Friday Feb 8th, 2013
Quiz on the word origins of food and drink
Did you know that ‘croissant’ literally means ‘crescent’ or that oranges are native to China? Do you realize that the word ‘pie’ has been around for seven hundred years in English or that ‘toast’ comes from the Latin word for ‘scorch’? John Ayto explores the word origins of food and drink in The Diner’s Dictionary. We’ve made a little quiz based on the book. Are you hungry for it? read more »
Wednesday May 15th, 2013
The oddest English spellings, part 20: The letter “y”
Anatoly Liberman wonders why ‘y’ exists
Saturday May 11th, 2013
H. P. Lovecraft and the Northern Gothic Tongue
Roger Luckhurst on the author’s language
Wednesday May 8th, 2013
Panning for etymological gold: “aloof”
Anatoly Liberman on the word’s Dutch origins
Wednesday May 1st, 2013
Gleanings from Dickens
A call for information on ‘cashy’ and rising intonations
