I read something online recently about the Star Wars UK Twitter account teasing an announcement about the next Star Wars film.
Using the verb to tease in this way is fairly new, and always interesting to me. Continue reading
Stop Teasing Me!
language
It’s Treason Then
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
Canteen
Writing about the word magazine yesterday made me think of another word with a similar range of meanings: canteen. Continue reading
Magazine
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
The Reflex!
No, not more classic pop.
I was doing my French homework this evening, and one of my tasks was to find the reflexive verbs in a Youtube video about French clichés. What’s that? What’s a reflexive verb? Good question. Continue reading
Oliver’s Army
I’ve been listening to the album Armed Forces by Elvis Costello & the Attractions a lot recently (and currently listening to Kate Bush while drinking a glass of red wine: I think at some point I became someone’s mother without noticing). The album’s best-known song is undoubtedly “Oliver’s Army,” and every time I hear the song on the radio, I think, You never have that song much anymore. Continue reading
Goosebumps!
Did you know there’s a scientific, very Latin-sounding term for the experience of getting goosebumps? Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 