This word has been in the news a lot lately, specifically American news stories. It’s mainly only used in American English, and for that reason I’ve actually never heard it spoken aloud. Continue reading
Furlough
language thoughts
More Grammar Thoughts
I spent a little time in the classroom yesterday, correcting a test. One of the exercises required the students to finish the sentence Is the climate cold, or… with one of three options. One was …is it too hot? and another was …is it multicultural?
Obviously the correct answer was …is it too hot? But one student asked if …is it multicultural? could be right too. And of course it wasn’t, but then I thought: It also kind of is. Continue reading
Weird Flex, but OK…
This is slang, modern internet slang, as you’re probably aware. I’ve been aware of it now for a few months, so that means it’s probably about three or four years old. And already out of date.
You also probably know that flex in this context means boast. Until very recently though, I’d assumed it meant fetish. Continue reading
The Jakes
I’m still reading that Shakespeare book (work and househunting is time-consuming), and still learning interesting things. Well in this case, it was being reminded of something I’d heard about before: the jakes.
Bye-bye!
What is it that makes bye-bye so inherently juvenile compared to goodbye, or simply bye? Continue reading
Vavasour
Huh? Vavawhat?
Vavasour. Never heard of the word?
Don’t worry, neither had I before this evening.
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for me. I’ve learned a few new English words. First there was neck-verse, and now vavasour. Though this one has nothing to do with Shakespeare. Continue reading
Le Dauphin
What a glorious thing it is to have Henry V represented on stage, leading the French king prisoner, and forcing both him and the Dolphin to swear fealty.
The above are the words of the English Elizabethan writer Thomas Nashe, as quoted in 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare, which I’m obviously getting a lot of inspiration from. What obviously interested me about that quote was… the Dolphin. Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 