Friday, March 12, 2010

solecism \SOL-uh-siz-uhm\, noun:

1. A nonstandard usage or grammatical construction; also, a minor blunder in speech.
2. A breach of good manners or etiquette.
3. Any inconsistency, mistake, or impropriety.

Solecism comes from Latin soloecismus, from Greek soloikizein, "to speak incorrectly," from soloikos, "speaking incorrectly," literally, "an inhabitant of Soloi," a city in ancient Cilicia where a dialect regarded as substandard was spoken.

cray cray

• So unbelievably close to sheer insanity that one word cannot express the sentiment alone.

Yo, did you see the way Anando pounded shot after shot of straight eerclear at that party? That shit was cray cray.

Did you hear how cray cray Bryan got last night? Remember that chick from the bar? He took her home and gave her the Tony Danza treatment, no lie.

Note: The power of this adjective phrase is often misunderstood and underestimated. Harm from misuse may occur. Use with caution and only under appropriate circumstances.
Trivia

According to legend, how did the great Chinese poet Li Po die?

• While drunkenly trying to embrace the moon’s reflection in the Yangtze River, Li Po—also known as Li Bai—fell from a boat into the water and drowned.

History

• Great Blizzard of 1888: nor'easter killed hundreds and paralyzed the East Coast of the US from Maryland to Maine
• Salt Satyagraha: Mahatma Gandhi began a civil disobedience campaign against theBritish salt tax in India with a 241-mile march to Dandi (1930)
• fireside chats: FDR began a series of morale-boosting evening radio addresses to the American public (1933)
• Anschluss: Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany (1938)

Berfdays

• André Le Nôtre (1613-1700): landscape architect who designed the Versailles gardens
• Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938): father of modern Turkey; plus, Canadian PM John Abbott (1821-1893)
• James Taylor (62): folk-rock musician, "Fire and Rain"; also, musicians Al Jarreau (70), Steve Harris (54), Marlon Jackson (53) and Frank Catalano (32)
• Carl Hiaasen (57): journalist/novelist; other writers born on this date include Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863-1938), Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) and Edward Albee (82)
• Darryl Strawberry (48): played baseball for the Mets and the Yankees
• Aaron Eckhart (42): actor, Thank You for Smoking, The Dark Knight; also, actors Liza Minelli (64), Courtney Vance (50) and Samm Levine (28)