Sunday, October 25, 2009

sycophant \SIK-uh-fuhnt\ , noun:

• A person who attempts to win favor by flattering people of wealth or influence; a parasite; a toady.

Origin: Sycophant derives from Greek sukophantes, "an accuser (especially a false accuser) or rogue," fromsukon, "fig" + phantes, "one who shows," from phainein, "to show."

bullshine

• Work-safe and broadcast-safe synonym of bullshit.

Person 1: "Have you heard about that guy who slept with 200 women?"
Person 2: "Yeah, whatever, that's a load of 'bullshine'!"
Trivia
What French cheese was named in honor of the first U.S. space satellite?

• Explorateur. It was named for the Explorer 1 satellite launched in 1958.

Today in History

• The Charge of the Light Brigade: the British assaulted Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava, which was commemorated in a poem by Tennyson (1854)
• Battle of Leyte Gulf: one of the largest naval battles in history took place between the US and Japan as the US invaded the Philippines (1944)
• United Nations: voted mainland China in, Taiwan out (1971)
• Operation Urgent Fury: the US invaded Grenada in response to the execution of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop (1983)

Today's Birthdays

• Pablo Picasso (1881-1973): painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and stage designer
• Richard E. Byrd (1888-1957): navigator and the first man to fly over both poles
• Anne Tyler (68): Pulitzer Prize-winner for Breathing Lessons; also, writer John Berryman(1914-1972)
• Chad Smith (48): drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers; other pop musicians born on this date include Helen Reddy (68), Taffy Danoff and Jon Anderson (both 65), Ed Robertson (39) and Ciara (24)
• Adam Goldberg (39): multi-talented actor, director, producer, guitarist and songwriter; also, actors Jeanne Cooper and Marion Ross (both 81), Brian Kerwin (60), Nancy Cartwright (53),Michael Boatman and Kevin Michael Richardson (both 45), Craig Robinson (38), Michael Weston (36) and Mehcad Brooks (29)
• Midori (38): classical violinist; composers Johann Strauss (1825-1899) and Georges Bizet (1838-1875) share this birth date