Today's Word
chthonic \THONE-ik\, adjective:Dwelling in or under the earth; also, pertaining to the underworld
"Driven by dæmonic, chthonic Powers."-- T.S. Eliot
"The chthonic divinity was essentially a god of the regions under the earth; at first of the dark home of the seed, later on of the still darker home of the dead."-- C. F. Keary
"The chthonic imagery of Norine's apartment, which..was black as a coalhole and heated by the furnace of the hostess' unslaked desires."-- M. McCarthy
"Two great and contrasted forms of ritual: the Olympian and the Chthonic, the one a ritual of cheerful character, the other a ritual of gloom, and fostering superstition."
Chthonic comes from khthón, the Greek word for earth.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Laugh of the day! 8-28-08
Ol' Fred had been a religious man who was in the hospital, near death. The family called their preacher to stand with them. As the preacher stood next to the bed, Ol' Fred's condition appeared to deteriorate and he motioned frantically for something to write on. The pastor lovingly handed him a pen and a piece of paper, and Ol' Fred used his last bit of energy to scribble a note, then he died. The preacher thought it best not to look at the note at that time, so he placed it in his jacket pocket. At the funeral, as he was finishing the message, he realised that he was wearing the same jacket that he was wearing when Ol' Fred died. He said, "You know, Ol' Fred handed me a note just before he died. I haven't looked at it, but knowing Fred, I'm sure there's a word of inspiration there for us all." He opened the note, and read out loud, "Hey, you're standing on my oxygen tube?"
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Word of the day! 8-27-08
Today's Word
conspectus \kuhn-SPEK-tuhs\, noun:1. A general sketch or survey of a subject.2. A synopsis; an outline.
"Eagerly the Austen family went at their productions, choosing plays that represented, as Gay says, a conspectus of late 18th-century fashionable comic theatre.-- John Mullan, "Behind the scenes", The Guardian, August 31, 2002
"The extent and intensity of this vast conflict amounting to undeclared civil war is such that it is difficult for any observer to form a conspectus or assess all its implications.-- "4,000,000 People Cross the Punjab to Seek New Homes", The Guardian, September 25, 1947
Conspectus comes from the Latin, from the past participle of conspicere, "to catch sight of, to perceive," from com-, intensive prefix + specere, "to look at."
conspectus \kuhn-SPEK-tuhs\, noun:1. A general sketch or survey of a subject.2. A synopsis; an outline.
"Eagerly the Austen family went at their productions, choosing plays that represented, as Gay says, a conspectus of late 18th-century fashionable comic theatre.-- John Mullan, "Behind the scenes", The Guardian, August 31, 2002
"The extent and intensity of this vast conflict amounting to undeclared civil war is such that it is difficult for any observer to form a conspectus or assess all its implications.-- "4,000,000 People Cross the Punjab to Seek New Homes", The Guardian, September 25, 1947
Conspectus comes from the Latin, from the past participle of conspicere, "to catch sight of, to perceive," from com-, intensive prefix + specere, "to look at."
Laugh of the day! 8-27-08
A young Native American woman went to a doctor for her first ever physical exam. After checking all of her vitals and running the usual tests, the doctor said, "Well, Running Doe, you are in fine health. I could find no problems. I did notice one anomaly, however." "Oh, what is that, Doctor?" "Well, you have no nipples." "None of the people in my tribe have nipples," she replied. "That is amazing," said the doctor. "I'd like to write this up for The South Carolina Journal of Medicine, if you don't mind." She said, "OK." "First of all" asked the doctor, "how many people are in your tribe?" She answered, "approximately 500." "And what is the name of your tribe?" asked the doctor. Running Doe replied, "We're called ......" (I hate to do this to you) "The Indiannippleless Five Hundred"
Word of the day! 8-26-08
Today's Word
peregrination \pehr-uh-gruh-NAY-shun\, noun:A traveling from place to place; a wandering.
"He left Parma in the family camper-van, abandoning it in a Milan car-park to avoid its being identified at border controls before setting off on a peregrination through Switzerland, France, London, Canada, New York and eventually back to London.-- Paddy Agnew, "Incident leads to crime that has baffled police", Irish Times, December 12, 1998
"In 1890, Lafcadio Hearn settled in Japan after a lifetime of restless, melancholy peregrination.-- Francine Prose, "Modern Geisha", New York Times, April 23, 2000
"He ventures out in his pajamas and makes a dreamlike peregrination through the town's deserted streets.-- Richard Eder, "Puck-ish Ramblings in Midsummer Dreams", New York Times, May 18, 2000
Peregrination comes from Latin peregrinatio, from peregrinari, "to stay or travel in foreign countries," from peregre, "in a foreign country, abroad," from per, "through" + ager, "land."
peregrination \pehr-uh-gruh-NAY-shun\, noun:A traveling from place to place; a wandering.
"He left Parma in the family camper-van, abandoning it in a Milan car-park to avoid its being identified at border controls before setting off on a peregrination through Switzerland, France, London, Canada, New York and eventually back to London.-- Paddy Agnew, "Incident leads to crime that has baffled police", Irish Times, December 12, 1998
"In 1890, Lafcadio Hearn settled in Japan after a lifetime of restless, melancholy peregrination.-- Francine Prose, "Modern Geisha", New York Times, April 23, 2000
"He ventures out in his pajamas and makes a dreamlike peregrination through the town's deserted streets.-- Richard Eder, "Puck-ish Ramblings in Midsummer Dreams", New York Times, May 18, 2000
Peregrination comes from Latin peregrinatio, from peregrinari, "to stay or travel in foreign countries," from peregre, "in a foreign country, abroad," from per, "through" + ager, "land."
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Ever Wonder?
Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window? ...
Monday, August 25, 2008
Word of the day! 8-25-08
Today's Word
berate \bih-RAYT\, transitive verb:To scold severely or angrily.
"She tells of Mr. Hauptmann's great joy when they had a baby son, and of the times she ran up the stairs to berate him for playing the mandolin after the baby was asleep and found him playing the Brahms Lullaby as the baby looked on approvingly.-- "Mrs Hauptmann's Cause", New York Times, October 20, 1981
"Mayer Amschel went on to berate Nathan for failing to calculate his profits net (as opposed to gross).-- Niall Ferguson, The House of Rothschild
"Monsieur couldn't bear to be touched, and if I stretched out my foot and accidentally brushed against him in my sleep he would wake me up and berate me for half an hour.-- Christine Pevitt, Philippe, Duc D'Orleans
Berate is from be-, "thoroughly" + rate, "to scold, to chide," from Middle English raten.
berate \bih-RAYT\, transitive verb:To scold severely or angrily.
"She tells of Mr. Hauptmann's great joy when they had a baby son, and of the times she ran up the stairs to berate him for playing the mandolin after the baby was asleep and found him playing the Brahms Lullaby as the baby looked on approvingly.-- "Mrs Hauptmann's Cause", New York Times, October 20, 1981
"Mayer Amschel went on to berate Nathan for failing to calculate his profits net (as opposed to gross).-- Niall Ferguson, The House of Rothschild
"Monsieur couldn't bear to be touched, and if I stretched out my foot and accidentally brushed against him in my sleep he would wake me up and berate me for half an hour.-- Christine Pevitt, Philippe, Duc D'Orleans
Berate is from be-, "thoroughly" + rate, "to scold, to chide," from Middle English raten.
Laugh of the day! 8-25-08
Two bowling teams, one made up of all blondes and one of all brunettes, charter a double-decker bus for a weekend tournament in Atlantic City. The brunette team rode in the bottom deck of the bus and the blonde team rode on the top level. The brunette team down below was whooping it up and having a great time when one of them realized she didn't hear anything from the blondes upstairs. She decided to go up and investigate. When the brunette reached the top, she found all the blondes frozen in fear, staring straight ahead at the road and the seats in front of them. The brunette asked, "What is going on up here? We're having a great time downstairs!" One of the blondes said, "Yeah, but you've got a driver!"
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Word of the day! 8-23-08
Today's Word Yesterday's Word Previous Words Subscribe for Free Help
foment \foh-MENT; FOH-ment\, transitive verb:1. To nurse to life or activity; to incite; to abet; to instigate; -- often in a bad sense.
noun:1. Fomentation; the act of fomenting.2. State of excitation.
"Cynical politicians may even foment conflicts among groups to advance their own power.-- Martha Minow, Not Only for Myself
"Here, over many cups of coffee and other brews, John Adams, James Otis, and Paul Revere met to foment rebellion, prompting Daniel Webster to call it "the headquarters of the Revolution."-- Mark Pendergrast, Uncommon Grounds
"Having burned to taste the foment of the sixties, I romanticized Diego's experience of it.-- Katherine Russell Rich, The Red Devil
Foment is from Latin fomentum, "fomentation," from fovere, "to warm, to foster, to encourage."
foment \foh-MENT; FOH-ment\, transitive verb:1. To nurse to life or activity; to incite; to abet; to instigate; -- often in a bad sense.
noun:1. Fomentation; the act of fomenting.2. State of excitation.
"Cynical politicians may even foment conflicts among groups to advance their own power.-- Martha Minow, Not Only for Myself
"Here, over many cups of coffee and other brews, John Adams, James Otis, and Paul Revere met to foment rebellion, prompting Daniel Webster to call it "the headquarters of the Revolution."-- Mark Pendergrast, Uncommon Grounds
"Having burned to taste the foment of the sixties, I romanticized Diego's experience of it.-- Katherine Russell Rich, The Red Devil
Foment is from Latin fomentum, "fomentation," from fovere, "to warm, to foster, to encourage."
Laugh of the day! 8-23-08
Pinku tells her husband, “Pappu, that young couple that just moved in next door seem such a loving twosome. Every morning, when he leaves the house, he kisses her goodbye, and every evening when he comes homes, he brings her a dozen roses.
Now, why can’t you do that?”
“Gosh,” Pappu says, “Why, I hardly know the girl!”
Now, why can’t you do that?”
“Gosh,” Pappu says, “Why, I hardly know the girl!”
Friday, August 22, 2008
Word of the day! 8-22-08
Today's Word
Hobson's choice \HOB-suhnz-CHOIS\, noun:A choice without an alternative; the thing offered or nothing.
"Fagan's defense revolves around his insistence that he faced a Hobson's choice and had to act.-- Laura Parker, "Discovery of daughters never followed by reunion", USA Today, May 11, 1999
"They're faced with a Hobson's choice: Make the plunge . . . or face a terrifying alternative -- gradual extinction.-- Heather Green, "The Great Yuletide Shakeout", Business Week, November 1, 1999
The origin of the term Hobson's choice is said to be in the name of one Thomas Hobson (ca. 1544-1631), at Cambridge, England, who kept a livery stable and required every customer to take either the horse nearest the stable door or none at all.
Hobson's choice \HOB-suhnz-CHOIS\, noun:A choice without an alternative; the thing offered or nothing.
"Fagan's defense revolves around his insistence that he faced a Hobson's choice and had to act.-- Laura Parker, "Discovery of daughters never followed by reunion", USA Today, May 11, 1999
"They're faced with a Hobson's choice: Make the plunge . . . or face a terrifying alternative -- gradual extinction.-- Heather Green, "The Great Yuletide Shakeout", Business Week, November 1, 1999
The origin of the term Hobson's choice is said to be in the name of one Thomas Hobson (ca. 1544-1631), at Cambridge, England, who kept a livery stable and required every customer to take either the horse nearest the stable door or none at all.
Something to think about
Ever Wonder Why.............
Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?
Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?
Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?
Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?
Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?
Why is it that to stop Windows 98, you have to click on "Start"?
Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?
Why the man who invests all your money is called a broker?
Why isn't there mouse-flavoured cat food?
When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it?
Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?
You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!
Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?
Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?
If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?
If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?
Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?
Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?
Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?
Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?
Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?
Why is it that to stop Windows 98, you have to click on "Start"?
Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?
Why the man who invests all your money is called a broker?
Why isn't there mouse-flavoured cat food?
When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it?
Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?
You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!
Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?
Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?
If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?
If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Word of the day! 8-21-08
Today's Word
juju \JOO-joo\, noun:1. An object superstitiously believed to embody magical powers.2. The power associated with a juju.
"[David] Robinson, sounding confident and sure, said that the time for juju and magic dust had passed. 'To be honest with you, I think it's beyond that', he said. 'It's very hard to come up with magic at the end'.-- "Knicks Find There's No Place Like Home", New York Times, June 22, 1999
"'You ever heard of juju?' Skyler shook his head. 'Magic. You talk about this and it'll be the last talkin' you do. You'll just open your mouth and nothin' will come out'.-- John Darnton, The Experiment
"We are told, for example, of the Edo youngster, apparently both Christian and traditionally African in his beliefs, who was heard to mutter 'S.M.O.G.' over and over when he and his companions were threatened by 'bad juju'. When questioned he replied, ''Have you never heard of it? It stands for Save Me O God. When you are really in a hurry, it is quickest to use the initials'.-- "The Spirits And The African Boy", New York Times, October 10, 1982
"On any terminal she is using, a co-worker puts up a sign proclaiming, 'Bad karma go away, come again another day'. When she was pregnant, she said, she crashed her computer twice as often -- she attributes that to a double whammy of woo-woo juju.-- "Can a Hard Drive Smell Fear?", New York Times, May 21, 1998
Juju is of West African origin, akin to Hausa djudju, fetish, evil spirit.
juju \JOO-joo\, noun:1. An object superstitiously believed to embody magical powers.2. The power associated with a juju.
"[David] Robinson, sounding confident and sure, said that the time for juju and magic dust had passed. 'To be honest with you, I think it's beyond that', he said. 'It's very hard to come up with magic at the end'.-- "Knicks Find There's No Place Like Home", New York Times, June 22, 1999
"'You ever heard of juju?' Skyler shook his head. 'Magic. You talk about this and it'll be the last talkin' you do. You'll just open your mouth and nothin' will come out'.-- John Darnton, The Experiment
"We are told, for example, of the Edo youngster, apparently both Christian and traditionally African in his beliefs, who was heard to mutter 'S.M.O.G.' over and over when he and his companions were threatened by 'bad juju'. When questioned he replied, ''Have you never heard of it? It stands for Save Me O God. When you are really in a hurry, it is quickest to use the initials'.-- "The Spirits And The African Boy", New York Times, October 10, 1982
"On any terminal she is using, a co-worker puts up a sign proclaiming, 'Bad karma go away, come again another day'. When she was pregnant, she said, she crashed her computer twice as often -- she attributes that to a double whammy of woo-woo juju.-- "Can a Hard Drive Smell Fear?", New York Times, May 21, 1998
Juju is of West African origin, akin to Hausa djudju, fetish, evil spirit.
Laugh of the day! 8-21-08
Man + woman
Smart Man + Smart Woman = Romance
Smart Man + Dumb Woman = Pregnancy
Dumb Man + Smart Woman = Affair
Dumb Man + Dumb Woman = Marriage
Smart Boss + Smart Employee = Profits
Smart Boss + Dumb Employee = Production
Dumb Boss + Smart Employee = Promotion
Dumb Boss + Dumb Employee = Overtime
A man will pay $2.00 for a $1.00 item he needs.
A woman will pay $1.00 for a $2.00 item that she does not need.
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.
To be happy with a man, you must love him a little and understand him a lot.
To be happy with a woman you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate overnight.
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting she won't change, but she does.
Married men live longer than single men, but married men are more willing to die.
Any married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing.
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument
Smart Man + Smart Woman = Romance
Smart Man + Dumb Woman = Pregnancy
Dumb Man + Smart Woman = Affair
Dumb Man + Dumb Woman = Marriage
Smart Boss + Smart Employee = Profits
Smart Boss + Dumb Employee = Production
Dumb Boss + Smart Employee = Promotion
Dumb Boss + Dumb Employee = Overtime
A man will pay $2.00 for a $1.00 item he needs.
A woman will pay $1.00 for a $2.00 item that she does not need.
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.
To be happy with a man, you must love him a little and understand him a lot.
To be happy with a woman you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate overnight.
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting she won't change, but she does.
Married men live longer than single men, but married men are more willing to die.
Any married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing.
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Word of the day! 8-20-08
Today's Word
bruit \BROOT\, transitive verb:To report; to noise abroad.
"The first originated with a professor of government who, it was bruited, had always succeeded in predicting the outcome of presidential-year elections.-- William F. Buckley Jr., "We didn't tell you so", National Review, November 29, 2004
"An attack on Iraq has been bruited about ever since President Bush invoked an axis of evil in his State of the Union address to Congress in January.-- Joyce Appleby and Ellen Carol Dubois, "Congress must reassert authority to declare war", The Record (Bergen County, NJ), September 20, 2002
"Since his family was so very wealthy, having an accumulated fortune of many years, he did not have to work for a living, and thus he could -- and did -- devote himself to various and sundry dissipations and pleasures, especially drink (in fact it was widely bruited about, that in his younger years, he was alcoholic).-- Dorothy Belle Pollack, "A fairy tale for the modern day", The Record (Bergen County, NJ), September 13, 2004
Bruit comes from Old French, from the past participle of bruire, "to roar."
bruit \BROOT\, transitive verb:To report; to noise abroad.
"The first originated with a professor of government who, it was bruited, had always succeeded in predicting the outcome of presidential-year elections.-- William F. Buckley Jr., "We didn't tell you so", National Review, November 29, 2004
"An attack on Iraq has been bruited about ever since President Bush invoked an axis of evil in his State of the Union address to Congress in January.-- Joyce Appleby and Ellen Carol Dubois, "Congress must reassert authority to declare war", The Record (Bergen County, NJ), September 20, 2002
"Since his family was so very wealthy, having an accumulated fortune of many years, he did not have to work for a living, and thus he could -- and did -- devote himself to various and sundry dissipations and pleasures, especially drink (in fact it was widely bruited about, that in his younger years, he was alcoholic).-- Dorothy Belle Pollack, "A fairy tale for the modern day", The Record (Bergen County, NJ), September 13, 2004
Bruit comes from Old French, from the past participle of bruire, "to roar."
Laugh of the day! 8-20-08
Q: What did the mommy snake say to the baby snake?
A: Stop crying and viper your nose!
A: Stop crying and viper your nose!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Laugh of the day! 8-19-08
This guy arrives at the Pearly Gates. He has to wait to be admitted, while St. Pete leafs through his Big Book. He's checking to see if the guy is worthy of entry or not. Saint Peter goes through the books several times, furrows his brow, and says to the guy, "You know, I can't see that you did lots of good in your life but, you never did anything bad either. Tell you what, if you can tell me of one REALLY good deed that you did in your life, you're in."The guy thinks for a moment and says, "Well, there was this one time when I was drivin' down the highway and I saw a Biker Gang assaulting this poor girl. I slowed down my car to see what was going on, and sure enough, that's what they were doing. There were about 50 of 'em torturing this chick.Infuriated, I got out my car, grabbed a tire iron from my trunk and walked straight up to the leader of the gang. He was a huge guy with a studded leather jacket and a chain running from his nose to his ear. As I walked up to the leader, the Gang formed a circle all around me.So I ripped the leader's chain off his face and smashed him over the head with the tire iron. Then I turned around and yelled to the rest of them, 'Leave this poor, innocent girl alone, you slime! You're all a bunch of sick, deranged animals! Go home before I teach you all a lesson in pain!'"St. Peter, extremely impressed, says, "Really? Wow, when did all this happen?""Er.. about two minutes ago."
Word of the day! 8-19-08
Today's Word
aestival \ES-tuh-vuhl\, adjective:Of or belonging to the summer; as, aestival diseases. [Spelled also estival.]
"Far to the north and hemmed in against the Russian Bear, it is easy to overlook this land of lakes, forests, and aestival white nights."-- [i.e. Finland]
"You generally get true summer in August: this year it has been unusually æstival."-- M. Collins
From the Latin æstas, summer. Also from æstas:
aestival \ES-tuh-vuhl\, adjective:Of or belonging to the summer; as, aestival diseases. [Spelled also estival.]
"Far to the north and hemmed in against the Russian Bear, it is easy to overlook this land of lakes, forests, and aestival white nights."-- [i.e. Finland]
"You generally get true summer in August: this year it has been unusually æstival."-- M. Collins
From the Latin æstas, summer. Also from æstas:
Monday, August 18, 2008
Word of the day! 8-18-08
Today's Word
magniloquent \mag-NIL-uh-kwent\, adjective:Lofty or grandiose in speech or expression; using a high-flown style of discourse; bombastic.
"Stevens did for American poetic language what Saul Bellow was to do for prose, extending its boundaries, taking in the magniloquent, the arcane, the plainspoken, the gaudy, the low-rent."-- Algis Valiunas, "Wallace Stevens: Collected Poetry and Prose", Commentary, January 1, 1998
"A feature of Young's intellectual project is to incorporate the Elizabethan delight in metaphors both decorous and indecorous, constantly embellishing her prose with a poetic juxtaposition of the grand with the prosaic, "a constant alternation of the magniloquent and the colloquial."-- Constance Eichenlaub, "Marguerite Young", Review of Contemporary Fiction, June 22, 2000
"Although Napoleon presented himself as "the Enlightenment embodied, bringing rationality and justice to peoples hitherto ruled in the interests of privileged castes," and although he may even have believed to some degree in the image he presented, the reality of his rule belied the magniloquent professions of moral generosity."-- Algis Valiunas, "The ashes of Napoleon", Commentary, June 1, 2002
"Shannon, doubling as NSBA's executive director over that time, has taken wicked delight in delivering new vocabulary in his sometimes magniloquent columns about the workings of local school boards."-- "Thomas A. Shannon", School Administrator, April 1996
Magniloquent is derived from Latin magniloquentia, from magnus, "great" + the present participle of loqui, "to speak."
magniloquent \mag-NIL-uh-kwent\, adjective:Lofty or grandiose in speech or expression; using a high-flown style of discourse; bombastic.
"Stevens did for American poetic language what Saul Bellow was to do for prose, extending its boundaries, taking in the magniloquent, the arcane, the plainspoken, the gaudy, the low-rent."-- Algis Valiunas, "Wallace Stevens: Collected Poetry and Prose", Commentary, January 1, 1998
"A feature of Young's intellectual project is to incorporate the Elizabethan delight in metaphors both decorous and indecorous, constantly embellishing her prose with a poetic juxtaposition of the grand with the prosaic, "a constant alternation of the magniloquent and the colloquial."-- Constance Eichenlaub, "Marguerite Young", Review of Contemporary Fiction, June 22, 2000
"Although Napoleon presented himself as "the Enlightenment embodied, bringing rationality and justice to peoples hitherto ruled in the interests of privileged castes," and although he may even have believed to some degree in the image he presented, the reality of his rule belied the magniloquent professions of moral generosity."-- Algis Valiunas, "The ashes of Napoleon", Commentary, June 1, 2002
"Shannon, doubling as NSBA's executive director over that time, has taken wicked delight in delivering new vocabulary in his sometimes magniloquent columns about the workings of local school boards."-- "Thomas A. Shannon", School Administrator, April 1996
Magniloquent is derived from Latin magniloquentia, from magnus, "great" + the present participle of loqui, "to speak."
Laugh of the day! 8-18-08
Top 45 Oxymoron's:
45. Act naturally
44. Found missing
43. Resident alien
42. Advanced BASIC
41. Genuine imitation
40. Airline Food
39. Good grief
38. Same difference
37. Almost exactly
36. Government organization
35. Sanitary landfill
34. Alone together
33. Legally drunk
32. Silent scream
31. Living dead
30. Small crowd
29. Business ethics
28. Soft rock
27. Butt Head
26. Military Intelligence
25. Software documentation
24. New classic
23. Sweet sorrow
22. Childproof
21. "Now, then ..."
20. Synthetic natural gas
19. Passive aggression
18. Taped live
17. Clearly misunderstood
16. Peace force
15. Extinct Life
14. Temporary tax increase
13. Computer jock
12. Plastic glasses
11. Terribly pleased
10. Computer security
9. Political science
8. Tight slacks
7. Definite maybe
6. Pretty ugly
5. Twelve-ounce pound cake
4. Diet ice cream
3. Working vacation
2. Exact estimate
1. Microsoft Works
45. Act naturally
44. Found missing
43. Resident alien
42. Advanced BASIC
41. Genuine imitation
40. Airline Food
39. Good grief
38. Same difference
37. Almost exactly
36. Government organization
35. Sanitary landfill
34. Alone together
33. Legally drunk
32. Silent scream
31. Living dead
30. Small crowd
29. Business ethics
28. Soft rock
27. Butt Head
26. Military Intelligence
25. Software documentation
24. New classic
23. Sweet sorrow
22. Childproof
21. "Now, then ..."
20. Synthetic natural gas
19. Passive aggression
18. Taped live
17. Clearly misunderstood
16. Peace force
15. Extinct Life
14. Temporary tax increase
13. Computer jock
12. Plastic glasses
11. Terribly pleased
10. Computer security
9. Political science
8. Tight slacks
7. Definite maybe
6. Pretty ugly
5. Twelve-ounce pound cake
4. Diet ice cream
3. Working vacation
2. Exact estimate
1. Microsoft Works
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Word of the day! 8-16-08
Today's Word
supernumerary \soo-puhr-NOO-muh-rair-ee; -NYOO-\, adjective:1. Exceeding the stated, standard, or prescribed number.2. Exceeding what is necessary or desired; superfluous.
noun:1. A supernumerary person or thing.2. An actor without a speaking part, as a walk-on or an extra in a crowd scene.
"The Justice Department contractor, the Biogenics Corporation, of Houston, studied blood samples from thirty-six residents and concluded that eight of the people had a rare aberration it called "supernumerary acentric fragments," or extra pieces of genetic material."-- Michael H. Brown, "A Toxic Ghost Town", The Atlantic, July 1989
"Momart is where private collections are put out to pasture, where works that are too big, too precious, too fragile or simply supernumerary to their owners' homes are discreetly tended by expert staff."-- Laura Cumming, "What the Sensationalists did next", The Observer, April 23, 2000
"And yet, important as its role has been in the history of civilization, the bookshelf seldom even gets mentioned in the program; it is treated as a supernumerary, taken for granted, and ignored."-- Henry Petroski, The Book on the Bookshelf
"Sweetums, the Swiss chef and many others serve principally as supernumeraries in the picture's extravagant production numbers."-- Rita Kempley, "Seeworthy Muppets", Washington Post, February 16, 1995
Supernumerary is from Latin supernumerarius, from super, "over" + numerus, "number."
supernumerary \soo-puhr-NOO-muh-rair-ee; -NYOO-\, adjective:1. Exceeding the stated, standard, or prescribed number.2. Exceeding what is necessary or desired; superfluous.
noun:1. A supernumerary person or thing.2. An actor without a speaking part, as a walk-on or an extra in a crowd scene.
"The Justice Department contractor, the Biogenics Corporation, of Houston, studied blood samples from thirty-six residents and concluded that eight of the people had a rare aberration it called "supernumerary acentric fragments," or extra pieces of genetic material."-- Michael H. Brown, "A Toxic Ghost Town", The Atlantic, July 1989
"Momart is where private collections are put out to pasture, where works that are too big, too precious, too fragile or simply supernumerary to their owners' homes are discreetly tended by expert staff."-- Laura Cumming, "What the Sensationalists did next", The Observer, April 23, 2000
"And yet, important as its role has been in the history of civilization, the bookshelf seldom even gets mentioned in the program; it is treated as a supernumerary, taken for granted, and ignored."-- Henry Petroski, The Book on the Bookshelf
"Sweetums, the Swiss chef and many others serve principally as supernumeraries in the picture's extravagant production numbers."-- Rita Kempley, "Seeworthy Muppets", Washington Post, February 16, 1995
Supernumerary is from Latin supernumerarius, from super, "over" + numerus, "number."
Laugh of the day! 8-16-08
On day a redhead, a brunette, and a blonde were on their way to heaven. God told them the stairs to heaven were 1,000 steps and on every step he was going to tell them a joke. If they laughed they would not be able to get to heaven. So the redhead made it to the 45th step and laughed. The brunette made it to the 200th step and laughed. But the blonde made it to the 999th step and laughed even before god told his joke. God asked "Why did you laugh I haven't even told the joke yet" The blonde said "I know I just now got the first one!!!"
Friday, August 15, 2008
Word of the day! 8-15-08
Today's Word Yesterday's Word Previous Words Subscribe for Free Help
blackguard \BLAG-uhrd\, noun:1. A rude or unscrupulous person; a scoundrel.2. A person who uses foul or abusive language.
adjective:1. Scurrilous; abusive; low; worthless; vicious; as, "blackguard language."
transitive verb:1. To revile or abuse in scurrilous language.
"Douglas was not a saint, though, so his behaviour and attitude were, as he wrote, 'neither better nor worse than my contemporaries -- that is to say, [I became] a finished young blackguard, ripe for any kind of wickedness'."-- Douglas Murray, Bosie: A Biography of Lord Alfred Douglas
"The years, as time went on, imparted to him that peculiar majesty that white-haired blackguards, successful (and unpunished) criminals, seem generally to possess."-- Saul David, Prince of Pleasure
"Monroe wondered, but did not ask, what could have driven a young lady of such fine bearing and aristocratic attraction to leave home at a tender age and follow the fortunes of a blackguard like Reynolds."-- William Safire, Scandalmonger
"When we want to talk friendly with him, he will not listen to us, and from beginning to end his talk is blackguard."-- Tecumseh, quoted in Tecumseh: A Life, by John Sugden, Tecumseh: A Life, by John Sugden
Blackguard is from black + guard. The term originally referred to the lowest kitchen servants of a court or of a nobleman's household. They had charge of pots and pans and kitchen other utensils, and rode in wagons conveying these during journeys from one residence to another. Being dirtied by this task, they were jocularly called the "black guard."
blackguard \BLAG-uhrd\, noun:1. A rude or unscrupulous person; a scoundrel.2. A person who uses foul or abusive language.
adjective:1. Scurrilous; abusive; low; worthless; vicious; as, "blackguard language."
transitive verb:1. To revile or abuse in scurrilous language.
"Douglas was not a saint, though, so his behaviour and attitude were, as he wrote, 'neither better nor worse than my contemporaries -- that is to say, [I became] a finished young blackguard, ripe for any kind of wickedness'."-- Douglas Murray, Bosie: A Biography of Lord Alfred Douglas
"The years, as time went on, imparted to him that peculiar majesty that white-haired blackguards, successful (and unpunished) criminals, seem generally to possess."-- Saul David, Prince of Pleasure
"Monroe wondered, but did not ask, what could have driven a young lady of such fine bearing and aristocratic attraction to leave home at a tender age and follow the fortunes of a blackguard like Reynolds."-- William Safire, Scandalmonger
"When we want to talk friendly with him, he will not listen to us, and from beginning to end his talk is blackguard."-- Tecumseh, quoted in Tecumseh: A Life, by John Sugden, Tecumseh: A Life, by John Sugden
Blackguard is from black + guard. The term originally referred to the lowest kitchen servants of a court or of a nobleman's household. They had charge of pots and pans and kitchen other utensils, and rode in wagons conveying these during journeys from one residence to another. Being dirtied by this task, they were jocularly called the "black guard."
Laugh of the day! 8-15-08
Every day a woman stood on her porch and shouted, “Praise the Lord!”And every day the atheist next door yelled back, “There is no Lord!”One day she prayed, “Lord, I’m hungry. Please send me groceries.”The next morning she found a big bag of food on the stairs. “Praise the Lord,” she shouted.“I told you there was no Lord,” her neighbour said, jumping from behind a bush. “I bought those groceries.”“Praise the Lord,” the woman said. “He not only sent me groceries, but he made the devil pay for them.”
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Laugh of the day! 8-14-08
This guy goes skydiving for the first time. After he jumps out of theplane, he counts to ten, pulls the ripcord, and nothing happens. Onlya little worried, he pulls the cord for the auxiliary parachute, butunfortunately, the chute still does not appear. As he is plummetingtoward the Earth, he sees a woman coming up the other way. He shouts toher "Do you know anything about parachutes?" "No", she says, "do youknow anything about gas stoves?"
Word of the day! 8-14-08
Today's Word
lackadaisical \lack-uh-DAY-zih-kuhl\, adjective:Lacking spirit or liveliness; showing lack of interest; languid; listless.
"Drowsy from the heat and from fatigue, he dozed to the steady lackadaisical clips of the mule's shoes."-- Patricia Powell, The Pagoda
"There was an oddly lackadaisical inflection to his speech. A sense of merely going though the motions."-- Lesley Hazleton, Driving To Detroit
"The very title, Hours of Idleness, which the young lord affixed to his maiden volume, sufficiently indicated the lackadaisical spirit in which he came before the public."-- J. F. A. Pyre, "Byron in Our Day", The Atlantic, April 1907
"The simple fact is, whether we admit it or not, there's never been an "intelligence" or "achievement" test on which the smart and industrious have not done better than the dumb and the lackadaisical."-- Jonah Goldberg, "Stupid Aptitude Test", National Review, July 1, 2002
Lackadaisical comes from the expression lackadaisy, a variation of lackaday, itself a shortening of "alack the (or a) day!"
lackadaisical \lack-uh-DAY-zih-kuhl\, adjective:Lacking spirit or liveliness; showing lack of interest; languid; listless.
"Drowsy from the heat and from fatigue, he dozed to the steady lackadaisical clips of the mule's shoes."-- Patricia Powell, The Pagoda
"There was an oddly lackadaisical inflection to his speech. A sense of merely going though the motions."-- Lesley Hazleton, Driving To Detroit
"The very title, Hours of Idleness, which the young lord affixed to his maiden volume, sufficiently indicated the lackadaisical spirit in which he came before the public."-- J. F. A. Pyre, "Byron in Our Day", The Atlantic, April 1907
"The simple fact is, whether we admit it or not, there's never been an "intelligence" or "achievement" test on which the smart and industrious have not done better than the dumb and the lackadaisical."-- Jonah Goldberg, "Stupid Aptitude Test", National Review, July 1, 2002
Lackadaisical comes from the expression lackadaisy, a variation of lackaday, itself a shortening of "alack the (or a) day!"
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Laugh of the day! 8-13-08
Why is it so difficult to find men who are caring, sensitive, and good-looking?
They already have boyfriends.
They already have boyfriends.
Word of the day! 8-13-08
Today's Word
chichi \SHEE-shee\, adjective:Affectedly trendy.
"Going in gangs to those chichi clubs at Maidenhead."-- E. Taylor, Game of Hide-&-Seek
"Whether the chichi gender theorists like it or not, sexual duality is a law of nature among all highly evolved life forms."-- Camille Paglia
"The sort of real delicious Italian country cooking that is a revelation after so much chichi Italian food dished up in London."-- Daily Telegraph, January 22, 1969
"[Judith] Hope -- who lives in East Hampton, where the Clintons have a lot of chichi friends -- has been getting ink by the barrelful with her regular interviews quoting conversations with the first lady, on subjects ranging from Senate ambitions to summer and post-White House living arrangements."-- Washington Post, June 4, 1999
From the French word that literally means "curl of false hair"; used figuratively in the phrases faire des chichis, "to have affected manners, to make a fuss"; and gens à chichis, "affected, snobbish people." Sometimes spelled "chi-chi."
chichi \SHEE-shee\, adjective:Affectedly trendy.
"Going in gangs to those chichi clubs at Maidenhead."-- E. Taylor, Game of Hide-&-Seek
"Whether the chichi gender theorists like it or not, sexual duality is a law of nature among all highly evolved life forms."-- Camille Paglia
"The sort of real delicious Italian country cooking that is a revelation after so much chichi Italian food dished up in London."-- Daily Telegraph, January 22, 1969
"[Judith] Hope -- who lives in East Hampton, where the Clintons have a lot of chichi friends -- has been getting ink by the barrelful with her regular interviews quoting conversations with the first lady, on subjects ranging from Senate ambitions to summer and post-White House living arrangements."-- Washington Post, June 4, 1999
From the French word that literally means "curl of false hair"; used figuratively in the phrases faire des chichis, "to have affected manners, to make a fuss"; and gens à chichis, "affected, snobbish people." Sometimes spelled "chi-chi."
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Laugh of the day! 8-12-08
Q. Did you hear about the new "divorced" Barbie doll that they're selling in stores now?
A. It comes with all of Ken's stuff.
A. It comes with all of Ken's stuff.
Word of the day! 8-12-08
Today's Word
enervate \EN-ur-vayt\, transitive verb:1. To deprive of vigor, force, or strength; to render feeble; to weaken.2. To reduce the moral or mental vigor of.
"Beatriz de Ahumada soldiered on to produce nine more children, a tour of duty that left her enervated and worn."-- Cathleen Medwick, Teresa of Avila: The Progress of a Soul
"In countries like India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Ghana I have always felt enervated by the slightest physical or mental exertion, whereas in the UK, France, Germany or the US I have always felt reinforced and stimulated by the temperate climate, not only during long stays, but even during brief travels."-- David S. Landes, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations
"The tendency of abstract thought . . . to enervate the will is one of the real dangers of the highest education."-- Mark Pattison, Suggestions on Academical Organisation
"The conquerors were enervated by luxury."-- Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Enervate is from the past participle of Latin enervare, "to remove the sinews from, to weaken," from e-, ex-, "out of, from" + nervus, "sinew."
enervate \EN-ur-vayt\, transitive verb:1. To deprive of vigor, force, or strength; to render feeble; to weaken.2. To reduce the moral or mental vigor of.
"Beatriz de Ahumada soldiered on to produce nine more children, a tour of duty that left her enervated and worn."-- Cathleen Medwick, Teresa of Avila: The Progress of a Soul
"In countries like India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Ghana I have always felt enervated by the slightest physical or mental exertion, whereas in the UK, France, Germany or the US I have always felt reinforced and stimulated by the temperate climate, not only during long stays, but even during brief travels."-- David S. Landes, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations
"The tendency of abstract thought . . . to enervate the will is one of the real dangers of the highest education."-- Mark Pattison, Suggestions on Academical Organisation
"The conquerors were enervated by luxury."-- Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Enervate is from the past participle of Latin enervare, "to remove the sinews from, to weaken," from e-, ex-, "out of, from" + nervus, "sinew."
Laugh of the day! 8-11-08
Q. What's the difference between an oral and a rectal thermometer?
A. The taste!
A. The taste!
Word of the day! 8-11-08
Today's Word
provenance \PROV-uh-nuhn(t)s\, noun:Origin; source.
"In a world awash in information of dubious provenance, whom can you trust to tell you the truth?"-- Gerald Jonas, review of The Jazz, by Melissa Scott, New York Times, June 18, 2000
"There may have been as many as one hundred antique statues of Roman provenance in the city at the time of the Fourth Crusade."-- Patricia Fortini Brown, Venice & Antiquity
"The provenance of his possessions traced back to dukes and duchesses, kings, queens, czars, emperors, and dictators."-- John Berendt, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Provenance comes from French, from provenant, present participle of provenir, "to originate," ultimately from Latin provenire, from pro-, "forth" + venire, "to come."
provenance \PROV-uh-nuhn(t)s\, noun:Origin; source.
"In a world awash in information of dubious provenance, whom can you trust to tell you the truth?"-- Gerald Jonas, review of The Jazz, by Melissa Scott, New York Times, June 18, 2000
"There may have been as many as one hundred antique statues of Roman provenance in the city at the time of the Fourth Crusade."-- Patricia Fortini Brown, Venice & Antiquity
"The provenance of his possessions traced back to dukes and duchesses, kings, queens, czars, emperors, and dictators."-- John Berendt, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Provenance comes from French, from provenant, present participle of provenir, "to originate," ultimately from Latin provenire, from pro-, "forth" + venire, "to come."
Laugh of the day! 8-9-08
Q. Why do chicken coops have two doors?
A. Because if it had four doors it's be a chicken sedan.
A. Because if it had four doors it's be a chicken sedan.
Word of the day! 8-9-08
Today's Word
tittle-tattle \TIT-uhl TAT-uhl\, noun:1. Idle, trifling talk; empty prattle.2. An idle, trifling talker; a gossip.
verb:1. to talk idly; to prate.
"The literary tittle-tattle of the age."-- Edinburgh Review, 1820
"It is better even to have a useless hobby than to be a tittle-tattler and a busybody."-- Samuel Smiles, Life and Labour
"The stir aroused by this latest piece of tittle-tattle quickly faded away, as if congealed under the icy wind of endless nights."-- Andrei Makine, Once Upon the River Love [Translated by Geoffrey Strachan]
"Take care on your part, Friar Ange,' replied the philosopher, 'and as you're afraid of the devil, don't offend him too much and do not excite him against you by inconsiderate tittle-tattle."-- Anatole France, The Romance of the Queen Pédauque
Tittle-tattle is a varied reduplication of tattle, which derives from Medieval Dutch tatelen, to babble.
tittle-tattle \TIT-uhl TAT-uhl\, noun:1. Idle, trifling talk; empty prattle.2. An idle, trifling talker; a gossip.
verb:1. to talk idly; to prate.
"The literary tittle-tattle of the age."-- Edinburgh Review, 1820
"It is better even to have a useless hobby than to be a tittle-tattler and a busybody."-- Samuel Smiles, Life and Labour
"The stir aroused by this latest piece of tittle-tattle quickly faded away, as if congealed under the icy wind of endless nights."-- Andrei Makine, Once Upon the River Love [Translated by Geoffrey Strachan]
"Take care on your part, Friar Ange,' replied the philosopher, 'and as you're afraid of the devil, don't offend him too much and do not excite him against you by inconsiderate tittle-tattle."-- Anatole France, The Romance of the Queen Pédauque
Tittle-tattle is a varied reduplication of tattle, which derives from Medieval Dutch tatelen, to babble.
Word of the day! 8-8-08
Today's Word
vexillology \vek-sil-AHL-uh-jee\, noun:The study of flags.
"This unknown specialist has demonstrated his great knowledge of heraldry and vexillology--" Occasional Newsletter to Librarians, January 4, 1966
"One of the most interesting phases of vexillology...is the important contribution to our heritage of flags by the Arab World."-- Arab World, October 13, 1959
From Latin vexillum, "flag" + (Greek) -logy (from logos, " word, discourse").
vexillology \vek-sil-AHL-uh-jee\, noun:The study of flags.
"This unknown specialist has demonstrated his great knowledge of heraldry and vexillology--" Occasional Newsletter to Librarians, January 4, 1966
"One of the most interesting phases of vexillology...is the important contribution to our heritage of flags by the Arab World."-- Arab World, October 13, 1959
From Latin vexillum, "flag" + (Greek) -logy (from logos, " word, discourse").
Laugh of the day! 8-8-08
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Word of the day! 8-7-08
Today's Word
asperity \as-PAIR-uh-tee\, noun:1. Roughness of surface; unevenness.2. Roughness or harshness of sound; a quality that grates upon the ear.3. Roughness of manner; severity; harshness.
"The separation wave probes all the rocks in its path, moving forward until it hits another asperity or fault bend, whereupon it abruptly stops."-- Sandra Blakeslee, "Quake Theory Attacks Prevailing Wisdom OnHow Faults Slip and Slide", New York Times, April 14, 1992
"Many years later, when I was sketching in Rome, a grim-looking Englishwoman came up to me and said with some asperity, "I see you are painting MY view.""-- Lord Berners, A Distant Prospect
"She spoke with great authority, with an asperity that didn't allow for sentimental accountings or ideological projections."-- Daphne Merkin, "A Passion for Order", New York Times, November 17, 1996
Asperity comes from Latin asperitas, from asper, "rough." It is related to exasperate, "to irritate in a high degree," from ex- (here used intensively) + asperatus, past participle of asperare, "to roughen," from asper.
asperity \as-PAIR-uh-tee\, noun:1. Roughness of surface; unevenness.2. Roughness or harshness of sound; a quality that grates upon the ear.3. Roughness of manner; severity; harshness.
"The separation wave probes all the rocks in its path, moving forward until it hits another asperity or fault bend, whereupon it abruptly stops."-- Sandra Blakeslee, "Quake Theory Attacks Prevailing Wisdom OnHow Faults Slip and Slide", New York Times, April 14, 1992
"Many years later, when I was sketching in Rome, a grim-looking Englishwoman came up to me and said with some asperity, "I see you are painting MY view.""-- Lord Berners, A Distant Prospect
"She spoke with great authority, with an asperity that didn't allow for sentimental accountings or ideological projections."-- Daphne Merkin, "A Passion for Order", New York Times, November 17, 1996
Asperity comes from Latin asperitas, from asper, "rough." It is related to exasperate, "to irritate in a high degree," from ex- (here used intensively) + asperatus, past participle of asperare, "to roughen," from asper.
Laugh of the day! 8-7-08
There were three blondes who wanted to cross a river. So the first blonde asked God if he would make her smart enough to know how to swim and cross the river. So God did.The second blonde asked God to make her smart enough to build a raft and croos over the river. So God did. When the third blonde was about to ask God for her wish, God said, "I'm tired of you blondes and your dumb wishes." So he made the third blonde smart enough to see the bridge and cross over it.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Word of the day! 8-6-08
Today's Word
spoony \SPOO-nee\, adjective:1. Foolish; silly; excessively sentimental.2. Foolishly or sentimentally in love.
"Nevertheless, because we're spoony old things at heart, we like to believe that some showbiz marriages are different."-- Julie Burchill, "Cut!", The Guardian, February 7, 2001
"So when your fervor cools, you think that this suddenly familiar and lusterless partner couldn't possibly be the one you're destined to be with; otherwise you'd still be all spoony, lovey-dovey and bewitched."-- John Dufresne, "What's So Hot About Passion?", Washington Post, February 9, 2003
"We know they aren't doing it for love, otherwise it wouldn't take $50 million to sucker them into getting spoony for a construction worker."-- "Say it isn't so 'Joe'", USA Today, December 30, 2002
Spoony is from the slang term spoon, meaning "a simpleton or a silly person."
spoony \SPOO-nee\, adjective:1. Foolish; silly; excessively sentimental.2. Foolishly or sentimentally in love.
"Nevertheless, because we're spoony old things at heart, we like to believe that some showbiz marriages are different."-- Julie Burchill, "Cut!", The Guardian, February 7, 2001
"So when your fervor cools, you think that this suddenly familiar and lusterless partner couldn't possibly be the one you're destined to be with; otherwise you'd still be all spoony, lovey-dovey and bewitched."-- John Dufresne, "What's So Hot About Passion?", Washington Post, February 9, 2003
"We know they aren't doing it for love, otherwise it wouldn't take $50 million to sucker them into getting spoony for a construction worker."-- "Say it isn't so 'Joe'", USA Today, December 30, 2002
Spoony is from the slang term spoon, meaning "a simpleton or a silly person."
Laugh of the day! 8-6-08
You Are An Internet Addict When:
1. You refer to going to the bathroom as downloading.
2. You step out of your room and realize that your parents have moved and you don't have a clue as to when it happened.
3. Your bookmark takes 15 minutes to go from top to bottom.
4. Your nightmares are in HTML and GIFS.
5. You turn off your modem and get this awful empty feeling, like you just pulled the plug on a loved one.
6. You start introducing yourself as "Jim at net dot com"
7. Your heart races faster and beats irregularly each time you see a new WWW site address on TV.
8. You turn on your intercom when leaving the room so you can hear if new e-mail arrives.
9. Your wife drapes a blond wig over your monitor to remind you of what she looks like.
10. All of your friends have an @ in their names.
11. When looking at a web page full of someone else's links, you notice all of them are already highlighted in purple.
12. Your dog has its own home page.
13. You can't call your mother... She doesn't have a modem.
14. You check your mail. It says "no new messages." So you check it again.
15. Your phone bill is a heavy as a brick.
16. You write your homework in HTML and give your instructor the URL.
17. You don't know the sex of three of your closest friends, because they have neutral nicknames and you never bothered to ask.
18. Your husband tells you that he has had the beard for 2 months.
19. You wake up at 3 a.m. to go to the bathroom and stop and check your e-mail on the way back to bed.
20. You tell the kids they can't use the computer because "Daddy's got work to do" -- even though you don't have a job.
21. You buy a Captain Kirk chair with a built-in keyboard and mouse.
22. Your wife makes a new rule: "The computer cannot come to bed."
23. You get a tattoo that says "This body best viewed with Netscape 3.0 or higher."
24. You never have to deal with busy signals when calling your ISP... because you never log off. 25. The last girl you picked up was only a GIF.
26. You ask a plumber how much it would cost to replace the chair in front of your computer with a toilet.
27. Your wife says communication is important in a marriage...so you buy another computer and install a second phone line so the two of you can chat.
28. As your car crashes through the guardrail on a mountain road, your first instinct is to search for the "back" button.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Laugh of the day! 8-5-08
A blonde was sitting outside a store on the curb crying..the manager of the store spotted her outside and went outside and asked the blonde whats wrong…she said her mother just died..and the manager said oh I’m sorry.. the blondes cell phone starts to ring and she answers it and says hello..omg! are you serious!.. and she hangs up and the manager asks her who that was and the blonde says…that was my sister…her mom just died too!
Word of the day! 8-5-08
Today's Word
vituperate \vy-TOO-puh-rate, -TYOO-, vi-\, verb:To find fault with; to scold; to overwhelm with wordy abuse; to censure severely or abusively; to rate.
"There are moments in life when true invective is called for, when it becomes an absolute necessity, out of a deep sense of justice, to denounce, mock, vituperate, lash out, in the strongest possible language."-- Charles Simic, quoted in "The argument culture", Irish Times, December 17, 1998
"The incensed priests...continued to raise their voices, vituperating each other in bad Latin."-- Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe
Vituperate comes from Latin vitupero, vituperare, to scold, blame, censure.
vituperate \vy-TOO-puh-rate, -TYOO-, vi-\, verb:To find fault with; to scold; to overwhelm with wordy abuse; to censure severely or abusively; to rate.
"There are moments in life when true invective is called for, when it becomes an absolute necessity, out of a deep sense of justice, to denounce, mock, vituperate, lash out, in the strongest possible language."-- Charles Simic, quoted in "The argument culture", Irish Times, December 17, 1998
"The incensed priests...continued to raise their voices, vituperating each other in bad Latin."-- Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe
Vituperate comes from Latin vitupero, vituperare, to scold, blame, censure.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Word of the day! 8-4-08
Today's Word
obeisance \oh-BEE-suhn(t)s; oh-BAY-suhn(t)s\, noun:1. An expression of deference or respect, such as a bow or curtsy.2. Deference, homage.
"They made obeisance right to the floor, coiling like bright snakes from the arms of their astonished handlers."-- Ann Wroe, Pontius Pilate
"His presence was betrayed to Miloš, who ordered his execution and then sent his rival's head to the Sultan to demonstrate his obeisance."-- Misha Glenny, The Balkans
"In all, it had served to create a highly restrictive society where the arrogance of superiors was as ingrained as their subordinates' fawning obeisance."-- Robert Whiting, Tokyo Underworld
Obeisance comes from Old French obeissance, from obeissant, present participle of obeir, to obey, from Latin oboedire, to listen to, from ob-, to + audire, to hear. The adjective form is obeisant.
obeisance \oh-BEE-suhn(t)s; oh-BAY-suhn(t)s\, noun:1. An expression of deference or respect, such as a bow or curtsy.2. Deference, homage.
"They made obeisance right to the floor, coiling like bright snakes from the arms of their astonished handlers."-- Ann Wroe, Pontius Pilate
"His presence was betrayed to Miloš, who ordered his execution and then sent his rival's head to the Sultan to demonstrate his obeisance."-- Misha Glenny, The Balkans
"In all, it had served to create a highly restrictive society where the arrogance of superiors was as ingrained as their subordinates' fawning obeisance."-- Robert Whiting, Tokyo Underworld
Obeisance comes from Old French obeissance, from obeissant, present participle of obeir, to obey, from Latin oboedire, to listen to, from ob-, to + audire, to hear. The adjective form is obeisant.
Laugh of the day! 8-4-08
Chinese Proverb:
Man who run in front of car get tired. Man who run behind car get exhausted.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Laugh of the day! 8-01-08
Four men were bragging about how smart their dogs were.
One man was an engineer, the second man was an accountant, the third man was a chemist, and the fourth was a government worker.
To show off, the engineer called to his dog. “T-square, do your stuff.” T-square trotted over to a desk, took out some paper and a pen, and promptly drew a circle, a square, and a triangle.
Everyone agreed that that that was pretty smart.The accountant said that his dog could do better. He called to his dog and said,”Spreadsheet, do your stuff.” Spreadsheet went out into the kitchen and returned with a dozen cookies.He divided them into four equal piles of three cookies each.
Everyone agreed that that was good.
The chemist said that his dog could do better still.he called to his dog and said, “Measure, do your stuff.” Measure got up, walked over to the fridge, took out a quart of milk, got a ten-ounce glass from the cupboard, and poured exactly eight ounces without spilling a drop.
Everyone agreed that that was pretty impressive.
Then the three men turned to the government worker and said, “What can your dog do?”
The government worker called to his dog and said, “Coffee Break, do your stuff.” Coffee Break jumped to his feet, ate the cookies, drank the milk, claimed he had injured his back while doing so, filed a grievance report for unsafe working conditions, put in for worker’ compensation, and went home for the rest of the day on sick leave!
One man was an engineer, the second man was an accountant, the third man was a chemist, and the fourth was a government worker.
To show off, the engineer called to his dog. “T-square, do your stuff.” T-square trotted over to a desk, took out some paper and a pen, and promptly drew a circle, a square, and a triangle.
Everyone agreed that that that was pretty smart.The accountant said that his dog could do better. He called to his dog and said,”Spreadsheet, do your stuff.” Spreadsheet went out into the kitchen and returned with a dozen cookies.He divided them into four equal piles of three cookies each.
Everyone agreed that that was good.
The chemist said that his dog could do better still.he called to his dog and said, “Measure, do your stuff.” Measure got up, walked over to the fridge, took out a quart of milk, got a ten-ounce glass from the cupboard, and poured exactly eight ounces without spilling a drop.
Everyone agreed that that was pretty impressive.
Then the three men turned to the government worker and said, “What can your dog do?”
The government worker called to his dog and said, “Coffee Break, do your stuff.” Coffee Break jumped to his feet, ate the cookies, drank the milk, claimed he had injured his back while doing so, filed a grievance report for unsafe working conditions, put in for worker’ compensation, and went home for the rest of the day on sick leave!
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