Oh, hi there.
It’s been a while, I know. I’ve been busy, and I think I wanted a little break from writing.
But then an idea comes, and here we are! Continue reading
You, of All People
English grammar
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum
If you want peace, prepare for war.
An ancient, but enduring adage, first found in the 5th century De re militari (Concerning Military Matters) by the Latin writer Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus.
I was thinking about this phrase recently, inspired by the subtitle of the latest John Wick film – Parabellum. Continue reading
So Many Clothes
Yes, but how many? Wait, that doesn’t make sense, does it…?
Obviously you can’t say four clothes or five clothes. But why? Continue reading
Night Then!
Oh, hi there!
I’ve been taking a bit of a break, to recharge my batteries. But I’m nicely refreshed now!
The other day, I saw a tweet which pointed out the resemblances between the words for night and eight in various European languages. They’re obviously only one letter apart in English, and there’s a similar… similarity between the words in other languages: Continue reading
Hello There!
Hello there! It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, I know, but I’ve been pretty busy lately. And I thought it’d be better to take a break and not write anything sub-par or forced while tired. And you’ve got plenty of old articles to read anyway.
Anyway, this is one of those times when I started writing without much of an idea in my head, but as soon as I started, I thought about that opening phrase: Hello there! Continue reading
…And Called it Macaroni
You might know the song “Yankee Doodle,” even if you’re not American. One line might sound a little strange to you:
Stuck a feather in his cap, and called it macaroni.
Why macaroni? Continue reading
I’ll Just Get That for You Now
I’ve written a few times before about both the past and the future. But I keep thinking about how weirdly English can deal with both tenses. Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 