Otto Ernst(1862 – 1926), eigentlich Otto Ernst Schmidt, deutscher Erzähler, ursprünglich Volksschullehrer

Definition: (noun) The property of being close together. Synonyms: proximity. Usage: She loved Emma Jane, but it was a friendship born of propinquity and circumstance, not of true affinity. Discuss

«Lo spettacolo del cielo mi sconvolge. Mi sconvolge vedere, in un cielo immenso, la falce della luna o il sole. Nei miei quadri, del resto, vi sono minuscole forme in grandi spazi vuoti.» (Joan Miró)

Ernst Ferstl(*1955), österreichischer Lehrer, Dichter und Aphoristiker

Definition: (noun) A slogan used to rally support for a cause. Synonyms: cry. Usage: "Fight and fall, but fly not," that was our watchword. Discuss

«Quello che indosso è quello che sono.» (Anna Oxa)

Otto Pötter(*1948), Dichter, Aphoristiker, Mystiker, Schriftsteller

adjective: Foggy; damp; cold.

Definition: (noun) A pseudonym. Synonyms: nom de guerre, pseudonym. Usage: Aware that all kinds of people would be reading the bulletin board, he used an anonym when posting messages on it. Discuss

«Non sempre chi sorride è felice. Ci sono lacrime nel cuore che non arrivano agli occhi.»

Carl von Ossietzky(1889 – 1938), deutscher pazifistischer Chefredakteur der “Weltbühne”, Schriftsteller und Symbolfigur des Widerstands gegen das NS-Regime, Friedensnobelpreis 1935

noun: The practice of ending life to relieve suffering. Example: someone hopelessly injured, terminally ill, suffering from an incurable disease, etc.

Definition: (noun) A payment or profit received in addition to a regular wage or salary, especially a benefit expected as one's due. Synonyms: fringe benefit, perk. Usage: We had promised her a liberal perquisite in the event of our success. Discuss

Willy Meurer(1934 – 2018), deutsch-kanadischer Kaufmann, Aphoristiker und Publizist, M.H.R. (Member of the Human Race), Toronto

adjective, adverb: Just clear of the bottom (used for a ship’s anchor).

Definition: (noun) A downward slope or bend. Synonyms: fall, downslope, declension, declination, decline, descent. Usage: As best I could, I stumbled after him down a steep declivity beginning at the forest's edge. Discuss

Thomas Fuller (Historiker)(1608 – 1661), englischer Historiker

adjective: 1. Having eyelike spots. 2. Eyelike.

Definition: (noun) A tenant in someone's house. Synonyms: boarder, lodger. Usage: My aunt took in roomers for years and is still in touch with many of her former tenants. Discuss

«L'amore è tra me e quel fondo abissale che c'è dentro di me, a cui io posso accedere grazie a te. L'amore è molto solipsistico; e tu, con cui faccio l'amore, sei quel Virgilio che mi consente di andare nel mio Inferno, da cui poi emergo grazie alla tua presenza (perché non è mica detto…

Albert Einstein(1879 – 1955), theor. Physiker, geb. in Deutschland, 1896-1901 staatenlos, ab 1901 Schweizer Bürger, ab 1940 auch Bürger der USA. Forschungen zu Materie, Raum, Zeit und Gravitation; Hauptwerk ist die 1915 publizierte Allgemeine Relativitätstheorie. Nobelpreis für Physik 1921

adjective: Relating to or situated at the shore. noun: A shore, especially the area between high tide and low tide levels.

Definition: (adjective) Of or characteristic of the countryside or its people; rustic. Synonyms: rustic, arcadian, pastoral. Usage: The illustrations in the book depicted pleasant, bucolic scenes with farmers happily toiling in the fields. Discuss

Michael Marie Jung(*1940), Professor, deutscher Hochschullehrer, Führungskräftetrainer, Coach und Wortspieler

Definition: (noun) A lump of material formed from the content of a liquid. Synonyms: clot. Usage: His nose began to bleed again when a hearty sneeze dislodged the coagulum that had formed inside his nostril. Discuss

Erhard Horst Bellermann(*1937), deutscher Bauingenieur, Dichter und Aphoristiker

noun: 1. The act or practice of dressing up as a character from a work of fiction, such as a comic book, video game, film, etc. 2. The act of, or an instance of, pretending to be someone in a deceptive manner. verb tr.: 1. To dress up as a fictional character in cosplay. 2….

Definition: (noun) A place where bees and beehives are kept, especially a place where bees are raised for their honey. Synonyms: bee house. Usage: She had started her apiary with a small capital, a book of practical hints, and a second-hand queen. Discuss

«Quando nel 1924 venne in Italia Amundsen, il norvegese, lui non era un tecnico, era semplicemente un esploratore che aveva scoperto il Polo Sud e voleva arrivare anche al Polo Nord. Questa era tutta la sua ambizione; a lui non premeva il come arrivarci ma arrivarci, essere trasportato lì. Lui pressappoco mi ha considerato un…

noun: 1. A large, deep pit from which material such as slate, stone, etc. are extracted. 2. A rich source. 3. Something or someone hunted or chased. 4. A square or diamond-shaped stone, tile, glass pane, etc. verb tr.: To dig, cut into, or extract.

Definition: (noun) A written release from an obligation, specifically a receipt indicating payment in full. Synonyms: release. Usage: After years of haggling over debts and money owed, the two men resolved their dispute and drew up an acquittance. Discuss

Ernst Reinhardt(*1932), Dr. phil., Schweizer Publizist und Aphoristiker

noun: 1. A blue, bluish-green, or greenish-gray semi-precious stone. 2. A bluish-green color.

Definition: (noun) A mixture. Synonyms: mishmash, farrago, hodgepodge, mingle-mangle, oddments, odds and ends, omnium-gatherum, ragbag. Usage: The movie was a strange melange of romance, science fiction, comedy, and drama. Discuss

Hans Ulrich Bänziger(*1938), Schweizer Psychologe und Schriftsteller

noun: A style of animation originating in Japan, characterized by stylized colorful art, exaggerated expressions, oversized heads, large expressive eyes, etc., meant for adults as well as children.

Definition: (noun) Swiftness of action or motion; speed. Synonyms: rapidity, quickness. Usage: These rapid attentions were bestowed with the celerity and skill of a practiced surgeon. Discuss

noun: Good times involving pleasant company, enjoyable conversation, etc.

Definition: (noun) A polite refusal of an invitation. Synonyms: regrets. Usage: His declination of the dinner invitation was a great disappointment to the would-be host. Discuss

Ernst Hohenemser(1870 – 1940), deutscher Aphoristiker

Definition: (noun) A place where goods are stored or deposited and from which they are distributed. Synonyms: transshipment center. Usage: Bahrain has been an entrepot of trade between Arabia and India since the second millennium BCE. Discuss

«La storia si accorge troppo tardi dei Grandi Maestri, perché la storia è fatta di uomini, gli uomini sono troppo spesso inadeguati al compito assegnatogli.» (Paolo Salvati)

Erhard Blanck(*1942), deutscher Heilpraktiker, Schriftsteller und Maler

Definition: (noun) A small, often temporary defensive fortification. Synonyms: sconce. Usage: Great mounds had been heaped about the crest of the hill, making a huge redoubt of it. Discuss

«Non pensavo che il sesso potesse essere così intenso, violento, divertente, eccitante, eccessivo. È un gioco che non è solo di testa, è un gioco che piglia anche l’anima.» (Silvio Muccino)

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg(1742 – 1799), deutscher Physiker und Meister des Aphorismus

noun: Describing the whole of something by specifying its two extremes, such as contrasting or complementary parts.

Definition: (noun) A scholar who is skilled in academic disputation. Synonyms: academician. Usage: The symposium was scheduled to end at seven, but the schoolman continued to lecture the group for an additional hour. Discuss

Martin Gerhard Reisenberg(*1949), Diplom-Bibliothekar und Autor

noun: An acronym or abbreviation whose expansion is not widely known.

Definition: (noun) A person excessively concerned with dress. Synonyms: dandy, dude, fashion plate, fop, gallant, sheik, beau, swell. Usage: The clotheshorse could be found at the boutique once a week, poring over a variety of suits, sweaters, and ties, and inevitably buying at least three of each. Discuss

«Un giorno senza un sorriso è un giorno perso.»

Otto Pötter(*1948), Dichter, Aphoristiker, Mystiker, Schriftsteller

noun: A terse, witty, instructive saying.

noun: 1. An overstatement or hyperbole, especially when arranged in a sequence of increasing intensity. 2. Growth resulting from the increase in the size of a cell (as opposed to from cell division, which is known as merisis).

Definition: (noun) A scoundrel. Synonyms: rascal. Usage: Both Kuragin and Dolokhov were at that time notorious among the rakes and scapegraces of Petersburg. Discuss

KarlHeinz Karius(*1935), Urheber, Mensch und Werbeberater

Definition: (noun) A tuba that coils over the shoulder of the musician. Synonyms: bombardon. Usage: As the marching band strolled by, Karen could see that the small boy carrying the giant helicon was sweating profusely. Discuss

Heinz Potthoff(1875 – 1945), deutscher Sozialreformer und liberaler Politiker

Walter Ludin(*1945), Schweizer Journalist, Redakteur, Aphoristiker und Buchautor, Mitglied des franziskanischen Ordens der Kapuziner

Definition: (noun) Adherence. Synonyms: compliance, conformity. Usage: In my parents' household, strict abidance by the rules was required, so naturally I rebelled. Discuss

Fernöstliche Weisheit

noun: The state of lying in the interval separating two conditions, qualities, extremes, etc.

Definition: (noun) A patchy brown or dark brown skin discoloration that usually occurs on a woman's face and may result from hormonal changes, as in pregnancy. Synonyms: mask of pregnancy, melasma. Usage: She developed chloasma on her face during her pregnancy, but it disappeared when her baby was a few months old. Discuss

Stefan Wittlin(*1961), Schweizer “Medicus-Canis”, Kynologe-Hundetherapeut, Tierpsychologe, Buchautor und Kolumnist

noun: One who wanders in the night. adjective: Wandering in the night.

Definition: (verb) To belittle. Synonyms: depreciate. Usage: The teacher should not deprecate his student's efforts. Discuss

Otto Ernst(1862 – 1926), eigentlich Otto Ernst Schmidt, deutscher Erzähler, ursprünglich Volksschullehrer

adjective: Having or known by a name consisting of only one word.

Definition: (noun) Any furrow or channel on a bodily structure or part. Synonyms: groove. Usage: The medical students studied the diagram depicting the vallecula between the hemispheres of the brain. Discuss

Wolfgang Buschmann(*1943), Lehrer und Autor

noun: Spray of water, snow, sand, etc., blown by the wind.

Definition: (noun) A trembling or shaking. Synonyms: shakiness, trembling, quiver, vibration. Usage: Cornelius put his hand on his heart, to repress as it were its violent palpitation. Discuss

Wolfgang Mocker(1954 – 2009), deutscher Journalist und Autor

noun: One who loves forests.

Definition: (noun) A wandering minstrel, poet, or entertainer in medieval England and France. Synonyms: folk singer, minstrel, poet-singer, troubadour. Usage: The group of jongleurs was so popular that King Edward requested a private performance. Discuss

«Ma come è sempre tardi per amare.» (Salvatore Quasimodo)

Gerhard Uhlenbruck(*1929), deutscher Immunbiologe und Aphoristiker

Definition: (noun) A notched parapet built on top of a wall, with alternating merlons and crenels for decoration or defense. Synonyms: crenelation, crenellation. Usage: I came upon it by a winding ledge of road, which clung to the bare side of the hill like the battlements of some huge castle. Discuss

«Ma come è sempre tardi per amare.»

Emanuel Wertheimer(1846 – 1916), deutsch-österreichischer Philosoph und Aphoristiker ungarischer Herkunft

Definition: (noun) Squid prepared as food. Synonyms: squid. Usage: Lisa ordered calamari at the Italian restaurant. Discuss