Tuesday, October 20, 2009

milieu \meel-YUH; meel-YOO\, noun;
plural milieus or milieux \-(z)\:

• Environment; setting.

Milieu is from French, from Old French, from mi, "middle" (from Latin medius) + lieu, "place" (from Latin locus).

cougar crush

• Having a crush on a cougar. See cougar.

Alex: Damn, that chick is smokin' hot!
Bill: Dude, that's my neighbor Barb...she's at least 50!
Alex: I think I just developed a cougar crush.
Trivia
When it comes to Internet shorthand, what’s the meaning of the acronym WIIFM?

• What’s In It For Me?

Today in History

• Louisiana Purchase: acquisition that doubled the territory of the United States was ratified by the Senate (1803)
• "I shall return": General Douglas MacArthur fulfilled his 1942 promise when he led an Allied army in freeing the Philippines from Japanese control in WWII (1944)
• Saturday Night Massacre: during Watergate, President Richard Nixon got rid of his special prosecutor, Archibald Cox, as well as his attorney-general, and deputy attorney-general (1973)
• Sydney Opera House: distinctive building on Sydney Harbour was opened by Queen Elizabeth II (1973)

Today's Birthdays

• Christopher Wren (1632-1723): architect who designed St. Paul's Cathedral
• John Dewey (1859-1952): philosopher, educator
• Dr. Joyce Brothers (81): pop psychologist
• Elfriede Jelinek (63): Nobel-winning writer; plus, writers Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) and Art Buchwald (1925-2007)
• Mickey Mantle (1931-1995): NY Yankees slugger
• Tom Petty (59): Heartbreakers' frontman; other musicians born on this date include Charles Ives(1874-1954), Jelly Roll Morton (1890-1941), Jim Sonefeld (45), Dannii Minogue (38) and Snoop Dogg (37)
• John Krasinski (30): Jim Halpert on The Office; also, actors Bela Lugosi (1882-1956), William Christopher (77), Jerry Orbach (1935-2004), Viggo Mortensen (51) and Jennifer Nicole Freeman (24)