linguistics

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This is a post. Like the the 706 others before it. Continue reading →

Free at Last

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Yesterday I promised you I’d explain why we’re so, well, free with how we use the word free in English. I’m sure you’ve been on tenterhooks since then, so let’s investigate. Continue reading →

What’s the Difference Between a Jacket and a Coat?

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When writing about Melania Trump in yesterday’s post, I realised that I’d written a few times in the initial paragraphs that she’d been wearing a controversial coat.

No, that can’t be right, I thought.

You see, it’s June, so surely she was wearing a jacket. Continue reading →

You’re Dangerously Low on Space

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This is something my phone has been telling me recently, which, frankly, I’m quite sceptical about. Am I really in danger? Continue reading →

Why do so Many Negative Words Begin with N?

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No, not, nothing, neither, nor, none, nil, no-one, nobody, nowhere.

Notice a pattern?

Why do so many negative words begin with N? Continue reading →

D-Day

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Today is the anniversary of the D-Day landings of 6 June 1944, when Allied forces landed on a series of beaches in Normandy, France, thus beginning their invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II.

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There’ll be Repercussions…

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While writing yesterday about our dear friend Donald Trump, I used the word repercussions. It stood out, as I don’t use it very often, and I thought about it for a few moments. Continue reading →