I can't recall having a day with this adjective associated with it, at least in recent months. It might be a nice change once in a while:
prosaic
prosaic Pronunciation: pro-ZAY-ik
Function: adjective
Etymology: Late Latin prosaicus, from Latin prosa prose
Date: 1656
Definition:
1a: characteristic of prose as distinguished from poetry; factual b: dull, unimaginative
2: everyday; ordinary
Example: "I gathered from my own representative that Lindsay's press conferences tended to be prosaic affairs, repetitious, formalistic, called for purely personal exposure."
- William F. Buckley, The Unmaking of a Mayor, p. 266, The Viking Press, 1966.
Here's the challenge from ProofreadNOW.com:
In America, it's a big sports weekend: The NFL is starting up again, the U.S. Open tennis tournament finals are Saturday and Sunday (go, Serena!), college football is in full swing, the Redsox are leading the wildcard race, and GT readers are competing for know-it-all.
1. boobird:
(a) a left-handed curveball;
(b) a weak bunt that results in a hit;
(c) a home fan at a sporting event who boos one or more members of the home team;
(d) someone in the stands behind homeplate castigating the umpire.
2. impresario:
(a) a person who puts on or sponsors an entertainment (as a television show or sports event);
(b) a venerated practitioner or former practitioner of an art, profession, or sport;
(c) an extraordinary, marvelous, or unusual accomplishment, deed, or event;
(d) one who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession.
3. plus fours:
(a) slang for Chuck Taylor high-top sneakers;
(b) loose sports knickers made four inches longer than ordinary knickers;
(c) tournament-weight tennis balls;
(d) leglifts done with ankle weights.
4. calisthenics:
(a) systematic rhythmic bodily exercises performed usually without apparatus;
(b) the surgical or dental specialty concerned with the design, construction, and fitting of sports prostheses;
(c) a science that deals with improving athletic performance;
(d) a branch of physics that deals with the production and effects of higher batting averages.
5. double fault:
(a) an infraction of the service rules (as in tennis, racquetball, or volleyball) that results from illegal placement of the server's two feet on the line or on the court inside the line;
(b) two consecutive lost points;
(c) two consecutive serving faults in tennis that result in the loss of a point;
(d) when a tennis player is ugly and stupid.
6. nickel:
(a) the first point scored by a side in a game of tennis called also five;
(b) a batter's count in baseball in which the strikes and balls add up to five called also a full count;
(c) the five players in the baseball infield, excluding the pitcher;
(d) a pass defense in football that employs five defensive backs.
7. passed ball:
(a) a baseball pitch not hit by the batter that passes the catcher when it should have been caught and allows a base runner to advance;
(b) a ball rejected by the pitcher due to its having a blemish or scuff mark;
(c) the fourth pitch in a row that is not a strike, resulting in the batter walking;
(d) a right-handed sinker.
8. slugging percentage:
(a) the ratio (as a rate per thousand) of the total number of bases reached on base hits to official times at bat for a baseball player;
(b) the ratio (as a rate per thousand) of the number of aces served to total serves;
(c) a ratio (as a rate per thousand) of base hits to official times at bat for a baseball player;
(d) a measure of the number of punches landed on a pitcher's face by an enraged hit batsman.
9. break point:
(a) the point at which the opponent breaks down and cries;
(b) a situation (as in tennis) in which one player will win the set by winning the next point;
(c) the first point scored in a match;
(d) a situation in tennis in which the receiving player can win the game by scoring the next point.
10. greatest men's tennis player of all time:
(a) Rod Laver;
(b) Roger Federer;
(c) Rafael Nadal;
(d) Bill Tilden.
Read on for Answers and scoring:
Answers: 1:c 2:a 3:b 4:a 5:c 6:d 7:a 8:a 9:d 10:b
Rate Yourself:
# 1 to 2 correct: You can play for Charleston Southern, maybe.
# 3 to 5 correct: You can play for Colorado State.
# 6 to 7 correct: You can play for LSU.
# 8 to 9 correct: Roll, Tide.
# All 10 correct: Go, Gators!
Thank you to ProofreadNOW.com for this fun feature.
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