote books including ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls‘ and ‘Old Man and the Sea‘. Born 21 July 1899.

2 July 1976 – The Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) falls to the Communist North Vietnam, resulting in the formation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.