Posted on 11/14/2013 4:39:32 AM PST by secret garden
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".
mountebank \ˈmau̇n-ti-ˌbaŋk\ noun
1. a person who sells quack medicines from a platform
2. a boastful unscrupulous pretender : charlatan
Example sentences:
In the more open spaces, jugglers and mountebanks, usually accompanied by performing animals, went through all sorts of gambols and antics.
—Lewis Spence
Swindlers and mountebanks throng hither, adroit thieves creep stealthily about, all Indian customs and fashions are represented, all castes jostle each other.
—Karl Ritter Van Scherzer
Etymology:
Italian montimbanco, from montare to mount + in in, on +banco, banca bench. First Known Use: 1577. Mountebank, pronounced "MOUN-tih-bank," has an interesting origin, in the Italian phrase "monta in banco." It describes a "doctor" who would "mount a bench" in the marketplace. Standing a bit higher than the crowd enabled people to hear his sales pitch and see the potions and powders he claimed were medical cures that never failed — claims as bogus as his credentials. A mountebank is a fast-talking crook pretending to be an expert.
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....
Review Thread One: Word For The Day, Thursday 11/14/02: Raffish
Review Thread Two: Word For The Day, Tuesday 1/14/03: Roister
Review Thread Three: Word For The Day, Tuesday 1/28/03: Obdurate
WFB's attempt to emulate us ; ) No pushing at the door please!
that is always nice to hear : )
Ain’t you got a spigot outside for the hose? ;-)
And taught him to learn some skills and get a good job.
would hope she would have turned the water off from inside the house given the freezing and sub freezing temps in the AMs they have had.
There were ice cubes on the end of the hose earlier. It’s 30 out there.
Now that is a trip I’d love to take. Actually I’d rather do it in January for the Northern Lights.
well that is something they hope to see this trip as well, so it must be a possibility even now. i’ll let you know how it was when she comes in on Monday. 6 hour flight from here, and 5 hour time diff. She leaves there at 5pm on Sunday and arrives here at 6pm on Sunday!
That's better than when I fly to Chicago. Leave at 8:05 arrive at 8:10
Do let me know how she liked the trip. That is one I really want to take and some future November, I might be able to pull it off.
once probably 20+ yrs ago in the old house we forgot to turn the water off and it was an expensive fix to repair the burst pipe and drywall. i was on xshub’s back a few weeks back when they forecast below freezing temps to make sure he’d shut it off.
we had my friend Maia and her hub and 2 little girls over for dinner on Tues evening, along with the law prof who works for xshub. it was great fun. the 5 and 3 year olds got over their shyness enough to eat in the dining room at the KIDS TABLE with xsbaby, xsteen and her fiance, while their parents ate in the kitchen, with xshub and i and the prof. it was a rare treat for them to be able to sit and eat and have adult conversation. xsgirls reported on the conversations and it was hilarious. First off, Mirabelle, the older sis was as big of a BOSS as xsteen was to xsbaby apparently, and Neve, the 3 yo would just say stuff and Mirabelle would correct her and say, Actually, that’s not true! they really identified with the big sis/little sis dynamics. The other funny thing was xsfiance came right from work and so was wearing a suit, and so the girls said you’re a daddy, bc he was wearing daddy clothes! their other concern was when xsboy was going to get home for dinner! all three Senior pix hang in the dining room, so they asked about xsboy and they told the girls that he was “at school”, so they were concerned that it was dark out and when was he going to come home to EAT!
oh and Maia, in the midst of our adult conversation must have had her ear cocked to the diningroom bc she put her hands over her mouth and said OMG i think neve is chanting FART FART FART in there! we roared, and after dinner xsgirls reported that indeed she was, and xsbaby mildly reproved saying, i don’t think that’s appropriate dinner conversation! it was a very fun evening, and it was a school night, which made it all the more out of the ordinary.
I only worry about that when it gets really cold, like single digits.
I normally do shut off the outside spigot, but I think the girls are still using it for the chickens. Might have to find alternative methods for them to do that.
Of course, all those blue-eyed blonde Icelandic girls adds something that her friend is probably not interested in.
maybe you needs some space heaters for the coop, too, as well as running water ; )
50 yo and unmarried woman, i am not 100% sure she’s not a lesbian, so....
20 something YOs at the kids table? LOL
We used to use a cheap folding card table when I was growing up.
We have a heater in there. Infrared.
Also have a heated water bowl, but don’t want to employ it unless we really have to. It’s a standard electrical heat element, so not as safe.
After 2 or three drinks maybe she is.
well neither table has sufficient # of chairs to seat everyone at one, and because there is a height variance [kitchen table is bar height with bar chairs] you can’t just pull chairs from one room to the other. so we were going to have to split and that seemed the nicest way to do it. the kids, both 20 somethings and the younger two, had a great time.
I’m glad to see that Chaput seems to get what many of us are concerned about, and to those who howl at me on small government threads for saying that a license bought at the courthouse is a civil contract, but marriage is a sacrament, and a cleric performs marriage ceremonies, I happily quote this-
“Are civil unions or marriage for same-sex couples permitted in the country or state?”
Like I say-they are NOT the same thing...
maybe fewer! i don’t THINK she is, but she is an avid golfer and does have gay friends. If she is gay, she is not out.
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