She chose Pandemic, one we haven't played in months - maybe over a year. We all really love the game. And really hate it. Because we usually lose, which means most of the world's population dies. (Sorry, y'all.)
Yesterday was no exception, unfortunately. I thought we were doing great, keeping outbreaks in check and even eradicating two of the four deadly diseases. But then suddenly, we were overwhelmed by the unnamed plague, represented by the color black. The black plague did us in. Sigh.
We went back to the mat again tonight and lost, again, in a different and painful way. Sigh.
Another sigh was when we went to the restaurant of Annabelle's choice last night, Ohana Kitchen, in Burien, for dinner and found its doors locked! That was a bit of a surprise! A sign on the door said they were closed Oct. 8-18. So no aloha food for us! We walked down to Elliott Bay, a standard American brew pub type place, instead, as it was in the same plaza. We'll have to try Ohana again soon.
GREAT SHAKES: This morning's grammar lesson centered on idioms. What are they? What are their origins?
According to Google, an idiom is "a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g., rain cats and dogs, see the light ).
Playwright William Shakespeare is famous for coining so many idioms. It might be fair to call him the father of idioms.
CJ weighs in on the topic. ...
William Shakespeare is arguably the most influential playwright of all time, continuing to be a recognized figure in theatre, even over four centuries after his death. Shakespeare coined a number of "idioms," or phrases with figurative (and seemingly unrelated to the choice of words) meaning. Here are some examples of idioms Shakespeare coined, in chronological order (in approximate order of writing: 1593, 1591-1595, 1599, and 1603:)
Off With His Head: In the play Richard III, depicting the rise and fall of the regime of the titular (real-world) king, the eponymous character says this idiom in the fourth scene of the third act.
Wild Goose Chase: Romeo and Juliet's second act contains an early usage of the phrase to indicate a fruitless search for something desired.
Seen Better Days: While Shakespeare (likely) didn't coin the phrase itself (its earliest known appearance is in the 1590 play Sir Thomas More, possibly co-written by Shakespeare,) Shakespeare popularized the idiom in Act II of As You Like It.
Green-Eyed Monster: Shakespeare coined the phrase in Othello to describe being "sick with jealousy." Before Shakespeare's time, green was associated with illness (and, to an extent, still is today.) As such, he described being "sick with jealousy" as "the green-eyed monster."
Here is what Annabelle has to share about Shakespeare's idioms. ...
The phrase “good riddance” comes from the play “Troilus and Cressida” in Act 1, Scene 2. The character of Patroclus uses this phrase as Thersites exits. The original sentence was “A good riddance,” though it has been shortened slightly to refer to the end or disappearance of something one dislikes.
“Lie low” originates in “Much Ado About Nothing,” spoken by Antonio. He uses it when referring to Beatrice and Benedick’s quarreling, saying, “If he could right himself with quarreling, some of us would lie low,” implying that the arguments are doing more harm than good and getting others involved.
When someone says “as good luck would have it,” they are usually referring to a good outcome or best case scenario. This idiom comes from “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” where it refers to Mistress Page being a sign of good luck. Though used less commonly nowadays, it holds a rather different meaning and even has variations referring to bad luck.
Finally (and appropriately), the phrase “be-all end-all” actually first appears in Act 1 of “Macbeth.” The titular character quotes that "If the assassination could trammel up the consequence, and catch with his surcease success; that but this blow might be the be-all and the end-all here, but here, upon this bank and shoal of time, we’d jump the life to come." While long winded, this has since been adapted to refer to the finale or stop of any number of things.
Well that's interesting. ...
Of course, I couldn't help but think immediately of a "Star Wars" reference. ... (That happens a lot if you're me.)
Anyway, the proposed new 'moon' is really a reflective satellite, set to launch in 2020, maybe. Reportedly it will 'hang' above Chengdu, in China's southwestern Sichuan province. The goal is that the reflected sunlight hitting it will be cast back to Earth, supplementing streetlights and saving big money.
I can't help but wonder how that will affect local stargazing, as well as animals' sleep and hunting cycles, and potentially more.
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