Colin Parkinson (A personal reflection on Covid management in NZ and its effect on one family) I was invited by some friends from church to a New Year’s Eve party which was great; a bunch of people gathered around a barbecue while the kids had fun playing on a
The word for today is… lycanthropy (noun): 1: a delusion that one has become a wolf 2: the assumption of the form and characteristics of a wolf held to be possible by witchcraft or magic Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :Whether about Zeus punishing King Lycaon for trickery or a perfectly
Amanda Stephens Monash University It’s hot, you’ve had a battle to get the kids in the car, and now you’re going to be late for the family lunch. You turn onto the freeway only to get stuck behind a slow driver in the fast lane. You want
The word for today is… trenchant (adjective): 1 : keen, sharp 2 : vigorously effective and articulate 3a : sharply perceptive b : clear-cut, distinct Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :The word trenchant comes from the Anglo-French verb trencher, meaning “to cut,” and may ultimately derive from the Vulgar Latin trinicare, meaning “to cut in
The word for today is… notorious (adjective): : generally known and talked of, especially widely and unfavorably known Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :Although notorious (which comes from Latin noscere, “to come to know”) can be a synonym of famous, it’s more often a synonym of infamous, having long ago developed
OK. I give in. I have been reading articles about the excerpts from Harry’s Spare for the last few days and, for the most part, it has all been ridiculous. A bit of biffo between two brothers is hardly earth-shattering news… or should that be ‘dog-bowl’ shattering? (I found
The word for today is… impediment (noun): 1 : something that impedes especially : an impairment (such as a stutter or a lisp) that interferes with the proper articulation of speech 2 : a bar or hindrance (such as lack of sufficient age) to a lawful marriage Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :Impediment comes
The word for today is… gruntle (verb): : to put in a good humour Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :The verb disgruntle, which has been around since 1682, means “to make ill-humoured or discontented.” The prefix dis- often means “to do the opposite of,” so people might naturally assume that if there
The word for today is… boycott (verb): : to engage in a concerted refusal to have dealings with (a person, a store, an organization, etc.) usually to express disapproval or to force acceptance of certain conditions Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :In the 1870s, Irish farmers faced an agricultural crisis that threatened
The word for today is… defile (verb,noun,verb): verb 1 : to make unclean or impure: such as:- a : to corrupt the purity or perfection of b : to violate the chastity or virginity of c : to make physically unclean especially with something unpleasant or contaminating d : to violate the
The word for today is… peculiar (adjective, noun): adjective 1 : characteristic of only one person, group, or thing 2 : different from the usual or normal: a : special, particular b : odd, curious c : eccentric, unusual noun : something exempt from ordinary jurisdiction, especially a church or parish exempt from the jurisdiction of
Benjamin Kaveladze University of California, Irvine Jonathan Schooler University of California Santa Barbara Oliver Sng University of California, Irvine Benji Kaveladze is a PhD student in Psychological Science at UC Irvine studying the roles of online communities and technologies in well-being. He works with Dr. Stephen Schueller and the Connected
R.J. Snell mercatornet.com R.J. Snell is Editor-in-Chief of Public Discourse and Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute. Previously, he was for many years Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Philosophy Program at Eastern University and the Templeton Honors College, where he founded and directed
The word for today is… sepulchre (noun, verb): noun 1 : a place of burial : tomb 2 : a receptacle for religious relics especially in an altar verb 1 archaic : to place in or as if in a sepulchre : bury 2 archaic : to serve as a sepulchre for Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology
The word for today is… genteel (adjective): 1a : having an aristocratic quality or flavor : stylish b : of or relating to the gentry or upper class c : elegant or graceful in manner, appearance, or shape d : free from vulgarity or rudeness : polite 2a : maintaining or striving to maintain the appearance of
Peter Krapp University of California, Irvine Peter Krapp is professor of Film & Media Studies, Informatics, English and Music at the University of California, Irvine. The US has the largest number of surveillance cameras per person in the world. Cameras are omnipresent on city streets and in hotels, restaurants, malls
