Yesterday, I learned that I’m mancino. I’d actually already known that for a long time. Just not in Italian. For mancino, you see, is the Italian for left-handed. Continue reading
Mancino
etymology
Sawhorse
I passed a sawhorse on my run this evening. And of course I thought: why is it called a sawhorse?
And yes, I know you might be thinking What’s a sawhorse?, so let me show you: Continue reading
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
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
Abroad
-Going anywhere nice this year? Going abroad?
I haven’t had a haircut in a while, so I haven’t had the pleasure of such charming conversation recently. But I recently thought about the word abroad while reading. You see, it was being in the more old-fashioned way, as in: Continue reading
Ocarina of Time
I had a moment of inspiration today about the word ocarina. In case you’re unaware of what it is, an ocarina is small wind instrument that probably became a lot more famous around the world after it was prominently featured in the 1998 N64 videogame The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Of course, being as cool as I am, I was already familiar with the instrument, as it had featured as a useable item in the 1993 Gameboy game The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.
Anyway, today I saw a picture of an ocarina somewhere, and it made me wonder if the word’s related to geese somehow. Continue reading
Crocodile Tears
I always begin these posts by saying I came across this expression recently.
I didn’t though. Instead, while reading something, I came across something like He cried like a crocodile. And the fact that it wasn’t the specific expression crocodile tears is what caught my eye, and actually made me think about that expression, and where it might come from. Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 