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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 17, 2025 is: jovial • JOH-vee-ul • adjective Jovial describes people as well as moods, attitudes, etc., that are cheerful and jolly. // The audience was in a jovial mood as the headlining comedian walked onto the stage. See the entry > Examples: "Transport yourself to a sumptuous hidden garden somewhere in Europe, where the meats are plentiful and the specials oh so tantalizing. The rustic communal tables and jovial service will make you feel like you're hanging out with your extended family in the old country." — Briony Smith, The Toronto Star, 29 Mar. 2025 Did you know? In ancient Roman astrology, people were thought to share the personality traits of the god whose planet was rising when they were born. The largest planet was named after the chief Roman god Jupiter, also called Jove. Jove was a sky god and a bringer of light, as well as a great protector who kept heroes focused on being loyal to the gods, the state, and family. Ancient mythology is full of stories of Jupiter (Zeus in the Greek myths) behaving badly, but jovial points only to the joy and happiness of a supremely powerful god: it describes the cheerful and jolly among us. (Jovian is the adjective that describes what is simply related to Jove/Jupiter.) Jovial has historically been contrasted with saturnine, which describes those with a gloomy or surly disposition. Sad Saturn was the father of Jupiter and his siblings, and he was exiled (understandably) for swallowing them all.
This week on the show, Jason P. Woodbury speaks with Swedish songwriter Jens Lekman. Woodbury has been listening to Jens for just about 20 years—introduced by the 2005 compilation, Oh You're So Silent Jens. Though the comp features songs ingeniously constructed using samples, it was Lekman's voice that made Woodbury such a fan. Not just his deep, sonorous croon; we mean "voice" in the writing sense: Lekman has a signature ability to sound funny and sad at the same time, or wounded yet somehow simultaneously hopeful. Jens has a new album out now called Songs for Other People's Weddings, and it arrives complete with a novel of the same name by David Levithan, who you may know from works like Boy Meets Boy, Wide Awake, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, The Lover's Dictionary, and others. Taken together, the novel and the record represent a little bit of reality, and a little bit of fiction. Lekman really has worked as a wedding singer for most of his career—his first album, 2004's When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog even features a song called "If You Ever Need a Stranger (To Sing at Your Wedding)." But Songs For Other People's Weddings is not about Lekman's life per se—it's about love and loss, heartbreak and hope, and ultimately, about the way music plays us through our lives. We're so pleased to have Jens join me for this conversation. We discuss the new album, when weddings indicate to him a sense of if a couple is going to make it or not, his thoughtful blog, and what it was like to re-record some of his classics albums after sample clearances were unable to be obtained. Join in for this conversation about love, music, and art on Transmissions. If you dig this talk, please visit Aquarium Drunkard for more. We're supported by our subscribers and over on the site you can find 20 years worth of conversations, playlists, reviews, essays and more.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 16, 2025 is: debunk • dee-BUNK • verb To debunk something (such as a belief or theory) is to show that it is not true. // The influencer remained enormously popular despite having the bulk of their health claims thoroughly debunked. See the entry > Examples: “Conspiracy theorists (and those of us who argue with them have the scars to show for it) often maintain that the ones debunking the conspiracies are allied with the conspirators.” — Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2025 Did you know? To debunk something is to take the bunk out of it—that bunk being nonsense. (Bunk is short for the synonymous bunkum, which has political origins.) Debunk has been in use since at least the 1920s, and it contrasts with synonyms like disprove and rebut by suggesting that something is not merely untrue but is also a sham—a trick meant to deceive. One can simply disprove a myth, but if it is debunked, the implication is that the myth was a grossly exaggerated or foolish claim.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 15, 2025 is: askance • uh-SKANSS • adverb Askance means "in a way that shows a lack of trust or approval" or "with a side-glance." // I couldn't help but look askance at the dealer's assurances that the car had never been in an accident. // Several people eyed them askance when they walked into the room. See the entry > Examples: "In other cultures they might look askance at such a gnarly, leggy thing wedged into a loaf. But we know that a whole fried soft shell crab is one of the gifts of southeast Louisiana's robust seafood heritage." — Ian McNulty, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate Online, 1 May 2025 Did you know? As with the similar word side-eye, writers over the years have used askance literally when someone is looking with a side-glance and figuratively when such a glance is conveying disapproval or distrust. Back in the days of Middle English you could use askaunce and a-skans and a-skaunces to mean “in such a way that,” “as if to say,” and “artificially, deceptively.” It's likely that askance developed from these forms, with some help from asqwynt meaning “obliquely, askew.” Askance was first used in the 16th century with the meaning "sideways" or "with a sideways glance.”
Welcome to Glenn Robison's Rapidly Rotating Records, bringing you vintage music to which you can't not tap your toes, from rapidly rotating 78 RPM records of the 1920s and '30s. Do you know who these fellows are? They're the pioneering western swing band The Light Crust Doughboys and you'll hear three of their records in […] The post A “Dictionary” Edition of RRR # 1,312 September 7, 2025 appeared first on Glenn Robison's Rapidly Rotating 78 RPM Records.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 14, 2025 is: perpetuity • per-puh-TOO-uh-tee • noun Perpetuity refers to a state of continuing forever or for a very long time. // The property will be passed on from generation to generation in perpetuity. See the entry > Examples: “This isn't new territory for the band—beginning with 2018's Modern Meta Physic, Peel Dream Magazine have taken cues from bands like Stereolab and Pram, exploring the ways that rigid, droning repetition can make time feel rubbery. As they snap back into the present, Black sings, ‘Millions of light years, all of them ours.' The past and future fold into themselves, braided together in perpetuity.” — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 4 Sept. 2024 Did you know? Perpetuity is a “forever” word—not in the sense that it relates to a lifelong relationship (as in “forever home”), but because it concerns the concept of, well, forever. Not only can perpetuity refer to infinite time, aka eternity, but it also has specific legal and financial uses, as for certain arrangements in wills and for annuities that are payable forever, or at least for the foreseeable future. The word ultimately comes from the Latin adjective perpetuus, meaning “continual” or “uninterrupted.” Perpetuus is the ancestor of several additional “forever” words, including the verb perpetuate (“to cause to last indefinitely”) and the adjective perpetual (“continuing forever,” “occurring continually”). A lesser known descendent, perpetuana, is now mostly encountered in historical works, as it refers to a type of durable wool or worsted fabric made in England only from the late 16th through the 18th centuries. Alas, nothing is truly forever.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 13, 2025 is: consummate • KAHN-suh-mut • adjective Someone or something described as consummate is very skilled or accomplished. Consummate can also mean “of the highest degree” and “complete in every detail.” The adjective is always used before the noun it describes. // Ever the consummate professional, the planner ensured that no one attending the event was aware of all the elements that had not gone as planned. See the entry > Examples: “... KEM's legacy serves as a blueprint for excellence. Offstage, his charm extends beyond the microphone. Friends and collaborators describe him as a consummate gentleman and leader with an infectious sense of humor.” — Raquelle Harris, Vibe, 25 July 2025 Did you know? Consummate is a consummate example of a word that's shifted in meaning over the centuries. A 15th century addition to the language ultimately from Latin consummare, meaning “to sum up, finish,” the word first described something that has been brought to completion. Shakespeare used the word this way in Measure for Measure: “Do you the office, friar; which consummate, Return him here again.” By the early 16th century consummate had taken on the meaning of “complete in every detail.” Today it usually describes someone or something extremely skilled and accomplished, but it can also describe that which is supremely excellent, as well as that which is simply extreme.
Have you ever wondered what it really means to be made in the image of God? Genesis 1:27 reveals that being created in God’s image isn’t just about our unique qualities—it’s about our purpose. In Scripture, God appoints humanity to represent His character and authority on earth, reflecting His love, order, and goodness wherever we go. This devotional explores the deeper biblical meaning behind being made in God’s likeness, revealing how we were created not only with identity but also with divine responsibility. Like royal ambassadors, we are called to bring light into darkness, peace into chaos, and God’s presence into every sphere of influence. ✨ Highlights Being made in God’s image goes beyond identity — It’s about living out God’s authority and reflecting His goodness. Purpose and responsibility — We are meant to represent God’s character wherever we live, work, and influence others. A biblical perspective — Ancient Near Eastern kings used statues to represent their reign; in the same way, we represent God’s kingdom on earth. Humanity’s mission — Bring God’s order, kindness, and love into the spaces around you, from your home to your community. Practical reflection — Use your unique gifts not only to build yourself up but to magnify God’s presence and goodness in the world.
Welcome to this brand-new episode of Light ‘Em Up!We've had our cake and ate it too (and it was delicious) celebrating achieving our 100th episode!Now it is time to get back to work. Thank you to all of our previous guests, listeners and fans who contacted us, sharing warm, caring and nice thoughts about the show.We are truly here for you and because of you!On this fact-finding, incendiary and investigative episode of Light ‘Em Up, we'll interrogate the question:— Why does someone join a cult?Is it because of their:— desire for belonging,— search for purpose or— emotional vulnerability …Some of these, none of these or ALL of these and more?Is the MAGA movement a cult? What does MAGA mean to America? And we examine charismatic leadership.— What makes a person charismatic to where countless people revere, worship, follow them, perhaps ultimately giving their lives for what THEY believed in?We'll explore all of this through the intersection of violent extremism and the radicalization process with a little Greek history lesson sprinkled into the mix — as we continue our quest to use data to improve democracy!Cults, like gangs, fall in the realm of deviance, and both types of groups encourage members to become situationally dependent on the "group identity."Both gangs and cults recruit members based on the human need to be accepted and a part of a group that will affirm personal significance.The fact pattern shows it clearly: Militant, nationalistic, white supremacist-violent-extremism has increased in the United States.According to the American Psychological Association's Dictionary of Psychology, a cult is “a religious or quasi-religious group characterized by unusual or atypical beliefs, seclusion from the outside world, and an authoritarian structure. Cults tend to be highly cohesive, well organized, secretive, and hostile to nonmembers.”Hardened through years of social upheaval, conspiracy rhetoric, and loyalty tests, the voting bloc known as the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, has evolved into a subculture marked by deep emotional identification with Donald Trump, and his:— rejection of institutional legitimacy, and— a worldview shaped less by shared policy preferences than by a shared sense of grievance and defiance.At the heart of the MAGA movement lies a narrative of persecution and betrayal.For many Trump supporters, their embrace of the 34-times-convicted felon, despite his endless stream of observable falsehoods and incendiary rhetoric, is not rooted in traditional (Ronald) Reagan-like conservatism but in a belief that he alone articulates their alienation. They seem to need a Superhero.He is their “revenge”. He has said as much, as well. MAGA members feel violated and offended by everyone that isn't them.This sentiment is frequently reflected in the language of victimhood:Are MAGA members perpetually victims?In 2024, Trump was not merely a candidate, but a martyr under siege by “corrupt elites” … according to him and his “Klan” of followers and supporters.We're calling on you to employ your critical thinking skills throughout this entire episode as we examine in depth behavior that explains the step-by-step process in becoming a tyrant and behaviors that would normally repulse traditional voters, which is celebrated by MAGA supporters as authenticity.Tune in and follow our sponsors Newsly and Feedspot!We want to hear from you!
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 12, 2025 is: flummox • FLUM-uks • verb To flummox someone is to confuse or perplex them. // The actor was easily flummoxed by last-minute changes to the script. See the entry > Examples: “If Thursday crosswords flummox you, remember that it's much better for your stress level to do your best and sharpen your skills than to become angry because you aren't sure what's going on.” — Deb Amlen, The New York Times, 11 June 2025 Did you know? When it comes to the origins of flummox, etymologists are, well, flummoxed. No one really knows where the word comes from. The first known print use of the verb flummox appeared in Charles Dickens' novel The Pickwick Papers in the mid-1830s, while the adjective flummoxed appeared italicized a few years earlier in a Dublin newspaper article about laborers striking against employers who oppose their rights: “Lord Cloncurry is actually flummoxed. The people refuse to work for him.” To be flummoxed by something is to be utterly confused by it—that is, to be baffled, puzzled, bewildered, completely unable to understand. Fortunately, a word can be used even if everyone is flummoxed by its etymology, and by the end of the 19th century, flummox had become quite common in both British and American English.
Microsoft and OpenAI have issued a joint statement to say that they have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for the "next phase" of their partnership. The companies are still finalizing the terms of agreement and haven't shared the details of what their future would look like exactly. In other tech news, Grok has once again been caught spreading blatant misinformation on X. In several bizarre exchanges, the chatbot repeatedly claimed that Charlie Kirk was "fine" and that gruesome videos of his assassination were a "meme edit." And, Merriam-Webster and its parent company Encyclopedia Britannica are the latest to take on AI in court. The plaintiffs have sued Perplexity, claiming that AI company's "answer engine" product unlawfully copies their copyrighted materials. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 11, 2025 is: zoomorphic • zoh-uh-MOR-fik • adjective Zoomorphic describes things that have the form of an animal. // The local bakery is famous for its wide variety of zoomorphic treats, from “hedgehog” dinner rolls to delicate, swan-shaped pastries. See the entry > Examples: “The oldest known ceramics come from a handful of sites in the Czech Republic and date back to about 28,000 B.C.E., roughly 10,000 years after the Neanderthals went extinct. A now iconic figure of a woman and assorted ceramics were found at a Czech site called Dolni Vestonice in 1925. Additional anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines were found over the ensuing decades, and in 2002 fingerprints were discovered on many of the objects.” — Jaimie Seaton, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 July 2024 Did you know? The first-known use of zoomorphic in English is a translation of the French word zoomorphique, used in a mid-19th century book on paleography to describe an ornately designed Greek letter in a manuscript from the Middle Ages: “The text commences with a zoomorphic letter, formed of two winged dragons, united by the tails, the open space being ornamented with elegant arabesques, composed of leaves and flowers …” The zoo in zoomorphique comes from the Greek noun zôion, meaning “animal,” and morphique from morphē, meaning “form.” The translation of zoomorphique to zoomorphic made perfect sense given the the existence of a similarly constructed word, anthropomorphic (“having human form”), which made its debut half a century earlier.
Show #2493 Show Notes: The Blood of the Martyrs is the Seed of the Church: https://burlesonchurchofchrist.com/acts-7-the-blood-of-the-martyrs-is-the-seed-of-the-church/ Revival at OSU: https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/an-invitation-to-jesus-event-celebrates-2nd-year-of-baptism-after-viral-turnout-in-2024-columbus-ohio-osu-baptisms-caleb-downs-sonny-styles-courageous-athlete-players-ohio-state-football Romans 8: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208&version=KJV Rise Up O Men Of God: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZLlX2_VKFg&list=RD-ZLlX2_VKFg&start_radio=1 ‘Zealot’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/zealot Russ Dizdar – The Black Awakening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24YDQ29KGZk Jezebel website paid Etsy witches to curse Charlie Kirk: https://www.jezebel.com/we-paid-some-etsy-witches-to-curse-charlie-kirk?s=04&sfnsn=mo Meghan Kelly on Charlie Kirk: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1223642702864838 Romans 9:30-33: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%209%3A30-33&version=KJV Charlie Kirk article: https://www.npr.org/2025/09/10/nx-s1-5537068/charlie-kirk-shot-utah-university-campus
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 10, 2025 is: griot • GREE-oh • noun The term griot refers to any of a class of musician-entertainers of western Africa whose performances include tribal histories and genealogies. The term is also used broadly to refer to a storyteller. // Tracing her family lineage back to West African griots inspired the singer to focus on storytelling through her music. See the entry > Examples: “Music is both the subject and mechanism of Sinners, which opens with a voiceover history of how some musicians, dating back to the West African griots, have been seen as conduits between this world and the one beyond.” — Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 22 Apr. 2025 Did you know? In many West African countries, the role of cultural guardian is maintained, as it has been for centuries, by griots. Griot—a borrowing from French—refers to an oral historian, musician, storyteller, and sometimes praise singer. (Griots are called by other names as well: jeli or jali in Mande and gewel in Wolof, for example). Griots preserve the genealogies, historical narratives, and oral traditions of their tribes. Among the instruments traditionally played by griots are two lutes: the long-necked, 21-string kora, and the khalam, thought by some to be the ancestor of the banjo.
Show #2492 Show Notes: Jude 4: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jude&version=KJV ‘Lasciviousness’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/lasciviousness God’s Chosen Ones Never Go To Church: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1117664223075404 Matthew 15:9 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2015%3A9&version=KJV ‘Tradition’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/tradition Rome never fell: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?mibextid=wwXIfr&v=1192015406071475&rdid=RDm2FB765p1vYYBB Statue of Liberty: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/21KluLlJqiY Nathan Apffel on the Shawn Ryan Show – Megachurches: https://youtu.be/cw0jjxI1SCY?si=ZI9Yg82ASpqvMTKj 9-11 debunked: https://www.facebook.com/reel/943805957938909 Refiner’s Fire: https://refinersfire2025.com/
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 9, 2025 is: insinuate • in-SIN-yuh-wayt • verb To insinuate something (especially something bad or insulting) is to say it in a subtle or indirect way. Insinuate can also mean "to gradually make (oneself) a part of a group, a person's life, etc., often by behaving in a dishonest way." // When the teacher questioned the students about their identical test answers, they knew she was insinuating that they had cheated. // They have managed to insinuate themselves into the city's most influential social circles. See the entry > Examples: "... when perennial talk among beachgoers about where to spend those beautiful but fleeting summer days involves rumors that, perhaps Narragansett is, say, uninviting to nonlocals, officials contend that just isn't true. 'When people say that or insinuate that Narragansett Town Beach is unfriendly or unwelcoming to nonresidents, this is absolutely untruthful,' said Parks and Recreation director Michelle Kershaw." — Christopher Gavin, The Boston Globe, 3 Nov. 2024 Did you know? Insinuating involves a kind of figurative bending or curving around your meaning: you introduce something—an idea, an accusation, a point of view—without saying it directly. The winding path is visible in the word's etymology: insinuate comes from the Latin verb sinuare, meaning "to bend or curve," which in turn comes from the Latin noun sinus, meaning "curve." The influence of Latin sinus is visible elsewhere too: in the mathematical terms sine and cosine, the adjective sinuous ("having many twists and turns"), and the noun sinus ("any of several spaces in the skull that connect with the nostrils").
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 8, 2025 is: sanguine • SANG-gwin • adjective Sanguine is a formal word that today almost always describes someone who is confident and hopeful, or something that shows confidence and hopefulness. Sanguine can also describe something that is bloodred in color, something involving or relating to bloodshed, or a person's reddish complexion. // The young group of entrepreneurs is sanguine about the future of their business. See the entry > Examples: “[David] Corenswet is remarkably sanguine about a film that has been the subject of immense scrutiny. The trailer is the most watched in the history of either DC or Warner Bros. Though he may not want the burden of Superman's success or failure on his, yes, broad shoulders, it will land there anyway.” — Eliana Dockterman, Time, 1 Apr. 2025 Did you know? If you're the sort of cheery, confident soul who always looks on the bright side no matter what happens, you may be described as sanguine. Sanguine traces back to the Latin noun sanguis, meaning “blood,” and over the centuries the word has had meanings ranging from “bloodthirsty” to “bloodred,” among other things in that (ahem) vein, so how did it also come to mean “hopeful”? During the Middle Ages, health and temperament were believed to be governed by the balance of different liquids, or humors, in one's body: phlegm, black bile, yellow bile, and blood. Those lucky people who were governed by blood were strong, confident, and even had a healthy reddish glow (all that blood, you know)—they were, in a word, sanguine. In time, the physiological theory behind the humors was displaced by scientific medicine, but the word sanguine is still commonly used to describe those who are cheerfully confident.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 7, 2025 is: behest • bih-HEST • noun Behest can refer either to an authoritative order or an urgent prompting. // The committee met again at the senator's behest. // At the behest of her friends, Marcie read the poem aloud. See the entry > Examples: “... Raymond Carver and I were selecting stories for our American Short Story Masterpieces. When Ray and I worked on our selections, we would meet in Manhattan, where I lived, or in Syracuse, New York, where he lived. ... Each morning we'd read and then meet for lunch and talk about what we'd read. After lunch we'd read some more, and at dinner we talked about the afternoon's reading. Sometimes we'd reread at the other's behest.” — Tom Jenks, LitHub.com, 2 Aug. 2024 Did you know? In Return of the Jedi, the villain Darth Vader speaks with an old-timey flair when he asks his boss, the Emperor, for instructions: “What is thy bidding, my master?” If the film's screenwriters wanted him to sound even more old-timey, however, they could have chosen to have him ask “What is thy behest?” As a word for a command or order, behest predates bidding in English by a couple centuries, dating all the way back—long, long ago, though still in this galaxy—to the 1100s. Its Old English ancestor, the noun behǣs, referred to a promise, a meaning that continued on in Middle English especially in the phrase “the land of behest” but is now obsolete. The “command” sense of behest is still in good use, typically referring to an authoritative order, whether from an emperor or some other high-ranking figure. Behest is now also used with a less forceful meaning; it can refer to an urgent prompting, as in “an anniversary showing of classic films at the behest of the franchise's fans.”
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 6, 2025 is: mollify • MAH-luh-fye • verb To mollify someone is to make them less angry. Mollify can also mean "to reduce in intensity." // The celebrity's statement was intended to mollify critics. // Time mollified her anger. See the entry > Examples: "The philanthropic move is likely meant to mollify angry residents who are protesting against the celebrity-filled spectacle being held in their historic backyard." — Madeleine Marr, The Miami Herald, 25 June 2025 Did you know? Mollify is particularly well-suited for referring to the action of soothing emotional distress or anger and softening hard feelings: the word comes from the Latin adjective mollis, meaning "soft." Mollis is also the root of the English adjective emollient, used to describe something (such as a hand lotion) that softens or soothes, and the noun mollusk, which refers to any one of a large group of animals (such as snails and clams) that have a soft body without a backbone and that usually live in a shell.
Juliet, from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, once asked, “What's in a name?” Our hosts, Christine and Renee, had the same exact question. In this episode, not only do they talk about the etymology of their names and relevant words to this podcast, but the days of the week. In understanding the evolution of these words, we start to understand the energy these days hold. Imagine organizing your week by the energy of each day and finding more flow
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 5, 2025 is: histrionic • hiss-tree-AH-nik • adjective Histrionic is a word used disapprovingly to describe someone or something that is too emotional or dramatic. // The head chef had a penchant for dish throwing, door slamming, and other histrionic displays of temper whenever a dish was sent back to the kitchen. See the entry > Examples: “‘Where did I put 'em?/ Where'd I misplace 'em?/ Where did I leave 'em?/ Where did you take 'em?' With a barrage of questions ... Jordan Hawkins kicks off his latest single in the throes of borderline histrionic emotional turmoil—as converted by a vocal performance that primarily trades in growls, rasp and impassioned falsetto ...” — Kyle Denis, Billboard, 10 Feb. 2025 Did you know? If you're already familiar with the history of histrionic, take a bow. But if you're still waiting (in the wings or elsewhere) to learn, we've got you covered. The adjective histrionic traces back to the Latin noun histrio, meaning “actor.” Something described as histrionic tends to recall the high drama of stage and screen, and especially the theatrical form known as melodrama, where characters have very strong or exaggerated emotions. But something that is histrionic isn't always overdone; histrionic is also used (though less frequently) simply to describe something related to acting or the theater, as in “histrionic talent/skills.” Note that the noun histrionics refers to either theatrical performances, or, more commonly, to a deliberate display of emotion for effect, as in “parents used to the child's histrionics.”
Author : Arden Baker Narrator : Jess Lewis Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Adam Pracht The Combat Pilot's Dictionary was originally published in Aurealis #167, Febuary 2024. Wartime action and injury. The Combat Pilot's Dictionary By Arden Baker Boot Rookie pilot. See also – nugget. You called us ‘boots' when we turned up to […] Source
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 4, 2025 is: abeyance • uh-BAY-unss • noun Abeyance is a formal word that is almost always used in the phrase “in abeyance” to describe something in a temporary state of inactivity—that is, something in a state of suspension. // The legal case is now being held in abeyance while the parties attempt to find a mutually acceptable solution. See the entry > Examples: “A restaurant popular with college students ... will temporarily lose its liquor license for more than a week in October after the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission found multiple underage patrons consuming alcohol. ... The actual liquor license suspension issued lasts for 18 days, but only nine of those days must be served, from Oct. 7 to 15, according to the report. The other nine days ‘will be held in abeyance for a period of two years provided no further violations' are found ...” — Katelyn Umholtz, Boston.com, 12 Sept. 2024 Did you know? Jaw-dropping suspense is at the etymological heart of abeyance: the word's Anglo-French forbear joined parts meaning “to open wide” and “to have the mouth wide open; gape, pant.” Almost always partnered with the word in, abeyance refers to a temporary lull in activity—a state of suspension (and perhaps suspense) before an action continues. If something, such as a plan or contract, is in abeyance, it is temporarily unable to take effect, be enforced, etc. When first borrowed into English in the early 16th century, abeyance referred to a lapse in succession during which there exists no person with a legal right to an estate or title of nobility; think of a property or title in this type of abeyance as being in a state of limbo, waiting for a rightful heir or owner. This meaning comes directly from its Anglo-French ancestor, which took the jaw-dropping suspense implied in the word's parts and applied it to the edge-of-one's-seat feeling when you don't know who the next Earl or Countess will be.
What is the center of Paul's theology? Traditionally, Protestants taught that justification by faith was the center. More recently, scholars proposed reconciliation, union with Christ, and transformation as the center. In The Affections of Christ Jesus, Nijay K. Gupta proposes love as the center. “The language of love in one form or another occurs over one hundred times in the Pauline corpus,” he writes. “Furthermore, every single letter contains love language — that cannot be said for other contenders for the so-called center of Paul's thought.” In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Gupta about what love is and why it may be “the bull's-eye center” of Pauline theology. I'm George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Nijay K. Gupta is Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary. He is editor of Dictionary of Paul and His Letters (2nd ed.), The State of Pauline Theology, and most recently, The Affections of Christ Jesus: Love at the Heart of Paul's Theology, published by Eerdmans. ————— This episode of the Influence podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Open When . . . Parenting through Everyday Moments. In Open When . . . Parenting through Everyday Moments, child development professionals and Christian education experts discuss the most common parenting scenarios faced by families today. Readers will be empowered with knowledge, tools, and strategies for navigating the complexities of each issue while also nurturing the child's spirit through scriptural application. For more information about Open When . . . Parenting through Everyday Moments visit MyHealthyChurch.com.
In this episode, we explore the fall of Rehoboam as recorded in 1 Kings 14:21–31 and the unique way the writer of Kings presents God's response to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. While Northern Israel's rebellion often led to swift judgment, Judah's kings were disciplined differently—not because they were better, but because of the Davidic covenant. God had pledged that every person sitting on the throne in Jerusalem would be a descendant of David. That promise shaped how He dealt with David's line: not with ultimate destruction, but with fatherly discipline.We unpack why Rehoboam's reign—though under David's shadow—was deeply compromised. The writer twice mentions Rehoboam's mother as an Ammonitess, likely highlighting the spiritual influence of Molech/Milcom, the Ammonite god on his life and leadership. The text also points to Judah's descent into worshiping Asherah, a deity known for gender confusion and even called the “walker on water.” This religious influence may trace back to Solomon's alliance with Hiram of Tyre, whose Phoenician religous culture likely shaped Israel during the Temple's construction.We examine how this spiritual corruption showed up: idolatry, sexual perversion, and idolatrous worship on high places—all of which distorted Israel's calling to be a light to the nations. Instead of standing apart, they became just like the peoples around them—part of the problem instead of the solution.But then, we pivot to Mark 6:45–46, where Jesus, Israel's true King, retreats to a high place—not for idolatry, but to pray. From there, He walks on water—not as a divine stunt, but as a fulfillment of Israel's longings. Where Israel's kings failed, Jesus succeeds. Where Asherah was wrongly worshiped as a "god who walks on water," Jesus actually does—revealing not a false god, but the true Son of God, come to complete the journey Israel had left undone.This episode offers a striking contrast between Rehoboam's failure and Jesus' faithful kingship, inviting us to see God's light breaking into Israel's darkness—a thread of hope woven towards the end of the most tragic chapters of the Old Testament.Key Passages: 1 Kings 14:21-31Mark 6:45-46Entry for Asherah in Dictionary of Deities and DemonsExplainer Video on how to use www.biblehub.com and www.blueletterbible.orgLeave us a question or comment at our website podcast page.* Intro Music: "Admirable" Carlos Herrera Music
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 3, 2025 is: trivial • TRIV-ee-ul • adjective Something described as trivial is of little worth or importance. // Although her parents initially dismissed her love of pop music as a trivial matter, it became clear as she applied to colleges with strong popular music programs that much of her life was going to be dedicated to it. See the entry > Examples: "No matter how trivial an activity might be, most people seem to feel an innate need to get better at it—whether it's kids learning double Dutch, me just shooting baskets in the driveway or somebody else proud at how much better he's getting at flipping pancakes." — David Brooks, The New York Times, 30 Mar. 2025 Did you know? When English speakers adopted the word trivial from the Latin word trivialis in the 16th century, they used it to mean just what its Latin ancestor meant: "found everywhere, commonplace." But the source of trivialis is about something more specific: trivium, from tri- ("three") and via ("way"), means "crossroads; place where three roads meet." The link between the two presumably has to do with the commonplace sorts of things a person is likely to encounter at a busy crossroads. Today, the English word typically describes something barely worth mentioning. Such judgments are, of course, subjective; feel free to mention this bit of trivia to anyone and everyone who crosses your path.
Show #2487 Show Notes: Christian Men Must Be Dangerous: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpAX1ssBGqg Lord’s Prayer: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%2011%3A2-4&version=KJV Romans 14 (MSG): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2014&version=MSG Romans 14 (KJV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%2014&version=KJV The Kingdom of God: https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+the+kingdom+of+god&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS1145US1145&oq=what+is+the+kingdom+of+god&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqDggAEEUYJxg7GIAEGIoFMg4IABBFGCcYOxiABBiKBTIHCAEQABiABDIHCAIQABiABDIHCAMQABiABDIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQABiABDIHCAYQABiABDIHCAcQABiABDIHCAgQABiABDIHCAkQABiABNIBCTc5MjBqMGoxNagCCLACAfEFhraySK0UgC4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Trump flips on Warp Speed: https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/trumps-reversal-on-warp-speed-opens?publication_id=1119676&r=2wednm Acts 7:44-60 (NKJV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%207%3A44-60&version=NKJV ‘Transformed’: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/transformed Last Words: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1730173970924998
In this episode of Let's ComBinate: Drugs + Devices, we welcome back Susan Neadle, author of The Combination Products Handbook. Susan explores the persistent and evolving challenge of terminology in combination products—a problem that continues to create confusion and regulatory risk even in 2025.Susan emphasizes the need for alignment on terminology and regulatory expectations, highlighting that true progress requires a science- and risk-based perspective. The discussion also covers how GMP requirements are interpreted differently in pharma versus medtech, the ongoing challenges of global harmonization, and why cohesive language is essential for compliance, inspection readiness, and effective product development.Episode Chapters00:00 Introduction and Welcome00:25 The Lexicon Problem in Drug-Device Combination Products01:01 Historical Efforts and Challenges02:12 Regulatory Frameworks and Definitions04:47 Industry and Regulatory Alignment Issues06:55 Science and Risk-Based Perspectives10:08 Terminology and Definitions in Practice14:05 Global Regulatory Differences17:22 Challenges in Harmonizing Standards23:13 Key Terms and Their Impact32:23 Conclusion and Contact InformationSusan Neadle is a recognized international Combination Products, Medical Device, and Digital Health expert with over 35 years industry experience. She has just published “The Combination Products Handbook: A Practical Guide” through Taylor & Francis Group/Routledge/CRC Press. Her leadership, innovation, and best practices have been recognized with several awards, including the 2022 ISPE Joseph X. Philips Professional Achievement Award for extraordinary contributions to the industry; 2021 TOPRA Award Finalist for Regulatory Affairs Excellence; and the Johnson Medal, Johnson & Johnson's highest honor for excellence in Research & Development. Susan retired from a distinguished and impactful career at Johnson & Johnson and is now Principal Consultant at Combination Products Consulting Services LLC, providing international quality, regulatory affairs, and design excellence services, to the biopharma, biotech, and medical device industries. She continues to fulfill her passion in this space as Chair of the ISPE Combination Products CoP, and Lead Author in Combination Products Working Groups through ASTM International and AAMI standards committees. Susan teaches curricula in Combination Products through UMBC, AAMI, and DIA, as well as customized training upon request. She is also active in multiple industry working groups including CPC, AFDO/RAPS, DIA, TOPRA and PQRI, and enjoys speaking at a variety of industry forums. Susan can be reached at sneadle@combinationprod.com Subhi Saadeh is a Quality Professional and host of Let's Combinate. With a background in Quality, Manufacturing Operations and R&D he's worked in Large Medical Device/Pharma organizations to support the development and launch of Hardware Devices, Disposable Devices, and Combination Products for Vaccines, Generics, and Biologics. Subhi serves currently as the International Committee Chair for the Combination Products Coalition(CPC) and as a member of ASTM Committee E55 and also served as a committee member on AAMI's Combination Products Committee.For questions, inquiries or suggestions please reach out at letscombinate.com or on the show's LinkedIn Page.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 2, 2025 is: carp • KAHRP • verb To carp is to complain in an annoying way. // They're always carping about their boss. See the entry > Examples: “David Fincher and Brad Pitt are together again with the sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood—written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by David Fincher. ... And while I hear people carping about the wig on Brad Pitt—to quote Caddyshack, ‘you'll take what you get and like it' …” — Sasha Stone, AwardsDaily.com, 29 July 2025 Did you know? Though someone might hypothetically carp about the fish known as carp, the similarity between the words is wholly coincidental. Both entered the English language in the 15th century but from different sources. Like many terms for plants and animals adopted at that point in the language's history, the fish's name traces back to Late Latin, but the verb is of Scandinavian origin. It shares an ancestor with the Icelandic verb karpa, meaning “to dispute.” We promise there's nothing fishy about that.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 1, 2025 is: epitome • ih-PIT-uh-mee • noun Epitome means "a perfect example." It is usually used in the phrase "the epitome of," as in "the epitome of elegance." // In his tailored suit and fashionable haircut, he was the very epitome of style. See the entry > Examples: "The image of Diana standing on a polo field in a white British Lung Foundation sweatshirt is one of the most iconic images of the late princess. Dressed in jeans, a baseball cap, cowboy boots and a blazer over the logo crewneck, Princess Diana—who served as patron of the foundation—looked the epitome of '80s cool." — Kristin Contino, Marie Claire, 27 June 2025 Did you know? Epitome first appeared in print in the early 16th century, when it was used to mean "summary." If someone asks you to summarize a long paper, you effectively cut it up, mentioning only the most important ideas. The etymology of epitome reflects this process: it comes from Greek epitemnein, meaning "to cut short." Your summary probably also presents all the key points of the original work, which may explain why epitome eventually came to be used for any person or object that is a clear or good example of an abstraction, as in "the epitome of grace" or "the epitome of health."
Dr. Mary Ellen Sanders, an expert in probiotic microbiology, helps us decode the often confusing world of probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics by explaining their scientific definitions, evidence-based benefits, and practical applications for gut health (and beyond). This episode has been sponsored by Activia.• Probiotics are live microorganisms that confer health benefits when consumed in adequate amounts• For something to be called a probiotic, it must be alive, defined to the strain level, and tested in the research setting for health benefits• When selecting probiotics, look for products with strain designations and doses guaranteed through end of shelf life, not just "at time of manufacture"• The US Probiotic Guide (usprobioticguide.com) offers independent assessments of probiotic products and their evidence levels, including specific conditions or symptoms• Specific probiotic benefits include supporting gut function during antibiotic use, reducing respiratory infections, and decreasing crying in colicky babies• Prebiotics are substrates (often fibers, but also polyphenols) that feed beneficial gut bacteria• Research suggests about 5 grams of prebiotics daily may be beneficial• Postbiotics are beneficial preparations of dead microorganisms or their components, challenging the notion that microbes must be alive to benefit health• When trying probiotics, consult with your health care provider first, as there are some conditions in which they are contraindicated. • Multi-strain probiotics and synbiotics are commonly available but rarely tested in their exact formulationsReferences and resources: Clinical Guide to Probiotic Products Available in USA http://www.usprobioticguide.comResearch review: Is There Evidence to Support Probiotic Use for Healthy People? https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2161831324000991?via%3DihubInternational Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics www.ISAPPscience.org Perspectives on products combining functional ingredients without testing the product as formulated:Cunningham M, et al.. The influence of product formulation on the activity and clinical outcomes of probiotic and prebiotic products. Trends Food Sci Technol: 112, June 2021, Pages 495-506.Sanders ME, et al. 2014. Effects of genetic, processing, or product formulation changes on efficacy and safety of probiotics. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1309(1):1-18.Probiotic product survey: Merenstein DJ, Guzzi J, Sanders ME. 2019. More Information Needed on Probiotic Supplement Product Labels. J Gen Intern Med. 34(12):27Learn more about Kate and Dr. Riehl:Website: www.katescarlata.com and www.drriehl.comInstagram: @katescarlata @drriehl and @theguthealthpodcastOrder Kate and Dr. Riehl's book, Mind Your Gut: The Science-Based, Whole-body Guide to Living Well with IBS. The information included in this podcast is not a substitute for professional medical advice, examination, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider before starting any new treatment or making changes to existing treatment.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 31, 2025 is: simpatico • sim-PAH-tih-koh • adjective Simpatico typically describes two or more people or things with shared qualities, interests, etc. It can also describe someone who is agreeable or likeable. // Even though they weren't always simpatico with regard to the direction of their company, the pair managed to be successful partners for more than 35 years. See the entry > Examples: “From the early 2010s, when he was a young teen rapper in Chicago ... Chief Keef was flooding his Instagram with self-documentation, all of which is essentially gone now. Enter Eduard Taberner Pérez, an amateur archivist and professional graphic designer, who compiled ‘Sosa Archive,' a limited-run art book that gathers several thousand photos pulled from Keef's Instagram, presenting then in visually simpatico grids of 12.” — Jon Caramanica, The New York Times, 5 Mar. 2025 Did you know? Simpatico, which comes ultimately from the Latin noun sympathia, meaning “sympathy,” was borrowed into English from both the Italian simpatico and Spanish simpatico. In those languages, the word has been chiefly used to describe people who are well-liked or easy to get along with. Early uses of the word in English reflected those of their forebears, as in Henry James's 1881 novel The Portrait of a Lady, in which one character says of another's dying cousin, “Ah, he was so simpatico. I'm awfully sorry for you.” In recent years, however, the word has gained an additional sense describing things or people who get along well or work well together.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 30, 2025 is: protocol • PROH-tuh-kawl • noun Protocol most often refers to a system of rules explaining the correct conduct and procedures to be followed in a formal situation; in computer programming a protocol is a set of rules used in formatting data. Protocol can also refer to a plan for a scientific experiment or medical treatment, or to a document that describes the details of a diplomatic treaty. // What is the proper protocol for declining a job offer? // My doctor recommended a simplified treatment protocol for my condition. See the entry > Examples: "Back in the UK, it's still unclear what kind of royal life, if any, lies ahead for Archie and Lilibet. While they hold their princely and princess titles, bestowed upon them following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, their day-to-day lives in Montecito are a world away from palace protocol." — Faye James, Hello Magazine, 15 July 2025 Did you know? In Late Greek, the word prōtokollon referred to the first sheet of a papyrus roll bearing the date of its manufacture. In some instances, it consisted of a flyleaf that was glued to the outside of a manuscript's case and provided a description of its contents. Coming from the Greek prefix prōt- ("first") and the verb kollan ("to glue together"), prōtokollon gave us our word protocol. In its earliest uses in the 15th century, the word referred to a record of a document or transaction. By the turn of the 18th century it was being used for the original record or minutes of a diplomatic negotiation, and still later for the etiquette observed by heads of state in ceremonies and relations with other dignitaries. This sense has since extended in meaning to cover any code of proper conduct.
Take Me to Church. In this episode, we read Bo Giertz's "Christ's Church: Her Biblical Roots, Her Dramatic History, Her Saving Presence, Her Glorious Future." The Church, who is she? What kind of life is present within the church walls? Who wants to understand that life better and know more about it? We read Christ's Church and take you on a walk from her biblical roots toward her glorious future. SHOW NOTES: Owen Barfield Bio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Barfield Barfield 1517 Article https://www.1517.org/articles/unsung-inklings-owen-barfield Poetic Diction https://owenbarfield.org/selected-books/poetic-diction/ Anthroposophy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthroposophy John Moriarty https://www.johnmoriarty.ie Milgichrist https://www.ted.com/talks/iain_mcgilchrist_the_divided_brain Tolkien's Dictionary https://dn720808.ca.archive.org/0/items/bim_early-english-books-1641-1700_dictionarium-saxonico-la_somner-william_1659/bim_early-english-books-1641-1700_dictionarium-saxonico-la_somner-william_1659.pdf Christ the Appletree https://hymnary.org/text/the_tree_of_life_my_soul_hath_seen Chaucer - The Knight's Tale https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/knights-tale-0 More from 1517: Support 1517 Podcast Network: https://www.1517.org/donate-podcasts 1517 Podcasts: http://www.1517.org/podcasts 1517 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1517org 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/1517-podcast-network/id6442751370 1517 Events Schedule: https://www.1517.org/events 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education: https://academy.1517.org/ What's New from 1517: Sinner Saint by By Luke Kjolhaug: https://shop.1517.org/products/9781964419152-sinner-saint The Impossible Prize: A Theology of Addiction by Donavan Riley: https://shop.1517.org/products/9781962654708-the-impossible-prize Ditching the Checklist by Mark Mattes: https://shop.1517.org/products/9781962654791-ditching-the-checklist Broken Bonds: A Novel of the Reformation, Book 1 of 2 by Amy Mantravadi: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1962654753?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_FCNEEK60MVNVPCEGKBD8_5&starsLeft=1 More from the hosts: Donovan Riley https://www.1517.org/contributors/donavon-riley Christopher Gillespie https://www.1517.org/contributors/christopher-gillespie MORE LINKS: Tin Foil Haloes https://t.me/bannedpastors Warrior Priest Gym & Podcast https://thewarriorpriestpodcast.wordpress.com St John's Lutheran Church (Webster, MN) - FB Live Bible Study Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/356667039608511 Donavon's Substack https://donavonlriley.substack.com Gillespie's Substack https://substack.com/@christophergillespie Gillespie's Sermons and Catechesis http://youtube.com/stjohnrandomlake Gillespie Coffee https://gillespie.coffee Gillespie Media https://gillespie.media CONTACT and FOLLOW: Email mailto:BannedBooks@1517.org Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BannedBooksPod/ Twitter https://twitter.com/bannedbooks1517 SUBSCRIBE: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BannedBooks Rumble https://rumble.com/c/c-1223313 Odysee https://odysee.com/@bannedbooks:5 Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/banned-books/id1370993639 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2ahA20sZMpBxg9vgiRVQba Overcast https://overcast.fm/itunes1370993639/banned-books
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 29, 2025 is: incisive • in-SYE-siv • adjective Incisive means "impressively direct and decisive." It is generally applied to either something communicated in a way that is very clear and direct, or to a person who is able to explain difficult ideas clearly and confidently. // The columnist is known for her incisive commentary on local politics. See the entry > Examples: "'Death Becomes Her' might be a combination of an uproarious camp sensibility and the grotesquely macabre, but it also contains incisive social critiques—of impossible beauty standards for women, the difficulties of aging, and the lengths people will go to maintain their youthful looks." — Christopher Wallenberg, The Boston Globe, 1 June 2025 Did you know? An incisive person doesn't hem and haw—they get straight to the point. The original meaning of incisive, from around 1600, was "having a cutting edge or piercing point"; the modern meaning of "impressively direct and decisive" has been part of English since the mid-1800s. Incisive is a close relative of incisor, which refers to a front tooth typically adapted for cutting, so it's no surprise that incisive has a specific meaning in dentistry, describing that which is of, relating to, or situated near the incisors. Both incisive and incisor come from the Latin verb caedere, meaning "to cut." English is rich in cuttings from the fruitful stem of caedere: some examples to sink your teeth into are scissors, chisel, incise ("to cut into or engrave"), excise ("to remove by cutting"), incision ("cut" or "gash"), precise ("minutely exact"), and concise ("brief").
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 28, 2025 is: diminution • dim-uh-NOO-shun • noun Diminution is a formal word that refers to the act or process of becoming less. // The company is committed to seeing that efforts to scale up production do not result in a diminution of quality. See the entry > Examples: “A sense of abasement hovers over the performer of the Super Bowl halftime show. It is slight, but it is there. ... The gig—a live gig—is essentially done for free. It ends, the performer is spirited away, and the multi-million-dollar commercials and multi-million-dollar game resume. It's popular music as the doula to football. The next morning, everyone makes big talk about history and legend-making; the feeling of diminution lingers.” — Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025 Did you know? In his late 14th century tragic poem Troilus and Criseyde, Geoffrey Chaucer employed the word diminution, contrasting the verb encrece (“increase”) with the phrase “maken dyminucion” (“make diminution”). Like many words Chaucer used, diminution came to English from Anglo-French, and ultimately from the Latin word deminuere, meaning “to diminish,” which is also an ancestor of the English verb diminish. That word entered the language in the 15th century, and the related noun diminishment, a synonym of diminution, was adopted in the 16th century.
Grab a beer and join us tonight as we cover Monica Lewinsky and Amanda Knox teaming up, plus “skibidi” and other new dictionary entries. We break down their new Hulu series and why they say they partnered. Then we talk about Cambridge adding “skibidi” and what that word actually means. Finally, we'll give our thoughts on both stories. https://www.necronomipod.com https://www.patreon.com/necronomipod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 27, 2025 is: nebulous • NEB-yuh-lus • adjective Nebulous is a formal word used to describe something that is difficult to see, understand, or describe—in other words, something indistinct or vague. // A lot of philosophical concepts can seem nebulous at first, but a good instructor can cut through the jargon and help students see how they apply to day-to-day life. See the entry > Examples: “[Rob] Harvilla began to notice the blurred lines of late-Nineties genres as he produced his podcast 60 Songs That Explain the ‘90s and while writing its corresponding book. ‘The late Nineties were a weird, transitional wasteland,' he says. All of these genres that had such stark lines in the Nineties have now become a more nebulous concept, blending into one supergenre of just ‘Nineties music.'” — Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 21 July 2025 Did you know? Nebulous may sound otherworldly—after all, it's related to nebula, which refers to an interstellar cloud of gas or dust—but its mysteriousness is rooted in more earthly unknowns. Both words ultimately come from Latin nebula, meaning “mist, cloud,” and as far back as the 14th century nebulous could mean simply “cloudy” or “foggy.” Nebulous has since the late 17th century been the adjective correlating to nebula (as in “nebulous gas”), but the word is more familiar in its figurative use, where it describes things that are indistinct or vague, as when Teju Cole wrote of an avant-garde photographer who viewed photography as existing “neither in the camera nor in the printed photograph, but in a more nebulous zone.”
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 26, 2025 is: trepidation • trep-uh-DAY-shun • noun Trepidation refers to a feeling of fear that causes someone to hesitate because they think that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen. // The students felt a sense of trepidation upon being summoned to the principal's office. See the entry > Examples: "Met by some with cautious optimism, others with trepidation, and others with doomsday predictions, there is no doubt that AI is here to stay and changing work in ways yet to be fully revealed." — Laurel Donnellan, Forbes, 28 May 2025 Did you know? If you've ever trembled with fright, you know something of both the sensation and etymology of trepidation. The word comes from the Latin verb trepidare, which means "to tremble." (Trepidare also gave English the verb trepidate, meaning "to feel nervous or apprehensive," but that word is now considered archaic.) Early meanings of trepidation, such as "tremulous motion" or "tremor," reflect its "shaky" origins. Over time, however, those senses gave way to our modern meaning referring to fearful hesitancy.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 25, 2025 is: undulant • UN-juh-lunt • adjective Undulant describes things that rise and fall in waves, or things that have a wavy form, outline, or surface. // The exhibit featured a painting with beautiful green strokes that resembled undulant hills. See the entry > Examples: “Though tightly bound by our love of books, we bibliophiles are a sundry lot, managing our obsession in a grand variety of ways. We organize by title, by author, by genre, by topic. By color, by height, by width, by depth. … We stack books into attractive still lifes accompanied by a single tulip in a bud vase, or into risky, undulant towers poised to flatten a passing housecat.” — Monica Wood, LitHub.com, 7 May 2024 Did you know? If you're looking for an adjective that encapsulates the rising and falling of the briny sea, wave hello to undulant. While not an especially common descriptor, it is useful not only for describing the ocean itself, but for everything from rolling hills to a snake's sinuous movement to a fever that waxes and wanes. The root of undulant is, perhaps unsurprisingly, unda, a Latin word meaning “wave.” Other English words swimming the wake of unda include inundate, “to cover with a flood,” and undulate, “to form or move in waves.”
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 24, 2025 is: cloister • KLOY-ster • verb To cloister someone or something is to shut the person or thing away from the world. // The scientist cloistered himself in his laboratory all weekend to finish analyzing data. See the entry > Examples: “Now, the past Melbourne High student body president and co-valedictorian is planning to step down Jan. 20 after serving nearly four years as NASA's administrator. ... ‘My constitution is such that I'm not going to retire. And what I said is, I'm going to cloister myself and write a book. And then, we'll see what happens,' [Bill] Nelson, who is now 82, told reporters Wednesday during a roundtable discussion at the Kennedy Space Center Press Site.” — Rick Neale, Florida Today, 19 Dec. 2024 Did you know? Cloister first entered the English language as a noun in the 13th century, referring then (as it still does) to a convent or monastery. More than three centuries later, English speakers began using the verb cloister to mean “to seclude in or as if in a cloister.” Today, the noun can also refer to the monastic life or to a covered and usually arched passage along or around a court. You may also encounter the adjective cloistered with the meaning “separated from the rest of the world [as if in a cloister],” as in “She leads a private, cloistered life in the country.” Cloister ultimately comes from the Latin verb claudere, meaning “to close.” Other words that can be traced back to the prolific claudere include close, conclude, exclude, include, preclude, seclude, and recluse.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 23, 2025 is: flagrant • FLAY-grunt • adjective Something may be described as flagrant if it is conspicuously bad—that is, too bad to be ignored. // In a flagrant violation of the family's code of ethics, someone finished the ice cream and left the empty container in the freezer. See the entry > Examples: "'It wasn't such a brilliant thought to sit on an artwork,' Vanessa Carlon, the museum's director, tells the New York Times' Claire Moses. Carlon says the incident highlights just how far people will go to get a good photo, as well as their flagrant lack of accountability. 'These two people decided to escape,' she adds. 'That was the behavior that really offended us.'" — Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 June 2025 Did you know? A flagrant foul in sports involves no flame or literal heat—it's just too conspicuously bad for referees to ignore—but the roots of flagrant are hot, hot, hot. In Latin, flagrāre means "to burn," and flagrans means "flaming" or "fiery" (both carry meanings relating to literal flames as well as the figurative flames of passion). When it was first used in the 16th century, flagrant had the same "flaming, fiery" meaning as flagrans, but by the 18th century it had acquired its current meaning of “conspicuously bad or offensive.” (Another flagrāre descendant in English, conflagration, retained its "fiery" meaning.) Some usage experts warn against using flagrant and blatant interchangeably. While both words apply to noticeable lapses, they are not true synonyms. Blatant (likely from a Latin word meaning “to chatter”) typically describes a person, action, or thing that attracts disapproving attention (e.g., "a blatant grammatical error"), while flagrant carries a heavier connotation of offense often for violated morality (e.g., "flagrant abuse of public office").
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 22, 2025 is: apathy • AP-uh-thee • noun Apathy refers either to a lack of feeling or emotion, or to a lack of interest or concern. // Though the girl's expression communicated apathy, Gina knew her daughter was actually very pleased at having won the poetry prize. // While the previous mayor's administration responded to the community's needs with little more than apathy, city hall under the new leadership is making real changes. See the entry > Examples: “I find myself shrugging a lot more. And answering, ‘That seems true.' And saying the exact same thing to the opposing argument. ... I've found myself concerned about my apparent apathy and disinterest in picking fights. On the flip side, I'm an easier person to be around.” — Mari Andrew, How to Be a Living Thing: Meditations on Intuitive Oysters, Hopeful Doves, and Being a Human in the World, 2025 Did you know? Once more without feeling! While its siblings antipathy, sympathy, and empathy refer to often strong emotions, whether tender or terrible, apathy is unconcerned with all that. Whether one is feeling blasé, indifferent, or—to use a more recent coinage—meh, apathy is the perfect word for such a lack of passion. At the root of apathy and its kin is páthos, a Greek word meaning “experience, misfortune, or emotion,” which led first to the adjective apathḗs (“not suffering, without passion or feeling, impassive”) and then the noun apatheîa before passing through Latin and Middle French on its way to English. The prefix a- in both means “without.” The other aforementioned páthos descendants are, of course, supplied with their own prefixes that give clues to their respective meanings: anti- (“opposite”), sym- (“at the same time”), and em- (“in” or “within”).
Little Plastic Castles. In this episode, we read the first Inkling, Owen Barfield, as he defends the use of old words, old stories, and old ways of expressing what's good, beautiful, and true against modern proponents that argued for more modern “scientific” ways of judging language, esp., poetics and myth, as well as religion and culture. SHOW NOTES: Owen Barfield Bio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Barfield Barfield 1517 Article https://www.1517.org/articles/unsung-inklings-owen-barfield Poetic Diction https://owenbarfield.org/selected-books/poetic-diction/ Anthroposophy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthroposophy John Moriarty https://www.johnmoriarty.ie Milgichrist https://www.ted.com/talks/iain_mcgilchrist_the_divided_brain Tolkien's Dictionary https://dn720808.ca.archive.org/0/items/bim_early-english-books-1641-1700_dictionarium-saxonico-la_somner-william_1659/bim_early-english-books-1641-1700_dictionarium-saxonico-la_somner-william_1659.pdf Christ the Appletree https://hymnary.org/text/the_tree_of_life_my_soul_hath_seen Chaucer - The Knight's Tale https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/knights-tale-0 More from 1517: Support 1517 Podcast Network: https://www.1517.org/donate-podcasts 1517 Podcasts: http://www.1517.org/podcasts 1517 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1517org 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/1517-podcast-network/id6442751370 1517 Events Schedule: https://www.1517.org/events 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education: https://academy.1517.org/ What's New from 1517: Sinner Saint by By Luke Kjolhaug: https://shop.1517.org/products/9781964419152-sinner-saint The Impossible Prize: A Theology of Addiction by Donavan Riley: https://shop.1517.org/products/9781962654708-the-impossible-prize Ditching the Checklist by Mark Mattes: https://shop.1517.org/products/9781962654791-ditching-the-checklist Broken Bonds: A Novel of the Reformation, Book 1 of 2 by Amy Mantravadi: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1962654753?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_FCNEEK60MVNVPCEGKBD8_5&starsLeft=1 More from the hosts: Donovan Riley https://www.1517.org/contributors/donavon-riley Christopher Gillespie https://www.1517.org/contributors/christopher-gillespie MORE LINKS: Tin Foil Haloes https://t.me/bannedpastors Warrior Priest Gym & Podcast https://thewarriorpriestpodcast.wordpress.com St John's Lutheran Church (Webster, MN) - FB Live Bible Study Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/356667039608511 Donavon's Substack https://donavonlriley.substack.com Gillespie's Substack https://substack.com/@christophergillespie Gillespie's Sermons and Catechesis http://youtube.com/stjohnrandomlake Gillespie Coffee https://gillespie.coffee Gillespie Media https://gillespie.media CONTACT and FOLLOW: Email mailto:BannedBooks@1517.org Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BannedBooksPod/ Twitter https://twitter.com/bannedbooks1517 SUBSCRIBE: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BannedBooks Rumble https://rumble.com/c/c-1223313 Odysee https://odysee.com/@bannedbooks:5 Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/banned-books/id1370993639 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2ahA20sZMpBxg9vgiRVQba Overcast https://overcast.fm/itunes1370993639/banned-books
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 21, 2025 is: validate • VAL-uh-dayt • verb To validate something is to show that it is real or correct. Validate can also mean “to state or show that something is legal or official,” “to put a mark on something to show that it has been checked and is official or accepted,” and “to show that someone's feelings, opinions, etc., are fair and reasonable.” // The company's claims about its latest product are yet to be validated. // You can get discounted parking by having your parking garage ticket validated at the museum's ticket desk. // The decline in sales only validated our concerns about the menu changes. See the entry > Examples: “Rather than capitulate to the common assumption that all Korean immigrants and Korean Americans perceive Korea to be one's home, or America for that matter, Clay Walls serves to fully contextualize and validate one's sense of home and homeland, and the possibility of multiple homes and homelands ...” — David S. Cho, introduction to Clay Walls by Kim Ronyoung, 2024 Did you know? When validate first entered the language in the mid-17th century, its meaning was tied fast to its close relative, the adjective valid, meaning “executed with the proper legal authority and formalities”: to validate something, such as a marriage or treaty, was to make it legally valid. This meaning is still current, but the word is now used in nonlegal and informal contexts as well. If the museum you visit validates your parking garage ticket, you're given an official mark on the ticket and you do not have to pay full price for parking. If someone's claims cannot be validated, those claims cannot be confirmed. And if a coach puts an untested player into the game and the player scores the winning point, the player's strong performance validates the coach's decision.
Buck v. Bell is the 1927 SCOTUS decision that upheld the constitutionality of laws allowing involuntary sterilization of people deemed to be “unfit.” Most of these laws have been repealed, but Buck v. Bell has never been directly overturned. Research: "Buck v. Bell." Gale Encyclopedia of American Law, edited by Michael J. Tyrkus and Carol A. Schwartz, 4th ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2022, pp. 174-177. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX8276200650/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=84626437. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025. “BUCK v. BELL, Superintendent of State Colony Epileptics and Feeble Minded.” https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/274/200 Brosnahan, Cori. “Finding Carrie Buck.” American Experience. 11/2/2018. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/eugenics-finding-carrie-buck/ Circuit Court of Amherst County. "Judgment Against Carrie Buck (April 13, 1925)" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). Web. 06 Aug. 2025 https://encyclopediavirginia.org/primary-documents/judgment-against-carrie-buck-april-13-1925/ Derrig, Collin. “Buck v. Bell in the Aftermath of Dobbs v. Jackson: The Supreme Court’s Opportunity to Correct a Hundred-Year-Old Injustice.” University of Cincinnati Law Review Blog. 6/17/2025. https://uclawreview.org/2025/06/17/buck-v-bell-in-the-aftermath-of-dobbs-v-jackson-the-supreme-courts-opportunity-to-correct-a-hundred-year-old-injustice/ Disability Justice. “The Right to Self-Determination: Freedom from Involuntary Sterilization.” https://disabilityjustice.org/right-to-self-determination-freedom-from-involuntary-sterilization/ Dobbs, J.T.. "Petition to Commit Carrie Buck (January 23, 1924)" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). Web. 06 Aug. 2025 https://encyclopediavirginia.org/primary-documents/petition-to-commit-carrie-buck-january-23-1924/ Fair, Alexandra. “The Sterilization of Carrie Buck.” OSU.edu. https://origins.osu.edu/read/sterilization-carrie-buck General Assembly. "An ACT to define feeble-mindedness (1916)" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). Web. 06 Aug. 2025. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/primary-documents/an-act-to-define-feeble-mindedness-1916/ General Assembly. "Chapter 46B of the Code of Virginia § 1095h–m (1924)" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). Web. 06 Aug. 2025. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/primary-documents/chapter-46b-of-the-code-of-virginia-%c2%a7-1095h-m-1924/ Harris, Jasmine E. “Why Buck v. Bell Still Matters.” The Petrie-Flom Center. 10/14/2020. https://petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2020/10/14/why-buck-v-bell-still-matters/ Larson, Edward J. “Putting Buck v. Bell in Scientific and Historical Context: A Response to Victoria Nourse.” Pepperdine University. 12/15/2011. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1353&context=plr Lombardo, Paul A. "Facing Carrie Buck. (essay)." The Hastings Center Report, vol. 33, no. 2, Mar.-Apr. 2003, pp. 14+. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A101259980/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=46aca03c. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025. Lombardo, Paul A. "Involuntary sterilization in Virginia: from Buck v. Bell to Poe v. Lynchburg." Developments in Mental Health Law, vol. 3, no. 3, July-Sept. 1983, pp. 13+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A235104880/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=aad8cdbf. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025. Lombardo, Paul. “In the Letters of an ‘Imbecile,’ the Sham, and Shame, of Eugenics.’ Undark. 10/4/2017. https://undark.org/2017/10/04/carrie-buck-letters-eugenics/ Oberman, Michelle. “Thirteen Ways of Looking at Buck v. Bell: Thoughts Occasioned by Paul Lombardo’s Three Generations, No Imbeciles.” Journal of Legal Education, Volume 59, Number 3 (February 2010). https://jle.aals.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1268&context=home Smith, J., and Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "Carrie Buck (1906–1983)" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). Web. 06 Aug. 2025. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/buck-carrie-1906-1983/ Thompson, Philip. “Silent Protest: A Catholic Justice Dissents in Buck v. Bell.” The Catholic Lawyer. Vol. 43, No. 1, spring 2004. https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/tcl/vol43/iss1/ Wolfe, Brendan. "Buck v. Bell (1927)" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (12 Feb. 2021). Web. 06 Aug. 2025 https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/buck-v-bell-1927/ Lombardo, Paul A. “Carrie Buck’s Pedigree.” J Lab Clin Med 2001;138:278-82. doi:10.1067/mlc.2001.118091 Lombardo, Paul A. “Three Generations, No Imbeciles.” Johns Hopkins University Press. 2008. Gould, Stephen J. “Carrie Buck's Daughter.” Constitutional Commentary. 1015. 1985. https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/concomm/1015 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 20, 2025 is: salient • SAIL-yunt • adjective Something described as salient is very important or noticeable. // The assignment was to write down the most salient points made in the article. // One salient feature of the band's music is the variety of different genres it incorporates into a singular sound. See the entry > Examples: "All actors use their bodies, but [Zoe] Saldaña has long been on another plane. She doesn't just interpret characters, she moves through them with such salient physicality that her body often has as much to say as the dialogue she speaks." — Gia Kourlas, The New York Times, 28 Feb. 2025 Did you know? When salient first hopped into English, it described things—animals especially—that move by jumping, springing, or leaping. Small wonder, then, that the word comes from the Latin verb salire, meaning "to leap." (Polyglots may also recognize the influence of salire on the Spanish verb salir, meaning "to leave," and the French verb saillir, meaning "to jut out.") Today, salient is usually used to describe things that "leap out" in a figurative sense, such as the salient features of a painting or the salient points made in an essay or argument.
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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 19, 2025 is: euphemism • YOO-fuh-miz-um • noun A euphemism is a mild or pleasant word or phrase that is used instead of one that is unpleasant or offensive. // The HR department advises using the euphemism “let go” instead of saying that someone was fired. See the entry > Examples: “The new model supposedly has fewer hallucinations—a common euphemism for when AI models produce inaccurate or misleading results.” — Antonio Pequeño IV, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025 Did you know? There are times when circumstances call for a gentler or pleasanter word or phrase rather than the most direct one. Such words and phrases are known as euphemisms, with the word euphemism coming, fittingly, from the Greek word eúphēmos, meaning “sounding good.” Powder room, for example, is one of many euphemisms in the English language for a lavatory, aka the place where one goes when one requires the use of a toilet and sink. (Actually, we are hard pressed to find a non-euphemistic word for such a room; like powder room, the terms bathroom, restroom, and washroom all tiptoe around the often-primary reason one has for visiting it.) Similarly love handles is a euphemism for fatty bulges along the sides of one's body at the waist, though as everyone who's ever snuggled up to a loved one endowed with such bulges knows, love handles is a much better descriptor for what makes a person extra snuggly.
“Skibidi”, “tradwife” and “delulu” are among the new words to have made this year's Cambridge Dictionary in a selection that confirms the increasing influence of the TikTok generation on the English language. Upset at the noise a landscaper's lawn mower was making, a Florida Man retrieved a dagger from his car and threatened the worker with the weapon, according to cops who say the accused “was wearing a full ‘jester' costume during the incident and arrest.” A woman in Kentucky is accused of pouring salt in her ex's car engine and putting glitter in the AC. A California man who recently became trapped behind a waterfall for two days while climbing was dramatically rescued by police utilizing a helicopter. FOLLOW TNR ON RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/c-7759604 FOLLOW TNR ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/7zlofzL... FOLLOW TNR ON APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... WEBSITE: https://nextroundlive.com/ MOBILE APP: https://nextroundlive.com/the-ne.... SHOP THE NEXT ROUND STORE: https://nextround.store/ Like TNR on Facebook: / nextroundlive Follow TNR on Twitter: / nextroundlive Follow TNR on Instagram: / nextroundlive Follow everyone from the show on Twitter: Jim Dunaway: / jimdunaway Ryan Brown: / ryanbrownlive Lance Taylor: / thelancetaylor Scott Forester: / scottforestertv Tyler Johns: /TylerJohnsTNR Sponsor the show: sales@nextroundlive.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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