From 1832 to 1835, the Republic of Indian Stream was a small constitutional republic in the border area that divides the US state of New Hampshire from Quebec, Canada. Indian Stream was able to establish itself as an independent nation because the Treaty of Paris had left an ambiguous boundary between the US and Canada at the end of the American Revolution. The republic joined New Hampshire after being occupied by the state’s militia, but not before what bizarre incident almost sparked a war? Discuss
Month: July 2021
funambulist
Definition: (noun) An acrobat who performs on a tightrope or slack rope.
Synonyms: tightrope walker.
Usage: My daughter was enchanted by the funambulist crossing the tightrope above us at the circus.
Discuss
provide
dub – Meaning “to provide a film with a soundtrack,” it is an abbreviation of “double.” More…
endow – First meant “provide a dower or dowry.” More…
refurbish, refurnish, redecorate, renovate – Refurbish means to “clean up again,” refurnish means “to provide with new furnishings,” redecorate means “to add new decoration(s),” and renovate means “renew or restore to as-new condition.” More…
improvise – Etymologically, if you improvise something, it is because it has not been “provided” for in advance, from Latin improvisus, “unforeseen.” More…
long-run
(used before a noun) Involving, maturing after, or lasting for a long period of time. Watch the video
Sabiha Gökçen, First Female Combat Pilot
When Gökçen was 10 years old, Turkey became a republic. As it Westernized during the presidency of her adoptive father, Kemal Atatürk, Turkish women gained more freedom, securing the right to vote in 1934. A year later, Gökçen enrolled in the Türkkusu Flight School as its first female pupil. After attending the Air Force Academy, she became the first female combat pilot. While with the Turkish Air Force, she logged some 8,000 flight hours, including combat missions. Why had Atatürk adopted her? Discuss
necromancer
keyboard
fallboard – The hinged protective covering that protects the keyboard of a piano when it is not being played. More…
finger board – The part of a stringed instrument against which the fingers press the strings to vary the tone—as well as the keyboard of a piano, organ, etc. More…
home key – The home key is either of two keys on a keyboard acting as the base position for one’s fingers in touch-typing (left F, right J). More…
octothorpe – The pound key on a keyboard or keypad is technically an octothorpe. More…
a long row to hoe
A particularly difficult or problematic task, situation, or set of circumstances to contend with or confront. Watch the video
Middens
Also known as a kitchen midden or shell mound, a midden is a refuse heap containing the waste products of day-to-day human life left by a prehistoric settlement. Often found in coastal environments, middens were first studied in Denmark in 1848. Because their contents include artifacts that can be dated, they help archaeologists to determine the mode of life and technology of ancient peoples, typically from the late Mesolithic period. How do middens help to preserve the materials they contain? Discuss