Thursday, September 23, 2010

agog \uh-GOG\, adjective:

• 
  
  Full of excitement or interest; in eager desire; eager, keen.

Agog derives from Middle French en gogues, "in mirth; lively."

airport vultures

• Passengers waiting to board a plane who stalk around near and clog up the boarding gate before a flight, regardless of where their seat is or when boarding actually is.

The flight attendant became so irritated with the airport vultures that the flight was abruptly cancelled.
Trivia
What movie funnyman appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in a photo parody of the famous Coppertone ad that showed a dog pulling down Little Miss Coppertone’s panties?

• Jim Carrey, in the magazine’s 1995 Summer Double Issue, with the headline “Jim Carrey—Bare Facts and Shocking Revelations.” Esquire magazine ran a similar parody featuring Carmen Electra in June 2004.

History

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  "I have not yet begun to fight": defiant statement was reportedly proclaimed by American commander John Paul Jones, just before winning a naval battle with the British (1779)
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  Lewis and Clark: explorers arrived back in St. Louis after a three-year journey through the US Pacific Northwest (1806)
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  Neptune: the eighth planet from the sun was discovered (1846)
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  Checkers speech: as a vice-presidential candidate, Richard M. Nixon denied having received improper contributions, except perhaps for his daughter's dog, Checkers (1952)

Birthdays

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  Augustus (63 BCE-14 CE): Roman emperor
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  Emmuska Orczy (1865-1947): author of The Scarlet Pimpernel; commentator and author Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) shares this birth date
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  Ray Charles (1930-2004): singer of soul and rhythm and blues; other musicians born on this date include John Coltrane (1926-1967) and Julio Iglesias (67)
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  Jason Alexander (51): singer/actor, best known as Seinfeld's best friend, George Costanza; also, actors Mickey Rooney (90), Paul Petersen (65), Mary Kay Place (63), and Chi McBride and Elizabeth Pena (both 49)