27 June 2019

flume

[ floom ]

noun

a deep narrow defile containing a mountain stream or torrent.
an artificial channel or trough for conducting water, as one used to transport logs or provide water power.
an amusement park ride in which passengers are carried in a boatlike or loglike conveyance through a narrow, water-filled chute or over a water slide.

verb (used with object), flumed, flum·ing.

to transport in a flume.
to divert (a stream) by a flume.

RELATED WORDS

sluice, conduit, run, channel, spillway

ORIGIN OF FLUME

1125–75; Middle English flum; Old French ≪ Latin flūmen stream
DICTIONARY.COM UNABRIDGED
BASED ON THE RANDOM HOUSE UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY, © RANDOM HOUSE, INC. 2019

EXAMPLES FROM THE WEB FOR FLUME

Gradually climbing upward, we come to a tract of land that is watered by the Flume.
A TRUTHFUL WOMAN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA|KATE SANBORN

“I know very little about the man, but I never saw more thorough work than he has put in on the flume,” he said.
A DAMAGED REPUTATION|HAROLD BINDLOSS

The water was brought in a ditch or flume to the top of a high bank, and then terminated in a tight box.
DEATH VALLEY IN ’49|WILLIAM LEWIS MANLY

There being no stint of timber, we could afford to make our flume immensely strong—and we did.
THE TRAIL OF THE BADGER|SIDFORD F. HAMP

Today’s quote

Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts.

– E. B. White

On this day

27 June 1880 – birth of Helen Keller, inspirational American author, lecturer and political activist. First deaf-blind person to achieve a Bachelor of Arts degree. Died 1 June 1968.

27 June 1957 – The British Medical Research Council proves a direct link between smoking and lung cancer.

26 June 2019

ululate

[ uhl-yuh-leyt, yool- ]

verb (used without object), ul·u·lat·ed, ul·u·lat·ing.

to howl, as a dog or a wolf; hoot, as an owl.
to utter howling sounds, as in shrill, wordless lamentation; wail.
to lament loudly and shrilly.

ORIGIN OF ULULATE

1615–25; Latin ululātus, past participle of ululāre to howl, shriek, of imitative orig.; see -ate1

RELATED FORMS
ul·u·la·tion, noun

Today’s quote

You’re not a baby boomer if you don’t have a visceral recollection of a Kennedy and a King assassination, a Beatles breakup, a U.S. defeat in Vietnam, and a Watergate.

– P. J. O’Rourke

On this day

26 June – International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

26 June 1945 – 50 nations ratify the United Nations Charter in an effort to prevent another world war. The United Nations was formally established on 24 October 1945, replacing the League of Nations.

25 June 2019

flabbergast

[ flab-er-gast ]

verb (used with object)

to overcome with surprise and bewilderment; astound.

ORIGIN OF FLABBERGAST

1765–75; variant of flabagast (perhaps flabb(y) + aghast)

SYNONYMS FOR FLABBERGAST

amaze, astonish, stagger, nonplus, confound; perplex, confuse, mystify.

RELATED FORMS

flab·ber·gast·er, noun

DICTIONARY.COM UNABRIDGED
BASED ON THE RANDOM HOUSE UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY, © RANDOM HOUSE, INC. 2019

EXAMPLES FROM THE WEB FOR FLABBERGAST

But there had been no need, and Stockdale was too shrewd a man to “barge in” and flabbergast his youthful Sub.
A SUB AND A SUBMARINE|PERCY F. WESTERMAN

And nothing has happened to astound or flabbergast him, to send him sprawling with Cheyne-Stokes breathing.
EUROPE AFTER 8:15|H. L. MENCKEN, GEORGE JEAN NATHAN AND WILLARD HUNTINGTON WRIGHT

Today’s quote

The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history.

– George Orwell

On this day

25 June 1903 – birth of George Orwell (born Eric Arthur Blair), Democratic Socialist and English author of works such as ‘Nineteen-Eighty Four‘, ‘Animal Farm‘, and ‘Homage to Catalonia‘. Died 21 January 1950.

25 June 1947 – The Diary of a Young Girl (better known as The Diary of Anne Frank) is first published.

25 June 1978 – the Rainbow Flag, symbol of gay pride, is flown for the first time in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.

24 June 2019

corrugate

[ verb kawr-uh-geyt, kor-; adjective kawr-uh-git, -geyt, kor- ]

verb (used with object), cor·ru·gat·ed, cor·ru·gat·ing.

to draw or bend into folds or alternate furrows and ridges.
to wrinkle, as the skin or face.
Western U.S. to make irrigation ditches in (a field).

verb (used without object), cor·ru·gat·ed, cor·ru·gat·ing.

to become corrugated; undergo corrugation.

adjective

corrugated; wrinkled; furrowed.

ORIGIN OF CORRUGATE

1375–1425; late Middle English; Latin corrūgātus past participle of corrūgāre, equivalent to cor- cor- + rūg(āre) to wrinkle + -ātus -ate1

RELATED FORMS

cor·ru·gat·ed, adjective
cor·ru·ga·tor, noun
un·cor·ru·gat·ed, adjective

EXAMPLES FROM THE WEB FOR CORRUGATE

However, “broad-browed Verulam,” let not that brow’s breadth cloud or corrugate in vexation at my persiflage.
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI, VOLUME 93, DECEMBER 31, 1887|VARIOUS

Yet we had watched his smooth brow furrow and corrugate as under some carking care or devouring sorrow.
MOON-FACE AND OTHER STORIES|JACK LONDON

Flutes, 72 four inches deep, corrugate the beast’s underpart from tail to neck.
SEVEN LEGS ACROSS THE SEAS|SAMUEL MURRAY

Today’s quote

Labour was the first price, the original purchase – money that was paid for all things. It was not by gold or by silver, but by labour, that all wealth of the world was originally purchased.

– Adam Smith

On this day

24 June 1950 – The Korean War begins as North Korean forces invade South Korea in response to the dividing of the Korean Peninsula by Allied forces after World War II. The US sends troops as part of the UN response to repel North Korea. In 1953 a demilitarised zone is established between North and South Korea. Although conflict ended in 1953 following a truce, both sides have remained on military alert ever since. Political posturing and a number of border clashes in the years since 1953 have brought the peninsula to the brink of war on numerous occasions.

24 June 1997 – the United States Air Force releases a report into the so-called ‘Roswell Incident’ in which there had been claims that an alien craft had crashed near Roswell, New Mexico, and the body of an alien was retrieved by the Air Force. The USAF report claimed that the bodies witnesses had seen were actually life-sized dummies.

24 June 2010 – Julia Gillard is appointed Australia’s first female prime minister after replacing Kevin Rudd in a leadership spill. On 26 June 2013, following ongoing ructions in the Labor Party, Gillard called another leadership ballot which was won by Kevin Rudd. Julia Gillard tendered her resignation, which took effect the following day when Rudd was sworn in as prime minister.

23 June 2019

calcareous

[ kal-kair-ee-uh s ]

adjective

of, containing, or like calcium carbonate; chalky:
calcareous earth.

Example

‘He had to move back,’ Yossarian argued in a vain effort to cheer up the glum, barrel-chested Indian, whose well-knit sorrel-red face had degenerated rapidly into a dilapidated, calcareous gray.
Catch-22
Joseph Heller

Today’s quote

We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.

– Alan Turing

On this day

23 June – International Widows’ Day – a UN ratified day to address the ‘poverty and injustice faced by millions of widows and their dependents in many countries’.

23 June 1912 – birth 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.

23 June 2000 – 15 backpackers perish in a fire at the Palace Backpackers Hostel, in Childers, Queensland, Australia.

22 June 2019

sorrel(1)

[ sawr-uh l, sor- ]

noun

light reddish-brown.
a horse of this color, often with a light-colored mane and tail.

sorrel(2)

adjective

of the color sorrel.

Example

‘He had to move back,’ Yossarian argued in a vain effort to cheer up the glum, barrel-chested Indian, whose well-knit sorrel-red face had degenerated rapidly into a dilapidated, calcareous gray.
Catch-22
Joseph Heller

Today’s quote

Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily.

– William of Ockham

On this day

22 June 1938 – death of C.J. Dennis, Australian poet (Songs of a Sentimental Bloke). Born 7 September 1876. Note, that C.J. Dennis foretold email by about 90 years with his reference to ‘ethergrams thro’ space’ which appears in ‘The Stoush of Day‘, in ‘The Sentimental Bloke‘.

22 June 1986 – the controversial ‘hand of God’ incident in the FIFA World Cup match between Argentina and England, when Diego Maradona scored a goal that came off his hand. The referee didn’t see the hand infringement and awarded the goal. Four minutes after the ‘hand of God’ goal, Maradona scored the ‘goal of the century’, which is claimed to be the greatest individual goal of all time, which he scored after playing the ball for 60 metres within 10 seconds, through four English defenders to slot the goal. Argentina won the match 2-1 and went on to win the World Cup.

21 June 2019

dilapidate

[ dih-lap-i-deyt ]

verb (used with object), di·lap·i·dat·ed, di·lap·i·dat·ing.

to cause or allow (a building, automobile, etc.) to fall into a state of disrepair, as by misuse or neglect (often used passively):
The house had been dilapidated by neglect.
Archaic. to squander; waste.

verb (used without object), di·lap·i·dat·ed, di·lap·i·dat·ing.

to fall into ruin or decay.

ORIGIN OF DILAPIDATE

1560–70; Medieval Latin dīlapidātus, past participle of dīlapidāre to squander (compare dīlapidātiō disrepair), Latin: to pelt with stones; see di-2, lapidate

Today’s quote

Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.

– Bertrand Russell

On this day

21 June 1940 – death of Smedley Butler, U.S. Marine Corp Major-General. He received 19 medals, five of which were for bravery. He twice received the Medal of Honor. Butler was, at the time of his death, the most decorated Marine in history. Nonetheless, he was an outspoken critic of war and military actions. He wrote a book called ‘War is a Racket’, which exposed the links between the military and industry, in which he stated that business interests directly benefit from warfare. Butler wrote a summary of the book, which stated: ‘War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small ‘inside’ group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes‘. He was born on 30 July 1881.

21 June 1953 – birth of Benazir Bhutto, elected Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988, becoming the first female leader of a Muslim country. She also became the first national leader to give birth while in office. She was dismissed as Prime Minister in 1996 amid accusations of corruption. She went into exile, living in the United Arab Emirates. In 2007, against the orders of President Musharraf, she returned to Pakistan to contest the 2008 election. She was assassinated at a rally on 27 December 2007.

21 June 1964 – Three civil rights activists (James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner) disappear in Mississippi while investigating an allegation that the Ku Klux Klan had burned down an African-American church. Their bodies were discovered six weeks later. In 1966, seven Ku Klux Klan members were found guilty of the murders, while eight others were found not guilty, including Edgar Ray ‘Preacher’ Killen who was retried in 2005 and found guilty.

21 June 2001 – death of John Lee Hooker, American blues guitarist. Born 22 August 1917.

21 June 2005 – Edgar Ray ‘Preacher’ Killen, former Ku Klux Klansman, is found guilty of manslaughter for his part in the 1964 killing of three civil rights activists and sentenced to 60 years imprisonment.

21 June 2018 – Jacinda Adern gives birth to a girl while serving as Prime Minister of New Zealand, becoming the second woman to give birth while serving as a national leader. The first woman to do so, was Benazir Bhutto in 1990, while serving as Prime Minister of Pakistan.

20 June 2019

bedraggle

[ bih-drag-uh l ]

verb (used with object), be·drag·gled, be·drag·gling.

to make limp and soiled, as with rain or dirt.

Example

The chaplain was moved almost to tears by the harassed, bedraggled picture the captain presented, and he filled with deference and compassion at the thought of the many severe rigors the poor man had to endure daily.
Catch-22
Joseph Heller

Today’s quote

Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.

– Bertrand Russell

On this day

20 June – World Refugee Day – to raise awareness of the plight of refugees across the globe. Refugee Week is held Sunday to Saturday of the week that includes 20 June.

20 June 1864 – birth of Worm Pander, sculptor. Died 6 September 1919 … … no relation to this site’s Panda Man …

20 June 1909 birth of Errol Flynn, Australian-born American actor. Died 14 October 1959.

20 June 1966 – The Beatles release their ‘Yesterday and Today’ album with the controversial ‘butcher cover’. The Beatles appeared on the cover wearing white smocks and covered with decapitated baby dolls and pieces of meat. Some people took offense to this and the cover was withdrawn and replaced with something a little more savoury.

20 June 2001 – General Pervez Musharraf establishes himself as both President and Chief Executive of Pakistan. He had come to power as Chief Executive following a coup d’état in 1999.

19 June 2019

jamais vu

being unfamiliar with something that is actually familiar

He knew, for example, that it was called paramnesia, and he was interested as well in such corollary optical phenomena as *jamais vu*, never seen, and *presque vu*, almost seen

Today’s quote

A lie which is half a truth is ever the blackest of lies.

– Alfred Lord Tennyson

On this day

19 June 1623 – birth of Blaise Pascal, controversial French mathematician, physicist, inventor and writer. Formulated ‘Pascal’s Triangle’, a tabular presentation for binomial coefficients, challenged Aristotle’s followers who claimed that ‘nature abhors a vacuum’. The computer programming language, ‘Pascal’, is named in his honour. Died 19 August 1662.

19 June 1861 – Birth of Jose Rizal in Calamba, Laguna, Philippines. Filipino national hero. Rizal was an ophthalmologist by profession. He campaigned for reforms of the Spanish rule of the Philippines, writing numerous works critical of the Spanish government, which helped inspire the Philippine revolution. Following this Rizal was excecuted in Manila by the Spanish colonial government on 30 December 1896.

19 June 1945 – birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese politician, activist and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient.

19 June 1978 – The original Grumpy Cat, Garfield, first appears in newspaper comic strips in the USA.

18 June 2019

denudate

[ verb den-yoo-deyt, dih-noo-deyt, -nyoo-; adjective dih-noo-deyt, -nyoo-, den-yoo-deyt ]

verb (used with object), den·u·dat·ed, den·u·dat·ing.

to make bare; strip; denude.

adjective

denuded; bare.

ORIGIN OF DENUDATE

1620–30; Latin dēnūdātus, past participle of dēnūdāre to denude; see -ate1

Example

Yossarian’s perceptions were soon so fuzzy that he paid no notice to the beige turban the fat one crowding into him kept wearing until late the next morning when the scheming ten-year-old pimp with the Cuban panatella snatched it off in public in a bestial caprice that exposed in the brilliant Sicilian daylight her shocking, misshapen and denudate skull.
Catch-22
Joseph Heller

Today’s quote

If we’d know we were going to be the Beatles, we’d have tried harder.

– George Harrison

On this day

18 June 1942 – birth of Paul McCartney, member of The Beatles and his writing partnership with John Lennon made them one of the world’s most successful song-writing duos. After the break-up of the Beatles, McCartney went on to have a successful solo career. He was knighted in 1997.