Word of the day April 1–13, 2021

1. (transitive) To make (something) vague or more vague; to blur, to obscure.
2. (intransitive) To become (more) vague; to blur.

The Irish author, playwright, and theatre director Samuel Beckett, who coined the word, was born on this day 115 years ago in 1906.

1. (intransitive, idiomatic, originally aeronautics) To go beyond established limits; to pioneer.

Today is the International Day of Human Space Flight, which is recognized by the United Nations to celebrate the start of the space era, to reaffirm space science and technology’s contributions towards achieving sustainable development goals, and to emphasize the need to maintain outer space for peaceful purposes. It commemorates the first human space flight by the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, which took place on this day 60 years ago in 1961.

1. (US, humorous) Used to report that a (major) problem has occurred.

NASA’s Apollo 13 mission to the Moon launched on this day in 1970, but was aborted after an oxygen tank triggered an explosion. The spacecraft returned safely to Earth on April 17.

1. present participle of exonerate (“(archaic) to relieve (someone or something) of a load; to unburden (a load); (obsolete, reflexive) of a body of water: to discharge or empty (itself); to free (someone) from an obligation, responsibility or task; to free (someone) from accusation or blame.”)

Generation X proper n (originally Canada, US)

1. (originally) A generation of people whose future is uncertain; a lost generation.
2. (specifically) The generation of people born after the baby boom that followed World War II, especially those born from the mid 1960s to early 1980s, sometimes characterized as cynical, disaffected, lacking direction in life, and unwilling to take part fully in society.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring a series of anagrams. Enjoy!

1. (mathematics) A logarithmic line on a Gunter's scale, which is used to perform the multiplication and division of numbers mechanically with only dividers.

telenursing n

1. (medicine) The use of telecommunication technology to provide nursing services, including consulting with patients and receiving health data from them.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring a series of anagrams. Enjoy!

1. (transitive) To magnify the greatness of (someone or something); to exalt.
2. (intransitive) To act grandly.

[...]

1. (intransitive, rare) To work on one's magnum opus (“great or important work of art, literature, or music, a masterpiece; best, most popular, or most renowned achievement of an artist or author, representing their major life effort”).

pomegranate n

1. The fruit of the Punica granatum, about the size of an orange with a thick, hard, reddish skin enclosing many seeds, each with an edible pink or red pulp tasting both sweet and tart.
2. The shrub or small tree that bears the fruit.
3. A dark red or orange-red colour, like that of the pulp or skin of a pomegranate fruit.

   pomegranate:    

4. (Australia, colloquial, derogatory, obsolete) A person of British descent, especially one who has (recently) immigrated to Australia; a pom, a pommy.

pomegranate adj

1. Of a colour like that of the pulp or skin of a pomegranate fruit; dark red or orange-red.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring a series of anagrams. Enjoy!

1. (politics) The co-opting and corruption of foreign business or political figures by hostile regimes.

The former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, after whom this word was coined, was born on this day in 1944.

1. (formal, rare or obsolete) A question which cannot properly be given a one-word answer like “yes” or “no”.

pernoctation n (formal)

1. (uncountable) The action of abiding through the night at a location; (countable) an instance of this; an overnight stay.
2. (uncountable) The action of walking about at night, especially as a vigil or watch; (countable) an instance of this.
3. (countable, religion, chiefly Christianity, obsolete) A religious watch kept during normal sleeping hours, during which prayers or other ceremonies are performed; a vigil.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring a series of anagrams. Enjoy!

1. (US military) The widow of a member of the United States armed forces who was killed in action.

Today is Gold Star Wives or Gold Star Spouses Day in the United States, which recognizes the sacrifices made by the spouses of U.S. armed forces members who have fallen in the line of duty.

1. (Christianity)
   1. A Christian feast commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, celebrated on the first Sunday (and Monday) following the full moon that occurs on or next after the vernal equinox, ranging in most of Western Christianity (such as Protestantism and Roman Catholicism) from March 22 to April 25, and in Eastern Christianity (such as the Coptic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church) from April 4 to May 8.
   2. Eastertide (“the period from Easter to Whitsun”).
   3. (specifically, Roman Catholicism, dated, now chiefly figuratively) Usually preceded by an inflection of make: the act of receiving the Eucharist during Easter.
2. (education, law) Short for Easter term (“the summer term of the University of Cambridge, and other educational institutions, running from April to June; the third term of the legal year, running from April to May, during which the upper courts of England and Wales, and Ireland, sit to hear cases”).
3. (paganism) A festival held in honour of the goddess Eostre or Ostara, celebrated at the vernal equinox or within the month of April; Eostre, Ostara.
4. (obsolete) The Jewish Passover.

[...]

Easter v

1. (intransitive) To celebrate Easter.
2. (intransitive) To spend the Easter season in some place.

saeter n

1. A Scandinavian mountainside meadow used during the summer for grazing milking cows or goats.
2. A barn, cabin, dairy, or farm located in such a meadow.
3. (Orkney, Shetland) A meadow, especially one used for grazing that is attached to a dwelling.

Today is Easter Sunday in Western Christianity in 2021. Also, to celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring a series of anagrams. Enjoy!

1. (Christianity, philosophy) An attempt, or an argument attempting, to justify that human beings are fundamentally good despite the commission of evil acts by some people.

corytophanid n

1. (herpetology (saurology)) Any lizard in the family Corytophanidae; a casquehead or helmeted lizard.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring a series of anagrams. Enjoy!

1. (zoology) Crawling, creeping.

proletariat n

1. (often derogatory, also figuratively) The lowest class of society; also, the lower classes of society generally; the masses.
2. (Marxism) Wage earners collectively, excluding salaried workers; people who own no capital and depend on their labour for survival; the working class, especially when seen as engaged in a class struggle with the bourgeoisie (“the capital-owning class”).
3. (chiefly Ancient Rome, historical) The lowest class of citizens, who had no property and few rights, and were regarded as contributing only their offspring to the state.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring a series of anagrams. Enjoy!

1. (cycling, originally Netherlands) A bicycle or tricycle with a long wheelbase between the front wheel and handlebars holding a large box, originally used to transport goods but now more commonly for carrying young children.

fat bikes n

1. (cycling, winter sports) plural of fat bike (“a bicycle equipped with larger than normal tyres and a wider frame to accommodate them, which provides better traction on off-road surfaces such as sand or snow”)

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring a series of anagrams. Enjoy!