Word of the day: cordite

The word of the day is cordite:

a smokeless, slow-burning powdercomposed of 30 to 58 percentnitroglycerin, 37 to 65 percentcellulose nitrate, and 5 to 6 percentmineral jelly.

smokeless explosive," 1889, from cord; so called for its "curiously string-like appearance" in the words of a newspaper of the day. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cordite)

"An hour after the press conference, Feinstein, in her small office on the second floor of City Hall, saw her fellow-supervisor Dan White run past... Minutes later, she heard gunshots and smelled cordite."

 - Connie Bruck, "The Inside War: To expose torture, Dianne Feinstein fought the C.I.A.—and the White House", 22 June 2015 The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/22/the-inside-war)

Word of the day: valedictory

The word of the day is valedictory:

3. an address or oration delivered at the commencement exercises of a college or school on behalf of the graduating class.
4. any farewell address or oration. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/valedictory)

"After five decades in politics, Feinstein, at eighty-one, is the oldest sitting member of the Senate, where a late term is often less a valedictory than a chance for activism: think of Edward Kennedy or Mitch McConnell."

 - Connie Bruck, "The Inside War: To expose torture, Dianne Feinstein fought the C.I.A.—and the White House", 22 June 2015 The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/22/the-inside-war)