Isabelle Groc @isabellegroc ensia.com Researchers are discovering plenty of ecological impacts — positive and negative — when humans interfere with wild animals’ natural eating routines. When she was about 8 years old, Judy Elson received a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle from her great-aunt that featured North American birds. Her relative had a
Judith Graham Kaiser Health News For a dozen years, Larry Bocchiere, 68, didn’t find it especially difficult to care for his wife, Deborah, who struggled with breathing problems. But as her illness took a downward turn, he became overwhelmed by stress. “I was constantly on guard for any change
The word for today is… artifice (noun) – 1. (a) Deception or trickery. (b) Something contrived or made up to achieve an end, especially by deceiving. 2. (a) Cleverness or ingenuity in making or doing something. (b) An artistic device or convention. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Do great actors display
The word for today is… shindig (noun) – 1. A festive party, often with dancing. Also called shindy. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : At a glance, shindig appears to combine shin and dig, and thus might seem to suggest a painful kick to the leg—especially when you know that one
You might think that poor old Tim “Soupy” Soutphommasane would be at a bit of a loose end these days, ever since he was finally prised, shrieking and wailing, from the taxapayer teat. But, never fear, the nomeklatura look out for themselves. Soupy now revels in the gloriously Marxist title
The word for today is… redux (adj) – Brought back; returned. Used postpositively. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : In Latin, redux (from the verb reducere, meaning “to lead back”) can mean “brought back” or “bringing back.” The Romans used redux as an epithet for the goddess Fortuna with its “bringing back”
The word for today is… punctilio (noun) – 1. A fine point of etiquette. 2. Precise observance of formalities. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : We’ll get straight to the point: there are a number of English words that come from Latin pungere, meaning “to prick” or “to sting.” Punctilio is
The word for today is… persnickety (adj) – 1. (a) Overparticular about trivial details; fastidious. (b) Snobbish; pretentious. 2. Requiring strict attention to detail; demanding. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : 1889, alteration of pernickety. pernickety, 1808 (pernicktie, in Jamieson), “precise, fastidious,” extended form of Scottish pernicky, of uncertain origin, perhaps somehow
The word for today is… permutation (noun) – 1. (a) The process of altering the order of a given set of objects in a group. (b) The result of such a process; a rearrangement or recombination of elements. (c) (Mathematics) A rearrangement of the elements of a set. 2. A complete
The word for today is… penultimate (adj) – 1. Next to last. 2. (Linguistics) Of or relating to the penult of a word. (noun) – The next to the last. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Penultimate isn’t the last word in words for things that are next to last. There is
Christian Jarrett is a senior editor at Aeon, working on the forthcoming Psyche website that will take a multidisciplinary approach to the age-old question of how to live. A cognitive neuroscientist by training, his writing has appeared in BBC Future, WIRED and New York Magazine, among others. His books include
The word for today is… mendacious (adj) – 1. Lying; untruthful. 2. False; untrue. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Mendacious and lying have very similar meanings, but the two are not interchangeable. Mendacious is more formal and literary, suggesting a deception harmless enough to be considered somewhat bland. Lying is more
The word for today is… luminaria (noun) – 1. A votive candle set into a small, decorative paper bag weighted with sand and placed in a row with others along a walkway, driveway, or rooftop as a holiday decoration. Also called regionally farolito. 2. (New Mexico) A bonfire built in front
The word for today is… impervious (adj) – 1. Incapable of being penetrated. 2. Incapable of being affected. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : The English language is far from impervious, and, of course, a great many Latinate terms have entered it throughout its history. Impervious is one of the many that
The word for today is… gallivant (verb) – 1. To roam about in search of pleasure or amusement. 2. To play around amorously; flirt. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Back in the 14th century, gallant, a noun borrowed from the French galant, denoted a young man of fashion. By the middle
