3 December 2012

fainaigue

[fuh-NEYG]

verb:

1. To shirk; evade work or responsibility.
2. To renege at cards.

Examples:

I finally fainaigue a tin plate out of the mess department, for which I am required to give two lire.
— Harry Partch, Thomas McGeary, Bitter Music: Collected Journals, Essays, Introductions, and Librettos

I’ve a two-year stretch up here, unless I quit or fainaigue a transfer.
— “Astounding Science fiction, Volume 31, issue 21943”

Fainaigue stems from British dialect, but its exact origins are unclear. Whether or not it has a relationship to finagle is a source of debate.

Today’s aphorism

‘Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe’.

– Frank Zappa

On this day

3 December – International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

3 December 1944 – Civil war breaks out in Greece following its liberation during World War II, when communist rebels fight democratic forces for control.

3 December 1948 – birth of Ozzy Osbourne, legendary British rocker, former lead singer of Black Sabbath, who has also had a successful solo career. He was born as John Michael Osbourne.

3 December 1984 – Bhopal Union Carbide accident in India in which thousands of people die from toxic gases that leaked from the factory when safety systems failed.

3 December 1993 – death of Frank Zappa, American revolutionary musician. Born 21 December 1940.