You’d imagine that’s an easy question, wouldn’t you? Which word has more letters than any other? Done!
Well, you’d think so, but this is a surprisingly debated question. Continue reading
What’s the Longest Word in the English Language?
language teaching
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
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Hitchhiking
I was in Italy for a few days recently, and near my hotel I noticed a sign indicating that autostop was not permitted. You might have figured out that autostop is the Italian word for hitchhiking. Continue reading
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
So Many Clothes
Yes, but how many? Wait, that doesn’t make sense, does it…?
Obviously you can’t say four clothes or five clothes. But why? 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
To
How do you pronounce that word? Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 