Word of the Week
BRUMMAGEM
Pronunciation: \ˈbruh-mih-juhm\
Function: adjective
Etymology: alteration of Birmingham, England, the source in the 17th century of counterfeit groats
Date: 1637
: spurious; also : cheaply showy : tawdry
Interesting Fact
In the winter of 1925, a diphtheria epidemic raged among Eskimos in the Nome, Alaska area. Fierce statewide blizzard conditions prevented delivery of a life-saving serum by airplane from Anchorage. A relay of dog sled teams was organized to deliver the serum. The annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race commemorates this historic event.
How the city of Nome Alaska got its name is still under debate.
The city's name may come from a point of land located twelve miles (19 km) from the city. Cape Nome received its name from an error, when a British mapmaker copied a map annotation made by a British officer on a voyage up the Bering Strait. The officer had written "? Name" next to the unnamed cape. The mapmaker misread the annotation as "C. Nome", or Cape Nome, and used that name on his map. Other sources have noted that "Nome" is a place name in one or more Scandinavian countries, long pre-dating the use on the map in question, and it is possible that the town was named after Nome, Norway by a navigator or cartographer familiar with that place.
In February 1899, some local miners and merchants voted to change the name from Nome to Anvil City, because of the confusion with Cape Nome, 12 miles south, and the Nome River, the mouth of which is four miles (6 km) south of Nome. The United States Post Office in Nome refused to accept the change. Fearing a move of the post office to Nome City, a mining camp on the Nome River, the merchants unhappily agreed to change the name of Anvil City back to Nome.
Trivial Pursuit
Here are this week’s questions:
Global View (Geography):
What city erected a life-sized statue of sitcom character Mary Richards tossing her hat, in 2001?
Entertainment:
What British superstar crooned a 45-minute set at Pete Sampras’ wedding?
News:
What outfit withdrew a line of basketball shoes after complaints that their logo resembled the word “Allah” in Arabic script?
Written Word:
What magazine made Capitalist Tool fortune cookies – Forbes, Fortune or Money?
Life and Science:
What nation’s paleontologists discovered the largest dinosaur footprint ever seen, next to massive deposits of dinosaur dung, in 2001?
Games and Sports:
What nickname did Jamil Blackmon claim he’d coined for a 76ers superstar, in a 2001 lawsuit?
Here are last week’s answers:
Global View (Geography):
What Montana park will need a name change as a result of global warming, according to some rangers? Glacier National Park
Entertainment:
What Boys Don’t Cry co-star did Jay McInerney christen the new “It Girl”? Chloe Sevigny
News:
What Arab leader sued Le Nuovel Observateur for libel in 1997, for calling him a “poor simpleton”, a “cretin” and a “monster”? Saddam Hussein
Written Word:
What author donned a white suit, white gloves and white homburg for a 1998 Time cover? Tom Wolfe
Life and Science:
What technological marvel did investor John Doerr credit with sparking “the greatest legal creation of wealth in the history of the planet”? the internet
Games and Sports:
What state hosted the first U.S. bullfights with matadors wielding velcro-tipped banderillas? California
Monday, August 25, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Word of the Week - 8-11-2008
Word of the Week
STEREOTYPE
Pronunciation: \ˈster-ee-uh-ˌteyp, ˈstir-\
Function: transitive verb
Date: 1804
1: to make a stereotype from
2 a: to repeat without variation : make hackneyed b: to develop a mental stereotype about
Function: noun
Etymology: French stéréotype, from stéré- stere- + type
Date: 1817
1: a plate cast from a printing surface
2: something conforming to a fixed or general pattern; especially : a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment
Interesting Fact
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by a distinctive pouch (called the marsupium), in which females carry their young through early infancy. The continent of Australia is home all of the world’s marsupials except the possum.
Trivial Pursuit
Here are this week’s questions:
Global View (Geography):
What Montana park will need a name change as a result of global warming, according to some rangers?
Entertainment:
What Boys Don’t Cry co-star did Jay McInerney christen the new “It Girl”?
News:
What Arab leader sued Le Nuovel Observateur for libel in 1997, for calling him a “poor simpleton”, a “cretin” and a “monster”?
Written Word:
What author donned a white suit, white gloves and white homburg for a 1998 Time cover?
Life and Science:
What technological marvel did investor John Doerr credit with sparking “the greatest legal creation of wealth in the history of the planet”?
Games and Sports:
What state hosted the first U.S. bullfights with matadors wielding velcro-tipped banderillas?
Here are last week’s answers:
Global View (Geography):
What was the only nation besides the U.S. with at least 59 active nuclear power reactors, in 2000? France
Entertainment:
Who insisted: “I have no interest in producing a ‘B. Pitty’ clothing line”? Brad Pitt
News:
What continent were Ranulph Fiennes and Mike Stroud the first two people to cross on foot without animals or machines, in 1993? Antarctica
Written Word:
What staple is referred to as “Uncle Fred” in a Cockney slang translation of the Bible? Bread
Life and Science:
What fairy-tale name do astronomers give to planetary orbits in “a region of space that is not too hot and not too cold” for life to evolve? Goldilocks orbits
Games and Sports:
What ominous image, repeated three times on the 2001 Titanic slot machine, means a jackpot? An iceberg
STEREOTYPE
Pronunciation: \ˈster-ee-uh-ˌteyp, ˈstir-\
Function: transitive verb
Date: 1804
1: to make a stereotype from
2 a: to repeat without variation : make hackneyed b: to develop a mental stereotype about
Function: noun
Etymology: French stéréotype, from stéré- stere- + type
Date: 1817
1: a plate cast from a printing surface
2: something conforming to a fixed or general pattern; especially : a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment
Interesting Fact
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by a distinctive pouch (called the marsupium), in which females carry their young through early infancy. The continent of Australia is home all of the world’s marsupials except the possum.
Trivial Pursuit
Here are this week’s questions:
Global View (Geography):
What Montana park will need a name change as a result of global warming, according to some rangers?
Entertainment:
What Boys Don’t Cry co-star did Jay McInerney christen the new “It Girl”?
News:
What Arab leader sued Le Nuovel Observateur for libel in 1997, for calling him a “poor simpleton”, a “cretin” and a “monster”?
Written Word:
What author donned a white suit, white gloves and white homburg for a 1998 Time cover?
Life and Science:
What technological marvel did investor John Doerr credit with sparking “the greatest legal creation of wealth in the history of the planet”?
Games and Sports:
What state hosted the first U.S. bullfights with matadors wielding velcro-tipped banderillas?
Here are last week’s answers:
Global View (Geography):
What was the only nation besides the U.S. with at least 59 active nuclear power reactors, in 2000? France
Entertainment:
Who insisted: “I have no interest in producing a ‘B. Pitty’ clothing line”? Brad Pitt
News:
What continent were Ranulph Fiennes and Mike Stroud the first two people to cross on foot without animals or machines, in 1993? Antarctica
Written Word:
What staple is referred to as “Uncle Fred” in a Cockney slang translation of the Bible? Bread
Life and Science:
What fairy-tale name do astronomers give to planetary orbits in “a region of space that is not too hot and not too cold” for life to evolve? Goldilocks orbits
Games and Sports:
What ominous image, repeated three times on the 2001 Titanic slot machine, means a jackpot? An iceberg
Monday, August 4, 2008
Word of the Week - 8-4-2008
Word of the Week
INVEIGLE
Pronunciation: \in-ˈvay-guhl sometimes -ˈvee-\
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Anglo-French enveegler, aveogler, avogler to blind, hoodwink, from avogle, enveugle blind, from Medieval Latin ab oculis, literally, lacking eyes
Date: 1539
1 : to win over by wiles : entice
2 : to acquire by ingenuity or flattery : wangle
Interesting Fact
Thomas P. Crapper (28 September 1836 - 27 January 1910) was a plumber who founded Thomas Crapper & Co. Ltd. in London. Despite the urban legend, Crapper did not invent the flush toilet. However, Crapper did much to increase its popularity and came up with some related inventions.
Crapper was born in Waterside, Yorkshire, in September. His father Charles was a steamboat captain. At the age of 14, Crapper was apprenticed to a master plumber in Chelsea, London. After his apprenticeship and three years as a journeyman plumber, in 1861 he founded his own company.
Thomas Crapper did not invent all of the flush toilet — some credit for that is usually given to Sir John Harington in 1596, with Alexander Cummings' 1775 toilet regarded as the first of the modern line and George Jennings installing the first public toilets at The Great Exhibition in 1851 — but he did help increase its popularity. He was a shrewd businessman, salesman and self-publicist. In a time when bathroom fixtures were barely spoken of, he heavily promoted sanitary plumbing and pioneered the concept of the bathroom fittings showroom.
Crapper held nine patents, three of them for water closet improvements such as the floating ballcock, but none were for the flush toilet itself.
Trivial Pursuit
Here are this week’s questions:
Global View (Geography):
What was the only nation besides the U.S. with at least 59 active nuclear power reactors, in 2000?
Entertainment:
Who insisted: “I have no interest in producing a ‘B. Pitty’ clothing line”?
News:
What continent were Ranulph Fiennes and Mike Stroud the first two people to cross on foot without animals or machines, in 1993?
Written Word:
What staple is referred to as “Uncle Fred” in a Cockney slang translation of the Bible?
Life and Science:
What fairy-tale name do astronomers give to planetary orbits in “a region of space that is not too hot and not too cold” for life to evolve?
Games and Sports:
What ominous image, repeated three times on the 2001 Titanic slot machine, means a jackpot?
Here are last week’s answers:
Global View (Geography):
What Manhattan institution at Broadway and 80th street5 is hailed as the world’s best-stocked deli? Zabar’s
Entertainment:
What punk’s days gabbing “Gabba gabba hey” were silenced by cancer in 2001? Joey Ramone
News:
What Speaker of the House defined himself as “Teacher of the Rules of Civilization” in notes released by the Ethics Committee? Newt Gingrich
Written Word:
What singer titled a slim volume of essays, poetry and sketches Chasing Down the Dream? Jewel
Life and Science:
What animals puffed crack-laced cigarettes for R.J. Reynolds in 1989, as part of tests to develop a safer cigarette – baboons, cats, or rats? Baboons
Games and Sports:
What team’s announcer Rodger Brulotte coined the home run call: “Bonsoir, elle est partie”? The Montreal Expos
INVEIGLE
Pronunciation: \in-ˈvay-guhl sometimes -ˈvee-\
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Anglo-French enveegler, aveogler, avogler to blind, hoodwink, from avogle, enveugle blind, from Medieval Latin ab oculis, literally, lacking eyes
Date: 1539
1 : to win over by wiles : entice
2 : to acquire by ingenuity or flattery : wangle
Interesting Fact
Thomas P. Crapper (28 September 1836 - 27 January 1910) was a plumber who founded Thomas Crapper & Co. Ltd. in London. Despite the urban legend, Crapper did not invent the flush toilet. However, Crapper did much to increase its popularity and came up with some related inventions.
Crapper was born in Waterside, Yorkshire, in September. His father Charles was a steamboat captain. At the age of 14, Crapper was apprenticed to a master plumber in Chelsea, London. After his apprenticeship and three years as a journeyman plumber, in 1861 he founded his own company.
Thomas Crapper did not invent all of the flush toilet — some credit for that is usually given to Sir John Harington in 1596, with Alexander Cummings' 1775 toilet regarded as the first of the modern line and George Jennings installing the first public toilets at The Great Exhibition in 1851 — but he did help increase its popularity. He was a shrewd businessman, salesman and self-publicist. In a time when bathroom fixtures were barely spoken of, he heavily promoted sanitary plumbing and pioneered the concept of the bathroom fittings showroom.
Crapper held nine patents, three of them for water closet improvements such as the floating ballcock, but none were for the flush toilet itself.
Trivial Pursuit
Here are this week’s questions:
Global View (Geography):
What was the only nation besides the U.S. with at least 59 active nuclear power reactors, in 2000?
Entertainment:
Who insisted: “I have no interest in producing a ‘B. Pitty’ clothing line”?
News:
What continent were Ranulph Fiennes and Mike Stroud the first two people to cross on foot without animals or machines, in 1993?
Written Word:
What staple is referred to as “Uncle Fred” in a Cockney slang translation of the Bible?
Life and Science:
What fairy-tale name do astronomers give to planetary orbits in “a region of space that is not too hot and not too cold” for life to evolve?
Games and Sports:
What ominous image, repeated three times on the 2001 Titanic slot machine, means a jackpot?
Here are last week’s answers:
Global View (Geography):
What Manhattan institution at Broadway and 80th street5 is hailed as the world’s best-stocked deli? Zabar’s
Entertainment:
What punk’s days gabbing “Gabba gabba hey” were silenced by cancer in 2001? Joey Ramone
News:
What Speaker of the House defined himself as “Teacher of the Rules of Civilization” in notes released by the Ethics Committee? Newt Gingrich
Written Word:
What singer titled a slim volume of essays, poetry and sketches Chasing Down the Dream? Jewel
Life and Science:
What animals puffed crack-laced cigarettes for R.J. Reynolds in 1989, as part of tests to develop a safer cigarette – baboons, cats, or rats? Baboons
Games and Sports:
What team’s announcer Rodger Brulotte coined the home run call: “Bonsoir, elle est partie”? The Montreal Expos
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