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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

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”? It

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Which Came First — the Broke or the Woke?

Which Came First — the Broke or the Woke?

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

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Discrimination of the Day

Discrimination of the Day

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

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

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

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buildings near body of water

Join the Dots

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

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

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

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white paper on white surface

Are People Really like Crumpled Paper?

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

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

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

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Transgenderism: A Conflict between Mind and Body

Transgenderism: A Conflict between Mind and Body

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

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

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

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… frugal (adjective) – : characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Those who are frugal are unwilling to (lavishly) enjoy the fruits of their labors, so it may surprise you to learn that frugal ultimately derives from the Latin frux,

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… archipelago (noun) – 1 : an expanse of water with many scattered islands 2 : a group of islands 3 : something resembling an archipelago Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The Greeks called it the Aegean Pelagos and the Italians referred to it as Arcipelago (principal sea), but English speakers

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Overseas Media Gives NZ a Serve

Overseas Media Gives NZ a Serve

Enjoying the glory of our cricket team winning the inaugural Test Cricket World Cup is a magical moment for sport in this country, and one that we cricket fans can savour for a long time. It almost takes away the bad taste of the other sporting announcement this week; almost,

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