thoughts in English

Blue Riband

Niall O'Donnell 3 Comments

Yes.

Riband.

Weird, eh? Continue reading →

The Metal Umlaut

Niall O'Donnell 8 Comments

You’ve probably seen a lot of umlauts in your lifetime. They’re common in German, and look like this: ö. Those two little dots over a little vowel. English of course also has an identical diacritic, the diaeresis. But I already told you that. What I want to look at today though is the umlaut, and one type of umlaut in particular: the metal umlaut. Continue reading →

A Toast!

Niall O'Donnell 2 Comments

You can have lovely buttered toast for breakfast, but you can also raise a toast to someone. Why do we use the word toast in such completely different ways? Continue reading →

Of Course!

Niall O'Donnell 11 Comments

Anyone who writes fairly regularly develops certain habits. Repeated words, expressions, stylistic tricks. I’ve noticed that as I write, there are certain things I keep doing. Like using of course a lot, for example. Continue reading →

Ready, Steady, Stop!

Niall O'Donnell 6 Comments

You might understandably be confused if you heard someone say this. At least if you’re in an English-speaking country. Continue reading →

Counsel or Council?

Niall O'Donnell 3 Comments

It’s spelled counsel, of course. Look, I could easily write a lot of words about how stupid Donald Trump is. Mostly because it’s true. But instead, let’s have a look at why the poor man has such trouble with the word counsel.

Continue reading →

“A Regular is a Medium: Is That OK?”

Niall O'Donnell 7 Comments

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

The preceding, electrifying exchange occurred this afternoon, as I ordered a cappuccino at a well-known coffee shop. When the barista asked which size I wanted, I said regular, meaning not large. I had actually thought about this, because I overthink everything. Continue reading →