“This is a lipogram – a book, paragraph or similar thing in writing that lacks a symbol, particularly (but not always) that symbol fifth in rank out of our 26 script-signs (found amidst ‘d’ and ‘f’), which stands for a sound such as that in ‘kiwi’. I won’t bring it up right now, to avoid Continue reading

In the southern part of England there are areas where the rock underlying most of the hills is white and chalky. The famous “white cliffs of Dover” are the iconic example, but many hills and meadows around those parts are just as white underneath. This has been known to the residents since prehistoric times, and Continue reading

Doc Savage is a character created by a publishing house rather than by an author. This is not as unusual as you might think. Doc Savage first appeared in 1933 in “Doc Savage Magazine,” which was not a comic book but really one of their predecessors. It was a “pulp magazine” containing prose stories, generally Continue reading

Not too long after Izaak Walton wrote a heartfelt guide to fishing in “The Compleat Angler” in 1653, George Gascoigne penned “The Noble Arte of Venerie or Hunting” in 1575. Both books were what today we might call how-to guides. Among the handy pointers Gascoigne dispensed was this: “There is difference betweene the fewmet of Continue reading

Here’s a sentence you’d be unlikely to encounter nowadays. “It was noscible in the village that the oporopolist’s stall was often closed because of his fondness for riviation.” You’d be unlikely to encounter it because “noscible”, “oporopolist”, and “riviation” are all words that were once in general use in English, but haven’t been heard from Continue reading

If you stop and think about a common, everyday expression, sometimes what you think is that it makes no sense. For example, “by and large” means “generally” or “for the most part.” The phrase has been around at least since the early 1700s (“Tho’ he trys every way, both by and large, to keep up with Continue reading

Quite a long time ago — about a thousand years, in fact — if you lived in the British Isles and did something foolish, you’d be called “dusilec,” or “dyslíc.” That’s a word that’s been obsolete for quite a long time too, so long that one of its derivatives doesn’t even make sense to us Continue reading

Dislike a journalist, website, or publication because of their political commentary? If you write a review, try to beat this: “His Journal, then, is a depository for every species of political sophistry and personal calumny. There is no abuse or corruption that does not there find a Jesuitical palliation or a bare-faced vindication. There we Continue reading

There are cars powered by gasoline, and they have engines. Then there are cars powered by electricity, and they have motors. A hybrid car, of course, has both a gas engine and an electric motor. The difference can’t just have to do with the fuel, because if you have a small boat, you can attach Continue reading