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January 31 & February 1, 2003 lapdog (LAP dog) The noun lapdog normal refers to a small pet dog (small enough to sit on a person's lap) that is given a lot of attention by its owner. In the newspaper, however, lapdog more often refers to someone who is willing to do anything that a more important person tells them to do. "We (the Thai news media) used to act as a watchdog for society, but now we are mere lapdogs and circus dogs for the government." As one Soviet expert put it, "Bulgaria used to be Russia's lapdog, but now it's America's lapdog." The US government, ably supported by its lapdog the EC, just bully, threaten and coerce their way through our world. With the farmer came his lapdog, who danced about and licked his hand and frisked about as happy as could be. January 30, 2003 hobble (HOB ul) The verb hobble means to walk in an awkward way, especially because of an injured foot or leg. Hobble can also mean to cause someone or something to be unable to do something efficiently or easily. The adjective form is hobbled or hobbling. A hobbling Kim Clijsters broke the pain barrier to earn a semi-final spot at the Australian Open, beating Russian Anastasia Myskina 6-2 7-6. Nasa's second rover, Opportunity, has begun flooding Earth with pictures from one side of Mars as engineers work to restore the health of its hobbled twin, Spirit, recuperating on the other. Woods grabbed the back of his leg as he hobbled up the hill. Johnson is hobbled by an ailing leg. January 29, 2003 cull The verb cull means to kill weak or diseased animals in order to reduce their numbers or prevent the spread of a disease. Cull can also mean to take items or ideas from a particular source and gather them together. The number of slaughtered animals included 4,000 farm chickens culled in Min Buri yesterday. The minister defended her country's decision to continue selling ivory by culling its herd of elephants. Online marketers have always culled addresses from web sites. The data presented here was culled from hundreds of studies. January 28, 2003 raze The verb raze means to destroy completely. As fire razed the Baseco slum in the Philippine capital earlier this month leaving at least 20,000 people homeless, community leader Arnold Obina could only shake his head in resignation. The camp was razed and looted during a Burmese army raid. The entire city was razed to the ground during the Korean War. Ayodhya is the site of the 16th -century mosque that was razed by Hindus in 1992. January 27, 2003 assailant (a SAIL unt) The noun assailant refers to someone who physically attacks someone else. A police officer attached to Mai Kaen police station was shot dead by unknown assailants yesterday. She was unable to identify her assailant. The flight crew wrestled with the assailant before bringing the aircraft under control just as it was about to flip on its side. Police found the assailant's getaway car, a gray Volkswagen Jetta with no license plates. January 26, 2004 falter (FAL tur) The verb falter means to begin to lose power, strength or confidence and to make little progress or to start making mistakes. Williams faltered by double-faulting to give Douchevina her only service break to even the second set at 1-1. He said the stimulus package was like an insurance policy to make sure the economic recovery does not falter again. China led from the start and faltered only rarely during the rest of the competition. Europe's fuel protests faltered after several governments offered concessions to the striking truckers. Click here to see our words in the news for the previous week. Return to our home page |© The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. All rights reserved 2004 | Last modified: January 30, 2004