English Words in Action, Group B

A person who eats and/or drinks excessively: Just about every Friday, after work, Susana's brother becomes a beer binger when he consumes three or four beers after he gets home.

1. A biologist who supports a company or activity that is harmful to the environment: Biostitutes refer to scientists who are working for certain polluting industries and lie and deceive the American public by saying there's no such thing as global warming as a result of polluting by industrial output.
2. Etymology: an inflammatory term that is a blending of the words "biologist" and "prostitute".

To die or to stop functioning: Joe's old car finally bit the dust and he had to buy a new vehicle.

The old horse has bitten the dust and will have to be buried in the field.

1. Someone who talks too much or without good judgment: Harriet's neighbor is known to be a blabbermouth about things she really doesn't know if they are true or not.
2. A person who talks excessively and who is a tattletale or revealer of secrets: If it hadn't been for Sharon, the big blabbermouth, the principal of their school would never have known that Jim and Mike had skipped school and gone to a movie. © ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

1. Meaningless chatter; idle gossip: Amy said that she heard a lot of blah-blah-blah on the talk show in the afternoon.
2. Talk or writing that is inane or boring: Emily wrote an essay that discussed the concept of blah-blah when used during television commercials.
3. A condition of feeling bored, restless, and listless: Melanie said she has had the blahs the whole day.
4. Etymology: the concept of "idle, meaningless talk" is said to be from about 1918, probably echoic; and the adjective, "bland, dull" might have been influenced by French blasé, "bored, indifferent".

Blah may be used behind a person's back to suggest that he or she talks too much or that such talking is about useless topics with no valid reasons.

1. To put food in boiling water for a few seconds in order to loosen the skin or to scald food briefly, as before freezing it or as a preliminary stage in preparing a dish for eating: Marilyn followed the directions on the package and so she blanched the peaches briefly before peeling them.
2. To suddenly become pale or to turn white: Sam's face blanched at the mention of Shirley's name.

Quentin's face blanched in terror when he suddenly heard the big dog barking at him from behind the fence next to the sidewalk.
3. To grow vegetables, especially celery and endive, in unilluminated conditions in order to whiten the stems and to improve their flavor: The farmer renovated the barn in order to have a darkened area necessary to blanch the crops he had growing there.
4. Etymology: from about 1398, which came from Old French blanchir, "to whiten"; from blanc, "white".

Originally "to remove the hull of (almonds, etc.) by soaking". The sense of "to turn white" is from about 1768.

1. Anemic looking, as from an illness or a strong emotion: The blanched cheeks of the invalid man were shocking to see.

The store clerk's blanched face indicated her shock when the store owner accused her of stealing money from the cash box.

2. Plants that have been developed without chlorophyll by being deprived of light: Matt is growing blanched celery so the vegetable looks more appealing.

To persuade someone with flattery or encouragement by being especially nice: Harrison blandished his colleague to work longer so the project could be completed sooner.

No matter how much Elliott blandished his boss, there was no chance of his getting a pay increase.

Adolfo and Irene blandished the doorman into letting them into the museum before the normal opening time.

© ALL rights are reserved.
© ALL rights are reserved.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
for a list of additional Mickey Bach illustrations.

1. Flattery that is intended to influence an opinion or to persuade someone to make a decision: Bart couldn't resist the blandishments of his wife and so he usually ended up doing what she wanted him to do.
2. A flattering inducement or persuasion to get someone to do something: Most of the time, Salina's sweet blandishments made it possible to get her son to make the right decisions. © ALL rights are reserved.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
for a list of additional Mickey Bach illustrations.

1. An empty space on a document where information is supposed to be written: Mr. Williams said, "Don't forget to write your signature in the blank, Jim."
2. An segment of time that a person can't remember what happened: Tena said that her mind was a blank about what happened after she had fallen down the stairs.
3. A cartridge used in a gun that is filled with powder but which does not contain a bullet: The actors were firing blanks at each other during the production of the western film.

1. A reference to a surface that has no writing, marks, or pictures: The book had several blank pages.
2. Pertaining to something that has empty spaces which are to be filled in with information: Tyson saw blank lines on the application that he had to fill in.
3. A reference to something that does not have any recorded sound or information: Devon used the blank CD to record some of his favorite musical presentations.

1. To hide or to cover something: The officials blanked out parts of the document before it was published for public viewing.
2. To completely cause something to be forgotten: The auto accident blanked out any recollection of what happened to her on that day.

The failure to conceal or to hide an action or behavior: When Janet was paying for her meal at the restaurant, she told the cashier that the waiter made a blatancy by charging her too much because he indicated that she had three drinks when she only had one.

1. Relating to being very obvious or conspicuous to such a degree that it is impossible to hide: The politician was making blatant comments about his success as governor of his state.
2. Disagreeably loud or boisterous; offensively noisy; clamorous: During the party next door, they were so blatant as they played their music that the neighbors could not even listen to their TV programs nor go to sleep when they went to bed.

The crowd behaved in such a blatant manner that the parade organizers were concerned they could be accused of violating the parade permit which they had obtained.

© ALL rights are reserved.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

Characterizing something that is bad, intentional, or obvious: There was no doubt that the comedian on the TV show was blatantly making fun of the political candidates who were running for office.

The author of the book had blatantly copied much of her text from other published books without giving any credits or acknowledgements.