9 October 2018

en brosse

[ahn braws]

1. (of hair) cut to stand straight in an even row on top, often as a crew cut.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for en brosse

Historical Examples

Though his jet-black hair was en brosse, I did not think he was French.
Seven Men
Max Beerbohm

Anagram

be snores

Today’s quote

Both now and for always, I intend to hold fast to my belief in the hidden strength of the human spirit.

– Andrei Sakharov

On this day

9 October 1940 – birth of John Lennon. English guitarist and singer-songwriter for the Beatles. Murdered 8 December 1980.

9 October 1967 – death of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, Argentinian Marxist revolutionary, physician, author. Executed in Bolivia. Born 14 June 1928.

9 October 1969 – birth of P.J. Harvey, English musician.

9 October 1973 – death of Sister Rosetta Tharpe (born Rosetta Nubin), gospel singer and the God Mother and inventor of rock and roll. In 1938 she released a hit record called ‘Rock Me’, which fused gospel and what would later became known as rock and roll. She became a sensation, playing sell-out concerts to audiences cheering on as she howled and stamped her way through tunes on her driving electric guitar and singing about faith, love and sexuality. Audiences of the 1930s and 40s, had never seen an act like Sister Rosetta, a gay, black woman punching out energetic songs that fused blues, jazz and gospel. In 1947, she brought to the stage a 14 year old boy named Richard Pennimen. He immediately decided he wanted a career as a musician. Ten years later he was releasing hits under the name, Little Richard. Pioneer rock musicians were inspired by Sister Rosetta, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. From 1957 and through the 1960s, Tharpe toured Europe and Britain. Born 20 March 1915.

9 October 1975 – Andrei Sakharov, Soviet dissident, wins Nobel Peace Prize.

7 October 2018

abraxas

[uh-brak-suh s]

noun

1. a word of unknown significance found on charms, especially amulets, of the late Greco-Roman world and linked with both Gnostic beliefs and magical practices by the early church fathers.

Origin of abraxas

Greek From the Greek word abráxas, abrasáx, of obscure origin; the combined numerical value of the Gk letters is 365, an important figure in numerology

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for abraxas

Historical Examples

In this connexion the name abraxas and the abraxas gems must be remembered.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3
Various

abraxas -stones were so called from having the word abraxas or Abrasax engraved on them.
Finger-Ring Lore
William Jones

abraxas stones, stones with cabalistic figures on them used as talismans.
The Nuttall Encyclopaedia
Edited by Rev. James Wood

Anagram

Arab sax
bars a ax

Today’s quote

As long as the general population is passive, apathetic, diverted to consumerism or hatred of the vulnerable, then the powerful can do as they please, and those who survive will be left to contemplate the outcome.

– Noam Chomsky

On this day

7 October 1849 – death of Edgar Allan Poe, American poet and novelist, The Raven. Born 19 January 1809.

7 October 1913 – Henry Ford implements the moving assembly line … changing the face of manufacturing forever.

7 October 1931 – birth of Desmond Tutu, Anglican Archbishop of South Africa. Won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

7 October 2001 – United States invades Afghanistan as they hunt for Osama Bin Laden and to take down the Taliban government for allowing him to live there. It was nearly 10 years later, in 2011, that US Special Forces captured and killed Bin Laden in Pakistan.

6 October 2018

psychopomp

[sahy-koh-pomp]

noun

1. a person who conducts spirits or souls to the other world, as Hermes or Charon.

Origin of psychopomp

Greek

1860-1865 First recorded in 1860-65, psychopomp is from the Greek word psȳchopompós conductor of souls. See psycho-, pomp

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for psychopomp

Historical Examples

Hermes himself, the psychopomp, shall lead, and Malahide shall welcome us.
Day and Night Stories
Algernon Blackwood

The rle of general conductor of souls to the realms of the underworld, however, came to be given to Hermes, the psychopomp.
Elements of Folk Psychology
Wilhelm Wundt

As the souls of the departed are symbolized as rats, so is the psychopomp himself often figured as a dog.
Myths and Myth-Makers
John Fiske

Word Origin and History for psychopomp

n.

1835, from Greek psykhopompos “spirit-guide,” a term applied to Charon, Hermes Trismegistos, Apollo; from psykhe (see psyche ) + pompos “guide, conductor.”

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Anagram

chop mop spy

Today’s quote

You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say.

– F. Scott Fitzgerald

On this day

6 October 1961 – President John F. Kennedy advises Americans to build fall-out shelters, as Cold War paranoia continues to grow.

6 October 1966 – LSD, a synthetic hallucinogenic drug, is declared illegal in the United States.

6 October 1978 – death of Johnny O’Keefe, Australian rock and roll legend. Known as J.O.K. or ‘The Wild One’. Born 19 January 1935.

4 October 2018

baud

[bawd]

noun, Telecommunications.

1. a unit used to measure the speed of signaling or data transfer, equal to the number of pulses or bits per second:
baud rate.

Origin of baud

1925-1930; named after J. M. E. Baudot (1845-1903), French inventor

Can be confused

baud, bawd.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for baud

Historical Examples

I didna gae slapdash to them wi’ our young bra’ bridegroom, to gar them baud up the market.
Waverley, Or ‘Tis Sixty Years Hence, Complete
Sir Walter Scott

I am sure I am no to baud out for ever against this sort of going on; but when folk’s missed, then they are moaned.’
Guy Mannering, or The Astrologer, Complete, Illustrated
Sir Walter Scott

” baud mens, sahib,” said Tippoo, clutching his forehead with one hand and bowing forward.
Motor Matt’s Clue
Stanley R. Matthews

Anagram

A bud
daub
A dub

Today’s quote

You know why we’re stuck with the myth that only black people have soul? Because white people don’t let themselves feel things.

– Janis Joplin

On this day

4 October 1669 – death of Rembrandt, famous Dutch painter. Born 15 July 1606.

4 October 1927 – commencement of Mt Rushmore sculptures near Keystone, South Dakota. It is a sculpture carved into the granite face of the mountain. The sculpture features the faces of four U.S. presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Construction finished on 31 October 1941 because funding ran out. It was the brainchild of Doane Robinson. The carvings are 18m (60′) high and were carved by Gutzon Borglum and a team of 400 workers.

4 October 1931 – The comic strip, Dick Tracy, makes its debut in the Detroit Mirror and is distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News syndicate. The cartoon was created by Chester Gould who continued to draw it until 1977.

4 October 1970 – death of Janis Joplin. American singer-songwriter. She was 27. Born 19 January 1943.

2 October 2018

Lothario

[loh-thair-ee-oh]

noun, plural Lotharios.

1. (sometimes lowercase) a man who obsessively seduces and deceives women.

Origin of Lothario

after the young seducer in Nicholas Rowe’s play The Fair Penitent (1703)

Synonyms

Don Juan, Romeo, Casanova.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for Lothario

Contemporary Examples

Later, his turn as a Lothario in the box office hit Crazy Stupid Love made him even more swoon-worthy.
Rob Lowe: Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful
Tricia Romano
April 8, 2014

We have a fantasy that Don Draper is a Lothario who can go out and get any woman that he wants.
Mad Men’s Slap-Happy Return
Jace Lacob
July 25, 2010

Historical Examples

Despite its many beauties, it was even less successful than Lothario.
Handel
Edward J. Dent

Anagram

hail or it

Today’s quote

How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!

– Samuel Adams

On this day

2 October 1803 – death of Samuel Adams, American revolutionary and founding father. Born 27 September 1722.

2 October 1869 – birth of Mohandas Gandhi. Leader the campaign for Indian independence from British rule through non-violent disobedience. Assassinated 30 January 1948 by a Hindu nationalist opposed to the partitioning of India, who believed Gandhi was favouring the creation of the Muslim state of Pakistan.

2 October – International Day of Non-violence. This day was chosen because it is the anniversary of Mohandas Gandhi’s birth.