A neat little phrase, in that the two verbs go well together in terms of meaning, but also how they look and sound. But is that just a coincidence? Continue reading
Forgive and Forget
thoughts in English
What a Mess!
I read something interesting in Italian the other day:
Questo libro mi sta piacendo un casino. (I really like this book a lot).
I understood everything except un casino, though the meaning was still clear. Looking up un casino, I saw that the first meaning for it was a mess. Continue reading
What Do Twelve Eskimos Make?
An Eskiyear!!
OK, that doesn’t make any sense, does it? Let me explain why. Continue reading
Hippopotamus
I already told you about this word, whose meaning you probably knew about anyway: it’s one of those interesting bits of trivia that’s often thrown about. Continue reading
Sent to Outer Mongolia
Outer Mongolia and Timbuktu are often used as shorthands in English for somewhere remote and inaccessible. But why exactly do we use these two places specifically? Continue reading
There’s a Storm Coming
In a few hours apparently, here in the west of Ireland. It’s certainly already quite windy, and while people are of course concerned about the danger and the possibility of property damage, there’s also something unavoidably exciting about a storm. Continue reading
Comfortably Numb
Yesterday, I picked up a bargain at a Record & CD Fair: an old vinyl copy of Pink Floyd‘s The Wall for €38. Considering it’s a double album, that’s not such a bad deal. The second-most famous song on the album is probably “Comfortably Numb.” Listening to it last night reminded me of how odd that word comfortably sounds… Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 