Writing in a recent post about telling the time got me thinking about the words analogue and digital.
They’re two words that can be used in many different contexts, and I can safely say that I have a general sense of their meaning. Giving each a precise definition, however, is not always so easy.
Welcome to 2018!
There are many things that annoy us about how others use our native tongue. That’s just the way our brains work. There’s one interesting example though, that’s often mentioned by British-English speakers: Can I get…?
When you really think about it, Netflix is an odd name, isn’t it?
Well, when I think about it at least, as I’m sure you’re a relatively normal person who doesn’t spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about the meaning of the names of online streaming services. Luckily for you, I’m just that type of person.
Have you ever wondered why we call a group of songs released together by the same band or artist an album? No? Well, I guess you and I are just very different people then…
It occurred to me as strange recently while writing about mistletoe. If you recall, the plant’s Latin name is Viscus Album, with Album meaning white. How did we get from there to a music album?
First of all, if you want to know about why today is called Boxing Day, I wrote about that here last year. If you didn’t read it then, I encourage you to do so. Even if you did read it last year, why not read it again? You might have forgotten all of the details. I know I have.
If you’re looking for something new though, how about a few brief lines about that curious word playwright?
It’s Christmas!
Well, I’m actually writing this on the 22nd (and doing some final edits on the 23rd), so I can have a few days off, but you know what I mean. I already covered lots of Christmassy topics last year, so if you’re interested in that, have a look. Today, I want to write a little bit about a simple but mysterious Christmas plant: mistletoe.
English-Language Thoughts 