21 December 2016

apiary

[ey-pee-er-ee]

noun, plural apiaries.

1. a place in which a colony or colonies of bees are kept, as a stand or shed for beehives or a bee house containing a number of beehives.

Origin of apiary

Latin

1645-1655; < Latin apiārium beehive, equivalent to api (s) bee + -ārium -ary

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for apiary

Contemporary Examples

He came to the Waldorf two years ago from a hotel in Toronto, where he ran a similar rooftop garden and apiary.
Honey Harvest at the Waldorf Astoria’s Beehives
Josh Dzieza
August 2, 2013

Historical Examples

It could, however, be recommended as an integral part of a windbreak, or woodlot where the land owner has an apiary.
Trees of Indiana
Charles Clemon Deam

Proper condition of an apiary at close of honey season, 321.
Langstroth on the Hive and the Honey-Bee
L. L. Langstroth

There is nothing about the apiary more difficult to determine, nothing more likely than to be deceived.
Mysteries of Bee-keeping Explained
M. Quinby

In the apiary of one of his parishioners, five swarms lit in one mass.
Langstroth on the Hive and the Honey-Bee
L. L. Langstroth

The señora, guided by a quicker sense than that of her husband, had gone straight to the apiary.
The Ape, the Idiot & Other People
W. C. Morrow

Never did apiary have a finer outlook or more rugged surroundings.
Expository Writing
Mervin James Curl

This they remember, and retaliate, as occasion offers; and it may be when quietly walking in the apiary.
Mysteries of Bee-keeping Explained
M. Quinby

Before you get the first colony decide where your apiary is to be located.
The Library of Work and Play: Outdoor Work
Mary Rogers Miller

I have not yet forgotten the first apiary I saw, where I learned to love the bees.
The Life of the Bee
Maurice Maeterlinck

Anagram

air pay

Today’s quote

Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid.

– Frank Zappa

On this day

21 December 1913 – American newspaper, New York World, publishes the world’s first crossword puzzle. It was created by English journalist, Arthur Wynne.

21 December 1940 – birth of Frank Zappa, American revolutionary musician. Died 3 December 1993.

21 December 1991 – representatives of all Soviet Republics, except Georgia, signed the Alma-Ata Protocol which confirmed the Belavezha Accords of 8 December 1991 that declared the Soviet Union dissolved.

21 December 2012 – end of the world as predicted by the Ancient Mayans … or is it just the end of an age within their calendar? All was revealed … and it was a non-event …

20 December 2016

piffle

[pif-uh l] Informal.

noun

1. nonsense, as trivial or senseless talk.
verb (used without object), piffled, piffling.
2. to talk nonsense.

Origin of piffle

1840-1850; perhaps akin to puff

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for piffle

Contemporary Examples

Of course, the book market suffers from being saturated by piffle and filth, but has this not always been the case?
In Defense of Martin Amis’ ‘Lionel Asbo’
Liam Hoare
August 20, 2012

Despite the best efforts of the Gowers family, the towers of piffle have continued to climb ever higher.
Will Jargon Be the Death of the English Language?
The Telegraph
March 29, 2014

Historical Examples

But she did not intend to write a love story—that was piffle.
Etheldreda the Ready
Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey

Anagram

if pelf

Today’s quote

And then I wanted to be a Beatle, but I ended up being in Black Sabbath!

– Ozzy Osbourne

On this day

20 December – International Human Solidarity Day – celebrating unity in diversity, as well as reminding people of the importance of solidarity in working towards eradicating poverty.

20 December 1973 – Basque Nationalists kill Spanish Prime Minister, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco in a car-bombing in Madrid.

20 December 1989 – Operation ‘Just Cause’ in which President George Bush orders 27,684 U.S. troops into Panama in an effort to oust Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Noriega surrendered on 3 January 1990.

19 December 2016

omnishambles

[om-nuh-sham-buh lz]

noun, plural omnishambles. (used with a singular verb)

1. Chiefly British Informal. a situation, especially in politics, in which poor judgment results in disorder or chaos with potentially disastrous consequences.

Origin of omnishambles

2009; omni- + shamble(s)1( def 1 ); first used in the BBC TV series “The Thick of It,” a political satire

Dictionary.com

Anagram

balm hominess
Mason blemish
Hmm abseils on

Today’s quote

No-one is more hated than he who speaks the truth.

– Plato

On this day

19 December 1847 – death of Emily Bronte, author of the novel, ‘Wuthering Heights‘. Born 30 July 1818.

19 December 1915 – birth of Édith Piaf, French singer. Born Édith Giovanna Gassion, died 10 October 1963.

18 December 2016

thane or thegn

[theyn]

noun

1. Early English History. a member of any of several aristocratic classes of men ranking between earls and ordinary freemen, and granted lands by the king or by lords for military service.
2. Scottish History. a person, ranking with an earl’s son, holding lands of the king; the chief of a clan, who became one of the king’s barons.

Origin of thane

Scots, Middle English, Old English

900 before 900; late Middle English, spelling variant ( Scots) of Middle English thain, thein, Old English thegn; cognate with Old Norse thegn subject, German Degen warrior, hero, Greek téknon child

Related forms

underthane, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for thane

Contemporary Examples

In August 2001, a politician in thane, the sprawling city northeast of Mumbai, died in the Singhania hospital there.
Mumbai on Edge With Shiv Sena Founder Bal Thackeray Ill
Dilip D’Souza
November 15, 2012

thane Creech, too, has his doubts that President Obama can deliver.
How It Played in the Gulf
Rick Outzen
June 15, 2010

Historical Examples

As he walked across the court thane looked carefully at his opponent, appraising him.
Evil Out of Onzar
Mark Ganes

“Drink and sing, thou beast, and cease prating,” the thane said.
Burlesques
William Makepeace Thackeray

As thane lined up the pirate again, the intercom said, “Five seconds to warp-line!”
Evil Out of Onzar
Mark Ganes

How, then, was a thane to plant new settlers on his ‘gesettes-land’?
The English Village Community
Frederic Seebohm

The rank of a priest as equal to that of a thane is frequently recognized.
Parish Priests and Their People in the Middle Ages in England
Edward L. Cutts

We must remember that the overlord might be the king, or a bishop; a monastery, or a thane.
Our English Towns and Villages
H. R. Wilton Hall

I am content to be a thane, as my father was before me, and seek no greater change than that of a stay for a month at court.
Wulf the Saxon
G. A. Henty

There is not a thane of them but in his house I have a servant feed.
Early English Dramatists–Recently Recovered “Lost” Tudor Plays with some others
Various

Anagram

neath
he tan

Today’s quote

Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas.

– Joseph Stalin

On this day

18 December 1655 – The Whitehall Conference ends with the determination that there was no law preventing Jews from re-entering England after the Edict of Expulsion of 1290.

18 December 1878 – Joseph Stalin, Georgian-Russian marshal and politician, 4th Premier of the Soviet Union, died from suspected poisoning 5 March 1953.

18 December 1892 – Premiere performance of The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

18 December 1942 – U.S. B24 Liberator bomber crashes into Mt Straloch on Hinchinbrook Island, North Queensland. All 29 persons on board were killed. Because of the rugged terrain and monsoonal ‘wet’ season, the bodies were not recovered for some months. The plane had flown from Amberley air base, near Brisbane, to Garbutt air base in Townsville to pick up passengers. The plane crashed during a violent storm, shortly after departure from Garbutt. It was on its way to Iron Range air base, near Lockhardt River, North Queensland.

18 December 1963 – birth of Brad Pitt, American actor.

17 December 2016

teleology

[tel-ee-ol-uh-jee, tee-lee-]

noun, Philosophy.

1. the doctrine that final causes exist.
2. the study of the evidences of design or purpose in nature.
3. such design or purpose.
4. the belief that purpose and design are a part of or are apparent in nature.
5. (in vitalist philosophy) the doctrine that phenomena are guided not only by mechanical forces but that they also move toward certain goals of self-realization.

Origin of teleology

1730-1740; < New Latin teleologia. See teleo-, -logy

Related forms

teleological [tel-ee-uh-loj-i-kuh l, tee-lee-], teleologic, adjective
teleologism, noun
teleologist, noun

Dictionary.com

Anagram

tell gooey
to yell ego

Today’s quote

Character is what a man is in the dark.

– Dwight L. Moody

On this day

17 December 1770 – baptism of Ludwig von Beethoven, German composer. One of the world’s most influential composers. He composed 9 symphonies, 5 concertos for piano, 32 piano sonatos and 16 string quartets. Died 26 March 1827.

17 December 1903 – Orville and Wilbur Wright makes the world’s first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight.

16 December 2016

verso

[vur-soh]

noun, plural versos. Printing.

1. a left-hand page of an open book or manuscript (opposed to recto ).

Origin of verso

Latin

1830-1840; short for Latin in versō foliō on the turned leaf

pollice verso

[pohl-li-ke wer-soh; English pol-uh-see vur-soh]

adverb, Latin.

1. with thumbs turned downward: the sign made by spectators calling for the death of a defeated gladiator in the ancient Roman circus.

folio verso

[foh-lee-oh vur-soh; Latin foh-lee-oh wer-soh]

noun

1. the back of the page; verso (opposed to folio recto ).

Origin
Latin

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for verso

Historical Examples

There is a woodcut of the royal arms on verso of titlepage, which occurs again on K3vv at the beginning of the ‘Confessions’.
Catalogue of the Books Presented by Edward Capell to the Library of Trinity College in Cambridge
W. W. Greg

The modern title page and verso have been relocated to the end of the text.
Chronicles of Border Warfare
Alexander Scott Withers

Transcriptions of ads from the verso of the cover and the verso of the half-title page follow.
Paper-bag Cookery
Vera Serkoff

A Table of Contents has been added below the verso to aid in navigation.
Mystery at Geneva
Rose Macaulay

Anagram

roves
overs
servo

Today’s quote

If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself, if you want to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation

– Wang Fou (this quote is often mis-attributed to Lao Tzu)

On this day

16 December 1980 – death 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. Born 9 September 1890.

15 December 2016

recto

[rek-toh]

noun, plural rectos. Printing.

1. a right-hand page of an open book or manuscript; the front of a leaf (opposed to verso ).

Origin of recto

Late Latin, Latin
1815-1825; < Late Latin rēctō (foliō) on the right-hand (leaf or page), ablative of Latin rēctus right

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for recto

Historical Examples

On the recto of the first leaf there is a large woodcut of Pynson’s arms, or device No.
The Ship of Fools, Volume 1
Sebastian Brandt

(recto) “Here begynneth the prologue of this present treatyse.”
The Ship of Fools, Volume 1
Sebastian Brandt

The Latin text is on the verso of the page, the English on the recto, facing each other.
A Catalogue of Books in English Later than 1700 (Vol 2 of 3)
Various

The text ends on the recto of l 6, the last page being blank.
Game and Playe of the Chesse
Caxton

(folio 11 recto) The socket of the eye is not over-depressed, for it has to receive the images (spetie) of visible things.
Studies in the History and Method of Science
Various

Both the recto and the verso of the leaf have the full complement of 23 lines but there is a hiatus in the text.
Catalogue of the William Loring Andrews Collection of Early Books in the Library of Yale University
Anonymous

In addition to the ordinary page numbers, each text labeled the recto (odd) pages of the first half of each signature.
Reflections on Dr. Swift’s Letter to Harley (1712) and The British Academy (1712)
John Oldmixon

Stamp date of bill and cost in book on first recto after title page: “27 June 1914 Binding 75.”
Library Bookbinding
Arthur Low Bailey

Instead, it labeled the recto (odd) pages of the first few leaves of each 8-page signature.
The Path-Way to Knowledg
Robert Record

Term indicating that the print on the verso falls exactly over that on the recto.
Library Bookbinding
Arthur Low Bailey

Anagram

cot re

Today’s quote

Feelings are much like waves, we can’t stop them from coming but we can choose which one to surf.

― Jonatan Mårtensson

On this day

15 December 533 – Vandalic War: Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Tricamarum.

15 December 1832 – Gustave Eiffel, French engineer and architect, co-designed the Eiffel Tower. Died 27 December 1923.

15 December 1890 – death of Sitting Bull, Native American tribal chief. Born as ‘Jumping Badger’ in 1831.

15 December 1917 – World War I: An armistice between Russia and the Central Powers is signed.

15 December 1933 – The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution officially becomes effective, repealing the Eighteenth Amendment that prohibited the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol.

15 December 1945 – Occupation of Japan: General Douglas MacArthur orders that Shinto be abolished as the state religion of Japan.

15 December 1946 – U.S.- backed Iranian troops evict the leadership of the breakaway Republic of Mahabad, putting an end to the Iran crisis of 1946.

15 December 1954 – The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands is signed.

15 December 1970 – Russia’s Venera 7 spacecraft lands on Venus, the first man-made object to land on the planet. It was launched on 15 August 1970.

15 December 1973 – The American Psychiatric Association votes 13–0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders, the DSM-II.

15 December 1974 – birth of Pooh, Filipino actor and comedian, star of Banana Split, famous for his impersonations, including that of Filipino boxer, Manny Pacquiao. Pooh’s real name is Reynold Garcia.

15 December 1981 – A suicide car bombing targeting the Iraqi embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, levels the embassy and kills 61 people, including Iraq’s ambassador to Lebanon. The attack is considered the first modern suicide bombing.

15 December 2001 – The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27,000,000 spent to fortify it, without fixing its famous lean.

15 December 2010 – A boat carrying 90 asylum seekers crashes into rocks off the coast of Christmas Island, Australia, killing 48 people.

14 December 2016

calescent

[kuh-les-uh nt]

adjective

1. growing warm; increasing in heat.

Origin of calescent

Latin

1795-1805; < Latin calēscent- (stem of calēscēns becoming warm, present participle of calēscere), equivalent to cal- (stem of calēre to be warm) + -ēscent- -escent

Related forms

calescence, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for calescent

Historical Examples

This calescent mode of proceeding was adopted with the idea of exciting a counter-irritation in the diseased part.
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 14
Various

Anagram

lace cents
scan elect

Today’s quote

The walls, the bars, the guns and the guards can never encircle or hold down the idea of the people.

– Huey Newton

On this day

14 December 1972 – The last men to walk on the moon are Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan during the Apollo 17 mission. In all, 12 men walked on the moon between 1969 and 1972.

14 December 2008 – Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist, throws his shoes at US President George W. Bush who was in a press-conference in Iraq.