20 March 2018

homunculus

[huh-muhng-kyuh-luh s, hoh-]

noun, plural homunculi [huh-muhng-kyuh-lahy, hoh-]

1. an artificially made dwarf, supposedly produced in a flask by an alchemist.
2. a fully formed, miniature human body believed, according to some medical theories of the 16th and 17th centuries, to be contained in the spermatozoon.
3. a diminutive human being.
4. the human fetus.

Origin of homunculus

1650-1660; < Latin, equivalent to homun- (variant of homin-, stem of homō man; see Homo ) + -culus -cule1

Related forms

homuncular, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for homunculus

Historical Examples

I prefer the talk of the French homunculus ; it is at least more amusing.
A Bundle of Letters
Henry James

The homunculus offered me his last book, with his last smile.
The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard
Anatole France

He satisfied himself that the brain of this homunculus was discernible.
A Few Words About the Devil
Charles Bradlaugh

As he watches, the outlines of a diminutive human being—a mannikin or ‘ homunculus ‘—become visible and rapidly gain distinct form.
The Faust-Legend and Goethe’s ‘Faust’
H. B. Cotterill

Meanwhile the homunculus has found congenial spirits among the sea-nymphs and sirens on the shores of the Aegean.
The Faust-Legend and Goethe’s ‘Faust’
H. B. Cotterill

The homunculus in an ecstasy of love dashes himself against her chariot.
The Faust-Legend and Goethe’s ‘Faust’
H. B. Cotterill

It is often asked, and I think we may fairly ask, what Goethe meant to symbolize by his homunculus.
The Faust-Legend and Goethe’s ‘Faust’
H. B. Cotterill

Adams came finally to acknowledge the unusual powers of the Western ” homunculus ” as a debater.
Stephen Arnold Douglas
William Garrott Brown

It has been ascertained that A. homunculus had an external lachrymal foramen.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia
Frank Evers Beddard

That minikin shivering old man, that homunculus, that thing, master of Europe and the West?
Wilderness of Spring
Edgar Pangborn

Anagram

much loon us
uncool mush

Today’s quote

I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.

– Anne Frank

On this day

27 March 1963 – birth of Quentin Tarantino, Hollywood producer, director and writer. He has developed a cult-following with movies such as Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, Natural Born Killers, Killing Zoe, True Romance, Four Rooms, From Dusk Till Dawn, Jackie Brown, Sin City, Hostel, Grindhouse, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained.

27 March 2001 – California electricity prices rise by up to 46% following the partial deregulation of the electricity system.

19 March 2018

nepenthe

[ni-pen-thee]

noun

1. a drug or drink, or the plant yielding it, mentioned by ancient writers as having the power to bring forgetfulness of sorrow or trouble.
2. anything inducing a pleasurable sensation of forgetfulness, especially of sorrow or trouble.

Origin of nepenthe

Latin Greek

1590-1600; < Latin nēpenthes < Greek nēpenthés herb for soothing, noun use of neuter of nēpenthḗs sorrowless, equivalent to nē- not + pénth(os) sorrow + -ēs adj. suffix

Related forms

nepenthean, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for nepenthe

Historical Examples

Perhaps it was a berry of the nepenthe, which brought oblivion.
The Works of Theophile Gautier, Volume 5
Theophile Gautier

This particular preparation of valerian is nepenthe for the nerves.
The Bishop’s Secret
Fergus Hume

In the Odyssey, in connection with Helen, mention is made of nepenthe.
Historia Amoris: A History of Love, Ancient and Modern
Edgar Saltus

Crown us with asphodel flowers, that are wet with the dews of nepenthe.
Great Inventions and Discoveries
Willis Duff Piercy

I am getting restless again, and there flow the waters of nepenthe.
The Call of the Town
John Alexander Hammerton

I did not find the nepenthe I sought for anywhere on draught, so I went home in disgust.
Belford’s Magazine, Vol. II, No. 3, February 1889
Various

nepenthe was an Egyptian drug that dispelled the memory of whatever is sad.
Historia Amoris: A History of Love, Ancient and Modern
Edgar Saltus

I drank of the nepenthe cup, and in it my past was washed out and my soul was drowned.’
The Unknown Sea
Clemence Housman

I do not employ opium as an aid to my social activities; I regard it as nepenthe from them and as a key to a brighter realm.
The Yellow Claw
Sax Rohmer

The other, beneath its bitter lash, becomes a human dynamo, plunging into the nepenthe of toil.
The Lash
Olin L. Lyman

Anagram

he pen ten

Today’s quote

If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it.

– Toni Morrison

On this day

19 March 1932 – Opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Captain Frank de Groot is arrested when he rides up on his horse and cuts the ribbon before the Premier of New South Wales, Jack Lang, can cut it. Captain de Groot was a member of a right-wing paramilitary group called the New Guard who was politically opposed to the more left-wing Premier Lang. De Groot claimed he was protesting that the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Phillip Game, should have opened the Bridge.

19 March 1950 – death of Edgar Rice Burroughs, American science fiction author: Tarzan, Mars series (on which the 2012 movie ‘John Carter‘ was based). Born 1 September 1875.

19 March 1982 – death of Randy Rhoads, American heavy metal guitarist, played with Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot. Rhoads was on tour with Ozzy Osbourne, heading to Orlando, Florida when their bus broke down near an airstrip at Leesburg, Florida. While some of the band continued sleeping in the van, the driver (an ex-commercial pilot) took one of the light planes for joy-rides with some of the band members. He didn’t have permission for the flights. Randy Rhoads and make-up artist, Rachel Youngblood were on the second flight. The pilot thought it would be funny to buzz the tour bus by flying as close as possible to it. On the third pass, the plane’s wing clipped the bus causing the plane to spiral out of control and for Rhoads and Youngblood’s heads to smash through the plane’s windshield. The plane severed the top of a pine tree before crashing into a garage at a nearby mansion. Rhoads, Youngblood and the pilot (Andrew Aycock) died instantly, all burnt beyond recognition. In 1987, Ozzy Osbourne released a live album in memory of Rhoads, called ‘Tribute’, it featured Osbourne and Rhoad’s work together. Rhoads was born on 6 December 1956.

19 March 2003 – The Second Gulf War commences as the U.S. led ‘Coalition of the Willing’ invade Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

18 March 2018

limey

[lahy-mee]

Slang: Usually Disparaging and Offensive.

noun, plural limeys.

1. a British sailor.
2. a British ship.
3. a British person.
adjective
4. British.

Origin of limey

1885-1890 First recorded in 1885-90; See origin at lime-juicer, -y2

Usage note

This term (and the earlier lime-juicer) was probably first applied by Americans to British sailors, used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting. Historically, it also referred to a British immigrant in Australia. Later it became a more neutral nickname for any British person.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for limey

Contemporary Examples

Maybe they needed to do that because Freud himself was hardly a true limey.
Lucian Freud, the Conservative Radical
Blake Gopnik
July 21, 2011

Historical Examples

We are a little mortary and limey at present, but we are getting on capitally.
Reprinted Pieces
Charles Dickens

A plasterer with limey overalls gazed at the wagon intently until it passed by.
Watch Yourself Go By
Al. G. Field

The same facts exist with regard to a loam, a calcareous (or limey) soil, or a vegetable mould.
The Elements of Agriculture
George E. Waring

Anagram

my lie

Today’s quote

Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.

– Isaac Asimov

On this day

18 March 1922 – Mahatma Gandhi sentenced to six years imprisonment by an Indian court for civil disobedience against the British Empire, which included boycotting British made goods. He ended up serving two years.

18 March 1965 – Russian cosmonaut, Lt Col Alexei Leonov becomes the first man to walk in space, when he exits his spacecraft for a short ‘walk’, which included a somersault.

18 March 2017 – Death of Chuck Berry, legendary American musician and pioneer of rock and roll. Famous for songs such as ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ and ‘Johnny B. Goode’. Born 18 October 1926.

17 March 2018

irremediable

[ir-i-mee-dee-uh-buh l]

adjective

1. not admitting of remedy, cure, or repair:
irremediable conduct.

Origin of irremediable

Latin

1540-1550 From the Latin word irremediābilis, dating back to 1540-50. See ir-2, remediable

Related forms

irremediableness, noun
irremediably, adverb

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for irremediable

Historical Examples

Why seek for knowledge, which can prove only that our wretchedness is irremediable ?
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth

And so the altercation in the night went on, over the irremediable.
Chance
Joseph Conrad

He suffered too much under a conviction of irremediable folly.
Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard
Joseph Conrad

Anagram

blearier dime
emailed brier
a berried lime
I relied amber

Today’s quote

To write something you have to risk making a fool of yourself.

– Anne Rice

On this day

17 March – St Patrick’s Day.

17 March 180AD – death of Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor. Born 26 April 121AD.

17 March 1931 – The U.S. state of Nevada legalises gambling, which paves the way for the establishment of Las Vegas as the casino capital of America.

17 March 1966 – a hydrogen bomb is recovered from the floor of the Mediterranean Sea. The bomb had fallen from a U.S. B-52 after it collided with a KC-135 refuelling jet.

16 March 2018

pummel

[puhm-uh l]

verb (used with object), pummeled, pummeling or (especially British) pummelled, pummelling.

1. to beat or thrash with or as if with the fists.

Also, pommel.

Origin of pummel

1540-1550 First recorded in 1540-50; alteration of pommel

Related forms

unpummeled, adjective
unpummelled, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for pummel

Contemporary Examples

Since then, conflict has continued to pummel much of the eastern part of the Congo, but Kisangani has remained relatively calm.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis
Nina Strochlic
November 23, 2014

On Sunday, Iroquois defenders used them to intimidate and pummel Canadians in a second-half surge.
A Millennium After Inventing the Game, the Iroquois Are Lacrosse’s New Superpower
Evin Demirel
July 21, 2014

In an attempt to vanquish the monster, the superheroes step in and pummel him, knocking him to the ground.
The Rise of Superhero Therapy: Comic Books as Psychological Treatment
Alex Suskind
February 17, 2014

Barbie Nadeau on how one botched road could pummel Italy’s economy.
The Mafia-Built Highway That Could Cost Italy $471 Million
Barbie Latza Nadeau
July 7, 2012

A Wiig character invariably has a captive audience—including us—which they pummel with their own anxiety.
Kristen Wiig Blows Up
Bryan Curtis
May 18, 2010

Historical Examples

But to pummel was one thing, and to arouse Mr. Ketch was another.
The Channings
Mrs. Henry Wood

Will you take it back, or shall I pummel the stuffing out of you?
Tabitha’s Vacation
Ruth Alberta Brown

The saddle should have what is called a third pummel, or leaping-horn.
Hints on Horsemanship, to a Nephew and Niece
George Greenwood

Oh, that I could pummel Mr. Learning for writing it up there!
The Crown of Success
Charlotte Maria Tucker

I would strike while the iron is hot; and pummel the dog to some purpose.’
The Punster’s Pocket-book
Charles Molloy Westmacott

Anagram

plum me

Today’s quote

Every writer I know has trouble writing.

– Joseph Heller

On this day

16 March 1988 – Iraqi forces under the direction of Saddam Hussein, kill thousands of Kurds in Northern Iraq by unleashing a cocktail of gases, including mustard gas, sarin and cyanide.

16 March 1998 – Rwanda commences mass trials relating to the 1994 genocide of approximately 1,000,000 Tutsis and Hutus by Interahamwe militia which had been backed by the Rwandan government.

16 March 2003 – 23 year old, American peace activist, Rachel Corrie, is killed when run over by an Israeli bulldozer which she had tried to stop from demolishing a Palestinian house in Gaza.

15 March 2018

pommel

[puhm-uh l, pom-]

noun

1. a knob, as on the hilt of a sword.
2. the protuberant part at the front and top of a saddle.
3. Architecture. a spherical ornament or finial.
4. Gymnastics. either of the two curved handles on the top surface of a side horse.
verb (used with object), pommeled, pommeling or (especially British) pommelled, pommelling.
5. to beat or strike with or as if with the fists or a pommel.
Also, pummel.

Origin of pommel

Middle English, Old FrenchLatin
1300-1350; (noun) Middle English pomel < Middle French, derivative of Old French pom hilt of a sword < Latin pōmum fruit; see pome, -elle

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for pommel

Historical Examples

No maker’s name, but the date 1638 is stamped upon the pommel.
Micah Clarke
Arthur Conan Doyle

He threw a leg over the pommel of his saddle and the three men halted in a group.
Dr. Sevier
George W. Cable

De Spain raised his right hand from his thigh to the pommel of his saddle.
Nan of Music Mountain
Frank H. Spearman

Anagram

elm mop

Today’s quote

Writers are not here to conform. We are here to challenge. We’re not here to be comfortable—we’re here, really, to shake things up. That’s our job.

– Jeanette Winterson

On this day

15 March 44BC – Roman dictator and self-declared Emperor of Rome, Julius Caesar, stabbed to death on the Ides of March by Marcus Junus Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus and other Roman senators. Julius Caesar’s assassination was one of the events that marked the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire.

15 March 270 – birth of St Nikolaos of Myra. Greek bishop of Myra (in what is now Turkey). He would often secretly leave gifts for people. The most famous story of his gift-giving related to a father who couldn’t afford the dowry for his three daughters, which would mean they’d remain unmarried. Legend has it that St Nikolaos secretly threw three bags of gold coins through the window one night so that there would be enough dowry for each. He became the model on which Santa Claus was based. Died 6 December 343.

15 March 1892 – founding of the English football club, Liverpool F.C.

15 March 1916 – President Woodrow Wilson sends thousands of troops into Mexico to capture the Mexican revolutionary, Pancho Villa.

15 March 1985 – the first internet domain name is registered, Symbolics.com.

15 March 1990 – Mikael Gorbachev elected as first president of the Soviet Union and held the office until 25 December 1991. He was the only person to occupy the office. He resigned as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on 24 August 1991 following a coup by hard-line members of the CPSU. During the coup, Gorbachev’s Presidency was briefly usurped from 19 August to 21 August 1991 by the Vice-President, Gennady Yanayev. On 8 December 1991, in a legally questionable move, the Soviet Union was dissolved with the agreement of Boris Yeltsin, Leonid Kravchuk and Stanislav Shushkevich, respective leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, creating the Commonwealth of Independent States (or Russian Commonwealth), whose leaders governed their own states.

14 March 2018

surmise

[verb ser-mahyz; noun ser-mahyz, sur-mahyz]

verb (used with object), surmised, surmising.

1. to think or infer without certain or strong evidence; conjecture; guess.
verb (used without object), surmised, surmising.
2. to conjecture or guess.
noun
3. a matter of conjecture.
4. an idea or thought of something as being possible or likely.
5. a conjecture or opinion.

Origin of surmise
Middle English, Anglo-French, Latin, Middle French

1350-1400; Middle English surmisen < Anglo-French surmis(e), Middle French (past participle of surmettre to accuse; Latin supermittere to throw upon), equivalent to sur- sur-1+ mis (masculine), mise (feminine); Latin missus, missa, equivalent to mit(tere) to send + -tus, -ta past participle suffix

Related forms

surmisable, adjective
surmisedly [ser-mahyzd-lee, -mahy-zid-] (Show IPA), adverb
surmiser, noun
unsurmised, adjective
unsurmising, adjective

Synonyms

1. imagine, suppose, suspect. See guess.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for surmise

Contemporary Examples

He could surmise one item in keeping with young women of Somali heritage.
How ISIS’s Colorado Girls Were Caught
Michael Daly
October 22, 2014

“In retrospect, one could surmise that ISIS has been working towards this point for years now,” he says.
The Terrorist Caliph as Nation Builder in Iraq, Syria, and Beyond
Jamie Dettmer
July 8, 2014

In any event, Sarkozy supporters are correct to surmise that his detention is bad timing for the comeback bid.
France’s Ex-Prez Sarkozy Placed Under Formal Investigation for Corruption
Tracy McNicoll
July 2, 2014

She did, however, choose to surmise that “The nationality of the shooter, it sounds Hispanic, Latino,” based on his name.
The Ug

Anagram

miser us

Today’s quote

Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.

– Gloria Steinem

On this day

14 March – Pi Day – the date being 3/14 and of course, pi being 3.14.

14 March 1883. – death 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. Born 5 May 1818.

14 March 1879 – birth of Albert Einstein, German-born theoretical physicist. He developed the theory of relativity and of course his mass-energy equivalence formula, E=mc2 (energy = mass x speed of light squared). Died 18 April 1955.

14 March 1939 – the independent republic of Czechoslovakia is dissolved, enabling occupation by Nazi forces following the 1938 Munich Act. Czechoslovakia had been created in 1918.

14 March 1983 – Reggae legend, Peter Tosh, plays the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, Australia, as part of the annual Moomba festival.

12 March 2018

asomatous

[ey-soh-muh-tuh s, uh-soh-]

adjective

1.having no material body; incorporeal.

Origin of asomatous

Late Latin, Greek

1725-1735; < Late Latin asōmatus < Greek asṓmatos bodiless, equivalent to a- a-6+ sōmatos, adj. derivative of sôma body; see soma1, -ous

Dictionary.com

Examples

As opposed to something asomatous, a word, my dear boy, I know will have immediately leapt into your brain, meaning, as you doubtlessly know, without bodily form.
Leon Rooke, Swinging Through Dixie, 2016

In fact, He dispatched His mercy to me through an Angel (capital “A”.) But this was not an asomatous creature … No. She is a person like us, a regular human being …
Apostolos Doxiadis, Three Little Pigs, 2015

Anagram

a atom sous
Samoa to us

Today’s quote

There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.

– W. Somerset Maugham

On this day

12 March 1922 – birth of Jack Kerouac, American beat-generation writer, ‘On the road‘. Died 21 October 1969.

12 March 1922 – Mahatma Gandhi arrested for promoting boycotts and civil unrest. He had campaigned for passive resistance to the British Empire and encouraged followers to not buy anything made in Britain or Europe.

12 March 1930 – Mahatma Gandhi, 61 years old, leads a peaceful protest against the ‘salt tax’ which the British Empire had introduced. He and his followers marched more than 320 km to the salt mines in Jalalpur.

12 March 1945 – death of Anne Frank, author of the ‘Diary of Anne Frank’, from typhus. She was born on 12 June 1929.

11 March 2018

bosh(1)

[bosh]

noun

1. absurd or foolish talk; nonsense.

Origin of bosh(1)

Turkish

1830-1835; < Turkish boş empty; popularized from its use in the novel Ayesha (1834) by British author James J. Morier (1780-1849)

bosh(2)

[bosh]

noun, Metallurgy.

1. the section of a blast furnace between the hearth and the stack, having the form of a frustum of an inverted cone.

Origin

1670-80; probably < German; akin to German böschen to slope, Böschung slope, scarp

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for bosh

Contemporary Examples

“Somebody had to break the ice,” bosh, whose own sexuality has been questioned in recent years, says.
Miami’s Chris Bosh Goes High Fashion
Justin Jones
August 13, 2014

And just as the NBA and WNBA continue to develop as open-minded sports leagues, bosh plans to develop even further as a designer.
Miami’s Chris Bosh Goes High Fashion
Justin Jones
August 13, 2014

But in New York this week, bosh said he had to take a step back from basketball and simply take in his surroundings.
Chris Bosh On the NBA Star-Studded New York City Fundraiser for Obama
Allison Samuels
August 24, 2012

But the tasty meal of steak, lobster, and shrimp was only the beginning of a night to remember for bosh and company.
Chris Bosh On the NBA Star-Studded New York City Fundraiser for Obama
Allison Samuels
August 24, 2012

But after few rounds of simply making baskets, the game turned a tad more serious, bosh says.
Chris Bosh On the NBA Star-Studded New York City Fundraiser for Obama
Allison Samuels
August 24, 2012

Historical Examples

What a lot of bosh is talked about lovers,” his comment ran.
Dust
Mr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius

This stupendous mass of bosh could not have been produced unless there were a demand for it.
The Curse of Education
Harold E. Gorst

That talk about me trying to get you out of Illington, Blaine, is all bosh, and you know it.
The Crevice
William John Burns and Isabel Ostrander

How even such a banquet of bosh was got ready in the time remained a riddle.
The Innocence of Father Brown
G. K. Chesterton

If my reader finds this bosh and abracadabra, all right for him.
Fantasia of the Unconscious
D. H. Lawrence

Today’s quote

A well-written life is almost as rare as a well-spent one.

– Thomas Carlyle

On this day

11 March 1845 – death of Johnny Appleseed, American environmentalist. The exact date of Appleseed’s death is in dispute, with some sources claiming 18 March 1845 and others as ‘Summer 1845’. 11 March is celebrated in the USA as ‘Johnny Appleseed Day’. He was born as John Chapman and was a nurseryman who introduced significant numbers of apple trees to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and Illinois. His legend grew while he was still alive because of his generous nature, care for animals and the environment, and respect he had for the American Indian tribes who believed he’d been touched by the ‘Great Spirit’ because of his love and admiration for them and the gospel message he preached. Born 26 September 1774.

11 March 1952 – birth of Douglas Adams, British author most famous for his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, a comical science fiction trilogy in five parts. Also wrote Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul and co-wrote, The Meaning of Liff, The Deeper Meaning of Liff and Last Chance to See. Adams also wrote three episodes of Dr Who. Adams campaigned for conservation and the environment. Died 11 May 2001.

11 March 2003 – The United States renames the humble ‘french fries’ to ‘freedom fries’ in response to the French President, Jacques Chirac, condemning the U.S. actions in Iraq.

11 March 2004 – Madrid bombings in which 191 people are killed and 1800 injured. Basque Separatists were blamed for the bombing, although did not claim responsibility. Al Qaeda-linked terrorists were also suspected of the attacks as they occurred exactly 911 days after the 9/11 attacks in the USA. In 2007, 28 suspected terrorists with links to Al Qaeda were charged. On 31 October 2007, the Spanish National Court found 21 of the defendants guilty on charges ranging from forgery to murder. Most were sentenced to 23 years or less, however, three of the accused were sentenced to 42,924 years in prison.

11 March 2007 – an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter Scale strikes off the coast of Japan, triggering a tsunami that kills thousands of people and causes the Fukushima nuclear disaster, in which three of the six nuclear reactors melted down, releasing significant amounts of radiation. It was the world’s second largest nuclear disaster, surpassed only by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.