26 November 2014

dross

[draws, dros]

noun
1. waste matter; refuse.
2. Metallurgy. a waste product taken off molten metal during smelting, essentially metallic in character.
3. British. coal of little value.

Origin

Middle English, Old English
1050 before 1050; Middle English dros (se), Old English drōs; cognate with Middle Dutch droes dregs; compare Middle English drōsen, Old English drōsna; cognate with Middle High German truosen husks

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for dross
– The dross has been burned away and what remains is the essential character.
– Compared to the dancing silhouettes, this is pure dross.
– Nowhere is it written that anyone can turn water to wine, dross to gold or frogs into princes by following a step-by-step guide.

Today’s aphorism

Happiness exists on earth, and it is won through prudent exercise of reason, knowledge of the harmony of the universe, and constant practice of generosity.

– Jose Marti

On this day

26 November 1922 – British archaeologist Howard Carter and Lord Carnavon enter the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen which Carter had discovered a few days earlier. Legend held that the tomb was protected by the ‘Mummy’s Curse’. Within 7 months of entering the tomb, both Carter and Carnavon were dead.

26 November 1942 – world premiere of iconic film ‘Casablanca’, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. The movie was nominated for 8 Oscars, winning 3 of them.

26 November 1992 – The Queen begins paying income tax and the number of royals receiving tax-payers funds is reduced to the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen Mother.