Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

quincunx  \KWIN-kunks\ ~noun

DEFINITION: an arrangement of five things in a square or rectangle with one at each corner and one in the middle

EXAMPLES: The tables were arranged in a quincunx, with the hosting family at the center table and guests at the four corners.

"As we walked along the geometric beds -- many of them planted in an ancient Roman quincunx pattern -- I made notes on the beautiful crops I had never grown." -- From an article by Anne Raver in the New York Times, June 30, 2010

DID YOU KNOW?As our second example sentence suggests, today's word has its origins in ancient Rome. To the Romans, a "quincunx" was a coin whose name comes from the Latin roots "quinque," meaning "five," and "uncia," meaning "one twelfth." The weight of the coin equaled five twelfths of a libra, a unit of weight similar to our pound. The ancients used a pattern of five dots arranged like the spots on a die as a symbol for the coin, and English speakers applied the word to arrangements similar to that distinctive five-dot mark.


~THE REBATE~

Febreze has a pretty cool rebate going until the end of this month. Buy one specially marked item from the Febreze Home Collection and they will give you a one-year subscription to Glamour, Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveler or Allure magazine. If you don’t want a magazine subscription, you can request a rebate of $12.00 instead.  Best of all there is nothing to mail in, the products have a redemption code located on the package that you can enter on the on line rebate form together with you name and address for the magazines or rebate check.  If you are already a subscriber to one of the publications you can use this promotion to extend your renewal date.

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

C.Q.