Monday, July 8, 2013

balk \balk\, verb:

1. to stop, as at an obstacle, and refuse to proceed or to do something specified (usually followed by at): He balked at making the speech.
2. (of a horse, mule, etc.) to stop short and stubbornly refuse to go on.
3. to place an obstacle in the way of; hinder; thwart: a sudden reversal that balked her hopes.
4. Archaic. to let slip; fail to use: to balk an opportunity.

noun:

1. a check or hindrance; defeat; disappointment.
2. a strip of land left unplowed.

Balk comes from the Old Norse balkr meaning "ridge of land." The modern figurative senses of this term relate to obstructions in passage resulting from unplowed land.

Nuts to Butts, adjective:

• used in a very crowded or tight situation.

hey, you dont wanna get in on that one (subway car), it's nuts to butts.

Trivia

In the Harriet Beecher Stowe classic Uncle Tom’s Cabin, what ice-choked river does the slave Eliza flee across with her son Harry?

• The Ohio River.

History

• Liberty Bell: was rung to call Philadelphia citizens to the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence (1776)
  
• The Wall Street Journal: began publication (1889)
• Ziegfield Follies: producer Florenz Ziegfield staged his first "follies" on the roof of New York City's New York Theater (1907)
• Roswell UFO Incident: A report appears in newspaper Roswell Daily Record announcing "RAAF Captures Flying Saucer On Ranch in Roswell Region." (1947)
• Oklahoma!: the Broadway musical's soundtrack became the first album to go gold (indicating one million sales), as certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (1958)
• The Soviet Union charged Gary Powers with espionage. He was shot down in a U-2 spy plane (1960)
• Vietnam War: U.S. troops begin withdrawing from Vietnam. (1969)
• The Solar Impulse completed the first 24-hour flight by a solar powered plane. (2010)

Birhdays

• Jean La Fontaine 1621
• Ferdinand von Zeppelin 1838
• John D. Rockefeller 1839
• Louis Jordan 1908
• Billy Eckstine 1914
• Faye Emerson 1917
• Pamela Brown 1918
• Craig Stevens 1918
• Harrison Dillard 1923
• Shirley Ann Grau 1929
• Roone Arledge 1931
• Jerry Vale 1932
• Marty Feldman 1933
• Steve Lawrence 1935
• Barbara Loden 1937
• Faye Wattleton 1943
• Jeffrey Tambor 1944
• Johnny Jai Johnson (Allman Brothers Band) 1944
• Cynthia Gregory 1946
• Kim Darby 1948
• Raffi Cavoukian 1948
• Wolfgang Puck 1949
• Anjelica Huston 1951
• Margaret Stowe 1952
• Marianne Williamson 1952
• Kevin Bacon 1958
• Toby Keith 1961
• Graham Jones 1961 - Musician (Haircut 100)
• Andy Fletcher 1961 - Musician (Depeche Mode)
• Rob Burnett 1962
• Joan Osborne 1962
• Corey Parker 1965
• Billy Crudup 1968
• Beck 1970
• Drew Womack 1970 - Musician (Sons of the Desert)
• Kathleen Robertson 1973
• Tavis Werts 1977 - Musician (Reel Big Fish)