I had the increasingly rare pleasure of learning a new expression today: neck-verse. Continue reading
Neck-Verse
William Shakespeare
The Most Unkindest Cut of All
At some point yesterday I came across the expression in the title of this post. I can’t remember where exactly, but it’s a pretty common phrase. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen or heard it, but this time, something seemed strange. Then I realised what it was: the most unkindest cut!? Continue reading
Ha Ha, Charade You Are!
Well, I’m a badass Cowboy livin’ in the Cowboy days.
Wiggy, wiggy, scratch, yo, yo, bang, bang.
Me and Artemus Clyde frog go save Salma Hayek from the big metal spider.
A wiggy wig wig wiggy wiggy wig
Fresh cowboy from the west side
Wiggy wiggy scratch yo yo bang bang
Me and Artemus Clyde frog go save Salma frog polly prissy pants
Go down to, well… rumpletumpskin
Yes, this is the second post I’ve got from a single song. One thing that really struck me when listening to “Pigs (Three of Them)” was the phrase in the title. I’d heard it before, you see, and I knew straight away from where. Continue reading
What’s the Difference between Envy and Jealousy?
I’m glad you asked! I was thinking about this earlier, when writing about the Seven Deadly Sins made me think of envy, which is of course one of them.
These two are quite confusing, aren’t they? For both native and non-native speakers alike. Even if you know there’s a difference, and kind of know what that difference is, it’s hard to pin it down and put it into words, isn’t it? Let’s see if we can figure it out, shall we?
What does Shakespeare Mean?
It’s funny. I’ve thought a lot about what words mean, particularly names. Even more particularly, names which are clearly interesting or unusual. And I’ve thought a lot about William Shakespeare. But I’ve never thought about his surname before.
In One Fell Swoop
In a news article today about the new US tax bill, the writer said:
In one fell swoop, the Republicans have introduced some of the largest changes…
In one fell swoop is a pretty common phrase, perhaps almost to the point of cliché. But where does it come from, and what exactly does it mean?
Don’t be Afraid…
Yes, it’s Hallowe’en again! Time to have a look at an appropriately spooky word. But first, a challenge:
English-Language Thoughts 