30 November 2013

deleterious

[del-i-teer-ee-uhs]

1. injurious to health: deleterious gases.
2. harmful; injurious: deleterious influences.

Origin:

1635–45; < Greek dēlētḗrios destructive, adj. derivative of dēlētḗr destroyer, equivalent to dēlē- variant stem of dēleîsthai to hurt, injure + -tēr agent suffix + -ios adj. suffix; see -ious

Related forms
del·e·te·ri·ous·ly, adverb
del·e·te·ri·ous·ness, noun
non·del·e·te·ri·ous, adjective
non·del·e·te·ri·ous·ly, adverb
non·del·e·te·ri·ous·ness, noun

Synonyms
2. pernicious, hurtful, destructive; noxious.

Antonyms
2. beneficial.

Today’s aphorism

When I was a child
I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye.
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown,
The dream is gone.
I have become comfortably numb.

– Roger Waters, David Gilmour: from the song ‘Comfortably Numb’, on Pink Floyd’s The Wall.

On this day

30 November 1835 – birth of Mark Twain, U.S. novellist, author of ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ and ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’. Died 21 April 1910.

30 November 1874 – birth of U.K. Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. Died 24 January 1965.

30 November 1936 – Crystal Palace in Britain is destroyed by fire. The Crystal Palace had been constructed for the Great Exhibition in 1851 and featured the first public toilets in England. During the Exhibition, visitors were able to pay 1 penny to use the conveniences. It was from this that the term ‘spend a penny’ came into use as a euphemism for visiting the loo.

30 November 1950 – U.S. President Harry S. Truman announces that he is willing to use atomic bombs to bring peace to Korea.

30 November 1979 – Pink Floyd releases their cult album ‘The Wall’, which was later made into a movie and one of the greatest stage-shows of all time. The songs were written by Rogers Waters and Dave Gilmour. Roger Waters performed ‘The Wall’ stage-show with other celebrities on 21 July 1990 in Berlin, to celebrate the tearing down of the Berlin Wall.

30 November 2007 – death of U.S. daredevil, Evel Knievel from breathing difficulties. Knievel was best known for his failed attempt to jump over the Grand Canyon on a rocket-propelled motor-bike. He also successfully, and often unsuccessfully, attempted long distance motor-bike jumps, such as jumping 14 buses. Through his career, Knievel broke 35 bones. Born on 17 October 1938 as Robert Craig Knievel.