Pylimitics

A “placebo” is a medical term for a treatment that gives only psychological benefits (or none). If you have a drug trial you might want to give some patients the real drug and others a placebo, then wait to see what happens. “Placebo” is a Latin word transplanted into English. In Latin in means “I… Continue reading

When one thing bumps into another, that’s a “collision.” The that comes from the Latin “collidere,” which was formed from “col” (together) and “laedere” (to hurt by hitting). “Collision” showed up in English in the 1400s, and it’s been in constant use ever since.  Except in one very specific case. When a ship (and only… Continue reading

Did you ever wonder why trousers are referred to as a “pair” of pants? And for that matter, why is “shirt” singular but “pants” plural? It all goes back a few centuries when, evidently, clothing design and assembly still had a ways to go. At the time each leg of the garment was a separate… Continue reading

Ask me no questions,I’ll tell you no lies.Cottleston, cottleston, cottleston pie. -A.A.Milne Isn’t it interesting that English has so many ways to describe different ways of saying things that aren’t true. There’s the plain old “lie,” of course, but there are a number of alternatives, each with its own subtleties and connotations. You can distort,… Continue reading

If you ever happen to be talking to a self-appointed expert in grammar and usage (this clearly doesn’t include me, by the way), you might hear them talk about things like “gerunds” and “subjunctive tense;” stuff like that. If you feel like you’re getting out-jargoned, pull out a few of these handy terms; you’re sure… Continue reading

If you’re “nonplussed”, you’re either stuck, in a thinking sort of way, or you’re confused or perplexed by something. But does that suggest that if you figure something out, you ought to consider yourself “plussed?” Nope. “Nonplussed” is a word that came from a phrase, and when you disassemble the phrase it loses all of… Continue reading