In William Caxton’s 1490 translation of the “Aeneid” (specifically in the prologue), there is this line: “Loo, what sholde a man in thyse dayes now wryte, egges, or eyren? Certaynly it is hard to playse every man, by-cause of dyversite and chaunge of langage.” The line illustrates a controversy of the time: which word was going to Continue reading

Most obscure words are sesquipedalian — that is, they’re long, multisyllabic constructions that might just be obscure because most people can’t remember them. Surely there can’t be very many extremely short words — say, just three letters — that most people haven’t heard of? Well…let’s have a look.  Some short words have to do with Continue reading

It’s not unusual to see the phrase “flotsam and jetsam” used just like it was in 1884: “A mania for buying all sorts of flotsam and jetsam.” That’s always the phrase, in that order. “Jetsam and flotsam” just wouldn’t sound the same. And you hardly ever see “flotsam” without “jetsam,” even though they’re really not the same Continue reading

English has a problem with vowels; there aren’t enough of them. That’s one reason why English spelling is so ridiculous; you’ve got to cope with “long” vowel sounds like the “a” in “fame” or the “i” in “ice”, as well as “short” vowel sounds like the “a” in “father” or the “i” in “trick”. But Continue reading

“Old fogey”is indeed pretty old. Nowadays, of course, it means somebody well up in years whose attitudes and opinions tend to be outdated — sometimes to the extent of being funny. If some old codger is heard complaining about “the kids today,” that’s a sure sign of an old fogey.  In the 1700s, a “fogey” Continue reading

Yesterday we had a look at nautical terms. For today, the technical writers of the world would like to bring you the terms used in the foundation of our field: rhetoric.  You probably can’t get through secondary school without knowing, at least temporarily, that a “simile” is almost the same as a “metaphor”, but with Continue reading

A “tall tale” is a fiction; a fanciful yarn that might be about anything from the abominable snowman you saw in last week’s snowstorm to the fantastic exploits of Paul Bunyan, the giant woodsman of US legend. But what makes it “tall?”  The phrase “tall tale” probably comes from one of the older meanings of Continue reading

Back in the 1600s there was a terrific insult word that has, incomprehensibly, fallen out of use entirely. It was blatteroon, defined in a Glossaria in 1656 as “a babler, an idle-headed fellow.”  In spite of being an excellent epithet to sputter at this or that blithering idiot, the word seems to have died out Continue reading

Most people, at least in western cultures, have something in common with super heroes. No, it’s not the obvious thing you’re thinking (you immediately focused on your ability to deliver a wry quip while vanquishing a super villain, I assume). It’s all in your name. In the English tradition — or I suppose the tradition Continue reading

How are church buildings and governments like boats? Because of the words, of course!  Not all the words. But there are some unexpected crossovers. For example, take “nave.” It’s the main part of a church, where all the pews are (if there are pews, of course). It’s from the Latin “navis,” which means ship, and Continue reading