11 November 2013

analogous

[uh-nal-uh-guhs]

adjective

1. having analogy; corresponding in some particular: A brain and a computer are analogous.
2. Biology . corresponding in function, but not evolved from corresponding organs, as the wings of a bee and those of a hummingbird.

Origin:

1640–50; < Latin analogus < Greek análogos proportionate, equivalent to ana- ana- + lóg ( os ) ratio + -os adj. suffix; see -ous

Related forms
a·nal·o·gous·ly, adverb
a·nal·o·gous·ness, noun
non·a·nal·o·gous, adjective
non·a·nal·o·gous·ly, adverb
non·a·nal·o·gous·ness, noun

Today’s aphorism

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

– Laurence Binyon, from the poem For the fallen, written in September 1914

On this day

11 November 1880 – execution by hanging, of Ned Kelly, Australian bush-ranger.

11 November 1918 – End of World War I. Commemorated as ‘Remembrance Day’ in British Commonwealth countries and ‘Armistice Day’ in other nations, recognising the armistice signed at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. In 1954, the United States, changed Armistice Day to ‘Veterans Day’ and made it a public holiday to recognise those who have served in the armed forces, not just those who served in World War I.

11 November 1954 – Pensioners’ Revolt, United Kingdom. Thousands of pensioners march in a rally in London calling for an increase of their pensions by 17s 6d, which would take a single person’s pension to £2 10s per week.

11 November 1975 – Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam (Labor Party) sacked by the Governor-General and replaced by Malcolm Fraser (Liberal Party).

11 November 2004 – death of Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader in Paris after falling into a coma. The cause of his death is disputed, with some believing he was poisoned by Israel, others believing it was from cirrhosis.

2 November 2013

portmanteau

[pawrt-man-toh, pohrt-; pawrt-man-toh, pohrt-]

noun, plural port·man·teaus, port·man·teaux [-tohz, -toh, -tohz, -toh] . Chiefly British .

1. a case or bag to carry clothing in while traveling, especially a leather trunk or suitcase that opens into two halves.

2. ( modifier ) embodying several uses or qualities: the heroine is a portmanteau figure of all the virtues

3. a combination of two or more words or morphemes. Some examples include:
– smog (combining smoke and fog)
– spam (combining spiced ham)
– Brangelina (combining Brad and Angelina)
– affluenza (combining affluence and influenza)
– chillax (combining chill and relax).

Origin:

1575–85; < French portemanteau literally, (it) carries (the) cloak; mantle

Today’s aphorism

Whenever someone asks me if I want water with my Scotch, I say I’m thirsty, not dirty.

– Joe E. Lewis

On this day

2 November 1917 – British Foreign Secretary, James Balfour, presents a declaration of intent to establish a national homeland in Palestine for the Jewish people. It became known as the ‘Balfour Declaration’.

2 November 1936 – launch of the British Broadcasting Commission (BBC-TV). World’s first regular television service. Initially broadcasting with a radius of 25 miles. It was taken off-air from 1939 – 1946 because of World War II. Now known as BBC One.

2 November 1942 – Australians recapture Kokoda from the Japanese during the Kokoda Track campaign. The campaign was fought from 21 July 1942 to 16 November 1942, in the Australian territory of Papua New Guinea between Japanese and predominantly Australian forces. The Kokoda Track wound through the Owen Stanley Ranges, which Japanese forces had invaded as they attempted to seize Port Moresby.

31 March 2013

pusillanimous

[pyoo-suh-lan-uh-muhs]

adjective

1. lacking courage or resolution; cowardly; faint-hearted; timid.
2. proceeding from or indicating a cowardly spirit.

Origin:
1580–90; < Late Latin pusillanimis petty-spirited, equivalent to Latin pusill ( us ) very small, petty + -anim ( is ) -spirited, -minded ( anim ( us ) spirit + -is adj. suffix); see -ous

Related forms
pu·sil·lan·i·mous·ly, adverb

Synonyms
1. timorous, fearful, frightened.

Today’s aphorism

Because we do not know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times. And a very small number really.

– Brandon Lee

On this day

31 March 1992 – the Warsaw Pact ends. This was a defence treaty between the Soviet Union and Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe.

31 March 1993 – death of Brandon Lee on set, while filming ‘The Crow’, during a scene in which Lee’s character, Eric Draven, was shot. A real bullet had been lodged in the barrel of the pistol used and when the dummy bullet was loaded and fired, it triggered the real bullet which hit and fatally wounded Lee. Lee is the son of martial arts champion, Bruce Lee. He was to marry his fiance, Eliza Hutton, on 17 April 1993. ‘The Crow’ was dedicated to Brandon and Eliza.

31 March 2005 – death of Terry Schiavo who was the centre of the most prolonged right-to-die case in U.S. history. She had collapsed in 1990 from a cardiac arrest and entered a coma from which she did not recover. Doctors declared her to be in a ’persistent vegetative state’. Her husband petitioned the court in 1998 to remove her feeding tubes, but her parents opposed the request. The case ran from 1998 – 2005 with numerous petitions to either remove the tubes or to keep them in. Terry died 13 days after her feeding tubes were removed on order of the court in 2005.

Today’s WOTD – 6 November 2012

equivocal
[ih-kwiv-uh-kuhl]

adjective
1. allowing the possibility of several different meanings, as a word or phrase, especially with intent to deceive or misguide; susceptible of double interpretation; deliberately ambiguous: an equivocal answer.

2. of doubtful nature or character; questionable; dubious; suspicious: aliens of equivocal loyalty.

3. of uncertain significance; not determined: an equivocal attitude.

Antonyms:

unequivocal, unambiguous, clear, absolute, unqualified, definite, positive.

Today’s aphorism

When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.

– Confucius

On this day

6 November 1985 – Iran-Contra Affair revealed in the media. U.S. President Ronald Reagan exposed as having sold arms to Iran in order to secure the release of Americans being held by an Iranian group and to also help the U.S. to continue illicitly funding the Nicaraguan Contras, after Congress had banned further funding arrangements. The Contras were rebels who were committing human rights violations while opposing the ruling Marxist Sandinista regime. Numerous high-ranking members of the Reagan government were indicted, including Casper Weinberger (Secretary of Defence, later pardoned by President George H.W. Bush), William Casey (Head of CIA), Robert McFarlane (National Security Advisor), Oliver North (member of the National Security Council), and John Poindexter (National Security Advisor).

6 November 1999 – Australians vote to keep the Queen as head of state instead of establishing a republic.