12 September 2015

arfarf’arf

A figure of speech used to describe drunken men. “He’s very arf’arf’an’arf,” Forrester writes, “meaning he has had many ‘arfs,’” or half-pints of booze.

(From mentalfloss.com)

Today’s quote

God has no religion.

– Gandhi

On this day

12 September 1869 – death of Peter Roget, British lexographer and creator of Roget’s Thesaurus. (Born 18 January 1779).

12 September 1885 – the highest scoring soccer match in history is a Scottish Cup match played between Arbroath and Bon Accord. Arbroath won 36-0.

12 September 1990 – formal end of World War II. In 1945 there was no formal German state to accept the terms of surrender or the ongoing governing of Germany. The 1945 Potsdam Agreement set the provisional terms under which the Allies would govern Germany. The lack of a German government at the time, became known as ‘The German Question’ and was used by the U.S.A. as the reason for maintaining American bases in West Germany throughout the Cold War. It wasn’t until German re-unification in 1990, that the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) unified. To achieve full sovereignty the new unified state was required to accept the terms of the Potsdam Agreement. A settlement was then negotiated with the new German government between the new German state, the U.S.A, France, U.S.S.R and Britain, formally ending World War II.

12 September 2001 – Ansett, Australia’s first commercial airline, collapses.

12 September 2003 – death of Johnny Cash, American singer and musician. Born 26 February 1932.

11 September 2015

homophone

[hom-uh-fohn, hoh-muh-]

noun
1. Phonetics. a word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning, whether spelled the same way or not, as heir and air.
2. a written element that represents the same spoken unit as another, as ks, a homophone of x in English.

Origin of homophone

1615-1625; back formation from homophonous

Can be confused

homograph, homonym, homophone (see synonym study at homonym )

Synonyms

See homonym.

Dictionary.com

Anagram

he hop moon

Today’s quote

No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men.

– Muhammad Ali Jinnah

On this day

11 September 1297 – William Wallace leads Scottish forces to victory against the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

11 September 1941 – construction of the Pentagon commences in Washington DC. (Completed on 15 January 1943).

11 September 1948 – death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the father of Pakistan. Leader of the Muslim League calling for the creation of Pakistan. Served as Pakistan’s first Governor-General from 15 August 1947 until his death. In Pakistan, his birthday is a national holiday. Born 25 December 1876.

11 September 1972 – Democratically elected President Salvador Allende of Chilé, is overthrown in a U.S. sponsored coup which brings to power General Augusto Pinochet. The Church Committee, commissioned by the U.S. Department of State to investigate covert C.I.A. operations in Chilé, found that Henry Kissinger had directed the C.I.A. to prevent the socialist Allende from being elected, then to undermine his presidency, before supplying arms to a military junta which succeeded in overthrowing Allendé. Thousands of people died or disappeared under Pinochet’s rule, with approximately 40,000 suffering human rights violations, including torture.

11 September 1987 – death 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. Born 19 October 1944.

11 September 2001 – 9/11 Terrorist Attacks in which four commercial airliners were hijacked by Al Qaeda terrorists. Two planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City, one plane hit the Pentagon in Washington DC and one crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought with the hijackers. Approximately, 3,000 people died in the attacks.

9 September 2015

numinous

[noo-muh-nuh s, nyoo-]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or like a numen; spiritual or supernatural.
2. surpassing comprehension or understanding; mysterious:
that element in artistic expression that remains numinous.
3. arousing one’s elevated feelings of duty, honor, loyalty, etc.:
a benevolent and numinous paternity.

Origin of numinous

Latin

1640-1650; < Latin nūmin- (stem of nūmen) numen + -ous

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for numinous

Contemporary Examples

They have had a spiritual or numinous or paranormal experience at some point in their own lives.
Eben Alexander Has a GPS for Heaven
Patricia Pearson
October 7, 2014

JML: Well, they reveal that he lived in a numinous world where there were forces all around him.
Murder, Sex, and the Writing Life: Norman Mailer’s Biography
Ronald K. Fried
November 18, 2013

Anagram

sum union
I sumo nun

Today’s quote

I like people who shake other people up and make them feel uncomfortable.

– Jim Morrison

On this day

9 September 1543 – Mary Stuart crowned ‘Queen of Scots’. She was 9 months old.

9 September 1828 – birth of Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer, (‘Anna Karenina‘, ‘War and Peace‘). Died 20 November 1910.

9 September 1890 – birth of Harlan Sanders who eventually becomes a Colonel and chickens throughout Kentucky, and ultimately the rest of the world, are never the same again as he invents Kentucky Fried Chicken. Died 16 December 1980.

9 September 2004 – Australian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, bombed. 10 people killed.

8 September 2015

fustilarian

PRONUNCIATION:
(fuhs-tuh-LAR-ee-uhn)

MEANING:
noun: A fat and slovenly person.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Middle English fusty (smelly, moldy). Earliest documented use: 1600.

NOTES:
The first recorded use of the word is from Shakespeare’s Henry IV in which Falstaff exclaims, “Away, you scullion! You rampallion! You fustilarian! I’ll tickle your catastrophe.”

USAGE:
“I’ve no fancy to be guzzled up by a wolf or spitted on the tusks of one of the fustilarian wild boars.”
Joan Aiken; Whispering Mountain; Starscape; 2002.

wordsmith.org

Anagram

unlit safari
insular fiat

Today’s quote

To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold – brothers who know now they are truly brothers.

– Archibald MacLeish

On this day

8 September – International Day of Literacy.

8 September 1504 – Michelangelo unveils his iconic sculpture, ‘David‘.

8 September 1930 – Richard Drew invents ‘scotch’ tape, the world’s first transparent, adhesive tape … otherwise known as ‘sticky tape’.

8 September 1966 – Star Trek premiers on NBC TV in the U.S.

8 September 2006 – death of Peter Brock, Australian car racing legend. Born 26 February 1945.

7 September 2015

manifold

[man-uh-fohld]

adjective

1. of many kinds; numerous and varied:
manifold duties.
2. having numerous different parts, elements, features, forms, etc.:
a manifold program for social reform.
3. using, functioning with, or operating several similar or identical devices at the same time.
4. (of paper business forms) made up of a number of sheets interleaved with carbon paper.
5. being such or so designated for many reasons:
a manifold enemy.
noun
6. something having many different parts or features.
7. a copy or facsimile, as of something written, such as is made by manifolding.
8. any thin, inexpensive paper for making carbon copies on a typewriter.
9. Machinery. a chamber having several outlets through which a liquid or gas is distributed or gathered.
10. Philosophy. (in Kantian epistemology) the totality of discrete items of experience as presented to the mind; the constituents of a sensory experience.
11. Mathematics. a topological space that is connected and locally Euclidean.
Compare locally Euclidean space.

verb (used with object)
12. to make copies of, as with carbon paper.

Origin of manifold

Middle English, Old English
1000, before 1000; Middle English; Old English manigf (e) ald (adj.). See many, -fold

Related forms

manifoldly, adverb
manifoldness, noun

Synonyms

1. various, multitudinous. See many. 2. varied, divers, multifarious.
Antonyms
1. simple, single.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for manifold Expand

Contemporary Examples

First, the Texas governor will have to explain away the manifold gaffes and failures from his last presidential campaign.
Can Rick Perry Get A Second Chance With GOP Voters In 2016
Myra Adams
March 28, 2014

My first son was about to be born, and I was terrified that my manifold inadequacies as a man would sabotage my success as a dad.
The Promise of Happiness After the Newtown Shooting
William Giraldi
January 26, 2013

But the accomplishments this group has managed to achieve in a very short time are manifold.
Newtown Six-Month Anniversary: The Victims Deserve More
Rob Cox
June 13, 2013

Anagram

damn foil
final mod

Today’s quote

I get a kick out of being an outsider constantly. It allows me to be creative.

– Bill Hicks

On this day

7 September 1876 – birth of C.J. Dennis, Australian poet (Songs of a Sentimental Bloke). Died 22 June 1938.

7 September 1936 – birth of Charles Hardin Holley, otherwise known as Buddy Holly. 1950s rock star, famous for songs such as ‘Peggy Sue’ and ‘That’ll be the day’. Died in a plane crash on 3 February 1959 with other musicians, Richie Valens, J.P. ‘Big Bopper’ Richardson and the pilot, Roger Peterson. Their deaths were immortalised in the Don McLean song, ‘American Pie’, when he sang about the day the music died.

7 September 1978 – death of Keith Moon, British musician, drummer for ‘The Who’. Born 23 August 1946.

6 September 2015

uglyography

uglyˈography

[f. ugly a. + -ography. Used only by Southey.]

Bad handwriting; uncouth spelling.
Hence uglyˈographize v. trans., to spell uncouthly.

1804 Southey Lett. (1856) I. 285, I do beseech you mend your uglyography. 1805 ― Madoc (1807) II. Notes 200 Quetzalcohuatl, for such is the uglyography of his name.

1834 ― Doctor ccxxiii. (1848) 604 How it would have been..uglyographised by Elphinstone..I know not.

© Word finder 2015

Anagram

gay rough ply
pray ugly hog

Today’s quote

I forgive those who murder and steal because they did it out of necessity, but a traitor never.

― Emiliano Zapata

On this day

6 September 1819 – the lathe patented by Thomas Blanchard.

6 September 1919 – death of Worm Pander, sculptor. (Born 20 June 1864).

6 September 1930 – Democratically elected Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen overthrown by fascist and conservative forces. Hipólito was affectionately known as ‘el peludo‘ (the Hairy Armadillo) because of his introverted character. A revolutionary, left-wing politician, Hipólito was also known as the ‘Father of the Poor’. He was twice president (1916-1922 and 1928-1930). He introduced numerous important social reforms, becoming a hero to the working class, including compulsory male suffrage, a rise in the standard of living for Argentina’s working class, improvements in factory conditions, regulation of working hours, compulsory pensions and universally accessible public education system.

6 September 1943 – birth of Roger Waters, bassist and vocalist for Pink Floyd.

5 September 2015

scrim

[skrim]

noun

1. a cotton or linen fabric of open weave used for bunting, curtains, etc.
2. Theater. a piece of such fabric used as a drop, border, or the like, for creating the illusion of a solid wall or backdrop under certain lighting conditions or creating a semitransparent curtain when lit from behind.

Origin of scrim
1785-1795; origin uncertain

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for scrim Expand

Contemporary Examples

He layered a scrim of black chiffon over lingerie-style dresses in red, and he adorned a bare, purple slip dress with gems.
Paris Fall Fashion Week 2012: A Finale at Yves Saint Laurent
Robin Givhan
March 6, 2012

To my horror, he was romping with a girl on a white beach, a scrim of sand dusting her tan skin.
‘Tracing the Blue Light’: Read Chapter 1 of Eileen Cronin’s ‘Mermaid’
Eileen Cronin
April 7, 2014

The endless succession of quotation marks is its own contrivance, a scrim between Shields and the world.
Is Fiction Worthless? David Shields Think So
Jacob Silverman
February 7, 2013

Anagram

Mr sic

Today’s quote

It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.

– Chuck Palahniuk

On this day

5 September – Freddie for a Day. Dress up as Freddie Mercury for the day. FFOD is the brainchild of Liz Swanton and raises money for the Mercury Phoenix Trust. The MPT was founded in 1992, following Freddie Mercury’s death, and helps AIDS charities throughout the world. To participate or find out more, go to: http://www.freddieforaday.com.au or http://www.freddieforaday.com

5 September 1689 – Tsar Peter the Great of Russia, starts taxing men’s beards. He wasn’t the first to do this however. In 1535, King Henry VIII also taxed beards and Queen Elizabeth I reintroduced the tax later that century.

5 September 1847 – birth of Jesse James, U.S. outlaw. (Died 3 April 1882).

5 September 1877 – death of Crazy Horse, Sioux Chief (not to be confused with a Sous Chef … or an 1960’s rock band of the same name, who teamed up with a crazy hippy named Neil Young). Born around 1840 (Chief Crazy Horse that is, not Neil Young).

5 September 1939 – United States declares its neutrality in the Second World War.

5 September 1946 – birth of Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara) on Zanzibar. British musician and vocalist. Lead singer of rock group, Queen. Died 24 November 1991.

5 September 1997 – death of Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu) in Yugoslavia, winner of Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work in the slums of Calcutta.

4 September 2015

koan

[koh-ahn]

noun, plural koans, koan. Zen.

1. a nonsensical or paradoxical question to a student for which an answer is demanded, the stress of meditation on the question often being illuminating.

Origin of koan

Japanese
1945-1950; < Japanese kōan, earlier koũ-an < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese gōngàn public proposal

Dictionary.com

Example of a koan:

Open Your Own Treasure House

Daiju visited the master Baso in China. Baso asked: “What do you seek?”

“Enlightenment,” replied Daiju.

“You have your own treasure house. Why do you search outside?” Baso asked.

Daiju inquired: “Where is my treasure house?”

Baso answered: “What you are asking is your treasure house.”

Daiju was enlightened! Ever after he urged his friends: “Open your own treasure house and use those treasures.”

(http://www.ashidakim.com/zenkoans/28openyourowntreasurehouse.html)

Today’s quote

“Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder, ‘Why, why, why?’ Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand.”

– Kurt Vonnegut (a koan from ‘Cat’s Cradle‘)

On this day

4 September 1937 – birth of Dawn Fraser AO MBE, Australian swimming legend. Won Olympic gold medals in 1956, 1960 and 1964, as well as a number of silver medals.

4 September 2006 – death of Steve Irwin, ‘The Crocodile Hunter’, Australian wildlife expert and television personality. (Born 22 February 1962).

3 September 2015

gourd

[gawrd, gohrd, goo rd]

noun

1. the hard-shelled fruit of any of various plants, especially those of Lagenaria siceraria (white-flowered gourd or bottle gourd) whose dried shell is used for bowls and other utensils, and Cucurbita pepo (yellow-flowered gourd) used ornamentally.
Compare gourd family.
2. a plant bearing such a fruit.
3. a dried and excavated gourd shell used as a bottle, dipper, flask, etc.
4. a gourd-shaped, small-necked bottle or flask.

Idioms
5. out of /off one’s gourd, Slang. out of one’s mind; crazy.

Origin of gourd
Middle English, Anglo-French, Old French, Latin

1275-1325; Middle English gourd (e), courde < Anglo-French (Old French cöorde) < Latin cucurbita

Related forms
gourdlike, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for gourd Expand

Contemporary Examples

Teammates would get calls from Ellis out of his gourd at 3:30 a.m. on nights before games.
‘No No,’ a Documentary on MLB Pitcher Dock Ellis, Who Pitched a No-Hitter While Tripping on Acid
Marlow Stern
February 4, 2014

Historical Examples

ON our way back we took up the gourd bowls and plates, which we found quite dry and hard as bone, and put them in our bags.
The Swiss Family Robinson Told in Words of One Syllable
Mary Godolphin

With her head bent forward, she stared at some petals that had fallen from the gourd.
Sacrifice
Stephen French Whitman

Anagram

so rug

Today’s quote

The only courage you ever need is the courage to fulfil the dreams of your own life.

– Oprah

On this day

3 September 1901 – Australian national flag flies for the first time. The Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne has the honours. 3 September is celebrated each year as Australia’s National Flag Day.

3 September 1939 – Britain declares war on Germany.

3 September 1970 – death of Alan Wilson from barbiturate poisoning. It’s unclear whether his death was accidental or suicide. American guitarist and singer-songwriter for Canned Heat. He was 27. His death occurred two weeks before the death of Jimi Hendrix and four weeks before the death of Janis Joplin. Born 4 July 1943.