linguistics

Ocarina of Time

Niall O'Donnell 5 Comments

I had a moment of inspiration today about the word ocarina. In case you’re unaware of what it is, an ocarina is small wind instrument that probably became a lot more famous around the world after it was prominently featured in the 1998 N64 videogame The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Of course, being as cool as I am, I was already familiar with the instrument, as it had featured as a useable item in the 1993 Gameboy game The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.

Anyway, today I saw a picture of an ocarina somewhere, and it made me wonder if the word’s related to geese somehow. Continue reading →

Crocodile Tears

Niall O'Donnell 3 Comments

I always begin these posts by saying I came across this expression recently.

I didn’t though. Instead, while reading something, I came across something like He cried like a crocodile. And the fact that it wasn’t the specific expression crocodile tears is what caught my eye, and actually made me think about that expression, and where it might come from. Continue reading →

To

Niall O'Donnell 2 Comments

How do you pronounce that word? Continue reading →

I Cannot Sanction Your Buffoonery

Niall O'Donnell 7 Comments

Yesterday I wrote about how the word confessor can refer either to someone who hears or makes a confession. While the word might seem unusual in this regard, there are a surprising number of words in the English language which have contrary meanings. Consider the following sentences: Continue reading →

Confess!

Niall O'Donnell 1 Comment

I was reading The Devils of Loudon this afternoon, when the word confessor made me stop for a moment.

Hang on, I thought, logically you might assume a confessor is someone who makes a confession, who confesses to something. A teacher teaches, a writer writes, so logically a confessor confesses, no? Continue reading →

Erskine May

Niall O'Donnell 3 Comments

Who?

Or what?

A lot of people were talking about Erskine May recently, mainly along the lines of those two questions above. So who, or what, is Erskine May? Continue reading →

Kangaroo Words

Niall O'Donnell 4 Comments

I learned recently about the existence of kangaroo words: words that contain the letters of a synonymous word (in the correct sequence) within themselves. Continue reading →