Yemanjá is a major festival of the Candomblé religion in the Rio Vermelho district of Salvador, Bahia state, Brazil. Maes-de-santo and filhas-de-santo (men and women mediums, or followers of the saints) sing and dance from daybreak on, summoning Yemanjá, or Iemanjá (the goddess of the ocean), to the festival. Offerings are placed in boats and carried down to the sea, where they are set afloat. Thousands of people flock to the coast for the festivities. Discuss
Month: February 2021
knock (someone) over with a feather
To shock, confuse, or astonish someone to a point of complete bewilderment; throw someone for a loop. More often phrased as “you could have knocked me over with a feather,” expressing great bewilderment or surprise. Watch the video
The London Monster
A century before Jack the Ripper came on the scene, a mysterious assailant was already terrorizing the women of London. Between 1788 and 1790, dozens of reports surfaced of women being stabbed with a spike hidden in a man’s floral arrangement or slashed across the buttocks by knives attached to a man’s knees. After a reward was offered for the capture of “the Monster,” vigilantes began assaulting suspicious men. In 1790, a suspect in the attacks was convicted of what unusual charge? Discuss
exteriorize
Definition: (verb) Make external or objective, or give reality to.
Synonyms: objectify, externalize.
Usage: We exteriorize our feelings of grief by erecting monuments to the deceased.
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Charles Darwin
How great would be the desire in every admirer of nature to behold, if such were possible, the scenery of another planet! Discuss
whistle
St. Bridget's Day
St. Bridget (or Brigid, or Bride) is the female patron saint of Ireland. Her feast day, February 1, was traditionally the first day of spring in rural Ireland because it marked the start of the agricultural season. It was customary on the eve of the saint’s day for the oldest daughter of the family to bring a bundle of rushes to the door. Playing the role of St. Bridget, she would distribute the rushes among the family members, who would make crosses from them and, after the crosses were sprinkled with holy water, hang them throughout the house. Discuss
knock Anthony
obsolete To knock one’s knees together while walking or running (i.e., be “knock-kneed”). Watch the video
Aurora
Named for the Roman goddess of dawn, the aurora borealis and aurora australis—also known as the northern and southern lights, respectively—are held among the most magnificent natural phenomena. The luminous nighttime displays of colorful bands that ripple across the sky are most often seen along the edges of the Arctic and Antarctic. They are caused by charged particles from the Sun that become trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field and collide with air molecules. Do other planets have auroras? Discuss
knavery
Definition: (noun) Lack of honesty; acts of lying or cheating or stealing.
Synonyms: dishonesty.
Usage: Trust no one; the king’s court is a hotbed of intrigue and malicious knavery.
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