17 February 2018

Whiffle-Whaffle

noun

This is someone who wastes a lot of time. You could easily make the case that a scobberlotcher is also a whiffle-whaffle, correct? And, you most definitely don’t want to work with either of them.

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we whiff half elf

Today’s quote

Uncoachable kids become unemployable adults. Let your kids get used to someone being tough on them. It’s life, get over it.

– Patrick Murphy, Alabama Softball.

On this day

17 February 1600 – death of Giordano Bruno, Italian Dominician friar, philosopher, mathematician, poet and astrologer. Bruno wrote extensively on the art of memory. proposed that the stars were distant suns and could have planets of their own with life on them. He also stated that the Communion couldn’t transform into the body of Christ (Transubstantiation). He also rejected other core Catholic tenets including the Trinity, eternal damnation, the divinity of Christ, and the virginity of Mary. For his scientific and religious views, he was charged with heresy and burned at the stake. Many regard him as the first martyr for science. Born 1548.

17 February 1933 – End of Prohibition, when the US Senate passes the Blaine Act.

17 February 1934 – birth of Barry Humphries, Australian comedian, famous for characters such as Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson.

17 February 2007 – Sylvester Stallone is held by Australian Customs for a couple of hours after prohibited items were confiscated from his baggage.

16 February 2018

Scobberlotcher

noun

Mental Floss notes this word is “probably derived from scopperloit, an old English dialect word for ‘a vacation or a break from work’.” A scobberlotcher is someone who avoids hard work . . . like it’s their job. The next time you catch someone dozing off at their desk, hit ’em with this one, even if it is just under your breath.

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cobbler torches
hobbles correct
crocheters blob
rebel scotch bro

Today’s quote

Wherever the sword of rebellion is drawn to protect the rights of man, I am a rebel. Wherever the sword of rebellion is drawn to give man liberty, to clothe him in all his just rights, I am on the side of that rebellion.

– Robert Green Ingersoll

On this day

16 February 1923 – the burial chamber of King Tutankhamen in Egypt is opened, after it was recently discovered by British archaeologist, Howard Carter. The tomb was 3,000 years old.

16 February 1936 – The left-wing Popular Front is elected to power in Spain. The Popular Front was a coalition of numerous Communist and Socialist parties, including the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), Communist Party of Spain (PCE), Worker’ Party of Marxist Unification (POUM), Republican Left (IR) and Republican Union Party (UR). The pact which enabled the formation of the Popular Front was supported by Galician (PG) and Catalan nationalists (ERC), the Workers’ General Union (UGT) and the anarchist trade union, Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT). The Popular Front had defeated the National Front (a coalition of right-wing parties) in the elections, and was formed to combat the rising tide of right-wing Fascism throughout Europe. In July 1936, conservative monarchists led by General Francisco Franco instigated a military coup that started the Spanish Civil War. Franco received backing from Mussolini and Hitler, while some of the left-wing forces, including the International Brigade (formed of volunteers from all over Europe) received backing from Stalin. British author, George Orwell, a democratic socialist, travelled to Spain and fought with the POUM because he wanted to help defeat Fascism. It was only be chance that Orwell didn’t join the International Brigade. The POUM (an anti-Stalinist Communist Party) was declared an illegal organisation in 1937 by the government in an effort by Communist forces to purge Troskyists, forcing Orwell to flee or face imprisonment. Orwell wrote of his Spanish Civil War experience in Homage to Catalonia. His experience made him a life-long anti-Stalinist and committed Democratic Socialist. In April 1939, Franco’s forces defeated the Popular Front, installing him as President. Franco ruled Spain with a military dictatorship until his death in 1975.

16 February 1959 – Fidel Castro sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba after leading a successful revolution against the President Batista.

16 February 1983 – Ash Wednesday bush-fires burn more than 4,000km2 of land in South Australia and Victoria, killing 75 people (47 in Victoria and 28 in South Australia), destroying more than 3,700 buildings, and more than 2,500 people lost their homes.

15 February 2018

Stampcrab

noun

Someone who’s clumsy and heavy of foot would be considered a stampcrab. Make way for the office stampcrab, especially if you just poured yourself some coffee.

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brats camp

Today’s quote

True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

– Franklin D. Roosevelt

On this day

15 February 1989 – the last Soviet troops leave Afghanistan after a 10 year occupation referred to as the Soviet Union’s ‘Vietnam’. The Soviets had invaded on 24 December 1979 in response to Afghan insurgents (armed by the United States) who had been attacking Soviet troops. The occupation lasts for 10 years and results in the deaths of between 600,000 and 2,000,000 Afghan civilians, as well as 6,000,000 refugees who fled to Pakistan and Iran. The cost of the Afghan occupation is a significant factor that led to the economic collapse of the Soviet Union. During the Soviet occupation, the United States funded Afghan resistance in the form of the Mujahideen and other militant Islamic groups, out of whom emerged Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The Afghan people continue to suffer and to comprise a significant portion of global refugee numbers because of the involvement of the USSR and the USA during this period.

14 February 2018

Snoutband

noun

A snoutband is someone who always interrupts a conversation to correct or contradict the person speaking. Every social group has a snoutband, who thinks they know everything. They probably don’t know the meaning of this word, though. At least, not yet.

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nab donuts
ban donuts
suntan bod
to bad nuns

Today’s quote

If you love god, burn a church.

– Jello Biafra

On this day

14 February – Valentine’s Day

14 February – International book giving day, focussing on giving books to children.You can participate by 1) give a book to a friend or family member, 2) leave a book in a waiting room for children to read, or 3) donate a gently used book to a local library, hospital or shelter, or to an organization that distributes used books to children in need internationally. http://bookgivingday.com

14 February 1779 – death of Captain James Cook, British explorer. Made three major voyages in which he discovered many of the islands of the south pacific, including the east coast of Australia. Cooktown, Queensland, is named after him. The house he grew up in was relocated from Yorkshire, England, to Melbourne, Australia and is open to visits (now known as Captain Cook’s Cottage and is situated in Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne). Died 14 February 1779 after being stabbed by Hawaiians who credited their Chief Kalanimanokahoowaha (Kanaina) with the kill. Captain Cook’s body was then subjected a funeral ritual that was normally reserved for a Chief. Born 27 October 1728.

14 February 1929 – St Valentine’s Day massacre when Chicago gangster, Al Capone’s Italian gang killed seven of Bugs Moran’s Irish gang.

14 February 1966 – Australia introduces decimal currency, replacing pounds, shillings and pence with dollars and cents.

14 February 1989 – Police raid Rocking Horse Records in Brisbane, Queensland (which had long been seen as a Police State under the leadership of Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen). 4ZZZ (another target of police raids during the 1980s) described the raid thus, ‘On this day in 1989 – Police raid long time 4ZZZ supporters Rocking Horse Records, then located at 158 Adelaide Street in the city. An undercover officer from the Licensing branch, came into the store seeking out rude records for a “wild valentine’s day party”, followed later that day by four uniformed police who raided the store. Owner Warwick Vere was charged with exhibiting and selling obscene material under the Vagrants, Gaming and Other Offences Act, but ultimately found not guilty. Albums included The Dead Kennedys “Give me Convenience” (featuring the classic ‘Too Drunk to F**k’), Guns n Roses “Appetite for Destruction” (available at many major chain stores at the time), the Hard-Ons “Dick Cheese” and The Champs “Do the Shag” (an instrumental album from the early 60s). In an interview with Gavin Sawford for Time Off Magazine, Dead Kennedy’s Jello Biafra commented: “if these attempts to shut down record stores because an instrumental band mention a type of carpet on their record helps to galvanise people to vote out the present administration, then by all means let’s see some more raids”.’ They also took a Sonic Youth album with the song, Master-Dik. Jello Biafra went on to state, ‘now if I’m a robber or a rapist in Brisbane, I should call the cops and report obscene records on the other side of town in store before I go out and commit a crime that harms real people, because obviously the cops don’t care about those kind of crimes’.

13 February 2018

Gnashnab

noun

Gnashnab is an 18th century northern English word, meaning “someone who [just] complains all the time.” Contemporary synonyms include nitpicker, moaner, and grumbler. It’s just as true now as it was back then—no one likes a gnashnab.

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ban gnash

Today’s quote

I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can’t see from the center.

– Kurt Vonnegut

On this day

13 February 1915 – birth of General Aung San, founder of modern day Burma and Burmese Army. Father of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese politician, activist and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient.

13 February 1920 – the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland is recognised by the League of Nations (predecessor of the United Nations).

13 – 15 February 1945 – the bombing of Dresden in which 722 British and 527 USAF aircraft drop more than 3,900 tons of explosives on Dresden, Germany. At the time, Nazi Germany claimed more than 300,000 casualties, however, an official report in 2010 claimed that casualties were around 25,000, historians generally number the casualties between 35,000 and 135,000. Because of the number of refugees in the city, it is unlikely the exact figure will ever be known.

13 February 2008 – Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologises to Australia’s indigenous peoples, particularly those of the stolen generation from whom children were forcibly removed from their parents.

12 February 2018

Gobermouch

noun

An old Irish term for someone who likes to meddle in other people’s business. Everyone knows a busybody, right? Don’t let your gobermouch-in-law or next-door gobermouch have any more control over you than they already do. Shut the blinds and privatize the social media.

www.dictionary.com

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bug moocher
crumb hoe go

Today’s quote

Be confused, it’s where you begin to learn new things. Be broken, it’s where you begin to heal. Be frustrated, it’s where you start to make more authentic decisions. Be sad, because if we are brave enough we can hear our heart’s wisdom through it. Be whatever you are right now. No more hiding. You are worthy, always.

– S.C. Lourie

On this day

12 February 1809 – birth of Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United State of America. Assassinated 15 April 1865.

12 February 1912 – the Last Emperor of China, Hsian-T’ung is forced to abdicate by republicans, ending 2000 years of imperial rule. The Republic of China formed on 1 January 1912, followed by the People’s Republic of China, which formed on 1 October 1949.

12 February 1983 – Legendary 1960’s folk duo, Simon and Garfunkel, play a reunion concert at VFL Park, Melbourne.

12 February 2015 – death of Faith Bandler. Australian civil rights activist. Her father was from Vanuatu. Her mother of Scottish-Indian descent. Campaigned for the rights of indigenous Australians and South Sea Islanders. She was a leader in the 1967 referendum on aboriginal Australians. She was involved with the Aboriginal–Australian Fellowship and the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI). She was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in 1984 and Companion of the Order of Australia in 2009. Born 23 September 1918.

11 February 2018

cullion

[kuhl-yuh n]

noun, Archaic.

1. a base or vile fellow.
Example: He was a cullion whom no-one trusted.

Origin of cullion

Middle English, Middle French, Latin

1350-1400; Middle English culyon, coil(i)on < Anglo-French, Middle French coillon worthless fellow, literally, testicle < Vulgar Latin *cōleōnem, accusative of *cōleō, for Latin cōleī (plural) testicles, scrotum

Dictionary.com

Anagram

I cull no

Today’s quote

No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.

– Robert Frost

On this day

11 February 1847 – birth of Thomas Edison, U.S. inventor. Died 18 October 1931.

11 February 1916 – Emma Goldman arrested for campaigning for birth control in New York.

11 February 1934 – birth of Mary Quant, Welsh fashion designer and instrumental figure in the 1960s London Mod movement, inventor of the mini-skirt. Quant once stated, ‘I designed the miniskirt that caused so much havoc in the Sixties – the miniskirt that was such fun but has travelled well to today’.

11 February 1945 – The Yalta Agreement is signed by Josef Stalin (USSR), Winston Churchill (UK), Franklin D. Roosevelt (USA), regarding the control of Germany once World War II finishes.

11 February 1963 – death of Sylvia Plath, American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Boston, she travelled to the UK and studied at Cambridge University. It was there that she met British poet, Ted Hughes. In 1957 they married. For a while they lived in Boston, before returning to England and living in London and later Devon. Plath often wrote about her experiences, particularly with depression. She advanced the genre of ‘confessional poetry’. Plath struggled with the loneliness of Devon and returned to London, renting a unit in the house that the poet, William Butler Yeats once lived. The unit was owned by Assia and David Wevill. Plath’s husband, Ted Hughes, was captivated by Assia’s beauty. In September 1962, Plath left Hughes after discovering he’d been having an affair with Assia. Plath suffered bipolar disorder and had made numerous suicide attempts throughout her life. In February 1963, she suicided by turning the gas on in her oven and placing her head in it. She had sealed her children’s rooms with wet towels to avoid poisoning them. Plath had published a number of poetry collections and some were published post-humously. In 1982, she was awarded a post-humous Pulitzer Prize for her poetry. She is considered one of the great poets of the 20th century. Born 27 October 1932.

11 February 1979 – the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, is overthrown by the Iranian Revolution, and replaced by the Ayatollah Khomeini.

10 February 2018

hellkite

[hel-kahyt]

noun, Archaic.

1. a fiendishly cruel and wicked person.

Origin of hellkite

1595-1605 First recorded in 1595-1605; hell + kite1

Dictionary.com

Anagram

kilt heel
hike tell

Today’s quote

In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.

– Alex Haley

On this day

10 February 1837 – death of Aleksandr Pushkin, Russian poet and author from the romantic era. Considered the father of modern Russian literature. He was born into Russian nobility. His matrilineal great grandfather, Abram Gannibal, was brought over as a slave from Africa and had risen to the aristocracy. Died during a duel. Born on 6 June 1799. His birthday is recognised by the UN as Russian Language Day.

10 February 1898 – birth of Bertolt Brecht, German playwright, writer and theatre practitioner. Died 14 August 1956.

10 February 1992 – death of Alex Haley, U.S. author of ‘Roots‘, ‘Malcolm X‘. Born 11 August 1921.

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

8 February 2018

lickspittle

[lik-spit-l]

noun

1. a contemptible, fawning person; a servile flatterer or toady.

Also, Archaic, lickspit [lik-spit]

Origin of lickspittle

1620-1630 First recorded in 1620-30; lick + spittle

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for lickspittle

Historical Examples

You get up right after midnight to practice being a lickspittle and a trimmer!
Such is Life
Frank Wedekind

Anagram

tilt pickles
ticket spill
let lipstick

Today’s quote

It’s easier to go down a hill than up it but the view is much better at the top.

– Henry Ward Beecher

On this day

8 February 1238 – Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.

8 February 1587 – Mary Queen of Scots is executed for her apparent role in the failed Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

8 February 1952 – Princess Elizabeth declares herself Queen of the British Commonwealth, taking the title, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

8 February 1960 – Queen Elizabeth II issues an Order-in-Council declaring that her family would be known as the House of Windsor and her descendants will take the name ‘Mountbatten-Windsor’.

8 February 1983 – At 3pm, Australia’s second largest city, Melbourne, is hit by a massive dust-storm, towering 320m high, reducing visibility to 100m and turning day into night. The dust-storm came during the most severe drought on record and was caused by loose top-soil in the Mallee and Wimmera districts of western Victoria being whipped up by fierce northerly winds. Other places in Victoria recorded dust as high as 1,000m. It was estimated that 1000 tonnes of dust was dumped on the city, with another 50,000 tonnes passing over Melbourne. Earlier in the day, the temperature had peaked at 43.2oC – the hottest February day on record at that time. This photo was taken by a motorist heading west on the Princes Highway at Werribee.