I used the expression for good recently, in the standard way, meaning forever. And then I thought: why do we use for good in this way? Continue reading
Back for Good
etymology
Who is John Doe?
John Doe, caucasian, approximately 45 years old, evidence of blunt-force trauma to the base of the skull…
Pretty familiar if you’ve been exposed to the barest minimum of American crime fiction: “John” and “Jane Doe” used to refer to an unidentified victim or suspect in a criminal case. But why these names in particular? Continue reading
I am a Human Being!
Have you ever thought about how strange that term, human being, really is? Continue reading
Joker
This morning, perhaps influenced by the current anticipation for the upcoming Joker film, it occurred to me that the word joker sounds very similar to the Italian verb giocare. Continue reading
Amazon
If you’re reading this shortly after publication, then I don’t need to tell you about the horrific tragedy of the fires deliberately set in the Amazon Rainforest.
Focusing just on the name Amazon, I’ve often briefly wondered why the name was shared by the South American river and rainforest, as well the Ancient Greek all-female warrior tribe. Continue reading
Quite a Predicament
I saw the word predicament recently, and thought that it would be an interesting case for a little bit of etymology figuring-out. It looks so Latin, with such clearly separate sections, each of which could have its own meaning, and which could all be added up to clearly show the meaning of the word as whole. Continue reading
Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do
Do Ti La Sol Fa Mi Re Do!
Beautifully done! (and yes, it is Sol, not So!)
Even if you haven’t seen The Sound of Music, you’re probably quite familiar with this little method of assigning syllables to the seven major musical notes.
It’s known as solfège, and is used to help a musician distinguish between different pitches of notes. It’s not something I’d ever given much thought about until one day, likely while I was living in Belgium, I saw The Sound of Music dubbed into French… Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 