Word of the Day for Tuesday, September 16, 2008

disconcert \dis-kuhn-SURT\, transitive verb:

1. To disturb the composure of.
2. To throw into disorder or confusion; as, "the emperor disconcerted the plans of his enemy."

Disconcert is derived from Old French desconcerter, from des-, "dis-" + concerter, from Old Italian concertare, "to act together, to agree."

FLIRJ

• An acronym for "First Lady I'd Rim Job", and a reference to Hilary Clinton. Made famous by the 9/13/2008 opening skit of Saturday Night Live dialog:

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin: "Don't refer to me as a 'MILF.'"

Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton: "And don't refer to me as a 'FLIRJ.' I Googled what it stands for and I do not like it."

Trivia

Architecturally speaking, what was the original purpose of a gargoyle?

• It was a waterspout that projected from a roof gutter to direct rainwater away from a building.

Today in History

• General Motors: world's largest automobile maker was founded by William C. Durant in Flint, Michigan (1908)
• Arnold Schwartzenegger: actor-turned-California-governor became a US citizen (1983)
• Montreal Protocol: treaty that aims to protect the ozone layer was signed (1987)

Today's Birthdays

• Elgin Baylor (74): basketball hall-of-famer; baseball hall-of-famer Robin Yount (53) shares this birth date
• David Copperfield (52): magician and illusionist
• Marc Anthony (40): Latin Grammy winner and actor; musicians B.B. King (83), Charlie Byrd (1925-1999), Betty Kelly (64), Ron Blair and Kenney Jones (both 60), and Earl Klugh (55) were also born on this date
• Amy Poehler (37): comedian and actress, Saturday Night Live, Baby Mama; other actors born on this date include Lauren Bacall (84), Anne Francis (78), Susan Ruttan (60), Ed Begley Jr. (59), Christopher Rich (55), Mickey Rourke (52), Jennifer Tilly (50), Molly Shannon (44) and Alexis Bledel (27)