distend Definition: (verb) To cause to expand by or as if by internalpressure; dilate. Synonyms: dilate Usage: It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent.

Shirley Temple (1928) A precocious performer known for her dimples and golden curls, Temple was a child actress who became America’s most popular female star and Hollywood’s top box office attraction in the Great Depression era. In 1934, she made nine movies, leaping to stardom […]

LEHMAN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS presents El Gigante De La Salsa   OSCAR D’LEÓN   Lehman Center for the Performing Arts continues its spectacular 36th Anniversary Season with an exclusive concert of Venezuela-born Salsa Superstar OSCAR D’LEÓN, who returns toLehman Center with his Orchestra to […]

You can never have a revolution in order to establish a democracy. You must have a democracy in order to have a revolution. Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936)

graver Definition: (noun) A tool used by an engraver. Synonyms: pointel Usage: The jewelry designer’s studio was attached to her shop, so customers could watch her hammer metals and draw elegant designs with her graver.

Henry Fielding (1707) Fielding was an English novelist and dramatist known for his humor and satire. He settled in London in 1729 and began writing comedies, farces, and burlesques, including Tom Thumb. Two of his satires attacked the Walpole government […]

In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

tittle Definition: (noun) A tiny or scarcely detectable amount. Synonyms: iota, scintilla, shred, smidgeon, whit Usage: Sydney Carton drank nothing but a tittle coffee.

Max Weber (1864) Weber was a German sociologist and political economist whose most famous and controversial work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, examines the relationship between Calvinist—or Puritan—morality, compulsive labor, bureaucracy, and economic success under capitalism. Weber […]

The most practical and important thing about a man is still his view of the universe…We think that for a general about to fight an enemy, it is important to know the enemy’s numbers, but still more important to know […]

attenuate Definition: (adjective) Reduced or weakened, as in strength, value, or virulence. Synonyms: faded, weakened Usage: She placed a record in the player, and the attenuate tones of the old recording swept through the house.

Philippe Pinel (1745) After moving to Paris in 1778, Pinel, a French physician, was appointed director of the Bicêtre and Salpêtrière hospitals. His experiences there prompted him to advocate for the humane treatment of mentally ill persons—then called the insane—and […]