22 March 2015

cretin

[kreet-n or, esp. British, kret-n]

noun
1. a person suffering from cretinism.
2. a stupid, obtuse, or mentally defective person.

Origin
French, Franco-Provençal
1770-1780; < French; Franco-Provençal creitin, crestin human being, literally, Christian (hence one who is human despite deformities)

Related forms
cretinoid, adjective
cretinous, adjective
semicretin, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for cretin
– The people who should be horse-whipped are those who keep bending over backwards to give this cretin a platform.
– Nothing out of ordinary, which means that you are a well, you are a cretin by your own definition.
– What a arrogant worthless spew of vile ignorant claptrap this cretin has come up with.

Today’s aphorism

It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.

– Confucius

On this day

22 March – World Water Day. Established by the UN in 1993 to encourage nations to implement UN initiatives and promote wise use of water resources. People are encouraged to not use their taps all day.

22 March 1418 – death (?) of Nicholas Flamel, French alchemist who purportedly made it his life’s work to decode a mysterious book, known as Book of Abramelin the Mage. Some believe he decoded the recipe for the Philosopher’s Stone, which could turn base metals into silver and gold, and that he also had the ‘elixir of life’ which reputedly made him and his wife immortal. It’s been claimed that he was seen at least 3 times after his death, which led to rumour that he had produced the elixir of life. He has been immortalised in numerous books and movies, including ‘Harry Potter‘ by J.K. Rowling, and the ‘Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel‘ series by Michael Scott. Born 28 September 1330.

22 March 1829 – Following the Greek War of Independence, the London Protocol (1829) is signed by Great Britain, Russia and France, establishing the borders of an internally autonomous Greece, although it remained under Ottoman Empire suzerainty. The Ottoman Empire was forced to accept the London Protocol following the Treaty of Adrianople. Greece achieved full independence from the Ottoman Empire with the signing of the London Protocol (1830) of 3 February 1830.

22 March 1916 – The last Emperor of China, Yuan Shikai, abdicates the throne and the Republic of China is restored.

22 March 1963 – the Beatles’ first album, Please, Please Me, is released in the UK.