if anything , adv :
(idiomatic) Used after a negative statement to suggest the opposite is true. (idiomatic) Used to suggest or state tentatively that something may be the case (often the opposite of something previously implied). (idiomatic) Used in questions when the speaker does not know for sure if the listener will have an answer.
Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/01/if-anything-word-of-day-for-january-28.html
The Wikipedia article of the day for January 27, 2018 is Finnish Civil War.
The Finnish Civil War (27 January – 15 May 1918) marked the transition from the Grand Duchy of Finland, part of the Russian Empire, to an independent state. Arising during World War I, it was fought between the Reds, led by the Social Democratic Party, and the Whites, led by the conservative Senate. In February 1918, the Reds carried out an unsuccessful offensive, supplied with weapons by Soviet Russia. A counteroffensive by the Whites began in March, reinforced by the German Empire’s military detachments in April. The decisive engagements were the battles of Tampere and Vyborg, won by the Whites, and the battles of Helsinki and Lahti, won by German troops, leading to overall victory for the Whites and the German forces. The 39,000 casualties included political terror deaths. Although the Senate and Parliament were initially pressured into accepting the brother-in-law of German Emperor William II as the King of Finland, the country emerged within a few months as an independent, democratic republic. The war would divide the nation for decades.
Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/01/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-january-27.html
community , n :
(countable) A group sharing a common understanding, and often the same language, law, manners, and/or tradition. (countable) A residential or religious collective; a commune. (countable, ecology) A group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other. (countable, Internet) A group of people interacting by electronic means for educational, professional, social, or other purposes; a virtual community. (uncountable) The condition of having certain attitudes and interests in common.
Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/01/community-word-of-day-for-january-27.html
drop bear , n :
(cryptozoology) A fictional Australian marsupial in the form of a large, carnivorous koala said to fall upon its prey from treetops. Happy Australia Day from all of us at the Wiktionary!
Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/01/drop-bear-word-of-day-for-january-26.html
The Wikipedia article of the day for January 26, 2018 is Australian Defence Force.
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) comprises all of the country’s armed forces, including the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, and Royal Australian Air Force. With a strength of just under 80,000 full-time personnel and active reservists, it is supported by the Department of Defence and other civilian agencies. During the first decades of the 20th century, the Australian Government established the armed services as separate organisations, each with an independent chain of command. In 1976, the government made a strategic change and established the ADF to place the three services under a single headquarters. The degree of integration has increased over time, and tri-service headquarters, logistics and training institutions have supplanted many single-service establishments. Technologically sophisticated, the ADF is the largest military in Oceania, with approximately 58,000 full-time active-duty personnel and 22,000 active reservists. It is smaller than many Asian militaries, but is supported by a significant budget by worldwide standards and can deploy forces in multiple locations outside Australia.
Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/01/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-january-26.html
The Wikipedia article of the day for January 25, 2018 is Lycoperdon perlatum.
Lycoperdon perlatum, the common puffball, is a widespread species of fungus in the family Agaricaceae. It forms an off-white medium-sized puffball tapering to a wide stalk, 1.5 to 6 cm (0.6 to 2.4 in) wide by 3 to 10 cm (1.2 to 3.9 in) tall. Its top is covered in short spiny bumps that are easily rubbed off to leave a net-like pattern on the surface. When mature it becomes brown, and a hole in the top opens to release spores in a burst when the body is compressed by touch or falling raindrops. It is edible when the young internal flesh is completely white, but can be mistaken for an immature fruit body of several poisonous Amanita species. L. perlatum can usually be distinguished from similar puffballs by differences in surface texture. Its chemical compounds include the unusual amino acid lycoperdic acid and volatile sterol derivatives that give the puffball its flavor and odor. Laboratory tests indicate that extracts of the puffball have antimicrobial and antifungal activities.
Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/01/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-january-25.html
haggis , n :
A traditional Scottish dish made from minced sheep offal with oatmeal and spices, etc., originally boiled in the stomach of a sheep but now often in an artificial casing, and usually served with neeps and tatties (mashed swede and potatoes) and accompanied with whisky. Burns night is held on this date in celebration of the Scottish poet and lyricist Robert Burns (born on 25 January 1759), and usually involves Scottish foods and recitals of his poetry.
Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/01/haggis-word-of-day-for-january-25-2018.html
The Wikipedia article of the day for January 24, 2018 is August Meyszner.
August Meyszner (3 August 1886 – 24 January 1947) was an Austrian gendarmerie officer, right-wing politician, and senior Ordnungspolizei (order police) officer of Nazi Germany. He held the post of Higher SS and Police Leader in the German-occupied territory of Serbia from January 1942 to March 1944, during World War II. During his tenure, he oversaw regular reprisal killings and sent tens of thousands of forced labourers to Germany and occupied Norway. His Gestapo detachment also used a gas van to kill as many as 8,000 Jewish women and children who had been detained at the Sajmište concentration camp. Meyszner’s time in Belgrade was characterised by friction and competition with German military, economic and foreign affairs officials, and by his visceral hatred and distrust of Serbs; he was considered one of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler’s most brutal subordinates. Extradited by the Allies to Yugoslavia after the war, he was found guilty of war crimes by a military court, and was executed by hanging on 24 January 1947.
Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/01/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-january-24.html
swarf , n :
The waste chips or shavings from an abrasive activity.
Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/01/swarf-word-of-day-for-january-24-2018.html
The Wikipedia article of the day for January 23, 2018 is Candaules, King of Lydia, Shews his Wife by Stealth to Gyges, One of his Ministers, as She Goes to Bed.
Candaules, King of Lydia, Shews his Wife by Stealth to Gyges, One of his Ministers, as She Goes to Bed is a painting by English artist William Etty, first exhibited in 1830. It shows a scene from the Histories by Herodotus, in which Candaules, king of Lydia, invites his bodyguard Gyges to hide in the couple’s bedroom and watch his wife Nyssia undress. After Nyssia notices Gyges, he kills Candaules and takes his place as king. The painting shows the moment at which Nyssia, unaware of Gyges, removes the last of her clothes. Etty hoped to impart the moral that women are not chattels and that men violating their rights should be punished, but he made little effort to explain this to audiences. The painting was immediately controversial, seen as a cynical combination of pornography and a violent unpleasant narrative, and critics condemned it as an immoral work of the type they would not expect from a British artist. In 1929 it was among several artworks transferred to the newly expanded Tate Gallery, where it remains.
Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/01/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-january-23.html
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