To cause (someone, generally a group of two or more people) to engage in a squabble, dispute, or altercation. Watch the video
Month: April 2022
The Assembly Line
The assembly line is a method of manufacturing wherein various mass-produced, identical parts are assembled in a sequential manner to create an end product. The division of labor into simple, individual tasks allows relatively unskilled laborers to serially add pieces together to quickly create a final product that they usually do not get to see. Though 20th-century automaker Henry Ford is often credited with introducing the modern assembly line, crude precursors date all the way back to when? Discuss
bathos
Definition: (noun) Insincere or grossly sentimental pathos.
Synonyms: mawkishness.
Usage: The opera’s conclusion was emotional to the point of bathos, with the soprano dying heroically to save her lover.
Discuss
scales
mechanical drawing – One made with scales, rulers, and compasses. More…
ctenoid – Means “resembling a thin-toothed comb”—like the scales of some fish. More…
level – Based on Latin libella, a diminutive of libra, “balance; scales.” More…
scab – First pertained to any skin disease in which pustules or scales were formed, and is from Old Norse skabbr, “crust over a wound.” More…
Woolworth Building Opens in New York City (1913)
The 60-story Woolworth Building is one of the oldest and most famous skyscrapers in New York City. It was constructed in the neo-Gothic style by architect Cass Gilbert, who was commissioned by Frank Woolworth to design a new corporate headquarters for his company in Lower Manhattan, opposite City Hall. The project cost $13.5 million, which Woolworth paid in cash. Topping out at 792 ft (241 m), the Woolworth Building was the tallest in the world until 1930, when it was overtaken by what building? Discuss
William I of Orange (1533)
William I of Orange was born to the house of Nassau and became prince of Orange in 1544. Though he initially served the Spanish king as a diplomat, Spanish encroachments on the independence of the Netherlands and the introduction of the Spanish Inquisition led him to turn against Spain. He subsequently led the Dutch revolt that instigated the Eighty Years’ War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces of the Netherlands in 1648. How did he earn the epithet “the Silent”? Discuss
scare story
A story or rumor that makes something seem more serious, dreadful, or terrifying than it really is. Watch the video
The First Red Scare
After World War I, the US was gripped by fears of communist and anarchist infiltration. Pressured by Congress, the Justice Department launched massive raids—led by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer—targeting communists, anarchists, and foreigners. More than 10,000 people were arrested and hundreds were deported, some for membership in Communist or left-wing groups, others on no greater pretext than that they looked or sounded foreign. What non-event effectively ended the Scare in 1920? Discuss
phantasmagoric
Definition: (adjective) Characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtapositions.
Synonyms: surrealistic.
Usage: The phantasmagoric imagery, with melting clocks and unreal landscapes, is what attracts many to Salvador Dali’s work.
Discuss
revolution
gyre – A circular movement or revolution; to cause to spin around or whirl. More…
rebellion, revolution – Rebellion is open resistance to a government or authority; revolution is a rebellion that succeeds in overthrowing the government and establishing a new one. More…
rev – An abbreviation of revolution. More…
young Turk – Term for a tyrannical or unmanageable man, based on the members of a party of Turkish agitators that brought about the revolution of 1908. More…