letter_trainer_1_0 Flashcards
OR_
ORR. Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn’t skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking.
AST_
ASTI. Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The region is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine.
_LK
ELK. The Michigan State Flag is made up of the state’s coat of arms on a dark blue background. The coat of arms consists of a shield, supported on the left by an elk, and on the right by a moose.
ESA_
ESAU. Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother, Rebekah, gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).
I_CA
INCA. The Inca Empire was known as the Tawantinsuyu, which translates as ‘land of the four quarters’. The Inca Empire was a federal organization having a central government that sat above four ‘suyu’ or ‘quarters’, four administrative regions.
E_IC
ERIC. Eric Cantor is a US Representative from Virginia, and has been the House Majority Leader since 2011.
IR_
IRS. The IRS logo has to be one of the most poorly-designed logos used by the US government. The main components are a branch, scales and eagle … but … you have to look very closely to make out those features.
_NE
ONE. In a fraction, the number above the line is the numerator, and the number below the line is the denominator. A common numerator is the number one, as in ½, ¼, ⅓ etc.
NER_
NERO. The Julio-Claudian dynasty was made up of the first five Roman Emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero. All five emperors were members of either the Julius family, the Claudius family or both. The dynasty collapsed when Nero committed suicide in 68 AD.
_ED
TED. ‘Ted’ is a movie written, directed, produced and starring Seth MacFarlane. In the story, MacFarlane voices a teddy bear who is the best friend of a character played by Mark Wahlberg.
NER_
NERO. The brand name Reebok was adopted as the new company name for Foster Shoes of the UK in 1960. The name Reebok (more commonly ‘Rhebok’) is an Afrikaans word for an antelope, and comes from the term “roe buck”.
O_E
ONE. Three, two, one … Happy New Year!
IO_A
IOTA. Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use it to portray something very small, as it is the smallest letter in the alphabet.
R_NE
RENE. René Préval is a politician who served as President of Haiti from 1996 to 2001, and again from 2006 to 2011.
_SI
CSI. The TV show “CSI” gets a lot of criticism from law enforcement agencies for its unrealistic portrayal of the procedures and science of criminal investigation. I don’t care though, as I just think it’s fun television. The original “CSI” set in Las Vegas seems to have “gone off the boil”, but the addition of Sela Ward to the cast of “CSI: NY” has really, really raised the level of the sister show set in New York City.
_ES
LES. Leslie Moonves had many senior positions in the television industry, especially with CBS and Viacom. Early in his career he was an actor and played tough guy roles on “Cannon” and “The Six Million Dollar Man”. Moonves is the great-nephew of David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, and he is married to TV news personality Julie Chen.
AN_
ANN. Carol Ann Duffy is a poet and playwright from Scotland. Duffy is the current poet laureate in Britain and is the first Scot to hold the position as well as the first openly gay person to be so honored.
TE_
TED. Ted Sorensen was John F. Kennedy’s speech-writer, and he wrote a biography about the President called “Kennedy”. President Kennedy once referred to Sorensen as his ‘intellectual blood bank’.
_STI
ASTI. Asti is a sparkling white wine from the Piedmont region of Italy, and is named for the town of Asti around which the wine is produced. The wine used to be called Asti Spumante, and it had a very bad reputation as a ‘poor man’s champagne’. The ‘Spumante’ was dropped in a marketing attempt at rebranding associated with a reduction in the amount of residual sugar in the wine.
_RCA
ORCA. The taxonomic name for the killer whale is Orcinus orca. The use of the name “orca”, rather than “killer whale”, is becoming more and more common. The Latin word “Orcinus” means “belonging to Orcus”, with Orcus being the name for the Kingdom of the Dead.
_KE
IKE. Ike Taylor is a retired NFL cornerback who spent his entire professional career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Taylor took a job as an analyst with the NFL Network after he quit the game.
_BI
OBI. The sash worn as part of traditional Japanese dress is known as an obi. The obi can be tied in what is called a butterfly knot.
T_O
TAO. The Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.
A_A
ABA. The American Bar Association was founded back in 1878, and is a voluntary association for lawyers and law students. The main focus of the ABA is setting academic standards for law schools, and setting ethical codes for the profession.
_STI
ASTI. Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The region is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine.
OR_
ORR. Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn’t skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking …
_NCA
INCA. Machu Picchu is known as “The Lost City of the Incas”, and it can be visited on a mountain ridge in Peru, 50 miles northwest of the city of Cuzco in the southeast of the country. The name Machu Picchu means “old peak”.
C_I
CSI. I quite enjoy the ‘CSI’ franchise of television shows, except ‘CSI: Miami’. I find the lead character played by David Caruso to be extremely annoying. The show was cancelled in 2012. No loss …
ES_U
ESAU. The whole text of the Esau Wood tongue twister is (all together now!):
OB_
OBI. The sash worn as part of traditional Japanese dress is known as an obi. The obi can be tied in what is called a butterfly knot.
R_NE
RENE. René Lacoste was a French tennis player who went into the clothing business, and came up with a more comfortable shirt that players could use. This became known as a ‘tennis shirt’. When it was adopted for use in the sport of polo, the shirts also became known as ‘polo shirts’. And then the ‘golf shirt’ is basically the same thing.
I_TA
IOTA. Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use it to portray something very small, as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.
ES_U
ESAU. (31D. Biblical twin : JACOB)
_DE
ODE. Here’s the first verse of the poem ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ by John Keats:
_MO
EMO. The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. Not my cup of tea …
_DE
ODE. William Collins was an 18th-century English poet who is perhaps most famous for writing lyrical odes.
_AN
IAN. Ian Fleming is most famous for writing the ‘James Bond’ series of spy novels. You might also know that he wrote the children’s story ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’, which was made into a cute movie released in 1968 and even a stage musical that opened in 2002.
E_ON
ETON. Captain Hook is the bad guy in ‘Peter Pan’, the famous play by J. M. Barrie. Hook is Peter Pan’s sworn enemy, as Pan cut off Hook’s hand causing it to be replaced by a ‘hook’. It is implied in the play that Hook attended Eton College, just outside London. Hook’s last words are ‘Floreat Etona’, which is Eton College’s motto.
_MAN
OMAN. Oman is lies on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula, neighbored by the OAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The city of Muscat, with its strategic location, has a history of invasion and unrest. Centuries of occupation by the Persians ended in 1507 when the Portuguese took the city in a bloody attack. The Portuguese held Muscat for much of the next century until finally ousted by local Omani forces in 1648. A Yemeni tribe invaded the area in 1741 and set up a monarchy that has been in place ever since.
_OTA
IOTA. Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use it to portray something very small, as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.
E_K
ELK. Male elk are called bulls, and females are known as cows. Bull elk are known for their very loud screaming, which is called bugling. Cow elk are attracted to bulls that bugle more often and most loudly.
LE_
LES. Aix-les-Bains is an old Roman spa town in Eastern France.
C_A
CIA. Burn Notice” is an action drama TV series that originally aired from 2007 to 2013 on the USA Network. The show’s title refer to ‘burn notices’ issued by intelligence agencies, a document that discredits a source or agent that has become unreliable.
_ED
NED. Ned Stark is the protagonist in George R. R. Martin’s fantasy novel ‘A Game of Thrones’, although his character doesn’t exactly come out on top by the end of the story. Stark is played by actor Sean Bean in the HBO television adaptation of the novel.
_MAN
OMAN. Oman lies on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula and is neighbored by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The capital city of Muscat has a strategic location on the Gulf of Oman and has a history of invasion and unrest. Centuries of occupation by the Persians ended in 1507 when the Portuguese took the city in a bloody attack. The Portuguese held Muscat for much of the next one hundred years until finally ousted by local Omani forces in 1648. A Yemeni tribe invaded the area in 1741 and set up a monarchy that has been in place ever since.
LE_
LES. ‘Les États-Unis d’Amérique’ is what French speakers call ‘the United States of America’.
_ES
LES. The 1980 musical “Les Miserables” is an adaptation of the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. It opened in London in 1985, and is the longest running musical in the history of London’s West End. My wife and I saw “Les Miz” in the Queen’s Theatre in London quite a few years ago, but were only able to get tickets in the very back row. The theater seating is very steep, so the back row of the balcony is very high over the stage. One of the big events in the story is the building of a street barricade, over which the rebels fight. At the height we were seated we could see the stagehands behind the barricade, sitting drinking Coke, even having a cigarette. On cue they would get up and catch a dropped rifle, or an actor that had been shot. It was pretty comical. I didn’t really enjoy the show that much, to be honest. Some great songs, but the storyline just didn’t seem to hang together for me.
SO_
SOS. The singer Rihanna was born and grew up on the island of Barbados and moved to the US when she was 16-years-old to pursue a singing career.
EA_
EAU. (8. See 52-Across : SEINE)
IA_
IAN. I’ve always thought Ian Woosnam to be the most unlikely-looking of golfers. He is just over 5’ 4’ tall and yet is noted as a very powerful hitter of the ball. Woosnam is a Welshman, and was ranked the world’s number one golfer for most of 1991.
_STI
ASTI. Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. It is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine. Moscato d’Asti is produced from the same grape (Moscato Bianco) but is a much sweeter wine with a lower alcohol content. It is usually served as a dessert wine.
AL_
A LA. In French, “à la mode” simply means “fashionable”. In America, the term has also come to describe a way of serving pie, usually with ice cream, or as I recall from when I lived in Upstate New York, with cheese.
A_A
A LA. In French, “à la mode” simply means “fashionable”. In America, the term has come to describe a way of serving pie, usually with ice cream, or as I recall from when I lived in Upstate New York, with cheese.
ERI_
ERIC. Eric Church is a country singer/songwriter from Granite Falls, North Carolina. In fact, Church’s second album is called ‘Carolina’.
ERI_
ERIC. Can you believe that Eric Clapton only had one chart-topper in the US? In 1974 he released a cover version of the Bob Marley classic “I Shot the Sheriff”, and ended up selling more copies of that song than Bob Marley did himself.
_TARI
ATARI. At one point, the electronics and video game manufacturer Atari was the fastest growing company in US history. However, Atari never really recovered from the video game industry crash of 1983.
ETO_
ETON. John Maynard Keynes was a British economist. Keynes argued that a country’s economy could and should be managed by fiscal and monetary policy in order to mitigate the effects of inevitable recessions and depressions.
_EI
LEI. “Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment intended to be worn.
_SR
SSR. Estonia is one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs) and is located in Northern Europe on the Baltic Sea, due south of Finland. Estonia has been overrun and ruled by various empires over the centuries. The country did enjoy a few years of freedom at the beginning of the 20th century after a war of independence against the Russian Empire. However, Estonia was occupied again during WWII, first by the Russians and then by the Germans, and then reoccupied by the Soviets in 1944. Estonia has flourished as an independent country again since the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
ATA_I
ATARI. I remember being really addicted to the Atari video arcade game called ‘Asteroids’ back in the early eighties. Apparently I wasn’t the only one, as ‘Asteroids’ turned out to be Atari’s best selling game of all time.
OR_
ORR. Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn’t skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking …
AD_
ADA. I think the reference here is to the 1969 novel by Vladimir Nabokov. “Ada”. The story is about a man called Van Veen who, when 14 years old, meets for the first time his cousin, 11-year-old Ada. The two cousins eventually have an affair, only to discover later that they are in fact brother and sister.
NE_
NED. Ned Land was one of the protagonists in Jules Verne’s classic “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”. In the famous movie adaptation from 1955, Ned Land was played by Kirk Douglas.
_OL
AOL. Moviefone is a movie listing service, available by telephone in many parts of the country.
_SI
CSI. The ‘CSI’ franchise of TV shows has been tremendously successful, but seems to be winding down. ‘CSI: Miami’ (the ‘worst’ of the franchise, I think) was cancelled in 2012 after ten seasons. ‘CSI: NY’ (the ‘best’ of the franchise) was cancelled in 2013 after nine seasons. The original ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’, set in Las Vegas, is still going strong and has been doing so since 2000.
_BI
OBI. An obi is a sash worn in from dress in Japan, both by men and women, although there tend to be many different ornate versions for women.
_MO
EMO. The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. Not my cup of tea …
OMA_
OMAN. The Arabian Peninsula is shaped like a boot, with the Sultanate of Oman occupying the toe of that boot.
IN_A
INCA. The Inca Empire was known as the Tawantinsuyu, which translates as ‘land of the four quarters’. The Inca Empire was a federal organization having a central government that sat above four ‘suyu’ or ‘quarters’, four administrative regions.
EV_
EVA. Despite the English sounding name, Eva Green is a French actress. She played Bond girl Vesper Lynd in the 2006 movie “Casino Royale”, opposite Daniel Craig.
_BA
ABA. The American Bar Association was founded back in 1878, and is a voluntary association for lawyers and law students. The main focus of the ABA is setting academic standards for law schools, and setting ethical codes for the profession.
IR_
IRS. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was set up during the Civil War to raise money to cover war expenses. Prior to the introduction of income tax in 1862, the government was funded by levies on trade and property.
EV_
EVA. Eva Cassidy was a singer and guitarist who sang many genres of music including jazz, blues, gospel, country and pop. Cassidy was from the East Coast of the US, but was extremely popular in the UK and Ireland. Sadly, she passed away in 1996 when she was just 33 years old.
OR_
ORR. Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn’t skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking …
E_IC
ERIC. George Orwell was the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, the famous British author of the classics “Nineteen Eighty-Four” and “Animal Farm”.
_MO
EMO. The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. Not my cup of tea …
N_A
NSA. The National Security Agency (NSA) was set up in 1952 by President Truman, a replacement for the Armed Forces Security Agency that had existed in the Department of Defense since 1949. The NSA has always been clouded in secrecy and even the 1952 letter from President Truman that established the agency was kept under wraps from the public for over a generation. I really like the organization’s nickname … ‘No Such Agency’.
NE_O
NERO. The emperor Nero had quite the family life. When Nero was just 16-years-old he married his stepsister, Claudia Octavia. He also had his mother and step-brother executed.
O_I
OBI. An obi is a sash worn in some formal of dress in Japan, both by men and women, although the styles for women tend to be more ornate.
CI_
CIA. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the successor to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) formed during WWII. The CIA was chartered by the National Security Act of 1947.
_ES
LES. ‘Les Girls’ is a 1957 MGM musical that was scored by Cole Porter. Stars of the film are Gene Kelly and Mitzi Gaynor.
_RCA
ORCA. The taxonomic name for the killer whale is Orcinus orca. The use of the name “orca”, rather than “killer whale”, is becoming more and more common. The Latin word “Orcinus” means “belonging to Orcus”, with Orcus being the name for the Kingdom of the Dead.
_DA
ADA. “Ada” is a 1969 novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The story takes place in the 1800s on Antiterra, an Earth-like planet that has a history similar to ours but with interesting differences. For example, there is a United States, but the country covers all of North and South America. What we call eastern Canada is a French-speaking province called “Canady”, and western Canada is a Russian-speaking province called “Estody”. The storyline is about a man called Van Veen who, when 14 years old, meets for the first time his cousin, 11-year-old Ada. The two cousins eventually have an affair, only to discover later that they are in fact brother and sister.
AL_
A LA. In French, “à la mode” simply means “fashionable”. In America, the term has come to describe a way of serving pie, usually with ice cream, or as I recall from when I lived in Upstate New York, with cheese.
_EO
LEO. Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio is from Los Angeles, California. DiCaprio’s mother was visiting a museum in Italy when she was pregnant and felt the first kick of her unborn child. At the moment of that first kick, Mama DiCaprio was looking at a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, and so named her son Leonardo.
AO_
AOL. Founded as Quantum Computer Services in 1983 the company changed its name in 1989 to America Online. As America Online went international, the acronym AOL was used in order to shake off the “America-centric” sound to the name. During the heady days of AOL’s success the company could not keep up with the growing number of subscribers, so people trying to connect often encountered busy signals. That’s when users referred to AOL as “Always Off-Line”.
_ED
TED. ‘How I Met Your Mother’ is a sitcom that CBS has been airing since 2005. The main character is Ted Mosby, played by Josh Radnor. Mosby is also the narrator for the show looking back from the year 2030 (the live action is set in the present). As narrator, the older Mosby character is voiced by Bob Saget.
O_IS
OTIS. Jay-Z, as well as being a successful and very rich rap artist, is married to singer Beyonce.
OR_O
OREO. The Oreo cookie was introduced in 1912. The Oreo was intended to be a competitor to the very similar Hydrox cookie which had debuted four years earlier. The Oreo won the resulting battle on the grocery store shelves …
_KE
IKE. Mike and Ike is a brandname of fruit-flavored candy made by Just Born starting in 1940. Just Born launched quite a clever marketing campaign in 2012 asserting that Mike and Ike had ‘split up due to creative differences’. The campaign involved production of two different boxes for the candy showing one or the other name scratched out. Clever …
TE_
TED. The acronym TED stands for Technology Entertainment and Design. TED is a set of conferences held around the world by a non-profit group called the Sapling Foundation. The conference subjects are varied, and the meetings are often led by big names such as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bill Gates and Jane Goodall. The Sapling Foundation then makes recordings of the conferences available for free online with the intent of disseminating the ideas globally. These conferences are known as ‘TED talks’.
_BA
ABA. The American Bar Association (ABA) was founded back in 1878 and is a voluntary association for lawyers and law students. The ABA focuses on setting academic standards for law schools and setting ethical codes for the profession.
E_O
ELO. If you listen to the song “Rockaria” on the 1976 ELO album “A New World Record”, you’ll hear an “oops”. The introduction to the track features an opera singer who starts the vocals too early in the first take. The band decided to use that first take anyway, complete with the singer saying “oops”.
OR_O
OREO. The Oreo was the best-selling cookie in the 20th century, and almost 500 billion of them have been sold since they were introduced in 1912 by Nabisco. In those early days the creme filling was made with pork fat, but today vegetable oils are used instead. If you take a bite out of an Oreo sold outside of America you might notice a difference from the homegrown cookie, as coconut oil is added in the overseas version to give a different taste.
_NE
ONE. Area codes were introduced in the 1940s. Back then the ‘clicks’ one heard when dialling a number led to mechanical wear on various pieces of equipment. In order to minimize overall mechanical wear, areas with high call volumes were given the most efficient area codes (lowest number of clicks). That led to New York getting the area code 212, Los Angeles 213 and Chicago 313.
E_O
EMO. The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. Not my cup of tea …
AL_
A LA. On a restaurant menu items that are “à la carte” are priced and ordered separately, as opposed to “table d’hôte” (also called “prix fixe”) which is a fixed-price menu with limited choice.
EM_
EMO. The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. Not my cup of tea …
EM_
EMO. The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. Not my cup of tea …
_ED
TED. The acronym TED stands for Technology Entertainment and Design. TED is a set of conferences held around the world by a non-profit group called the Sapling Foundation. The conference subjects are varied, and the meetings are often led by big names such as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bill Gates and Jane Goodall. The Sapling Foundation then makes recordings of the conferences available for free online with the intent of disseminating the ideas globally. These conferences are known as ‘TED Talks’.
_SAU
ESAU. Esau, was the grandson of Abraham and the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When Esau was born to Isaac and Rebekah, the event was described, ‘Now the first came forth, red all over like a hairy garment’. Esau is portrayed later in life as being very different from his brother, as a hunter and someone who loves the outdoor life.
A_NE
ANNE. Anne Hutchinson arrived in Boston from England in 1634, along with her husband and ten surviving children (five others had died). Anne and her family became members of the Boston church, but soon her religious views diverged from the church leaders. She became a major contributor to the religious tension in the colony that became known as the Antinomian or Free Grace Controversy. The leader of the free grace movement was Puritan minister John Cotton, with Anne Hutchinson being his most charismatic preacher.
A_P
ASP. The asp is a venomous snake found in the Nile region of Africa. It is so venomous that the asp was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as a means of execution. Cleopatra observed such executions noting that the venom brought on sleepiness without any painful spasms. When the great queen opted to commit suicide, the asp was therefore her chosen method.
LE_
LEI. “Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.
AN_E
ANNE. Anne Rice is an American author of erotic and Gothic novels. She was born Howard Allen O’Brien (no wonder she changed her name!). Her series of novels “The Vampire Chronicles” centers on her character Lestat de Lioncourt, a French nobleman who was turned into a vampire in the 18th century. One of the stories, “Interview with the Vampire”, was adapted for the big screen in 1994 and features Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and others in a star-studded cast. Not my kind of movie though, as I don’t do vampires …
_AU
EAU. Back in 1709, an Italian perfume-maker moved to Cologne in Germany. There he invented a new fragrance that he named Eau de Cologne after his newly adopted hometown. The fragrance is still produced in Cologne, using a secret formulation. However, the terms Eau de Cologne and cologne, are now used generically.
AL_
A LA. On a restaurant menu, items that are “à la carte” are priced and ordered separately. A menu marked “table d’hôte” (also called “prix fixe”) is a fixed-price menu with limited choice.
REN_
RENE. The word “stethoscope” comes from the Greek word for “chest examination”. The stethoscope was invented back in 1816 in France by René Laennec, although back then it looked just like an ear trumpet, a wooden tube with flared ends.
OT_S
OTIS. Lex Luthor is the arch-nemesis of Superman in comics. Luthor has been portrayed in a number of guises in the comic world as well in movies and on the small screen. For example, he appeared as Atom Man in the 1950 film series “Atom Man vs. Superman”, and was played by actor Lyle Talbot, opposite Kirk Alyn’s Superman.
L_I
LEI. “Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.
I_TA
IOTA. Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.
E_ON
ETON. The world-famous Eton College is just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for producing many British leaders including David Cameron who took power in the last UK general election. The list of Old Etonians also includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington, George Orwell, and the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming (as well as 007 himself as described in the Fleming novels).
_OS
SOS. The combination of three dots - three dashes - three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots - pause - three dashes - pause - three dots), although in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so SOS is in effect only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are also mnemonics, introduced after the “SOS” signal was adopted.
L_O
LEO. Leo Kottke is an acoustic guitarist. He had to move away from his signature, aggressive picking style in the early eighties as the repetitive motions caused severe tendinitis and nerve damage. But, he is still playing …
_RR
ORR. Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn’t skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking …
_MA
UMA. Robert Thurman was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name “Dbuma”.
O_CA
ORCA. The taxonomic name for the killer whale is Orcinus orca. The use of the name “orca”, rather than “killer whale”, is becoming more and more common. The Latin word “Orcinus” means “belonging to Orcus”, with Orcus being the name for the Kingdom of the Dead.
_RR
ORR. Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn’t skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking …
RH_
RHO. Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”.
O_EO
OREO. The Oreo cookie was the biggest seller in the 20th century, and almost 500 billion of them have been produced since they were introduced in 1912 by Nabisco. In those early days the creme filling was made with pork fat, but today vegetable oils are used instead. If you take a bite out of an Oreo sold outside of America you might notice a difference from the homegrown cookie, as coconut oil is added to give a different taste.
_DE
ODE. A Horatian Ode is an ode with a specific structure, designed to resemble the odes of the Roman poet, Horace.
ET_N
ETON. The world-famous Eton College is just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for producing many British leaders including David Cameron who took power in the last UK general election. The list of Old Etonians also includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington, George Orwell, and the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming (as well as 007 himself as described in the Fleming novels).
IK_
IKE. ‘I Like Ike’ was a political slogan that originated with the grassroots movement to get Dwight D. Eisenhower to run for president in the 1952 presidential election.
L_I
LEI. “Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.
O_IS
OTIS. Elevators (simple hoists) have been around for a long time. What Elisha Otis did was come up with the “safety elevator”, a design that he showcased at the 1853 World’s Fair in New York. At the Fair, Otis would stand on an elevated platform in front of onlookers and order his assistant to cut the single rope holding up the platform. His safety system kicked in when the platform had only fallen a few inches, amazing the crowd. After this demonstration, the orders came rolling in.
AB_
ABA. The American Bar Association.
_IA
CIA. Argo’ is a 2012 movie that is based on the true story of the rescue of six diplomats hiding out during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. The film was directed by and stars Ben Affleck and is produced by Grant Heslov and George Clooney, the same pair who produced the excellent ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’. I saw ‘Argo’ recently and recommend it highly, although I found the scenes of religious fervor pretty frightening …
I_E
IKE. The Eisenhower dollar was issued from 1971 to 1978. It commemorated the life of President Dwight D. Eisenhower who passed away in 1969. 1969 was also the year of the Apollo moon landing, so the mission insignia appears on the reverse of the coin.
AB_
ABA. The Virginia Squires were a team in the American Basketball Association (ABA), a team that fell through the cracks during the ABA-NBA merger and was shut down. The Squires had been founded as the Oakland Oaks in 1967, and were partly owned by singer Pat Boone.
_EO
LEO. Leo is the fifth astrological sign of the Zodiac. People born from July 13 to August 23 are Leos.
_ED
TED. ‘Ted’ is a movie written, directed, produced and starring Seth MacFarlane. In the story, MacFarlane voices a teddy bear who is the best friend of a character played by Mark Wahlberg.
_LA
A LA. A dish served “à la diable” is relatively hot and spicy, with the meat coated in mustard and hot pepper. The term “à la diable” translates from French as ‘in the style of the devil’.
O_CA
ORCA. ‘Jaws’ is a thrilling 1975 movie directed by Steven Spielberg that is based on a novel of the same name by Peter Benchley. The film has a powerful cast, led by Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw. ‘Jaws’ was perhaps the first ‘summer blockbuster’ with the highest box office take in history, a record that stood until ‘Star Wars’ was released two years later.
IOT_
IOTA. Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small, as iota is the smallest of all Greek letters.
I_E
IKE. ‘I Like Ike’ was a political slogan that originated with the grassroots movement to get Dwight D. Eisenhower to run for president in the 1952 presidential election.
ORE_
OREO. The McFlurry is the ice cream dessert from McDonald’s. Cleverly, a McFlurry is mixed on a machine with the mixing blade then doubling as a spoon with which one eats it.
_TNA
ETNA. Mt. Etna is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy. Mt Etna is about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt. Vesuvius.
_OTA
IOTA. Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.
_STI
ASTI. Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The region is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine.
A_NE
ANNE. Anne Boleyn was the second wife of Henry VIII of England. Anne was found guilty of high treason after about a thousand days of marriage to Henry, accused of adultery and incest (probably trumped-up charges). She was executed, but perhaps her legacy lived on in her only child, as her daughter reigned for 45 very prosperous years as Queen Elizabeth I.
SS_
SSN. Social Security Number (SSN)
_AO
TAO. The Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.
AS_
ASP. The asp is a venomous snake found in the Nile region of Africa. It is so venomous that the asp was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as a means of execution. Cleopatra observed such executions noting that the venom brought on sleepiness without any painful spasms. When the great queen opted to commit suicide, the asp was therefore her chosen method.
_ES
LES. ‘Les États-Unis d’Amérique’ is what French speakers call ‘the United States of America’.
I_E
IKE. There doesn’t seem to be any good reason why President Eisenhower was called “Ike”. However, it is known that the nickname dates back to his childhood as his parents called him “Ike” as well as ‘Dwight’.
_IA
CIA. “The Bourne Identity” is a great spy novel written by Robert Ludlum, and first published in 1980. It has been ranked as the second best spy novel of all time, just behind the even more enjoyable “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” by John le Carre. I’ll agree with that sentiment. Ludlum wrote two sequels, and all three parts of the Bourne Trilogy have been made into very successful movies now, starring Matt Damon in the title role. Ludlum died before he could write more than three novels featuring Jason Bourne, but five more titles in the series have been published, written by Eric Van Lustbader. I must check them out …
_EL
EEL. Eel pie is a traditional dish associated with the working classes in London, England especially during the Victorian era. Eel was chosen as an ingredient as it was one of the few fish that could live in the polluted River Thames.
N_RO
NERO. “I, Claudius” is a 1934 novel written by Robert Graves, written in the form of an autobiography of Emperor Claudius of Rome. He wrote a sequel in 1935, “Claudius the God”. Both books were adapted by the BBC into a fabulous series that went by the name “I, Claudius”.
_OS
SOS. The combination of three dots - three dashes - three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots - pause - three dashes - pause - three dots), although in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so SOS is in effect only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are also mnemonics, introduced after the “SOS” signal was adopted.
NE_
NED. Ned Flanders lives next door to Homer on TV’s “The Simpsons”. Ned is voiced by actor Harry Shearer and has been around since the very first episode aired in 1989.
SO_
SOS. The combination of three dots - three dashes - three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots - pause - three dashes - pause - three dots), although in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so SOS is in effect only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are simply mnemonics, introduced after the SOS signal was adopted.
ET_N
ETON. The world-famous Eton College is just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for producing many British leaders, including David Cameron who took power in the recent UK general election. The list of Old Etonians also includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington, George Orwell, and the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming.
NE_O
NERO. The Roman emperor Nero had quite the family life. When Nero was just 16-years-old he married his stepsister, Claudia Octavia. He also had his mother and step-brother executed.
_SN
SSN. Social Security number (SSN)
ET_A
ETNA. Mt. Etna is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy, about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt Vesuvius.
_ERO
NERO. Seneca the Younger was a playwright as well as a tutor and advisor to the Emperor Nero of Ancient Rome. Although maybe innocent, Seneca was forced to commit suicide by Nero as it was alleged that Seneca participated in a plot to kill the emperor. To kill himself, Seneca cut into a number of veins in order to bleed to death.
EV_
EVA. Eva is the second largest airline based in Taiwan, after China Airlines.
I_N
IAN. Ian Frazier is a writer and humorist for ‘The New Yorker’. Frazier also wrote two respected travel books: ‘Great Plains’ and ‘Travels in Siberia’.
O_CA
ORCA. The taxonomic name for the killer whale is Orcinus orca. The use of the name ‘orca’, rather than ‘killer whale’, is becoming more and more common. The Latin word ‘Orcinus’ means ‘belonging to Orcus’, with Orcus being the name for the Kingdom of the Dead.
_LK
ELK. The elk (also known as the wapiti) is the one of the largest species of deer in the world, with only the moose being bigger. Early European settlers were familiar with the smaller red deer back in their homelands, so when they saw the “huge” wapiti they assumed it was a moose, and incorrectly gave it the European name for a moose, namely “elk”. The more correct name for the beast is “wapiti”, which means “white rump” in Shawnee. It’s all very confusing …
O_EO
OREO. The Oreo cookie was introduced in 1912. The Oreo was intended to be a competitor to the very similar Hydrox cookie which had debuted four years earlier. The Oreo won the resulting battle on the grocery store shelves …
I_N
IAN. Ian Fleming is most famous of course for writing the “James Bond” series of spy novels. You might also know that he wrote the children’s story “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, made into a cute movie released in 1968, and even a stage musical that opened in 2002.
_NN
ANN. Cape Ann is 30 miles north of Boston and is on the northernmost edge of Massachusetts Bay. The Cape was first mapped by the explorer John Smith. Early in his adventurous life Smith had been captured and enslaved by the Ottoman Empire. His “owner” in his days of slavery was a woman called Tragabigzanda, and apparently the slave and owner fell in love. Smith originally called Cape Tragabigzanda in her memory, but King Charles I changed the name to Cape Ann in honor of his own mother, Anne of Denmark.
ATAR_
ATARI. At one point, the electronics and video game manufacturer Atari was the fastest growing company in US history. However, Atari never really recovered from the video game industry crash of 1983.
_EO
LEO. Leo is the fifth astrological sign of the Zodiac. People born from July 23 to August 22 are Leos.
AS_I
ASTI. Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The region is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine.
L_I
LEI. “Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.
S_S
SOS. The combination of three dots - three dashes - three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots - pause - three dashes - pause - three dots), although in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so SOS is in effect only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are also mnemonics, introduced after the “SOS” signal was adopted.
_TON
ETON. The world-famous Eton College is just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for producing many British leaders including David Cameron who took power in the last UK general election. The list of Old Etonians also includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington, George Orwell, and the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming (as well as 007 himself as described in the Fleming novels).
ORE_
OREO. Apparently Oreo Ice Cream flavors were introduced relatively recently, in 2010.
N_RO
NERO. The Roman emperor Nero had quite the family life. When Nero was just 16-years-old he married his stepsister, Claudia Octavia. He also had his mother and step-brother executed.
LE_
LEI. “Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.
A_A
A LA. The phrase ‘in the style of’ can be translated in ‘alla’ in Italian and ‘à la’ in French.
E_K
ELK. The elk (also known as the wapiti) is the one of the largest species of deer in the world, with only the moose being bigger. Early European settlers were familiar with the smaller red deer back in their homelands, so when they saw the “huge” wapiti they assumed it was a moose, and incorrectly gave it the European name for a moose, namely “elk”. The more correct name for the beast is “wapiti”, which means “white rump” in Shawnee. It’s all very confusing …
_BI
OBI. The sash worn as part of traditional Japanese dress is known as an obi. The obi can be tied in what is called a butterfly knot.
R_NE
RENE. René Clément was a director and screenwriter from France. Clément won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film on two occasions: ‘The Walls of Malapaga’ (1949) and ‘Forbidden Games’ (1952).
_BI
OBI. Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the more beloved of the ‘Star Wars’ characters. Kenobi was portrayed by two fabulous actors in the series of films. As a young man he is played by Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, and as an older man he is played by Alec Guinness.
I_S
IRS. The Chicago gangster Al Capone was eventually jailed for tax evasion. He was given a record 11-year sentence in federal prison, of which he served 8 years. He left prison suffering dementia caused by late-stage syphilis. Capone suffered through 7-8 sickly years before passing away in 1947.
_LK
ELK. Ruminants are animals that ‘chew the cud’. Ruminants eat vegetable matter but cannot extract any nutritional value from cellulose without the help of microbes in the gut. Ruminants collect roughage in the first part of the alimentary canal, allowing microbes to work on it. The partially digested material (the cud) is regurgitated into the mouth so that the ruminant can chew the food more completely exposing more surface area for microbes to do their work.
A_A
ADA. Fluoridation is the addition of a fluoride salt to the public drinking water system, a measure taken to reduce tooth decay. What I find interesting is that bottled water usually has no added fluoride, and most domestic water filters remove the fluoride from the water coming out of the faucet.
CS_
CSI. The TV show “CSI” gets a lot of criticism from law enforcement agencies for its unrealistic portrayal of the procedures and science of criminal investigation. I don’t care though, as I just think it’s a fun show to watch. The original CSI set in Las Vegas seems to have “gone off the boil” lately, but the addition of Sela Ward to the cast of CSI: NY has really, really raised the level of the sister show set in New York City.
_RS
IRS. April 15th wasn’t always Tax Day in the US. The deadline for returns was March 1st from 1913-18, when it was moved to March 15th. Tax Day has been April 15th since 1955.
LE_
LES. The 1980 musical “Les Misérables” is an adaptation of the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The show opened in London in 1985, and is the longest running musical in the history of London’s West End. My wife and I saw “Les Miz” in the Queen’s Theatre in London quite a few years ago, but were only able to get tickets in the very back row. The old theater’s seating is very steep, so the back row of the balcony is extremely high over the stage. One of the big events in the storyline is the building of a street barricade over which the rebels fight. At the height we were seated we could see the stagehands behind the barricade, sitting drinking Coke, even smoking cigarettes. On cue, the stagehands would get up and catch a dropped rifle, or an actor that had been shot. It was pretty comical. I didn’t really enjoy the show that much, to be honest. Some great songs, but the musical version of the storyline just didn’t seem to hang together for me.
ATA_I
ATARI. At one point, the electronics and video game manufacturer Atari was the fastest growing company in US history. However, Atari never really recovered from the video game industry crash of 1983.
I_N
IAN. Ian Harding is an actor best known for playing Ezra Fitz in the teen drama TV series ‘Pretty Little Liars’.
_RCA
ORCA. “Blackfish” is a 2013 documentary film that examines the dangers of keeping orca in captivity.’Star’ of the movie is a killer whale (orca) called Tilikum who was responsible in whole or in part for the deaths of three people. Tilikum was captured in 1983 and has been a ‘guest’ of SeaWorld since 1992. Most recently, Tilikum killed a 40-year old trainer called Dawn Brancheau in 2010.
UM_
UMA. Uma Thurman’s father, Robert Thurman, was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name “Dbuma”.
ESA_
ESAU. Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).
E_O
EMO. The musical genre of ‘emo’ originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from ‘emotional hardcore’. ‘Emo’ is also the name given to the associated subculture. Not my cup of tea …
ATA_I
ATARI. At one point, the electronics and video game manufacturer Atari was the fastest growing company in US history. However, Atari never really recovered from the video game industry crash of 1983.
EM_
EMO. Emo originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. Not my cup of tea …
OMA_
OMAN. Oman lies on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula and is neighbored by the OAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Oman is a monarchy, and the official name of the state is the Sultanate of Oman. All of the country’s legislative, executive and judiciary power resides with the hereditary sultan.
A_L
AOL. Patch Media (owned by AOL) is the company that operates the website Patch.com, which uses a concept the company calls ‘hyperlocal journalism’. Patch.com employs a network of local community news editors that manage local community news websites. There are over 500 such websites live on Patch.com today.
L_O
LEO. Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio is from Los Angeles, California. DiCaprio’s mother was visiting a museum in Italy when she was pregnant and felt the first kick of her unborn child. At the moment of that first kick, Mama DiCaprio was looking at a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, and so named her son Leonardo.
A_L
AOL. Jerry Yang and David Filo called their company Yahoo! for two reasons. Firstly, a Yahoo is a rude, unsophisticated brute from Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”. Secondly, Yahoo stands for “Yet another Hierarchical Officious Oracle”.
ETO_
ETON. The world-famous Eton College is just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for producing many British leaders, including David Cameron who took power in the recent UK general election. The list of Old Etonians also includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington, George Orwell, and the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming.
_SN
SSN. The main purpose of a Social Security Number is to track individuals for the purposes of taxation, although to me, it is looking more and more like an “identity number” these days. The numbering system was introduced in 1936. Before 1986, a SSN was required only for persons with substantial income, so many children under 14 had no number assigned. There was concern that a lot of people were claiming children as dependents on their tax forms who did not actually exist, so from 1986 onwards it was a requirement to get a SSN for any dependents over the age of 5 years. Sure enough, in the following year’s tax returns, seven million dependents “disappeared”.
AN_
ANN. Lee Ann Womack is a country music singer and songwriter from Jacksonville, Texas.
L_I
LEI. “Lei” is the Hawaiian word for ‘garland, wreath’, although in more general terms a ‘lei’ is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.
L_S
LES. ‘Les’ is French for ‘the’, and is used with a plural noun.
