Word For The Day: Monday, July 28, 2003

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary | July 28, 2003 | The Verbivores

[VRWCmember]

Word For The Day, Monday, July 28, 2003: Fugacious

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In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".

quietus \kwye-EE-tus\ noun
1. final settlement (as of a debt)
2. removal from activity; especially death *
3. something that quiets or represses

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Example sentence: "This book is also about the death of Lavrenti Pavlovich Beria, a quietus that for reasons not satisfactorily explained has been placed a year later than it actually occurred." (Ruth Rendell, _The New York Times Book Review_, April 6, 1986)

Did you know?
In the early 1500s, English speakers adopted the Medieval Latin phrase "quietus est" (literally "he is quit") as the name for the writ of discharge exempting a baron or knight from payment of a knight's fee to the king. The expression was later shortened to "quietus" and applied to the termination of any debt. William Shakespeare was the first to use "quietus" as a metaphor for the termination of life: "For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, ...When he himself might his quietus make / With a bare bodkin?" (_Hamlet_). The third meaning, which is more influenced by "quiet" than "quit," appeared in the 19th century. It sometimes occurs in the phrase "put the quietus on" (as in, "The bad news put the quietus on their celebration").

Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the Word for the Day in a sentence.
The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day.

The Review threads are linked for your edification. ;-)
Practice makes perfect.....post on....

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[Gabz]

Good for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[white rose]

As Idi Amin enters into his long-anticipated quietus, I am amazed by how little I knew about this...uh...unusual fellow. I'm not sure what I find more fascinating: The image of the old boy sleeping with a picture of George VI over his bed, or the revelation that he is--yes!--King of Scotland.

Shaping up to be quite a week, isn't it?

[Constitution Day]

*grins*

[Laura Earl]

Flurry says hi to all...he is having server problems and can't get on.

[hobbes1]

Idi, Idi, Idi Amin....
He the Greatest Man the World Has Seen,
He de President, de General, the King of the Sea....
Idi, Idi, Idi Amin....

[Gabz]

ROFLMAO!!!

"Ludwigslust"

[Gabz]

Hi Flurry!!!!!!!!!!!

[Constitution Day]

You just can't make this stuff up!

[white rose]

Was it "Saturday Night Live" that used to call him Idi "VD" Amin?

Ah, the Seventies. What a pesthole of a decade.

[VRWCmember]

Didn't Garrett Morris dress up in a fancy military uniform and do his Idi Amin routine? He was hilarious.

[white rose]

Yes, indeed. It kinda frightens me to realize how well I remember some of this stuff.

[VRWCmember]

One of the funniest skits I remember was with Chevy Chase and Garrett Morris, where Chase was a company HR type who was interviewing Morris. He started a word association test where he would say a word and Morris would respond with the first word that he thought of in response. Chase started using words that could be used as slurs, and Morris got more and more indignant to the point that his final response was "Dead honkey". Chase backed off and very meekly said "Great, so when can you start."

[Laura Earl]

A Classic!

[Argh]

Sheesh! 11.000 dead kittens, and they're all worried about a pussywhipper.

[xsmommy]

all of you boys are on the PETA watch list, never fear....

[VRWCmember]

Yes, but at least we will all have healthy prostates.

[Argh]

I hope it was a happy birthday yesterday, Xs!! And that you didn't get taken to Hot Dogs 'R' Us.

[xsmommy]

thankful to have that prostate health angle to keep working, are we? ; )

[xsmommy]

it was very nice, arghy, thanks for asking!

[Argh]

Prostate, schmostate, I thoroughly intend to eat, drink, and smoke myself to death long before THAT thing kicks in. Which news will just make Miss Whyisa's day.