cultural literacy 40 Flashcards
griot
West African royal bard
Human Sexual Response
Masters & Johnson report
“kitchen cabinet”
a politician’s informal circle of advisers
Javert
main antagonist of Les Miserables
Battle of Trenton
surprise attack on Hessian irregulars led by Washington on Dec. 26, 1776 after crossing the Delaware the night before
“queen of the sciences”
theology (in the Middle Ages)
cynosure
focus of attention; guiding light
vichyssoise
French soup made of leeks and potatoes, usually served cold
go-go (region)
the official musical style of Washington, D.C.
“One”
song from A Chorus Line (“…singular sensation”)
“Saturday Night Massacre”
October 20, 1973: AG Elliot Richardson was ordered by Nixon to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox, but refuses and resigns instead
Ruckelshaus
assistant AG to Elliot Richardson during Saturday Night Massacre, also refused to fire Cox and resigned
Robert Bork role in Saturday Night Massacre
carried out the firing of Cox and became acting AG
English monarchs from Richard II to present
Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I, James I, Charles I, interregnum, Charles II, James II, William III/Mary II, Anne, George I, George II, George III, George IV, William IV, Victoria, Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, George VI, Elizabeth II, Charles III
arbitrage
business practice of simultaneously buying and selling the same product as a way of controlling prices
minge
vagina
hoist with one’s own petard
literally blown up by one’s own bomb, i.e., experiencing an ironic reversal of fortune for the worse
an own goal
a blunder that damages one’s own prospects
dun cow
greyish brown cow (a motif in English folklore)
to jape
to say or do something jokingly or mockingly
dame school
early modern precursor of preschool/kindergarten in Great Britain
modified limited hangout
mixing of confession with false information
palm frond
branch and foliage from a palm tree
“Big Yellow Taxi”
song by Joni Mitchell (“They paved paradise…”)
“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”
quote from U.S. Civil War admiral Farragut
fontanelle
soft spot on a skull
solecism
impropriety, breach of etiquette
Metcalfe’s law
the power of a network scales exponentially with the number of people on it
Jim Thorpe
Native American pentathlon winner
phlebotomy
the practice of drawing blood
acid test
gold, unlike other metals, is not dissolved by nitric acid, so lack of chemical reaction proves presence of gold
Dacia
Roman name for Romania
florin
first major gold coin issued in Britain
bimetallism
concurrent use of gold and silver as currency in a fixed ratio
W. J. Bryan stance towards gold standard
he decried the gold standard, which was replacing bimetallism in the 1890s
“Old Lady of Threadneedle Street”
Bank of England
tranche
part or division of a larger unit
anodyne
harmless
oneiric
(“own-eye-rick”) dreamlike, having to do with dreams
melisma
singing of single syllable while moving between many notes
Azores
mid-Atlantic islands, part of Portugal
propecia
a medicine for baldness
brushing scam
company posts fake review and associates it with a verified order, contents of which don’t matter so cheap product is sent out to random person who didn’t order it
Marianne
personification of liberty and of French Republic since the French Revolution
Montedison
former name of the Italian energy company now called “Edison”
offal
internal organs of an animal
giblets
edible offal of a fowl (heart, liver, gizzards, etc.)
British prime ministers since Wilson and parties
Harold Wilson (L), Edward Heath (C), Harold Wilson (L), James Callaghan (L), Margaret Thatcher (C), John Major (C), Tony Blair (L), Gordon Brown (L), David Cameron (C), Teresa May (C), Boris Johnson (C), Liz Truss (C), Rishi Sunak (C), Keir Starmer (L)
prime ministers of Israel since Meir
Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Shamir, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Shamir, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert, Benjamin Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, Benjamin Netanyahu
U.S. recessions since 1969
1969-70, 1973-75, 1980, 1981-82, 1990-91, 2001, 2007-09, 2020
West African royal bard
griot
Masters & Johnson report
Human Sexual Response
a politician’s informal circle of advisers
“kitchen cabinet”
main antagonist of Les Miserables
Javert
surprise attack on Hessian irregulars led by Washington on Dec. 26, 1776 after crossing the Delaware the night before
Battle of Trenton
theology (in the Middle Ages)
“queen of the sciences”
focus of attention; guiding light
cynosure
French soup made of leeks and potatoes, usually served cold
vichyssoise
the official musical style of Washington, D.C.
go-go (region)
song from A Chorus Line (“…singular sensation”)
“One”
October 20, 1973: AG Elliot Richardson was ordered by Nixon to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox, but refuses and resigns instead
“Saturday Night Massacre”
assistant AG to Elliot Richardson during Saturday Night Massacre, also refused to fire Cox and resigned
Ruckelshaus
carried out the firing of Cox and became acting AG
Robert Bork role in Saturday Night Massacre
Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I, James I, Charles I, interregnum, Charles II, James II, William III/Mary II, Anne, George I, George II, George III, George IV, William IV, Victoria, Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, George VI, Elizabeth II, Charles III
English monarchs from Richard II to present
business practice of simultaneously buying and selling the same product as a way of controlling prices
arbitrage
vagina
minge
literally blown up by one’s own bomb, i.e., experiencing an ironic reversal of fortune for the worse
hoist with one’s own petard
a blunder that damages one’s own prospects
an own goal
greyish brown cow (a motif in English folklore)
dun cow
to say or do something jokingly or mockingly
to jape
early modern precursor of preschool/kindergarten in Great Britain
dame school
mixing of confession with false information
modified limited hangout
branch and foliage from a palm tree
palm frond
song by Joni Mitchell (“They paved paradise…”)
“Big Yellow Taxi”
quote from U.S. Civil War admiral Farragut
“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”
soft spot on a skull
fontanelle
impropriety, breach of etiquette
solecism
the power of a network scales exponentially with the number of people on it
Metcalfe’s law
Native American pentathlon winner
Jim Thorpe
the practice of drawing blood
phlebotomy
gold, unlike other metals, is not dissolved by nitric acid, so lack of chemical reaction proves presence of gold
acid test
Roman name for Romania
Dacia
first major gold coin issued in Britain
florin
concurrent use of gold and silver as currency in a fixed ratio
bimetallism
he decried the gold standard, which was replacing bimetallism in the 1890s
W. J. Bryan stance towards gold standard
Bank of England
“Old Lady of Threadneedle Street”
part or division of a larger unit
tranche
harmless
anodyne
(“own-eye-rick”) dreamlike, having to do with dreams
oneiric
singing of single syllable while moving between many notes
melisma
mid-Atlantic islands, part of Portugal
Azores
a medicine for baldness
propecia
company posts fake review and associates it with a verified order, contents of which don’t matter so cheap product is sent out to random person who didn’t order it
brushing scam
personification of liberty and of French Republic since the French Revolution
Marianne
former name of the Italian energy company now called “Edison”
Montedison
internal organs of an animal
offal
edible offal of a fowl (heart, liver, gizzards, etc.)
giblets
Harold Wilson (L), Edward Heath (C), Harold Wilson (L), James Callaghan (L), Margaret Thatcher (C), John Major (C), Tony Blair (L), Gordon Brown (L), David Cameron (C), Teresa May (C), Boris Johnson (C), Liz Truss (C), Rishi Sunak (C), Keir Starmer (L)
British prime ministers since Wilson and parties
Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Shamir, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Shamir, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert, Benjamin Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, Benjamin Netanyahu
prime ministers of Israel since Meir
1969-70, 1973-75, 1980, 1981-82, 1990-91, 2001, 2007-09, 2020
U.S. recessions since 1969
