30 April 2018

billet-doux

[bil-ey-doo, bil-ee-; French bee-yey-doo]

noun, plural billets-doux [bil-ey-dooz, bil-ee-; French bee-yey-doo] (Show IPA)

1. a love letter.

Origin of billet-doux

1665-1675; < French: literally, sweet note. See billet1, douce

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for billet-doux

Historical Examples

He summoned me into his study, where I saw my billet-doux lying on the table.
Tom, Dick and Harry
Talbot Baines Reed

A papal excommunication is a billet-doux compared to the Commination of Jugana.
The Lock And Key Library
Various

Excuse me, Mr. Coates, I must have a peep at her ladyship’s billet-doux.
Rookwood
William Harrison Ainsworth

They receive a challenge like a ” billet-doux,” and a home-thrust as a favour.
Thackerayana
William Makepeace Thackeray

Twenty to seven,—seven oclock they were due at the billet-doux.
Twos and Threes
G. B. Stern

It cannot be that Belinda then saw for the first time a billet-doux.
The Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 2 (of 10)
Alexander Pope

Oh, you have not heard of the billet-doux that Schwarzfelder has written you?
In Hostile Red
Joseph Altsheler

“Why, then, you must swear the billet-doux miscarried,” answered the Duke.
Peveril of the Peak
Sir Walter Scott

He could not write a common answer to a dinner invitation without its assuming the tone of a billet-doux.
Art in England
Dutton Cook

Sir Philip was actually reading Miss Luttridge’s billet-doux aloud when the black entered the library.
Tales And Novels, Volume 3 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth

Anagram

bled oil tux
diet bull ox

Today’s quote

Hatred unlocks no doors in heaven.

– William F. Devault

On this day

30 April – International Jazz Day.

30 April – Walpurgis Night (also called Hexennacht – which translates as Witches Night), held on the eve of St Walpurga’s Feast Day. In Germany it’s reputedly the night when witches celebrate the coming of the Spring (which occurs on 1 May) on the Brocken (the highest peak in Northern Germany). Heavy metal band, Black Sabbath, originally named one of their songs Walpurgis, but were told by their record company that it wasn’t acceptable because of the connation with Satanism, so the song was renamed War Pigs, although the lyrics remained the same. Sabbath’s bassist, Geezer Butler said of the song, ‘Walpurgis is sort of like Christmas for Satanists. And to me, war was the big Satan. It wasn’t about politics or government or anything. It was [about] evil. So I was saying ‘generals gathered in the masses / just like witches at black masses’ to make an analogy‘.

30 April 1945 – German Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun, commit suicide in a bunker in Germany. Hitler had been Chancellor of Germany since 2 August 1934. He was born in Austria on 20 April 1889.

30 April 1975 – the Fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnamese civil war, when North Vietnamese tanks rumbled into Saigon, then the capital of South Vietnam, defeating the South Vietnamese army, United States military and her allies. The Fall was preceded by the largest helicopter evacuation in history, known as Operation Frequent Wind, in which 7,000 American military and civilians were evacuated. Weeks earlier, Operation Baby Lift had evacuated 2,000 orphan babies. Operation New Life evacuated 110,000 Vietnamese refugees. Tens of thousands of Vietnamese evacuated by land and sea. Following the communist take-over, hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese fled the country, resulting in a surge of refugees worldwide. 30 April and 1 May are celebrated in Vietnam as Liberation Day or Reunification Day. Those who fled refer to it as Black April.

29 April 2018

firmament

[fur-muh-muh nt]

noun

1. the vault of heaven; sky.

Origin of firmament

Middle English, Late Latin

1250-1300; Middle English < Late Latin firmāmentum sky, Latin: support, prop, stay, equivalent to firmā(re) to strengthen, support (see firm2) + -mentum -ment

Related forms

firmamental [fur-muh-men-tl], adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for firmament

Contemporary Examples

The reader leaves with a better sense of the firmament and frontline fights occurring in the current independent movement.
Political Independents: The Future of Politics?
John Avlon
September 23, 2012

But his disappearance from the Washington firmament does not mean that the work he used to do is being left undone.
David’s Book Club: ‘Capitol Punishment’
David Frum
March 23, 2012

Historical Examples

But now came a cloud which swallowed every other in my firmament.
Wilfrid Cumbermede
George MacDonald

The troop of the stars was posted in the immeasurable deeps of the firmament.
A Spirit in Prison
Robert Hichens

In the great days, presentiments hover before me in the firmament.
Essays, First Series
Ralph Waldo Emerson

In all the firmament of poetry there was no star to outshine his.
William Shakespeare
Samuel Levy Bensusan

The firmament rang with laughter as the other candidates panted up.
Dreamers of the Ghetto
I. Zangwill

It looks to me like the firmament at night, with all the stars a-shining.
The Long Roll
Mary Johnston

It gave the appearance of a grating in the firmament, a small dungeon grating.
The Long Roll
Mary Johnston

Again the tenor and chorus in a brief number describe the firmament.
The Standard Oratorios
George P. Upton

Anagram

Mr mean fit
met in farm

Today’s quote

One can advise comfortably from a safe port.

– Soren Kierkegaard

On this day

29 April 711 – Islamic conquest of Hispania as Moorish forces led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad land on Gibraltar in preparation for the invasion of Spain.

29 April 1770 – Captain James Cook names Botany Bay after landing there on this day.

29 April 1910 – British Parliament passes ‘The People’s Budget’, the first budget in British history that is aimed at redistributing wealth to all.

29 April 1945 – the Dacchau concentration camp near Munich is liberated by US forces.

29 April 1967 – Muhammad Ali stripped of his boxing title after refusing, on religious grounds, being drafted into the Army.

29 April 1980 – death of Alfred Hitchcock, English movie producer and director. Born 13 August 1899.

27 April 2018

tontine

[ton-teen, ton-teen]

noun

1. an annuity scheme in which subscribers share a common fund with the benefit of survivorship, the survivors’ shares being increased as the subscribers die, until the whole goes to the last survivor.
2. the annuity shared.
3. the share of each subscriber.
4. the number of subscribers.
5. any of various forms of life insurance in which the chief beneficiaries are those whose policies are in force at the end of a specified period (tontine period)

Origin of tontine

French

1755-1765; < French; named after Lorenzo Tonti, Neapolitan banker who started the scheme in France about 1653. See -ine1

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for tontine

Historical Examples

When it was discovered that Loka was nowhere in the immediate vicinity, tontine was furious.
Bayou Folk
Kate Chopin

The suspense over, tontine began to cry; that followed naturally, of course.
Bayou Folk
Kate Chopin

They were to shut the gates of the tontine, and barricade them with the coaches.
The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 2/2
Camden Pelham

Anagram

eon tint

Today’s quote

Anyone who steps back for a minute and observes our modern digital world might conclude that we have destroyed our privacy in exchange for convenience and false security.

– John Twelve Hawks

On this day

27 April 1904 – The Australian Labor Party wins the federal election, making Chris Watson Australia’s third prime minister. The ALP was the first such labour party in the world to win a national election.

27 April 1950 – apartheid formally commences in South Africa with the implementation of the Group Areas Act that segrated races.

27 April 1951 – birth of Paul Daniel ‘Ace’ Frehley, former lead guitarist with Kiss. Frehley’s character with the band was the ‘Spaceman’. He has since launched a solo career and formed a band called Frehley’s Comet.

27 April 1953 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs Executive Order 10450 ‘Hiring and Firing Rules for Government Employment’. The order declared homosexuality, communism and moral perversion to be national security threats and grounds for sacking a government employee or not hiring an applicant.

27 April 1994 – South Africa’s first democratic election in which citizens of all races could vote. The interim constitution is enacted. The African National Congress won the election with 62% of the vote, bringing Nelson Mandela to power. 27 April is celebrated as Freedom Day in South Africa.

25 April 2018

behoof

[bih-hoof]

noun, plural behooves [bih-hoovz]

1. use; advantage; benefit:
The money was spent for his own behoof

Origin of behoof

Middle English, Old English
1000 before 1000; Middle English behove, Old English behōf profit, need; cognate with Dutch behoef, German Behuf

behoove
[bih-hoov] (chiefly in impersonal use)

Spell Syllables

verb (used with object), behooved, behooving.
1. to be necessary or proper for, as for moral or ethical considerations; be incumbent on:
It behooves the court to weigh evidence impartially.
2. to be worthwhile to, as for personal profit or advantage:
It would behoove you to be nicer to those who could help you.
verb (used without object), behooved, behooving.
3. Archaic. to be needful, proper, or due:
Perseverance is a quality that behooves in a scholar.

Origin

before 900; Middle English behoven, Old English behōfian to need ( behōf behoof + -ian infinitive suffix)

Synonyms

2. benefit, advantage, serve, better, advance; suit, befit, beseem.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for behoof

Contemporary Examples

I will still say that it behooves us not to forget that Morsi was no democrat.
Coming Clean on Egypt
Michael Tomasky
August 15, 2013

Given that said government is now spending almost a quarter of our annual income, it behooves us to keep an eye on it.
Is DC Real Estate Headed Up or Down?
Megan McArdle
October 23, 2012

Historical Examples

And so, my lads, it behooves us to be cautious with a very great caution.
The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler

It behooves me all the more to see to it that I am not duped in the end.
Casanova’s Homecoming
Arthur Schnitzler

It behooves the materialists to use language with more precision and accuracy than this.
Life: Its True Genesis
R. W. Wright

We know nothing about it, and, therefore, it behooves us to say nothing.
Homeward Bound
James Fenimore Cooper

It behooves us, gentlemen, to think first of the cities of our King.
Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer
Cyrus Townsend Brady

It behooves us then to acquaint ourselves with these new aspects of the human soul.
Chinese Painters
Raphael Petrucci

For so it behooves a modern parent to behave in the presence of his children.
Red Cap Tales
Samuel Rutherford Crockett

It behooves us to keep close track of our herds and mark them carefully.
The Story of Wool
Sara Ware Bassett

Anagram

hob foe

Today’s quote

I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.

– John Adams

On this day

25 April – Anzac Day. National day of remembrance for Australia and New Zealand to commemorate ANZACs who fought at Gallipoli during World War I, honouring all service-men and women who served their country.

25 April – World Penguin Day.

25 April 1915 – World War I: the battle of Gallipoli begins, when Australian, New Zealand, British and French forces invade Turkey’s Gallipoli Peninsula, landing at Cape Helles, and what is now called Anzac Cove. The attack followed a failed British attempt on 18 March 1915 to seize Constantinople by sailing a fleet into the Dardenelle Straits. The Turks laid naval mines and sank three British ships. The Gallipoli Campaign resulted in the deaths of 56,643 Turks, 56,707 allies, which included 34,072 from Britain, 9,798 from France, 8,709 from Australia, 2,721 from New Zealand, 1,358 from British India, 49 from Newfoundland. More than 107,000 Turks and 123,000 allies were injured. The Gallipoli Campaign is seen as a defining moment in the national histories of both Australia and Turkey.

25 April 1918 – Australian troops victorious over the Germans in the town of Villers-Bretonneux on the Western Front. The town had been occupied by the British, however, on 18 April 1918, Germany used mustard gas outside the town. On 21 April, an aerial dog-fight between British & German planes ensued, with the infamous Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofen) being shot down and killed (rumour has it that his last words were ‘kaputt’). On 24 April, Germany over-ran the British by attacking with tanks. This was the first use of German tanks during the war. The British counter-attacked with their tanks, providing the first tank versus tank battle of the war. However, most of the British troops were untrained boys aged 18 and 19 years old who had not even fired a shot . The Germans quickly won the battle and took 2400 prisoners. At 2200 hours on 25 August 1918, Australian troops counter-attacked in a pincer-movement, with General H.E. Elliot leading an attack from the north and General T.W. Glasgow leading an attack from the south. By dawn on 26 April, British and Australian troops occupied Villers-Bretonneux. The victory was completed on 27 April when Australians established a line outside of the town. Significant losses were sustained in the battle, with Germany losing around 10,400 lives, Britain losing 9,529 lives, France losing 3,470 lives and Australia losing 2,473. It is arguably one of the single most significant victories by Australian troops during World War I, although there were others along the Western Front, including the 4 July victory at Le Hamel under the leadership of General John Monash. In 2018, the Australian Government opened The Sir John Monash memorial centre at Villers-Bretonneux as the central hub of the existing Australian Remembrance Trail along the Western Front.

25 April 1983 – American schoolgirl, Samantha Smith, is invited to the Soviet Union after its leader, Yuri Andropov, reads her letter expressing her fears of nuclear war.

24 April 2018

aleatory

[ey-lee-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, al-ee-]

adjective

1. Law. depending on a contingent event:
an aleatory contract.
2. of or relating to accidental causes; of luck or chance; unpredictable:
an aleatory element.
3. Music. employing the element of chance in the choice of tones, rests, durations, rhythms, dynamics, etc.

Also, aleatoric [ey-lee-uh-tawr-ik, -tor-, al-ee-]

Origin of aleatory

Latin

1685-1695; < Latin āleātōrius, equivalent to āleātōr- (stem of āleātor gambler ( āle(a) game of chance + -ātor -ator ) + -ius adj. suffix; see -tory1

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for aleatory

Historical Examples

At best the actor’s is an aleatory profession and, as in all games of chance, the losses score highest.
My Actor-Husband
Anonymous

Some are aleatory, but the light-minded or interested alone call them so.
Decadence and Other Essays on the Culture of Ideas
Remy de Gourmont

This was the aleatory element in life, the element of risk and loss, good or bad fortune.
Folkways
William Graham Sumner

Anagram

early oat
royal tea

Today’s quote

People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.

– Anton Chekhov

On this day

24 April 1581 – birth of St Vincent de Paul, Catholic priest, born in France, who dedicated himself to serving the poor. Died 27 September 1660.

24 April 1915 – arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals and leaders in Istanbul, Turkey, leads to the Armenian Genocide. It is estimated that the Ottoman Empire massacred between 1 million and 1.5 million Armenians.

24 April 1916 – Easter Rising (or Easter Rebellion) in which Irish republicans rose up against British rule with an armed insurrection in order to establish an independent Irish Republic. The Rising lasted for six days and resulted in the deaths of 500 people, of whom 54% were civilians, 30% were British military and 16% were Irish rebels. Most of the civilians deaths were caused by the British military using artillery or mistaking them for rebels. Fighting occurred mainly in Dublin, although there were also fights in counties Meath, Galway, Louth and Wexford. The rebels surrendered after six days. Most of their leaders were subsequently tried and executed. 3,430 men and 79 women were arrested. 90 were sentenced to death, however 15 were actually executed. The evidence against many of them was flimsy at best and with many them prohibited from defending their charges, accusations were made that the trials and sentences were illegal. There were also claims of British atrocities involving extrajudicial killings during the Rising. The executions and extrajudicial killings further fed the anger of the Irish against British rule.

24 April 1933 – Hitler begins persecuting Jehovah’s Witnesses by shutting down the Watch Tower Society office in Magdeburg. Around 10,000 Witnesses were incarcerated during Hitler’s reign, with approximately 1,200 dying in custody, including 250 who were executed.

23 April 2018

wonga

/ˈwɒŋɡə/

noun

1. (Brit, informal) money

Word Origin

C20: possibly from Romany wongar coal

Collins English Dictionary

Examples from the Web for wonga

Historical Examples

A large flight of wonga wonga pigeons were feeding on the seeds of various species of Acacia; we shot two of them.
Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia
Ludwig Leichhardt

Anagram

a gown

Today’s quote

We know what we are, but know not what we may be.

– William Shakespeare

On this day

23 April 1564 – birth of William Shakespeare, the Bard. English poet and playwright.

23 April 1616 – death of William Shakespeare, the Bard. English poet and playwright. Shakespeare invented more than 1700 words which are now in common use. He changed nouns into verbs, verbs into adjectives and joining words that normally wouldn’t be joined.

23 April 1928 – birth of Shirley Temple, American actress, singer, dancer and former U.S. ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. Died 10 February 2014.

22 April 2018

spondulicks or spondulix

[spon-doo-liks]

noun, Older Slang.

1. money; cash.

Origin of spondulicks

1855-1860 An Americanism dating back to 1855-60; origin uncertain

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for spondulicks

Historical Examples

Suppose I can’t raise the spondulicks in time for the ten train!
Molly Brown’s Orchard Home
Nell Speed

” spondulicks,” said Dicky with a laugh, as the other hesitated for a word.
Blindfolded
Earle Ashley Walcott

“I wonder where he got the spondulicks,” broke in her son Richard.
The Fourth Watch
H. A. Cody

Also it was convincingly true that the ingoing party—its way now made a pacific one—would need the ” spondulicks.”
Cabbages and Kings
O. Henry

Word Origin and History for spondulicks

n.

1856, American English slang, “money, cash,” of unknown origin, said to be from Greek spondylikos, from spondylos, a seashell used as currency (the Greek word means literally “vertebra”). Used by Mark Twain and O. Henry and adopted into British English, where it survives despite having faded in American English.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Anagram

disco plunks
clouds pinks
unsold picks

Today’s quote

Capitalists are no more capable of self-sacrifice than a man is capable of lifting himself up by his own bootstraps.

– Vladimir Lenin

On this day

22 April – Earth Day. The United Nations created International Mother Earth Day by resolution A/RES/63/278 to be celebrated on 22 April each year. It recognises that ‘the Earth and its ecosystems are our home‘ and that ‘it is necessary to promote harmony with nature and Earth‘.

22 April 1616 – death of Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish novelist, authored Don Quixote, a classic of Western literature and which is considered to be the first modern European novel. Cervantes is considered to be the greatest writer in the Spanish language and the world’s pre-eminent novelist. Born 29 September 1547.

22 April 1870 – birth of Vladimir Lenin. Russian communist revolutionary and political leader. He served as Russian leader from 1917 to 1924 and concurrently as Premier of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924. Died 21 January 1924.

22 April 1889 – at high noon, thousands rush to claim land in the ‘Land Run of 1889’ resulting in the creation of Oklahoma City and Guthrie with populations greater than 10,000 within a few hours.

22 April 1917 – birth of Sidney Nolan, one of Australia’s leading artists, best known for his series of Ned Kelly paintings. During the 2000 Olympics, performers wore costumes based on Nolan’s depiction of Ned Kelly. Nolan painted a number of Australian legends and historical events, including the Eureka Stockade, and explorers Burke and Wills. Nolan was influenced by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Died 28 November 1992.

22 April 1979 – birth of Daniel Johns, Australian musician, singer-songwriter. Played in Silverchair and The Dissociatives.

22 April 1995 – death of Maggie Kuhn, activist and founder of the Gray Panthers, who campaigned for nursing home reform and opposed ageism. She also fought for human rights, social and economic justice, global peace, integration, and mental health issues.

21 April 2018

acer

/ˈeɪsə/

noun

1. any tree or shrub of the genus Acer, often cultivated for their brightly coloured foliage See also maple

Examples from the Web for acer

Historical Examples

Growing on the outer surface of the bark of acer, Fagus, etc.
The Myxomycetes of the Miami Valley, Ohio
A. P. Morgan

Growing out of fissures of the bark and wood of Hickory, acer, etc.
The Myxomycetes of the Miami Valley, Ohio
A. P. Morgan

The occasional forms in ‘er’ and ‘il’ will have similar power ( acer, basil).
Proserpina, Volume 1
John Ruskin

Anagram

race

Today’s quote

I find it hard to focus looking forward. So I look backward.

– Iggy Pop

On this day

21 April 753BC – Romulus founds Rome.

21 April 1782 – the city of Rattanaskosin is founded by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke. The city is now known as Bangkok.

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

21 April 1947 – birth of Iggy Pop, punk, garage & glam rocker, actor.

21 April 1970 – Prince Leonard (born Leonard Casley), self-appointed sovereign secedes the Hutt River Province from Australia. Now known as the Principality of Hutt River, it is located 517km north of Perth, Western Australia and is the oldest micronation in Australia. Its sovereignty is not recognised by Australia or other nations. On 2 December 1977, Prince Leonard declared war on Australia after the Australian Tax Office pursued him for non-payment of taxes. Hostilities were ceased a few days later and Prince Leonard wrote to the Governor-General declaring his sovereignty based on the Province being undefeated in war. In 2012, the ATO again unsuccessfully attempted to recover claimed taxes. Hutt River has its own stamps and currency.

21 April 1972 – The Province of Hutt River attains legal status when Australia fails to challenge its sovereignty within two years of its formation, as required by Australian law.