Nothing sums up the state of modern society than the Clown World meme. It now seems like the lost days of innocence that just a few short years ago we sensibly agreed that it was wrong to punish people for being attracted to the same sex. Somehow, that transmogrified into
The word for today is… apocryphal (adj) – 1. Of questionable authorship or authenticity. 2. Erroneous; fictitious. 3. Apocryphal (Bible) Of or having to do with the Apocrypha. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : In Bible study, the term Apocrypha refers to sections of the Bible that are not sanctioned as belonging
The Police have become overbearing and threatening in their dealings with Licenced Firearms Owners. They have been aided and abetted by an out of control Police Minister, Stuart Nash. Currently, they are ramming through legislation for a gun register despite the fact that no gun register anywhere in the world
The word for today is… aphorism (noun) – 1. A tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion; an adage. 2. A brief statement of a scientific principle. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Aphorism was originally used in the world of medicine. Credit Hippocrates, the Greek physician regarded as the father
A few years ago, two female British MPs commissioned a study into online hate-speech directed at women. To their infinite embarrassment, the study found that the bulk of misogynistic online abuse came, not from men, but other women. Well, it’s time to play the sad trombone again. Researchers from
Roslyn Petelin, The University of Queensland Reports this week about the demise of the Apostrophe Protection Society may have been greatly exaggerated. The Apostrophe Protection Society was set up in 2001 in the UK by retired journalist John Richards with the aim of “preserving the correct use of this currently
The word for today is… aerie (noun) – The nest of a bird of prey, a house or fortress located high on a hill or mountain. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : English poet John Milton put a variant of aerie to good use in Paradise Lost (1667), writing, “… there the eagle
The word for today is… triskaidekaphobia (noun) – An abnormal fear of the number 13. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : It’s impossible to say just how or when the number thirteen got its bad reputation. There are a number of theories, of course. Some say it comes from the Last
The word for today is… scapegoat (noun) – 1. One that is made to bear the blame of others. 2. (Bible) A live goat over whose head Aaron confessed all the sins of the children of Israel on the Day of Atonement. The goat, symbolically bearing their sins, was then sent
The word for today is… redound (verb) – 1. To have an effect or consequence. 2. To return; recoil: Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Although it looks and sounds like a number of similar words (including rebound, resound, abound, and redundant), redound is a distinct term. It developed from Middle French
The word for today is… frippery (noun) – 1. Pretentious, showy finery. 2. Pretentious elegance; ostentation. 3. Something trivial or nonessential. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : 1560s, “old clothes, cast-off garments,” from Middle French friperie “old clothes, an old clothes shop,” from Old French freperie, feuperie “old rags, rubbish, old clothes”
I don’t often read anything written by Heather Du Plessis-Allan, she kind of winds me up so I just don’t click on her articles. But her latest ‘Premium’ article in ‘A newspaper’ piqued my interest. I had been thinking about doing a post about the Woman Who Isn’
The word for today is… exculpatory (adj) – Tending to clear someone, especially a suspect, of guilt or blame; exonerative. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : 1779, from exculpate + -ory. exculpate – “To clear from suspicion of wrong or guilt,” 1650s, from Medieval Latin exculpatus, past participle of exculpare, from Latin ex culpa,
The word for today is… catholic (adj) – 1. Of broad or liberal scope; comprehensive. 2. Including or concerning all humankind; universal. 3. Catholic a. Of or involving the Roman Catholic Church. b. Of or relating to the universal Christian church. c. Of or relating to the ancient undivided Christian church.
The word for today is… neoteric (adj) – Of recent origin; modern. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “Recent in origin, new, modern,” 1590s, from Late Latin neotericus, from Greek ne?terikos “youthful, fresh, modern,” from ne?teros, comparative of neos “new”.
The word for today is… wheedle (verb) – 1. To obtain through the use of flattery or guile. 2. To persuade or attempt to persuade by flattery or guile; cajole. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Wheedle has been a part of the English lexicon since the mid-17th century, though no one
