March 2011
19 posts
1 tag
2 tags
today in intriguing german loanwords:
sitzfleisch • the ability to endure a boring activity
this is a good word for me right now because i am watching eat, pray, love on my lunch break.
2 tags
1 tag
words wholly unrelated
salmon & salmonella
you can catch both salmon and salmonella, you can eat an improperly prepared dish of the former and get unexpectedly poisoned with the latter, and of course, you can’t spell salmonella without first spelling salmon. yet, these words do not share any etymological roots.
salmon is from the latin word, salmonem (salmon) and possibly salire (to leap.) salmonella is...
4 tags
proper pronunciations and how to lose friends
if you’re a masochistic pedant like me, then one of your favourite activities is using correct pronunciations which seem wrong, waiting for someone to correct you, and then telling that someone how you read in a dictionary once that your pronunciation is the correct one and their way is actually barbarous and laughable.
i do this all the time with the prefix quasi-, which is properly...
2 tags
2 tags
stop the presses...
wait just a second here… does every sentient being inhabiting this planet of ours know that a spendthrift and a thrifty spender describe two completely opposite shopping behaviours? i just found this out (embarrassingly) less than 70 seconds ago.
a spendthrift wastes money on frivolous purchases. a thrifty spender saves money by frugal purchases. so why does spendthrift mean the opposite...
3 tags
dinner parties for poets
in 1946, edith sitwell hosted a dinner party at the sesame club. and then dylan thomas and his wife showed up…
Dylan Thomas and his wife both arrived wildly drunk, fought and hit each other, and altogether presented a painful problem to Edith and all the distinguished guests, as they could neither be disposed of nor tamed. I shall never forget Mrs Thomas shoving a drunken elbow into her...
3 tags
3 tags
2 tags
words wholly unrelated
hairy & hirsute
the oh ee dee definition for hairy is “hirsute.” the oh ee dee definition for hirsute is “hairy”—there could be no better synonyms in all the world. the words even look like fraternal twins, what with their initial aitches, their peek-a-boo eyes, and their awkwardly bending arrs. but, as i am sure you have already pieced together, neither word is...
5 tags
4 tags
2 tags
old timey spanish proverbs that begin with f
with spring approaching, my gonads are finally thawing from a long winter of icy sexcapades. and not a second too soon because my friends and i are having a virility contest and the winner gets a free travel mug with the logo of a local furniture store on it. but all this is neither here nor there, what i want to use this platform to discuss are my favourite 19th century spanish proverbs that...
3 tags
2 tags
2 tags
3 tags
4 tags
