October 29, 2023
Synonym for a sycophant, toady is a shortening of toadeater. Toadeaters were once assistants to traveling charlatans selling cure-all elixirs. They would eat a poisonous toad (or pretend to), then be healed by the āmedicineā for sale.
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The Bizarre Origins of the Words Nerd and Geek
Nerd and geek have similar etymologies, with neither originally having much positive association. According to Benjamin Nugent, author of American Nerd: The Story of My People, the word nerd first appeared in the Dr. Seuss book If I Ran the Zoo, in which one of the zoo creatures, an angry little
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Oct 28
What historical figure claimed to have defeated the ocean? -
Oct 27
The continental U.S.ās high point and low point have what geographical quirk? -
Oct 26
What major sporting event has a curfew? -
Oct 25
A third of what country couldnāt speak its official language in the 1700s? -
Oct 24
Whose Walk of Fame star is on a wall, not the sidewalk? -
Oct 23
Why is a state in Paraguay named for Rutherford Hayes? -
Oct 22
What famously deadly animal isnāt so deadly after all? -
Oct 21
What sport is played in the Supreme Court building? -
Oct 20
Why were beavers parachuted into Idaho? -
Oct 19
How can a burglar break into a house using a photo?