“The audience in a Broadway show can be intoxicating, and it’s like a litmus test [ˈlɪt.məs tɛst].. If a joke doesn’t land one night, you tell it differently the next night. It’s terrifying, on set, to have no idea if something is working.” — Erika Henningsen, quoted in The Hollywood Reporter, 1 May 2025litmus test
noun [ˈlɪt.məs tɛst].
A litmus test is something (such as an opinion about a political or moral issue) that is used to make a judgment about whether someone or something is acceptable.
It was in the 14th century that scientists discovered that litmus, a mixture of colored organic compounds obtained from lichen, turns red in acid solutions and blue in alkaline solutions and, thus, can be used as an acid-base indicator... English Jun 21, 2025, 7:06 AM cowpoke
"It's such a canard [kəˈnɑrd] to think young people don't care about great information. They do. ... [W]e have to start thinking, as media, of where they’re getting it." — Kara Swisher, quoted at The Atlantic, 29 Feb. 2024canard [kəˈnɑrd]
noun
Canard refers to a false report or story, or to a belief or rumor that isn't true. It can also refer to a kind of airplane as well as to a kind of small airfoil.
In 16th-century France, vendre des canards à moitié was a colorful way of saying "to fool" or "to cheat." ... the expression led to the use of canard, the French word for "duck," to refer to a hoax or fabrication. English Feb 5, 2025, 3:25 AM cowpoke
The player was kicked off the team for lollygagging [ˈlɑliˌɡæɡ] during practice.lollygag [ˈlɑliˌɡæɡ]
verb
To lollygag is to spend time doing things that are not useful or serious, or in other words, to fool around and waste time.
Lollygag (sometimes spelled lallygag) has been used informally to talk about acts of wasting time since at least the mid-19th century. Some might relate to this 1856 quote from The North Californian: “Oh, for a lodge on some vast iceberg, or a chance to lallygag amid piles of snow English Aug 28, 2024, 3:56 AM cowpoke
“While the King welcomes any sort of contact, technology cannot compensate for the loss of propinquity [prəˈpɪŋkwɪti]. The King feels the lack of closeness with his California grandchildren acutely.” — Michael Cole quoted in the Daily Mail (UK), 10 June 2024propinquity [prəˈpɪŋkwɪti]
noun
Propinquity is a formal word that typically refers to nearness in place or time, making it a synonym of proximity. It can also be used as a synonym of kinship to refer to the state of being related to others by blood.
Propinquity was all about kinship when it entered English in the 14th century via an expansion in Latin of prope to propinquus, meaning “near, akin.” English Aug 27, 2024, 3:37 AM cowpoke
QUOTE OF THE DAY本日の名言 Sep 20, 2022, 3:51 PM LeoNag85
