20 November 2016

ignis fatuus

(or ignus fatuus)

noun

1. a pale light sometimes seen at night over marshy ground

2. an illusion that misleads

Synonyms

apparition, chimera, false impression, misconception, fantasy, delusion, paramnesia, will-o’-the-wisp, mirage

Example

They trekked through the desert, following the distant shimmering water, not realising it was a mirage, an ignus fatuus that could prove deadly to their dehydrated bodies.

Anagram

a fusing suit
I gift USA sun

Today’s aphorism

Don’t say ‘maybe’ if you want to say ‘no’.

– Paulo Coelho

On this day

20 November 1900 – birth of Chester Gould, American creator of the cartoon strip, ‘Dick Tracy’. He drew the comic strip from 1931 to 1977. Died 11 May 1985.

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

20 November 1947 – Princess Elizabeth, who is crowned Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, marries Phillip Mountbatten in Westminster Abbey.

20 November 1985 – Microsoft launches Windows 1.01, a graphical user interface for personal computers. The program required MS-DOS to operate.

19 November 2016

paramnesia

[par-am-nee-zhuh]

noun

1. Psychiatry. a distortion of memory in which fact and fantasy are confused.
2. the inability to recall the correct meaning of a word.

Origin of paramnesia

1885-1890; < New Latin; see par-, amnesia

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for paramnesia

Historical Examples

Wigand and Maudsley think they see in paramnesia a simultaneous functioning of both relations.
Criminal Psychology
Hans Gross

Indeed, Krpelin asserts that paramnesia occurs only under normal circumstances.
Criminal Psychology
Hans Gross

It will perhaps be proper not to reduce all the phenomena of paramnesia to the same conditions.
Criminal Psychology
Hans Gross

Anagram

spare mania
Panama sire
Armenia asp
Asia arm pen
Iran mesa pa

Today’s quote

Here are the values that I stand for: honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you want to be treated and helping those in need. To me, those are traditional values.

– Ellen DeGeneres

On this day

19 November 1863 – President Lincoln delivers the ‘Gettysburg Address’ during the American Civil War, while dedicating the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The speech commenced with the now-famous words, ‘Four score and seven years ago …’, which was referring to the Declaration of Independence in 1777. The speech addressed equality, freedom and democracy being representative of all people.

19 November 2007 – share markets across the globe crashed, as the world entered the Global Financial Crisis.

18 November 2016

supposititious

[suh-poz-i-tish-uh s]

adjective

1. fraudulently substituted or pretended; spurious; not genuine.
2. hypothetical.

Origin of supposititious

Latin

1605-1615; < Latin suppositīcius, equivalent to supposit (us) (past participle of suppōnere; see supposition ) + -īcius -itious

Related forms

supposititiously, adverb
supposititiousness, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for supposititious

Historical Examples

The reputed date of 1600, which the supposititious justice of the peace had given it in the Theatrical Review, was now suppressed.
Shakespeare and the Modern Stage
Sir Sidney Lee

Chambers’s Encyclopedia rejects the work also as supposititious.
Catholic World, Vol. XIII, April to September, 1871
Various

He examined Mademoiselle Chichette and the supposititious outraged husband, who acted as if he wished to crawl under the table.
The Bashful Lover (Novels of Paul de Kock Volume XIX)
Charles Paul de Kock

Anagram

posit pious suit

Today’s quote

I have come to regard November as the older, harder man’s October. I appreciate the early darkness and cooler temperatures. It puts my mind in a different place than October. It is a month for a quieter, slightly more subdued celebration of summer’s death as winter tightens its grip.

– Henry Rollins

On this day

18 November 1922 – Benito Mussolini becomes the leader of Italy. Mussolini, was head of the National Fascist Party and one of the founders of fascism. As dictator he named himself ‘Il Duce’ (The Leader). Initially a socialist, Mussolini felt that socialism had failed and he opposed egalitarianism. He was an ardent supporter of Adolf Hitler. Mussolini was forced to stand down in 1943 by his opponents. He went into hiding and in 1945 was captured and executed.

18 November 1928 – Mickey Mouse makes his screen debut, in ‘Steamboat Willy’.

18 November 1978 – Jim Jones, leader of the cult ‘People’s Temple’ located in Jonestown, Guyana, instructs followers to drink a deadly brew of Kool-Aid, cyanide and sedatives. 914 people died in the mass suicide, including Jones. 303 children were among the victims. It is likely that some of the deaths were murder as a result of some people being forced to drink the concoction. Jones claimed that the cult was under surveillance of intelligence organisations who were preparing to raid Jonestown and either kill or capture the members. He claimed that survivors would be forced to convert to fascism.

18 November 2002 – death of James Coburn, actor (‘The Great Escape‘, ‘The Magnificent Seven‘). Born 31 August 1928.

17 November 2016

extrude

[ik-strood]

verb (used with object), extruded, extruding.

1. to thrust out; force or press out; expel:
to extrude molten rock.
2. to form (metal, plastic, etc.) with a desired cross section by forcing it through a die.
verb (used without object), extruded, extruding.
3. to protrude.
4. to be extruded:

This metal extrudes easily.

Origin of extrude

Latin
1560-1570; < Latin extrūdere to thrust out, drive out, equivalent to ex- ex-1+ trūdere to thrust, push

Related forms

extruder, noun
extrusible [ik-stroo-suh-buh l, -zuh-], extrudable, adjective
unextruded, adjective

Historical Examples

But he was not so absorbed in his self and his purpose as to extrude all thoughts of those who were dear to him.
Cleo The Magnificent
Louis Zangwill

He notes the familiar fact that the vine-stump absorbed water before it began to extrude it.
Makers of British Botany; a collection of biographies by living botanists
Various

Ye have power, it is true, to extrude me from this new world, but my presence will be a bane to you in the old.
The Knight of the Golden Melice
John Turvill Adams

Anagram

deer tux

Today’s quote

Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.

– Marcus Aurelius

On this day

17 November 1950 – 15 year-old, Tenzin Gyatso becomes the 14th Dalai Lama in Tibet, a position he holds to this day.

17 November 1973 – U.S. President Richard Nixon televises a speech in which he states, ‘I am not a crook’. This was in relation to allegations of his involvement in the Watergate Scandal, in which documents were stolen from the offices of the Democratic National Convention at the Watergate Hotel in Washington on 17 June 1972. Nixon was implicated in the break-in when recordings of conversations held in the Oval Office showed his involvement. Impeachment proceedings were commenced, however, Nixon resigned on 8 August 1974 and avoided being impeached, although he faced possible criminal proceedings. Vice-President Gerald Ford became President immediately following Nixon’s resignations, and on 8 September 1974, Ford pardoned Nixon of any wrong-doing.

16 November 2016

poignant

[poin-yuh nt, poi-nuh nt]

adjective

1. keenly distressing to the feelings:
poignant regret.
2. keen or strong in mental appeal:
a subject of poignant interest.
3. affecting or moving the emotions:
a poignant scene.
4. pungent to the smell:
poignant cooking odors.

Origin of poignant

Middle English, Middle French, Latin
1350-1400; Middle English poynaunt < Middle French poignant, present participle of poindre < Latin pungere to prick, pierce. See pungent, -ant

Related forms

poignantly, adverb
unpoignant, adjective
unpoignantly, adverb

Synonyms

1. intense, sincere, heartfelt. 4. piquant, sharp.

Antonyms

1, 2. mild.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for poignant

Contemporary Examples

Colbert has deftly hosted benefits and other shows and given hilarious and poignant commencement speeches.
Yes, Stephen Colbert Will Be Great as Host of CBS’s ‘Late Night’
Pete Dominick
April 9, 2014

Perhaps the most poignant parts of the film come when the parents enter the scene.
Models vs. Militants: Nisha Pahuja’s Film Shows Two Worlds of Indian Women
Abigail Pesta
May 4, 2012

A more memorable and poignant experience came shortly afterwards.
Is Nick Ziobro the Next Frank Sinatra?
Steve North
July 18, 2014

Cross did some of her best work on the show in the poignant scene in which she learns by telephone that Rex has died.
‘Desperate Housewives’: 12 Most-Memorable Moments
Maria Elena Fernandez
May 13, 2012

Historical Examples

Her mouth was stretched in a horrible grimace, so poignant was her feeling.
Coquette
Frank Swinnerton

I left school also—with a mixture of hope and elation, and yet the most poignant regret.
The Martian
George Du Maurier

Sisterly love, free solitude, unpraised creation, were to remain your most poignant joys.
Emily Bront
A. Mary F. (Agnes Mary Frances) Robinson

He looked at Grassette with a look of poignant pity and interest combined.
Northern Lights
Gilbert Parker

Anagram

no taping
ingot pan
pant go in

Today’s quote

The biggest guru-mantra is: never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you.

– Chanakya

On this day

16 November – International day for tolerance. ‘On this International Day of Tolerance, I call on all people and governments to actively combat fear, hatred and extremism with dialogue, understanding and mutual respect. Let us advance against the forces of division and unite for our shared future‘, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

16 November 1793 – During the French Revolution, 90 Catholic priests who were opposed to the Republic, are executed by drowning at Nantes.

16 November 1938 – Swiss scientist, Dr Albert Hofmann, creates the synthetic drug, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland.

16 November 1945 – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is founded in order ‘to contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and communication in order to further universal respect for justice and the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion’.

16 November 1988 – 35 year old, Benazir Bhutto elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state. She was a member of the democratic-socialist Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

15 November 2016

leitmotif

[lahyt-moh-teef]

noun

1. a motif or theme associated throughout a music drama with a particular person, situation, or idea.

Origin of leitmotif

1875-1880; < German: leading motive

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for leitmotif

Contemporary Examples

The leitmotif of the new vogue in bad parenting is that keeping the marital buzz buzzing trumps the children.
How Bad Parenting Became Cool
Margaret Carlson
June 18, 2009

A leitmotif on journalism threads through this often-byzantine narrative.
How the ‘Witch Hunt’ Myth Undermined American Justice
Jason Berry
July 11, 2014

Historical Examples

It was what I had always called “Rosemary’s leitmotif,” expressed in perfume.
The Brightener
C. N. Williamson

He will come back, murmured Chavvy, in concordance with her leitmotif.
Twos and Threes
G. B. Stern

Here is the leitmotif of the whole fascinating drama of infection and immunity.
Preventable Diseases
Woods Hutchinson

“More work for the undertaker” should be the leitmotif of the evening’s fun.
Perfect Behavior
Donald Ogden Stewart

In her direct and genuine nature there is a ‘ leitmotif ‘ of pure sweet melody that will enrich the life of its discoverer.
Bee and Butterfly
Lucy Foster Madison

Indeed, they recur again and again, like a leitmotif in music, in everything he wrote.
The Social Significance of the Modern Drama
Emma Goldman

In these symphonic poems Liszt has made use of the principle of the leitmotif in orchestral music.
How to Appreciate Music
Gustav Kobb

His leitmotif in the music-play has been ‘See the Conquering Hero’ up to now; one isn’t sorry to see one’s sex avenged.
The Dop Doctor
Clotilde Inez Mary Graves

Anagram

omit filet
oft mile it
if it motel

Today’s quote

If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn’t need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.

– Jim Rohn

On this day

15 November 1943 – Nazi SS leader, Heinrich Himmler issues an order stating that Gypsies were to be treated the same as Jews and sent to concentration camps.

15 November 1988 – Yasser Arafat, head of the Palestinian National Conference, declares the independence of Palestine.

15 November 2007 – Cyclone Sidr, with 160km/h winds, strikes Bangladesh. Over 2 million people are evacuated from coastal areas. Around 5,000 people were killed.

15 November 2008 – death 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. Born 8 June 1921.

14 November 2016

rankle

[rang-kuh l]

verb (used without object), rankled, rankling.

1. (of unpleasant feelings, experiences, etc.) to continue to cause keen irritation or bitter resentment within the mind; fester; be painful.
verb (used with object), rankled, rankling.
2. to cause keen irritation or bitter resentment in:
His colleague’s harsh criticism rankled him for days.

Origin of rankle

Middle English, Middle French, Old French, Late Latin
1250-1300; Middle English ranclen < Middle French rancler, Old French raoncler, variant of draoncler to fester, derivative of draoncle a sore < Late Latin dracunculus small serpent, diminutive of Latin dracō serpent; see dragon, carbuncle

Related forms

ranklingly, adverb
unrankled, adjective

Synonyms

1, 2. irritate, gall, chafe.
Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for rankle

Contemporary Examples

“Operation Fast and Furious” continues to rankle some Republicans.
The GOP Senate: A New Utopia Dawns
P. J. O’Rourke
November 7, 2014

Newcomers may rankle you at first, but these may be false starts to lifelong bonds.
Your Horoscopes
Starsky + Cox
May 20, 2011

Historical Examples

The much-vexed question of the Franchise continued to rankle in the hearts of the Uitlanders.
South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 1 (of 6)
Louis Creswicke

There is no sting to rankle, now that hope—hope for my boy—has gone.
Shining Ferry
Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

Neither would, for a moment, think of allowing such incidents to rankle in his bosom.
The Wild Man of the West
R.M. Ballantyne

He has driven the arrow deep into her heart, and leaves it to rankle there.
The Death Shot
Mayne Reid

I am even fearful that it may swell and rankle to an alarming degree inwardly.
The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb
Charles Lamb

With a morbid feeling of injured honour, he allowed it to rankle in his bosom.
Salt Water
W. H. G. Kingston

And then, above all, there was her presence, her monstrous intrusion to rankle in his mind.
The Man from Archangel
A. Conan Doyle

The blade is poisoned, dear, and the wound will rankle for a lifetime.’
Despair’s Last Journey
David Christie Murray

Anagram

elk ran

Today’s quote

Just remember, once you’re over the hill you pick up speed.

– Arthur Schopenhauer

On this day

14 November 1868 – birth of Steele Rudd, Australian author, (pen-name for Arthur Hoey Davis). Wrote ‘On Our Selection‘, which introduced Australia to ‘Dad and Dave’. Died 11 October 1935.

14 November 1942 – birth of Robert G. Barrett, Australian author of books such as ‘Davo’s Little Something’ and the Les Norton series which included, ‘High Noon in Nimbin’, ‘The Tesla Legacy’, ‘Crime Scene Cessnock’, ‘Rosa-Marie’s Baby’, ‘Guns n Rosé’. Barrett sold over 1,000,000 books in Australia. Died 20 September 2012.

14 November 2012 – Total solar eclipse visible from Cairns, North Queensland, Australia. Other areas saw a partial eclipse. The last total eclipse for Cairns was in 710AD, with the next one not expected for another 225 years.

13 November 2016

mountebank

[moun-tuh-bangk]

noun

1. a person who sells quack medicines, as from a platform in public places, attracting and influencing an audience by tricks, storytelling, etc.
2. any charlatan or quack.
verb (used without object)
3. to act or operate as a mountebank.

Origin of mountebank

Middle French, Italian
1570-1580; (< Middle French) < Italian montimbanco one who climbs on a bench, equivalent to mont (are) to climb (see mount1) + -im-, variant of in on + banco bench (see bank2)

Related forms

mountebankery [moun-tuh-bangk-uh-ree], noun

Synonyms Expand

1. pitchman. 2. phony, pretender, fraud.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for mountebank Expand

Historical Examples

There was a mountebank conjurer seated on a table, performing all sorts of wonders before a gaping crowd.
John Deane of Nottingham
W.H.G. Kingston

But his natural gift was to be a mountebank, a clown, a circus Hercules.
Casa Braccio, Volumes 1 and 2 (of 2)
F. Marion Crawford

The one saw a mountebank and impostor—the other recognised a profound artist and an inspired prophet.
Ernest Maltravers, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

It was not of the least use to me that I knew he was not the illustrious general, but simply a mountebank.
A Day’s Ride
Charles James Lever

I feared the woman had no better thought than to make a mountebank of her child!
The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne

If I were a mountebank or a charlatan I would claim that it cures a hundred diseases.
The Gypsies
Charles G. Leland

He seemed a youthful Magian, and almost a mountebank together.
Pierre; or The Ambiguities
Herman Melville

You must often have had your head against this mountebank jacket of mine.
The Belovd Vagabond
William J. Locke

A little while since a mountebank pair called at St. Aliquis.
Life on a Mediaeval Barony
William Stearns Davis

“So this going about as a mountebank is only a masquerade,” she said, with a touch of scorn.
The Belovd Vagabond
William J. Locke

Anagram

butane monk
Amok Unbent
A Numb Token
Bake Tom Nun
untame knob

Today’s quote

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance – it is the illusion of knowledge.

– Daniel J. Boorstin

On this day

13 November 1940 – the prototype of the Jeep was submitted to U.S. Army for approval by car-maker Willys-Overland. Following the U.S. declaration of war 12 months later, production of the Jeep began. By the end of the war in 1945, there had been 600,000 produced.

13 November 1940 – Walt Disney releases his animated movie, Fantasia, which eventually became a cult-classic. At time of release though, the movie was not a commercial success.

13 November 1956 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that laws which segregated buses were illegal.

13 November 1970 – the worst natural disaster of the 20th century occurs when a devastating cyclone strikes Bangladesh, killing over 500,000 people. The cyclone with 160km/h winds, caused tidal waves and storm surges which swept over the densely-populated, low-lying regions of the Ganges Delta and nearby islands.

13 November 1971 – Space voyager Mariner 9, reaches Mars and becomes the first spacecraft to orbit another planet.

13 November 2009 – NASA announces that a significant resource of water has been located on the moon by the Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter.

12 November 2016

pétanque

[pey-tahngk; French pe-tahnk]

noun

1. a form of lawn bowling originating in France, usually played on rough ground using steel balls.

Also called boule.

Origin of pétanque

French Provençal Latin
1950-1955; < French < Provençal pé foot (< Latin ped-, stem of pēs) + tanco post, stake (derivative of tancar to close, bar < Vulgar Latin *stanticāre; see stanch1); so called because the feet are to be planted firmly on the ground, as if staked, when the ball is released

Dictionary.com

Anagram

Queen Pat

Today’s quote

I don’t really understand that process called reincarnation but if there is such a thing I’d like to come back as my daughter’s dog.

– Leonard Cohen

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 2016

gravure

[gruh-vyoo r, grey-vyer]

noun

1. an intaglio process of photomechanical printing, such as photogravure or rotogravure.
2. a print produced by gravure.
3. the metal or wooden plate used in photogravure.

Origin of gravure

1875-1880; < French, equivalent to grav (er) to engrave < Germanic (see grave3) + -ure -ure

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for gravure

Historical Examples

By this means the ornament of the gravure is transferred to the roller composition.
The Progress of the Marbling Art
Josef Halfer

The engravers of the last century used to call it gravure en manière de crayon.
A Treatise on Etching
Maxime Lalanne

When this is done, the gravure can be rolled over by aid of this roller.
The Progress of the Marbling Art
Josef Halfer

He frequently decorated his flatware with a refined etching or gravure, his hollow ware with reeding.
Seaport in Virginia
Gay Montague Moore

4. Gravure idol

– A gravure idol (グラビアアイドル gurabia aidoru), often abbreviated to gradol (グラドル guradoru), is a Japanese female model who primarily models on magazines, photobooks or DVDs.

Example

Mika Hijii (肘井 美佳 Hijii Mika, born October 13, 1982 in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese actress and gravure idol* best known for her role as Kaoru Mitsuki in the Garo series. She is also known in the western world for her role as Namiko Takeda in the 2009 martial arts film Ninja and its 2013 sequel Ninja: Shadow of a Tear.
Wikipedia.com

Anagram

rave rug

Today’s quote

We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.

– Martin Luther King

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. Born 4 August 1929.