One of my post popular posts ever was 102 great words that aren’t in English but should be! and I’ve written lots on different aspects of both English language Words we still use from Shakespeare! and Tracing words back through time others Languages with no vowels I love words and the meaning of words and especially words that have… Continue reading A Gruntled look at Orphan Negatives.
Tag: Words
To be on Tenterhooks in Spitalfields
Have you ever heard of the phrase “on tenterhooks”? It has come to mean being in a state of tension, uneasiness, anxiety, or suspense, and that is because tenterhooks were once very common sights indeed. Tenterhooks aren’t the big hooks you might see in a meat market or butches but are instead related to the cloth… Continue reading To be on Tenterhooks in Spitalfields
Words that are becoming extinct
Like many of us, I am a big fan of and user of words. One of my most popular blog posts is 102 great words that aren’t in English but should be102 great words that aren’t in English but should be. I’m also a fan of etymology, the study of the origin of words and… Continue reading Words that are becoming extinct
There’s English and there’s English.
Language is very important to all of us, which ever one it is that we speak. Over 20,000 people a year read my old post on 102 Words That Aren’t In English But Should Be 102 Words That Aren’t In English But Should Be. A few weeks ago however a report appeared that put the cat… Continue reading There’s English and there’s English.
Tracing words back through time
Back in the mid 1990’s when I was studying at SOAS, one of the classes that I most enjoyed were those given by Professor Alexander Piatagorsky. He is said to have been the greatest Russian philospher of all time and one of the lesser known but greatest thinkers of the modern world. Sasha was… Continue reading Tracing words back through time
My New Book – Straight from the Horse’s Mouth : 100 Idioms, their Meanings and Origins
Today is one of those wonderful days that can be the highlight of my creative year, the launch day of my latest book. I’ve always enjoyed words and sayings, some of them archaic that seemingly make no sense to us today. The history of language and word usage is the history of us. Straight from… Continue reading My New Book – Straight from the Horse’s Mouth : 100 Idioms, their Meanings and Origins
Apricity – The Warmth of Winter Sun
It’s freezing cold outside this morning. At 8.30am the garden is still minus 10C or 10F, the garden is covered in frost and ice and a pale blue stretches across the horizon with a very weak and watery like pale yellow sun is poking up above the horizon. Funnily enough the weather in NW Scotland… Continue reading Apricity – The Warmth of Winter Sun
U and Non-U
U, or should I say you, might think I am off my trolley with this blog title or maybe my carefully worded prose has finally given way to text-speak. However U and Non-U is actually a book title from the 1950’s written by a legendary aristocrat Nancy Mitford that was all the rage amongst certain… Continue reading U and Non-U
Words we still use from Shakespeare!
This week marks both the death and supposed birth of the greatest writer of the English language, William Shakespeare. He was born in 1564 and died in 1616 and whilst much about him is sometimes doubted such as his birthday, sexuality or even actual identity; what can’t be questioned is the fact that he gave… Continue reading Words we still use from Shakespeare!
102 great words that aren’t in English but should be!
I spent 4 years at a college in London University studying Africa and Asia. It was the most wonderful place due to the exposure of various languages and cultures and when I say various I mean hundreds. I remember one day on the train thinking to myself how many countries I had friends from. Given… Continue reading 102 great words that aren’t in English but should be!
Stephen Liddell 