More than 26 years ago, friends Ben Smart and Olivia Hope celebrated New Year’s Eve at Furneaux Lodge in the Marlborough Sounds. […] There’s been no trace of Ben and Olivia since the early hours of New Year’s Day. Their bodies and possessions have never been found. On
The word for today is… ethereal (adjective): 1a: of or relating to the regions beyond the earth b: celestial, heavenly c: unworldly, spiritual 2a: lacking material substance : immaterial, intangible b: marked by unusual delicacy or refinement c: suggesting the heavens or heaven 3: relating to, containing, or resembling a chemical
Generous Kiwis have donated more than $100,000 in 24 hours as they rush to support two young Christchurch girls whose parents died from cancer within the same week. Nigel and Marjan Joyce died from brain and breast cancer respectively in recent days, leaving behind two daughters, aged 8 and
The word for today is… shambles (noun): 1 archaic : a meat market 2: slaughterhouse 3a: a place of mass slaughter or bloodshed b: a scene or a state of great destruction : wreckage c(1): a scene or a state of great disorder or confusion (2): great confusion : mess Source : Merriam
The word for today is… expiate (verb): 1a: to make amends for b: to extinguish the guilt incurred by 2 obsolete : to put an end to Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : If you need to expiate something—that is, to atone for it—it’s sure to be something you recognize
The Supreme Court has declared the then National-led government broke the law in 2016 when it cancelled a woman’s passport on national security grounds. The Crown has been ordered to pay the woman $30,000 to cover her legal costs, but the court declined to require further payment – saying
The word for today is… haphazard (adjective): : marked by lack of plan, order, or direction Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The hap in haphazard comes from an English word that means “happening,” as well as “chance or fortune.” Hap, in turn, comes from the Old Norse word happ, meaning “good luck.
Waikato-Tainui leader Tukoroirangi Morgan dismisses David Seymour as “a political idiot” in the latest episode of 30 with Guyon Espiner. Morgan, a former broadcaster and politician, describes the ACT Party leader’s Treaty Principles Bill as “a nonsense”. The bill proposes revisions to the interpretations of the three treaty articles,
The word for today is… rescind (verb): 1: to take away : remove 2a: take back, cancel b: to abrogate (a contract) and restore the parties to the positions they would have occupied had there been no contract 3: to make void by action of the enacting authority or a superior
Parliament’s Speaker, Gerry Brownlee, has rebuked an MP for allowing lobbyists to construct an “art installation” and film in the Beehive. A few days before the Budget was released, the Taxpayers Union released a video filmed from the Beehive Banquet Hall – the same space the Budget was released – that
The word for today is… allision (noun): 1 obsolete : the action of dashing against or striking upon 2: the running of one ship upon another ship that is stationary – distinguished from collision Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Late Latin allision-, allisio, from Latin allisus (past participle of allidere to strike against,
Has National MP Maureen Pugh been the victim of a hack? The MP for West Coast-Tasman’s profile on the National Party website appears to have been edited, with the byline of a newsletter she writes changed. In the newsletter dated June 2021, Pugh’s name has been edited from
The word for today is… braggadocio (noun): 1a: empty boasting b: arrogant pretension : cockiness 2: braggart Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Though Braggadocio is not as well-known as other fictional characters like Pollyanna, the Grinch, or Scrooge, in lexicography he holds a special place next to them as one of the
The word for today is… flout (verb, noun): verb : to treat with contemptuous disregard : scorn noun : jeer Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : If you flout a rule or societal norm, you ignore it without hiding what you’re doing, or showing fear or shame; you flout it “out” in the open.
University students spent the day eating raw onions, stacking V cans and attempting to put a shirt on with just one arm. […] More than 1000 University of Canterbury students entered a competition to win a blue hybrid Suzuki Swift worth $20,000. Ten students were drawn at random – and spent
The word for today is… infrastructure (noun): 1: the system of public works of a country, state, or region also : the resources (such as personnel, buildings, or equipment) required for an activity 2: the underlying foundation or basic framework (as of a system or organization) 3: the permanent installations required
