Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
ASKANT
askance, askant, asquint, squint, squint-eyed, squinty, sidelong
(adjective) (used especially of glances) directed to one side with or as if with doubt or suspicion or envy; “her eyes with their misted askance look”- Elizabeth Bowen; “sidelong glances”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Adjective
askant (comparative more askant, superlative most askant)
(dated) Aslant, or sloping.
Adverb
askant (comparative more askant, superlative most askant)
(dated) Aslant, or askance, or sideways
Anagrams
• Tankas, kanats, tankas
Source: Wiktionary
A*skance", A*skant", adv. Etym: [Cf. D. schuin, schuins, sideways, schuiven to shove, schuinte slope. Cf. Asquint.]
Definition: Sideways; obliquely; with a side glance; with disdain, envy, or suspicion. They dart away; they wheel askance. Beattie. My palfrey eyed them askance. Landor. Both . . . were viewed askance by authority. Gladstone.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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2 April 2025
COVERT
(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”
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