21 May 2017

pretext

[pree-tekst]

noun

1. something that is put forward to conceal a true purpose or object; an ostensible reason; excuse:
The leaders used the insults as a pretext to declare war.
2. the misleading appearance or behavior assumed with this intention:
His many lavish compliments were a pretext for subtle mockery.

Origin of pretext

Latin

1505-1515; Latin praetextum pretext, ornament, noun use of neuter past participle of praetexere to pretend, literally, to weave in front, hence, adorn. See pre-, texture

Can be confused

pretense, pretext.

Synonyms

2. subterfuge, evasion.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for pretext

Contemporary Examples

It requested the Times refrain from publishing them to avoid giving insurgents a pretext to incite violence against soldiers.
Taliban Corpse Photos: Friendly Fire in a Digital War
P.J. Crowley
April 18, 2012

There is the critical difference that in this case the U.S. administration is not looking for a pretext to go to war.
Western Intelligence Suspects Assad Has a Secret Chemical Stockpile
Noah Shachtman, Christopher Dickey
April 30, 2014

Neutralizing or defeating the FDLR removes any pretext for regional intervention.
How Congo Defeated the M23 Rebels
John Prendergast
November 6, 2013

But he warned against using the pretext of defense to launch vast campaigns of destruction.

Pope Francis vs. The Warmongers
Barbie Latza Nadeau
September 12, 2014
Institutions are a pretext to have a look at a wide variety of human behavior.

Legendary Documentarian Frederick Wiseman Shows Us How Berkeley Works
Nico Hines
November 9, 2013

Historical Examples

I said there were two things to discuss, the pretext and the execution.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, Complete
Duc de Saint-Simon

He stood irresolute a moment, then went in on a pretext of ‘inquiry.’
Robert Elsmere
Mrs. Humphry Ward

At the slightest call 500 men collect, and on any pretext kill and eat one another.
Original Narratives of Early American History
Vaca and Others

He made no comment, fearing that she might seize upon any as a pretext for putting him off.
IT and Other Stories
Gouverneur Morris

She was never under any pretext, not even in the event of my death, to return to the stage.
One of My Sons
Anna Katharine Green

Anagram

per text

Today’s quote

And what, Socrates, is the food of the soul? Surely, I said, knowledge is the food of the soul.

– Plato

On this day

21 May – World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.

21 May 1929 – Charles Lindbergh lands in Paris after completing the first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight. He had departed the day before from New York. Lindbergh was competing for the Orteig Prize which was to be awarded to the first person to make the transatlantic flight. Lindbergh won $25,000 in prize money. Six people had previously lost their lives in competing for the Orteig Prize.

21 May 1932 – Amelia Earhart flies from Newfoundland to Ireland, becoming the first woman to make a solo transatlantic flight.

21 May 1960 – An 8.5 magnitude earthquake hits Chile, causing massive land-slides and tsunamis, including an 8 metre wave. More than 5,000 people are killed and 2 million left homeless.

21 May 1979 – Dan White is convicted of voluntary manslaughter following being charged with first degree murder after assassinating Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. His defence team had successfully argued for conviction on the lesser charge because they claimed his mental state was diminished as he was suffering depression, evidenced by his consumption of Twinkies and other sugary foods. The defence became known as the ‘Twinkie Defence’.

20 May 2017

prurient

[proo r-ee-uh nt]

adjective

1. having, inclined to have, or characterized by lascivious or lustful thoughts, desires, etc.
2. causing lasciviousness or lust.
3. having a restless desire or longing.

Origin of prurient

Latin

1630-1640; Latin prūrient- (stem of prūriēns), present participle of prūrīre to itch

Related forms

prurience, pruriency, noun
pruriently, adverb
Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for prurient

Contemporary Examples

So far no Republican congressman has been foolish enough to cast himself as the Ken Starr figure, prude, proud and prurient.
Should Weiner Resign? Daily Beast Contributors Weigh In
The Daily Beast
June 6, 2011

It remains unclear whether the interest is altruistic or self-aggrandizing, humane or prurient, psychopathic or admirable.

All These Useless Doctors
Kent Sepkowitz
January 31, 2010

The influence of Oliver Stone, our granddaddy of prurient interest in political violence, hung thick in the air.
The Strange World of Political Assassination Fantasies
James Poulos
September 23, 2014

The only interest served by the Guardians of Peace is our prurient interest.
The Disaster Story That Hollywood Had Coming
Doug McIntyre
December 16, 2014

Philip Delves Broughton explains how the paper was popular, prurient, and invasive.
The Intrusive British Press
July 9, 2011

Historical Examples

That prurient heat in Twenty-five millions of hearts is not cooled thereby; but is still hot, nay hotter.
The French Revolution
Thomas Carlyle

The Aino’s imagination is as prurient as that of any Zola, and far more outspoken.
Aino Folk-Tales
Basil Hall Chamberlain

Voltaire says that these prurient questions were debated with a gusto and a minuteness of detail not found elsewhere.
The History of Prostitution
William W. Sanger

“To h–––– with their prurient laws,” said Lopez, rising suddenly from his chair.
The Prime Minister
Anthony Trollope

And this fair-haired little figure was the woman that people who knew her only from her books, called bold, prurient even!
The Wheels of Chance
H. G. Wells

Anagram

turn ripe
ripen rut
Pi turner

Today’s quote

We write to taste life twice: in the moment and in retrospection.

– Anais Nin

On this day

20 May 325 – commencement of the First Council of Nicea, a cabal of 1800 bishops convened by Roman Emperor Constantine I (Constantine the Great) to gain consensus within the church for various doctrinal issues, such as the divinity of Christ, the Holy Trinity and the date for Easter which were articulated in the ‘Creed of Nicea’. The Council concluded on 25 August 325.

20 May 1896 – a 6 ton chandlier falls from the ceiling of the Palais Garnier, Paris, onto the crowd below. One person is killed and many injured. The theatre was used as the setting for Gaston Leroux’s novel, Phantom of the Opera.

20 May 1944 – birth of Joe Cocker. English rock and blues singer. His first big hit was in 1968 with his cover of the Beatles song, ‘With a Little Help from my Friends’, which he performed at Woodstock the year later. In 1972, while touring Australia, he and six band members were arrested in Adelaide for possession of cannabis. The following day he was charged with assault following a brawl in Melbourne. Australian Federal Police gave him 48 hours to leave the country and banned him from re-entry. From this he earned the nickname ‘Mad-dog’. The incident raised the profile of cannabis legalisation in Australia. He toured Australia again in 1975, after the new Labor government allowed him back into the country. He won a Grammy Award in 1983 and was awarded an OBE in 2007. Died 22 December 2014.

20 May 2017 – World Whiskey Day.

19 May 2017

farrow(1)

[far-oh]

noun

1. a litter of pigs.
verb (used with object)
2. (of swine) to bring forth (young).
verb (used without object)
3. to produce a litter of pigs.

Origin of farrow(1)

Middle English, Old English
900 before 900; Middle English farwen to give birth to a litter of pigs, derivative of Old English fearh pig (cognate with Latin porcus); akin to German Ferkel young pig

farrow(2)

[far-oh]

adjective

1. (of a cow) not pregnant.

Origin

1485-95; akin to Dutch dialect verwe- (in verwekoe barren cow), Old English fearr ox

Dictionary.com

Anagram

for war

Today’s quote

Every fear hides a wish.

– David Mamet

On this day

19 May 1536 – Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for adultery, incest and treason.

19 May 1568 – Queen Elizabeth I orders the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots.

19 May 1895 – Death of José Julián Martí Pérez, (José Martí), Cuban national hero, nicknamed The Maestro. He was a poet, essayist, revolutionary philosopher. Fought for Cuba’s independence from Spain. Martí’s poetry is respected across the globe. One of his poems was adapted into the song, Guantanamera. Born 28 January 1853.

19 May 1897 – Oscar Wilde released from Reading Gaol.

19 May 1909 – birth of Sir Nicholas Winton, MBE, British humanitarian who rescued 669 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1938, shortly after Kristallnacht. Most of the children were Jewish. He arranged their safe passage to Britain and found homes for them. As war loomed, Winton registered as a conscientious objector and registered for work with the Red Cross. He rescinded his objection in 1940 and served with the Royal Air Force. Winton kept quiet about the rescue of the 669 children, not even telling his wife, Grete. It wasn’t until 1988, when Grete found a scrapbook in their attic that detailed the children, their parents’ names, and the names and addresses of the people they moved in with in Britain. She was able to locate 80 of the children. Later that year, she took Nicholas along to the filming of the BBC-TV show That’s Life. Unexpectedly for Winton, his scrapbook was shown on camera and his exploits detailed. When the host asked if anyone in the audience owed their life to Winton, more than two dozen people stood up, surrounding and applauding him.

19 May 1925 – birth of Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little), also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist. He campaigned for the rights of African-Americans. At the age of 20, while in prison, he joined the ‘Nation of Islam’, a group that preached black supremacy. He eventually became disillusioned with it and its leader, Elijah Muhammad. On 8 March 1964, he publicly announced he had the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X founded Muslim Mosque Inc and the Organisation of Afro-American Unity. He converted to Sunni Islam, revoked black supremacy and preached equal rights. He was assassinated on 21 February 1965 by three members of the Nation of Islam; Talmadge Hayer (also known as Thomas Hagan), Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson. All three were convicted, although Butler and Johnson maintained their innocence.

19 May 1962 – Marilyn Monroe sings a seductive version of ‘Happy Birthday‘ to President John F. Kennedy for his 45th birthday. She was introduced to the stage as the ‘late’ Marilyn Monroe. Less than three months later, Monroe was found dead. The dress Monroe wore was designed by Jean Louis and sold at auction in 1999 for more than $1,200,000. It was a sheer, flesh coloured dress with 2,500 rhinestones.

18 May 2017

motet

[moh-tet]

noun, Music.

1. a vocal composition in polyphonic style, on a Biblical or similar prose text, intended for use in a church service.

Origin of motet
Middle English, Middle French
1350-1400; Middle English; Middle French; see mot, -et

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for motet

Historical Examples

At vespers, the choir sang a motet, and the Magnificat in German, besides leading the congregation in some hymns.
Bach
Charles Francis Abdy Williams

The character and scope of the German motet are thus described by Spitta, vol.
Bach
Charles Francis Abdy Williams

Who would have ventured to apply this motet to the brave and clever Saxon, high as he, too, towered above most of his peers?
Barbara Blomberg, Complete
Georg Ebers

Anagram

totem

Today’s quote

The ballot is stronger than the bullet.

– Abraham Lincoln

On this day

18 May – World Whiskey Day.

18 May 1910 – The Earth passes through the tail of Halley’s Comet.

18 May 1980 – Volcanic eruption from Mt St Helens in Washington State, USA, killing 57 people.

18 May 1989 – Over 1,000,000 people march in Beijing, demanding democracy. The Chinese government violently suppressed the protests, bringing them to an end on 4 June 1989 following the massacre of hundreds of protestors in Tiananmen Square.

17 May 2017

hypozeuxis

[hahy-puh-zook-sis]

noun, Rhetoric.

1. the use of a series of parallel clauses, each of which has a subject and predicate, as in “I came, I saw, I conquered.”.

Origin of hypozeuxis
Late Latin

1580-1590Late Latin < Late Greek, equivalent to Greek hypozeug(nýnai) to put under the yoke ( hypo- hypo- + zeugnýnai to yoke, derivative of zeûgos yoke1) + -sis -sis

Dictionary.com

Example

Nothing quite states a point as a well structured hypozeuxis.

Anagram

hex zips you

Today’s quote

We need at least one friend who understands what we do not say.

– Dr Sunwolf

On this day

17 May – International Day Against Homophobia.

17 May 2000 – Thomas Blanton Jr and Bobby Frank Cherry, former Ku Klux Klan members, are arrested and charged with murder for the 1963 bombing of a church in Alabama which killed four girls. The two men were sentenced to life in prison.

17 May 2012 – Disco singer, Donna Summer dies from lung cancer. She was born on 31 December 1948.

15 May 2017

farnarkling

noun / verb

1. The group activity whereby everyone sits around discussing the need to “do something” but nothing actually happens

Example

Farnarkling lost a champion yesterday, with the passing of Mr John Clarke.
John Clarke: Gone to the great farnarkling grommet in the sky
John Birmingham
10 April 2017

Anagram

flaring rank
far gnarl ink

Today’s quote

Land is the secure ground of home, the sea is like life, the outside, the unknown.

– Stephen Gardiner

On this day

15 May – The Nakba (Day of the Catastrophe), Palestine – commemoration of the displacement of more than 700,000 Palestinians and the depopulation and destruction of at least 400 villages during the establishment of Israel in 1948.

15 May 1970 – At Jackson State University in Mississippi, police open fire on students who were protesting against the Vietnam and Cambodian Wars, killing two and injuring twelve.

14 May 2017

fenagle

[fi-ney-guh l]

verb (used with or without object), fenagled, fenagling.

1. finagle.

finagle or fenagle

[fi-ney-guh l]

verb (used with object), finagled, finagling.

1. to trick, swindle, or cheat (a person) (often followed by out of):
He finagled the backers out of a fortune.
2. to get or achieve (something) by guile, trickery, or manipulation:
to finagle an assignment to the Membership Committee.
verb (used without object), finagled, finagling.
3. to practice deception or fraud; scheme.

Origin of finagle

1925-1930, Americanism; finaig- (variant of fainaigue ) + -le
Related forms

finagler, noun

Dictionary.com

Anagram

leaf gin
fig lane
elf gain

Today’s quote

I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return

– W.H. Auden

On this day

14 May 1796 – Edward Jenner gives the first smallpox vaccination.

14 May 1879 – the first group of indentured Indians labourers arrive in Fiji aboard the Leonidas.

14 May 1919 – death of Henry John Heinz, founder of Heinz Company, responsible for canned baked beans. Born 11 October 1844.

14 May 1929 – Wilfred Rhodes takes his 4,000th first-class wicket at Leyton, after bowling 9/39. He played 58 test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. He was the first Englishman to complete both 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test cricket. He went on to achieve the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in individual first-class seasons a record 16 times. He retired with first-class totals of 4,204 wickets and 39,969 runs. In Tests he retired with 127 wickets and 2,325 runs.

14 May 1939 – Lina Medina (born 27 September 1933 in Peru) becomes the world’s youngest confirmed mother at the age of five. She gave birth by a caesarean section, to a boy, weighing 2.7kg (6.0lb). He was named Gerardo after the doctor who delivered him. He was raised believing Lina was his sister and was told the truth at the age of 10. Gerardo died in 1979, aged 40, of a bone marrow disease. Following Gerardo’s birth, Lina was diagnosed with extreme ‘precocious puberty’, in which puberty occurs at an unusually early age. It was initially reported that she hit puberty by the age of three, however, a further medical report indicated she had commenced puberty by eight months old. Lina never revealed who the father was or the circumstances of her impregnation. Lina later married and had a second child in 1972, when she was 39. She presently lives in Lima, Peru.

14 May 1948 – the modern nation of Israel is established by proclamation of the Jewish Agency headed by David Ben-Gurion, following the United Nations adoption of Resolution 181 on 29 November 1947.

13 May 2017

brae

[brey, bree; Scot. brey, bree]

noun, Scot. and North England.

1. a slope; declivity; hillside.

Origin of brae

Middle English Old Norse

1300-1350; Middle English bra; Old Norse brā brow, cognate with Old English brēaw eyebrow, eyelid, Old High German brāwa (German Braue); for semantic development, cf. brow

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for brae

Historical Examples

The contents of this MS. can be so well ascertained from Mr. brae ‘s edition that it is unnecessary to say more about it here.
Chaucer’s Works, Volume 3 (of 7)
Geoffrey Chaucer

Once landed on Raasay, I made up the brae to the great house.
A Daughter of Raasay
William MacLeod Raine

In three or four minutes we had topped the brae and began to go down upon Sandag.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XXI
Robert Louis Stevenson

Anagram

bear
bare

Today’s quote

If I’m being rejected from one thing, it’s really just the path redirecting me elsewhere to where I’m supposed to be.

– Amani Al-Khatahtbeh

On this day

13 May 1941 – birth of Richard Steven Valenzuela, otherwise known as Richie Valens. 1950s rock and roll star, famous for songs such as, ‘Come On, Let’s Go’, and ‘La Bamba. Died in a plane crash on 3 February 1959 with other musicians, Buddy Holly, J.P. ‘Big Bopper’ Richardson and the pilot, Roger Peterson. Their deaths were immortalised in the Don McLean song, ‘American Pie’, when he sang about the day the music died.

13 May 1981 – Pope John Paul II is injured in front of 2,000 people in St Peter’s Square after being shot by Turkish man, Mehmet Ali Agca.

12 May 2017

surplice

[sur-plis]

noun

1. a loose-fitting, broad-sleeved white vestment, worn over the cassock by clergy and choristers.
2. a garment in which the two halves of the front cross diagonally.

Origin of surplice

Middle English Anglo-French Old French Medieval Latin
1250-1300; Middle English surplis; Anglo-French surpliz, syncopated variant of Old French surpeliz; Medieval Latin superpellīcium (vestīmentum) over-pelt (garment), neuter of superpellīcius (adj.), equivalent to Latin super- super- + pellīt(us) clothed with skins + -ius adj. suffix

Related forms

surpliced, adjective
unsurpliced, adjective

Can be confused

surplice, surplus.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for surplice

Historical Examples

It goes into the pulpit, and decides the gown, and the surplice, and the style of rhetoric.
The Abominations of Modern Society
Rev. T. De Witt Talmage

In 1565 he, with the Fellows and scholars, appeared in Chapel without the surplice.
St. John’s College, Cambridge
Robert Forsyth Scott

The surplice, which Mr. Poodle was still holding, parted with a rip, and Gissing was free.
Where the Blue Begins
Christopher Morley

The sight of a surplice, the sound of bells, scares them away.
Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine – Volume 55, No. 344, June, 1844
Various

In 1617 he went with the king to Scotland, and aroused hostility by wearing the surplice.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 3
Various

He returned the bottle to his pocket, and went to the vestry for his surplice.
The Channings
Mrs. Henry Wood

I myself have known parishes in the mountains where the surplice fees were worth more than that of many town livings.
The Red and the Black
Stendhal

The old reprobate with the surplice burst into a volley of bad language.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan Doyle

It’s a good thing clergymen wear a surplice, for I am sure he never could tell whether he was decent or not.
A Little Girl in Old Washington
Amanda M. Douglas

An acolyte appeared, followed by the aged priest in his surplice.
Original Short Stories, Volume 12 (of 13)
Guy de Maupassant

Anagram

slurp ice
slicer up
I scruple
cure lisp

Today’s quote

Loneliness adds beauty to life. It puts a special burn on sunsets and makes night air smell better.

– Henry Rollins

On this day

12 May 1932 – the body of the Lindbergh baby is found near to the Lindbergh residence. The baby was the son of famous aviator, Charles Lindbergh, and had been kidnapped days earlier. The kidnapper had accidentally killed the baby during the kidnapping and abandoned the body in a nearby forest.

12 May 1937 – King George VI is crowned King of Britain (and it’s colonies) at Westminster Abbey, following the abdication of his brother.

12 May 1980 – death of Bette Nesmith Graham. Bette is the inventor of Liquid Paper. Her son, Mike Nesmith, was a member of 1960s UK/American pop/rock band, The Monkees. Born 23 March 1924 in Dallas, Texas.

12 May 1994 – in response to thousands acts of violence in the USA against abortion clinics and their patients, a bill is submitted to President Clinton making it a federal crime to prevent access to an abortion clinic or to threaten or use force against people attending the clinics. The bill resulted in the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act 1994. Between 1978 and 1993 anti-abortion (or pro-life) activists had been responsible for at least 9 murders, 17 attempted murders, 406 death threats, 179 acts of assault, 5 kidnappings of abortion providers, 41 bombings, 96 attempted bombings or arsons, 692 bomb threats, 1993 incidents of trespassing, 1400 incidents of vandalism and 100 attacks with butyric acid (stink bombs).