nod, lymphoma, nod off, drop off, In a nod toward usability, tax evasion,a nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse

Eco's Echoes
In the early 1980s, Umberto Eco enjoyed a remarkable streak of beginner’s luck with his first novel, The Name of the Rose. An improbable international best seller, it was a pastiche of detective fiction filled with nods and winks at Eco’s own field of semiotics as well as his longstanding interest in medieval theology. Most of the intertextuality was removed when the novel was adapted for the screen in 1986, March 18, 2015
By
Scott McLemee


Melissa Cacciola makes modern-day tintypes that marry attention to detail with a nod to history. In "Brass on Tin," she brought that technique to New Orleans, where she photographed the musicians of brass bands.

More on Lens: http://nyti.ms/1c3B16F

Photo by Melissa Cacciola

Throughout his career Mr Kossoff has painted portraits of his family and a small group of friends, as well as his favourite models. Perhaps because these people have been sitting for him for so many years and so many hours at a time, many have nodded off. These portraits, several of which are in the show, provoke the persistent question: if his sitters can’t stay awake for the painter, why should we?


9/11’s Litany of Loss, Joined by Another Name
By LISA W. FODERARO
Leon Heyward, a Bronx man who died of lymphoma in October 2008, became, officially, the latest casualty of the attack on the World Trade Center.


Google Stretches Its Search Box

In a nod toward usability, Google increased the size of its home page's search box and typeface Wednesday, making it easier for users to see long queries.

German prosecutors accused Klaus Zumwinkel, the chief executive of Deutsche Post and one of the country's most prominent business executives, of tax evasion on Thursday after conducting early morning raids on his home and office.

tax evasion noun [U]
ways of illegally paying less tax than you should

a nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse

5

proverb Used to convey that a hint or suggestion can be or has been understood without the need of furtherelaboration or explanation:of course, we can’t discuss it over the telephone, but a nod’s as good as a wink, and I promise I’ll be verycareful

nod

Syllabification: (nod)

Pronunciation: /näd/

verb (nods, nodding, nodded)

• 1 [no object] lower and raise one’s head slightly and briefly, especially in greeting, assent, or understanding, or to give someone a signal:he nodded to Monica to unlock the door [with object]:she nodded her head in agreement
• [with object] signify or express (greeting, assent, or understanding) in this way:he nodded his consent
• draw or direct attention to someone or something by moving one’s head:he nodded toward the corner of the room
• move one’s head up and down repeatedly:he shut his eyes, nodding to the beat figurativefoxgloves nodding by the path

• 2 [no object] have one’s head fall forward when drowsy or asleep:Anna nodded over her book

noun

• an act of nodding the head:at a nod from his father, he left the room
• a gesture of acknowledgment or concession:a feel-good musical with a nod to pantomime

Phrases

a nodding acquaintance

a slight acquaintance with a person or cursory knowledge of a subject:students will need a nodding acquaintance with three other languages

even Homer nods

proverb even the best person sometimes makes a mistake due to a momentary lack of alertness or attention.

[with allusion to Latin dormitat Homerus (Horace Ars Poetica 359)]

get the nod

• 1be selected or approved.

• 2receive a signal or information.

give someone/something the nod

• 1select or approve someone or something:they banned one book but gave the other the nod

• 2give someone a signal.

on the nod

informal

• 1British by general agreement and without discussion:parliamentary approval of the treaty went through on the nod

• 2 dated on credit.

• 3alternating between wakefulness and sleepiness on account of heroin use.

Phrasal Verbs

nod off

informal fall asleep, especially briefly or unintentionally:some of the congregation nodded off during the sermon

nod out

informal fall asleep, especially from the effects of a drug:they go to a coffee shop, get stoned, go to a club at 11, and nod out at midnight

Origin:

late Middle English (as a verb): perhaps of Low German origin; compare with Middle High German notten 'move around, shake'. The noun dates from the mid 16th century

lymphoma
n., pl. -ma·ta (-mə-tə) or -mas.
Any of various usually malignant tumors that arise in the lymph nodes or in other lymphoid tissue.
lymphomatoid lym·pho'ma·toid' or lym·pho'ma·tous (-təs) adj.

nod off

Fall asleep momentarily, doze, as in Grandma spends a lot of time in her rocking chair, nodding off now and then. This expression alludes to the quick involuntary dropping of one's head from an upright position when drowsy or napping. The verb nod alone was so used from the mid-1500s. Also see drop off, def. 1.


drop off

1. To fall asleep.
2. To decrease: Sales dropped off in the fourth quarter.