28 November 2017

courgette

[koo r-zhet]

noun
1. (mainly Brit) a small variety of vegetable marrow, cooked and eaten as a vegetable Also called zucchini

Word Origin

from French, diminutive of courge marrow, gourd

Collins English Dictionary

Example

A German man feared a monster courgette he found in his garden was an unexploded World War Two bomb and called the police. The 5kg (11-pound) courgette had probably been thrown over a hedge into the 81 year old’s garden, police said. Luckily no evacuation was required in Bretten, a town near Karlsruhe in south-west Germany. The 40cm (16-inch) vegetable – also called zucchini – “really did look like a bomb”, police said.
German police find ‘WW2 bomb’ was big courgette
BBC.com
3 November 2017

Anagram

urge octet
ego cutter
cute ergot

Today’s quote

When all else fails there’s always delusion.

– Conan O’Brien

On this day

28 November 1968 – death of Enid Blyton, British author of numerous series of children’s stories, including ‘Noddy‘, ‘Famous Five‘, and ‘Secret Seven‘. Born 11 August 1897.

28 November 1990 – UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher formally tenders her resignation following disendorsement by her Cabinet on 22 November 1990.

28 November 1992 – death of Sidney Nolan, one of Australia’s leading artists, best known for his series of Ned Kelly paintings. During the 2000 Olympics, performers wore costumes based on Nolan’s depiction of Ned Kelly. Nolan painted a number of Australian legends and historical events, including the Eureka Stockade, and explorers Burke and Wills. Nolan was influenced by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Born 22 April 1917.

28 November 1994 – U.S. serial killer and cannibal, Jeffrey Dahmer, bashed to death while cleaning a prison toilet. Dahmer was serving 15 life sentences for the murder of 15 men and boys. He had initially faced 17 murder charges, but this had been reduced.

26 November 2017

otalgia

[oh-tal-jee-uh, -juh]

noun, Pathology.

1. earache.

Origin of otalgia

Greek

1650-1660; New Latin; Greek ōtalgía, equivalent to ōt- ot- + -algia -algia

Related forms

otalgic, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for otalgia

Historical Examples

In this case the otalgia belongs to the fourth class of diseases.
Zoonomia, Vol. II
Erasmus Darwin

Anagram

tail ago
ail goat

Today’s quote

Love is the affinity which links and draws together the elements of the world… Love, in fact, is the agent of universal synthesis.

– Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

On this day

26 November 1922 – British archaeologist Howard Carter and Lord Carnavon enter the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen which Carter had discovered a few days earlier. Legend held that the tomb was protected by the ‘Mummy’s Curse’. Within 7 months of entering the tomb, both Carter and Carnavon were dead.

26 November 1942 – world premiere of iconic film ‘Casablanca’, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. The movie was nominated for 8 Oscars, winning 3 of them.

26 November 1992 – The Queen begins paying income tax and the number of royals receiving tax-payers funds is reduced to the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen Mother.

25 November 2017

deference

[def-er-uh ns]

noun

1. respectful submission or yielding to the judgment, opinion, will, etc., of another.
2. respectful or courteous regard:
in deference to his wishes.

Origin of deference

French

1640-1650; < French déférence, Middle French, equivalent to defer(er) to defer2+ -ence -ence

Related forms

nondeference, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for deference

Contemporary Examples

He oversaw a brutal regime, aimed at instilling respect, deference and acceptance of duty into the princes.
Kate and William’s Royal Family Values
Tom Sykes
September 21, 2014

Other themes are more character-based, such as the “Bowie, Cocteau, Visconti” section, in deference to dandies and dapper men.
What Drives Fashion Designer Dries Van Noten
Sarah Moroz
March 3, 2014

Tall and taciturn, he exuded the easy authority of a young man used to money and the deference that came with it.
Doug Kenney: The Odd Comic Genius Behind ‘Animal House’ and National Lampoon
Robert Sam Anson
February 28, 2014

From the deference with which he was received they rightly guessed that he was the chief of the tribe.
The Story Behind The World’s Greatest Headline
Brandy Zadrozny
January 20, 2014

Heritage Action pushed for the government shutdown, but stayed out of the debt ceiling fight in deference to their funders.
Republicans Compromise on the Budget, but Don’t Expect Them To Compromise on the Debt Ceiling
Eleanor Clift
December 17, 2013

Historical Examples

Garson, however, was unconvinced, notwithstanding his deference to the judgment of his leader.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana

Yes, sir; but not my anxiety for your approbation, and my deference for your opinion.
Tales And Novels, Volume 9 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth

Anagram

deer fence

Today’s quote

They talk about the failure of socialism but where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America?

– Fidel Castro

On this day

25 November 1963 – funeral of assassinated President John F. Kennedy in Washington DC. Over 800,000 people lined the streets. He was interred at Arlington Cemetery.

25 November 1947 – The ‘Hollywood Ten’ are blacklisted for their allegiance with, or sympathy for the American Communist Party. They were cited for Contempt of Congress when they refused to testify to the House Committee on Unamerican Activities. The Hollywood Ten were unable to work in the movie industry again. The ten were Alvah Bessie, Herbert Biberman, Lester Cole, Edward Dmytryk, Ring Lardner Jr., John Howard Lawson, Albert Maltz, Samuel Ornitz, Adrian Scott and Dalton Trumbo.

25 November 2016 – death of Fidel Castro, former Cuban President. Born 13 August 1926.

23 November 2017

Thespian

[thes-pee-uh n]

adjective

1. (often lowercase) pertaining to tragedy or to the dramatic art in general.
2. of or characteristic of Thespis.
3. of or relating to Thespiae.
noun
4. (sometimes lowercase) a tragedian; an actor or actress.

Origin of Thespian

1665-1675 First recorded in 1665-75; Thespi(s) + -an
“of or pertaining to tragedy or dramatic acting,” from Greek Thespis, poet of 6c. B.C.E., the traditional father of Greek tragedy. The names is literally “inspired by the gods.”

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for Thespian

Contemporary Examples

In the installation, the British Thespian would sleep in a glass box in the museum with nothing but pillows and a water jug.
Lady Gaga, John Lennon & More Celebs Doing Performance Art (VIDEO)
Rachel Osman , Victoria Kezra
August 8, 2013

Brooding British Thespian Henry Cavill (famous to Showtime fans of The Tudors) is on tap as the new Superman.
Invasion of the Bodybuilders
Chris Lee
June 5, 2011

His sublimated rage at Madonna notwithstanding, he is happy to defend her as a Thespian.
The New Adventures of Guy Ritchie
Jacob Bernstein
December 20, 2009

Anagram

ashen pit
hasten pi
heap nits
heat spin

Today’s quote

Acting is magical. Change your look and your attitude, and you can be anyone.

– Alicia Witt

On this day

23 November 534BC – Thespis of Icaria becomes the first recorded actor to portray a character on stage. The word ‘thespian’ is derived from Thespis.

23 November 1859 – birth of William H. Bonney aka Billy ‘The Kid’. American outlaw. Legend has it that he killed 21 men, although historians believe it may have been between 4 and 9 men. He was shot dead by Sheriff Pat Garrett around 14 July 1881. Some conspiracy theorists believe that Bonney did not get shot that day, but that Garrett staged the shooting so that Billy ‘The Kid’ could escape.

23 November 1889 – the first jukebox commences operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.

23 November 1963 – Dr Who premiers on BBC TV, starring William Hartnell. It has become the longest running science fiction series in the world.

23 November 1981 – US President Ronald Reagan signs the top secret National Security Directive 17 (NSDD-17), authorising the Central Intelligence Agency to recruit, train and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua, in order to wage guerilla warfare against the ruling leftist Sandanista regime. In 1982, the Boland Amendment was passed by Congress which banned US support of the Contras. The Reagan administration illegally continued funding the rebels. Part of the funding was obtained by illegally selling arms to Iran, which was the subject of an international arms boycott. The Reagan administration sold the arms in an effort to free seven US hostages being held by a group linked with Iran. The scandal became known as the Iran-Contra affair and was the subject of a Presidential Commission (the Tower Commission) as well as investigations by a number of Congressional Committees. As a result, a number of high ranking members of Reagan’s administration were indicted, including Caspar Weinberger (Secretary of Defence) – later pardoned by President H.W. Bush in 1991 before standing trial, William Casey (Head of the CIA), Robert C. MacFarlane (Assistant Secretary of State), Oliver North (National Security Council), Admiral John Poindexter, and numerous others. While Reagan knew of the operations, it was not definitively shown that he issued the orders.

22 November 2017

exult

[ig-zuhlt]

verb (used without object)

1. to show or feel a lively or triumphant joy; rejoice exceedingly; be highly elated or jubilant:
They exulted over their victory.
2. Obsolete. to leap, especially for joy.

Origin of exult

Latin

1560-1570; < Latin ex(s)ultāre to leap up, equivalent to ex- ex-1+ -sultāre (combining form of saltāre to leap)

Related forms

exultingly, adverb
self-exulting, adjective

Can be confused

exalt, exult.

Synonyms

1. delight, glory, revel.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for exult

Historical Examples

I exult in my freedom from a self-reproach, which would have been altogether insupportable under the kindness of which you speak.’
The Secret Memoirs of Louis XV./XVI, Complete
Madame du Hausset, an “Unknown English Girl” and the Princess Lamballe

But we would he knew that the strong do not exult in their strength, nor the wise in their wisdom.
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani

The big woodsman, his rebellion once started, seemed to exult in it.
The Rainy Day Railroad War
Holman Day

For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony.
Personality in Literature
Rolfe Arnold Scott-James

They are desperate, then, and seem to exult in devilry of all kinds.
A Final Reckoning
G. A. Henty

Inhuman methods for inhuman foes, Who feed on horrors and exult in woes.
Custer, and Other Poems.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox

But I shall not let you exult over my falling into one of these well-laid traps.
Fairy Fingers
Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie

It is a joyous spirit which causes “the bones of man to exult.”
Spontaneous Activity in Education
Maria Montessori

Yon demon,” cried he, “shall at least not live to exult over our death.
Wood Rangers
Mayne Reid

But the Incorruptible, ever envious and jealous, would not allow him to exult too soon.
The Elusive Pimpernel
Baroness Emmuska Orczy

Anagram

El Tux

Today’s quote

One of the delights known to age, and beyond the grasp of youth, is that of Not Going.

– Anthony Burgess

On this day

22 November 1819 – birth of Mary Ann Evans. One of England’s greatest novelists, she published under the name ‘George Eliot’ in order to be taken seriously. Some of her novels include ‘Adam Bede’, ‘Mill on the Floss’, ‘Silas Marner’, and ‘Daniel Deronda’. Her novel, ‘Middlemarch’, was described as the greatest novel in the English language. Died 22 December 1880.

22 November 1906 – the use of the morse code signal ‘SOS’ is implemented as a global distress call. The SOS signal is three dots, three dashes and three dots

(· · · — — — · · ·)

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

22 November 1963 – death of Aldous Huxley, English writer. Most famous for his vision of the future, ‘Brave New World’, as well as his work ‘The Doors of Perception’, based on his use of psychedelic drugs. Jim Morrison named his 60’s psychedelic rock band, ‘The Doors’ after Huxley’s book. Born 26 July 1894.

22 November 1963 – death of Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis, Irish novelist, author of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ and ‘The Screwtape Letters’. Born 29 November 1898.

22 November 1990 – UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher forced to resign by her own Cabinet who refused to endorse her as leader. She had come to power in 1979 and had become known as the ‘Iron Lady’. She is the longest-serving UK Prime Minister and the only female to hold the post. She fought numerous battles with unions over her economic and deregulation reforms. She introduced a ‘Community Charge’ or ‘Poll Tax’, which replaced rates with a flat-tax rate on every adult. It was extremely unpopular even within her own Cabinet and was a crucial catalyst for her disendorsement and subsequent resignation.

22 November 1993 – death of Anthony Burgess, English writer. Most famous for his dystopian novel, ‘The Clockwork Orange’, which Stanley Kubrick made into a controversial movie. Born 25 February 1917.

21 November 2017

prattle

[prat-l]

verb (used without object), prattled, prattling.

1. to talk in a foolish or simple-minded way; chatter; babble.
verb (used with object), prattled, prattling.
2. to utter by chattering or babbling.
noun
3. the act of prattling.
4. chatter; babble:
the prattle of children.
5. a babbling sound:
the prattle of water rushing over stones.

Origin of prattle

Middle Low German

1525-1535; < Middle Low German pratelen to chatter, frequentative of praten to prate; see -le

Related forms

prattler, noun
prattlingly, adverb

Synonyms

1. gab, jabber, gabble, blab.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for prattle

Contemporary Examples

Then, since the Battleground states are something about which the Talking Heads like to prattle.
The Prattleground States
Megan McArdle
November 6, 2012

Historical Examples

You know how readily we get into prattle upon a subject dear to our heart: you can excuse it.
The Letters of Robert Burns
Robert Burns

As for all the prattle about pre-Raphaelitism, I confess to you I am weary of it, and long have been.
Recollections of Dante Gabriel Rossetti
T. Hall Caine

The boy had pattered French with the former since he had first begun to prattle at all.
Billy Topsail & Company
Norman Duncan

He listened to people’s talk as though it had been children’s prattle.
Romance
Joseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer

Her prattle seeped in and he became aware of it and what she was saying.
Life Sentence
James McConnell

His prattle was the prattle of an unsophisticated maiden lady.
The O’Ruddy
Stephen Crane

The prattle of lovers and the sober wisdom of experience blended.
Charles Carleton Coffin
William Elliot Griffis, D. D.

She paid as little heed to my words as a nurse to the prattle of a child.
Dross
Henry Seton Merriman

Mr. Draconmeyer smiled with the air of one listening to a child’s prattle.
Mr. Grex of Monte Carlo
E. Phillips Oppenheim

Anagram

let rapt
pelt art

Today’s quote

Art washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life.

– Pablo Picasso

On this day

21 November 164BC – Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, restores the Temple in Jerusalem. This event is commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah.

21 November 1694 – birth 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. Died 30 May 1778.

21 November 1936 – birth of Victor Chang, a Chinese-Australian cardiac surgeon who pioneered heart transplants. Chang was shot dead on 4 July 1991, in a failed extortion attempt.

21 November 1965 – birth of Bjork (Björk Guðmundsdóttir), Icelandic singer-songwriter, producer and actress.

21 November 1986 – Oliver North, National Security Council staffer, begins shredding documents associated with the Iran-Contra debacle that could have implicated themselves and others within the Reagan administration in the illegal sale of arms to Iran in order to fund the rebel Nicaraguan Contras.

20 November 2017

ardent

[ahr-dnt]

adjective

1. having, expressive of, or characterized by intense feeling; passionate; fervent:
an ardent vow; ardent love.
2. intensely devoted, eager, or enthusiastic; zealous:
an ardent theatergoer. an ardent student of French history.
3. vehement; fierce:
They were frightened by his ardent, burning eyes.
4. burning, fiery, or hot:
the ardent core of a star.

Origin of ardent

Latin

1325-1375; < Latin ārdent- (stem of ārdēns, present participle of ārdēre to burn), equivalent to ārd- burn + -ent- -ent; replacing
Middle English ardant < Middle French

Related forms

ardently, adverb
ardency [ahr-dn-see] (Show IPA), ardentness, noun

Synonyms

1. fervid, eager, impassioned. 2. avid.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for ardent

Contemporary Examples

The outré character is sure to throw even the most ardent fans of the Golden Globe winner for a loop.
Michael C. Hall on Going Drag for ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ and Exorcising ‘Dexter’
Marlow Stern
December 3, 2014

The pathetic dives and writhing on the field is a turn off to the most ardent American fan.
What Hillary Clinton Can Learn From Portugal, Costa Rica, and England in the World Cup
Nathan Daschle
June 30, 2014

No one agreed more than the members of an ardent and motivated fan base within the CIA.
Why the CIA Loved ‘Doctor Zhivago’
Kevin Canfield
June 25, 2014

Anagram

ranted
red ant
art den

Today’s quote

There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.

– Leo Tolstoy

On this day

20 November 1900 – birth of Chester Gould, American creator of the cartoon strip, ‘Dick Tracy’. He drew the comic strip from 1931 to 1977. Died 11 May 1985.

20 November 1910 – death of Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer, (‘Anna Karenina‘, ‘War and Peace‘). Born 9 September 1828.

20 November 1947 – Princess Elizabeth, who is crowned Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, marries Phillip Mountbatten in Westminster Abbey.

20 November 1985 – Microsoft launches Windows 1.01, a graphical user interface for personal computers. The program required MS-DOS to operate.

19 November 2017

lamster

[lam-ster]

noun, Slang.

1. a fugitive from the law.

Also, lamister.

Origin of lamster

1900-1905 First recorded in 1900-05; lam2+ -ster

Dictionary.com

Slang definitions & phrases for lamster

lamster

noun

An escaped convict

[1904+ Underworld; fr lam]

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.

Anagram

Ms Alert
Mr Slate
Mrs Teal
Tsar Elm
rest lam
let Mars
armlets

Today’s quote

The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.

– Aristotle

On this day

19 November 1863 – President Lincoln delivers the ‘Gettysburg Address’ during the American Civil War, while dedicating the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The speech commenced with the now-famous words, ‘Four score and seven years ago …’, which was referring to the Declaration of Independence in 1777. The speech addressed equality, freedom and democracy being representative of all people.

19 November 2007 – share markets across the globe crashed, as the world entered the Global Financial Crisis.