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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… reiterate (verb) – To say or do again or repeatedly. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Can you guess the meaning of iterate, a less common relative of reiterate? It must mean simply “to state or do,” right? Nope. Actually, iterate also means “to state or do

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What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Ten

What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Ten

Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: One Billion Trees “This government is committed to a new planting programme, planting 100 million trees a year to reach a billion more trees in ten years.” Speech from the Throne Broken Promise: No matter how you cut it the billion trees over 10 years

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What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Nine

What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Nine

Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: Electric Vehicles “This ambitious plan to take real action on climate change will involve all New Zealanders. This government will act as a role model, showing leadership by requiring State-owned enterprises and other government organisations to pursue low-carbon options and technologies, including electric vehicles for

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… vexillology (noun) – The study of flags. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history.” Woodrow Wilson was speaking of the U.S. flag when he made that statement in an address in June of 1915, but those

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What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Eight

What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Eight

Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: Mining on Conservation Land “There will be no new mines on conservation land.” Speech from the Throne Promise still under negotiation with the coalition. Promise: Waste Minimisation “Other environment initiatives include a commitment to minimising waste to landfill and a fund to take action on

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What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Seven

What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Seven

Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: Housing “Housing is a top priority for this government. Action will be taken to address homelessness. State house sell offs will stop. And the State will take the lead in building affordable houses.  Through its Kiwibuild programme, this government pledges to build 100,000 high

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… retinue (noun) – The retainers or attendants accompanying a high-ranking person. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Retinue derives via Middle English from the Anglo-French verb retenir, meaning “to retain.” Another word deriving from retenir is retainer, which means, among other things, “one who serves a person

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What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Six

What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Six

Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: Gender Pay Gap “It will eliminate the gender pay gap within the core public sector and encourage the private sector to do the same.” Speech from the Throne Broken promise: Pay equity legislation has stalled. The Government blocked the National Party bills twice, and have

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… sempiternal (adj) – Enduring forever; eternal. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Despite their similarities, sempiternal and eternal come from different roots. Sempiternal is derived from the Late Latin sempiternalis and ultimately from semper, Latin for “always.” (You may recognize semper as a key element in the

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BFD Weekender: Why Are People Who Use Illegal Drugs Demonized?

BFD Weekender: Why Are People Who Use Illegal Drugs Demonized?

Gideon Lasco sapiens.org “It’s our vitamin,” 20-year-old Jarod (a pseudonym) told me, as he and his friends took out a tiny sachet of shabu (methamphetamine). It was late afternoon, and they were about to begin their work as food and beverage vendors at a port in the Philippines.

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What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Five

What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Five

Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: Driver Training “This government will offer all high school students free driver training and financial literacy, as part of a toolkit giving all school leavers valuable practical skills.” Speech from the Throne Broken promise: The Prime Minister has announced a scheme to help 2500 young

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… recondite (adj) – 1. Not easily understood; abstruse or obscure. 2. Concealed; hidden. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : While the adjective recondite may be used to describe something difficult to understand, there is nothing recondite about the word’s history. It dates to the early 1600s,

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What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Four

What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Four

Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: Free Doctors Visits “Free doctor visits will be extended to everyone under 14, with teen health checks for all Year 9 students.” Speech from the Throne Broken promise: A lovely sentiment that has not been delivered. The promise was made by Labour to NZ First.

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What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Three

What They Promised vs What They Delivered: Part Three

Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: Youth Suicide “New Zealand’s high suicide rate, especially for adolescents, is shameful. This government will increase resources for frontline health workers and will put more nurses in schools to make it easier for young people and others with mental health problems to get the

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… tarradiddle (noun) – 1. A petty falsehood; a fib. 2. Silly pretentious speech or writing; twaddle. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Late 18th century: perhaps related to diddle.

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