Oscar Wilde (1854) Wilde was an Irish poet, novelist, and playwright who mocked social conventions and scandalized English society with his unorthodox ideas and conduct. He is best known for his sophisticated, witty plays, among them Lady Windermere’s Fan and […]

A man will tell you that he has worked in a mine for forty years unhurt by an accident as a reason why he should apprehend no danger, though the roof is beginning to sink. George Eliot (1819-1880)  

constellate Definition: (verb) To form or cause to form a group or cluster. Synonyms: cluster, flock, clump Usage: The poets constellate in this town every summer. Discuss.  

From Buckets of Ice to Barrels of Laughs, Empire City Casino to Host Inaugural Quinn for the Win Comedy Benefit in Support of ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Co-Founder & Yonkers Native Pat Quinn   (Yonkers, NY) — Supporting a few […]

Marie Carmichael Stopes (1880) A Scottish paleobotanist whose first marriage was annulled—and allegedly never consummated—Stopes went on to publish a controversial yet highly influential sex manual, Married Love, in 1918. Thereafter, she became a pioneer in the field of family […]

What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other? George Eliot (1819-1880)  

periwig Definition: (noun) A wig for men that was fashionable in the 17th and 18th centuries. Synonyms: peruke Usage: He wears an immense periwig, flowing down over his shoulders. Discuss.  

Emil Zátopek (1922) Zátopek, the “Czech Locomotive,” was a long-distance runner who won three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5,000-m and 10,000-m runs, and he amazingly earned gold yet again after […]

All visible objects … are but as pasteboard masks. Herman Melville (1819-1891)  

strangulate Definition: (verb) Kill by squeezing the throat of so as to cut off the air. Synonyms: strangle, throttle Usage: The police are searching for a serial killer who strangulates his victims.  

Jean Bernard Léon Foucault (1819) Foucault, a French physicist, invented the Foucault pendulum and used it to provide experimental proof that the Earth rotates on its axis. He improved astronomical instruments, especially the telescope, and with Armand Fizeau took the […]

Let’s not borrow trouble … The rate of interest is too high. Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942)  

frothy Definition: (adjective) Emitting or filled with bubbles as from carbonation or fermentation. Synonyms: bubbly, effervescing, spumy, foamy Usage: There is nothing better on a balmy summer evening than a frothy ice-cream soda.  

Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (1904) Ashton is best known as the founding choreographer of England’s Royal Ballet. He was drawn to dance at age 13 after attending a performance by the legendary Anna Pavlova in Peru, where he grew […]

Some cynical Frenchman has said that there are two parties to a love-transaction: the one who loves and the other who condescends to be so treated. William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863)