A pint’s a pound the world around. Traditional American mnemonic A pint of water’s a pound and a quarter. Traditional British mnemonic There’s something odd going on there, isn’t there? I learned that British mnemonic at primary school, and I can still vividly recall my first encounter with the American version—in a Robert Heinlein juvenile … Continue reading Pints And Pounds
Tag Archives: Etymology
Rhoticity
rəʊˈtɪsɪtɪ rhoticity: pertaining to a variety or dialect of English in which r is pronounced not only in pre-vocalic position but also before a consonant or word-finally So, there’s an American professor of theology visiting England for the first time. As his train departs from London King’s Cross station, he hears an announcement over the … Continue reading Rhoticity
Advent
ˈædvənt Advent: in the ecclesiastical calendar, the season immediately preceding the festival of the Nativity, now including the four preceding Sundays Advent comes from Latin adventus, “arrival”, and the capitalized Advent refers, of course, to the arrival of the child Jesus, celebrated on Christmas Day. Because of the ecclesiastical business about Advent starting four Sundays … Continue reading Advent
Cenotaph
Never [before] has the Cenotaph, in its 103 years of standing sentry on Whitehall, been “defended” on Armistice Day by a Port Vale fan supping a can of Stella Artois. Mark Townsend, The Guardian, 11 November 2023 The Cenotaph stands in central London, at the point where Whitehall becomes Parliament Street, opposite the weird neo-Tudor … Continue reading Cenotaph
Sorry
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word Elton John / Bernie Taupin (1976) Every now and then, a journalist gets some mileage out of writing about how British people say “Sorry!” a lot in trivial settings—when we’ve found ourselves in someone’s way, when someone has misunderstood our meaning, when we’ve snaffled the last biscuit just … Continue reading Sorry
Abbreviation & Contraction
We were watching the excellent Lesley Manville in the film Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris (2022) the other night, and I found myself mildly irritated by the punctuation of the title. (This sort of thing happens to me—it’s a curse.) The film is based on a book by Paul Gallico, Mrs. ’Arris Goes To Paris … Continue reading Abbreviation & Contraction
Four English Words Derived From Gaelic
Ach, he’s feeling the shortage of whisky. We’re all feeling it, Sergeant. Never mind. Good things will come again, and we’ll have whisky galore. Uisge beatha gu leòir. Compton Mackenzie, Whisky Galore (1947) I’ve written before about the relative dearth of Scottish Gaelic vocabulary in Scottish English. Instead, much of the difference in vocabulary between … Continue reading Four English Words Derived From Gaelic
Fulsome
ˈfʊlsəm fulsome: offensive to good taste, by reason of being done to excess A news organization has an obligation—and it is an obligation—to report news fulsomely, wholesomely and without fear or favor. That’s what Fox News has always done and that’s what Fox News will always do. Lachlan Murdoch quoted in The Guardian (13 March … Continue reading Fulsome
Pageantry
ˈpædʒəntrɪ / ˈpeɪdʒəntrɪ pageantry: 1) splendid display, gorgeous spectacular show; 2) empty or specious display, show without substance What pageantry, what feats, what shows,What minstrelsy, and pretty din,The regent made in MytileneTo greet the king. William Shakespeare, Pericles, Prince of Tyre Act V, Scene II The coronation of King Charles III got me thinking about … Continue reading Pageantry
Indict
ɪnˈdaɪt indict: to bring a charge against; to accuse (a person) of a crime These [members of a Grand Jury] have just INDICATED the 45th President of the United States of America, and the leading Republican Candidate, by far, for the 2024 Nomination for President. Donald Trump, Truth Social post, 30 March 2023 One has … Continue reading Indict