February 8, 2009

highhanded \HAHY-HAN-did\, adjective:

• acting or done in a bold, arbitrary way

by 1631, from "a high hand: with imperious or absolute exercise of power" c 1382
coin wanking

• the act of jangling change held in a suit trouser pocket, usually performed by male office workers whilst stood chatting to colleagues

to stand near someone, chatting to them, but simultaneously coin wanking by caressing and fondling the change in your pocket

Trivia

In what film classic did Isabel Sanford, who portrayed Weezie on the TV sitcom The Jeffersons, make her Hollywood debut?

• Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Sanford played Tillie, the outspoken maid, in the 1967 movie.

Today in History:

• Mary, Queen of Scots: was beheaded after being implicated in the Babington plot against Elizabeth I (1587)
• The Devil's Footprints: 100 miles of hooflike prints appeared in the snow in Devon, England (1855)
• Russo-Japanese War: began with a surprise attack by Japan on the Russian fleet at Port Arthur (now Lüshun) (1904)
• NASDAQ: the world's first electronic stock market opened, facilitating trading directly between the investors and buyers/sellers; the acronym stands for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation" (1971)

Today's Birthdays:

• Martin Buber (1878-1965): theologian and philosopher, I and Thou
• John Grisham (54): author of The Firm, The Associate; other writers born on this date include John Ruskin (1819-1900), Jules Verne (1828-1905), Kate Chopin (1851-1904), Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979) and Ted Koppel (69)
• Alonzo Mourning (39): NBA center
• Seth Green (35): Scott Evil in the Austin Powers films; also, actors Lana Turner (1921-1995), Jack Lemmon (1925-2001), James Dean (1931-1955), Nick Nolte (68), Robert Klein (67), Creed Bratton (66), Mary Steenburgen (56) and Josh Morrow (35)
• John Williams (77) composer/conductor

Quote:

• "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." — Aldous Huxley