Thursday, February 1, 2024

doyenne \doi-EN\, noun:

• A woman who is the senior member of a group, class, or profession.

Doyenne only came into common English use in the early 1900s, but it originates in the Old French word deien, which is also the root of the word dean. The suffix -enne is a French suffix for a personal female noun.

 

iFinger

• It's the finger(s) you purposely keep clean when you eat something messy so you could operate your touchscreen smartphone/tablet/GPS without making the screen look like your plate.

These ribs are delicious and messy, but I have to keep my pinky clean cause its my iFinger.

 

ACB

• Mnemonic device for "Air Conditioner Booty": a woman whose buttocks, when viewed from the side, resemble a wall-unit air conditioner protruding from a house.

Holly's ACB was knocking peoples' drinks off the table last night.

selenology, \sel-uh-NOL-uh-jee\, noun 

• the branch of astronomy that deals with the nature and origin of the physical features of the moon.

Origin: Selenology stems from the Greek word for "moon," selḗnē. In English, the combining form seleno- means "moon"; the combining form -logy is used in the names of sciences or bodies of knowledge.

 

 

History

• US Supreme Court: held its first session, in NY; John Jay, a Federalist Papers author, presided (1790)
• Oxford English Dictionary: first fascicle, A—Ant, was published (1884)
• Grand Central Station opened in New York City (1913)
• Greensboro, NC: four black college students began a sit-in at a Woolworth's lunch counter, where they'd been refused service (1960)
• Ayatollah Khomeini: returned to Tehran after some 15 years of exile; the Iranian Revolution turned the country into an Islamic republic soon after (1979)
• Columbia: space shuttle disintegrated on reentry, killing all seven astronauts aboard (2003)
• wardrobe malfunction: Janet Jackson, in a duet with Justin Timberlake, caused a stir at the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show (2004)

Birthdays

• Victor Herbert 1859 - Cellist, conductor
• John Ford (Sean Aloysius O’Feeney) 1894 - Director
• Clark Gable 1901 - Actor ("It Happened One Night", "Gone with the Wind")
• Langston Hughes 1902 - Author
• S.J. (Sidney) Perelman 1904 - Writer, screenwriter
• Renata Tebaldi 1922 - Opera singer
• Stuart Whitman 1928 - Actor ("Cimarron Strip", "The Longest Day")
• Boris Yeltsin 1931 - Russian president 1991-1999
• Bob Shane 1934 - Singer (The Kingston Trio)
• Garrett Morris 1937 - Actor, comedian
• Don Everly 1937 - Singer (The Everly Brothers)
• Ray Sawyer 1937 - Singer (Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show)
• Jacky Cupit 1938 - Golfer
• Sherman Hemsley 1938 - Actor ("The Jeffersons")
• Joe Sample 1939 - Jazz musician
• Del McCoury 1939 - Bluegrass singer
• Terry Jones 1942 - Comedian ("Monty Python" series)
• Wayne Rivers 1942 - Hockey player
• Dennis Farina 1944
• Paul Blair 1944 - Baseball player
• Dick Snyder 1944 - Basketball player
• Debbie Austin 1948 - Golfer
• Dave Thompson 1949 - Football player
• Rick James 1952 - Singer (Songs: "Cold Blooded" and "Super Freak")
• Bill Mumy 1954 - Actor ("Twilight Zone-The Movie", "The Rockford Files", writer, producer)
• Mike Campbell 1954 - Rock musician (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers)
• Exene Cervenka 1956 - Singer (X)
• Sherilynn Fenn 1965 - Actress ("Twin Peaks")
• Princess Stephanie of Monaco (Stéphanie Marie Elisabeth Grimaldi) 1965 - Singer, youngest child of Grace Kelly and Rainier III of Monaco, recorded "In The Closet" with Michael Jackson.
• Lisa Marie Presley 1968 - Musician, daughter of Elvis Presley
• Pauly Shore 1970 - Comedian, actor ("Encino Man")
• Big Boi 1975 - Rapper (Outkast)
• Jarrett Lennon 1982 - Actor ("Freaks and Geeks")
• Lauren Conrad 1986 - reality TV personality