Sunday, August 4, 2024

beguile \bih-GAHYL\, verb:

1. To influence by trickery, flattery, etc.; mislead; delude.
2. To take away from by cheating or deceiving (usually followed by of): to be beguiled of money.
3. To charm or divert: a multitude of attractions to beguile the tourist.
4. To pass (time) pleasantly: beguiling the long afternoon with a good book.

Beguile is derived from the Middle English word bigilen, from the root guile meaning "insidious cunning." 

the toothpaste defense 

• When asked about a jizz stain left on a sofa, t-shirt, towel, etc. one will often use the toothpaste defense.

To avoid embarrassment, Danny used the toothpaste defense when his mother inquired about the sticky white stains all over his laundry.

Mom: Danny, I've been going through your laundry, and I've discovered a multitude of sticky white stains on almost all your clothes

Danny: It's just toothpaste, ma.

Wise teen: I used the toothpaste defense once, but after that I started doing my own laundry

History 

• freedom of the press: a legal precedent was established when newspaper editor John Peter Zenger was acquitted of seditious libel; he had published criticism of the colonial governor of New York (1735)
• US Coast Guard: was launched as the Revenue-Marine, later called the Revenue Cutter Service (1790)
• Anne Frank: teenage Jewish diarist was discovered, along with her family, by Nazis; their hiding place was revealed by a Dutch informant and they were sent to concentration camps, where most perished (1944)
• Burkina Faso: West African republic received its new name meaning "land of upright people"; it was formerly called Upper Volta (1984)

Birthdays

• Joseph Scaliger 1540 - French religious leader and scholar

  
• Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792 - Poet
• Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon 1900 - Known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
• Louis Armstrong 1901 - Musician, singer
• Glenn Cunningham 1909 - Olympic runner
• William Howard Shumam 1910 - Composer
• Raoul Wallenberg 1912 - Swlitedish humanitarian during World War II
• Wesley Addy 1913 - Actor
• Helen Thomas 1920 - Journalist
• Herb Ellis 1921 - Musician
• Dallas Green 1934 - Singer, songwriter
• Joe Leonard 1934 - Motorcycle racer and racecar driver
• Elsbeary Hobbs 1936 - Musician (The Drifters)
• Frankie Ford 1939 - Musician, singer
• Timi Yuro 1940 - Singer
• Richard Belzer 1944 - Actor, comedian ("Law and Order: Special Victims Unit")
• Klaus Schultze 1947 - Musician (Tangerine Dream)
• John Riggins 1949 - Football player
• Kristoffer Tabori 1952 - Actor
• Maire Ni Bhraaonion 1952 - Musician (Clannad)
• Billy Bob Thornton 1955 - Actor
• Mary Slaney (Mary Teresa Decker) 1958 - Runner
• Kym Karath 1958 - Actress ("The Sound of Music")
• Ian Broudie 1958 - Musician (Lightning Seeds)
• Allison Adelle Hedge Coke - Poet, author (books)
• Robbin Crosby 1959 - Musician (RATT)
• Barack Hussein Obama1961 - 44th President of the United States / worst president until Biden stole the election of 2020
  
• Roger Clemens 1962 - Baseball player
• Paul Reynolds 1962 - Musician (A Flock of Seagulls)
• Dennis Lehane 1965 - Author
• Rob Cieka 1968 - Musician (Boo Radleys)
• Daniel Dae Kim 1968 - Actor ("Lost") 
• Michael DeLuise 1969 - Actor
• Jeff Gordon 1971 - Race car driver
• Marques Houston 1981 - Musician (Immature)
• Dylan Sprouse 1992 - Actor
• Cole Sprouse 1992 - Actor