Tuesday, June 30, 2009

badinage \bad-n-AHZH\, noun:

• Light, playful talk; banter.

Badinage comes from French, from badiner, "to trifle, to joke," badin, "playful, jocular."

take a digger

1. Commonly used to describe an ungraceful fall.
2. Fall forward or trip and land on one's face

• Derived from the volleyball slang- a Digshot is a desperation diving hit that results in a faceful of sand.

I wasn't paying attention and I took a digger when I tripped on the crack in the pavement. I can't believe I fell flat on my face.

Trivia

What character in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera Iolanthe bears the name of a biblical site?

• Lord Mountararat. Mount Ararat is the name of the final resting place of Noah’s ark.

Today in History:

• The Great Blondin: French acrobat crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope; walking from the US to Canada took him eight minutes (1859)
• Tunguska event: 2,000 sq. km of central Siberia were flattened in an explosion likely caused by a meteor disintegrating above the Earth's surface (1908)
• Gone With the Wind: classic Civil War-era novel was published (1936)
• 26th Amendment: was ratified, lowering the US voting age to 18 (1971)

Today's Birthdays:

• Lena Horne (92): blues singer, "Stormy Weather"; musicians Stanley Clarke (58), Hal Lindes (55) and Fantasia Barrino (25) share this birth date
• Vincent D'Onofrio (50): actor, Law and Order: Criminal Intent; other actors born on this date include Nancy Dussault and Tony Musante (both 72), David Alan Grier (54), Rupert Graves (46) and Monica Potter (38)
• Mike Tyson (43): youngest man to become heavyweight boxing champ
• Michael Phelps (24): Olympic swimmer who holds record for most gold medals