***** Mar 22, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
vestige | |
| Definition: | (noun) A visible trace, evidence, or sign of something that once existed but exists or appears no more. |
| Synonyms: | tincture, trace, shadow |
| Usage: | He was so deadly pale?which had not been the case when they went in together?that no vestige of colour was to be seen in his face. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 Talent isn't genius, and no amount of energy can make it so. I want to be great, or nothing. I won't be a commonplace dauber, so I don't intend to try any more. Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 21, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
arduous | |
| Definition: | (adjective) Demanding great effort or labor; difficult. |
| Synonyms: | backbreaking, grueling, laborious, toilsome, punishing, hard, heavy |
| Usage: | The roofer's work was so arduous that he was forced to take numerous medications to relieve the pain in his back. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 20, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
maverick | |
| Definition: | (adjective) Being independent in thought and action or exhibiting such independence. |
| Synonyms: | unorthodox, irregular |
| Usage: | He was a maverick politician and refused to align himself with any of the established parties. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 Good actions ennoble us, and we are the sons of our own deeds. Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 19, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
bonhomie | |
| Definition: | (noun) A pleasant and affable disposition. |
| Synonyms: | affability, affableness, amiableness, geniality, amiability |
| Usage: | The good humor and bonhomie called up by this last evening amongst his old friends had disappeared. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it. Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 18, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
formicary | |
| Definition: | (noun) A nest of ants. |
| Synonyms: | anthill |
| Usage: | Hours after accidentally stepping on a formicary, she was still picking stray ants off of her jeans. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible; and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands. Sun Tzu (544 BC-496 BC) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 17, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
escritoire | |
| Definition: | (noun) A writing table; a desk. |
| Synonyms: | secretaire, writing table, secretary |
| Usage: | In the large shining mahogany escritoire Mr. Osborne had a drawer especially devoted to his son's affairs and papers. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 16, 2008 *****
Quote of the Day
| Methinks the human method of expression by sound of tongue is very elementary, and ought to be substituted for some ingenious invention which should be able to give vent to at least six coherent sentences at once. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 16, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
hibernal | |
| Definition: | (adjective) Of or relating to winter. |
| Synonyms: | brumal, hiemal |
| Usage: | Our teacher described the first activities of bears as they emerge from hibernal sleep. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 15, 2008 *****
Quote of the Day
 Despair has its own calms. Bram Stoker (1847-1912) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 15, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
plexor | |
| Definition: | (noun) A small hammer with a rubber head used in percussive examinations of the chest and in testing reflexes. |
| Synonyms: | percussor, plessor |
| Usage: | When the doctor tapped my knee with the plexor, my reflex was so strong that I almost kicked him in the head! |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| There are mysteries which men can only guess at, which age by age they may solve only in part. Bram Stoker (1847-1912) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 14, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
athirst | |
| Definition: | (adjective) Extremely desirous. |
| Synonyms: | hungry, thirsty |
| Usage: | The young, enthusiastic student was athirst for knowledge. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 Change begets change. Nothing propagates so fast. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 13, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
quagmire | |
| Definition: | (noun) Land with a soft muddy surface. |
| Synonyms: | mire, morass, quag, slack |
| Usage: | We had some difficulty in reaching the point, owing to the intolerably bad paths; for everywhere in the shade the ground soon becomes a perfect quagmire. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| Life is made of ever so many partings welded together. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 12, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
pasquinade | |
| Definition: | (noun) A satire or lampoon, especially one that ridicules a specific person, traditionally written and posted in a public place. |
| Synonyms: | parody, put-on, sendup, spoof, charade, lampoon, mockery, burlesque, travesty, takeoff |
| Usage: | The corrupt politician was a popular target of the pasquinades that were posted all over the city. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| One man scorned and covered with scars still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable stars; and the world was better for this. Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 11, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
pincer | |
| Definition: | (noun) A grasping structure on the limb of a crustacean or other arthropods. |
| Synonyms: | chela, nipper, claw |
| Usage: | The front pair of legs terminate in very strong and heavy pincers. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| No man knows he is young while he is young. Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 10, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
scissure | |
| Definition: | (noun) A split or opening in an organ or part. |
| Synonyms: | crack, crevice, fissure, cleft |
| Usage: | The surgeon explained that the stitches he had used to sew the scissure shut would dissolve in a few weeks. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart; and his friends can only read the title. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 09, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
surreptitious | |
| Definition: | (adjective) Marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed. |
| Synonyms: | furtive, stealthy, sneaky |
| Usage: | She stole a surreptitious glance at him, but he, too, seemed to have been caught up by Rose's gay, good humor. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| Do not free the camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel. Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 08, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
ferrule | |
| Definition: | (noun) A metal ring or cap placed around a pole or shaft for reinforcement or to prevent splitting. |
| Synonyms: | collet |
| Usage: | The walking stick was quite old, and the large brass ferrule at its tip was worn down and dented. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 History shows that the human mind, fed by constant accessions of knowledge, periodically grows too large for its theoretical coverings, and bursts them asunder to appear in new habiliments, as the feeding and growing grub, at intervals, casts its too narrow skin and assumes another. Charles Darwin (1809-1882) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 07, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
kinescope | |
| Definition: | (noun) A cathode-ray tube in a television receiver. |
| Synonyms: | picture tube, television tube |
| Usage: | When the kinescope failed, we decided to spring for a brand-new television. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 She missed him the days when some pretext served to take him away from her, just as one misses the sun on a cloudy day without having thought much about the sun when it was shining. Kate Chopin (1851-1904) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 06, 2008 ****
Word of the Day
plexus | |
| Definition: | (noun) A structure in the form of a network, especially of nerves, blood vessels, or lymphatics. |
| Synonyms: | rete |
| Usage: | The bullet missed his cardiac plexus by an inch, leaving all the nerves intact. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 Instead of dirt and poison, we have rather chosen to fill our hives with honey and wax; thus furnishing mankind with the two noblest of things, which are sweetness and light. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 05, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
listless | |
| Definition: | (adjective) Marked by low spirits; showing no enthusiasm. |
| Synonyms: | dispirited |
| Usage: | A subtle change had transformed her from the listless woman he had known into a being who, for the moment, seemed palpitant with the forces of life. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act. Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 04, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
lycanthrope | |
| Definition: | (noun) A monster able to change appearance from human to wolf. |
| Synonyms: | werewolf, wolfman, loup-garou |
| Usage: | She thought the novel about the lycanthrope would be silly, but the sad tale about the werewolf's struggles to regain control of his life moved her to tears. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| The fatal metaphor of progress, which means leaving things behind us, has utterly obscured the real idea of growth, which means leaving things inside us. Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 3, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
phellem | |
| Definition: | (noun) Outer tissue of bark; a protective layer of dead cells. |
| Synonyms: | cork |
| Usage: | Joe carefully harvested the phellem from the tree, excited at the prospect of using the buoyant material to make his very own toy boat. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed. Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** March 2, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
sternutation | |
| Definition: | (noun) A symptom consisting of the involuntary expulsion of air from the nose. |
| Synonyms: | sneeze, sneezing |
| Usage: | John complained that every time he came to visit, my dusty carpet would send him into fits of sternutation. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 'Tis no sin to cheat the devil. Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Mar 1, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
appurtenance | |
| Definition: | (noun) Equipment, such as clothing, tools, or instruments, used for a specific purpose or task. |
| Synonyms: | paraphernalia, gear |
| Usage: | He had half expected that she would drive up to the side door in a hansom, would wear a thick veil, and adopt the other appurtenances of a clandestine meeting. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| Every traveler has a home of his own, and he learns to appreciate it the more from his wandering. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 29, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
jurisprudence | |
| Definition: | (noun) The philosophy or science of law. |
| Synonyms: | legal philosophy, law |
| Usage: | Because he hoped to one day run for office, he decided to delve into the study of jurisprudence. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| Credit is a system whereby a person who can't pay gets another person who can't pay to guarantee that he can pay. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 28, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
invective | |
| Definition: | (noun) Denunciatory or abusive language. |
| Synonyms: | vituperation, vitriol |
| Usage: | Bartle had become so excited and angry in the course of his invective that he had forgotten his supper. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| I must complain the cards are ill-shuffled till I have a good hand. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 27, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
baccarat | |
| Definition: | (noun) A card game in which the winner is the player who holds two or three cards totaling closest to nine. |
| Synonyms: | chemin de fer |
| Usage: | Because baccarat attracts wealthy players who place enormous bets, a casino can win or lose millions of dollars a night on the game. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 26, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
annunciation | |
| Definition: | (noun) A formal public statement. |
| Synonyms: | proclamation, declaration, announcement |
| Usage: | A long and dramatic drum-roll signaled that a royal annunciation was about to be delivered. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| A good essay must have this permanent quality about it; it must draw its curtain round us, but it must be a curtain that shuts us in not out. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 25, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
arbor | |
| Definition: | (noun) A shady resting place in a garden or park, often made of rustic work or latticework on which plants, such as climbing shrubs or vines, are grown. |
| Synonyms: | bower, pergola |
| Usage: | I never saw such a garden?large and shady, full of box-bordered paths, and lined with long grape-covered arbors with seats under them. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| For in reason, all government without the consent of the governed is the very definition of slavery. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 24, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
amulet | |
| Definition: | (noun) An object worn, especially around the neck, as a charm against evil or injury. |
| Synonyms: | talisman |
| Usage: | It was sorcery, magic of the worst kind, thought Buldeo, and he wondered whether the amulet round his neck would protect him. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| Our greatest foes, and whom we must chiefly combat, are within. Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 23, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
connoisseur | |
| Definition: | (noun) A person with expert knowledge or training, especially in the fine arts. |
| Synonyms: | cognoscente |
| Usage: | I brought the painting to the world's best art connoisseurs, and they all agreed that it was an authentic Picasso and would fetch millions at auction. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce. Sun Tzu (544 BC-496 BC) |
