- NEW!
Answer to:
Plan vs mission - what is the difference in meaning?
Mission
something that you feel you must do because it is your duty
the purpose or the most important aim of an organization:
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/mission
Plan
something you have decided to do:
a set of actions for achieving something in the future, especially a set of actions that has been considered carefully and in detail:
...
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Answer to:
Who said "people are either radiators or drains"?
People are either radiators or drains. - TV commercial
http://www.krysteria.com/quotes/quotestv.html
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Answer to:
What's baby batter?
Ejaculate.
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/baby+batter
semen.
http://onlineslangdictionary.com/definition+of/baby+batter
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=baby+batter
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Answer to:
What is a Salmon Canyon?
The vagina.
(English slang and colloquialisms used in the United Kingdom)
http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/s.htm
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Answer to:
What does hypocrite mean?
hypocrite
somebody who pretends to have admirable principles, beliefs, or feelings but behaves otherwise
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861619671
hypocrisy
A show or expression of feelings or beliefs one does not actually hold or possess
Definition: deceitfulness, pretense
Antonyms: forthrightness, honesty, righteousness,...
Answer to:
Why do some youngsters choose a life in crime? Don't they know crime doesn't pay in the long run?
Our minds are as different as our finger prints -
no two are identical. Palmistry also says the same
thing. Every human is unique. Not only do our
organs differ, but our personalities differ. Each
human develops different goals, and has special
traits or feelings which differ in a million
different ways from others.
http://www.answers.com/Phenomenology
The tendency to commit crimes...
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Answer to:
Do you keep your eyes and ears open looking for new opportunities all the time?
Opportunity is dependent on Karma. If I deserve one, it will come searching for me.
I am happy with what I have.
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Answer to:
I have been given a t-shirt with an old man sitting on a bench and asking "do you want to sit down and unfritter". I would like to know what unfritter means. I am assuming it could be rude... Any ideas? Thanks.
Fritter:
To occupy oneself idly or without clear purpose, to tinker with an unimportant part of a project, to dally, sometimes as a form of procrastination.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fritter
spend frivolously and unwisely
http://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme.cgi?Word=fritter
Answer to:
Would you define me the people called chicken-hearted?
Lacking courage; cowardly.
http://www.answers.com/topic/chicken-hearted
cowardly: easily frightened or lacking sufficient courage, boldness, or confidence
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861687485
not brave; lacking courage; cowardly
"These chicken-hearted bosses always seem to give in at the first sign of a strike. "
...
Answer to:
Can you give definition for opinion?
Opinion
a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty
http://www.hyperdictionary.com/search.aspx?define=opinion
the attitude that you have towards something, especially your thoughts about how it is
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/opinion
Knowledge is objective and factual.
Opinion is a view on something - a personal preference....
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Answer to:
Plan vs mission - what is the difference in meaning?
Mission
something that you feel you must do because it is your duty
the purpose or the most important aim of an organization:
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/mission
Plan
something you have decided to do
a set of actions for achieving something in the future, especially a set of actions that has been considered carefully and in detail:
...
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Answer to:
What does strewth mean?
U.K. - exclamation of surprise or irritation: used to express surprise or irritation ( slang )
[Late 19th century. Contraction of God's truth, an oath]
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=561508313
exclamation AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH INFORMAL AND UK OLD-FASHIONED
used to express surprise or disappointment:
"Strewth, look at the...
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Answer to:
What does this old saying mean to you, "when it rains it pours?"
Alternative form:
it never rains but it pours
If a person encounters bad luck, more bad luck will follow.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/when_it_rains_it_pours
When it rains, it pours describes how after there has been no rain for a long time, it suddenly rains a lot all at once. Example: "It hadn't rained for over two months. Now it has started raining and it has been...
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Answer to:
What does it mean, to “hold a candle to” someone?
Hold a candle
Meaning
To compare badly to an known authority - to be unfit even to hold a subordinate position.
Origin
Apprentices used to be expected to hold the candle so that more experienced workmen were able to see what they were doing. Someone unable even to do that would be of low status indeed.
Sir Edward Dering used a similar phrase 'to hold the candle' in his...
Answer to:
Knowledge vs opinion - what is the difference in meaning?
Opinion
a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty
http://www.hyperdictionary.com/search.aspx?define=opinion
the attitude that you have towards something, especially your thoughts about how it is
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/opinion
Knowledge
all the facts that someone knows about a particular subject
...
Answer to:
What is your worry for the day?
Nothing more than as to how to answer this question.
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Answer to:
Are you in love? How do you know?
Signs of love:
12. You'll read his/her txts over and over again...
11. You'll walk really really slow while you're with him/her...
10. You'll pretend 2 be shy whenever you're with him/her...
9. While thinking bout him/her...your heart will beat faster and faster...
8. By listening to his/her voice...you'll smile for no reason.
7. While looking at...
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Answer to:
Do you think that government should control prostitution? I mean, personally, I don't think it's right, but i don't know why the government should get to decide either?
There is no land in the world where prostitutes are not present. Why control such a universal phenomena.
One man's poison is another man's food.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/60/messages/269.html
Answer to:
Could you give one interpretation of the meaning of the phrase 'To Paint the Town Red'?
Meaning
Engage in a riotous spree.
Origin
The allusion is to the kind of unruly behaviour that results in much blood being spilt. There are several suggestions as to the origin of the phrase. The one most often repeated, especially within the walls of the Melton Mowbray Tourist Office, is a tale dating from 1837. It is said that year is when the Marquis of Waterford and a group of...
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Answer to:
Could you share something miraculous that you witnessed?
I go to our university library to search material for
a topic. I go to the appropriate book rack and pick
some book at random. I open some page - the the topic
appears on that page.
For the first ten such happenings, I have noted all the
details in my diary. For the next fifty happenings, I
have noted only minor details. By now, it has happened more than 400 times, and I stopped...
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Answer to:
What is the difference between complexity and perplexity?
Complexity:
the quality of being intricate and compounded
http://www.hyperdictionary.com/search.aspx?define=complexity
1. complicated nature: the condition of being difficult to analyze, understand, or solve
2. condition of having many parts: the condition of being made up of many interrelated parts
3. complicated thing: one of the interrelated problems or difficulties...
Answer to:
What is choco? Is it a real word. Where do they use it?
English:
Australian) (slang) (possibly offensive) A person with medium-dark skin, such as from the Middle East.
(Australian) (obsolete) A militiaman or conscript, short for chocolate soldier.
(Australian) (slang) An army reservist.
Usage notes:
The slang term for a dark skinned person may be used by such people themselves (the Australian television series Pizza made a good...
Answer to:
What does exile????? ??? I DONT GET IT...please us it in a sentence ....3-4 sentences would do it..thnx..
The king went into exile because of the political situation in his country.
The deposed leaders are currently in exile in the neighbouring country.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=26943&dict=CALD
The government exiled him because of his radical politics.
She fled her country and became an exile in Canada.
http://nhd.heinle.com/Definition.aspx?word=exile
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Answer to:
Whats the oldest language in the world?
The Rig-Veda is the oldest book in the Sanskrit language, indeed in any Indo-European language. More than that, if we are correct, it is the oldest book in the world ... The fact that the Rig-Veda mentions a stellar configuration that corresponds to a date from 6000 B.C. to 7000 B.C.
http://www.valdostamuseum.org/hamsmith/RgVeda.html
Rg Veda was started to be composed around 15000 years...
Answer to:
Satire vs sarcasm - what is the difference in meaning?
Satire
something meant to make fun of and show the weaknesses of human nature or a particular person
http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=satire
a way of criticizing something such as a group of people or a system, in which you deliberately make them seem funny so that people will see their faults
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/satire
Sarcasm
...
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Answer to:
What is the linguistic origin of the English word thought?
From Old English þōht.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/thought?rdfrom=Thought
Psychoanalysis: Thought
Thought may be defined in general as mental activity, conscious or unconscious, based on the various modes of representation, including the most archaic. More narrowly, the meaning of thought may be confined to ideational activity, dependent on the faculty of judgment and on the...
Answer to:
Why do people keep hiding the truths about themselves?
No one knows the power of their own Ahamkaaram (rough equivalent is ego) - it is subconscious.
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Answer to:
Why jealousy is an unavoidable part of human nature?
Jealousy is the subconscious feeling of threat from the betterment of others.
The world does not understand how broad based jealousy is. Usually, jealousy is vaguely assumed to be what lovers quarrel over. It is far more prevalent than that.
http://www.nov55.com/rel/jls.html
Every one has subconscious mind. So is jealousy - it's degrees vary from person to person.
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Answer to:
Will Northern India eventually become a desert after being one of the best irrigated and most fertile regions in the world?
As per the latest findings, the mighty Thar Desert of India sprawling over the northwestern part of the country is expanding in area rapidly. The experts have therefore warned that desertification is emerging as an acute challenge to the country.
http://www.india-server.com/news/indias-thar-desert-expanding-fast-says-1244.html
...
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Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase "cold light of day"?
Idiom: in the cold light of day
Dispassionately, unemotionally, especially at a later time. For example, They had a terrible fight about the mix-up, but in the cold light of day they realized they were both at fault. This expression transfers the illumination of daylight to rational understanding and uses cold to emphasize the lack of passion.
...
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Answer to:
What's the origin of the phrase "tie one on" meaning to get seriously drunk?
From "The Wordsworth Book of Euphemism" by Judith S. Neaman and Carole G. Silver (Wordsworth Reference, New York, 1983, 1990) -- "Tie one on, to - To get drunk. (Eric) Partridge suggests that this expression is derived from 'hang one on' (ca. 1935), which originated in the United States and was later adopted in Canada. It is clear that a 'hangover' -- more...
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Answer to:
Guys are DOUCHEBAGS......So what is the term for females?
vaginal douche
irrigation of the vagina to cleanse the area, to apply medicated solutions to the vaginal mucosa and the cervix.
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Douchebag
douchebag:
Etymology
Derived from the type of bag used by women to douche.
1. (US, slang) A jerk; a mean or rude person.
That douchebag ruined my shrimp cocktail.
Why doesn't that guy...
Answer to:
Given a chance, what foreign language would you learn?
Esperanto - that would be equal to learn all languages of Europe.
http://www.answers.com/topic/esperanto
Answer to:
Have vs get - what is the difference in meaning?
Have:
to get (something)
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/have
v. t. - To get (possession) of; to obtain; to "get".
http://www.dictionary.co.uk/browse.aspx?word=have
http://machaut.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/WEBSTER.sh?WORD=have
to get or receive.
http://www.wordsmyth.net/live/home.php?script=search&matchent=have&matchtype=exact
to get, receive, or...
Answer to:
Do you believe that frequently used words lose their meaning after a while?
The word geek was originally meant a carnival performer whose act consists of outrageous feats such as biting the heads off live animals.
Later, it meant some one regarded as unattractive and socially awkward.
At present, it means some one who is a proud or enthusiastic user of computers or other technology, sometimes to an excessive degree.
...
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Answer to:
How many AB'ers speak a second language well? Which language?
My mother tongue is Telugu - the second language is English.
I wish to thank the members of AB for appreciating my answers and making me the expert of etymology category here.
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Answer to:
Orchestra vs symphony - what is the difference in meaning?
Orchestra
Etymology: from Latin orchestra "the place in front of the stage where prominent persons sit," from Greek orchstra "a semicircular area in front of the stage of a theater where the chorus dances," from orcheisthai "to dance"
a group of musicians who perform instrumental music using mostly stringed instruments
Word History - In front of the...
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Answer to:
What's the opposite of epic failure?
Grand success.
Epic achievement.
Answer to:
An English word that was taken directly from another language?
These words were taken from Telugu - a long time before the periods considered by etymology dictionaries.
(Telugu - T; colloquial Telugu - CT, Latin - L):
attic - L. atticus, T. attaca, 'the top storey of a building under the beams of the roof'
asset - T. aasti, 'tangible possession'
awake - T. vaekuva, 'having become conscious'
baby - ME. babye, T....
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Answer to:
What are you doing if you "go the full monty"?
full monty:
the whole thing; everything that is wanted or needed: At the press briefing, the reporters got the full monty.
Origin:
1985–90; orig. uncert.; perh. from Montague Burton, British tailors, with reference to the purchase of a full (3-piece) suit as being "the full Monty"
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/full+monty
1. Everything that's needed...
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Answer to:
The vocabulary word that uses positive words to mask negative meaning/things?
euphemism
The act or an example of substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive: “Euphemisms such as ‘slumber room’ . . . abound in the funeral business”
Grammar Dictionary: euphemism
An agreeable word or expression substituted for one that is potentially offensive, often having to do with bodily functions, sex, or...
Answer to:
What is your favorite saying?
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
- Mahatma Gandhi - (1869-1948, Indian Political, Spiritual Leader)
Answer to:
Why do we say "pitch black"? What does the "pitch" mean?
"Pitch black" or "black as pitch" refers to "a black or dark viscous substance obtained as a residue in the distillation of organic materials and especially tars." (Merriam-Webster online)
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/31/messages/1033.html
Idiom: black as night
Also, black as coal or pitch. Totally black; also, very dark. For example, The well...
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Answer to:
Origin of the saying "get your bearings"
Idiom: get one's bearings
Also, find one's bearings. Figure out one's position or situation relative to one's surroundings. For example, She's still new to the company and needs time to find her bearings, or I'll be along soon; just wait till I get my bearings. Naturally, one can also lose one's bearings, as in After we missed the turnpike exit, we...
Answer to:
What is meant by a "to-the-point" person?
to the point:
involving the most important idea
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/to+the+point
(idiomatic) relevant or pertinent; succinct; specific.
get to the point - concentrate on the important issue
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/to_the_point
having precise or logical relevance to the matter at hand
...
Answer to:
In vs Into - what is the difference in meaning?
In:
used to indicate location or position within something
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/in
inside an enclosed space
inside e.g. an organization; used as a combining form; "an in-house editor"; "in-home nursing programs"; "the in thing to do"; "large shoulder pads are in"
With reference to circumstances or conditions; as, he is
...
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Answer to:
What does "groove on" mean?
get (one's) groove on:
to have fun dancing
Also get (one's) swerve on.
http://onlineslangdictionary.com/definition+of/get+(one's)+groove+on
(Adult / Slang)
1. To be attracted or attached to.
2. To be in love with.
http://www.definition-of.com/groove%20on
http://www.sex-lexis.com/Sex-Dictionary/groove%20on
Answer to:
Where does the word 'assassin' come from?
ORIGIN Arabic, ‘hashish-eater’, with reference to a fanatical Muslim sect who ruled part of northern Persia 1094-1256 and were reputed to use hashish before murder missions.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/assassin?view=uk
1531 (in Anglo-L. from c.1237), via Fr. and It., from Arabic hashishiyyin "hashish-users," pl. of hashishiyy, from hashish (q.v.). A...
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Answer to:
What does 'my bad' mean, and do Americans use it a lot in both written text and conversations?
Used to acknowledge that one is at fault.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/my+bad
Etymology
Seems to have originated from a phrase by Manute Bol, a player of Sudanese origin for the Golden State Warriors basketball team in California. Other players picked it up and started using it.
(colloquial) My fault; mea culpa.
Yes, I realize the humvee isn't supposed to be parked in the...
Answer to:
What is a boondock?
Philippines - Same as mountain (sense 1)
[Mid-20th century. < Tagalog bundok]
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=561501796
A brushy rural area.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/boondock?rdfrom=Boondock
boondocks:
1910s, from Tagalog bundok "mountain." Adopted by occupying American soldiers in the Philippines for...
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Answer to:
In american tv shows they talk about peoples hair and call it bangs.
what is bangs?
(chiefly US) Hair cut so as to hang down over the forehead.
My bangs keep getting in my eyes when I swim.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bangs
"Bangs," the hair style, does indeed come from the same roots as "bang," the sound of a gun, a slamming door, or countless other abrupt noises. The word "bang" first appeared in written English in the 16th century,...
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Answer to:
Do you know any words of inspiration?
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
Keep your words positive because your words become your behaviors.
If you want something really important to be done you must not merely satisfy the reason, you must move the heart also.
Be the change you want to see in the world.
You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the...
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Answer to:
Besides 'Oh My God', what else could OMG stand for? (Creativity counts)
****** OMG Object Management Group (non-profit organization that oversees CORBA)
****** OMG Omega (gaming)
****** OMG Oh My Gosh
****** OMG Oh My Goodness
***** OMG Oh My Gods (for Wiccans/Pagans or other polytheistic religions)
**** OMG Omnicom Media Group
**** OMG Old Magazines (pulp and paper industry)
**** OMG Oh My Goth
**** OMG Oh Em Gee (clothing business)
**** OMG Oh...
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Answer to:
Does happiness = less stress?
The positive aspects of stress.
Stress stimulates us physically and psychologically. We all seek stress in various ways -- perhaps through a challenging job, exhilarating relationships, competitive games, exciting television programs, dangerous sports, difficult hobbies, vacations to exotic locales, social events where we meet new people, fast cars, roller coasters, horror movies, any...
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Answer to:
Why does sunshine make people more happy?
According to Hindu Upanishads, light provides activity and darkness provides relaxation.
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Answer to:
What do you think of first when you hear the word "antique"?
I am labeled so by some here.
(Sh.........Sh........including my wife ......)
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Answer to:
Are you good at hiding your reaction when somebody surprises or scares you?
Yes. Through the practice of meditation coupled with yoga, I have attained calmness.
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Answer to:
Where does the phrase "There's mud in your eye" come from?
It comes from the trench warfare of World War I, and the implication was
that it would be good fortune only to get mud from the trenches in your
eye, all the other very real possibilities, such as artillery shrapnel,
being absolutely horrific.
This toast was originally made in the muddy trenches of
World War I, or in the cafes where English and American
soldiers spent their leaves...
Answer to:
What is the etymology of the city name "Albany"?
This most comfortable and well-regulated set of chambers, now known as The Albany (UK), stands partly on the site of two houses and long gardens which originally reached as far as Vigo Lane. The first was inhabited in 1715 by Sir John Clarges, and the one toward the east by Lady Stanhope. They were taken down, and another mansion erected, which, in 1725, according to the plans in St....
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Answer to:
Meek vs weak - what is the philosophical difference?
Weak:
having little power or influence
lacking enough or the usual amount of an important ingredient
not likely to persuade or convince people that something is true, real, correct, etc.
not having enough skill or ability
showing little confidence or enthusiasm
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/weak
Meek:
1 : enduring injury with patience and without resentment...
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Answer to:
Do you agree with Caesar that "It is better to create than to learn"?
Creation is the perogative of a few - learning is implied for the rest.
And not every one is capable of learning.
Answer to:
Who first coined the term "silence is golden"?
Meaning
A proverbial saying, often used in circumstances where it is thought that saying nothing is preferable to speaking.
Origin
As with many proverbs, the origin of this phrase is obscured by the mists of time. There are reports of versions of it dating back to Ancient Egypt. The first example of it in English is from the poet Thomas Carlyle, who translated the phrase from German...
Answer to:
"Outstanding" can either mean something that hasn't been resolved yet or something really great. What's up with that?
adjective: owed as a debt
Example: "Outstanding bills"
adjective: distinguished from others in excellence
Example: "Did outstanding work in human relations"
adjective: having a quality that thrusts itself into attention
Example: "An outstanding fact of our time is that nations poisoned by anti semitism proved less fortunate in regard to their own...
Answer to:
Does sober mean to be sexually aroused? cuz people keep telling me different meanings of sober.
verb: cause to become sober
Example: "A sobering thought"
verb: become sober after excessive alcohol consumption
Example: "Keep him in bed until he sobers up"
verb: become more realistic
Example: "After thinking about the potential consequences of his plan, he sobered up"
adjective: not affected by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
...
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Answer to:
What is "PU" stand for?
PU Polyurethane
****** PU Pick Up (oil drilling)
****** PU Pickup (truck)
****** PU Princeton University
****** PU Plutonium
****** PU Purdue University
***** PU Power Up
***** PU Per Unit
***** PU Public Utility
***** PU Physical Unit (IBM)
***** PU Punjab University (Lahore, Pakistan)
***** PU University of the Punjab (Lahore, Pakistan)
***** PU Panjab University...
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Answer to:
What is the "blackboard jungle"?
Informal.
a school or school system characterized by lack of discipline and by juvenile delinquency.
http://dictionary.infoplease.com/blackboard-jungle
Origin:
1950–55; on the model of asphalt jungle; popularized by the novel of the same name (1954) by American author Evan Hunter (b. 1926)
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/blackboard+jungle?r=66
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Answer to:
What do you think of the principles based on which some people avoid all dairy products in their food?
Milk allergy is a food allergy immune adverse reaction to one or more of the proteins in cow's milk.
Symptoms
The principal symptoms are gastrointestinal, dermatological and respiratory. These can translate to: skin rash, hives, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and distress. The clinical spectrum extends to diverse disorders: anaphylactic reactions, atopic dermatitis, wheeze,...
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Answer to:
Do you think paying of a dowry or bride money for a marriage is in violation of human rights?
When a man separates out of the family, his share of property is given to him. Why not the same applies to a woman? Off late, women also have property rights in India.
I took dowry according to that reason - but only a small amount.
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Answer to:
Should college professors be allowed to use vulgar jokes to retain attention of their students?
I have never done that. My knowledge used to draw the attention of the students.
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Answer to:
What is a "blue eyed boy"?
Brit. informal, chiefly derogatory a person highly regarded and treated with special favour.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/blueeyedboy?view=uk
(idiomatic) Someone's favourite, especially a young one.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blue-eyed_boy
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/blue-eyed+boy
informal - the man or boy in a group who is most liked and approved of by...
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Answer to:
What is the meaning of "blue riband"?
(U.K.) Same as blue ribbon
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861686428
1. An emblem, badge, or rosette made of blue ribbon that is awarded as the first prize in a competition.
2. An award or honor given for excellence.
1. a badge awarded as the first prize in a competition
2. (in Britain) a badge of blue silk worn by members of the...
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Answer to:
Where does the myth pennies from heaven come from?
From the OED: "e. pennies from heaven: money acquired without effort or risk; unexpected benefits, esp. financial ones. Also (in sing.): a windfall, a godsend (rare). [1st two citations:] [1928 A. BURSTEIN Ghetto Messenger 91 The gentleman, being cognizant of 'pennies falling from heaven' and other tricks.., appeared to take it seriously.] 1936 J. BURKE (title of song) Pennies...
Answer to:
How many questions have you answered on AB in one day?
About 5 to 10.
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Answer to:
What is appealing about giving senses a primary role in knowledge?
Senses only play a secondary role in knowledge. Inference and deduction play the major role.
In the more general sense any process of reasoning by means of which one draws conclusions from principles or information already known. Thus Isaac Newton talks of making deductions from his experiments with prisms, and G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown, after visiting the scene of the crime,...
Answer to:
Do people notice that this trend of a universal lifestyle is heading absolutely nowhere, with a suppressed, non-openminded income of knowledge, does anyone realize we as exsisting beings with so much time could achieve extreme amounts of cosmic discovery?
Cosmic discoveries are the perogative of the few - the philosophers. Not every one is willing to spend their time for such things.
Our minds are as different as our finger prints -
no two are identical. Palmistry also says the same
thing. Every human is unique. Not only do our
organs differ, but our personalities differ. Each
human develops different goals, and has special
traits or...
Answer to:
Can too much knowledge and wisdom lead to depression?
Knowledge is of three types:
Benign knowledge provides higher awareness, sublime elation, and tranquility.
Malevolent knowledge provides the opposite of the above (depression included).
Common knowledge makes one more humane.
http://www.answers.com/topic/guna
Knowledge is the awareness and understanding of facts, truths or information gained in the form of experience or...
Answer to:
If ignorance is bliss, then what is knowledge?
Benign knowledge provides higher awareness, sublime elation, and tranquility.
Malevolent knowledge provides the opposite of the above.
Common knowledge makes one more humane.
http://www.answers.com/topic/guna
This English word, which usually implies an erudition open to those who seek it, inadequately translates Celtic conceptions of knowing, which often imply esoteric, metaphysical...
Answer to:
Does the word linguistics refer to the study of the meaning and usage of words?
the systematic study of the structure and development of language in general or of particular languages
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=46411&dict=CALD
A subdiscipline of anthropology that emphasizes the relationships between cultural behavior and language. It is the study of human speech including the units, nature, structure, and modification of language.
...
Answer to:
Why are pants or jeans called ,a pair of pants,when there is just one?
Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?
Bra is a shortened form of a French singular and panties a French plural.
"Bra" is short for "Brassiere," a French word that originally meant "a child's jacket with sleeves." It derives from an Old French word for "arms." Eventually, the word came to refer to the modern...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is the difference hedonism and Epicureanism?
hedonism
the belief that pleasure or happiness is the most important goal in life
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/hedonism
Epicureanism
Modern accepted use of the terms epicurean and Epicureanism refers often to the appreciation of good food (gourmet), and luxury. This strays significantly from the original philoposhic intent of Epicureanism. The philosophy indeed elevated...
Answer to:
What would you do to make me feel better?
Hope! Hope! Hope!
Delicious Hope! when naught to man is left -
Of fortune destitute, of friends bereft;
When even his dog deserts him, and his goat
With tranquil disaffection chews his coat
While yet it hangs upon his back; then thou,
The star far-flaming on thine angel brow,
Descendest, radiant, from the far skies
To touch the deepest depths of the heart
People sow seeds with...
Answer to:
What is the difference between love and passion?
Scientists proved that whole hearted love is more powerful than short term passions.
A multidisciplinary team has found that early, intense romantic love may have more to do with motivation, lateralized reward and goal-oriented aspects of human behavior than with the emotions or sexual arousal. Their data may even be relevant to some forms of autism and have links to stalking, suicide, and...
Answer to:
What could you receive that would totally brighten your day right now?
A word of kindness - I receive them every other day here at AB.
Answer to:
Does anger have any physical effects?
Modern medicine has accepted the fact that body and mind are one system - what affects one is bound to affect the other.
http://www.answers.com/topic/psychosomatic
Answer to:
What does socrates mean in not less than three pages " Man know thyself"
Know thyself. (A precept inscribed in gold letters over the portico of the temple at Delphi. Its authorship has been ascribed to Pythagoras, to several of the wise men of Greece, and to Phemonoe, a mythical Greek poetess. According to Juvenal, this precept descended from heaven.)
more........
http://www.answers.com/topic/gnothi-seauton
http://www.bartleby.com/81/9733.html
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Answer to:
What do you think of eastern philosophy and the whole oriental mysticism thing?
Hindu philosophy began in the period of the Upanishads (900–500 B.C.), but systematic philosophical elaboration did not appear until several centuries later. Philosophical tenets were presented in the form of aphorisms or sutras, intended to serve as an aid to memory and a basis for oral elaboration. Their extreme conciseness presupposes an oral or written commentary, and the traditions...
Answer to:
History repeats itself, but does it ever repeat itself exactly? i don't think so.
'The best predictor of the future is the past' is a phrase common to many disciplines. I can't find an attribution to a single writer. It reflects the principle of uniformitarianism as opposed to catastrophism.
The ideas behind uniformitarianism originated with the work of Scottish geologist James Hutton. In 1785, Hutton presented at the meetings of the Royal Society of...
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Answer to:
What is a water ionizer? How does it purify drinking water? Do you use a water ionizer for your drinking water needs?
Use this site for your other science questions also:
http://www.answers.com/topic/water-ionizer
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
How does a nuclear reactor work?
Read from this site:
http://www.answers.com/topic/nuclear-reactor
Answer to:
You can't say a book is the best book ever if you haven't read all the books in the world, agree or disagree and why?
Our minds are as different as our finger prints -
no two are identical. Palmistry also says the same
thing. Every human is unique. Not only do our
organs differ, but our personalities differ. Each
human develops different goals, and has special
traits or feelings which differ in a million
different ways from others.
http://www.answers.com/Phenomenology
The books that were selected...
Answer to:
Can you tell me some music to listen to?(No singing, just music please.)
Try Sitar by Ravi Sankar and others.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is a thought? Why do we have them? What are they made from? Where do they come from?
Thought may be defined in general as mental activity, conscious or unconscious, based on the various modes of representation, including the most archaic. More narrowly, the meaning of thought may be confined to ideational activity, dependent on the faculty of judgment and on the faculty that brings into conjunction images of things and images of words. The discussion here will be restricted to...
Answer to:
Why do we behave differently in public situations and within the family?
Read here:
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/544233
The "batteries" of a person get recharged when he goes back home.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is love and where did love come from?
A student asked his teacher, "What is love?"
The teacher said, "to get an answer to your
question, go to the wheat field, get the biggest
wheat grain, and come back."
But the rule is - you can go through the field
only once and cannot turn back to pick."
The student went to the field, gone through the
first row, and saw one big wheat grain. But he
...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Can men wear earrings?
It was a royal prerogative for kings in ancient India.
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Answer to:
What does MOFO mean?
*** MOFO Mother Figure (polite form)
** MOFO Morning Formation
** MOFO Morrison Follower (John Morrison fan club; professional wrestling)
* MOFO Masters of Flying Objects (Winnipeg, Canada Elite Junior Ultimate Frisbee Team)
http://www.acronymfinder.com/MOFO.html
Motorsports of Florida Organization
Mass Oxygen Flow Optimizer
http://www.acronymattic.com/MOFO.html
Answer to:
Some synonyms of the word 'love' as a verb are___________.
SYNONYMS love, affection, devotion, fondness, infatuation. These nouns denote feelings of warm personal attachment or strong attraction to another person. Love is the most intense: marrying for love. Affection is a less ardent and more unvarying feeling of tender regard: parental affection. Devotion is earnest, affectionate dedication and implies selflessness: teachers admired for their...
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Answer to:
Have you ever heard the saying "Damn if you do,damn if you don't"?*
DAMNED IF YOU DO, DAMNED IF YOU DON'T - "Early American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (d. 1834) coined these words while condenming other preachers who 'make the Bible clash and contradict itself, by preaching somewhat like this: 'You can and you can't - You shall and you shan't - You will and you won't - And you will be damned if you do - And you will be damned if...
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Answer to:
Is the story of Alladin & the Lamp a metaphor for something else?
The image of the omnipotent demon hidden inside a humble lamp has become proverbial in everyday language, literature, politics, science, and commerce.
Answer to:
Have you ever heard the phrase "a point for your thoughts"?
https://airheads.arubanetworks.com/forum/point-your-thoughts
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/24/messages/454.html
Answer to:
Are you tempted into selling your gold at todays rate?
According to Hindu traditions, gold ornaments are part of fixed assets to be passed on to the next generation. They should not be sold when price reaches high. They can be sold only during extreme financial problems.
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Answer to:
Do you think more people all over the world are moving away from scientific explanations to natural phenomena?
Their percentage is small, but it is increasing fast during the recent years.
There are many questions which science could not answer:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0630_050630_top25science.html
There are flaws in the answers provided by science.
http://www.americantraditions.org/Articles/evidence_of_intelligent_design_i.htm
http://www.farshores.org/design.htm
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
How far your friends could count on you when they need help?
I know that I am not efficient at all things. I will direct them for many things to the right person who will do the best. But I will do all the indirect help.
What I am most efficient to do, that I will not leave it for others - even if the other person does not ask me directly.
http://www.answers.com/topic/optimization
http://www.answers.com/topic/optimization-2
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Answer to:
Do you ever hesitate or are ashamed to own up that you were in the wrong?
I will thank the person for providing better knowledge.
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Answer to:
Is saying 'maybe you are right' necessarily mean admitting that 'I am wrong'?
Deciding about some thing whether it is right or wrong is the subject of logic. But the logical system has a flaw:
In the 1930s, Austrian mathematician Godel
proved a theorem which became the "Godel
theorem" in cognition theory. It states that
any formalized 'logical' system in principle
cannot be complete in itself. It means that a
statement can always be found that...
| 3 people like this
Answer to:
Why do humans always ask questions, is it human nature to ask questions about the unknown and the beyond and the paranormal?
curiosity:
A desire to know or learn.
A strong feeling of wanting to know or learn.
An object that arouses interest, as by being novel or extraordinary
Seeking knowledge without prospect of immediate gain or reward is a characteristic of higher animals, and is most marked by far in man. It implies a degree of risk taking, since the unknown is explored, and is difficult to explain in...
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Does the saying "don't fix it if it ain't broke" have anything to do with financial status?
Proverbs: If it ain't broke, don't fix it
Bert Lance [President Carter's Director of the Office of Management and Budget] believes he can save Uncle Sam billions if he can get the government to adopt a single motto: ‘If it ain't broke, don't fix it.’
[1977 Nation's Business May 27]
If it ain't broke, don't fix it: Don't mess with a...
Answer to:
A woman who's a virgin might be called a "maiden". What's the equivalent for a virgin man?
In Sanskrit, it is Brahmachari.
http://www.answers.com/topic/brahmacharya
In English, you can say man of chastity or chast man.
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Answer to:
In the UK if you were to get realy dressed up it could be said that you are "dressed up like a dogs dinner" Where did such a strange saying come from?
Dressed/done up like a dog's dinner(adj) : (Br)Dressed in showy and fashionable clothes that one thinks wonderful but that the others think rather silly. Overdressed or or in a mess. eg. "He was done up like a dog's dinner" or "You've made a right dogs dinner of this !".
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/6/messages/220.html
done up like a...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What are the only four word that end with 'dous'?
amphipodous
anarthropodous
annelidous
apodous
arthropodous
blendous
brachiopodous
branchiopodous
centifidous
cephalopodous
curculionidous
deccapodous
discordous
frondous
gasteropodous
gastropodous
haemapodous
hazardous
heteropodous
hexapodous
horrendous
hybridous
infandous
infecundous
iodous
isopodous
jeopardous
laemodipodous
lemuridous
ligniperdous
macropodous
...
Answer to:
Would you rather thank God for creating you or would you be happier belonging to the most evolved of species?
What ever I am today, it is due to my own Karma.
The law of cause and effect is known in philosophical
texts also. There is a very specific law in science.
"For every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction". If you write it in English, it becomes
Newton's Law. If you write it in Sanskrit, it becomes
Law of Karma.
...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
How rich you would like to be?
As rich as possible in higher knowledge - not money.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Are you so fond of photography that you always carry a camera with you?
Comment on my photos here:
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/462309
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/133973
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Have you ever seen a parrot that can speak?
Our city zoo has one.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is meant by "with flying colours"?
complete success; "they passed inspection with flying colors"
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/flying+colours?r=66
http://www.freedictionary.org/?Query=flying%20colours
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/flying+colours
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Answer to:
What is meant by"red in tooth and claw"?
Red in tooth and claw
Meaning
A reference to the sometimes violent natural world, in which predatory animals unsentimentally cover their teeth and claws with the blood of their prey as they kill and devour them.
Origin
This has the sound of a proverbial phrase which might come from the Bible or from Shakespeare. Search the Bible for 'tooth' and you'll find little other...
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
What is meant by "to have green fingers"?
U.K. - Same as green thumb
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861694930
Brit. informal - natural ability in growing plants.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/greenfingers?view=uk
(idiomatic) A seemingly natural gardening ability
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/green_fingers
http://www.freedictionary.org/?Query=green%20fingers
...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is a "blackleg"?
An infectious, usually fatal bacterial disease of cattle and sometimes of sheep, goats, and swine, caused by Clostridium chauvoe and characterized by gas-containing swellings in the musculature.
A bacterial or fungal disease of certain plants, such as the cabbage and potato, that causes the stems to turn black at the soil line.
One who cheats at cards; a cardsharp.
Chiefly British. A worker...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What are "purple passages"?
an excessively ornate passage in a literary work.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/purplepassage?view=uk
a passage full of ornate and flowery language
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/purple+passage
(U.K.) elaborate writing: a section in a piece of writing that is very elaborate or contains too much imagery
[Translation of Latin purpureus pannus, coined by the poet Horace...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Why do sex scandals involving politicians get more coverage than scandals involving corruption?
Hindu Sastras say that sexual offenses involve higher bad Karma (Paapam) than corruption. What ever be the ethics of a particular race, the collective unconscious tells them many such thinks intuitively.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What would you do if you found out the (fictional) type of vampires were real?
Energy Vampires are real.
After a visit with an energy vampire, you barely have enough energy to watch tv - much pursue your goals or take care of your responsibilities. The energy vampire's negative influences have consumed your positive energy.
What to do? 11 Ways to Protect Yourself From Negative Influences.
http://psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/stop_energy_vampires
...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Would someone tell me what an “Auttogyapf” is?
There is no such word.
http://dictionary.die.net/?q=Auttogyapf&submit=Go
http://www.search.com/search?q=Auttogyapf
Answer to:
What does the phrase "sailors death" refer to?
Since at least 1750 'gone to Davy Jones's locker' has been used by sailors to indicate death.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/14/messages/56.html
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Where did the phrase, "For Pete's sake" come from. Seriously who is Pete and why should we care so much about his sake.
honest to Pete - These colloquial assertions date from about 1900, except for honest Injun, dating from the late 1800s and today considered offensive.
http://www.answers.com/topic/honest-to-god
for Pete's sake:
Usage notes: used for emphasis and often used instead of the more offensive idioms for God's sake.
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Pete
sneak'y pete:
...
Answer to:
Why do they say "For the love of Pete"? Who's Pete?
honest to Pete - These colloquial assertions date from about 1900, except for honest Injun, dating from the late 1800s and today considered offensive.
http://www.answers.com/topic/honest-to-god
for Pete's sake:
Usage notes: used for emphasis and often used instead of the more offensive idioms for God's sake.
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Pete
sneak'y pete:
...
Answer to:
When people say "For Pete's Sake!", which Pete are they referring to?
Read from these:
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/106863
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/425022
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/607065
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/651250
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Answer to:
If I said that someone was a "few sandwiches short of a picnic", what would I mean?
One sandwich short of a picnic
Meaning
A jokey, colloquial term for stupid.
Origin
There are many phrases of the form 'an X short of a Y'. These all mean the same thing, i.e. the person being spoken of is stupid. The 'short of' insult began in Australia and New Zealand in the mid 19th century. For example, Colonel Godfrey Mundy's Our Antipodes, 1852:
...
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Answer to:
Do you know anybody who says "Oy!"? (In a Yiddish sense, not the British 'Oi!'.)
It is a popular Telugu expression. Billions people in the villages of Andhra Pradesh in India use "Oy!" to express surprise, worry or dismay.
Answer to:
Where did the idiom 'You can't polish a turd' originate and who would even attempt that?
You can't polish a turd.
Topic: Proverbs
Source: (Persian)
http://www.worldofquotes.com/author/Proverb/290/index.html
This is an expression (polishing turds) used mostly in the Software Industry in the UK and means to make a piece of poorly written and virtually unfixable software appear to function by giving it a smart user interface.
PUTTING A RACING STRIPE ON A TURD -...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is the origin of the word "minute" meaning a long time?
1377, "sixtieth part of an hour," from O.Fr. minut, from M.L. minuta "minute, short note," from L. minuta, fem. of minutus "small, minute" (see minute (adj.)). In M.L., pars minuta prima "first small part" was used by mathematician Ptolemy for one-sixtieth of a circle, later of an hour (next in order was secunda minuta, which became second (n.)). The pl....
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Why does the word "horny" mean that you want sex? There are no horns involved.
"lustful, sexually aroused," definitely in use 1889, perhaps attested as early as 1863; from late 18c. slang expression to have the horn, suggestive of male sexual excitement (but eventually applied to women as well);
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=horny
Etymology: < horn, erect penis
http://www.yourdictionary.com/horny
Origin:
1350–1400; ME; see...
Answer to:
What's the origin of the term "Barnstorming?"
Etymology 1: go about the country
barn + storm, : from occas. use of barns as auditoriums
Etymology 2: early days of aviation
from the use of barns as hangars
http://www.yourdictionary.com/barnstorm
Origin:
1880–85; barn + storm
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/barnstorm?r=66
Originally, the term "barnstorming" applied to traveling theater companies...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is your definition of a "townie"?
Some one who lives permanently in a town.
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861721156
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Jealousy: Good or bad?
Jealousy is a familiar experience in human relationships. It has been observed in infants five months old and older.
Sociologists have demonstrated that cultural beliefs and values play an important role in determining what triggers jealousy and what constitutes socially acceptable expressions of jealousy. Biologists have identified factors that may unconsciously influence the expression of...
Answer to:
What will make a man jelous?
Jealousy is an emotion and typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, such as a relationship, friendship, or love. Jealousy often consists of a combination of emotions such as anger, sadness, and disgust.
The experience of jealousy involves:
Fear of loss
Suspicion or anger about...
Answer to:
Do you dream in color or Black and White?
Bad dreams in black and white, and good dreams in colour.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Do you forgive easily or would you want to take revenge?
"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."
—Mahatma Gandhi
http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2008/05/09/gandhis-top-10-fundamentals-for-changing-the-world/
I believe that forgiveness with smile is the greatest revenge.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Why is crowd behavior so different from individual behavior?
Crowd psychology is a branch of social psychology. Ordinary people can typically gain direct power by acting collectively. Historically, because large groups of people have been able to bring about dramatic and sudden social change in a manner that bypasses established due process, they have also provoked controversy. Social scientists have developed several different theories for explaining...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Why does the adrenalin rush of first being in love doesnt last?
Because there are other dominating things than adrenalin rush.
Imagine an invisible, undetectable force that's
powerful enough to override your sense of reason
yet draws you to someone with an almost animal
passion. These aren't Cupid's mythological arrows,
but real shots of human pheromones.
http://health.discovery.com/centers/sex/aphrodisiacs/phermones.html
Welcome...
Answer to:
Do you demand respect or are you just happy when someone finally gives you a little?
I do not look for it. My achievements tell me what I am.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What are the signs of controlling behavior?
Sulking
Stomping out
Refusing to talk
Walking away
Refusing to give her something
Hitting or kicking something
Refusing to make eye contact
Driving recklessly
Boredom-crossed arms, eyes closed, head down, deep sighs
Withdrawing or withholding affection
Showing disgust-rolled eyes, deep sighs, inappropriate sounds
Strutting and posturing
more.......
...
Answer to:
Why do you continuously trust people who you know you shouldn't?
Psychology can not answer this question - only the concept of Karma can.
http://www.answers.com/topic/karma
Answer to:
What is the purpose of emotions? What do they do for us?
Emotion has usually, in the European- American tradition, been seen as the opposite of reason; the definitions provided in the Oxford English Dictionary emphasize emotion as agitation, perturbation, and ‘feeling’ or ‘affection’ — as distinguished from cognitive or volitional states of consciousness. Philosophically this split became entrenched through the thought...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What do you think of today's, society?
It is what it is expected to be.
Ancient Europeans wrote about Ages of Man.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_Man
There are also many other references to various
types of world ages or Ages of Man in Hopi
(worlds), Mayan (suns) and other cultures of
antiquity. Giorgio de Santillana, the former
professor of the history of science, mentions
approximately thirty ancient cultures...
Answer to:
When is the human brain more active? During the day or at night?
Brain and mind
Understanding the relationship between the physical brain and the functional mind is a challenging problem both philosophically and scientifically.[79] The most straightforward scientific evidence that there is a strong relationship between the physical brain matter and the mind is the impact physical alterations to the brain, such as injury and drug use, have on the mind.
...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Which is the safest place to hide gold?
Bank safe locker.
Answer to:
Are you adept at changing yourself to suit the conditions you find yourself in? Or would you rather change the conditions to suit you?
Neither. I accept them as my Karma.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
With a question answered every few seconds, I feel the Answerbag is a celebration of human curiosity. Care to join me in the celebrations?
I was member of many other forums, but I found that this is the best. Youngsters
post teenage questions in most of the other forums and receive naive answers.
Most of the people here are experienced and mature. They are truly the best assets
to make this forum to live upto its name - The Answer Bag of the Internet.
Live long AB!
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
With the aid of all modern scientific knowledge if we were to try alchemy what would be our chances of success in finding the 'elixir of life' and the 'philosopher's stone'?
Spiritual energy of people in Kali Yuga, particularly at the end phase, will be lowest. Even if such things as Amrutha are found, the spiritual energy in people will not be sufficient to utilize them.
Krishna turned handicapped Kubja into a beautiful woman. Many Maharshis also did such things. One Indian king transferred his old age to his son by chanting Mantras and gained his son's...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Is there a diffrence between mythology and folklore?
mythology:
1. a collection of ancient myths, especially those of a particular country or religion
2. a set of beliefs held by many people although they are not true
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/mythology
The term ‘mythology’ is used to denote either the study of myths or, loosely, myths themselves. Myths are traditional tales, and they have...
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
How many of your actions in your life have you regretted later as mistakes that should not have been made?
Not many. Here is the one that I remember:
A girl kissed me when I was a boy.
But I did not know what to do!
My mother slapped me for that....
(I couldn't sleep that night)
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Where does the term, "bouncing baby boy" come from?
Read here:
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/1019531
Answer to:
The more linked we get with the net the more the earth will be like a single brain linked by millions of neurons. Do you think this will help bring about a single conciousness?
There is one which is already working unconsciously - the collective unconscious.
http://www.answers.com/topic/collective-unconscious
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Define the saying "A fair crack of the whip"?
crack the whip:
to use your authority to make someone work harder, usually by threatening or punishing them
Usage notes: A whip is a piece of leather or rope fastened to a stick which you hit a horse with in order to make it go faster.
"We were already three months behind schedule so I thought it was time to crack the whip."
to use your authority to cause people to do more...
Answer to:
Does anyone know where the words "politically correct" originare from.and would you say you were politically correct or not?
Meaning
Description of the practice of using speech that conforms to liberal or radical opinion by avoiding language which might cause offence to or disadvantage social minorities.
Origin
Please note: it is difficult to discuss the meaning and origin of the term 'politically correct' whilst avoiding expressing political opinion. I have attempted to do that below.
The...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
How long does an average human dream last?
Electroencephalograph studies, measuring the electrical activity of the brain during REM sleep, have shown that young adults dream for 11/2 to 2 hours of every 8-hour period of sleep. Infants spend an average of 50% of their sleep in the REM phase (they are believed to dream more often than adults) a figure which decreases steadily with age.
http://www.answers.com/topic/dream
...
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Answer to:
What is the meaning of the Aussie saying,as dry as a Kookaburra's Khyber?
As dry as a Kookaburra's khyber in the Simpson desert. (It is dry)
As dry as a dead dingo's donger. (even dryer)
http://www.dagree.net/aussieslang/slang_faunal.html
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Answer to:
Why do people hate each other? Why don't we just get along.
That is the characteristic feature of the present age.
Ancient Europeans wrote about Ages of Man.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_Man
There are also many other references to various
types of world ages or Ages of Man in Hopi
(worlds), Mayan (suns) and other cultures of
antiquity. Giorgio de Santillana, the former
professor of the history of science, mentions
approximately...
Answer to:
Does the world around you ever feel like a mirror image of what is going on inside of you personally?
The world is what you think it is, September 9, 2005 By L. Power
Huna is an ancient philosophy going back 2,000 years, and contains many self realization techniques, including the unification of the three selves, removing emotional blocks and fears, and manifesting your goals. There is also an energy practice which uses the power of focus.
This book goes through the 7 rules of the Huna...
Answer to:
Are white lies really harmless or are they just as hurtful as any other lies?
white lie
a lie about a small or unimportant matter that someone tells to avoid hurting another person
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/white%20lie
a lie that you tell someone in order to protect them or avoid hurting their feelings
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/white-lie
a lie told to avoid making someone upset, not for your own advantage or in order to harm...
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Answer to:
What is a pipe dream?
unrealistic notion: a goal, hope, or plan so fanciful that it is very unlikely to be realized
[< the dreams caused by smoking opium]
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861726413
(idiomatic) A plan, desire, or idea that will not likely work; a near impossibility.
"I think his plan to become a professional athlete is a pipe dream...
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Answer to:
Is failure more interesting than success?
Failure leads to success.
http://www.trueinsights.com/inspirational/150
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/teen-summer-camp-explains-how-failure-leads-to-success-370300.html
Don't be discouraged by a failure. It can be a positive experience. Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, inasmuch as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Do you do things on impulse or do you have to plan your actions?
Both - depending on situation.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Do you think wisdom can be hard won or do you think wisdom comes naturally with age alone?
Our minds are as different as our finger prints -
no two are identical. Palmistry also says the same
thing. Every human is unique. Not only do our
organs differ, but our personalities differ. Each
human develops different goals, and has special
traits or feelings which differ in a million
different ways from others.
http://www.answers.com/Phenomenology
Due to genetic influences,...
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Answer to:
How do you describe a “frame of reference?”
1. standards used for judging or deciding: the set of norms, values, or ideas that affect the way somebody interacts with others, either in everyday life or in a particular situation
2. mathematics set of geometric axes: a set of geometric axes used to determine the location of a point in space
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861690738
...
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Answer to:
What's the origin of the phrase "Davy Jones locker?"
Although no one knows exactly how "Davy Jones' Locker" came to be a metaphor for the deep sea, especially as the destination of drowned sailors, there have been several theories proposed since the phrase first showed up around 1751.
One theory is that there may have been an actual person named "Davy Jones," a 16th century English barkeeper. Legend has it that the...
Answer to:
What is the origin of the word "crony"?
Possibly from Greek khronios, long lasting, from khronos, time
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/crony
1665, Cambridge student slang, probably from Gk. khronios "long-lasting," from khronos "time," and with a sense of "old friend," or "contemporary." Cronyism in political sense is 1950.
...
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Answer to:
Where does the saying, "Slap Happy" come from?
SLAP-HAPPY - "The internal rhyme of this word has insured its long life, which dates back at least to the late 1920. It means to be very confused, dazed, or punch-drunk, and comes from the sport of boxing, which has produced too many men who act like this because they've taken too many blows to the head. Despite his nickname, clowning boxer Slapsy Maxie Rosenbloom was NOT one of...
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Answer to:
What is a carmine?
n.
A strong to vivid red.
A crimson pigment derived from cochineal.
adj.
Strong to vivid red.
[French carmin, from Medieval Latin carminium, probably blend of Arabic qirmiz, kermes. See kermes, and Latin minium, cinnabar.
Carmine (pronounced /ˈkɑrmɪn/, English pronunciation: /ˈkɑrmaɪn/, or /ˈkɑrmiːn/), also called Crimson Lake, Cochineal, Natural Red 4, C.I. 75470, or E120,...
Answer to:
What is a bodega?
A small grocery store, sometimes combined with a wineshop, in certain Hispanic communities.
A warehouse for the storage of wine.
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/bodega
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861591531
http://dictionary.infoplease.com/bodega
A versatile Spanish term used for "wine cellar,"...
Answer to:
How can you tell the difference between the beginning of the end and the end of the beginning?
Idiom: beginning of the end, the
The start of a bad outcome (ruin, disaster, catastrophe, death), as in Joe's failing two of his courses was the beginning of the end; he dropped out soon afterward. This phrase, at first (16th century) used only to describe an approaching death, gained a new meaning after the French lost the battle of Leipzig in 1813 and Talleyrand said to Napoleon,...
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Answer to:
Have you ever heard someone refer to another as a "makerel snapper"?
Mackerel Snapper, or Mackeral Snapper, is a sectarian slur for Roman Catholics, originating in the U.S. in the 1850s and referring to the pre-Vatican II custom of Friday abstinence.[1] The Friday abstinence from meat (red meat and poultry) distinguished Catholics from other Christians, especially in North America, where Protestant churches prevailed and Catholics tended to be poor immigrants...
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Answer to:
What is a “bulrushes?”
Any of various aquatic or wetland herbs of the genus Scirpus, having grasslike leaves and usually clusters of small, often brown spikelets.
Any of several wetland plants of similar aspect, such as the papyrus and the cattail.
[Middle English bulrish : perhaps alteration (influenced by bule, bull) of bole, stem; see bole1 + rish, rush;
A wild plant common in ponds and marshes (correctly...
Answer to:
What do you think you need / what is missing in your life, to make you truly happy?
Happiness is an agreeable feeling or condition arising
from good fortune or propitious happening of any kind.
It is the possession of those circumstances or that
state of being which is attended with enjoyment. It is
associated with good luck, good fortune, prosperity,
well-being, delight, health, safety, and love.
Happiness is generic, and is applied to almost every
kind of enjoyment...
Answer to:
What is your idea about the concept of Global Consciousness?
Global consciousness (sometimes called “field consciousness”) is the notion that when groups of people focus their minds on the same thing, they influence “the world at large” (Radin 1997: ch. 10). According to Dean Radin, there may be something like a “global mind” that is spawned by the interconnections of many individual minds. What evidence is there for...
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Answer to:
Is it possible to make rice balls (onigiri) with rice other than Japanese rice?
You can use rice of India - it has the widest varieties.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Where does the word "mushroom" come from?
ORIGIN Old French mousseron.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/mushroom?view=uk
ETYMOLOGY:
Alteration (influenced by room ), of Middle English musheron from Anglo-Norman moscheron, musherum, from Old French mousseron, from Medieval Latin musari
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/mushroom
...
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Answer to:
When iron is use full than gold then why gold is considered more valuable?
Of all the commodities known to mankind gold possesses in the highest degree the characteristics of good money. Since the earliest time it has been desired for its own use as a commodity. Primitive man prized gold above all other metals. From it he made rings, chains, and other ornaments that appealed to his vanity. His descendants regard gold in much the same way. Gold is also scarce enough to...
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Answer to:
What are some Middle Eastern contributions to Western civilization?
Who invented Calculus? The western books say that Newton
invented Calculus. You can see the Sanskrit mathematics
texts by Arya Bhatta and Bhaskaracharya which were written
many centuries before Newton that they contain Calculus.
Who invented the guns?
Some people in medieval Europe heard of powerful fire
weapons of the India. Marco Polo (in 13th century) was
financed by the king of...
Answer to:
Is the journey it's own reward?
People have to realize it’s the journey that counts, not the destination because along the way you grow a lot.
(more.....)
http://littleindia.com/may2002/The%20Turning%20Point.htm
Answer to:
What is full form of SWAT?
***** SWAT Special Weapons And Tactics (team)
***** SWAT Scandinavian Workshop on Algorithm Theory
***** SWAT Samba Web Administration Tool
***** SWAT Soil and Water Assessment Tool (river basin model)
**** SWAT Students Working Against Tobacco
*** SWAT Students Working to Advance Technology
*** SWAT Special Weapons Attack Team (original name; now usually seen as Special Weapons And...
Answer to:
Why is air not visible?
Air is invisible because it does not absorb light in
the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum
very well. This is because Oxygen and Nitrogen do not absorb visible light.
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen99/gen99496.htm
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Answer to:
If suppose you live in a theft-prone area and you have a lot of gold jewellery in tour home. So what will you do to avoid getting it stolen?
Bank Safe Locker Box.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2296549_valuable-bank-safe-locker-box.html
Answer to:
Where does the source of the human mind lay? Where do the endless streams of thought originate?
Most of the time, most of us have normal thoughts. The streams of thoughts are influenced by the collective unconscious.
http://www.answers.com/topic/collective-unconscious
Akashik Records is the other name for collective unconscious.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
When I swear in English I attempt to pardon it by saying "excuse my French" Where did this saying come from?
Meaning
Please forgive my swearing.
Origin
A coy phrase used when someone who has used a swear-word attempts to pass it off as French. The coyness comes from the fact the both the speaker and listener are of course both well aware the swear-word is indeed English.
This is mid 20th century English in origin. A version of it is found in Michael Harrison's All Trees were Green,...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What does TWIT stand for?
Temecula Whodunit Interactive Theatre
http://www.abbreviations.com/bs.asp?st=TWIT
***** TWIT This Week in Tech
**** TWIT That's What I Thought
http://www.acronymfinder.com/TWIT.html
Noun. An idiot. Patronising and derogatory but often jocular.
http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/t.htm
▸ noun: aggravation by deriding or mocking or criticizing
▸ noun: someone who is...
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Answer to:
Is LASER used in telecommunication?
Laser & Telecommunication Testing
The measurement of the power output of laser diodes or fibers is a daily routine in the field of telecommunication components testing. Optical power meters using a bare detector claim high sensitivity but at a cost of potential measurement inaccuracies caused by the effects of polarisation, local saturation, signal ‘bounce-back’ and beam...
Answer to:
What is the definition of "philosopher"? Would Voltaire qualify for that title under your definition?
PHILOSOPHER
A person who is calm and rational under any circumstances.
A person who seeks reason and truth by thinking and meditation.
http://www.answers.com/topic/philosopher
a person who studies ideas about knowledge, truth, the nature and meaning of life, etc.
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/philosopher
1 : a person who seeks wisdom or enlightenment
2 : a...
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Answer to:
What is pain?
Definition of pain varies from person to person. Wearing a heavy coat is painful to me. Cutting is pleasure for some, though it is painful to most.
http://www.answers.com/topic/pain-1
Answer to:
Sorrow and suffering - are they needed in every one's life?
Like light and darkness, pleasure and pain are necessary in every one's
life. Pleasure makes a person forget about the world and reality. Pain
forces the innate nature in humans to dwell deep in to the causes.
Seekers of pleasure live only for today - they become hedonists and
pessimists. Pleasure is part of animality or animal nature in humans.
...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
How did the sport of Boxing get it's name?
From box (“‘punch’”)
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Boxing
Box:
"a blow," c.1300, of uncertain origin, possibly related to M.Du. boke, M.H.G. buc and Dan. bask, all meaning "a blow," perhaps imitative. The verb meaning "to fight with the fists" is from 1567. Boxing as a sport is first recorded 1711.
...
Answer to:
What is the difference between me, myself and I? Look into yourself for the answer, and perhaps it will come to you.
According to Hinduism, the I-sense is connected with the soul of a person.
"Our two minds .... One is an act of the emotional
mind, the other of the rational mind. In a very real
sense we have two minds, one that thinks and one that
feels" (Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence,
Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 1996, page 8). This
rational mind is also called the faculty of...
Answer to:
Pride and stubborness is ruining everything. Do you concur?
Our minds are as different as our finger prints -
no two are identical. Palmistry also says the same
thing. Every human is unique. Not only do our
organs differ, but our personalities differ. Each
human develops different goals, and has special
traits or feelings which differ in a million
different ways from others.
http://www.answers.com/Phenomenology
No man is perfect.
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Answer to:
How do you put a positive spin on a continuous negative situation?
Mixture of pleasure and pain, is like light and darkness. Without dualities,
life becomes sterile and lifeless. Every thing that happens in life gives
unique experience, and makes its own contribution to higher knowledge.
Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to
events and circumstances in one's life. Hope
implies a certain amount of perseverance i.e.
believing that a...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is family without love?
Mechanical life - there are some people who spend life that way.
Answer to:
What is a question that should never be asked? Please make it a philosophical answer.
"What is the purpose of creation?"
The Advaitha theory states that Atma (soul) is a finite piece of Parama Atma (Infinite Soul, Almighty).
http://www.answers.com/topic/advaita-vedanta
How can the finite understand the purpose intended by the infinite?
Answer to:
Should we question everything?
There are many questions which science could not answer:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/unanswered.html
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Why does the ocean have waves and lakes do not? what causes waves?
Wind of less than 2 knots generates ripples on smooth water, which disappear as soon as the wind stops. But stronger winds raise gravity waves, which will persist after the wind dies. Because the force of the wind increases with the square of its velocity, a 20-knot breeze imparts four times as much energy to the sea as its 10-knot counterpart. The ultimate size of the seas generated by a wind...
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Answer to:
Does anyone know of any evidence of the arctic having once been a tropical climate in our past? What evidence can you cite?
On the Value of the Evidence from the Animal
Kingdom, Tending to Prove that the Arctic Regions
Formerly Enjoyed a Milder Climate than at Present.
more........
http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/biogeog/FLEM1829.htm
Study: North Pole Once Was Tropical
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/31/tech/main1671911.shtml
...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
How powerful are supernovas?
A supernova shines typically for several weeks to several months with a luminosity between 2 × 108 and 5 × 109 times that of the Sun, then gradually fades away. Each explosion ejects from one to several tens of solar masses at speeds ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of kilometers per second. The total kinetic energy, 1044 joules (2.5 × 1028 megatons of high...
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Where did the term Indian Giver come from?
Meaning
One who gives a gift but later takes it back.
Origin
Indian giver derives from the alleged practise of American Indians of taking back gifts from white settlers. It is more likely that the settlers wrongly interpreted the Indians' loans to them as gifts. This term, which is certainly American, may have been coined to denigrate of the native race. Historians would now agree...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase, "sleep tight?"
Meaning
Sleep well.
Origin
This is a very well-used phrase in many parts of the English-speaking world. It's been common at bedtime for many years in the form of "good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite", or similar.
There are several theories going the rounds as to the origin. One is that bedclothes were tied tightly to stop bedbugs biting....
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Answer to:
Where does the term 'sick as a parrot' originate?
SICK AS A PARROT - ".extremely chagrined. 1979 - 'The Maggatollah admitted frankly that he was 'sick as a parrot' at the way events had been unfolding.'." "The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang" by John Ayto and John Simpson (Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, 1996).
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/6/messages/1056.html
be as sick...
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Is anybody hacking into your user name & password online or has your computer got a gremlin?
Malware are frequent these days. And remember that the writers of malware are experts in programming.
http://www.answers.com/topic/malware
Answer to:
How do people become philosophers? Specific requirements, life experience, plenty of study, being insane, what?
philosopher
a thinker who deeply and seriously considers human affairs and life in general
somebody who calmly and rationally reacts to events, especially adversity
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861725599
one who lives according to the rules of practical wisdom; one who meets or regards all vicissitudes with calmness.
...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What's the meaning of the word 'snarly'?
1 growl with bared teeth.
2 say something aggressively.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/snarl_1?view=uk
bad-tempered, tangled; confused
http://www.yourdictionary.com/snarly
easily irritated, full of knotty snarls; tangled.
http://dictionary.infoplease.com/snarly
A snarl is a facial expression, where the upper lip is raised, and the nostrils widen, generally indicating...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What does "Crunk" mean?
Etymology
There is no evidence "crunk" comes from the Yiddish and German words meaning "sick" or "ill" ("krank" in both languages), despite the phonetic similarity of the words (see this LanguageLog post for information on the high probability of chance similarity among languages). Nor is there any evidence it was brought into the Southern Black...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
The world appears as illusion to some persons. Why?
Nothing remains ours for ever. All good things come to an end soon.
Worries about such things fill the minds of some persons and make them
feel that the world is an illusion.
Mixture of pleasure and pain is like light and darkness. Without dualities,
life becomes sterile and lifeless. Every thing that happens in life gives a
unique experience, and makes its own contribution to higher...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is the meaning of the phrase "the cats meow"?
* Date: 1926
a highly admired person or thing
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cat's+meow
Slang: someone or something wonderful or remarkable.
Origin: 1920–25
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cat's+meow?r=66
Answer to:
In general, are people only willing to give something away when they think or intend to get something else in return?
When I want to help some one, I will not look for any return.
I never treat human relations in terms of business.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
If you could tell everyone in the world ONE THING that was meaningfull and that they wouldn't forget, what would you say
Scientists proved that true love is more powerful than casual sex.
Led by a neuroscientist, an anthropologist and a social psychologist, the team found love-related neurophysiological systems inside a magnetic resonance imaging machine. They detected quantifiable love responses in the brains of 17 young men and women who each described themselves as being newly and madly in love.
The...
Answer to:
If you had to do something every single day for an entire year what would you choose to do?
Answering questions at AnswerBag.
Answer to:
Can you cheer me up? Perhaps tell me a joke?
At last, god appeared to humans and said:
"I have come to assess the situation of my creation.
I want men to form two queues - one queue for
men who dominated their women, and the other
for men who were dominated by their women.
Further, I want all the women to go away so that no
man and woman can talk while the queues are formed"
When God came back after a while, the women...
| 3 people like this
Answer to:
For what reason would you lie to someone close to you?
White lies.
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/white-lie
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
How would most people describe your personality in two words?
Expert - I am the expert of the etymology category here.
Answer to:
Why do 'we' as people feel a seemingly insatible need to be 'special?' For if an individual lives, day to day, emotionally intelligent, humanely confident, cooperative and respectful, isn't this just 'regular?'
Self Actualization in Psychology
Next are "the esteem needs", where the individual will desire a sense of competence, recognition of achievement by peers, and respect from others.[10] Some argue that once these needs are met, an individual is primed for self actualization. Others argue that there are two more phases an individual must progress through before self actualization can...
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Answer to:
What is the most important element to effective leadership? Does self management help in any way?
Effective Management Styles
1. Participatory Style
Here, it is critical to give each employee an entire task to complete. If that's not possible, make sure the individual knows and understands his or her part as it relates to the project or task. When people on your team know where they fit in the big picture, they're more likely to be motivated to complete the task.
2....
Answer to:
What is blue?
—n.
1. the pure color of a clear sky; the primary color between green and violet in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 450 and 500 nm.
2. bluing.
3. something having a blue color: Place the blue next to the red.
4. a person who wears blue or is a member of a group characterized by some blue symbol: Tomorrow the blues will play the browns.
5. (often...
Answer to:
What makes an ordinary human being a great one?
When he distinguishes himself from animals,
then he becomes a human.
When he realises that he is the highest of all
creation, then he becomes a human.
When he develops his intellect,
then he becomes a human.
When he becomes an example for others,
then he becomes a human.
When he transcends the common limitations
through his wisdom, then he becomes best of humans........
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
If your logic only makes sense to you, is it really logic?
In the 1930s, Austrian mathematician Godel proved a
theorem which became the "Godel theorem" in cognition
theory. It states that any formalized 'logical' system
in principle cannot be complete in itself. It means
that a statement can always be found that can be
neither disproved nor proved using the means of that
particular system. To discuss about such a statement,
...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is a "ghast"?
archaic : ghastly
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ghast
To strike aghast; to affright. [Obs.]
http://machaut.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/WEBSTER.sh?WORD=ghast
Ghast may refer to:
* See Underworld (Dreamlands) for Ghasts, a race of creatures in H. P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands
* See Demons Three for Ghast, third member of a demonic trio in original Justice League of...
Answer to:
If you had to choose between your s/o and your child, which would you choose? Why?
My wife.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is “taddad erntata?”
No such word in dictionaries or encyclopedias.
Answer to:
What on earth is a Mad Hatter?
crazy gentleman who co-hosts mad tea party. [Br. Lit.: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland]
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Mad+Hatter
A CEO or managerial team whose ability to lead a company is highly suspect.
Investopedia Commentary
This term refers to one of the many strange characters in Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". At the...
Answer to:
What is the origin and meaning of the phrase "dag nabbit"?
Definition: god damn it
Example: Dagnabbit, where's my cell phone?
Etymology: based on "dang rabbit," said by the character Elmer Fudd in Bugs Bunny cartoons
Usage: euphemism
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dagnabbit?r=66
Answer to:
Why are BVD's called that.
Although the brand B.V.D. is now used to market all sorts of underwear, the original B.V.D.s were full-body one-piece suits of men's underwear with a drop seat, also known as "union suits" or "long johns." My father, who was born in Boston, used to facetiously maintain that "B.V.D." stood for "Boston Ventilated Diapers." Other popular explanations...
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Answer to:
Why do people say "brand new" about something they buy? The thing may not be brand name of something, and its never really that new- people in the store have touched it/tried it on/etc..
ORIGIN with the idea ‘straight from the fire’.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/brandnew?view=uk
Most likely from brand in the sense of fire brand (a term often used for the heated glowing end of forged tool); implying something that is newly forged (first citation 1570), or less likely from brand as in a branding iron. The first element of the variant bran new, with the...
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Do UV rays go through glass?
Yes. The glasses with UV protection can prevent them to a greater extent.
http://beauty.about.com/cs/summerbeaut1/a/tintglasses.htm
http://www.glaucoma.org/living/a_guide_to_sung.php
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Happy Planet Index - Rich, developed nations fare poorly. Your comment?
http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/happyplanetindex040709.aspx
India was said to be “greener and happier” than USA and UK.
http://www.answers.com/topic/happy-planet-index
Answer to:
What is Galactic Alignment 2012?
An anticipation.
http://www.ourultimatereality.com/galactic-alignment-2012.html
http://alignment2012.com/whatisGA.htm
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/esp_2012_03.htm
The Mayan calendar and the fractal patterns of the McKenna brothers are only human constructs.
http://survive2012.com/index.php/galactic-alignment.html
Why not this too?
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Are you a fair weather nature lover?
Yah, see my photos:
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/462309
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
The sun is getting hotter and is expected to flare up in the current sun cycle, reaching peak temperatures in the year 2012, how does this make you feel?
People, including some scientists, want to create sensational news - doomsday prediction is an old time favourite among them.
Scientific theories that are made to include in it are Galactic alignment, Timewave zero, etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_doomsday_prediction
Enjoy your fascination for such theories, or read my answer for this question:
...
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Answer to:
What is the Gulf of Mexico "dead zone"?
The Gulf of Mexico dead zone is an area of hypoxic (less than 2 ppm dissolved oxygen) waters at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Its area varies in size, but can cover up to 6,000-7,000 square miles. The zone occurs between the inner and mid-continental shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico, beginning at the Mississippi River delta and extending westward to the upper Texas coast.
...
Answer to:
Where did the term "life penguin" come from?
Penguins for the most part breed in large colonies, the exceptions being the Yellow-eyed and Fiordland species; these colonies may range in size from as few as a 100 pairs for Gentoo Penguins, to several hundred thousand in the case of King, Macaroni and Chinstrap Penguins.[30] Living in colonies results in a high level of social interaction between birds, which has led to a large repertoire of...
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Answer to:
Where did the phrase "Bite ME!" Come from?
(idiomatic) An expression of discontent or aggravation to another party.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bite_me
Answer to:
Why do they call it a 'one night stand' when you are mostly laying down?
A performance by a traveling musical or dramatic performer or group in one place on one night only.
The place at which such a performance is given.
Meaning #2: a performance in one place on one night only
Originally, a one-night stand referred to a single night theatre performance, usually by a guest group on tour. Today, however, the term is more commonly understood as a single sexual...
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Answer to:
I have contacted estate liquidators to help me clean out my mother's house. However, when they come they just want to buy certain things. Someone told me they are "cherry picking." What does that mean?
selection of only the best: the activity of pursuing the most lucrative, advantageous, or profitable among various options and leaving the less attractive ones for others
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=561532893
http://www.answers.com/topic/cherry-picking
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Answer to:
Why sky appears blue in day and red in evening
WHY IS THE SKY BLUE?
The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. Little of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by the air.
However, much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It...
Answer to:
Where are you most likely to find wild volcanoes?
Kīlauea -- Perhaps the World's
Most Active Volcano
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/
World's Most Active Volcanoes
http://www.volcanolive.com/active2.html
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/blog/weather/2008/05/wild-volcano-pix.html
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Answer to:
What is the largest telescope in the world?
Gran Telescopio Canarias - 10.4 meters aperture - at La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
http://astro.nineplanets.org/bigeyes.html
Answer to:
What makes a cloud suddenly rain? Why does a cloud stop raining?
Scientists find that “caustics” cause sudden rainstorms
(more........)
http://tangledwing.wordpress.com/2006/08/18/scientists-find-that-caustics-cause-sudden-rainstorms/
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Answer to:
Physics: What is the difference between power and force? :S
Force multiplied by distance moved is work done. The work done for one second is power.
Answer to:
We are told that, according to special relativity, the speed of light is always constant. Yet it travels slower when passing through certain materials. How can this be without violating Einstein's rule?
Essentially the speed of radio and other electromagnetic waves too, the speed of light depends on transmission medium. The maximum speed, labelled c and often referred to as the speed of light without qualification, occurs in a vacuum, it equals 299 792 458 m·s-1
(more.......)
http://www.answers.com/topic/speed-of-light
Answer to:
Do you think the universe ever ends?why or why not?
Ancient Europeans wrote about Ages of Man.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_Man
There are also many other references to various
types of world ages or Ages of Man in Hopi
(worlds), Mayan (suns) and other cultures of
antiquity. Giorgio de Santillana, the former
professor of the history of science, mentions
approximately thirty ancient cultures that
believed in the concept of a...
Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase "tread lightly"?
To tread softly or lightly to avoid being noticed; to proceed warily; to conceal one's opinions or plans; to behave evasively or timidly.
1903 Atlanta Constitution 20 Mar. 3 Vice President Charles Warren Fairbanks is pussy-footing it around Washington...1949 Time 9 May 25/2 The ones who pussy~footed, side-stepped, straddled, carried water on both shoulders and compromised were left at...
Answer to:
When the vedas say that God does not have any form and exist as light, then why do people still follow idol worship?
The Vedas support both ritual and spirtual worship. The Karma kanda refers to the rites, Yajnas etc.. while the Gnana kanda supports to spiritual enlightenment. While the Vedas guide in sacrifices, Vedanta/ Upanishads denigrates the performer as a cow - a witless person. To understand these one must look more in to the God, as a Supreme Reality. The functional and attributive names of the...
Answer to:
Do you ever feel responsible for someone elses pain even though you know your not the one who caused it?
It is never my intention to hurt any one, but indirectly it may hurt some one.
My mind is as human as any one else. I can not think of all the possibilities when doing some thing. When I come to know about such a case, I will do all that is need to remove or reduce that pain.
Answer to:
What is the meaning of life?
This is the most frequently asked question on the internet at various forums- Google gives 20 million hits. I observe it on Yahoo Q&A every day.
Our minds are as different as our finger prints -
no two are identical. Palmistry also says the same
thing. Every human is unique. Not only do our
organs differ, but our personalities differ. Each
human develops different goals, and has...
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Answer to:
What use are philosophers to modern society?
philosopher:
A person who is calm and rational under any circumstances.
A person who seeks reason and truth by thinking and meditation.
http://www.answers.com/topic/philosopher
Don't you think that some persons can learn some thing from such people?
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Answer to:
Give me an example of a time when *your* senses deceived you?
Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity. - Albert Einstein
http://thinkexist.com/quotation/put_your_hand_on_a_hot_stove_for_a_minute-and_it/145963.html
Answer to:
Are facts based on ideas or are ideas based on facts?
fact
Knowledge or information based on real occurrences: an account based on fact
Something demonstrated to exist or known to have existed
A fact is a pragmatic truth, a statement that can, at least in theory, be checked and either confirmed or denied. Facts are often contrasted with opinions and beliefs, statements which are held to be true, but are not amenable to pragmatic...
Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase 'peeping Tom'?
ORIGIN - the name of the tailor said to have watched Lady Godiva ride naked through Coventry.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/peepingtom?view=uk
Early 19th century. After a tailor in English legend who was the only person to look at Lady Godiva riding naked
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861724584
...
Answer to:
Where did they come up with the phrase "Bye Bye?" Why is the same word used twice?
ORIGIN - child’s reduplication.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/byebye?view=uk
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/bye-bye
idiomatic, baby-talk
Synonyms
* beddy-bye
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bye-bye
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Answer to:
What does it mean for someone to “have been on the fence” for something? (e.g. “I’ve been on the fence on whether I should delete this or not.”)
on the fence
1. (idiomatic) undecided; wavering in one's opinion
I am still on the fence about whether to cook broccoli or green beans.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/on_the_fence
on the fence (about something)
Fig. undecided about something. (*Typically: be ~; sit ~.)
Ann is on the fence about going to Mexico. I wouldn't be on the fence. I'd love...
Answer to:
How's your singing voice?
Not bad. But I am good at Indian music and Ragas. I used to be a mini music director for my singing friend
who used to get first prizes at our university.
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Answer to:
How hard has life been for you? How about now?
Normal and steady.
I am a retired professor of Andhra University, India.
My university pays me pension and that is sufficient for me.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
The word 'chillaxing' thumbs up or thumbs down?
A rare example in print appeared in a reader’s review in the issue of Newsday for 8 December last year: “The album as a whole ... actually sounds like a parody of a hip-hop record, and is, in fact, too played out for servin’, too wack for chillaxing, and much too bunk to twurk to.” This sounds like somebody piling on the rap slang for supercharged ironic purposes.
So...
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Answer to:
Which famous person said, "Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid."?
John Wayne
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnwayne109679.html
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Answer to:
Do non-North Americans use the term "dork"?
Perhaps U.S. student slang as a bowdlerization of dick.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dork
American-Australian Slang Dictionary
http://psy.otago.ac.nz/r_oshea/FUN%20STUFF/slang.html#D
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Answer to:
How do you measure the depth of love your S/O has for you?
By never trying to measure it, and accepting her as soul mate.
The acceptance at the highest levels of mind goes beyond any measures. It is bliss (Ananda) from your S/O that indicates some thing like it - it is beyond words.
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Answer to:
Where did the concept of God really originate?
Among all living beings, only humans have the spiritual sense - a sense higher than the sixth sense which animals are also known to have. Living beings below the level of humans do not have religion.
During 1800s, Anthropologists had a problem as to
how to classify human beings. One researcher
proposed the expression "intelligent animal".
After advanced studies on monkeys, it...
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Answer to:
The huge ocean liners are built based on what law or principle of physics?
The principle of buoyancy holds that the buoyant or lifting force of an object submerged in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid it has displaced. The concept is also known as Archimedes's principle, after the Greek mathematician, physicist, and inventor Archimedes (c. 287-212 B.C.), who discovered it. Applications of Archimedes's principle can be seen across a wide vertical...
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Answer to:
Would you accept "Alcohol is the excrement of Yeast" that has consumed and digested the best of germinated grains? Would you consider imbibing excrement?
One organism's poison is another organism's food.
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Answer to:
Is living below the 'Poverty line' that bad?
It is ideal according to Vana Prastha and Sanyasa Asramas of the Hindus.
Reduction of wants increase yogic powers of the third eye.
After active life in towns, living in a village after retirement
equals Vana Prashtha Asrama.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Why does a steel ball pitch higher than a rubber ball?
The coefficient of restitution of steel is higher than that of rubber.
http://www.answers.com/topic/coefficient-of-restitution
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Answer to:
Is there a 'Crisis of Scientific Illiteracy' in America? Is science education in America lagging behind?
I agree with Ironkettle that the real question is "Is American education worthy in the world we live in today?"
The Hindu Gurukula system was the most efficient in the world. Ancient Indians knew most the sciences that are now called modern sciences.
http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/blog/7243-science-and-technology-ancient-india-20159.html
The Rig-Veda is the oldest book in...
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Answer to:
Which creation myth do you like better?
The Hindu creation myth.
It says that when the Omnipresent wanted to start creation, there was "nothing". Out of "nothing", he created the primordial sound Om. It was the source for the rest of creation.
The Elements of nature were known to ancient philosophers of Europe. Earth, Water, Air are solid state, liquid state and gaseous states. Fire represents the fourth...
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Answer to:
What in your opinion would be called true love?Would you consider it to culminate in a long term marriage or would just being with each other suffice? True love as depicted by great books and movies always end tragically, so how would true love survive?
True love is neither poetry, nor is a theoretical concept. Scientists proved that true love is more powerful than casual sex.
A multidisciplinary team has found that early, intense romantic love may have more to do with motivation, lateralized reward and goal-oriented aspects of human behavior than with the emotions or sexual arousal. Their data may even be relevant to some forms of autism...
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Answer to:
What's the difference between loosely and lucidly?
loosely
not in an exact or detailed way
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/loosely
without regard to specific details or exceptions
http://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme.cgi?Word=loosely
Lucidly:
clearly expressed and easy to understand or (of a person) thinking or speaking clearly
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=47594&dict=CALD
In a...
Answer to:
What does 'caption' mean and from where did its meaning originate?
ORIGIN originally in the sense "capture": from Latin, from capere ‘take, seize’.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/caption?view=uk
Recorded since c.1384, "taking, seizure," from Old French capcion or directly from Latin captio, from the past participle of capere "to take"
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/caption?rdfrom=Caption
Middle English...
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Answer to:
Can think of a word that is a linguistic trick on the mind or a word so commonly used in its daily form it has lost its true definition?
Geek:
Our word geek is now chiefly associated with student and computer slang; one probably thinks first of a computer geek. In origin, however, it is one of the words American English borrowed from the vocabulary of the circus, which was a much more significant source of entertainment in the United States in the 19th and early 20th century than it is now. Large numbers of traveling circuses...
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Answer to:
What is intelligence?
General mental ability due to the integrative and adaptive functions of the brain that permit complex, unstereotyped, purposive responses to novel or changing situations, involving discrimination, generalization, learning, concept formation, inference, mental manipulation of memories, images, words and abstract symbols, eduction of relations and correlates, reasoning, and problem solving.
...
Answer to:
Why is there so much sand at the beach?
Sand is made of minerals and tiny pieces of rock that have come from the erosion and weathering of rocks.
Sand and gravel beaches occur along the shorelines of the Great Lakes also. Because of the high levels of disturbance, these beaches are typically quite open, with sand and gravel sediments and little or no vegetation.
http://web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/communities/community.cfm?id=10714
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Answer to:
How would a child explain the concept of String theory?
string theory, description of elementary particles based on one-dimensional curves, or “strings,” instead of point particles. Superstring theory, which is string theory that contains a kind of symmetry known as supersymmetry, shows promise as a way of unifying the four known fundamental forces of nature. The strings are embedded in a space-time having as many as 10...
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Answer to:
Can anyone explain the physics of water surface tension?
The force acting in the surface of a liquid, tending to minimize the area of the surface. Surface forces, or more generally, interfacial forces, govern such phenomena as the wetting or nonwetting of solids by liquids, the capillary rise of liquids in fine tubes and wicks, and the curvature of free-liquid surfaces. The action of detergents and antifrothing agents and the flotation separation of...
Answer to:
What is aerosol?
Home > Library > Science > Sci-Tech EncyclopediaA suspension of small particles in a gas. The particles may be solid or liquid or a mixture of both. Aerosols are formed by the conversion of gases to particles, the disintegration of liquids or solids, or the resuspension of powdered material. Aerosol formation from a gas results in much finer particles than disintegration processes...
Answer to:
Can the US afford to fund a manned mission to Mars at the moment?
Experts warn that heavy debt threatens American economy - The Associated Press
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2005-08-27-growing-debt_x.htm
http://marcelinopena.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/the-ongoing-usa-trouble-economy-2008/
Answer to:
Can you spare a smile for me?
A SMILE costs nothing, but gives much.
It enriches those who
receive, without making poorer those who give.
It takes but a moment,
but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.
None is so rich or
mighty that he can get along without it,
and none is so poor but that
he can be made rich by it.
A smile creates happiness in the home,
and is the countersign of friendship.
It brings rest...
Answer to:
Most problems related to environment arise because we disturb the balance of nature. Are there any case where nature itself has ordained an imbalance so as to create a balance elsewhere or overall?
Some religions say that chaos was provided in nature so that humans will awaken and try for order. It enables them to discover their own innate strengths at the extreme.
http://sigmundcarlandalfred.wordpress.com/2006/10/31/order-chaos-and-god/
There are theories that Chaos existed before order was established in the universe.
http://www.paganspath.com/meta/law-chaos.htm
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Answer to:
Who or what do you consult when you need to buy a new laptop?
There are internet sites to provide technical ratings. This search engine is most useful to find best of the information.
http://www.search.com/search?q=HP+laptop+rating
Answer to:
Who on AB, are you most comfortable with replying to?
My friends - they are like minded like me.
Answer to:
What goes fast?
That which goes faster than light is mind.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is the difference between an embassy and a high consul?
Embassy is the head quarters located in the capital city of a country. It's branches, located in different important cities of the country, are designated as consulates managed by a group of consuls. The chief of
them in each consulate is called high consul.
An ambassador must be a learned person to represent the
culture of the country of his origin. Normal degrees with administrative...
Answer to:
How self-absorbed can people get? I don't understand why they don't value the opinion that truly counts: mine. ; )
self-absorbed
preoccupied with self: excessively concerned with your own life and interests
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861715819
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=71346&dict=CALD
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/self-absorbed
They are probably true to their spirit.
Variety is the spice of life for humans - only...
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Answer to:
Why does it seem no matter what you do people never agree with you?
Our minds are as different as our finger prints -
no two are identical. Palmistry also says the same
thing. Every human is unique. Not only do our
organs differ, but our personalities differ. Each
human develops different goals, and has special
traits or feelings which differ in a million
different ways from others.
http://www.answers.com/Phenomenology
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Blog blog blog how do i make a blog what is it and its point anyway?
You can write any thing you want - including the knowledge that you want to share.
http://www.answers.com/topic/blog
These sites provide some of the best blogs on the internet:
http://www.livejournal.com/
http://journalhub.com/summary.php
http://wordpress.com/
You can post your photos in photo blogs:
http://www.mylot.com/
http://photos.zorpia.com/
...
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Answer to:
Did (or do) you like being a student?
At our university, the faculty used to say that students are learners for a fixed period of time, but
teachers are students for a life time.
I am a student of higher knowledge for life time.
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Answer to:
Where does the phrase 'you don't know jack' come from?
'Jack' is a catch-all English name for almost anyone - Jack of all trades, Jack Tar etc. It comes from the French 'Jaques' a traditional name for a peasant centuries ago. It spead to things other than people, as your examples illustrate.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/17/messages/1164.html
jack
often Jack Informal. A man; a fellow.
One who does odd or...
Answer to:
What is the etymology of the word "solidarity"?
1841, from Fr. solidarité "mutual responsibility," a coinage of the "Encyclopédie" (1765), from solidaire "interdependent, complete, entire," from solide (see solid). With a capital S-, the name of an independent trade union movement in Poland, formed Sept. 1980 and officially banned Oct. 1982, from Pol. Solidarność.
...
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Answer to:
What is neither here nor there but we now believe is everywhere?
Parama Atma (Infinite Soul, Almighty) according to Hinduism.
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Answer to:
What is a Hyper Nova?
A hypernova is the most destructive force in this universe. The power is almost incomprehensible and they seem to produce so much energy they defy the laws of physics. When one sets off it is the brighter than everything else you can see in the sky.
One hypernova releases millions of times more light than the all of the billions of stars in our galaxy put together.
What causes...
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Answer to:
Can there ever be a time with out war and homicide?
Ancient Europeans wrote about Ages of Man.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_Man
There are also many other references to various
types of world ages or Ages of Man in Hopi
(worlds), Mayan (suns) and other cultures of
antiquity. Giorgio de Santillana, the former
professor of the history of science, mentions
approximately thirty ancient cultures that
believed in the concept of a...
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Do you exchange atoms with someone when you touch them?
As you move your hands across the person's aura - you should both experience some sort of change in the energy flow.
You do not touch the person--just the auric field of that person.
http://www.hauntedhull.com/auraspiritguide.htm
Our consciousness exists within every cell in our bodies. Through our consciousness, we can potentially communicate with every cell and organ within our...
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Answer to:
What does the phrase 'Tiger by the tail' really mean?
HAVE A TIGER BY THE TAIL - "Cope with an obsession; pursue an idea, a talent or even a vice obsessively; face a trying problem." From "Dictionary of Cliches" by James Rogers (Ballantine Books, New York, 1985).
There's a similar proverb: "He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount - Once a dangerous or troublesome venture is begun, the safest course is to carry...
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Answer to:
What's the origin of the word sincere?
Mid-16th century. < Latin sincerus "pure, whole"
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861735021
From Middle French sincere < Latin sincerus (“sound, uninjured, whole (applied in a physical sense to the body, limbs, skin, etc.), clean (applied to a vessel, jar, etc.), pure (applied to saffron, ointment, gems, etc.), unmixed...
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Answer to:
What's your favorite deppressing poem? Please type it down if u remember it.
Hope! Hope! Hope!
Delicious Hope! when naught to man is left -
Of fortune destitute, of friends bereft;
When even his dog deserts him, and his goat
With tranquil disaffection chews his coat
While yet it hangs upon his back; then thou,
The star far-flaming on thine angel brow,
Descendest, radiant, from the far skies
To touch the deepest depths of the heart
People sow seeds with...
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Answer to:
Is "Wackenhut" a place of ill repute and a dirty word?
The Wackenhut Slave Labor Program
Turning prison management over to corporations
This Awareness indicates that the reference to the Wackenhut Prison program has to do with the plan to turn prison management over to corporations. These would be managed by corporations. Already, some have occurred, where the corporations are managing some of the prisons. These are likened unto...
Answer to:
Is gracefall a word?
It is a name.
http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6125&start=0
Answer to:
What does the saying 'tongue in cheek' mean? Where did it originate from?
Meant or expressed ironically or facetiously.
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/tongue-in-cheek
spoken with gentle irony and meant as a joke
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861720813
Idioms: tongue in cheek, with
Ironically or as a joke, as in Was he speaking with tongue in cheek when he said Sally should run...
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Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase "take it with a pinch of salt"?
From Latin cum grano salis, literally with a grain of salt, figuratively with a bit of common sense.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/take_with_a_grain_of_salt
Idiom: with a grain of salt
Also, with a pinch of salt. Skeptically, with reservations. For example, I always take Sandy's stories about illnesses with a grain of salt--she tends to exaggerate. This expression is a translation...
Answer to:
Where did the phrase "It's a doozy!" come from?
Possibly blend of daisy , and Duesenberg, a luxury car of the late 1920s and 1930s
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/doozy
American. Earlier seen also as dozy. From the flower named daisy, English slang from the eighteenth century on, for something that was particularly appealing or excellent. It moved into North American English in the early nineteenth century and...
Answer to:
Life is ___________?
a mixture of joys and sorrows.
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Answer to:
Where did the term "bitting the bullet" come from?
BITE THE BULLET -- "Brace yourself for an unpleasant experience; decide to get on with a difficult task. Although one can find other explanations, it seems most plausible that the term originated in battlefield surgery before the days of anesthesia. A surgeon about to operate on a wounded soldier would urge him to bite on a bullet of soft lead to distract him from the pain; at least it...
Answer to:
Um maybe I'm a bit slow, but what does s/o mean?
son of
http://www.familyhistory101.com/encyclopedia/abbreviation.html
Son Of
Sold Out
Significant Other
Security Officer
Shipping Order
http://www.acronymfinder.com/S%2fO.html
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Answer to:
What is it that you have and I haven't?
I have good knowledge in etymology. I wish to thank the members of AB for appreciating my answers and for making me the expert of that category.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
For believers, what is your conception of God? (Nonbelievers, feel free to comment.)
The name for god in Hinduism is Parama Atma (Infinite Soul). Souls were created from and by the Infinite Soul. Since the created souls are finite in size and abilities, they can never fully comprehend what is Infinite.
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Answer to:
Why do many people resent intellectuals?
The major reason people tend to hate intellectuals is that their thinking is divorced from ordinary human thought. Intellectuals follow a narrower path.
Intellectuals had a long history of unfavorable connotations in English implying theorists lacking common sense.
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~nurelweb/books/concise/WORDS-I.html
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Answer to:
Are you a more open or private person when it comes to personal matters?
Open - if the asker is so inquisitive to my deepest personal matters.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Does it seem strange to you that when you ask a serious question, you get very few (or no) answers, but if you ask a "Fun" question, you get lots of answers and points, but end up getting the question flagged?
Not many people "know" answers for serious questions.
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Answer to:
Where does motivation come from? My guess is that when you have purpose... that drives you.
Different roles have been assigned to motivational factors in the causation of behavior. Some have defined motivation as a nonspecific energizing of all behavior. Others define it as recruiting and directing behavior, selecting which of many possible actions the organism will perform. The likely answer is that both aspects exist. More specific determinants of action may be superimposed on a...
Answer to:
Why did the English has become the most international in the world
At the height of British power, it was literally true that the sun never set on their Empire - they had significant holdings in places all over the world and on every continent. Furthermore, they were a major mercantile nation, and English traders could be found almost anywhere. English was a highly useful language to learn for this reason.
As American power eclipsed that of Great Britain,...
Answer to:
What’s the origin of the phrase “say cheese”?
(idiomatic) Used imperatively to elicit a smile from someone for a photograph by their saying "cheese" (the vowel of which, when pronounced as is usual in English, forces a somewhat smile-shaped mouth).
Usage notes
The term seems to have led to the word "cheese" becoming a slang synonym for "smile".
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/say_cheese
Say...
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Answer to:
Do non-American English speakers, or any other nationalities besides Germans, say "Gesundheit" when someone sneezes?
We in India do not use that word, but use the Sanskrit word Sathaayush which means "may you live a hundred years".
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Answer to:
What is silence?
—n.
1. absence of any sound or noise; stillness.
2. the state or fact of being silent; muteness.
3. absence or omission of mention, comment, or expressed concern: the conspicuous silence of our newspapers on local graft.
4. the state of being forgotten; oblivion: in the news again after years of silence.
5. concealment; secrecy.
http://dictionary.infoplease.com/silence
...
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Answer to:
What goes with yang in Eastern philosophy?
Yin - the word is cognate with Yoni in Sanskrit which means female principle.
In East Asian thought, the two complementary forces or principles that make up all aspects and phenomena of life. Yin is earth, female, dark, passive, and absorbing; it is present in even numbers and in valleys and streams and is represented by the tiger, the colour orange, and a broken line. Yang is heaven, male,...
Answer to:
Intellect Is Not Limited To Mensa,or Mathamatical Formulas.What Do You Think?*
(1) The Hindu texts have described several periods of
life time. Baalyam means childhood period upto 10 years
of age. The period between 12 years and 25 years is
called Koumaaram which roughly corresponds with
adolescence. Within this period, Kurra means the age of
16. This is called the age of eternity. Russian
scientists have found that if the control systems in
the body are maintained...
Answer to:
What is an example of a rhetorical question?
Idiom: rhetorical question
A question asked without expecting an answer but for the sake of emphasis or effect. The expected answer is usually "yes" or "no." For example, Can we improve the quality of our work? That's a rhetorical question. [Late 1800s]
Literary Dictionary: rhetorical question
a question asked for the sake of persuasive effect rather than as...
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Answer to:
What the eye doesn't see, the ..................................
What the eye doesn't see the heart doesn't grieve
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/14/messages/425.html
What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/What+the+eye+doesn't+see,+the+heart+doesn't+grieve+over
http://www.ldao.ca/aboutLDs/event_full.php?id=025
...
Answer to:
Sarcasm is ...............................
witty language used to convey insults.
http://www.audioenglish.net/dictionary/sarcasm.htm
a remark made usually to hurt someone's feelings or show scorn
Word History - Anyone who has suffered from the sarcastic remarks of others will not be too surprised to learn that sarcasm, "a cutting remark," comes from a Greek verb, sarkazein, that literally means "to tear...
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Answer to:
Do you believe that ALL problems have a solution or are you happy to believe that some problems just "are" and you have to learn to live with them?
Hinduism says that some problems are inevitable due to one's own past Karma.
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Answer to:
Is there a common, universal, true morality that goes beyond culture and religion?
Conscience is an ability or faculty or sense that leads to feelings of remorse when we do things that go against our moral values, or which informs our moral judgment before performing such an action. Such feelings are not intellectually reached, though they may cause us to 'examine our conscience' and review those moral precepts, or perhaps resolve to avoid repeating the behaviour.
...
Answer to:
Are all generalizations false?
A generalization of a concept is an extension of the concept to less-specific criteria. It is a foundational element of logic and human reasoning. Generalization posits the existence of a domain or set of elements, as well as one or more common characteristics shared by those elements. As such, it is the essential basis of all valid deductive inference. The process of verification is necessary...
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Answer to:
I admire people who ............................
have higher knowledge
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Answer to:
Did Western civilization originate from the Vikings?
Viking interest was not confined to western Europe, and Swedes navigated the rivers draining into the eastern Baltic in search of trading opportunities and sources of silver, the principal medium of exchange. Viking kingdoms based on Novgorod and Kiev were established in the 10th century through trading contacts with the Slavs, although within a century the Swedish rulers had forsaken their...
Answer to:
A great word or expression you find in old books but is hardly ever used today?
"For every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction". If you write it in English, it becomes
Newton's Law. If you write it in Sanskrit, it becomes
Law of Karma.
http://www.answers.com/karma
Causa est omnibus in Latin means 'there is a
reason for everything. Similar meaning is given by
the phrases "as you sow so shall you reap", "what
goes...
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Answer to:
Can someone who has no leadership qualities still be an effective manager?
Throughout the years, the role of a manager has changed. Years ago, managers were thought of as people who were "the boss."
Some would define management as an art, while others would define it as a science. Whether management is an art or a science isn't what is most important. Management is a process that is used to accomplish organizational goals; that is, a process that is...
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Answer to:
What is perception?
Mathematically speaking, perception is the integration of pieces information
provided by the senses.
http://www.gibson-design.com/philosophy/Concepts/$_PERCEPTION_1.html
Recognition and interpretation of sensory stimuli based "chiefly" on memory.
The neurological processes by which such recognition and interpretation are effected.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/perception...
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Answer to:
What is a slang word or phrase that is associated with the country you come from?
(Like "G'day" in Oz)
The phrase is in Hindi - "saare jahaan se achchaa Hindustan hamaaraa" (India is the best of all countries).
Among all countries in the world, India has inherited
the largest number of ancient manuscripts from time
immemorial. They were written on the widest range of
subjects known to humans.
Many Hindus believe that the Vedas were transmitted
orally for up to 8000 years...
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Answer to:
Where, how or why did the idea of knocking on wood to circumvent jinxing yourself originate?
The derivation may be the association that wood and trees have with good spirits in mythology, or with the Christian cross. It used to be considered good luck to tap trees to let the wood spirits within know you were there. Traditions of this sort still persist in Ireland. See also - the darling buds of May.
The British version - touch wood, had an earlier Latin version used when touching...
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Answer to:
If there are people in your life that you are mad at... will you ever forgive them?
Yes, my wife. She is my soul mate.
Let us suppose the extreme case - even if she tries to kill me, I will not take revenge on her.
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Answer to:
Is there something that you'll never understand about people?
Our minds are as different as our finger prints -
no two are identical. Palmistry also says the same
thing. Every human is unique. Not only do our
organs differ, but our personalities differ. Each
human develops different goals, and has special
traits or feelings which differ in a million
different ways from others.
http://www.answers.com/Phenomenology
One careless error is another...
Answer to:
What type of lies are used in a relationship?
Some lies told to avoid making someone upset, not for your own advantage or in order to harm someone else.
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Answer to:
All Men Lie: True or False?
Women lie more frequently than men, and they're much more clever about it and talented at it, to boot, a new book concludes.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/04/earlyshow/living/relationships/main3903159.shtml
What Hamlet actually said was "Frailty, thy name is woman."
75 percent lie about how much money they spend. For instance, they sneak purchases inside their...
Answer to:
Is it possible to have the exact same dream as your partner, when sleeping together?
The concept of collective unconscious gives the theoretical background for such happenings.
http://www.answers.com/topic/collective-unconscious
Answer to:
What's the newest thing in your life that excites you?
The internet which gives world wide interaction. I did not use it when I was in service.
Answer to:
What makes humans better than animals?(And don't say we where made in Gods image because i don't believe in any god.)
Higher intelligence and wisdom. Human nature is what it
distinguishes us from animal nature.
http://www.audioenglish.net/dictionary/human_nature.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/human-nature
Answer to:
How does the daily news affect you?
I am philosophical in my thinking. I do not try to know
about daily news. I read about some special news at times.
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Answer to:
What is uncommon about you?
English is not mother tongue. Also, English is not the specialization in the degrees
that I have studied.
It is obvious that a person whose mother tongue is English and a learned person in that language should become expert of etymology category here. Out of interest, I learned about English etymology. I wish to thank the learned members of AB for appreciating my answers and making me the...
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Answer to:
What's your cheapest form of entertainment?
Collecting photos of nature sceneries, and beautiful women of different lands from various wallpapers sites on the internet.
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Answer to:
What brings you total contentment?
Higher knowledge.
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Answer to:
What exactly is a "guido"?
Guido" (or "Gino") is a slang term for a younger lower class or working class urban Italian-American. The Guido stereotype is often portrayed as humorously thuggish with an overtly macho attitude and an unyielding pride in his Italian ancestry.
In a wider sense (and not directly connected to the above term anymore) is the use of 'Guido' as a bouncer slang term for an...
Answer to:
Where did the phrase "jinx, you owe me a soda" come from?
It was a bad colloquial word that should be said to old people.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_jinx_mean&src=ansTT
It is used as a cachy commercial attraction for T-shirts.
Answer to:
"To have something in spades" ... what does that mean?
from the game of bridge in which spades is the highest suit
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/in_spades
Idiom: in spades
Considerably, in the extreme; also, without restraint. For example, They were having money problems, in spades, or Jan told him what he really thought of him, in spades. This expression alludes to spades as the highest-ranking suit in various card games, such as bridge,...
Answer to:
Where did the phrase "Sweet!" come from?
O.E. swete "pleasing to the senses, mind or feelings," from P.Gmc. *swotijaz (cf. O.S. swoti, Swed. söt, Dan. sød, M.Du. soete, Du. zoet, O.H.G. swuozi, Ger. süß), from PIE base *swad- (Skt. svadus "sweet;" Gk. hedys "sweet, pleasant, agreeable," hedone "pleasure;" L. suavis "sweet," suadere "to advise," prop....
Answer to:
What is the origin of "freeloader"?
a person who habitually imposes 'load' on others for free food, lodging, etc.
http://www.yourdictionary.com/freeloader
Origin:
1950–55, Americanism; back formation from freeloader ( free + load + -er 1 )
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=freeloader&r=66
Answer to:
How did "fire" came to be associated with being terminated from a job or employment?
The v. sense of "sack, dismiss" is first recorded 1885 in Amer.Eng., probably from a play on the two meanings of discharge: "to dismiss from a position," and "to fire a gun," the second sense being from "set fire to gunpowder," attested from 1530.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=fire
There are a number of legends about the origin of...
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Answer to:
Were a skirt and a shirt originally the same thing?
skirt
13th century. < Old Norse skyrta "shirt"
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861734714
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/skirt?rdfrom=Skirt
Etymology: ME < ON skyrt, shirt, kirtle, akin to OE scyrte, shirt
http://www.yourdictionary.com/skirt
c.1300, "lower part of a woman's dress," from O.N. skyrta...
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Answer to:
What is leadership?
Characteristics of Successful and Effective Leadership
What does it take to make leadership successful or effective? Early students of leadership examined great leaders throughout history, attempting to find traits that they shared. Among personality traits that they found were determination, emotional stability, diplomacy, self-confidence, personal integrity, originality, and creativity....
Answer to:
What is a "catch-22" and where did this phrase originate?
Meaning
A paradox in which the attempt to escape makes escape impossible.
Origin
The title of Joseph Heller's novel, written in 1953 and published in 1961, (properly titled 'Catch-22' - with a hyphen). The first chapter was also published in a magazine in 1955, under the title 'Catch-18'.
(more.......)
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/catch-22.html
...
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Answer to:
What is the origin of stuck?
Past tense and past participle of stick
Old English stician< Indo-European
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861715013
Stick (v)
O.E. stician "to pierce, stab," also "to remain embedded, be fastened," from P.Gmc. *stik- "pierce, prick, be sharp" (cf. O.S. stekan, O.Fris. steka, Du. stecken, O.H.G....
Answer to:
What is a "white lie"?
a harmless lie told to avoid hurting someone’s feelings.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/whitelie?view=uk
a lie that you tell someone in order to protect them or avoid hurting their feelings
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/white-lie
a lie told to avoid making someone upset, not for your own advantage or in order to harm someone else
...
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Answer to:
Do the deeds of dictators automatically make humanitarians bad people?
Our minds are as different as our finger prints -
no two are identical. Palmistry also says the same
thing. Every human is unique. Not only do our
organs differ, but our personalities differ. Each
human develops different goals, and has special
traits or feelings which differ in a million
different ways from others.
http://www.answers.com/Phenomenology
One man's treason is...
Answer to:
What is conciousness and, do animals have it?
The twentieth-century British psychologist Stuart Sutherland once defined consciousness as ‘a fascinating but elusive phenomenon: it is impossible to specify what it is, what it does, or why it evolved. Nothing worth reading has been written about it.’ Consciousness is indeed hard to define, but most people have an intuitive idea of what it is. It encompasses two different concepts:...
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Answer to:
Where do you believe your identity lays in? Your memories? Your body? Your brain? Your Soul?
The soul, according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is the self-aware essence unique to a particular living being. In these traditions the soul is thought to incorporate the inner essence of each living being, and to be the true basis for sapience. It is believed in many cultures and religions that the soul is the unification of one's sense of identity.
...
Answer to:
"The language without words." Do you believe it exists? Have you experienced it? (as in The Alchemist)
I asked very few questions at my arranged marriage. Her looks conveyed me that she was my soul mate and that we have many attitudes in common. I married her and found it to be true.
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Answer to:
Which sense provides you with the most enjoyment?
Sixth sense - I receive higher knowledge through it.
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Answer to:
Honestly (and I am an animal lover), do you think you can love an animal as deeply as a person?
The Hindu Upanishads say that animals also have souls. Those persons who recognize that fact through sub-conscious mind can love animals.
Even though I know this fact from the scriptures, I can not love them because I did not recognize it through my sub-conscious mind. I am a conscious analyzer and researcher of facts.
I also know that animals are inferior to humans.
The mind of every...
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Answer to:
What is something that defies categorization?
Peace of mind.
Our minds are as different as our finger prints -
no two are identical. Palmistry also says the same
thing. Every human is unique. Not only do our
organs differ, but our personalities differ. Each
human develops different goals, and has special
traits or feelings which differ in a million
different ways from others.
http://www.answers.com/Phenomenology
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Answer to:
What in general makes you happy?
Happiness is an agreeable feeling or condition arising
from good fortune or propitious happening of any kind.
It is the possession of those circumstances or that
state of being which is attended with enjoyment. It is
associated with good luck, good fortune, prosperity,
well-being, delight, health, safety, and love.
Happiness is generic, and is applied to almost every
kind of enjoyment...
Answer to:
"We have no right to judge other people!" Why?
Our minds are as different as our finger prints -
no two are identical. Palmistry also says the same
thing. Every human is unique. Not only do our
organs differ, but our personalities differ. Each
human develops different goals, and has special
traits or feelings which differ in a million
different ways from others.
http://www.answers.com/Phenomenology
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Answer to:
What is the origin of the word "avatar"
Sanskrit Avataara:
descent, incarnation
http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&tinput=avatara&country_ID=&trans=Translate&direction=SE
AVATAR, a Sanskrit word meaning "descent," specially used in Hindu mythology (and so in English) to express the incarnation of a deity visiting the earth for any purpose. The ten Avatars of Vishnu are the most famous.
...
Answer to:
How will you occupy yourself if/ when you don't have to work anymore? (Assuming you find satisfaction and joy in your work.)
I am a retired professor. I am a member in some internet forums and an expert at a few websites.
When I was in the university, a small room was my classroom. With the internet at home now, the world is my class room now. Professor does dissemination of knowledge - I am still doing that.
I also continue many of my hobbies - hope you will like
these photos taken by me:
...
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Answer to:
Do you leave work tired planning to take a nap but feel energized once you're at home?
A person feels reserved, and slightly annoyed at job, but is social and calm at home. Is this a split personality case?
It is not split personality. A person with split personality will not know that he has another
personality.
Some persons show a different personality when they are
at places of gaming and betting. What is observed in those
cases is the attitude that a person needs at...
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Answer to:
Anyone else having problems logging on to Google?
Since Google is the most used search engine in the world, it has become the target for malware writers.
http://www.answers.com/topic/malware
Install one more copy of Windows in another partition of the hard disk and try to Google from it. If it works, the first partition OS can be removed.
So is the case with FireFox browser and Internet Explorer.
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Answer to:
What is intellectual honesty?
Intellectual dishonesty is dishonesty in performing intellectual activities like thought or communication. Examples are:
the advocacy of a position which the advocate knows or believes to be false or misleading
the conscious omission of aspects of the truth known or believed to be relevant in the particular context.
Rhetoric is used to advance an agenda or to reinforce one's deeply...
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Answer to:
Do you have a "psychic" connection with someone? Maybe a child, spouse, significant other or even an "insignificant other"? You seem to know what they are thinking and feeling. How do YOU explain it?
My wife is my soul mate. She cautioned me on many things through precognition.
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Answer to:
Is morality subjective and absolute (as in everybody decides for themselves what's moral and what's not) or does it follow a sliding scale of "1→10" (as in different people have higher/ lower moral standards, are more/ less morally aware than others)?
In the present day societies, morality has become a personal matter.
One man's fall is another one's break
One man's treason is another's escape
One man gets richer from another fool's addiction
One man's hatred is another man's faith
One man's poison is another man's cake
One man's Heaven is another man's Hell
One man's...
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Answer to:
Is it worth studying for an MBA? Or has it become meaningless?
In our university, MBA is more valued by students than studying a computer course.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Whose idea was it to put an "s" in the word "lisp"?
late O.E. awlyspian, from wlisp (adj.) "lisping," probably of imitative origin (cf. M.Du., O.H.G. lispen, Dan. læspe, Swed. läspa). The noun is first attested 1625.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=lisp
http://www.yourdictionary.com/lisp
From Middle English lispen, to lisp, from Old English -wlyspian (in wlyspian, to lisp), from wlisp, lisping
...
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Answer to:
What does the phrase "Bob's your uncle" mean?
Meaning
Used to describe the means of obtaining a successful result. For example, 'left over right; right over left, and bob's your uncle - a reef knot'.
Origin
Eric Partridge lists it in his Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English , 1937. He gives it the meaning 'all will be well', which is not quite how it is used now. Partridge states it as dating...
Answer to:
This question is not meant to be demeaning, so please keep that in mind - I've noticed that many girls/women that have genetic mental disorder seem to be big chested; could this be from where the "big tits, no brains" stereotype started?
That stereotype is very little heard. The most popular
one is "all butt, no brains."
http://www.answers.com/big%20tits,%20no%20brains
http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&q=%22all+butt+no+brains%22&btnG=Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=
Most of the men have broad shoulders and most of the women have broad hips - see the attached drawings.
A few women with broad...
Answer to:
The traffic on Answerbag has been steadily diminishing since Februar 2009, going from a peak of 6.9 M users down to 5.6 M users (registered or not). Thoughts?
Those who have left are youngsters who seek variety.
Those who are here are solid assets to make this forum
a real answer bag for questions posted on the internet.
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Answer to:
Where does the expression Hunky Dory come from?
ORIGIN hunky from Dutch honk ‘home’ (in games)
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/hunkydory?view=uk
Probably alteration of hunky, safe, all right, from obsolete hunk, goal, home in a game, from Dutch honk, from Frisian hunk
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/hunky-dory
1866, Amer.Eng. (popularized c.1870 by a Christy Minstrel song), perhaps a...
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Answer to:
Where did the saying "wrong side of the tracks" originate
It means from the bad side of town, and refers to lower class people.
In many American towns, the railroad tracks run through the center of town, and the homes downwind (prevailing winds) of the tracks usually received a disproportionate share of the smoke and soot from the train engines, especially in the early RR days when the engines were dirtier. So the real estate on the upwind side...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Does the term NIGGERS come from the term Negro (Latin for black) or from Nágas (African for king)?
ORIGIN from Spanish negro ‘black’.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/nigger?view=uk
Alteration of dialectal neger, black person, from French nègre, from Spanish negro
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/nigger
Ultimately from the Latin adjective niger, meaning "black". Several Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, etc)...
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Answer to:
Does metaphysical naturalism entail hard determinism?
No.
Some naturalists argue that sound naturalist hypotheses about facts still scientifically unexplained outperform all other hypotheses in explanatory scope and power, relative to explanatory simplicity. If that's true, then metaphysical naturalism is the best explanation of everything we observe and experience, and is therefore probably true. This amounts to arguing that everything...
Answer to:
Complete this sentence: Life is like _______.
A miracle.
Many philosophers felt it that way. But it may not appear so for normal persons.
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Answer to:
Can the future ever be predicted?
Hindu astrology is able to predict the major future events as per their past Karma.
I gave astrology predictions to more than 100 persons, particularly with emphasis on future health. Nearly 90% of them told me that the given predictions were correct.
Answer to:
Potentially isn't it the end of the world as we know it every time we sleep?
Some Hindu philosophical texts say that sleep is equal to mini death. Sleep ends the known world to create a dream world.
One aspect of connection of sleep with death is confirmed by science that the normal killing of bacteria and viruses in the body, through the natural protection system, is highest when we sleep.
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Answer to:
When life is so unpredictable how does one know what their future karma holds?
Hindu astrology is able to predict the major future events as per their Karma.
I gave astrology predictions to more than 100 persons, particularly with emphasis on future health. Nearly 90%
of them told me that the given predictions were correct.
Answer to:
Is it possible for feelings to change so quickly you don't actually realise?
They tested users by flashing web pages for 500 msec and 50 msec onto the screen, and had participants rate the pages on various scales. The results at both time intervals were consistent between participants, although the longer display produced more consistent results. Yet, in as little as 50 ms, participants formed judgments about images they glimpsed. The "halo effect" of that...
Answer to:
Why would certain girls send me naked pictures of themselves without me even asking them to?
They know your weak point. It is part of hi-tech culture.
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Answer to:
What is Stimulus Syllables?
It is a terminology word in speech processing.
http://www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/people/yury.shtyrov/personal/abstract6.html
http://jslhr.asha.org/cgi/reprint/13/1/193.pdf
http://www.amazon.com/phrase/stimulus-syllable
Answer to:
Do you believe a soul is something which must be earned, is given to us at birth or simply does not exist?
Soul
the spiritual part of a person that is believed to give life to the body and in many religions is believed to live forever
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/Soul
Immaterial aspect or essence of a person, conjoined with the body during life and separable at death. The concept of a soul is found in nearly all cultures and religions, though the interpretations of its nature...
Answer to:
Death is so, it is such an 'end,' so brutally honest, and in your face, don't you think, i mean, there must be something else, or does it just, end?
Soul:
the spiritual part of a person that is believed to give life to the body and in many religions is believed to live forever
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/Soul
Hinduism says that soul is immortal. Parapsychologists
have studied a large number of rebirth cases in a scientific way.
http://www.search.com/search?q=cases+of+rebirth+reincarnation
Visit any book shop -...
Answer to:
Why do people lie? Once they lie to you, they can never be your friend.
Psychology of lying
The capacity to lie is noted early and nearly universally in human development. Social psychology and developmental psychology are concerned with the theory of mind, which people employ to simulate another's reaction to their story and determine if a lie will be believable. The most commonly cited milestone, what is known as Machiavellian intelligence, is at the age of...
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Answer to:
What would you call the tactic of pretending not to understand whatever you don't agree with?
Feign an excuse
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Answer to:
How can you cheer me up?
A girl kissed me when I was a boy.
But I did not know what to do!
My mother slapped me for that.
(I did not sleep all night............)
Answer to:
Where does the phrase "Tell it to the Marines" originate from?
Meaning
A scornful response to a tall and unbelieved story.
Origin
The US Marine Corps are probably the best-known marines these days and this American-sounding phrase is often thought to refer to them. This isn't an American phrase though and, although it has been known there since the 1830s, it originated in the UK and the marines in question were the Royal Marines.
The...
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Answer to:
What proper noun does the word Chemistry come from?
1605 (see chemical), originally "alchemy;" the meaning "natural physical process" is 1646, and the scientific study not so called until 1788. The figurative sense of "instinctual attraction or affinity" is older, c.1600, from the alchemical sense.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=chemistry
First coined 1605 < chemist < chymist < Latin...
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Answer to:
The phrase " heavens to betsie" what does it mean
Meaning
A mild exclamation of surprise.
Origin
This American phrase has been in circulation since the latter part of the 19th century, although its use faded throughout the 20th century and it is now something of an anachronism. The first example of it that I can find is in Rose Terry Cooke's book of short stories Huckleberries Gathered from New England Hills, 1891:
...
Answer to:
Is it human nature to be deceptive?
It is part of animal nature in humans.
http://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme.cgi?Word=animal_nature
http://www.freedictionary.org/?Query=animal%20nature
When he distinguishes himself from animals,
then he becomes a human.
When he realises that he is the highest of all
creation, then he becomes a human.
When he develops his intellect,
then he becomes a human.
When he becomes an...
Answer to:
Can We Replace Human Thinking with Artificial Intelligent Robots?
To some extent - try this online robot and you will know.
Here is the link. But a word of warning. Do not type
"I love you".
The site says that it can seem to be amazingly intelligent sometimes.
But the caution given there is that it is not a science teacher.
Just try having some fun.
http://www.algebra.com/cgi-bin/chat.mpl
Example:
you ==> Are you good at...
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Answer to:
Are women more intuitive than men?
While everybody is intuitive, there are varying degrees of manifestation, acceptance and realization. Psychological studies and research have found that educated people find it easier to let intuition take over while protecting themselves from the social milieu behind a facade of empirical, analytical data. Intuition too can be specialized in one domain - the more practice that is put into it,...
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Answer to:
When did people become an expert in knowing what is right for you, especially when you weren't even asking?
Some persons, mostly women, have the ability of intuition to guess what is right for you.
http://www.answers.com/topic/intuition
http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?isbn=9780743243070&atch=h&ymal=pp
http://www.intuitive-connections.net/2002/book-edge.htm
Answer to:
If Philosophy Wasnt Around Today Where Would The World Be At This Point In Time?
Chaos.
Answer to:
The world would be a better place without ________________?
Selfishness.
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Answer to:
What do you know that you do not know?
I am searching for knowledge in Higher Yoga. I know it for sure that I do not know much of it.
Answer to:
What do you own that cannot be measured?
Higher knowledge.
Answer to:
Do you know what you believe?
"Our two minds .... One is an act of the emotional
mind, the other of the rational mind. In a very
real sense we have two minds, one that thinks and
one that feels" (Daniel Goleman, Emotional
Intelligence, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 1996,
page 8). The rational mind is also called the
faculty of logic and reason.
The Upanishads say that these two are opposite in
nature....
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Answer to:
Can a religion be immoral?
Morality is a relative concept. It is religiously moral
for cannibals to eat humans - they have religions of their own.
Answer to:
Do You Agree That It's An Unrealistic Ideal To Be Perfect All The Time?*
No man is perfect.
The ethical question of perfection concerns not whether man is perfect, but whether he should be. And if he should be, then how is this to be attained?
Plato seldom actually used the term, "perfection"; but the concept of "good", central to his philosophy, was tantamount to "perfection." He believed that approximation to the idea of...
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Answer to:
Is there any jobs for philosopher minds out there anymore? or is it simply a conversational boon now?
Hindu philosophers are still actively consulted by many
in India.
I am an expert on Hinduism at this site:
http://www.allexperts.com/expert.cgi?m=1&catID=946&expID=82691
I receive many questions on Hindu philosophy. You can check the ratings given to me.
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Answer to:
Is all life equal?
Hindu Upanishads say that all life forms contain souls, and humans are the highest of all creation.
A soul has to go through a large number of lower births
to attain human birth.
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/186/story_18677_1.html
http://www.harekrishna.com/col/books/KR/cb/chapter1.html
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/vedic_culture_hinduism_a_short_introduction.htm
Answer to:
I can separate mind and body! When i perform Anapanasathi , after 2 hours i am out of body! but i can see every thing ! can ever shake my hands! If do not control mide goes up very fast! what is that!
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are sensations that one is viewing the world-and especially one's own body-from a position outside the physical body. Persons who have undergone OBEs were usually asleep or under anesthetics at the time, but OBEs can also occur under ordinary, waking circumstances. Some people claim to have experienced OBEs since adolescence or early childhood. The similarity...
Answer to:
A smile is a curve that sets every thing straight. What is your opinion?
A SMILE costs nothing, but gives much.
It enriches those who
receive, without making poorer those who give.
It takes but a moment,
but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.
None is so rich or
mighty that he can get along without it,
and none is so poor but that
he can be made rich by it.
A smile creates happiness in the home,
and is the countersign of friendship.
It brings rest...
Answer to:
Where did the term "put your Dukes up" or to "Duke it out" originate?
duke (intr.v):
To fight, especially with fists: duking it out.
[Middle English, from Old French duc, from Latin dux, duc-, leader, from dūcere, to lead. N., sense 4, short for Duke of Yorks, rhyming slang for forks, fingers.]
http://www.answers.com/topic/duke
"Put up your dukes"
Cockney rhyming slang, or so I have been told. "Duke of York" = knife and fork....
Answer to:
What do you think people mean when they use the term "down and dirty?"
1. Intently and fiercely competitive, often unscrupulously so: “Keeping his cool has never been easy for [him] in the playoffs . . . when opponents do their down-and-dirty best to bewitch, bother and bewilder him” (Phil Anastasia).
2. Bawdy; lewd.
Idioms: down and dirty
1. Vicious, not governed by rules of decency, as in The candidates are getting down and dirty early in...
Answer to:
Men:In your experience, what is one of the easiest ways to upset a woman?
No need to insult - ask her to tell the deepest secrets
hidden by her.
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Answer to:
Do you think people let off certain auras or vibes that others are sensitive to? What color(s) or vibe do you think others feel when around you?
I know some persons who let off their dark vibes and suck my energy from a distance. They are called energy
vampires.
"Do you feel exhausted after being with certain people? That's how energy vampires drain your spirit."
http://psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/stop_energy_vampires
Some people, by their very presence, seem to drain the energy of those unprotected...
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Answer to:
Do you reveal more about yourself online than you do to most people in the real world? (Answer the question then say why or why not.)
Not me, but I know a few who do that because it gives them a relief. Their normal life is not affected because they do not have to face those, to whom they have revealed, every day.
Answer to:
What is fluid inteligence?
Fluid intelligence is the ability to find meaning in confusion and solve new problems. It is the ability to draw inferences and understand the relationships of various concepts, independent of acquired knowledge.
(more.......)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_and_crystallized_intelligence
Definition: Refers to he ability to reason quickly and to think abstractly. This type of...
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Answer to:
The question no one can answer: What does feel like travelling at the speed of light?
Modern science can not answer this question because they could not produce any artifact that could travel at the speed of light.
Ancient Indians have developed some space crafts which could travel at the speed of light. Hindu philosophy says that every thing must go through cycles of up and down or light and darkness. Accordingly, even though this knowledge is available in India, we do not...
Answer to:
Does hypnosis work?
Working of hypnosis requires balance of mind. Meditation and Yoga are proven techniques to provide
balance of mind.
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Answer to:
When do you like to be alone?
When I feel emotionally low.
Answer to:
Why do so many people live their lives consumed by anger and unhappiness and project those negative vibes onto others?
According to Hindu Upanishads, people are classified
as:
Tamo Guna type: Persons with split personality like
Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Rajo Guna type: Persons with anger and unhappinesss most of their time.
Satwa Guna type: Balanced and calm most of the time.
The will have better knowledge than the previous two.
http://www.answers.com/topic/guna
Answer to:
Why do good people do bad things sometimes?
No man is perfect.
http://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/dr-john-celes/sonnet-no-man-is-perfect/
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Answer to:
Which country has noble concepts like unity of the world? (Read my answer first)
India speaks not only about harmony of the universe,
but also about harmony of all humans. In ancient
times, India was the only country which has the higher
concepts like Vasudha Eka Kutumbam (the world is one
family), Loka Kalyaanam (for the spiritual good of all
in the world) and Sarva Maanava Soubhratutvam (all
humans are brothers).
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Answer to:
Do you mind if i ask a question that nobody can answer?
I have been doing that at this site and received good
ratings most of the time.
http://www.allexperts.com/expert.cgi?m=1&catID=946&expID=82691
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Answer to:
The intelligent question: If energy can't be created or destroyed, Where did it come from and where does it go?
Science could not answer it. Hindu philosophy says that
Parama Atma (Infinite Soul, Almighty) created Sakti (energy) when there was nothing. Science knows that energy and matter are inter convertible. All this creation came into being from that primordial energy.
Nothing is impossible for Infinite Soul. His force can re-absorb that energy if required.
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Tell me something I would never guess about yourself.
A girl kissed me when I was a boy.
But I did not know what to do!
My mother slapped me for that....
(I couldn't sleep that night)
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
What is the top priority in your life that you struggle with?
Higher knowledge - I am a Yogi.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What's your opinion about how sports are emphasized (within your country)?
Reasonably good in India.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What would make a great topic for a boring seminar?
Global warming - a hotly debated topic now-a-days. It is bound to heat up the sleeping ones.
Answer to:
Do you remember the person who helps you or forget after getting the work done?
I try to help them in my own way at the earliest opportunity.
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Lion Heart has just reached Swami!!!!who would join me in congratulating him on this achievment?congrats
Great to become a Swami!
| 3 people like this
Answer to:
Are you a missionary of some kind?
Yes - to tell some people in the world about the values of ancient India.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is the difference between tequilla and tequila?
tequilla:
1. a spirit that is distilled in Mexico from an agave plant and forms the basis of many mixed drinks
2. the plant, Agave tequilana, from which this drink is made
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Tequilla
tequila:
* noun: Mexican liquor made from fermented juices of an Agave plant
* name: A female given name (rare: 1 in 50000 females; popularity...
Answer to:
What is the difference between rhum and rum?
RHUM:
French word for rum.
http://www.epicurus.com/Glossary/french/glossary.php?&page=2&letter=r
Name of a location.
http://snr.unl.edu/Data/AgateLexicon.asp?Name=r
A surname (very rare: popularity rank in the U.S.: #79175)
http://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme.cgi?Word=Rhum
Answer to:
Do condoms grow on rubber trees?
Yes. You can also take one with a colour of your choice. But you have to wait till the year 2050.
Genetic code change of trees is under experimental stage at present.
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Answer to:
How little is sufficient?
What ever little that I am eligible according to my Karma.
Answer to:
On a 1 - 10 scale (10 = *most*), how much/often would you consider yourself 'socially alienated'?
Nine.
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Excuse me, but what in the hell is a “LOGGYBREN?”
http://www.answerbag.com/profile/?id=348372
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Do you know there has been added a new term called..Internet Addiction...in psychology?...Do you think you're Internet Addicted?...Good or bad?...Should we need to be concerned?..What else to do?
When I was teaching, one room was my class room. After retirement, I am at home with
internet - the world is my class room now. I am the expert of etymology category here:
http://www.answerbag.com/c_view/1269
I am an expert in a few other forums. I spend most of my time on the internet. You can call me an internet addict if you like.
Answer to:
Emotional? Realistic? Or, rude?
Realistic means down-to-earth:
practical and direct in a sensible honest way:
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/down-to-earth
Emotional:
inspired or governed by emotion, and not by reason or willpower
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861608177
"Our two minds .... One is an act of the emotional
mind, the other of the...
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Answer to:
Do you like to discuss math/science questions with people?
I am a retired engineering teacher. I welcome science
questions. I answer many here.
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Answer to:
'Men are polygamic'...what do you think?
Some people who defend modern polygamy take the same approach, saying men are, after all, promiscuous animals by nature. ''You look at the nature of men, and most of them are polygamous''
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/28/magazine/the-persistence-of-polygamy.html?pagewanted=4
Here are some established differences between men and women:
# Men are polygamous by nature...
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Answer to:
Are men polygamous by nature?
Some people who defend modern polygamy take the same approach, saying men are, after all, promiscuous animals by nature. ''You look at the nature of men, and most of them are polygamous''
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/28/magazine/the-persistence-of-polygamy.html?pagewanted=4
Here are some established differences between men and women:
# Men are polygamous by nature...
Answer to:
What is your opinion on first impression?
(Read my answer first)
Scientific basis for first impression:
"In as little as 8 to 30 seconds, people form fairly lasting impressions
about you - impressions about your intelligence, success, confidence,
competence, physical fitness, professionalism, etc. The axiom "you never
get a second chance to make a first impression" is so true. And it's
compounded by the fact that people generally...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
How long ago was the Ice Age?
The Pleistene epoch was not a period of continuous
glaciation but a time when glaciers alternately
advanced and retreated (or melted back) over large
portions of Europe. Between the glacial advances
were warmer periods called Inter-glacial Periods,
which lasted for about 10,000 years. The European
glaciers reached their maximum thickness and
extent about 22,000 years ago. By about 14,000...
Answer to:
Would you rather live in the tropics or a place with four seasons?
I live in India. Our ancient texts describe six seasons.
https://www.vedamsbooks.com/no31636.htm
http://www.bestindiansites.com/nature/seasons-of-india.html
Answer to:
If we do have free will wouldn't that mean everything happens by accident and nothing happens for a reason?
Read my answer given here:
http://www.answerbag.com/a_view/7002709
Answer to:
Why do you believe everything happens by chance?
The law of cause and effect is known in philosophical
texts also. There is a very specific law in science.
"For every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction". If you write it in English, it becomes
Newton's Law. If you write it in Sanskrit, it becomes
Law of Karma.
http://www.answers.com/karma
Causa est omnibus in Latin means 'there is a
reason for...
Answer to:
Isn't the end just the beginning?
Hindu Upanishads say that every thing goes in cycles.
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Answer to:
Should "Relationship Advice" on Answerbag be renamed "Dear AB" ? ( a la "Dear Abby") ; )
Great Idea! Suggest it to the management.
| 3 people like this
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Why will you not let me borrow your money?
For every action, there will be an equal reaction - that will be true in human relations also.
May be you will show me kindness in some other thing.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
How do you know your life just isn't a fiction story?
I have become the expert of etymology category here.
That is not a fiction story.
So is the case with most of my research papers which were accepted at International conferences and journals.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What would be a good reason to become a polytheist?
Religion is a liability in other countries. Such an
attitude breeds atheists. All other countries have
mono-theism. Hinduism is poly-theism. All rivers
finally join the one ocean. In the same way, worship of
any god will finally reach Paramatma. In India, we are
free to choose a god of our liking. This is what it
keeps our individuality and spiritual freedom . We can
make religion our...
| 5 people like this
Answer to:
What do you think a good question is?
One that awakens insight into many related questions.
Answer to:
Do you have unconditional love?
That is what my wife is giving me.
Answer to:
What priority is money in your life?
Lowest. I have received many job offers after my retirement, but I did not accept any. Peace of mind
is my highest priority.
Our government pays me pension and that is sufficient for me at this age.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Tell me one good thing humans made up before i really despise them?
Ancient Hindu texts say that humans are highest of all
creation.
http://www.vedanta-newyork.org/articles/concept_of_evolution.htm
http://www.sriramakrishnamath.org/magazine/vk/2006/01-2-1.asp
http://www.atlantaharekrishnas.org/newsgroup/kcprinciples/0093.htm
Answer to:
How would your mother describe you?
Good for nothing - of course, she is no more.
AB proved me that I am good for some thing.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What do you consider your greatest talent?
Etymology - I am expert of that category here.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What would you prescribe for someone who thinks that they are losing their edge?
Yoga.
Answer to:
Today is my first anniversary on AB, attaining 56 Sage,is that about par for the course?
Many happy returns!
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Why do(Some)Humans think they own earth?
Peak of egocentrism.
http://www.answers.com/topic/egocentrism
Answer to:
Are white lies necessary?
At times they are necessary, but not all the time. It depends on the situation.
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
When you feel low do you tend to eat sugary foods?
"Why do women love to eat chocolate when they're upset?"
http://ezinearticles.com/?Women-and-Chocolate&id=56419
That tendency will be normally low in most men.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Which era of history do you have the most knowledge of?
Ancient history of India.
http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/blog/7243-science-and-technology-ancient-india-20159.html
http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/blog/7243-geographical-knowledge-ancient-indians-18644.html
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Are you happy with the way your country is at present, what improvements could be made?
Among all countries in the world, India has inherited
the largest number of ancient manuscripts from time
immemorial. They were written on the widest range of
subjects known to humans.
Many Hindus believe that the Vedas were transmitted
orally for up to 8000 years (see Fisher).
The Vedas are considered by some to be the world's
first scripture, and are perhaps the oldest
...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What do you really think of drug addicts do you sympathise or despise them?
Our minds are as different as our finger prints -
no two are identical. Palmistry also says the same
thing. Every human is unique. Not only do our
organs differ, but our personalities differ. Each
human develops different goals, and has special
traits or feelings which differ in a million
different ways from others.
http://www.answers.com/Phenomenology
I will help if some of them...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
How long have you been active on AB without a break?
No break since I joined.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Do you use decaffineated, low fat or sugar free products?
I am retired man, but still good at eating a few sweats
every day. Fat content does not bother me.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Will you show compassion and empathy for someone today?
My not be today, but I always look for it. That is what
it makes me feel a human.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Whats your opinion of someone who *thinks* they are clever compaired to everyone else?
A narcissist.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Is it me? or when you see parents shouting and screaming(and even swearing at times) at their kids in public do you find it very annoying?
I lived with it all my childhood.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Why do the people who profess they care the most, often hurt/offend us the most?
They are the persons with high egocentrism.
"Preoccupation with self and insensitivity to others. In sport it may be manifested as an attempt to obtain personal recognition by beating others in competition."
http://www.answers.com/topic/egocentrism
http://dictionary.infoplease.com/egocentric
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Do you know anyone who doesn't own a Television?
In India, we have so many - some around my own house.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
When people ask questions a lot (in general, not on AB!) do you think they are showing intelligence or do they appear un-intelligent?
Nearly 90% of people ask for interaction and to find the opinion of others. It is nothing to do with intelligence.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle maybe considered too expensive, do you agree or not?
Try meditation coupled with Yoga - the two Indian techniques which proved helpful to the rest of the world.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Do you enjoy music and movies that originate from a different country than your own?
Yes. But I have a problem. I tried listening to music by Africans - but I could not like them.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Do you like Indian music/songs?
I have a good library of it.
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
What is the difference in meaning between a house and a home? (Read my answer first)
house
a building in which a family lives
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/house
a building in which one or more families live
something (as a nest or den) used by an animal for shelter
http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=house
a building in which a family lives
a structure or shelter in which animals are kept
...
Answer to:
I think everyone has at least one addiction, what's yours?
Answer Bag - it made me the expert of etymology category.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Do you need to be forgiven?
A girl kissed me when I was a boy.
But I did not know what to do!
My mother slapped me for that....
Do I need to be forgiven?
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Hatred, torment, despair, misery, affliction, pain, despondency, rage, dejection, agony, torture, anguish, depression, and hopelessness. What happens to a person who feels ALL of these over a period of 10+ years?
He can possibly look only for some home.
Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to
events and circumstances in one's life. Hope
implies a certain amount of perseverance i.e.
believing that a positive outcome is possible even
when there is some evidence to the contrary.
A person who dreads of 'what tomorrow may bring'
looses the zeal of life itself. He can not...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Fighting-Does it really solve any problems at all?
Not even 10% of cases - to be honest.
Answer to:
Do you have any humiliating childhood memories?
A girl kissed me when I was a boy.
But I did not know what to do!
My mother slapped me for that........................
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What part of the brain is responsible for monitoring incoming information?
It is first received by Ahamkaara (Self-sense) center;
then they are further processed by other centers located on the spine.
Visit my blog for further information:
http://www.scientificblogging.com/components_mind/blog/components_mind_according_t_ancient_scriptures_india
Answer to:
Can science explain why love is blind in some cases? (Read my answer first)
(idiomatic) A person who is in love can see no faults or imperfections in the person who is loved.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/love_is_blind
This was coined by Shakespeare and was quite a favourite line of his.
Modern-day research supports the view that the blindness of love is not just a figurative matter. A research study in 2004 by University College London found that feelings of...
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
What is your interpretation of the phrase 'Love is blind'?
(idiomatic) A person who is in love can see no faults or imperfections in the person who is loved.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/love_is_blind
This was coined by Shakespeare and was quite a favourite line of his.
Modern-day research supports the view that the blindness of love is not just a figurative matter. A research study in 2004 by University College London found that feelings of...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
How would you define down-to Earth?*
Realistic; sensible.
Not pretentious or affected; straightforward.
Not overly ornate; simple in style.
(adjective)
Having or indicating an awareness of things as they really are: hard, hardheaded, matter-of-fact, objective, practical, pragmatic, pragmatical, prosaic, realistic, sober, tough-minded, unromantic.
Antonyms: excitable, excited, impractical, unreasonable, unsensible
...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What does 'If you are finding yourself feeling like your back is against the wall' mean?
This phrase predates the use of chairs in church by centuries! It is a military metaphor. When you fight with your back to the wall, you are protected from an attack from the rear, but also you have no means of retreat; so you are making a grim resistance where you are.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/59/messages/56.html
"with one's back to the wall -- Hard-pressed,...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Any clever phrases with the word smile in it?
Idioms:
smile on
crack a smile
http://www.answers.com/topic/smile
Pixyish smile
The smile on a happy Man
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/24/messages/241.html
Answer to:
Why are blond-haired children called "towheads"?
Etymology: tow + head
A blond person whose very pale, almost white hair resembles tow (tow-colored colour).
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/towhead
In the case of "tow-head," understanding the phrase depends on knowing that "tow" is another word for raw flax or hemp fibers. "Tow" in this sense is apparently unrelated to the "pull" sense of...
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Answer to:
What is the difference between transparent and translucent?
transparent
Capable of transmitting light so that objects or images can be seen as if there were no intervening material.
Characteristic of paper that is thin enough for an image printed on the reverse side or lying below to show through; also called show-through.
http://www.answers.com/topic/transparent
translucent
Transmitting light but causing sufficient diffusion to prevent...
Answer to:
What does the phrase ' take a chill pill mean?'
1. (slang) to relax or calm down
My boss needs to take a chill pill and quit shouting at us.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/take_a_chill_pill
Slang - Something that calms nerves or induces relaxation.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=take+a+chill+pill&r=66
http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/t.htm
To calm down; relax.
chill pill
Slang - Something that...
Answer to:
What does it mean if something is transpontine?
on other side of bridge: located on or coming from the other side of a bridge
[Mid-19th century. <trans- + Latin pont-, stem of pons "bridge"]
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861721529
1. Of, pertaining to, or situated on the far side of a bridge
2. Of, or pertaining to the sensational melodramas presented on the...
Answer to:
What's the etymology of the word "Telestial"?
In Mormonism, the telestial kingdom is the lowest of what are believed to be three heavens or heavenly kingdoms. It is said by Latter-day Saints to correspond to the "glory of the stars" mentioned by the Apostle Paul in the King James Version translation of 1 Corinthians 15:41. The word telestial does not seem to derive directly from any Latin word, or any word of another language. In...
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Answer to:
What is deactivated mean?
deactivate
Meaning 1:
Remove from active military status or reassign
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Context example:
The men were deactivated after five years of service
Hypernyms (to "deactivate" is one way to...):
discharge; muster out (release from military service)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
...
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Answer to:
Where does the expresion `stool pigeon`originate from` !!
From the practice of tying decoy pigeons to a stool to attract other pigeons
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/stool%20pigeon
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/stoolpigeon?view=uk
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stool_pigeon
1830, Amer.Eng., said to be from notion of decoys fastened to stools to lure other pigeons. But perhaps related to stall "decoy...
Answer to:
Where does the term `hat trick` come from,,,,?
ORIGIN referring originally to the club presentation of a new hat to a bowler taking a hat-trick.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/hattrick?view=uk
From the hat with which the feat was traditionally rewarded in cricket
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/hat%20trick
the former practice in cricket of awarding a hat to a bowler who took three wickets with three...
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Answer to:
Why do people always say "quote unquote" BEFORE they say a quote? Shouldn't it be "Quote (whatever it is) unquote?"
(idiomatic) Emphasizes the following word or phrase for irony, as used almost exclusively in spoken language.
Used in spoken language to delimit a quotation in the same function as quotation marks.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/quote_unquote
named or described as Even the quote unquote realistic movies don't show very realistic violence. In order to make some foods, quote,...
Answer to:
How do you make paper?
Formed from wood pulp or plant fiber, paper is chiefly used for written communication. The earliest paper was papyrus, made from reeds by the ancient Egyptians. Paper was made by the Chinese in the second century, probably by a Chinese court official named Cai Lun. His paper was made from such things as tree bark and old fish netting. Recognized almost immediately as a valuable secret, it was...
Answer to:
Are there any black dwarf stars existing currently?
A 'black dwarf' is a white dwarf that has cooled down enough that it no longer emits light.
A white dwarf is formed when a star has burned all of its original hydrogen and helium fuel to elements such as carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. If the star doesn't have enough mass, the pressure at its center is too low to burn these elements further, and so it no longer produces heat. It...
Answer to:
I am having a hard time understanding Mossbauer Spectroscopy. Could someone explain the purpose and basics of how it works?
The fraction of events which occur without phonon emission or absorption increases greatly at low temperatures. Mössbauer experiments are therefore often performed at the temperature of liquid helium. In order to observe this virtually monochromatic gamma radiation, a substance with a high cross section is needed to absorb the emitted photons.
(more.......)
...
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Answer to:
Who is a geologist? What is geoscience all about?What areas of study are covered under ti?
geoscience
Any one of the sciences, such as geology or geochemistry, that deals with the earth.
http://www.answers.com/topic/geoscience
Earth science (also known as geoscience, the geosciences or the Earth Sciences), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth.[1] It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing...
Answer to:
Why isn't the sky black like outerspace
The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. Little of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by the air.
However, much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It gets scattered all around...
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Answer to:
Do you REALLY understand magnetism? If so, what kind of a force is it?
Most people are familiar with magnets primarily as toys, or as simple objects for keeping papers attached to a metal surface such as a refrigerator door. In fact the areas of application for magnetism are much broader, and range from security to health care to communication, transportation, and numerous other aspects of daily life. Closely related to electricity, magnetism results from specific...
Answer to:
How do we know anti-matter exists?
If a particle and antiparticle are in the appropriate quantum states, then they can annihilate each other and produce other particles. Reactions such as e− + e+ → γ + γ (the two-photon annihilation of an electron-positron pair) is an example. The single-photon annihilation of an electron-positron pair, e− + e+ → γ cannot occur because it is impossible to...
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Answer to:
What is the etymology of the word "handicap?"
c.1653, from hand in cap, a game whereby two bettors would engage a neutral umpire to determine the odds in an unequal contest. The bettors would put their hands holding forfeit money into a hat or cap. The umpire would announce the odds and the bettors would withdraw their hands -- hands full meaning that they accepted the odds and the bet was on, hands empty meaning they did not accept the...
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Answer to:
Where does the phrase "raised to the ground" come from?
raze
To level to the ground; demolish. See synonyms at ruin.
Middle English rasen, to scrape off, from Old French raser, from Vulgar Latin *rāsāre, frequentative of Latin rādere.
To pull down or break up so that reconstruction is impossible: demolish, destroy
Tutor's tip: Another word that sounds like "raze" which means to tear down completely, is "raise"...
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Answer to:
Through the dense, opague, pea soup-like 'mist of time', do you remember your 1st love? ;-)
A girl kissed me when I was a boy.
But I did not know what to do!
My mother slapped me for that....
Answer to:
What was the biggest amount of dropped money that you found in a gutter when you were a child?
A hundred bucks note.
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Answer to:
If God is love dosen't that mean he's just an emotion?
Many other good things are attributed to God. They are all due to man's affections.
Almighty is infinite - He is beyond all human emotions
or human thinkings.
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Answer to:
Define God in your own words.
In Sanskrit, Parama Atma means infinite soul. The Hindu
Advaitha theory states that Atma (soul) is a finite piece of the Infinite Soul who is eternal.
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Answer to:
How did the days of the week get their names?
The seven-day week is said to have originated in ancient times in W Asia, probably in Mesopotamia. This is thought to have been a planetary week predicated on the astrological concept of the influence of the planets, which were long erroneously believed to be seven celestial bodies revolving around the earth; these were the sun and moon and five of the bodies recognized today as...
Answer to:
What is "Defunct" mean?
Meaning 1:
No longer in force or use; inactive
Synonyms:
vanished, dead
Context examples:
a defunct (or dead) law / a defunct organization
Similar:
inoperative (not operating)
Meaning 2:
Having ceased to exist or live
Context examples:
the will of a defunct aunt / a defunct Indian tribe
Similar:
dead (no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to...
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Answer to:
How many ways are there to say good-bye or go away? (eg: later, ta, see ya, toodleoo kangaroo, scram, get lost, 23 skidoo...)
adieu, aloha, conge, farewell.
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Answer to:
What is the etymology of the word "absinthe?"
ORIGIN - French, from Greek apsinthion ‘wormwood’.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/absinth?view=uk
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, wormwood, from Old French, from Latin absinthium, from Greek apsinthion
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/absinthe
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Answer to:
IYHO, What do the following terms mean:
1. Dweeb?
2. Geek?
3. Nerd?
Dweeb:
N. Amer. (informal) a boring, studious, or socially inept person.
— ORIGIN perhaps a blend of DWARF and feeb a feeble-minded person.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/dweeb?view=uk
Geek:
someone who is not popular because they wear unfashionable clothes, do not know how to behave in social situations, or do strange things
...
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Answer to:
What does "(To) have the devil pay" means?
The devil to pay
Meaning
Impending trouble or other bad consequences following from one's actions.
Origin
People seem to love ascribing nautical origins to phrases. Here's a good case in point. The 'devil' is a seam between the planking of a wooden ship. Admiral William Henry Smyth defined the term in The Sailor's Word-book: An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical...
Answer to:
Hey! do you know the full form of O.K?
Abbreviated fanciful spelling of "all correct" (oll korrect), as part of a fad for similar comical abbreviations (of which no others have survived) in the United States in the late 1830s.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/OK
ETYMOLOGY:
Abbreviation of oll korrect, slang respelling of all correct
WORD HISTORY:
OK is a quintessentially American term that has spread from English...
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Answer to:
What was the reasoning behind the invention of the phrase "INDIAN GIVER"?
Meaning
One who gives a gift but later takes it back.
Origin
Indian giver derives from the alleged practise of American Indians of taking back gifts from white settlers. It is more likely that the settlers wrongly interpreted the Indians' loans to them as gifts. This term, which is certainly American, may have been coined to denigrate of the native race. Historians would now agree...
Answer to:
What is slang (eg please)?
1. A kind of language occurring chiefly in casual and playful speech, made up typically of short-lived coinages and figures of speech that are deliberately used in place of standard terms for added raciness, humor, irreverence, or other effect.
2. Language peculiar to a group; argot or jargon: thieves' slang.
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/slang
...
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Answer to:
What is the origin, the symbol, and the factor of the deca- prefix?
combining form ten; having ten: decahedron.
— ORIGIN Greek deka ‘ten’.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/deca?view=uk
deca- or dec- also deka- or dek-
Greek deka-, from deka, ten
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/deca-
Word Unit: deca- [DEK uh], dec-, deka-, dek- (Greek: ten; a decimal prefix used in the international metric...
Answer to:
How many of your friends borrow your computer or your printer every week?
One person once in three months or so.
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Answer to:
Is "eau gallie" English or is it another language?
Eau Gallie was a city in Brevard County, Florida from 1857 to 1969 when citizens voted to merge with neighboring Melbourne, Florida. It is now a small district in the north part of the city, near the Eau Gallie Causeway. William Henry Gleason founded the city. From 1874 to 1878 it served as the county seat of Brevard County, Florida. In French, Eau Gallie means "rocky water," named...
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Answer to:
The main difference between men and women: Is this about right? ; ) (See link)
"Our two minds .... One is an act of the emotional
mind, the other of the rational mind. In a very
real sense we have two minds, one that thinks and
one that feels" (Daniel Goleman, Emotional
Intelligence, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 1996,
page 8). The rational mind is also called the
faculty of logic and reason.
The Upanishads say that these two are opposite in
nature....
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Answer to:
Isn't hatred a natural feeling? Do we even need a reason to hate?
"Our two minds .... One is an act of the emotional
mind, the other of the rational mind. In a very
real sense we have two minds, one that thinks and
one that feels" (Daniel Goleman, Emotional
Intelligence, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 1996,
page 8). The rational mind is also called the
faculty of logic and reason.
The Upanishads say that these two are opposite in
nature....
Answer to:
Who has the key of the wedlock?
I should say people of India.
The Chemistry of Love:
"Divorce rates peak around the fourth year of
marriage," says Charles Panati in his book "Sexy
Origins and Intimate Things."
http://www.findadatenow.com/chemistry.html
Pothole # 4: The Seven-Year Itch Experts observe
that this phase is often characterized by feelings
of restlessness and unhappiness over...
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Answer to:
Why is a period of two weeks called a 'fortnight'?
17c. contraction of M.E. fourteniht, from O.E. feowertyne niht, lit. "fourteen nights," preserving the ancient Gmc. custom of reckoning by nights, mentioned by Tacitus in "Germania" xi.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=fortnight
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/fortnight?view=uk
Old English feowertine niht "fourteen nights"
...
Answer to:
'Jay ho' means______________?
It is Hindi phrase Jai Ho. Jai is derived from Sanskrit Jaya which means triumph or victory.
http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=jaya&script=HK&direction=SE&link=y
Ho means may it be so. The phrase means "let there be victory", "Victory to You" or "may victory be yours.".
http://www.answers.com/topic/jai-ho
...
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Answer to:
Where and how did the term "duffer", as it refers to a golfer, originate?
ORIGIN - from Scots "dowfart" stupid person.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/duffer_1?view=uk
"old man," also "bad golfer," 1842, probably from Scot. duffar "dull or stupid person." But perhaps rather from 18c. thieves' slang duff (v.) "to dress or manipulate an old thing and make it look new."
...
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Answer to:
Is stupider a word?
Yes.
Almost as common in books as "more stupid". More common in American English. Less common in British English.
* 1928, Aldous Huxley, Point Counter Point, page 102:
You people aren't stupider than anyone else. Not naturally stupider.
* 1985, Walker Percy, Lewis A. Lawson, Victor A. Kramer, Conversations with Walker Percy, page 165:
...
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Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase "fair crack of the whip"?
Idiom: crack the whip
Behave in a domineering and demanding way toward one's subordinates. For example, He's been cracking the whip ever since he got his promotion. This expression, first recorded in 1647, alludes to drivers of horse-drawn wagons who snapped their whips hard, producing a loud cracking noise. Its figurative use dates from the late 1800s.
...
Answer to:
What is the meaning and origin of the phrase "From the bottom of my heart"?
The meaning is "with sincere and deep feeling." Two ideas on the origin, both intuitive rather than scholarly: (1) People often feel emotion in their chests, specifically in a place that's about where the bottom of the heart is. (2) When thinking of the heart as the seat of emotion, people may conceive of it as a (metaphorical) container that fills up with feeling, so that...
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Answer to:
Where does the phrase "love is in the air" originally come from?
"Love Is in the Air" or "Love Is on the Air" are expressions connected with Valentine's Day which is
hundreds of years old.
http://www.healthcrazed.com/articles/health_articles/lifestyle/valentineas-day-o-love-is-in-the-air.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/st-valentine-s-day
A movie with title "Love Is on the Air" was made in 1937.
...
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Answer to:
Where did the slang term "dog and pony show" come from?
"Slang: the Authoritative Topic-by-Topic Dictionary of American Lingos from all Walks of Life" by Paul Dickson (Pocket Books, New York, 1990 & 1998) has two entries. One, under Advertising and Public Relations is: "dog and pony show. Press conference; any carefully prepared performance." The other is under Pentagonese: "dog and pony show. Formal presentation aimed...
Answer to:
Where does word genocide come from? Why was it invented?
1944, apparently coined by Polish-born U.S. jurist Raphael Lemkin in his work "Axis Rule in Occupied Europe" [p.19], in reference to Nazi extermination of Jews, lit. "killing a tribe," from Gk. genos "race, kind" (see genus) + -cide, from L. -cidere "kill," comb. form of caedere "to cut, kill" (see concise). The proper formation would be...
Answer to:
Where did the word "NEWS" originate from?
1382, plural of new (n.) "new thing," from new (adj.), q.v.; after Fr. nouvelles, used in Bible translations to render M.L. nova (neut. pl.) "news," lit. "new things." Sometimes still regarded as plural, 17c.-19c. Meaning "tidings" is 1423; newspaper is first attested 1670, though the thing itself is much older. Newsreel was first recorded 1916; newscast...
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Answer to:
What does the phrase"black Irish"mean?
According to rumors and legends,Black Irish are the descendants of a few surviving ill-fated Spanish sailors who sailed with the Felícima Armada from Spain to invade England but were ultimately shipwrecked on the northern and western coasts of Ireland in the autumn of 1588. A very small number of the more than seven hundred Spanish men who made it alive to the Irish coast survived, and a...
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Answer to:
What are some alternate ways of saying a person is "tight fisted"?
* stingy
* miserly
* niggardly
* parsimonious
* penurious
* mean
* shabby
* peddling
* scrubby
* penny wise
* penny-pinching
* ungenerous
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wikisaurus:stingy
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Answer to:
Okay, who else has multiple meanings for "LOL"? I never know if someone means "laugh out loud", "lots of love", "little old lady" ...
****** LOL Laugh(ing) Out Loud
****** LOL Lots Of Love
****** LOL Land O' Lakes
***** LOL Lots Of Laughs
***** LOL Lots Of Luck
***** LOL Labor of Love
***** LOL Loss of Life (insurance)
***** LOL Land of Legends (Canandaigua Speedway, New York)
***** LOL List of Links
***** LOL Little Old Lady
***** LOL Loads of Love
***** LOL List of Lists
***** LOL Love of Life...
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Answer to:
What does that expression mean, to "burn bridges?"
Idioms: burn (one's) bridges
To eliminate the possibility of return or retreat.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/burn+bridges
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=burn+(one's)+bridges&r=66
burn one's bridges (behind one)
1. Lit. to cutoff the way back to where you came from, making it impossible to retreat. The army, which had burned its bridges behind it,...
Answer to:
What does Magna cum Laude actually mean?
adverb & adjective chiefly N. Amer. with great distinction.
— ORIGIN Latin, ‘with great praise’.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/magnacumlaude?view=uk
with the second-highest level of academic honors at graduation.
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861678161
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/magna_cum_laude
...
Answer to:
What's the origin of the phrase "upsy daisy?"
Ups-a-daisy
interjection
(used, as for reassurance, at the moment of lifting a baby up.)
Also, upsa-daisy.
Origin:
1860–65; cf. earlier up-a-daisy, dial. up-a-day, perh. up + (lack)aday, (lack)adaisy; -sy perh. to be identified with -sy
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=upsa-daisy&r=66
It is difficult to choose which of the numerous variants of the expression to...
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Answer to:
I turn off my new LCD monitor everytime I'm done using it, and turn it back on when I get on the computer. I know nothing of LCD monitor care and maintenance. Any tips, advice, and so forth?
Some of these may be of help to you:
http://www.search.com/search?q=LCD+monitor+care+and+maintenance
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Answer to:
Question for "seniors" (over 50): Did 'things' turn out the way you'd thought? ;-)
In my experience, things do not turn out the way I thought most of the time. I use to take them as weird when I was young. Now, I try to learn from most of those things.
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Answer to:
Where did the phrase "holy roller" come from?
Holy Roller is a term in American English used to describe Pentecostal Christian churchgoers. However, "Holy Roller" is also more commonly used to describe any religion follower that tries to promote their religion at doorsteps or in public forums. The term is commonly used derisively, as if to describe people literally rolling on the floor or speaking in tongues in an uncontrolled...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is the origin of the expression "having a monkey on your back?"
Idioms: monkey on one's back
1. Drug addiction, as in He'd had a monkey on his back for at least two years. [Slang; first half of 1900s]
2. A vexing problem or burden, as in This project has proved to be a monkey on my back--there seems to be no end to it. Both usages allude to being unable to shake off the animal from one's back.
...
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Answer to:
Can you give me another word for promiscuous?
indiscriminate
http://www.synonym.com/synonyms/promiscuous/
indiscriminate
unchaste
http://www.audioenglish.net/dictionary/promiscuous.htm
Answer to:
What does it mean to 'wear your heart on your sleeve' and where did the term come from?
Idioms: wear one's heart on one's sleeve
Also, pin one's heart on one's sleeve. Openly show one's feelings, especially amorous ones. For example, You can't help but see how he feels about her; he wears his heart on his sleeve. This expression alludes to the former custom of tying a woman's favor to her lover's sleeve, thereby announcing their...
Answer to:
In British English, what does it mean to be called a "punter"?
1. One who bets (punts) against the bank (banque).
2. One who oars or poles a punt (pontoon).
3. One who punts a football; also, one who propels a punt (pontoon).
4. (British, slang) one who gambles. See speculator.
5. (British, slang) A customer, often used to refer to the customer of a prostitute.
6. (British, slang) A regular customer of a particular pub or other drinking...
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Answer to:
How did the term "Aye-Aye Captain" originate?
Aye
"assent," 1576, perhaps a variant of I, meaning "I assent," or an alt. of M.E. yai "yes."
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=aye
Alternative spellings - ay
Usage notes
It is much used in northern dialects of English (such as Geordie), Scottish English, viva voce voting in legislative bodies, etc., or in nautical contexts.
...
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Answer to:
How did the phrase originate, "Break the Ice" (starting a conversation)?
1. Make a start, pave the way, as in Newton's theories broke the ice for modern physics. This idiom alludes to breaking ice in a channel so that a ship can pass. [Early 1600s] Also see break ground.
2. Relax a tense or very formal situation, as in Someone at the conference table will have to break the ice. [Early 1600s]
http://www.answers.com/topic/break-the-ice
The earlier...
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Answer to:
Who is a "Freak"? Why is one called so?
# Slang.
1. A drug user or addict: a speed freak.
2. An eccentric or nonconformist person, especially a member of a counterculture.
3. An enthusiast: rock music freaks.
A person who is ardently devoted to a particular subject or activity: bug, devotee, enthusiast, fanatic, maniac, zealot.
In contemporary usage, the word "freak" is commonly used to refer to a person...
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Answer to:
Why do they call them "panhandlers"?
Obscure. Speculative. Panhandling always seems to involve a container for receiving loose change, so perhaps referring to a small, handled pan.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/panhandler
panhandle
Late 19th century. Probably < a supposed resemblance of an arm stretched out to beg to the handle of a pan
...
Answer to:
What word (and its meaning) is most important to you?
Knowledge - specially the higher knowledge.
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Answer to:
"tickle you to death" where did the phrase come from and is it possible to really tickle someone to death?
Tickled pink
Meaning
To be delighted.
Origin
The tickling here isn't the light stroking of the skin - it's the figurative sense of the word that means 'to give pleasure or gratify'. The tickling pink concept is of enjoyment great enough to make the recipient glow with pleasure - (see also in the pink).
That meaning of tickling has found its way into several...
Answer to:
Where did the phrase " none of your bee's wax" come from?
There is an absurd story, much repeated on the internet, that 18th-century ladies used to fill in the pockmarks on their faces (this was when smallpox was a common and disfiguring disease)with beeswax, which would melt if the lady sat too near the fire. If someone else warned her about this, she would retort "mind your OWN beeswax!" I mention this story only to say that there...
Answer to:
Where does the idiom red tape come from?
Legal and official documents have been bound with red tape since the 17th century and continue to be so. The first reference I can find to this practice is the 1696-1715 Maryland Laws:
"The Map upon the Backside thereof sealed with his Excellency's Seal at Arms on a Red Cross with Red Tape."
We now usually mean fussy or unnecessary bureaucracy when we refer to 'red...
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Answer to:
In a non-fencing context, what is the correct usage of the french word 'Touche'?
used to acknowledge a good or clever point made at one’s expense.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/touche?view=uk
acknowledgment of telling remark: a word used to acknowledge that somebody has made an especially witty, penetrating, or cogent remark, usually in retaliation
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861721081
used to...
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Answer to:
"The only information that reaches us concerning outward events appears to pass thru the avenue of our senses; and the more perceptive the senses are of difference, the larger is the field upon which our judgement & intelligence can act." [F.Galton] Yes?
Perception:
Mathematically speaking, perception is the integration of pieces information
provided by the senses.
http://www.gibson-design.com/philosophy/Concepts/$_PERCEPTION_1.html
Perception goes beyond plain sensation in that it includes the results of further processing of the sensed stimuli, either conceously or inconceously.
...
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Answer to:
Especially or Specially? What's the difference?
Although traditionally there is a clear difference in meaning, both words are often used when the other is intended: The hotel has specially designed ramps for the physically challenged. (Specially is wanted here because the ramps are designed "for a special purpose.") The buildings are not especially large. (Especially is wanted here because the buildings are not...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Who creates the words of dictionary,can anybody create them or their is some procedure to do that?
Words to be included in dictionaries are taken from
existing forms of a language.
You can add new words which you found to these dictionaries:
http://www.definition-of.com/
http://www.urbandictionary.com/
Answer to:
Other than discussing a soccer (or football) score, when do you use the term 'nil'?
Converse of object
* win: Last season we were winning four nil against Unigate Dairies, I thought I'd pull him off, give Darren a game.
* lose: Saints dismal form continues as they lost two nil to Rangers at McDiarmid Park on Wednesday evening.
* go: On thirty six minutes Brechin went two nil up from the penalty spot.
* pay: Many, the less well off would pay...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is the origin of "cop"
"policeman," 1859, abbreviation of earlier copper (1846), from the verb.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cop
Short for copper (“‘police officer’”), itself from cop (“‘one who cops’”) above, i.e. a criminal. Sometimes explained as deriving from copper buttons or badges of early NYPD or uniforms or on those worn by the first...
Answer to:
How did the "Dog Days" of summer get their name?
DOG DAYS -- "Mad dogs don't give us this name for the hot, close days of July and August, though perhaps the prevalence of mad dogs at that time of year has kept the phrase 'dog days' alive. The expression originated in Roman times as 'canicularius dies,' 'days of the dog,' and was an astronomical expression referring to the dog star Sirius, or possibly...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
"A walk through the ocean of most souls will scarcely get your feet wet." Agree?
Interaction is always helpful to me for self correction.
It goes deep into my mind.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Could you imagine no more having to work? How would it look like?
When I was teaching at the university, a few rooms were my class rooms.
After retirement, I am getting pension from our government. I joined many
internet forums and the world is my class room now. I can not think of
a situation of no more having to work as long as I am alive.
Ancient texts of India say that a state of Nirvana can be attained by those
who do a lot work in...
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
What makes a profession prestigious for you?
Our minds are as different as our finger prints -
no two are identical. Palmistry also says the same
thing. Every human is unique. Not only do our
organs differ, but our personalities differ. Each
human develops different goals, and has special
traits or feelings which differ in a million
different ways from others.
http://www.answers.com/Phenomenology
Some persons select menial...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
I can't see comments written to my questions, nor can I see most comments that I've posted. Is anyone having the same problem here?
Your internet explorer is infected with malware. Try
Maxthon or Opera.
http://www.search.com/search?q=Maxthon+browser
http://www.search.com/search?q=Opera+browser
Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase "baker's dozen"?
From the former practice of bakers of adding a thirteenth loaf to a batch of twelve in order to avoid punishment for accidentally selling underweight bread.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/baker's_dozen?rdfrom=Baker's_Dozen
It's widely believed that this phrase originated from the practice of medieval English bakers giving an extra loaf when selling a dozen in order to avoid...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is a prep?
1. See preparatory school.
2. a preliminary or warm-up activity or event; trial run: The race is a good prep for the Kentucky Derby.
3. preparation: dealer prep on the car included.
4. the act of preparing a patient for a medical or surgical procedure.
—adj.
1. preparatory: a prep school.
2. involving or used for preparation: the mortuary's prep room.
—v.t.
1. to...
Answer to:
When normal people say "bug" do they only mean insects or does the word also include other land arthropods?
—n.
1. Also called true bug, hemipteran, hemipteron. a hemipterous insect.
2. (loosely) any insect or insectlike invertebrate.
3. Informal.any microorganism, esp. a virus: He was laid up for a week by an intestinal bug.
4. Informal.a defect or imperfection, as in a mechanical device, computer program, or plan; glitch: The test flight discovered the bugs in the new plane.
5. Informal....
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Answer to:
Can a man get tired of being bossed around by his wife? (Read my answer first)
He went to a psychiatrist.
The psychiatrist told him that he needed to build
his self-esteem; so he gave him a book on
assertiveness.
The man read the important pages of the book by
the time he reached his house.
He stormed into the house and walked up to his wife.
Pointing a finger to her face, he said, "From now
on, I want you to know that I am the man of this
house, and...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Is it ever "OK" to steal bread?
Please read the answers, including mine, given for this
question:
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/561127
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
"Fanaticism consists in redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim." (George Santayana). Agree?
Plato wrote that opinion (or the sensory
information) was a form of apprehension that was
shifting and unclear, similar to seeing things in
a dream or only through their shadows. Modern
psychologists say that passion has the same
limitations of senses as it tends toward immediate
emotional discharge. Chitta is the quick acting
component of the mind which can be termed leftist
or...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Are you good at doing impressions?
Not physically. But my paintings and photographs do.
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/462309
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Answer to:
When someone uses the phrase "spot on," what does that mean to you? Just heard this today.
(Brit. informal) completely accurate or accurately.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/spoton?view=uk
1. correct: absolutely correct or perfectly accurate
2. ideal: exactly what is needed
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=561508104
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=76876&dict=CALD
(British) (idiomatic) exact or...
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Answer to:
Why was the sensible word "Flutter-by" changed to the senseless word "Butterfly?"
That is an amusing change suggested by you, but the etymology dictionary says this:
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=butterfly
Such changes may take place to make a word suit the speech habits of some people.
In the texts of classical Greek writers, ancient Indian city name
Paatali-putra became Palimbothra or Palibothra, and its king's name
Chandra-Gupta became...
Answer to:
What does it mean to give someone the benefit of the doubt?
a favorable opinion or judgment adopted despite uncertainty.
http://dictionary.infoplease.com/benefit-of-the-doubt
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=benefit+of+the+doubt&r=66
A favorable judgment granted in the absence of full evidence.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/benefit+of+the+doubt
1. A favorable judgement given in the absence of full evidence.
2....
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Answer to:
How did the saying "at the drop of a hat" originate?
This saying is said to come from the American West, where the signal for a fight was often just the drop of a hat. It may have an Irish origin, based on something like "he's ready to fight at the drop of a hat" which in turn may be followed by "roll up your sleeves" or "take off your coat" ie items of clothing are involved in the start of fights.
: :...
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Answer to:
When you are angry it is said you 'see red'. What colour do you see when you are happy?
Blue:
Attributes: Love, devotion and harmony. Healing, peace, psychic ability, patience, happiness.
http://www.bharatmatrimony.com/astrology/color.shtml
Orange and Yellow are nearer to Red in the colour spectrum - one should look for it on the opposite side.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What does moonlighting mean?
Employees who work a second job for additional income. The term derives from the fact that many of these jobs are night jobs.
http://www.answers.com/topic/moonlighting-1
to work at an additional job, especially without telling your main employer:
"A qualified teacher, he moonlighted as a cabbie in the evenings to pay the rent."
"You'll get sacked if the boss...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
"Divide and conquer"...split the enemy up into smaller, more manageable groups?
Proverbs: Divide and rule
Government is more easily maintained if factions are set against each other, and not allowed to unite against the ruler. A common maxim (in Latin divide et impera, in German entzwei und gebiete), it should not (pace quot. 1732) be laid at the door of the Italian political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), who in fact denounced this principle. Cf....
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Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase "rank and file"?
Followers, the general membership, as in This new senator really appeals to the rank and file in the labor unions. This expression comes from the military, where a rank denotes soldiers standing side by side in a row, and file refers to soldiers standing behind one another. The first recorded figurative use of this term was in 1860.
http://www.answers.com/topic/rank-and-file
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Answer to:
Where did the word "hippie" come from?
c.1965, Amer.Eng. (Haight-Ashbury slang), from earlier hippie, 1953, usually a disparaging variant of hipster (1941) "person who is keenly aware of the new and stylish," from hip "up-to-date"
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=hippie
According to lexicographer Jesse Sheidlower, the principal American editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, the terms hipster and...
Answer to:
Where does the saying. "Don't rub him the wrong way " come from?
RUBS THE WRONG WAY - Annoys. "It is what happens when one's hair is rubbed backward (it may feel good at first, but it can become annoying and uncomfortable) or when you rub a plane against the grain of wood. Charles Hamilton Aide offered the figurative meaning in 'Carr of Carriyon' (1862): 'Don't rub her prejudices up the wrong way.if you can help it.'"...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Where did the phrase " A bird in the hand is two in the bush" , originate from?
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
Meaning
It's better to have a small actual advantage than the chance of a greater one.
Origin
It isn't until the late 18th century that we find the phrase in its currently used form. The earliest I've located is from a directory of British folk ballads - The Vocal Magazine: Or, Compleat British Songster, 1781. This lyric is...
Answer to:
What does the phrase "one hand washes the other" mean?
Proverbs: One hand washes the other
One hand washeth an other, and both wash the face.
[1573 J. Sanforde Garden of Pleasure 110V]
s.v. Main, One hand washes the other; applyable to such as giue vpon assurance, or hope, to be giuen vnto; or vnto such as any way serue one anothers turne.
[1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & English]
Persons in business‥make, as the saying is,...
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Answer to:
What does the phrase "the end justifies the means" mean?
A good outcome excuses any wrongs committed to attain it. For example, He's campaigning with illegal funds on the theory that if he wins the election the end will justify the means, or The officer tricked her into admitting her guilt--the end sometimes justifies the means. This proverbial (and controversial) observation dates from ancient times, but in English it was first recorded only in...
Answer to:
Where did the saying "mind your P's and Q's" originate?
The date of the coinage of mind your Ps and Qs is uncertain. The OED used to print a citation from 1779 but, as they have now withdrawn it from the online version of the dictionary, presumably they consider it unreliable.
So, the meaning, spelling and coinage of the phrase are all debatable. Now we come to what is really uncertain - the derivation. Nevertheless, it is one of those phrases...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Are you the "go with the flow" kind of person or are you someone who gets easily annoyed?
Neither. I am an observer and understander of the flow.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What do you have a low tolerance for?
Indecent exposure by females.
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
For those of you who live in a big city and don't drive, how often do you use taxis?
Only rarely. I am a walker. I can walk for a few hours.
That gives me good exercise also.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Was Chairman Mao (Mao Zedong) the worst/best thing to happen to China?
While many other Chinese Communist leaders spent some time in France or Moscow, Mao's formative political experiences were all in China. The young Mao spent much of his spare time travelling in the local countryside, talking to the local peasants about their problems.
Whilst other leaders argued for a slow and stable process of economic development based on Soviet Leninist principles,...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is your talent or your gift?
I have quest for higher knowledge in the origin of words
and their cognates. I am thankful to AB members for recognizing my talent and making me the expert of etymology category.
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
What is the difference between a dietitian and nutritionist?
Dietitian:
A health professional with special training in nutrition who can help with dietary choices.
Also called nutritionist.
http://www.cancer.gov/Templates/db_alpha.aspx?CdrID=44661
http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/dictionary/d.htm#Dietitian
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861604610
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What would be the chances of seeing a moose where you live? What kind of coinsedense would it take?
Once in a week.
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
When you feel low do you tend to eat sugary foods?
Ancient Ayurveda texts say that sugar is connected with
emotions. When I feel emotionally low, I feel like eating
some sugary food.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Where did the phrase, "paint the town red," come from and what does it mean to you?
Meaning
Engage in a riotous spree.
Origin
The allusion is to the kind of unruly behaviour that results in much blood being spilt. There are several suggestions as to the origin of the phrase. The one most often repeated, especially within the walls of the Melton Mowbray Tourist Office, is a tale dating from 1837. It is said that year is when the Marquis of Waterford and a group of...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
I have had religious experience - what do i do and why do they happen to me? it is not the first i have had, i had 7 more before this - i am only 19
I have had religious experiences at the age of 37. I was
a staunch engineer till that time. I started reading Hindu philosophical
works after that experience.
But some persons may have such experiences in teenage -
Swami Vivekananda was one such example.
"His father was a distinguished lawyer, and his mother a woman of deep religious piety. The influence of both parental figures...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What it meant by a "red flag"?
1. U.S. incitement to anger: an incitement to anger or violence.
Canadian term red rag
2. warning signal: a flag waved as a danger signal or a command to stop
3. flag symbolizing communism or socialism: a plain red flag or banner used as an international symbol of communism or socialism
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861700014
1....
Answer to:
What are the origins of the phrase "long in the tooth"?
Long in the tooth
Meaning
Old, especially of horses or people.
Origin
Horses's teeth, unlike humans', continue to grow with age. They also wear down with use, but the changes in the characteristics of the teeth over time make it possible to make a rough estimate of a horse's age by examining them.
There are various similar Latin phrases dating back to the 16th...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Who first stated 'Gentlemen prefer blondes'?
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (novel), a 1925 novel by Anita Loos
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (lost film), a 1928 film adaption of the novel, presumed lost
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (musical), the 1949 stage musical based on the novel
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (film), a 1953 film
adaptation of the stage musical, starring Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe
...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Do you agree: "Blond is not just a hair color.... It's a state of mind"?
In Northern European folklore, fairies value blonde hair in humans. Blonde babies are more likely to be stolen and replaced with changelings, and young blonde women are more likely to be lured away to the land of the fairies.
In European fairy tales, blonde hair was commonly ascribed to the heroes and heroines. This may occur in the text, as in Madame d'Aulnoy's La Belle aux...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
If extraordinary means highly exceptional, how would you say that something is even more ordinary than usual?
abnormal, atypical, bizarre, different, exceptional,
odd, out of the ordinary, remarkable, strange, surprising, uncommon, unexpected, unfamiliar
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is the difference between blasphemy and heresy?
blasphemy
something you say or do that is insulting to God or people's religious beliefs
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/blasphemy
heresy
1) a belief that disagrees with the official principles of a particular religion:
"He was executed for heresy."
2) a belief, statement etc that disagrees with what a group of people believe to be right:
"To...
| 6 people like this
Answer to:
What is a rocket balloon?
Balloons are often deliberately released, creating so called balloon rocket or rocket balloon. Rocket balloons work because the elastic balloons contract on the air within them, and so when the mouth of the balloon is left open, the gas within the balloon shoots out, and, due to Newton's third law of motion, the balloon is propelled forward. This is fundamentally the same way that a rocket...
Answer to:
What is another word or phrase for harem?
gynaeceum (in ancient Greece)
seraglio, women's quarters
zenana (in eastern countries)
http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-synonyms/harem
forbidden women's section of a home
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
How can you make a heart heal faster after a severe breakup?
Try meditation and Yoga.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is the difference between ink and paint?
Inks are mostly water based. Paints are mostly oil based.
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Are you ready for an Ultimate Disaster?
I believe in Karma. I am willing to accept come-what-may.
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
Do you need a better world handbook or can you figure it out on your own?
I found the following site to be a better world handbook:
http://www.answers.com/
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
How did the "butterfly" get its name?
ORIGIN Old English: perhaps from the cream or yellow colour of common species, or from a former belief that the insects stole butter.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/butterfly?view=uk
Old English buttorfleoge, corresponding to butter + fly, perhaps with reference to the colour of certain species including the brimstone butterfly, Gonepteryx rhamni.
...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
On average: how long does it usually rain for?
The world's highest rainfall is at Chirapunji in India.
In rainy season, we get rain for a few hours.
Answer to:
What is the velocity of benzene?
Benzene can have aromaticity or viscosity, but not
velocity.
Using X-ray diffraction, researchers discovered that all of the carbon-carbon bonds in benzene are of the same length of 140 picometres (pm). The C–C bond lengths are greater than a double bond (135pm) but shorter than a single bond (147pm). This intermediate distance is explained by electron delocalization: the electrons...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is the origin of "gobble-dee-goo"?
Etymology: irregular from gobble, noun
Date: 1944
wordy and generally unintelligible jargon
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gobbledegook
gobbledygook
ORIGIN probably imitating a turkey’s gobble.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/gobbledegook?view=uk
Mid-20th century. An imitation of a turkey's gobble
...
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Answer to:
Kazakhstan has survived Borat. Did you know that Kazakhstan is larger than Western Europe, and fast as big as Argentina?
Native Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's...
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
I would like to intro-duce "Caught-23" as a term that would be even worse than catch-22... how do I submit?
Try urban dictionary.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/
Answer to:
What does the phrase "Catch 22" mean and what is its origin?
ORIGIN - title of a novel by Joseph Heller (1961).
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/catch22?view=uk
Title of the novel by Joseph Heller (1961), in which the main character feigns madness in order to avoid dangerous combat missions, but his desire to avoid them is taken to prove his sanity.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Catch-22
from the title of Joseph Heller's 1961 novel....
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
"BIG SHOT", where & when did this phrase originate?
Date: 1929
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/big+shot
People in the US started to use big shot for a celebrity or for an important or influential person around 1926–7. Within a year it had blossomed into a fashionable slang term with examples appearing everywhere, especially to describe the bosses of criminal gangs — in April 1930, the Lincoln Star of Nebraska...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Do Bosons have corresponding anti-bosons?
Direct Antiboson-Boson Production in Antiproton
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993PhDT.......276L
The parity of an anti-fermion is opposite the parity of the fermion, while the parity of an anti-boson is the same as the parity of the boson.
http://hep.physics.wayne.edu/~harr/courses/7060/w03/lecture34.htm
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Why does dark matter matter?
dark matter, material that is believed to make up (along with dark energy) more than 90% of the mass of the universe but is not readily visible because it neither emits nor reflects electromagnetic radiation, such as light or radio signals. Its existence would explain gravitational anomalies seen in the motion and distribution of galaxies.
The dark matter component has much more mass than...
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Answer to:
What makes the tectonic plates move?
Tectonism results from the release and redistribution of energy from Earth's interior. There are two components of this energy: gravity, a function of the enormous mass at the core, and heat from radioactive decay. Differences in mass and heat within the planet's interior, known as pressure gradients, result in the deformation of rocks.
Driving forces of plate motion
Tectonic...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is that ´planet religion´stuff all about? I keep hearing people talking about the earth giving birth to life from its inner being and such nonsense, where do people come up with such stuff?
According to Hinduism, the earth has huge spiritual energy. Worshiping earth as a goddess was mentioned in
the Rg Veda which is now accepted to be 6000 years old.
Anthropologists found that even some tribes in remote regions, who were not visited by outsiders since some thousands of years, had planet earth religion.
http://www.search.com/search?q=earth+goddess
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is the most convincing theory about consciousness? Why are we conscious, what is the benefit?
Humans are the highest of all creation. Consciousness is intended to attain higher knowledge - it is the characteristic feature of humans. No other living being has it.
Since each human has his own likings and dislikings, the
specific topic on which a particular individual seeks higher
knowledge varies from person to person.
Answer to:
Atheists who once were Christians with strong faith, how did you feel when you realized that you believe that there most certainly is no god?
I am a Hindu by birth. I used to go to temple when I was
young. At the age of 37, I started seeing visions. My inner voice started talking to me. From that time onwards, I stopped going to temples.
Here is the link for inner voice:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscience
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Imagine you scientifically proved that free-will doesn't exist, meaning everything is pre-determined. What would you do next?
I am willing to accept what is pre-determined whole heartedly.
"For every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction". If you write it in English, it becomes
Newton's Law. If you write it in Sanskrit, it becomes
Law of Karma.
http://www.answers.com/karma
As you sow so shall you reap
Meaning - Your deeds, good or bad, will repay you in kind.
...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Is the correct phrase "Don't get your panties in a wad" or "Don't get your panties in a bunch"? Do they say that outside North America? And what's the origin of that phrase?
In the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth nations, knickers is a word for women's undergarments. George Cruikshank, whose illustrations are classic icons for Charles Dickens's works, also did the illustrations for Washington Irving's droll History of New York (published in 1809) when it was published in London. He showed the old-time Knickerbockers, Irving's...
| 2 people like this
Answer to:
"Don't jinx me." What does that mean?
Please don't jinx me means - I'm keeping good on my promise to self-cheer, so do not make me superstitious.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jinx
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=42713&dict=CALD
http://www.word-detective.com/030698.html#jinx
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-jin1.htm
Answer to:
What are theories?
Science Dictionary: theory
In science, an explanation or model that covers a substantial group of occurrences in nature and has been confirmed by a substantial number of experiments and observations. A theory is more general and better verified than a hypothesis.
A theory, in the general sense of the word, is an analytic structure designed to explain a set of observations. A theory does...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
God is "a non-interfering observer," who watches our lives the way we watch a movie, and just as we don't interfere with the characters on the screen, He chooses not to get involved in our lives, other than watching them. Agree? Disagree? Why or why not?
"For every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction". If you write it in English, it becomes
Newton's Law. If you write it in Sanskrit, it becomes
Law of Karma.
http://www.answers.com/karma
http://www.answers.com/topic/as-you-sow-so-you-reap
http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Karma/id/22805
Hindu Upanishads also say that Almighty who is spread throughout...
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Answer to:
How did the word "booty" come to mean your butt?
"plunder, gain, profit," c.1439, from O.Fr. butin "booty," from M.L.G. bute "exchange;" infl. in form and sense by boot (2). Meaning "female body considered as a sex object" is 1920s, black slang.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=booty
Slang. The buttocks.
Vulgar Slang.
The vulva or vagina.
Sexual intercourse.
[African American...
Answer to:
Are you growing up in a society that believes in things that you think are wrong?
No.
India is known for oldest traditions in society. We still
carry-on most of them.
When ever my thoughts went in a different direction, there were always people to correct me with their knowledge. They helped me to revive my ways of thinking
in the long run.
Answer to:
Where did the term "Katie, bar the door!" come from?
Meaning
'Katy (or Katie) bar the door' means take precautions; there's trouble ahead.
Origin
This phrase is little used outside the USA. It may or may not have originated there. The first known use in print of Katy bar the door with the meaning of 'trouble is in store' is in James Whitcomb Riley's poem 'When Lide Married Him' (1894):
When Lide...
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Answer to:
Would you tell me your views on the idea that "Knowledge is power"?
"Knowledge is Power" goes the old German adage. But power, as any schoolboy knows, always has negative and positive sides to it. Information exhibits the same duality - properly provided, it is a positive power of unequalled strength. Improperly disseminated and presented, it is nothing short of destructive.
Knowledge gives some people a sense of control. For others, it’s...
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Answer to:
Gandhi, Peace Pilgrim and Mother Teresa have all spoken of non-possession. If the goal of non-possession is to rid oneself of needless burden, perhaps they considered dispossessing material burdens as a precursor to inner burdens, like hatred, fear etc?
Hindu philosophy says that body, mind and spirit are one
unit. Modern psychologists have also accepted that body
and mind are one unit called Psychosomatic system - what affects one is bound to affect the other.
http://www.answers.com/Psychosomatic
What M.K. Gandhi taught was that control of physical
burdens will pave the way to control of mental burdens,
and it is a long time task....
Answer to:
Do you think it will ever be possible to conclusively prove the existence or non-existance of a God?
The finite can never prove what is Infinite.
"Our two minds .... One is an act of the emotional
mind, the other of the rational mind. In a very
real sense we have two minds, one that thinks and
one that feels" (Daniel Goleman, Emotional
Intelligence, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 1996,
page 8). This rational mind is also called the
faculty of logic and reason.
The...
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Answer to:
On Answerbag, when you read some answers that you find good, does it motivate you to write also such good answers yourself?
When I read a good answer, I will be motivated to write
a better answer to the same question. In my heart, I would certainly thank the writers of those good answers.
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Answer to:
♣ Can you describe your living room in one word? ♣
Comfortable.
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Answer to:
What kind of a guy kisses you passionately for 3 hours, then the next day walks past you with his mates and pretends like nothing ever happened THEN gets off with your friend right in front of your face?? looser much?
For most men, the first encounter is intended to find
how compatible they can be. After they go back and
rethink, it is possible for some to change mind.
Those who do 'excess' action in the first instance get
the reverse reaction when they go back home.
The type of person you are referring to are usually called highly sensitive.
It is normally difficult for such persons to...
Answer to:
Without love _________?
Without love, living will not have liveliness.
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Answer to:
What exactly is a difficult question, what exactly is a difficult answer and are these notions related? (I give my own answer)
When some thing happens, an incident or an accident, three questions arise - what, how and why.
You will get an answer to the first question within a
short period of time - it is physical in nature.
You have to spend more time to answer the second
question - it is mental in nature.
Different persons may give different answers for the
third question. But you will never get a true...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Are Chinese and or Indian cars available for purchase in the US and if not then why?
Although Indian automaker Tata Motors has no plans to sell its $2,500 Nano in the U.S., its cross-town rival — Mahindra & Mahindra — will soon begin selling a pickup truck in the U.S. market. Dubbed the Appalachian, the small truck is slated to bow in mid-2009.
Though the U.S. pickup truck market is in a decline, Mahindra is banking on the Appalachian's diesel-power to...
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Answer to:
What is the difference between kendo and gumdo?
The Japanese sport of Kendo is called Kumdo in Korean. The name of the sport uses Chinese characters and many practitioners of Japanese styles make the assumption that any style name which incorporates these characters must be Kendo. This is not true. Kendo (Kumdo) is very popular in Korea and is organized into the Daehan Kumdo Federation (and possibly as many as 20 others). People here in...
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Answer to:
♣ If you were to start an online mail service, what would you name it? ♣
MailForAll.
Answer to:
What is more interesting for you, Answerbag, or your other knowledge related activities?
Answerbag is one of the best forums on the internet for
interaction of social knowledge.
As a retired teacher, I find it very heartening if I am
able to provide some rare or unusual answers. Even if
no one gives any points for those answers, I will still
be happy. The very reading of my answers by members
gives me some satisfaction.
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Answer to:
Who will you run to when it all falls down?
I accept it as my Karma bestowed on me by Almighty.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Is Rugby more dangerous than American Football?
The idiom "survival of the fittest" is probably more
appropriate in rugby.
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Answer to:
How did video come to mean animated images?
1935, as visual equivalent of audio, from L. video "I see," first person singular present indicative of videre "to see" (see vision). Videotape (n.) is from 1953; the verb is 1959, from the noun; videocassette is from 1971; video game is from 1973.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=video
the text and graphics images that appear on a computer screen
Mid-20th...
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Answer to:
Do you know a neologism?
Science fiction
Concepts created to describe new, futuristic ideas include,
beaming (1931)
hyperspace (1934)
robotics (1941)
waldo (1942)
Dyson sphere (circa 1960)
ansible (1966)
phaser (1966)
warp speed (1966)
ringworld (1971)
replicant (1982)
cyberspace (1984)
xenocide (1991)
metaverse (1992)
alien space bats (1998)
teleojuxtaposition (2003)
(more....)
...
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Answer to:
How would you use the word "oblige" in a sentence?
Modifying Another Word
* duly: She duly obliges " There are lots of little things I do.
Object
* employer: Are employers obliged to offer a pension scheme to their employees?
* supplier: Is a supplier obliged to exercise the right to claim statutory interest?
* authority: However, those families who were council tenants often said that their authorities...
Answer to:
Why is Internet capitalized?
"the Internet, international computer network linking together thousands of individual networks at military and government agencies, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, industrial and financial corporations of all sizes, and commercial enterprises (called gateways or service providers) that enable individuals to access the network."
...
Answer to:
While I can almost comprehend eternity AFTER the creation of the universe..what was it like before? What does absolutely nothing look like?
Perception:
Mathematically speaking, perception is the integration of pieces information provided by the senses.
http://www.gibson-design.com/philosophy/Concepts/$_PERCEPTION_1.html
The process of organizing information received through the senses and interpreting it. This is done by the conscious, mentally aware (faculty of) brain.
...
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Answer to:
CAN ANYONE USE THE WORD PASQINADE IN A SENTENCE? IT MEANS A SATIRE OR LAMPOON, ESP. ONE POSTED IN A PUBLIC PLACE...
Chantilly was a quondam cobbler of the Rue St. Denis, who, becoming stage-mad, had attempted the rôle of Xerxes, in Crébillon's tragedy so called, and been notoriously pasquinaded for his pains.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pasquinade
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Answer to:
CAN ANYONE USE THE WORD PASQINADE IN A SENTENCE? IT MEANS A SATIRE OR LAMPOON, ESP. ONE POSTED IN A PUBLIC PLACE...
Chantilly was a quondam cobbler of the Rue St. Denis, who, becoming stage-mad, had attempted the rôle of Xerxes, in Crébillon's tragedy so called, and been notoriously pasquinaded for his pains.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pasquinade
Answer to:
What is Danse Macabre? What is macabre?
Dance of Death, also variously called Danse Macabre (French), Danza Macabra (Italian and Spanish), or Totentanz (German), is a late-medieval allegory on the universality of death: no matter one's station in life, the dance of death unites all. La Danse Macabre consists of the personified death leading a row of dancing figures from all walks of life to the grave, typically with an emperor,...
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Answer to:
Where does the word golf originate from?
1457, Scot. gouf, usually taken as an alteration of M.Du. colf, colve "stick, club, bat," from P.Gmc. *kulth- (cf. O.N. kolfr "clapper of a bell," Ger. Kolben "mace, club"). The game is from 14c., the word is first mentioned (along with fut-bol) in a 1457 Scot. statute on forbidden games.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=golf
GOLF (in its older forms...
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Answer to:
Etymology is the study of the roots and history of words; and how their form and meaning have changed over time. Is there a particular word or phrase that would you like an explanation for?
The origin and historical development of a linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one language to another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and reconstructing its ancestral form where possible.
In the 20th cent.,linguists continued to use etymology to learn how meanings...
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Answer to:
My sis is dating a gypsy.They have their own dialect. Such as Musker means cops, Dawty means the "f" word, minge means the "c" word when about a woman. There are more and I was wondering if someone knew where I could get a dictionary on gypsy slang.
There is no such dictionary. But you can try from some
of these sites:
http://www.search.com/search?q=gypsy+slang+words
Answer to:
Is everything that happens pre-determined?
"For every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction". If you write it in English, it becomes
Newton's Law. If you write it in Sanskrit, it becomes
Law of Karma.
http://www.answers.com/karma
Causa est omnibus in Latin means 'there is a reason for everything.
Similar meaning is given by the phrases "as you sow
so shall you reap", "what goes...
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Answer to:
What does the expression " Catch as catch can " mean?
: ADJECTIVE: Using or making do with whatever means are available; irregular: made a catch-as-catch-can living doing odd jobs.
: ADVERB: However or by whatever means possible: "Reading was learned catch-as-catch-can, while reindeer farming was learned deeply and thoroughly through the daily rigors of survival" (Bunny McBride )
: The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the...
Answer to:
What is roadhead?
Bewcastle is a large civil parish in the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England.
According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 411. The parish is large and includes the settlements of Roadhead, Shopford, Blackpool Gate, Roughsike and The Flatt. To the north the parish extends to the border with Scotland. As well as Bewcastle Castle this border area includes Askerton...
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Answer to:
Have you ever heard the expression "Ugly as a bag of hammers"?
There's "dumb as a box of rocks" and "dumb as a bag of hammers," too. I suppose the common thread is the heavy unchangingness of these humble objects, in contrast to the nimbleness of a lively mind, which would call up lighter, quicker objects as metaphors. "You rocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things" as Shakespeare would have it.
In England we...
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Answer to:
What gives you the sensation of feeling good all over?
Slow and peaceful music.
Some modern western musicians wrote that music is
a higher revelation than wisdom and philosophy.
Some ancient Hindu texts wrote that music
transcends all limitations of language and races.
It is known to many of us that babies, animals and
even snakes enjoy listening to music. Poets
described that soft music moves the chord within
like a moon beam that...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Anyone using Google Chrome,any tips?
You may go through this list:
http://www.search.com/search?q=tips+for+using+Google+Chrome+browser
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Answer to:
♣ Would you like people calling you " Old man or old lady " if you are in your 50's ? ♣
That is a word of respect in our tradition. I am an old man, and I would like to be called that way.
Answer to:
Is a a useless answer better than no answer?
Our minds are as different as our finger prints -
no two are identical. Palmistry also says the same
thing. Every human is unique. Not only do our
organs differ, but our personalities differ. Each
human develops different goals, and has special
traits or feelings which differ in a million
different ways from others.
http://www.answers.com/Phenomenology
Hindu philosophy says that...
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Answer to:
What are some philosophies of the mind that propose a nonphysical mind and have a basis for that proposal? Like names of the philosophies and the philosophers? Thanks.ph
The Europeans have an esoteric tradition that mind exists independently of the physical brain, and thoughts become known to a person through the brain.
The Hutchinson Encyclopedia, The topic on "mind", Computer CD Version, 2002.
During the 1970s, neurologists became increasingly dissatisfied with the epiphenomenalism theories of mind and brain. More scientists came to suspect...
Answer to:
Would you be happier with money or wisdom?
No amount of money can buy wisdom. I am seeker of
higher knowledge.
Answer to:
Is evil a natural trait or something that has to be developed?
Ancient Europeans wrote about Ages of Man.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_Man
There are also many other references to various
types of world ages or Ages of Man in Hopi
(worlds), Mayan (suns) and other cultures of
antiquity. Giorgio de Santillana, the former
professor of the history of science, mentions
approximately thirty ancient cultures that
believed in the concept of a...
Answer to:
Do we owe everything to God or everything was given Free?
"For every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction". If you write it in English, it becomes
Newton's Law. If you write it in Sanskrit, it becomes
Law of Karma.
http://www.search.com/search?q=karma
Causa est omnibus in Latin means 'there is a reason for everything.
Similar meaning is given by the phrases "as you sow
so shall you reap", "what...
Answer to:
♣ Have you ever went for a pilgrimage? ♣
Yes, a few times with my parents.
Answer to:
♣ Have you ever went for a pilgrimage? ♣
Yes, a few times with my parents.
Answer to:
♣ If AB becomes completely EDUCATIONAL without the OUTSIDE THE BAG category , would you still visit the site?
I rarely visit the outside the bag category.
Answer to:
What do you call a PRIEST who believes in DARWIN and a SCIENTIST who believes in GOD?
First part - I do not know.
Second part - Albert Einstein
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/einstein.html
Answer to:
Most religions teach love, peace etc... so why most wars around the world today and throughout the history were religion based?
Archaeological evidence suggests that religious beliefs have existed
since the first human communities. They are generally shared by a
community, and they express the communal culture and values through
myth, doctrine, and ritual. Religion also encompasses ancestral or
cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as
personal faith and religious experience.
Broadly...
Answer to:
What exactly is Deus Ex Machina?
In Greek and Roman drama, a god lowered by stage machinery to resolve a plot or extricate the protagonist from a difficult situation.
An unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or untangle a plot.
A person or event that provides a sudden and unexpected solution to a difficulty.
[New Latin...
Answer to:
♣ Do you expect for a " thanks " after answering a question? ♣
Instead of thanks, some persons write some unexpected
remarks. I will be still willing to receive such things.
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Answer to:
What is the origin and meaning of saying 'amen' after a prayer?
AMEN, a Hebrew word, of which the root meaning is "stability," generally adopted in Christian worship as a concluding formula for prayers and hymns.
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Amen
ORIGIN Greek, from a Hebrew word meaning ‘truth, certainty’.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/amen?view=uk
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Amen
O.E., from L.L. amen, from...
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Answer to:
Where does the word Yankee come from?
1683, a name applied disparagingly by Du. settlers in New Amsterdam (New York) to English colonists in neighboring Connecticut. It may be from Du. Janke, lit. "Little John," dim. of common personal name Jan; or it may be from Jan Kes familiar form of "John Cornelius," or perhaps an alt. of Jan Kees, dial. variant of Jan Kaas, lit. "John Cheese," the generic...
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Answer to:
Where does the word Yankee come from?
Due to software revision by AnswerBag, there are some minor problems - I could not see my
answer and posted it again. Sorry!
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Answer to:
Where the expressions "tomboy" and "tomgirl" came from? I am curious because my daughter's good friend is a typical "tomboy". LOL
Etymology
First attested in 1553 when it originally meant a “boisterous boy”, later in 1579 when it came to mean an “immodest woman”, and then finally in 1592 it developed its modern meaning of a “girl who acts like a boy”; from Tom, familiar form of Thomas + boy, “male child”.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tomboy?rdfrom=Tomboy
1553,...
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Answer to:
Do you believe that matter and energy has always existed or do you believe it was made by something that can never be understood?
In the beginning there was Nothing. Space
was great void. Time stood still.
Variously described – the Original Sourced, the Uncreated, the Absolute, the Almighty, the First Cause etc. God is something that remains beyond the comprehension of human mind. Barring Buddhism, different Religions have personified Him and given different names and also an abode of residence, Heaven. Buddha...
Answer to:
Why is it that those who preach their own morality the loudest are so often completely amoral themselves?
They examples of split personality.
http://www.answers.com/split%20personality
http://www.answers.com/topic/dissociative-identity-disorder
Answer to:
What are some pros and cons when we allow our passion and/or impulses to ride us?
Plato wrote that opinion (or the sensory
information) was a form of apprehension that was
shifting and unclear, similar to seeing things in
a dream or only through their shadows. Modern
psychologists say that passion has the same
limitations of senses as it tends toward immediate
emotional discharge.
Emotion is the quick acting component of the mind
which can be termed leftist or...
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Answer to:
What are some words or phrases that use the word under?
Idioms beginning with 'under':
under par
under the sun
under false colors
under one's skin
understand
under one's hat
under age
under pain of
under a cloud
under any circumstances
under arrest
under consideration
under fire
underground railroad
under lock and key
under one's belt
under one's breath
under one's feet
under one's nose
...
Answer to:
What is a word that uses the word WATER in it?
Search Results *water*
backwater
bilgewater
blackwater
blendwater
bluewater
breakwater
bridgewater
brightwaters
broadwater
catchwater
chugwater
clearwater
coldwater
cutwater
deep-water
deepwater
dishwater
draw-water
edgewater
eyewater
fairwater
firewater
fresh-water
freshwater
gladewater
goodwater
headwater
headwaters
highwater
jerkwater
limewater
mid-water
...
Answer to:
AB does not work right and this is becoming increasingly frustrating. I imagine that people are leaving. Has AB traffic decreased measurably in the last 90 days and if so, do they even care?
They are making minor changes to the software to make it
better. The problems connected with it will continue for
some more time.
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Answer to:
Why are you answering opinion questions? 1. Just to give your opinion? 2. Hoping that your opinion will be better represented when you give it? 3. You like to discuss about opinions? 4. You like confrontation? 5. Some other reason?
My opinion is based my experience gained through years.
If that is helpful to some one in some way, I will be glad.
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Answer to:
Is man the highest fruit of the universe or is he just an insignificant speck in infinite space or something in between?
It is difficult for me to understand how life forms lower than human beings, such as plants, insects, and other animals, could have souls....
With that free will comes responsibility. Humans who misuse their free will have to loose it, at least for a time. Chapter 16 of the Bhagavad Gita describes such human beings as having to take birth in lower species of
life.
...
Answer to:
Which is the STRONGER emotion, love or hate?
Hate is an emotional discharge.
Scientists proved that true love is more powerful than
casual sex due to emotional excitation.
"Our data even may be relevant to some forms of autism," remarked Lucy L. Brown of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "Some people with autism don't understand or experience any sort of emotional attachment or romantic love. I would...
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Answer to:
What is the veil of ignorance?
Political Dictionary: veil of ignorance
Garment imagined by John Rawls (1921-2002) in his Theory of Justice (1971) as a mental device to enable individuals to formulate a standard of justice whilst remaining ignorant of their place in or value to their society. Rawls's social contract is that which he argues rational individuals would agree to if they were each placed behind a veil of...
Answer to:
Do you believe that by human disposition and nature that we are all just truly selfish?
Ancient Europeans wrote about Ages of Man.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_Man
There are also many other references to various
types of world ages or Ages of Man in Hopi
(worlds), Mayan (suns) and other cultures of
antiquity. Giorgio de Santillana, the former
professor of the history of science, mentions
approximately thirty ancient cultures that
believed in the concept of a...
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Answer to:
Why cant we live in love and unity?
Ancient Europeans wrote about Ages of Man.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_Man
There are also many other references to various
types of world ages or Ages of Man in Hopi
(worlds), Mayan (suns) and other cultures of
antiquity. Giorgio de Santillana, the former
professor of the history of science, mentions
approximately thirty ancient cultures that
believed in the concept of a...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Should you obey others or follow your own conscience?
Conscience is an ability or faculty or sense that leads to feelings of remorse when we do things that go against our moral values, or which informs our moral judgment before performing such an action. Such feelings are not intellectually reached, though they may cause us to 'examine our conscience' and review those moral precepts, or perhaps resolve to avoid repeating the behaviour.
...
Answer to:
I'm reading a book by Ian Rankin. A character says, "she'll go spare." about his wife. What does that mean?
(Idiom)
go spare (British & Australian informal):
to become very angry
"She'd go spare if she found out he was spending all that money."
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/go+spare
Become very angry.
E.g."She'll go spare when she finds her best vase broken." {Informal, Slang)
http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/g.htm
To get out of...
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Answer to:
Is there a universal Truth due for all men forever, or is Truth relative or individual?
Truth: Relative and Absolute
While Kant and other thinkers focus on our knowledge of truth rather than truth itself, Dooyeweerd focuses on both Truth and our knowledge of truth, and links them. Therefore the notion of Truth, as known, is tied up with those of belief and knowing.
(more......)
http://www.dooy.salford.ac.uk/truth.html
Protagoras: Truth is relative. It is only a matter...
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Answer to:
What is the usefulness of philosophy? why do we need it?
When some thing happens, an incident or an accident,
three questions arise - what, how and why.
You will get an answer to the first question within a
short period of time. It is physical in nature.
You have to spend more time to answer the second
question. It is mental in nature.
Different persons may give different answers for the
third question. But you will never get a true...
Answer to:
Is man a creator and mover of his life, or does he live at the effect of forces over which he has little control?
"For every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction". If you write it in English, it becomes
Newton's Law. If you write it in Sanskrit, it becomes
Law of Karma.
http://www.search.com/search?q=karma
Causa est omnibus in Latin means 'there is a reason for everything.
Similar meaning is given by the phrases "as you sow
so shall you reap", "what...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
It seems that our earliest ancestors opted for a dualistic view of reality, how would things be different if we first had a relativistic view of reality?
The Upanishads say that even a the smallest thing
in creation, say a one cell organism, is a microcosm.
The more you try to know about it, you will understand
that there is more to know. Reality has infinite
dimensions. Perception is an approximate interpretation
of reality.
Answer to:
"We have no right to judge other people!" Why?
Our minds are as different as our finger prints - no two are identical.
Palmistry also says the same thing. Every human is unique.
Not only do our organs differ, but our personalities differ.
Each human developes different goals, and has special traits or feelings
which differ in a million different ways from others.
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Answer to:
Is peace of mind like ‘not thinking’?
The absence of mental stress or anxiety.
Synonyms
* peace
* peacefulness
* serenity
* repose
* inner peace
* tranquillity
* calmness
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/peace_of_mind
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=peace+of+mind&r=66
a tranquility that results from not having worries, guilt, or problems.
"If peace of mind is more...
Answer to:
I'm looking for a book that gives a general summary of the great philosophers and what they believed or taught. A little reference guide. Is there such a thing?
Online also you get good information:
http://www.answers.com/topic/philosophy
http://www.answers.com/topic/philosophy-and-belief
http://www.answers.com/topic/philosophy-and-literature-1
Answer to:
What's the difference between making a living, and making a life?
to make a living:
(idiomatic) To earn enough income to support oneself and, if applicable, one's family.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/make_a_living
making a life
Any thing over and above earning enough income
http://www.budget.psu.edu/Budget/BP/mlbetter.htm
http://www.uuabookstore.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=1076
...
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Answer to:
Where did the phrase the dogs bollox come from?
The word bollocks, meaning testicles has been part of the language since the 18th century, but didn't become used to mean nonsense until the early 20th century. The 'dog's bollocks' seems to have originated in Britain in the first half of the 20th century. Eric Partridge recorded it in Edition 3 of A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 1949:
"Dog's...
Answer to:
I bought these from a French-speaking black man from Ghana at a flea market in Florida years ago. They are copper & about 3cm in length (about the size of an American 25 cent piece). What are they & what are they for? (See Pics in answer below)
A few of them are Hindu talismans. I think others are also
connected to Hinduism, but originated in Thailand. The script is Thai.
http://www.thailand-pictures.com/
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Answer to:
Why is it alright for a man to go topless when their nipples during sex are as sensitive and sexual as a woman's nipples are....and why do the men who seem to go topless go topless when they really should NOT?
I will answer this from Hindu philosophy point of view.
Man is designed with Bahir Jananendriya (external generation organ)
and woman is designed with Anthar Jananendriya (internal generation organ).
Bahir also means that which can be exposed to air or light, and Anthar
means the opposite. Philosophically speaking, these concepts can be
extended to the whole body. Majority of people...
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Answer to:
What are some materials that could be used for a strong foundation in life?
Wisdom.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What are somethings better not known?
Likes and dislikes which are highly personal in nature.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Have you ever heard the phrase "knock on wood"?
Idioms: knock on wood
Also, touch wood. Express a wish that something will or will not occur, as in This last round of treatment should have cured her, knock on wood. This expression alludes to an ancient superstition that literally knocking on or touching wood will ward off evil spirits. [c. 1900]
Knocking on wood, and the spoken expression "knock on wood" or "touch...
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Answer to:
How is whinging different than wincing?
whinging:
British : to complain fretfully : whine
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whinging
to complain, especially about something which does not seem important
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=90226&dict=CALD
wincing:
to shrink back involuntarily (as from pain) : flinch
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wincing
to show pain briefly...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
When you ask to be someone's friend,do you do research on their questions and answers first?
That is usually the case. But when I receive an interesting answer from some one, I feel like doing some
research for them.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Do you think you answer a question in a particular manner if you know the sex of the person asking it?
Yes. Many questions are gender dependent - what a man seeks is different from what a woman seeks.
I have taught engineering to men and women - there will be no gender difference there. But in subjects other than science, there is.
Answer to:
How do you feel when someone asks a question and the only feed back is a short Thankx...?
Even that is sufficient for me - I am one who is easy to be pleased. There are many answers for which I did not receive even that!
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Answer to:
Share an old expression with us, please?
Causa est omnibus in Latin means 'there is a reason for everything.
Similar meaning is given by the phrases "as you sow
so shall you reap", "what goes around comes around",
and "sow the wind; reap the whirlwind".
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/30/messages/1444.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/democritus
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Answer to:
I need to purchase a new all in one printer....can you tell me what is good and what is not?....I am looking in the range of $100-150 for the item....
I have used two models of Canon - they are very good.
The photos that I have printed with them are liked by
all visitors to my house.
In text printing, most brands look alike. But when it comes to photo printing, Canon makes all the difference.
See for your self photo prints from other brands before
making a decision.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is a "whirling dervish?"
a member of a Turkish order of dervishes, or Sufis, whose ritual consists in part of a highly stylized whirling dance.
http://dictionary.infoplease.com/whirling-dervish
1. somebody working very quickly: somebody who busily does many things in quick succession
2. dervish known for whirling: a member of an ascetic Muslim religious group known for very energetic whirling
...
Answer to:
Where is love?
A student asked his teacher, "What is love?"
The teacher said, "to get an answer to your
question, go to the wheat field, get the biggest
wheat grain, and come back."
But the rule is - you can go through the field
only once and cannot turn back to pick."
The student went to the field, gone through the
first row, and saw one big wheat grain. But he
...
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Answer to:
What is another name for a british woman?
Lady Brit.
http://www.answers.com/topic/brit-1
Answer to:
Where does the expression half baked come from
It is a colloquialism which originated in 1615–25.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=half+baked&r=66
It came from insufficiently cooked cake. The colloquialism was used to describe insufficiently planned ideas that are impractical.
http://www.audioenglish.net/dictionary/half-baked.htm
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/41/messages/395.html
Answer to:
What does this mean? "There is a dime in the back pocket and it is on heads!"
This information may be of some help:
"Mr. Krabs also has a First Dime. When he finds it missing, he blames Squidward of stealing it, causing him to quit. Later Krabs finds it in his back pocket - and it's a huge stone wheel.
Spongebob: That's a dime?
Mr. Krabs: I've been in business a long time, boy."
(more.....)
...
Answer to:
Where did the phrase "racking my brain" come from?
Idioms: rack one's brain
Also, cudgel one's brains. Strain to remember or find a solution, as in I've been racking my brain trying to recall where we put the key, or He's been cudgeling his brains all day over this problem. The first term, first recorded in 1583 as rack one's wit, alludes to the rack that is an instrument of torture, on which the victim's body...
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Answer to:
What exactly does vice versa mean and what exactly does et cetera mean?
vice versa:
used to state that what you have just said is also true in the opposite order:
"He doesn't trust her, and vice versa"
http://www.babylon.com/define/40/online-english-dictionary.html
http://wordlist.com/vice%20versa.htm
used to say that the opposite of a situation you have just described is also true:
The boys may refuse to play with the girls, and...
Answer to:
Have you ever just sat outside and listened to the wind blow?
I tried to make you happy
You know I tried so hard to be
What you hoped that I would be
I gave you what wanted
God couldn't give you what you need
You wanted more from me
Than I could ever be
You wanted heart and soul
But you didn't know
Wild, wild is the wind
That takes me away from you
Cold is the night without your love
To see me through
Wild, wild is the wind
That...
Answer to:
Is anything in the universe (known ofc) actually 100% efficient? Will it ever be possible within the laws of physics, which we believe to be true, to build anything that is 100% efficient?
The entropic uncertainty principle, when it is interpreted correctly, does not allow any operation
to be 100% efficient. The energy-time uncertainty also
is to be taken into account.
http://www.answers.com/topic/uncertainty-principle
Answer to:
What is a plume?
A feather, especially a large and showy one.
A large feather or cluster of feathers worn as an ornament or symbol of rank, as on a helmet.
A token of honor or achievement.
A structure or form that is like a long feather: a plume of smoke.
Ecology. A space in air, water, or soil containing pollutants released from a point source.
Geology. An upwelling of molten material from the...
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Answer to:
Over 97% of email is unwanted spam, dominated by adverts for drugs, and other products often with malicious attachments. What can be done about it? (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7988579.stm)
Open email providers do not have efficient spam filter programs. Their customers are so large in number that it is virtually impossible to provide it.
Some private email providers, who charge money for their service, offer some good spam protection. However, you should know that spams are like computer viruses - they are written/directed by some hackers/geeks who are good at it. Any amount...
| 4 people like this
Answer to:
In naval circles, what did "splice the mainbrace" mean?
Certainly in long,long use in the Royal Navy. Probably from the issue of an extra ration of rum for those who managed the difficult task to actually 'splice the mainbrace', the brace attached to the main yard of sailing ships. The term is still in current use, although the braces are long gone on Navy ships.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/6/messages/1067.html
Splice...
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Answer to:
What's something that doesn't come with a price?
Affection - you can not buy it with any money. I price it
as the highest.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Is it just mine or are all your answer numbers the wrong way round today i.e.15 out of 11?
The programmers are doing minor editing to the AnswerBag
software. You will find such problems for some more time.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is your key to survival?
Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to
events and circumstances in one's life. Hope
implies a certain amount of perseverance i.e.
believing that a positive outcome is possible even
when there is some evidence to the contrary.
A person who dreads of 'what tomorrow may bring'
looses the zeal of life itself. He can not live in
the present even for one day. I do...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What do you think of the idea of scrapping the Gregorian calendar and restoring the start of the New Year to the Spring (e.g. celebrating New Year's Eve on the Vernal Equinox)?
The Hindus in India celebrate the new year on the eve of
Vernal Equinox.
We have celebrated it a few days ago - wish you a Happy New Year on the eve of Ugaadi the Telugu new year!
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Could you please describe a situation where two many questions would be asked? Did you ever experience this?
A small correction - you should have written "too many".
People can ask a large number of questions in any situation because human perception has limited abilities.
Most people have more questions than answers. He who has
the least number of questions is called a wise man.
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Answer to:
What do you do when you realize that the question that you wanted to ask has already been asked?
That will give me the inspiration to ask a new question in the same line.
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Answer to:
Recently, if I happen to find a duplicate, and try to report it, the Answerbag software does not find it. Should I report it with feedback, just forget it, or is anything I can do about this?
The AnswerBag software is not the latest that is available for forums - they got it free. There are bound to be many limitations, and I have also found some.
Even if you find some, there is not much that can be done
by the administration.
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Answer to:
Name something that has no remedy?
In my case, it is urge for higher knowledge.
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Answer to:
Is this question easy enough for you to answer? Just wondering...
When some thing happens, three questions arise - what,
how and why.
You will get an answer to the first question within a
short period of time. It is physical in nature.
You have to spend more time to answer the second
question. It is mental in nature.
Different persons may give different answers for the
third question. But you will never get a true answer
for it - it is...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Researchers at Ulster University have found that, if you grow up with sisters in your family, you are more likely to be happy and balanced. Brothers have the opposite effect! What do you make of this?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7977454.stm
So is the case with married people - happy and balanced.
Bachelors have the opposite effect.
http://www.search.com/search?q=married+live+longer++than+bachelors
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Answer to:
What industry do you work in?
Retired professor of Andhra University, faculty of mechanical engineering.
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Which is better, to be a human, and to die after about 100 years (if you are lucky), or to be a jellyfish, and to be immortal?
The Advaitha (Non-duality) theory of the Hindus states that a soul is a finite piece of the Infinite Soul (Almighty).
http://www.answers.com/Advaitha
Hinduism states that all living beings have souls, and that no living being can ever become immortal - only the Almighty is immortal.
It is mandatory for all souls to take birth as all types of living beings to continue the creation....
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Answer to:
Is the origin of the english word "portion" related to the greek word "phortion"?
ORIGIN Latin, from pro portione ‘in proportion’.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/portion?view=uk
From Middle English porcioun < Old French porcion < Latin portio (“‘a share, part, portion, relation, proportion’”), akin to pars (“‘part’”)
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Portion
c.1300, from O.Fr. porcion (12c.),...
Answer to:
Whats the difference between being 'famous' and infamous'?
Both indicate that an individual, or some thing, is very well known. Famous is typically in a good way. The word "infamous" would of course be fine for those that are famous in an evil way. The prefix -in in "infamous" is not, however, the Latin negative prefix -in, which is related to the English -un and appears in such words as indecent and inglorious. Rather, this -in is...
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Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase "dipsy doodle"?
To move in or follow a zigzag course: “the narrow trail . . . dipsy-doodled through the brush until it finally reached the river” (Pete Bodo).
[Alteration of dipsy-do, baseball term to describe motion of a screwball, from DIP.]
http://www.answers.com/topic/dipsy-doodle
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dipsy-doodle
Origin:
1940–45; see dip 1 , -sy, doodle 1
...
Answer to:
What is a mouse potato?
n. A person who spends a lot of time at the computer (cf. couch potato).
This word appeared originally in Gareth Branwyn's Jargon Watch column, in the January 1994 issue of Wired magazine. (Original definition: "The online and interactive-TV generation's answer to the couch potato.") In an e-mail to the American Dialect Society, Gareth notes that the writer Alice Kahn...
Answer to:
Where did the word tomboy originate?
1553, "rude, boisterous boy," from Tom + boy; meaning "bold or immodest woman" is attested from 1579; that of "girl who acts like a spirited boy" is first recorded 1592.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=tomboy
Mid-16th century. < the name Tom (short for Thomas) + boy
...
Answer to:
What is the origin of 86'd?
86 may be the most common term uttered in bars and restaurants. It means the supply of an item is exhausted, as in "Tell the customer to order another appetizer. The soup du jour is 86'd. We're out." It is used to cut customers off as well, as in "Don't serve Drunk Guy over there anymore, he's 86'd." It can go as far as meaning to eject or debar from...
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Answer to:
Where does the word ROBOT come from and what is its original meaning?
1923, from Eng. translation of 1920 play "R.U.R." ("Rossum's Universal Robots"), by Karel Capek (1890-1938), from Czech robotnik "slave," from robota "forced labor, drudgery," from robotiti "to work, drudge," from an Old Czech source akin to Old Church Slavonic rabota "servitude," from rabu "slave" (see orphan), from a...
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Answer to:
This is really gross and you dont have to say it but, Do you know what "Shrimping" is?
(Adult / Slang)
1. Slang term for cunnilingus. See cunnilingus for synonyms.
2. Felching with the aid of a straw. See also: felching.
http://www.definition-of.com/Shrimping
http://www.sex-lexis.com/Sex-Dictionary/shrimping%20
to suck on someones toes for sexual gratification.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=shrimping+
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Answer to:
Where does the phrase "nick of time" come from?
"in the nick of time - It means, of course, at the critical or precise moment; just at the instant when our hero was saved at the last moment from onrushing death, for example. The expression about three centuries old, formed when someone added the redundant 'of time' to the older expression, 'in the nick,' which meant the same thing. A nick is a groove, a notch, as...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Where does the phrase "going out on a limb" come from?
OUT ON A LIMB - "In an exposed or dangerous position. One can surmise that the literal origin of this saying was the treed animal, which was highly vulnerable to the hunter if it got out on a limb. The saying originated in the United States and by 1897 had acquired its figurative meaning, which is seen in 'Wolfville' by A.H. Louis: 'Several of us.seein' whatever we can...
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Answer to:
When and how did the phrase 'Jumping the shark' originate?
Jump the shark
Meaning
To reach the point in a TV series that denotes it is irretrievably past its best by introducing some ridiculous or otherwise unbelievable plot device or characterisation in order to boost ratings.
Origin
The phrase derives from a scene in the three-part 'Hollywood' episode of the American TV series Happy Days, broadcast in September 1977. The scene...
Answer to:
Hi, I'm a curious american girl. What are Australian slang/funny words for our naughty parts and the things we do with them?
Try these sources:
http://www.australianexplorer.com/slang/behaviour.htm
http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html
http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/ozatwar/aussieslang.htm
http://www.dunway.com/html/aussie_slang.html
http://www.search.com/search?q=Australian+sex+slang++list
Answer to:
What is the origin of the word "Glitch" ? ; )
Etymology
Probably from Yiddish, from dialectical German glitschig (“‘slippy’”), from glitsch (“‘slide, glide, slip’”) + -ig (“‘-y’”). Related to gleiten "glide".
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/glitch?rdfrom=Glitch
http://www.yourdictionary.com/glitch
1962, Amer.Eng., possibly from Yiddish glitsh...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Is ''stoical'' a real word ? Can you use it in a sentence?
Yes.
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861715214
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stoical
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stoical?rdfrom=Stoical
http://www.wordsmyth.net/live/home.php?script=search&matchent=stoical&matchtype=exact
http://dictionary.infoplease.com/stoical
...
Answer to:
Anyone know what the origin of the term "carrying on like pork chop" is?
Have you ever seen a pork chop on a hot barbecue or griddle? It hisses and pops and jumps around as the crackling cooks..... just like some folk when they are all wired up!
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/44/messages/861.html
(meaning) Make a fuss
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=carry-on%20like%20a%20pork%20chop
pork chop: carry on like a pork chop
To...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What does hustla mean
A hustla is someone skilled at turning a profit no matter what the enterprise.
Commonly used by rappers to describe a drug dealer, but it's also a street term used for pimps or anyone who makes money illegally on the streets, it can also just mean your getting a lot of money doin what you do best.
Someone Always looking for a way to get more money.
...
Answer to:
Where did "for the love of pete" come from?
Love of "Pete" or "Peat"
Biblical origins. Think of St Peter. Think of the omnipresent medieval church and think of hitting your thumb with a hammer. You can't swear, else the local priests will have you up before the Bishop and the Lord alone knows what the outcome of that will be, so you exclaim, in appropriate tone of voice, "For Saint Peter's sake"...
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Answer to:
Who here belifes in ghost and that they are among us, watching us?
Nightmare:
c.1290, "an evil female spirit afflicting sleepers with a feeling of suffocation," compounded from night + mare "goblin that causes nightmares, incubus," from O.E. mare "incubus," from mera, mære, from P.Gmc. *maron "goblin," from PIE *mora- "incubus," from base *mer- "to rub away, harm, seize" (cf. first element in...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
Is it possible that there is actually a universe in every atom?
Microcosm - Western philosophical term designating man as being a “little world” in which the macrocosm, or universe, is reflected. The ancient Greek idea of a world soul (e.g., in Plato) animating the universe had as a corollary the idea of the human body as a miniature universe animated by its own soul. The notion of the microcosm dates, in Western philosophy, from Socratic times...
Answer to:
What is a neutron star?
A celestial body consisting of the superdense remains of a massive star that has collapsed with sufficient force to push all of its electrons into the nuclei that they orbit, thus leaving only neutrons, and having a powerful gravitational attraction from which only neutrinos and high-energy photons can escape, rendering the body detectable only by x-ray.
Sci-Tech Encyclopedia: Neutron star...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What is the difference between analogue and digital communication?
analogue:
A representation of an object that resembles the original. Analog devices monitor conditions, such as movement, temperature and sound, and convert them into analogous electronic or mechanical patterns. For example, an analog watch represents the planet's rotation with the rotating hands on the watch face. Telephones turn voice vibrations into electrical vibrations of the same...
Answer to:
What are some things that science can't explain?
There are many things.
When some thing happens, an incident or an accident,
three questions arise - what, how and why.
You will get an answer to the first question within a
short period of time. It is physical in nature.
You have to spend more time to answer the second
question. It is mental in nature.
Different persons may give different answers for the
third question. But...
| 1 person likes this
Answer to:
What does "golden door" mean?
Nuovomondo literally, new world (The Golden Door) is a 2006 drama based around a family's migration from Italy to New York during the beginning of the 20th Century. The film is set in both Italy and The United States. The film is written and directed by Emanuele Crialese. Vincent Schiavelli, whose character was originally planned to play a major part, died during the filming, forcing his...
Answer to:
The name "Canada" comes from what language and means what in that language?
1568 (implied in Canadian), said to be a Latinized form of a word for "village" in an Iroquoian language of the St. Lawrence valley that had gone extinct by 1600. Most still-spoken Iroquoian languages have a similar word (e.g. Mohawk kana:ta "town"). Canada goose is attested from 1772.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Canada
WORD HISTORY Linguistically,...
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Answer to:
What's the origin of the slang term "Pikey"?
Etymology 1
pike + y - a low-ranking soldier who merely carries a pike.
Etymology 2
From obsolete pike, to depart or travel, or possibly from turnpike.
(UK, pejorative) A working-class (often underclass) person; can vary from specifically Irish Travellers, gypsies, or travellers from any ethnic background, but now increasingly used for any socially undesirable person, with negative...
Answer to:
What does 'sylvan' mean?
also adj.
Relating to or characteristic of woods or forest regions.
Located in or inhabiting a wood or forest.
Abounding in trees; wooded.
n.
One that lives in or frequents the woods.
[Medieval Latin sylvānus, from Latin Silvānus, god of the woods, from silva, forest.]
Emanating from or pertaining to woods.
IN BRIEF: One that frequents groves or woods.
Our woods are sylvan,...
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Answer to:
Whats a 'Packie?'
1. (slang, US) Alternative form of package store.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/packie
Packy or packie can refer to:
* Packie Bonner, former football goalkeeper for the Republic of Ireland
* Packie Duignan, Irish musician
* Packy, an elephant at the Oregon Zoo
* Packy or packie, a liquor store (slang from "package store", originating in Massachusetts)
...
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Answer to:
Where did the term "lighten up" come from?
Date: 1946
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lighten+up
Variations:
lighten something up
lighten up (on someone or something)
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/lighten+up
Idioms: lighten up
Become or cause to become less serious or gloomy, and more cheerful. For example, Lighten up, Sam--it'll turn out all right. This slangy expression transfers reducing a...
Answer to:
What is wanking a firend said he's does it all the time what is it
Read from these sites:
http://www.definition-of.com/wanking
http://onlineslangdictionary.com/definition+of/wank
Answer to:
What's the origin of the term "French kiss"?
A kiss (or the act of kissing) which involves the touching of both persons' tongues.
Synonyms
* soul kiss
* cataglottis
* tongue kiss
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/French_kiss
French kiss [possibly offensive]: kissing with the tongue.
"Dave's dog is always trying to French kiss him!"
http://eslcafe.com/slang/f.html
A French kiss is a kiss,...
Answer to:
How much is "two bits" and where did the phrase come from?
based on the old monetary bit, which was one eighth of an old Spanish dollar (or 12½ cents in more modern usage)
Twenty-five cents, or a quarter.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/two_bits
"Listening to America" by Stuart Berg Flexner (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1982) has some detailed about "bits": ".Being worth one-eighth of a Spanish peso or Spanish...
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Answer to:
Why are english called limey?
ORIGIN: from the former enforced consumption of lime juice in the British navy.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/limey?view=uk
1888, Australian, New Zealand, and South African slang for "English immigrant;" U.S. use is attested from 1918, originally "British sailor, British warship," short for lime-juicer (1857), in derisive reference to the British Navy's...
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Answer to:
Why is it "grateful" and not "greatful"?
1552, from obsolete adj. grate "agreeable, thankful," from L. gratus "pleasing" (see grace). "A most unusual formation" [Weekley]. Hard to think of another case where Eng. uses -ful to make an adj. from an adj. Grateful Dead, the San Francisco rock band, took its name, according to Jerry Garcia, from a dictionary entry he saw about the folk tale motif of a wanderer...
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Answer to:
Where do you think the following expression originated? "Put that in your pipe and smoke it!"
Idioms: put that in your pipe and smoke it
Take that information and give it some thought, as in I'm quitting at the end of the week--put that in your pipe and smoke it. This term alludes to the thoughtful appearance of many pipe smokers. [Colloquial; early 1800s]
http://www.answers.com/Put%20that%20in%20your%20pipe%20and%20smoke%20it
PUT THAT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT --...
Answer to:
"Don't have a Cow" is a way of telling someone to stop being upset or making a big deal out of something. What is another phrase similar to that one?
Don't Flip Your Wig
(See "Don't have a Cow".)
Don't have a Cow
Used when someone was "going ape" or perhaps being a "spaz."
Example: So I took your book by mistake, don't have a cow about it.
http://www.cougartown.com/slang.html
"Don't get your knickers in a twist" (meaning, "Don't get...
Answer to:
What is cutting the quick mean?
cut someone to the quick and cut someone to the bone
1. Lit. to slice the flesh of someone or some animal clear through to the underlying layer of flesh or to the bone. With the very sharp knife, David cut the beast to the quick in one blow. He cut his finger to the quick with the sharp knife.
2. Fig. to injure someone emotionally. (See also cut something to the bone.) Your heartless...
Answer to:
Why do we call police,"cops."
Cop:
"policeman," 1859, abbreviation of earlier copper (1846), from the verb.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cop
The most commonly-heard theories trace "cop" (or "copper") meaning "police officer" to copper buttons worn on early police uniforms, or to copper police badges supposedly issued in some cities, but there is no real evidence...
| 3 people like this
Answer to:
A penny found is a penny earned! Do you know what this means?
A PENNY SAVED IS A PENNY EARNED - "Money not wasted can be used in the future. A responsible person saves even small amounts of money.The proverb has been traced back to Herbert's 'Outlandish Proverbs" (1640) and is first attested in the United States in 'William and Mary College Quarterly' (1699)." From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and...
Answer to:
Where did the term referring to a blond youngster as a 'towhead' originate from?
Etymology
tow + -head
A blond person whose very pale, almost white hair resembles tow.
tow-colored colour:
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/towhead
a head of hair resembling tow especially in being flaxen or tousled ; also : a person having such a head of hair
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/towhead
In the case of "tow-head," understanding the...
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Answer to:
How did Britain get to be known as Blighty?
Brit. informal Britain or England, as used by soldiers serving abroad.
— ORIGIN first used by soldiers in the Indian army: from Urdu, ‘foreign, European’.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/blighty?view=uk
U.K. Britain: England or Great Britain ( slang dated humorous )
[Early 20th century. < Hindi bilāyatī "foreign, European," originally used...
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Answer to:
The verb "organize" sounds very very similar to the same verb in Hebrew. Does anyone know if that is just a coincidence or if they have the same origin?
Middle English organisen, from Old French organiser, from Medieval Latin organizāre, from Latin organum, tool, instrument.
http://www.answers.com/organize
the English word organize
derived from the Old French word organiser
derived from the French word organe
derived from the Latin word organum (implement; organ; organ pipe; mechanical device)
...
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Answer to:
Where did the metaphor "beating around the bush," come from?
one literal, the other figurative. If one were hunting and wanted to flush a creature from cover - one could 'beat' around a literal bush, rather than go into it. More figuratively, it would mean not getting stuck in there - perhaps teasing a little?
: The expression implies unnecessarily indirect action, rather than a planned stage in something.
This saying is several hundred...
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Answer to:
What is the origin and meaning of the phrase "Preaching to the choir"?
"Preaching to the choir", "preaching to the chorus", and "preaching to the converted" all mean the same thing, that the people you are trying to convince already believe in what you are saying. Example: "I agree with you entirely; you are preaching to the choir." You are "preaching to the choir" when you talk (preach) to people to convince them...
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Answer to:
How did the word human come about? What does it really mean? Who coined that word?
c.1250, from M.Fr. humain "of or belonging to man," from L. humanus, probably related to homo (gen. hominis) "man," and to humus "earth," on notion of "earthly beings," as opposed to the gods (cf. Heb. adam "man," from adamah "ground"). Cognate with O.Lith. zmuo (acc. zmuni) "man, male person." Displaced its O.E. cognate guma...
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Answer to:
How did the word "bogart" come to mean "steal"?
1969, "to keep a joint in your mouth," dangling from the lip like Humphrey Bogart's cigarette in the old movies, instead of passing it on. First attested in "Easy Rider." The word was also used 1960s with notions of "get something by intimidation, be a tough guy."
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bogart
hog all of something, keep for yourself,...
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Answer to:
Where did the word Politic come from? What does it mean?
1427, from M.Fr. politique (14c.) "political," from L. politicus "of citizens or the state, civil, civic," from Gk. politikos "of citizens or the state," from polites "citizen," from polis "city" (see policy (1)). Replaced in most adj. senses by political (1551). The verb meaning "to engage in political activity" is first recorded...
Answer to:
What's the meaning of Kung Fu, and where does the word come from?
a Chinese form of self-defense in which fluid, circular movements of the arms and legs are used to attack an opponent
[Late 19th century. < Chinese gongfu, literally "merit master"]
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861624474
1966, from dial. Chinese kung fu, literally "merit master."
...
Answer to:
Does the word 'coup' come from the same word that 'coop' comes from? 'Coup' meaning rebellion and 'coop' meaning enclosure.
Coup:
c.1400, from O.Fr. colp "to cut, strike," from M.L. colpus, from V.L. colapus, from L. colaphus "a cuff, box on the ear," from Gk. kolaphos "a blow, slap." Coup d'étate is 1646, from Fr., lit. "stroke of the state." Coup de grâce is 1699, lit. "stroke of grace."
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=coup
Late...
Answer to:
Why is the phrase "... put two and two together..." so since it's usually actually putting one and one together?
There's also the extended version, "put two and two together and make five". Two and two put together of course only make four, so this phrase means "fall into error by drawing more inferences from the available evidence than they will genuinely sustain". (VSD)
"Two plus two equals five" is the way I've normally heard the extended version worded. I...
Answer to:
Where did the term " that's the way the cookie crumbles" come from?
Such is life
Meaning
An acceptance of the unpredictable fortunes of existence, often spoken with an air of weary resignation.
Origin
The early uses of this phrase date from the mid 18th century. For example, Joseph Baretti's A Grammar of the Italian Language, 1762, translates "Cosi va'l mondo!" as "Such is life" and continues:
"Such is life, that...
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Answer to:
Where does the term hispanic come from?
"pertaining to Spain" (especially ancient Spain) 1584, from L. Hispanicus, from Hispania "Iberian Peninsula," from Hispanus "Spaniard" (see Spaniard). Specific application to Sp.-speaking parts of the New World is 1889, Amer.Eng.; esp. applied since c.1972 to Sp.-speaking persons of Latin American descent living in U.S.
...
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Answer to:
Why Do people keep saying you get what you pay for?
Causa est omnibus in Latin means 'there is a reason for everything.
Similar meaning is given by the phrases "as you sow
so shall you reap", "what goes around comes around",
and "sow the wind; reap the whirlwind".
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/30/messages/1444.html
Leucippus, the founder of the atomic theory, declared in his
only surviving...
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Answer to:
Why do some people call the police "cops"?
"policeman," 1859, abbreviation of earlier copper (1846), from the verb.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cop
The most commonly-heard theories trace "cop" (or "copper") meaning "police officer" to copper buttons worn on early police uniforms, or to copper police badges supposedly issued in some cities, but there is no real evidence for any...
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Answer to:
What does it mean to pick at a chip on your shoulder?
have a chip on your shoulder
to blame other people for something bad which has happened to you and to continue to be angry about it so that it affects the way you behave (often + about )
"Even though he went to university, he's always had a chip on his shoulder about his poor upbringing."
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/have+a+chip+on+shoulder
Idioms: chip on...
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Answer to:
Where does the word "peckerwood" come from?
Canada an offensive term for a white person from a rural area who has a lower than average income ( slang )
Mid-19th century. Alteration of woodpecker
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861724493
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peckerwood
Etymology
Inversion of woodpecker, from the bird seen as the symbol of Whites, as...
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Answer to:
What do you believe will be the next big invention?
We have a dual-core Pentium processor which
is replacing the old one. But, the development will not
be faster that way, because they still use electron
currents. We all know that light travels faster than
electron current. When they use laser flows instead of
electron flow using Raman Effect discovered by Sir
C.V.Raman, Nobel Laureate, the next big revolution in
making computers will...
Answer to:
Where did the phrase "big brother is watching you" come from?
There's no definition. Big Brother was a character, sort of, in George Orwell's novel "1984." By "sort of," I mean that even in the novel he wasn't a real person. A totalitarian British government of the future, as Orwell imagined it, made up a figure called Big Brother and used him to intimidate the citizens. "Big Brother is watching" was a line of...
Answer to:
Define teacher?
A person who helps others learn, especially in a school or college.
In education, a teacher is one who helps students or pupils, often in a school, as well as in a family, religious or community setting. A teacher is an acknowledged guide or helper in processes of learning. A teacher's role may vary between cultures. Academic subjects are emphasized in many societies, but a...
Answer to:
Where did the saying "stuck between a rock and a hard place", come from?
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE -- From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" (1996) by Gregory Y. Titelman(Random House, New York, 1996): "Between a rock and a hard place. Forced to choose between two unpleasant options. The expression originated in the early twentieth century in the United States. It usually follows 'to be caught'." The...
Answer to:
You have all heard the saying blown to smitherines? ... what is a smitherine?
Blown to smithereens
Meaning
Disintegrated into small fragments, by a sudden impact or explosion.
Origin
Smithereens is an Irish word. It derives from, or is possibly the source of, the modern Irish 'smidirín', which means 'small fragments'. There is a town near Baltimore, close to the south-west coast of Ireland, called Skibbereen. The name means...
Answer to:
Who coined the term "Green" in reference to one who respects the environment?
The green movement as we think of it today has evolved considerably since the early days. Since there are some popular assumptions about environmental history that are incorrect, if you have an interest in green issues this article will serve as a helpful guide to the origins and evolution of “green”. To understand the modern green movement, we have to trace its origins back to the...
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Answer to:
Is it true that if you can make it in new york, you can make it anywhere?
At least not in India. It is a land of oldest and most
sophisticated customs and traditions.
Answer to:
How did "break a leg" come to mean "good luck"?
Theatrical types are well-known for their belief in superstitions, or at least for their willingness to make a show of pretending to believe them. The term 'break a leg' appears to come from the belief that one ought not to utter the words 'good luck' to an actor. By wishing someone bad luck, it is supposed that the opposite will occur. Other superstitions are that it is bad...
Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase 'the proof is in the pudding'?
Proof of the pudding
Meaning
To fully test something you need to experience it.
Origin
This phrase is just shorthand for 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating'. That makes sense at least, whereas the shortened version really doesn't mean anything. Nor does the often quoted incorrect version 'the proof is in the pudding'. Many people fail to see the sense...
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Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase "back to square one"
"Back to square one" is a phrase that means to go back to the beginning.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the phrase most likely originated from children's games such as hopscotch and snakes and ladders.[1] The earliest recorded use of it in print is from a 1952 edition of the Economic Journal.[1]
An alternative theory is that the phrase originated from early...
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Answer to:
Where did the phrase 'Happy as a clam' come from?
And, relatively speaking, the happiest time of a clam's day is almost certainly high tide, when his sandy abode is safely hidden from the eyes of the dreaded clam-diggers who prowl the beaches at low tide. So "happy as a clam" actually does make sense if we use it in its original, complete form, which is "happy as a clam at high tide," a catchphrase which apparently...
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Answer to:
A apple a day keeps the doctor away.--where does this phrase originate from?
Proverbs: An apple a day keeps the doctor away
A Pembrokeshire Proverb.—‘Eat an apple on going to bed, And you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread.’
[1866 Notes & Queries 3rd Ser. IX. 153]
Ait a happle avore gwain to bed, An' you'll make the doctor beg his bread (Dev.); or as the more popular version runs: An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
...
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Answer to:
What is a CHAD, as in 'hanging chad'?
A hanging chad is a chad attached to a voting ballot by a single corner.
Scraps or bits of paper, such as the perforated edges of paper for tractor feed printers or the tiny rectangles punched out from data cards.
A piece of paper that is punched out on a punch card, paper tape or on the borders of continuous forms. A chadded form is when the holes are cut completely through, which is...
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Answer to:
Where is the origin of the phrase 'girl friday'?
MAN FRIDAY/ GIRL FRIDAY - A man Friday is: "An efficient and devoted aide or employee; a right-hand man. Friday is a character in Daniel Defoe's novel, 'The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner,' published 1719-1720. Friday is the young native man rescued by Robinson Crusoe, certainly the best-known castaway in literature.(Crusoe) calls...
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Answer to:
What is the origins of the phrase "not enough room to swing a cat"?
No room to swing a cat
Meaning
An awkwardly small, confined space.
Origin
Whether the 'cat' was a real moggy or the flail-like whip used to punish sailors in the British Navy isn't clear. Many reports claim that the cat in question is the 'cat o'nine tails'. As so often though, they don't supply evidence, just certainty. As a candidate for folk...
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Answer to:
Does anyone know the origin of the phrase, "the cat got your tongue?" to indicate silence? Seems like if a cat got my tongue I'd be screaming bloody murder.
cat got your tongue:
Asked of some one who refuses to answer a question
(Dublin Slang and Phrasebook )
http://homepage.tinet.ie/~nobyrne/c.htm
Idioms: cat got one's tongue
A comment made when someone is unaccountably or unusually quiet, as in We haven't heard from you all morning--has the cat got your tongue? Often put as a question, this term originally was used mainly...
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Answer to:
Why is someone who never breaks rules and is no fun called "a goody two-shoes?" Does anyone know the meaning behind this expression?
Meaning
Someone who is virtuous in a coy, smug or sentimental manner.
Origin
This phrase derives from the title of the nursery tale The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes, which was published in 1765. The authorship of this is disputed. Oliver Goldsmith is the name most commonly associated with it, although the evidence that claim is largely circumstantial and is based on the fact it is...
Answer to:
What does OTL mean? I see it on Deviantart a lot and it does /not/ mean "over the line".
***** OTL Office of Technology Licensing
**** OTL Overtime Loss (hockey)
**** OTL Out To Lunch
**** OTL Over The Line (tournament in San Diego, CA, USA)
*** OTL Output Transformer-Less (audio systems)
*** Otl Oberstleutnant (German military; Lieutenant Colonel)
*** OTL Off the List
*** OTL Our Timeline
*** OTL Off the Line (marching band)
*** OTL OpenType Layout
*** OTL...
Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase "platonic relationship"? Did Plato actually describe nonsexual male-female relationships?
PLATONIC LOVE, a term commonly applied to an affectionate relation between a man and a woman into which the sexual element does not enter. The term in English goes back as far as Sir William Davenant's Platonic Lovers (1636). It is derived from the conception, in Plato's Symposium, of the love of the idea of good which lies at the root of all virtue and truth. Amor platonicus was...
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Answer to:
What does "your sixes are covered" mean?
Cover your sixes:
Fighter pilots use the metaphor of sitting on the middle of a clock face to indicate the relative location of other aircraft. In other words, an enemy could be at 12 o'clock (straight ahead), at 3 o'clock (perpendicular to your path, on the right), etc. Add "high" and "low" and you get three dimensions. A famous book and movie were titled...
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Answer to:
Where did the phrase 'Okie Dokie Artichokie' come from?
a phrase used to define the state of okayness
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Okie+Dokie+Artichokie
Answer to:
How did the town of Florida get its name?
U.S. state, formerly a Sp. colony, probably from Sp. Pascua florida, lit. "flowering Easter," a Sp. name for Palm Sunday, because the peninsula was discovered on that day (March 20, 1513) by the expedition of Sp. explorer Ponce de León.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Florida
The earliest explorations and attempts at colonization of Florida by Europeans were made...
Answer to:
Do you know where the term to "boggle the mind" came from?
Idioms: boggle the mind
Bewilder or astonish with complexity, novelty, or the like, as in The very magnitude of the Milky Way boggles the mind. The source of this usage is unclear, as the verb to boggle has several other seemingly unrelated meanings--to shy away, to hesitate, to bungle. [Second half of 1900s]
http://www.answers.com/boggle%20the%20mind
boggle:
1598, "to start...
Answer to:
What does "STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES" mean?
It means that and intelligent person who does stupid things is still stupid. You are what you do.
Another variation is "beauty is as beauty does" or "ugly is as ugly does".
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/19/messages/1045.html
Forrest Gump's "Stupid is as stupid does" is a variant of an old
adage, "Handsome is as handsome does."...
Answer to:
Where does the expression "jerry-rigged" come from?
Alteration influenced by jerry-build of jury-rig.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=jerry-rigged&r=66
To build shoddily, flimsily, and cheaply.
[From dialectal jerry, defective, perhaps from the name Jerry.]
http://www.answers.com/jerry-build
Jerry was used by the British in the Great War as a nickname for the Germans. One possible origin is that Jerry was thought to...
Answer to:
How can you define philosophy in etymological meaning of it?
1297, from O.Fr. filosofie (12c.), from L. philosophia, from Gk. philosophia "love of knowledge, wisdom," from philo- "loving" + sophia "knowledge, wisdom," from sophis "wise, learned."
Nec quicquam aliud est philosophia, si interpretari velis, praeter studium sapientiae; sapientia autem est rerum divinarum et humanarum causarumque quibus eae res...
Answer to:
What is the etymological meaning of literature?
c.1375, from L. lit(t)eratura "learning, writing, grammar," originally "writing formed with letters," from lit(t)era "letter." Originally "book learning" (it replaced O.E. boccræft), the meaning "literary production or work" is first attested 1779 in Johnson's "Lives of the English Poets" (he didn't include this...
Answer to:
How did India get its name?
O.E., from L. India, from Gk. India "region of the Indus River," later used of the region beyond it, from Indos "Indus River," from O.Pers. Hindu, the name for the province of Sind, from Skt. sindhu "river." The more common M.E. form was Ynde or Inde, From Fr. (see Indies). India began to prevail 16c., perhaps under Sp. or Port influence.
...
Answer to:
How is Greece connected with India getting its name?
O.E., from L. India, from Gk. India "region of the Indus River," later used of the region beyond it, from Indos "Indus River," from O.Pers. Hindu, the name for the province of Sind, from Skt. sindhu "river." The more common M.E. form was Ynde or Inde, From Fr. (see Indies). India began to prevail 16c., perhaps under Sp. or Port influence.
...
Answer to:
What is the meaning of" wet and windy like a barber's cat"
as conceited as a barber's cat
- very conceited, vain
http://www.idiomconnection.com/animal.html
"He's like the barber's cat, full of wind and piss." (Dublin slang)
All talk and no action
http://users.bigpond.net.au/kirwilli/dubslang/
http://www.finnachta.com/Confucius.htm
"He's like the barber's cat, full of wind and piss."...
Answer to:
I'm Canadian, and I've heard several people (only males, and my brother being one of them) ending every sentence (exclamation / question / statement) with the word "guy". Where / when / how did this "guy" thing originate? In US / Canada? Or elsewhere?
"fellow," 1847, originally Amer.Eng.; earlier (1836) "grotesquely or poorly dressed person," originally (1806) "effigy of Guy Fawkes," leader of the Gunpowder Plot to blow up British king and Parliament (Nov. 5, 1605), paraded through the streets by children on the anniversary of the conspiracy. The male proper name is from Fr., related to It. Guido, lit....
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Answer to:
What is the story behind the saying "His name is Mudd?"
His name is mud is a derogatory phrase used to suggest that someone is out of favour or has offended his or her peers. This has nothing to do with wet earth; the correct spelling is Mudd and refers to Dr Samuel Mudd, a country doctor in the USA. In ignorance as to what had happened he treated the broken leg of one John Wilkes Booth shortly after Booth had assassinated President Abraham Lincoln...
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Answer to:
Does the word "news "come from point`s on a compass?
1382, plural of new (n.) "new thing," from new (adj.), q.v.; after Fr. nouvelles, used in Bible translations to render M.L. nova (neut. pl.) "news," lit. "new things." Sometimes still regarded as plural, 17c.-19c. Meaning "tidings" is 1423; newspaper is first attested 1670, though the thing itself is much older. Newsreel was first recorded 1916; newscast...
Answer to:
Where does the word "Mormon" come from?
1830, coined by religion founder Joseph Smith (1805-1844) in Seneca County, N.Y., in allusion to Mormon, supposed prophet and author of "The Book of Mormon," explained by Smith as meaning more mon, from Eng. more + Egyptian mon "good."
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Mormon
The term "Mormon" is a reference to the Book of Mormon.[1] The book tells a...
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Answer to:
How do I word this question..Does love literally come from our hearts or is there like a series of different elements? People use the term love whole heartedly or when a relationship is over they are brokenhearted... is it physically a heart thing?
Scientists proved that whole hearted love is more powerful than casual sex.
A multidisciplinary team has found that early, intense romantic love may have more to do with motivation, lateralized reward and goal-oriented aspects of human behavior than with the emotions or sexual arousal. Their data may even be relevant to some forms of autism and have links to stalking, suicide, and clinical...
Answer to:
I've often wondered if the term "Pondering" came from people sitting by small pools of water to think. Can you come up with other creative histories for words of your own choice?
Ponder:
Middle English ponderen, from Old French ponderer, from Latin ponderāre, from pondus, ponder-, weight.
http://www.answers.com/topic/ponder
c.1330, "to estimate the worth of, to appraise," from O.Fr. ponderare "to weigh, poise," from L. ponderare "to ponder, to consider," lit. "to weigh," from pondus (gen. ponderis) "weigh" (see...
Answer to:
Where does the word/term 'Chester' come from?
Cestre (1086), from O.E. Legacæstir (735) "City of the Legions," from O.E. ceaster "Roman town or city." It was the base of the Second Legion Adiutrix in the 70s C.E. and later the 20th Legion Valeria Victrix. But the town's name in Roman times was Deoua (c.150 C.E.), from its situation on the River Dee, a Celtic river name meaning "the goddess, the holy...
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Answer to:
Where does the term Avatar come from?
From the Sanskrit word Avataara which means incarnation.
http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&tinput=avatara&country_ID=&trans=Translate&direction=SE
The word was originally applied to incarnations of Lord
Vishnu described in ancient Hindu scriptures.
http://www.kalki.ru/ten-avatars-of-vishnu-dashaavatara/
Answer to:
Where does the term 'Latin America' come from?
In most common contemporary usage, Latin America refers only to those territories in the Americas where the Spanish or Portuguese languages prevail: Mexico, most of Central and South America, plus Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, as well as the smaller numbers of French and Papiamentu speakers that reside in the region
Strictly speaking, Latin America can...
Answer to:
Where does the term "Dutch treat" come from?
An outing or date in which each person pays his or her own expenses. For example, Her parents agreed that she might date if it were a Dutch treat. The related expression go Dutch means "to go on a date with each person paying their own way," as in Students often elect to go Dutch. The first term dates from about 1870, and the variant from the early 1900s.
Etymology
The phrase...
Answer to:
Where did the term 'it came to a head' come from?
"Come to a head; coming to a head; or brought to a head"?
From Merriam-Webster online:
17 a : the part of a boil, pimple, or abscess at which it is likely to break b : culminating point of action : CRISIS -- events came to a head.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/41/messages/659.html
Idioms: bring to a head
Cause to reach a turning point or crisis. For example,...
Answer to:
What do you think of when someone says they are "curvy?"
Having a full, voluptuous figure: buxom, curvaceous, shapely, well-developed. Informal built. Slang stacked.
(of a woman's body) having a large bosom and pleasing curves
http://www.answers.com/curvy
(Adult / Slang)
Or: curvaceous / curvesome , said of a woman with an hour-glass figure.
Quotes:
(1) Mae West in I'm No Angel (1933): ' A figure with curves always...
Answer to:
Where does the word constable come from?
ORIGIN originally denoting the governor of a royal castle: from Old French conestable, from Latin comes stabuli ‘count, or head officer, of the stable’.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/constable?view=uk
Etymology:
Middle English conestable, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin comes stabuli, literally, officer of the stable
Date:
13th century
...
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Answer to:
Where does the word "hooch" come from?
"cheap whiskey," 1897, shortened form of Hoochinoo (1877) "liquor made by Alaskan Indians," from the name of a native tribe in Alaska whose distilled liquor was a favorite with miners in 1898 Klondike gold rush; the tribe's name is from Tlingit Hutsnuwu, lit. "grizzly bear fort."
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=hooch
hooch 1
Short for...
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Answer to:
Where does the word Gypsie come from?
Alteration of Middle English gypcian, short for Egipcien, Egyptian (so called because Gypsies were thought to have come from Egypt).
Since the Romantic period, Gypsies have had a glamorous image for writers and artists outside their communities, evoking ideas of freedom, exotic passion, mystery, and a life close to nature. In folk tradition, however, the stereotyping is negative; Gypsies are...
Answer to:
Which language does the word kiosk come from?
1625, "open pavilion," from Fr. kiosque, from Turk. koshk "pavilion, palace," from Pers. kushk "palace, portico." Modern sense influenced by Brit. telephone kiosk (1928).
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=kiosk
WORD HISTORY
The lowly kiosk where newspapers are sold or advertisements are posted is like a child in a fairy tale raised by humble...
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Answer to:
Which language does the word iota come from?
1636, figurative use of iota, ninth and smallest letter in the Gk. alphabet, after Matt. v:18 (see jot). The letter name is from Heb. yodh.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=iota
Latin iōta, from Greek, of Phoenician origin.
Common English phrase
The word is used in a common English phrase, 'not one iota of difference', to signify a meaningless distinction (lit....
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Answer to:
Where did the word fun come from, ie derivation from what language
ORIGIN - from obsolete fun to cheat or hoax
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/fun?view=uk
derived from the English word fon
The earliest known usage of fun in English dates from the 17th century.
http://www.myetymology.com/english/fun.html
Etymology:
English dialect fun to hoax, perhaps alteration of Middle English fonnen, from fonne dupe
Date: 1727
...
Answer to:
Where did the phrase Indian giver derive from?
Idioms: Indian giver
One who takes or demands back one's gift to another, as in Jimmy wanted to take back Dan's birthday present, but Mom said that would make him an Indian giver. This term, now considered offensive, originally alluded to the Native American practice of expecting a gift in return for one that is given. [Colloquial; early 1800s]
Indian gift is an American...
Answer to:
Beyond being a word, can you define the word "The"
IN BRIEF: Used especially before nouns with a specifying, particularizing, or definite effect.
"You are not the first person to tell me about it."
http://www.answers.com/the
Food Lover's Companion: the
Italian for "tea". Also "tea".
http://www.answers.com/topic/the-culinary
Es with descender or The (not the same as the definite article) in...
Answer to:
What is the meaning of the term"belly-talking"
Spotlight: ventriloquism
Ventriloquism, or "Belly Talking," is the art of throwing your voice so that it seems to come from a different source. Though the art is probably thousands of years old, it was Edgar Bergen who developed it into comic entertainment. Bergen, born on this date in 1903, received an Honorary Oscar, in the form of a wooden Oscar statuette, for creating what...
Answer to:
How did loafers get their name?
Etymology:
perhaps short for landloafer, from German Landläufer tramp, from Land + Läufer runner
Date: 1830
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loafer
Etymology: prob. contr. < land-loafer < Ger landläufer, a vagabond (akin to Du landlooper, obs. E landloper) < land, land + laufen, to run
http://www.yourdictionary.com/loafer
One who is...
Answer to:
How many of you like joke cartoons? (See some which I posted here)
See some more:
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Answer to:
Why do they say say" once every blue moon?"
Once in a blue moon
Meaning
A very rare event. According to popular usage, a blue moon refers to the second full moon that occurs in any calendar month. On average, there will be 41 months that have two full moons in every century. By that calculation 'once in a blue moon' means once every two-and-a-half years.
Origin
There are rare examples of the moon actually appearing...
Answer to:
What do people mean when they say "that is very tongue and cheek"?
Tongue in cheek
Meaning
In an ironic manner, not meant to be taken seriously.
Origin
This phrase clearly alludes to the facial expression created by putting one's tongue in one's cheek. This induces a wink (go on - try it), which has long been an indication that what is being said is to be taken with a pinch of salt. It may have been used to suppress laughter. 'Tongue...
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Answer to:
Origin of the word 'wimp'?
1920 (but not attested again until 1960), perhaps a clipped form of whimper (cf whimp, 1549), perhaps influenced by J. Wellington Wimpy, comparatively unaggressive character in "Popeye" comics. Wimpy (adj.) is from 1967.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=wimp
As the Oxford English Dictionary defines the term, a "wimp" is "a feeble or ineffectual person; one...
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Answer to:
Where did the phrase "he doesn't have a Chinaman's chance" come from?
Chinaman's chance:
Etymology
Originally a reference to the socio-economic prospects of immigrant Chinese labour in the United States in the 19th century, which often involved highly dangerous work on the railroads
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Chinaman%27s_chance
Idioms: Chinaman's chance
Also, ghost of a chance. An extremely slim chance, a hopeless undertaking. Both...
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Answer to:
Origin of dregs
ORIGIN - probably Scandinavian.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/dregs?view=uk
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < ON dreg yeast (pl. dreggjar dregs); c. OSw dräg dregs
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=dregs&r=66
Look up dregs at Dictionary.com
c.1300, from O.N. dregg "sediment," from P.Gmc. *drag-. Replaced O.E. dræst, dærst.
...
Answer to:
What does it mean when people tell you that you laugh like a hyena?
A hyena is an animal that looks rather like a dog and makes a sound which is similar to a human laugh.
http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-cobuild/hyena
The spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta, of Africa S of the Sahara, is the largest and boldest species. It is also known as the laughing hyena because of its cry resembles maniacal human laughter.
http://www.answers.com/topic/hyena
...
Answer to:
What is the difference between the prefix "demi", "hemi and "semi"?
demi-
1. half
demivolte
2. partly
demigod
[Via Old French< Latin dimidius "split in two" < dis- "apart" + medius "half"]
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861671288
Hemi-
half, partial
hemihydrate
hemimetabolous
[< Greek hēmi-< Indo-European]
...
Answer to:
Where did the term 'green-eyed monster' originate from?
Green-eyed monster
Meaning
Envy.
Origin
Green is a colour associated with sickness, possibly because people's skin takes on a slightly yellow/green tinge when they are seriously ill. Green is also the colour of many unripe foods that cause stomach pains.
The phrase was used by, and possibly coined by, Shakespeare to denote jealousy, in The Merchant of Venice, 1600:
Portia:...
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Answer to:
In England, when one refers to a 'turtles head', what do they mean?
turtle head:
(Adult / Slang)
Or: turtle / turtle's head , an urge to defecate so strong that hard feces is pushing through the anal sphincter muscles.
QUOTES:
(1) Defined in Roger's Profanisaurus (1998) as: ' The initial protrusion of a stool through 'teal towel holder'; the point at which contracts are exchanged for the building of a log cabin.'
(2)...
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Answer to:
If you call someone a cow, do you mean they are: (1) fat/ugly, or
(2) insensitive/tactless/boorish?
(Adult / Slang)
In Britain, a derogatory term and abusive epithet for:
1. Any woman, also a large-breasted woman, one who is overweight and clumsy; one who is lazy or dronish, a beast of a woman, or an unpleasant woman.
2. A prostitute, usually an old one.
http://www.definition-of.com/cow
http://www.sex-lexis.com/Sex-Dictionary/cow
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Answer to:
What is the meaning of Lip Service
Verbal expression of agreement or allegiance, unsupported by real conviction or action; hypocritical respect: “Lip service continues to be paid to resolving regional conflicts, but there is no sense of urgency” (Henry A. Kissinger).
Idioms: lip service
Verbal but insincere expression of agreement or support. It is often put as pay or give lip service, as in They paid lip...
Answer to:
How did the retort "bite me" come to be?
(idiomatic) An expression of discontent or aggravation to another party.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bite_me
Origin of most idioms is unknown.
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Answer to:
What is the meaning of 'don't have a cow'?
Used when someone was "going ape" or perhaps being a "spaz."
Example: So I took your book by mistake, don't have a cow about it.
Also "Don't Flip Your Wig"
(1960's Slang)
http://www.cougartown.com/slang.html
idioms: have a cow
Slang. To become amazed, angered, or upset: He had a cow when he saw the mess we made.
...
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Answer to:
Where did the term 'catty' originate in reference to human behavior? Its original meaning?
slyly mean: saying spiteful or malicious things about somebody, especially in a subtle way
resembling cat: resembling a cat, especially in being cautious or secretive
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861595550
1. of or like a cat
2. spiteful, mean, malicious, etc.
http://www.yourdictionary.com/catty
1. catlike; feline.
2....
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Answer to:
Does what comes around goes around really happen?
Causa est omnibus in Latin means 'there is a reason for everything.
Similar meaning is given by the phrases "as you sow
so shall you reap", "what goes around comes around",
and "sow the wind; reap the whirlwind".
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/30/messages/1444.html
Leucippus, the founder of the atomic theory, declared in his
only surviving...
Answer to:
What's the origin of the term "The Real McCoy"?
Most people probably assume that "the real McCoy" has something to do with the famous Hatfield-McCoy family feud that enlivened the West Virginia-Kentucky border in the 1880s, but there's no solid evidence of such a connection. Another popular theory traces "the real McCoy" to the prizefighter Norman Selby (1873-1940), who boxed under the name "Kid McCoy."...
Answer to:
Where did the term "redneck" come from?
"cracker," 1893; attested 1830 in more specialized sense ("This may be ascribed to the Red Necks, a name bestowed upon the Presbyterians in Fayetteville," from Ann Royall, "Southern Tour I," p.148). According to various theories, red perhaps from anger, or from pellagra, but most likely from mule farmers' outdoors labor in the sun, wearing a shirt and straw...
Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrases "up the creek" and "up shit's creek," and which is the original version?
While some people may use "up the river" to be synonymous with "up the creek" ... that is to say, "in difficulty" ... another common use (in the US, anyway) of "up the river" is "off to prison." (I thought, but I have no evidence to prove it, that sending someone "up the river" came from the relationship of New York and Sing Sing...
Answer to:
What does smegma really mean?
physiology - The sebaceous secretion that accumulates around the glans penis and the clitoris.
Marine Corps Dictionary: Dick Cheese
Term used for someone of little of no value as a person or a member of a unit or team.
http://www.answers.com/smegma
(Adult / Slang)
The white, cheesy-looking, cheesy -smelling sebaceous secretion that collects under the foreskin or around the...
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Answer to:
What would someone look like if they were described as fugly?
(Adult / Slang)
Extremely ugly, a recent coinage from a contration of fucking + ugly.
Usage: He looks fugly with a beard.
http://www.definition-of.com/%20fugly
extremely unattractive. Origin: term is an contraction of "fucking ugly."
http://onlineslangdictionary.com/definition+of/fugly
Describes someone who is so far beyond ugly
Used in the movie "Mean...
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Answer to:
Flashlight or Fleshlight or Flushlight?
Flashlight:
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861673962
Fleshlight:
http://www.answers.com/Fleshlight
Flushlight is not defined in conventional dictionaries but is used in some web sites.
http://www.search.com/search?q=Flushlight
Answer to:
Where did the term "roger" (for pilots) originate?
masc. proper name, from O.Fr. Rogier, from O.H.G. Hrotger, lit. "famous with the spear," from hruod- "fame, glory" + ger "spear." As a generic name for "a person," attested from 1631. Slang meaning "penis" was popular c.1650-c.1870; hence the slang verb sense of "to copulate with (a woman)," attested from 1711. The use of the word in...
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Answer to:
Whats a posuer
The CORRECT spelling of, though not as common as, poser. ironicly, the word's history is much like it's definition. a posuer is someone who desides to be something, act and/or dress a certain way to fit in or be cool, not because of what it stands for. This can apply to almost any walk of life, including but not limited to: punk, goth, emo, hardcore, skateboarding, snowboarding, and a...
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Answer to:
What does it mean to call a person a "sellout?"
A vague but derogatory term blindly used by music "fans" to describe bands who make (or have managers who make) a new lucrative and/or artistically experimental decision (for example: accepting a product endorsement, a change in the band's expected composition style, switching to a larger record label, dressing with more class, speaking out against mass mp3 piracy, etc.) The word...
Answer to:
What does it mean whne two cities are "twinned", or paired together, in different countries? It's also sometimes caled "sister cites".
sister city
A foreign city with which a city has a declared relationship of cordiality.
Placetown and Machinville are sister cities in England and France.
See also - to twin
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sister_city
Town twinning:
Town twinning, also known as sister cities, is a concept whereby towns or cities in geographically and politically distinct areas are paired,...
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Answer to:
I've just read that "Godzilla" is a portmanteau word for "God" and "gorilla". If that's true, where does the "z" come from?
Main Entry: Godzilla
Part of Speech: n
Definition: a huge example of something; a monstrous entity
Example: Google is the Godzilla of search engines.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=Godzilla&r=66
Gojira (ゴジラ?) is a combination of two Japanese words: gorira (ゴリラ lit. "gorilla"?), and kujira (鯨 (くじら) lit. "whale"?), which is...
Answer to:
Where did the term "On The House" originate?
(idiomatic, of a good or service) free, complimentary
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/on_the_house
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/on+the+house
Origin of most of the idioms is unknown.
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Answer to:
How did Friday gets its name Friday?
The name Friday comes from the Old English frigedæg, meaning the day of Frige the Anglo-Saxon form of Frigg, a West Germanic translation of Latin dies Veneris, "day (of the planet) Venus." However, in most Germanic languages the day is named after Freyja—such as Frīatag in Old High German, Freitag in Modern German, Freyjudagr in Old Norse, Vrijdag in Dutch, Fredag in...
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Answer to:
What is an example of a metaphor?
A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in “a sea of troubles” or “All the world's a stage” (Shakespeare).
One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol: “Hollywood has always been an irresistible, prefabricated metaphor for the crass, the...
Answer to:
Where does "getting on my nerves" originate?
Idiom: get on someone's nerves
Irritate someone, as in His fidgeting gets on the teacher's nerves, or, as T.S. Eliot put it in The Elder Statesman (1959): "How it used to get on my nerves, when I saw you always sitting there with your nose in a book." [c. 1900]
http://www.answers.com/topic/get-on-someone-s-nerves
Origin of most of the idioms is unknown.
Answer to:
Whats the difference between distrust and mistrust?
Mistrust means “to doubt, to lack confidence in,” as in I mistrust his ability to persuade her. Distrust means much the same but adds suspicion to the mix: He distrusts her because he thinks she’ll cheat him.
(The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.)
http://www.bartleby.com/68/6/3906.html
"Mistrust" suggests vague doubts. "Distrust"...
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Answer to:
What is a "clabber girl"?
a hooker that is strung out on crack
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=clabber+girl
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Answer to:
What is the origin of the term snow job?
It is a slang used since 1943. Origin of most of the slangs is unknown.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snow+job
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=snow+job&r=66
Answer to:
What is the origin of the UK slang phrase 'dressed up to the nines'?
Dressed to the nines
Meaning
Dressed flamboyantly or smartly.
Origin
Nine is, without doubt, the most troublesome number in etymology. Phrases of uncertain parentage that include 'nine' are 'cloud nine' and the infamous 'whole nine yards'. To those we can add 'dressed to the nines'.
(more...........)
...
Answer to:
What is the origin of the term "Bronx Cheer?" (fart sound)
Origin:
1925–30, Americanism
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=bronx+cheer&r=66
[Probably after Bronx, NY, the home of Yankee Stadium, where Yankees fans
often expressed their opinion of the umpire's decision or an unfavorable
play that way.]
Bronx cheer has a rather unusual synonym: raspberry. How in the world could
a sound like that come to be known as a...
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Answer to:
What does it mean to call someone a "tool"?
(Adult / Slang)
Euphemism for the penis. See penis for synonyms.
QUOTES:
(1) Rudyard Kipling. The Bastard King of England : 'So wild and wooly and full of fleas / Whose tool hung down below his knees.'
(2) Beaumont and Fletcher. Faithful Friends (1613): ' I ne'er knew a woman to find fault with a long toole before.'
(3) William Shakespeare. Henry VIII :...
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Answer to:
Where is the fracas (on a human body)? News story locally said "Local man stabbed in fracas"
Fracas:
n.
A noisy, disorderly fight or quarrel; a brawl. See synonyms at brawl.
[French, from Italian fracasso, from fracassare, to make an uproar.]
A quarrel, fight, or disturbance marked by very noisy, disorderly, and often violent behavior: affray, brawl, broil2, donnybrook, fray, free-for-all, melee, riot, row2, ruction, tumult. Slang rumble.
Definition: disturbance, fight
...
Answer to:
How did the months of the year get their English names?
Only a few names of the month were derived from Roman deities. Most simply came from the numbers of the months or -- in two cases -- in honor of Roman emperors.
January
Named after the Roman god of beginnings and endings Janus (the month Januarius).
February
The name comes either from the old-Italian god Februus or else from februa, signifying the festivals of purification celebrated in...
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Answer to:
Why fight an uphill battle if it's all downhill from there?
Idiom: Fight an uphill battle
When you fight an uphill battle, you have to struggle against very unfavourable circumstances.
http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/fight+an+uphill+battle.html
Why science has to fight an uphill battle
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/blackford20070531/
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-7118230.html
Answer to:
All of my life I have heard people say "that is mighty white of you", what is the meaning of this phrase?
"Mighty White of You": It is an insult that means that you are both clueless and arrogant. It is said in a situation where someone has said or done something as a gift or a favor for which they believe they should earn thanks, but is so ineffective or was delivered in such a condescending manner, that they have insulted the person they are pretending to help. For example: "This...
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Answer to:
What does it mean to “save face?”
Idioms: save face
Avoid humiliation or embarrassment, preserve dignity, as in Rather than fire him outright, they let him save face by accepting his resignation. The phrase, which uses face in the sense of "outward appearances," is modeled on the antonym lose face. [Late 1800s]
http://www.answers.com/save%20face
1. (idiomatic) To make an action or gesture intended to...
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Answer to:
Define: 'vag'
Vag (Swedish):
vague
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vag
(as in vag charge, vag law) - Vagrancy
http://www.miskatonic.org/slang.html
Vag is some times used as short cut for the words vagus or vagous.
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Answer to:
How many of you like joke cartoons? (See some which I posted here)
Click on each one:
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Answer to:
Who invented the word love?
O.E. lufu "love, affection, friendliness," from P.Gmc. *lubo (cf. O.Fris. liaf, Ger. lieb, Goth. liufs "dear, beloved;" not found elsewhere as a noun, except O.H.G. luba, Ger. Liebe), from PIE *leubh- "to care, desire, love" (cf. L. lubet, later libet "pleases;" Skt. lubhyati "desires;" O.C.S. l'ubu "dear, beloved;" Lith. liaupse...
Answer to:
What does it mean, “to clean one’s clock,” and from where does this metaphor originate?
Clean your clock:
To clean someone's clock (for them) means to punch someone in the face. Clock is indeed London slang for face, though it is not as far as I know rhyming slang - and is simply derived from clocks also having faces. Why "to clean" should in this case mean to hit or strike is beyond me.
: To access previous discussions about "clean your clock," type...
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Answer to:
When was the phrase "snail mail" first used?
Idioms: snail mail
Ordinary postal service, as opposed to electronic communications. For example, He hasn't taken to his computer so he's still using snail mail. This slangy idiom, alluding to the alleged slowness of the snail, caught on at least partly for its rhyme. [1980s]
Paper mail, as opposed to electronic. Sometimes written as the single word ‘SnailMail’....
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Answer to:
Where did the phrases, 'I'm bushed' for being tired, and 'beating behind the bush' for hinting/dancing around a topic, come from?
Beat about the bush
Meaning
To prevaricate and avoid coming to the point.
Origin
The figurative meaning we have for this phrase has evolved from the earlier meaning, which was more literal. In bird hunting some participants roused the birds by beating the bushes while others caught them in nets. So, 'beating about the bush' was the preamble to the actual capture. Of...
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Answer to:
Where does the phrase "give it up" originate and what does it mean?
Part of Speech: interj
Definition: a request for applause or praise from the party wishing such or by a third party; clap your hands for
Example: Give it up for the boys in the band.
Usage: slang
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=give+it+up&r=66
Verb. To applaud, show one's appreciation. E.g."Give it up for this week's guest celebrity..." [Orig....
Answer to:
What is a lampost? I've seen that word in two newspapers this month. Is it a post for a lam, or is it an ost for a lamp?
Alternative spelling of lamppost.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lampost
The word is also used as a commercial name.
http://www.search.com/search?q=lampost
Answer to:
There was a recurring Mike Meyers SNL sketch where he ran a shop that sold Scottish merchandise and would bellow "If it's not Scottish, it's CRAP!". Is the word "crap" of Scottish origin, or used more commonly there than the rest of the UK?
Crap:
"defecate" 1846 (v.), 1898 (n.), from one of a cluster of words generally applied to things cast off or discarded (e.g. "weeds growing among corn" (1425), "residue from renderings" (1490s), 18c. underworld slang for "money," and in Shropshire, "dregs of beer or ale"), all probably from M.E. crappe "grain that was trodden underfoot...
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Answer to:
Does anyone know what the word Ludicrous means and why? I know just wanting to see what others say.
adj.
Laughable or hilarious because of obvious absurdity or incongruity. See synonyms at foolish.
[From Latin lūdicrus, sportive, from lūdus, game.]
adjective
Deserving laughter: comic, comical, farcical, funny, laughable, laughing, ridiculous, risible.
adj
Definition: absurd, ridiculous
Antonyms: logical, reasonable, sensible
IN BRIEF: So out of place or silly as...
Answer to:
What does the word Peru mean? I'm not stupid, I know its a country; I just want to know if it is a word in Spanish or Native american ect.
from Sp. Peru, said to be from Quechua pelu "river."
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Peru
apparently from Biru, a small river on the west coast of Colombia, where Pizarro landed
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Peru
The word Peru is derived from Birú, the name of a local ruler who lived near the Bay of San Miguel, Panama, in the early 16th century. When his...
Answer to:
In Spanish, what does the word Ole' mean?
interj.
Used to express excited approval.
n.
A cry of “olé.”
[Spanish, perhaps from Arabic wa-llāh, by God! (used as an expression of admiration) : wa-, and + allāh, God; see Allah.]
IN BRIEF: Bravo.
http://www.answers.com/topic/ol-used-to-express
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ole
(exclamation) bravo!
...
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Answer to:
What is the origin of the word "pervert"?
Origin:
1300–50; (v.) ME perverten < L pervertere to overturn, subvert, equiv. to per- per- + vertere to turn
Middle English perverten, from Old French pervertir, from Latin pervertere : per-, per- + vertere, to turn
F. pervertir, L. pervertere, perversum; per + vertere to turn. See Per-, and Verse.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pervert&r=66
Etymology:
...
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Answer to:
Has anyone ever noticed that the people who claim global warming is a hoax tend to be religious fanatics? How are the two related?
I am not a theist. I want to present scientific facts.
Like the bad programmers who derive thrill by writing
computer viruses, many bad scientists derive thrill by
writing sensational pseudo scientific discoveries. Global
warming is one of them. Every measuring instrument has
some error and reading should not be interpreted within
what is called a least count. These scientists
use...
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Answer to:
What is the meaning of "elgy grace" and "lian ray"...?
Lian Ray is a name.
http://www.search.com/search?q=lian+ray+meaning
Answer to:
What does the phrase mean, "benefit of the doubt" or "give the benefit of the doubt" and how was that originated?
a favorable opinion or judgment adopted despite uncertainty.
http://dictionary.infoplease.com/benefit-of-the-doubt
1. A favorable judgement given in the absence of full evidence.
2. (cricket) The principal employed by umpires in cases of uncertainty concerning a batsman possibly being out, in which the decision must be in the batsman's favour.
...
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Answer to:
Where does the saying 'spoilt for choice', or perhaps its 'spoiled for choice', come from and what does it mean..?
Idiom: be spoilt for choice
to have so many good possible choices that it is difficult to make a decision.
"With 51 flavours of ice-cream to choose from you are spoiled for choice."
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/be+spoilt+for+choice
Having such a selection of good choices, that deciding which one to pick is difficult.
...
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Answer to:
What the heck is joomla?
In computers:
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/J/Joomla.html
Joomla! is the phonetic spelling of the word Jumla in Swahili. Joomla means "all together" or "as one".
http://design.nothingness.nl/content/view/15/41/lang,en/
A word that represents excitement and is used in enthusiastic agreements.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=joomla
In Urdu it...
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Answer to:
What in the heck is a “schlemiel?”
an offensive term that deliberately insults somebody's ability to cope or do things or somebody's failure to experience good fortune ( slang insult )
[Late 19th century. < Yiddish shlemiel]
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861702208
Etymology:
Yiddish shlemil
Date:
1892
an unlucky bungler : chump
...
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Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase "human being"?
Human being:
Function: noun
Date: 1751
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/human+being
being:
"existence," c.1325, from be (q.v.) + -ing. Sense in human being is from 1751.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=being
In Sanskrit, Manush (maanusa) means "a human". The Latins have
added an extra "hu" (humanus) to make the word suit...
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Answer to:
Where does the word geek come from?
"sideshow freak," 1916, U.S. carnival and circus slang, perhaps a variant of geck "a fool, dupe, simpleton" (1515), apparently from Low Ger. geck, from an imitative verb found in North Sea Gmc. and Scand. meaning "to croak, cackle," and also "to mock, cheat." The modern form and the popular use with ref. to circus sideshow "wild men" is from...
Answer to:
Do you believe the word `ginormous' belongs in the dictionary? Do you ever use this word?
ginormous
adjective UK INFORMAL
extremely large:
Even little Billie ate his way through a ginormous ice-cream sundae.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=32910&dict=CALD
Jonathan Swift fought strenuously against such new "monstrosities" of his day (1710) as "mob" and "banter," as well as (believe it or not) the contractions...
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Answer to:
What does "Somebody Get Me A Straitjacket" mean, metaphor-free?
Straitjacket:
noun
1. confining jacket-shaped garment: a jacket-shaped garment with long sleeves that can be tied together, used to restrict the arm movements of somebody who is thought to be dangerous
2. thing that restricts: something that limits somebody's freedom of action or initiative
a bureaucratic straitjacket of regulations
...
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Answer to:
What would be some more creative comments to give for answers received for questions instead of simply saying "thanks" all the time?
"That is interesting".
"That is informative".
"Nice information".
"It is more than what I expected".
"Glad to know that".
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Answer to:
With no Christ, there's no Christmas. But with no mas, there's no Christmas either. What in the world is a mas?
Etymology:
Middle English Christemasse, from Old English Cristes mæsse, literally, Christ's mass
Date: before 12th century
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Christmas
Origin:
bef. 1150; ME cristmasse; OE Cristes mǣsse Mass of Christ
Middle English Cristemas, from Old English Crīstes mæsse, Christ's festival : Crīst, Christ; see Christ +...
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Answer to:
What is the origin of the word "horny"?
"lustful, sexually aroused," definitely in use 1889, perhaps attested as early as 1863; from late 18c. slang expression to have the horn, suggestive of male sexual excitement (but eventually applied to women as well)
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=horny
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Answer to:
Lately, I keep thinking of the word “orthadontury.” What the heck is an “orthadontury?”
There is no such word in dictionaries - the nearest is
"orthadonture:
the branch of dentistry dealing with the prevention or correction of irregularities of the teeth
http://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme.cgi?Word=orthodonture
http://www.freedictionary.org/?Query=orthodonture
Answer to:
Please tell me how to get rid of rootkits? Free anti virus doesn't seem to want to touch them.
Try these:
http://www.search.com/search?q=rootkits+removal+freeware
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Answer to:
This is not a question about religion. It's about community. If you go to a specific church/temple/synagogue, what is you main reason for belonging to it?
It gives a feeling that one is part of the community or
society.
"Religion is not a blind following. It is a sub-consciously driven
group ritual. It calms the 'collective unconscious' mind. The
religious culture brings unity and belongedness among the followers."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_unconscious
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Answer to:
What do you mean by catch 22
a difficult situation from which there is no escape because it involves mutually conflicting or dependent conditions.
— ORIGIN title of a novel by Joseph Heller (1961).
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/catch22?view=uk
a situation or predicament from which it is impossible to extricate yourself because of built-in illogical rules and regulations
...
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Answer to:
What's in mean when someone says "That's so Orwellian..."
Dictionary: Orwellian
1. Pertaining to or resembling the works of George Orwell, especially in reference to the dystopia in Nineteen Eighty-Four
2. Frightening and overcontrolled by a government that interferes in nearly every aspect of personal life
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Orwellian
http://wordcraft.infopop.cc/dictionary/part8.htm#Orwellian
Of, relating to, or...
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Answer to:
What is a "Charlie Horse" (leg cramp) and how do we get rid of them?
Idioms: charley horse
Cramp or stiffness in a muscle, most often in the thigh, as in After working in the garden I frequently get a bad charley horse. First used in the 1880s among baseball players, the term was soon extended to more general use. Its true origin is disputed. Among the more likely theories proposed is that it alludes to the name of either a horse or an afflicted ball player...
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Answer to:
What does it mean, to “hit the ground running?”
Hit the ground running
Meaning
Get off to a brisk and successful start.
Origin
'Hit the ground running' didn't originate in WWII, as is often reported. The literal use of this phrase saw the light of day sometime toward the end of the 19th century in the USA. An early citation of it is found in a whimsical story which was syndicated in several newspapers, including The...
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Answer to:
What is the origin of the term "whats his bucket?" i understand the phrase whats his name, and whats his face, but whats his bucket??? Any help?
What's the scoop?
"scoop
c.1330, "utensil for bailing out" (n.), also (v.) "to bail out;" from M.Du. schope "bucket for bailing water," from W.Gmc. *skopo (cf. M.L.G. schope "ladle"), from P.Gmc. *skop-, from PIE *(s)kep- "to cut, to scrape, to hack." Also from Low Ger. scheppen (v.) "to draw water," from P.Gmc....
Answer to:
Globalization? What does it mean?
Geography Dictionary: globalization
The increase in the volume, scale, and velocity of social (and environmental) interactions. Globalization is not new, pre-dating colonialism, and Massey (Geography 87) points out that the current manifestation of globalization is ‘not a force of nature…[but] a political and economic project which requires the…efforts of the World Trade...
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Answer to:
From what is the word "pussy" in pussy-cat derived?
derived from the English word puss
using the English suffix -y
derived from the Latin suffix -ia
derived from the Latin suffix -ium
Derivations in English - wuss, pussycat, pussyfoot
http://www.myetymology.com/english/pussy.html
"cat," 1726, dim. of puss (1), also used of a rabbit (1715). As a term of endearment for a girl or woman, from 1583 (also used of effeminate...
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Answer to:
What is the etymology of the word "mafia"?
Italian, perhaps from dialectal mafia, bluster, boldness.
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Mafia
Society of criminals of primarily Italian or Sicilian origin. The Mafia arose in Sicily in the late Middle Ages, possibly as a secret organization to overthrow the rule of foreign conquerors. It drew its members from the small private armies, or mafie, hired by landlords to protect their...
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Answer to:
What is an airship? I know what it is but how do I describe what it is? I have to describe what it is to my assignment and I don't kno how. I tried to google it but there's only articles about people who traveled with an airship. Please help :(
A self-propelled lighter-than-air craft with directional control surfaces. Also called dirigible.
An airship is a large lighter-than-air gas balloon that can be navigated by using engine-driven propellers. There are three types of airships: rigid (has an internal metal frame to maintain the envelope's shape); semi-rigid (rigid keels run the length of the envelope to maintain its shape);...
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Answer to:
What is the longest word in your vocabulary?
Longestword.
Answer to:
Do you even know what “forgiveness” is?
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” - Mahatma Gandhi
http://thinkexist.com/quotes/mahatma_gandhi/
Forgiveness and a smile is the best revenge. (Palmer, Moral Essays on Proverbs, 1710)
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/20/messages/554.html
Forgiveness!
I need your forgiveness
Don't want for more
You got enough
For...
Answer to:
What does it mean “to pull a few of one’s many strings?”
Idioms: pull strings
Also, pull wires. Use one's influence, as in By pulling strings he got us house seats to the opening, or His father pulled some wires and got him out of jail. Both terms allude to manipulating a marionette. The first dates from the second half of the 1800s, the second from the early 1800s.
Meaning #1: influence or control shrewdly or deviously
Synonyms:...
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Answer to:
I was peeling an orange yesterday and asked my wife if she wanted a boat. She didn't know what I was talking about. We always called a segment of orange a boat. Was this just a word used in my family or is it common?
The exterior colour of a rescue boat is orange according to
the international norm. May be this is what is referred
to in your family.
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-11725620.html
http://www.viking-life.com/vikien/rescue_boat.html
Answer to:
How did the word "Christmas" get the abbreviation "x-mas"?
X-mas:
From X, the Greek letter chi, first letter of Greek Khrīstos, Christ.
USAGE NOTE Xmas has been used for hundreds of years in religious writing, where the X represents a Greek chi, the first letter of Χριστος, “Christ.” In this use it is parallel to other forms like Xtian, “Christian.” But people unaware of the Greek...
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Answer to:
Who knows what the saying "the proof is in the pudding" means?
Proof of the pudding
Meaning
To fully test something you need to experience it.
Origin
This phrase is just shorthand for 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating'. That makes sense at least, whereas the shortened version really doesn't mean anything. Nor does the often quoted incorrect version 'the proof is in the pudding'. Many people fail to see the sense...
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Answer to:
What is a "vacationship"?
A long-distance relationship in which the couple only gets together for idyllic vacation-like excursions, therefore avoiding the "real-life" issues of dating.
Term for a holiday romance that lasts only as long as the vacation itself. Not simply a holiday hookup, the two parties involved generally show signs of genuine, sustained affection toward one another, eg spending a lot of...
Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase "bless his cotton socks"?
Eric Partridge, "A Dictionary of Catch Phrases American and British," has the following entry for "Bless your little cotton socks!"
Thank you!: a middle-class catch phrase dating from c. 1905 and becoming, by 1960, archaic. The elaboration "bless your little heart and cotton socks!" arose c. 1910 and disappeared c. 1918. Although the two phrases are always...
Answer to:
What is the origin and background of the phrase "knock their socks off"?
Knock your socks off
"To fight" is covered off by the expressions "to knock someone's block off", or maybe "to knock someone into next week" or "to knock someone right out of his shoes(boots)".
I have heard that people struck by cars are knocked out of their shoes. This might be an urban legend, however, aimed at explaining the lone shoes one...
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Answer to:
In the phrase "hue and cry", what's a hue?
hue and cry:
ORIGIN from an Old French legal phrase hu e cri, ‘outcry (hoot) and cry’.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/hueandcry?view=uk
French, huée, verb huer, to hoot or shout after; Anglo-Saxon, hui, ho!
http://www.bartleby.com/81/8565.html
Middle English hew and cri, partial translation of Anglo-Norman hu e cri : hu, outcry, clamor (from Old French...
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Answer to:
What does the term gradient mean
A rate of inclination; a slope.
An ascending or descending part; an incline.
Physics. The rate at which a physical quantity, such as temperature or pressure, increases or decreases relative to change in a given variable, especially distance.
Mathematics. A vector having coordinate components that are the partial derivatives of a function with respect to its variables.
Biology. A...
Answer to:
When someone says "peeps" do you think "people", "friends" or "marshmallow candy"?
The slang term for "friends" or "people". It is usually used by the ignorant who choose to partake in a language known as ebonics.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=peeps
Answer to:
Are "metaphor" and "idiom" synonyms? If not, what is the difference between them?
No.
metaphor: synonyms
allegory, analogy, emblem, figure of speech, image, symbol, trope
http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-synonyms/metaphor
Definition: figure of speech, implied comparison
Antonyms: plain speech
http://www.answers.com/metaphor
idiom: synonyms
Specialized expressions indigenous to a particular field, subject, trade, or subculture: argot, cant2,...
Answer to:
What is the difference between a metaphor and an idiom?
idiom:
1. A speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements, as in keep tabs on.
2. The specific grammatical, syntactic, and structural character of a given language.
3. Regional speech or dialect.
4.
1. A specialized vocabulary used by a group of people;...
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Answer to:
Ever notice that the older you get, the less material crap is worth?
Yes. I have also observed that many of my neighbours became more and more spiritual
as age progresses, and less interested in materialistic things.
(1) The Hindu texts have described several periods of
life time. Baalyam means childhood period upto 10 years
of age. The period between 12 years and 25 years is
called Koumaaram which roughly corresponds with
adolescence. Within this...
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Answer to:
What the heck is a Beatnik?
somebody who rejects conventional ideas, dress, and social conventions, especially a member of the Beat Generation of the 1950s
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861589534
A person, especially a member or follower of the Beat Generation, whose behavior, views, and often style of dress are pointedly unconventional.
[BEAT (GENERATION) +...
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Answer to:
What is the language of origin of the word, "zero?"
1604, from It. zero, from M.L. zephirum, from Arabic sifr "cipher," translation of Skt. sunya-m "empty place, desert, naught" (see cipher). A brief history of the invention of "zero" can be found here. Meaning "worthless person" is recorded from 1813. The verb zero in is 1944, from the noun, on the notion of instrument adjustments. Zero tolerance first...
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Answer to:
Once in a while, I keep thinking of the word “Ferragus.” What in the heck is a Ferragus?
The giant of Portugal, who took Bellisant under his care after she had been divorced by Alexander, Emperor of Constantinople. (Valentine and Orson..)
The great “Brazen Head,” that told those who consulted it whatever they required to know, was kept in the castle of this giant. (Valentine and Orson.
# Ferragus - Ferragus The giant of Portugal, who took Bellisant under his care...
Answer to:
What is the etymology of the phrase 'more money than sense'?
The original phrase is "people with more money than sense". It is a general observation of the intellectuals.
Who said it first in modern times is not known.
The Hindu concept of Kali Yuga also says that there will be people with more money than sense during this age.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuga
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satya_Yuga
...
Answer to:
Humans have 10 fingers so and our maths is based on 10, so why was the "dozen" used in daily transactions?
Dozen:
Middle English dozeine, from Old French dozaine, from doze, twelve, ultimately from Latin duodecim : duo, two + decem, ten.
Dozen is another word for the number twelve. The dozen may be one of the earliest primitive groupings, perhaps because there are approximately a dozen cycles of the moon or months in a cycle of the sun or year. The dozen is convenient because its multiples and...
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Answer to:
Which Himalayan mountain is sometimes known as the Savage mountain?
K2 - Mt. Godwin Austen (8,611 metres) - the first try was in 1902. The Italian success was in 1954.
http://www.mountainweb.com/mountain-climbing/view-mountain-climbing.jsp?mountain=1048
The Savage Mountain Amongst peaks over 20,000 feet, K2 is the hardest and most dangerous. Edurne Pasadan became the 6th woman to summit on July 29th, but can she survive the curse of the women who climb K2...
Answer to:
Where did the phrase "One night stand" originate?
From Merriam-Webster online:
Main Entry: one-night stand
Function: noun
Date: 1880
1 : a performance (as of a play or concert) given (as by a traveling group of actors or musicians) only once in each of a series of localities
2 a : a locality used for one-night stands b : a stopover for a one-night stand
3 : a sexual encounter limited to a single occasion; also : a partner in such an...
Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase "we're gonna tie one on tonight"?
It is a cliche.
http://www.cambiaresearch.com/clicheweb/classiccliches/cliche_list.html
Country of origin - USA.
http://clichesite.com/content.asp?which=tip+1550
Origin of most cliches is unknown.
Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase "whatever turns you on"?
It is a humorous idiom.
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Whatever+Turns+You+On
Origin of most idioms is unknown.
There was a movie by that title in 1979.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0252096/
Whatever turns you on - we used to say in the 1960s; now we say more shortly: 'whatever'. Or use the acronym WTYO.
...
Answer to:
What sort of spoon are wealthy people said to have been born with in their mouth?
Born with a silver spoon in one's mouth
Meaning:
Born into a wealthy family.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/72200.html
"Bad" silver:
* Silver-tongued devil - articulate speaker perceived to be insincere, possibly a liar
* Born with a silver spoon in one's mouth - usually used as a putdown against someone born into a wealthy family who never had to work...
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Answer to:
Whats the rest of this phrase: Who gives......?
Who Gives and Who Doesn't?
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2682730
Who gives to charity?
http://townhall.com/columnists/JohnStossel/2006/12/06/who_gives_to_charity
Who gives a folk?
http://www.battleofideas.org.uk/index.php/2008/session_detail/1161/
Who gives better answers, people or computers?
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/09/18/chacha.kgb/index.html
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Answer to:
Why "Black as the Ace of Spades"? Why not "Black as the Ace of Clubs"?
sometimes taken as a portent of death
Ace of Spades in Popular Culture
Broom_icon.svg
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
* The heavy metal band Motörhead's most famous song (and album of the same title) is named after the Ace of Spades.
* In Robert...
Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase "you don't miss the water until the well runs dry"?
"You never miss the water till the well runs dry" - that is an old proverb.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/22/messages/740.html
Proverbs: You never miss the water till the well runs dry
Manie wats [know] not quhairof [whereof] the wel sauris [tastes] quhill [until] it fall drie.
[a 1628 J. Carmichaell Proverbs in Scots no. 1140]
Of the Well we see no...
Answer to:
What's the origin of the phrase "You're testing our patience"?
Patience is a virtue. Testing patience is to test the ability to wait for something without excessive frustration. It gives the index of one's valuable character trait.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/4/messages/1250.html
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Answer to:
What does it take to be a genius?
(1) The Hindu texts have described several periods of
life time. Baalyam means childhood period upto 10 years
of age. The period between 12 years and 25 years is
called Koumaaram which roughly corresponds with
adolescence. Within this period, Kurra means the age of
16. This is called the age of eternity. Russian
scientists have found that if the control systems in
the body are maintained...
Answer to:
What is your opinion of vampires?
Energy vampires are real.
"Some people, by their very presence, seem to drain the energy of those unprotected people around them. They will often associate with a victim who exhibits the classic signs of this drain.
General debility, lack of motivation and energy, an emaciated physique, a pallid complexion, and an overall sense of weakness are typically noted. These victims also...
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Answer to:
Are you a successful communicator? What do you think is a good way to get people to respond to you? How do you "push their buttons"?
I am a successful teacher. I have learned that a teacher
has to be calm and willing to learn if he is to be successful. Such methods helped me in communicating with
my colleagues and neighbours.
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Answer to:
What do you find is the most useful gadget(kitchen ,car ,toolbox ,etc.)you own?
The desktop computer - it helps me to connect with the
world.
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Answer to:
Why did Siam change it's name to Thailand?
The Khmers, one of the most ancient of all people ever lived in the area, refered to the Thais as Syamas. The same word was used by them to refer to the aborigines who lived scatteredly in the area prior to the Thais' arrival in the 13th century. The Vietnamese, the Assam, Lawa, and Mon people, the various people of modern day Myanmar and the various chinese groups of South China area --...
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Answer to:
You are offered a choice of two envelopes as a present. One contains a gift card, and the other an equivalent amount of cash. What would be going through your mind as you tried to decide?
Affections are more valuable to me than any amount of money.
Answer to:
What is the longest you've gone on a Vegan diet?
I am on that diet since six years.
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Answer to:
You are offered a 50% chance to win $1 billion, no problems, no taxes due, no questions asked. The downside is that if you lose you will be jailed for life. Would you go for it? If you answer no, then what odds might you be prepared to accept?
Money can not buy happiness. I am a contended person.
The pension I am getting is enough for me.
Answer to:
Repeating mantras, remembered texts and poetry helps calm the mind. So too it seems does playing, listening to, or even just thinking about music. Does this explain the mesmerizing attraction of discos, and why armies enjoy marching bands? Your ideas?
Ananda (Joy): This is the super-conscious state. The Vedic texts
describe it as Sat-Chit-Ananda (truly felt joy). This is the timeless
and spaceless transcendental state which is variously known as relaxed
alertness, higher awareness, great happiness, abundant peace, sublime
elation, tranquility, serenity, ecstacy or bliss depending on the level
of experience. The Jnaana center is...
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Answer to:
What are we doing when we are "showing the white feather"?
Dictionary: white feather
n.
A sign of cowardice.
idiom:
show the white feather
1. To act like a coward.
[From the belief that a gamecock with a white feather in its tail was a poor fighter.]
Meaning #1: a symbol of cowardice
The single White feather as a symbol of cowardice comes from cockfighting and the belief that a cockerel sporting a white feather in its tail is...
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Answer to:
What is a “Numa-Numa?”
Numa Numa is an Internet phenomenon based on amateur videos, particularly Numa Numa Dance by Gary Brolsma, made for the song "Dragostea din tei" as performed by Romanian pop band O-Zone. Brolsma's Numa Numa Dance was named 41st in the 2006 broadcast of 100 Greatest Funny Moments by Channel 4 in the UK.[1]
The phrase "Numa Numa" is from a refrain of "Dragostea...
Answer to:
What is a nimrod and where did the word orginate?
"great hunter," 1712, in ref. to the biblical son of Cush, referred to (Gen. x.8-9) as "a mighty hunter before the Lord." It came to mean "geek, klutz" by 1983 in teenager slang, for unknown reasons. (Amateur theories include its occasional use in "Bugs Bunny" cartoon episodes featuring rabbit-hunting Elmer Fudd as a foil; its possible ironic use, among...
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Answer to:
Where does the custom of calling grandmothers Nana come from?
Nana:
child's word for "grandmother" or, sometimes, "nurse" is first recorded c.1844 (see nanny).
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=nana
Etymology: probably of baby-talk origin
Date: circa 1844
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nana
Etymology 2
Variant spelling of nanna.
1. (informal) A pet name for one's grandmother.
2....
Answer to:
Good Ridden
It is an idiomatic name of a poem.
http://www.editred.com/Uploads/st_86040_Good_Ridden
Answer to:
What are three words beginning with "dwa", "dwe" or "dwi"?
dwale
dwang
dwango
dwarf
dwarfed
dwarfing
dwarfish
dwarfishly
dwarfishness
dwarfism
dwarfling
dwarfs
dwarfy
dwaul
dwaule
dweeb
dwell
dwelled
dweller
dwelling
dwellings
dwelt
dwight
dwim
dwindle
dwindled
dwindlement
dwindling
dwine
Find their meanings in this dictionary:
http://dictionary.die.net/
Answer to:
What is the origin of "Snug as a bug in a rug" and how do we know how snug a bug is in a rug?
SNUG AS A BUG IN A RUG - "Safe; comfortable.'The Stratford Jubilee,' a play of 1769, carries this line: 'If she (a rich widow) has the mopus's, I'll have her as snug as a bug in a rug.' Mopus is a lost word meaning money." From "The Dictionary of Cliches" by James Rogers (Ballantine Books, New York, 1985).
...
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Answer to:
I've been feeling really dizzy and woozy for the past forty five minutes, but there's nothing unusual for me to relate this to. Anyone have any idea what might cause this?
That could be due to the secondary action of some medicines which you have taken.
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Answer to:
If you had Jedi force powers how would you misuse them?
I would remove all those questions and answers in AB which I do not like.
Answer to:
I have heard that it is more economic to make new paper, glass and plastic than it is to recycle them. So why do we recycle those materials?
Waste disposal is a problem for most countries. Recycling
solves this problem to some extent.
Answer to:
Why does depression make one sleepy?
Clinical Depression Symptoms. Does melatonin make depression worse ?
serotonin is very much involved with sleep regulation--lesioning the dorsal raphe nuclei, where serotonin is produced, can really screw up normal sleep cycles......
http://www.rsac-nip.org/Clinical%20Depression%20Symptoms.htm
Read this pdf file:
http://www.css.to/css/sleep/depression.pdf
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Answer to:
What does it mean, to “hear it through the grapevine?”
Heard it through the grapevine
Meaning
An indication that a piece of information was obtained via an informal contact.
Origin
The first practical public demonstration of the telegraph was given in 1844, when Samuel Morse sent a message from Washington to Baltimore. The invention was widely welcomed as a means of rapidly communicating news. It soon became clear though that close...
Answer to:
What is the origin of the the phrase "waiting for the dust to settle"?
It is from a cliche "Let the dust settle".
"What is important is to let the dust settle and evaluate the situation when you have a very clear idea of what the picture looks like and when you can evaluate the merits in finite terms and figures."
Origin of most cliches is unknown.
Answer to:
What is the origin of the phrase "when you lie with dogs, you catch fleas"?
It is a cliche - "Lie down with dogs and wake up with fleas". Origin of most cliches is not known.
http://www.cambiaresearch.com/ClicheWeb/Cliche_Details.aspx?id=2914
A similar one is - "If you sleep with babies, you will wake up wet."
Answer to:
Where did the phrase "drink the koolaid" originate?
v. To become a firm believer in something; to accept an argument or philosophy wholeheartedly or blindly.
Example Citation:
One top executive named McMahon, the treasurer, was known for going around the company after he met with Skilling, Lay, and Fastow, and they directed him to do some bogus deal and say, 'Well, we've all got to go drink the Kool-Aid.'
—William...
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Answer to:
What branch of chemistry is alcohol?
Organic chemistry.
Answer to:
Why do guys think the grass is going to greener on the other side?
Proverbs: The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
Cf. [Ovid Ars Amatoria i. 349] fertilior seges est alienis semper in agris, the harvest is always more fruitful in another man's fields.
The grass is greener.
[1959 H. & M. Williams in J. C. Trewin Plays of Year XIX. 13 (title)]
‘The grass always looks greener on the other side of the...
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Answer to:
Can smell turn you on?
Imagine an invisible, undetectable force that's powerful
enough to override your sense of reason yet draws you
to someone with an almost animal passion. These aren't
Cupid's mythological arrows, but real shots of human
pheromones.
http://health.discovery.com/centers/sex/aphrodisiacs/phermones.html
Welcome to The Scent of Eros:
Mysteries of Odor in Human Sexuality -...
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Answer to:
How big is outer space?
Infinite according Hindu Puranas.
Answer to:
Seldom used words such as zarf, aglet or atluk. More please.
bannock flat bread-cake
barrel the long, cylindrical part of a key
baseborn ignoble, illegitimate
bay (of a dog) bark or howl
bebother bring trouble upon
befall happen, occur
belie give a false impression
benighted in, or overtaken by, darkness
beset attacked, assaulted by enemies
besom a stiff broom made out of sticks and twigs
carouse drink heavily
carven old form of...
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Answer to:
What is the oldest language that is still in use today?
The Rg Veda is now accepted to be 8000 years old by western
scholars. The Puranas say that the Vedas were written
during Kritha Yuga - some 4 billions of years ago.
http://www.search.com/reference/Hindu_cosmology
The Divine Mother Of All Languages
Sanskrit is a Godly gift, complete and complex, recognized as the parent of European dialects
...
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Answer to:
What does “psychosassic” mean?
That word does not exist in dictionaries - it is created
to indicate some psychic powers.
http://nuzban.wiw.org/archive/9511/msg00286.html
"Finally we have the work of plagiarist and psychosassic Michael
Rippie, who transliterates the words of Oscar Hammerstein and claims
them to be his...."
...
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Answer to:
Toward or towards?
Towards refers to direction where toward reflects "with respect to" or "on the verge of".
I walked towards the car.
We are working toward a common goal.
I walked toward the door.
I have a good feeling towards her.
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Answer to:
Is "disrespect" really a verb?
noun
total contempt: a lack of respect
transitive verb (past and past participle dis·re·spect·ed, present participle dis·re·spect·ing, 3rd person present singular dis·re·spects)
show no respect: to show a lack of respect for somebody or something
...
Answer to:
Why is sarcasm often referred to as the lowest form of wit?
# A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound.
# A form of wit that is marked by the use of sarcastic language and is intended to make its victim the butt of contempt or ridicule.
# Sharp, bitter words that make fun of someone or something, ridicule.
Grammar Dictionary: sarcasm
A form of irony in which apparent praise conceals another, scornful meaning. For example, a...
Answer to:
What is the difference between "ineptness" and "ineptitude"?
ineptness
Unfitness; ineptitude.
http://machaut.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/WEBSTER.sh?WORD=ineptness
Answer to:
What is the difference between buying and purchasing?
Buy:
To be "capable" of purchasing:
“Certainly there are lots of things in life that money won't buy” (Ogden Nash).
http://www.answers.com/buy
In the phrase connected with love, you can only say "you can not buy love".
You can not use purchase in this phrase.
Answer to:
How do you think American English differ from British English? Do you sometimes find it hard to understand British English?
I am carrying out a surbey from the link at reference URL.
If you have time please fill out the questionnaire!
Written forms of American English are fairly well standardized across the United States. An unofficial standard for spoken American English has developed as a result of mass media and of geographic and social mobility. This standard is generally called a General American or Standard Midwestern accent and dialect, and it can typically be heard from network newscasters, although local newscasters...
Answer to:
What is the difference among method, technique, and approach
method:
a way of doing something
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/method?view=uk
a particular way of doing something
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=50181&dict=CALD
approach:
The method used in dealing with or accomplishing: "a logical approach to the problem."
http://www.answers.com/approach
technique:
A systematic method or procedure...
Answer to:
Why is the word 'colour' spelt 'color' in America?
American and British English spelling differences are one aspect of American and British English differences. In the early 18th century, English spelling was not standardised. Different standards became noticeable after the publishing of influential dictionaries. Current British English spellings follow, for the most part, those of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language...
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Answer to:
I see so much bad grammer and poor spelling on the web. Do you think that it is because of poor education or just typing mistakes?
It is the style of mods. They want to defy what is traditional or conventional.
http://www.answers.com/mod
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Answer to:
Is deglorification a real word?
Though it is not defined in conventional dictionaries,
it is used in many books, research papers and internet sites.
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=elJM928LiMMC&pg=PA105&lpg=PA105&dq=deglorification&source=bl&ots=8AKrYNrLH5&sig=0KQblahYpCQy7gCrFw1gFstU2jg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result
...
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Answer to:
I was never sure about what soulmate means. Could you explain me? Thanx in advance!
Soulmate (or soul mate) is a term sometimes used to designate someone with whom one has a feeling of deep and natural affinity, friendship, love, intimacy, sexuality, and/or compatibility.
A related concept is that of the twin flame or twin soul – thought to be the ultimate soulmate, the one and only other half of one's soul, for which all souls are driven to find and join.
...
Answer to:
Where does the term "ain't" come from?
Etymology
From the earlier form an’t, a contraction of are not and am not. Historically, it was present in many dialects of the English language, but not in the southeastern England dialect that became the standard.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ain't?rdfrom=Ain't
USAGE NOTE Ain't has a long history of controversy. It first appeared in 1778, evolving from an...
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Answer to:
Where did the term "Sadist" come from?
Etymology:
International Scientific Vocabulary, from Marquis de Sade
Date: 1888
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sadist
Etymology
Named after the Marquis de Sade, famed for his libertine writings depicting the pleasure of inflicting pain to others. The word for "sadism" (sadisme) is forged or acknowledged in the 1834 posthumous reprint of French...
Answer to:
Where did the term 'holocaust' come from?
ORIGIN from Greek kaustos ‘burnt’.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/holocaust?view=uk
[13th century. < Old French holocauste< Greek holokaustos "burned whole" < kaiein "burn"]
Word History:
Holocaust was originally used in English for a "burnt offering," a "sacrifice completely consumed by fire" (Mark 12:33,...
Answer to:
Where did the term "petticoat" come from?
ORIGIN from obsolete petty coat small coat.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/petticoat?view=uk
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME petycote. See petty, coat
Middle English peticote : peti, small; see petty + cote, coat; see coat.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=petticoat&r=66
Etymology:
Middle English petycote short tunic, petticoat, from pety small + cote...
Answer to:
Where did the term "polka dot" come from?
While polka dots are ancient, they first became common on clothing in the late nineteenth century in Britain. At the same time polka music was extremely popular and the name was also applied to the pattern, despite no real connection between them. Some believed that during the First World War the British used polka dots as a place to hide Morse code and other secrets without being noticed.
...
Answer to:
Where did the term "holy cow" come from?
Idioms: holy cow
Also, holy mackerel or Moses or moly or smoke. An exclamation of surprise, astonishment, delight, or dismay, as in Holy cow, I forgot the wine, or Holy mackerel, you won! or Holy Moses, here comes the teacher! or Holy smoke, I didn't know you were here too. The oldest of these slangy expletives uses mackerel, dating from about 1800; the one with Moses dates from...
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