Wiktionary:Word of the day/Archive/2023/April

1. (derogatory) One who is prone to butt in, interrupt, or get involved where they are not welcome; a busybody.
2. (telecommunications) A robust portable one-piece telephone instrument with clips, used by technicians and lines staff for testing telephone circuits or making a temporary connection to a telephone line.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring—oh, get your head out of the gutter!

1. Having hands that are horny (calloused) and tough from manual labour; hardhanded.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring—oh, get your head out of the gutter!

1. (British, historical) A cheap fuel consisting of slack (“coal dust”) and nuts (“small lumps of coal”); unlike other solid fuel it was not rationed during the period after World War II.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring—oh, get your head out of the gutter!

1. (intransitive, originally US) Synonym of peter (“originally (mining), of a vein of ore: to be depleted of ore; now (generally), to diminish to nothing; to dwindle, to trail off”)

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring—oh, get your head out of the gutter!

1. (cooking, also attributively) Poultry which has been cut along the spine and spread out for more even cooking.

spatchcock v (transitive)

1. (cooking) To cut (poultry) along the spine and spread the halves apart for more even cooking.
2. (figuratively) Often followed by in or into: to interpolate or insert (something into another thing); to sandwich (something within another thing).

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring—oh, get your head out of the gutter!

1. (American football)
   1. The position at the end of the offensive line whose primary jobs are to block and serve as a short receiver.
   2. A player (called an end) playing the position of tight end (sense 1.1).
2. (Canadian football, historical)
   1. The position at the end of the offensive line whose primary jobs were to block and serve as a short receiver; this position is no longer used.
   2. A player (called an end) playing the position of tight end (sense 2.1).

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring—oh, get your head out of the gutter!

1. (biochemistry) Any of a family of glycoproteins that are involved in the development of the embryo.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring—oh, get your head out of the gutter! Today is also recognized by the United Nations as World Health Day to draw attention to global health issues.

1. (US) A topless female street performer covered in body paint who poses for photographs in exchange for tips in the pedestrian plaza of New York City's Times Square.

Times Square was given its name on this day in 1904. It was named after The New York Times which had relocated to a building there.

1. (Cumbria, Ireland, Northumberland, Yorkshire, games) The act of knocking one's pace-egg (“a coloured hard-boiled egg traditionally made at Easter”) against that of an opponent, with the aim of cracking the other's egg and leaving one's own intact, an Easter custom in many countries.

jarp v

1. (transitive, Cumbria, Ireland, Northumberland, Yorkshire, games) To knock (a pace-egg) against that of an opponent, with the aim of cracking the other's egg and leaving one's own intact.

Today is Easter Sunday in Western Christianity in 2023. It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1. (Irish politics) The head of the government of Ireland, comparable to a prime minister of a Commonwealth of Nations country.

The Good Friday Agreement, a pair of agreements that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, a political conflict in Northern Ireland that had prevailed since the late 1960s, was signed on this day 25 years ago, on Good Friday, 10 April 1998.

1. (law) A wrongful act, whether intentional or negligent, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury and can be remedied in civil court, usually through the awarding of damages.
2. (obsolete) An injury or wrong.

The tongue-in-cheek International Be Kind to Lawyers Day created by Steve Hughes on this day in 2017, the second Tuesday of April.

1. An aerospace engineer.
2. (hyperbolic, chiefly in the negative) One qualified to handle or understand things which are very complex or confusing; a very intelligent person.

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 in 1961.

1. (transitive)
   1. To fill (someone) with surprise and wonder; to astonish, to astound, to surprise.
   2. (obsolete) To stun or stupefy (someone).
   3. (obsolete, also reflexive) To bewilder or perplex (someone or oneself).
   4. (obsolete, poetic) To fill (someone) with panic; to panic, to terrify.
2. (intransitive, archaic) To experience amazement; to be astounded.

amaze n

1. (archaic)
   1. (except poetic, uncountable) Amazement, astonishment; (countable) an instance of this.
   2. (uncountable) Fear, terror.
2. (obsolete, uncountable) Stupefaction of the mind; bewilderment; (countable) an instance of this.

1. (film) Chiefly preceded by the: the art of making motion pictures; filmmaking.

Today is the eve of World Art Day, which was established by the International Association of Art to celebrate the fine arts. The Italian Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci was born on 15 April 1452.

1. A unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile (220 yards, or 201.168 metres), now mainly used in measuring distances in farmland and horse racing.
2. (dated)
   1. A unit of land area one furlong (sense 1) square (ten acres, or about four hectares).
   2. (British, dialectal) An undefined portion of an unenclosed field.
3. (historical) Synonym of stadion (“a Greek unit of distance based on standardized footraces, equivalent to about 185.4 metres”).
4. (obsolete except British, dialectal, agriculture)
   1. Synonym of headland (“unploughed boundary of a field”).
   2. Synonym of land (“the ground left unploughed between furrows; any of several portions into which a field is divided for ploughing”)

The Grand National, the most valuable jump horse race in Europe, takes place today in 2023 at the Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom.

1. (transitive) To say (words, etc.) indistinctly; to mutter.
2. (intransitive) To talk indistinctly; to mutter.

1. (chiefly British) An action, promise, or remark that is considered unwise because it could be difficult to fulfil or could cause trouble later on.
2. (chiefly US) A person or thing whose fate is seen as dependent on chance or luck.

1. Of or pertaining to the Old Testament of the Bible.

The fourth session of the Council of Trent took place on this day in 1545 according to the Gregorian calendar (on 8 April according to the Julian calendar), during which the Council officially affirmed the traditional Roman Catholic canon of biblical books.

1. Characterized by or feeling deep affliction or distress; very miserable.
2. Of an inferior or unworthy nature or social status; contemptible, lowly.
3. Of an insignificant, mean, or poor nature; miserable, paltry, worthless.
4. Of a person, etc.: behaving in a manner deserving contempt; base, despicable, wicked.
5. Of weather: causing much discomfort; very unpleasant; miserable.
6. (informal) Used to express annoyance towards or dislike of someone or something: bloody, damned.

1. (China, Maoism, chiefly historical, derogatory) One (especially a Chinese Communist Party official) who bows to pressure from bourgeois forces and attempts to pull the Cultural Revolution in a capitalist direction.

Today is UN Chinese Language Day, one of six such days established by UNESCO to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity and to promote the equal use of its working languages. It is around the time of Guyu in the Chinese calendar, during which the legendary figure Cangjie, who is said to have invented Chinese characters, is celebrated.

1. (originally US, idiomatic, informal) Chiefly preceded by on: a carefree lifestyle or situation, especially as resulting from being wealthy.

The musical Annie, which features the song “Easy Street”, opened on Broadway, New York City, on this day in 1977.

1. (archaic or historical) Now chiefly as the second element in the names of plants: a plant used for food or medicine.
2. (specifically, historical) Chiefly in the plural: a plant of the genus Brassica used as a vegetable; a brassica; especially, a cabbage (Brassica oleracea).
3. (by extension, botany) A non-vascular plant growing on land from the division Anthocerotophyta (the hornworts) or Marchantiophyta (liverworts); an anthocerotophyte or marchantiophyte.

1. (brewing, distilling) Also worts: a liquid extracted from mash (ground malt or some other grain soaked in hot water), which is then distilled to make beer or a malt liquor such as whisky.

Today is Earth Day, a day for observing the need to protect the Earth.

1. (literary theory) A narrating character or storyteller in a literary or other artistic work (such as a film, novel, play, or song) who provides conflicting, inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise questionable information to the audience or reader.

Today is designated by UNESCO as World Book Day to promote reading, publishing, and copyright.

1. (transitive)
   1. To reduce the volume of (music, a sound, etc.).
   2. (figuratively) To reduce the force or impact of (something); to damp, to mute; especially, to minimize the less desirable aspects of (something); to play down, to tone down.
   3. (figuratively) To attempt to persuade someone about (something) through understatement, so that the listener accepts the good points as obvious.
2. (intransitive, figuratively) Chiefly followed by on: to act in a less assertive or forceful manner.

Today is the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace, which is recognized by the United Nations to emphasize the importance of multilateralism and international co-operation to promote peace and security, development, and human rights.

1. (Australia, New Zealand, informal) A St. John Ambulance first-aider, especially at a sports event.

Today is ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand, which commemorates the contributions and sacrifices of those who have served in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.

1. (biochemistry, genetics) Initialism of deoxyribonucleic acid (“a nucleic acid found in all living things (and some non-living things such as certain viruses) which consists of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix; encoded in its structure are genetic instructions for development, functioning, growth, and reproduction”).
2. (informal, loosely) The part of a living thing that carries genetic information.
3. (figuratively) The fundamental nature or values of a person, or an organization or other thing, especially when considered as innate and/or immutable.

DNA v

1. (transitive) To examine a sample of (someone's) deoxyribonucleic acid.

James Watson and Francis Crick published their academic paper proposing the double-helix structure of the DNA molecule in the journal Nature 70 years ago on 25 April 1953.

1. (idiomatic) The very best that one can do.

1. (intransitive, Australia, British, New Zealand, idiomatic, informal) To use disproportionate or significantly excessive force to carry out an action; to do something overzealously.

Today is the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, which is recognized by the United Nations to promote awareness about work-related accidents and diseases.

1. (astronomy) The star visible to the naked eye which was in the past, is now, or will be in the future nearest a celestial pole of a planet.
2. (figuratively) A person, principle, or thing which acts as a guide; a guiding light; also, something which attracts much attention; a centre of attention.

Today, the Saturday nearest the first quarter moon between mid-April and mid-May in 2023, is the first of two Astronomy Days in the year.

1. (transitive)
   1. To destroy (someone or something) completely, leaving no trace; to annihilate, to wipe out.
   2. To hide (something) by covering it; to conceal, to obscure.
   3. (also figuratively) To make (a drawing, text which is printed or written, etc.) indecipherable, either by erasing or obscuring it; to blot out, to efface, to delete.
   4. (biology, pathology, surgery, chiefly passive voice) To impair the function and/or structure of (a body cavity, vessel, etc.) by ablating or occluding it (in the latter case, chiefly by filling it with tissue).
   5. (philately) To cancel (a postage stamp) with a postmark so it cannot be reused.
2. (intransitive)
   1. To remove completely, leaving no trace.
   2. (biology, pathology) Of a body cavity, vessel, etc.: to close up or fill with tissue; of perfusion or a pulse: to cease owing to obstruction.

obliterate adj (obsolete)

1. (except poetic) Completely destroyed or erased; effaced, obliterated.
2. (entomology, rare) Of markings on an insect: difficult to distinguish from the background; faint, indistinct.