The word for today is… masterful (adj) – 1. Acting or capable of acting as a master or leader, especially in being domineering or imperious. 2. Having or showing mastery or skill. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Some commentators insist that masterful must only mean “domineering,” reserving the “expert, skillful” sense
You know journalism is dead when a reporter asks the prime minister if it’s okay for a comedian to make a joke at a press conference about COVID-19. Without being a mind reader, which most modern journalists have become, it’s as if this person thought for a
Sir Bob Jones nopunchespulled.com Our Glasgow office manager David rang the other day. He’s in the office with only one staff member in attendance, she a young Russian girl (the others are in a necessary ‘lockdown’ because the schools are closed and they have children) while another, my
The word for today is… harangue (noun) – 1. A long pompous speech, especially one delivered before a gathering. 2. A speech or piece of writing characterised by strong feeling or expression; a tirade. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : In Old Italian, the noun aringo referred to a public assembly, the
Thanks to Jacinda Ardern’s decision to lock down New Zealand businesses and destroy the economy, hundreds of thousands of Kiwis are now looking for employment. As one of those people I have been looking at government jobs. In times like these a government job is one of the most
The word for today is… envisage (verb) – 1. To conceive an image or a picture of, especially as a future possibility. 2. To consider or regard in a certain way. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Envisage has been part of the English language since the 17th century. It was sometimes
If you’ve been watching the machinations of the American left with concern but indifference because it’s so far away from us and doesn’t really affect us, “think again” springs to mind. Pretty much every fad that had its origins in the USA from Elvis Presley’s gyrating
Sir Bob Jones nopunchespulled.com AUT Associate Law Professor Khylee Quince (I didn’t make that name up although she may have done) has begun a fortnightly column in the always excellent Saturday Dominion-Post. She opened the batting last week with a piece on school kids wearing hair styles
Fulcrum Given the election and the rush by both major parties to spend up big in “infrastructure” the biggest news is National’s bold $30 billion-plus plan. To be clear, building roads is infrastructure, although some of the more recent ‘shovel ready’ projects announced by the Government are really
The word for today is… conflate (verb) – 1. To bring together; meld or fuse. 2. To combine (two variant texts, for example) into one whole. 3. To fail to distinguish between; confuse. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : We’re not just blowing hot air when we tell you that conflate
This is a fact. I visited Guangzhou about a year ago. The population of this city is some 15 million, though I’m not exactly sure where they all were when I was there as it didn’t seem crowded at all. I did notice that their traffic was chaotic,
The word for today is… bellwether (noun) – One that serves as a leader or as a leading indicator of future trends Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : We usually think of sheep more as followers than leaders, but in a flock one sheep must lead the way. Long ago, it was
Just recently the Human Rights Commission launched a “Voices of Racism” campaign. For those that don’t know it’s basically a web site where you can hear people saying apparently racist things. The first thing to note is that there are one or two voices, all definitely Pakeha sounding.
Sir Bob Jones nopunchespulled.com Scarcely a day passes without our dying newspapers publishing something about Harry and Meghan. The items are invariably empty speculative nonsense. Now I’m always happy to look at photos of Meghan although unfortunately they’re marred by including a ginger bearded bugger in the
The word for today is… xeriscape (noun) – A landscaping method that employs drought-resistant plants and special techniques to conserve water. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : X?ros is the Greek word for “dry” that is the base for a handful of English words related to mainly dry printing (xerography)
From the BFD inbox: “Zero Carbon? Maybe they should just give it away for maximum feels.” “Picked up 4 x 2L of this new on the market BS zero carbon milk for $1.25 each (that’s a hell of a markup if a buck 25 is cost-plus gst)
