language

Room to Let

Niall O'Donnell 9 Comments

I’m looking for somewhere to stay at the moment (if you know somewhere that’s available in Galway let me know!). It’s never much fun, but I don’t mind.

It’s got me thinking about that phrase room to let, or apartment to let. It seems a little strange, and quite different from how we usually use the word. It usually means to allow or to permit. And as I looked at previously, it’s also often used interchangeably with to leave.

Room to let though, means room to rent, which seems quite different. Looking at the word’s origins though, shows us that it’s perhaps not so strange.

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Battery

Niall O'Donnell 3 Comments

When you think about it, battery can have a lot of different meanings. The most common way we use it is to refer to the cells that power so many devices like our phones.

But it can also be used to refer to physical beating (e.g. assault and battery) or a military attack like a bombardment. You can see how both of those uses share a sense of violence, specifically striking, so how is it that also use the word battery to refer to the little thing in our phones?

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Where does the Word News Come From?

Niall O'Donnell 7 Comments

Well, let’s start with where it doesn’t come from.

It’s not, as you might have heard, an acronym of North, East, West, and South. This is a popular misconception, usually claimed to be based on the idea that news comes from all directions.

While this sounds cute, it’s really not the way words are formed at all. As I’ve pointed out before.

Instead, the truth is a bit stranger.

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Just

Niall O'Donnell 2 Comments

I’ll just be a minute! 

This isn’t just! It’s not fair at all! 

Here we can see two very different uses of the word just. How is it that we use it in such different ways?

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Spam!

Niall O'Donnell 20 Comments

I had a most shocking experience recently. I’m fortunate to be a part of a lovely bloggers’ group, Blogs in Bloom. People share their blog posts, and social-media links, and everyone is invited to read, share, and comment.

Of course you let the people know that you’ve read, or liked, or shared their post, by commenting under their link. Something simple like Commented! or Read and liked! At first, anyway…

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Sautéd

Niall O'Donnell 10 Comments

Do you ever see pretentious French terms on menus and wish you knew what they meant without having to look up their meaning? Perhaps you choose a dish in a restaurant which includes sautéd greens, but you have no idea what they exactly are. Well, let me help you with this one at least. And talk about Ancient Greek philosophers and heraldry too, naturally.

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The Fates and The Weird Sisters

Niall O'Donnell 9 Comments

A little more Greek mythology for you.

The other day, I wrote about the Furies, and as usual I initially confused them a little with the Fates. 

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