bread bag – A plastic wrapper in which a loaf of bread is sold, intended to keep the bread fresh for longer than it would be if unwrapped. More…
loaf – A head on a cabbage. More…
bread – In Old English, it meant “piece, morsel,” while actual bread was known as “loaf.” More…
crumb – The soft inner part of a bread roll, slice, or loaf. More…
This fiesta is celebrated by a number of locales in the state of Zulia, Venezuela, and is especially popular in Bobures. After early morning mass, the chimbángueles, or vassals of the saint, put St. Benito‘s statue on a litter and surround it with flowers. They then carry it through the streets while performing an unusual bouncing kind of dance, in which they continually move forward and backward to the accompaniment of seven drums. Throughout the long procession, St. Benito’s image is sprinkled with perfumes and presented with drinks of homemade whiskey. Discuss
Not a single word or sound from someone. Watch the video
Kamadeva is the Hindu deity of human love—similar to Eros and Cupid in the Greek and Roman traditions. Kama is celebrated in the colorful and boisterous spring festival called Holi. In the Vedic age, Kama personified cosmic desire or the creative impulse. He was later depicted as a handsome youth attended by heavenly nymphs, who shot love-producing flower arrows from a sugarcane bow. Despite his harmless appearance, Kama once so enraged Shiva that the great god incinerated him. What had he done? Discuss
dodo – Comes from Portuguese doudo, “fool, simpleton,” from the bird’s awkward appearance. More…
doodle – Originally a noun meaning “fool, simpleton,” from German dudeltopf, it came to mean absent-minded scribbling. More…
gullible – A derivative of archaic gull, “dupe” or “simpleton.” More…
half-wit – Originally was “a would-be wit whose abilities are mediocre”; the sense of “simpleton” (one lacking all his wits) is attested to 1755. More…
Messina is a busy seaport and commercial center in northeastern Sicily, Italy, opposite the Italian mainland. On the morning of December 28, 1908, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Messina, followed by a 40-foot (12-meter) tsunami. About 80,000 people were killed, and at least 90 percent of Messina’s buildings, including its churches and palaces, were destroyed. Afterward, the city was completely rebuilt under standards for quake-resistant construction. What happened to the survivors? Discuss
Also known as Innocents’ Day or Childermas, this day commemorates the massacre of all the male children two years and younger in Bethlehem as ordered by King Herod, who hoped that the infant Jesus would be among them. Not surprisingly, this day has long been regarded as unlucky. In ancient times, the “Massacre of the Innocents” was reenacted by whipping the younger members of a family. But over the years, the tables turned, and in some countries it has become a day when children play pranks on their elders. In Mexico, Childermas is the equivalent of April Fools’ Day. Discuss
A seating area very high up in a stadium or theater, as for a sporting event, musical performance, play, etc., which typically costs less money but has a restricted view. “Nosebleed” refers jocularly to the effects of extremely high altitudes on the body, which can often cause nasal hemorrhaging, among other symptoms. Watch the video
Madeline is a children’s book series created by Austrian author and illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans. The first book in the series, just called Madeline, was published in 1939, and was followed by several sequels. The books chronicle spunky, red-haired Madeline’s daily adventures at a Parisian boarding school—including taking in a dog and having her appendix removed—while her teacher Miss Clavel tries to keep her in line. What are Madeline‘s famous opening lines? Discuss