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Annus horribilis

Dryden in his poem Annus Mirabilis counts the Great Fire as one of the wonders of that year because the city was ‘miraculously’ preserved, ie much of London was saved from the flames thanks to the concerted efforts of its citizenry. (Even some of the nobles pitched in to help with the firefighting, notably James, Duke of York, the future James II). The other two miracles were a couple of sea battles against the Dutch, as I recall.

The OED gives a 1985 date for this numerical term meaning “twenty four hours a day, seven days a week,” although it has a 1983 citation from Sports Illustrated of 24-7-365.

I’m going to declare that a fail on SI’s part.

Yes, a fire that renders some 15%* of the city’s inhabitants homeless is a “miracle.” (Although, to be fair, the death toll was astonishingly low.)

* some 90% in the “City” proper.

ciabatta, n. The name for the Italian style of bread makes its way into English-language bakeries. In Italian, ciabatta literally means “a low-heeled show, a slipper,” a reference to the shape of the loaf.

Typo for “shoe.”