To be completely worthless or useless; to have little or no value. Refers to farthings (obsolete British units of currency, worth one-quarter of a penny), formerly made from a copper alloy (brass). Primarily heard in UK. Watch the video
Month: January 2022
The Diamond Sutra
The Diamond Sutra is a Buddhist wisdom text. Written in the form of a dialogue between the Buddha Gautama and a questioning disciple, it emphasizes the fleeting nature of the material world and posits that enlightenment cannot be achieved through rational thought. A wood block-printed copy of the sutra held at the British Library is the earliest known printed text with a date—868 CE—predating the Gutenberg Bible by about 587 years. The copy, in scroll form, is roughly how many feet long? Discuss
prevaricate
Definition: (verb) To stray from or evade the truth; equivocate.
Synonyms: beat around the bush, palter, tergiversate.
Usage: At the press conference, the politician continued to prevaricate on the issue rather than provide a direct answer.
Discuss
stuffing
forcemeat, farce – A highly seasoned mixture containing chopped meat, forcemeat is an alteration of farcemeat, “stuffing,” and has a synonym—farce. More…
duxelles – A stuffing made from mushrooms, onions, shallots, and parsley, named after the Marquis d’Uxelles, a 17th-century French nobleman. More…
excelsior – The curled shavings of soft wood used for packing and stuffing. More…
Mercurius becomes Pope John II (533 CE)
Though Catholics today are accustomed to the pope taking a new name once elected, Mercurius was the first to do so. As his birth name honored the pagan god Mercury, he chose to become John II upon elevation to the papacy. Though he died just two years later, he served at a time when sacred artifacts were regularly being sold and simony—the purchase or sale of church offices or preferment—was rampant in the selection of church officials. What other scandals did John face in his brief tenure? Discuss
Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (1898)
Alexander came from a family of academic achievers—her father and uncle both graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, studying law and medicine respectively. Alexander also earned a degree from the school—becoming one of the first African-American women with a PhD in the US—and moved on to Penn’s law school, where she was the first African-American woman graduate. She also served as the first national president of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. In which subject was Alexander’s PhD? Discuss
be not in Kansas anymore
To no longer be in a place that one knows or where one is comfortable; to be in a completely unfamiliar and/or discomfiting environment. A reference to The Wizard of Oz, in which Dorothy, upon arriving to Oz, says, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Watch the video
The San Andreas Fault
Formed around 30 million years ago, California’s San Andreas Fault is a major zone of fractures in the Earth’s crust extending from San Francisco to San Diego. The fault causes several thousand earthquakes a year, but few are serious. It was first identified in northern California by geology professor Andrew Lawson in 1895. After the 1906 San Francisco quake, he discovered that the fault continues through southern California. What city along the fault regularly endures magnitude 6.0 temblors? Discuss
redolence
illness
accession – Can be the “onset of illness or a powerful feeling.” More…
allopathy, homeopathy – Allopathy is treatment to suppress the symptoms of illness using the principle of opposites, while homeopathy encourages, rather than suppresses, the body’s reaction to an illness. More…
idiopathic disease – An illness of unknown cause. More…
languor – Any distressed condition, such as illness, sorrow, fatigue, etc. More…