10 November 2016

intaglio

noun, plural intaglios Italian, intagli

[een-tah-lyee]

1. incised carving, as opposed to carving in relief.
2. ornamentation with a figure or design sunk below the surface.
3. a gem, seal, piece of jewelry, or the like, cut with an incised or sunken design.
4. an incised or countersunk die.
5. a figure or design so produced.
6. a process in which a design, text, etc., is engraved into the surface of a plate so that when ink is applied and the excess is wiped off, ink remains in the grooves and is transferred to paper in printing, as in engraving or etching.
7. an impression or printing from such a design, engraving, etc.
verb (used with object)
8. to incise or display in intaglio.

Origin of intaglio

1635-1645; < Italian, derivative of intagliare to cut in, engrave, equivalent to in- in-2+ tagliare to cut < Late Latin tāliāre, derivative of Latin tālea a cutting; see tally

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for intaglio

Historical Examples

Here we have an intaglio design which is prepared and prints white.
The Invention of Lithography
Alois Senefelder

I return to a strange perforated pebble, an intaglio from Dumbuck.
The Clyde Mystery
Andrew Lang

The intaglio was all to the Greek artist, and anything more was labor worse than wasted.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 108, October, 1866
Various

The intaglio work on this side is not equal to that in cameo, on the other.
Scarabs
Isaac Myer

Among them are rock-crystal dishes several inches across, beautifully engraved in intaglio and mounted in silver with gems.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 2
Various

On the two sides of the intaglio are two names—Marin, Pixian.
Finger-Ring Lore
William Jones

intaglio and bas-relief often lend their help to the ornament.
A history of art in ancient Egypt, Vol. I (of 2)
Georges Perrot

intaglio, name given to a gem with a design incised in the surface.
The Nuttall Encyclopaedia
Edited by Rev. James Wood

All of these examined were found to be female dies, with the design in intaglio rather than in relief.
American Military Insignia 1800-1851
J. Duncan Campbell and Edgar M. Howell.

The machine for engraving a matrix in intaglio is operated in much the same manner as that for engraving a punch in relief.
The Building of a Book
Various

Anagram

giant oil
i lag into
tail go in

Today’s quote

The secret to humor is surprise.

– Aristotle

On this day

10 November 1919 – birth of Mikhail Kalashnikov, Soviet Union hero, inventor of the world’s most popular assault weapon, the AK-47, or ‘Kalashnikov’. The AK-47 stood for Kalashnikov Assault, 1947, the year it was designed. He was awarded the ‘Hero of Russia’ medal as well as Lenin and Stalin prizes. Kalashnikov invented the AK-47 to protect the national borders of the Soviet Union. The AK-47 has a simple design, which makes it very reliable and easy to replicate. Kalashnikov hadn’t patented the design internationally. As a result, of the estimated 100 million AK-47s in the world today, it is believed that at least half are copies. Although his weapon has been favoured by armies and guerillas across the globe, Kalashnikov claimed he never lost sleep over the numbers of people killed by it. He always maintained that he invented it to protect the ‘Fatherland’s borders’. He did however, rue the use of it by child soldiers. Kalashnikov was a World War II veteran who was wounded in 1941. While recovering in hospital he conceived the design. Died 23 December 2013.

10 November 1969 – Sesame Street debuts on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), featuring muppets by Jim Henson. It is one of the longest running tv shows in history and has been highly successful at increasing the literacy and numeracy skills of children.

10 November 1982 – Leonid Brezhnev, Soviet President, dies in office from a heart attack.

9 November 2016

pugree

[puhg-ree]

noun

1. a light turban worn in India.
2. a scarf of silk or cotton, usually colored or printed, wound round a hat or helmet and falling down behind as a protection against the sun.

Compare havelock.

Also, pugaree, puggaree.

Origin of pugree

Hindi

1655-1665; < Hindi pagṛī turban

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for pugree

Historical Examples

She was dressed in white, and in the pugree of her helmet was the one touch of color, Rajah’s blue feather.
Parrot & Co.
Harold MacGrath

Anagram

rue pug

Today’s quote

Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.

– Franklin D. Roosevelt

On this day

9-10 November 1938 – Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) – Nazi paramilitary forces (the Brownshirts) and non-Jewish German citizens attack Jews, smash windows of synagogues, shops and houses. At least 91 Jews were killed in the attack and more than 30,000 incarcerated in concentration camps. Over 1,000 synagogues and 7,000 businesses were destroyed or damaged. The Nazis undertook the attack following the assassination of German diplomat Ernst Vom Rath by Herschel Grynszpan in Paris, a German-born Polish Jew. However, it is likely that the attack would have happened anyway, as Kristallnacht is seen as the beginning of Hitler’s Final Solution which was to eliminate Jews from Europe. The Final Solution culminated in the Holocaust, in which more than 6 million Jews were executed, along with many other ‘undesirables’, such as Gypsys, homosexuals and dissidents. At its height, the Nazis had over 40,000 concentration camps in which millions of Jews and others were executed, sometimes by firing squad, but often by gas chamber. The Nazis also conducted medical experiments on the prisoners, in an effort to build a genetically modified ‘master race’. The subjects who survived the experiments were usually executed and dissected.

9 November 1967 – First edition of Rolling Stone magazine is published, and features John Lennon.

9 November 1989 – fall of the Berlin Wall.Construction of the wall commenced in 1961 and was completed in 1962, to separate the Communist controlled East Berlin from the capitalist West Berlin. The Communist government claimed that it was to protect East Germany from Fascist forces in West Germany, although it was mainly to prevent the mass defections from the Eastern bloc. Between the end of World War II and the construction of the Wall, more than 3.5 million people defected to the West. The Wall was more than 140km long, with numerous guard towers and check-points. It symbolised the ‘Iron Curtain’, which was used to describe the attempts of Europe’s Eastern bloc, including the Soviet Union, to severely restrict contact with the West.

8 November 2016

unconscionable

[uhn-kon-shuh-nuh-buh l]

adjective

1. not guided by conscience; unscrupulous.
2. not in accordance with what is just or reasonable:
unconscionable behavior.
3. excessive; extortionate:
an unconscionable profit.

Origin of unconscionable

1555-1565; un-1+ conscionable

Related forms

unconscionability, noun
unconscionably, adverb

Synonyms

3. extreme, immoderate, unwarranted, inordinate.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for unconscionable

Contemporary Examples

This fallacy ignores history in such a blatant manner that it borders on the dangerously unwise if not the unconscionable.
Don’t Listen to Experts on Afghanistan
Masood Aziz
May 27, 2010

For many black Americans, the Zimmerman verdict was an unconscionable nightmare.
Why Do Black and White Americans See the Zimmerman Verdict So Differently?
Sophia A. Nelson
July 13, 2013

To win again would only be construed as an act of unconscionable hubris.
Don Draper Takes on Health Care
James P. Othmer
March 21, 2010

Anagram

conceal bunions
clone basic noun
nil bacon ounces

Today’s quote

Certainly being proficient in an instrument does have its problems. Because the better you get, the more you just start sounding like an ordinary guitarist. There are certainly guitarists that transcend that and do really find their sound and all that sort of stuff.

– Nick Cave

On this day

8 November 1836 – birth of Milton Bradley, U.S. board-game maker, credited with launching the board-game industry. Died 30 May 1911.

8 November 1847 – birth of Bram Stoker, Irish novellist, author of ‘Dracula’. Died 20 April 1912.

8 November 1960 – 43 year old, John F. Kennedy wins the presidential election and becomes the youngest President of the United States of America.

8 November 1973 – In Brisbane, Australia, a home-made bomb is placed on a teacher’s desk. It detonates, killing one student, injuring 8 others, while the teacher loses both hands.

7 November 2016

aedicule

[ee-di-kyool, ed-i-]

noun

1. a small building.
2. a small construction, as a shrine, designed in the form of a building.

Also, aedicula, edicule.

Origin of aedicule

Latin

1825-35; < Latin aedicula, equivalent to aedi- (stem of aedēs) temple, shrine (akin to Greek aíthein to blaze, aithḗr bright upper sky, ether) + -cula -cule1

Dictionary.com

Example

The work is part of a historic renovation project to reinforce and preserve the Edicule, the chamber housing the cave where Jesus is said to have been entombed and resurrected.
Experts uncover hidden layers at ‘Tomb of Jesus’ site
ABC News
28 October 2016

Anagram

idea clue
a ice duel

Today’s quote

Everyone has the right to be stupid on occasion, but Comrade Macdonald abuses the privilege.

– Leon Trotsky

On this day

7 November 1879 – birth of Leon Trotsky (Lev Davidovich Bronshtein). Russian Marxist revolutionary, Soviet politician, founder and first leader of the Red Army. Major figure in the Bolshevik victory during the Russian Civil War. After the Russian Revolution Trotsky became the People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs. He was opposed to Joseph Stalin. He was expelled from the Communist Party in November 1927 and deported from the Soviet Union in 1929. Trotsky relocated to Mexico where he continued his opposition to Stalin. Trotsky was assassinated by ice-pick wielding Rámon Mercader in Mexico on the orders of Stalin. Trotskyism is a form of Marxism which is based on Trotsky’s ideas and opposed to Stalinism. Died 21 August 1940.

7 – 8 November 1917 – October Revolution. Part of the Russian Revolution which commenced with the February Revolution (8-12 March 1917) and which overthrew the Russian Provisional Government and replaced it with the Soviet government. (This date is from the New Style Gregorian calendar and corresponds with 25 October 1917 under the Old Style Julian calendar).

7 November 1956 – Suez Canal Crisis. Egyptian President Nasser announces that he will nationalise the Suez Canal Company and in the interim, freezes their assets. In response, France, Britain and Israel attack Egypt, including the bombing Cairo. They had attacked in order to gain control of the Suez Canal and to remove Nasser from power. The United Nations issued a resolution requiring France, Britain and Israel to withdraw. The United States and the Soviet Union backed the U.N. resolution and the three antagonists were forced to withdraw.

7 November 2000 – George W. Bush wins the most controversial U.S. presidential election in history. Because of the closeness of the election results in Florida, a number of actions were taken in the U.S. Supreme Court. Before recounting could close, the Supreme Court declared George W. Bush the victor, with a majority of between 500 and 2,000 votes, even though it was revealed that George W. Bush’s brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush removed 58,000 names from the electoral role (based on ethnicity and who were likely to vote Democrat).

6 November 2016

potagerie

noun

[poh-taj-er-ee]

– garden vegetables and herbs

Example

The couple’s pride and joy however, was the potagerie just outside the kitchen.

Anagram

eager I pot
rip goatee
I agree top
tie or page

Today’s quote

War is the greatest plague that can afflict humanity, it destroys religion, it destroys states, it destroys families. Any scourge is preferable to it.

– Martin Luther

On this day

6 November 1985 – Iran-Contra Affair revealed in the media. U.S. President Ronald Reagan exposed as having sold arms to Iran in order to secure the release of Americans being held by an Iranian group and to also help the U.S. to continue illicitly funding the Nicaraguan Contras after Congress had banned further funding arrangements. The Contras were rebels who were committing human rights violations while opposing the ruling Marxist Sandinista regime. Numerous high-ranking members of the Reagan government were indicted, including Casper Weinberger (Secretary of Defence, later pardoned by President George H.W. Bush), William Casey (Head of CIA), Robert McFarlane (National Security Advisor), Oliver North (member of the National Security Council), and John Poindexter (National Security Advisor).

6 November 1999 – Australians vote to keep the Queen as head of state instead of establishing a republic.

4 November 2016

bidi

or beedi, biri

[bee-dee]

noun, plural bidis.

1. (in India) an inexpensive cigarette, locally produced usually from cut tobacco rolled in leaf.

Origin of bidi

Hindi< Hindi bīḍī < Sanskrit vīṭikā a preparation rolled in betel leaf

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for bidi

Historical Examples

As he wept, bidi and Bidhati descended from the sky and asked him the reason of his sorrow.
Santal Folk Tales
A. Campbell

bidi and Bidhati instructed me how to proceed, and I have brought you to life again.
Santal Folk Tales
A. Campbell

So they returned joyfully home singing the praises of bidi and Bidhati.
Santal Folk Tales
A. Campbell

Anagram

I bid

Today’s quote

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.

— Mark Twain

On this day

4 November 1926 – British archeologist, Howard Carter, discovers steps leading to the tomb of the Pharoah Tutankhamen.

4 November 1979 – Students loyal to the Ayatollah Khomeini over-run the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and take 90 Americans hostage in protest against the former Shah of Iran being allowed into the U.S. for medical treatment. The hostages were held for 14 months and released after the U.S. government promised $5 billion in foreign aid and unfroze $3 billion of Iranian funds. During the crisis, President Jimmy Carter attempted an unsuccessful rescue mission by helicopter, which ended in the deaths of 8 U.S. marines.

4 November 1995 – assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The assassin was Yigal Amir, an Israeli right-wing Zionist, who opposed the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords in which Rabin had negotiated a peace plan with the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.

2 November 2016

lardon

[lahr-dn]

noun

1. a strip of fat used in larding, especially as drawn through the substance of meat, chicken, etc., with a kind of needle or pin.

Also, lardoon [lahr-doon]

Origin of lardon

late Middle English Middle French
1400-1450; late Middle English lardun < Middle French lardon piece of pork, equivalent to lard lard + -on noun suffix

Dictionary.com

Example

And, by cooking your own bacon lardons, you get some bacon fat as a by-product that you can use instead of olive oil or butter when sautéing something else.
No Recipe Required
2 January 2011

Anagram

or land
an lord
ran old

Today’s quote

Part of the secret of a success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.

– Mark Twain

On this day

2 November 1917 – British Foreign Secretary, James Balfour, presents a declaration of intent to establish a national homeland in Palestine for the Jewish people. It became known as the ‘Balfour Declaration’.

2 November 1936 – launch of the British Broadcasting Commission (BBC-TV). World’s first regular television service. Initially broadcasting with a radius of 25 miles. It was taken off-air from 1939 – 1946 because of World War II. Now known as BBC One.

2 November 1942 – Australians recapture Kokoda from the Japanese during the Kokoda Track campaign. The campaign was fought from 21 July 1942 to 16 November 1942, in the Australian territory of Papua New Guinea between Japanese and predominantly Australian forces. The Kokoda Track wound through the Owen Stanley Ranges, which Japanese forces had invaded as they attempted to seize Port Moresby.