I Haven’t Got the Stomach for It

After writing yesterday about how the word revolting comes from the stomach (not literally: that’d be, well, revolting), I was thinking about just how much of a role that organ plays in the English language.

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The B-Team

What’s so bad about being on the B-Team? I mean, sure, they’re obviously not as good as the A-Team, but they’re still better than the other 24 teams! Continue reading

Catchphrase!

I briefly considered the word catchphrase today. Continue reading

Neck-Verse

I had the increasingly rare pleasure of learning a new expression today: neck-verse. Continue reading

I’m Inclined to Agree

I’m sure that’s something you often say while reading these posts. It’s also, if you think about it, more metaphorical than might be obvious. Think about it for a moment. How else do we use the word inclined?

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Hump Day

Look, I know this is being published on a Thursday, but in my defence I’m writing this on a Wednesday and the idea came to me this afternoon.

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An Albatross Round your Neck

“God save thee, ancient Mariner!

From the fiends, that plague thee thus!-

Why looks’t thou so?”-With my cross-bow

I shot the ALBATROSS.

This is one of the more unusual English idioms. It means a very heavy, psychological burden.

But why an albatross?

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