English language

Liebster Award

Niall O'Donnell 17 Comments

I have to say a big thank you to Liz for nominating me for this lovely award. It’s a great honour, and before I say anything else, I highly recommend you check out her great blog at Do the Thing, as she recounts her experiences crossing items off her bucket list.

I believe I’ve done this before, but it’s nice to have a different style of post from my usual. Plus, this will likely be a little shorter, and I don’t have so much time to write this evening, though I do still have the itch.

Ok, the rules.

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Can you Trademark a Word or Phrase?

QuoteNiall O'Donnell 12 Comments

I’m surprise to find that the article I read the other daythe article I read the other day has inspired a second article by me, but here we are. Something else that interested me in the article was the fact that Michael Buffer, has become a millionaire by licensing the trademark for the phrase Let’s Get Ready to Rumble. It’s probable that you read that in your mind in a very specific voice, and that voice is Michael Buffer’s. Buffer, a boxing and wrestling ring announcer, became famous for his catchphrase, delivered in his unique style. In 1992 he registered the phrase as a trademark, and since then has earned about $400 million from it.

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I React to: YouTube English!!

Niall O'Donnell 10 Comments

Earlier this afternoon, on my lunch break, I came upon the following article: “21 Insane Ways Celebrities Get (and Stay) Rich.” I can’t really recommend it. Some of the items are mildly interesting, but could hardly be described as insane, unless you consider selling a business at a profit insane. I did find one thing curious though, and that was the following sentence about Jake Paul, who is apparently a YouTube star:

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She Could Steal, but she Could not Rob

Niall O'Donnell 11 Comments

It was a lovely sunny evening in the west of Ireland today, which made me feel like Abbey Road would be a good accompaniment to my walk home. Probably because it features “Here Comes the Sun,” but I think it’s a generally positive album anyway, suitable for a balmy evening. As I was listening, I was struck by a line in “She Came in through the Bathroom Window” which I’d heard many times before, but never really thought much about:

She could steal, but she could not rob.

It’s a clever, cute line, and if you’re interested in the possible meaning behind it, you can look here. This evening though, it made me think about the difference between those two verbs: steal and rob.

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“Fill in” or “Fill out?”

QuoteNiall O'Donnell 12 Comments

Thinking yesterday about the question of whether or not we can use in and out together, and about phrasal verbs, made me think of something else. Have you ever noticed that fill in and fill out mean the same thing?

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Come in out of the Rain

Niall O'Donnell 12 Comments

Earlier this evening, while WhatsApping with my friend about staying in or going out, I tapped out the following phrase: best to stay in out of the rain (we’re staying in). I didn’t think anything about it, until I happened to glance at it as I was putting my phone down. My eye zoomed in on the middle, specifically on these two words: …in out…. Hang on a second, I said, that can’t be!

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The Tennisman who Loves Cyclism

Niall O'Donnell 20 Comments

Bonne 14 juillet! Yes, it’s the French national holiday, known in English as Bastille Day though in French it’s normally just called le 14 juillet, or La Fête nationale. As French is one of the only two languages apart from English that I’m relatively competent in, I’ve written about it here quite a bit, so I won’t repeat myself. I just want to look at two French words that seem like they really should be English words, but aren’t.

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