“I used to be with ‘it’, but then they changed what ‘it’ was. Now what I’m with isn’t ‘it’ anymore and what’s ‘it’ seems weird and scary. It’ll happen to you!” – Abraham “Grandpa” Simpson. Until recently, I was a member of a social media group dedicated
The word for today is… litany (noun): 1 : a prayer consisting of a series of invocations and supplications by the leader with alternate responses by the congregation 2a : a resonant or repetitive chant b : a usually lengthy recitation or enumeration c : a sizable series or set – e.g. a litany
The word for today is… factoid (noun): 1 : an invented fact believed to be true because it appears in print 2 : a briefly stated and usually trivial fact Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : We can thank Norman Mailer for factoid: he used the word in his 1973 book Marilyn (about Marilyn
The word for today is… idiot (noun): 1 : a foolish or stupid person 2 dated, now seen as offensive by some: a person affected with extreme intellectual disability Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : We had ‘fool’ a year ago, so a synonym this year. The Greek adjective idios means “one’s
Dan Sanchez fee.org Dan Sanchez is the Director of Content at the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) and the editor-in chief of FEE.org. I’m not an avid follower of celebrity news, but there was an altercation at the Academy Awards last night that is not only consuming
The Blonde Occasionally something crops up that sets your thought processes in action. Yesterday morning an item on television discussing the high number of breast cancer cases recorded nowadays had that effect on me. It set me thinking about the differences in lifestyle when comparing today with 1960(-ish) when
Claire Dale University of Auckland Claire Dale’s research interests are economic theory and policy development, with an emphasis on seeking solutions to New Zealand’s economic and social problems, including the ageing population and the associated escalation of pension, health and care costs. A large number of New Zealanders
The word for today is… homologous (adjective): 1a : having the same relative position, value, or structure: such as a biology : having the same or allelic genes with genetic loci usually arranged in the same order homologous chromosomes b chemistry : belonging to or consisting of a chemical series whose successive members
The word for today is… imminent (adjective): : happening very soon Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Imminent bears a close resemblance to eminent, and native English-speakers can be excused if they sometimes have to check their spelling. No surprise, really, since the two, despite their very distinct meanings, come from near-identical sources.
Rachel Pistol mercatornet.com Rachel Pistol is a historian and digital humanist on the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure, based at King’s College London, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Exeter. Her research interests include 20th century British and American history, with a particular focus on Second
The word for today is… myopic (adjective): 1 medical : not able to clearly see objects that are far away 2 disapproving : only thinking or caring about things that are happening now or that relate to a particular group rather than things that are in the future or that relate to
Clearly, I’m in the wrong line of work. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do: I work from home, surrounded by my books and music. I can nap when I feel like it and drink on the job without getting fired. I can take a break
The word for today is… ziggurat (noun): : an ancient Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure built in successive stages with outside staircases and a shrine at the top Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : French professor of archaeology Francois Lenormant spent a great deal of time poring over ancient
If someone deliberately chooses to end their own life, it’s suicide. No amount of dressing it up with fancy eupemisms like “Voluntary Assisted Dying” can change that. But “suicide” is a bad word: so bad that journalists’ ethics proscribe openly discussing it. Laws prevent assisting or encouraging suicide. Hence,
We all know that teenagers, girls especially, are faddists. We also know that they don’t know much: that’s why we send them to school. Science also tells us that teenagers have under-developed brains, are driven to seek social acceptance, and are physically incapable of thinking things through and
The word for today is… bamboozle (verb): 1 : to deceive by underhanded methods 2 : to confuse, frustrate, or throw off thoroughly or completely Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In 1710, Irish author Jonathan Swift wrote an article on “the continual Corruption of our English Tongue” in which he complained of “the
