Word of the Day for Thursday, October 2, 2008

donnybrook \DON-ee-brook\, noun:

1. A brawl; a free-for-all.
2. A heated quarrel or dispute.

A donnybrook is so called after Donnybrook, Ireland, a suburb of Dublin that once held an annual fair known for its brawls.

fud

• Acronym for "Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt." Originally created to refer to smear campaigns used by IBM against competing products to maintain market share -- "Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM." Often used to refer to a marketing campaign centered around the use of scare tactics or ad hominem attacks towards one's competitors.

"The SCO case versus Linux is FUD, plain and simple."

Trivia

What was the Beatles' last No. 1 hit single in the U.S.?

• “The Long and Winding Road,” which last topped the charts on June 13, 1970.

Today in History

• Siege of Jerusalem: Islamic military leader Saladin retook the holy city from the Crusaders (1187)
• HMS Beagle: naturalist Charles Darwin ended a five-year voyage, during which he formulated his theory of natural selection (1836)
• Rock Hudson: movie star died of AIDS; he was the first celebrity to announce he had the disease (1985)

Today's Birthdays

• Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948): leader who used civil disobedience to win Indian independence
• Graham Greene (1904-1991): author of The Quiet American and The Honorary Consul; poet Wallace Stevens (1879-1955) was also born on this date
• Lorraine Bracco (54): Dr. Jennifer Melfi in The Sopranos; actors Avery Brooks (60) and Kelly Ripa (38) share this birth date
• Annie Leibovitz (59): celebrity photographer
• Sting (57): musician formerly with The Police; also, musicians Don McLean (63), Phil Oakey (53), Robbie Nevil (50), Bud Gaugh (41) and Kelly Willis (40)