earmarks or hallmark

The distinguishing cuts made into an animal’s ear are its earmarks. They work like brands to mark ownership. Originally gold and silver articles assayed at Goldsmith’s Hall in London received a “Hall-Mark” to certify them as genuine. In modern usage “earmarks” and “hallmark” are used in many other contexts and mean pretty much the same thing, except that we say “it has all the earmarks” of someone or something, and a certain characteristic is “the hallmark” of someone or something. Although a great many people pluralize this expression too, traditionally an item can have only one hallmark.We speak today of parts of bills being earmarked when legislators set aside certain expenditures in them for particular purposes which benefit the legislators' own constituency. They lay claim to public resources just as a shepherd would earmark a sheep to lay claim to it. Note that no one hallmarks a bill. If we said a bill bore Senator Blowhard’s hallmark, we would mean that it bore some characteristic pattern by which we

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• writting vs writing
• appauled vs appalled
• below table vs table below
• acapella vs a capella vs a cappella
• soar vs sore
• flys vs flies
• gaurd vs guard
• submittal vs submission
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Definitions

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• n  a distinctive characteristic or attribute
• n  a mark on an article of trade to indicate its origin and authenticity

News & Articles

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• Edward Snowden And The Obama Agenda
  As the world was first introduced to Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old former NSA contractor and source of the biggest intelligence leak in NSA history, Glenn Beck tweeted, “I think I have just read about the man for which I have waited. Earmarks of a real hero.”
  June 12, 2013 - Forbes
• Corps official: Costly Coralville Lake flood study may not be necessary
  Federal budget cuts and a congressional ban on earmarks have hindered efforts to get funding for an Iowa reservoir study that officials say could reduce costly flooding. Although the Army Corps of Engineers proposed the $4.7 million study, a local Corps official calls the plan exorbitant and said it may not be necessary to change [...]
  June 9, 2013 - The Gazette

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• Hallmark has choices on Crown Media stake
  The Kansas City-based greeting card pioneer lists many possibilities for its 90 percent ownership of the parent company for the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel.
  June 26, 2013 - The Kansas City Star
• Hallmark Cards Says It May Take Crown Media Private
  The disclosure in an unusually dense SEC filing led to a 19.2% pop today in the share price for the parent of the Hallmark Channel , taking it to a two-year high. The greeting card company already controls 90.3% of Crown Media . It says in the filing that a standstill agreement will expire at the end of 2013. As a result, Hallmark and its subsidiaries are “evaluating their investment.” Options ...
  June 25, 2013 - Deadline Hollywood
• Lemont Hallmark store closing
  LEMONT – Jean's Hallmark Shop, 1256 State St., Lemont, is closing, as advertised by a sign in front of the store. The store's owner did not immediately return phone calls requesting comments.
  June 25, 2013 - Huntley Farmside