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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 390,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 17 days for that many people to see it.
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Like most people, each morning I read my favourite newspaper while sipping hot coffee. My favourite newspaper? It is the Deccan Chronicle (Chennai edition).
Yesterday (Sunday, December 29, 2013), I was intrigued by a news captioned “Hindu married to non-Hindu can’t get divorce: HC” on page 7.
I was in for a shock. The news that followed had nothing, even an iota, to reflect the caption.
So, the adage: “Even an elephant can slip,” has once again come true!
If you are curious you can read the news in “The Times of India” under the title: “Hindu married to non-Hindu can’t get divorce under Hindu Marriage Act: Bombay high court” (PTI | Dec 28, 2013).
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On August 15, 2012, I posted an article titled “Ontario Lottery Corporation Scam” and to date 53,085 visitors to my site have viewed it.
This month alone I have received many scam email:
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Here is another interesting mail I received at the beginning of this month. An appeal, almost a love letter, that addresses me as “dearest One!!!“
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As-Salam Alyikum dearest One!!! sonia To 2 Dec As-Salam Alyikum dearest One!!! Please I apologies to you to exercise a little patience and read through my letter I feel quite safe dealing with you in this important business having gone through your remarkable profile, I will really like to have a good relationship with you and I have a special reason why I decided to contact you, I decided to contact you due to the urgency of my situation,My name is Sonia Aisha Khorovani Ahmed,24yrs old female and I held from Somalia in Eastern Africa. My father {Late Mr.Khorovani Ahmed} was the former Somalia road Minister. He and his assistant Minister of Home Affairs Mr.Lorna Laboso had been on board the Cessna 210,which was headed to Kericho and crashed in a remote area called Kajong’a, in western KENYA on one of his trip.I truly miss him,It’s painful to lose loved ones but life always has a meaning to be fulfilled according to God’s Plans. After the burial of my late father,my stepmother and my uncle conspired and sold my father’s property which the shared the money among themselves and left nothing for me.On one faithful morning, I opened my father’s briefcase and found out the documents which he used to deposited huge amount of money in one of the leading with my name as the next of kin. I traveled out side my country trying to contact the bank to withdraw the money for a better life so that I can take care of myself and start a new life, but it was my surprise that the Bank Director whom I have been contacting on this matter,told me that my father’s given instruction to the their bank that the money would only be release to me when I am married or if I could present a trusted foreigner partner who will help me and invest the money overseas.It was only on this vian I chose to search of an honest and reliable person who will help me and stand as my foreign trustee so that I will present him to the Bank for transfer of the money to his bank account overseas. I have chosen to contact you after my prayers and I believe that you will not betray my trust, God willing. You may wonder why I am so soon revealing myself to you without knowing you,to me I will say that my spirit convinced me that you may be the true person to help me, The amount is( $7,500,000.00 USD )Seven Million five hundred thousand United State Dollars, and I have confirmed from the bank that they will transfer the money as soon as I present a reliable foreign trustee. If you can help me on this matter,you will also help me to place the money in a good profitable business venture in your Country or any place of your choice. you will help by recommending a nice University in your country where I can complete my studies. However,it is my intention to compensate you with 30% of the total money for your efforts and kindness of services and the balance shall be our capital in establishment of our investment. Please understand that,I am giving you all this information due to the trust I deposed on you and I would never want you to reveal this matter to any other person for now even to your best friend, what I mean here is that you should, Please do keep this matter to your self for now until the bank will transfer the fund.I hope you will understand me? I like honest and truthful person, Angry,and “LIES”I hate On our relationship, hence I am always very-extra-careful in my relationship with people as I always look forward to obtain good potential carrier as well if not death of my late father. As soon as I receive your positive response showing your interest,I will inform the bank that am ready to present the foreign trustee who will receive the fund on my behalf and would also send you the bank details, Therefore, please do not fail to respond this message as soon as possible. Yours Miss.Sonia Aisha.Ahmed. |
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Di+ you notice the punctuation and absence of space before the beginning of news sentences in the above letter?
Have you received any similar email? Were you tempted to respond to them? Di you respond and burnt your fingers?
These emails are just preludes to one of the most common types of confidence trick known as the ‘419 Scam’, ‘Advance Fee Scam’, ‘Black Money Scam’, ‘Fifo Fraud’, ‘Nigerian Scams’, ‘Spanish Prisoner Scam’, and by many other names.
Earlier, scammers used traditional mail and fax to perpetrate this form of scam. Now, after the advent of the internet and mobile phones, email and SMS are used blatantly.
The number “419” refers to the article of the Nigerian Criminal Code dealing with fraud. In Chapter 35 – “Offences analogous to Stealing” under the laws of the Federation of Nigeria. Article 419 reads as follows:
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419. Any person who by any false pretence, and with intent to defraud, obtains from any other person anything capable of being stolen, or induces any other person to deliver to any person anything capable of being stolen, is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for three years. If the thing is of the value of one thousand naira or upwards, he is liable to imprisonment for seven years. It is immaterial that the thing is obtained or its delivery is induced through the medium of a contract induced by the false pretence. The offender cannot be arrested without warrant unless found committing the offence. 419A. (a) in incurring any debt or liability; or (2) The offender cannot be arrested without warrant unless found committing the offence. 419B. Where in any proceedings for an –offence under section 419 or 419A it is proved that the accused- (a) obtained or induced the delivery of anything capable of being stolen; or |
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While the scam is not limited to Nigeria, the nation has become associated with this fraud and it has earned a reputation for being a center of email scam crimes. Other nations that are known to have a high incidence of advance-fee fraud include Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo, South Africa, Russia, Pakistan, India, the United States, the Netherlands, and Spain.
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Have you received any letter written by a poor person asking for money? If so, beware! This is could be the prelude to “The Begging-Letter” scam.
In a begging letter, the person claiming to be poor, begs for money or help, usually from a rich person or a philanthropic organization. They ask for monetary assistance to meet the expenses for an emergency surgery, money for orphaned children, or offering a percentage to help recover the money of their parents or kin from banks, etc.
This is not new. Even in the late 19th century scammers sent begging letters scam by traditional mail.
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From the time Charles Dickens rose to fame with The Pickwick Papers, he was constantly plagued by begging-letter writers. In May 1850 edition of Household Words (Volume I, Magazine : No. 8), Dickens wrote an essay titled “The Begging-Letter Writer” wherein he describes examples of the many begging letters he had received over the years, and the ruses employed by their writers to gain funds from the recipients.
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John Forster (1812–76) was a noted biographer, critic, essayist and historian. Forster met Charles Dickens in 1836 while both worked as young journalists for the ‘True Sun‘. Forster became Dickens’ closest friend and trusted adviser. Dickens appointed him as his literary executor. After Dickens’ death, Forster published a biography of Charles Dickens in three volumes (1872–4).
In Volume 2, Ch. 8, Forster commented that there is not ‘a particle of exaggeration‘ in Dickens’s description of his victimization as narrated by him in “The Begging-Letter Writer“:
Once he [Daniel Tobin] wrote me rather a special letter, proposing relief in kind. He had got into a little trouble by leaving parcels of mud done up in brown paper, at people’s houses, on pretence of being a Railway- Porter, in which character he received carriage money. This sportive fancy he expiated in the House of Correction. Not long after his release, and on a Sunday morning, he called with a letter (having first dusted himself all over), in which he gave me to understand that, being resolved to earn an honest livelihood, he had been travelling about the country with a cart of crockery. That he had been doing pretty well until the day before, when his horse had dropped down dead near Chatham, in Kent. That this had reduced him to the unpleasant necessity of getting into the shafts himself, and drawing the cart of crockery to London – a somewhat exhausting pull of thirty miles. That he did not venture to ask again for money; but that if I would have the goodness TO LEAVE HIM OUT A DONKEY, he would call for the animal before breakfast!
Forster adds, ‘for much of what he suffered he was himself responsible, by giving so largely, as at first he did, to almost everyone who applied to him’.
In the next paragraph Dickens describes the case of John Walker, to whom Dickens had given money several times in 1844.
At another time, my friend (I am describing actual experiences) introduced himself as a literary gentleman in the last extremity of distress. He had had a play accepted at a certain Theatre – which was really open; its representation was delayed by the indisposition of a leading actor – who was really ill; and he and his were in a state of absolute starvation. If he made his necessities known to the Manager of the Theatre, he put it to me to say what kind of treatment he might expect? Well! we got over that difficulty to our mutual satisfaction. A little while afterwards he was in some other strait. I think Mrs. Southcote, his wife, was in extremity – and we adjusted that point too. A little while afterwards he had taken a new house, and was going headlong to ruin for want of a water-butt. I had my misgivings about the water- butt, and did not reply to that epistle. But a little while afterwards, I had reason to feel penitent for my neglect.
Walker continued to write begging letters, which Dickens ceased to answer until he got one telling him that Walker’s wife had died and begging ‘a few crumbs from your table‘ to feed the children. Dickens sent his brother Fred to check whether Walker was really in distress.
He wrote me a few broken-hearted lines, informing me that the dear partner of his sorrows died in his arms last night at nine o’clock!
I despatched a trusty messenger to comfort the bereaved mourner and his poor children; but the messenger went so soon, that the play was not ready to be played out; my friend was not at home, and his wife was in a most delightful state of health. He was taken up by the Mendicity Society (informally it afterwards appeared), and I presented myself at a London Police-Office with my testimony against him. The Magistrate was wonderfully struck by his educational acquirements, deeply impressed by the excellence of his letters, exceedingly sorry to see a man of his attainments there, complimented him highly on his powers of composition, and was quite charmed to have the agreeable duty of discharging him. A collection was made for the ‘poor fellow,’ as he was called in the reports, and I left the court with a comfortable sense of being universally regarded as a sort of monster. Next day comes to me a friend of mine, the governor of a large prison. ‘Why did you ever go to the Police-Office against that man,’ says he, ‘without coming to me first? I know all about him and his frauds. He lodged in the house of one of my warders, at the very time when he first wrote to you; and then he was eating spring-lamb at eighteen-pence a pound, and early asparagus at I don’t know how much a bundle!’ On that very same day, and in that very same hour, my injured gentleman wrote a solemn address to me, demanding to know what compensation I proposed to make him for his having passed the night in a ‘loathsome dungeon.’
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Now, the internet and mobile phones are a boon to the scammers as they provide a vehicle to convey their blatant solicitation by email and SMS.
The present day “help me” letters are variants of the confidence trick known as the ‘419 Scam’ perpetrated by the Nigerian Scammers. The number 419 refers to the article of the Nigerian Criminal Code dealing with fraud. It is found in Chapter 35 – “Offences analogous to Stealing” under the laws of the Federation of Nigeria.
A variation to this begging letter is the advance fee scheme in which a letter through traditional mail or email, offers the recipient the “opportunity to share” in a percentage of millions of dollars that the author, a self-proclaimed government official, is trying to transfer illegally out of Nigeria, or the family member or a kin of an affluent person who had met with a tragic accident, requesting help recover the money of their parents or kin from banks, etc. The author encourages the recipient to send information such as bank names and account numbers; facsimile of passport, driving licence, for identifying information; blank letterhead stationery of the recipient; and of course, an advance to defray the cost of expenses incurred for legal expenses, payment of taxes, bribes to bank and government officials with the promise that all expenses will be reimbursed as soon as the funds are spirited out of Nigeria.
Though most law-abiding citizens are not impressed by such invitations, millions of dollars are lost to these schemes annually. Once the victim who falls for these schemes wakes up and stops sending money, the perpetrators use the personal information they received to impersonate the victim to drain the bank accounts.
The Nigerian government is not sympathetic to the victims who have actually conspired to remove funds from Nigeria violating section 419 of the Nigerian criminal code.
While the scam is not limited to Nigeria, the name “Nigeria” has become associated with almost all types of email frauds, and that nation has earned a reputation for being a center of email scam crimes.
In countries other than those in western Africa, a smart person with technical skills can find work in the electronics field and earn by helping their relatives, friends, neighbours, and acquaintances keep their computers running. Some even design websites to sell useful products. But the average Nigerians, have fewer opportunities, and they almost starve. So, most teenagers learn to fix things that are dumped. Soon after they learn to code and try to outsmart other people using their computers.
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Years ago, at the very beginning, these scammers were viewed as modern day Robin Hoods in the back streets of Lagos, the center of the cyberscam universe, in the land of chronic unemployment. They were appreciated and lauded in popular music for swindling money from the undeserving outside the poor western Africa and thereby enriching themselves. The girls were eager to date them.
Genuine Nigerian businessmen had to bear the brunt of the sins committed by these scammers known as “Yahoo boys“.
Now, many ISPs restrict sending mass email if they originate from a sub-Saharan country. Many e-commerce sites block Nigerian ISPs. The Nigerian government, acceding to the request of the legitimate tech industry in the country, is tracking and cracking down on the scammers, now living underground.
Scammers in other nations such as Benin, India, Ivory Coast, Pakistan, Russia, the Netherlands, the United States, South Africa, Spain, and Togo, also have got into the game.
Below are two mails that were in circulation as far back as 2002.
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SGT. IDRIS LAWAL (RTD). IKEJA MILITARY CANTONMENT LAGOS, NIGERIA. SOLICITING FOR HELP. I am Sergent Idris Lawal (rtd). I heartily beg for your help. We were retired voluntarily by the commander in chief of armed forces of the country, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida during his tenure as president and commander in chief of the armed forces. Since then we have been living in the military barracks waiting for our benefits. Some weeks ago fire gulped the armory section in the barracks and everywhere caught fire. The entire barracks exploded and many people lost their lives. The death toll was about 2000, while some were rendered homeless. Right now we have lost all we had, property, shelter, clothing, everything. My wife and my two kids managed to survive,. Right now they are in the hospital. One of them needs surgery on her face. We have been advised by the hospital to pay the sum of N5,000,000.00(NAIRA) which is about US$50,000.00 to commence this operation. My inability to raise the said amount, keeps me in a state of frustration. We have access to computer. That is the only thing our government did for us. I beg you in the name of GOD to kindly assist us with any amount of money to enable us to carry out this operation. Your assistance will highly be appreciated. Please help us. God will bless you abundantly. We await you response. Sgt. Idris Lawal (rtd). |
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N.G.O. Registration No. D.S.W./1379 Certificate of Incorporation No.G-7206 Dear Sir/Madam, We are the CHILDREN POSTRITY AID, a non profit, non sectional, non political N.G.O based in the Aplaku Village, located in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. OUR OBJECTIVES ARE AS FOLLOWS: A. What is of paramount importance is our obligation to pay the cost of educating the children when the parents are unable to, and fight against HIV/AIDS in Ghana and Africa as a whole. B. We advocate the rights o children in the line with international conventions C. We protect the rights of children through a long term plan of building their capacity. D. We provide self reliance at adulthood through career development and technical skill training. E. We protect the lives of the children against S.T.D and HIV-AIDS pandemic. E. We raise consciousness about the effects on environmental degradation on economic development. C.P.A. would really appreciate your views and thoughts of the above mentioned objectives as C.P.A. believe very strongly in bringing joy into the faces of under-privileged, deprived, refugees, able and disabled children in Ghana and other parts of Africa. C.P.A. is writing to your organisation primarily to affiliate with your honourable organization to work together to help these children to be what God wants them to be. Please, these 483 children, made up of Ghanaian and Liberian refugee’s children, lack educational logistics such as children’s literature books, computer books, used computers, educational toys, children’s clothing and any thing that will be of a great help to these children that none of us doesn’t know what they will be come in posterity. I thank you so much in anticipating for your prompt reply. Yours in the Lord’s Vineya JONAS APPIAH. (PROJECT DIRECTOR) |
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Here is another interesting email I received at the beginning of this month. An appeal, almost a love letter, that addresses me as “dearest One!!!“
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As-Salam Alyikum dearest One!!! sonia To 2 Dec As-Salam Alyikum dearest One!!! Please I apologies to you to exercise a little patience and read through my letter I feel quite safe dealing with you in this important business having gone through your remarkable profile, I will really like to have a good relationship with you and I have a special reason why I decided to contact you, I decided to contact you due to the urgency of my situation, My name is Sonia Aisha Khorovani Ahmed,24yrs old female and I held from Somalia in Eastern Africa. My father {Late Mr.Khorovani Ahmed} was the former Somalia road Minister. He and his assistant Minister of Home Affairs Mr .Lorna Laboso had been on board the Cessna 210, which was headed to Kericho and crashed in a remote area called Kajong’a, in western KENYA on one of his trip.I truly miss him,It’s painful to lose loved ones but life always has a meaning to be fulfilled according to God’s Plans. After the burial of my late father,my stepmother and my uncle conspired and sold my father’s property which the shared the money among themselves and left nothing for me.On one faithful morning, I opened my father’s briefcase and found out the documents which he used to deposited huge amount of money in one of the leading with my name as the next of kin. I traveled out side my country trying to contact the bank to withdraw the money for a better life so that I can take care of myself and start a new life, but it was my surprise that the Bank Director whom I have been contacting on this matter,told me that my father’s given instruction to the their bank that the money would only be release to me when I am married or if I could present a trusted foreigner partner who will help me and invest the money overseas.It was only on this vian I chose to search of an honest and reliable person who will help me and stand as my foreign trustee so that I will present him to the Bank for transfer of the money to his bank account overseas. I have chosen to contact you after my prayers and I believe that you will not betray my trust, God willing. You may wonder why I am so soon revealing myself to you without knowing you,to me I will say that my spirit convinced me that you may be the true person to help me, The amount is( $7,500,000.00 USD ) Seven Million five hundred thousand United State Dollars, and I have confirmed from the bank that they will transfer the money as soon as I present a reliable foreign trustee. If you can help me on this matter,you will also help me to place the money in a good profitable business venture in your Country or any place of your choice. you will help by recommending a nice University in your country where I can complete my studies. However,it is my intention to compensate you with 30% of the total money for your efforts and kindness of services and the balance shall be our capital in establishment of our investment. Please understand that,I am giving you all this information due to the trust I deposed on you and I would never want you to reveal this matter to any other person for now even to your best friend, what I mean here is that you should, Please do keep this matter to your self for now until the bank will transfer the fund.I hope you will understand me? I like honest and truthful person, Angry, and “LIES” I hate On our relationship, hence I am always very-extra-careful in my relationship with people as I always look forward to obtain good potential carrier as well if not death of my late father. As soon as I receive your positive response showing your interest,I will inform the bank that am ready to present the foreign trustee who will receive the fund on my behalf and would also send you the bank details, Therefore, please do not fail to respond this message as soon as possible. Yours Miss.Sonia Aisha.Ahmed. |
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Have you received any similar email? Were you tempted to respond to them? Did you respond and burnt your fingers?
Beware!
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THIS IS MY BELOVED INDIA!
“Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis …”
” And peace on Earth to people of good will …”
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I came across the above fabulous photo on the internet. Do you like it? What message does it convey?
Here are some photographs I came across while surfing the net.
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The vow of Hindu-Muslim unity
Talking about communal harmony on April 8, 1919, Mahatma Gandhi said:
“If the Hindu-Muslim communities could be united in one bond of mutual friendship and if each could act towards the other as children of the same mother, it would be a consummation devoutly to be wished. But before this unity becomes a reality, both the communities will have to give up a good deal, and will have to make radical changes in ideas held herefore. Members of one community when talking about those of the other at times indulge in terms so vulgar that they but acerbate the relations between the two. In Hindu society, we do not hesitate to indulge in unbecoming language when talking of the Mohammedans and vice-versa. Many believe that an ingrained and ineradicable animosity exists between the Hindus and
Mohammedans.
“When both are inspired by the spirit of sacrifice, when both try to do their duty towards one another instead of pressing their rights, then and then only would the long-standing differences between the two communities cease. Each must respect the other’s religion, must refrain from even secretly thinking ill of the other. We must politely dissuade members of both communities from indulging in bad language against one another. Only a serious endeavour in this direction can remove the estrangement between us.” (25:201-202)
He made the members present take a vow as under:
“With God as the witness, we Hindus and Mohammedans declare that we shall behave towards one another as children of the same parents, that we shall have no differences, that the sorrows of each shall be the sorrows of the other and that each shall help the other in removing them. We shall respect each other’s religion and religious feelings and shall not stand in the way of our respective religious practices. We shall always refrain from violence to each other in the name of religion.”
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“Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis …”
” And peace on Earth to people of good will …”
“Ek wens dat julle almal ‘n Geseënde Kersfees!” (Afrikaans)
“Unë ju uroj gjithë Gëzuar Krishtlindjet!” (Albanian)
“أتمنى لكم جميعا عيد ميلاد سعيد!” (Arabic)
«Ցանկանում եմ ձեզ, որ Սուրբ Ծնունդ»: (Armenian)
“Mən bütün Merry Christmas arzulayıram!” (Azerbaijani)
“Nahi dut Eguberri guztiak ” (Basque)
“Я жадаю вам усім шчаслівага Каляд!” (Belarusian)
“আমি আশা করি সমস্ত একটি শুভ বড়দিন আপনি!” (Bengali)
“Пожелавам на всички Весела Коледа!” (Bulgarian)
“Els desitjo a tots un Bon Nadal!” (Catalan)
“祝大家圣诞快乐！” (Chinese simplified)
“祝大家聖誕快樂！” (Chinese traditional)
“Volio bih da svi Sretan Božić!” (Croatian)
“Já Přeji vám všem veselé Vánoce!” (Czech)
“Jeg ønsker jer alle en glædelig jul!” (Danish)
“Ik wens jullie allemaal een vrolijk kerstfeest!” (Dutch)
“Mi Wish You Ĉiu Merry Christmas!” (Esperanto)
“Soovin teile kõigile Häid jõule!” (Estonian)
“Hinihiling ko mo ng Lahat ng Maligayang Pasko!” (Filipino)
“Toivotan kaikille hyvää joulua!” (Finnish)
«Je vous souhaite à tous un Joyeux Noël!” (French)
“Desexo a todos un Feliz Nadal!” (Galician)
“გისურვებთ შობა!” (Georgian)
“Ich wünsche Ihnen allen ein frohes Weihnachtsfest!” (German)
«Εύχομαι σε όλους Καλά Χριστούγεννα!” (Greek)
“હું તમને શુભેચ્છા એક બધા મેરી ક્રિસમસ!” (Gujarati)
“Mwen swete nou tout yon jwayeu Nwèl!” (Haitian Creole)
“אני מאחל לכולכם חג המולד שמח!” (Hebrew)
“मैं तुम चाहो सभी एक मेरी क्रिसमस!” (Hindi)
“Azt szeretném, ha minden Boldog Karácsonyt!” (Hungarian)
“Ég óska ykkur öllum gleðilegra jóla!” (Icelandic)
“Saya berharap Anda semua Merry Christmas!” (Indonesian)
“Is mian liom tú go léir ar na Nollag Merry!” (Irish)
“Auguro a tutti un Buon Natale!” (Italian)
“私はあなたにすべてのメリークリスマスを望む！” (Japanese)
“ನಾನು ನೀವು ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಒಂದು ಮೆರ್ರಿ ಕ್ರಿಸ್ಮಸ್ ವಿಶ್!” (Kannada)
“난 당신에게 모든 메리 크리스마스를 기원!” (Korean)
“ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າຢາກທ່ານທັງຫມົດເປັນ Merry ວັນຄຣິດສະມາດ!” (Lao)
“Tibi opto a Verbum Caro!” (Latin)
“Es novēlu jums visu priecīgus Ziemassvētkus!” (Latvian)
“Linkiu visiems linksmų Kalėdų!” (Lithunian)
“Ви посакувам на сите Среќен Божиќ!” (Macedonian)
“Saya Mahu Anda Semua Merry Krismas!” (Malay)
“Nixtieq lilkom ilkoll Milied kuntenti ħienja!” (Maltese)
“Jeg ønsker dere alle en riktig God Jul!” (Norwegian)
“من برای شما آرزوی همه کریسمس مبارک!” (Persian)
“Życzę wszystkim Wesołych Świąt!” (Polish)
“Desejo a todos um Feliz Natal!” (Portugese)
“Vă doresc tuturor un Crăciun Fericit!” (Romanian)
“Я желаю вам всем счастливого Рождества!” (Russian)
“Желим вам све а Мерри Божић! ” (Serbian)
“ඔබට සුභ නත්තලක් වේවා!” (Sinhalese)
“Ja Prajem vám všetkým veselé Vianoce!” (Slovak)
“Želim vam vse vesel Božič!” (Slovenian)
“Les deseo a todos una Feliz Navidad!” (Spanish)
“Napenda wote Krismasi Njema!” (Swahili)
“Jag önskar er alla en God Jul!” (Swedish)
“உங்களுக்கு எனது கிறிஸ்துமஸ் (நத்தார்) நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்!” (Tamil)
“నేను మిమ్మల్ని విష్ అ మెర్రి క్రిస్మస్!” (Telugu)
“ผมหวังว่าคุณจะ ร่าเริง a คริสต์มาส!” (Thai)
“Seni bütün bir Mutlu Noeller diliyoruz!” (Turkish)
“Я бажаю вам всім щасливого Різдва!” (Ukrainian)
“میں آپ سب کو میری کرسمس کاش!” (Urdu)
“Tôi Chúc các bạn một Giáng sinh vui vẻ!” (Vietnamese)
“Rwy’n Wish chi i gyd Nadolig Llawen!” (Welsh)
“איך ווינטשן איר אַלע אַ לעבעדיק ניטל!” (Yiddish)
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“I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that–as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time.” – Charles Dickens
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Here is the preface written by Charles Dickens for the memorable Christmas story of all time, “A Christmas Carol” published on December 17, 1843:
I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it.
Their faithful Friend and Servant,
C. D.
December, 1843.
Through this novella, Charles Dickens was the first person to introduce the phrase “Merry Christmas” to English. This masterpiece also added the name “Scrooge” and the exclamation “Bah! Humbug!” to the English vernacular.
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Charles Dickens (born Charles John Huffam Dickens, February 7, 1812 – June 9, 1870), an English writer and social critic rose from a downtrodden family background. His early experience of a life of poverty and deprivation helped him create some of the most memorable characters of all time.
During his later life, Charles Dickens enjoyed unprecedented fame through his works, and by the twentieth century, he was broadly acknowledged by critics and scholars as a literary genius. Even now, readers consider Dickens as one of the greatest writers of the Victorian Period. His novels and short stories are still widely popular. His works include A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Bleak House, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Hard Times, and many more.
Charles Dickens concerned about poor children wanted to publish a pamphlet titled “An Appeal to the People of England, on Behalf of the Poor Man’s Child,” to draw the attention of workers and employers to the plight of poor children. Instead, he wrote A Christmas Carol, for he thought that an irresistible Christmas story with a plot that highlighted the struggles of the poor would have a better and broader appeal.
Dickens started writing A Christmas Carol in October 1843 and finished it by the end of November, in time to be published for Christmas. The book was illustrated by John Leech.
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It was published in early Victorian Era Britain, a period when people longed for the old nostalgic Christmas traditions. It was at this time that new customs, such as Christmas trees and greeting cards were introduced.
Dickens’ sources for the powerful, impressive, and enduring tale appear to be many and varied. He leaned on Washington Irving’s essays on Christmas published in his Sketch Book in 1820, describing the traditional old English Christmas; various Christmas stories, fairy tales and nursery stories; as well as satirical essays and religious tracts. However, the humiliating experiences of his childhood, the plight of the poor and their children during the boom decades of the 1830s and 1840s, impelled him to write the book.
The book’s first run of 6,000 copies sold out before Christmas Eve, and by the following May seven editions sold out. However, it did not produce a windfall for Dickens, who paid the original production costs due to a dispute with his publisher.
A Christmas Carol tells the story of the bitter old miser Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation resulting from supernatural visits by Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Past, Present, and Yet to Come Christmases. The novella was an instant success and received wide critical acclaim. It became the most popular Christmas tale ever to be written. Dickens never anticipated that his characterization of Tiny Tim, the embodiment of England’s poor children, and the personification of Scrooge modeled after his estranged father, would receive such an accolade from his readers.
Many have credited A Christmas Carol with reviving the spirit of Christmas celebration, after a period of sobriety and sombreness, as one of merriment and festivity in Britain and America.
A Christmas Carol has been adapted in numerous plays, operas, ballets and films. It is in its 24th edition. It is estimated that about five billion copies have been sold to date.
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Cricket is a game traditionally played in Rome only by anglophones, eccentric English aristocrats and immigrants from the subcontinent. However, on October 22, 2013, John McCarthy, the Australian Ambassador to The Holy See, Monsignor Sanchez de Toca y Alameda, undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Father Eamon O’ Higgins, and Father Theodore Mascarenhas from India, met the journalists and announced the launch of Vatican’s Saint Peter’s Cricket Club.
Saint Peter’s CC is the brainchild of John McCarthy, Australian Ambassador to The Holy See. His son trained for the priesthood in Rome was frustrated by the lack of cricketing possibilities in the Vatican even though there is a significant number of people, mostly seminarians and clerics from cricket-playing countries who are keen to play cricket. McCarthy wanted something similar to the Clericus Cup – a soccer tournament among the religious colleges and seminaries of Rome.
Father Theodore Mascarenhas from India, the club’s chairman, an off-spin bowler, said:
“I think cricket will begin to speak a new language — perhaps Latin, coming into the neighbourhood of the Vatican and beginning to take its first baby steps. We have the expertise. We have the will to do things. And I’m sure we’ll start with our baby steps and we’ll go far ahead. … We hope to have ecumenical dialogue through cricket and play a Church of England side by September.”
In response to a suggestion that cricketing terms and field positions might be translated into Latin or Italian, John McCarthy was firm: “English is the language of cricket and will remain the language of cricket”.
Pope Francis, known for both intercultural and interfaith dialogue, is a known football enthusiast than a cricket watcher. He still supports the San Lorenzo football club of his native Buenos Aires. Father Mascarenhas said he believed the pontiff, as a “very open man”, would come to accept cricket.
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the pontifical council for culture, praised the launch of Vatican’s Saint Peter’s CC as a chance to celebrate the nobility of “true sport,” an “expression of inter-culturality” and a “dialogue between people”.
Ambassador McCarthy said: “It is certainly the case that the Holy Father has heard of cricket … as a sport that was played in schools conducted by his [Jesuit] order in Argentina.”
Father Eamon O’ Higgins said: “But I think this is something that goes in line with one of the objectives of Pope Francis, which is to reach out and not stay within our own security zone.”
The organizers hope this initiative for forging ties with teams of other faiths, eventually, would lead to interfaith activities involving cricket matches against teams from Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh educational institutions.
To begin with, the Vatican cricketers challenged their Anglican counterparts to play cricket at Lord’s Cricket Ground in St John’s Wood, London – the home of cricket. Ambassador John McCarthy said:
“It is hoped there will be a team of sufficient level that, for instance, in the next year they could play a team nominated by the Church of England. … It would be the dearest aspiration of so many of the cricketers here that that game take place at Lord’s.”
Monsignor Sanchez de Toca y Alameda, was not so optimistic. He quietly said the Vatican would try to put together a team which could “lose with dignity” against the English. “I think they’re very strong,” he added.
Responding to the Vatican’s proposal, Mark Rylands, suffragan bishop of Shrewsbury and a keen cricketer, said:
“I am delighted to hear of the formation of Saint Peter’s Cricket Club and look forward to welcoming them to England as brothers. We do not have a national team at present, but I’m confident that it will be possible for an annual fixture to be played in the spirit of ecumenism. To that end I hope we can keep any sledging to a minimum and that neutral umpires will not be necessary.”
On December 20, 2013, the Church of England formally took up Vatican’s challenge to settle scores on the cricket pitch almost 500 years after their split with the Vatican. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the 80-million strong worldwide Anglican communion, accepted the challenge through his representative to The Holy See and Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, Archbishop David Moxon, from New Zealand.
Archbishop Moxon said the match would be held at Lord’s in September 2014 after the Anglicans formed a team of amateurs from Lambeth Palace, the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and nearby theological schools.
When asked if a combination of sports diplomacy and inter-religious dialogue could help improve relations between the two Churches, Archbishop Moxon said:
“It will introduce a conversation piece all over the world whenever Catholics and Anglicans get together. … I think it can only do good and increase the bonds of affection we have for each other.”
Father Eamonn O’Higgins, the organizer of the Vatican cricket team, gave Archbishop Moxon the ball that will be used in the match.
A league composed of best players among priests and seminarians from countries with a cricket tradition – Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka – form the Saint Peter’s Cricket Club.
The Vatican team will wear the official white and gold colours of The Holy See and their jackets will have two crossed keys – the seal of the papacy,
Brother K.K. Joseph, an Indian who trained a number of future test players while they were in schools run by his religious order in India will coach the Vatican team.
Saint Peter’s CC has already organized trial matches. It aims to have a Twenty20-style tournament between all the pontifical colleges of Rome. A pitch near Ciampino airport on the outskirts of the city has been made available.
While Saint Peter’s CC is currently men only, the organizers are also on the lookout for Indian, Pakistani or Sri Lankan nuns, who have played cricket before, in order to form a women’s cricket team.
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Recently I came across the following in Facebook:
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines ostensibly contradictory terms. Also, the word oxymoron is itself oxymoronic because it is formed from two Greek roots of opposite meaning: ὀξύς (oxus, “sharp, keen”) + μωρός (mōros, “dull, stupid”). Mōros is the root of the word moron.
So, the word oxymoron itself is a single-word oxymoron consisting of two morphemes that are dependent in English similar to sophomore (literally “wise fool”). There are indeed many sophomoric sophomores.
Plural of the word oxymoron is oxymorons or oxymora. However, I prefer the word oxymora for the plural form.
In our daily life, we use oxymora in many contexts, including inadvertent errors such as: open secret, clearly confused, alone together, act naturally, mandatory option and so on.
Many literary works contain literary oxymora. The 17th-century literary work “Idylls of the King” by Lord Alfred Tennyson, Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland, has two oxymora:
“And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true.”
Some oxymora are crafted to show a paradox. On April 26, 2012, DiaNuke.org published an article titled:
“Lessons of Chernobyl and Fukushima: Nuclear Safety is an Oxymoron“
The most common form of an oxymoron involves an adjective-noun combination of two words.
dark light, living dead, guest host, little while, mad wisdom, mournful optimist, violent relaxation
Noun-verb combinations of two words also appear infrequently. For example, the line “The silence whistles” from Nathan Alterman’s Summer Night, and the title of a music record album – “Sounds of Silence“.
There are single-word oxymora composed of dependent morphemes:
pianoforte (“soft-loud”), preposterous (“before-after”), superette (“big-small”), etc.
Also, many single-word oxymora are composed of independent morphemes – two meaning-bearing elements that could each be a word in itself joined together to form a single word:
ballpoint, bittersweet, bridegroom, firewater, kickstand, someone, speechwriting, spendthrift, wholesome,etc.
Many oxymora are a pair of words:
awful(ly) good, barely clothed, benevolent despot, benign neglect, build-down, building wrecking, clearly obfuscating, damned good, deliberate speed, elevated subway, exactly wrong, far nearer, final draft, freezer burn, fresh frozen, growing small, hardly easy, idiot savant, industrial park, inside out, light heavyweight, little big, loyal opposition, mobile home, negative growth, old boy, one-man band, open secret, original copy, painfully beautiful, press release, random order, recorded live, sight unseen, small fortune, standard deviation, student-teacher, terribly good, working vacation.
For a longer list of oxymora see my article titled “List of Some of the Many Oxymora I Have Come Across.“
An oxymoron is not always a pair of words; they can also be devised in the semantics of sentences or phrases:
Here are some brightly forged oxymora penned by great English writers:
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Polish-born American film producer Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz c. July 1879 – January 31, 1974) was famous for his quick wit and humor. In 1913, Goldwyn along with his brother-in-law Jesse L. Lasky, Cecil B. DeMille, and Arthur Friend formed a partnership, The Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company, the first feature motion picture company on the West Coast. to produce feature length motion pictures.
Once, Samuel Goldwyn commented: “Pictures are for entertainment, messages should be delivered by Western Union.“
When asked about his autobiography, Goldwyn replied: “I don’t think anybody should write his autobiography until after he’s dead.“
When told his son was getting married, he quipped: “Thank heaven. A bachelor’s life is no life for a single man.“
Here are a few of Goldwyn’s funny oxymora:
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An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines ostensibly contradictory terms. Appropriately, the word oxymoron is itself oxymoronic because it is formed from two Greek roots of opposite meaning: ὀξύς (oxus, “sharp, keen”) + μωρός (mōros, “dull, stupid”).
The most common form of oxymoron involves an adjective–noun combination of two words.
dark light, living dead, guest host, little while, mad wisdom, mournful optimist, violent relaxation
Plural of oxymoron is oxymorons or oxymora.
Why do writers use phrases that do not seem to be logical?
I have listed below some of the many oxymora I have come across in my reading. If you think that any in this list is not an oxymoron, please let me know so that I can drop them. Also, if you do come across any other interesting oxymora other than what I have included in this list, please let me know so that I can add them.
absolutely unsure, abundant poverty, accidentally on purpose, accurate estimate, accurate horoscope, accurate rumors, accurate stereotype, act naturally, active retirement, actual reenactment, adult children, Advanced BASIC, advanced beginner, all alone, almost exactly, alone together, altogether separate, amateur expert, amazingly awful, American English, amicable divorce, anarchy rules!, anonymous colleague, anti-missile missile, anxious patient, apathetic interest, appear invisible, approximate solution, approximately equal, arrogant humility, artificial grass, artificial intelligence, assistant supervisor, astronomically small, auto pilot, authentic replica, authentic reproduction, awfully good, awfully delicious, awfully lucky, awfully nice, awfully pretty
baby giant, bad health, bad luck, bad sport, balanced insanity, ballpoint, baggy tights, bankrupt millionaire, barely clothed, barely dressed, beautifully painful, benevolent despot, benign neglect, big baby, bipartisan cooperation, birth control, bittersweet, blameless culprit, bland spice, boneless ribs, boring entertainment, born dead, bridegroom, bug fix, build down, building wrecking, bureaucratic efficiencies, buried alive, burning cold, butt head
calculated risk, calm storm, canned fresh, cautiously optimistic, center around, certain risk, certainly unsure, chaotic organization, cheerful pessimist, cheerful undertaker, cheerfully cynical, cheerfully mournful, chilling fever, civil engineer, civilized warfare, clean dirt, clean litter, clean toilet, clearly confused, clearly ambiguous, clearly confused, clearly misunderstood, clearly obfuscating, clever fool, climb down, clogged drain, closer apart, close distance, cluster bomb, co-ed fraternity, co-ed sorority, cold fever, cold hotdog, cold toast, comedic tragedy, comfortable tights, commercial art, common abnormality, common phenomenon, complete separation, completely destroyed, completely unfinished, component parts, compulsory volunteers, concrete pad, confident fear, conscripted volunteer, Conservative Democrat, conservative liberal, consistent discrepancies, consistent uncertainties, consistently inconsistent, conspicuously absent, constant change, constant infrequent, constant variable, constructive criticism, constructive negativity, continuing resolution, contra aid, contra assistance, controlled enthusiasm, controlled chaos, convergent evolution, countless numbers, cowardly lion, crash landing, creative destruction, criminal justice, crisis management, critical acclaim, cruel kindness, current history, curved Line
daily special, damned good, dangerously safe, dark day, dark light, dark star, darkness visible, dead livestock, deaf listener, deafening silence, deeply superficial, defensive strike, deficit spending, definite maybe, definite perhaps, deliberate mistake, deliberate speed, deliberately thoughtless, delicious torment, demanding patient, deregulation law, detailed summary, devilish angel, devout atheist, different pattern, diligent sloth, diminishing growth, diminutive giants, dim light, dimwit, direct circumvention, disgustingly delicious, distant relative, divided unity, doing nothing, double solitaire, doubting believers, droning silence, dry ice, dry lake, dry pond, dry snow, dull knife, dull needle, dull roar, dynamic monotone, dynamic stability
easy labor, educated guess, elevated subway, élite rabble, eloquent silence, energetic exhaustion, enormously small, entertaining sermon, enthusiastic indifference, equally diverse, essential luxury, eternal life, ethical hackers, even odds, exact estimate, exactly wrong, executive assistant, executive secretary, expected surprise, explicitly ambiguous, expressive silence, extinct life, expressive silence, extended deadline, extensive briefing
fail safe, fairly accurate, fairly explicit, fairly obvious, fallout shelter, false fact, falsely true, famous-anonymous, farewell reception, far nearer, fast snail, fast turtle, fast walk, faultily faultless, fearful bravery, female gunman, fiberglass, fictional truth, fictional reality, fiery ice, final draft, finally again, fine mess, firewater, firm maybe, firm pillow, first annual, first conclusions, first deadline, flexible freeze, floppy disk, foreign national, forgotten memories, former native, former President-for-life, forward back, found missing, free credit, free election, free gift, free labor, free love, free prisoner, free purchase, free rent, free trade, freezer burn, fresh cheese, fresh dried-fruit, fresh frozen, friendly advice, friendly argument, friendly competitor, friendly divorce, friendly enemy, friendly fights, friendly fire, frightening comfort, front end, frugal gourmet, full-time hobby, future history, fuzzy logic
gargantuan Lilliputian, gentle turbulence, gentleman bandit, genuine fake, genuine imitation, genuine imitation-leather, giant dwarf, gigantic microorganism, global village, going nowhere, good garbage, good grief, good junk, goodbye reception, graduate student, great depression, green oranges, gregarious recluse, grotesque beauty, growing smaller, guest host, gummily brittle
half empty, half full, happily married, happy pessimist, hard cushion, hardly easy, harmless abuse, harmless lie, harmless sin, harmonious discord, hasten slowly, hatefully good, healthy chocolate, heavy diet, heavy gas, Hell’s Angels, high ground, holy hell, home office, honest convict, honest crook, honest liar, honest politician, honest thief, hopeful pessimist, hopelessly optimistic, horribly decent, hot chilli, house boat, huge shortage, human robot, humane robotics
icy hot, idiot savant, idly laborious, ignorant professor, ill fortune, ill-health, impatient patient, important trivia, indifferently attentive, industrial park, inside out, initial conclusion, initial results, initial retirement, innocent criminal, insane logic, insanely normal, increasing declines, incredibly common, inside out, irate patient
joyful trouble, jumbo shrimp, Jumpstart, junk food, just war
kickstand, known covert-operation, kosher ham
ladies man, larger half, last initial, least favorite, legitimate conspiracy, liberal conservative, liberal fundamentalists, light darkness, light heavyweight, linear curve, liquid crystal, liquid food, liquid gas, liquid metal, liquid smoke, literal interpretation, literary illiterates, little big, little giant, little pregnant, little while, live recording, living dead, local network, long brief, long shorts, loose tights, loud whisper, loud silence, lovers’ quarrel, low altitude, lower inflation, loyal opposition
macro-microorganism, mad wisdom, major minority, man-child, mannish woman, marital bliss, massively thin, master slave, mature student, maxi thins, mean smile, meaningful nonsense, meatless meat, medium Large, melancholy merriment, melted Ice, mercy killing, metal woods, Mexican American, micro-mainframe, Middle East, midnight sun, mighty weak, mild abrasive, mild interest, militant pacifist, mini jumbo, minor crisis, misanthropic humanitarian, missing present, mobile home, modern tradition, modestly arrogant, more unique, mournful optimist, moving target, muscular fat, mute sound, mutual differences, mutually exclusive
nameless celebrity, nasty politeness, Native American, natural artifact, natural makeup, natural synthetic, naturally strange, near future, near miss, neat mess, necessary evil, negative gain, negative growth, neutral charge, never again, never ever, new archeology, new classic, new cliche, new tradition, noble savage, noiseless sound, noisy mime, non-alcoholic beer, non-alcoholic wine, non-dairy creamer, non-denominational church, non-fat cream, non-stick glue, non-stick gum, non-stick velcro, non-stop flight, non-working mother, normal deviation, nothing much, noticeable absence, now then, nuclear defense, nuclear safety, numb feeling, numbing sensation
obedient defiance, obscene art, obvious secret, obviously concealed, ocean shore, oddly appropriate, oddly natural, old boy, old fashion, old newborn, old news, one-man band, once again, one choice, one-man band, one-person crew, only choice, open lock, open-minded, open secret, open-book test, opposite attraction, orderly confusion, organized anarchy, organized chaos, organized confusion, organized mess, original copy, original reprint, original reproduction, outer core, oven fried, oxymoron, oyster crackers
paid volunteer, painfully beautiful, painless torture, painless dentistry, paper tablecloth, paper towel, parallel connection, Park Drive, partial cease-fire, parting is such sweet sorrow, peace force, partial conclusion, partial success, partly pregnant, passive aggression, passive aggressive, passive confrontation, past prediction, patriotic militia, peace force, peace offensive, peace riot, peaceful protests, Peacekeeper Missile, Peacekeeping Force, PeaceMaker missile, peasant king, perfect idiot, perfect misfit, perfectly awful, perfectly normal, perfectly ridiculous, perfect screw-up, permanent substitute, persistent ambivalence, personal business, petty cash, pianoforte, pious atheist, plain buttered-bagels, planned spontaneity, plastic flowers, plastic glasses, plastic silverware, plastic straw, plastic wood, player-coach, pleasant hell, pleasantly confused, pleasing pain, politely insulting, political ethics, political promise, political trust, pool table, poor rich-kid, positively negative, positively wrong, post-modern, pretty cruel, pretty ugly, pretty fierce, practice test, precious junk, predictably random, preliminary conclusion, premeditated spontaneity, preposterous, press release, pretty bad, pretty disgusting, priceless junk, problem solved, pro-contra, procrastinate now, progressing backward, Progressive Conservative, proprietary standard, proud humility, public secret, pure evil, pure dirt, pure speculation
questionable answer, quiet hurricanes, quiet loudspeaker,quiet noise,quiet presence, quiet revolution, quiet riot, quiet scream, quiet storm, quiet tirade, quiet yell
random logic, random order, randomly organized, random pattern, real fantasy, real magic, real phony, real potential, realistic fantasy, realistic liberal, realistic simulation, reasonable fees, recent history, recently new, reckless caution, recoilless rifle, recorded live, recycling dump, red licorice, regular special, rehearsed improvisation, relative stranger, remember forgetting, remotely obvious, removable sticker, renegade lawmakers, required donation, required elective, resident alien, resolute ambivalence, restless sleep, retired Worker, rising deficits, roaring silence, rogue cop, rolling stop, round corner, round edges, routine emergency, routine surgery, rubber bones, rubber cement, run slowly, running idle, rush hour, rustic elegance
sad clown, sad joy, sad optimist, sad smile, sadly amused, sadly funny, safe bet, safe guns, safe investment, safe sex, safe weapons, safety hazard, same difference, sanitary napkin, sanitary sewer, scalding coolness, scheduled spontaneity, school vacation, science fiction, scientific speculation, screaming silence, scripted spontaneity, seashore, second best, second initial, secret rumor, sedate sex, semiprecious, serious clown, serious comic, serious fun, serious humor, seriously funny, shabby chic, shared monopoly, sharp curve, short distance, shouting whispers, shyly pompous, sight unseen, silent alarm, silent applause, silent barber, silent cacophony, silent noise, silent scream, silent sound, silent speech, silent testimony, silent women, silent yell, simple calculus, simple procedure, simple plan, simple technology, simply superb, sincere lie, sinfully good, single copy, single diversity, single pair, sit up, slave master, sleep vigorously, slight exaggeration, slight hernia, slightly overweight, slightly pregnant, slow jet, slow jog, slow speed, slow-motion explosion, small crowd, smart fool, smart idiot, small fortune, small giant, smokeless cigarette, snow-white tan, soaring down, sober drunk, social hermit, social outcast, soft thunder, solid rumor, solo concert, solo ensemble, someone, sound of silence, sound-filled silence, specifically vague, spectator sport, speech writing, speed limit, spendthrift, splendidly dull, spoken thought, squared circle, staged accident, standard deviation, start stopping, static variable, stationary orbit, stealth bomber, steel wool, still moving, still wind, stop action, straight angle, straight hook, straight-forward, strangely familiar, student teacher, stunted growth, stupid genius, subtle exaggeration, successful suicide, sugarless candy, sun shade, superette, sure bet, sure guess, sweet pickle, sweet agony, sweet sorrow, sweet-tart, synthetic natural gas, systematic chaos, systematic disorder, systematic variance
talking mime, tame beast, taped live, tense calm, terminal initialization, terribly enjoyable, terribly good, terribly nice, terribly pleased, thunderous silence, tight slacks, timeless moment, tiny mountain, toll free, tomorrow today, top floor, totalitarian democracy, totally partial, traditionally radical, tragic comedy, tranquil fiesta, transient stability, tremendously small, troubled paradise, true counterfeit, true fiction, true gossip, true illusion, true lies, true myth, true story, typically odd, typically weird
unbelievably real, unbiased opinion, unbiased predisposition, uncommonly common, uncommonly normal, uncrowned king, undocumented report, uninvited guest, united anarchist, unique uniforms, unknown identity, unknown knowledge, upcoming downtrend, upside down, unpopular celebrity, unrepeatable pleonasm, unsalted saltines, unspoken suggestion, unsung hero, unusual routine, unwelcome greetings, usually unusual
valuable junk, vegetarian meatball, venial sin, violent agreement, violent relaxation, virtual reality
waking dream, walking dead, warm ice, waterproof sponge, weak muscle, wedded bliss, weekday, weirdly normal, well-preserved ruins, whole half, whole hemisphere, whole part, whole piece, whole percentage, wholesome, wickedly good, wordless book, working hobby, working holiday, working vacation, worst favorite, worthless gold
young adult, young sixty
zero deficit
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preposterous
Impressions 