I was reminded today of the term Third World. It was quite commonly used when I was a child, basically synonymous with developing world. I remember occasionally wondering as a child why we used the term (there’s only one world!), but it also feeling like it made sense. I think I was somewhen in my teens when I learned the answer.
I used this expression recently, and wondered where it comes from. Is it related to boots, the footwear? If not, is it related to any other words?
It’s not actually related to the boots that one wears at all, but still has an interesting story to tell. Continue reading
Without getting too political, I’ll just say that this word has been in the news quite a bit today. After seeing it a few times, I began to wonder if there perhaps were an interesting story behind it.
And of course there is! Continue reading
Writing about the word magazine yesterday made me think of another word with a similar range of meanings: canteen. Continue reading
I often write about false friends and various other confusing words for learners of English. But one of my recent French lessons reminded me of a word that often confuses Anglophone learners of French: magasin. Continue reading
Did you know there’s a scientific, very Latin-sounding term for the experience of getting goosebumps? Continue reading
I wrote before about alright and all right. But it occurred to me today that we use alright (or all right: for simplicity’s sake I’m just going to use alright from now on) as an exclamation, meaning great! Which is a little odd when you think about it. Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 