Word of the Day

colloquialism (noun) - informal word or phrase appropriate to 

familiar, everyday conversation.  Colloquialisms are more 

acceptable than slang in a wider social context.

• You're gettin' just a little bit too big for your britches.  
• I may have to take you down a notch or two.
• There were so many people you couldn't stir them with a stick.

slang (noun) - informal nonstandard vocabulary peculiar to a particular 

group.

• I have to give her props for that website!  (Slang for accolades.)
• Looks like Rick will be next to get pagonged.  (A Survivor fan's word for fired.)
• Call the data-dink, the system has crashed again.  (Slang for computer expert.)

Word of the Day

deus ex machina (noun) - literally meaning "god out of a machine," 

describes an artificial, or improbable, character, device, or event 

introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a 

situation or untangle a plot.  Having its origins in the conventions 

of Greek tragedy, it refers to situations in which a mechane (crane) 

was used to lower actors playing a god or gods onto the stage.

The deus ex machina plot device is parodied in Mel Brook's 

"History of the World:  Part 1." Near the end, the king's body 

double is about to be executed when a horse named "Miracle" 

arrives and rescues the double and his friends.  When the 

double comments that the time gap is too big for one man to 

live through, the driver retorts that the movie is only fiction 

so it does not matter.

Word of the Day

liaison (noun) - 1:  relationship, interrelationship, 2:  intercommunication 

established and maintained between entities to ensure mutual understanding, 

unity of action, and especially prompt and effective support

When spelling the word "liaison," Arthur tended to forget that there was 

an "i" before the "a".

Word of the Day

Adamant (adjective) - unshakable or immovable, especially in      opposition Adamancy (noun) - unyielding quality : condition or fact of  being stubborn or obstinate  Not to be confused with: Adam Ant - 1980s rocker best known for "Goody Two Shoes,"     "Strip," and "Wonderful" The rock-in-roll star was adamant that he raise money for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in order to save the gorillas and their habitat. In his adamancy, he rewrote his famous "Stand and Deliver" song to be "Save the Gorillas".