Chris Sellars There is an insane asylum where the gardens are pleasant and the facilities more or less adequate but both inmates and staff are for the most part barking mad. We call this institution the world. It was called a night club but it had nothing in common with
The word for today is… blithesome (adjective) – : with lightheartedness or unconcern Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Blithe had been bounding about in the language for six centuries before English speakers attached a -some to its tail to make blithesome. Poet Robert Greene appears to have been among the first to employ
Gary Furnell mercatornet.com Present-day society has developed a disturbing ambivalence to suicide – on the one hand, abhorring it as a tragedy and calling for preventative measures; on the other, promoting it by the legalisation of euthanasia. Gary Furnell, whose work for a funeral director has exposed him to the
Satire is officially redundant. When you’re living in a clown world, it’s simply impossible to make fun of the circus. The gap between parody and reality has become razor-thin. Yesterday’s Titania McGrath tweet is today’s woke-left reality. Was it really just a few years ago that
Dave Pellowe goodsauce.news I’m a huge believer in freedom, and the loss of freedom experienced globally since the Great Covid-19 Experiment began last year is as alarming to me as it is inexplicable. How can so many educated, intelligent citizens of nations which have so long enjoyed the
The word for today is… exhilarate (verb)- : to make (someone) very happy and excited or elated Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Many people find “exhilarate” a difficult word to spell. It’s easy to forget that silent “h” in there, and is it an “er” or “ar” after the “l”
As The BFD reported last week, lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret is going woke. Its famous catalog is dumping its stock-in-trade of scantily-clad Barbie dolls. Instead, perpetual sourpuss Megan Rapinoe, “plus-sized” Paloma Elsesser and some bloke in a dress are its latest figureheads. But is this yet another case of
A regular reader of The BFD recently complained to TVNZ about a racist comment that had been broadcast in March. On the show in question, a white guy who was part of a group of white guys commented that he was so happy that a black guy was carrying his
The word for today is… veracity (noun) – 1 : conformity with truth or fact : accuracy 2 : devotion to the truth : truthfulness 3 : power of conveying or perceiving truth 4 : something true Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Veracity has been a part of English since at least 1623, and we can honestly tell
Sir Bob Jones nopunchespulled.com Behind Covid by a country mile, the big story of recent years has been the housing crisis. This is not just a New Zealand issue but one dominating politics and the news worldwide and it surprises me why commentators cannot see the underlining connection with
Rachael Wong mercatornet.com Rachael is a barrister, Managing Director at Women’s Forum Australia, and an Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Law at the University of Notre Dame Australia. She previously worked with the Law Reform Commission in Samoa to bring about legislative reform to improve the lives
The word for today is… actuary (noun) – 1 obsolete : clerk, registrar 2 : a person who calculates insurance and annuity premiums, reserves, and dividends Source : Online Etymology Dictionary Etymology : First known use in the 1550s. Registrar, clerk from Medieval Latin actuarius. Copyist, account-keeper, short-hand writer, from Latin actus in the specialized
Izzy Kalman mercatornet.com Izzy Kalman is the author and creator of the website Bullies2Buddies.com and a critic of the anti-bully movement. A misguided but well-intentioned anti-bullying message went viral recently. The “crumpled paper” exercise has been used by adults for many years to try to reduce bullying among
The word for today is… paean (noun) – 1 : a joyous song or hymn of praise, tribute, thanksgiving, or triumph 2 : a work that praises or honors its subject Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : According to the poet Homer, the Greek god Apollo sometimes took the guise of Paean, physician to the
Bruce Logan While all the noise around the justice or injustice of Laurel Hubbard competing in the Olympic Games is inevitable, it’s also beside the point. The debate is nearly always about competing human rights: the right of the transgender athlete to compete and the right of women to
The word for today is… plethora (noun) – 1 : a bodily condition characterized by an excess of blood and marked by turgescence and a florid complexion 2 : abundance, profusion Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Plethora comes from a similar Greek word meaning “fullness.” It was first used in English in the 16th
