Good morning, Netizens... December 30, 2012 Word of the Day promulgate \PRAH-mul-gayt\ DEFINITION verb 1 : to make (as a doctrine) known by open declaration : proclaim 2 a : to make known or public the terms of (a proposed law) b : to put…
Good morning, Netizens... December 29, 2012 Word of the Day vacuous \VAK-yuh-wus\ DEFINITION adjective 1 : emptied of or lacking content 2 : marked by lack of ideas or intelligence : stupid, inane 3 : devoid of serious occupation : idle EXAMPLES The student's vacuous…
Good morning, Netizens... Good evening, Netizens and friends... For decades of my life I have lived with an underground river of thought, of ever-changing and unspoken sound and fury that has kept me writing about life inside and outside my consciousness. Sometimes this unexpurgated prattling…
Good afternoon, Netizens,.. December 28, 2012 Word of the Day donnybrook \DAH-nee-brook\ DEFINITION noun 1 : free-for-all, brawl 2 : a usually public quarrel or dispute EXAMPLES The two antique collectors found themselves embroiled in a spirited donnybrook over the value of an unusual piece…
Good morning, Netizens... December 27, 2012 Word of the Day mise-en-scène \meez-ahn-SEN\ DEFINITION noun 1 a : the arrangement of actors and scenery on a stage for a theatrical production b : stage setting 2 a : the physical setting of an action (as of…
Good morning, Netizens... December 26, 2012 Word of the Day debilitate \dih-BIL-uh-tayt\ DEFINITION verb : to impair the strength of EXAMPLES The flu debilitated him and left him bedridden for several days. "Hard hits are part of the game. But vicious hits intended to debilitate…
I remember making bells for the Christmas tree out of egg cartons and foil; this and chain links made out of different strips of colored construction paper and Elmer's glue (or even homemade flour glue). All our decorations were home made. Most of our gifts…
Good evening, Netizens... December 22, 2012 Word of the Day farrier \FAIR-ee-er\ DEFINITION noun : a person who shoes horses EXAMPLES Since he spent so much of his childhood around horses, it was not a surprise when James decided to apprentice to learn to be…
Good evening, Netizens... December 21, 2012 Word of the Day solstice \SAHL-stiss\ DEFINITION noun : the time of year when the sun is farthest north of the equator or farthest south of the equator EXAMPLES People all over the world have observed celebrations linked to…
Good evening, Netizens... December 20, 2012 Word of the Day impolitic \im-PAH-luh-tik\ DEFINITION adjective : not politic : unwise EXAMPLES The talk show host's impolitic remarks were often the target of public outrage, but they also earned him legions of fans. "She'll say what's on…
Good morning, Netizens… Like other Christmas stories I have written over the years, this is an exerpt from what I call a living series I call Tales of the City and, in this case, the story is true. Although it hails from a different time,…
December 19, 2012 Word of the Day algid \AL-jid\ DEFINITION adjective : cold EXAMPLES "Lifting the taffeta hanging from the seat under the windows, he stroked the pipes of the radiator. He touched cold metal, metal algid as ice!" — From Carl Van Vechten's 1925…
Good afternoon, Netizens... Every year about this time, I have written or reposted my Tales of Christmas. Some are quite old, having been written clear back into the early 80's and 90's, while some others are more recent. These are gentle stories, expressing in my…
Good afternoon, Netizens..., December 18, 2012 Word of the Day lagniappe \LAN-yap\ DEFINITION noun : a small gift given a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase; broadly : something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure EXAMPLES Diners…
Good morning, Netizens... December 17, 2012 Word of the Day commensal \kuh-MEN-sul\ DEFINITION adjective 1 : of or relating to those who habitually eat together 2 : of, relating to, or living in a relationship in which one organism obtains food or other benefits from…
Good morning, Netizens... December 16, 2012 Word of the Day quadrate \KWAH-drayt\ DEFINITION adjective : being square or approximately square EXAMPLES The linoleum featured a colorful pattern of large quadrate shapes. "For dessert, Namiri brings out quadrate slices of baklava accompanied by strong Turkish coffee."…
It is the end of a terrible day, with 20 children dead along with 7 adults. It is beyond my comprehension how this can happen. What can I pray? I ask for peace and comfort, as much as it can be felt by broken-hearted families.…
Good morning, Netizens... Despite having a vast overload of work keeping me from my appointed rounds, I could not help but ask a theologically thorny question in the face of the deaths in Newtown, Connecticut, as it has been haunting me since I first heard…
December 15, 2012 Word of the Day hagiography \hag-ee-AH-gruh-fee\ DEFINITION noun 1 : biography of saints or venerated persons 2 : idealizing or idolizing biography EXAMPLES The book effectively portrays the leader's strengths without resorting to hagiography. "'Lincoln' gratifyingly dodges the kind of safe, starchy…
My one regret as a parent (Oh, ok, I have a gazillion regrets, but this one particular one wasn’t my fault!), and that is that my two sons never got their picture taken with Santa. We tried but failed miserably. It happened that my first…
Good morning, Netizens... December 14, 2012 Word of the Day schmooze \SHMOOZ\ DEFINITION verb : to converse informally : chat; also : to chat in a friendly and persuasive manner especially so as to gain favor, business, or connections EXAMPLES Conference attendees will have plenty…
Good morning, Netizens... December 13, 2012 Word of the Day parietal \puh-RYE-uh-tul\ DEFINITION adjective 1 a : of or relating to the walls of a part or cavity b : of, relating to, or forming the upper posterior wall of the head 2 : attached…
Good morning, Netizens... December 12, 2012 Word of the Day intersperse \in-ter-SPERSS\ DEFINITION verb 1 : to place something at intervals in or among 2 : to insert at intervals among other things EXAMPLES The author has interspersed the guidebook with illustrations of the different…
Good evening, Netizens... December 11, 2012 Word of the Day disport \dih-SPORT\ DEFINITION verb 1 : divert, amuse 2 : frolic 3 : display EXAMPLES "Dracula builds a five-stake resort for his monster friends to disport themselves unbothered on vacation, but his daughter falls in…
Good morning, Netizens... December 10, 2012 Word of the Day pomander \POH-man-der\ DEFINITION noun 1 : a mixture of aromatic substances enclosed in a perforated bag or box and used to scent clothes and linens or formerly carried as a guard against infection; also :…
Spokesman-Review readers blog about news and issues in Spokane written by Dave Laird.
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