Definition: (adjective) Exhibiting self-importance.
Synonyms: boastful, braggart, crowing, self-aggrandizing, big.
Usage: I didn’t mean to be cock-a-hoop about my promotion, but I couldn’t help telling everyone I encountered!
Discuss
Month: March 2021
Camp Fire Founders' Day
The organization originally known as the Camp Fire Girls was founded on March 17, 1910, around the same time that the Boy Scout movement was getting its start in Great Britain. Now it is coeducational and is known as Camp Fire. The organization stresses self-reliance, and membership is divided into five age levels, from Sparks (pre-school) to Horizon (grades 9-12). Interaction with adults is also emphasized as a way of learning about career choices, hobbies, and other interests. Camp Fire’s founding is observed by members as part of Camp Fire Boys and Girls Birthday Week. Discuss
l'esprit de l'escalier
A French phrase meaning “the wit of the staircase”; a perfect witty remark, retort, or rejoinder that occurs to one after the fact or too late to be used. (Also written as “l’esprit d’escalier.”) Watch the video
Lewis Chessmen
In 1831, dozens of intricately detailed chess pieces—enough to form several sets—were found buried in the sand on Scotland’s Isle of Lewis. They had been carved from walrus ivory in the 12th century. Apparently unused, they may have been the stock of a merchant who buried them after a mishap at sea. Their origin and intended destination are unknown. The rooks are depicted not as castles, but as berserkers. Instead of white and black, the pieces may have been white and what other color? Discuss
coronal
Rene Descartes
There is nothing so strange and so unbelievable that it has not been said by one philosopher or another. Discuss
loosen
laxative – Can mean “having the power of relaxing” (from Latin laxare, “loosen”). More…
loess – Loam composed of matter transported by wind, from German losz, “loosen.” More…
resolution – From Latin resolutio-/resolution, from resolvere, meaning “to loosen or dissolve again,” which was the original meaning. More…
solve – First meant “loosen”—from Latin solvere, “free, unfasten.” More…
St. Urho's Day
St. Urho, whose name in Finnish means “hero,” is credited with banishing a plague of grasshoppers that was threatening Finland’s grape arbors. His legend in the United States was popularized in the 1950s; after being celebrated as a “joke holiday” for several years in the Menahga-Sebeka area, the idea spread to other states with large Finnish populations. The actual celebrations include wearing St. Urho’s official colors—Nile Green and Royal Purple—drinking grape juice, and chanting St. Urho’s famous words, “Grasshopper, grasshopper, go away,” in Finnish. Discuss
lemon law
A law requiring an automobile manufacturer or dealer to replace, repair, or refund the cost of an automobile that proves to be defective after purchase. Watch the video
Colchis
Colchis was an ancient country situated on the eastern shore of the Black Sea in what is now the Republic of Georgia. In Greek legend, it was the home of Medea and the destination of Jason and the Argonauts. Though Greek trading posts were established there with the support of the native Colchians—whose ethnic composition is unclear—the land remained independent for hundreds of years. It was situated just outside of Alexander the Great’s control. Who finally conquered Colchis in 100 BCE? Discuss