English language

App

Niall O'Donnell Leave a comment

I generally prefer to avoid using abbreviations, as long as it’s not too awkward or difficult to use the longer form. It’s just a case of style really. I understand the need for abbreviation in language, but sometimes abbreviations can just seem too lazy, too short.

Which is why I’ve been trying to use the word application lately, rather than app. It’s just not working out though. First of all, no-one else is using it, and app just seems to be more appropriate. Mobile phones are so small, and apps can seem so ephemeral (especially to me, because they don’t have any real physical existence, which is something I’ll never quite be able to get my head around), that the short and simple app just seems right. At least application still has its own exciting life of job and college applications to enjoy!

Hooligans, the Lot of Them!

Niall O'Donnell 5 Comments

Hooligan‘s a great word, isn’t it? The sound of it really matches what it represents. Now the word is mainly associated with troublemakers at football games, but it’s been around for quite a long time. It first appeared in British police reports in 1898, and seems to have been based on the surname Houlihan. Coming from the original Gaelic surname Ó hUallacháin, it came to be used to represent a stereotypical comic Irish figure in music-hall shows in the late 19th century.

Given the stereotypes of Irish people in cities like New York and London at the time, it’s not such a surprise that the name became a synonym for an angry, violent, and probably drunk, individual. The word was also quickly absorbed into Russian as khuligan, to refer to violent young men harassing people on the streets, and political dissenters. Continue reading →

“Look out, he’s got a hyphen!”

Niall O'Donnell 21 Comments

Why does Spider-man have a hyphen in his name? You might not have noticed it before, perhaps because most superheroes don’t have hyphenated names, and you assume the same is true of Spider-man. Bat-man. Iron-man. The-Incredible-Hulk. Doesn’t really work, does it? And yet you’ve probably never noticed Spider-man’s hyphen. Until now. Now, you can’t help but notice it and the name looks weird now, doesn’t it (Spiderman, or Spider Man not being weird at all, of course)? Continue reading →

Mug

Niall O'Donnell Leave a comment

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

Niall O'Donnell 15 Comments

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

Niall O'Donnell 9 Comments

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

Niall O'Donnell 3 Comments

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 →