Word of the Day

FOIST

Definition: to pass off as genuine

Example: The con man’s attempt to FOIST the imitation antique as genuine was unsuccessful.

Synonyms: defraud, palm

This Day in History

May 18, 1998         The U.S. federal government filed a sweeping antitrust case against Microsoft Corp., saying the computer software company had a “choke hold” on competitors which denied consumer choices.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Word of the Day

efficacious

Definition: (adjective) Producing or capable of producing a desired effect.

Synonyms: effective, effectual

Example: The man was armed with a stout stick—as efficacious against a hungry lion, he realized, as a toy pop-gun charged with a tethered cork.

This Day in History

May 14, 1804         The Lewis and Clark expedition set out from St. Louis.

May 14, 1904         The Olympic Games  were held in the United States for the first time, in St. Louis.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though t’were his own.

Johann von Goethe

Bonus Coverage

Rule of Thumb

Now used to refer to a convenient principle with a broad application not intended to be      strictly accurate in every situation,

the term “rule of thumb” first appeared in print in Sir William Hope’s The Compleat Fencing-Master in 1692. The phrase is thought to have originated with woodworkers who used the length of their thumbs, rather than rulers, for measurements.

Word of the Day

consonant

Definition: (adjective) Being in agreement or accord.

Synonyms: accordant, agreeable, concordant, conformable

Example: Even the man’s start and suspicious stare as the priest went by were consonant enough with the vigilance and jealousy of such a type.

This Day in History

May 13, 1607         Jamestown, Virginia was settled as the first permanent colony of England in the New World.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

Robert Brault

Word of the Day

CUPIDITY

Definition: greed

Example: The heiress’s demands for the mansion, fur coats, and ostentatious jewelry in her mother’s estate were signs of her CUPIDITY.

Synonyms: avarice, desire

This Day in History

May 12, 1949         After nearly 11 months, the Soviet Union lifted the blockade around Berlin, allowing rail, road, and water traffic to flow through East Germany into the beleaguered former German capital.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

A state is not a state if it belongs to one man.

Sophocles

Word of the Day

MORDACIOUS

Definition: caustic, biting

Example: The supervisor’s MORDACIOUS comments ruffled the feathers of her employees.

Synonyms: acerbic, vitriolic

This Day in History

May 10, 1773         The English Parliament passed the Tea Act, which taxed all tea in the U.S. colonies.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer up somebody else.

Mark Twain

Word of the Day

slapdash

Definition: In a reckless haphazard manner.

Synonyms: slam-bang

Example: The shelves were put up slapdash, and they soon collapsed under the weight of her schoolbooks.

This Day in History

May 7, 1937           Germany and Italy announced a military and political alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

Nothing is more endangered in the modern world than the powerful combination of hard work toward meaningful goals joined with an exuberant embrace of the present moment.

– Tom Morris

Word of the Day

disputation

Definition: A contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement.

Synonyms: arguing, argument, contention, contestation, controversy, disceptation, tilt

Example: But heresies have polluted every church, and schisms are the fruit of disputation.

This Day in History

May 6, 1527          German troops began sacking Rome, bringing about the end of the Renaissance.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

He had to deal all at once with the packed regrets and stifled memories of an inarticulate lifetime.

Edith Wharton

Word of the Day

curtilage

Definition: The enclosed area immediately surrounding a house or dwelling.

Synonyms: grounds, yard

Example: Before purchasing the property, she took a full tour of the curtilage, including the garage, barn, smokehouse, chicken house, and garden.

This Day in History

May 5, 1925           John Scopes was arrested in  Tennessee for teaching  Darwinism.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

It takes very little fire to make a great deal of smoke nowadays, and notoriety is not real glory.

Louisa May Alcott

Word of the Day

culpable

Definition: Deserving of blame or censure as being wrong, evil, improper, or injurious.

Synonyms: blamable, blameful, blameworthy, censurable

Example: Besides, D’Artagnan from her own admission knew Milady culpable of treachery in matters more important, and could entertain no respect for her.

This Day in History

May 4, 1626           Peter Minuit landed in Manhattan, which he later bought for $24 worth of cloth and brass buttons from the Carnasie Indian tribe, who were not the rightful owners of the island.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

There are two ways of exerting one’s strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.

Booker T. Washington

Word of the Day

CONTUMACIOUS

Definition: rebellious

Example: The parents hoped that their daughter’s CONTUMACIOUS behavior – her green hair and nasty attitude – were only a phase.

Synonyms: recalcitrant, defiant

This Day in History

May 3, 1802               Washington D.C. was incorporated as a city.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

When you reach the end of your life, do you want to be one of the people who are glad they did, or one of the people who wish they had?