6 June 2017

gubbins

/ˈɡʌbɪnz/
noun (informal)

1. (functioning as sing) an object of little or no value
2. (functioning as sing) a small device or gadget
3. (functioning as pl) odds and ends; litter or rubbish
4. (functioning as sing) a silly person

Word Origin

(meaning: fragments): from obsolete gobbon, probably related to gobbet

Collins English Dictionary

Examples from the Web for gubbins

Historical Examples

There’s a lot like gubbins, an’ one has to try an’ sweeten ’em a bit once a week or so.
The Record of Nicholas Freydon
A. J. (Alec John) Dawson

The sergeant called for assistance, and gubbins was hauled up.
For Fortune and Glory
Lewis Hough

For Green would not think of him as dead, and no more for that matter did gubbins, though Davis had given up all hope long ago.
For Fortune and Glory
Lewis Hough

Anagram

bub sign
snug bib

Today’s quote

Moral maxims are surprisingly useful on occasions when we can invent little else to justify our actions.

― Alexander Pushkin

On this day

6 June – Queensland Day, which celebrates the establishment of the colony of Queensland. On 6 June 1859, Queen Victoria gave her approval for the new colony by signing the Letters Patent. On the same day, an Order-in-Council gave Queensland its own Constitution.

6 June – Russian Language Day (UN) – coincides with the birthday of Aleksandr Pushkin, Russian poet who is considered the father of modern Russian literature.

6 June 1799 – birth of Aleksandr Pushkin, Russian poet and author of 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 on 10 February 1837.

6 June 1808 – Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte, is crowned King of Spain.

6 June 1844 – The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) is founded in London.

6 June 1939 – Judge Joseph Force Crater, known as the ‘Missingest man in New York’ is declared legally dead after going missing nine years earlier. His body has never been found, but his disappearance fueled allegations of corruption in the City government and lead to the downfall of political organisation, Tammany Hall.

6 June 1944 – D-day (Operation Overlord), when the Allies launch a massive invasion of Europe to combat the German war machine. Over a million Allied troops storm the beaches of Normandy.

6 June 1961 – death of Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology. He developed the concepts of extraversion and introversion; archetypes and collective unconscious. Born 26 July 1875.

6 June 1982 – the Lebanon War begins when Israeli forces under the command of the Defence Minister, Ariel Sharon, invade southern Lebanon, eventually pushing into Beirut. It lasted until June 1985. Israel suffered 657 dead and 3,887 wounded. Syrian and Palestinian casualties were 19,085 civilian and combatant deaths.

6 June 1984 – Tetris, one of the world’s biggest selling games, is released.

5 June 2017

funicular

[fyoo-nik-yuh-ler]

adjective

1. of or relating to a rope or cord, or its tension.
2. worked by a rope or the like.
noun
3. funicular railway.

Origin of funicular

Latin
1655-1665; Latin fūnicul(us) (see funiculus ) + -ar1

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for funicular

Contemporary Examples

What was the thinking behind using models for the funicular that runs up to the hotel—and for the first shots of the hotel itself?
The Look of ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’
Andrew Romano
March 6, 2014

Historical Examples

These were the days before the funicular from Stresa, when one trudged up a rude path through the chestnuts and walnuts.
Marriage
H. G. Wells

They start along the terrace toward the station of the funicular railway.
A Book of Burlesques
H. L. Mencken

Anagram

incur a flu
a runic flu

Today’s quote

The frog in the well knows not of the great ocean.

– Japanese proverb

On this day

5 June 1967 – start of the Six Day War, when Israel attacked Egypt and Syria. During the six days of the War, Israel occupied the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, West Bank and East Jerusalem, effectively doubling its size. Although Israel eventually withdrew from the Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula, it continues to controversially occupy Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem.

5 June 1968 – Robert F. Kennedy, Presidential candidate and brother of JFK, shot by Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian-born, Jordanian citizen. Kennedy died the following day. In an interview with David Frost in 1989, Sirhan stated that he opposed Kennedy’s support of Israel and plan to send 50 bombers to Israel to ‘obviously do harm to the Palestinians’. Sirhan was initially sentenced to death, but the sentence was later commuted to life in prison.

5 June 1989 – the ‘Tank Man’ halts a column of Chinese tanks in Beijing for more than half an hour, following protests in Tiananmen Square.

5 June 2000 – start of the Six Day War in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo, between Ugandan and Rwandan forces, destroying a large part of the city.

5 June 2012 – death of Ray Bradbury, American fantasy, science-fiction, horror and mystery fiction writer. Author of Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustratred Man, Something Wicked This Way Comes. The movie Butterfly Effect uses a similar theory to that described in Bradbury’s short-story A Sound of Thunder. In one scene, a Sound of Thunder pennant is hanging on the dormitory door of the main character, Evan. Michael Moore’s movie Fahrenheit 9/11 was named after Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury was not happy with this and pressured Moore to change the title, which Moore refused to do. Born 22 August 1920.

4 June 2017

nacre

[ney-ker]

noun

1. mother-of-pearl.

Origin of nacre

Medieval Latin, Old Italian, Arabic

1590-1600; Medieval Latin nacrum, nacer, variant of nacara < Old Italian naccara kind of drum, nacre; Arabic naqqārah drum

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for nacre

Historical Examples

He lifted a small hammer and struck a velvet-voiced bell that stood on the Arabian table of cedar inlaid with nacre and ivory.
The Decadent
Ralph Adams Cram

The value of the pearl is based on the brilliancy of the nacre, the size, and the form.
The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide
Augusta Foote Arnold

nacre is the hard and brilliant substance with which the valves of certain shells are lined in the interior.
The Ocean World:
Louis Figuier

Anagram

crane

Today’s quote

The words that enlighten the soul are more precious than jewels.

– Hazrat Inayat Khan

On this day

4 June 1988 – death of Sir Douglas Nichols KCVO, OBE. Aboriginal activist, raising awareness of aboriginal issues, including treating aborigines with dignity and as people. He played for Carlton football club in the A-grade Victorian Football League (VFL), leaving after racist treatment and joining the Northcote football club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA). Nicholls became a minister and social worker. In 1957, he was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE). In 1972 he was the first aborigine to be knighted. In 1976, he became the 28th governor of South Australia, the first aborigine to be appointed to a vice-regal position. He was born on 9 December 1906.

4 June 1989 – Tiananmen Square massacre, Beijing, China. Around a million people had flooded into Tiananmen Square over the past few days, protesting for democracy. On 4 June, the Chinese Army stormed the Square with tanks and armoured cars, killing hundreds of protestors, while arresting thousands of others.

2 June 2017

glacis

[gley-sis, glas-is]

noun, plural glacis [gley-seez, -siz, glas-eez, -iz] (Show IPA), glacises.

1. a gentle slope.
2. Fortification. a bank of earth in front of the counterscarp or covered way of a fort, having an easy slope toward the field or open country.

Origin of glacis

Middle French

1665-1675; Middle French; akin to Old French glacier to slide; compare Latin glaciāre to make into ice; see glacé

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for glacis

Historical Examples

We have two mitrailleuses above the terre-plein to sweep at once the moat and the glacis.
History of the Commune of 1871
P. Lissagary

In six days they completed the parapet, with a glacis on the opposite side.
The Battle of New Orleans
Zachary F. Smith

I found them drawn off from the glacis a few hundred yards; but, oh!
Twenty-Five Years in the Rifle Brigade
William Surtees

They crossed the street and went down the glacis of the cobblestoned wharf.
Edith and John
Franklin S. Farquhar

Neither ditch nor glacis exist on the eastern face, where the rapids of the Nile render them unnecessary.
A History of Art in Ancient Egypt, Vol. II (of 2)
Georges Perrot

There was the sound of a gentle chuckle from the glacis where Learoyd lay.
Soldiers Three
Rudyard Kipling

Gourgues was now on the glacis, when he heard Cazenove shouting from the gate that the Spaniards were escaping on that side.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 85, November, 1864
Various

The masonry was concealed from view by the ditch and glacis.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6
Various

Its bastions, ramparts, and glacis are a marvel of engineering.
French and English
Evelyn Everett-Green

The storm passed over, covering the glacis with snow and sleet.
Beethoven: the Man and the Artist
Ludwig van Beethoven

Anagram

gal sic

Today’s quote

It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.

– Joseph Joubert

On this day

2 June 1951 – birth of Gilbert Baker, American artist and gay rights activist, who designed the ‘rainbow flag’ in 1978 which came to symbolise the gay rights movement. Died 31 March 2017.

2 June 1953 – Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey, England.

2 June 1965 – the first contingent of Australian combat troops arrives in Saigon to assist the American military in the Vietnam War.

2 June 1966 – The ‘Surveyor 1’ space probe lands on the moon. It is the first US space probe to do so. The Soviet Union had successfully landed a space probe, the Lunix 9, on the moon 5 months earlier, on 3 February 1966.

1 June 2017

imprecate

[im-pri-keyt]

verb (used with object), imprecated, imprecating.

1. to invoke or call down (evil or curses), as upon a person.

Origin of imprecate

Latin

1605-1615; Latin imprecātus past participle of imprecārī to invoke, pray to or for, equivalent to im- im-1+ prec- pray + -ātus -ate1

Related forms

imprecator, noun
imprecatory, adjective
unimprecated, adjective

Synonyms

curse, execrate, anathematize, accurse, denunciate.

Antonyms

bless.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for imprecate

Historical Examples

To imprecate evil on any living being seems to them unchristian, barbarous, a relic of dark ages and dark superstitions.
Town and Country Sermons
Charles Kingsley

Bowing my head to think—to pray—to imprecate, I lost all sense of time and place.
Heralds of Empire
Agnes C. Laut

I know not what I ought to imprecate on the wretches who had spread a report of your death.
Letters of John Calvin, Volume II (of 4)
Jules Bonnet

But now there is scarcely a tongue in all New England that does not imprecate curses on his name.
Grandfather’s Chair
Nathaniel Hawthorne

There was nothing for him to resent, nothing for him to imprecate but his own folly.
The Alaskan
James Oliver Curwood

He ceased to imprecate only when, by repetition, his oaths became too inexpressive to be worth while.
The Eagle’s Heart
Hamlin Garland

Today’s quote

The world perishes not from bandits and fires, but from hatred, hostility, and all these petty squabbles.

– Anton Chekhov

On this day

1 June 1926 – Birth of Marilyn Monroe, iconic movie star. Died 5 August 1962.

1 June 1935 – DC Comics publishes the first Superman comic, created by Jerry Siegel.

1 June 1968 – death of Helen Keller, inspirational American author, lecturer and political activist. First deaf-blind person to achieve a Bachelor of Arts degree. Born 27 June 1880.

1 June 2012 – The inaugural ‘Panda’s Word of the Day’ published at www.shaneduran.com. The word was ‘pleonasm‘.

31 May 2017

manumit

[man-yuh-mit]

verb (used with object), manumitted, manumitting.

1. to release from slavery or servitude.

Origin of manumit

late Middle English Latin

1375-1425; late Middle English < Latin manūmittere, earlier manū ēmittere to send away from (one’s) hand, i.e., to set free. See manus, emit

Related forms

manumitter, noun
unmanumitted, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for manumit

Historical Examples

We think, if any manumit, before we license them to part, they do usurp a power is ours by nature.
A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 (of 15)
Robert Dodsley

Even baptism did not manumit him unless the owner were a Moor or a Jew.
A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 1
Henry Charles Lea

Suppose the South should manumit their slaves, will the North receive and educate them?
A Review of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
A. Woodward

Anagram

a tin mum

Today’s quote

Turn on, Tune in, Drop out.

– Timothy Leary

On this day

31 May 1921 – 1 June 1921 – The Tulsa Race Riots in which a large group of white people attacked the black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, including aerial attacks that dropped bombs and fired on the community. It resulted in the Greenwood District, also known as the ‘Black Wall Street’ being burned to the ground. The Greenwood District was the wealthiest black community in the USA at the time.More than 800 people were admitted to white hospitals after two hospitals in the black community were burned down. Police arrested or detained more than 6,000 black residents. More than 10,000 were left homeless and 35 city blocks comprising of 1,256 destroyed. Official figures state that 39 people were killed, however, other sources estimate that between 55 and 300 black residents were killed with 9 white people killed. The riots were precipitated when a black man was suspected of raping a white girl in an elevator. White residents gathered with rumours of a lynching to happen. As the whites descended on Greenwood, a group of black men assembled to confront them. During this, some of the whites began torching buildings

31 May 1930 – birth of Clint Eastwood, American actor, director, producer and politician.

31 May 1948 – birth of John Bonham, Led Zeppelin drummer. Died 25 September 1980.

31 May 1965 – birth of Brooke Shields, American actor, model and producer.

31 May 1996 – death of Timothy Leary, American psychologist and author. Leary was a major proponent of the use of pscyhedelic drugs, particularly LSD and psilocybin (mushrooms). He conducted numerous psychiatric experiments using psychedelics, particularly during the 1950s and and 1960s, when the drugs were legal. LSD was banned by the USA in 1966. Leary popularised 1960’s catch-phrases such as ‘turn on, tune in and drop out’, ‘set and setting’, and ‘think for yourself and question authority’. He was friends with beat generation poets, such as Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac. Leary was arrested numerous times over his possession and use of drugs. He wrote a number of books on the benefits of psychedelic drugs. Leary became fascinated with computers, declaring that ‘the PC is the LSD of the 1990s’. He encouraged bohemians to ‘turn on, boot up, jack in’. Leary was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1995. He chose to stream his dying moments over the internet. Seven grams of Leary’s ashes were placed aboard a Pegasus rocket, launched on 21 April 1997. It remained in orbit around the Earth for six years until it burned up in atmosphere. Born 22 October 1920.

30 May 2017

artisanal

[ahr-tuh-zuh-nl, ahr-tiz-uh-]

adjective

1. pertaining to or noting a person skilled in an applied art:
The men were taught artisanal skills such as bricklaying and carpentry.
2. pertaining to or noting a high-quality or distinctive product made in small quantities, usually by hand or using traditional methods: artisanal cheese;

artisanal cheesemakers.

Dictionary.com

Anagram

alias rant
atlas rain
Satan lair
a altar sin

Today’s quote

The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.

– Voltaire

On this day

30 May 1778 – death of François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire. French enlightment writer, historian and philosopher. A man of wit who advocated freedom of religion, freedom of expression and separation of church and state. Voltaire wrote more than 20,000 letters, 2,000 books and pamphlets. He criticised intolerance, religious dogma and social institutions. Born 21 November 1694.

30 May 1911 – death of Milton Bradley, U.S. board-game maker, credited with launching the board-game industry. Born 8 November 1836.

29 May 2017

succotash

[suhk-uh-tash]

noun

1. a cooked dish of kernels of corn mixed with shell beans, especially lima beans, and, often, with green and sweet red peppers.

Origin of succotash

Narragansett

1745-1755, Americanism; < Narragansett (E spelling) msíckquatash boiled whole kernels of corn (cognate with Eastern Abenaki (French spelling) mesikoutar, equivalent to Proto-Algonquian *mes- whole + *-i·nkw- eye (hence, kernel) + *-ete·- be cooked (+ -w-) + *-ali plural suffix)

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for succotash

Historical Examples

Kornlet and dried Lima beans may be made into succotash in a similar manner.
Science in the Kitchen.
Mrs. E. E. Kellogg

By following in his footsteps we learned about succotash and hominy.
Cobb’s Bill-of-Fare
Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb

I am reminded of the story of an old Indian chief who was invited to some great dinner where the first course was ” succotash.”
Birds and Poets
John Burroughs

Our word ” succotash ” we now apply to corn cooked with beans.
Home Life in Colonial Days
Alice Morse Earle

Anagram

chaos cuts
so catch us
such a cost
USA scotch

Today’s quote

How you think when you lose determines how long it will be until you win.

– Gilbert K. Chesterton

On this day

29 May 1874 – birth of Gilbert Keith Chesterton (otherwise known as G.K. Chesterton), English writer, lay theologian, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, literary and art critic, biographer and Christian apologist. Died 14 June 1936.

29 May 1917 – birthday of John F. Kennedy. 35th president of the United States. Assassinated 22 November 1963.

29 May 1953 – Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepalese sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, become the first men to reach the summit of Mt Everest.

28 May 2017

spiel

[speel, shpeel] Informal.

noun

1. a usually high-flown talk or speech, especially for the purpose of luring people to a movie, a sale, etc.; pitch.
verb (used without object)
2. to speak extravagantly.

Origin of spiel

German

1890-1895; (noun) < German Spiel or Yiddish shpil play, game; (v.) < German spielen or Yiddish shpiln to play, gamble

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for spiel

Contemporary Examples

When the crew finally reaches the tribe, they give them their spiel.
Meet the Germans Having Sex to Save the World
Marlow Stern
March 12, 2013

Historical Examples

He’ll give you a spiel about his research and ask to measure your brain waves.
Sentiment, Inc.
Poul William Anderson

“Aw, boss, that was part of the spiel,” he confessed frankly.
From Place to Place
Irvin S. Cobb

Anagram

piles
plies

Today’s quote

It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it… anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.

– Douglas Adams

On this day

28 May 1867 – President Johnson signs a treaty with Russia to transfer Alaska to the United States.

28 May 1901 – Signing of the D’Arcy Concession between Mozzafar al-Din (Shah of Persia) and William Knox D’Arcy, a British businessman and one of the principal founders of the oil industry in Iran. D’Arcy was born in England, but had grown up in Rockhampton, Australia. In 1909, Knox became a director of the newly founded Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) which later became British Petroleum (BP). On 26 May 1908, almost exactly seven years after signing the D’Arcy Concession, commercial quantities of oil were discovered. The D’Arcy Concession gave rights to D’Arcy and by extension, APOC to mine and export the oil with a small kick-back paid to Persia. The D’Arcy Concession is one of the most important documents of the 20th century and has led to much of the conflict being experienced to this day. Britain’s attack on the Ottoman Empire during World War I, as well as it’s allegiance with Russia during that war was largely to protect its oil interests in Persia from both Russia and the Ottomans. Iran itself has experienced significant animosity towards Britain over the exploitation of its oil fields to the point that the Iranian revolution and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism was a revolt against Western profiteering and influence over Persian leaders which was often against the best interests of the Iranian people.

28 May 1908 – birth of Ian Fleming, British author of the ‘James Bond’ novels. Died 12 August 1964.

28 May 1964 – establishment of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), which was founded with the purpose of liberating Palestine through armed struggle. It has since rejected violence and been recognised as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people by the United Nations.

28 May 1987 – West German, Matthias Rust, illegally flies his Cessna 172 from Finland to Moscow, landing in Red Square. Rust claimed that he wanted to build an imaginary bridge between the Soviet Union and the West. Rust was charged and convicted of hooliganism, disregard of aviation laws and breaching the Soviet border. He was sentenced to four years in a general-regime labour camp, but spent his imprisonment in the high security Lefortovo. During Rust’s imprisonment, US President Reagan and the General Secretary of the Communist Party, Mikhael Gorbachev signed an intermediate-range nuclear weapons treaty. As a sign of good faith following the signing of the treaty, the Supreme Soviet ordered Matthias Rust be released in August 1988.

28 May 2014 – death of Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Ann Johnson), American author, poet and civil rights activist. Maya wrote seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poems. She had numerous occupations, including fry cook, dancer, actor, director and journalist. Her civil rights activism saw her work with Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Born 4 April 1928.