Outer Mongolia and Timbuktu are often used as shorthands in English for somewhere remote and inaccessible. But why exactly do we use these two places specifically? Continue reading
Sent to Outer Mongolia
languages
There’s a Storm Coming
In a few hours apparently, here in the west of Ireland. It’s certainly already quite windy, and while people are of course concerned about the danger and the possibility of property damage, there’s also something unavoidably exciting about a storm. Continue reading
Comfortably Numb
Yesterday, I picked up a bargain at a Record & CD Fair: an old vinyl copy of Pink Floyd‘s The Wall for €38. Considering it’s a double album, that’s not such a bad deal. The second-most famous song on the album is probably “Comfortably Numb.” Listening to it last night reminded me of how odd that word comfortably sounds… Continue reading
Springfield
Springfield is a particularly common toponym in the English language, especially in the United States. Continue reading
No One Will Believe This of Vast Import to the Nation
This line, the final one of William Carlos William’s poem “Pastoral,” has always been fixed in mind.
It’s an effective and arresting line, poetically speaking, which is the main reason. But it was also the first time I’d seen the word import used in that way. Continue reading
The Horn of Plenty
Lots of animals have horns. Cows have horns. Rhinoceroses, goats, antelopes, all have horns.
Buildings though, generally don’t have horns. Continue reading
L’Uomo Pipistrello (Italian-Language Thoughts)
A quick update: you’ve probably been on the edge of your seat the last week or so, wondering if I’d find out if there’s an Italian equivalent of calling Batman The Bat or The Batman.
Well, I’ve been slowly making my through Batman: Anno Uno, and finally, close to the end, I’ve discovered the answer. Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 