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March 4, 2026
Mar 4, 2026
Word
languid
adjective
Definition
  1. drooping or flagging from or as if from exhaustion : weak
  2. sluggish in character or disposition : listless
  3. lacking force or quickness of movement : slow
Example
The trial proceeded at a languid pace as each attorney called up a whole roster of witnesses to testify.
Origin
The letter L holds claim to a payload of words in English that connote a lack of energy or enthusiasm. Two of them -- "languid" and "languorous" -- derive from the same source, the Latin verb "languēre" ("to languish"). "Languid" describes the kind of sluggishness that one often experiences from fatigue or weakness ("the illness left her feeling languid"). "Languorous" applies more to someone who just doesn’t feel the will to get up and do anything ("he felt languorous on a rainy Sunday afternoon"). There is also "lackadaisical," which implies a halfhearted effort given from lack of care ("lackadaisical seniors just floating along until graduation"), as well as "listless," which suggests a lack of spirit caused by physical weakness, dissatisfaction, or sadness ("she was listless for a few weeks following the breakup").
Webster's Dictionary
Idiom
absent without leave
Away without permission or explanation, as in Her daughter went to the mall but got in trouble for being absent without leave. The term and its acronym, AWOL, originated in the American military during World War I for soldiers absent from duty without permission (leave). It later was transferred to civilian situations, as in John didn't just cut his Tuesday classes; he went AWOL.
The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
Fun facts
  1. There is a town called Jersey Shore in Pennsylvania.
  2. You would weigh less on the top of a mountain than at sea level.
Snapple's under-the-cap 'Real Facts'
Artist
Kōgyo Tsukioka
Apr 18, 1869 - Feb 25, 1927

Tsukioka Kōgyo, sometimes called Sakamaki Kōgyo, was a Japanese artist of the Meiji period. He was a student and adopted son of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, and also studied with Ogata Gekkō. Although Kōgyo sometimes painted other subjects, for most of his career he made pictures of Japanese noh theatre, either as large-scale paintings or colored woodblock prints. Many of the latter were published in series and sold as multi-volume sets. Some sets, such as Nōgaku zue, have been preserved as albums in their original bindings, including accordion-style bindings known as orihon, while other sets such as Nōga taikan, were issued in sewn bindings known as yamato toji. Although most bound sets belong to institutional collections, individual prints by Kōgyo can still be found through dealers specializing in Japanese prints.

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Historical figure
Florence Jaffray Harriman
Jul 21, 1870 - Aug 31, 1967

Florence Jaffray "Daisy" Harriman was an American socialite, suffragist, social reformer, organizer, and diplomat. "She led one of the suffrage parades down Fifth Avenue, worked on campaigns on child labor and safe milk and, as minister to Norway in World War II, organized evacuation efforts while hiding in a forest from the Nazi invasion." In her ninety-second year, U.S. President John F. Kennedy honored her by awarding her the first "Citation of Merit for Distinguished Service." She often found herself in the middle of historic events. As she stated, "I think nobody can deny that I have always had through sheer luck a box seat at the America of my times."

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Historic event
1936 Winter Olympics
Feb 6, 1936 - Feb 16, 1936

The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany. The country also hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics, which were held in Berlin. It was the last year in which the Summer and Winter Games both took place in the same country.

The 1936 Winter Olympics were organized on behalf of the German League of the Reich for Physical Exercise by Karl Ritter von Halt, who had been named president of the committee for the organization of the Fourth Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen by Reichssportführer Hans von Tschammer und Osten.

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Quote
Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.
Jim Rohn