behemoth
Aug. 9th, 2025 01:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png)
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 9, 2025 is:
behemoth \bih-HEE-muth\ noun
A behemoth is something of monstrous size, power, or appearance. Behemoth (usually capitalized) is also the name of a mighty animal described in the biblical book of Job.
// The town will be voting on whether or not to let the retail behemoth build a store on the proposed site.
Examples:
"The author ... recounts how his grandfather turned a family spinach farm into an industrial behemoth, and exposes the greed and malfeasance behind the prosperous facade." — The New York Times, 6 July 2025
Did you know?
In the biblical book of Job, Behemoth is the name of a powerful grass-eating, river-dwelling beast with bones likened to bronze pipes and limbs likened to iron bars. Scholars have speculated that the biblical creature was inspired by the hippopotamus, but details about the creature’s exact nature are vague. The word first passed from the Hebrew word bĕhēmōth into Late Latin (the Latin used by writers in the third to sixth centuries), where, according to 15th century English poet and monk John Lydgate it referred to "a beast rude full of cursednesse." In modern English, behemoth functions as an evocative term for something of monstrous size, power, or appearance.
Mood theme
Aug. 8th, 2025 10:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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Birdfeeding
Aug. 8th, 2025 01:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 8/8/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 8/8/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 8/8/25 -- I watered the patio plants and the new picnic table garden.
I picked a red cherry tomato.
EDIT 8/8/25 -- I watered the savanna seedlings.
EDIT 8/8/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and the septic garden.
I found a baby preying mantis on the burn barrel and moved it to the barrel garden.
Cicadas and crickets are singing. I've seen a few fireflies.
As it is now dark, I am done for the night.
winsome
Aug. 8th, 2025 01:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png)
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 8, 2025 is:
winsome \WIN-sum\ adjective
Winsome describes people and things that are cheerful, pleasant, and appealing.
// Though a relative newcomer to acting, Maya won the casting directors over with her winsome charm, which was perfect for the role of the plucky young superhero.
// Our winsome guide put us at ease immediately.
Examples:
“Wilson’s take on Snow White is surprisingly winsome. It delivers a familiar story with a fresh perspective and some unexpected sources of nostalgia.” — Kristy Puchko, Mashable, 19 March 2025
Did you know?
Despite appearances, winsome bears no relation to the familiar word win, meaning “to achieve victory.” The Old English predecessor of winsome is wynsum, which in turn comes from the noun wynn, meaning “joy” or “pleasure.” And the ancestor of win is the Old English verb winnan, meaning “to labor or strive.” Given those facts, one might guess that the adjective winning, meaning “tending to please or delight,” as in “a winning personality,” is a winsome relation, but in fact it’s in the win/winnan lineage. Winning is more common today than the similar winsome in such constructions as “a winning/winsome smile,” but we sense no hard feelings between the two. It’s just the way things (lexically) go: you win some, you lose some.
August Crafts Check In
Aug. 7th, 2025 05:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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Also a question for everyone: How helpful have you found crafting classes? Have you ever taken one? Have you ever taught one? And if you have taught or taken, what was the most helpful tip you've given or received?
Turkey surprise
Aug. 7th, 2025 04:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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She took some seed and called the little ones over as well. We have a stone/dirt driveway where we toss seed on the ground, plus several other feeders nearby on the front porch and edges of the woods.
Birdfeeding
Aug. 7th, 2025 01:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 8/7/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 8/7/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 8/7/25 -- I watered the new picnic table and septic gardens.
EDIT 8/7/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden.
Cicadas and crickets are singing.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
.
adjudicate
Aug. 7th, 2025 01:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png)
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 7, 2025 is:
adjudicate \uh-JOO-dih-kayt\ verb
To adjudicate a dispute between two parties is to make an official decision about which party is right; to adjudicate a case or claim is to settle it judicially. Adjudicate is also used to mean “to act as judge.”
// The case will be adjudicated in the state courts.
// The property title cannot be transferred until a case concerning the affected rights of way is adjudicated.
Examples:
“… [Pete] Rose’s candidacy won’t be adjudicated on the writers’ ballot. According to the Hall’s voting rules, players who are retired for more than 15 years are considered not by 400-plus writers but rather a smaller ‘era committee,’ comprised of a mixture of former players, executives, and media members.” — Scott Lauber, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 14 May 2025
Did you know?
Adjudicate, which is usually used to mean “to make an official decision about who is right in a dispute,” is one of several terms that give testimony to the influence of jus, the Latin word for “law,” on our legal language. Others include judgment, judicial, prejudice, jury, justice, injury, and perjury. What’s the verdict? Latin “law” words frequently preside in English-speaking courtrooms.
Birdfeeding
Aug. 6th, 2025 02:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a mourning dove, and a fox squirrel.
EDIT 8/6/25 -- I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 8/6/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
The day has gotten sunnier and much hotter.
I've seen a house wren screaming its head off at anything that moves.
EDIT 8/6/25 -- I potted up 3 white peach seeds and 4 local yellow peach seeds.
EDIT 8/6/25 -- I did a bit more work around the patio.
I picked 3 red cherry tomatoes and a ball carrot from the septic garden.
EDIT 8/6/25 -- I picked a handful of blackberries from the second-crop bush.
EDIT 8/6/25 -- I pulled a few weeds around the septic garden.
Cicadas and crickets are singing.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
Shark Off Of Halifax
Aug. 6th, 2025 09:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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Still feeling awestruck at the sight of this. Apparently, some sharks do curiosity.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/close-encounter-with-great-white-shark-near-halifax-sparks-awe-disbelief-1.7600371
largesse
Aug. 6th, 2025 01:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png)
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 6, 2025 is:
largesse \lahr-ZHESS\ noun
Largesse is a somewhat formal word that refers to the act of giving away money or the generosity of a person who gives away money. It can also refer to the money that is given away.
// The community has benefited greatly from the largesse of its wealthiest family.
// The local business owner is a philanthropist known for his largesse.
Examples:
"Over the years, ShelterBox USA, an outgrowth of the Rotary Club and named for the relief boxes it distributes, has helped nearly 3 million people in some of the world’s worst disaster zones. It hands out basic survival needs: tents, tools, and household supplies. Twice the organization has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for its life-preserving largesse." — The Olney (Texas) Enterprise, 20 Mar. 2025
Did you know?
The English language has benefited from the largesse of Anglo-French, through which a generous number of words have passed; examples range from simple to account to desert. English speakers owe Anglo-French a huge thanks, in particular, for its adjective large. That word, meaning "generous, broad, or wide," is the source of both largesse and the familiar duo of large and enlarge. Most people understand enlarge to mean "to make larger," but a less common sense (used in Shakespeare's Henry V) is "to set free." Largesse also contains the notion of freedom, specifically with regard to a lack of financial constraints: it's not about having a "large" amount of money but rather being "free" with it. Incidentally, the English word large wasn't about size when it was first adopted in the 13th century. Back then it meant "lavish."
Birdfeeding
Aug. 5th, 2025 01:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a mourning dove, and a fox squirrel.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 8/5/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 8/5/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
I checked the new picnic table and septic garden. No new vegetables to pick, but multiple zinnias are now blooming in shades of red and red-violet. :D Also the first of the giant sunflowers are blooming there.
I am done for the night.