I saw the word predicament recently, and thought that it would be an interesting case for a little bit of etymology figuring-out. It looks so Latin, with such clearly separate sections, each of which could have its own meaning, and which could all be added up to clearly show the meaning of the word as whole. Continue reading
A lot.
It’s two words. This one’s easy.
But of course, a lot of people make the mistake of writing alot instead of a lot. And I’m curious as to why. Continue reading
1. “There’s a plug under your table. Yeah, just there, yeah!”
2. “Sorry, is there a plug beside you there?”
“Yeah.”
I heard both of these utterances at the weekend: the first in a pub on Saturday, and the second on a bus on Sunday. Nothing strange about that, except for one thing: in both cases the people were lying!!! Continue reading
Do Ti La Sol Fa Mi Re Do!
Beautifully done! (and yes, it is Sol, not So!)
Even if you haven’t seen The Sound of Music, you’re probably quite familiar with this little method of assigning syllables to the seven major musical notes.
It’s known as solfège, and is used to help a musician distinguish between different pitches of notes. It’s not something I’d ever given much thought about until one day, likely while I was living in Belgium, I saw The Sound of Music dubbed into French… Continue reading
Oh, hi there.
It’s been a while, I know. I’ve been busy, and I think I wanted a little break from writing.
But then an idea comes, and here we are! Continue reading
Hi. Hello. How are you?
All perfectly good ways to greet someone. As are…
Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. And good ni…
Oh wait. No.
Good morning, afternoon, and evening all mean hello, but good night only means goodbye. Why is that? Continue reading
Yesterday, I learned that I’m mancino. I’d actually already known that for a long time. Just not in Italian. For mancino, you see, is the Italian for left-handed. Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 