Saturday 21 January 2017

Picture of the day for January 21, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 21, 2017: Eastern gray squirrel (UK: Grey squirrel) Sciurus carolinensis to celebrate Squirrel Appreciation Day. http://ift.tt/2cY1lrk

Thursday 19 January 2017

Picture of the day for January 20, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 20, 2017: St. Sebastian Church (Berlin-Wedding). The catholic parish church was built between 1890 and 1893 in neogothic style. http://ift.tt/2iYIFZ9

aul: Word of the day for January 20, 2017

aul , n :
A village encampment in the Caucasus, Central Asia or the Southern Urals. The Republic of Dagestan was established on this day in 1921 as the Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

Wednesday 18 January 2017

Picture of the day for January 19, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 19, 2017: Woolly burdock (Arctium tomentosum) in Keila, Estonia. http://ift.tt/2jyEkwB

unpaid: Word of the day for January 19, 2017

unpaid , adj :
Not paid (for). Of work: done without agreed payment, usually voluntarily.

Tuesday 17 January 2017

Picture of the day for January 18, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 18, 2017: Two RENFE class 730 "Dual-mode Patito" ("duckling") crossing the Viaducto Martín Gil near Zamora, Spain. http://ift.tt/2jWGrXZ

pooh-pooh: Word of the day for January 18, 2017

pooh-pooh , v :
(transitive) To dismiss idly with contempt or derision. English author A. A. Milne, who created the character Winnie-the-Pooh in children’s story books, was born on this day in 1882.

Monday 16 January 2017

knuckle sandwich: Word of the day for January 17, 2017

knuckle sandwich , n :
(slang) A punch to the face, especially to the mouth. American boxer and activist Muhammad Ali was born on this day in 1942.

Picture of the day for January 17, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 17, 2017: Ore bunkers in Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany http://ift.tt/2jSdJHz

Sunday 15 January 2017

Picture of the day for January 16, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 16, 2017: Haanja Upland in winter seen from the observation tower in Suur Munamägi, Estonia. http://ift.tt/2jzhwdw

cereology: Word of the day for January 16, 2017

cereology , n :
The investigation, or practice, of creating crop circles.

Saturday 14 January 2017

Picture of the day for January 15, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 15, 2017: Panoramic view of the Miñiques, a massive volcanic complex and lake located in the Antofagasta Region, northern Chile. The lake has a surface of 1.5 square kilometres (0.58 sq mi) and is located at 4,115 metres (13,501 ft) over the sea level. http://ift.tt/2jRn46k

cut-out: Word of the day for January 15, 2017

cut-out , n :
A hole or space produced when something is removed by cutting. Also attributive. A piece cut out of something A free-standing, rigid print (usually life-sized), often displayed for promotional purposes; a standee. A trusted middleman or intermediary, especially in espionage. […] (electronics) Any of several devices that halts the flow of a current, especially an electric current; a trip-switch or trip. (telegraphy) A switch that changes the current from one circuit to another, or for shortening a circuit. […] (US, agriculture) The separation of a group of cattle from a herd; the place where they are collected.

Friday 13 January 2017

Picture of the day for January 14, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 14, 2017: Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration centre for the government of Tokyo. http://ift.tt/2jt9N0G

illapse: Word of the day for January 14, 2017

illapse , n :
(rare) A gliding in; an immission or entrance of one thing into another. (rare) A sudden descent or attack.

Thursday 12 January 2017

Picture of the day for January 13, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 13, 2017: Block P in the World Heritage Monument Speicherstadt in Hamburg (Germany) at night http://ift.tt/2jd4V1H

Hilary term: Word of the day for January 13, 2017

Hilary term , n :
The second term of the legal year, running from January to March or April, during which the upper courts of England and Wales, and Ireland, sit to hear cases. The second academic term of the universities of Oxford and Dublin, running from January to March. The term was modelled after the legal term, but does not begin and end on the same dates. Today is the feast day of Saint Hilary of Poitiers (c. 310 – c. 367), which occurs during this term.

Wednesday 11 January 2017

filibuster: Word of the day for January 12, 2017

filibuster , n :
A mercenary soldier; a freebooter; specifically, a mercenary who travelled illegally in an organized group from the United States to a country in Central America or the Spanish West Indies in the mid-19th century seeking economic and political benefits through armed force. (politics, US) A tactic (such as giving long, often irrelevant speeches) employed to delay the proceedings of, or the making of a decision by, a legislative body, particularly the United States Senate. (politics, US) A member of a legislative body causing such an obstruction; a filibusterer. One of the first filibusters in the United States Senate, involving an attempt to prevent a censure of President Andrew Jackson from being expunged from the Senate record, began on this date in 1837.

Picture of the day for January 12, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 12, 2017: Rainy golden hour at Muraste Nature Reserve, Estonia. http://ift.tt/2jwWon9

Tuesday 10 January 2017

oose: Word of the day for January 11, 2017

oose , n :
(Scotland) Fluff, particularly from a textile source such as cotton or wool.

Picture of the day for January 11, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 11, 2017: Lyriothemis acigastra male http://ift.tt/2jB7JXo

Monday 9 January 2017

Picture of the day for January 10, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 10, 2017: Abandoned boats in Salen Bay, Isle of Mull, Scotland. http://ift.tt/2iXBtwH

yucca: Word of the day for January 10, 2017

yucca , n :
Any of several evergreen plants of the genus Yucca, having long, pointed, and rigid leaves at the top of a woody stem, and bearing a large panicle of showy white blossoms. (now proscribed, obsolete) The yuca (cassava).

Sunday 8 January 2017

Picture of the day for January 9, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 9, 2017: Location known as Ojo de San Pedro, El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region, northern Chile, close to the Bolivian border. The location, dried now, used to be a circular lake (therefore called "Ojo", to English "Eye"). The volcano in the background is San Pedro, a 6,145 metres (20,161 ft) stratovolcano. http://ift.tt/2jiBZlF

à contrecœur: Word of the day for January 9, 2017

à contrecœur , adv :
Reluctantly, unwillingly.

Saturday 7 January 2017

Picture of the day for January 8, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 8, 2017: Tulum is the site of a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city serving as a major port for Coba. The ruins are situated on 12-meter (39 ft) tall cliffs, along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Tulum was one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Maya; it was at its height between the 13th and 15th centuries and managed to survive about 70 years after the Spanish began occupying Mexico. http://ift.tt/2j3qHT4

sitting pretty: Word of the day for January 8, 2017

sitting pretty , adj :
(idiomatic) Having a comfortable or certain supply of money or resources. (idiomatic) In a favorable situation, especially a situation in which one possesses an advantage.

Friday 6 January 2017

Picture of the day for January 7, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 7, 2017: Ramensky District, Moscow Oblast, Russia. Winter pine wood near Kratovskoe Lake. http://ift.tt/2iLsdfd

pantechnicon: Word of the day for January 7, 2017

pantechnicon , n :
(chiefly Britain) A building or place housing shops or stalls where all sorts of (especially exotic) manufactured articles are collected for sale. (chiefly Britain) Originally pantechnicon van: a van, especially a large moving or removal van.

Thursday 5 January 2017

Picture of the day for January 6, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 6, 2017: View of a part of the city of Salvador, Brazilian state of Bahia and its land as seen from the Fort of Barbalho. Panoramic painting in watercolor by an anonymous artist during the 1700s. http://ift.tt/2iJO04V

Twelfthtide: Word of the day for January 6, 2017

Twelfthtide , proper n :
(archaic or obsolete) The season including Epiphany (the twelfth day after Christmas) and the evening of the preceding day (Twelfth Night), regarded as the end of the Christmas season; Epiphany itself. In Western Christianity, today is Epiphany, which commemorates the visit of the Magi to the Christ child.

Wednesday 4 January 2017

Picture of the day for January 5, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 5, 2017: Maiden voyage of the Rio de Janeiro Light Rail service passing Rio de Janeiro's city centre, Brazil. http://ift.tt/2icgYt3

king cake: Word of the day for January 5, 2017

king cake , n :
A decorative cake distributed among friends or visitors on Epiphany. In many traditions it contains a pea, a trinket or some other small object which entitles its finder to be the "king" for one day. Today is celebrated by many as Twelfth Night. King cakes are often baked on this day to be enjoyed on Epiphany, the next day.

Tuesday 3 January 2017

Picture of the day for January 4, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 4, 2017: Huacachina oasis, Ica Region, Peru. The location has a population of 115 and is built around a natural lake in the desert and is a popular destination for sandboarding and buggy riding. http://ift.tt/2hP4Yl0

easement: Word of the day for January 4, 2017

easement , n :
(law) The legal right to use another person's real property (real estate), generally in order to cross a part of the property, or to gain access to something on the property. (architecture) An element such as a baseboard, handrail, etc., that is curved instead of abruptly changing direction. (archaic) Easing, relief. (archaic, euphemistic) The act of relieving oneself: defecating or urinating.

Monday 2 January 2017

narcokleptocracy: Word of the day for January 3, 2017

narcokleptocracy , n :
(rare) Drug lords and others involved in organized crime as a dominant group in society; the influence or rule exerted by this group. (rare) A government influenced by such persons; a narcocracy. Manuel Noriega, the former military dictator of Panama, surrendered to the United States military on this date in 1990 following the US invasion of Panama. A 1988 report by a subcommittee of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations described the Noriega regime as a narcokleptocracy.

Picture of the day for January 3, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 3, 2017: German tenor Albert Reiss, outside the Metropolitan Opera's stage door http://ift.tt/1J4Tcum

Sunday 1 January 2017

rosemaling: Word of the day for January 2, 2017

rosemaling , n :
(US) A Norwegian style of stylized floral decoration with scrollwork and geometric elements.

Picture of the day for January 2, 2017


Wikipedia picture of the day on January 2, 2017: Marmolada (3343 m) is a mountain in northeastern Italy and the highest mountain of the Dolomites, a section of the Alps. http://ift.tt/2iUwI3C