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Showing posts from July, 2021

dogleg: Word of the day for July 31, 2021

dogleg , v : (intransitive) To bend in the shape of the hind leg of a dog, especially to turn and then turn back sharply to the original direction. dogleg n (also attributively) Something (such as a canyon or road) with a sharp bend or turn in it. (architecture) A configuration of stairs where a flight ascends to a half landing before turning 180 degrees and continuing upwards. (golf, disc golf) A sharp bend in the fairway before reaching a hole. Today is one of two National Mutt Days in the year established by American animal welfare advocate Colleen Paige.

jangle: Word of the day for July 27, 2021

jangle , v : (transitive) To cause (something) to make a rattling metallic sound. To express or say (something) in an argumentative or harsh manner. (figuratively) To irritate or jar (something). (intransitive) To make a rattling metallic sound. (archaic) To speak in an angry or harsh manner. (archaic) To quarrel verbally; to wrangle. (obsolete) Of a person: to speak loudly or too much; to chatter, to prate; of a bird: to make a noisy chattering sound. jangle n A rattling metallic sound; a clang. (figuratively) The sound of people talking noisily. (archaic) Arguing, contention, squabbling. (music, attributively) A sound typified by undistorted, treble-heavy electric guitars, characteristic of 1960s pop music.

babbitt: Word of the day for July 26, 2021

babbitt , n : Short for babbitt metal, Babbitt metal (“a soft white alloy of variable composition (for example, nine parts of tin to one of copper, or fifty parts of tin to five of antimony and one of copper) used in bearings to diminish friction”). [...] (US, dated) Alternative letter-case form of Babbitt (“a person who subscribes complacently to materialistic middle-class ideals”) babbitt v (transitive) To line (something) with babbitt metal to reduce friction. The American inventor Isaac Babbitt, after whom the alloy is named, was born on this day in 1799.

unisex: Word of the day for July 25, 2021

unisex , adj : Not distinguished on the basis of sex or gender; suitable for any sex or gender. (dated) Of or pertaining to only one sex or gender; unisexual. unisex n The state of not being distinguished on the basis of sex or gender; the state of being suitable for any sex or gender.

Olympian: Word of the day for July 23, 2021

Olympian , adj : (not comparable) Of or relating to Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece; or (Greek mythology) the Greek gods and goddesses who were believed to live there. (comparable, by extension) Resembling a Greek deity in some way. Celestial, heavenly; also, godlike. Acting in a remote and superior manner; aloof. [...] (historical) Of or relating to the town of Olympia in Elis, Greece. (sports) (historical) Of or relating to the ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia; Olympic. Of or relating to the modern Olympic Games; Olympic. Olympian n (Greek mythology) Any of the 12 principal gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon (Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Demeter, and Hades); (specifically) preceded by the: Zeus, the supreme ruler of the Greek deities. (figuratively) A person with superior talents or towering achievements. [...] An inhabitant of the city of Olympia, the capital of Washington, United States. (sports) (hi...

cobbler: Word of the day for July 20, 2021

cobbler , n : A person who repairs, and sometimes makes, shoes. (Australia, New Zealand, agriculture, slang) A sheep left to the end to be sheared (for example, because its wool is filthy, or because it is difficult to catch). (obsolete) A person who cobbles (“to assemble or mend in an improvised or rough way”); a clumsy workman. [...] (US, alcoholic beverages) An alcoholic drink containing spirit or wine, with lemon juice and sugar. [...] A roadworker who lays cobbles. [...] (Britain, dialectal) The shiny, hard seed of the horse chestnut tree (Aesculus hippocastanum), especially when used in the game of the same name (sense 1.2); a conker, a horse chestnut. (games) Synonym of conkers (“a game for two players in which the participants each have a horse-chestnut (known as a cobbler (sense 1.1) or conker) suspended from a length of string, and take turns to strike their opponent's conker with their own with the object of destroying the opponent's conker before their own is des...

amain: Word of the day for July 19, 2021

amain , adv : (archaic, literary) With all of one's might; mightily; forcefully, violently. (archaic) At full speed; also, in great haste. (Britain, dialectal) Out of control. (obsolete) Exceedingly; overmuch. amain v (obsolete) (transitive) (nautical) To lower (the sail of a ship, particularly the topsail). (figuratively) To decrease or reduce (something). (intransitive, nautical) To lower the topsail in token of surrender; to yield.

campanile: Word of the day for July 18, 2021

campanile , n : A bell tower (especially one that is freestanding), often associated with a church or other public building, especially in Italy. Today, the third Sunday of July in 2021, is the Festa del Redentore (Feast of the Redeemer) in Venice, Italy, which was originally celebrated to give thanks for the end of a severe plague 445 years ago in 1576.

justice delayed is justice denied: Word of the day for July 17, 2021

justice delayed is justice denied , proverb : If a wrong is not corrected within a reasonable time, it is as though the wrong were not corrected at all. Today is the Day of International Criminal Justice, which was instituted in 2010 by the states parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to recognize the importance of international criminal justice.

syndic: Word of the day for July 15, 2021

syndic , n : (government) A government official having different duties depending on the country; also, a magistrate, especially one of the Chief Magistrates of Geneva, Switzerland. (chiefly Britain) An agent of a corporation, or of any body of people engaged in a business enterprise; specifically, in the University of Cambridge, a member of the senate appointed to carry out specific duties. Dutch artist Rembrandt, who painted Syndics of the Drapers’ Guild (1662) which has been called his “last great collective portrait”, was born on this day 415 years ago in 1606.

guillotine: Word of the day for July 14, 2021

guillotine , n : (historical, also figuratively) A machine used for the application of capital punishment by decapitation, consisting of a tall upright frame from which is suspended a heavy diagonal-edged blade which is dropped on to the neck of the person to be executed; also, execution using this machine. (by extension) A device or machine with a cutting blade. A device used for cutting the pages of books, stacks of paper, etc., to straight edges, usually by means of a hinged or sliding blade attached to a flat platform. (surgery) An instrument with a sliding blade for cutting the tonsils, uvula, or other body parts. (law, politics, informal) (Britain) A parliamentary procedure for fixing the dates when various stages of discussion of a bill must end, to ensure that the enactment of the bill proceeds expeditiously. (US) A legislative motion that debate be ended and a vote taken; a cloture. guillotine v (transitive) To use a guillotine (on someone or something). (also figuratively)...

postcode lottery: Word of the day for July 11, 2021

postcode lottery , n : (Britain) The unequal availability of (often healthcare) services in different parts of the country, especially those services provided by local government. Today is World Population Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to raise awareness of global population issues such as the importance of family planning, gender equality, human rights, maternal health, and poverty.

valedictory: Word of the day for July 10, 2021

valedictory , adj : Of or pertaining to a valediction (“an act of parting company; a speech made when parting company”); designed for or suitable to an occasion of bidding farewell or parting company. (Canada, US) Of or pertaining to a valedictorian (“the individual in a graduating class who delivers the farewell address, often the person who graduates with the highest grades”). valedictory n An address given on an occasion of bidding farewell or parting company. (specifically, Canada, US) A speech given by a valedictorian at a commencement or graduation ceremony.

imp: Word of the day for July 5, 2021

imp , v : (obsolete) To engraft or plant (a plant or part of one, a sapling, etc.). (figuratively, archaic) To graft or implant (something other than a plant); to fix or set (something) in. (falconry) To engraft (a feather) on to a broken feather in a bird's wing or tail to repair it; to engraft (feathers) on to a bird's wing or tail. To engraft (a bird, or bird's wing or tail) with feathers. (by extension) (figuratively, from sense 3) To provide (someone or something) with wings, hence enabling them or it to soar. To add to or unite a object with (something) to lengthen the latter out or repair it; to eke out, enlarge, strengthen. imp n (chiefly fiction and mythology) A small, mischievous sprite or a malevolent supernatural creature, somewhat comparable to a demon but smaller and less powerful, formerly regarded as the child of the devil or a demon (see sense 3.2). (by extension) (often humorous) A mischievous child. A baby Tasmanian devil. (obsolete) A young shoot of a...