March 2012
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: The best way to have a good...
CUCKOLD
cuckold
PRONUNCIATION:
(KUHk-uhld)
MEANING:
noun: A man whose wife is unfaithful. verb tr.: To make a cuckold of a husband.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Old French cucu (cuckoo) + -ald (pejorative suffix), from the female cuckoo’s habit of leaving eggs in another bird’s nest. Earliest documented use: 1250.
USAGE:
“Upon release from the trunk of the car, the man told the police that he...
QUADRENNIAL
quadrennial \kwo-DREN-ee-uhl, adjective:
1. Occurring every four years. 2. Of or lasting for four years.
noun: 1. An event occurring every four years, as an anniversary or its celebration.
…all we merely have here is just what Rod might call an exaggerated example of a quadrennial problem any administration with vision is going to have to face eventually anyway. — David Foster...
“If you can’t, you must. If you must, you can.”
– Anthony Robbins (via bitchville)
Found Time: How To Spend The 24 Hours Of Leap Day... →
npr:
An extra day. How will you use it? Start by reading our hour-by-hour guide. Here’s a sample:
Feb. 29, 2012, Hour By Hour:
Midnight. Too excited to sleep, you can click on the fascinating site of the Long Now Foundation, timekeepers of the 10,000 Year Clock. Computer wizard Danny Hillis first dreamed up the idea of a massive timepiece that “ticks once a year. The century hand ...
February 2012
throwingshadepodcast:
How do you spell “train...
zuhause essen (v.)
deutschoftheday:
- to eat in
Are you gonna eat in today? - Wirst du heute zuhause essen?
Six types of Love
Eros
a passionate physical and emotional love based on aesthetic enjoyment; stereotype of romantic love
Ludus a love that is played as a game or sport; conquest; may have multiple partners at once
Storge an affectionate love that slowly develops from friendship, based on similarity
Pragma love that is driven by the head, not the heart
Mania obsessive love; experience great emotional highs...
“I am awfully greedy; I want everything from life. I want to be a woman and to be...”
– Simone de Beauvoir (via thatkindofwoman)
BUCOLIC
bucolic
PRONUNCIATION:
(byoo-KOL-ik)
MEANING:
adjective: 1. Pastoral; rustic. 2. Of or relating to a herdsman or a shepherd. noun: 1. A pastoral poem. 2. A farmer; shepherd.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek boukolos (herdsman), from bous (ox). Earliest documented use: 1609. Other words derived from the same animal are bovine, boustrophedon, and hecatomb.
USAGE:
“War Horse tells the story of Joey,...
PETTIFOG
pettifog \PET-ee-fog, verb:
1. To bicker or quibble over trifles or unimportant matters. 2. To carry on a petty, shifty, or unethical law business. 3. To practice chicanery of any sort.
Marius, my boy, you are a baron, you are rich, don’t pettifog, I beg of you. — Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
Naturally, the wonderful tubers Brillat-Savarin dug up and dished out lacked the...
Outrage, Eye Roll, Cage Match, Oh My!!! →
FLEXUOUS
flexuous \FLEK-shoo-uhs, adjective:
Full of bends or curves; sinuous.
Her flexuous and stealthy figure became an integral part of the scene. At times her whimsical fancy would intensify natural processes around her till they seemed a part of her own story. — Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles
What is anomalous about Nietzsche in this context is scarcely the hold this plot...
CAPRICIOUS
capricious
PRONUNCIATION:
(kuh-PRISH-uhs, -PREE-shuhs)
MEANING:
adjective: Whimsical, impulsive, unpredictable.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Italian capriccio (caprice), literally head with hair standing on end, from capo (head) + riccio (hedgehog). Earliest documented use: 1594.
USAGE:
“Such is the peril of entrusting one’s employment to the whim of a capricious oligarch.” Rory Smith;...
“Please, I want so badly for the good things to happen.”
– Sylvia Plath (via rosettes)
“Forever is composed of nows.”
– Emily Dickinson (via girlwithoutwings)
New cancer drug sabotages tumour's escape route →
ohyeahdevelopmentalbiology:
Some untreatable cancers could soon be held in check by an experimental drug that targets not only the tumour itself, but also how it evolves to spread through the body.
The new drug, Cabozantinib, or cabo for short, simultaneously neutralises two mechanisms cancers need to survive. First, it chokes each tumour’s blood supply by blocking a molecule on the surface of...
I'm on my way to the money. Eyes wide open.
ADAMANTINE
adamantine \ad-uh-MAN-teen, adjective:
1. Utterly unyielding or firm in attitude or opinion. 2. Too hard to cut, break, or pierce. 3. Like a diamond in luster.
That will shock some people at the Folger, but Shakespeare is adamantine. — Tad Friend, “Compleat Works,” The New Yorker, Jan. 9, 2012
…and when she saw the state his clothes were in her resolution to turn his...
PARAPHERNALIA
paraphernalia
PRONUNCIATION:
(par-uh-fuhr-NAYL-ya, -fuh-NAYL-ya)
MEANING:
noun: 1. Articles and equipment related to an activity. 2. Personal belongings.
ETYMOLOGY:
Plural of paraphernalis, from parapherna (a woman’s property besides her dowry), from Greek para- (beyond) + pherne (dowry). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bher- (to carry, to bear children) that gave birth to basket,...
The Writing Circles: Characterisation Post 1:... →
theenumeration:
Characterisation in fiction, often relies upon tropes or stereotypes to form the foundation of well-rounded characters. This particular method of character creation can lead to sloppy, offensive or poorly imagined characters, which are often forged from a small corner of the…
“Some of the most wonderful people are the ones who don’t fit into boxes.”
– Tori Amos (via thatkindofwoman)
PLENUM
plenum \PLEE-nuhm, noun:
1. A full assembly, as a joint legislative assembly. 2. The state or a space in which a gas, usually air, is contained at a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure. 3. A space, usually above a ceiling or below a floor, that can serve as a receiving chamber for air that has been heated or cooled to be distributed to inhabited areas. 4. The whole of space regarded...
VISCERA
viscera
PRONUNCIATION:
(VIS-uhr-uh)
MEANING:
noun: 1. The internal organs located in the main cavities of the body, especially those in the abdominal cavity. 2. The interior parts.
ETYMOLOGY:
Plural of Latin viscus (flesh, internal organ). Earliest documented use: 1651.
USAGE:
“There is plenty of action with a chainsaw, and a butcher’s shop worth of viscera is scattered about the...