Mug

The evenings are getting a little longer each day (at least here in the Northern hemisphere), and while it’s not cold yet, soon enough it’ll be time to settle by the fireplace with a nice mug of cocoa. You’d be a mug not to, wouldn’t you? Unless you’re not the type to stay indoors in the winter. Perhaps you prefer to stay on the streets in the evenings, hanging around quiet street corners and – oh! – mugging people! Well if that’s what you’re into, ok, but be careful that the police don’t catch you, or they’ll bring you back to the police station and take your mugshot. If they do, make sure you don’t mug for the camera: they really don’t like that. They’d probably make sure you were convicted, and then your mug would be plastered all over the place. Crime: it’s a mug’s game, isn’t it?

Night of the Zombie Film-Maker

Today I came across the phrase zombie film maker (to describe someone who makes zombie films) somewhere online. I don’t really remember where now, but that’s not important. What struck me about this fabulous phrase was that it was crying out for some punctuation! Before I go any further, I want you to think about how it should be punctuated. Should it be:

zombie-film maker?

or…

zombie film-maker? Continue reading

The Sikth Sense

6th.

Sixth.

How do you pronounce that word?

To me, it’s always obviously been pronounced phonetically: as it looks, basically. You just say six, and, well, add -th to the end!

Yet in the last couple of years, I’ve noticed a trend, particularly among English newsreaders and reporters, of pronouncing the x like a k. Sikth. Continue reading

Push and Pull

Quick, answer these questions:

  1. What colour is this?

GREEN

2. What do you put in a toaster?

You might have answered green and toast, instead of, of course, red and bread. Though perhaps not, as these tricks usually work better verbally. Continue reading

Freak out in a Moonage Daydream (Oh Yeah!)

David Bowie’s been in the news a bit recently, with his final album Blackstar having been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, and a new play featuring his music set to debut soon. I loved his music, even though I only really started to listen to it in my twenties. I was quite sad when he died, and the world still feels like a more boring place without him. Continue reading

By the Light of the Silvery Moon

Ah, the moon! Just look at it up there, glowing in the sky, casting its beautiful silvery light all around. It’s always inspired us. I think that’s because it’s a little bit more mysterious than the sun. During the day people probably looked up and thought: Well, I don’t really know what that thing up there is, but it clearly provides light and heat, so it’s ok.

But the moon? Continue reading

Moist

Ask a large enough group of English speakers what their least-favourite English word is, and the most common answer you’ll probably receive is moist. Continue reading