Word Of The Day

[Altobelli]

The thought of watching Theresa May running naked through fields of wheat has just ruined a perfectly good erection!

Donz would cream himself

[Altobelli]

HUMBLEBRAG noun (huhm-buh l-brag)

noun

1. a statement intended as a boast or brag but disguised by a humble apology, complaint, etc.
verb

1. to make such a disguised boast or brag: He's humblebragging about how tired he is from his world travels.

Quotes

The humblebrag—e.g. I'm exhausted from Memorial Day weekend; it’s soooo hard to get out of Nantucket—sits at the center of these competing needs. It is a boast in sheepish clothing, kvelling dressed in kvetch. And, like nearly all forms of multi-tasking, the drive to satisfy two goals at once typically results in double-failure.
--*Derek Thompson,*"How to Brag," The Atlantic, May 26, 2015

Alison had heard the story many times before, and recognized by now that it took the form of a classic humblebrag: the underlying message being that the four of them may have been ditzy and naive but at the same time, they had been serious players, with the resources of a powerful record company behind them.
--*Jonathan Coe,*Number 11, 2015



Origin

Humblebrag was first recorded between 2005 and 2010. It’s a portmanteau combining the terms humble and brag.

[Altobelli]

SIBYLLINE adjective (sib-uh-leen)

adjective

1. mysterious; cryptic.
2. of, resembling, or characteristic of a sibyl; prophetic; oracular.

Quotes

His eulogy, filled with moving tributes to the Generalissimo yet attenuated by sibylline critical allusions, made some uninformed courtiers shed tears, disconcerted others, raised the eyebrows of still others, and left many confused, but it earned the congratulations of the diplomatic corps.
--*Mario Vargas Llosa,*The Feast of the Goat, translated by Edith Grossman, 2001

"Say you nothin'. Saw wood." With that sibylline utterance, Lomax bowlegged himself off to the tomato plants.
--*Charlotte MacLeod,*The Bilbao Looking Glass, 1983



Origin

Sibyl is not a personal, proper name in Greek or Latin; it is common noun denoting the office or function of a divinely inspired prophetess. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus (c540-c470 b.c.) is the first Greek author to mention the (or a) Sibyl. By the time of St. Jerome (a.d. c340-420), there were or had been ten sibyls throughout Europe, North Africa, and Asia. The most famous sibyl was at Delphi and flourished before the Trojan War (therefore antedating the Pythian oracle, which dates from the 8th century b.c.). The last, tenth sibyl was added by the Romans. She was the Sybil at Cumae, a Greek city or colony near Naples. Virgil in his Fourth Eclogue has the Cumaean Sibyl predict the coming of a savior (Augustus), which Christians later interpreted as referring to the birth of Christ. In book 6 of the Aeneid, Aeneas first visits the Cumaean Sibyl before he descends to the underworld. Sibylline entered English in the late 16th century.

[Altobelli]

TROTHPLIGHT noun (trawth-plahyt)

noun

1. engagement to be married; betrothal.
verb

1. to betroth.
adjective
1. betrothed.

Quotes

... so bold was the Captain of these banditti, that he not only came ashore, and gave dancing parties in the village of Stromness, but, before his real character was discovered, engaged the affections and received the troth-plight of a young lady, possessed of some property.
--*Sir Walter Scott,*"The Pirate," The London Review, January, 1822

In Sweden, children born to their parents after betrothal or trothplight were considered legitimate and able to inherit even if their parents never completed the marriage process with a wedding or solemnization.
--*Mia Korpiola,*"Marriage in Sweden 1400–1700: Formalism, Collectivism, and Control," Marriage in Europe, 2016



Origin

Trothplight comes from Middle English trouth plight meaning “having plighted troth” or “having pledged one’s faithfulness to another in engagement to marry.” It entered English in the 1300s.

[Altobelli]

EXPOSTULATE verb (ik-spos-chuh-leyt)

verb

1. to reason earnestly with someone against something that person intends to do or has done; remonstrate: His father expostulated with him about the evils of gambling.

Quotes

From first to last, on this occasion, her aunt expostulated for about two hours. "But, my dear," she began, "it is Impossible! It is quite out of the question. You simply can't."
--*H. G. Wells,*Ann Veronica, 1909

... they expostulated with her, they told her now was the time to show she had a heart, and bless the young people. ... Mind your own business! said she.
--*Charles Reade,*Christie Johnstone, 1853



Origin

Expostulate derives from Latin expostulātus meaning “demanded urgently, required,” (past participle of expostulāre). It entered English in 1500s.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

ARROGANT, SUPERFICIAL & UNCARING.

Theresa May today, at the site of yet another Tory inspired catastrophe!

We would be better with this dude in charge...

Attachment 4945

[Altobelli]

We would be better with this dude in charge...

Attachment 4945

Hey ! You have nicked that photo off of me, I have copyright, so I will bill you when I see you in Barry, bring thousands

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Just had a word with TEC, all photographs and material posted on here ultimately belongs to Footymad. Sorry Alto but the beer is on you!

Incidentally, just how did you get hold of the Beester photo? Not that it matters because it's all mine now!

[Altobelli]

Yes you are right this character could do better if he was in charge, at least he's got as good a CV as any MP, but unlike them he got caught.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Lol!