languages

Wheel of Misfortune

Niall O'Donnell Leave a comment

A little earlier, I came across the following video:

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Which Word Has the Most Definitions in the Dictionary?

Niall O'Donnell 13 Comments

This is a question whose answer surprised me when I first heard it many years ago. I was well aware that many words had more than one meaning, and could think of a few obvious examples. Still, the answer, though it certainly has a few obvious different meanings, was not what I was expecting.

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What’s the Difference between Envy and Jealousy?

Niall O'Donnell 11 Comments

I’m glad you asked! I was thinking about this earlier, when writing about the Seven Deadly Sins made me think of envy, which is of course one of them.

These two are quite confusing, aren’t they? For both native and non-native speakers alike. Even if you know there’s a difference, and kind of know what that difference is, it’s hard to pin it down and put it into words, isn’t it? Let’s see if we can figure it out, shall we?

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Sloth

Niall O'Donnell 11 Comments

Sloths are slow.

Sloth, meaning laziness, is also one of the Seven Deadly Sins in Christianity.

Unsurprisingly enough, the sin came first, and the animal was named after it, because it seems so lazy. They’re not actually lazy of course, just slow. Though some individual sloths probably are lazy, but it’d obviously be unfair to tar them all with the same brush.

It’s a funny word, sloth, and not one we really use beyond these two contexts. Where does it come from?

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Isle of Dogs

Niall O'Donnell 9 Comments

Writing about dogs yesterday (something I’m surprised I don’t do more often) made me think about the new Wes Anderson film Isle of Dogs. I’m not going to write a review or anything, because obviously that’s not what I do here. Instead, I’m more curious about that title.

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How to Name Your Pet

Niall O'Donnell 28 Comments

Pete So High

Msassa

Veneer of Charm

Landofhopeandglory

Max Dynamite

Youcantcallherthat

These are the names of just some of the racehorses in action at the Fairyhouse racetrack in Ireland today. Have you ever wondered why racehorses have such strange names?

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You can’t Have Your Cake and Eat It

Niall O'Donnell 1 Comment

I was sitting here this morning, not sure what to write, and thinking I might take a little break for today. You know, go outside and enjoy the drizzle. However, I was listening to the song “Lay Lady Lay,” which contains the line You can have your cake and eat it too. And that got me thinking.

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