Definition: (noun) <i>Archaic</i> The act of fighting with knives.
Synonyms: cut-and-thrust, knife fight.
Usage: The snickersnee ended when one on the fighters lost consciousness due to blood loss.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
It sounds like a something out of a horror movie: A town covered in thousands of webs, each crawling with hordes of spiders. But for residents of a town in Greece, it’s a spooky reality. In recent days, the webs have draped plants, trees and boats along the … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
.jpg)
In 1520, Cabrillo, an explorer in the service of Spain, landed in Mexico and joined in the conquests of Mexico and Guatemala. Some 20 years later, he accompanied an expedition up the west coast of Mexico, assuming its command after the death of its original commander. He then proceeded to explore much of the coast of what is now the state of California, becoming the first European to do so. How far north did he get before complications from a broken bone, possibly gangrene, took his life? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Sugar Cane Festival pays tribute to this important crop in New Iberia, Louisiana. The festival, which began in 1937 and now is participated in by 13 of the 17 sugar-producing parishes of the area, begins on Friday with a Farmers’ Day. Highlights of the day are agriculture, homemaking and livestock shows, and a boat parade down Bayou Teche. On Saturday, there’s a children’s parade and the crowning of Queen Sugar at a ball; on Sunday, the new Queen Sugar and King Sucrose reign over a parade. Other features are a blessing of the crops and a fais-do-do, a dance party. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Marble was an American tennis player who began playing at age 15 and rose rapidly in the national tennis rankings after 1931. She won 18 Grand Slam championships: five in singles, six in doubles, and seven in mixed doubles. Her personal life, however, was filled with tragedy and intrigue. Her husband was killed during World War II, just days after Marble had suffered a miscarriage. She attempted suicide but recovered and, in 1945, began spying for US intelligence. What was her mission? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The oldest national scientific society in the world is the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge—known simply as the Royal Society. First founded in 1660 by a group of natural philosophers who met to promote scientific discussion, the Royal Society now ranks as the foremost organization of its kind. At least 14 years before its founding, the organization existed as an unofficial group whose members referred to it as the “Invisible College.” Who were they? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (verb) Make dull or stupid or muddle with drunkenness or infatuation.
Synonyms: besot.
Usage: He did not like whiskey, but he drank to stupefy himself.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The oldest known animal in the geological record has been identified, in a discovery that scientists are calling “the Holy Grail of palaeontology.” Fat molecules discovered on the fossil of a mysterious creature called Dickinsonia have confirmed that that it … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The World War II alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan was fully realized in September 1940, with the signing of the Tripartite Pact. The agreement called for the Axis Powers to come to each other’s aid if attacked by a nation not already involved in the European War or the Sino-Japanese Conflict and to assist one another in their efforts to “establish and maintain a new order of things”—Germany and Italy in Europe and Japan in Greater East Asia. How did the treaty get the nickname “Roberto”? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Legend has Cosmas and Damian as twin brothers from Syria who were brought up in the Christian faith and who devoted their lives to medicine. As doctors they refused payment for their services, instead asking those who benefited from their healing to believe in Christ. In Brazil, the feast of Cosmas and Damian is celebrated on September 27 and it is traditional to give candy to children, since the saints are patrons of children. Yoruban mythology, which lives on through African Brazilians, tells of another set of holy twins, who are often associated with Cosmas and Damian. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary