Today I was playing a quiz online. I like quizzes. I also like money, which I would have won, except that I got a question wrong. That question was:
writing
Guys and Gals
Why is it that gal is the feminine equivalent of guy?
And what’s the story with guy, for that matter?
How do You Pronounce Often?
Is the T silent or not?
Sent to Coventry (with Captain Boycott and Peeping Tom)
I’ve often wondered about this expression: to send someone to Coventry. It’s a little old-fashioned, so you may not have heard of it. It means to deliberately ostracise someone, by ignoring them, refusing to talk to them. The obvious question about this phrase is: why Coventry?
Gravity
I was thinking about this word, and the related word grave, this morning. Like contract, it’s a curiously multi-purpose word.
Contract
If you start a new job, or agree to buy something, you might have to sign a contract.
The word contract was originally usually used to refer to marriage, and comes from the Latin com (with, together) and trahere (to draw). Which makes sense really: if you give marry someone, you’re agreeing to draw closer together, and if you sign a contract with a company, you’re agreeing to draw together with them.
Isn’t if funny though, when we use contract as a verb?
Calque or Loanword?
Reading about Anglish yesterday, I realised that one of the most useful methods for proponents of this form of English is creating calques.
What’s a calque, I hear you ask?
English-Language Thoughts 