13 May 2017

brae

[brey, bree; Scot. brey, bree]

noun, Scot. and North England.

1. a slope; declivity; hillside.

Origin of brae

Middle English Old Norse

1300-1350; Middle English bra; Old Norse brā brow, cognate with Old English brēaw eyebrow, eyelid, Old High German brāwa (German Braue); for semantic development, cf. brow

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for brae

Historical Examples

The contents of this MS. can be so well ascertained from Mr. brae ‘s edition that it is unnecessary to say more about it here.
Chaucer’s Works, Volume 3 (of 7)
Geoffrey Chaucer

Once landed on Raasay, I made up the brae to the great house.
A Daughter of Raasay
William MacLeod Raine

In three or four minutes we had topped the brae and began to go down upon Sandag.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XXI
Robert Louis Stevenson

Anagram

bear
bare

Today’s quote

If I’m being rejected from one thing, it’s really just the path redirecting me elsewhere to where I’m supposed to be.

– Amani Al-Khatahtbeh

On this day

13 May 1941 – birth of Richard Steven Valenzuela, otherwise known as Richie Valens. 1950s rock and roll star, famous for songs such as, ‘Come On, Let’s Go’, and ‘La Bamba. Died in a plane crash on 3 February 1959 with other musicians, Buddy Holly, 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.

13 May 1981 – Pope John Paul II is injured in front of 2,000 people in St Peter’s Square after being shot by Turkish man, Mehmet Ali Agca.

12 May 2017

surplice

[sur-plis]

noun

1. a loose-fitting, broad-sleeved white vestment, worn over the cassock by clergy and choristers.
2. a garment in which the two halves of the front cross diagonally.

Origin of surplice

Middle English Anglo-French Old French Medieval Latin
1250-1300; Middle English surplis; Anglo-French surpliz, syncopated variant of Old French surpeliz; Medieval Latin superpellīcium (vestīmentum) over-pelt (garment), neuter of superpellīcius (adj.), equivalent to Latin super- super- + pellīt(us) clothed with skins + -ius adj. suffix

Related forms

surpliced, adjective
unsurpliced, adjective

Can be confused

surplice, surplus.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for surplice

Historical Examples

It goes into the pulpit, and decides the gown, and the surplice, and the style of rhetoric.
The Abominations of Modern Society
Rev. T. De Witt Talmage

In 1565 he, with the Fellows and scholars, appeared in Chapel without the surplice.
St. John’s College, Cambridge
Robert Forsyth Scott

The surplice, which Mr. Poodle was still holding, parted with a rip, and Gissing was free.
Where the Blue Begins
Christopher Morley

The sight of a surplice, the sound of bells, scares them away.
Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine – Volume 55, No. 344, June, 1844
Various

In 1617 he went with the king to Scotland, and aroused hostility by wearing the surplice.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 3
Various

He returned the bottle to his pocket, and went to the vestry for his surplice.
The Channings
Mrs. Henry Wood

I myself have known parishes in the mountains where the surplice fees were worth more than that of many town livings.
The Red and the Black
Stendhal

The old reprobate with the surplice burst into a volley of bad language.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan Doyle

It’s a good thing clergymen wear a surplice, for I am sure he never could tell whether he was decent or not.
A Little Girl in Old Washington
Amanda M. Douglas

An acolyte appeared, followed by the aged priest in his surplice.
Original Short Stories, Volume 12 (of 13)
Guy de Maupassant

Anagram

slurp ice
slicer up
I scruple
cure lisp

Today’s quote

Loneliness adds beauty to life. It puts a special burn on sunsets and makes night air smell better.

– Henry Rollins

On this day

12 May 1932 – the body of the Lindbergh baby is found near to the Lindbergh residence. The baby was the son of famous aviator, Charles Lindbergh, and had been kidnapped days earlier. The kidnapper had accidentally killed the baby during the kidnapping and abandoned the body in a nearby forest.

12 May 1937 – King George VI is crowned King of Britain (and it’s colonies) at Westminster Abbey, following the abdication of his brother.

12 May 1980 – death of Bette Nesmith Graham. Bette is the inventor of Liquid Paper. Her son, Mike Nesmith, was a member of 1960s UK/American pop/rock band, The Monkees. Born 23 March 1924 in Dallas, Texas.

12 May 1994 – in response to thousands acts of violence in the USA against abortion clinics and their patients, a bill is submitted to President Clinton making it a federal crime to prevent access to an abortion clinic or to threaten or use force against people attending the clinics. The bill resulted in the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act 1994. Between 1978 and 1993 anti-abortion (or pro-life) activists had been responsible for at least 9 murders, 17 attempted murders, 406 death threats, 179 acts of assault, 5 kidnappings of abortion providers, 41 bombings, 96 attempted bombings or arsons, 692 bomb threats, 1993 incidents of trespassing, 1400 incidents of vandalism and 100 attacks with butyric acid (stink bombs).

11 May 2017

Gordian

[gawr-dee-uh n]

adjective

1. pertaining to Gordius, ancient king of Phrygia, who tied a knot (the Gordian knot) that, according to prophecy, was to be undone only by the person who was to rule Asia, and that was cut, rather than untied, by Alexander the Great.
2. resembling the Gordian knot in intricacy.
Idioms
3. cut the Gordian knot, to act quickly and decisively in a difficult situation; solve a problem boldly.

Origin of Gordian

Latin Greek
1555-1565; Latin Gordi(us) (Greek Górdios Gordius) + -an

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for Gordian

Contemporary Examples

Berlusconi, it is true, did not cut this Gordian knot, but neither did he tie it in the first place.
Berlusconi Exits, and an Era of Sexist Buffoonery Is Over
Lawrence Osborne
November 16, 2011

Of course, if we can mix our classical references, Russia has its Sword of Damocles to cut this Gordian Knot.
Ravenous Russia? Thirsty Crimea.
Oleg Shynkarenko, Will Cathcart
May 3, 2014

Entwined within this Gordian knot is a truth so terrible as to be rarely spoken.
Obama’s Historic Mideast Gamble
Leslie H. Gelb
May 20, 2011

Historical Examples

It was she who invented the short cut, who severed the Gordian knot.
The Aspern Papers
Henry James

“I have something to tell you,” he says, cutting the Gordian knot at a clean stroke.
Floyd Grandon’s Honor
Amanda Minnie Douglas

The Bishop cut the Gordian knot for her by ordering all seculars to be turned out of the dorter.
Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535
Eileen Edna Power

“Well, I have cut the Gordian knot,” 262 continued Marmaduke.
Ladies-In-Waiting
Kate Douglas Wiggin

But Washington did not hesitate a moment to cut this Gordian knot.
Who was the Commander at Bunker Hill?
Samuel Swett

One or several must act as did Alexander the Great when he cut the Gordian knot.
Peking Dust
Ellen N. La Motte

What a deliverer was therefore the stern Crete-bound veteran, who cut the Gordian knot of enchantment with, “Pack and begone.”
From the Oak to the Olive
Julia Ward Howe

Anagram

I Dragon
Rain God
iron dag
ion drag

Today’s quote

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.

– Salvador Dali

On this day

11 May – World Keffiyeh Day, in solidarity with Palestine.

11 May 1904 – birth of Salvador Dali, Spanish surrealist painter. Died 23 January 1989.

11 May 1981 – death of Bob Marley, Jamaican reggae singer and musician. Born 6 February 1945.

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

10 May 2017

feculent

[fek-yuh-luh nt]

adjective

1. full of dregs or fecal matter; foul, turbid, or muddy.

Origin of feculent

late Middle English Latin

1425-1475; late Middle English; Latin faeculentus full of dregs. See feces, -ulent

Related forms

feculence, noun
Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for feculent

Historical Examples

In due time he was dragged across, half strangled, and dreadfully beslubbered by the feculent waters.
Fantastic Fables
Ambrose Bierce

Our light showed no tokens of a feculent or corrupted atmosphere.
A Journey to the Western Isles of Scotland
Samuel Johnson

Flowers of a fœtid or feculent odor, hermaphrodite, in compound racemes.
The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines
T. H. Pardo de Tavera

Anagram

clef tune
flue cent

Today’s quote

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.

– Nelson Mandela

On this day

10 May 1837 – the Panic of 1837: New York City banks fail and unemployment reaches record levels.

10 May 1893 – the Supreme Court of the United States rules in Nix v Hedden that a tomato is a vegetable, not a fruit, under the Tariff Act of 1883.

10 May 1908 – Mother’s Day first celebrated. Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia in the United States becomes the first place in the world to hold the first official Mother’s Day celebration. 407 women were in attendance that day. In 1872 Julie Ward Howe suggested a national holiday to celebrate peace and motherhood. At that time, many local groups held their own celebration of motherhood, but most were religious gatherings. Another influential figure was Anna Jarvis who campaigned for a national holiday following the death of her mother in 1905. Her mother, social activist Ann Jarvis used to hold an annual celebration, Mother’s Friendship Day, to help ease the pain of the US Civil War. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day a national holiday on the second Sunday of May. Anna Jarvis was arrested at a Mother’s Day celebration when she tried to stop the selling of flowers. She stated, ‘I wanted it to be a day of sentiment not of profit‘.

10 May 1924 – Edgard J. Hoover appointed Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A position he holds until his death in 1972.

10 May 1933 – in Germany, Nazis stage massive public book burnings.

10 May 1941 – Deputy Fuhrer Rudolf Hess, parachutes into Scotland to negotiate a peace settlement between the UK and Germany. Hess was arrested and convicted of crimes against peace and spent the remainder of his life in jail. He died in 1987.

10 May 1954 – Bill Haley and His Comets release Rock Around the Clock, the first rock and roll record to reach number one on the Billboard charts.

10 May 1960 – birth of Bono (Paul David Hewson), activist and Irish singer-songwriter with U2.

10 May 1994 – Nelson Mandela inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president.

10 May 2003 – The Golden Gumboot opens in Tully, North Queensland. It stands 7.9m tall and represents the record annual rainfall of 7900mm that Tully received in1950. Tully is officially Australia’s wettest town.

9 May 2017

clinker(1)

[kling-ker]

noun

1. a mass of incombustible matter fused together, as in the burning of coal.
2. a hard Dutch brick, used especially for paving.
3. a partially vitrified mass of brick.
4. the scale of oxide formed on iron during forging.
5. Geology. a mass of vitrified material ejected from a volcano.
verb (used without object)
6. to form clinkers in burning.

Origin of clinker(1)

Dutch

1635-1645 First recorded in 1635-45, clinker is from the Dutch word klinker kind of brick, slag

clinker(2)

[kling-ker]

noun

1. a person or thing that clinks.

Origin

First recorded in 1680-90; clink1+ -er1

clinker(3)

[kling-ker]

noun, Slang.

1. a wrong note in a musical performance.
2. any mistake or error.
3. something that is a failure; a product of inferior quality.
4. British. someone or something wonderful or exceedingly well-liked.

Origin

First recorded in 1830-40; special use of clinker(2)

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for clinker Expand

Historical Examples

They, the clinker canoes, are easily tightened when they spring a leak through being rattled over stones in rapids.
Woodcraft and Camping
George Washington Sears (Nessmuk)

“I thought it looked too easy,” I sighed, waiting for the clinker.
Double or Nothing
Jack Sharkey

The ‘King’s Fisher,’ (p. 153) as the sketch shows, was clinker built.
Yachting Vol. 2
Various.

Then pull forward a second portion of the fire, and spread it on the bars, removing the clinker as before.
Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II
Joshua Rose

He examined this ” clinker ” after it cooled, and it interested him.
Earth and Sky Every Child Should Know
Julia Ellen Rogers

Anagram

crinkle
in clerk

Today’s quote

I am just old-fashioned enough to prefer long hair.

– Erich von Stroheim

On this day

9 May – Russian Victory Day which marks the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.

9 May 1960 – the ‘pill’, a contraceptive, is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. It is now used by 100 million women worldwide.

9 May 1970 – 100,000 protestors gather near the White House to protest US involvement in the war in Cambodia.

9 May 1994 – Nelson Mandela is chosen by the newly-elected South African parliament to be the country’s new President.

8 May 2017

Eurocrat

[yoo r-uh-krat, yur-]

noun

1. a member of the executive and technical staff at the headquarters of the European Common Market.

Origin of Eurocrat

1960-1965; Euro- + -crat

Related forms

Eurocratic, adjective

Dictionary.com

race tour
car route

Today’s quote

Enthusiasm is everything. It must be taut and vibrating like a guitar string.

– Pele

On this day

8 May 1911 – birthday of Robert Johnson. American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. Legend has it that Johnson met the devil at a crossroads and sold his soul in return for fame and fortune. One of the first musicians of the 20th century to join the 27 club. Died 16 August 1938.

8 May 1945 – VE day. Victory in Europe – the day that Nazi Germany formally surrendered in World War II.

7 May 2017

orangery

[awr-inj-ree, or-]

noun, plural orangeries.

1. a warm place, as a greenhouse, in which orange trees are cultivated in cool climates.

Origin of orangery

French

1655-1665; < French orangerie, equivalent to orang(er) orange tree (derivative of orange orange ) + -erie -ery

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for orangery

Historical Examples

The orangery door was battered down with the butts of muskets.
The Sword of Honor, volumes 1 & 2
Eugne Sue

The orangery, which was at the other end, led by a covered way to the outhouses of the chateau.
Madame Bovary
Gustave Flaubert

They have saved enough by us for their coffee at the orangery.
The March Family Trilogy, Complete
William Dean Howells

There is a grand conservatory, containing a palm-house and orangery.
England, Picturesque and Descriptive
Joel Cook

He had even his own entrance through a small door in one corner of the orangery.
A Set of Six
Joseph Conrad

Make a wide circuit to the orangery and have a glib excuse if you are met.
he Mercenary
W. J. Eccott

“Take me into the orangery ; I want to speak to you,” said Violet, laying her hand on his sleeve.
A Traitor’s Wooing
Headon Hill

Yes, you really ought to see the orangery and the Elizabethan garden, Mr. Blair.
Lyre and Lancet
F. Anstey

I am glad to think that some day the orangery will have so worthy a mistress.
With Lee in Virginia
G. A. Henty

He took from his room the bouquet holder and hastened to the orangery to the gardener.
The Precipice
Ivan Goncharov

Anagram

no grayer
near gyro
angry ore

Today’s quote

There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

– Nelson Mandela

On this day

7 May 351 – Jews in Palestine revolt against the rule of Constantius Gallus, Caesar of the East and brother-in-law of Emperor Constantius II, after he arrived in Antioch to take up his post.

7 May 1429 – Joan of Arc leads the victorious final charge in the Siege of Orleans, marking a turning point in the One Hundred Years war.

7 May 1718 – the city of New Orleans is founded on the banks of the Mississippi River in the American state of Louisiana, by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville.

7 May 1919 – birthday of Eva Perón, first lady of Argentina and second wife of Argentine President, Juan Perón. Her life was immortalised in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Evita, which included the hit song, ‘Don’t cry for me Argentina’. Died 26 July 1952.

7 May 1952 – the concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is published by Geoffrey W.A. Drummer.

5 May 2017

miscegenation

[mi-sej-uh-ney-shuh n, mis-i-juh-]

noun

1. marriage or cohabitation between two people from different racial groups, especially, in the U.S., between a black person and a white person:
In 1968 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that state laws prohibiting miscegenation were unconstitutional.
2. sexual relations between two people from different racial backgrounds that results in the conception of a mixed-race child.

Origin of miscegenation

Latin irregular < Latin miscē(re) to mix + gen(us) race, stock, species + -ation; allegedly coined by U.S. journalist David Goodman Croly (1829-89) in a pamphlet published anonymously in 1864

Related forms

miscegenetic [mis-i-juh-net-ik, mi-sej-uh-], adjective
antimiscegenation, noun, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for miscegenation

Contemporary Examples

The major theme defining our new American century is miscegenation.
George Zimmerman, Hispanics, and the Messy Nature of American Identity
Ilan Stavans
April 5, 2012

Yes, he does say something about American society, which so frowned on miscegenation in the 1870s.
The Man Who Made America: Simone Winchester Talks New Book
Eric Herschthal
October 16, 2013

The miscegenation Ball was an exception in its otherwise bland, though proficient, catalog.
How a Racist Newspaper Defeated Lincoln in New York in the 1864 Election
Harold Holzer
May 1, 2013

Anagram

ace moistening
canoeing times
mace ingestion
casino meeting
meanie costing
nicotine games
teasing income

Today’s quote

I don’t ask for the meaning of the song of a bird or the rising of the sun on a misty morning. There they are, and they are beautiful.

– Pete Hamill

On this day

5 May – Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for 5th of May), celebrates Mexican heritage and pride. It originated as a celebration of freedom for Mexicans following the victory by Mexican forces over the French at the Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862.

5 May 1818 – birth of Karl Marx, German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist and revolutionary socialist. One of the most influential economists in history. Marx’s work included Das Kapital, as well as The Communist Manifesto which he co-authored with German social scientist, Friedrich Engels. He fathered modern communism and socialism with the aim of putting the means of production in the hands of the workers to end exploitation at the hands of the bourgeoisie. He believed in the redistribution of wealth for the benefit of all, rather than accumulation of wealth in the hands of the few. The wealth, he believed, was created by the workers and should therefore be shared amongst the workers. He stated that communism would not succeed in the individual nation unless other nations supported it, hence the adoption of L’internationale as the socialist anthem following the ‘First International’ conference held by Marx and Engels in 1864. His international theory perhaps makes him the world’s first globalisationist. He believed socialism would not succeed in poverty, but required the building of wealth to succeed and distribution of wealth to be sustainable. Died 14 March 1883.

5 May 1821 – death of Napoleon Bonaparte, French Emperor. Born 15 August 1769.

5 May 1970 – University of New Mexico is the scene of protests against the Vietnam War, US attacks on Cambodia and the Kent State University massacre (see 4 May 1970), the National Guard and police are called in. The National Guard fixed bayonets and attacked the protestors, resulting in eleven protestors and journalists being bayonetted.

5 May 1981 – death of Bobby Sands, member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who died following a hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison Maze. He and other prisoners, were protesting against the removal of special category status which conferred a ‘Prisoner of War’ status on prisoners convicted of ‘Troubles-related’ offences in Ireland. Special Category Status meant they were subject to the Geneva Convention so didn’t have to wear prison uniforms or do prison work, were housed within paramilitary factions, received extra visits and more food. During his fast, Sands was elected to British Parliament as an anti-H-Block candidate (H-Block representing Maze Prison’s H-shaped block). Sands was one of 10 hunger strikers to die during the 1981 hunger strike. Born 9 March 1954.