It’s the epitome of surfer-dude slang: totally gnarly dude!
Thinking about the word today though, it seemed a strange fit for surfing slang. Surely, I thought, it’s related to gnarled, as in knobbly, rough, or twisted. Not how you’d describe a wave really, is it? Continue reading
I’m writing this from a hotel room. The word hotel can be traced back to the Old French word ostel, which of course is also the origin of the word hostel. And, it might surprise you, hospital. Continue reading
Yes, but why? Continue reading
I was thinking this morning that the word spot is one of those simple unassuming words that actually has a lot of quite different meanings, and can be used as verb and a noun.
I find it particularly interesting in that it began with a more abstract, poetic meaning, and later on came to be used in more mundane ways. Continue reading
I was thinking yesterday about how I’m a bit of a dilettante when it comes to music. I like a lot of acts and genres, but I couldn’t narrow my preferences down to anything very particular. Continue reading
…, why are you so expensive?
HA!
Terrible, I know, but sometimes bad jokes can be quite illuminating. Like when they help us to realise that we use the word dear in quite different ways. Continue reading
At some point yesterday I came across the expression in the title of this post. I can’t remember where exactly, but it’s a pretty common phrase. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen or heard it, but this time, something seemed strange. Then I realised what it was: the most unkindest cut!? Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 