# Actual Freedom – Definitions

# Definitions Bachelor of Arts; Bar Sinister; Bark up the Wrong Tree; Bastardy Bedight; The Beer; Being; Beg the Question; Behavioural(ism); Behest Benightedment; Benightedness; Bias; Bipartite; Bizarrerie; Bizarro Black-a-Vised; Blackwash; Blah/ Hogwash/ Jack Shit/ Monkey-Shine A Blanket Agreement; Bless; Blessed; Blessedly Brain-Flatus; Breeze; Bridle Path; Bucolic; Bum Rap Bachelor of Arts: Bachelor of Arts (n.): 1. a degree conferred on a person who has successfully completed his or her undergraduate studies, usually in a branch of *the liberal arts or humanities*; 2. a person who holds this degree. [emphasis \ added]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). Bar Sinister: • bar sinister (n.): a heraldic bend or baton sinister, held to signify bastardy. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). • bar sinister (n.): 1. (not in heraldic usage) another name for bend sinister; 2. the condition, implication, or stigma of being of illegitimate birth. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). Bark up the Wrong Tree: ‘bark up the wrong tree: make an effort in the wrong direction, be on the wrong track’. (Oxford Dictionary). Bastardy: • bastardy (n.; archaic): the condition of being a bastard; illegitimacy. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • bastardy (n.): 1.1. the state of being a bastard, or begotten and born out of lawful wedlock; [e.g.]: “I would, false murderous coward, on thy knee | Make thee beg pardon for thy passed speech, | And say it was thy mother that thou meant’st | That thou thyself was born in bastardy”. (Shakespeare, “2 Henry VI.”, iii. 2); “The Cliffords take from me that Name of theirs, | Which hath beene famous for so many yeeres: | They blot my Birth with hateful Bastardie, | That I sprang not from their Nobilitie; | They my alliance utterly refuse, | Nor will a Strumpet shall their Name abuse”. (Michael Drayton, “The Epistle of Rosamond to King Henry”; 1579); 2. the act of begetting a bastard. [Middle English bastard, from ...&c]. 2. the act of begetting a bastard. [Middle English bastard, from Anglo-French basterd, Old French bastart; from French bát, Provinçal bast, Spanish, Italian basto, ‘a pack-saddle’ + -ard + -y; equivalent to Old French fils de bas and fils de bast, ‘a bastard’, literally, ‘son of a pack-saddle’]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Encyclopedia). • bastardy (n.): the condition of being of illegitimate birth; (synonyms): illegitimacy. ~ (American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus). Bedight: • bedight (v.; bedights, bedighting, bedighted or bedight; tr.v.): to array or adorn; (adj.; past participle of the verb): adorned or bedecked. [C14: from dight]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • bedight (tr.v. bedighted or bedight, bedighting, bedights; archaic): to dress or array. [Middle English bidighten, ‘to arrange’, ‘compose’, from bi-, ‘be-’ + dighten, ‘adorn’, from Old English dihtan, ‘to arrange’, from Latin dictāre, ‘to dictate’, ‘order’; frequentative of dīcere, ‘to say’]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). • bedight (tr.v.; bedighted or bedight, bedighting; archaic): to deck out; array. [1350-1400]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). • bedight (v.): decorate; (synonyms): bedeck, deck, decorate; [e.g.]: “O deck the halls with boughs of holly”; “To decorate the room for the party”; (related words): adorn, grace, ornament, embellish, beautify (make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.; [e.g.]: “To beautify yourself for the special day”); plume (deck with a plume; [e.g.]: “He wore a plumed helmet”). ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • bedight (tr.v.; bedighted or bedight; bedighting; archaic): array (viz.: to dress or decorate especially in splendid or impressive), equip (viz.: to dress, to array). [etymology: Middle English bydyghten, from by-, ‘be’ + dighten, ‘to array’, ‘dress’; more at dight; first known use: fifteenth century, in the meaning defined above]. ~ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). • bedight (tr.v. generally or always in pret. and pp. bedight or bedighted; archaic and poetical): to array; equip; dress; trick out; bedeck; invest; [e.g.]: “A troope of men the most in armes bedight”. (Mir. for Mags., p. 270); “His head and beard with sout were ill bedight”. (Edmund Spenser, 1552-1599, “The Faerie Queene”,1590-1596, II. vii. 3); “Many a rare and sumptuous tome | In vellum bound, with gold bedight”. (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882, “Wayside Inn”, Prelude). [Middle English, only in pp. bediht, bydyght; from be-¹ + dight]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • bedeck† (pp.): a simplified spelling of bedecked (viz.: arrayed; equiped; dressed; tricked out; invested). ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). Random Literary Samples. • “In half a minute Mrs Cratchit entered—flushed, but smiling proudly—with the pudding, like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of half-a-quartern of ignited brandy, and *bedight* with Christmas holly stuck into the top. Oh, a wonderful pudding. Bob Cratchit said, and calmly too, that he regarded it as the greatest success achieved by Mrs Cratchit since their marriage. Mrs Cratchit said that now the weight was off her mind, she would confess she had had her doubts about the quantity of flour...”. [emphasis added]. ~ (from Stave Three: ‘The Second of the Three Spirits’, in “A Christmas Carol”, by Charles Dickens; 1843, Chapman & Hall, London). • “Gaily *bedight* | A gallant knight, | In sunshine and in shadow, | Had journeyed long, | Singing a song, | In search of Eldorado. || But he grew old—| This knight so bold—| And o’er his heart a shadow | Fell, as he found | No spot of ground | That looked like Eldorado. || And, as his strength | Failed him at length, | He met a pilgrim shadow—| ‘Shadow’, said he, | ‘Where can it be—| Th’ land of Eldorado?’ || ‘Over the Mountains Of the Moon, | Down the Valley of the Shadow, | Ride, boldly ride’, | The shade replied,—| ‘If you seek for Eldorado!’”. [emphasis added]. ~ (“Eldorado”, by Edgar Allan Poe; 1849). • “‘But first hold up your sceptre and swear that you will give me the chariot, *bedight* with bronze, and the horses that now carry the noble son of Peleus’. (...elided...). ‘I will tell you truly all’, replied Dolon. ‘His horses are the finest and strongest that I have ever seen, they are whiter than snow and fleeter than any wind that blows. His chariot is *bedight* with silver and gold, and he has brought his marvellous golden armour, of the rarest workmanship—too splendid for any mortal man to carry, and meet only for the gods’...”. [emphases added]. ~ (from Book Ten, in “The Iliad”, by Homer of Chios; circa 800 BCE). Beer: ‘beer’ (also ‘be-er’): someone who is or exists, esp. the Self-existent, God’. (Oxford Dictionary). Being: being – Shocked to the depths of her being – spirit, soul, nature, essence, substance, entity. Oxford Thesaurus Beg the Question: beg the question (idiom): 1. to assume to be true what one is purporting to prove in an argument; 2. to call to mind a question in a discussion; invite or provoke a question; (usage note): historically, logicians and philosophers have used the phrase beg the question to mean “to put forward an argument whose conclusion is already assumed as a premise”; usually, when people beg the question in this sense, the conclusion and the assumed premise are put in slightly different words, which tends to obscure the fact that such an argument is logically meaningless; for instance, to argue that “caviar tastes better than peanut butter because caviar has a superior flavour” is to beg the question—the premise that is taken as given (that caviar’s flavour is superior) is essentially identical to the point it is intended to prove (that caviar tastes better); but since at least the early 1900s, laypeople have been using beg the question in slightly different senses, to mean “raise a relevant question” or “leave a relevant question unanswered”; when used in these senses, beg the question is usually followed by a clause explaining what the question in question is, as in “That article begs the question of whether we should build a new school or renovate the old one” or “The real estate listing claims that the kitchen is spacious, which begs the question of what ‘spacious’ means”; these senses of beg the question are so well established that they have nearly displaced the original sense in everyday usage, but they are still often frowned on by traditionalists, especially those with training in philosophy. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). Behavioural: behavioural (also -ior-): of, pertaining to, or forming part of behaviour; behaviouralism: behavioural science [the science of animal (and human) behaviour] esp. as applied to politics; behaviouralist: a practitioner of behaviouralism, (adv) of or pertaining to behaviouralism or behaviouralists; behaviourally: as regards behaviour. (Oxford Dictionary). Behest: • behest (n.): an authoritative indication to be obeyed; (synonyms): bidding, charge, command, commandment, dictate, direction, directive, injunction, instruction (often used in plural), mandate, order, word. ~ (American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus). • behest (n.): 1. an authoritative command; 2. an urgent request; [e.g.]: “I called the office at the behest of my assistant”. [Middle English bihest, ‘vow’, from Old English behǣs; from be- + hest, Middle English, alteration of hes, from Old English hǣs]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). • behest (n.): an authoritative order or earnest request. [Old English behǣs, from behātan; from be- + hest; viz.: Old English hǣs; related to hātan, ‘to promise’, ‘command’]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • behest (n.): 1. a command; directive; 2. an earnest request. [before 1000; Middle English bihest(e), Old English behǣs promise; from be- + hest]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). • behest (n.): an authoritative command or request; (synonyms): bid, bidding, command, dictation (an authoritative direction or instruction to do something). ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • behest (n.): at someone’s behest; at someone’s command; by someone’s order; at someone’s demand; at someone’s wish; by someone’s decree; at someone’s bidding; at someone’s instruction; by someone’s mandate; at someone’s dictate; at someone’s commandment; [e.g.]: “He did it at his wife’s behest”. ~ (Collins English Thesaurus). • at (someone’s) behest: done according to the whims or commands of someone else; [e.g.]: “Everything is done at our children’s behest; it’s like they’re the bosses of the family!”; “I’m presenting you this subpoena at the behest of the civil court”. ~ (Farlex Dictionary of Idioms). • request: ask (a request or question); behest (a stronger term than request); boon (once meant “request for a favor”); precatory, also, precative (words of request, entreaty, wish, expectation, or recommendation, employed in wills, as distinguished from express directions). ~ (Farlex Trivia Dictionary). Benightedment: • benightment (n.): the state of being in physical, moral, or intellectual darkness. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • benightment (n.; pl. benightments): the state or condition of being benighted (i.e., plunged or overwhelmed in moral or intellectual darkness). [etymology: from benight +‎ -ment]. ~ (Word-Sense Online Dictionary). • benightment (n.): the state or condition of being benighted (i.e., overtaken with night; hence, involved in moral darkness or ignorance). [from benight + -ment]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • benightment (n.): the condition of being benighted (i.e., intellectually or morally ignorant; unenlightened). ~ (Webster’s 1913 Dictionary). • benightedness (n.): the condition of being ignorant; lack of knowledge or learning; (synonyms): ignorance, illiteracy, illiterateness, nescience. ~ (American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus). • benightedness (n.): the quality of being benighted (i.e., plunged into darkness; lacking education or knowledge; unenlightened; also, lacking morality; immoral, unscrupulous); [e.g.]: “Although it falls under the rubric of “Masterpiece Classic” (as opposed to the Contemporary or Mystery divisions), it holds no interest in shifting any impressions of benightedness”. (from “Spinsterhood Is Powerful (Until a Catch Shows Up)”, Ginia Bellafante; May 2, 2008, The New York Times‎). [etymology: benighted +‎ -ness]. ~ (Wiktionary English Dictionary). • benighten (tr.v.; ): to benight (i.e., to involve in moral darkness or ignorance). [from benight + -en¹, after enlighten, etc.]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • benighter (n.): one who benights or keeps others in darkness. [from benight + -er¹]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • benighted (adj.): 1. of people) without understanding; 2. ​(of places) without the benefits of modern life. [word origin: late sixteenth cent. (in the sense being overtaken by darkness): past participle of archaic benight, ‘cover in the darkness of night’, ‘obscure’; see be-, night]. ~ (Oxford English Dictionary). • benighted (adj.; literary, disapproval): if people or the place where they live are described as benighted, it is thought they are unfortunate or do not know anything; [e.g.]: “Famine hit that benighted country once more”; (synonyms, in the sense of backward; limited in physical or material development): uncivilised, crude, primitive, underdeveloped, undeveloped, unsophisticated, backward; [e.g.]: “We need to accelerate the pace of change in our backward country”; (synonyms, in the sense of crude; rough and simple; crude wooden carvings): simple, rudimentary, basic, primitive, coarse, clumsy, rough-and-ready, rough-hewn; (synonyms, in the sense of primitive; characteristic of an early simple state, esp. in being crude or basic; studies of primitive societies): uncivilised, savage, barbarian, barbaric, undeveloped, uncultivated. ~ (Collins Co-Build Advanced Learner’s Dictionary). • benighted (adj.): 1. overtaken by night or darkness; 2. being in a state of moral or intellectual darkness; unenlightened. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). • benighted (adj.): 1. lacking cultural, moral, or intellectual enlightenment; ignorant; 2. archaic overtaken by night; (n.): benightedness; (adv.): benightedly. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • benighted (adj.): 1. intellectually or morally ignorant; unenlightened; 2. overtaken by darkness or night; (n.): benightedness; (adv.): benightedly. [1565-75]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). • benighted (partic. adj.): overtaken with night; hence, involved in moral darkness or ignorance; as, ‘benighted Hottentots’. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • benighted (adj.): 1. overtaken by night or darkness; [e.g.]: “benighted (or nighted) travellers hurrying toward home”; (synonym): nighted (i.e., darkened, cloaked in or surrounded by darkness, dark); 2 lacking enlightenment or knowledge or culture; [e.g.]: “this benighted country”; “those benighted ages of barbarism and superstition”; (synonyms): dark age, dark; [e.g.]: “the dark ages”; “a dark age in the history of education”; unenlightened (not enlightened; ignorant); [e.g.]: “the devices by which unenlightened men preserved the unjust social order”. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • benighted (adj.): unenlightened, backward, uncultivated, uncivilised, crude, primitive; [e.g.]: “the terrible circumstances of that benighted country”. ~ (Collins English Thesaurus). • benighted (adj.): exhibiting lack of education or knowledge; (synonyms): ignorant, unenlightened, backward, primitive. ~ (American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus). • benighted (adj.): a somewhat old-fashioned English word which means turned into night, or into darkness or evil. ~ (2012 Wikipedia Encyclopaedia). • benighted (adj.): (obsolete or poetic): overtaken by night; especially of a traveller, etc.: caught out by oncoming night before reaching one’s destination; [e.g.]: “The Porter anſwered, This Man is in a Journey from the City of Deſtruction to Mount Zion, but being weary, and benighted, he asked me if he might lodge here to night; ſo I told him I would call for thee, who after diſcourſe had with him, mayeſt do as ſeemeth thee good, even according to the Law of the Houſe”. (pages 51-52, “The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come”, John Bunyan; 1678, Nathaniel Ponder, London); (obsolete): plunged into darkness; [e.g.]: “Rob the Spheare of lines vnited, | Make a ſuddaine voide in nature: | Force the day to be benighted, | Reaue the cauſe of time and creature”. (“The Sheepheards Sorrow, Being Disdained in Loue”, in “England’s Helicon”, Iohn Flasket; 1600, I. Roberts, London); (figurative): lacking education or knowledge; unenlightened; also, lacking morality; immoral, unscrupulous; [e.g.]: “It would be difficult to name any writers who have contributed so much to promote the progress of civilisation as these illustrious authors—these friends of human nature—these kind instructors of human errors and frailties—these benevolent spirits, who held up the torch of science to a benighted world”. (page 30, “Sketch of the History of International Law”,1800, Henry Wheaton, quoting Patrick Henry, in “Elements of International Law: With a Sketch of the History of the Science”; 1836, Carey, Lea & Blanchard, Philadelphia, Pa.); (figurative, obsolete): difficult to understand; abstruse, obscure; [e.g.]: “Others, held very good men, are at a dead ſtand, not knovving vvhat to doe or ſay; and are therefore called Seekers, looking for nevv Nuntio’s from Chriſt, to aſſoil theſe benighted queſtions, and to give nevv Orders for nevv Churches”. (page 18, “The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America”, Theodore de la Guard, aka Nathaniel Ward; 1647, John Dever & Robert Ibbitson for Stephen Bowtell, London); (antonym): unbenighted; (usage note): not to be confused with beknighted (“made a knight”). [etymology: benight +‎ -ed]. ~ (Wiktionary English Dictionary). • benighted (adj.): 1. overtaken by darkness or night; [e.g.]: “The benighted travellers | From markets and from fairs | Have seen his midnight candle glimmering”. (William Butler Yeats, 1865-1939, “From The Tower”,1928); 2. existing in a state of intellectual, moral, or social darkness; unenlightened; [e.g.]: “spreading their message among these poor benighted people”; “a strange, benighted country”; (n.): benightedness; (adv.): benightedly; (synonyms): ignorant; illiterate; nonliterate; uneducated; uninstructed; unlearned; unlettered; unread; unschooled; untaught; untutored; analphabetic; rude; simple; (example of benighted in a sentence): “The poor benighted souls who do not know the joys of reading”; (recent examples on the world-wide-web): “At her urging, he ended his job on Friday, and began his job overseeing the benighted stations on the following Monday”. (Taylor Dolven, The Boston Globe; 6 Sep. 2023); “He had already received death threats from members of this benighted group, resulting in the government placing him under the protection of armed federal agents”. (Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2023); “He was as destined for lacrosse as Lucifer was to fall, my freedom and savings the cost of that benighted destiny”. (Dennard Dayle, The New Yorker, 20 July 2023); “Those deaths might be understood as products of an earlier, benighted time, when the average citizen knew far less about genetic testing and disease management”. (Krithika Varagur, Harper’s Magazine, 10 July 2023); “The reference is to that benighted state’s surprising success in improving reading scores for its fourth-graders through a focused programme of literacy instruction for teachers and pupils alike”. (Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2023); “There is something allegorical as well as touching about his self-willed activities as regards certain haps and mishaps of an American élite which strove to become cosmopolitan by welcoming foreign avant-garde sensibilities to these arguably benighted shores”. (Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2022); “In a city beloved by wealthy real estate investors from around the world, the plan makes financial sense, but this may be the most benighted condo conversion in the history of condo conversions, with problems which go far beyond constraints placed on how the building can be altered”. (New York Times, 23 Dec. 2021); “What is the appeal of such a benighted destination”? (Henry Wismayer, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2022). [first known use: 15th century, in the meaning defined at first definition]. ~ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). • benight (tr.v.; rare in this sense, except in the past participle): 1. to overtake with night; [e.g.]: “Run to your shrouds within these brakes and trees; | Our number may affright. Some virgin sure | (For so I can distinguish by mine art) | Benighted in these woods! Now to my charms, | And to my wily trains: I shall ere long | Be well stocked with as fair a herd as grazed | About my mother Circe”. (John Milton, “Comus (A Masque Presented at Ludlow Castle)”, 1634, 1. 150); 2. to involve in darkness, as with the shades of night; shroud in gloom; overshadow; eclipse; figuratively, to involve in moral darkness or ignorance; [e.g.]: “And let ourselves benight our happiest day”. (John Donne, 1572-1631, “Expiration”, 1896); “Her visage was benighted with a taffeta-mask, to fray away the naughty wind from her face”. (Thomas Middleton, 1580-1627, “Father Hubbard’s Tales”, 1604); “But oh! alas! what sudden cloud is spread | About this glorious king’s eclipsed head? | It all his fame benights”. (Abraham Cowley, 1618-1667, “Davideis; an Heroical Poem of the Troubles of David”, ii); “Can we, whose souls are lighted | With wisdom from on high, | Shall we to men benighted | The lamp of life deny?” (Bishop Reginald Heber, 1783-1826, “Missionary Hymn, From Greenland’s Icy Mountains”, 1819). [from be-¹ + night]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • nescience (n.): nescience and inscience both mean ‘ignorance’. ~ (Farlex Trivia Dictionary). • inscience (n.): inscience and nescience both mean ‘ignorance’. ~ (Farlex Trivia Dictionary). • ignotism (n.): a mistake due to ignorance. ~ (Farlex Trivia Dictionary). • sophomoric (adj.): includes the roots soph-, ‘wise’, and moros, ‘fool’, so the contrast between wisdom and ignorance is built right into the word (n.): sophomore. ~ (Farlex Trivia Dictionary). • sophomoric (adj.): 1. of or pertaining to sophomores; 2. intellectually pretentious and conceited but immature and ill-informed; (adv.): sophomorically. [1805-15, Amer.]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Benightedness: benightedness (n.): the condition of being ignorant; lack of knowledge or learning: ignorance, illiteracy, illiterateness, nescience. ~ (American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus). Bias: • ‘bias (n.): 1. a partiality which prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation; [e.g.]: “They were fiercely attacked in the press for alleged political bias”; (synonyms): prejudice, preconception; tendentiousness (=‘an intentional and controversial bias’); (v.): influence in an unfair way; [e.g.]: “you are biasing my choice by telling me yours”; 2. cause to be biased; (synonyms): predetermine; prejudice, prepossess (=‘influence somebody’s opinion in advance’). ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • ‘bias (n.): 1. an inclination for or against which inhibits impartial judgment; (synonyms): one-sidedness, partiality, partisanship, prejudice, prepossession, tendentiousness. ~ (American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus). Bipartite: bipartite (adj.): 1. involving or made by two separate parties; [e.g.]: “a bipartite agreement”; “When our early medieval documents begin again in the eighth century, however, bipartite divisions are commonly referred to”; 2. consisting of two parts; [e.g.]: “a bipartite uterus”; “Most coral reef fishes have a bipartite life cycle, with a dispersing pelagic larval phase and a relatively sedentary reef resident phase”. [origin: Late Middle English (in the sense ‘divided into two parts’): from Latin bipartitus, past participle of bipartire, from bi-, ‘two’ + partire, ‘to part’]. ~ (Oxford English Dictionary). Bizarrerie: • bizarrerie (n.): strangeness or grotesqueness, especially strange or unconventional behaviour. ~ (Ologies & Isms Dictionary). • bizarrerie (n.; pl. bizarreries): a thing considered extremely strange and unusual, especially in an amusing way; [e.g.]: "the bizarrerie of small talk"; "This episode, we can agree, adds a new chapter to the annals of bizarrerie"; "Her field of deployment was not the courtrooms of Paris but the literary culture of the Valois court, with its love of classical myths and its taste for bizarrerie"; "But where in the Iliad we still encounter bizarrerie, in Troy the visual and sexual could not be more ordinary despite the virtual scenery"; "Sometimes he proceeds with full force, but his own powers trip him up; originality becomes bizarrerie, genius begets monsters"; "The film’s bizarrerie extends to the characters". [origin: mid eighteenth century; from French, from bizarre]. ~ (Oxford English Dictionary). • bizarrerie (n.): 1. the quality of being bizarre; 2. a bizarre act. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • bizarrerie (n.): 1. a bizarre quality; 2. something bizarre. [first known use: 1747; French]. ~ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). • bizarrerie (n.): bizarre quality.~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). Bizarrerie: • bizarrerie (n.): 1. the quality of being bizarre; 2. a bizarre act. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • bizarrerie (n.): 1. a bizarre quality; 2. something bizarre. [French; first known use: 1747]. ~ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). • bizarrerie (n.): bizarre quality. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • bizarrerie (n.): strangeness or grotesqueness, especially strange or unconventional behaviour. ~ (Ologies & Isms Dictionary). • bizarrerie (n.; pl. bizarreries): a thing considered extremely strange and unusual, especially in an amusing way; [e.g.]: “the bizarrerie of small talk”; “This episode, we can agree, adds a new chapter to the annals of bizarrerie everywhere”; “Her field of deployment was not the courtrooms of Paris but the literary culture of the Valois court, with its love of classical myths and its taste for bizarrerie uncut”; “But where in the Iliad we still encounter bizarrerie, in Troy the visual and sexual could not be more ordinary despite the virtual scenery”; “Sometimes he proceeds with full force, but his own powers trip him up; originality becomes bizarrerie, genius begets monsters”; “The film’s bizarrerie extends to the characters”. [origin: mid eighteenth century; from French, from bizarre]. ~ (Oxford English Dictionary). Bizarro, history: The history of Bizarro, the defective replica of Superman, is as craggy as the creature’s disfigured face. While the layperson or contemporary fan might regard Bizarro as the doppelgänger of the Man of Steel, this tragic character first appeared in “The Adventures of Superman When He Was a Boy”, DC Comics’ Superboy № 68 (1958), written by Otto Binder and illustrated by George Papp. In that tale, Superboy observes the unsuccessful trial run of Smallville scientist Professor Dalton’s duplicator. Not only is Prof. Dalton a failure as an inventor, he is clumsy, too—he stumbles into his machine, causing it to bathe the Boy of Steel in radiation. And thus is born a (cracked) mirror image of Superboy, a jagged-complexioned, childlike duplicate who dubs himself “Bizarro” after Superboy gasps, “Gosh, that creature is bizarre!” Possessing all of the Boy of Steel’s remarkable abilities—except for his grammar whereby Bizarro substitutes “Me” for “I” (“Me am Bizarro” is one of the most famous catchphrases to spring from comics into the American vernacular)—this super-powered cipher blunders through the streets of Smallville looking for acceptance (“Why no one like Me?”), inadvertently instigating panic. (...). Editor Mort Weisinger quickly realised that Bizarro better served the Superman franchise as a comedic character—and as a Bizarro society. This uncanny race resided on the Bizarro World, a square-shaped planet where its inhabitants followed a peculiar code of conduct: “Us do opposite of all earthly things! Us hate beauty! Us love ugliness! Is big crime to make anything perfect on Bizarro World!” Beginning with Adventure Comics № 285 (1961), “Tales of the Bizarro World” graduated into its own series, with Jerry Siegel, the co-creator of Superman, taking over as writer from Otto Binder and with John Forte as artist, running monthly in the title through issue № 299 (1962). (...). Bizarro’s widest claim to fame was screenwriter David Mandel’s “The Bizarro Jerry”, an immensely popular episode in Season Eight of the long-running sitcom ‘Seinfeld’ (1990-1998). While comic-book references were common in the series, David Mandel’s teleplay was structured around the “reverse image” Bizarro template: Elaine encountered kind-hearted counterparts to the spiteful Jerry, George, and Kramer. Jerry’s dialogue expounds the writer’s—and actor Jerry Seinfeld’s—love for the super-miscreant: “Up is down. Down is up. He says ‘hello’ when he leaves, ‘goodbye’ when he arrives”.~ (from “The Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood”; ©2006 Visible Ink Press®). Black-a-Vised: black-a-vised (adj.): of a complexion tending toward brown or black; (synonyms): dark, dusky, swarthy, bistered⁽⁰¹⁾, brunet⁽⁰²⁾. ~ (American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus). ⁽⁰¹⁾bistered (adj.): coloured with or as if with bister; (=a water-soluble brownish-yellow pigment made by boiling wood soot). ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). ⁽⁰²⁾brunet (adj.): marked by dark or relatively dark pigmentation of hair or skin or eyes; (n.): a person with dark (brown) hair. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). Blackwash: blackwash (tr.v.; blackwashed, blackwashing, blackwashes): to bring from concealment; disclose. [coined as an opposite to whitewash]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). Blah: blah: meaningless, nonsensical, insincere, or pretentious talk or writing. (Oxford Dictionary). ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Hogwash: hogwash: kitchen swill etc. for pigs; fig. worthless stuff, nonsense. (Oxford Dictionary). ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Jack shit: jack shit: nothing. (Macquarie Dictionary). ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Monkey-Shine: monkey-shine (US slang = monkey trick): a mischievous, foolish, or underhand trick or act; an antic; (usu. in pl.). (Oxford Dictionary). A Blanket Agreement: a blanket agreement: across the board, overall, inclusive, all-inclusive, comprehensive, general, wide-ranging, sweeping. (Oxford Dictionary). Bless: bless: confer well-being upon, make happy, cause to prosper; endow with. (Oxford Dictionary). Blessed: blessed: enjoying supreme felicity; fortunate; happily endowed with; pleasurable; bringing happiness; blissful. (Oxford Dictionary). Blessedly: blessedly: in a blessed manner [enjoying supreme felicity; fortunate; happily endowed with; pleasurable; bringing happiness; blissful]. (Oxford Dictionary). blessedly (adv.): in a blessed manner (=highly fortunate or favoured; characterised by happiness and good fortune; [e.g.]: “The blessed assurance of a steady income”; “Now is a blessed time to be alive”; “Blessed with a happy marriage”; “Spending many happy days at the seashore”). ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). Blessed: • bless (v.t.): confer well-being upon, make happy, cause to prosper; endow with. ~ (Oxford English Dictionary). • blessed (adj.): enjoying supreme felicity; fortunate; happily endowed with; pleasurable; bringing happiness; [...]. ~ (Oxford English Dictionary). • blessedly (adv.): in a blessed manner [i.e., enjoying supreme felicity; fortunate; happily endowed with; pleasurable; bringing happiness]. ~ (Oxford English Dictionary). * • bless; blessing, blesses, (tr.v.): [...]; 5. to confer well-being or prosperity on; (n.): blesser. [Middle English blessen, from Old English blœ̄dsian, blēdsian, blētsian, ‘to bless, wish happiness, consecrate’]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). • blessed; also blest (adj.): [...]; 3. happiness, pleasure, or contentment; (adv.): blessedly; (n.): blessedness. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). * • bless; blesses, blessing (vb.tr.): [...]; 5. (passive) to grant happiness, health, or prosperity to; [e.g.]: ‘they were blessed with perfect peace’. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • blessed or blest (adj.): [...]; 4. by happiness or good fortune; [e.g.]: ‘a blessed time’; 5. bringing great happiness or good fortune; (adv.): blessedly; (n.): blessedness. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). * • bless; blessing (v.t.): [...]; 3. to bestow some benefit upon; endow; [e.g.]: ‘nature blessed me with strong teeth’; (n.): blesser; (adv.): blessingly. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). • blessed; also blest (adj.): [...]; 3. favoured; fortunate; [e.g.]: ‘blessed with common sense’; 4. blissfully happy; [...]; 6. bringing happiness and thankfulness; [e.g.]: ‘the blessed assurance of a steady income’; (adv.): blessedly; (n.): blessedness. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). * • bless (v.t.): [...]; 2. confer prosperity or happiness on. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • blessed; also blest (adj.): [...]; 6. characterised by happiness and good fortune; [e.g.]: ‘a blessed time’. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • blessedly (adv.): in a blessed manner. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). Breeze: ‘breeze (fig. slang): something that is easy to achieve, handle, etc. (Oxford Dictionary). Brain-Flatus: • brain-flatus (slang; usually vulgar): a brief mental lapse, especially an instance of forgetfulness or confusion; [e.g.]: “I had a brief brain-flatus and introduced him by the wrong name”. ~ (Random House Dictionary; Expurgated Version). • brain-flatus (informal): an idea that a person voices without much consideration, such as during a brainstorming session. ~ (Collins English Dictionary; Expurgated Version). • brain-flatus (slang): when you mean to do something really obvious but then you forget what you were doing and end up doing something completely different. i.e., when you have a wrapper in one hand and food in the other, and throw away the food and try to eat the wrapper; [e.g.]: “Person A: ‘Man, I had such a brain-flatus today’; Person B: ‘What did you do?’; Person A: ‘I was holding food and a wrapper and threw away the food and tried to eat the wrapper’”. (Uploaded by ‘nv2001’; February 9, 2015). ~ (Urban English Dictionary; Expurgated Version). • brain-flatus (colloquial): a momentary mental lapse in attention, memory, understanding, care, or competence; [e.g.]: “Sorry boss, I just had a little brain-flatus there. What were you saying again?”; “The sawyer, having a bit of a brain-flatus, unwittingly sawed the support beam completely in two”. ~ (Farlex Dictionary of Idioms; Expurgated Version). • brain-flatus (synonyms): senectitude ineptitude (a.k.a. a senior moment); a blonde moment; a momentary lapse of reason; having a blind spot; bubbles in the think-tank; synapse lapse; brain cramp; a brain burp; mental hiccup; mental block; mental aberration; mental misfire; cranial-rectal inversion; cephalus flatulus. ~ (Online Neoteric Dictionary). • flatus (n.): a reflex which expels intestinal gas through the anus; (synonym): breaking wind. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • flatus (n.): gas generated in or expelled from the digestive tract, especially the intestines or stomach. [Latin flātus, ‘break wind’, ‘a blowing’, from flāre, ‘to blow’]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). • flatus (n.): gas generated in the alimentary canal. [C17: from Latin, ‘a blowing’, ‘snorting’, from flāre, ‘to breathe’, ‘blow’]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • flatus (n.; pl. flatuses): intestinal gas. [1660-70; from New Latin; from Latin: ‘blowing’, ‘breath’, ‘breathing’, derivative of flāre, ‘to blow’]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). • flatus (n.): as discharged by way of the anus; the gas is a mixture of odourless nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane, and a varying quantity of hydrogen sulphide, which is said to smell like rotten eggs; hydrogen and methane are both inflammable, but the risk to non-smokers is small; the average person discharges gas about twenty times a day. ~ (Collins Dictionary of Medicine). Bridle Path: • bridle path (n.): a shaved or clipped section of a horse’s mane, beginning behind the ears at the poll, delineating the area where the crownpiece of the bridle lies; a bridle path allows the bridle or halter to lie flat on the head of the horse, which may be more comfortable; it also is thought to give the horse the appearance of a slimmer throatlatch (i.e., the point at which the windpipe meets the head at the underside of the jaw, corresponding to where the eponymous part of a bridle goes), a generally desirable conformation (i.e., evaluation) trait; bridle paths are a common style of grooming in the United States, but are not seen as often in Europe. ~ (2023 Wikipedia Encyclopaedia). Bucolic: • [from Latin ‘bucolicus’ (ox tending); literally, cattle cultivation] • [generally]: of or relating to the countryside or typical of rural life; not urban. • [specifically]: of or pertaining to cowherds (herdsmen or herdswomen); pastoral. • [typically]: pleasingly peaceful and innocent; picturesque in natural simplicity; idyllic. • [in literature]: portraying or expressive of the life of cowherds, shepherds, or country people, in an idealised or conventionalised manner; a descriptive work in poetry or prose which deals with rustic life or pastoral scenes or suggests a mood of peace and contentment. [synonyms]: rural, rustic, pastoral, agricultural, countrified, arcadian, georgic, idyllic, simple, innocent. * The word bucolic is very useful, on occasion, to simultaneously convey both its denotational (realistic) and connotational (romantic) meaning—as in, on the one hand, the practical cultivation of livestock on grasslands or meadows, whilst, on the other hand, a pastoral ambience of picturesque tranquillity, contentment, etc. Bum Rap: bum rap (n.): an unjust punishment’. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). RETURN TO DEFINITIONS INDEX RICHARD’S HOME PAGE The Third Alternative (Peace On Earth In This Life Time As This Flesh And Blood Body) Here is an actual freedom from the Human Condition, surpassing Spiritual Enlightenment and any other Altered State Of Consciousness, and challenging all philosophy, psychiatry, metaphysics (including quantum physics with its mystic cosmogony), anthropology, sociology ... and any religion along with its paranormal theology. Discarding all of the beliefs that have held humankind in thralldom for aeons, the way has now been discovered that cuts through the ‘Tried and True’ and enables anyone to be, for the first time, a fully free and autonomous individual living in utter peace and tranquillity, beholden to no-one. Richard's Text ©The Actual Freedom Trust: 1997- . All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer and Use Restrictions and Guarantee of Authenticity