Definition: A person of wide knowledge or learning. The word comes from ‘polumathes’—a 17th-century Greek word that means ‘having learned much’. Polymaths are usually associated with the explosion of art, creativity and critical thinking that happened during the Renaissance. One example was Leonardo da Vinci—a great painter, sculptor, cartographer and writer, who may have invented [...]
January 26 is Republic Day—the date in 1950 that India’s constitution came into effect. Marking the end of British rule in India, the new constitution is the People of India’s statement of justice, liberty and equality. This is not just a country reacting against 90 years of unequal treatment and exploitation by outsiders, but a rejection [...]
Yesterday, I read an article about the ‘true moral bastions of society’ whose efforts are ‘ridiculed, abused and written off …’ Was it about Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement? Volunteer doctors who fly overseas to respond to an ebola outbreak? The Virgin Mary’s mum? No. It’s about someone who is proud to be [...]
I used to see this ad every time we drove through the Valley—it’s hard to miss. (See above!) In case you can’t see the picture, the ad says that this beer has: 50% less calories than wine per millilitre 80% less carbs than a regular beer. But how many calories are we talking about? This [...]
Definition: A vitamin found in citrus fruits and green vegetables. Ascorbic acid is essential for healthy connective tissue. A severe deficiency results in scurvy. Scurvy causes lethargy, bruising, bleeding gums, swollen legs and (if untreated) death. People would get it on long sea voyages. An old word from mediaeval Latin—scorbutic—means ‘affected by scurvy’ or ‘of [...]
Definition: A period of paid leave granted to a university teacher for study or travel, traditionally 1 year for every 7 years worked. Of or pertaining to the Sabbath (archaic). So we’ve been pretty quiet lately. It’s because we were on sabbatical. Yep, I’ve used more sick leave this month than I have used in 7 years. (Sabbaticals [...]
Definition: Act obstructively in a legislative assembly (Parliament), especially by speaking at inordinate length. Stuff I find interesting (even if no one else does): Australian parliamentary rules mean that a filibuster is difficult to pull off here filibusters don’t breach any technical rules—they’re just very inconvenient. Use in a sentence: He is a filibustering windbag.
Did you know that East Edit is on Facebook as well as Twitter? If not, you should. Please like us on Facebook (and in general, really)! I used to hate social media. I shut down my Facebook at least once a quarter. My LinkedIn still lives in 2007 and I thought Twitter was what birds did [...]
Definition: Delay or postpone action. Put off doing something. This word came from the Latin words ‘pro’, meaning ‘forward’ and ‘crastinus’ meaning ‘tomorrow’. Those words fused into the ‘procrastinat-’ prefix—putting off until tomorrow, or until the next day, or sometime. Not now. Celebrated by uni students the world over. And the whole reason I didn’t post [...]
Definition: Composure or coolness shown in danger or under trying circumstances. Sometimes spelled ‘sang-froid’. In French, it literally means ‘cold blood’—English borrowed the word in the 18th century. I think I first read this word in The Three Musketeers—about a 4th musketeer who enjoyed fighting duels (no doubt with a lot of sangfroid) and falling [...]
