26 December 2013
poke
[pohk]
verb (used with object), poked, pok·ing.
1. to prod or push, especially with something narrow or pointed, as a finger, elbow, stick, etc.: to poke someone in the ribs.
2. to make (a hole, one’s way, etc.) by or as by prodding or pushing.
3. to thrust or push: She poked her head out of the window.
4. to force, drive, or stir by or as by pushing or thrusting: He poked the fire up.
5. to thrust obtrusively: The prosecutor kept poking his finger at the defendant.
verb (used without object), poked, pok·ing.
6. to make a pushing or thrusting movement with the finger, a stick, etc.
7. to extend or project (often followed by out ): His handkerchief is poking out of his back pocket.
8. to thrust oneself obtrusively: to poke into something that is not one’s affair.
9. to search curiously; pry (often followed by around or about ).
10. to go or proceed in a slow or aimless way (often followed by along ).
noun
11. a thrust or push.
12. Informal. a slow or dawdling person; slowpoke.
13. a bag or sack (from early 13th century).
Idioms
14. poke fun at, to ridicule or mock, especially covertly or slyly: In her novel, she pokes fun at her ex-husband.
15. poke one’s nose into, Informal. to meddle in; pry into: We felt as if half the people in town were poking their noses into our lives.
16. pig in a poke. Referring to something that conceals the true value of the thing being purchased (usually lesser value than expected, e.g. ‘The used-car salesman was selling a pig in a poke’). A confidence trick. Originated in the Middle Ages when meat was scarce. Buyers would buy a suckling pig, which was often in a bag (poke). The poke would sometimes contain a dog or cat (which were not scarce and not considered a valued source of meat). This idiom is also linked to ‘let the cat out of the bag’, referring to letting someone in on a secret, in this case, letting them know the bag contained a worthless cat instead of a valuable pig.
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English < Middle Dutch, Middle Low German poken to thrust. See poach
Related forms
pok·a·ble, adjective
Today’s aphorism
The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic
His giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.
― St. Nikolaos of Myra (The original St Nicholas from whom Santa Claus originates). St Nikolaos was a Greek Bishop, living 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.
On this day
26 December 1991 – formal dissolution of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) when the Supreme Soviet dissolved itself following the Alma-Ata Protocol of 21 December 1991 and the resignation of President Gorbachev on 25 December 1991.
26 December 2004 – the Boxing Day tsunami originates in Indonesia and spreads across the Indian Ocean killing 230,000 people in 14 countries. It was triggered by a massive earthquake which registered a magnitude of between 9.1 and 9.3 and caused the entire planet to vibrate by up to 1cm and caused earthquakes as far away as Alaska.