affair
Definitions
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WordNet 3.6
- n affair a vaguely specified concern "several matters to attend to","it is none of your affair","things are going well"
- n affair a vaguely specified social event "the party was quite an affair","an occasion arranged to honor the president","a seemingly endless round of social functions"
- n affair a usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Interesting fact: The US President's Cabinet is composed of: the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Health/Human Services, the Secretary of Housing/Urban Development, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of Education.
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- Affair A material object (vaguely designated). "A certain affair of fine red cloth much worn and faded."
- Affair Action; endeavor. "And with his best affair Obeyed the pleasure of the Sun."
- Affair (Mil) An action or engagement not of sufficient magnitude to be called a battle.
- Affair Any proceeding or action which it is wished to refer to or characterize vaguely; as, an affair of honor, i. e., a duel; an affair of love, i. e., an intrigue.
- Affair That which is done or is to be done; matter; concern; as, a difficult affair to manage; business of any kind, commercial, professional, or public; -- often in the plural. “At the head of affairs.” Junius. "A talent for affairs ."
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Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
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Interesting fact: A few years back, a Chinese soap hit it big with consumers in Asia. It was claimed in ads that users would lose weight with Seaweed Defat Scented Soap simply by washing with it. The soap was sold in violation to the Japanese Pharmaceutical Affairs Law and was banned. Reportedly, the craze for the soap was so great that Japanese tourists from China and Hong Kong brought back large quantities. The product was also in violation of customs regulations. In June and July 1999 alone, over 10,000 bars were seized.
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- n affair Anything done or to be done; that which requires action or effort; a moving interest; business; concern: as, this is an affair of great moment; a man of affairs; affairs of state.
- n affair plural Matters of interest or concern; particular doings or interests; specifically, pecuniary interests or relations: as, to meddle with a neighbor's affairs; his affairs are in an embarrassed state.
- n affair An event or a performance; a particular action, operation, or proceeding; military, a partial or minor engagement or contest; a skirmish: as, when did this affair happen: an affair of honor, or of outposts.
- n affair A private or personal concern; a special function, business, or duty.
- n affair Thing; matter; concern: applied to anything made or existing, with a descriptive or qualifying term: as, this machine is a complicated affair; his anger is an affair of no consequence.
- n affair Endeavor; attempt.
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Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
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Interesting fact: When he resigned in 1923 because of illegal behavior in the Teapot Dome Affair, Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall was offered an appointment to the Supreme Court by President Harding. In 1931, Fall was tried and found guilty of conspiracy to defraud.
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- n Affair af-fār′ that which is to be done: business: any small matter: a battle of minor importance: a matter of intimate personal concern, as a duel—a so-called affair of honour, or an intrigue:
- n Affair af-fār′ (pl.) transactions in general: public concerns.
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Quotations
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“Many are called but few are chosen. There are sayings of Christ which suggest that the Church he came to establish will always be a minority affair.” -
“Affairs are easier of entrance than of exit; and it is but common prudence to see our way out before we venture in.” -
“Good courage in a bad affair is half of the evil overcome.”
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“Death is a very dull, dreary affair, and my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it.” -
“Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. My advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it.” -
“In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength of effort is the measure of the results.”
Etymology
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
OE. afere, affere, OF. afaire, F. affaire, fr. a faire, to do; L.. ad, + facere, to do. See Fact, and cf. Ado
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
O. Fr. afaire (Fr. affaire)—à and faire—L. ad, and facĕre, to do. Cf. Ado.
Usage
In literature:
It was a silly affair.
"A Political History of the State of New York, Volumes 1-3" by DeAlva Stanwood Alexander
I fear how this affair will end!
"The Comedies of Terence" by Publius Terentius Afer
Round; a family affair, as I may say.
"Orley Farm" by Anthony Trollope
It was an affair of mutual and understood love, beyond a doubt.
"The White Chief" by Mayne Reid
The fact was, her ideas of things in general were disarranged by the state of affairs in Merleville.
"Janet's Love and Service" by Margaret M Robertson
He had ceased to have part or lot in the affairs of living men.
"The History of Sir Richard Calmady" by Lucas Malet
The affair proceeded rapidly, as such affairs should do where there is no reason for delay.
"Deerbrook" by Harriet Martineau
But Choiseul, the minister of foreign affairs under Louis XV, would entertain no such visionary plan.
"The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte" by William Milligan Sloane
They ought not to forget so soon in what state Lord Ellenborough found affairs in 1842.
"The Letters of Queen Victoria, Vol 2 (of 3), 1844-1853" by Queen Victoria
But he promptly fell back into his usual mood when she came into his affairs.
"Blow The Man Down" by Holman Day
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In poetry:
If God, in such a small affair,
A miracle performs;
It shows his condescending care
Of poor unworthy worms.
A miracle performs;
It shows his condescending care
Of poor unworthy worms.
"The Borrowed Axe" by John Newton
It almost ended in a fight
When they on path or stair
Met face to face. They made it quite
A personal affair.
When they on path or stair
Met face to face. They made it quite
A personal affair.
"Damon vs. Pythias" by William Schwenck Gilbert
If I or she should chance to be
Involved in this affair,
He trusts to you to set them free,
Exactly as we were.
Involved in this affair,
He trusts to you to set them free,
Exactly as we were.
"The White Rabbit's Verses" by Lewis Carroll
Tell the people everywhere you go,
"The day is here again,"
The Ethiopian's God appears
To deal with all affairs.
"The day is here again,"
The Ethiopian's God appears
To deal with all affairs.
"A Rallying Song" by Marcus Mosiah Garvey
Gay streets display their shining wares
To every roving eye,
As eager in their own affairs,
The busy tribes go by.
To every roving eye,
As eager in their own affairs,
The busy tribes go by.
"A Town" by Jane Taylor
But Mrs. Jones declined to see
Affairs in the same light as he,
And quietly got a decree
Divorcing her from that L. B.
Affairs in the same light as he,
And quietly got a decree
Divorcing her from that L. B.
"A Moral Vindicator" by Francis Bret Harte
In news:
Frances Micklow/The Star-Ledger A Division of Consumer Affairs official inspects a boardwalk game in Point Pleasant in this 2011 file photo.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama came ready Monday for a fighting finish, deriding Mitt Romney as reckless and overmatched inn world affairs.
Next chapter in space shuttle program must come after we settle fiscal affairs.
Come Into My Kitchen Cooking calzones is a family affair.
The hot clip finds Kenny and his ex continuing to fuel the embers of their ill-fated love affair amidst a beachy background.
For those in publishing who have followed the DoJ price-fixing case, it has from the start seemed at times like a cartoonish affair.
Steven Fenberg, author of "Unprecedented Power" and Community Affairs Officer of Houston Endowment.
Newt and Callista's Affair 'Was Common Knowledge ' on the Hill.
Breeders' Cup 2011 is a much calmer affair for John Shirreffs.
Multi-instrumentalist Black—a player and composer of great note and the chargé d'affaires for the acclaimed ChamberLab project—has wearied of releasing CDs in tacky, easily broken jewel cases.
It was a Black Tie affair.
John Sepulveda, assistant secretary for human resource and administration, Veterans Affairs.
Pierzynski and Dunn continue love affair with Wrigley.
The Bureau of Consular Affairs has two main responsibilities - strengthening US border security and providing passports and visas to US citizens.
Tesco's recently appointed government affairs director is set to.
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In science:
The meeting was financially supported by the European Union Marie Curie Conferences and Training Courses Contract: CT-2006046171, the Haute Savoie and Rh ˆone Alps regions, Universite Savoie, LAPP and LAPTH Annecy, CNRS and the Minist ´er ´e des Affaires ´Etrangers.
THE TOOLS AND MONTE CARLO WORKING GROUP Summary Report from the Les Houches 2009 Workshop on TeV Colliders
His result suggests that the discreteness is not a totally interior affair of the involved group and provides a new point of view to the discreteness problem.
Discreteness criterion in SL(2,$\bc$) by a test map
In order to improve on this state of affairs it appears natural to invoke the presence of further correction terms4 (to be added to (1)) of type, say, λ2 p2a−2 and with sign and magnitude adjusted in such a way to eliminate the unwanted features of the worldlines.
Testing quantum-spacetime relativity with gamma-ray telescopes
This state of affairs is comparable to the fairly detailed NOMA related viewpoint put forward by Stenmark in .
Informal Control code logic
P. Naur and B. Randell. Software Engineering: Report of a conf. spon. by the NATO Science Committee, Garmisch, Germany. Scientific Affairs Division, NATO, 1969.
Improving the Technical Aspects of Software Testing in Enterprises
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