Sunday, August 23, 2009

Reticent \RET-ih-suhnt\ , adjective:

1. Inclined to keep silent; reserved; uncommunicative.

2. Restrained or reserved in style.

3. Reluctant; unwilling.

Origin: Reticent comes from the present participle of Latin reticere, "to keep silent," from re- + tacere, "to be silent."

I take my leave

• A polite way of saying goodbye.

John: The coffee was great Mark, my compliments.
Mark: You are being too kind. Do you want some cookies?
John: I'm sorry, but I have a meeting in a few minutes, I take my leave.

Trivia

What popular TV personalities provided the voices of Doris and Mabel, the cross-dressing Ugly Stepsisters in the animated 2007 film Shrek the Third?

• Larry King (Doris) and Regis Philbin (Mabel). King also did Doris’s voice for Shrek 2.

Today in History:

• William Wallace: Scottish nationalist who opposed British rule, and on whom Braveheart was based, was executed in London (1305)
• Franklin: area that is now part of Tennessee seceded from North Carolina; it failed to win acceptance as one of the United States (1784)
• Rudolph Valentino: death at age 31 of the silent screen sex symbol known as the quintessential Latin lover caused mass hysterical mourning (1926)
• Sacco and Vanzetti: Italian-American anarchists were executed by electric chair for murder during an armed robbery; questions about the fairness of their trial remain (1927)

Today's Birthdays:

• Edgar Lee Masters (1868-1950): author of Spoon River Anthology
• Gene Kelly (1912-1996): dancer/actor/singer, Singin' in the Rain; other performers born on this date include Vera Miles (80), Barbara Eden (75), Shelly Long and Rick Springfield (both 60), River Phoenix (1970-1993), Jay Mohr (39) and Scott Caan (33)
• Robert M. Solow (85): Nobel Prize-winning economist; fellow economist Kenneth Arrow (88) shares this birthday
• Sonny Jurgensen (74): quarterback and NFL hall-of-famer
• Keith Moon (1947-1978): drummer with The Who
• Queen Noor (58): widow of King Hussein of Jordan

From yesterday, Saturday, August 22nd, 2009
vet \VET\, transitive verb:

1. To provide veterinary care for (an animal).
2. To provide (a person) with medical care.
3. To examine carefully; to subject to thorough appraisal; to evaluate.
4. To practice as a veterinarian.

Vet is short for veterinary or veterinarian, which comes from Latin veterinarius, "of or belonging to beasts of burden and draught," from veterinus, "of draught, of beasts of burden." The earlier sense was "to submit to examination or treatment by a veterinary surgeon," hence "to subject to thorough appraisal."

prefill

• When, in cases of extreme thirst, a person using a soft-drink fountain fills the beverage container, chugs it, and then fills it again before sitting down to eat.

Person 1: Hey man, why did it take you so long to get a soda?
Person 2: I was prefilling my cup; I've been thirsty all day.

(from Friday)

wee-wee'd up

• Getting wound up or riled up over an unimportant issue.

Dude 1: Man that guy just cut me off, I'm gonna kill the mother focker!
Dude 2: Bro, relax, don't get all wee-wee'd up over nothing.

Trivia
What famous tragic power couple of yore had twins who were named for the sun and the moon?

• Cleopatra and Mark Antony, in 40 B.C. The twins were a son named Alexander Helios and a daughter named Cleopatra Selene. Helios was the Greek god of the sun; Selene, the Greek goddess of the moon.

Today's History:

• English wars: War of the Roses ended (1485), Civil War began (1642)
• America's Cup: international yachting competition was first won, by the America, thus providing the trophy with its name (1851)
• Michael Collins: Irish national leader was shot dead in an ambush (1922)
• Texas Rangers: set an MLB record by wiping out the Baltimore Orioles 30-3 (2007)

Today's Birthdays:

• Willis Whitney (1862-1918): chemist who founded GE's research lab; also, scientist Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834-1906):
• Jacques Lipchitz (1891-1973): sculptor
• Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997): Chinese revolutionary leader
• Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004): photojournalist
• Annie Proulx (74): journalist who wrote The Shipping News and "Brokeback Mountain"; other, writers Dorothy Parker (1893-1967), Ray Bradbury (89), James Kirkwood (1924-1989), Morton Dean (74) and Steve Kroft (64)
• Carl Yastrzemski (70): MLB hall-of-famer; DH Paul Molitor (53) also has a birthday today
• Tori Amos (46): pianist, singer and songwriter; also, musicians Claude Debussy (1862-1918), John Lee Hooker (1917-2001), James DeBarge (46) and Beenie Man and Howie Dorough (both 36)