Word of the year 2023

Merriam-Webster

‘Authentic,’ plus ‘rizz,’ ‘deepfake,’ ‘coronation,’ and other words that defined the year

Authentic

Rizz

Deepfake

Coronation

Dystopian

EGOT

X

Implode

Doppelgänger

Covenant

Indict

Elemental

Kibbutz

Deadname

Oxford Dictionaries

Oxford Word of the year 2023 is…
rizz

Collins

The Collins Word of the Year 2023 is…

AI

Dictionary.com

The Dictionary.com Word of the Year is hallucinate.


Geometry

by Rita Dove

I prove a theorem and the house expands:
the windows jerk free to hover near the ceiling,
the ceiling floats away with a sigh.

As the walls clear themselves of everything
but transparency, the scent of carnations
leaves with them. I am out in the open

And above the windows have hinged into butterflies,
sunlight glinting where they’ve intersected.
They are going to some point true and unproven.


Flash Cards

by Rita Dove

In math I was the whiz kid, keeper
of oranges and apples. What you don’t understand,
master, my father said; the faster
I answered, the faster they came.

I could see one bud on the teacher’s geranium,
one clear bee sputtering at the wet pane.
The tulip trees always dragged after heavy rain
so I tucked my head as my boots slapped home.

My father put up his feet after work
and relaxed with a highball and The Life of Lincoln.
After supper we drilled and I climbed the dark

before sleep, before a thin voice hissed
numbers as I spun on a wheel. I had to guess.
Ten, I kept saying, I’m only ten.


Soonest Mended

by John Ashbery

Barely tolerated, living on the margin
In our technological society, we were always having to be rescued
On the brink of destruction, like heroines in Orlando Furioso
Before it was time to start all over again.
There would be thunder in the bushes, a rustling of coils,
And Angelica, in the Ingres painting, was considering
The colorful but small monster near her toe, as though wondering whether forgetting
The whole thing might not, in the end, be the only solution.
And then there always came a time when
Happy Hooligan in his rusted green automobile
Came plowing down the course, just to make sure everything was O.K.,
Only by that time we were in another chapter and confused
About how to receive this latest piece of information.
Was it information? Weren’t we rather acting this out
For someone else’s benefit, thoughts in a mind
With room enough and to spare for our little problems (so they began to seem),
Our daily quandary about food and the rent and bills to be paid?
To reduce all this to a small variant,
To step free at last, minuscule on the gigantic plateau—
This was our ambition: to be small and clear and free.
Alas, the summer’s energy wanes quickly,
A moment and it is gone. And no longer
May we make the necessary arrangements, simple as they are.
Our star was brighter perhaps when it had water in it.
Now there is no question even of that, but only
Of holding on to the hard earth so as not to get thrown off,
With an occasional dream, a vision: a robin flies across
The upper corner of the window, you brush your hair away
And cannot quite see, or a wound will flash
Against the sweet faces of the others, something like:
This is what you wanted to hear, so why
Did you think of listening to something else? We are all talkers
It is true, but underneath the talk lies
The moving and not wanting to be moved, the loose
Meaning, untidy and simple like a threshing floor.

These then were some hazards of the course,
Yet though we knew the course was hazards and nothing else
It was still a shock when, almost a quarter of a century later,
The clarity of the rules dawned on you for the first time.
They were the players, and we who had struggled at the game
Were merely spectators, though subject to its vicissitudes
And moving with it out of the tearful stadium, borne on shoulders, at last.
Night after night this message returns, repeated
In the flickering bulbs of the sky, raised past us, taken away from us,
Yet ours over and over until the end that is past truth,
The being of our sentences, in the climate that fostered them,
Not ours to own, like a book, but to be with, and sometimes
To be without, alone and desperate.
But the fantasy makes it ours, a kind of fence-sitting
Raised to the level of an esthetic ideal. These were moments, years,
Solid with reality, faces, namable events, kisses, heroic acts,
But like the friendly beginning of a geometrical progression
Not too reassuring, as though meaning could be cast aside some day
When it had been outgrown. Better, you said, to stay cowering
Like this in the early lessons, since the promise of learning
Is a delusion, and I agreed, adding that
Tomorrow would alter the sense of what had already been learned,
That the learning process is extended in this way, so that from this standpoint
None of us ever graduates from college,
For time is an emulsion, and probably thinking not to grow up
Is the brightest kind of maturity for us, right now at any rate.

And you see, both of us were right, though nothing
Has somehow come to nothing; the avatars
Of our conforming to the rules and living
Around the home have made—well, in a sense, “good citizens” of us,
Brushing the teeth and all that, and learning to accept
The charity of the hard moments as they are doled out,
For this is action, this not being sure, this careless
Preparing, sowing the seeds crooked in the furrow,
Making ready to forget, and always coming back
To the mooring of starting out, that day so long ago.


My English Words List - December - 2023

stamina

stamina

noun

a workout program that builds strength and stamina

Do you have the stamina to finish the job?

mediocre

mediocre

adjective

The dinner was delicious, but the dessert was mediocre.

The carpenter did a mediocre job.

crux

crux

noun

the crux of the problem is that the school’s current budget is totally inadequate

aquatic

aquatic

adjective

aquatic sports

aquatic animals

pat-a-cake

pat-a-cake

noun

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s man

patty-cake

patty-cake

noun

a game in which two participants (such as mother and child) clap their hands together to the rhythm of an accompanying nursery rhyme

pending

pending

adjective

the case is still pending

impending

impending

adjective

the impending new year.

bellyache

bellyache

noun

He ate too much chili and it gave him a bellyache.

Think Before You Share

Welcome to the Google Online Safety Roadshow. We’re here to teach you a few things you need to know so you can stay safe online and enjoy all of the fun things that the web has to offer.

Think before you share!

The web connects us all and allows us to share in ways we have never before been able to. Whether through social media posts, comments or even videos we can reach friends near and far with just a click.

But what you share on the web and who you share it with can end up saying a lot about you and can become a part of your life story. You can’t control information once it’s out there in the world. What you post or send can easily be forwarded, copied, or found by other internet users including strangers or people you know who aren’t necessarily your friends.

Other people’s impressions of you can change based on what you share. And posting inappropriate information can have negative consequences you may not have considered. That can mean impacting your place on the soccer team, summer job opportunities or even one day what college you go to.

The internet is an awesome tool for having fun and making new friends. But with great power comes great responsibility. So use your power for good. You can just as easily lose friends as make them, based on how you manage your reputation online.

So don’t forget to think before you share.

My English Phrases List - November - 2023

blow one’s mind

an idea that’s sure to blow your mind

bear with me

be patient with me

Just bear with me while I finish downloading this file.

one and done

High school players who would otherwise have jumped directly into the NBA were instead playing in college for the required year before leaving and entering the draft—a phenomenon known as one and done.

pet peeve

Pet peeve

One of my biggest pet peeves is people driving too slowly on the highway.

70 Common Pet Peeves That Pretty Much Everyone Finds Annoying

a piece of cake

the quiz was a piece of cake

a slice of

a slice of pizza

a slice of pie

a vicious circle

Vicious circle

LeetCode - Algorithms - 373. Find K Pairs with Smallest Sums

Problem

373. Find K Pairs with Smallest Sums

Java

Editorial Solution

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import java.util.*;

class Solution {
public List<List<Integer>> kSmallestPairs(int[] nums1, int[] nums2, int k) {
int len1 = nums1.length;
int len2 = nums2.length;
List<List<Integer>> list = new ArrayList<List<Integer>>();
Set<String> visited = new HashSet<String>();
PriorityQueue<int[]> minHeap = new PriorityQueue<>((a, b) -> a[0] - b[0]);
minHeap.offer(new int[]{nums1[0] + nums2[0], 0, 0});
visited.add("0,0");
String key = "";
while (k-- > 0 && !minHeap.isEmpty()) {
int[] top = minHeap.poll();
int i = top[1];
int j = top[2];

list.add(Arrays.asList(nums1[i], nums2[j]));
key = Integer.toString(i + 1) + "," + j;
if (i + 1 < len1 && !visited.contains(key)) {
minHeap.offer(new int[]{nums1[i + 1] + nums2[j], i + 1, j});
visited.add(key);
}

key = i + "," + Integer.toString(j + 1);
if (j + 1 < len2 && !visited.contains(key)) {
minHeap.offer(new int[]{nums1[i] + nums2[j + 1], i, j + 1});
visited.add(key);
}
}
return list;
}
}

Submission Detail

  • Accepted
  • Runtime 83ms Beats 14.24% of users with Java
  • Memory 56.03MB Beats 93.45% of users with Java

My English Words List - November - 2023

tuque

tuque

noun

A bobble hat

Knit cap

poppy

poppy

noun

A Canadian remembrance poppy worn on the lapel.

Poppy

silo

silo

noun

Illustration of silo

Low-oxygen Harvestore tower silos

Silo

push-up

push-up

noun

Animation of a full push-up

Push-up

crunch

crunch

noun

Performing the crunch

Crunch (exercise)

Plank

plank

noun

Recruit performing a plank at a US Coast Guard training

Plank (exercise)

sit-up

sit-up

noun

Sit-up form

Sit-up

squat

squat

noun

Bodyweight squat

Squat (exercise)

handstand

handstand

noun

An acro dancer pauses in a precision handstand before handwalking across the stage.

Handstand

thigh

thigh

noun

A woman's thighs

Thigh

calf

calf

noun

The calf is the back portion of the lower leg

Calf (leg)

hurdle

hurdle

noun

Illustration of hurdle

Track and field hurdles

won a medal in the high hurdles

Hurdle

flurry

flurry

noun

  • a brief light snowfall

Snow flurry

nerve-racking

nerve-racking

adjective

The job interview was a nerve-racking experience.

stigma

stigma

noun

There’s a social stigma attached to receiving welfare.

grief

grief

noun

his grief over his son’s death

the joys and griefs of our lives

relief

relief

noun

Exercise is an excellent source of stress relief.

Much to everyone’s relief, the airplane took off without any problems.

index

index

transitive verb

under the contract wages were indexed to inflation

telos

telos

noun

  • an ultimate end

liturgy

liturgy

noun

studying the liturgies of different religions

He was studying Christian liturgy.

dour

dour

adjective

an insistent hunger for learning and a dour … determination to achieve it — Walter Moberly

nomadic

nomadic

adjective

a nomadic tribe

renaissance

renaissance

noun

Renaissance

chump

chump

noun

the guy trying to unload that used car must have thought that I was a chump

squat

squat

verb

He squatted behind the bush to avoid being seen.

a hare squatting in the grass

revelation

revelation

noun

Revelations by the newspaper caused a scandal.

Barbie

Barbie

trademark

Barbie

snap

snap

verb

fish snapping at the bait

upbeat

upbeat

adjective

I’m feeling upbeat today

I like a story with an upbeat ending.

beacon

beacon

noun

Our nation should be a beacon of peace to people around the world.

These countries are beacons of democracy.

whip

whip

verb

The riders were getting whipped around on the roller coaster.

The flag was whipping in the strong wind.

presumably

presumably

adverb

presumably he’s going on the trip for business reasons, but we have our doubts

twirl

twirl

verb

The kite twisted and twirled in the wind.

The chef twirled the noodles around his fork.

altar

altar

noun

She left him at the altar.

chubby

chubby

adjective

a chubby baby

baby with chubby cheeks

intervene

intervene

verb

only six months intervened between their marriage and divorce

blow

blow

verb

The wind was blowing.

nuance

nuance

noun

a poem of little depth and nuance

typo

typo

noun

I spotted three typos on the menu.

resonate

resonate

verb

The siren resonated throughout the city.

caveat

caveat

noun

The driving instructor gave his students this caveat: if you are driving under the speed limit, stay in the far right lane.

baseline

baseline

noun

the baseline of this discussion

The experiment is meant only to provide a baseline for other studies.

assimilate

assimilate

verb

What is best in mathematics deserves not merely to be learnt as a task, but to be assimilated as a part of daily thought, not brought again and again before mind with ever-renewed encouragement. - Bertrand Russel, The Study of Mathematics, 1902

skim

skim

verb

She only skimmed through the reading assignment.

scan

scan

verb

scan the want ads looking for a job

She quickly scanned the pages of the newspaper.

She scanned through the list to find her name.

prairie

prairie

noun

Millions of buffalo once roamed the prairies.

Canadian Prairies

inhale

inhale

verb

She inhaled the fresh country air.

exhale

exhale

verb

She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, trying to relax.