DERIDE

Definition: to speak of or treat with contempt; to mock

Example: The awkward child was often DERIDED by his “cooler” peers.

Synonyms: scoff, sneer

This Day in History

July 26, 1953          Fidel Castro began his revolt against Fulgencio Batista with an unsuccessful attack on an army barracks in eastern Cuba. Castro eventually ousted Batista six years later.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

A friend is one who sees through you and still enjoys the view.

–Wilma Askinas

LIONIZE

Definition: to treat as a celebrity

Example: Everyone in the small town LIONIZED the football quarterback after he led his team to victory in the state final.

Synonyms: exalt, deify

This Day in History

July 15, 1870          Georgia became the last of the Confederate States to be readmitted to the Union.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

Everyone who has ever taken a shower has had an idea.

It’s the person who gets out of the shower, dries off, and does something about it that makes a difference.

Nolan Bushnell

ELUCIDATE

Definition: to explain; clarify

Example: The literature professor was asked several times to ELUCIDATE the abstract poem.

Synonyms: clarify, illuminate

This Day in History

July 12, 1960         The first Etch-A-Sketch went on sale.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

Lao Tzu

STOLID

Definition: unemotional; lacking sensitivity

Example: The prisoner appeared STOLID and unaffected by the judge’s harsh sentence.

Synonyms: impassive, emotionless

This Day in History

July 9, 1872            The doughnut cutter was patented by John F. Blondel of Thomaston, Me.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

Greatness and goodness are not means, but ends.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

predilection

Definition: (noun) A predisposition in favor of something.

Synonyms: preference, orientation

Example: He has a predilection for expensive cars and has amassed quite a collection over the years

This Day in History

July 7, 1946            Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini was canonized as the first American Saint.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.

Albert Camus (1913-1960) French Writer

POLYGLOT

Definition: speaker of many languages

Example: The linguist was a consummate POLYGLOT, speaking about a dozen languages fluently.

Synonyms: linguist, philologist

This Day in History

July 6, 1885            Louis Pasteur successfully tested his anti-rabies vaccine. The child later became the director of the Pasteur Institute.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

Confidence on the outside begins by living with integrity on the inside.

Brian Tracy

IGNOMINIOUS

Definition: disgraceful and dishonorable

Example: The team suffered an IGNOMINIOUS defeat at the hands of its rival.

Synonyms: opprobrious, shameful

This Day in History

June 17, 1994         O.J. Simpson drove his Ford Bronco across Los Angeles with police in pursuit and millions of people watching live on television. After the slow speed chase ended Simpson was arrested and charged with the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

We each have all the time there is; our mental and moral status is determined by what we do with it.

- — Mary Blake

SUPERANNUATED

Definition: too old, obsolete, outdated

Example: The manual typewriter has become SUPERANNUATED, although a few loyal diehards still swear by it.

Synonyms: outmoded, old-fashioned

This Day in History

June 16, 1858       In a speech in Springfield, IL, U.S. Senate candidate, Abraham Lincoln, said the slavery issue had to be resolved. He declared, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

They talk of a man betraying his country, his friends, his sweetheart. There must be a moral bond first. All a man can betray is his conscience.

Joseph Conrad

profanation

Definition: Blasphemous behavior; the act of depriving something of its sacred character.

Synonyms: blasphemy, desecration, sacrilege

Example: This holiest of spots was defended from profanation by the strictest edicts of the all-pervading “taboo.”

This Day in History

June 9, 1931           Robert H. Goddard patented a rocket-fueled aircraft design.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

There is work that is work and there is play that is play; there is play that is work and work that is play. And in only one of these lie happiness.

Gelett Burgess

purblind

Definition: (adjective) Slow in understanding or discernment; dull.

Example: The one result obtained was the expression of purblind opinion by the authorities…which pointed to Isabel, or to one of the servants, as the undiscovered thief.

Synonyms: obtuse

This Day in History

June 7, 1775           The United Colonies changed their name to the United States.

Daily Chuckle (maybe)

Daily LaParable

Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns.

I am thankful that thorns have roses.

– Allophones Karr