20 January 2019

hinky

or hin·key, hink·ty, hinc·ty
[hing-kee]

adjective, hin·ki·er, hin·ki·est. Slang.

acting in a nervous or very cautious way.
suspicious:
Whenever he agrees with me, you know something hinky is going on!
snobbish; haughty.

Origin of hinky

First recorded in 1920–25; origin unknown

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for hinky

Historical Examples of hinky

My companion and I felt that while we were “getting” Hinky Dink, he was not failing to “get” us.
Abroad at Home
Julian Street

I only mean that I had always thought of Hinky Dink as a fictitious personage.
Abroad at Home
Julian Street

I experienced a somewhat similar emotion in Chicago on being introduced to Hinky Dink.
Abroad at Home
Julian Street

I’ll tell you what happens: some city editor sends a kid reporter to get a story about Hinky Dink.
Abroad at Home
Julian Street

“Hinky Dink” saw him, paid for a week’s lodging at the Mills Hotel, and gave him money for meals each day.
The Nation Behind Prison Bars
George L. Herr

Today’s quote

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.

– Edgar Allan Poe

On this day

20 January – Penguin Awareness Day.

20 January 1952 – birth of Stanley Harvey Esien, better known as Paul Stanley, singer and guitarist in glam rock band, Kiss.

20 January 1982 – It was the chomp heard around the world, when Ozzy Osbourne, The Prince of Darkness, bit the head off a bat while performing on stage in Des Moines, Iowa. A fan had thrown a bat on stage. Ozzy claims he thought it was rubber, but found out the hard way, that it was, in fact, a real bat. He was taken to hospital and given rabies shots. This follows on from an incident in 1981, when Ozzy bit the head off a dove after signing his first solo record deal … as you do … Word has it that Ozzy had planned to release a number of doves as a symbol of peace, but was drunk and felt one of the doves could do with a trim … which didn’t work out too well for the dove. There is no truth in the rumour that the Prince song, ‘When Doves Cry’ is about the incident.

19 January 2019

auto-da-fé

[aw-toh-duh-fey]

noun, plural au·tos-da-fé.

the public declaration of the judgment passed on persons tried in the courts of the Spanish Inquisition, followed by the execution by the civil authorities of the sentences imposed, especially the burning of condemned heretics at the stake.

Origin of auto-da-fé

1715–25; < Portuguese: act of the faith

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for auto-da-fe

Historical Examples of auto-da-fe

He saw the horizon of the future lurid with the flames of the auto da fe.
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 3 (of 12)
Robert G. Ingersoll

It is doubtful if anything short of an auto da fe would have met their approval.
The Behavior of Crowds
Everett Dean Martin

Tezel, after his auto da fe at Frankfort on the Oder, had hastened to send his theses into Saxony.
History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century (Volume 1)
J. H. Merle D’Aubign

Men were living who had seen the horrors of the auto da fe and the splendors of viceregal authority.
Remember the Alamo
Amelia E. Barr

The roasting of a human victim at the auto da fe was a purely democratic institution.
Mexico and its Religion
Robert A. Wilson

Today’s quote

Capitalism has outlived its usefulness. It has brought about a system that takes necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes.

– Martin Luther King

On this day

19 January 1809 – birth of Edgar Allan Poe, American poet and novelist, The Raven. Died 7 October 1849.

19 January 1920 – Night of the Palmer Raids, in which more than 4,000 suspected radical leftists were arrested. Most were members of the Industrial Workers of the World union. Alexander Palmer was the United States Attorney-General. Most of those arrested were either deported or charged under the Espionage Act 1917 and the Sedition Act 1918.

19 January 1935 – birth of Johnny O’Keefe, Australian rock and roll legend. Known as J.O.K. or ‘The Wild One’. Died 6 October 1978.

19 January 1943 – birth of Janis Joplin. American singer song-writer. Died on 4 October 1970.

19 January 1966 – A UFO saucer nest is discovered near Tully, North Queensland, Australia when a banana farmer, George Pedley, claims that he saw a large, saucer-shaped object fly out of a swamp at Horseshoe Lagoon. He said the saucer was 25 feet wide and 9 feet high. Further investigation of the lagoon revealed that in a particularly reedy part, there was a large circle that was clear of reeds. The circle was 30 feet in diameter and the reeds had been flattened in a clockwise manner. Five other similar, but smaller, circles were discovered. Apart from the UFO claim, no other explanation could account for the circles. These are the first crop-circles discovered in the modern world.

This photo of the crop circle was taken by Emil Duran:

14 January 2019

imprecation

[im-pri-key-shuh n]

noun

1. the act of imprecating; cursing.
2. a curse; malediction.

Origin of imprecation

Latin

1575-1585; < Latin imprecātiōn- (stem of imprecātiō), equivalent to imprecāt(us) (see imprecate ) + -iōn- -ion

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for imprecation

Historical Examples

He laughed again in one low burst that was as spiteful as an imprecation.
Tales of Unrest
Joseph Conrad

An imprecation of a sufficiently emphatic character was the only reply.
David Elginbrod
George MacDonald

Then, with an imprecation upon his lips, he turned and retired.
The Minister of Evil
William Le Queux

He vainly strives to rally under the fire of imprecation, but it is too late.
Marion’s Faith.
Charles King

With an imprecation of wrath he called his companion’s attention to the spot.
A Prisoner of Morro
Upton Sinclair

A torrent of imprecation rose to his lips, but he left it unuttered.
The Royal Pawn of Venice
Mrs. Lawrence Turnbull

An imprecation on a person who has surpassed another in an undertaking.
The Proverbs of Scotland
Alexander Hislop

In what do anathema, curse, execration, and imprecation agree?
English Synonyms and Antonyms
James Champlin Fernald

“That imprecation had better have been spared, madam,” said the duke.
Windsor Castle
William Harrison Ainsworth

Now, the Queen muttered an imprecation, and called the name ‘Abarak!’
The Shaving of Shagpat, Complete
George Meredith

Today’s quote

Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.

– Anais Nin

On this day

14 January 1892 – birth of Martin Niemoller, German pastor. Niemoller originally supported Adolf Hitler, however, he soon realised he’d made a mistake. He blamed Hitler’s rise to power and the ensuing war and genocide, on the support and acceptance of his policies from churches and ordinary citizens, as well as the lack of speaking up against injustice. Niemoller is most well known for his statement, ‘First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me’. Died 6 March 1984.

14 January 1977 – death of Anais Nin, French-Cuban author. Born 21 February 1903.

14 January 1984 – death of Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s Corporation … and the Big Mac … Born 5 October 1902. Kroc had bought out Dick and Mac McDonald’s barbeque and hamburger food chain before establishing the franchise network of fast-food restaurants.

13 January 2019

estimable

[es-tuh-muh-buh l]

adjective

1. worthy of esteem; deserving respect or admiration.
2. capable of being estimated.

Origin of estimable

late Middle English Middle French Latin

1425-1475; late Middle English < Middle French < Latin aestimābilis, equivalent to aestim(āre) to esteem + -ābilis -able

Related forms

estimableness, noun
estimably, adverb
nonestimable, adjective
nonestimableness, noun
nonestimably, adverb

Synonyms

1. reputable, respectable, admirable, laudable, meritorious, excellent, good.

Antonyms

1. contemptible.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for estimable

Contemporary Examples

Now the estimable Cook Report has moved the race from Lean Republican to a Toss-Up.
Mark Sanford Ditched by NRCC, but Counting Him Out Would Be Unwise
John Avlon
April 18, 2013

To save himself, Nixon nominated the estimable Elliot Richardson to be his new attorney general.
How Kennedy Brought Down Nixon
Chris Matthews
September 13, 2009

Historical Examples

The very best sort; a most estimable fellow,—one of a thousand.
Ester Ried Yet Speaking
Isabella Alden

Besides, the majority of the clergy were most estimable men.
The Fat and the Thin
Emile Zola

He was a man of my own class; a gentleman of pleasant ways, amiable, estimable, and able.
Scaramouche
Rafael Sabatini

Have you not, father, said in the past that he was an estimable young man?
Daughters of the Revolution and Their Times
Charles Carleton Coffin

She was a most kind, estimable woman, and he admired her for her noble character.
Jolly Sally Pendleton
Laura Jean Libbey

How dared she feel the touch of so estimable a man to be so hateful?
Bulldog And Butterfly
David Christie Murray

Their culture is different from anything else, and yet it is most estimable and refined.
From Pole to Pole
Sven Anders Hedin

Someone else must attend to Miss Verona’s estimable aunt—positively!
Torchy, Private Sec.
Sewell Ford

Today’s quote

Don’t let fear or insecurity stop you from trying new things. Believe in yourself. Do what you love. And most importantly, be kind to others, even if you don’t like them.

– Stacy London

On this day

13 January 1893 – birth of Roy Cazaly, Australian Rules football legend, known for his high marks and ruck-work. Immortalised in the song, ‘Up there Cazaly‘, by The Two Man Band (Mike Brady & Peter Sullivan). Died 10 October 1963.

13 January 1929 – death of Wyatt Earp in Los Angeles, American gunfighter, famous for the gunfight at the OK Corral. He was 80 years old.

13 January 1939 – Black Friday fires in Victoria, Australia, covering more than 4,900,000 acres, destroying 1,000 homes and killing 71 people. It was one of the world’s worst bush-fire disasters.

13 January 2001 – a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hits El Salvador, killing 1,000 people

12 January 2019

Centruroides

noun

– a genus of scorpions belonging to the family Buthidae. Several North American species are known by the common vernacular name bark scorpion. Numerous species are extensively found throughout the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, the Antilles and northern South America. Some are known for their interesting patterning or large size (among Buthidae); most if not all fluoresce strongly under ultraviolet illumination, except after moulting. They contain several highly venomous species, and fatalities are known to occur.

Today’s quote

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.

– Maya Angelou

On this day

12 January 1948 – The United States Supreme Court rules that the all-white law school at University of Oklahoma must provide education to black students that is equal to the education provided to white students.

12 January 2012 – magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes Haiti, killing between 100,000 and 250,000. Humanitarian aid was slow in coming to Haiti because of the damage to the country’s infrastructure, which resulted in the high death toll. The earthquake is the fourth deadliest on record.

12 January 2003 – death of Maurice Gibb on the Isle of Man. Founded the Bee Gees with his brothers, Robin and Barry. Born 22 December 1949.

11 January 2019

campesino

[kahm-pe-see-naw; English kam-puh-see-noh]

noun, plural campesinos [kahm-pe-see-naws; English kam-puh-see-nohz] (Show IPA). Spanish.

1. (in Latin America) a peasant or farmer.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for campesino

Historical Examples

There was a long blank on the screen, then campesino ‘s cold face appeared.
Dead World
Jack Douglas

Today’s quote

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

— Emma Lazarus

On this day

12 January 1948 – The United States Supreme Court that the all-white law school at University of Oklahoma must provide education to black students that is equal to the education provided to white students.

12 January 2012 – magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes Haiti, killing between 100,000 and 250,000. Humanitarian aid was slow in coming to Haiti because of the damage to the country’s infrastructure, which resulted in the high death toll. The earthquake is the fourth deadliest on record.

12 January 2003 – death of Maurice Gibb on the Isle of Man. Founded the Bee Gees with his brothers, Robin and Barry. Born 22 December 1949.

10 January 2019

arriba

Spanish

– translates as ‘go’ or ‘hooray’.

Usage

‘Arriba, Arriba, Andale, Andale’

– Speedy Gonzalez

Today’s quote

We build too many walls and not enough bridges.

– Isaac Newton

On this day

10 January 1946 – the inaugural meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, with 51 nations, convenes in London.

10 January 1949 – RCA introduces the world’s first vinyl record which played at 45rpm while Columbia released the world’s first vinyl record which played at 33rpm.

10 January 1998 – Night of Noah, Townsville. The city was drenched with rains from ex-Tropical Cyclone Sid. In a 24-hour period, 549mm fell on the city as recorded by the Bureau of Meteorology, however of this, more than 500mm during a 12 hour period. There were unofficial recordings that exceeded 700mm during this period.

10 January 2011 – Flash flooding strikes Toowoomba, Queensland, after 160mm of rain falls in 36 hours, killing four people. The flood water flowed down the Toowoomba range, inundating properties in the Lockyer Valley, including Grantham, Withcott, Helidon, killing nine people.

9 January 2019

Andale

Spanish

– translates as ‘come on’, ‘let’s go’.

Today’s quote

Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last. To pluck the mask from the face of the Pharisee, is not to lift an impious hand to the Crown of Thorns.

– Charlotte Brontë

On this day

9 January 1324 – death of Marco Polo, Italian explorer. Born 15 September 1254.

9 January 1944 – birth of Jimmy Page, legendary British guitarist and song-writer. Co-founder of iconic rock band, Led Zeppelin.

8 January 2019

gnurr

gnurr – The substance that collects over time in the bottoms of pockets or cuffs of trousers.
See also related terms for pockets.

Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

Today’s quote

Nothing in the world can bother you as much as your own mind, I tell you. In fact, others seem to be bothering you, but it is not others. It is your own mind.

– Dalai Lama

On this day

8 January 1642 – death of Galileo Galilei, Italian polymath and central figure in the Renaissance and scientific revolution, known for his work as an astronomer, physicist, engineer, philosopher and mathematician. Also called the ‘father of observational astronomy’, ‘father of modern physics’, ‘father of the scientific method’, and ‘father of science’. The Catholic church his idea of heliocentrism, that is the earth revolving around the sun, to be heretical, as the church believed the heavens revolved around the Earth. Galileo was tried at an Inquisition and remained under house arrest for the remainder of his life. Born 15 February 1564.

8 January 1935 – birth of Elvis Aaron Presley, the King of Rock and Roll. Died 16 August 1977.

8 January 1942 – birth of Stephen Hawking, English theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author. In 1963, at the age of 21, Hawking was diagnosed with motor neuron disease, a degenerative condition that worsened over the years, leaving him paralysed and unable to speak. He communicated through a speech-generating device. Hawking proposed that black holes emit radiation and set out a theory of cosmology explained by a union of Einstein’s general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. Died 14 March 2018.

8 January 1947 – birth of David Bowie, British musician and actor, born David Robert Jones. Died 11 January 2016.

8 January 1959 – Fidel Castro’s rebel forces take control of Cuba. Castro eventually became President and ruled the nation until 2011.

8 January 1964 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson introduces legislation that results in the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, otherwise known as the War on Poverty, in an effort to reduce the increasing poverty rate, which at that time was around 19%. Through this a number of poverty-reduction strategies were implemented, including Social Security Act 1965, Food Stamp Act of 1964, Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965), Community Action Program, Job Corps, and Volunteers in Services to America. Within 10 years the poverty rate had been reduced to around 11%. In 2014, the rate had risen to around 15%.

7 January 2019

paisano

[pahy-sah-noh, -zah-; Spanish pahy-sah-naw]

noun, plural pai·sa·nos [pahy-sah-nohz, -zah-; Spanish pahy-sah-naws] /paɪˈsɑ noʊz, -ˈzɑ-; Spanish paɪˈsɑ nɔs/.
paisan.

Southwestern U.S.

a rustic or peasant.
a roadrunner.

Origin of paisano

1835–45, Americanism; Spanish; French paysan. See peasant

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for paisano

Historical Examples

We got rid of our paisano with difficulty, and only under a promise to visit his chacra, somewhere in the vicinity, next morning.
Atlantic Monthly Vol. 6, No. 33, July, 1860
Various

They received the usual frank welcome of a paisano, and were told to dismount and unsaddle.
Ponce de Leon
William Pilling

Their cabalistic watchword was “Paisano” (fellow-countryman), their battle cry “Independence.”
The American Occupation of the Philippines 1898-1912
James H. Blount

Sick with expectancy of the news he feared, he rode up, dismounted, and dropped Paisano’s reins.
Heart of the West
O. Henry

Today’s quote

How wonderful it is that no one has to wait, but can start right now to gradually change the world! How wonderful it is that everyone, great and small, can immediately help bring about justice by giving of themselves.

— Anne Frank

On this day

7 January – Christmas Day celebrated by some eastern and Orthodox churches, which is 25 December under the old Julian calendar. Most western churches celebrate Christmas on 25 December in the Gregorian calendar system which began replacing the Julian calendar throughout the world from 1582.

7 January 1943 – Death of Nikola Tesla, Serbian American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer and futurist. Inventor of alternating current (A/C) electricity supply. Born 10 July 1856.

7 January 1979 – Brutal Cambodian dictator, Pol Pot, is overthrown as Vietnamese forces invade Phnom Penh. Pol Pot and his army, the Khmer Rouge, were responsible for killing approximately 1.7 million people.