Thursday 30 June 2016

coop: Word of the day for June 30, 2016

coop , n :
A basket, pen or enclosure for birds. A wickerwork basket (kipe) or other enclosure for catching fish. (figuratively, slang) A narrow place of confinement, a cage; a jail, a prison. […] The animated comedy film Chicken Run was released in the UK on this day in 2000.

Wednesday 29 June 2016

bentwood: Word of the day for June 29, 2016

bentwood , n :
(woodworking, countable and uncountable) Also attributive. Lengths of wood that have been made pliable by heating with steam and then bent into the appropriate shape (to make furniture, ships' hulls, etc.). (countable) An object, especially a piece of furniture, made from bentwood.

Tuesday 28 June 2016

Monday 27 June 2016

from pillar to post: Word of the day for June 27, 2016

from pillar to post , adv :
(idiomatic) From one place (or person, or task) to another; hither and thither. Today marks the start of The Championships at Wimbledon, UK, in 2016.

Sunday 26 June 2016

shark bait: Word of the day for June 26, 2016

shark bait , n :
(humorous) One who has been or is likely to be attacked by a shark. (humorous, by extension) One who is in a precarious or vulnerable position; a dead duck. (Australia, colloquial) A lone swimmer or surfer far from shore, a shark baiter. […] Shark Week, a annual series of TV programmes about sharks on the Discovery Channel, starts today in 2016.

Saturday 25 June 2016

Brexit: Word of the day for June 25, 2016

Brexit , n :
(Britain, politics) The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. On 23 June 2016 at the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, British voters opted to take their nation out of the European Union.

Friday 24 June 2016

arborescent: Word of the day for June 24, 2016

arborescent , adj :
Like a tree; having a structure or appearance similar to that of a tree; branching. (philosophy) Marked by insistence on totalizing principles, binarism and dualism (as opposed to the rhizome theory).

Thursday 23 June 2016

sexuality: Word of the day for June 23, 2016

sexuality , n :
That which is characterized or distinguished by sex. […] Sexual orientation. Sexual identity, gender. American sexologist Alfred Kinsey was born on this day in 1894.

Wednesday 22 June 2016

hoon: Word of the day for June 22, 2016

hoon , n :
(Australia, New Zealand, slang) A hooligan, a lout; specifically, a person who drives excessively quickly, loudly or irresponsibly; a street drag racer often driving heavily customized cars. […] On this day in 2001, The Fast and the Furious, the first film in the Fast and the Furious franchise, went on general release in the USA.

Tuesday 21 June 2016

contumacy: Word of the day for June 21, 2016

contumacy , n :
(chiefly Christianity and law) Disobedience, resistance to authority. Edward Snowden, an American former government contractor who leaked classified information from the U.S. National Security Agency, was born on this day in 1983.

Monday 20 June 2016

economical with the truth: Word of the day for June 20, 2016

economical with the truth , adj :
(idiomatic, euphemistic) Not telling the whole truth, especially in order to present a false image of a situation; untruthful; lying. Often used with sarcasm or satire.

Sunday 19 June 2016

dad dancing: Word of the day for June 19, 2016

dad dancing , n :
The making of embarrassing flamboyant dance moves to pop music by middle-aged men. In many countries, Father's Day is celebrated today in 2016 (the third Sunday in June).

Saturday 18 June 2016

mandilion: Word of the day for June 18, 2016

mandilion , n :
A loose outer garment resembling a cassock or coat, often sleeveless, worn by soldiers over armour or by menservants as a type of overcoat. Milan Fashion Week for menswear begins today in 2016.

Friday 17 June 2016

chyron: Word of the day for June 17, 2016

chyron , n :
(television) A set of graphics or words at the bottom of a television screen, sometimes unrelated to the current viewing content.

Thursday 16 June 2016

zany: Word of the day for June 16, 2016

zany , adj :
Unusual and bizarre in a funny, comical way; outlandish; clownish. Ludicrously or incongruously comical.

Wednesday 15 June 2016

dung beetle: Word of the day for June 15, 2016

dung beetle , n :
A type of beetle of the family Scarabaeidae noted for rolling dung into balls for use as food or as brooding chambers.

Tuesday 14 June 2016

dark horse: Word of the day for June 14, 2016

dark horse , n :
(idiomatic) Someone who possesses talents or favorable characteristics that are not known or expected by others. (idiomatic, politics) A candidate for an election who is nominated unexpectedly, without previously having been discussed or considered as a likely choice. The Royal Ascot begins on this day in 2016.

Sunday 12 June 2016

drama llama: Word of the day for June 12, 2016

drama llama , n :
(slang) A histrionic person. The annual Tony Awards, which recognize achievement in Broadway productions, are being held today in 2016.

Saturday 11 June 2016

grit: Word of the day for June 11, 2016

grit , n :
Strength of mind; great courage or fearlessness; fortitude. […] On this day in 1969, the film True Grit was released

Friday 10 June 2016

corpus: Word of the day for June 10, 2016

corpus , n :
(uncommon) A body. (linguistics) A collection of writings, often on a specific topic, of a specific genre, from a specific demographic or a particular author, etc.

Thursday 9 June 2016

eggcorn: Word of the day for June 9, 2016

eggcorn , n :
(linguistics) An idiosyncratic but semantically motivated substitution of a word or phrase for a word or words that sound identical, or nearly so, at least in the dialect the speaker uses.

Wednesday 8 June 2016

newspeak: Word of the day for June 8, 2016

newspeak , n :
A mode of talk by politicians and officials using ambiguous words to deceive the listener. George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four was published in London on this day in 1949.

Tuesday 7 June 2016

quagmire: Word of the day for June 7, 2016

quagmire , n :
A swampy, soggy area of ground. (figuratively) A perilous, mixed up and troubled situation; a hopeless tangle; a predicament.

Monday 6 June 2016

bisque: Word of the day for June 6, 2016

bisque , n :
A thick creamy soup made from fish, shellfish, meat or vegetables. A pale pinkish brown colour. (ceramics) A form of unglazed earthenware; biscuit. […] (sports) An extra turn, free point or some other advantage allowed. […]

Sunday 5 June 2016

geocide: Word of the day for June 5, 2016

geocide , n :
The destruction of the earth, its ecosystems, or some part thereof, due to human activity. Today is World Environment Day.

Saturday 4 June 2016

gastronomy: Word of the day for June 4, 2016

gastronomy , n :
The art of preparing and eating good food. The study of the relationship between food and culture.

Friday 3 June 2016

grapple: Word of the day for June 3, 2016

grapple , v :
(transitive) To seize something and hold it firmly. (transitive, figuratively) Normally used with with: to ponder and intensely evaluate a problem. (transitive) To fasten, as with a grapple; to fix; to join indissolubly. (intransitive) To use a grapple. (intransitive) To wrestle or tussle.

Thursday 2 June 2016

couch: Word of the day for June 2, 2016

couch , v :
To lie down; to recline (upon a couch or other place of repose). (archaic) To lie down for concealment; to conceal, to hide; to be concealed; to be included or involved darkly or secretly. To bend the body, as in reverence, pain, labor, etc.; to stoop; to crouch. (transitive) To lay something upon a bed or other resting place. (transitive) To arrange or dispose as if in a bed. (transitive) To lay or deposit in a bed or layer; to bed. (transitive) To lower (a spear or lance) to the position of attack. (ophthalmology, transitive) In the treatment of a cataract in the eye, to displace the opaque lens with a sharp object such as a needle. The technique is regarded as largely obsolete. (paper-making, transitive) To transfer (for example, sheets of partly dried pulp) from the wire mould to a felt blanket for further drying. (sewing, transitive) To attach a thread onto fabric with small stitches in order to add texture. To phrase in a particular style; to use specific wording for.

Wednesday 1 June 2016

mansplain: Word of the day for June 1, 2016

mansplain , v :
(informal) To explain (something) condescendingly (to a female listener), especially to explain something the listener already knows, presuming that she has an inferior understanding of it because she is a woman.