10 June 2017

emollient

[ih-mol-yuh nt]

adjective

1. having the power of softening or relaxing, as a medicinal substance; soothing, especially to the skin:
emollient lotions for the face.

Synonyms: relieving, palliative, healing, assuasive.
noun

2. an emollient medicine, lotion, salve, etc.

Origin of emollient

Latin

1635-1645; Latin ēmollient- (stem of ēmolliēns) softening up (present participle of ēmollīre), equivalent to ē- e-1+ molli(s) soft + -ent- -ent

Related forms

emollience, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for emollient

Contemporary Examples

Rubenstein listened and as an emollient agreed to an in-house investigation.
The Latino Fight to Be Included in the Kennedy Center Honors
Sandra McElwaine
November 28, 2012

Historical Examples

emollient poultices and drinks were prescribed, and a low diet enjoined.
North American Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3, July, 1826
Various

They eulogised, at the same time, the emollient properties of the dog’s-tooth.
Everyday Objects
W. H. Davenport Adams

Anagram

nil omelet
molten lie
motel line
lemon tile

Today’s quote

Then as it was, then again it will be
An’ though the course may change sometimes
Rivers always reach the sea

– Ten Years Gone, Led Zeppelin

On this day

10 June 323 BC – death of Alexander the Great, Macedonian King. He conquered the Persia Empire, which ruled Asia Minor, The Levant and Syria, Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia. He then invaded India before returning to Persia. He died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon, most likely by poisoning. Born 20 July 356 BC.

10 June 1838 – Myall Creek Massacre in Australia. 28 aborigines are murdered by 11 stockmen (10 Europeans and an African). After two trials, seven of the 11 colonialists involved in the killings were found guilty of murder and hanged on 18 December 1838. The leader of the colonialists, John Fleming, was never found. He was suspected of further massacres in the Liverpool Plains and New England regions. His brother, Joseph, was linked to massacres in the Maranoa area of Queensland.

10 June 1916 – British Army officer, Lawrence of Arabia leads an Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire.

10 June 1935 – Alcoholics Anonymous founded by two recovering alcoholics, using a 12-step program to help alcoholics overcome their addiction.

10 June 1967 – end of the Six Day War, when Israel and the Arab coalition consisting of Egypt, Jordan & Syria, agree to a UN mediated cease-fire.

8 June 2017

iterative

[it-uh-rey-tiv, -er-uh-tiv]

adjective

1. repeating; making repetition; repetitious.
2. Grammar. frequentative.

Origin of iterative

Late Latin

1480-1490 From the Late Latin word iterātīvus, dating back to 1480-90. See iterate, -ive

Related forms

iteratively, adverb
iterativeness, noun
uniterative, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for iterative

Contemporary Examples

He prefers a conversation, and conversations aren’t etched in stone, they’re iterative.
Paul Begala on Why Bill Clinton’s Still Got the Magic
Paul Begala
October 9, 2012

Historical Examples

He knows his own mind, and hammers his doctrines out with a hard and iterative stroke that hits its mark.
Diderot and the Encyclopdists
John Morley

The style is that of the pulpit, iterative, florid, and full of amplifications; but that was natural.
The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, October 1879
Various

Anagram

vie attire
trivia tee

Today’s quote

A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.

– Joseph Joubert

On this day

8 June 1921 – birth 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. Died 15 November 2008.

8 June 1967 – During the Six Day War, Israel launched a naval and air assault on the USS Liberty as it sits in international waters near Egypt’s Gaza Strip. The attack left 34 US crewmen dead and injured 171 others. Israel claimed the attack was an accident, while some witnesses claimed it was deliberate.

7 June 2017

shufti

[shoo-ph-tee]

noun

– a brief glance

plural: shuftis

Origin

From Egyptian Arabic شُفْتِي (šufti, “have you seen?”), from شَاف (šāf, “to see”).

Example

He sneaked a shufti before cautiously entering the darkened corridor.

Anagram

if huts

Today’s quote

A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.

– Mahatma Gandhi

On this day

7 June 1099 – the First Crusade: Siege of Jerusalem begins.

7 June 1893 – Mohandas Gandhi commits his first act of civil disobedience.

7 June 1929 – The Lateran Treaty is ratified by the Italian Parliament, allowing Vatican City to become an independent sovereign state.

7 June 1942 – Birth of Muammar Gaddafi, Libyan revolutionary, politician and political theorist. Often known as Colonel Gaddafi, leader of Libya. Died 20 October 2011.

7 June 1954 – death of Alan Turing, British mathematician and computer scientist. Turing is considered to be the father of computer science and artificial intelligence. He invented the ‘Turing machine’ which formulated the computer algorithm. It’s the forerunner for the modern computer. During World War 2, Turing was instrumental in cracking German messages encrypted by the Enigma machine. Sadly, Turing’s achievements were overshadowed by him being charged with gross indecency after admitting to being in a homosexual relationship. On 31 March 1952, following his guilty plea, he was chemically castrated. Two years later, on 7 June 1954,Turing took his own life with cyanide. On 10 September 2009, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown publicly apologised on behalf of the British Government for the ‘appalling way he was treated’. On 23 December 2013, Queen Elizabeth II issued a posthumous royal pardon, clearing Turing of the charge of gross indecency. Born 23 June 1912.

7 June 1975 – the inaugural World Cup cricket match is held in London.

7 June 2015 – death of Christopher Lee, CBE, English actor and singer. Lee starred in hammer horror movies, including Dracula (in which he played the title character), Dracula has risen from the grave, Taste the Blood of Dracula, and Scars of Dracula. Fearing that he would become type-cast in horror roles as had happened to Vincent Price and Peter Cushing, he went in search of other roles. Lee starred in the 1974 James Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun. He played Saruman in Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit trilogies, and Count Dooku in two of the Star Wars prequel films, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Born 27 May 1922.

6 June 2017

gubbins

/ˈɡʌbɪnz/
noun (informal)

1. (functioning as sing) an object of little or no value
2. (functioning as sing) a small device or gadget
3. (functioning as pl) odds and ends; litter or rubbish
4. (functioning as sing) a silly person

Word Origin

(meaning: fragments): from obsolete gobbon, probably related to gobbet

Collins English Dictionary

Examples from the Web for gubbins

Historical Examples

There’s a lot like gubbins, an’ one has to try an’ sweeten ’em a bit once a week or so.
The Record of Nicholas Freydon
A. J. (Alec John) Dawson

The sergeant called for assistance, and gubbins was hauled up.
For Fortune and Glory
Lewis Hough

For Green would not think of him as dead, and no more for that matter did gubbins, though Davis had given up all hope long ago.
For Fortune and Glory
Lewis Hough

Anagram

bub sign
snug bib

Today’s quote

Moral maxims are surprisingly useful on occasions when we can invent little else to justify our actions.

― Alexander Pushkin

On this day

6 June – Queensland Day, which celebrates the establishment of the colony of Queensland. On 6 June 1859, Queen Victoria gave her approval for the new colony by signing the Letters Patent. On the same day, an Order-in-Council gave Queensland its own Constitution.

6 June – Russian Language Day (UN) – coincides with the birthday of Aleksandr Pushkin, Russian poet who is considered the father of modern Russian literature.

6 June 1799 – birth of Aleksandr Pushkin, Russian poet and author of the romantic era. Considered the father of modern Russian literature. He was born into Russian nobility. His matrilineal great grandfather, Abram Gannibal, was brought over as a slave from Africa and had risen to the aristocracy. Died during a duel on 10 February 1837.

6 June 1808 – Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte, is crowned King of Spain.

6 June 1844 – The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) is founded in London.

6 June 1939 – Judge Joseph Force Crater, known as the ‘Missingest man in New York’ is declared legally dead after going missing nine years earlier. His body has never been found, but his disappearance fueled allegations of corruption in the City government and lead to the downfall of political organisation, Tammany Hall.

6 June 1944 – D-day (Operation Overlord), when the Allies launch a massive invasion of Europe to combat the German war machine. Over a million Allied troops storm the beaches of Normandy.

6 June 1961 – death of Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology. He developed the concepts of extraversion and introversion; archetypes and collective unconscious. Born 26 July 1875.

6 June 1982 – the Lebanon War begins when Israeli forces under the command of the Defence Minister, Ariel Sharon, invade southern Lebanon, eventually pushing into Beirut. It lasted until June 1985. Israel suffered 657 dead and 3,887 wounded. Syrian and Palestinian casualties were 19,085 civilian and combatant deaths.

6 June 1984 – Tetris, one of the world’s biggest selling games, is released.

5 June 2017

funicular

[fyoo-nik-yuh-ler]

adjective

1. of or relating to a rope or cord, or its tension.
2. worked by a rope or the like.
noun
3. funicular railway.

Origin of funicular

Latin
1655-1665; Latin fūnicul(us) (see funiculus ) + -ar1

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for funicular

Contemporary Examples

What was the thinking behind using models for the funicular that runs up to the hotel—and for the first shots of the hotel itself?
The Look of ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’
Andrew Romano
March 6, 2014

Historical Examples

These were the days before the funicular from Stresa, when one trudged up a rude path through the chestnuts and walnuts.
Marriage
H. G. Wells

They start along the terrace toward the station of the funicular railway.
A Book of Burlesques
H. L. Mencken

Anagram

incur a flu
a runic flu

Today’s quote

The frog in the well knows not of the great ocean.

– Japanese proverb

On this day

5 June 1967 – start of the Six Day War, when Israel attacked Egypt and Syria. During the six days of the War, Israel occupied the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, West Bank and East Jerusalem, effectively doubling its size. Although Israel eventually withdrew from the Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula, it continues to controversially occupy Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem.

5 June 1968 – Robert F. Kennedy, Presidential candidate and brother of JFK, shot by Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian-born, Jordanian citizen. Kennedy died the following day. In an interview with David Frost in 1989, Sirhan stated that he opposed Kennedy’s support of Israel and plan to send 50 bombers to Israel to ‘obviously do harm to the Palestinians’. Sirhan was initially sentenced to death, but the sentence was later commuted to life in prison.

5 June 1989 – the ‘Tank Man’ halts a column of Chinese tanks in Beijing for more than half an hour, following protests in Tiananmen Square.

5 June 2000 – start of the Six Day War in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo, between Ugandan and Rwandan forces, destroying a large part of the city.

5 June 2012 – death of Ray Bradbury, American fantasy, science-fiction, horror and mystery fiction writer. Author of Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustratred Man, Something Wicked This Way Comes. The movie Butterfly Effect uses a similar theory to that described in Bradbury’s short-story A Sound of Thunder. In one scene, a Sound of Thunder pennant is hanging on the dormitory door of the main character, Evan. Michael Moore’s movie Fahrenheit 9/11 was named after Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury was not happy with this and pressured Moore to change the title, which Moore refused to do. Born 22 August 1920.

4 June 2017

nacre

[ney-ker]

noun

1. mother-of-pearl.

Origin of nacre

Medieval Latin, Old Italian, Arabic

1590-1600; Medieval Latin nacrum, nacer, variant of nacara < Old Italian naccara kind of drum, nacre; Arabic naqqārah drum

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for nacre

Historical Examples

He lifted a small hammer and struck a velvet-voiced bell that stood on the Arabian table of cedar inlaid with nacre and ivory.
The Decadent
Ralph Adams Cram

The value of the pearl is based on the brilliancy of the nacre, the size, and the form.
The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide
Augusta Foote Arnold

nacre is the hard and brilliant substance with which the valves of certain shells are lined in the interior.
The Ocean World:
Louis Figuier

Anagram

crane

Today’s quote

The words that enlighten the soul are more precious than jewels.

– Hazrat Inayat Khan

On this day

4 June 1988 – death of Sir Douglas Nichols KCVO, OBE. Aboriginal activist, raising awareness of aboriginal issues, including treating aborigines with dignity and as people. He played for Carlton football club in the A-grade Victorian Football League (VFL), leaving after racist treatment and joining the Northcote football club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA). Nicholls became a minister and social worker. In 1957, he was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE). In 1972 he was the first aborigine to be knighted. In 1976, he became the 28th governor of South Australia, the first aborigine to be appointed to a vice-regal position. He was born on 9 December 1906.

4 June 1989 – Tiananmen Square massacre, Beijing, China. Around a million people had flooded into Tiananmen Square over the past few days, protesting for democracy. On 4 June, the Chinese Army stormed the Square with tanks and armoured cars, killing hundreds of protestors, while arresting thousands of others.

2 June 2017

glacis

[gley-sis, glas-is]

noun, plural glacis [gley-seez, -siz, glas-eez, -iz] (Show IPA), glacises.

1. a gentle slope.
2. Fortification. a bank of earth in front of the counterscarp or covered way of a fort, having an easy slope toward the field or open country.

Origin of glacis

Middle French

1665-1675; Middle French; akin to Old French glacier to slide; compare Latin glaciāre to make into ice; see glacé

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for glacis

Historical Examples

We have two mitrailleuses above the terre-plein to sweep at once the moat and the glacis.
History of the Commune of 1871
P. Lissagary

In six days they completed the parapet, with a glacis on the opposite side.
The Battle of New Orleans
Zachary F. Smith

I found them drawn off from the glacis a few hundred yards; but, oh!
Twenty-Five Years in the Rifle Brigade
William Surtees

They crossed the street and went down the glacis of the cobblestoned wharf.
Edith and John
Franklin S. Farquhar

Neither ditch nor glacis exist on the eastern face, where the rapids of the Nile render them unnecessary.
A History of Art in Ancient Egypt, Vol. II (of 2)
Georges Perrot

There was the sound of a gentle chuckle from the glacis where Learoyd lay.
Soldiers Three
Rudyard Kipling

Gourgues was now on the glacis, when he heard Cazenove shouting from the gate that the Spaniards were escaping on that side.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 85, November, 1864
Various

The masonry was concealed from view by the ditch and glacis.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6
Various

Its bastions, ramparts, and glacis are a marvel of engineering.
French and English
Evelyn Everett-Green

The storm passed over, covering the glacis with snow and sleet.
Beethoven: the Man and the Artist
Ludwig van Beethoven

Anagram

gal sic

Today’s quote

It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.

– Joseph Joubert

On this day

2 June 1951 – birth of Gilbert Baker, American artist and gay rights activist, who designed the ‘rainbow flag’ in 1978 which came to symbolise the gay rights movement. Died 31 March 2017.

2 June 1953 – Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey, England.

2 June 1965 – the first contingent of Australian combat troops arrives in Saigon to assist the American military in the Vietnam War.

2 June 1966 – The ‘Surveyor 1’ space probe lands on the moon. It is the first US space probe to do so. The Soviet Union had successfully landed a space probe, the Lunix 9, on the moon 5 months earlier, on 3 February 1966.