A man’s silence is wonderful to listen to. Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)  

tongue-in-cheek Definition: (adjective) Cleverly amusing in tone. Synonyms: bantering, facetious Usage: The student made a tongue-in-cheek remark about his dog having eaten his overdue math homework. Discuss.  

Margaret of Austria (1480) Daughter of Emperor Maximilian I, Margaret was a Hapsburg princess and regent of the Netherlands. When she was three, she was betrothed to French dauphin and future King Charles VIII, who later renounced the agreement and […]

Charm, in most men and nearly all women, is a decoration. E. M. Forster (1879-1970)  

splenic Definition: (adjective) Of or relating to the spleen. Synonyms: lienal Usage: Julian was overjoyed as his doctor explained that his splenic tumor had gone into remission. Discuss.  

Richard Halliburton (1900) Halliburton was an American adventurer and pioneer of adventure journalism. He liked to recreate historical and legendary feats in his travels, such as Hannibal’s passage over the Alps on an elephant and Odysseus’s journey around the Mediterranean, […]

A woman is more considerate in affairs of love than a man; because love is more the study and business of her life. Washington Irving (1783-1859)  

demean Definition: (verb) Reduce in worth or character, usually verbally. Synonyms: degrade, disgrace, put down Usage: The CEO makes it a point to regularly demean employees in front of their colleagues, as he believes that a little public humiliation goes […]

Emily Greene Balch (1867) Balch was an American economist and sociologist who taught at Wellesley College until her dismissal in 1918 for opposing US involvement in World War I. She was a co-founder, along with Jane Addams, of the Women’s […]

Two cheers for Democracy: one because it admits variety and two because it permits criticism. E. M. Forster (1879-1970)  

connive Definition: (verb) Form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner. Synonyms: scheme, intrigue Usage: We had to send that perfectly innocent man to penal servitude for a crime we know he never committed, and it was only afterward that we […]

Saint Marie-Bernarde Soubirous (1844) Soubirous was a French peasant girl who claimed to see the Virgin Mary in apparitions at a grotto near Lourdes, her home, in 1858. The authorities, skeptical of her visions, subjected her to severe examinations. After […]

It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one’s dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank, and independent. W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965)