We're certainly not alone Brother! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

DT, it's not a conspiracy theory when it's A FACT!

April 26, 2012
Word of the Day

UNABASHED
audio pronunciation
\un-uh-BASHT\

DEFINITION

adjective
: not disconcerted : undisguised, unapologetic

EXAMPLES

"I am an unabashed fan of the Scripps National Spelling Bee," admitted Carly.

"He long has been an unabashed advocate of increasing the gas tax to help pay for transportation projects…." — From an article by Matt Cella in The Washington Times, April 9, 2012

DID YOU KNOW?

When you are "unabashed," you make no apologies for your behavior, but when you are "abashed," your confidence has been shaken and you may feel rather inferior or ashamed of yourself. English speakers have been using "abashed" to describe feelings of embarrassment since the 14th century, but they have only used "unabashed" (brazenly or otherwise) since the late 1500s. Both words can be traced back to the Anglo-French word "abair," meaning "to astonish."

hum.... It seems as if those "back East" are totally UNABASHED for their fleecing of the American Public!

April 27, 2012
Word of the Day

PATAGIUM
audio pronunciation
\puh-TAY-jee-um\

DEFINITION

noun
1
: the fold of skin connecting the forelimbs and hind limbs of some tetrapods (as flying squirrels)
2
: the fold of skin in front of the main segments of a bird's wing

EXAMPLES

The flying squirrel uses its two patagia to glide from tree to tree.

"One of the key identification marks is the dark leading edge of the wing, called the patagium. These marks on the under wing are only found on the red-tailed hawk." — From an article by Bill Fenimore, The Salt Lake Tribune, February 6, 2012

DID YOU KNOW?

In Latin, "patagium" referred to a gold edging or border on a woman's tunic, but in English its uses have been primarily scientific. It entered the English language in the early 19th century and was used by entomologists to refer to a process on the back of the foremost segment of an insect. Zoologists borrowed it as a word for the fold of skin of "flying" mammals and reptiles. Then ornithologists took the word to higher heights by the century's end, applying it to the forward part of the wings of birds.

flying aquirrels are soooooo awesome.

I know that after a long day of crime fighting, my patagia hurt like the dickens! A little ice and some relaxation, and I'm good for the next round though <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

"Ornithologists" AKA "modern dinosaur watchers" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

April 28, 2012
Word of the Day

OBLITERATE
audio pronunciation
\uh-BLIT-uh-rayt\

DEFINITION

verb
1
a : to remove from recognition or memory b : to remove from existence
2
: to make undecipherable by wiping out or covering over

EXAMPLES

The epitaph on the centuries-old headstone had been obliterated by wind, rain, and age.

"With the forecast for the end of the month included, monthly-averaged temperatures for March across large parts of the Great Lakes and Northern Plains will thoroughly obliterate previous records, blasting through the temperature ceiling modern climate has until now defined." — From a post by Greg Postel on the Washington Post's "Capital Weather Gang" blog, March 27, 2012

DID YOU KNOW?

Far from being removed from existence, "obliterate" is thriving in our language today with various senses that it has acquired over the years. True to its Latin source, "oblitteratus," it began in the mid-16th century as a word for removing something from memory. Soon after, English speakers began to use it for the specific act of blotting out or obscuring anything written. Eventually (by the late 18th century), its meaning was generalized to removing anything from existence. In the meantime, another sense had developed. In the late 17th century, physicians began using "obliterate" for the surgical act of filling or closing up a vessel, cavity, or passage with tissue. Its final stamp on the English lexicon was delivered in the mid-19th century: "to cancel a postage or revenue stamp."


Now days we would just say "Rub 'em out" or "Nuke 'em"!

Some folks claim that significant parts of History have been Obliterated from the books. One thing we MUST remember when reviewing the past, History is written by the Victors.

Dan needs to obliterate my boredom by releasing the next blade!!!!!

SOMEBODY GIVE US AN AMEN!!!

April 29, 2012
Word of the Day

NOTORIOUS
audio pronunciation
\noh-TOR-ee-us\

DEFINITION

adjective
: generally known and talked of; especially : widely and unfavorably known

EXAMPLES

That particular model of car is notorious for quickly developing a number of irritating mechanical problems.

"Stroll along La Rambla and take in the very touristy mile-long avenue filled with kiosks, cafés and flower stands. Be careful — the area is notorious for its pickpockets." — From an article by Marc Schwarz in the Herald News (Passaic County, NJ), March 25, 2012

DID YOU KNOW?

"Notorious" was adopted into English in the 16th century from Medieval Latin "notorius," itself from Late Latin's noun "notorium," meaning "information" or "indictment." "Notorium," in turn, derives from the Latin verb "noscere," meaning "to come to know." Although "notorious" can be a synonym of "famous," meaning simply "widely known," it long ago developed the additional implication of someone or something unpleasant or undesirable. The Book of Common Prayer of 1549 includes the first known use of the unfavorable meaning in print, referring to "notorious synners."

YUP, sounds like the government.

May 02, 2012
Word of the Day

CACHINNATE
audio pronunciation
\KAK-uh-nayt\

DEFINITION

verb
: to laugh loudly or immoderately

EXAMPLES

The person sitting beside me at the table cachinnated through the entire dinner party, ruining my enjoyment of the meal.

"'Butler' is so deliciously zany and funny, we cachinnated until our sides hurts." — From a theater review by Christopher Muther in The Boston Globe, March 20, 2004

DID YOU KNOW?

"Cachinnate" has been whooping it up in English since the 19th century. The word derives from the Latin verb "cachinnare," meaning "to laugh loudly," and "cachinnare" was probably coined in imitation of a loud laugh. As such, "cachinnare" is much like the Old English "ceahhetan," the Old High German "kachazzen," and the Greek "kachazein" — all words of imitative origin that essentially meant "to laugh loudly." Our word "cackle" has a different ancestor than any of these words (the Middle English "cakelen"), but this word, too, is believed to have been modeled after the sound of laughter.