etymology, Uncategorized 0 comments
Political talk is full of idioms. A politician is “over his skis” when he speaks out of turn and the TV pundits love to point it out. The first time, it’s a great metaphor, easily understood, even by those who’ve never tried the sport. He got ahead of himself and now he’s going to crash. […]
In my last post I was contemplating the eponyms, words derived from the name of a person. I didn’t mention the most famous, the name of our country, derived from Amerigo Vespucci. As every schoolchild learns, the explorer made several voyages to the “New World,” and a contemporary mapmaker thought, in error, that he’d […]
“Gerrymandering” is the practice of drawing voting districts in convoluted shapes in order to benefit a certain group. The Supreme Court is going to issue an opinion on the practice in the months to come, but they might not mention the origin of the term. It came into use in the early nineteenth century when […]
What? Some of us have been surprised to learn about the thriving industry of manufactured, fraudulent information promulgated on the internet simply for profit. Fake news. Suddenly, the term is applied to any story someone doesn’t like, but we know the difference, or we think we do. An article published at http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-fake-news-find-your-social-media-feeds/ explains how the […]
I confess I’ve been watching way too much cable news. While I have sympathy for those commentators who have minutes to fill in front of the camera (I’d be completely tongue-tied) I cringe at the repetitive nonsense phrases. Why does it grate to hear someone “walk it back?” Because it’s dishonest. It’s a euphemism for […]
Scientists know that our universe is expanding rapidly, competing research groups are struggling to determine how rapidly. According to the New York Times one of several teams working on the problem is known as “BOSS”. Baryon Oscillation Spectrascopic Survey is just too hard to say. The group from the Max Planck Institute is known as […]
Whoa! Lexicographers are suddenly cool, according to the New York Times, Feb. 12, 2017. “Lookups” of words and phrases have increased and “bibliophiles have become social media stars.” Print dictionaries are selling briskly. (A lexicographer writes dictionaries and a bibliophile loves or collects books.) To demonstrate it’s coolness, the Merriam Webster website reports topics under […]
etymology, recipes, Travel, Uncategorized 0 comments
A Cajun fishing guide served me the perfect dessert drink. Try it for New Year’s. Note: this is not the traditional bourbon or brandy version offered in New Orleans restaurants. You do need one special ingredient, “Praline” liqueur, a concoction with a pecan flavor. It’s worth a trip to Spec’s. For each serving: Mix all […]
A tradition harking back to ancient times, the New Year’s resolution is upon us. What is the best and bravest approach to the future? Solidarity seems to be the theme. Women buy teeshirts proclaiming themselves to be nasty women who will vote. Friends on Facebook state their plan: if there’s to be a Muslim registry, […]
In the corner of my mind the just right word is whispering to me until it’s silenced by the yammer of the holiday crowd. That’s onomatopoeia, the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it, (as buzz, hiss) or the use of words whose sound suggests the […]