Today in History (July 19th)
1814: Birthdays: American firearms inventor Samuel Colt.
1834: Birthdays: French painter Edgar Degas.
1848: Bloomers, a radical departure in women’s clothing, were introduced to the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, N.Y. They were named after Amelia Jenks Bloomer.
1860: Birthdays: Accused ax murderer Lizzie Borden.
1865: Birthdays: Dr. Charles H. Mayo, co-founder of the Mayo Clinic.
1870: France declared war on Prussia.
1896: Birthdays: Author A.J. Cronin.
1911: Pennsylvania became the first U.S. state to pass laws censoring movies.
1918: The end of World War I approached as the German army began retreating across the Marne River in France.
1922: Birthdays: Former U.S. Sen. George McGovern, D-S.D. (1972 Democratic presidential nominee).
1935: Birthdays: Former CIA agent-turned-author Philip Agee.
1941: Birthdays: Singer Vikki Carr.
1946: Marilyn Monroe was given her first screen test at Twentieth Century-Fox Studios. Even without sound, the test was enough to earn Monroe her first contract. Birthdays: Tennis Hall of Fame member Ilie Nastase.
1947: Birthdays: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Bernie Leadon (Eagles).
1962: Birthdays: Actor Anthony Edwards.
1969: John Fairfax of Britain arrived at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to become the first person to row across the Atlantic alone.
1976: Birthdays: Actor Benedict Cumberbatch.
1984: U.S. Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, D-N.Y., was chosen as Walter Mondale’s vice presidential running mate at the Democratic National Convention. She was the first woman on a major ticket.
1989: A crippled DC-10 jetliner crash-landed in a cornfield in Sioux City, Iowa. Amazingly, 181 of the 293 people aboard survived.
1990: Major League Baseball record-holder Pete Rose was sentenced to five months in prison for tax evasion.
1993: The Pentagon announced its don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue policy toward homosexuals in the U.S. military.
1996: The Summer Olympics opened in Atlanta with a record 197 countries taking part.
1997: The IRA declared a cease-fire in its long war to force Britain out of Northern Ireland.
2005: U.S. Appeals Court Judge John Roberts was nominated by U.S. President George Bush to the U.S. Supreme Court, replacing the resigned Sandra Day O’Connor. After the death of William Rehnquist, Roberts’ nomination was changed to make him chief justice.
2007: On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at more than 14,000 for the first time.
2010: A speeding express train slammed into the rear of a train preparing to leave a West Bengal station in India, killing more than 60 people and injuring more than 100 others. Driver error was blamed.
2012: The U.S. Defense Department said military personnel would be permitted to march in uniform in a San Diego Gay Pride Parade.
purl
PRONUNCIATION: (purl)
http://wordsmith.org/words/purl.mp3
MEANING:
A:
(verb intr.), To flow with a rippling motion.
(noun), The sound or curling motion made by rippling water.
B:
(verb tr., intr)
1. To knit with a reverse stitch.
2. To edge or finish with a lace or embroidery.
(noun)
1. The reverse of a knit stitch.
2. A decorative border.
3. Gold or silver wire thread used in embroidery.
The words said above are not for frightening, but to make guys viagra sale buy alert about the bleak future that waits for them if they procrastinate to take steps to boost their libido. Prolonged cardiac repolarization and QT interval, imparting a risk of developing cardiac arrhythmia and torsades de pointes, viagra in the uk have been seen in treatment with other macrolides. Online pharmacies have the opportunity to offer low cost levitra cost of and still maintain the advantages associated with online shopping. buy brand viagra To treat such impotency, various medications are allotted nowadays which can treat this problem. ETYMOLOGY:
For A: Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: before 1586.
For B: Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1394.
USAGE:
“The anger purling in her hadn’t abated a bit.” – Donna Fasano; Where’s Stanley?; Harlequin; 2012.
“Her mother purls away at a beginner’s scarf.” – The Stitch ‘n’ Bitch Niche; The Economist (London, UK); Feb 2, 2006.
Explore “purl” in the Visual Thesaurus.
http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=purl
panegyric
PRONUNCIATION: (pan-i-JIR-ik, -JY-rik)
http://wordsmith.org/words/panegyric.mp3
MEANING: (noun), A formal or elaborate oration in praise of someone or something; eulogy.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin panegyricus, from Greek panegyrikos (of or for an assembly), from paneguris (public assembly), from pan- (all) + aguris (assembly, marketplace). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ger- (to gather) that is also the source of gregarious, aggregate, congregation, egregious, and segregate.
USAGE: “Gov. George Pataki’s 10th State of the State speech yesterday was more a panegyric to freedom and security than a rousing promise to fix what’s clearly wrong with New York’s government.” – A Real State of New York; The New York Times; Jan 8, 2004.
Explore “panegyric” in the Visual Thesaurus.
http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=panegyric
equanimity
PRONUNCIATION: (ee-kwuh-NIM-i-tee, ek-wuh-)
http://wordsmith.org/words/equanimity.mp3
MEANING: (noun), Evenness of temper in all circumstances.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin aequanimitas, from aequus (equal, even) + animus (mind, spirit).
USAGE: “Even as a young netball star, Tharjini had no inflated opinion about herself nor did she ever take offence at the numerous teasing remarks or stares that her height drew. She met both celebrity status and silly remarks with equanimity.” – Thulasi Muttulingam; A Player With Many Highs in Her Life; The Sunday Times (Colombo, Sri Lanka); Jul 12, 2009.
A Minicourse in ‘Stay the Course’
Q: I always thought “stay the course” meant to “stay on course,” but, checking in my dictionary, I discovered that “stay the course” could mean “to check the course of (as a disease).” These meanings seem contradictory. — Frederick Millner, Trenton, N.J.
A: They are. In fact, “stay the course” is a “contronym” — a word or phrase with two opposite meanings. Because “stay” can mean both “halt” or “stick with,” “stay the course” can mean either “stop an action” or “persist in an action.” Crazy, huh?
When “stay the course” first emerged during the 1500s, its meaning was “halt an action.” But during the late 1800s, a second meaning developed — “persist in one’s course of action.”
This new definition evolved not, as you might guess, from sailing, but from horse racing, where steeds were valued for “staying the course,” that is, persisting on the race course and winning. Soon this meaning became more common than the “stop an action” denotation.
Politicians quickly adopted the phrase. President Ronald Reagan, for instance, used it frequently in the weeks leading up to the 1982 midterm elections as he urged voters to stick with his economic policies by voting for Republicans.
Since then, “stay the course” has proved to be an irresistible cliche for any politician who’s urging steadfastness.
Q: How did a word denoting a formalized getting together of convivial friends (a club) derive from the name of a stout stick, often used as a weapon? — Ed Collins, West Newton, Pa.
A: Apparently you’ve never had a club treasurer come after you for unpaid dues.
The noun “club,” meaning “a heavy stick,” first appeared in English during the 1200s, and the verb “club,” meaning “to beat with a club,” appeared during the late 1500s.
A key feature of most clubs is the massing of material at one end. So during the 1600s the verb “club” took on a new meaning — “to gather something into a club-shaped mass,” as in “she clubbed her hair.”
By 1700, this verb had expanded to mean “to form into a single mass, to gather,” and the noun “club” had taken on a new definition — “a gathering or collection of people.”
Recently the verb “club” has come to mean “to patronize bars and night clubs, to party.” And, the next morning, some of those who have clubbed too much feel as if they’ve been clubbed.
Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
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