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.

5 February 2018

adipose

[ad-uh-pohs]

adjective

1. fatty; consisting of, resembling, or relating to fat.
noun
2. animal fat stored in the fatty tissue of the body.

Origin of adipose

Latin

1735-1745; < Latin adip-, s of adeps fat, lard + -ose1

Related forms

adiposeness, adiposity [ad-uh-pos-i-tee], adiposis, noun
hyperadipose, adjective
hyperadiposity, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for adipose

Historical Examples

This was an office lined with adipose, with no work to speak of.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Volume 7
Elbert Hubbard

Fit as a fiddle only he has a lot of adipose tissue concealed about his person.
Ulysses
James Joyce

There are also three beautiful red spots on the adipose fin.
Fly Fishing in Wonderland
Klahowya

He sat, an adipose mass, breathing heavily, and sucking at his cigar.
The Man in the Twilight
Ridgwell Cullum

He works his oxen hard, gives them enough to eat to keep them in full health and vigor, but nothing for adipose.
The Natural Cure of Consumption, Constipation, Bright’s Disease, Neuralgia, Rheumatism,
Charles Edward Page

His bulging eyes grew more and more prominent, and his adipose jaw dropped.
The Sins of Sverac Bablon
Sax Rohmer

She is adipose to a degree that makes her circumference problematical, and her weight a mere matter of conjecture.
The Witches of New York
Q. K. Philander Doesticks

But once they had begun with the meagre child, the adipose old man, the lean or flabby youth, they went on through thick and thin.
Thoughts on Art and Autobiographical Memoirs of Giovanni Dupr
Giovanni Dupr

The acini are imbedded in a mass of adipose tissue which contains the vessels and nerves.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II
Various

He perched hesitatingly on the arm of an adipose easy chair, not having been specifically invited to sit.
Winnie Childs
C. N. Williamson

Anagram

sop idea
aide ops
peso aid
soda pie

Today’s quote

Happiness is a byproduct of function, purpose, and conflict; those who seek happiness for itself seek victory without war.

– William S. Burroughs

On this day

5 February 1914 – birth of William Seward Burroughs, otherwise known as William S. Burroughs or William Lee, Beat Generation author, painter, spoken word performer. The beat generation rose to prominence in the 1950s and experimented with innovation in art, style, rules and drugs. Burroughs work includes Junkie, Queer, and Naked Lunch. Burroughs died on 2 August 1997.

5 February 1922 – Readers Digest first published by DeWitt and Lila Wallace.

5 February 2009 – China tells Canada not to accept 17 Chinese Uyghur prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay. The Uyghurs had applied for refugee status in Canada. They had been arrested in Afghanistan during the 2001 US invasion.

4 February 2018

aggrieve

[uh-greev]

verb (used with object), aggrieved, aggrieving.

1. to oppress or wrong grievously; injure by injustice.
2. to afflict with pain, anxiety, etc.

Origin of aggrieve

Middle English, Middle French, Latin

1250-1300; Middle English agreven < Middle French agrever < Latin aggravāre to make heavy, worsen, equivalent to ag- ag- + grav- (see grave2) + -āre infinitive suffix; cf. aggravate

Related forms

aggrievement, noun
Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for aggrieve

Historical Examples

No natives know so well how to aggrieve and be unpleasant to travellers.
In Darkest Africa, Vol. 2; or, The quest, rescue and retreat of Emin, governor of Equatoria
Henry Morton Stanley

The mighty mother cannot find it in her heart to pronounce a decision which must aggrieve one of such a devoted pair.
Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, Number 358, August 1845
Various

Everything that can most aggrieve the heart of man has befallen me here under his eyes.
A Thorny Path [Per Aspera], Complete
Georg Ebers

Anagram

age giver
give gear
I rave egg

Today’s quote

We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.

― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

On this day

4 February 1904 – birth of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident. He was executed on 9 April 1945 at Flossenburg Concentration Camp, two weeks before the camp was liberated by US soldiers.

4 February 1948 – birth of Alice Cooper, (Vincent Damon Furnier), legendary American shock rocker.

4 February 1948 – Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) is granted independence from Britain, but remains a member of the British Commonwealth.

4 February 1959 – the barbie doll is invented by Ruth Handler.

4 February 1993 – Yugoslavia is dissolved and replaced by a union between Serbia and Montenegro.

4 February 2004 – Facebook founded by Mark Zuckerberg.

3 February 2018

noddle

[nod-l]

noun, Older Slang.

1. the head or brain.

Origin of noddle

late Middle English

1375-1425; late Middle English nodel

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for noddle

Historical Examples

I remember him because it took some explainin’ to get the bet through his noddle.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser

Don’t you see that I may have become a rather desirable match for a noddle ?
Little Dorrit
Charles Dickens

And now the sun declines between the noddle Fell and Bleaberry.
The Shadow of a Crime
Hall Caine

Anagram

old den
do lend

Today’s quote

In the long run, men hit only what they aim at.

– Henry David Thoreau

On this day

3 February 1830 – Greece achieves full independence from the Ottoman Empire following Great Britain, France and Russia agreeing to the London Protocol (1830). This followed on from Greece obtaining internal autonomy through the London Protocol (1829) on 22 March 1829. The borders of Greece were finalised in the London Conference of 1832.

3 February 1904 – birth of Charles Arthur ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd, American gangster. Shot to death by FBI agents in Ohio on 22 October 1934.

3 February 1919 – Inaugural meeting of the League of Nations (the predecessor of the United Nations), which was headed by US President Woodrow Wilson, aimed at promoting world peace and security.

3 February 1959 – ‘The Day the Music Died’. Plane crash during a storm near Clear Lake, Iowa, claims the lives of some of America’s finest rock and roll stars: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson). The pilot, Roger Peterson, also died. Another rock star, Dion Di Mucci, decided not to board the plane. The stars had performed at Clear Lake as part of ‘The Winter Dance Party Tour’ and were on their way to the next venue. Don McLean’s iconic song ‘American Pie’ paid homage to the tragedy, declaring it the ‘Day the Music Died’.

3 February 1966 – The Soviet Union achieves the first moon landing when the unmanned Lunix 9 spacecraft touches down on the moon’s Ocean of Storms area.

2 February 2018

shindig

[shin-dig]

noun, Informal.

1. an elaborate or large dance, party, or other celebration.

Origin of shindig

1855-1860, Americanism; shin1+ dig1; compare slang shinscraper dance

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for shindig

Contemporary Examples

Also at the shindig were Jemma and Jodie Kidd, Pixie Lott, Anna, Hamish and the rest.
Beckham at Belstaff Party on Bond Street: “I’ll Have a Becks, Please.”
Tom Sykes
September 15, 2013

Historical Examples

“It’s no Pike County shindig,” had responded the floor-manager, cheerfully.
Mrs. Skaggs’s Husbands and Other Stories
Bret Harte

Why, we got this shindig up, he noted irreverently, just so Miss Lane could sing at it.
The Girl From His Town
Marie Van Vorst

Anagram

dishing
hidings
hid sign

Today’s quote

We are drowning in information and starving for knowledge.

– Rutherford D. Roger

On this day

2 February 1943 – the German 6th Army surrenders to Soviet forces in Stalingrad.

2 February 1964 – Hasbro launches G.I. Joe (‘Government Issue Joe), an Armed Forces toy.

2 February 1971 – Idi Amin declares himself President of Uganda and launches a genocidal program that massacres between 80,000 and 300,000 people.

2 February 1990 – South African President, F.W. De Klerk orders the release of Nelson Mandela from jail. Mandela had served 27 years in prison for his anti-apartheid work with the African National Congress. De Klerk also lifted the 30 year ban on the ANC.

1 February 2018

organdy or organdie

[awr-guh n-dee]

noun, plural organdies.

1. a fine, thin cotton fabric usually having a durable crisp finish, white, dyed, or printed: used for blouses, dresses, curtains, trimmings, etc.

Origin of organdy

French

1825-1835 First recorded in 1825-35, organdy is from the French word organdi, of obscure origin

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for organdy

Historical Examples

The costumes of organdy and sateen were quite as pretty as the model of silk and satin.
Two Little Women
Carolyn Wells

Molly flushed as she glanced hastily down at her two-year-old organdy.
Molly Brown’s Sophomore Days
Nell Speed

I ought to be sending her in a picture hat with an organdy dress and blue sash to meet Minga.
Under the Law
Edwina Stanton Babcock

organdy ‘s the most unserviceable stuff in the world anyhow, and I told Matthew so when he got it.
Anne Of Green Gables
Lucy Maud Montgomery

Min was wearing an organdy plainly showing signs of service, while Landis was arrayed in a handsome gown of soft blue silk.
Elizabeth Hobart at Exeter Hall
Jean K. Baird

The organdy sash and flounced peplum are designed particularly for her.
Appropriate Clothes for the High School Girl
Virginia M. Alexander

I feel that organdy leads all other materials as desirable for the graduation dress.
Appropriate Clothes for the High School Girl
Virginia M. Alexander

She was as proud in cambric and calico and nankeen as Harriet is to-day in white tulle and organdy.
Around The Tea-Table
T. De Witt Talmage

Judy, ever visualizing, pictured herself in black with organdy collar and cuffs and a mournful, patient look.
Molly Brown of Kentucky
Nell Speed

Word Origin and History for organdy

n.

“fine transparent muslin,” 1829, from French organdi “sorte de Mousseline ou toile de coton” (1725), of unknown origin. Barnhart suggests it is an alteration of Organzi, from medieval form of Urgench, city in Uzbekistan that was a cotton textile center.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Anagram

angry do
God yarn

Today’s quote

If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.

– John Stuart Mill

On this day

1 February 1979 – After 14 years in exile, the Ayatollah Khomeini returns to a hero’s welcome in Tehran in which 5 million people welcomed him. He led a revolutionary army that overthrew the Shah of Iran.

1 February 1992 – the Cold War ends when US President George H.W. Bush and Russian leader, Boris Yeltsin issue a joint statement declaring an end to the decades long ‘war’.

29 January 2018

abdicate

[ab-di-keyt]

verb (used without object), abdicated, abdicating.

1. to renounce or relinquish a throne, right, power, claim, responsibility, or the like, especially in a formal manner:
The aging founder of the firm decided to abdicate.
verb (used with object), abdicated, abdicating.
2. to give up or renounce (authority, duties, an office, etc.), especially in a voluntary, public, or formal manner:
King Edward VIII of England abdicated the throne in 1936.

Origin of abdicate

Latin

1535-1545; < Latin abdicātus renounced (past participle of abdicāre), equivalent to ab- ab- + dicātus proclaimed ( dic- (see dictum ) + -ātus -ate1)

Related forms

abdicable [ab-di-kuh-buh l], adjective
abdicative [ab-di-key-tiv, -kuh-], adjective
abdicator, noun
nonabdicative, adjective
unabdicated, adjective

Can be confused

abdicate, abrogate, arrogate, derogate.

Synonyms

1. resign, quit. 2. abandon, repudiate.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for abdicate

Contemporary Examples

A palace insider however insisted to the Daily Beast today that the Queen was not about to abdicate.
Could The Queen Abdicate on Christmas Day?
Tom Sykes
December 17, 2014

Juan Carlos is the second European monarch to abdicate in just over a year.
Shock As King Juan Carlos of Spain Abdicates
Tom Sykes
June 2, 2014

Much like the British monarchy, when the current Aga Khan is ready to abdicate his post, he will personally choose a successor.
Model Kendra Spears Engaged to a Shi’a Prince
Misty White Sidell
April 30, 2013

Anagram

acid beat
cat abide

Today’s quote

Your mind and soul are the kings of your physique way more than any exercise you do.

– Evangeline Lilly

On this day

29 January 1860 – birth of Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and short story writer, considered to be among the greatest writers of short fiction in history. One of the seminal figures in the birth of modernism. Chekhov was also a medical doctor. His works include ‘The Bear’, ‘The Cherry Orchard’, ‘The Seagull’, ‘The Lady with the Dog’. Died 15 July 1904.

29 January 1979 – 16 year old, Brenda Spencer shoots two men dead and wounds nine children at the Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego. She allegedly claimed that she did it because it was a Monday and she didn’t like Mondays. She was sentenced to 25 years jail. The Boomtown Rats released a song about the incident, entitled ‘I Don’t Like Mondays‘.