triskaidekaphobia \tris-ky-dek-uh-FOH-bee-uh\, noun:
A morbid fear of the number 13 or the date Friday the 13th.
Thirteen people, pledged to eliminate triskaidekaphobia, fear of the number 13, today tried to reassure American sufferers by renting a 13 ft plot of land in Brooklyn for 13 cents . . . a month.
-- Daily Telegraph, January 14, 1967
Past disasters linked to the number 13 hardly help triskaidekaphobics overcome their affliction. The most famous is the Apollo 13 mission, launched on April 11, 1970 (the sum of 4, 11 and 70 equals 85 - which when added together comes to 13), from Pad 39 (three times 13) at 13:13 local time, and struck by an explosion on April 13.
-- "It's just bad luck that the 13th is so often a Friday", Electronic Telegraph, September 8, 1996
In Christian countries the number 13 was considered unlucky because there were 13 persons at the Last Supper of Christ. Fridays are also unlucky, because the Crucifixion was on a Friday. Hence a Friday falling on the thirteenth day is regarded as especially unlucky.
encumbrance \en-KUHM-brun(t)s\, noun:
1. A burden, impediment, or hindrance.
2. A lien, mortgage, or other financial claim against a property.
As Prince of Wales, George V had himself taken his wife on several foreign or imperial tours, without the encumbrance of their young children.
-- Ben Pimlott, The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II
He . . . will have to overcome the encumbrance of space gloves to reattach electrical cables and install a hatch.
-- "Mir Cosmonaut's Heart Ills Cast Doubt on Repair Effort", New York Times, July 15, 1997
Liberated from the encumbrances of Washington, the editor and his creation were free to embark on the happiest period of their history.
-- Edward L. Widmer, Young America
But she knew that each family needed a son to inherit the property and encumbrances and to carry on the name for at least one more generation.
-- Annabel Davis-Goff, The Dower House
Encumbrance is from Old French encombrance, from encombrer, "to block up," from en-, "in" (here used intensively) + combre, "dam, weir, hence hindrance."
puerile \PYOO-uhr-uhl; PYOOR-uhl\, adjective:
Displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity; juvenile; childish.
And, in one of the most puerile episodes of his adult career, he punishes his old schoolmates for being rich and vulgar by breaking into their houses to soak the labels off their boasted wine collections.
-- Thomas R. Edwards, "Mordecai Richler Then and Now", New York Times, June 22, 1980
Political argument is becoming a puerile cartoon about the moral . . . doing battle with the immoral.
-- George F. Will, "The Costs of Moral Exhibitionism", Washington Post, April 15, 2001
Puerile comes from Latin puerilis, from puer, "child, boy."
eleemosynary \el-uh-MOS-uh-ner-ee\, adjective:
1. Of or for charity; charitable; as, "an eleemosynary institution."
2. Given in charity; having the nature of alms; as, "eleemosynary assistance."
3. Supported by or dependent on charity; as, "the eleemosynary poor."
We also need to revive the great eleemosynary institutions through which compassionate people serve those in need with both greater flexibility and discipline than government agencies are capable.
-- Clifford F. Thies, "Bring back the bridewell", The World & I, September 1, 1995
An author ought to consider himself, not as a gentleman who keeps a private or eleemosynary treat, but rather as one who keeps a public ordinary, at which all persons are welcome for their money.
-- Henry Fielding, Tom Jones
Like Hilda's "eleemosynary doves," these birds depend upon the Author's charity, require mothering, just as Hilda finds solace in the Virgin--"a child, lifting its tear-stained face to seek comfort from a Mother."
-- John Dolis, "Domesticating Hawthorne: Home Is for the Birds", Criticism, Winter 2001
The source of eleemosynary is Medieval Latin eleemosynarius, from Late Latin eleemosyna, "alms," from Greek eleemosyne, from eleemon, "pitiful," from eleos, "pity."
dour \DOO-uhr; DOW-uhr\, adjective:
1. Harsh; stern.
2. Unyielding; inflexible; obstinate.
3. Marked by ill humor; gloomy; sullen.
John James Ruskin's dinner table was far too lively for the dour John La Touche.
-- Tim Hilton, John Ruskin: The Later Years
Father Greeley, who had been studying Church leaders for years, said it was the first time he had ever seen the dour Cardinal Jean Villot, head of the Vatican bureaucracy, laugh.
-- Jonathan Kwitny, Man of the Century
We don't want people to come out with a dour face, he said. "It is going to be fun with a capital F."
-- Richard Moe and Carter Wilkie, Changing Places
Dour probably comes from Latin durus, "hard, stern, severe."
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