Word of the Day for Friday, August 1, 2008

panoply \PAN-uh-plee\, noun:

1. A splendid or impressive array.
2. Ceremonial attire.
3. A full suit of armor; a complete defense or covering.

Panoply is from Greek panoplia, "a full suit of armor," from pan, "all" + hoplia, "arms, armor," plural of hoplon, "implement, weapon."

SFA

• sweet fuck all. Amounting to nothing or very little

Wow what a waste, i did SFA this weekend.

Trivia

Which of his hit songs was Michael Jackson performing when he introduced his "moonwalk" on TV in 1983?

• “Billie Jean.” He was appearing on a Motown 25th-anniversary special at the time.

Today in History

• slavery: was abolished in the British Empire (1834)
• WWI: erupted as Germany declared war on Russia (1914)
• Fulbright: scholarship program was signed into US law (1946)
• MTV: cable music station was launched with, aptly, The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" (1981)

Today's Birthdays

• Claudius (10 BCE-54 CE): 4th Roman emperor
• Francis Scott Key (1779-1843): attorney who wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner"
• Herman Melville (1819-1891): author of Moby Dick;
• Dom DeLuise (75): actor and cookbook writer; actor Giancarlo Giannini (66) shares this birth date
• Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008): fashion designer who popularized pants for women
• Robert Cray (55): blues guitarist and singer; musicians Jerry Garcia (1942-1995), Michael Penn (50), Joe Elliot (49), Chuck D (48), Coolio (45) and Adam Duritz (44) also celebrate birthdays today