ungainly (adjective) – 1a : lacking in smoothness or dexterity b : hard to handle 2 : having an awkward appearance Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : What do you have to gain by knowing the root of “ungainly?” Plenty. The “gain” in “ungainly” is an obsolete English adjective meaning “direct,” ultimately derived from the Old
Gerry A short-lived event. The term originated in a proverb dating from the time of Chaucer, “Full wonder lost back nine days never in toune” and was found in quotes from John Hayward in 1546, “This wunder as wunder’s last nine days”. I found an interesting usage in
The word for today is… felicitate (adjective, verb) adjective (obsolete) : made happy verb – 1 archaic : to make happy 2a : to consider happy or fortunate b : to offer congratulations to Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Felix, a Latin adjective meaning “happy” or “fruitful,” is the root of our English words “felicity” and
Recently Newshub ran a piece asking its readers if they cared about correct grammar. An Auckland woman has sent a complaint to Countdown over its poor use of grammar on some of its signs. Karen Wilkinson has written a letter saying their in-store checkout signage refers to “12 items
The word for today is… abhor (verb) – to regard with extreme repugnance : to feel hatred or loathing for Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Abhor means “to loathe” or “to hate,” and while loathe and hate have roots in Old English, abhor derives from Latin. The roots of abhor can give us
Jon Miltimore fee.org Jonathan Miltimore is the Managing Editor of FEE.org. His writing/reporting has been the subject of articles in TIME magazine, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, and the Star Tribune. Bylines: Newsweek, The Washington Times, MSN.com, The Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller,
Sir Bob Jones nopunchespulled.com In 1905 H.G. Wells’s “The Club of Queer Trades” novel was published. It described a London club in which membership was confined to individuals who has invented an entirely new and profitable commercial activity. His examples were basically absurd, such as a fellow
The word for today is… meticulous (adjective) – marked by extreme or excessive care in the consideration or treatment of details Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : It may surprise you to learn that meticulous is derived from the Latin word for “fearful” – meticulosus – and ultimately comes from the Latin noun metus, meaning
The word for today is… luminary (noun) – 1 : a person of prominence or brilliant achievement 2 : a body that gives light Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Allow us to shed some light on “luminary.” It came to English by way of Anglo-French and Late Latin, and it traces back to
So, Labour’s brilliant idea in health is to undo community representation and Helen Clark’s own health reforms that created the DHBs in 2000. This seems to have all the hallmarks of a socialist command and control wet dream. Even if the reforms had merit, and there is some
The word for today is… impunity (noun) – : exemption or freedom from punishment, harm, or loss Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Impunity (like the words pain, penal, and punish) traces to the Latin noun poena, meaning “punishment.” The Latin word, in turn, came from Greek poin?, meaning “payment” or “penalty.” People acting
The word for today is… smorgasbord (noun) – 1 : a luncheon or supper buffet offering a variety of foods and dishes (such as hors d’oeuvres, hot and cold meats, smoked and pickled fish, cheeses, salads, and relishes) 2 : an often large heterogeneous mixture Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Although smorgasbord might
The word for today is… williwaw (noun) 1a : a sudden violent gust of cold land air common along mountainous coasts of high latitudes b : a sudden violent wind 2 : a violent commotion Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In 1900, Captain Joshua Slocum (the first person to sail solo around the world,
The word for today is… atavistic (derived from atavism (noun)) 1a : recurrence in an organism of a trait or character typical of an ancestral form and usually due to genetic recombination b : recurrence of or reversion to a past style, manner, outlook, approach, or activity 2 : an individual or character
The word for today is… querulous (adjective) – 1 : habitually complaining 2 : fretful, whining : a querulous voice Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : English speakers have tagged fearful whiners “querulous” since late medieval times. The Middle English form of the word, “querelose,” was an adaptation of the Latin adjective, querulus, which in turn
Rachael A. Woldoff West Virginia University Robert Litchfield Washington & Jefferson College Rachael A. Woldoff is an urban sociologist and Professor of Sociology. She received a PhD in sociology from The Ohio State University, specializing in crime and community. Her research and publications have focused on neighbourhood crime and disorder,
