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Boston Globe
10 hours ago
- General
- Boston Globe
May I have a word: Mirror images
What Noreen Barnes, of Acton, came up with was semi-geographical. She wrote: 'I would suggest derma incognita — that unknown territory. My spouse would call it derma obscura, as in humana obscura , and Ed De Vos, of Newton, corpus obscura . Advertisement Michael Bohnen, of Newton, wrote: 'Those body parts that are 'rearly seen' are epidermissing. ' Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Edith Maxwell, of Amesbury, suggested hide and go seeks and invisibits . Diane Tosca, of Taunton, came up with hidey-bits and explained whence she derived it: 'Being a 'Monty Python' fan, I thought of naughty bits for those parts of our anatomy that are difficult to see.' Naughty itself entered our language around 1400, when it described the state of being very poor — that is, having nothing, or naught. By the end of the century, it also meant 'morally bad' (funny how people connect those two qualities); by a century after that, the meaning encompassed 'promiscuous' and such. And by a century after that, it came to include merely 'mischievous' (a 1633 citation reads 'A naughty child is better sick than whole' — that's horrible!). Not until about 1972, the learned lexicographers of the Oxford English Dictionary discovered, did anyone — indeed, Graham Chapman of 'Monty Python' — think to combine the word with bits , to refer to you know what. Advertisement Judith Englander, of South Strafford, Vt., borrowed a colloquial name from the 'Ceratopogonidae family of insects' to suggest that 'those elusive body parts could be called no-see-ums. ' She added she doesn't 'really want to see-um unless absolutely necessary!' John Michaels proposed no-see-ums too . And Kelly Ash, of Melrose, seems to have felt much the way Judith did when she proposed whywouldyawannas and announced: 'Not only would I rather not see my whywouldyawannas , but I sure don't want a photo out there!' Given the subject, I had been bracing myself for an onslaught of off-color options, but everyone showed admirable restraint. The responses got no smuttier than 'my be-hides ,' from John Kjoller, of Sandwich, and unscenities or unseenities , from David Raines, of Lunenburg. I did, though, get a surprise geographical reference. Wilma Kassakian, of Newton, wrote: 'How about Australia,' because of ''the Outback' and the continent's nickname, 'Down Under'?' That's subtle, if no doubt baffling to the uninitiated — which might well be a plus. 'Honey, let's excuse ourselves from our hosts for a few minutes. After our hike, we need to check that there isn't a tick in Australia .' That's just got to win bragging rights. Now Geoff Patton, of Ashland, writes: 'We need a word for when you accidentally put a recyclable item in the trash or vice versa. (I am thinking this should be a noun, like a type of error.) I, at least, do this a lot!' Advertisement Send your ideas for Geoff's word to me at by noon on Friday the 13th, and kindly tell me where you live. Responses may be edited. And please keep in mind that meanings in search of words are always welcome.
India Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Ajay Devgn, Kajol and mansplaining in full view: It wasn't his question to answer
A woman is asked a question. A man interrupts and answers on her behalf. It's a common scene - in households, at workplaces, at public events. However, the incident we are highlighting happened last week at the trailer launch of the Hindi film 'Maa'.Kajol, who headlines the film, was present on stage, standing with Ajay Devgn, her husband, when a journalist asked her a question about motherhood, and the need to make the film industry more supportive for new mothers. The 50-year-old is now a mother of two - a daughter, Nysa, and a son, fact, the journalist, a woman, was careful to recall that Kajol worked on 'My Name Is Khan' when her daughter was just a year old - probably expecting the actor to answer from her personal experience. And then, it happened. Ajay took his mic, said "sorry to interrupt", when he had not even let Kajol complete her sentence, and started to mansplain. What else can you call it?'Mansplain', a word added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2018, refers to a situation where a man explains a topic a woman is often more familiar with or is better suited to address, such as issues related to womanhood or female experiences. Like in this case, a question about being a mother, and the changes the industry should be introducing for new was just one year old when you shot 'My Name Is Khan'. And now, we are talking about new moms who want an eight-hour shift in the workplace, in the industry, the film industry. What do you think of it, as a mother? Is it right? And people reacting to it, it is not going down well with people. What do you think about this?," the journalist asked."I love the fact that you can work less...." - the eight words Kajol spoke before Ajay "interrupted", and started to explain."I am sorry to interrupt. It's not that it's not going down well with people. Most of the honest filmmakers will not have a problem with this. Apart from just mothers who are working for eight hours, there are people who have usually started working for eight-nine hours in a shift. It's person to person, and most of the industry does understand this (sic)," he said. What he said is not the point of discussion here. What might have compelled him to speak is. The question mentioned producers, and he might have thought that, as the producer of the film, he was in a better position to take that question. However, the point still stands. The question was NOT addressed to him. Neither could he have answered it in the capacity of a 'new mother' or simply as a working woman in the answer, whether important or futile, took away the one thing that the question sought - personal experience, emotional insight, the very connection and authenticity only Kajol could have brought idea is not to understand when to speak, but to know when not to. One can always contribute to a woman's response or statement, without denying her the right to speak in the first place. But taking over the space - claiming the spotlight and leaving the woman merely standing, listening, feeling sidelined, silenced, and reduced to an awkward sigh - is what unfolds in an environment driven by inequality of Ajay did at that event - right in front of cameras and journalists - is no different from what many men routinely do in workplaces: cutting a woman off, speaking over her, or declaring, 'What she means is...' without letting her finish. Classic mansplaining, in full is more about conditioning, you see. The fact that a widely popular, fairly respected man, known across the country, could do it and get away with it speaks more about how mansplaining has been I figure now that not many would have even realised that it was a classic case of mansplaining when the video first appeared. Nobody to question, because it doesn't look like a larger problem. And that's precisely what is the a woman's agency, her right to speak about herself, motherhood - a role that she will always be playing in her life, demanding industry changes as a woman - all of that were Kajol's to discuss, to opined if you ask me, the stage totally belonged to Kajol. Even from a promotional or a business point, Kajol is the biggest name in 'Maa'. The spotlight was hers. What Ajay had to do there was simple - extending a supportive smile, a helping hand, and the loudest clap to tell the world that a husband was proud of his I am not saying he is not proud of his wife or that they don't share an equal relationship. This is not even a criticism of Devgn. This is more to highlight the very normalisation of mansplaining, by even the most aware people in the world, the leaders of the industry, if you urge, as a man, to sometimes 'simplify' what a woman is saying, because he thinks he knows better, or that he's helping her with a better articulation of her thought - all of that is wrong and counter-productive, even. Let her be her own anchor. Let her have her moment - whether of dismissal or appreciation - let it be hers to own. Especially, if you have no business in explaining what she, by every means, should and is more familiar with. Mansplaining comes from a deep-rooted sense of superiority. It's the product of centuries of gender bias - where men are seen as default authorities and women as passive listeners. You have to look at it as not just ignorance, but as entitlement. It comes from that quiet satisfaction of assuming she couldn't possibly know more - simply because she's a is a conditioning that is wired early - when girls are asked to listen, discouraged to lead in families. When they are taught that male voices matter more, men will decide for them - their present, their future, their place in the mansplaining and calling it out is breaking that chain of misogyny. It's not just resistance, it's a rebellion, honestly. One dialogue, one objection, one man at a Watch IN THIS STORY#Ajay Devgn#Kajol Devgan
CNET
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
Did Today's Rare Wordle Starting Letter Shatter Your Win Streak? Guess These Letters First
How about that Wordle puzzle on Thursday? The five-letter answer in the New York Times' engaging online word-guessing game probably shattered a few winning streaks, since it begins with the absolute rarest letter in the English language. I never guess that letter except out of total and complete desperation. Personally, I like to stick with starter words that I know feature some of the most frequently used letters. (TRAIN and CLOSE are among my favorites.) Click here for today's Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles. In order to get the absolute best starter words, you should know which letters turn up the most in English. I reached out to the big brains at the Oxford English Dictionary -- you know, the whopping, multi-volume dictionary that no one actually owns, but that your school librarian adored. An OED representative sent me a list in which staff analyzed all of the main entries in the concise version of the dictionary. "It's worth noting that the piece is pretty old," the OED representative said apologetically. "It mentions that the stats are from Concise Oxford English Dictionary in 2004, although current colleagues aren't sure when the piece itself was written, and I'm afraid we don't have any newer analysis of this sort." The list may be 20 years old, but I'm going with it. The alphabet isn't like ice cream flavors or musical acts -- no new, trendy letters have been introduced in that time. So whether you're just getting into Wordle, or you want to shake up your starter words and make sure they're still hitting the most common letters, this list is for you. S begins the most English words The most common letter is no surprise to most people: It's E, and it's immediately followed by another vowel, A. And those letters are much, much more popular than the final two letters in the OED's list, which are J and Q. (Anyone else surprised that J is used less than X and Z?) "The letter E is over 56 times more common than Q in forming individual English words," the OED analysis found. It notes that "there are more English words beginning with the letter S than with any other letter." So Wordle players, bookmark this article, and you might find yourself doing a little better in upcoming games. Here are the letters of the alphabet ranked according to how frequently they showed up in the 2004 Concise Oxford English Dictionary. The most common letters used in English
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Catherine Prasifka: If I told you the latest online threat to children was a ballerina with a cappuccino as a head, you might laugh – but it's serious
A new brand of AI slop is spreading across social media – and while it might look like nonsense, there's nothing to stop it delivering harmful messages to young minds Today at 21:30 Spend any time talking to a child with a smartphone and you will hear about 'Italian brainrot', the latest meme sweeping social media. If you can't even begin to imagine what that means, you're part of the problem. Children are exposed to a constantly evolving online culture that the adults in their lives don't understand. It only gets worse with generative AI. 'Brainrot' was the Oxford English Dictionary's Word of the Year last year. It refers to low-quality, unchallenging and nonsensical content with a negative impact on users' mental state. It is content with no meaning that tends towards the absurd. It can refer to anything: meme, a video, an audio file. It can also refer more broadly to the damaging effects of social media, particularly doomscrolling.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Manhattanhenge 2025: What is it, and where are the best spots to see it this week?
Move over, Broadway — this week the sun will take center stage in New York City during golden hour with the first Manhattanhenge of 2025. The cosmic phenomenon happens when the setting sun perfectly aligns between the city's towering skyscrapers and the street grid, providing viewers with some of the most stunning images of a sunset in the Big Apple. The term 'Manhattanhenge' was first coined in 2002 by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who wanted to pay homage to Stonehenge, the prehistoric English monument that aligns with the movements of the sun. (The term is now an official word in the Oxford English Dictionary.) Here's when you can see Manhattanhenge 2025 and the best spots for viewing the vibrant spectacle. The phenomenon happens twice a year. Here are the dates and times to keep in mind, according to the American Museum of Natural History's website: Wednesday, May 28: A 'half sun on the grid' will happen at 8:13 p.m. ET. The sun will be partially blocked by the horizon but still framed by the city grid. Thursday, May 29: A 'full sun on the grid' will appear at 8:12 p.m. ET. The sun will appear whole, just above the horizon framed by the city grid. It's best to head outside about 30 minutes beforehand to secure a good viewing spot. Viewers can best see Manhattanhenge from the following main thoroughfares that run east and west. 14th Street 23rd Street 34th Street 42nd Street 57th Street Remember, the whole idea is to see the sun through the frame of the skyscrapers; otherwise, it will look like any other sunset. You'll want to position yourself as far east as possible on one of these thoroughfares. When you look to the west across the avenues, make sure you have a clear view to the horizon looking in the direction of New Jersey across the Hudson River from Manhattan. Manhattanhenge can also be viewed from these locations: Tudor City Overpass on East 42nd Street in Manhattan Hunter's Point South Park in Long Island City, Queens It will only last a few minutes! And Manhattanhenge has become a popular event, so it's recommended to go outside about 30 minutes beforehand to get a good spot. 'The whole street can get shut down with people just taking it over,' Dr. Jackie Faherty, an astronomer at the American Museum of Natural History, told the New York Post. 'You have to be in the middle of the street to see the phenomenon, and there's this other pesky thing in the middle of the street, which is cars — you have to get away from the cars.' Contrary to popular belief, the sun doesn't rise due east and set due west on the horizon every day. It only does that twice a year on the equinoxes: on the first day of spring and the first day of autumn. Since Manhattan runs north and south, why wouldn't we see Manhattanhenge on the equinoxes if the sun sets due west on those dates? That's because the Manhattan street grid isn't perfectly aligned with the geographic north-south line. 'Manhattan's street grid is rotated 30 degrees east from geographic north, shifting the days of alignment elsewhere into the calendar,' according to the Natural History Museum. If the weather this week is less than ideal, there will be another chance to view Manhattanhenge in July. July 11: A 'full sun on the grid' will appear at 8:20 p.m. ET. July 12: A 'half sun on the grid' will happen at 8:22 p.m. ET. We'll see another one this year because the sun creeps along the horizon northward day by day until the summer solstice, which is June 20. At that point, the sun makes its return back south until the first day of winter. That's why in July we'll see a full sun first, followed by a half sun. Other cities like Chicago and Baltimore with east-west streets on a grid also experience a similar Manhattanhenge effect. The key to a good view is a clear horizon beyond the city grid not obstructed by mountains, for example. Brittany Bell, a meteorologist for ABC7 news, posted that the best chances of viewing it this week will be on Thursday, during the 'full sun' view.
