Posts tagged as:

Red Sox

APROPOS [ap-ruh-POH]: fitting, appropropriate, related to

April 24, 2013

The word apropos has a special meaning.   It refers to something as being fitting (unlike the suit in the picture to the right!) and appropriate.  It is a 17th century French word meaning “to the purpose.”  That is to say, it identifies some object, thought, or image as being designed or articulated in a way [...]

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RIBALD [RIB-uhld] : to use coarse language, foul-mouthed

April 23, 2013

The internet is ablaze with the video of the first-day-on-the-job (and last!) news anchor at a Dakota tv station who didn’t know the mike was on yet and let loose with a pretty graphic comment.  Yes, he was fired after his first day. David (Papi)  Ortiz, beloved Designated Hitter for the Red Sox, added an [...]

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MARCH: the third month of the year; the end of winter; the beginning of early spring

March 1, 2013

This morning I pulled the pin from the wall, flipped the calendar page from February to March, and settled back into my chair to celebrate the beginning of “early spring” in Providence.   Last Sunday we stopped outside the entrance to our parish church where there had been two feet of snow just two weeks ago.  [...]

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WELL, HERE IT IS, POSTING NUMBER 1,000. Remember that if you comment on this posting, your name will be put into a hat and one name will be selected to win a Starbucks gift card!

August 29, 2012

______________________________________________________________________   Clearing the Air   In reading over the past 999 posts it occurs to me that I have skirted the issue on some posts, trying not to upset people I know would disagree with me.   It’s been convenient to use euphemisms from time to time to avoid outright disagreement with people.   Reading over [...]

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GAFFE: a public statement the speaker wishes had been ignored

June 28, 2012

It seems to be happening more in this election season than I can remember from previous ones.  Almost every day there is a report of a gaffe on the part of a candidate.   Some late-night entertainers have even started a daily spot of the “Gaffe of the Day.” It might seem as if it happens [...]

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CAROM: to bounce off the wall

June 27, 2012

I watch nearly every Boston Red Sox game which is televised.  The announcers, Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy, have become my best friends for the summer.   When I have to listen to the game on the radio in the car at times, it just isn’t the same.   Their humor, inflection, jousting, and commentary is unique. [...]

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TEAM TRAVAIL: when everything starts to go wrong

April 22, 2012

After wearing my socks for a day I know they are smelly and in need of laundering.  It’s not a matter of choice.  It’s a matter of necessity.   If I fail to maintain that protocol people will begin to notice the odor and avoid me. That’s a rather harsh and crude way of saying that [...]

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TEEMING: swarming, overflowing

January 6, 2012

There’s a huge difference between the meaning of the words crowded and teeming.   It has to do with the feeling of the situation. A funeral home may be crowded with mourners or a bus stop may be crowded with commuters.  It means that there is a large group of people in a place that may [...]

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HIRSUTE: to be covered with hair

September 2, 2011

Beards, mustaches, and other facial hair manifestations have been in and out of fashion for as long as I can remember.  I would have said that it was the current fashion, but I read in the news the other day that the facial hair phenomenon is fading.  I haven’t seen signs of it myself. The [...]

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LENTEN JOY: an oxymoron

March 13, 2011

Lent, the period of weeks preceding Easter,  is normally characterized as a time of introspection, sacrifice, and engaging in solemn practices of devotion.  Christians are encouraged to remove the frills  from their lives and to practice a more “stripped down” period of life during which they can focus on their spiritual lives without distraction.   It’s [...]

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