slither, dunny, hoary, lias, nocturnal, flutter, knuckle ball, U-bend. The U-bend of life—and why it begins at 46

Why, beyond middle age, people get happier as they get older


economist.com
The U-bend of life—and why it begins at 46
From our archiveThieves Nationwide Are Slithering Under Cars, Swiping Catalytic Converters

The pollution-control gadgets are full of precious metals like palladium, and prices are soaring as regulators try to tame emissions.

The Guardian

"Outsiders at such moments wonder what the hell is happening to America. But the answer is simple and salutary. When democracy slithers towards oligarchy, as has federal America, the mob retaliates."

在封興伯教授的論文〈久遠的往事和模糊的記憶：早期佛教文獻的流傳歷史〉(Oskar von Hinüber (2008): 'Hoary Past and Hazy Memory. On the History of Early Buddhist Texts') 提到 Gary Beckman (2005) 的演講：「盲信的侷限 The Limits of Credulity」，其中一句頗為關鍵的話：

「how far it is advisable and possible to trust sources or how to

evaluate them. 流傳至今的文獻有多大程度值得我們我們信賴，以及如何評估這些文獻。」

Always check the dunny for snakes …

Snakes slither into Australian toilets as dry season bites

Queensland snake catcher charms two pythons out of Townsville bathrooms after one found coiled in a toilet bowl and the other lodged in a U-bend

THEGUARDIAN.COM

Just a few days ahead of its planned initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, Twitter has raised the price range for its shares to $23 to $25, up from the original target of $17 to $20. The move, which could value the company at up to $13.6 billion, means that investors should be even more wary of taking a flutter on the firm's stock http://econ.st/1aoTIv9



Here's where we move from fact to plausibility. In the 1880s, many American newspapers began using 'chestnut' in the way we do now, to refer to hoary, oft-repeated stories, and the term became established in the common lingo thereafter. The 'old' was added later as an intensifier.


What Muncie Read
By ANNE TRUBEK
People make hoary generalizations about changing American reading habits but we actually know very little about the history of reading.

Slither, Flutter and Glow: Lure of Nocturnal Creatures

By LISA W. FODERARO

Mike Feller, New York City's chief naturalist, ventures into Alley Pond Park in Queens at night looking for creatures like slugs, spiders, moths and beetles.

Japan's knuckleball girl takes loss
SI.com - USA
KOBE, Japan (AP) -Japan's first female professional baseball player struggled with her control and took her first loss. Eri Yoshida, a 17-year-old who ...

Trap (plumbing) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trap_(plumbing)





In plumbing, a trap is a U-, S-, or J-shaped pipe located below or within a plumbing fixture. An S-shaped trap is also known as the S-bend invented by Alexander  ...

dunny

ˈdʌni/

noun

1. 1.

   SCOTTISH

   an underground passage or cellar, especially in a tenement.
2. 2.

   AUSTRALIAN/NZinformal

   a toilet.

knuckle ball
n. Baseball.
A slow, randomly fluttering pitch thrown by gripping the ball with the tips or nails of two or three fingers.
knuckleballer knuck'le·ball'er n.

lias

Pronunciation: /ˈlʌɪəs/

noun

(the Lias) Geology

• the earliest epoch of the Jurassic period, lasting from about 208 to 178 million years ago.
• the system of rocks deposited during the Lias, consisting of shales and limestones rich in fossils.
• (also blue lias) [mass noun] a blue-grey clayey limestone derived from marl deposited in the Lower Jurassic, found chiefly in SW England.

Derivatives

liassic

Pronunciation: /lʌɪˈasɪk/

adjective

Origin:

late Middle English (denoting blue lias): from Old French liais 'hard limestone', probably from lie (see lees)

nocturnal

Pronunciation: /nɒkˈtəːn(ə)l/

adjective

• done, occurring, or active at night:most owls are nocturnal

Derivatives

nocturnally
adverb

Origin:

late 15th century: from late Latin nocturnalis, from Latin nocturnus 'of the night', from nox, noct- 'night'

hoary

Pronunciation: /ˈhɔːri/

adjective (hoarier, hoariest)

• 1  greyish white:hoary cobwebs
• (of a person) old and having grey or white hair:young lasses imprisoned by hoary old husbands
• [attributive] used in names of animals and plants covered with whitish fur or short hairs, e.g. hoary bat, hoary cress.

• 2  overused and unoriginal; trite:the hoary old adage often used by Fleet Street editors

Derivatives

hoarily
adverb

hoariness
noun

slither

Pronunciation: /ˈslɪðə/verb

[no object, with adverbial of direction]

• move smoothly over a surface with a twisting or oscillating motion:I spied a baby adder slithering away
• slide or slip unsteadily on a loose or slippery surface:we slithered down a snowy mountain track

noun

• 1 [in singular] a slithering movement:a snake-like slither across the grass

• 2 British informal a sliver:a slither of bacon

Derivatives

slithery
adjective

Origin:

Middle English: alteration of the dialect verb slidder, frequentative from the base of slide

flutter

Pronunciation: /ˈflʌtə/

verb

[no object]

• (of a bird or other winged creature) fly unsteadily or hover by flapping the wings quickly and lightly:a couple of butterflies fluttered around the garden
• [with object] (of a bird or other winged creature) flap (its wings) quickly and lightly.
• move with a light irregular or trembling motion:flags of different countries fluttered in the breeze (as adjective fluttering)a fluttering banner
• [with adverbial of direction] (of a person) move restlessly or uncertainly:Mavis fluttered about nervously
• (of a pulse or heartbeat) beat feebly or irregularly.

noun

• 1an act of fluttering:there was a flutter of wings at the window
• a state or sensation of tremulous excitement:her insides were in a flutter
• [mass noun] Medicine disturbance of the rhythm of the heart that is less severe than fibrillation.
• [mass noun] Aeronautics undesired oscillation in a part of an aircraft under stress.
• [mass noun] Electronics rapid variation in the pitch or amplitude of a signal, especially of recorded sound. Compare with wow².

• 2  British informal a small bet:a flutter on the horses

Phrases

flutter one's eyelashes

open and close one’s eyes rapidly in a coy, flirtatious manner.

Derivatives

flutterer
noun

flutteringly
adverb

fluttery
adjective

Origin:

Old English floterian, flotorian, a frequentative form related to fleet⁴