As we await the Royal Commission report into the unfortunate massacre at Christchurch, some others have been digging into why, precisely, the massacre occurred. Those in the firearms community have known for a very long time that the massacre could have been avoided if Police had done even the most
The word for today is… undertaker (noun) – 1. Funeral director. 2. One who undertakes a task or job. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : You may wonder how the word undertaker made the transition from “one who undertakes” to “one who makes a living in the funeral business.” The latter meaning
The word for today is… strenuous (adj) – 1. Requiring great effort, energy, or exertion. 2. Vigorously active; energetic or zealous. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “Characterised by great effort,” mid-15th c (implied in strenuously), from Latin strenuus “active, brisk, quick, nimble, prompt, vigorous, keen.” Probably cognate with Greek str?
The word for today is… skullduggery (also skulduggery) (noun) – Crafty deception or trickery or an instance of it. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : also sculduddery, “fornication,” 1713 1856, apparently an alteration of Scottish sculdudrie “adultery” (1713), sculduddery “bawdry, obscenity” (1821), a euphemism of uncertain origin. If you enjoyed this BFD
The word for today is… Sisyphean (adj) – 1. Of or relating to Sisyphus. 2. Endlessly laborious or futile. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king who annoyed the gods with his trickery. As a consequence, he was condemned for eternity to roll a huge rock
The word for today is… ruddy (adj) – 1. a. Having a healthy, reddish colour. b. Reddish; rosy. 2. (Chiefly British Slang) Used as an intensive: “You ruddy liar!” (John Galsworthy). Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : In Old English, there were two related words referring to red colouring: read and rudu.
The word for today is… purport (verb) – To have or present the often false appearance of being or intending; claim or profess. (noun) – 1. Meaning that is presented, intended, or implied. 2. Intention; purpose. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : The verb purport may be more familiar nowadays, but purport exists
The word for today is… plaudit (noun) – Enthusiastic expression of praise or approval. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : You earn plaudits for your etymological knowledge if you can connect plaudit to words besides the familiar applaud and applause. A word coined by shortening Latin plaudite, meaning “applaud,” plaudit had gained
The word for today is… pediculous (noun) – Infestation with lice. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Count on the English language’s Latin lexical options to pretty up the unpleasant. You can have an entire conversation about lice and avoid the l-word entirely using pediculous and its relatives. None of
Anthony Caravaggi University of South Wales Holly English University College Dublin When you think of kangaroos and wallabies, you probably don’t think of the temperate climate, unsettled weather and agricultural lands of England. Yet on such pastures, the red-necked wallaby has found a home. Red-necked wallabies have
Jonathan Sacks Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020) was a British Orthodox rabbi, philosopher and theologian. He served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013. After stepping down, in addition to his international travelling and speaking engagements and prolific writing, Sacks
It’s no secret that English is a tough language for non-native speakers to learn. Back in my student days, when I drove taxis part-time, I remember a fellow (non-Australian born) driver flipping anxiously through his street directory (that alone should tell you how long ago it
The word for today is… meander (verb) – 1. To follow a winding and turning course. 2. To move aimlessly and idly without fixed direction. 3. To speak or write in sustained fashion on a number of loosely connected topics. 4. To be directed in various directions or at multiple objects.
Michael Cook MercatorNet Michael Cook is the editor of MercatorNet How times haven’t changed. The Pamela Anderson of the Roaring Twenties, Mae West, once quipped: “Marriage is a fine institution, but I’m not ready for an institution.” In 1938 gossip columnist Sheilah Graham calculated that the average “Hollywood
Francis Phillips mercatornet.com The Hitler Conspiracies: The Third Reich and the Paranoid Imagination. By Richard J. Evans. Allen Lane. £20.00 $US30.99 Richard J. Evans, former Regius Professor of History at Cambridge and a specialist on Germany’s wartime history, has written a highly readable as well as
The word for today is… matriculate (verb) – To admit or be admitted into a group, especially a college or university. I can remember as a young child hearing my father talking about matriculating. I worried that it was some form of removal of his manhood, only later to discover that
