The word for today is… brusque (adjective): 1: markedly short and abrupt 2: blunt in manner or speech often to the point of ungracious harshness Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : If you’ve ever felt swept aside by someone with a brusque manner, that makes a certain amount of etymological sense.
Victor Gambarini, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Marine plastic pollution is a massive environmental issue, with a plastic smog of an estimated 170 trillion particles afloat in the world’s oceans. This highlights how urgently we need to develop strategies to mitigate this environmental crisis. We know some microbes
Former Green MP Golriz Ghahraman will have to wait until Thursday to find out her sentencing decision after pleading guilty to charges of shoplifting. Ghahraman was charged in January following a shoplifting investigation which found she had stolen around $8367 worth of clothing from three shops. She pleaded guilty to
The word for today is… surfeit (noun, verb): noun 1: an overabundant supply : excess 2: an intemperate or immoderate indulgence in something (such as food or drink) 3: disgust caused by excess transitive verb : to feed, supply, or give to surfeit intransitive verb archaic : to indulge to satiety in a
Sally Q Davies Sally has a background in writing for performance. When not at her desk, her hobbies include knitting, gardening, and going to the cinema. A Sunday roast, prawns on the barbie, a Bunnings sausage sizzle. All Aussie staples, and for many of us, it’s difficult to imagine
Alwyn Poole Founded and was the head of Mt Hobson Middle School in Auckland for 18 years. MH Academy is now an in person private school for Years 11–13. There is now a nationwide online provision called Mt Hobson Academy Connected for Years 1–13. Justifiably, Louise Upston was
Sir Bob Jones nopunchespulled.com When I was a schoolboy, few of our teachers, or anyone else, had ever been to university. Anyone with a degree was looked upon with awe. Sixty years later it seems everyone goes to university, largely thanks to the commercialisation of universities, now cluttered with
The word for today is… discomfit (verb, noun): verb 1: to put into a state of perplexity and embarrassment : disconcert 2a: to frustrate the plans of : thwart b: archaic : to defeat in battle noun : the state of being confused, embarrassed, or upset : discomfiture Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Disconcerted by discomfit
The word for today is… vicarious (adjective): 1: experienced or realized through imaginative or sympathetic participation in the experience of another 2a: serving instead of someone or something else b: that has been delegated 3: performed or suffered by one person as a substitute for another or to the benefit
Donald Sutherland, the prolific film and television actor whose long career stretched from M.A.S.H. to The Hunger Games, has died. He was 88. Kiefer Sutherland, the actor’s son, confirmed his father’s death. No further details were immediately available. “I personally think one of the most
The word for today is… aegis (noun): 1: a shield or breastplate emblematic of majesty that was associated with Zeus and Athena 2a: protection b: controlling or conditioning 3a: auspices, sponsorship b: control or guidance especially by an individual, group, or system Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : English borrowed aegis from
The word for today is… fatuous (adjective): : complacently or inanely foolish : silly Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : “I am two fools, I know, / For loving, and for saying so / In whining Poetry,” wrote John Donne, simultaneously confessing to both infatuation and fatuousness. As any love-struck fool can attest, infatuation can make
In a shock move, Kane Williamson has elected to turn down a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) central contract. The move is believed by both sides to be in the best interests of prolonging the 33-year-old’s career. He will take up a casual playing contract that will enable Williamson the
The word for today is… redoubt (noun): 1a: a small usually temporary enclosed defensive work b: a defended position : protective barrier 2: a secure retreat : stronghold Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Based on its spelling, you might think that redoubt shares its origin with words such as doubt and redoubtable, both
The word for today is… conjecture (noun, verb): noun 1a: inference formed without proof or sufficient evidence b: a conclusion deduced by surmise or guesswork c: a proposition (as in mathematics) before it has been proved or disproved 2 obsolete a: interpretation of omens b: supposition verb 1: to arrive
Suzanne Nielsen, Deputy Director, Monash Addiction Research Centre Richard Armour, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Medicine, Monash University Lens/Monash University A new group of drugs called nitazenes has been detected in Australia. They’ve been sold as heroin, as well as other drugs like ketamine. Concerns about the potential harms
