It’s the epitome of surfer-dude slang: totally gnarly dude!
Thinking about the word today though, it seemed a strange fit for surfing slang. Surely, I thought, it’s related to gnarled, as in knobbly, rough, or twisted. Not how you’d describe a wave really, is it? Continue reading
I’m writing this from a hotel room. The word hotel can be traced back to the Old French word ostel, which of course is also the origin of the word hostel. And, it might surprise you, hospital. Continue reading
I had another of my common hmmm, I wonder why… moments while writing yesterday’s post, specifically when mentioning the meaning of dead ringer. I understand that dead meant precise in that context, but I wondered why we use it with that meaning? Continue reading
Who would’ve thought this Monday evening that we’d all be reading and talking so much about a cemetery? But these days you just never know what’s going to happen, and now I’m thinking about the word cemetery. Continue reading
I was thinking this morning that the word spot is one of those simple unassuming words that actually has a lot of quite different meanings, and can be used as verb and a noun.
I find it particularly interesting in that it began with a more abstract, poetic meaning, and later on came to be used in more mundane ways. Continue reading
I was thinking yesterday about how I’m a bit of a dilettante when it comes to music. I like a lot of acts and genres, but I couldn’t narrow my preferences down to anything very particular. Continue reading
Usually, it’s capital that you need. But sometimes, and specifically right now if you’re in the United States, capitol’s the word you’re looking for. Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 