Word of the Day!

[ksquared]

Word for the Day Friday, April 8th

bloviate (BLOH-vee-ayt) verb: to speak or write verbosely and windily

Example sentence:On occasion I like to turn on the news and watch the media pundits bloviate about the top issues of the day.

Did you know?
Warren G. Harding is often linked to "bloviate," but to him the word wasn't insulting; it simply meant "to spend time idly." Harding used the word often in that "hanging around" sense, but during his tenure as the 29th U.S. President (1921-23), he became associated with the "verbose" sense of "bloviate," perhaps because his speeches tended to the long-winded side. Although he is sometimes credited with having coined the word, it's more likely that Harding picked it up from local slang while hanging around with his boyhood buddies in Ohio in the late 1800s. The term probably derives from a combination of the word "blow" plus the suffix "-ate."

[hcjilson]

For some further reading on Harding, try getting ahold of "Shadow of Blooming Grove" Warren G. Harding in his times, by Francis Russell. Its a fascinating account of this president. Amazon has it from $1.95 (used, I am sure) and if you get it, I guarentee you some excellent reading.

[hcjilson]

A round of Applause Please..............

for Ksquared.......who works very hard at keeping this thread going. Great Job !!!!

[ksquared]

Word for the day, Monday April 11th

Schadenfreude - scha•den•freu•de (shäd'n-froi"du), noun

-- Listen to the pronunciation: WAV format or AU format

Vincent could not contain his schadenfreude—

a.) the sight of his dear friend humiliated and carted off to jail caused him untold anquish.
b.) the comeuppance of his arrogant and supercillious tormenter filled him with a delicious sense of glee.
c.) his ambivalence and inability to choose a set course and stick with it continued to plague him.



And the answer is:b
schadenfreude - Pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.

German : Schaden, damage (from Middle High German schade, from Old High German scado) + Freude, joy (from Middle High German vreude, from Old High German frewida)

[ksquared]

Word for the Day, April 12th

Garrulous - gar•ru•lous (gar'u•lus, gar'yu-lus) adj.

-- Listen to the pronunciation: WAV format or AU format

I am a well-prepared, meticulous lecturer. In the cafeteria, however, I overhear one of my students complaining of my garrulous manner. Does this student consider me.

a.) casual and indifferent.
b.) chatty and annoying.
c.) derisive and bitter.
d.) Thought provoking and intelligent



And the answer is: b
1. excessively talkative in a rambling, roundabout manner, esp. about trivial matters.
2. wordy or diffuse: a garrulous and boring speech.

(how could they be so mistaken)

[ksquared]

WOrd for the Day, April 13th Wednesday

soporific - (sop-o-rif-ic) adj.

-- Listen to the pronunciation: WAV format or AU format

On a trip to the Amazon to collect plant specimens, you discover the soporific effects of the leaves of a climbing vine. As soon as you can, you place an excited call home to your wife. What do you tell her?

a.) That you've discovered a cure for airsickness.
b.) That you've found a cure for insomnia.
c.) That you've found a safe appetite supressant.




And the answer is:

1. causing or tending to cause sleep.
2. pertaining to or characterized by sleep or sleepiness; sleepy; drowsy.
3. something that causes sleep, as a medicine or drug.

(hey, the same end result as my lectures!!)

[hcjilson]

Or....of late, ....my office, mid-afternoon!

[ksquared]

so how many can you fit in your office

WHich begs the question, how many insomniacs can you fit on the head of a pin, oh.... I guest that suppsed to be angels. Now wonder people fall asleep.

[ksquared]

word for the day Thursday April 14th

importunate - im-po-tu-nate (im-pôr'chu-nit) adj.

The importunate customer tried the patience of many an optician with

a.) his tedious, sad-sack stories.

b.) his endless wavering and inability to make up his mind.

c.) his many insistent questions and demands.





And the answer is:
1. urgent or persistent in solicitation, sometimes annoyingly so.
2. pertinacious, as solicitations or demands.
3. troublesome; annoying: importunate demands from the children for attention.

[ksquared]

AMBLYOPIA revisited

AMBLYOPIA (am-bli-o-pia):from the Greek word for "dulled vision", is poor vision in an eye. It's sometimes called "lazy eye." When one eye develops good vision while the other does not, the eye with poorer vision is called amblyopic.

TOP STORIES 4/13/2005
Patching found effective in older children
Children up to 17 years of age can benefit from patching therapy for the treatment of amblyopia, according to a large nationwide study. Prior to this study there had been no consensus on whether older children with amblyopia could benefit from patching, researchers noted.

In children older than 13 years who had been previously treated for amblyopia with patching, little benefit was seen, but in patients in this age group not previously treated there was a “strong suggestion of improvement,” the researchers said.

Members of the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group studied the efficacy of patching for amblyopia in 507 children ranging in age from 7 to 17 years, including 103 children between 13 and 17 years old. Visual acuity in the patients ranged from 20/40 to 20/400; all children were provided with optimal optical correction and then randomized to a treatment group. Most patients had moderate to high degrees of hyperopia in the amblyopic eye.

The patients were randomly assigned to either new prescription glasses only or to the new glasses prescription plus patching therapy for 2 to 6 hours daily. Children in the 7- to 12-year-old range received atropine in addition to patching. The children were also asked to perform near vision activities.

Successful vision improvement was defined as the ability to read at least two more lines on a standard eye chart in the eye with amblyopia after treatment completion.

In preparation for conducting the randomized trial, the study group performed a pilot study in 66 patients between 10 and 17 years old to estimate the response rate to treatment with part-time patching combined with near visual activities.

In that preliminary study, the researchers “found improvement in visual acuity of two or more lines in 27% of patients,” they reported in the April issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

In the randomized study, 53% of the 7-to-12 year old children who received both glasses and treatment with patches and near activity had vision improved by at least two lines. Only 25% of children in that age group who received glasses alone had vision improved by at least two lines.

In 47% of the children between 13 and 17 who had not been previously treated for amblyopia but were prescribed glasses, patching and near activity work, VA improved by at least two lines. Twenty percent of those treated with glasses alone improved by that amount.

“Despite the benefits of the treatment, most children, including those who responded to treatment, were left with some visual impairment,” according to a National Eye Institute press release on the study. NEI funds were used to support the study.

It is not known whether vision improvement will be sustained in the children once treatment is discontinued, according to the NEI. A follow-up study to assess the long-term benefits in these older children is planned.

http://www.osnsupersite.com/default.asp?ID=10294

[ksquared]

Word for the Day Friday April 15th

Realpolitik - re-al-po-li-tik(rA - äl' - pO" - li - tEk) noun
Always the optimist, you support negotiation over confrontation. But when communist troops threaten to take over your alfalfa farm, the realpolitik sets in. Now you believe

a.) practical politics are not always peaceful—sometimes might makes right.
b.) the communist agenda does not allow organic farmers to farm in peace.
c.) alfalfa farms belong to the state.







And the answer is: c

1.political realism or practical politics, esp. policy based on power rather than on ideals.
2.politics based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations
3.A usually expansionist national policy having as its sole principle advancement of the national interest.


German: real, practical (from Latinreal) + Politik, politics (from French politique, political, policy)

[Uncle Fester]

Be Squared

Shiboleth- "A language useage that distinguishes the members of one group from another" :)

[ksquared]

Word for the Day, Monday April 18th

pastiche (pa-stEsh',) noun
Listen to the pronunciation: WAV format or AU format

The pastiche offered at the theater last night was not to your liking. It was

a.) a ridiculous mix of ideas and themes borrowed from many different sources.
b.) a licorice-flavored liqueur served in a tall glass.
c.) a dull performance.






And the answer is: a

1. a literary, musical, or artistic piece consisting wholly or chiefly of motifs or techniques borrowed from one or more sources.
2. an incongruous combination of materials, forms, motifs, etc., taken from different sources; hodgepodge (like the word for the day or some of the threads??).

[ksquared]

Word for the Day Tuesday April 19th

refractory (re-frac-to-ry) adj. and noun "ies"

THe behavior of many an opticians dog could best be described as refractory—

a.) eager to please, quickly caughting on to everything the owners tried to teach them.
b.) lazy old mutts who could barely be bothered to rouse themselves for a walk, even if tempted with a "yummie".
c.) stubbornly refusing to obey, snarling at friend and foe alike, and causing unmentionable damage to the office furnishings.
d.) possessing highly developed problem solving skills, making them a welcome addition to any practice.





And the answer is:

—adj.
1. hard or impossible to manage; stubbornly disobedient: a refractory child.
2. resisting ordinary methods of treatment.
3. Obs.difficult to fuse, reduce, or work, as an ore or metal.

—n.
1. a material having the ability to retain its physical shape and chemical identity when subjected to high temperatures.
2. refractories, bricks of various shapes used in lining furnaces.

[ksquared]

Word for the Day, Wednesday April 20th

ossify (os-si-fy) verb

The government official gave an ossified performance at the press conference.

a.) He repeated the same old talking points again and again, never diverging from his original message.
b.) With one flamboyant and outrageous comment after another, he alternately amused and scandalized the audience.
c.) The dullness of his monotone was equaled by the vacuity of his words.





And the answer is:
a. to become rigid or inflexible in habits, attitudes, opinions, etc.

I began to ossify right after college.