The word for today is… banshee (noun): : a female spirit in Gaelic folklore whose appearance or wailing warns a family that one of them will soon die Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In Irish folklore, a bean sídhe (literally “woman of fairyland”) was not a welcome guest. When she was seen
The word for today is… juggernaut (noun): 1 : a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path 2 chiefly British : a large heavy truck Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In the early 14th century, Franciscan missionary Friar Odoric brought to Europe the story of an
The word for today is… opine (verb): : to express opinions: to state as an opinion Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Opine is not a back-formation of opinion. Both words come from Middle French opiner, meaning “to express one’s opinion,” and Latin opinari, “to have in mind” or “to think.
Simon Angelo wealthmorning.com Simon is the Chief Executive Officer and Publisher at Wealth Morning. He has been investing in the markets since he was 17. He recently spent a couple of years working in the hedge-fund industry in Europe. Radio and social media are littered with an alluring
The word for today is… erudite (adjective): : having or showing knowledge that is gained by studying : possessing or displaying erudition Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Erudite derives from Latin eruditus, the past participle of the verb erudire, meaning “to instruct.” A closer look at that verb shows that it is formed
There are some things that are so foolish, as Orwell said, that only an intellectual could believe them. There’s been no shortage of intellectual fads, from phrenonology and Social Darwinism, to Behaviourism and eugenics. Most fade away, but not before inflicting a great deal of damage. The fad for
The word for today is… derring-do (noun): : daring action Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Derring-do is a quirky holdover from Middle English that came to occupy its present place in the language by a series of mistakes and misunderstandings. In Middle English, dorring don meant simply “daring to do.
If you were to believe the media, well, more fool you. But among the things you’d believe, if you took the legacy media, Hollywood and the political elite at their word, is that the Young People™ are wall-to-wall flaming queens, flouncing off into a rainbow fairyland of
I recently picked up a second-hand copy of Theodore Dalrymple’s Spoiled Rotten. Like almost anything by the good doctor, it’s as disheartening as it is a ripping read. Drawing, as he so often does, on his experience dealing with the refuse of Britain’s criminal and welfare
Tabitha Stanmore theconversation.com As I was scrolling through Twitter recently, a viral tweet caught my attention. It was an image from a book of spells claiming that: “You may fascinate a woman by giving her a piece of cheese.” The spell comes from Kathryn Paulsen’s 1971 book, The
Michelle Wheeler particle.scitech.org.au Michelle is a former science and environment reporter for The West Australian. Her work has seen her visit a snake-infested island dubbed the most dangerous in the world, test great white shark detectors in a tinny and meet isolated tribes in the Malaysian
The word for today is… non sequitur (noun): 1 : an inference that does not follow from the premises – specifically : a fallacy resulting from a simple conversion of a universal affirmative proposition or from the transposition of a condition and its consequent 2 : a statement (such as a response) that does
The word for today is… debilitating (adjective): : causing serious impairment of strength or ability to function Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The verb debilitate (and its adjective form debilitating) comes from the Latin word for “weak,” debilis. Often used of disease—as in, “the patient was debilitated”—it can also suggest
The word for today is… winsome (adjective): : generally pleasing and engaging often because of a childlike charm and innocence Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Winsome comes from Old English wynn, meaning “joy” or “pleasure,” which was altered in spelling to win (with the same meaning). That win is obsolete and is
The word for today is… sophomore (noun): : a student in the second year at college or a 4-year secondary school Source : Online Etymology Dictionary Etymology : 1680s, “student in the second year of university study,” literally “arguer,” altered from sophumer (1650s), from sophume, an archaic variant form of sophism, ultimately
Dear Reader BFD columnist Terry Dunleavy passed away this week. The article that he had planned to write for today was going to tell us “why Luxon’s speech was NOT ‘State of the Nation’ but was welcome as reaffirmation of the State of the National Party”. In the years
