Education & Reference Questions & Answers

Baggravation is a combination of the words “bag” and “aggravation”, and is a term used to describe the annoyance one feels at the airport when one’s bags have not arrived at the baggage carousel but everyone else’s has. It is that typical feeling, when it seems like your bags are always the last to arrive.

The word ‘Bafana’ is a Zulu word, plural for ‘umfaan’, meaning boy. There is also a movie about Mandela in jail called “Goodbye Bafana”. Bafana Bafana is the national football team of South Africa and is controlled by the South African Football Association, which will be hosting the 19th FIFA World Cup in June 2010. Bafana Bafana, meaning Boys Boys, …

An abnormal and persistent fear of spiders. Sufferers of arachnophobia experience undue anxiety even though they realize that the risk of encountering a spider and being harmed by it is small or non-existent. This phobia was exploited in a 1990 movie “Arachnophobia”. The word is derived from the Greek ‘arachne’ (spider) and ‘phobos’ (fear) after the mythical Arachne, a maiden …

The okapi is a mammal belonging to the giraffe family. Also known as ‘forest giraffe’, it is native to the Ituri rainforest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. The okapi lives a secluded life and was not discovered until 1900 by explorer Sir Harry Johnson. It is shorter than the giraffe and has stripes on the legs, reminiscent of …

Apparently biologists are still trying to figure out the cause of the massive bird deaths on New Year’s eve, along with the unusual deaths of other wildlife species, but are ruling out any biblical or environmental issues (so then what is the real cause people). The term being applied to this strange event now is an “Aflockalypse”. Other weird deaths …

A tick tock is used with reference to a news event about which events are recounted in chronological order. The term is used as a metaphor, indicating the ticking of a clock towards the unfolding of an event. The events are explained with boldface dates.

Red herring is an idiomatic expression referring to the rhetorical or literary tactic of diverting attention away from an item of significance. For example, in mystery fiction, where the identity of a criminal is being sought, an innocent party may be purposefully cast in a guilty light by the author through the employment of false emphasis, deceptive clues, ‘loaded’ words …

This term came to be used during the peak of the recession period, during Christmas season, when the world was shrouded with the economic downturn. It refers to women who went on a ‘spending binge’ despite the fact that they couldn’t afford it and more so when their ‘purse’ was already dented. The splurging during recession earned them the name …

The Parthian shot was a military tactic made famous by the Parthians, ancient Iranian people. The Parthian archers, mounted on light horse, would feign retreat; then, while at a full gallop, turn their bodies back to shoot at the pursuing enemy. The maneuver required superb equestrian skills, since the rider’s hands were occupied by his bow. As the stirrup had …

Nuclear umbrella refers to a guarantee by a nuclear-weapon state to defend a non-nuclear allied state. It is usually used for the security alliances of the United States with Japan, South Korea, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and Australia, originating with the Cold War with the Soviet Union. For some countries, it was an alternative to acquiring nuclear weapons themselves.